Colossians 2:11-15

In our last study we looked at verses 5-10, which covered a range of Theological subjects, from the rooting and walking in our faith, to warnings concerning what kinds of worldly thinking and traditions we are to avoid. Even at that, Paul also instructed us about the Deity of Christ working in our own persons and souls as part of His Body, being subject to no rule but His, just as Christ is. I believe I can safely say that the former study will form the basis and introduction to the next few studies and the point that will be made in those studies.
Let’s take a look at verses 11-15,

“…and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; having been buried with Him in baptism in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. When He had disarmed the rules and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.” -Colossians 2:11-15

Looking back for a moment, Paul has just finished telling us a rather unusual truth in verse 10, the fact that in Christ we do not need to obey any authority but His, which means submitting to His Word, and to the authorities that we are commanded to obey IN His Word, and those alone. He goes on to inform us that we, as Christians, have undergone the process of spiritual circumcision with our salvation. Done without hands but rather in our hearts and minds, our depraved mindset and heart is changed at salvation, when Christ ‘circumcises’ our hearts, removing the flesh and complete depravity. This is to say that we are able to have faith in Christ and the Holy Spirit in our lives once our hearts are circumcised like this. This is not to say we’re capable of perfection after this fleshly circumcision, unfortunately. Since we still alive in fleshly, fallen bodies on this earth, we will not be able to achieve complete Christ-likeness until they are entirely dead and we are free of them. Though eventually we will receive a new body (see 1st Corinthians 15:36-49). This is also reflected in Romans 7, where Paul teaches that as long as our fleshly bodies remain we will be sinning.
Next, Paul goes on to say,
“…having been buried with Him in baptism in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.” -Colossians 2:12

This is interesting, because after explaining how the circumcision of our depraved hearts works in Christ, Paul goes on to say that we were buried with Him in baptism. Not only that, but also this same baptism, is that which we were also raised up with Him through faith. What does this mean? Is this the baptism of water? Is Paul speaking of water baptism here? I think not. I doubt that in water baptism we would be raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, since we are saved of faith, not works. What then?
What is being spoken of here is not water baptism, but rather the baptism of the Holy Spirit. We are born again in Christ with the fire of the Spirit and not through water. Baptism is nothing but a symbol, an outward reflection of the faith that is already within. When salvation happens, all believers are baptized in the Holy Spirit coming to dwell in their lives, and is felt, literally FELT, in the heart of every believer. This is a baptism that goes far deeper than baptism of water.
That being said, it makes sense how spiritual baptism not only buries us with Christ as He was buried, dead to the world and to the flesh, but also that like Christ, we’re also raised up in Him through our faith in God’s work, not our own. The Holy Spirit in us baptizes us into Christ’s death and resurrection, since it makes us a new creature that is dead to the world and alive to God. This is the key issue here in this verse. (see Romans 6, particularly 3-5, for more on this subject.)
“When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificated, of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.” -Colossians 2:13-14

Having explained the important passage above, Paul goes on to explain more details about this business of our being ‘dead and buried with Christ’ and ‘raised up to life.’ As stated above, in our spiritual baptism and salvation, which is the renewing of our minds and being born again, we are dead to the world. We are dead to this world and its enslavement to sin, no longer part of it. However, with our salvation and renewing in Jesus Christ, we are similarly dead to our transgressions and former uncircumcision. It’s like we have changed sides, from being dead to Christ, to being dead to the world. Alive on one side and dead on the other. However, what does it mean, to be ‘dead’ or ‘alive’ in this manner? Paul explains.
Being dead to Christ, dead to His Life and salvation, is being in the enslavement of transgressions and uncircumcision, our minds still being of depraved thinking and still being bound by our sinfulness to death. (again, Romans 7 speaks on this.) This is, quite literally, an outworking of death, the death that exists in us as human beings separated from God. Since God is life, and is THE Life, being separated from Him literally is death to us. Since His good Life is the only true life, we are dead when we are apart from Him. Being still lost to sin, guilt, the Law, and transgression is death in this case.
However, there is good news, as we all know! Despite this condition, Paul goes on and states that God made us alive with Him, wiping away all of our transgressions in the form of Jesus Christ. We are once again connected to God’s wonderful life-giving Spirit when He saves us. Now, at this point, we are dead to the world in that we no longer are part of it or function through its principles, but alive with Christ instead. And only because, as Paul so aptly claims, we were forgiven of all our sins and evil, be literally canceling our our debt to Him. Since we were formerly under the Law, which consisted of decrees against us, telling us to obey certain laws, rules, and commands in order to please God or else die, God saved us from its rule. We are no longer subject to the decrees of the Law because God has canceled out its condemnation of us.
We all know too well that anyone who is subject to Law, and breaks it even in the most minor offense, will be condemned as a lawbreaker. (James 2:9-13 is great for this subject.) This is why the Law serves as an accuser against us, and why only Christ, who was perfect, could fulfill its requirements perfectly. (Galatians 3:19-29) And as a result, since He was subject to it, we no longer have to be. This is why the Law is hostile to us, even as saved believers, for its purpose it not to guide, but to condemn the lawbreaker. For the Law says, “The soul that sins, it shall surely die.” (Ezek. 18:4)
However, the power of the Law over us, as well as our sin, was nailed to the cross in the form of Jesus Christ, and thus destroyed. Christ not only took on our sins, but the condemnation of them in His crucifixion. Praise be to our Lord and Savior for it!
And finally, let’s look at the final verse in our study, on which Paul closes this train of thought and continued to the next one.

“When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.” -Colossians 2:15

Paul informs us in this passage that Christ and His actions, particularly His death and resurrection, have been responsible for ‘disarming’ the rulers of this world, the principalities that are the masters of the vast majority of humanity. (Ephesians 6:12, for example.) These powers and the prince of this world was disarmed and rendered powerless by Christ’s death, which made it impossible to condemn those who believed. The main idea is that Satan was defeated by Christ’s death and resurrection, and how because of the triumph over sin, death and the prince of the world, the Gospel and good news of it is ‘proclaimed’ throughout the world, publicly displayed for all to see. Indeed though many are unable to see something so blatantly displayed as Christ’s triumph, those not blinded by their own depravity and worldliness can see it clearly, which are the saved believers in Christ. Thank God on High that He has made a public proclaiming to all the world of His triumph over the powers of this world!

~Alex
Phil. 4:13