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COLOSSIANS - Christ in you, the hope of glory!
Studies in the Letter of Paul to the Colossians
Part 2 - The Recognition of the Mystery of Christ Guards Against False Teaching (Colossians 2:1-23)
12. Our New Life with Christ (Colossians 2:11-15)
Colossians 2:11-15
11 in whom you were also circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands, in the putting off of the body of the sins of the flesh, in the circumcision of Christ; 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 You were dead through your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh. He made you alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 wiping out the handwriting in ordinances which was against us; and he has taken it out of the way, nailing it to the cross; 15 having stripped the principalities and the powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
This section of the letter to the Colossians defines our life with Christ. Four times in it we read the term “in Him” or “with Him”, which means that we are no longer independent and autonomous; rather, we have been assimilated and integrated into Him by His mercy. By so doing, God gave us a portion of the rights of His Son, His Spirit, His power and His glory. We are to worship the Father and the Son, for He has done great things in us and for us. He has made mortals into immortals, transformed sinners into justified ones, and turned enemies into children of His love and goodness! Whoever comprehends this truth thanks and serves the Holy Trinity in both all that he does and doesn´t do.
Paul fought with words against the demand of the fanatics of the Mosaic Law who, in accordance with their understanding, wanted to bodily circumcise the followers of Christ. In acting in accordance with the sign of the Old Covenant, they hoped to receive and share in all of its blessings and promises. The apostle to the unclean nations triumphantly testified, however, that Christ´s followers had already been spiritually circumcised – and that in their heart - when they received power to renounce their sin and lay off evil predisposition through repentance, faith in Jesus and the reception of the Spirit.
Thereby, the apostle described baptism as a burial of our old Adam (or Eve) through our faith-unification with Christ. This attachment to the Lamb of God does not simply signify, however, the spiritual manslaughter and burial of a sinner. Above all, it means his resurrection through the power of God as a justified follower of the Son of God, who Himself was resurrected by His Father. Adult baptism is understood by many to be a second-birth through grace, for through faith in Christ the power of God flows into the spiritually dead.
These existential events, however, occur not just once in believers, but continually, and that through their connection with Christ. They live “in Him”, for God has forgiven all their sin and uncircumcision of body and heart. Thereby, Paul openly confessed that he himself, as well as the members of the Old Covenant, was not justified by circumcision of the body, but alone through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. His blood alone cleanses us from all our sin. The signs and symbols of the Old Covenant were all fulfilled, surpassed and annulled through the cross of Christ.
The burden of sin sits deep in the subconscious of a person. Satan continually attacks and accuses justified ones in their conscious, even following the forgiveness of their sins. That is why the apostle assured the recipients of his letter that the long handwriting of ordinances against them had been fully wiped out and erased through the blood of Christ when He was nailed to the cross. The judicial question of sin had been dealt with once and for all.
Yet there is more! Satanic powers, such as temptation to sin and continuance in sin, have been defeated by Jesus. He loved His enemies to the end, and prayed for them on the cross. He trusted in God, His God, even during the inconsolable hours on the cross when He was forsaken by God. He hoped when there was no more hope, and committed His spirit into the hands of His Father, whom He saw no more (Matt. 27:46; Luke 23: 34, 46). His glorious resurrection from the dead was the proof that Satan could not, not for even one second, seduce the Son of God, born of the Holy Spirit, to sin or follow sinful intention. Therefore, death could not hold Him. The triumphal march of Jesus began with His resurrection. He had shown Satan, along with all his demons, to be mere weaklings. Whoever follows Him has part and portion in His victory. The one who lives in Christ rests day and night under the cover of His spiritual protection. God the Father resurrected His Son from the dead. He thereby judged and condemned all ungodly powers, and confirmed the legal validity of His sacrifice.
Prayer: Father in heaven, we thank You that, following our baptism, You granted us the privilege to live in Your Son, which signifies the death and burial of our egoistic “I´s”, as well as our resurrection from spiritual death. We worship You, for You have given to us Your life through Jesus and His Spirit. Awaken those dead in sin and arrogance in our neighbourhood, so that they, too, can live forever with Jesus. Amen.
Question 35: In the words of Paul, what does baptism mean?