6/28/12- God's Power Over Evil

¹³ When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, ¹⁴ having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. ¹⁵ And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

¹⁶ Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. ¹⁷ These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. ¹⁸ Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions. ¹⁹ He has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow. (Colossians 2:13-19)

(Crucifixion- Vouet 1622)

Thoughts: When Christ died, the curse against us was destroyed.  The powers against us were disarmed.  Evil became toothless when Christ died on the cross.  It still exists, but evil has a mortal wound.  There is only one God.  The image here is of a Roman general triumphantly parading his conquered foes naked through the streets.  In Christ's humility on the cross, evil was conquered and humiliated.  In Harry Potter, when Voldemort killed Potter- he killed himself.  In the cross, the death of Christ destroyed the power of evil, though evil was at work in the cross.
   There are those who think any spiritual being who is stronger than us should be worshiped.  Scripture says there are evil powers that seek to destroy and ruin us and should never be worshiped.
    The written code that is cancelled is not the Law, but the curse of the Law for those who believe.  The law of God does not die- for truth does not die.  But Christ paid the penalty so that the curse is no longer valid or active.  In doing this, ascetic practices and liturgical observations become secondary and superfluous.
    Jesus has freed us from evil and from the curse of the Law.  The Law is now a blessing to us to guide us, not a terror to us. Thanks be to God who frees us. 

Prayer: Thank you for your constant and victorious goodness, O Lord.  Thank you for freeing me from the curse of the Law and from evil.