Colossians Bible Study Day 6 of 14

Read Colossians 2:9-15

9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority. 11 In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.

13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

Colossians 2: 9-15 (NIV)

Jesus is the ‘head over every power and authority.’ Sit in that for a moment.

Think about all the nations… Politicians… Leaders… and ask yourself who is really in control?

There is one Leader, one King of kings, & one Ruler; His name is Jesus. He has triumphed over every power and authority through His crucifixion and resurrection from the dead. He is LORD of all.

Paul then gives us some imagery for what happens when a person becomes a Christian. He uses immersion baptism to show how we are buried/submerged (putting our sinful nature to death) and then resurrected/emerged (into a new life with Jesus).

What is a new life with Jesus?

Paul explains what a new life with Jesus is later in the letter, but first he explains what it is not. A life with Jesus is not filled with written codes and regulations (v14). It is not a life marked by following the laws of the Old Testament because those have been nailed to the cross.

So if the laws and regulations of the Old Testament (like the Ten Commandments) have been put to death then how should we live?*

Diving Deeper

Paul once again lets us know that Jesus is “the fulness of the Deity” in bodily form, just like he did in Colossians 1:15-20. This idea must be important to Paul. Make a note that one theme of Colossians is ‘Jesus is God in bodily form.’ As you read through Colossians look for more themes to write down next to that one.

*Paul will give us the answer of how a Christian should live later in the Letter.