Rooted Part 6- Christs Triumph

6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

English Standard Version Chapter 2

6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

vs 8 be careful of philosophy not according to Christ because:

vs 9 In Him: fullness of God in a human body

vs 10 In Him: we are filled with the fullness of God in our human bodies

vs 11-13 In Him: we join in his death and shed our sinfulness (circumcision)

English Standard Version Chapter 2

14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

vs 10 discusses powers and authorities there we see that Christ is their head

Now we see how Christ exercising his supremacyf and lays down his life in such a way that he has victory over rebellious powers and renders them helpless

Christ as human flesh had the powers of evil clinging to him until he cast aside his flesh on the cross defeating them forever

In doing this, he not only triumphed over all evil spirits but also made a public spectacle of their defeat!

In this triumph we see the final solution to the problem the colossians have been trying to answer, how to stop sin’s destruction in this life!

Christ going to the cross removes any power that evil sources may have over us. The victory of Christ in resurrection and ascension is the exact thing that we need to accept as our own.

We need to personalize it, Christs authority is manifested and “in Him” we share that same authority and victory!

The Pillar New Testament Commentary: Colossians and Philemon 1. Spiritual Fullness in Christ (2:8–15)

In response, Paul insists that God, by sending Christ to the cross as the final and definitive means to take care of the sin problem, has removed any power that these evil spirits might have over us. This victory, celebrated and displayed in the resurrection and ascension of Christ, is what believers need to grasp as their own. Christ’s authority over the rulers and authorities (v. 10) has been decisively manifested; and “in him” believers share that authority.

So what does that triumph mean for us?

Can we be sinless in this life in Christ’s triumph?

Or is it all a victory we join Him in, in the future?

Is God’s triumph something to be felt right now or is something that we have to wait to experience

Mark 1:15 ESV

and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

English Standard Version Chapter 18

John 18:36

36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.”

God does not want us to be naive as if the kingdom is fully here and God does not want us to be hopeless as if the kingdom has not yet begun.

The kingdom has come and is coming.

God will work his rescue not by obliterating the physical earth but by recreating it. Using humans, who are part of the problem as well as part of the solution, to bless, redeem, and restore.

We are not only watching God work in the future but we are participants in

So if we are to be participants in this, what are we going to experience now and what later?

A kingdom is a place where someone has rule or governance

God’s of the God’s kingdom

May your kingdom come, may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven

-God’s will is done in God’s kingdom

God’s kingdom is everlasting

portrays anticipation for the time when God will be worshiped in all the earth

Jesus ushered in this kingdom in a completely unheard of way

He:

announced that the kingdom came upon those whom he freed from demons

taught that it should be received like a child

the kingdom belongs to the lowly

In these he declares the kingdom is a PRESENT reality that could be experienced by those he taught and to whom he ministered

But Even Jesus describes parts of it left for the FUTURE

Luke 19:10–17 ESV

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. He said therefore, “A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Engage in business until I come.’ But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business. The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.’ And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’

shares the parable to his the disciples of a ruler who had to leave before he could return to his kingdom and left them with what good faithful servants should do in the mean time

Paul says that the kingdom is something to be Inherited

kingdom that will not perish

God’s kingdom exists in the “already but not yet”

Jesus initiated the kingdom on earth, wherever God’s will is carried out, the kingdom is a PRESENT reality

But also the kingdom as we see currently is not fully manifested as it will be. We feel the tension between the world around us and God’s kingdom. We still see unbelief and denial of God’s rule, brokenness and sin, telling us God’s will is not fully expressed.

Faithlife Study Bible The Kingdom of God: Already but Not Yet

A kingdom is a place where someone has rule or governance. The same is true of the kingdom of God. Jesus said in His prayer: “May your kingdom come, may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt 6:10). The kingdom of God is where God’s will is carried out.

The Old Testament theme of Yahweh’s rule and reign is another way of describing the kingdom of God. The psalmist speaks of Yahweh’s kingdom as an everlasting realm that endures throughout all generations (Psa 145:13). Isaiah declares that Yahweh will save (Isa 33:22) and speaks of a time when God will reign (Isa 52:7). The Old Testament portrays great anticipation for the time when God will be worshiped in all the earth (Isa 2).

During the first century AD, many Jews believed that the Messiah would initiate this reign, which was based on passages like Malachi 3:1–5; Zechariah 9:9–10; Isaiah 9:1–7; and Isaiah 52:13–53:12. They also believed that the kingdom would be established through political or military means (compare Matt 26:51–53; Luke 22:47–53)—but Jesus ushered in the kingdom in a radically unexpected way. He announced that the kingdom had come upon those whom He freed from demons (Matt 12:28); He taught that the kingdom should be received like a child (Mark 10:15) and explained that it belongs to the impoverished (Luke 6:20). Jesus declared the kingdom of God as a present reality that could be experienced by those He taught and to whom He ministered.

Jesus’ teaching also assumed the kingdom was a future reality. While His disciples expected the kingdom to appear immediately, Jesus changed their expectations by telling them a parable about a ruler who had to leave before he could return to his kingdom (Luke 19:11–27). He described what good and faithful servants could do in the meantime. Paul spoke of the kingdom as something that could be inherited (1 Cor 6:9–10) and that does not perish (1 Cor 15:50). These examples testify to the kingdom of God as a future reality.

To borrow the phrase made popular by George Eldon Ladd, the kingdom of God is “already/not yet.” God’s kingdom has a dual dimension. Jesus initiated the kingdom on earth, and wherever God’s will is carried out, the kingdom is a reality. The kingdom, however, had not been fully manifested in Jesus’ day—nor has it in ours. We do not yet live in a world where God’s will is a complete reality. We feel the tension of experiencing God’s kingdom in our lives and communities before it is fully realized. We still see unbelief, brokenness, and sin, telling us God’s will is not yet fully expressed.

Many believers neglect to focus on the kingdom as a present reality. Their concern centers on the future reality of getting to heaven—but this focus can easily sever the relationship between the Christian life and life here and now. When Jesus prayed, “May your kingdom come, may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt 6:10), He asked that God would bring the experience of heaven to earth. Through Jesus, God’s reign, rule, and power are available to us today, not just in the distant future. The present reality of the kingdom of God should prompt us to examine our lives and ask what areas we have not yet surrendered to God’s rule.

On a larger level, the notion of God’s kingdom should lead us to examine both our neighborhoods and the global community and ask what lies outside of God’s desire. Where are people not being treated with the dignity and honor they deserve as God’s image-bearers?

As we anticipate the time when all things will be made fully new (Rev 21:4–5), we can actively participate in the kingdom of God now (Matt 4:17). As we surrender to the reign of God, we will begin to experience the Kingdom of God now—as God’s will is done on earth as it is in heaven (Matt 6:9–15).