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Scripture Reading: Col. 1:20-22; 2:11-15; 3:5a
I. In His economy God gives us one person and one way; the one person is the all-inclusive, extensive, preeminent Christ, and the one way is the cross — 1 Cor. 2:2; Phil. 2:5-11; Gal. 6:14:
А. We not only have Christ, the unique person, who is versus all things; we also have the cross, the unique way, which is versus all ways — Col. 1:20.
B. The way God has ordained, uplifted, and honored is the cross of Christ — Gal. 6:14.
C. The one person — Christ — is the center of the universe, and the one way — the cross — is the center of God’s government — 1 Cor. 2:2; 1:17-18, 23; Gal. 6:14:
1. God governs everything by the cross and deals with everything by the cross — Col. 1:20; 2:14-15.
2. By the cross God has dealt with all the negative things in the universe, and He is still governing everything through the cross — Eph. 2:14-16.
3. In order to progress spiritually, we need to pass through the cross; until we come to the New Jerusalem, we need to pass through the cross day by day in our walk with the Lord — Matt. 10:38; 16:24; Luke 14:27.
4. In order to have the proper church life, we need to experience the cross; if we have a daily life of passing through the cross, there will be oneness and harmony both in the church life and in the family life — Col. 3:12-15.
II. If we have a clear understanding of the fact that the enemy of God, in a subtle way, utilizes culture to replace Christ, we will realize that the only way for us to take is the way of the cross — Gal. 6:14; 1 Cor. 2:2:
А. The book of Colossians teaches us that in the church life Christ must be all and in all; everything that is not Christ must go to the cross — 1:18; 3:10-11.
B. Through the cross we need to become nothing, to have nothing, and to be able to do nothing; otherwise, what we are, what we have, and what we can do will become a substitute for Christ — 1 Cor. 1:17-18, 23.
C. For those who are willing to take the cross, the cross is not a narrow way but a highway — Luke 9:23.
III. In the book of Colossians we see a clear vision of the cross as God’s way in His administration — 1:20-22; 2:11-15:
А. “Through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross — through Him, whether the things on the earth or the things in the heavens” — 1:20:
1. Through Him means through Christ as the active instrument through which the reconciliation was accomplished — v. 20a.
2. All things refers not only to human beings but also to all creatures, which were created in Christ and now subsist, cohere, in Him (vv. 16-17) and are reconciled to God through Him.
3. To reconcile all things to Himself is to make peace with Himself for all things; this was accomplished through the blood of the cross of Christ.
4. Because of the rebellion of Satan, the archangel, and the angels who followed him, the heavens were contaminated; therefore, not only things on the earth but also things in the heavens needed to be reconciled to God — v. 20b.
5. Because we were sinners, we needed redemption, and because we were also enemies of God, we needed reconciliation — vv. 14, 21-22.
B. “Wiping out the handwriting in ordinances, which was against us, which was contrary to us; and He has taken it out of the way, nailing it to the cross” — 2:14:
1. Ordinances refers to the ordinances of the ceremonial law with its rituals, which are the forms or ways of living and worship — Eph. 2:15.
2. Nailing it to the cross means to abolish the law of the commandments in ordinances.
C. “Stripping off the rulers and the authorities, He made a display of them openly, triumphing over them in it” — Col. 2:15:
1. This verse portrays the fighting that took place at the time of Christ’s crucifixion.
2. Activities involving Christ, God, and the evil angelic rulers and authorities were brought to a focus on the cross; thus, the cross became God’s eternal, central, and unique way — vv. 14-15.
3. By His crucifixion Christ labored to accomplish redemption, and God the Father was working to judge sin and nail the law to the cross — v. 14.
4. At the same time, the evil rulers and authorities were busy in their attempt to frustrate the work of God and Christ, pressing in close to God and Christ; thus, a warfare was raging at the cross.
5. God openly made a display of the evil angelic rulers and authorities on the cross and triumphed over them in it, putting them to shame — v. 15.
D. “In Him also you were circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands, in the putting off of the body of the flesh, in the circumcision of Christ” — v. 11:
1. This is spiritual circumcision, the circumcision of Christ, referring to the proper baptism, which puts off the body of the flesh by the effectual virtue of the death of Christ — Phil. 3:3.
2. The circumcision that is the putting off of the body of the flesh was not made with hands; it was accomplished by the death of Christ, and it is applied, executed, and carried out by the powerful Spirit — Rom. 8:13.
E. “Put to death therefore your members which are on the earth” — Col. 3:5a:
1. This is based on the fact that we have been crucified with Christ and baptized into His death — Gal. 2:20; Rom. 6:3, 6.
2. Christ accomplished the all-inclusive crucifixion; now we apply it to our lustful flesh.
3. We execute Christ’s death upon our sinful members by crucifying them, by faith, through the power of the Spirit (Rom. 8:13); this corresponds with Galatians 5:24.
