THE TRIUMPH OF THE CROSS

Over the past several weeks we have been meditating on the cross of Christ in preparation for Easter. We have looked at the importance of the cross, the ones responsible for Jesus’ death on the cross, and the gravity of our sin which brought about our need for the cross.

Last week, while we looked at the idea of propitiation or satisfaction, we really emphasized the gravity of our sin. No matter how little we might think our sin is, the consequences of it are very great. In his letter to the Romans the Apostle Paul contrasted the sin that entered into the world as the result of Adam’s disobedience, with the grace that was the result of obedience of Christ. He put it this way:

Romans 5:18–21 NASB95PARA

So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous. The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

No matter how grave our sin is, God’s grace is greater still. Some who have rejected the faith come to the idea that Christianity is all about sin. But the fact of the matter is that is merely a half-truth. Yes our sin against the Holy God is very grave, but Christianity is about the forgiveness of sins. John Stott wrote:

The Cross of Christ True and False Guilt

How could anyone imagine that Christianity is about sin rather than about the forgiveness of sin? How could anyone look at the cross and see only the shame of what we did to Christ, rather than the glory of what he did for us?

Today, as we celebrate Resurrection Day, we will look at the accomplishments of the cross as mentioned by the Apostle Paul in . Please take your Bible and turn there with me. As we go through this passage this morning we will look at the warning the Paul gave to the church in Colossae, the person of Christ as presented in this text, and the accomplishments that Paul mentions in this text.

My hope is that we will magnify the glory of what God, in Christ, did for us at the cross.

Let’s read the passage together.

THE WARNING

As we consider the warning that Paul begins with in our passage, we could state it like this: “Don’t allow the world to define Christ.”

The world is always trying to define its view of who God is or what Christ was like. But we who are believers in Christ are to “See to it that no one takes [us] captive through philosophy and empty deception.”

Sometimes the world presents God as being a kindly, doting grandfather. He is never cross. He is always patient. He never judges; etc. Other times the world presents God as being a harsh ogre. But we must gain our understanding of who God is through the pages of the Bible and not by the imagination of man.

The word translated captive in verse 8 gives the idea of being kidnapped — taken against your will. The world is used in extra-biblical literature about a person who is taken by a conqueror as a part of the spoils of war. Satan would love nothing more than to take our minds captive to the philosophy and empty deception which this world has to offer. Rather than allow that to happen the believer must have his or her mind captivated by Christ.

Let’s turn our attention now to how Paul portrays the person of Christ in this passage.

THE PERSON OF CHRIST

As we consider what this passage has to say about the person of Christ, we will note three things.

Christ is the God become man (vs. 9)

The physical manifestation of the invisible God ()

Christ is the sovereign ruler of the world (vs. 10)

The Creator ()

Christ is the victor (vs. 15)

Firstborn from the dead ()

Let’s turn our attention now to the accomplishments of the cross.

THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Depending on how you unpack this passage you can find three or more accomplishments of the cross of Christ. Let’s look at the first, which is that:

The Believer is Unified with Christ

The spiritual union between Christ and His own is one of the most precious of doctrinal truths. Some believe that this union is foreshadowed by the Incarnation in which the One who is fully God became fully man. As a result of this union:

The Believer is made complete in Christ (vs. 10)

To be complete in Christ is to be filled in Him.

Our completeness in Him has to do with our right standing with God. The believing sinner is declared by God to be righteous — legally innocent of all wrong-doing. The believer is seen by God as being as holy as the Son (positionally speaking). Further the believer has everything they need for spiritual maturity in Christ ().

The Believer is spiritually circumcised in Christ (vs. 11-12)

Buried with Him

Raised with Him

The Believer is made alive in Christ (vs. 13)

To be made alive means that we were once dead. Writing to the Ephesians Paul said:

Ephesians 2:1–2 NASB95PARA

And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.

We were zombies! We were dead men walking! Spurgeon wrote:

The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Sermons, Vol. XLV Death and Its Sentence Abolished (No. 2,605)

When a person is literally dead, he cannot will to come to life; neither does any man ever will to come to Christ till the Spirit of God gives him that will, for his natural will is exerted in quite another direction, as our Lord said to the Jews, “Ye will not come to me that ye might have life.” The will is a slave, it is held in chains, it is set on mischief, and resolved not to subject itself to the will of the Most High. Not morally, nor mentally, but spiritually, the will of man is dead.

This truth highlights the lack of our own involvement in our salvation. Dead people cannot make choices. No, salvation is all of God. The Holy Spirit had to bring us to life in order for us to believe the message of the cross and the empty tomb!

All of these things and so much more are a result of the believer’s union with Christ. This bring us to the next accomplishment of the cross, which is intricately tied to these things we have been discussing:

The Believer is Forgiven

Earlier in this series I stated that the cross of Christ is the ground of the believer’s forgiveness. Notice what Paul wrote in verses 13-14.

All transgressions are forgiven (vs. 13b)

The certificate of debt is canceled (vs. 14a)

This certificate was nailed to the cross (vs. 14b)

The Conquered Enemies were Put on Public Display

If you are united to Christ then you also are a conquering hero. But if you are not united to Christ then you will one day be conquered by Him. Won’t you embrace the message of the cross and the empty tomb today?