Grace to You :: Unleashing God's Truth, One Verse at a Time

Complete in Christ
Scripture: Colossians 2:10-15
Code: 2142



INTRODUCTION

Colossians 2:10-15 says, "And ye are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power;
in whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of
the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; buried with Him in baptism, in which also ye are
risen with Him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised Him from the dead. And you,
being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath He made alive together with Him,
having forgiven you all trespasses, 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; and, having spoiled
principalities and powers, He made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it." That passage
is loaded with theology and doctrine, and we will endeavor to carefully overview all that is there.

In our study of Colossians, we have been made aware that the Apostle Paul is making a tremendous
statement regarding the person of Jesus Christ and His ability to save. That is no less true in this
section. Although it is a rebuttal against the false philosophy and heresies that were right at the
doorstep of the church in Colosse, it is a positive rebuttal. Paul's approach against false systems was
always the positive approach. You don't need to argue against the falsity of a system if you just
present the truth of Jesus Christ, and that's precisely what Paul did in his argument against human
philosophy.

In our last lesson we looked at verses 8-10. Paul said, "Beware lest any man spoil you through
philosophy and vain deceit..." (v. 8a). Paul's argument is against the four facets of the false heresy
that was attacking the Colossians. The first facet is human philosophy. In the midst of that discussion,
he delves into the concept of who Christ is and what He can do. And the idea Paul wants to get
across is that you don't need any human philosophy or wisdom; you are complete in Him. That's the
great truth he is communicating in verse 10.

A. The Physical Healing of the Lord

Now, in order to introduce our thoughts, I want to draw your attention to the healings of our Lord,
because I think they illustrate a great principle relative to salvation. Let's look first at those...

1. Performed by the Lord

a. Matthew 9:22 -- "But Jesus turned about, and when He saw her, He said, Daughter, be of good
comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour."

b. Matthew 12:13 -- "Then saith He to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and
it was restored whole like the other."

c. Matthew 15:28, 31 -- "Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith; be it
unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour....insomuch that
the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to
walk, and the blind to see; and they glorified the God of Israel."

d. Mark 3:5 -- "And when He had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the
hardness of their hearts, He saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out; and
his hand was restored as whole as the other."

e. Mark 5:28, 34 -- "For she said, If I may touch but His clothes, I shall be whole....And He said unto
her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole. Go in peace, and be whole of thy plague."

f. Luke 6:10 -- "And, looking round about upon them all, He said unto the man, Stretch forth thy hand.
And he did so; and his hand was restored whole like the other."

g. Luke 7:10 -- "And they that were sent, returning to the house, found the servant whole that had
been sick."

h. Luke 8:48 -- "And He said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole.
Go in peace."

i. Luke 17:19 -- "And He said unto him, Arise, go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole."

j. John 5:6b, 14b, 15b -- "...He said unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?...Behold, thou art made
whole....Jesus who had made him whole."

k. John 7:23 -- "If a man on the sabbath day receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be
broken, are ye angry with Me, because I have made a man entirely well on the sabbath day?"

Now, the same thing was...

2. Performed by the Apostles

a. Acts 4:9-10 -- "If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what
means he is made whole; be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of
Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by Him doth this
man stand here before you whole."

b. Acts 9:34 -- And Peter said unto him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ maketh thee whole; arise, and make
thy bed. And he arose immediately.

Now, in all of those passages there is a consistency in the style of healing that Jesus performed.
When Jesus healed somebody, He made them whole--entirely well, with no missing parts. There are
several synonyms used in those various passages, but the dominant Greek word is hugies from
which we get the medical word "hygiene." It means "healthy." Jesus made them well, healthy, and
sound; but the best translation is "entirely well"--the absence of any infirmity. All the healing miracles
of Jesus made people completely healthy. There was no progression involved.

B. The Spiritual Healing of the Lord

You say, "What does that have to do with Colossians 2?" It serves as a beautiful picture of the way
Jesus heals spiritually. If Jesus heals physical illness and makes people entirely whole, then the
same concept can be applied to what the Apostle Paul means when he says, "And ye are complete in
Him..." (Col. 2:10a). You could substitute the word whole for "complete". Just as Jesus Christ
performed miracles of healing that made people entirely well, so it is when Jesus touches a life
spiritually and gives salvation, He gives entire salvation. That person becomes entirely spiritually well.
Another Pauline phrase describes the same thing: "Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new
creation..." (2 Cor. 5:17a). That is brand-new wholeness.

1. The Old Testament

Now that is nothing new. God has always done it. For example:

a. Psalm 51:10 -- When David cried out in the midst of his sin he knew what God would do. He said,
"Create in me a clean heart, O God...." There was no spot, no blemish. When God acts against sin in
His saving grace, there is wholeness.

b. Ezekiel 11:19 -- "And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take
the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh" (cf. Ezk. 36:26).

God says, "I will give you a new heart"--a new soul, a new clean inside, so that the spiritual healing in
salvation is as whole as the physical healing as performed by the Lord.

2. The New Testament

a. John 1:16 -- John the Baptist is talking about Christ, and he says, "And of His fullness have all we
received...." When you were saved, you received Christ's fullness. The wholeness of Christ became
your wholeness. When someone becomes a Christian, he is spiritually whole. That is Paul's point:
"When you received Christ, you were made whole. A healthy man doesn't need any more medicine.
You don't need human philosophy. You don't need Jewish legalism. You don't need strange pagan
mysticism. You don't need abstaining asceticism. You don't need anything when you receive Christ
and His salvation. You are made whole." That is why John the Baptist says, "And of His fullness have
all we received, and grace for grace."

b. Galatians 6:15 -- "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision,
but a new creature" (cf. 2 Cor. 5:17)

c. 2 Peter 1:3 -- "According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and
godliness..." You say, "But when do you get that?" The verse continues, "...through the knowledge of
Him...." When do you come to know Christ? At salvation. When do you get all the things pertaining to
life and godliness? The moment you believe in Christ.

If we can say that the miracles of Jesus made people whole, we can also say that the spiritual
transformation at salvation makes them just as whole spiritually. When you become a Christian, you
have a clean heart, a new heart, a new spirit, a soundness, a wholeness-- you become spiritually
well. You don't need to add anything to that--not legalism, asceticism, mysticism, or human
philosophy.


REVIEW

I. PHILOSOPHY (vv. 8-15)

A. Captured By Philosophy (v. 8)

B. Complete In Christ (vv. 9-15)

1. The Basis of Completeness (vv. 9-10)

Colossians 2:10 says, "And ye are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power."
You have been made full in Him. There's nothing missing. Christ fills you up. There aren't any other
things to add to that. You have been made full with "the fullness of Him that filleth all in all" (Eph.
1:23b). Human philosophy based on the traditions of men and the elementary marks of infantile
human religion has nothing to add to what is already complete (Col. 2:8). When Jesus died on the
cross, the last thing He said was, "...It is finished..." (Jn. 19:30). When He said it, He meant it, not only
in terms of His own deed, but in terms of securing the fullness of salvation by that deed. He rules "all
principality and power" (i.e., all other beings--created authorities, created rulers, particularly the
angelic ones). He rules them all. They have nothing to add to His work. The people who were
influencing the Colossians were wrong. You don't need to get to God through a series of intermediary
aeons or angels. Good angels can't help make you complete, and bad angels can't harm you once
you are complete.

So, Paul deals a blow to the heresy of human philosophy and religion which tries to deny that Christ
has the power to give complete salvation. That was the basic heresy that the Colossians were facing.
The Colossians, who had in Jesus Christ the fountain that never fails, would have been fools to listen
to those false teachers who would have them hew out broken cisterns that hold no water (Jer. 2:13).
You don't need philosophy or angelic intermediaries. Christ is the completer. He makes anything He
touches whole. All of His healing miracles, whether physical or spiritual, are instantaneous and
complete.

The two facts of Christ's physical healing and spiritual salvation are brought together beautifully in the
statement of 3 John 2. John is writing to his beloved Gaius whom he loved in the truth. He says,
"Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul
prospereth [is healthy]." John is saying, "Gaius, if your physical body could be as healthy as your
soul, you would be in terrific shape!" What's the implication? The implication is that because he is a
believer, his soul prospers and his soul is healthy. Now sin plays a part in the practical aspect of that,
but positionally the soul is healthy. John is saying, "If your body could only know the health that your
soul knows."

Now let's look at...

2. The Benefits of Completeness (vv. 11-15)

You are complete in Him. You have been made complete. You say, "Well, what do you mean when
you say `complete'?" In the following verses Paul will show you the three ways in which you are
complete. There are three aspects to our completeness: one, Complete Salvation (vv. 11-12); two,
Complete Forgiveness (vv. 13-14); and three, Complete Victory (v. 15). Let's look first of all at the...

a. Complete Salvation (vv. 11-12)

"In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of
the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; buried with Him in baptism, in which also ye are
risen with Him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised Him from the dead."

Paul says, "Look! Your salvation is absolutely complete. There is no need for you to be circumcised,
you've been baptized." Now remember, the heresy that the Apostle is combating is a baffling mixture
of the pagan beliefs of various intermediaries and Jewish beliefs of legalism. Along with that, they
were trying to propagate the idea that you had to be circumcised. That isn't anything new. The
Judaizers propagated it in Galatia. They said, "That's fine that you believe. That's wonderful that you
believe. But you have to be circumcised. You need a surgical salvation."

1) Spiritual Circumcision (v. 11)

"In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of
the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ"

Paul is talking about a spiritual operation, not a physical one.


The Two Views of Circumcision

Now, throughout the history of Israel there were two views of circumcision. Every little Hebrew boy
was circumcised on the eighth day after his birth. That was the sign of his identification with the nation
of Israel. It became controversial, and there were two schools of thought on it.

1. Circumcision Was Enough to Save

This was the surgical salvation view. If you were circumcised, you were in the covenant. The physical
act was all that was required. That had been picked up during the history of the church. That's where
infant baptism came from. The Israelite who believed that would argue that it didn't matter whether an
Israelite was good or bad, just that he was circumcised. That was the typical view of the Jews in
Jesus' day.

That was also the typical view of the Jewish leaders in Paul's day as well. That's why Romans 2:25
says, "For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law...." In other words, it's fine if you keep the
law, but if you break the law circumcision is just like uncircumcision. My dad told a story about the
fighter that crossed himself before every fight. One guy said, "Does it help?" Another guy said, "It
does if he can punch. If he can't, it won't do him any good at all." That's the same as circumcision. If
you keep the law you're fine; if you don't, it doesn't help. Verse 26 says, "Therefore, if the
uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law [people who haven't had the operation and obey
the law], shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision?" They will move into the covenant
blessing. Verse 28 says, "For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision which
is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart..."
(vv. 28-29a). That was the typical Jewish view; if you had the external operation you were in good
shape. But there was another view.

2. Circumcision Was Only an Outward Sign

There were some true spiritual Jews--some remnants throughout Israel's history. They believed that
circumcision was only an outward mark of a man who was inwardly committed to God. They believed
correctly. What really mattered was the heart. That had always been what God told them, clear back
in Exodus when God was first laying down the rules. Exodus 6:12 says, "And Moses spoke before the
LORD, saying, Behold, the children of Israel have not hearkened unto me; how then shall Pharaoh
hear me, who am of uncircumcised lips?" Moses, at the very beginning, was using the concept of
uncircumcision in a metaphorical sense. God really wants someone who has a circumcised heart (a
heart dedicated to God) and circumcised lips (lips dedicated to God). It was not simply the act of
surgery on a child; the real issue was the heart.


a) The Process of Surgical Removal

Colossians 2:11 says, "...ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands [a special
circumcision], in putting off [cutting away], the body of the sins of the flesh...." When you became a
Christian, Christ cut away everything that was sinful in your life.

Romans 4:11 says, "And he [Abraham] received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness
of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised...." People say, "Well, Abraham was circumcised."
Yes, fourteen years after he believed God and was saved. Circumcision didn't save him; he was
circumcised as a sign of a righteous heart.

What is true circumcision? It is cutting away everything from the life but the will of God. Paul's
message in Colossians 2:11 is this: "True circumcision is the spiritual surgery, the cutting away of self
and sin, and only Christ can do that." I love the New International Version translation of Verse 11: "In
Him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by
the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ." When you became a Christian, your old
nature was taken away, and you became a new creature with a new nature.

Anyone can circumcise a man's foreskin, but only Christ can circumcise a man's heart and cut away
the old sin nature. Paul says, "If you're a Christian, you don't need any rite of circumcision. You have
received from Christ a spiritual surgery of which the old rite was only a picture and a symbol.

b) The Problem of Sinful Regeneration

That symbol in the Old Testament pictured the removal of sin. And by its association with the organ of
generation, it stressed the sin inherent in our fallen nature as the offspring of Adam. But even the Old
Testament constantly emphasizes that an inward change is the real issue (Jer. 4:4; 9:25). The
insistence is that the heart be circumcised. The fact that the organ that produces life must be
circumcised pictured the influence of the old sin nature on the next generation. So the actual form of
the rite emphasized that it was human nature that needed to be dealt with. That which was passed on
from father to son had to be dealt with.

You say, "Are you trying to tell me that when you become a Christian, God takes away the old
nature?" Yes, I believe He gives you a new nature. That's what Paul is talking about in verse 11:
"...made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh...."

c) The Presence of Separate Rulers

You say, "But if we have had our fallen nature put away, if we have put off the body of the sins of the
flesh (human nature in its fallen condition), and if we have a new nature, then how come we still sin?"
Fair question. The answer is: You not only have a new nature, but you have an old body. You have a
new inside and an old outside.

In Romans 7:15 Paul says, "For that which I do I understand not; for what I would, that do I not; but
what I hate, that do I. If, then, I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now,
then, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me" (vv. 15-17). Paul says, "It is not my new
nature doing this, it is the old flesh that is in me. Verse 18 continues, "For I know that in me (that is, in
my flesh) dwelleth no good thing....Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that
dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in
the law of God after the inward man" (vv. 18a, 20-22). He says, "My new nature loves God, My new
nature wants to do good things. My new nature wants to obey God. My new nature wants to respond
to God." Verse 23 continues, "But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my
mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members." The new nature that is
in me has been purified, but the body that it lives in is a mess. When I go to heaven I don't get a new
inside, I get a new outside. If I could just remove my good inside from this bad outside, I could really
live. So in verse 24 Paul says, "Oh, wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of
this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ, our Lord. So, then, with the mind I myself serve the law
of God; but with the flesh, the law of sin" (vv. 24-25). So Paul says, "In my new creation life the new
nature is there, but surrounding it is the flesh."

I believe we receive a new nature. I don't believe that when you become a Christian you get
whitewashed, I believe you get brand-new on the inside from the very moment you believe. Sin is still
there because of the flesh and the body, but the internal nature and the new heart is there, too. God
promised, "I'll give them a new heart." That's the covenant promise--the new covenant. So when you
received Christ, that was the end of the old nature positionally, but sin is still hanging around.

d) The Promise of Spiritual Redirection

Paul is not dealing with the fact of sinning, he is saying, "You don't need anybody to get you more
saved." People often say, "I was saved, but later on I got more saved." No, you can't get more saved.
That's the same as saying, "I was married and now I am more married." You're either married or
you're not married. The same thing is true of becoming saved. You're not more saved, you're either
saved or you're not saved.

You do not need anything to be added to the new nature you have been given, except to bring your
behavior into harmony with your new nature. Paul learned how to do that. He didn't know how to in
Romans 7, but what did he do in Romans 8? He learned, "...Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill
the lust of the flesh" (Gal. 5:16; cf. Rom. 8:13). He learned how to obey the Spirit.

Paul says, "You have a new life. Christ circumcised your heart by taking away the old nature. You
don't need any outward sign. That is absolutely irrelevant and superfluous." Now, he goes a step
further in verse 12:

2) The Spiritual Baptism (v. 12)

"Buried with Him in baptism, in which also ye are risen with Him through the faith of the operation of
God, who hath raised Him from the dead."

a) A Consideration of Verse 12

That is not water baptism. Some of you say, "You see, Paul is teaching baptismal regeneration." Paul
would never do that! Do you think he would eliminate one ceremony just to bring in another one? If he
has spiritual reality in mind in verse 11, you can believe he has it in mind in verse 12. He would never
say that the change from spiritual death to spiritual life is done by water. That would make him as
much a ritualist as those whom he was condemning. Paul was the champion of spirituality, not
ceremony. You say, "Well, what is he talking about? What is this baptism?"

(1) Placed into Christ

It pictures the union of a believer with Christ. The word "baptism" simply means "placed into." You
were placed into Christ, and water baptism is the beautiful picture of it. The terminology became
synonymous in the early church, and still is. When you became a Christian, it was as if you died, were
buried, and rose again in new life "through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised Him from
the dead" (v. 12b). Just as God raised Jesus, so He raised you from the dead when you believed in
Christ. Your old life died and was buried, and you rose a new life.

When you put your faith in Christ, you are buried with Christ. It's as if you go right to the cross. God,
in His timeless mind, propels you back in history two thousand years, hangs you on that cross, and
you die there and are buried. On the third day you come out of the grave with Christ a new life. We
are so identified by faith with Him that we are in His death, His burial, and His resurrection. What a
tremendous truth!

(2) Performed by God

It is all accomplished by "the operation of God." The word "operation" is "energy." It is God's energy,
God's resurrection power. God, who raised Him from the dead, raises you from the dead. When you
receive Christ you are buried. Your old life dies and you become alive. There are only two things you
can be: dead or alive.

(3) Procured by Faith

The middle of verse 12 says, "...through the faith of the operation of God...." We who believe in God's
power, we who believe that God raised Jesus from the dead, will also be raised with Him. Romans
10:9 says, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart
that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." When you believe and confess that
with your mouth, your old life dies and is buried, and you rise in newness of life. That is a spiritual
miracle. We experience the same power with which God raised Jesus from the dead.

b) A Comparison With Romans 6

It is important that we compare this truth to Romans 6. Verse 3 says, "Know ye not that, as many of
us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death?" In other words, "When you were
placed into a union with Christ." He is talking about the spiritual baptism, not the water baptism. Verse
4 says, "Therefore, we are buried with Him by baptism into death, that as Christ was raised up from
the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." We died with
Him, and we rise with Him. Verse 6 says, "Knowing this, that our old man [old nature, old self] is
crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
For he that is dead is freed from sin" (vv. 6-7).

You say, "In what way are we freed from sin? We're not freed from ever doing it again." No, he's
saying that you're free from its consequences, "For the wages of sin is death..." (v. 23a). How many
times can sin kill you? Once. If you're a Christian, then it has already killed you. You have already
died. Sin comes to me and says, "MacArthur, I'm going to get you because you have to die." I say,
"I've died already, thank you. You can only kill me one time and that's it." You say, "When did you
die?" I died in Jesus Christ the moment I put my faith in Him. I was crucified with Christ, nevertheless,
I live. I died once. Now sin has no claim on me because I died in Christ. Every man will die for his sin-
-either alone and spend eternity in hell, or in Christ and spend eternity with God. You say, "Well what
does death mean to us when we die physically?" That's just eliminating the problem so the good part
can be released. So what Paul is saying in Romans is, "Look. The old man is done away, the old
nature is destroyed. Now you are free from sin's bondage." Oh, you will mess up because of the
problem of the flesh that still exists, but sin cannot lay a claim on you.

Verse 10 says, "For in that He died, He died unto sin once; but in that He liveth, He liveth unto God."
Verse 9 says, "Knowing that Christ, being raised from the dead, dieth no more; death hath no more
dominion over Him." He died once and that was the end of death's dominion. Verse 11 says,
"Likewise, reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin...." How many times do you have to
die? Once, and you have. Sin, death, hell, and Satan have no claim on you.

You believers have no need of external circumcision. You have already received the true circumcision
of the heart and life. Your whole sinful nature has been cut away. You received it by virtue of your
union with Christ by faith. When He was buried, your former wicked selves were buried with Him.
When you were resurrected as a new creature, you were resurrected with Him all by the power of
God when you believed. It is done and complete. The old nature was dealt with. New life has begun
and complete salvation is yours. You don't need anything else. So when somebody says to you,
"Well, I know you have to believe, but you also have to keep the Ten Commandments. If you don't,
you're going to get it," say to them, "No. I already died once and that's all there is." Jesus died once
and He dies no more. Complete salvation is fantastic! Second, our completion in Christ is seen in...

b. Complete Forgiveness (vv. 13-14)

"And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath He made alive together
with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, 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."

To me, the most exciting doctrine in all the Bible is forgiveness. If I felt guilty all the time for my sins
and felt like they weren't forgiven, I'd be a basket case. Complete forgiveness approaches the same
reality of completeness from another aspect. The first one emphasized the completeness of salvation
apart from ritual, and this one emphasizes the completeness of forgiveness apart from any work.
Notice that the "He" and "Him" are contrasted with the "you" in verse 13:

1) The Result of Forgiveness (v. 13)

"And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath He made alive together
with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses"

You were in bad shape, but He conquered it all. You share His resurrection life.

a) Your Past Death

(1) "And you, being dead in your sins..."

Do you know what it means to be dead in your sins? The phrase "dead in your sins" is also used in
Ephesians 2:1. It is called a locative of sphere. It is speaking about a positional reality-- you are dead
in sin. When you were born, you were born spiritually dead. What does death mean? It means "an
inability to respond." Dead people can't respond. The signal that somebody is dead is that they don't
respond. That's what spiritual death is--to be dead in sin. It means that you are so locked in sin that
you are unable to respond to God. The Bible and spiritual truth make no sense because you are lost
in the sinfulness of the world, the flesh, and the devil. You can't react to God because you are dead.
You do not respond to stimuli. You are a spiritual corpse. Now, it isn't bad enough that you were dead
in your sin, Paul also says:

(2) "...and the uncircumcision of your flesh..."

What does that mean?

(a) The Literal Meaning

It is a reference to Gentiles. Paul says, "You are dead in your sins and your Gentile situation." You
say, "What's so bad about being a Gentile?" Gentiles were uncircumcised. That meant they were
outside the covenant. They did not have the truth of God. It's bad to be dead in sin, but it's doubly bad
to be dead in sin and not have any hope because you don't have the truth. The Jew might have been
dead in sin, but at least he was in an environment where the covenant of God was operative. But a
Gentile was dead in sin and outside of that covenant. Ephesians 2:11 says, "Wherefore, remember
that ye, being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision...." In verse 12 Paul
defines it, "That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel,
and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world." That's
pretty sad. It's one thing to be dead in sin, but it's doubly serious to be dead in sin outside the
covenant, outside the promise, with no hope, and without God in the world. You have no information.
You have no revelation.

When you are without God, without information, without hope, and without revelation, what do you
do? What's the one thing a dead man needs most? Life. So Paul says, "...hath He made alive
together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses" (Col. 2:13b).

(b) The Symbolic Implication

I think that there is a symbolic implication in "the uncircumcision of your flesh." He is saying, "That's
an apt symbol of the fact that they are still subject to the old nature."

b) Your Present Life

You were dead in sin and subject to your old nature until Jesus came along.

(1) "...hath He made alive..."

That is precisely what Ephesians 2:4-5 says, "But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love with
which He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath made us alive together with Christ...."

(2) "...together with Him..."

What does "together with Him" mean? In some mysterious, divine way, when you receive Christ, God
sends you back two thousand years, puts you on the cross with Christ, in the grave with Christ, and
raises you with Christ. I don't understand that miracle. Paul says, "...made us alive together with
Christ..." (Eph. 2:5), "...hath He made alive together with Him..." (Col. 2:13), and "...he that is joined
unto the Lord is one spirit" (1 Cor. 6:17). When He rose, we rise.

So, dead men are utterly defeated, utterly dominated by sin, powerless to break the chains of sin that
bind them, powerless to discover the truth of God, without hope, without God, without any choice,
locked into the sinful nature, and then suddenly God makes them alive. Now you tell me who initiates
salvation. You often hear people meaningfully say, "I found the Lord." No, He found you. You have no
more power to overcome your sin than a dead man does to overcome his own death.

Jesus Christ, by His complete work, freed men from sin (from its power and consequences) and gave
them new life--life so new, so vital, and so liberated that it can be described only by the term
"resurrection life." Even to the Gentiles He gave life apart from any ceremony like circumcision. You
say, "Do you mean it's possible for someone to be completely restored to God, given a new heart and
new nature, and to have a completely new relationship with God and eternal life? How?" Colossians
2:9 says, "...in Him...." Verse 10 says, "...in Him...." Verse 11 says, "...in whom...." Verse 12 says,
"...with Him...." Verse 13 says, "...with Him...." It is all possible by being in Christ. That's the key. Put
yourself in the hands of Christ, receive Him by faith, and it all becomes yours.

c) Your Pardoned Sin

"...having forgiven you all trespasses"

That is past tense, it's already been accomplished. People ask me this all the time: "How many of our
sins have been forgiven?" What's the answer? All of them. "...having forgiven you all trespasses."
That's miraculous.

(1) The Comfort of Forgiveness

(a) Psalm 32:1 -- "Blessed [Happy] is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered."
That's a happy man. It's a happy thing to be forgiven. I don't like to feel guilty about things. I'm so
happy I'm forgiven. If I thought there were two sins that weren't forgiven, I would be a miserable
wreck.

(b) Isaiah 1:18 -- "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as
scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." How
much forgiveness is there? Total.

(c) Isaiah 55:7 -- "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him
return unto the LORD, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God; for He will abundantly
pardon."

(d) Acts 13:38-39 -- "Be it known unto you, therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is
preached unto you the forgiveness of sins; and by Him all that believe are justified from all things,
from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses." Total, complete forgiveness is given
instantly. The moment you believed, God forgave the sins you had committed and were to commit.

(e) Acts 10:43 -- "To Him give all the prophets witness, that through His name whosoever believeth in
Him shall receive remission of sins." You receive forgiveness for believing. You say, "What about
confessing?" No, believing. Confessing does not relate to forgiveness, it relates to acknowledging
your sin and repenting from it. Forgiveness is already a settled matter.

(f) Hebrews 8:10-12 -- "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those
days, saith the Lord: I will put My laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts; and I will be to
them a God, and they shall be to Me a people. And they shall not teach every man his neighbor, and
every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord; for all shall know Me, from the least to the greatest.
For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no
more." I am always amazed at the fact that there are many Christians who continue to remember
what God has forgotten. I used to call it a God complex. The highest court in the universe is God, and
if God has forgiven me, then the only thing that would justify the holding of myself guilty for sin is if I
am a higher authority than God. If I'm not, then I might as well forgive myself.

(2) The Characteristics of God's Forgiveness

What are the characteristics of God's forgiveness? First, God's forgiveness is...

(a) Gracious

You didn't earn His forgiveness; it is a gift of grace. Romans 3:24 says, "Being justified freely by His
grace...." Titus 3:4-7 says, "But after the kindness and love of God, our Savior, toward man appeared,
not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the
washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Spirit, which He shed on us abundantly through
Jesus Christ, our Savior, that, being justified by His grace...." God's forgiveness is gracious. Second,
it is...

(b) Complete

It is absolutely complete, nothing is missing. Ephesians 1:7 says, "In whom we have redemption
through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace." You say, "How much
forgiveness is there?" There is forgiveness equal to the riches of His grace. If you want to know how
much forgiveness you have, figure out how much grace God has. Romans 5:20 says, "...But where
sin abounded, grace did much more abound." So no matter how much sin you've piled up, He has a
lot more grace. First John 2:12 says, "I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven
you for His name's sake."

Third, God's forgiveness is not only gracious and complete, it is...

(c) Eager

God is not saying, "Oh, why did I ever get into this? Now I've got to keep forgiving these people."
Psalm 86:5 says that He is ready to forgive. He is eager to forgive. Second Corinthians 5:19 says, "To
wit, that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto
them, and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation." He sends us out as ambassadors to tell
everybody that God is waiting to do the same for them. Isn't that fantastic? God is just waiting to do it.

So His forgiveness is gracious, complete, eager, and fourth, God's forgiveness is...

(d) Certain

You can count on His forgiveness; it's absolutely certain. There are no questions and no doubts. In
Acts 26:18 Paul says God sent him to preach Christ "To open their eyes, and to turn them from
darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins,
and inheritance among them who are sanctified by faith that is in Me." In other words, it's based on
God's promise. Paul says, "As I have seen these things, as I heard Christ, and as He told me what to
do and made me promise to do it, I go out to preach." In verse 25 he said, "I am not mad, most noble
Festus, but speak forth the words of truth and soberness." He says, "God has said it and I preach it."
It is certain and based on His promise.

Fifth, His forgiveness is...

(e) Unequaled

If you're looking for forgiveness, go to God; you will never find forgiveness like His. Micah 7:18 says,
"Who is a God like unto Thee, who pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the
remnant of His heritage?..." Have you ever known a God like that? The pagans never invented one.
Who is a God like the One who pardons so much?

Further, the forgiveness of God is not only gracious, complete, eager, certain and unequaled, but it
is...

(f) Motivating

You say, "What do you mean by motivating?" Ephesians 4:32 says, "And be ye kind one to another,
tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven you." If God has
not totally forgiven us, that principle is messed up. He says, "Forgive totally and completely, just as
God has forgiven you."

Forgiveness is total, complete, and forever for the Christian. There is no such thing as unforgiven sin
in the life of a Christian. It is all forgiven. Now let's look at verse 14:

2) The Record of Forgiveness (v. 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"

I want you to look at two words on which the entire idea of God's forgiveness hinges:

a) The Autograph

Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us..."

The Greek word for "handwriting" is cheirographon". Literally, it means "autograph." So the verse can
read, "Blotting out the autograph...." The technical use of this word is interesting. It was a handwritten
note of a debtor acknowledging his indebtedness. It literally was an I.O.U.: "I, John MacArthur, owe
you five hundred dollars. Signed, John MacArthur." That is a cheirographon--a handwriting. It was a
signed confession of debt. Your sin and mine piled up a debt to God. We owed God and we had to
pay. The debt was "against us." In other words, it would destroy us and condemn us. We couldn't pay
it. The "handwriting" was a self-confessed recognition of those debts. But when you are willing to sign
it and say, "It's true. I will sign my name on that line. These are my debts," it is then that God blocks it
out.

b) The Eraser

"...which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross"

Literally, Jesus wiped off the debt, like erasing a blackboard. That is the forgiveness of God. The day
you walked up to God and signed your confession is the day He erased it. What were you
confessing? Sin. The substance on which ancient documents were written was papyrus, a kind of
paper made of the bulrush; or vellum, a substance from an animal hide. Both were fairly expensive
and wouldn't be wasted. Since no ancient ink had any acid in it, the ink never bit into the papyrus or
the vellum, but laid on the surface. If nobody messed with it, the ink would remain. Sometimes a
scribe, in order to preserve his paper because he didn't have much money, would simply take a
sponge and wipe the ink off the papyrus or vellum and use it again. That's exactly what Paul is
saying. When you received Jesus Christ and signed your confession, that's when God nailed it to His
cross, paid the penalty, and wiped it clean. So God, by our faith in Christ, took that indictment and
nailed it to the cross. We signed it and He erased it. Do you know what's left? Not one trace. He
remembers it no more.

That is complete forgiveness. Oh the wonder of that kind of grace! We have seen complete salvation,
complete forgiveness, and third, let's look at...

c. Complete Victory (v. 15)

"And, having spoiled principalities and powers, He made a show of them openly, triumphing over
them in it."

Paul is saying to those Colossians, "Don't mess around with those aeons and intermediary spirits.
They were all destroyed at the cross." When Jesus died, He spoiled the principalities and powers. He
made a public demonstration over them and triumphed over them. Where was it that Jesus bruised
the head of Satan (Gen. 3:15)? At the cross. Where was it that He broke his power? At the cross.
Where was it that He took away the power of death? At the cross.

1) Hebrews 2:14-15 -- "Forasmuch, then, as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also
Himself likewise took part of the same, that through death He might destroy him that had the power of
death, that is, the devil, and deliver them who, through fear of death, were all their lifetime subject to
bondage." Satan's dominion was broken at the cross. As Christ was suspended on the cross, no
doubt the demons were having a carnival seeing Him bound hand and foot to the wood in apparent
weakness and defeat. They imagined He was their victim, but how wrong they were. He mastered
them even in death.

2) 1 Peter 3:19 -- "By whom also He went and preached unto the spirits in prison." When His body
went into the grave, His spirit went into the place where the demons were bound. He proclaimed His
victory over them right to their faces in that place. Who are the spirits? Bound demons. He proclaimed
His triumph, and they were disabled and dethroned.

So the cross and the resurrection is the answer to the heresy beguiling the minds of those living in the
Lycus valley. There is no point in paying tribute to principalities or powers that have been vanquished
by Jesus. What a victory! But for the gospel, man is a puppet in the hands of fate.

G.H.C. MacGregor says, "We are still conscious that, apart from the victory of Christ, man is a
helpless victim in a hostile cosmos. It is little comfort to us that the inexorable fate which was once
expressed in terms of the influence of the stars, conceived as personal demons, is now expressed in
terms of psychological or physical or economic determinism. We still ask how a man is to triumph
over an evil heredity, or how can he be free and victorious in a world of rigid law and scientific
necessity. We still suffer from astronomical intimidation--terror at the insignificance of man and the
vastness of the material universe encompassing him." Man has this fear of being crushed, sooner or
later, by an intimidating universe and cosmos that he cannot explain. There is only one message of
hope that comes firing through: Jesus Christ, the crucified Jesus Christ, is risen and is Lord of all. And
the forces of the universe are subject to Him as their Creator and their Conqueror. The people in
Colosse feared the demons, the angels, and the stars, but because of Jesus Christ we fear nothing.
What a confidence! The death of Christ was a transformation, a pardon, and a triumph, and that
makes for a complete salvation.


Focusing on the Facts

1. To what extent did Jesus physically heal people? What one word best represents the results of the
healing? What is the best translation of that word?

2. What is the connection between the physical healing and the spiritual healing performed by Jesus?
What other phrase of Paul describes that spiritual healing?

3. What happens to a person when He receives Jesus Christ? What types of things does he no
longer need?

4. What does a person receive at salvation? How does he receive it (2 Pet. 1:3)?

5. Whom does Jesus Christ rule?

6. What are the three ways in which all believers are complete?

7. What kind of circumcision is Paul referring to in Colossians 2:11?

8. What was circumcision a sign of? What were the two views of circumcision within the nation of
Israel?

9. Explain the surgical salvation view of circumcision. Why was this view erroneous? Support your
answer. What is the correct view of circumcision?

10. What is "the circumcision made without hands"? What is true circumcision?

11. What is emphasized by the fact that the actual rite of circumcision was performed on the organ
that produces life?

12. In spite of having a new nature, why do Christians still sin? Support your answer (Rom. 7:15-25).

13. How are you to bring your behavior into harmony with your new nature (Rom. 8:13)?

14. What does Paul mean by "baptism" in Colossians 2:12? How does water baptism relate to this?

15. How is our burial and resurrection with Christ accomplished? What part does God play? How do
we become identified with Christ?

16. Why does sin no longer have any claims on a believer? Does that mean that believers never sin?
Explain.

17. What does it mean to be dead in your sins?

18. What is the literal meaning of the phrase "the uncircumcision of your flesh"? What is the symbolic
implication?

19. Why was it doubly bad to be a Gentile?

20. Who initiates salvation? Explain and support your answer.

21. How is it possible for you to be completely restored to God, given a new heart and new nature,
and have a completely new relationship with God?

22. How many of the believers' sins have been forgiven?

23. What does confession of sin relate to?

24. If God has forgiven all believers, what is the only thing that could justify any one of those believers
for holding himself guilty of sin?

25. What are the characteristics of God's forgiveness? Explain each one.

26. What was the "handwriting of ordinances that was against us"? What was the technical use of the
word "handwriting"?

27.As sinners, what was the debt that we owed? What happened to the debt on the day we
acknowledged the debt and believed God?

28. What happened to Satan and his demons at the cross?


Pondering the Principles

1. Think on the times that you have been physically sick. How did you feel? Did you ever wish that
you could suddenly be well? Think of the time in your life that you were the most sick. Now magnify
that by a hundred, a thousand, or a million times, and that is how sick your soul was before you knew
Jesus Christ. And yet He healed you in an instant. Though you will continue to be physically sick on
occasion, will your soul ever be sick again? To remember how we have been made well spiritually,
memorize John 1:16: "And of His fullness have all we received, and grace for grace."

2. Look up the following verses: Romans 3:20; 4:15; 7:9-11; 2 Corinthians 3:6; Galatians 3:10-12, 21.
According to those verses, why is it that the letter (or externals) kills? What is the purpose of the law?
What is the result for someone who tries to justify himself by the law? How is a man justified? Look up
the following verses: John 6:63; Romans 8:2. What is the only way for a man to gain life? What is the
benefit of the law of the Spirit for you? Look up the following verses: John 5:21; Romans 4:17; 1
Corinthians 15:45; Ephesians 2:1, 5; 1 Peter 3:18. According to those verses, who gives you life? As
a result of this study, how are we to obey God as a believer? Read Romans 8:5-13. What is the only
way that you can obey God? Of what benefit are externals to or your salvation? Of what benefit is the
flesh to your obedience? Thank God that He has given you the resource for obedience.

3. What does God's forgiveness mean to you? What did you need to be forgiven of? Forgiveness is
yours as a child of God, but that does not rule out the importance of confessing those sins you still
commit on a daily basis. What present sins are unconfessed in your life? Take this time to confess
those sins to God right now. Make the commitment to repent from those same sins.

4. Review the characteristics of God's forgiveness. Examine the characteristics of your forgiveness.
Do you reflect God's mercy in your forgiveness of others? Do you forgive others no matter how sinful
they are? Are you ready and eager to forgive others, or are you ready to condemn them? Are you so
certain of God's forgiveness that you preach it to others, convincing them of God's promise to forgive
if they will come to Him? Are you trying to grow so that you can reflect the unequaled forgiveness of
God in your relationships with others? Are you motivated to forgive others based on God's
forgiveness of you? Most of us need to grow in all of those areas. Read Ephesians 4:32. Make that
the goal of your relationships.



Available online at: http://www.gty.org
COPYRIGHT (C) 2014 Grace to You
You may reproduce this Grace to You content for non-commercial purposes in accordance with
Grace to You's Copyright Policy (http://www.gty.org/connect/copyright).