(Anno
Domini, abbreviated AD or A.D.
expressly complies with Isaiah 61:2 & Luke 4:19, i.e. “To proclaim the
acceptable year of the LORD.” (Isaiah 61:2)
 |
| Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross |
13 And
you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he
quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; 14 Blotting out the handwriting of
ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of
the way, nailing it to his cross; 15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he
made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it. 16 Let no man therefore judge you in
meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the
sabbath days: 17 Which
are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ. (Col
2:13-17)
There are so many truths of enormous profundity in Colossians that it must be
considered in snippets, rather than whole cloth, in a devotional format. Even
so, the depths are not fathomed sufficiently, and I pray that the reader will
peruse this book to find those glittering gems of truth that this writer fails
to mention.
The very first verse of today’s devotion begins with an earth-shattering truth
to those who either are novices to the Word, or who show not interest at all in
the eternal disposition of their souls. “And you, being dead in your
sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him,
having forgiven you all trespasses.” A good student of literary
analysis will immediately observe points of great magnitude in this simple
verse. Remember how densely compressed and briefly stated the Word of God
relates such enormous truths? It is the mark of exceptional literary style – and
none performs it nearly so manifestly as does the Holy Bible. Look at what this
verse tells us (and confirmed in other biblical records):
1)
All are dead except those who know the Lord. You may say, but, friend, I am
much alive! Really? If you do not know Christ, you are dead in trespasses and
sin. You are a walking zombie in bondage to the Prince of the Air. “And
you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins.” (Eph
2:1)
We are all born to a dying race at birth. Something must
change to make us alive. We must forsake the disease of Adam (which is sin) and
be made alive in Christ. The dead know nothing at all. Just as Lazarus, four
days in a stone-cold tomb, knew nothing of the great commotion without his tomb
when Christ approached, neither does the sinner until drawn by that same voice
echoed by the Holy Ghost – “Sinner, Come Forth!” Paul describes the
condition in such simple terms in Ephesians that I will defer to his more
excellent description: “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love
wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us
together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up
together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in
the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his
kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through
faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest
any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto
good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
(Eph 2:4-10) Of course, grace is nothing that can be attributed to any good
work or attitude on our own behalf – it is freely given!
2)
Though we were dead in trespasses and sins, Christ has quickened us (made us
alive). We did not come to our dead senses and make ourselves alive – it was
all of Christ’s doing. Christ has made us alive in Himself! “(you) hath
he quickened together with him.” (Himself) Yes, the wages of sin is
death, but we are made alive in the resurrected Lord. The Lord we follow leads
us to take our cross as He took His own; to die to self as He died for us; and
to rise from the dead to newness of life as He did from the Tomb on the Third Day.
“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life
through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)
3)
“(Christ) having forgiven you all trespasses.” The Lord is not a
piece-meal Lord. He is all Yea, or all Nay. If He forgives, He forgives to the
uttermost. He has promised to place our sins so far from us as the East is from
the West. Compute THAT navigation distance, if you have the time. “As far
as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.”
(Psalms 103:12) “He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us;
he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the
depths of the sea.” (Micah 7:19) If God has removed our
trespasses against Him so far a distance, why, pray tell, do we remember every
single offense, once forgiven, of a friend who offends us anew?
“Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which
was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross.”
Many interpret these ordinances, written by hand, to be the Moral Law as
revealed in the Ten Commandments. I do not believe it refers to those august
Laws laid down by God, for we are yet bound by them, though written in our
hearts and not on Tables of Stone. I believe the ordinances referred to are
those written by men (Moses) for the sake of order and justice in old Israel.
The greater Law of God upon which those Ten Commandments hang is that of Love –
the kind of Love demonstrated in the cross itself. The vertical beam is the greatest
– the Love we bear for God which must be all-consuming. The second is a
corollary of the first – to love our neighbors (His Creatures) as our selves.
Certainly, the Ten Commandments were not nailed to the cross. But the justice
which impinges upon our persons in to sentence us to death for the abrogation
of even one of those Commandments is, indeed, nailed to the cross by the love,
grace, and mercy of God.
Rome, in cahoots with the Jewish rulers, believed they finally dispensed with
Christ once He was nailed to the cross. Were they ever WRONG! “And
having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly,
triumphing over them in it.” The Roman Governor placed a
roman guard on the tomb to insure that Jesus remained buried. That, my friend,
did not work! Christ defeated the secular power by His death and resurrection.
By the same, He defeated the religious power of the Jewish rulers; and by that
same power, he defeated, once and for all, the Prince of the Power of the Air –
Satan himself! All three were spectacularly humiliated by the resurrection of
Christ!
“Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of
an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days.” I try to
follow the biblical food laws as much as possible. I do not do so out of a
feeling of spiritual obligation, but out of an interest for my own personal
health. I believe certain foods the Bible labels as unclean (carnivorous
animals and fish) to be unhealthy. I condemn no one for eating whatever they
please, but I abide by my personal preference. You would be surprised how often
I am criticized for “trying to abide by the letter of the law” as if the law
commanded me to eat pork and catfish! It is a waste of man’s time to make such
judgments, and it is a waste of God’s time in observing such foolishness. We in
the Anglican Communion take wine representing the blood of Christ in Holy
Communion. How many Baptists will go miles around the literal Word of God to
prove Jesus turned water into grape juice! If Saturday is the Sabbath for some
Christians and Jews, so be it. If Sunday is the Sabbath for others, so be it. I
believe they both miss the mark, for every day is a Rest (Sabbath Day) to the
saved of God - if it is Christ who works in them and not themselves.
“Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.”
You might be surprised to know that there are millions of Christians who are
ecstatic at the proposition that the Jews may soon rebuild the Temple at
Jerusalem and resume animal sacrifices. Are they happy to see the sacrifice of
the Lord so demeaned as to saw the blood of goats and oxen are better than that
shed at Calvary? How can one appreciate the Passover sacrifice of Christ if they
are ignorant of the first Passover in old Egypt? The first Passover lamb was a
shadow of the Lamb of God to be sacrificed precisely at the time of the Temple
sacrifice of the lamb at Passover. How could any fourth grader miss that
comprehension? How could we miss knowing that the Law was given to teach us
that we are of no worth in keeping the Law of God? We needed a Savior – and we
got One. How could anyone place a greater significance on one day of rest (a
Sabbath) and that eternal rest (Sabbath) we have in Christ?
Finally, in conclusion of this devotion, allow me to admit the Holy Bible is
full of mysteries no ten-horned pulpit dandy may understand. I am one who will
readily admit to those mysteries. I do not know all God has in mind for us to
know, sooner or later. But I do believe God’s Word is like a beautiful bud-rose
slowly unfolding to reveal greater and greater beauty with observation. Each of
us should be about the business of our Father in reading and understanding as
much of this glorious Word as the Holy Spirit will reveal to our mortal minds.
