A DISARMED ENEMY
Colossians 2:13-15 “You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.”
The death of Jesus on the cross has disarmed the enemy
Definition of Disarm- to deprive of means, reason, or disposition to be hostile; to win over; to deprive of a means of attack or defense; to make harmless). In this scripture it uses disarmed (past tense) which means its already been done. It’s not something that’s going to happen, it’s already happened. This one short scripture is a telling us that our enemy has been made harmless... it also tells us that the enemy’s means or resources/methods of defense & attack have been deprived, which is defined as - to take something away from; to withhold something from. When Jesus becomes Lord of our life, the enemy is made harmless in our life because his resources of attacking us & even defending himself from our prayers and using God’s Word against him are taken away. So, why are so many of God’s people living in defeat and continually getting their behinds handed to them by the devil? Because the devil is a good bluffer. He will push to see just how much we will put up with before we use the authority God has given us to put him in his place. It goes back to knowing who Christ has made you. Attacks are part of life, but defeat isn’t!!! (Colossians 1:22 & 23 “Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault. But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News.”) If you don’t know who God has made you and continually remind yourself and the devil of that fact, you’ll live in defeat. (Colossians 2:6 “And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him.”). Accepting Jesus is only the first step. To lead a blessed and victorious life you have to continue seeking after him. You have to lay down your way and what your flesh wants to do EVERYDAY and submit to Jesus and follow where he leads.
Colossians 2:20 “You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world. So why do you keep on following the rules of the world, such as,”
When a person dies in the natural (on earth) the rules and laws of the land that applied to them when they were living become null and void. For example, when you’re alive, you have to pay taxes...after you’re dead the you no longer owe Mr. IRS anything. Same principal holds true in the spiritual realm. When we accept Jesus as our Savior, the old us dies and we are “reborn” a new person into a new world (2Corinthians 5:17 “What this means is that those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun!!”) We’re reborn into the Kingdom of God. So, the spiritual rules that governed us when we were in sin (sin controlled our lives thus the enemy could do whatever to us and around us he wanted to) became null and void when that old us died. The only rules and regulations that apply to us now are those found in the Kingdom of God.
Colossians 2:21-23 “Don’t handle! Don’t taste! Don’t touch!?” Such rules are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them. These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires.”
So, if the only rules we have to follow are those of the Kingdom, why do so many churches and Christians live under such religious, man-made, rules and regulations that God hasn’t imposed on us? Religion and denomination many times are a human and fleshly attempt to make people Holy and to ensure that people feel like they are “good enough” to get into Heaven. This scripture plainly tells us that man-made rules and strict guidelines have no power to set people free. Instead, they bind people and give the devil and avenue to torment and restrain (put a leash) on God’s people. Thus keeping them from fully operating in the power and anointing Christ provides. The sad thing is following such strict guidelines takes a lot of dedication, intestinal fortitude, and persistence. So, following them seems like something a truly devoted, “God fearing” person would do. I guess that would make sense if our God was a slave driving, task master standing over us w/a whip just waiting for us to make a mistake. However, God is nothing like that!!! God’s entire make up is LOVE!!! I’ve heard you better “fear” the Lord preached in the context that we should truly be afraid of God! Like He’s going to strike me dead if I do one little thing wrong. Thankfully, that’s not the case! I believe that the type of “fear” we are to have for God is a respectful, in awe of, reverence. (John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”) I know we have all heard that scripture a thousand times, but think about it.... would you allow your son to be brutally murdered for someone you didn’t love? It would take pages to list all the scripture that refer to God’s love (try looking up “love” in the concordance of your Bible sometime to if you don’t believe me :) God came down and visited with Adam & Eve in the garden; Moses spent so much time in God’s presence that his face glowed (Exodus 34:28-30), God considered Abraham His friend & we are His friend as well (Romans 5:11 “So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God-all because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done for us in making us friends of God.”). Am I saying that people can just go around doing whatever they want with no guidelines or restraint?.... NO! I’m saying the only guidelines we have to follow are those specified clearly in the Bible...the spiritual principles and guidelines of the Kingdom of God. Am I saying that people can be disrespectful toward God? NO! There is no doubt about it God is very powerful and holds each breathe we take in His hand. We owe Him our respect... the same respect we have for our parents (if you have a healthy parent/child relationship to compare it too). My parents love me dearly and would do anything in their power to help me. Am I afraid of them? No. Do I respect them and treat them with respect? Absolutely!!!!!
In closing....
Colossians 3:1-4 “Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.”
Since we are dead to the rules and authority of the flesh and earthly kingdom, we should be focused on operating in and following the laws of where we truly abide, the Heavenly Kingdom/realm. We have a different reality than those of this world. For example, sickness is part of the curse of this world/realm, however, as residence of the Heavenly Kingdom, we don’t have to be sick and can walk in health and operate in the healing power of God (1 Peter 2:24, James 5:15, Luke 4:40). Financial woes and poverty are another worry or part of the earthly kingdom, however, the Bible is full of promises that God will supply all of our needs and bless us in impossible circumstances and situations. This life on earth is temporary. It’s only a tiny part of our destiny. We will spend ETERNITY in Heaven... that’s FOREVER. So, we need to be focused on the reality of Heaven and not get consumed by what’s going on in the world and loose sight of what I call the big picture. Let me clarify that I’m not saying we can just be oblivious to those around us and be lazy through our earthly lives. What we do while living on this earth is a part of the path that leads to our final destination of Heaven....it’s not however the ONLY part. Most importantly remember that although we live on this earth, we are not part of its system/kingdom and therefore do not have to operate under its curse or follow its spiritual rules. People may think we’re crazy now for living and speaking what I’ve been talking about earthly and Heavenly Kingdoms. Like verse 4 says, when Jesus returns for those who are serving and waiting for Him, the whole world will suddenly discover what we’re talking about and face the reality that Jesus is real and that everything written in the Bible is true. Talk about a wake up call and a “hello, here’s your sign” kinda moment.
-Faith
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