Triumphant in Christ

​Triumphant in Christ
Col 2:13-15


Intro: The Christian life is Not a life of misery and sorrow; it is not a life of depression and defeat; The Christian life is a life of Triumph! Victory! Conquering! There is a very Good reason the Christian life is a life of Triumph, Victory and Conquest: JESUS CHRIST! He IS our triumph!
In these three verses Paul points out three reasons why the Christian life is a life of Triumph.
I. Our Debt of Sin has been Cancelled. (13)
You (and I) were dead in our sins. BUT Christ has quickened us together with himself; has made us Alive; brought us to Life;
“Having forgiven you all Trespasses.” Jesus has forgiven all our trespasses. The Debt of Sin has been cancelled. The Biblical and theological word for this is Justification. It is a Legal word and it means that when you repented of your sins and accepted Jesus as your Savior, God took the Payment of Jesus’ blood on Calvary and applied it to your Account. Your sins were a Debt that you could not pay; but Jesus paid your debt that he did not owe; and you and I have been Justified- our debt of sin has been cancelled.
The story is told a young Russian soldier who was away from home for the first time in his young life. He had fallen in with wrong company and gotten involved in gambling. He got deeper and deeper in debt until the gamblers were threatening his life if he didn’t pay up. Late one night, he sat at his little table in the barracks with his list of debts before him and he wrote in despair, “Who could pay so much?” He took his service revolver and decided that his only way out of debt and humiliation was to take his own life. While he sat there in sorrow he fell asleep. In the early morning hours, the Russian commander went quietly through the barracks checking on his troops. When he came to the young soldier asleep at his table he stopped and looked at the list of debts and read the sorrowful question, “Who could pay so much?” He took up the pen, wrote, “I can” and then signed his own name.
Thank God, Jesus looked at our debt list and saw our desperate memo, “Who could pay so much?” He then signed his name at the bottom of that list and forgave all our trespasses. Our sins have only been forgiven because of Jesus Christ. Our debt of sin has only been cancelled because of Jesus Christ.
This is the beginning of our Triumph in Christ; our debt of sin is cancelled.


II. The Guilt of Sin has been Removed. (14)
Paul stated that Jesus “blotted out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us and was contrary to us,” and that Jesus Christ “took it away by nailing it to his cross.” Jesus took all the sins that we had committed and nailed them to his cross. Jesus took all the Guilt that we were suffering and removed it; took it away.
The Guilt of our sins was Real and it was Intense. The record of our sins and wrong doings was Against us; the record was Contrary to us; We were guilty and condemned. But Jesus forgave us our sins, then he took all those “ordinances” or accusations that were against us and nailed them to his cross, thereby Removing our Guilt. We Were and Are no longer Guilty for those forgiven sins.
Justification was the Legal cancelling of our sin debt. Now, there is Redemption where God removes the actual Guilt of our sins from us. We stand redeemed! We stand Not guilty. We stand un-condemned.
Jesus paid the debt for our sins, then he removed the evidence that convicted us and made us not guilty.
Remember when Peter acted rashly in the Garden of Gethsemane and cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant? Peter was guilty of assault and even attempted murder. He could have been arrested and condemned and punished. BUT Jesus stooped down, took up the ear, placed it back on the man’s head and it was made completely whole. Jesus had removed all evidence of wrong doing on Peter’s behalf. He was no longer guilty of assault or attempted murder. There was No Proof it had ever happened! So Jesus removed all the evidence against us and by doing so removed our Guilt. Thank God for the triumph we have In Christ.
Our debt of sin has been cancelled;
Our guilt of sin has been removed. And...


III. The Power of Satan has been Conquered. (15)
Jesus “spoiled principalities and powers.” Jesus plundered all the forces of evil. Jesus disarmed them; stripped them of their authority.
When John saw his amazing vision of Jesus in Rev. 1, Jesus told him, “I am he that lives and was dead and behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen! And I have the keys of hell and of death.”
Peter wrote that while Jesus’ body was in the tomb, he went in the Spirit into the “prison;” the abode of the spirits of the dead at that time. Jesus “preached” unto them; proclaiming himself to be the Lamb of God who paid the price for all sins; proclaiming himself to be the Lord of all and the Victor who had conquered Satan and Sin forever.
Paul said in Eph 4 that Jesus “descended...into the lower parts of the earth” and that he then “ascended up on high,” and “led captivity captive and gave gifts to men.” So, Jesus not only proclaimed to those departed souls his Payment for sin and his Victory over Satan, but he also led all the souls of the Righteous into the Glories of Heaven and Began Giving Gifts to his Body on the earth, the Church made up of all who have been saved, washed in his blood and cleansed from sin.
Paul stated in our text that Jesus “made a show of them (those principalities and powers) openly, triumphing over them in it.”
In ancient days, when a king fought against a city or another kingdom and won, he would take the defeated king and all his royal host and dress them in torn and dirty rags. He would parade them down the Main Street of his own Capital city and show everyone that he had defeated them and conquered them completely. They no longer had any authority; they no longer had any position; they no longer had any riches or honor. He made a Show of them Openly, Publically.
Jesus has already defeated Satan; Jesus has already defeated the fallen angels; Jesus has already defeated the host of demons. They are all Conquered Foes. They only have authority when someone grants it to them. They only have power over those who allow them to have such power. They have no Eternal Riches and they have no Eternal Honor; their eternal destiny is already Decreed; their eternal doom is already Sealed.
Peter declared that the angels who sinned with Satan have been placed in “chains of darkness” and “reserved unto Judgment.” Then John wrote in Rev.19 that the devil was “cast into the lake of fire and brimstone...and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”
Rev 11:15 “... there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
Rev. 19:6 “And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him:” Triumph in Christ!
The Debt of Sin Cancelled; The Guilt of Sin Removed; The Power of Satan Conquered!