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Colossians 2:13-15
The Lycus valley assemblies are being taught by Paul as to just what it means to be complete, in Christ - as
a son of God. Paul has drawn upon the significance of circumcision and then baptism to illustrate this, to
them.
As Paul continues in his letter, he gives the believers one fleeting glance back at where they had come
from, so that they can see just how great their deliverance was, in Christ.
We continue in verse 13 of chapter 2.
[Colossians 2:13-15]
The emphasis here is on the deliverance accomplished through the cross. Now, look back over what we
have just read very carefully.
Who would it be that Paul is saying has made the believers alive together with Christ? Who has made them
alive together with Him? That would be God the Father; thats the working of God, who raised Christ from
the dead (v. 12). This is the Fathers work on behalf of the believer, who has united himself to Christ,
through faith.
So if it is the Father, who has made believers alive together with Christ, then as Paul continues, who is it
who has forgiven them all trespasses? The Father. Who has wiped out the handwriting of requirements?
The Father. Who has nailed the requirements to the cross? The Father.
And finally, who has disarmed principalities and powers? The Father. This is the work that the Father has
done, in Christ. Christ was the Fathers agent, through whom the work was done - the work of the cross.
We can think of the Father as the commander-in-chief, and the Son as His captain - the Captain of our
salvation (Heb 2:10). And that is very fitting - for what we see described here is the victory of God over all
enemies, in the war for the souls of men.
And Paul makes that victory very personal, to the Lycus valley believers. Notice how Paul describes them,
before God had His victory with them. Paul says they were dead; dead in their trespasses.
Now, dead describes a body; for once God has brought a soul of spirit into being, it continues forever; the
soul of spirit-life does not die.
To be dead in trespasses pertains to men in Adam; men, in bodies of flesh, bodies that are dying from the
moment they are born into this world. Why is this so? Because they are born of the corruptible seed of
Adam; through Adam, death passed through upon all men (Rm 5:12).
But Paul indicates they were dead in their own trespasses - your trespasses - speaking of their own
personal sin. The fact that they sinned personally affirms God condemnation of them, as part of the
creation, in Adam.
Now, the Greek word used here for trespasses is considered a milder word for sin. A stronger Greek word
for sin indicates willful transgression of a known rule or law. Trespasses as used here are sins of ignorance;
you transgressed laws of which you had no knowledge.

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This is a perfect term for Paul to choose to describe the lawless Gentiles, in their ignorance of the Law of
Moses. But were their unknowing violations of the Law still sin? Yes; sin is always sin; an offense against
God, in His holiness. Its just that when sin is deliberate, a willful violation against God, it carries greater
culpability, and therefore greater judgment.
Notice Paul continues to stress the Gentile heritage, of these believers. He says that they also were dead, as
sons of Adam, in the uncircumcision of their flesh.
True, as Gentiles, they were physically uncircumcised. But remember Paul had just written that they had
received the circumcision of Christ; with the meaning that their body of flesh has been put off.
So Pauls emphasis continues to be, not on the physical condition, but on the meaning - the meaning of
being uncircumcised, in this case. Remember from Genesis 17 that anyone who remains uncircumcised
shall be cut off from his people, for he has broken Gods covenant (Gen 17:14).
As dead men in Adam, these Gentiles were men in the flesh, all of whom were strangers from the covenant
of promise - in the Covenant Son, Christ (Eph 2:12). These lawless Gentiles were not Gods people, and
would be cut off in the judgment of condemnation (Jn 5:29; Rm 5:16, 18).
But for them, thats all in the past. They are no longer men in the flesh. They have received the
circumcision of Christ. Through their faith, the Father has united them to Christ, taking them into death
with Him, and raising them up alive, a new creation in Him.
Paul has already laid out the eternal perspective on the Fathers work, in verse 12; they were buried with
Christ in baptism, and they were raised with Him, speaking of Christs death and resurrection. The Fathers
work is all finished; they are complete, in Christ.
But notice what Paul now says, in verse 13; the Father has made them alive together with Christ. Paul is
not being redundant, here. Now his focus is not on being raised with Christ, in a body of glory; it is on
being made alive together with Christ.
The focus is on the life that believers share with Christ; eternal Life. Thats the Life that believers have
received from the Father, to be lived in the here and now. The Fathers work is all finished; but the work of
the believer has just begun; his work of faith, to live by that new Life that the Father has given him.
Not only has the Father given the believer that new Life, but He has made every provision for the believer
to live it. How? By removing all obstacles from his path, to enable the believer to walk in his new life eternal Life.
Paul records the removing of every impediment, by the Father - so that His sons can live their new Life.
The Father has forgiven them all trespasses.
Now, back in chapter 1, Paul had already indicated that in Christ, we have redemption through His blood,
the forgiveness of sins (Col 1:14). The emphasis there was on the remission of sin from the sinner; sin was
removed from him, which enabled God to then forgive him.
But Paul uses a different Greek word here for forgiven, which instead emphasizes the graciousness of the
One doing the forgiving - the Father. The idea is that the Father has pardoned the believers of their
trespasses - all of their trespasses, against Him - not because they deserve it, or have earned it in any way,
but because of His grace.

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Yet is this gracious pardon just arbitrarily extended by God to men? No; for God cannot simply excuse
sin; that would be unjust; that would be a violation of His righteous character. There must be a basis - a fair
and just basis - by which God can extend His gracious pardon. And Paul shows that the basis was Christs
work on the cross.
Paul expresses believers pardon for sin in language that evokes a judicial ruling. In verse 14, the term
handwriting was used almost entirely for the autograph on a promissory note or bond; it is found often in
Roman books of law. It is a signed certificate of debt, by which the debtor acknowledged his indebtedness;
an IOU. Paul uses this to represent what men owe to God.
What is it that men do owe to God, as their Creator; what is it that He requires, of His creation of mankind?
Obedience to His will; fulfilling His righteous requirements of them. That is what Paul is alluding to when
he says the handwriting of requirements. Its what God requires of men.
God expressed His righteous requirements to the nation of Israel through the Law of Moses; but Gentiles,
such as the recipients of this letter, also know of His righteous requirements. God has written them into the
heart of every man born in Adam, and their conscience bears witness to any transgression of that inner law
(Rm 2:14-15).
Now, men in the flesh cannot fulfill the righteous requirements of God. Why not? Because of self-will. So
Gods righteous requirements become like a mountain of debt in their lives - what they owe to God, but
what they never give Him - and so the debt is growing greater and greater, all the time. It is not the
requirements, but their lack of fulfilling them - their debt - that is against them, that is contrary to them.
In this way, the unfulfilled requirements become like charges against them. Like a promissory note, there
is a day by which that debt must be paid; and if it is not, the debtor will come into condemnation.
And men have no means to pay off what they owe, or even to pay it down. What would be the payment,
for each and every charge against them? Death. And for men in the flesh, they could only do that once,
and then that would be the end of them. So they have no means of relieving their debt; no means of
removing the charges against them.
But what did the Father do? He took the debt - the charges - out of the way. This was a judicial action, on
the part of the Father. How did He take the debt out of the way? Paul says, He nailed it to the cross. There
was an ancient practice in that part of the world for indicating when an IOU was cancelled. This was done
by driving a nail through the IOU, and fixing it to a post.
But the Father didnt nail it to a post, did He? He nailed it to the cross. In Pauls day, the list of the crimes
of a criminal were nailed to his cross, to declare the violations he was being punished for.
Pilate had in fact done this with Jesus, didnt he? The accusation was placed above His head, for all to see:
This is Jesus, the King of the Jews (Mt 27:37). But what could not be seen by the eye of man were all of
our charges, which the Father had nailed to the cross of His Son.
Jesus made an offering of Himself to the Father, in our stead. He bore our sins upon His own body on the
cross; all of the charges, that were against us; all of the righteous requirements of God, that we owed Him,
but never gave Him.

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It was the death of Jesus, in His perfect righteousness, that satisfied the justice of God, concerning the
charges of sin, against us. Now the Father could justly pardon us, graciously forgive our sins, and
discharge us of our debt.
For not only was our sin laid to Jesus account, but in the reckoning of God, His righteousness was laid, to
our account (2 Cor 5:21; Phile 17-19). Through the cross, the Father was enabled to forever expunge our
signature from our IOUs to Him. Jesus paid for us, in full.
What Paul wants believers to understand is that sin has been fully dealt with, at the cross. Through the
sacrifice of Jesus, the Father has completely and permanently taken sin out of the way. Sin no longer
separates us from God; and that leaves us free to walk in the spirit of Life.
To continue to focus on sin through self-imposed guilt, or to try to control sin through attempts to restrain
the flesh, or to beat it into submission, is to fail to understand the deliverance that Jesus accomplished for
us, through the cross.
What has characterized your life as a Christ One - victory or defeat? Lets ask this instead: What will
characterize it in the future? Theres no time like the present; recognize that the Father has entirely freed
you from sin through the cross, and live free.
As Paul continues, he reveals the magnitude of the victory at the cross.
v. 15 We need to remember that Paul has been speaking about the Father. So here, it is the Father who has
disarmed principalities and powers; the Father made a public spectacle of them; and the Father triumphed
over them in it. In what? In the cross. That was the site of the Fathers victory, which He accomplished
through His Son.
We have encountered the principalities and powers twice before in this letter. These terms refer to the
angelic order of creation.
In chapter 1, Paul indicated that the angels were created by, through, and for the Son; and earlier in chapter
2, Paul said that Christ is the head of the angelic beings; that is, they are subject to Him, under His
authority. In both of those references, Paul is referring to the entire angelic order; all angels.
But Pauls statement here cannot be taken that way. These are angelic beings whom the Father has
disarmed. This term means to strip or divest of power and authority.
Would the Father have reason to do that, with angels that minister to Him, and carry out His purposes? Of
course not. By this, we understand that Paul is referring to those angels who do not serve God; to those who
followed Satan, in his rebellion against God.
These are demonic spirit beings, who are opposed to the plan of God, to bring forth Gods kingdom of sons.
To this end, these demonic spirits actively seek to thwart men from becoming Gods sons, and so
participate in the war against God, for the souls of men.
And it is with that war in mind that Paul creates this picture, for his listeners. It is a triumphal procession;
something with which those in the Roman Empire would have been well familiar.

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In this scene, a conqueror returns from a battle, having resoundingly defeated his enemies. Those enemies,
who had opposed him, are now his humiliated captives, whom in their powerless state, the conqueror now
parades behind his chariot, displayed for all to see; stripped of their possessions, and subdued by his
superior strength.
The conqueror is Christ. The cross, which had been the instrument of His humiliation, was transformed
through His resurrection into the vehicle of His victory; His triumphal chariot.
It was through the cross that the Father disarmed the angelic spirit beings who opposed Him, in the war for
the souls of men, rendering them powerless. What weapons did the Father strip them of? The weapons of
sin and death, which they used to keep men captivated, in the world system.
Now, these weapons were not like swords; they were more like snares. The weapons were enticing lusts, to
captivate the minds and the flesh of men (1 Jn 2:15-17); and there was also the snare of religion, to assuage
mens fear of death.
These were the weapons with which the enemies of God held men in bondage, in the world system; as
slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness, leading to more lawlessness (Rm 6:19); and the end of those
things is death (Rm 6:21).
Through the work of the cross, the enemies of God could no longer wield those weapons over men; their
power over men was destroyed.
The power of sin was broken. Turn to First John chapter 3. John was contrasting men in the flesh, with the
children of God. John indicates that men in flesh sin - in the Greek, continuous action - sin characterizes
their conduct in life, the way they live. In contrast, the children of God practice righteousness.
In verse 8, John indicates that this was the purpose for the Son of God being manifested, in the flesh - that
He might destroy the works of the devil, referring here to stripping him of his power over men, as he
enticed them to sin, through his world system; the arena where they could practice their lawlessness.
Were looking just at verse 9. This is where we see how the power of the enemy was broken.
[First John 3:9] This victory over sin was obtained, at the cross. The one who has been born of God has
been born of the Spirit, a child of God. John says, that one does not sin; in the Greek, this is continuous
action.
The believer does not sin, as a way of life; the power of sin has been rendered inoperative, in him. How?
Look at what John says next. For His seed remains in him.
Having been born again, of the Incorruptible Seed, Christ, His seed - His eternal Life - remains in the
believer - always and forever. It is now the source of his life, giving him the ability to not sin - as John
says, he can not sin, having been born of God.
And as the believer abides by the teaching of the Holy Spirit within him, who is leading him into all
righteousness, he does not sin. The power of sin over the believer was indeed destroyed.
And the power of death was broken.
Turn to Hebrews chapter 2. The writer to the Hebrews spoke of the purpose for which the Son of God
came to earth in a flesh and blood body.

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[Hebrews 2:14-15] We must first ask, in what sense does the devil have the power of death? Only the Lord
gives life, and takes it away; the devil cant do that. What power of death does the devil have then?
We find this in verse 15; its mens fear of death. Men in the flesh are afraid to die, because they recognize
that it is the end of this life; and that is the only life they have.
So the devil works through that fear. He offers men religion, to giving them the illusion of that they can
attain a new life for themselves after death; if they will do all the right things. And he offers them the
notion of extending this life, through the right diet, or the right exercise, or the right approach to life.
Despite the fact that men have no certainty that any of these things really lead to life, they still take them in,
and do them - out of their desperate fear, of death. And it is through this thinking that the devil puts out in
the world, that he is able to keep men in bondage.
But the Son came to deliver men from that bondage. In verse 14, the word destroy means to render
inoperative, or powerless.
The Son stripped the devil of his power, to hold men in bondage through their fear of death. How did the
Son do that? By taking on a mortal body, which He took into death; then overturning death, through His
resurrection.
United to Christ by faith, Death no longer has dominion over the believer, because it no longer has
dominion over Christ (Rm 6:9); the believer has the victory, through Christ (1 Cor 15:57). The believer is
no longer a slave to his fear of death, because now, death is simply his exodus into glory.
[Return to Colossians 2]
Through the cross of Christ, the Father has attained His goal, to bring forth His sons; the cross was the
means of His triumph over His enemies, who had sought to thwart his purposes. Now those enemies have
been rendered inoperative; they have been stripped of their power, over men - of sin, and the fear of death,
by which they held men in bondage.
But in what way can it be said that the Father made a public spectacle of them - the principalities and
powers? In the triumphal procession, the defeated enemies were a public spectacle, because they were
paraded through the streets, for all to see. When men saw the vanquished foes, they recognized the glory of
the conquest - and of the conqueror. How was this defeat of Gods enemies made visible, and to whom?
To see that, we need to visit the letter that Paul wrote around the same time as Colossians. Turn to
Ephesians chapter 3. Paul had been writing of the stewardship, which the Lord gave to him, gracing Paul
to minister the gospel to the Gentiles.
[Ephesians 3:8-12]
v. 8-9 You can just hear in this the humility of Paul - that he should be graced by God as an apostle, a
prophet, a teacher, to preach the good news of Jesus Christ among the Gentiles.
Then Paul speaks of the fellowship of the mystery. The word fellowship is the same as translated
dispensation in verse 2, and it means stewardship; its what the Lord has entrusted Paul with.

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Paul has already disclosed in this letter the mystery of which he speaks here: that the Gentiles were to be
fully heirs of salvation with the Jews, and that they would be united together as one body, in Christ. The
offer of eternal Life and righteousness went out to all, and was given to all who believed (Rom 3:22).
This particular mystery, concerning the inclusion of the Gentiles as full sons in Gods kingdom, was hidden
in ages past, but once Christ had come, it was then revealed.
v. 10-12 What was the eternal purpose of God? To have a kingdom of sons. And now, that purpose was
being realized, through the cross of Christ.
Here is the manifold wisdom of God - the multi-faceted brilliance, of His plan - by which He has now
brought forth, out of the death of Christ, a body of believers that are the sons of His kingdom, who will
occupy the realm of heaven. Thats the true church - by which Gods glory is being made known (Eph
3:21).
This is how God has made a spectacle of His enemies; through showing Christs victory over sin and death,
as it is lived through the members of His Body.
And who are the witnesses, cited here, to that spectacle? The principalities and powers, in the heavenlies;
all of the angelic realm. Paul does not specify in any way which angels he means.
What would the demonic angels see? The spectacle of their defeat; they witness their powerlessness, as if
looking in a mirror.
And what of the angels of God? They witness the spectacle of their Lords triumph, with joy; in fact, they
rejoice over every sinner who repents (Lk 15:10).
Paul also used the same imagery in this letter, as he did in Colossians. Look further along into chapter 4,
verse 7. Paul has been emphasizing the oneness, of the Body of Christ, but now he will speak of each
member being a unique and vital part of that Body, which enables Christ to carry out His ministry through
His Body, to reconcile men to God.
[Ephesians 4:7-10]
v. 7 The grace that Paul is speaking of here are the spiritual graces, the charismata, which the Holy Spirit
distributes to each one individually as He wills, for the profit of God (1 Cor 12:7, 11). Paul next supports
this statement with a quote from the OT Scriptures.
v. 8 Paul is quoting Psalm 68, which prophesies of when the Lord returns as the conquering King at the
end of the Tribulation to His subjects on earth. But Paul sees the near-fulfillment of this with the church,
His heavenly people.
Again we see the image of a conqueror; Christ. And here, Christ has led captivity captive. In this passage,
the captives are men. Those who were in bondage in the world system, the sons of disobedience, have now
been taken captive by Christ; they have been captivated by His love, to become sons of the Kingdom.
And in addition to being freed, the captives have received gifts, from the One who delivered them; Paul is
referring to the spiritual graces, here. They have been delivered, and they have been empowered - for
Christs work of ministry.

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v. 9-10 Here is the means of the conquerors victory. You might remember from our study of Psalm 139
that the lower parts of the earth is a reference to the grave, or death. Christs victory came through His
death and resurrection.
Ascending out of the grave, He continued that ascent, back to the right hand of the Father; the position of
honor, and glory, and power. In this way, Paul is showing not just the victory of Christ, but His exaltation
by God the Father, who is above all.
Paul indicates the purpose for which Christ did this: that He might fill all things, speaking of the
fulfillment of all the Fathers purposes, for His creation of mankind - to have His kingdom of sons. And as
soul after soul is won to Christ, taken captive by His love, the spectacle of His triumphal procession goes
on and on.
[Return to Colossians 2]
Now, we know that the Lycus valley assemblies were being introduced to a religious way of thinking that
involved both legalism and mysticism.
Angels were prominent in the mystical aspect of this false thinking - held out by the teachers as essential
mediators, which one must successfully negotiate their way through, in order to experience God, in His
fullness; to come into His presence. But these same angels were considered to be capricious; unreliable;
potentially hostile.
Who would be drawn, to this superstitious thinking? Those who have a lack of assurance of their salvation;
and think they have to negotiate it, for themselves.
Those who dont understand Christ as the one and only Mediator, between God and man; and so they seek
others.
And finally, those who, because of their lack of trust in God, are of little faith, and filled with fear - so that
the idea of having to deal with frightening angels is strangely comfortable to them.
Lack of understanding, lack of trust, lack of assurance, all promote fearfulness - and then, there comes the
reflexive action of trying to control that fear - here, through mysticism.
What Paul is showing the Lycus valley believers is that perfect Love - having conquered their hearts - has
cast out Fear. Now, fear involves torment (1 Jn 4:17-18). But Perfect Love has cast Fear out for the
believer, decisively and finally.
Believers need have no fear of judgment; for the Judge has wiped out the handwriting of requirements,
against them. They need to have no fear of death - for they have received the Seed, of eternal Life. They
need not fear being separated from love of God - for they have been accepted in the Beloved (Eph 1:6).
And finally, they need to have no fear of living - for they share in the victory of the One who has conquered
all their enemies. The captives have been set free. They are now free - to Live.

Reading: Colossians 2; Galatians 4:1-20; Eph 4:1-16.