Sweet Victory, Part 1
Sweet Victory
I. Introduction
A. Which Way to Go:
1. Dr. Seamands tells of a Muslim who became a Christian in Africa. "Some of his friends asked him, ‘Why have you become a Christian?’
He answered, ‘Well, it’s like this. Suppose you were going down the road and suddenly the road forked in two directions, and you didn’t know which way to go, and there at the fork in the road were two men, one dead and one alive—which one would you ask which way to go?’"
B. During Easter we celebrate the empty tomb.
1. The hope we have in Jesus is not because of the cross.
a. Many people had been crucified.
2. The hope we have is because of the empty tomb.
3. a. QUOTE: Mel Gibson – "Without the resurrection, our faith is dead. The story's not complete without it."— explaining why The Passion of the Christ ends with a scene of the empty tomb.
C. The empty tomb is a testimony not simply to who Jesus is but also to what He did.
1. Not just what He did on the cross, but also to the victory He won in and over grave.
D. PASSAGE
:1. Colossians 1:16-20, "For all things were created in Him, the things in the heavens, and the things on the earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created through Him and for Him. (17) And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist. (18) And He is the Head of the body, the church, who is the Beginning, the First-born from the dead, that He may be pre-eminent in all things.(19) For it pleased the Father that in Him all fullness should dwell. (20) And through Him having made peace through the blood of His cross, it pleased the Father to reconcile all things to Himself through Him, whether the things on earth or the things in Heaven."
2. Ephesians 1:15-22, "15Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: 17that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18the eyes of your understanding[c] being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. 22And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all."
3. Colossians 2:8-10,13-15, "8Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. 9For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; 10and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power....13And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, 14having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it."
II. What Victory Did He Win?
A. He removed our sin.
Colossians 2:13b-14, "He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, 14having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross."1. He forgave.
a. He did not enforce the penalty of our sin.
2. He wiped out the charge.
a. literally, "erase"
b. He dismissed our charges.
3. He took away the law.
a. Literally "removed from our path"
b. He removed the basis for the charge.
4. He nailed it to the cross.
a. He secured it so that it would never affect us again.
B. He conquered our enemy.
Colossians 2:15, "Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it."1. He disarmed them. (literally: to take by force)
a. There is no struggle.
i. The issue between God and Satan has never been one of power.
ii. The issue has always been authority.
b. The enemy’s right to rule rested in sin.
i. Sin’s power rested in the law.
ii. When Christ "took away" the law, He stripped the enemy of his authority and power to rule.
c. 1 Corinthians 15:55-57, "(55) O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory?" (56) The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the Law. (57) But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. "
2. He displayed them. (literally: made an exhibit)
a. He did this in a blatantly public manner.
i. He paid the sacrifice publicly.
ii. He rent the veil in the temple publicly.
iii. He rose from the grave publicly.
He appeared to the disciples and hundreds of believers.
b. The whole universe knew and knows that Christ utterly defeated Satan and his forces.
3. He delighted over them. (literally: an acclamatory procession)
a. He gloated.
b. In the Cross we see the suffering of God – In the Resurrection we see the laughter of God.
c. In the Greek Orthodox tradition, the day after Easter was devoted to telling jokes - they felt they were imitating the cosmic joke that God pulled on Satan in the Resurrection.
d. "Christ died and rose and lives.
Laugh like a woman who holds her first baby.
Our enemy death will soon be destroyed.
Laugh like a man who finds he doesn't have cancer,
or he does, but now there's a cure.
Christ opened wide the door of heaven.
Laugh like children at Disneyland's gates.
This world is owned by God, and he'll return to rule.
Laugh like a man who walks away uninjured
from a wreck in which his car was totaled.
Laugh as if all the people in the whole world
were invited to a picnic
and then invite them."
e. God’s attitude toward Satan is "Who do you think you are!"
III. What Enemy was He Victorious Over?
A. Thrones
1. Positions of power and honor
a. what a king sits on
2. The Head of the Spiritual Hierarchy
3. This passage is all inclusive; it is speaking of both earthly and spiritual realms.
B. #9; Dominions
1. Systems and Areas governed by those in positions of power and honor
2. Every king has a kingdom.
3. Every kingdom has a government.
C. Principalities
1. The Foundations and support structures of those thrones and dominions.
2. Literally: the beginning or starting place
a. Most of the time this ward is used in this manner.
3. Every throne and dominion is formed and supported by a structure.
a. Principles
b. Principalities enforce principles.
D. Powers
1. Delegated authority,
2. other translations:
a. jurisdiction,
b. liberty,
c. right
3. This is speaking of the right to rule.
a. Example: A police officer can stop a car by his authority.
E. Might
1. Ability, Strength
2. other translations:
a. #9; Miracle,
b. #9; mighty works,
c. #9; abundance,
d. #9; virtue
3. The idea is not simply power, but supernatural power.
4. This is different from authority in the same way the manner in which a Mack truck stops a car is different from the way a police officer stops a car.
F. Names
1. Identification – How you know someone or something.
2. Title – what you call someone or something.
3. Reputation - what someone or something is known for.
IV. Conclusion
A. Are you living in the victory of a Risen Lord?
B. Poem: Thou Art My Victory – Unknown Author