WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:09.540 All right, we're going to read together from Paul's letter to the Colossians, and we're in chapter 2, verses 8 to 15. 00:00:16.539 --> 00:00:17.320 ! 00:00:17.320 --> 00:00:18.740 And this is the word of the Lord. 00:00:21.740 --> 00:00:29.839 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the 00:00:29.839 --> 00:00:42.899 elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. 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. 00:00:44.100 --> 00:00:55.600 In Him also you are circumcised with a circumcision made without hands by putting off the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with Him in baptism, 00:00:55.600 --> 00:01:03.539 in which you were also raised with Him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised Him from the dead. 00:01:04.560 --> 00:01:14.719 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 00:01:15.260 --> 00:01:18.719 by canceling the record of death that stood against us with its legal demands. 00:01:18.719 --> 00:01:23.459 This He set aside, nailing it to the cross. 00:01:24.280 --> 00:01:31.780 He disarmed the rulers and authorities, and He put them to open shame by triumphing over them in Him. 00:01:32.340 --> 00:01:34.219 This is God's holy word. 00:01:34.219 --> 00:01:41.659 So we've been working for a few weeks now through the book of Colossians on Sunday evenings, 00:01:41.659 --> 00:01:50.900 and one of the themes that we've seen coming through in this book over and over again is the supremacy and the sufficiency, the complete sufficiency of Jesus Christ. 00:01:51.519 --> 00:02:02.439 Paul's writing to a church that are being tempted by teachings that are promising things not in line with the gospel. 00:02:02.439 --> 00:02:14.020 It's not necessarily that these people are teaching that Jesus should be abandoned or that Jesus is not worthy of praise. 00:02:14.180 --> 00:02:19.500 It seems to be more subtle teaching that these people are receiving. 00:02:19.620 --> 00:02:26.159 It feels as though the false teachers are teaching that you do need Jesus, but you need something else as well. 00:02:26.280 --> 00:02:28.620 Jesus on His own is not quite enough. 00:02:28.620 --> 00:02:36.860 You need Jesus and something else, some additional spiritual knowledge, some extra religious practices. 00:02:37.740 --> 00:02:43.460 If you really want to experience the fullness of what it means to have life with God. 00:02:44.319 --> 00:02:49.640 So maybe we read about these Colossian Christians and we shake our head and we go, guys, come on, don't think about it. 00:02:49.639 --> 00:02:58.519 But I think the truth is that this is the oldest temptation that there is, that fullness lies somewhere else outside of what God's given to us. 00:02:58.599 --> 00:03:03.399 Even today in Edinburgh in 2026, it hasn't disappeared. 00:03:03.559 --> 00:03:08.619 We live in a world that's full of promises, things that are going to help make us whole, 00:03:08.859 --> 00:03:15.579 things that are going to help us move beyond the basic understanding that we have and achieve something else. 00:03:15.580 --> 00:03:23.340 So maybe we think that these messages are for people who are easily dissuaded. 00:03:24.080 --> 00:03:28.220 But actually, when we think about it, we're bombarded with these messages all the time. 00:03:29.000 --> 00:03:33.280 The right relationship is going to make you be able to deliver a better life. 00:03:33.500 --> 00:03:38.220 The right financial security is going to put you in a place where you can serve the church better. 00:03:38.219 --> 00:03:43.180 The most fulfilling experiences that you can have are going to make you a whole person. 00:03:44.240 --> 00:03:47.740 The true version of yourself, the person inside that you know that you really are, 00:03:47.800 --> 00:03:51.819 that's who you have to be in order to live the life that you're meant to live. 00:03:52.259 --> 00:03:54.479 And that's how you're going to be able to be fulfilled. 00:03:54.759 --> 00:03:57.419 That's how you're able to be the best version of yourself. 00:03:58.680 --> 00:04:03.340 And the thing is that it's not just out there in the world that these things crop up. 00:04:03.340 --> 00:04:08.319 Because even inside churches, very often we're tempted to think that, yes, we know Jesus, 00:04:08.460 --> 00:04:10.360 but there must be something more that we can have. 00:04:10.420 --> 00:04:13.900 There must be a spiritual experience that we're waiting to enjoy. 00:04:14.500 --> 00:04:17.639 There must be something that we can add, maybe through our performance, 00:04:18.139 --> 00:04:21.420 that's going to make us feel like full-up Christians, completed. 00:04:22.620 --> 00:04:25.560 Well, Paul shows us that we do need something. 00:04:26.180 --> 00:04:27.740 He uses something truly wonderful. 00:04:27.740 --> 00:04:34.439 Well, everything that we need for our salvation and life with God is found in Jesus Christ. 00:04:35.319 --> 00:04:37.340 It's not Jesus and something else. 00:04:37.420 --> 00:04:39.259 It's not Jesus and human wisdom. 00:04:39.420 --> 00:04:43.100 It's not Jesus and particular patterns of behavior. 00:04:43.500 --> 00:04:45.500 It's not good religious traditions. 00:04:46.340 --> 00:04:47.139 It's Jesus. 00:04:48.160 --> 00:04:52.759 Now, Paul says the solution to our mentality of and Jesus, 00:04:52.759 --> 00:04:57.699 something and Jesus is to remember the reality of in Jesus. 00:04:58.779 --> 00:05:02.959 We can combat and Christ by remembering we're in Christ. 00:05:04.019 --> 00:05:07.240 In verses 9 and 10, as Paul puts it, he says, 00:05:07.339 --> 00:05:10.139 for in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 00:05:10.839 --> 00:05:14.620 and you've been filled in him who's the head of all rule and authority. 00:05:15.459 --> 00:05:17.000 So if you were here a couple of weeks ago, 00:05:17.099 --> 00:05:20.019 we read when we preached through chapter 1, 00:05:20.019 --> 00:05:23.240 we arrived at verses 15 to 20. 00:05:23.399 --> 00:05:25.279 We call that sometimes the Christ hymn. 00:05:25.599 --> 00:05:28.199 And the language here is really similar. 00:05:28.339 --> 00:05:29.799 It says almost the same thing. 00:05:30.359 --> 00:05:32.279 Verse 19 of chapter 1 says, 00:05:32.399 --> 00:05:35.060 in him the fullness of God was pleased to dwell. 00:05:35.620 --> 00:05:38.620 So it's almost like Paul's circling back in his argument 00:05:38.620 --> 00:05:42.019 and getting back to the same idea of Christ's fullness. 00:05:42.819 --> 00:05:45.339 But as we're going to see when we look at the passage together tonight, 00:05:45.419 --> 00:05:48.419 he actually adds something else to his comment there. 00:05:48.919 --> 00:05:49.839 Something incredible. 00:05:50.319 --> 00:05:53.219 It's something that I think is really important for us to grasp. 00:05:53.379 --> 00:05:57.339 So let's first of all look at the verses 8 to 10 00:05:57.339 --> 00:05:59.279 and see that Paul tells us, 00:06:00.279 --> 00:06:03.839 don't let emptiness capture your fullness. 00:06:04.979 --> 00:06:07.339 So verse 8 begins, and this is a warning. 00:06:08.639 --> 00:06:09.680 He says, see to it, 00:06:10.079 --> 00:06:13.359 that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit 00:06:13.359 --> 00:06:14.919 according to human tradition, 00:06:15.519 --> 00:06:17.199 according to the elemental spirits of the world, 00:06:17.240 --> 00:06:18.979 and not according to Christ. 00:06:18.980 --> 00:06:20.680 So Paul says, see to it. 00:06:20.720 --> 00:06:23.379 That means be on your guard, beware, pay attention. 00:06:24.100 --> 00:06:25.660 Don't assume that because you're a Christian, 00:06:26.000 --> 00:06:27.259 you're immune to deception. 00:06:28.360 --> 00:06:29.860 And notice that the language he uses, 00:06:30.180 --> 00:06:31.780 he says, takes you captive. 00:06:32.819 --> 00:06:36.000 This isn't a picture of someone offering you an alternative truth. 00:06:36.000 --> 00:06:39.899 That word is about being stolen away, 00:06:40.819 --> 00:06:44.060 or it's got roots tied to being plundered. 00:06:44.980 --> 00:06:49.399 This is ideas that can kidnap you from the life that you're living in Christ, 00:06:49.600 --> 00:06:51.600 snatched away from the freedom that you have in Jesus. 00:06:51.600 --> 00:06:55.800 Imagine a pirate ship pulling up beside a merchant vessel 00:06:55.800 --> 00:06:59.680 and overpowering the crew and carrying away its cargo. 00:06:59.800 --> 00:07:03.360 That's the kind of idea, I think, that comes across in the language here. 00:07:04.180 --> 00:07:06.460 And that's what Paul's saying that these false teachers are doing, 00:07:07.000 --> 00:07:09.520 not with ships, not with cutlasses, 00:07:09.920 --> 00:07:13.160 but with empty philosophy. 00:07:13.160 --> 00:07:15.939 He says that they're promising treasure, 00:07:16.520 --> 00:07:17.700 but they're robbing us, 00:07:18.380 --> 00:07:22.320 robbing these Colossian Christians of what's truly valuable. 00:07:22.900 --> 00:07:24.040 He calls it empty deception. 00:07:24.240 --> 00:07:26.160 He uses the word philosophy. 00:07:27.240 --> 00:07:29.440 It's not condemning philosophy in general. 00:07:29.600 --> 00:07:34.200 This is not that Christians should not think big thoughts about the world 00:07:34.200 --> 00:07:36.000 and ask difficult questions. 00:07:36.060 --> 00:07:38.360 It's not what he's saying here, I don't think. 00:07:39.100 --> 00:07:41.260 He's saying that the problem is the philosophy 00:07:41.259 --> 00:07:44.800 that Paul's talking about here, the ideas that Paul's addressing, 00:07:45.879 --> 00:07:48.139 are according to human tradition. 00:07:48.639 --> 00:07:52.879 So maybe that's a reference to Jewish Christians 00:07:52.879 --> 00:07:57.519 putting Old Testament emphasis on new Christians coming in. 00:07:57.579 --> 00:07:59.159 We'll maybe see a hint of that in a little while. 00:07:59.740 --> 00:08:03.159 And he says this philosophy is according to the elemental spirits of the world. 00:08:03.500 --> 00:08:06.399 So that phrase has taken up a lot of ink in a lot of books 00:08:06.399 --> 00:08:10.379 of people trying to work out exactly what they're saying here. 00:08:10.379 --> 00:08:14.719 But Paul's chief concern is not about the philosophy itself, 00:08:15.420 --> 00:08:17.019 rather the one that it's not. 00:08:18.199 --> 00:08:21.579 Because he says it's not according to Christ. 00:08:22.060 --> 00:08:27.040 Whatever the precise combination of ideas and thoughts 00:08:27.040 --> 00:08:30.319 and alternative arguments, the cultural influences maybe 00:08:30.319 --> 00:08:33.580 that lay behind what these Colossian Christians are being taught 00:08:33.580 --> 00:08:34.700 by false teachers, 00:08:34.700 --> 00:08:39.520 its source and its standard are not Jesus. 00:08:40.920 --> 00:08:43.800 They're pirate copies of the real truth. 00:08:44.759 --> 00:08:46.140 And counterfeits are dangerous 00:08:46.140 --> 00:08:49.879 because counterfeits resemble the real thing. 00:08:51.200 --> 00:08:54.520 Nobody tries to pass off a piece of paper 00:08:54.520 --> 00:08:58.879 with like 10 pounds and a squiggle on it as real money. 00:08:58.960 --> 00:09:00.620 You have to make it look like the real thing. 00:09:01.460 --> 00:09:03.420 And I think this is what we're getting here. 00:09:03.419 --> 00:09:05.240 People are saying things that are convincing 00:09:05.240 --> 00:09:07.500 because they look as though they could be truth. 00:09:08.699 --> 00:09:09.740 Fundamentally, they're worthless. 00:09:11.779 --> 00:09:14.819 Why is it that these Colossian Christians were tempted 00:09:14.819 --> 00:09:20.279 by ideas that were eventually and ultimately empty? 00:09:20.559 --> 00:09:23.579 Why is it that human beings are tempted at all by emptiness? 00:09:25.339 --> 00:09:29.019 Well, is it because we find it hard to believe? 00:09:29.019 --> 00:09:32.039 For us even tonight, do we find it hard to believe 00:09:32.039 --> 00:09:33.879 that God has already given us everything 00:09:33.879 --> 00:09:37.120 that we need as Christians in Jesus? 00:09:38.579 --> 00:09:40.759 Because this is the oldest temptation that there is. 00:09:40.819 --> 00:09:43.699 This is the oldest temptation that we can read about in the Bible. 00:09:44.399 --> 00:09:45.480 You think back to the garden, 00:09:45.879 --> 00:09:47.939 the serpent came in and he said to Adam and Eve, 00:09:48.659 --> 00:09:50.279 he didn't say God doesn't exist. 00:09:50.519 --> 00:09:52.740 He didn't say something completely different 00:09:52.740 --> 00:09:54.680 to what they already knew was true. 00:09:55.680 --> 00:09:59.320 But he said, is that really what God said? 00:09:59.840 --> 00:10:01.840 And he said, you'll be like God's. 00:10:02.360 --> 00:10:05.419 He presented an argument that seemed to be in line with the truth. 00:10:05.960 --> 00:10:07.940 And even although ultimately it was a lie, 00:10:09.220 --> 00:10:11.080 the temptation that there was something more, 00:10:11.180 --> 00:10:14.279 something beyond what God had already given to them. 00:10:14.279 --> 00:10:16.699 And we've been listening, 00:10:16.819 --> 00:10:19.980 human beings have been listening to that same lie ever since. 00:10:21.319 --> 00:10:24.819 So we can see it all through the Old Testament 00:10:24.819 --> 00:10:29.740 where the Israelites would follow God, 00:10:29.819 --> 00:10:31.620 they would obey God, be obedient to him, 00:10:31.879 --> 00:10:32.919 worship him in the way that was right, 00:10:32.959 --> 00:10:33.720 and things would go well, 00:10:33.740 --> 00:10:34.579 and then they would fall away 00:10:34.579 --> 00:10:36.240 and they'd be culturally influenced 00:10:36.240 --> 00:10:37.500 by the people around about them. 00:10:38.620 --> 00:10:40.559 So we're not, I'm not trying to say that we are, 00:10:40.799 --> 00:10:42.399 today in Edinburgh, we're going to melt our gold 00:10:42.399 --> 00:10:43.720 and we're going to make a golden calf. 00:10:44.279 --> 00:10:46.319 But we have to be careful that we're not tempted 00:10:46.319 --> 00:10:48.639 to stray away from the truth of the gospel 00:10:48.639 --> 00:10:49.699 that's presented to us. 00:10:50.959 --> 00:10:56.559 We can be convinced that the things that we need in our lives, 00:10:57.639 --> 00:11:00.059 that accompany, that are blessings from God, 00:11:00.419 --> 00:11:01.559 are things that we need in our lives 00:11:01.559 --> 00:11:04.659 in order to have a full life, to be a full Christian. 00:11:05.139 --> 00:11:06.279 What do I mean by that? 00:11:06.699 --> 00:11:09.819 Well, I mean that it's easy for us to convince ourselves 00:11:09.819 --> 00:11:13.439 that what we need to do is work really hard 00:11:13.440 --> 00:11:16.020 in order to build financial stability 00:11:16.020 --> 00:11:19.060 so that then we'll be able to live our life for Jesus. 00:11:19.620 --> 00:11:22.500 Or what we need to do is seek really hard, 00:11:22.600 --> 00:11:24.680 to find the perfect partner 00:11:24.680 --> 00:11:26.980 so that we can then feel settled 00:11:26.980 --> 00:11:28.140 and then we can live our lives 00:11:28.140 --> 00:11:29.720 and devote ourselves to the church. 00:11:31.000 --> 00:11:34.480 We can tell ourselves that we're really ready to commit 00:11:34.480 --> 00:11:39.480 in generosity, in relationship, in service, 00:11:39.480 --> 00:11:43.340 once we're settled and once everything has been put in place. 00:11:44.320 --> 00:11:46.120 Of course our works matters. 00:11:46.340 --> 00:11:47.539 Of course our work's really important. 00:11:47.539 --> 00:11:50.919 But there's a world of difference 00:11:50.919 --> 00:11:53.500 between receiving these things as precious gifts from God 00:11:53.500 --> 00:11:56.779 and thinking about these things as the missing ingredient 00:11:56.779 --> 00:11:59.500 that's stopping us live our life for Christ. 00:12:00.539 --> 00:12:04.519 And we can do the same thing with our spirituality as well. 00:12:05.339 --> 00:12:07.839 So we're often tempted to think we need to, 00:12:08.039 --> 00:12:12.620 we come to church and we don't feel on fire in our hearts. 00:12:13.360 --> 00:12:15.419 When we sing, sometimes we come in 00:12:15.419 --> 00:12:17.600 and those words are not speaking to us 00:12:17.600 --> 00:12:18.460 like they have in the past 00:12:18.460 --> 00:12:19.840 and we think there's something missing, 00:12:19.919 --> 00:12:20.860 I've lacked something. 00:12:21.500 --> 00:12:22.720 God's not with me today. 00:12:23.379 --> 00:12:24.460 That's not the case. 00:12:24.919 --> 00:12:26.919 When you're in Christ, you have everything you could need. 00:12:27.039 --> 00:12:27.940 God is always present, 00:12:28.519 --> 00:12:32.080 even when our hearts don't feel warm towards him. 00:12:33.940 --> 00:12:34.860 So what's the answer? 00:12:35.460 --> 00:12:39.120 Well, the answer for Paul is to look to Jesus 00:12:39.120 --> 00:12:40.639 because in verse nine he says, 00:12:40.639 --> 00:12:44.460 for in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily. 00:12:45.199 --> 00:12:46.419 So this is the same thing, 00:12:46.699 --> 00:12:49.779 very similar words that Paul uses in chapter one. 00:12:50.399 --> 00:12:53.600 The whole fullness of God dwells bodily in Christ. 00:12:53.779 --> 00:12:56.340 The eternal son of God truly became man 00:12:56.340 --> 00:12:59.819 and he became man in the incarnate Jesus. 00:13:01.319 --> 00:13:04.259 There's no other mediator who can bring us to God. 00:13:04.899 --> 00:13:07.360 There's no spiritual fullness to be found beyond him. 00:13:07.360 --> 00:13:11.600 But then, so we've heard that before in chapter one, 00:13:11.680 --> 00:13:13.940 verse 19, but then this is the thing that Paul adds 00:13:13.940 --> 00:13:16.100 and it's something astonishing, I think. 00:13:16.759 --> 00:13:19.600 He says, the whole fullness of God is in Jesus 00:13:19.600 --> 00:13:23.539 and then he adds, and you have been filled in him. 00:13:24.519 --> 00:13:28.279 So that fullness, the fullness that dwells in Christ 00:13:28.279 --> 00:13:32.080 is the fullness in which we live. 00:13:32.080 --> 00:13:34.620 So what's Paul not saying? 00:13:34.700 --> 00:13:38.639 Paul's not saying that because the full deity of God 00:13:38.639 --> 00:13:42.060 dwells in Jesus, that we will become gods. 00:13:42.120 --> 00:13:43.220 That's not what he's saying at all. 00:13:43.940 --> 00:13:45.940 He's saying that in Jesus, in Christ, 00:13:46.580 --> 00:13:49.700 we lack nothing that we need for our salvation 00:13:49.700 --> 00:13:52.879 and for our reconciliation with God the Father. 00:13:53.720 --> 00:13:57.580 We've been brought into the richest of relationships with God 00:13:57.580 --> 00:14:02.280 through the one in whom all the fullness of God dwells. 00:14:03.160 --> 00:14:04.980 And notice too that this is past tense, 00:14:05.280 --> 00:14:06.460 something that's already happened. 00:14:07.180 --> 00:14:10.560 If you're a believer, you have been filled in him. 00:14:11.520 --> 00:14:13.800 So it's not a prize that you might attain 00:14:13.800 --> 00:14:14.720 if you work really hard. 00:14:15.300 --> 00:14:17.879 If you become a sufficiently proficient Christian, 00:14:19.160 --> 00:14:22.980 even although you feel tonight incredibly weak spiritually, 00:14:22.980 --> 00:14:25.779 you might struggle with doubt. 00:14:26.899 --> 00:14:28.300 You might look around the room 00:14:28.300 --> 00:14:30.700 and see all the better Christians than you are. 00:14:32.480 --> 00:14:35.539 You might see, you might be walked in with doubts, 00:14:35.560 --> 00:14:38.000 even in your mind as you're walking in the door 00:14:38.000 --> 00:14:39.879 about Christ, about who God is, 00:14:39.920 --> 00:14:41.240 about what he wants for your life. 00:14:42.500 --> 00:14:44.039 But you can rest assured 00:14:44.039 --> 00:14:49.080 that your ability to feel spiritually full 00:14:49.080 --> 00:14:51.740 is different from God's assurance 00:14:51.740 --> 00:14:56.360 that you are spiritually full through Jesus. 00:14:57.060 --> 00:14:59.279 Because it rests on the fullness of Christ 00:14:59.279 --> 00:15:02.399 and being united with him. 00:15:03.840 --> 00:15:07.519 So Paul's not saying that because we dwell in Christ, 00:15:07.940 --> 00:15:10.620 we have fullness and therefore we have no worries. 00:15:10.700 --> 00:15:11.759 That's not what he's saying. 00:15:12.820 --> 00:15:14.200 And he's also not saying that 00:15:14.200 --> 00:15:16.799 because we have got fullness in Christ, 00:15:16.919 --> 00:15:19.279 there's no room for growth for us as Christians. 00:15:19.279 --> 00:15:22.679 But he's saying that we don't need anything else 00:15:22.679 --> 00:15:27.399 in order to complete what Christ has already begun inside us. 00:15:28.059 --> 00:15:31.559 The answer to any feelings of spiritual inadequacy 00:15:31.559 --> 00:15:32.699 that you might have tonight, 00:15:33.259 --> 00:15:36.139 it's not to find something to add to Jesus. 00:15:37.519 --> 00:15:40.419 It's to see more clearly the Jesus that you already have. 00:15:40.419 --> 00:15:45.719 And then as if Paul's anticipating the question 00:15:45.719 --> 00:15:48.919 from the Colossian Christians asking him, 00:15:49.019 --> 00:15:52.000 how can you say that we've been filled in Christ? 00:15:52.500 --> 00:15:53.740 This is our second point. 00:15:54.279 --> 00:15:58.259 Paul tells them they've been cut off and raised up. 00:15:58.519 --> 00:16:00.179 So we look at verse 11 together. 00:16:00.740 --> 00:16:01.139 Paul says, 00:16:01.139 --> 00:16:12.220 So maybe when Corey was reading through that, 00:16:12.620 --> 00:16:14.439 we got to this bit about circumcision 00:16:14.439 --> 00:16:16.220 and you felt like it came completely out of the blue. 00:16:16.980 --> 00:16:19.460 But I think the central idea is actually pretty amazing. 00:16:20.519 --> 00:16:23.460 So Paul takes the Old Testament sign of circumcision 00:16:23.460 --> 00:16:27.419 and he shows us that even although that for centuries, 00:16:27.419 --> 00:16:30.740 this was the covenant marker of God's people, 00:16:30.819 --> 00:16:32.079 the sign of God's people, 00:16:32.740 --> 00:16:36.740 it was always pointing to something greater than itself. 00:16:37.679 --> 00:16:39.339 The Old Testament teaches us that. 00:16:40.179 --> 00:16:45.339 God commanded all the males of the children of Israel to be, 00:16:45.699 --> 00:16:49.860 he told Abraham they were to be circumcised in their flesh. 00:16:50.799 --> 00:16:52.779 But God in the Old Testament, 00:16:52.939 --> 00:16:53.799 even in the Old Testament, 00:16:53.899 --> 00:16:55.240 even although this was the sign, 00:16:55.240 --> 00:16:59.080 he called his people to be circumcised in their hearts, 00:16:59.639 --> 00:17:03.539 to turn from sin and to love the Lord their God. 00:17:03.820 --> 00:17:05.799 Deuteronomy chapter 30 verse 6, 00:17:06.460 --> 00:17:09.680 it promises that the Lord himself 00:17:09.680 --> 00:17:12.660 will circumcise the hearts of his people 00:17:12.660 --> 00:17:17.059 so that they will love him and live. 00:17:17.620 --> 00:17:21.200 So this physical sign pointed beyond itself 00:17:21.200 --> 00:17:22.980 to something deeper, 00:17:22.980 --> 00:17:24.519 to a deeper work of God. 00:17:25.240 --> 00:17:30.000 The minor surgery was always a sign of a coming heart surgery. 00:17:31.620 --> 00:17:32.519 And now Paul says, 00:17:33.500 --> 00:17:37.559 that promised reality has arrived in Christ. 00:17:38.500 --> 00:17:39.059 How? 00:17:39.880 --> 00:17:43.339 Well, because Christ was cut off for us. 00:17:44.279 --> 00:17:46.059 Jesus was circumcised on the eighth day, 00:17:46.620 --> 00:17:48.620 like all Jewish boys would have been. 00:17:48.720 --> 00:17:51.279 But I don't think it's referring to that here. 00:17:51.279 --> 00:17:53.519 I think this is about his death. 00:17:54.660 --> 00:17:56.039 Because at the cross, 00:17:56.099 --> 00:17:56.660 on the cross, 00:17:56.759 --> 00:17:57.879 Jesus was cut off. 00:17:58.779 --> 00:18:01.000 His body was given over to suffering 00:18:01.000 --> 00:18:03.180 and to death for his people. 00:18:04.539 --> 00:18:05.859 But his death, 00:18:05.940 --> 00:18:07.920 it wasn't an example of love. 00:18:08.740 --> 00:18:11.519 It wasn't an unfortunate circumstance 00:18:11.519 --> 00:18:12.819 of human events. 00:18:13.779 --> 00:18:15.339 He died as our substitute. 00:18:15.500 --> 00:18:16.599 He died in our place. 00:18:16.599 --> 00:18:19.379 He bore the judgment that our sin deserved. 00:18:20.519 --> 00:18:21.719 He entered into death 00:18:21.719 --> 00:18:23.559 so that those who belonged to him 00:18:23.559 --> 00:18:25.519 might be delivered from sin 00:18:25.519 --> 00:18:27.379 and brought into new life. 00:18:28.219 --> 00:18:29.959 The physical sign of the old covenant 00:18:29.959 --> 00:18:33.439 had pointed forward to this great work of God 00:18:33.439 --> 00:18:37.919 by which his people would be cleansed 00:18:37.920 --> 00:18:39.600 and set apart for him. 00:18:41.220 --> 00:18:41.680 And now, 00:18:41.880 --> 00:18:43.820 in the death and resurrection of Jesus, 00:18:44.680 --> 00:18:46.200 the promised saviour has arrived. 00:18:47.980 --> 00:18:49.680 We don't need to add 00:18:49.680 --> 00:18:51.160 the old covenant sign 00:18:51.160 --> 00:18:53.680 of circumcision in the flesh 00:18:53.680 --> 00:18:55.680 to the circumcision of the heart, 00:18:56.000 --> 00:18:59.240 which is made real in Christ. 00:19:00.120 --> 00:19:01.960 The reality to which that is always pointed 00:19:01.960 --> 00:19:02.600 has come true. 00:19:03.500 --> 00:19:04.580 And Paul makes something else clear. 00:19:05.180 --> 00:19:07.140 This circumcision is made without hands. 00:19:07.920 --> 00:19:09.920 So being brought into new life 00:19:09.920 --> 00:19:11.600 is not something that we can accomplish 00:19:11.600 --> 00:19:12.560 for ourselves. 00:19:13.240 --> 00:19:15.300 This is a hands-free operation. 00:19:15.460 --> 00:19:16.500 It's God at work. 00:19:17.820 --> 00:19:19.240 You need God to do for you 00:19:19.240 --> 00:19:20.680 what you cannot do for yourself. 00:19:22.279 --> 00:19:23.740 And then Paul continues in verse 12. 00:19:23.880 --> 00:19:24.100 He says, 00:19:24.200 --> 00:19:25.600 having been buried with him in baptism, 00:19:26.160 --> 00:19:27.580 in which you were also raised with him 00:19:27.580 --> 00:19:29.840 through faith in the powerful working of God 00:19:29.840 --> 00:19:31.560 who raised him from the dead. 00:19:32.519 --> 00:19:34.000 And notice the repeated words. 00:19:34.279 --> 00:19:34.800 He says, 00:19:34.960 --> 00:19:35.380 with him, 00:19:35.700 --> 00:19:36.380 buried with him, 00:19:36.600 --> 00:19:37.580 raised with him. 00:19:38.700 --> 00:19:42.200 Paul is describing our union with Christ, 00:19:42.360 --> 00:19:43.340 our union with Jesus, 00:19:43.800 --> 00:19:45.720 directing attention to the powerful work 00:19:45.720 --> 00:19:47.880 that God's done 00:19:47.880 --> 00:19:50.940 and that we receive through faith. 00:19:52.560 --> 00:19:53.660 And when you think about it, 00:19:53.660 --> 00:19:55.080 what a contrast he has here 00:19:55.080 --> 00:19:56.560 in the context of his letter 00:19:56.560 --> 00:19:58.060 to these false teachers 00:19:58.060 --> 00:20:02.140 who are giving empty messages 00:20:02.140 --> 00:20:05.140 to the people of the church in Colossae. 00:20:05.140 --> 00:20:06.640 The false teachers are saying 00:20:06.640 --> 00:20:08.580 there's something more that you need to achieve 00:20:08.580 --> 00:20:11.180 or something more that can be achieved. 00:20:11.920 --> 00:20:13.320 But Paul's telling the Colossians 00:20:13.320 --> 00:20:14.600 that their salvation rests 00:20:14.600 --> 00:20:17.020 on something that God's already done. 00:20:18.460 --> 00:20:20.480 And there's incredible reassurance for us 00:20:20.480 --> 00:20:22.720 in that because our salvation rests 00:20:22.720 --> 00:20:24.480 on God's promises 00:20:24.480 --> 00:20:28.519 and not on the changing temperature 00:20:28.519 --> 00:20:30.140 of our feelings. 00:20:30.700 --> 00:20:32.740 Some days when you feel strong in your faith, 00:20:33.339 --> 00:20:35.180 other days you feel distracted, 00:20:35.519 --> 00:20:36.019 discouraged, 00:20:36.680 --> 00:20:37.019 weak. 00:20:38.480 --> 00:20:40.880 Some days your sins come right up before you 00:20:40.880 --> 00:20:42.820 and you can see them so clearly 00:20:42.820 --> 00:20:45.040 and you feel the weight of guilt. 00:20:46.580 --> 00:20:47.460 But you see, 00:20:47.940 --> 00:20:49.120 your feelings matter, 00:20:49.420 --> 00:20:51.120 but they're not the foundation of your faith. 00:20:52.020 --> 00:20:54.200 The foundation of your faith 00:20:54.200 --> 00:20:56.320 is the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ 00:20:56.320 --> 00:20:57.820 and God's promise 00:20:57.820 --> 00:20:59.580 that those who trust in him 00:20:59.580 --> 00:21:00.880 are united to him. 00:21:02.140 --> 00:21:03.860 We've been cut off from the old life 00:21:03.860 --> 00:21:05.180 in Christ's death, 00:21:05.760 --> 00:21:07.100 raised up to new life 00:21:07.100 --> 00:21:08.380 through his resurrection. 00:21:08.380 --> 00:21:12.060 And then Paul's got something else 00:21:12.060 --> 00:21:13.740 extraordinary to tell us. 00:21:14.020 --> 00:21:14.560 So thirdly, 00:21:15.600 --> 00:21:17.780 Paul tells us the debt is paid 00:21:17.780 --> 00:21:20.020 and the enemy is disarmed. 00:21:20.840 --> 00:21:22.720 So in verses 13 to 15, 00:21:22.860 --> 00:21:24.440 Paul gives us three pictures. 00:21:24.600 --> 00:21:26.740 He talks about dead people being made alive, 00:21:27.440 --> 00:21:28.300 debts being cancelled 00:21:28.300 --> 00:21:30.460 and enemies disarmed. 00:21:31.560 --> 00:21:32.500 Verse 13 says, 00:21:33.020 --> 00:21:34.580 and you who were dead in your trespasses 00:21:34.580 --> 00:21:36.400 and the uncircumcision of your flesh, 00:21:36.400 --> 00:21:38.560 God made alive together with him, 00:21:38.980 --> 00:21:42.160 having forgiven us all our trespasses. 00:21:42.500 --> 00:21:43.980 So Paul reminds the Colossians 00:21:43.980 --> 00:21:47.060 of what they were before they knew Christ. 00:21:48.120 --> 00:21:50.040 Spiritually, they were dead. 00:21:50.960 --> 00:21:52.019 Dead people don't need 00:21:52.019 --> 00:21:53.440 a better philosophy for life. 00:21:54.600 --> 00:21:55.600 Dead people need resurrection. 00:21:56.780 --> 00:21:57.980 And that's what God has done. 00:21:57.980 --> 00:22:02.920 God made alive together with him. 00:22:03.620 --> 00:22:04.599 The end of, 00:22:05.140 --> 00:22:07.440 in the middle of verse 13 says, 00:22:08.180 --> 00:22:10.519 God who raised Jesus 00:22:10.519 --> 00:22:13.039 has made you alive in Christ 00:22:13.039 --> 00:22:14.039 when you put your faith in him. 00:22:14.279 --> 00:22:16.420 He's brought you from death to life. 00:22:17.740 --> 00:22:19.259 He's forgiven your sins. 00:22:19.779 --> 00:22:21.380 He's reconciled you to himself. 00:22:22.620 --> 00:22:24.019 And notice that Paul says, 00:22:24.519 --> 00:22:26.700 God's forgiven us all our trespasses, 00:22:26.700 --> 00:22:28.640 not just the respectable ones, 00:22:28.740 --> 00:22:29.580 not just the ones 00:22:29.580 --> 00:22:30.960 that were willing to admit 00:22:30.960 --> 00:22:32.240 to each other in church. 00:22:34.580 --> 00:22:35.980 Not all except the one 00:22:35.980 --> 00:22:36.920 that still haunts you, 00:22:37.440 --> 00:22:38.880 the thing that you did a long time ago 00:22:38.880 --> 00:22:39.600 when you can't sleep. 00:22:40.140 --> 00:22:40.960 All of them, 00:22:41.400 --> 00:22:41.860 everything, 00:22:42.100 --> 00:22:42.880 every wrongdoing, 00:22:43.860 --> 00:22:45.759 forgiven in Christ. 00:22:47.080 --> 00:22:48.460 And then in verse 14, 00:22:48.600 --> 00:22:50.140 Paul helps us see the reality 00:22:50.140 --> 00:22:50.980 of what this means. 00:22:51.539 --> 00:22:52.220 And it says, 00:22:52.299 --> 00:22:53.840 by cancelling the record of debt 00:22:53.840 --> 00:22:54.900 that stood against us 00:22:54.900 --> 00:22:55.960 with its legal demands, 00:22:55.960 --> 00:22:57.579 he set this aside, 00:22:58.220 --> 00:22:59.779 nailing it to the cross. 00:23:00.519 --> 00:23:01.660 Paul's using the language 00:23:01.660 --> 00:23:04.259 of financial debt here, 00:23:04.759 --> 00:23:05.660 a huge bill 00:23:05.660 --> 00:23:07.600 that you can't possibly pay. 00:23:08.360 --> 00:23:10.019 The creditor's got every right 00:23:10.019 --> 00:23:11.680 to demand payment from you, 00:23:12.440 --> 00:23:13.779 and you've got no way 00:23:13.779 --> 00:23:15.539 of meeting that demand. 00:23:16.579 --> 00:23:17.220 There's a picture 00:23:17.220 --> 00:23:19.299 of our guilt before God. 00:23:19.299 --> 00:23:22.240 We failed to love God 00:23:22.240 --> 00:23:22.980 with all our heart, 00:23:23.419 --> 00:23:24.639 with all our soul, 00:23:24.779 --> 00:23:25.039 mind, 00:23:25.079 --> 00:23:25.720 and strength. 00:23:26.799 --> 00:23:28.019 We don't love our neighbours 00:23:28.019 --> 00:23:29.399 in the way that we should. 00:23:30.799 --> 00:23:32.059 We sinned in the things 00:23:32.059 --> 00:23:32.680 that we've done, 00:23:32.919 --> 00:23:34.119 in the things that we've said, 00:23:34.680 --> 00:23:35.819 in the things that we thought. 00:23:36.779 --> 00:23:37.859 Even our desires 00:23:37.859 --> 00:23:41.539 go after wrong things. 00:23:42.180 --> 00:23:42.919 We're guilty. 00:23:42.920 --> 00:23:46.140 We can't simply erase it 00:23:46.140 --> 00:23:47.779 by promising to do better. 00:23:51.380 --> 00:23:52.539 Sometimes we might feel 00:23:52.539 --> 00:23:54.900 that we can work through it, 00:23:55.360 --> 00:23:56.200 through our performance. 00:23:57.800 --> 00:23:58.140 But, 00:23:58.800 --> 00:24:00.560 as if we could go to God 00:24:00.560 --> 00:24:00.900 and say, 00:24:01.019 --> 00:24:01.340 look, God, 00:24:01.400 --> 00:24:02.060 I'm really sorry, 00:24:02.140 --> 00:24:03.519 I'm going to try really hard 00:24:03.519 --> 00:24:04.759 not to do this anymore. 00:24:05.800 --> 00:24:06.840 And then we might think 00:24:06.840 --> 00:24:07.580 that God would say, 00:24:07.720 --> 00:24:07.960 okay, 00:24:08.240 --> 00:24:09.259 because you've worked so hard, 00:24:09.600 --> 00:24:10.400 I'll let it slide. 00:24:11.060 --> 00:24:12.080 Maybe we would find 00:24:12.080 --> 00:24:13.320 that attractive for ourselves. 00:24:13.640 --> 00:24:14.720 We would hate that 00:24:14.720 --> 00:24:15.840 if we saw it in other people 00:24:15.840 --> 00:24:17.220 because that's not justice, 00:24:17.320 --> 00:24:17.920 that's injustice. 00:24:18.759 --> 00:24:20.420 And we want a God of justice 00:24:20.420 --> 00:24:21.360 to rule over us. 00:24:22.640 --> 00:24:23.660 But listen to the words 00:24:23.660 --> 00:24:24.960 that Paul uses. 00:24:25.880 --> 00:24:26.340 He says, 00:24:26.480 --> 00:24:27.580 God has cancelled it 00:24:27.580 --> 00:24:29.340 by nailing it to the cross. 00:24:30.360 --> 00:24:30.920 I think there's 00:24:30.920 --> 00:24:32.660 a couple of different images here. 00:24:33.980 --> 00:24:35.300 A written bill of debt, 00:24:35.400 --> 00:24:38.180 so like the written bill 00:24:38.180 --> 00:24:39.280 that you have to pay. 00:24:39.279 --> 00:24:39.940 A written bill of debt, 00:24:39.940 --> 00:24:40.519 a written bill of debt, 00:24:40.519 --> 00:24:42.740 and then a titulus. 00:24:43.039 --> 00:24:44.480 You're allowed one Latin phrase 00:24:44.480 --> 00:24:45.160 per sermon. 00:24:46.200 --> 00:24:47.920 That is just a Latin word 00:24:47.920 --> 00:24:49.079 for a placard 00:24:49.079 --> 00:24:49.899 that would be, 00:24:50.700 --> 00:24:51.440 that would carry 00:24:51.440 --> 00:24:53.180 a guilty person's name 00:24:53.180 --> 00:24:53.839 and the crimes 00:24:53.839 --> 00:24:54.539 that they'd committed. 00:24:56.240 --> 00:24:56.940 They would carry, 00:24:57.019 --> 00:24:58.099 a prisoner would carry it, 00:24:58.240 --> 00:24:59.099 so if they were being crucified 00:24:59.099 --> 00:25:00.359 like Jesus was, 00:25:00.480 --> 00:25:01.680 the prisoner would carry it 00:25:01.680 --> 00:25:02.319 with their name, 00:25:02.579 --> 00:25:03.480 the thing that they did, 00:25:03.740 --> 00:25:04.599 and they would carry it 00:25:04.599 --> 00:25:05.240 to the cross. 00:25:05.839 --> 00:25:06.420 And then it would be 00:25:06.420 --> 00:25:07.139 hung above them 00:25:07.139 --> 00:25:08.519 as they died. 00:25:08.519 --> 00:25:10.079 This is who they are 00:25:10.079 --> 00:25:10.839 and this is what they've done. 00:25:12.779 --> 00:25:13.539 He's saying that 00:25:13.539 --> 00:25:14.720 when Jesus went to the cross, 00:25:15.299 --> 00:25:18.079 he carried the titulus 00:25:18.079 --> 00:25:20.220 with your sins with him. 00:25:21.960 --> 00:25:22.579 Do you remember 00:25:22.579 --> 00:25:23.759 that they hammered, 00:25:23.759 --> 00:25:25.500 they hammered a placard 00:25:25.500 --> 00:25:26.059 over Jesus 00:25:26.059 --> 00:25:26.799 and it said, 00:25:27.359 --> 00:25:27.980 King of the Jews. 00:25:30.359 --> 00:25:31.099 And the, 00:25:31.599 --> 00:25:32.660 your sins, 00:25:33.200 --> 00:25:34.079 your crimes 00:25:34.079 --> 00:25:34.660 were fixed 00:25:34.660 --> 00:25:35.579 to that cross too. 00:25:35.579 --> 00:25:37.399 only, 00:25:37.799 --> 00:25:38.399 your crimes 00:25:38.399 --> 00:25:39.220 weren't nailed 00:25:39.220 --> 00:25:40.519 to a cross, 00:25:41.299 --> 00:25:42.159 they were hammered 00:25:42.159 --> 00:25:42.799 into a man. 00:25:44.019 --> 00:25:44.659 On the cross, 00:25:44.759 --> 00:25:45.039 Jesus, 00:25:45.220 --> 00:25:45.919 the God man, 00:25:46.579 --> 00:25:47.899 he dealt decisively 00:25:47.899 --> 00:25:49.259 with the debt 00:25:49.259 --> 00:25:50.279 that you owed 00:25:50.279 --> 00:25:51.279 but could never repay. 00:25:52.779 --> 00:25:53.299 And he did it 00:25:53.299 --> 00:25:53.759 by bearing 00:25:53.759 --> 00:25:54.379 the punishment 00:25:54.379 --> 00:25:55.119 for your sins 00:25:55.119 --> 00:25:55.879 in his own body. 00:25:57.980 --> 00:25:58.220 Look, 00:25:58.240 --> 00:25:59.000 if you're here tonight 00:25:59.000 --> 00:26:00.119 and you're looking 00:26:00.119 --> 00:26:00.559 for something 00:26:00.559 --> 00:26:01.439 to deal with 00:26:01.439 --> 00:26:02.519 the deepest problems 00:26:02.519 --> 00:26:03.659 between you 00:26:03.660 --> 00:26:04.180 and God, 00:26:04.900 --> 00:26:05.960 you need to get this. 00:26:06.940 --> 00:26:08.220 We're all guilty sinners. 00:26:09.340 --> 00:26:10.660 We can't pay off 00:26:10.660 --> 00:26:11.560 the debt of our sin 00:26:11.560 --> 00:26:12.200 through our behaviour. 00:26:13.779 --> 00:26:14.759 We can't do it 00:26:14.759 --> 00:26:15.800 through years 00:26:15.800 --> 00:26:17.120 of perfect church attendance, 00:26:17.440 --> 00:26:19.300 by serving more faithfully, 00:26:19.380 --> 00:26:20.259 by giving the church 00:26:20.259 --> 00:26:20.920 more of our money. 00:26:21.900 --> 00:26:22.759 We can't do it 00:26:22.759 --> 00:26:23.480 by trying to become 00:26:23.480 --> 00:26:24.240 a better person. 00:26:26.279 --> 00:26:27.380 Those might be good things, 00:26:27.460 --> 00:26:28.300 those are good things, 00:26:29.240 --> 00:26:30.220 but they can't atone 00:26:30.220 --> 00:26:30.640 for sin, 00:26:30.759 --> 00:26:32.080 only Jesus can do that. 00:26:32.079 --> 00:26:34.000 And what Paul's saying 00:26:34.000 --> 00:26:34.980 in these verses 00:26:34.980 --> 00:26:36.000 is that only Jesus 00:26:36.000 --> 00:26:36.599 can do it 00:26:36.599 --> 00:26:39.240 and Jesus has done it. 00:26:41.039 --> 00:26:41.899 And just think about 00:26:41.899 --> 00:26:42.399 what that means 00:26:42.399 --> 00:26:43.220 for our conscience. 00:26:45.299 --> 00:26:45.980 The guilt 00:26:45.980 --> 00:26:46.720 that you're carrying 00:26:46.720 --> 00:26:48.019 about your past sins, 00:26:49.460 --> 00:26:52.279 the sin that you keep 00:26:52.279 --> 00:26:53.199 turning over and over 00:26:53.199 --> 00:26:53.859 in your head, 00:26:54.000 --> 00:26:54.480 the one that you keep 00:26:54.480 --> 00:26:55.199 returning to 00:26:55.199 --> 00:26:56.000 and you think to yourself, 00:26:56.079 --> 00:26:56.819 God can never 00:26:56.819 --> 00:26:57.980 possibly forgive me 00:26:57.980 --> 00:26:58.500 for this 00:26:58.500 --> 00:27:00.279 because I come to him 00:27:00.279 --> 00:27:00.980 and I know I'm forgiven 00:27:00.980 --> 00:27:02.019 and then I just do it again. 00:27:03.019 --> 00:27:04.039 How could God 00:27:04.039 --> 00:27:05.879 possibly continue 00:27:05.879 --> 00:27:06.619 to forgive me? 00:27:07.980 --> 00:27:08.460 Well, the answer 00:27:08.460 --> 00:27:09.559 is not to deny your sin. 00:27:10.919 --> 00:27:11.759 The answer is not 00:27:11.759 --> 00:27:12.899 to excuse your sin 00:27:12.899 --> 00:27:15.759 or to make peace with it 00:27:15.759 --> 00:27:16.519 and accept it 00:27:16.519 --> 00:27:17.460 as part of who you are. 00:27:18.639 --> 00:27:19.359 But the answer 00:27:19.359 --> 00:27:20.579 is to confess it honestly 00:27:20.579 --> 00:27:22.679 and then bring it to God. 00:27:24.399 --> 00:27:25.259 Look to Jesus 00:27:25.259 --> 00:27:26.139 and come to him 00:27:26.139 --> 00:27:27.619 because when you're 00:27:27.619 --> 00:27:28.279 in Christ, 00:27:29.460 --> 00:27:30.119 all your sins 00:27:30.119 --> 00:27:30.720 have been dealt with 00:27:30.720 --> 00:27:31.259 at the cross. 00:27:33.720 --> 00:27:34.720 You've got to repent 00:27:34.720 --> 00:27:35.180 of your sin, 00:27:35.640 --> 00:27:36.220 of course, 00:27:37.720 --> 00:27:38.660 but you're not called 00:27:38.660 --> 00:27:39.900 to pay for what Jesus 00:27:39.900 --> 00:27:41.240 has already paid. 00:27:42.200 --> 00:27:43.180 In Romans 8, 00:27:43.440 --> 00:27:43.940 Paul writes, 00:27:44.660 --> 00:27:45.900 there's now no condemnation 00:27:45.900 --> 00:27:46.440 for those 00:27:46.440 --> 00:27:47.559 who are in Christ Jesus. 00:27:48.100 --> 00:27:49.620 Not less condemnation, 00:27:50.240 --> 00:27:52.200 not postponed condemnation, 00:27:53.200 --> 00:27:55.440 no condemnation at all. 00:27:55.440 --> 00:27:57.920 And the last thing, 00:27:59.240 --> 00:28:00.500 in verse 15, 00:28:00.600 --> 00:28:01.180 Paul gives us 00:28:01.180 --> 00:28:01.900 one more picture, 00:28:03.259 --> 00:28:04.539 another surprising image. 00:28:05.620 --> 00:28:06.740 He's disarmed the rulers 00:28:06.740 --> 00:28:07.400 and the authorities 00:28:07.400 --> 00:28:08.700 and put them to open shame. 00:28:08.820 --> 00:28:09.480 This is Jesus 00:28:09.480 --> 00:28:10.840 by triumphing 00:28:10.840 --> 00:28:12.900 over them in him. 00:28:13.860 --> 00:28:15.539 So in the ancient world, 00:28:16.539 --> 00:28:18.620 victorious Roman generals 00:28:18.620 --> 00:28:20.440 would march back 00:28:20.440 --> 00:28:23.120 back into their cities 00:28:23.120 --> 00:28:25.400 celebrating the conquest, 00:28:25.900 --> 00:28:27.279 but they would bring with them 00:28:27.279 --> 00:28:29.220 the enemies 00:28:29.220 --> 00:28:29.880 that they defeated 00:28:29.880 --> 00:28:31.460 and they would parade them 00:28:31.460 --> 00:28:32.799 before the watching crowds 00:28:32.799 --> 00:28:34.420 and they would say, 00:28:34.500 --> 00:28:34.680 look, 00:28:34.779 --> 00:28:36.200 their power's broken. 00:28:37.080 --> 00:28:38.259 They've got no hold 00:28:38.259 --> 00:28:39.340 over anybody anymore. 00:28:40.840 --> 00:28:41.700 Everyone can see 00:28:41.700 --> 00:28:42.779 that this is not a threat. 00:28:44.480 --> 00:28:46.380 Jesus didn't ride 00:28:46.380 --> 00:28:47.799 to victory 00:28:47.799 --> 00:28:48.859 in a chariot 00:28:48.859 --> 00:28:49.940 with a weapon, 00:28:51.220 --> 00:28:52.759 but on a wooden cross. 00:28:54.379 --> 00:28:55.259 At Calvary, 00:28:55.379 --> 00:28:56.059 just when it looked 00:28:56.059 --> 00:28:57.139 like the forces of darkness 00:28:57.139 --> 00:28:57.659 had won, 00:28:58.919 --> 00:29:00.240 when Jesus was betrayed 00:29:00.240 --> 00:29:00.980 and arrested 00:29:00.980 --> 00:29:01.700 and mocked 00:29:01.700 --> 00:29:02.359 and stripped, 00:29:03.639 --> 00:29:04.079 condemned 00:29:04.079 --> 00:29:05.980 and ultimately crucified, 00:29:07.059 --> 00:29:07.740 it seemed like 00:29:07.740 --> 00:29:08.220 his enemies 00:29:08.220 --> 00:29:09.240 had silenced him. 00:29:10.779 --> 00:29:12.680 But behind the visible events 00:29:12.680 --> 00:29:14.279 that were visible to us, 00:29:14.339 --> 00:29:15.119 God was accomplishing 00:29:15.119 --> 00:29:15.519 something 00:29:15.519 --> 00:29:16.940 that no one 00:29:16.940 --> 00:29:17.559 could have imagined. 00:29:18.680 --> 00:29:19.659 And through the death 00:29:19.659 --> 00:29:20.480 of Christ, 00:29:21.059 --> 00:29:21.899 God was defeating 00:29:21.899 --> 00:29:23.000 the very powers 00:29:23.000 --> 00:29:24.039 that held his people 00:29:24.039 --> 00:29:24.659 in bondage. 00:29:25.839 --> 00:29:26.700 The cross wasn't 00:29:26.700 --> 00:29:27.359 an interruption 00:29:27.359 --> 00:29:28.240 to God's plan. 00:29:29.240 --> 00:29:30.859 It was the decisive means 00:29:30.859 --> 00:29:33.519 by which God accomplished 00:29:33.519 --> 00:29:35.379 his ultimate victory. 00:29:36.519 --> 00:29:37.359 The powers 00:29:37.359 --> 00:29:38.740 that held sway 00:29:38.740 --> 00:29:39.599 over your life 00:29:39.599 --> 00:29:41.279 have been disarmed. 00:29:42.599 --> 00:29:43.259 Their claim 00:29:43.259 --> 00:29:44.839 to rule over God's people 00:29:44.839 --> 00:29:45.899 has come to an end. 00:29:45.980 --> 00:29:46.519 It's been broken. 00:29:46.519 --> 00:29:47.680 Christ triumphed 00:29:47.680 --> 00:29:48.119 over them. 00:29:50.339 --> 00:29:51.119 We know, 00:29:51.379 --> 00:29:51.759 don't we, 00:29:51.819 --> 00:29:52.779 we know that this doesn't mean 00:29:52.779 --> 00:29:53.639 that evil has disappeared 00:29:53.639 --> 00:29:54.259 from the world. 00:29:54.980 --> 00:29:56.160 Satan's no longer active 00:29:56.160 --> 00:29:56.980 or that Christians 00:29:56.980 --> 00:29:58.740 now live 00:29:58.740 --> 00:30:00.180 without temptation, 00:30:00.319 --> 00:30:00.819 without suffering. 00:30:00.900 --> 00:30:01.220 Of course, 00:30:01.359 --> 00:30:02.420 we know that's not true, 00:30:02.539 --> 00:30:03.700 but we live in the age 00:30:03.700 --> 00:30:04.920 between Christ's 00:30:04.920 --> 00:30:06.180 first and second coming. 00:30:07.180 --> 00:30:07.980 And so we continue 00:30:07.980 --> 00:30:09.400 to wrestle against sin. 00:30:09.960 --> 00:30:11.000 We face temptation, 00:30:11.119 --> 00:30:11.859 we endure suffering, 00:30:11.859 --> 00:30:14.699 we battle spiritual opposition. 00:30:15.579 --> 00:30:17.019 But even when we do, 00:30:17.419 --> 00:30:18.000 and we do, 00:30:18.799 --> 00:30:19.819 we remember 00:30:19.819 --> 00:30:21.399 that victory is secured 00:30:21.399 --> 00:30:21.859 in Jesus. 00:30:22.919 --> 00:30:24.279 There's no spiritual power 00:30:24.279 --> 00:30:25.259 that can reinstate 00:30:25.259 --> 00:30:25.919 that debt 00:30:25.919 --> 00:30:27.219 that Jesus has paid 00:30:27.219 --> 00:30:27.759 on the cross. 00:30:29.839 --> 00:30:30.879 The one who rules 00:30:30.879 --> 00:30:31.639 over every authority, 00:30:32.299 --> 00:30:34.079 the one who died for us 00:30:34.079 --> 00:30:34.919 and rose again, 00:30:35.979 --> 00:30:36.919 he gives us freedom. 00:30:38.159 --> 00:30:39.759 Freedom so that we don't live 00:30:39.759 --> 00:30:41.740 in fear of any powers. 00:30:43.539 --> 00:30:45.220 We've no place 00:30:45.220 --> 00:30:46.039 in our lives 00:30:46.039 --> 00:30:46.879 for ritual, 00:30:47.319 --> 00:30:48.319 for secret knowledge 00:30:48.319 --> 00:30:49.480 outside of the Bible. 00:30:50.579 --> 00:30:51.519 And we don't live 00:30:51.519 --> 00:30:52.079 as prisoners 00:30:52.079 --> 00:30:53.640 to our past sins either. 00:30:55.859 --> 00:30:56.859 The Christian's life's 00:30:56.859 --> 00:30:57.900 not about pretending 00:30:57.900 --> 00:31:00.319 that sin isn't real 00:31:00.319 --> 00:31:01.879 or that sin isn't important. 00:31:02.940 --> 00:31:05.759 It's a life of facing them 00:31:05.759 --> 00:31:07.319 with the confidence 00:31:07.319 --> 00:31:08.539 that in Christ, 00:31:08.539 --> 00:31:10.180 he's already overcome 00:31:10.180 --> 00:31:10.559 them all. 00:31:11.859 --> 00:31:12.539 Let's pray. 00:31:14.960 --> 00:31:15.639 Lord God, 00:31:15.680 --> 00:31:16.359 we thank you 00:31:16.359 --> 00:31:18.480 for this letter 00:31:18.480 --> 00:31:19.460 which paints for us 00:31:19.460 --> 00:31:21.039 such an incredible picture 00:31:21.039 --> 00:31:22.220 of the work 00:31:22.220 --> 00:31:23.180 that Jesus has done. 00:31:24.299 --> 00:31:25.139 That on the cross 00:31:25.139 --> 00:31:26.079 he bore our sins, 00:31:26.779 --> 00:31:28.119 he suffered and died 00:31:28.119 --> 00:31:28.980 and rose again. 00:31:29.319 --> 00:31:29.639 And Lord, 00:31:30.859 --> 00:31:32.200 we praise you 00:31:32.200 --> 00:31:34.039 that beyond 00:31:34.039 --> 00:31:34.899 our understanding, 00:31:35.200 --> 00:31:36.119 we are united 00:31:36.119 --> 00:31:37.019 to Christ 00:31:37.019 --> 00:31:38.400 in his work 00:31:38.400 --> 00:31:39.240 when we put our faith 00:31:39.240 --> 00:31:39.539 in him. 00:31:39.799 --> 00:31:40.319 We thank you, 00:31:40.400 --> 00:31:40.559 Lord, 00:31:40.960 --> 00:31:41.740 for that faith, 00:31:41.920 --> 00:31:42.960 even that faith 00:31:42.960 --> 00:31:43.920 that's a gift from you. 00:31:44.379 --> 00:31:44.680 And so, 00:31:44.839 --> 00:31:44.940 Lord, 00:31:44.980 --> 00:31:45.960 we ask you to help us 00:31:45.960 --> 00:31:46.779 to live every day 00:31:46.779 --> 00:31:48.420 by that faith 00:31:48.420 --> 00:31:49.859 knowing that Jesus 00:31:49.859 --> 00:31:52.240 has won the victory 00:31:52.240 --> 00:31:54.579 and that we are in Christ. 00:31:55.139 --> 00:31:55.819 And we pray this 00:31:55.819 --> 00:31:56.420 in Jesus' name. 00:31:57.000 --> 00:31:57.299 Amen. 00:31:57.299 --> 00:31:57.859 may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may