As Paul the apostle
continued to show the Colossians how Jesus was indeed God and how
there were benefits that were afforded by His sacrifice on the cross
for them, he wrote of their “spiritual circumcision”, their
“baptism” with Christ and their “resurrection” with Him from
their sins and works of the flesh. In chapter two and verse fourteen
Paul continued his description as he wrote of the “blotting out”
of “the handwriting of ordinances” which was against them
as well. We read:
Blotting out the
handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to
us,
and took it out of the
way, nailing it to his cross;
The verse begins, “Blotting
out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us,” Paul
begins with the phrase, “Blotting out”
which means “to anoint or wash in every part, to whitewash
or plaster, to wipe off, wipe away, to obliterate, erase, or wipe
out” “the handwriting” or “what one has written by his
own hand, a note of hand or writing in which one acknowledges that
money has either been deposited with him or lent to him by another,
to be returned at the appointed time” “of ordinances”
which is the Greek word “dogma” and means “doctrine, decree,
the rules and requirements of the law of Moses; carrying a suggestion
of severity and of threatened judgment, of certain decrees of the
apostles relative to right living” “that was against us”.
When Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead, every ordinance
that was against “us” which means “the Colossians and
Paul”, was as though it was erased, gone, and never to be seen
again.
The verse continues, “which
was contrary to us,” Paul
continued by including himself in the word “contrary”
which means “opposite
to, set over against: meeting one another, opposed to, and an
adversary”“to us”. Before Jesus made His sacrifice upon
the cross, the “handwriting of ordinances” were
against not only the Colossians, but also Paul the apostle as well.
The verse goes on to say, “and
took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;” The
phrase, “and took it out of the way”
means “moved from its place, to take off or away what is
attached to anything, to remove, to carry off, carry away with”.
Paul adds, “nailing it” or “fastening with nails” “to
his cross” or “to the cross on which He died”. Every
“handwriting of ordinance” that was against the church
members in Colosse, Jesus “nailed” to His cross when He
suffered and died for their sins. Everything from the past was
erased, and they were now set free by their belief and trust in
Jesus.
When we ponder these words
of Paul, not only did they apply to the Colossians, but they apply to
us as well. Every “handwriting of ordinances” which were
against us were nailed to Jesus' cross. We were guilty before God as
we attempted to keep His law and the ordinances set within it, yet
because Jesus nailed those handwritings against us to His cross, we
may now be set free from them. The “handwritings of ordinances”
have been erased, and now there is a clean slate before us. As we
conclude this study, let us bow our heads in gratitude to Jesus
Christ who though we were condemned through the “ordinances”
written against us, we are now liberated by His great sacrifice.
Glory be to His name!
Next
time Paul tells us how Jesus triumphed over principalities and
powers,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the
Mount” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ;
www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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