SERIES: Colossians: Christ is the Answer
What Do You Have If You Have Jesus?
SCRIPTURE: Colossians 2:9-15
SPEAKER: Michael P. Andrus
Introduction: If I had my choice to listen to any preacher anywhere, I wouldn’t choose Billy Graham, Chuck Swindoll, Charles Stanley, or even Stewart Briscoe, as great as those communicators are—I’d take Dr. E. V. Hill. Dr. Hill is from Los Angeles, the pastor of Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church, and he is a preacher’s preacher, combining the best of black revivalism with good sound theology and a great heart for God.
Twenty years ago Dr. Hill preached a series of four sermons over a period of four years at Moody Bible Institute’s Annual Pastors Conference. The first sermon was entitled, “One, Two, Three.” The next year he returned and preached a sermon entitled, “Four, Five, Six,” etc. through Twelve. What the numbers represented were twelve things you have when you have Jesus. Though Hill was preaching from Romans instead of Colossians, I thought of that sermon as I was working through these verses and decided to entitle my message, “What do you have if you have Jesus?” Instead of 12 things we will look at only four.
You know, it’s very easy for us Christians to engage in a lot of God-talk; by that I mean we use a lot of terms no one else understands and I’m not even sure we always do—terms like salvation, born-again, commitment, faith, and surrender. These are good words, but sometimes they obscure rather than enlighten, and a question like, “What do you have if you have Jesus?” helps us cut through all the baloney and get down to basic truths we can digest and apply.
If you have Jesus, you have fullness instead of emptiness. (9-10)
Now this looks strangely like a point we made last Sunday; in fact, it is the same point. I repeat it here because it is a transitional point; it not only serves as Paul’s conclusion in his call for Lordship living, but it also serves to introduce this profound section on what Jesus Christ provides for His people.
Let me offer a brief review of this first point. In verse 8 Paul is warning us not to be taken captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy which is based on humanism and demonic power rather than based on Christ. Why? “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ.” An early church father wrote that “there is a God-shaped vacuum in every human heart.” Another said, “Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee.” [i] If the very fullness and completeness and fulfillment that every human being is searching for is available in Jesus, why look anywhere else? Cultivate human relationships, but do not look for ultimate fulfillment in them because they will surely disappoint you. Energetically pursue your career, but do not imagine that you will find transcending fulfillment in it. Recognize that only in Christ does the believer have complete fulfillment.[ii]
I don’t mean to imply, of course, that a believer can never experience a day of depression or loneliness, or ever sense a lack of purpose in his life. As long as we’re here on earth we will struggle to appropriate and apply what we have been given in Christ. But if these things characterize our lives on a regular basis, wouldn’t it be evidence that we don’t have Jesus, for Paul says, “You have been given fullness in Christ.” If you have Jesus, you’ve got fullness instead of emptiness.
If you have Jesus, you have new life instead of death. (11-13)
Look first at verse 13: “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ.” You were dead; now you’re alive. In what sense were Paul’s readers “dead”? Well, obviously not physically dead; no, they were spiritually dead; in fact, they were actually born that way. This is one of the most important truths taught in the Bible—everyone of us is stillborn, spiritually speaking, when we come into the world. That’s hard to accept when you look at a brand-new baby and he looks so innocent and so much like a little cherub. But just wait. Sooner or later, and more likely sooner, that sweet little child will start asserting his or her independence and begin to exercise choices in wrong directions. The Bible calls this sin.
Why is this inevitable? Because he’s your child. He not only inherited his physical body from you and his personality, but he also inherited your tendency to sin. And as soon as he’s old enough he proves it by sinning. This is called by theologians, “the doctrine of original sin.” If you’re human, you’ve got the disease, and the disease is fatal. In other words, it separates you from God and, left untreated, it will keep you separated from God for all eternity.
This spiritual deadness which characterizes every human being B.C. (i.e., before Christ comes into his or her life) is referred to by Paul as “the uncircumcision of your sinful nature.” This sounds rather strange to our ears, but it would have communicated quite clearly to Paul’s readers, many of whom were Jewish. You see, circumcision was the sign of the covenant which God made with His people. The cutting away of the flesh distinguished God’s people from pagan society and served as the sign of a covenant relationship between God and mankind. The uncircumcised person was automatically excluded from the covenant family.
Paul says that our natural state is one of uncircumcision, but when we receive Jesus we are circumcised. See it in v. 11: “In him you were also circumcised.” But he isn’t talking about physical circumcision, rather spiritual circumcision. This isn’t surgery done by a rabbi; it is divine surgery done by Christ. What is in view here is not the cutting off of skin but a putting off of the sinful nature (v. 11). In other words, when we receive Christ, He cuts away the apron strings that tie us to our inborn tendency to sin, and in its place gives us for the first time a freedom to obey God.
For the believer this drastic change is pictured in baptism, as Paul notes in verse 12: “Having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.” Just as Jesus died, was buried, and then was raised from the dead by the power of God, so immersion in water is a profound picture of the death of our sinful nature, our burial with Christ, and our resurrection to new life as believers in Him. It isn’t, of course, the water that accomplishes this change—Paul clearly states it is “through your faith in the power of God.” Baptism is only a picture of our conversion.
The basic truth Paul is communicating here is a contrast between our former state as unbelievers and our present state as believers.
Our former state can be described as spiritually dead and excluded from the family of God, as evidenced by our uncircumcision.
Our present state can be described as spiritually alive and included in the family, as evidenced by our baptism.
By the way, have you ever seen a program or read a book about zombies? Zombies are people who have been subjected to powerful drugs and/or demonic power, and in the process, they have become like living dead people. Well, let’s face it, there are millions of spiritual zombies out there who never met a voodoo priest—yet they are the walking dead. But if you have Jesus, you have spiritual life instead of spiritual death. You have passed from death into life.
If you have Jesus, you have forgiveness instead of guilt. (13-14)
Look at the end of verse 13: “He forgave us all our sins.” That right there is one of the amazing statements in all of Scripture: “He forgave us all our sins.” Let’s examine it for a moment. First, He forgave us, He didn’t excuse us, and the difference is enormous. To excuse sin is to view it as inconsequential or to judge the circumstances sufficiently extenuating that the perpetrator is not really responsible. But to forgive is to acknowledge the seriousness of the action but at the same time, to pay the consequences oneself rather than demanding payment from the other person.
Notice, too, the extent of the forgiveness—”He forgave us all our sins”—
not just venial sins but also so-called mortal sins;
not just past sins but also present and future sins;
not just the ones we confess but also the ones we forgot about;
not just sins of the body but also those of the mind.
And why is this important? Because sin produces guilt. Whenever we violate the law, guilt accrues to our account. Usually this is accompanied by guilt feelings, but it doesn’t have to be. One can be guilty without feeling guilty. Every day in our courts, juries find defendants guilty who show no remorse and loudly proclaim their innocence—even some who are caught red-handed. Jeffrey Dahmer is pleading innocent despite parts of 13 bodies found in his apartment—innocent by reason of insanity. No matter what the courts rule in his case, that man stands guilty before God. But so do we all, for though we may not be guilty of deviant sexual behavior, murder or cannibalism, every one of us has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and since the sentence for sin of any kind is death, we have a problem.
We need a lawyer, an advocate to stand before the Judge in our behalf to file some kind of plea to win our acquittal. Friend, if you have Jesus you have just such a lawyer. Listen to I John 2:1: “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins.”
How and when did Jesus accomplish our forgiveness? Verse 14 makes it clear: “having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.” Jesus accomplished our forgiveness at the cross, and what happened there is described in the most vivid language: He canceled something, took it away, and nailed it to the cross. What was it? It was something written, it contained regulations, and it was against us and stood opposed to us. It seems to me that Paul must be referring to the Mosaic Law, not in its revelatory aspects but rather in its condemnatory aspects.
You see, the law reveals God’s character and shows man how to live happy, healthy and long lives, and in respect to that, the Law is perfect and eternal. But because its standards are so high and human failure is so rampant, the Law serves to condemn us, and it results in a lengthy rap sheet being written up on each of us.
Well, Paul says Jesus took our rap sheets and canceled them. Not only that, He nailed them to His cross. Listen to how J. B. Phillips translates verse 14: “He has forgiven you all your sins: Christ has utterly wiped out the damning evidence of broken laws and commandments which always hung over our heads and has completely annulled it by nailing it over his own head on the cross.”
Martin Luther experienced the reality of this truth in a dream in which he was visited at night by Satan, who brought to him a record of his life. The Tempter said to him, “Is that true?” The poor terrified Luther had to confess it was all true. Scroll after scroll was unrolled, and the same confession was wrung from him again and again. At length, the Evil One prepared to take his departure, having brought Luther down to the lowest depths of abject misery. Suddenly the Reformer turned to the Tempter and said: “It is true, every word of it, but write across it all: ‘The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanses us from all sin.’” [iii]
However, we must never take the cancellation of our debt lightly, for the price was enormous—the death of God’s Son. The forgiveness that is free for us was very costly to Him. Onlookers at the cross saw only the superscription bearing His name and the alleged charge against Him. But we as believers are invited to see our sins nailed there.
So far this morning we have seen that if you have Jesus, you have fullness instead of emptiness, life instead of death, and forgiveness instead of guilt. Now the fourth and final truth I want to share is that …
If you have Jesus, you have victory over spiritual powers instead of bondage to them. (15)
Look at verse 15: “And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” What is the picture these words would have brought to the mind of Paul’s readers? Instantly they would have thought of the Roman legions returning from a military victory, with the conquered rulers on display. Plutarch tells of one such triumphal procession when the Roman General Aemilius Paulus returned from capturing Macedonia. Great scaffolds were erected in the Forum and along the boulevards of Rome for spectator seating, and all of Rome turned out, dressed in festive white. On the first day 259 chariots displayed in procession the statues, pictures, and colossal images taken from the enemy.
On the second day innumerable wagons bore the captured armor of the Macedonians. Following the wagons came 3,000 soldiers carrying the enemies’ silver in 750 vessels, followed by more treasure. On the third day came the captives, preceded by 120 sacrificial oxen with their horns gilded and their heads adorned with ribbons and garlands, then the captured king’s chariot, crown, and armor. Then came the king’s servants, weeping, with hands outstretched, begging the crowds for mercy. Next came his children. Then King Perseus himself, clad entirely in black, followed by endless prisoners. Finally came the victorious general … seated on the chariot magnificently adorned, dressed in a robe of purple, interwoven with gold, and holding a laurel branch in his right hand. All the army, in like manner, with boughs of laurel in their hands, divided into their bands and companies, followed the chariot of their commander.” [iv]
This is the picture that would come to mind as the Colossians read the words of verse 15: “And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” But who are these powers and authorities whom Jesus has conquered? Not kings or soldiers but rather spirit beings. In other words, the drama at Calvary included more than bloodthirsty Jews, cruel Roman soldiers, curious bystanders, and weak disciples. It also included unseen beings, demons, who were engaging the Son of God in monumental spiritual warfare.
This is the third time in Colossians that Paul has referred to the fact that there are invisible powers that interlock with our world. Look back at chapter 1, verse 16: “For by Christ all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or power or rulers or authorities: all things were created by him and for him.” Some thrones, powers, rulers, and authorities are visible; others are invisible; but they all owe their existence to the creative power of Jesus Christ. Sadly, some of them rebelled against Him while others remained loyal to Him. The former are the demons; the latter are the good angels.
Then in 2:8 Paul warns against the hollow and deceptive philosophy which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. We mentioned last Sunday that the term “basic principles” is almost certainly a reference to the demonic spiritual powers believed by many to control the planets and therefore men’s lives. The reason we should reject philosophy based upon such powers is that “in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.” In other words, we are being challenged with the question, why surrender to or even consult with the spiritual powers behind the Zodiac or the spirit guides of the New Agers when Jesus has ultimate authority over all of them?
Now in 2:15 Paul makes his strongest statement yet on spiritual warfare, as he claims that Jesus is not only the head over all spirit powers; He actually made a public spectacle of them when He died on the cross. Satan’s greatest moment of triumph—influencing the frenzied crowds to crucify an innocent man—actually turned out to be his greatest moment of defeat, for the Cross, symbol of weakness as it was, turned out to be the instrument whereby men were released from bondage to Satan and enabled to enter into a personal and eternal relationship with God.
Wellington won a great victory over Napoleon at Waterloo, but when he sent word from France back to England by means of blinking lights over the English Channel, fog interfered with the message. The words “Wellington defeated …” were all that were seen, and great sorrow filled the hearts of the British. But when the fog was lifted, the rest of the message came through: “Wellington defeated Napoleon.” Sorrow turned to joy, just as when Jesus’ disciples got the rest of the message, “He is not here; He is risen.”
Of course, all this will have little meaning for those who scoff at the existence of a spirit world that includes Satan and demons. Thankfully, there aren’t many left in that category. Back in the 60’s science seemed to reign supreme, and there was a great deal of skepticism about the supernatural in general and the existence of angels and demons in particular. But several things converged in the early 70’s to change the perspective of many. The Viet Nam War produced a great deal of disillusionment with the military industrial complex, but also with technology and education. Secondly, the drug culture was advancing and along with it there was a considerable amount of interest in new levels of consciousness, including Eastern religions and occultism. And thirdly, Hollywood produced a movie called “The Exorcist,” based loosely upon a true story that took place right here at St. Louis University.
When that movie came out, I was teaching philosophy and apologetics at a college in Kansas City. I was contacted by some of the student leaders of Campus Crusade for Christ at KU to see if I would come and lecture on the Exorcist to a small group of students.[v] I told them I hadn’t seen the movie and didn’t want to see it, but I knew the story and would be glad to come and speak concerning what the Bible has to say about demons and demon possession. They said that would be fine and I could expect about 30 students to attend. When I got there, I was overwhelmed to discover that over 300 students had jammed into this room and they had to move the session to the little theater in the student union. And for nearly three hours I explained what the Bible says about Satan and demons and fielded questions.
I rarely find skepticism concerning the existence of supernatural spirits today. What I do find everywhere, however, is the naive view that these supernatural spirits are friendly and can be consulted with impunity. I am very concerned about the degree of acceptance psychics receive in our society. Many police departments employ psychics on a regular basis to help solve crimes. Parents consult them to find missing children. President Reagan unashamedly employed one to help him make many decisions during his tenure in the White House.
Some would scoff at these psychics as frauds, and surely some are, but the reason they have such a foothold in our culture is because many can produce. But the question is, “By whose power do they produce?” Is it better for a crime to be solved by demonic power or for it to remain unsolved?
There are powers and authorities in this world with whom we should have nothing to do. But we need not live in fear of them, because if we have Jesus, we have victory over them. They still exist; they are still active; they still have influence; they still do some damage. But their ultimate doom has been sealed and they are like a convicted criminal awaiting sentencing and incarceration. We need no longer fear the outcome of our battle with evil. Christ has conquered and we have conquered! [vi]
Conclusion: What do you have if you have Jesus? You have fullness instead of emptiness; you have new life instead of death; you have forgiveness instead of guilt; you have victory over spiritual powers instead of bondage to them. And that’s just for starters. We could go through the twelve things Dr. E.V. Hill preached and we still wouldn’t tell it all. Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer listed 39 accomplishments of the death of Christ and even he only scratched the surface.
What do you have if you have Jesus?
He is a path, if any be misled;
He is a robe, if any naked be;
If any chance to hunger, He is bread;
If any be a prisoner, He is free;
If any be but weak, how strong is He!
To dead men, life He is, to sick men health,
To blind men sight, and to the needy wealth.” [vii]
George Beverly Shea immortalized the same truth when he sang,
I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold,
I’d rather be His than have riches untold;
I’d rather have Jesus than houses or lands,
I’d rather be led by His nail-pierced hand.
I’d rather have Jesus than men’s applause,
I’d rather be faithful to His dear cause;
I’d rather have Jesus than world-wide fame,
I’d rather be true to His holy name.
He’s fairer than lilies of rarest bloom,
He’s sweeter than honey from out the comb;
He’s all that my hungering spirit needs,
I’d rather have Jesus and let Him lead.
Than to be the king of a vast domain
Or be held in sin’s dread sway;
I’d rather have Jesus than anything
This world afford today.
If you are spiritually dead today, Christ invites you to come to Him:
“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare …. Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.” (Isaiah 55:1-2, Rev. 22:17)
DATE: February 16, 1992
Tags:
Forgiveness
Demons
[i] Augustine, Confessions, I. 1. 1.
[ii] R. Kent Hughes, Colossians and Philemon: The Supremacy of Christ, 80.
[iii] Hughes, 78-79
[iv] Hughes, 79-80
[v] The individual who actually extended the invitation to me was a student named Bill Boehm. He became a close friend and many years later joined the staff at First Free in Wichita. As of this writing in 2022 Bill is retired, as I am, and remains a dear friend.
[vi] Hughes, 80
[vii] Source unknown.