"And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands." (Colossians 2:13-14)
God wrote about the day He made man, "And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day." (Genesis 1:31) Until the creation of man, everything God saw that He made, He said it was good. But on the sixth day, God said it was very good. All the rest of creation was just the backdrop for what was to be the crowning glory of God's ultimate triumph through the sacrifice of His Son.
Before God made the woman, He placed Adam in the Garden of Eden to work it and keep it. Also, He made every living creature. God brought the animals to Adam, and without a word from God, he named them. Adam, without a word from God, understood the animals and gave them all descriptive names. Furthermore, God gave Adam, so far as we know, one warning, "And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." (Genesis 2:16, 17)
We are introduced to another kind of being in chapter three. Satan does not appear to Eve and possibly Adam but hides behind the serpent, who by nature was more crafty, cunning, shrewd, and sensible than all other animals. It was the perfect cover for the deceiver. Two beings were present and not just one. Eve was innocent and did not know demonic possession. The serpent was not on its belly because God had not yet cursed it.
Satan's deceptive temptation revolved around God's command. Adam and Eve could eat of every fruit in the garden except one, and that one the serpent made a problem. God gave one warning to Adam, "...for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." God in His grace did not kill Adam physically on that day, but He did spiritually. The good news is that God makes us alive together with Him through salvation by believing in Jesus, the promised Savior.
Paul, when writing to the Colossian Church, informed them of their spiritual condition. First, he explained what they once were. "And you, who were dead in your trespasses." As descendants of Adam, we are all born spiritually dead. The transcendent feature of salvation is the rebirth of our spiritual life.
The first time our life was in Christ because of His spoken Word, the second time we are made alive in Him. We share His life through His spilled blood, for life is in the blood. "For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement." (Leviticus 17:11)
My dear readers, if you ever have problems with temptation, you will want to meditate on how the following verses can change how you fight the world, the flesh, and the devil.
For faith to be victorious, we must know who we believe in and why and believe in Him all the way to victory.
"as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him." We received Christ Jesus as Lord when we were without strength. "For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly." (Romans 5:6)
"See to it that there is no one who takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception in accordance with human tradition, in accordance with the elementary principles of the world..." (Colossians 2:8). Human tradition teaches us that if we want something, we have to make it happen. The world's elementary principles deceive us into believing we are in control and we are at the top of the food chain - human pride.
"..., rather than in accordance with Christ." (Colossians 2:8 continued) Accordance with Christ places Him in the place of authority and when we are in Him we are covered by His authority. "For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, 10and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over every ruler and authority." (Colossians 2:9, 10)
"If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees ...23These are matters which do have the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and humility and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence." Spiritual disciplines like keeping the ordinances have an appearance of victory but they are not according to faith - in Christ. (Colossians 2:20, 23)
"Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth." (Colossians 3:1, 2) Victory in Jesus is about the resurrection from the dead and being seated with Him at the right hand of God. Faith is in the completed work of Christ and not our own proud human effort.
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