Our scripture this morning is Colossians 2:6-15.
So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ. For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority. 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, 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. 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, 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. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
Paul gives us a firm reminder of where we stand – by our own strength we are dead in sin, but by the power of God we are made alive with Christ (v. 13). We have no chance to save ourselves, only through God’s mercy can we be raised to eternal life. By accepting the sacrifice Jesus made for us, we join ourselves to Him forever.
The Resurrection is God’s answer to evil, His promise to us that by faith, death is not the end. Death is the world’s worst threat, its ultimate weapon. Through His obedience, Jesus “disarmed the powers and authorities” (v. 15), declaring God’s victory over all.
The old hymn A Mighty Fortress is Our God states “the body they may kill, God’s truth abideth still”, exactly what Paul tells us in this passage. Through Christ’s redemptive act we need not fear death as a threat to do the world’s bidding. Our hope is in Him and our salvation is assured.
Loving Lord, we are often afraid, coerced by threats of earthly harm. Help us to calm our fear with faith, secure in the knowledge that You have made a way for us to be saved. Amen.