This is highly dramatic and picturesque account of the historical events of Good Friday, with which we may find it hard to relate. Paul’s first readers must have understood it all, and we are encouraged to believe this by the way in which he proceeds to apply the teaching to their new life. All that Christ did both in submission to death and overcoming his foes has personal and experiential relevance in the light of Col. 3:9, 10: “seeing that you have put off the old nature…and have put on the new nature.” The Christians’ “putting off” exactly matches Christ’s “putting off”, and points back to 2:11. When the Lord consented to yield to the regime of the astral powers and then to triumph over them, Christians too were involved in that representative act and by their faith union with him (expressed in baptism) they were united with him in his death and victory. The result is clear: You died with Christ out from under the elemental spirits of the universe (2:20). They are now an enemy which brings its accusations and indictment against you in vain, for they have done their worst to Christ and been foiled in the attempt to succeed in their clinging attack. He has neutralized their malevolence and holds them as his spoils of war.
by: Ralph P. Martin
Reconciliation and Hope
Edited By: Robert Banks
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