Easter – a time each year where were celebrate the resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ! It is preceded by Good Friday, the day we observe as the day that Jesus went to the cross and was crucified. Yes, I realize this year taking time to recognize and celebrate these incredibly important days will look different for all of us. We will not be able to come as the body of Christ to reflect and praise the Lord together. As your pastor, I want you to take time this weekend to read and reflect on Colossians 2:6-15.
This is a passage rich in identity truths – our new status as followers of Christ. Yes, we celebrate the resurrection of Christ because of His victory over sin and death. But look closer at this passage to learn of some of the specifics that we benefit from because of what Christ did for us.
First, note verses 2:6-7 (ESV) “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.” Paul is exhorting those who have received Christ as Savior to “walk in Him” – go forward in this new life by the power of the Holy Spirit that lives within you. As believers we should draw our new life change from the strength Christ provides.
You will note that this passage is not about what we ‘do’ to be saved, but what Christ did for us. You have heard me say, “Grace is opposed to earning, but not opposed to effort – just don’t trust your effort.” Yes, our salvation is by grace, through faith in what Christ did for us. We cannot earn it. It is a gift freely given to those who trust Christ’s provision for salvation. But as Paul states, “so walk in Him.” We must choose to walk in the truth of the gospel in response to receiving Christ as Savior.
Paul goes on to use the phrase “in Him” to describe our new union with Christ. When we have received Christ as Savior, we are “in Him” – in union with Christ. And because of this new identity in Christ, life is lived differently. Paul therefore warns them to not be deceived by those who will attempt to ‘add to’ – tack on requirements to the faith.
Paul goes on to say that in Christ we have everything needed for salvation and living in the faith. Verses 9-10 (ESV) tell us “For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.” Paul is telling us that not only is Christ God, but that in this new union we are complete in Him – we have everything we need for salvation and living this new life. What does this mean? We lack nothing. Everything we need to live “in Him” has been provided for by Him! No one or nothing else has the keys to this life. Jesus is life!
Paul then ends verse 10 with the phrase “who is the head of all rule and authority.” Jesus is greater, is the top authority over all! Verses 11-14 continue to describe what Jesus accomplished on the cross for us. Not only did He overcome death and the grave, but because He was raised from the dead, we too who have received Christ are no longer dead in our sin! God made us alive in Christ! 
I want you to note verse 15. It is the key to all the rest of what Paul is writing here. “He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.” Why? Let me share a good explanation from pastor, Steven Wedgeworth:
Colossians 2:15 is speaking of “Christ’s victorious work on the cross. In the prior verses, Paul speaks about the “legal debt” sinners were under. Christ has now “set this aside” by “nailing it to the cross” (Col. 2:14). Because of this, no one can condemn us (Col. 2:16). This is how Jesus has disarmed the powers. He has taken away Satan’s power to hold sinners to the debt of their sins and trespasses. Indeed, accusation is the chief activity for Satan. Satan attempted to use the demands of the law to destroy God’s people. But Christ, in taking the law’s curse on himself (Gal. 3:13), has wrested this weapon from Satan. He has disarmed him and triumphed over all the forces of evil precisely in his sacrificial death on the cross.
Did you get that? Evil no longer has any power over a child of God because Christ has disarmed it! Yes, Christians have struggles and battles with sin. But because of Christ’s divine authority and His victory on the cross we have provision to be free from sin that we get tangled up in. We do not have to live in the grasp of sin. We are no longer condemned by our sin! Jesus has provided for our forgiveness and freedom! This provision by Christ should be enough fuel needed to live our lives in Christ!
This Easter celebrate the victory we have in Christ. We can be free from the power of sin. We must choose to walk in the truth; confess, repent, believe, seek, listen, obey, and devote ourselves to Christ. Not to earn our salvation, but to enjoy the grace that God has provided for our salvation!
Praise His Name! He is risen! He is risen indeed!
Walking with you,
Pastor Brian