Disgracing the powers of darkness

 This week's verses are Colossians 2:6-15:

Having been buried with him in baptism, you also have been raised with him through your faith in the power of God who raised him from the dead. And even though you were dead in your transgressions and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, he nevertheless made you alive with him, having forgiven all your transgressions. He has destroyed what was against us, a certificate of indebtedness expressed in decrees opposed to us. He has taken it away by nailing it to the cross. Disarming the rulers and authorities, he has made a public disgrace of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

 These verses are an awesome testament to the power of God over the rest of the universe. We sometimes raise other things up to the same level as God in our heads, and allow those things to intimidate us or define us. But these verses put it all into stark perspective. When we become Christians, none of that stuff can touch us without going through God first. And God never loses.

Particularly at this time of year, we see a lot of what I can only describe as demonic propaganda. (There's a phrase that'll probably get me cancelled by the algorithm.) As Halloween approaches, there are more horror movies and more imagery glorifying evil and painting depraved forces as being rivals to God in terms of power. But that's not even remotely true. In the spiritual reality we live in, God is uncontested and supreme.

But even outside of such overt propaganda, we sometimes get ideas in our head that are not based in truth. We imagine that we have done things that God cannot forgive, or that we are not going to be saved, or that we will never escape the consequences of our actions. These false ideas can cause real suffering and often victimize the most vulnerable among us. But Paul confronts them here.

When we become Christians, every curse over us is broken. The condemnation that would have destined us for Hell is canceled. Our indebtedness for the damage we have caused is nailed to the cross. God has taken it away. We are free.

But He doesn't stop there. These rulers and authorities, these demonic forces that are so glorified in the media, they are disarmed and disgraced by what Jesus has done. They are made powerless, and are shamed in front of everyone.

You see this phenomenon throughout the ancient world. Even in Biblical stories. When a ruler captures someone powerful, he will humiliate his former enemy to show his power over him. He might cut off his fingers and toes, or shave off his beard, or take out his eyes, all to show that he has complete and total power over him, that this former terror is no longer a threat to anyone. This is what happens to the defeated when there is no Geneva Convention or Red Cross or any of that. Victory is unambiguous. You don't want to be on the losing team.

That's what Paul is describing here, to those who have doubts, or who are tormented by a lack of faith in Jesus' power to save. He is saying that Jesus disarms and totally defeats the devil and his allies -- and makes a spectacle of it too.

These are good verses to have on hand when we go to God in prayer. They remind us that he is truly powerful. They remind us that the things that try to set themselves up as alternatives, the things that challenge the true narrative, that those things will not last. The evil that rebels against his rule will be thrown down forever, no matter how many movies Hollywood puts out that try to make it seem otherwise.

So thank God this season for winning and for inviting us to share in his victory.