Destroying the Power of Sin- Jesus Paid it All

Companionship with the Living Lord:
Destroying the Power of Sin- Jesus Paid it All

Today's passage often seems somewhat obscure upon first read... or perhaps even a second read.

¹¹ In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the fleshwas 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 2:611-15)

So I chose to also look at 'The Message' which is a re-written version without the olden terms and jargon from so long ago. It's 'the main point', the 'gist' and should be treated like that. It's important to also see and read the real translation.

^11-15Entering into this fullness is not something you figure out or achieve. It's not a matter of being circumcised or keeping a long list of laws. No, you're already in—insiders—not through some secretive initiation rite but rather through what Christ has already gone through for you, destroying the power of sin. If it's an initiation ritual you're after, you've already been through it by submitting to baptism. Going under the water was a burial of your old life; coming up out of it was a resurrection, God raising you from the dead as he did Christ. When you were stuck in your old sin-dead life, you were incapable of responding to God. God brought you alive—right along with Christ! Think of it! All sins forgiven, the slate wiped clean, that old arrest warrant canceled and nailed to Christ's cross. He stripped all the spiritual tyrants in the universe of their sham authority at the Cross and marched them naked through the streets. (The Message, Colossians 2:11-15)

What stood out to me, especially as I read the message version was the part I have highlighted above... destroying the power of sin. Well, it might just seem evident, but that's what's so striking... it wasn't evident at one point. Hmm... a little confusing perhaps, but I'll try to explain.

In critical discourse analysis, there is a 'power' is a hot topic, some might say... 'the' topic. DCA is all about how language is power-laden and its interpretation, understanding and meaning is intricately tied into society's power structure. Ok, it might still seem a little far-fetched, but stick with me here.

Whatever is unnoticed or taken as a 'given' in a certain speech community is usually there for a specific purpose, and the fact that a practice is important to be carried out in a certain matter means that it holds power. For instance, it might've been developed by a distinguished person in that society.

So, all the laws, the rites, the customs that the Jews had to carry out were not benign. I would argue that they were power-laden . (Ah, there's our key word.) The fact that these were obligatory and had crucial consequences if they were not practiced correctly. In fact, the consequences were very real and could range from chastisement to stoning. (Now that's power!)

But, that's not what they were meant for. They were not given to people for them to follow them out of fear of what these powerful laws (or the 'keeper's of the law') could do.

In fact, it seemed that these people were not capable of understanding God's law in the way that He had meant it. So, he sent a new law. God sent His son, who 'paid it all'. He destroyed the power of sin over our lives... that power that could cause our embarrassment or pain or exculsion. Instead, we are all included. In fact, "the law" is one difficulty we Christians have so so often. Our societies are structured around 'laws', so it is hard to understand this Christianity that is about love... that is not earned but freely given.

Unlike all of our earthly societies, this is a community that invites all in... none need to earn their way. There is no hierarchical structure. In fact a critical discourse analysis of the kingdom of heaven would be extremely different... God is powerful and He reigns, but He does not hold that power over us in the way that our earthly societies do.

Praise the Lord for His marvelous, amazing, and beautiful way... that is so much more wonderful than we can even completely understand. He has saved us from the power of sin, of the law, of our societies.