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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 s 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).[1] Verse 9 is perhaps the most definitive statement of Christ’s deity in the epistles. It is the rock upon which all attempts to disprove Christ’s deity are shattered. Obviously, these heretics were saying Jesus was not God, and that was the most damning and disturbing element of their “satanology”—as it still is in any false system.
The false teaching just described was part of the satanically devised and humanly propagated religious system, and it was not according to Christ and what Scripture reveals about Him. It, like all false systems of religion, cannot save. That is the peak of its deadliness. In Christ alone all the fulness of Deity dwells in bodily form. He alone has the power to save. Plērōma (fulness) is the same term used in 1:19. As noted in the discussion of that passage, it was a term used by the Colossian errorists. They believed the divine plērōma was divided in its expression among the various emanations. Each got a decreasing share as they descended the ladder from good to bad. Paul, however, insists that all the fullness of Deity, not a part of it, dwells in Christ. Katoikeō (dwells) means “to settle down and be at home.” The present tense indicates that the essence of Deity continually abides at home in Christ. Deity is a word emphasizing divine nature. That nature of God that continually abode in Jesus Christ was not some divine light that merely lit Him up for a while, but was not His own. He is fully God forever. And as the One possessing all the fullness of Deity, Christ is the head over all rule and authority. He was not one of a series of lesser beings emanating from God, as the false teachers maintained. Rather, He is God Himself and thus the head over all the angelic realm.[2] It is because of the power Christ possess; He has brought us to fullness. Think back to Matthew 28.18-20, “All power is given unto Me in Heaven and Earth…” Jesus Christ not only already had the power, but now has the right to have the power because of His sacrifice on the cross (Philippians 2.5-11). Abraham was asked to circumcise all the males within his household, 8 days and older. This became a tradition, and it was forgotten when the children of Israel were marching in the wilderness. But as soon as they crossed over the Jordan river as they camped waiting to attack the great city of Jericho, they circumcised all the males. Bringing themselves back into right standing with God, marking themselves so all would know they were God’s chosen race. But now we are all circumcised in the heart, not with human hands but by Christ through His death, burial and resurrection. Your old flesh has been pealed away and you have been made new before Christ (Genesis 17.11; Deuteronomy 30.6; Joshua 5; Romans 6.1-12). So just as God raised Jesus Christ from the dead, He has raised us from the death of our sins into the newest of life in Christ. He forgave us of our sins, washing us clean, white as snow (Isaiah 1.18). He took our debts all our payments, and nailed them to the cross, covered them with His blood and wrote in His ledger, “Paid in Full!” Never to have to be paid or brought up again. No one would ever come back and say we owed more, or there was interest. Christ’s payment at the cross was final, good enough for us, Praise the Lord! Therefore, there is no more condemnation against us for those in Christ (Romans 8.1), because of the power of His blood and the cross. Christ has disarmed everything, there is not one thing that has power over Him in all the world, under the world, or in all the universe. It might seem at this time as those this is not true, but Christ is the All Supreme Ruler, and all things are subject to Him and His power. Therefore, we must bow to our Lord, and ask Him how we might be obedient to Him, walking in His ways, being reminded about the great sacrifice and debt we owe Him. Application
Prayer My God, My Savior, Master, Lord Over All, Thank You for saving my soul. Thank You for coming into my life and paying my debt, for giving me a chance to serve you. Lord, I am sorry I have not always done the things You have asked me to do. I have not been as faithful in my service to You, nor have I been as faithful in sharing Your love with others along the way. Lord I need Your help and strength everyday to know the right time and place to share Your Word with others. Give me the opportunities, and the boldness, the same boldness Your Son had when He went to the cross to pay for my sins. Lord thank You for my Pastor and his leadership, help him to continue to follow Your lead and to make wise decisions as he leads Your church into the coming year. I pray all this in Jesus Christ’s Name, Amen. [1] The New International Version. (2011). (Col 2:9–15). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. [2] MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1992). Colossians (p. 103). Chicago: Moody Press.
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