A note from our Pastor’s Desk:

“And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;”

Colossians 2:13

Good Morning Dearly Beloved,

Our study verse this week is a dense and powerful verse that captures the “before and after” of the regeneration experience. This verse is a definitive statement on regeneration (being made new) and justification (being declared righteous). It is wedged in this 2nd chapter, but remains a core understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Apostle Paul presents three elements in this verse. First, “the problem” is that before regeneration the child of God is dead and cut off from God. Second, “the solution” is that God acted upon the individual in regeneration, joining them to Jesus. Finally, “the result” is that the disciple is alive, all sins are forgiven, and you are walking with Christ. 

The Apostle begins with the problem of the child of God being dead and powerless. This is not a physical death, but a moral and spiritual inability. In a natural sense, a corpse cannot help itself, heal itself, or respond to stimuli. In a spiritual sense, before God intervenes a person is unresponsive to spiritual things. The saint, prior to regeneration, was not merely sick or in need of improvement. Rather, he or she was spiritually dead and powerless to change his or her condition.

The action of God is to create a vital union between the child of God and Jesus Christ. The subject of this verse shifts from “the dead sinner” to “He” (meaning God). The word quickened as used in this verse is an old English word that simply means to be “made alive.” Thus, God through regeneration binds the alive saint to Jesus Christ. God does not leave his people in isolation once they are alive, rather he joins them to the living Jesus.

Finally, the Apostle presents the mechanism of grace which results in total forgiveness. Regeneration is not the forgiveness of sins, but rather the granting of spiritual life that allows for comprehension of the forgiveness. The term “all trespasses” is comprehensive in scope. It does not say “past sins” or “big sins” but all trespasses have been forgiven and in regeneration this becomes known to the disciple. 

Our Prayers are with you daily,

Brother Jeremiah