In Jesus We Have Complete Salvation - Colossians 2:11-12
At the end of Colossians 2:10 the Scripture tells us that in Christ we have been made complete. The verses that follow provide a detailed description of that completeness. They tell us that in Christ we have complete:
- Salvation (Colossians 2:11-12)
- Forgiveness (Colossians 2:13-14)
- Victory (Colossians 1:15)
Colossians 2:11-12 – “…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.”
The false teachers who had infiltrated the church at Colossae were teaching that Jesus alone was not enough to save. They said a person needed Jesus plus something else. What that something else was varied from false teacher to false teacher. From vv.11-12 we can conclude that some of them were saying that physical circumcision was necessary for salvation. And in these verses Paul points out a person is not made right with God through outward acts such as circumcision. Instead, as the last part of v.12 says, we are made right with God “through faith in the working of God...” The phrase “working of God” points to the Christ event, specifically the death and resurrection of Jesus which is symbolized in baptism. The point of all that is salvation is in Jesus and Jesus alone. Apart from a faith commitment to Jesus--which means believing Jesus is Who He said He is and believing that Jesus had done for us what He said He would do--nothing else is needed for salvation.
(For more detailed notes on Colossians go to http://www.larryreynolds.org-a.googlepages.com/home)
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