June 8: Our arrest warrant was cancelled

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.   (Colossians 2:13-15 — The Message)

Before a person finds the Lord Jesus they are dead in their sin. Their disobedience separates them from God, and they are spiritually dead. But through Jesus, God brings a person back to life. He forgives all their sins and nails their “arrest warrant” to the cross. 

Two important things are mentioned in this passage. One is the custom of nailing a list of a crucified person’s crimes over his head. But Jesus was crucified for us, and so it was our crimes and sins that were nailed to His cross. The other thing on Paul the apostle’s mind was the removal of the Law. When Jesus died and rose again, a new covenant began and the old covenant was removed. We are not under the Law of Moses today — a list of dos and don’ts that required continual animal sacrifices — but under the Law of the Spirit. The Law brought condemnation, but Jesus brings life and freedom. Now, through the Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside of us, teaching us how to live, and giving us God’s nature.

The last sentence of this passage refers to what the Lord Jesus did to the negative spiritual forces of this world. Another version of the Bible says it this way:  He disarmed the rulers and authorities and disgraced them publicly; He triumphed over them by Him. To “triumph over” means to defeat, beat, conquer, overpower, or to bring someone to their knees — and this is exactly what Jesus did. 

He also disarmed the devil and his demons, but that doesn’t mean that everyone is free from their attacks. A quick look at the world around  you will confirm that that is not the case. Negative spiritual forces are disarmed only for those who have an active faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Sure we go through problems just like anyone else, the only difference is that we are guaranteed of victory as long as we hold tight to our faith and walk in it. — Walk in this triumph.