Making Our Way to the Cross - Pt 12

 

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. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. (Colossians 2:13–15 ESV).

 

Today is the last devotional of our present series. Tomorrow I’ll be using the events of Passion Week to take us to Easter Sunday. It would be a mistake on my part to fail to mention the utter defeat of death and the devil that Jesus accomplished in His death. John Stott was often referred to as the “closest thing to an evangelical pope” died in July, 2011, at the age of 96. Over the course of his long life he made an enduring mark on the Protestant and Evangelical world. Perhaps his greatest book was The Cross of Christ. I highly recommend it, though it is not a mere weekend read. In it he said:

 

“It would be hard to exaggerate the magnitude of the changes that have taken place as a result of the cross, both in God and in us, especially God’s dealings with us and in our relations with him. Truly, when Christ died and was raised from death, a new day dawned, a new age began.” (John Stott, The Cross of Christ).

 

Turning to the Puritans we can see that they viewed the defeat of Satan at the cross not merely as a symbolic victory, but as a definitive, legal, and cosmic event that shattered the devil’s dominion over humanity. They believed that while Satan remained active, his power to condemn believers was nullified at Calvary, rendering him a "disarmed" and "defeated foe". In our reading today Puritans emphasized that Christ used the cross to cancel the "certificate of debt"—the record of humanity’s sins—nailing it to the cross and removing Satan’s legal grounds for accusation (v. 15).

 

They also taught the disarming of the “Principalities.” This is the expression used to describe that Christ stripped Satan and his demons of their weapons, publicly shaming them by turning his own death into their defeat. Additionally, while rejecting the idea that a ransom was paid to Satan (as he had no lawful right to us), they believed Christ paid the penalty for sin to Divine Justice, which broke the bondage in which Satan held humanity. Through his death and resurrection, Christ paralyzed the power of the devil, who used the fear of death to enslave people.

 

For us today, since Satan has no rightful dominion over a believer's life, we can fight temptations and fear with the assurance that the ultimate conflict has already been won. This is how we may stand firm against this defeated enemy. Of course, there is a battle; however, the outcome is secure. Victory is ours in Christ and His work on the cross. A frequently used quote by an anonymous author says it well:

 

“The Devil whispered in my ear: ‘You’re not strong enough to withstand the storm.’ I whispered back: ‘I am the storm.’”

 

That is true because of Jesus’ work on the Cross!