This a study of Jesus being triumphant. Jesus disarmed the powers and authorities by means of the cross. He made a public spectacle of them.

1. JESUS WAS TRIUMPHANT
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Colossians2:15 15
And having disarmedthe powers
and authorities,he made a public spectacleof them,
triumphing over them by the cross.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
The Atonement And Its Blessed Results
Colossians 2:13-15
T. Croskery. And you, being dead through your trespassesand the
uncircumcision of your flesh, you, I say, did he quicken togetherwith him,
having forgiven us all our trespasses. Thesewords add no new thoughts to the
passage, but are a more detailed explanation of the matters involved in the
work of Christ in the soul.
I. CONSIDERTHE PERSONALQUICKENING OUT OF A STATE OF
DEATH AND DEFILEMENT.
1. The condition of all men by nature - spiritual death. This death is viewedin
two aspects.
(1) In relation to definite acts of transgression, as showing the powerof sin
and the fruit of an evil nature.
(2) In relation to the root of the evil - "the uncircumcision of your flesh;" your
unsanctified, fleshly nature marked by alienation from God (see homiletical
hints on Ephesians 2:1).
2. The quickening energy of God. "You did he quicken togetherwith him."
Spiritual death is put awayby the quickening energy of God, which flowed
into your hearts out of the risen life of Christ. You are brought up with him
objectively in his resurrection, subjectivelyin his application of the powerof
his resurrection(see homileticalhints on Ephesians 2:1).

2. II. CONSIDERTHE GROUND AND CONDITION OF THIS
QUICKENING. The pardon of sin. "Having forgiven us all our trespasses."
Thus spiritual life is connectedwith pardon, and presupposes pardon. The
sins of men must be pardoned before life could properly enter. Our Lord
could not have been quickened till we, for whom he died, were potentially
discharged(Romans 4:25). So, indeed, the quickening presupposes atonce
pardon, the blotting out of the handwriting, and the victory over Satan.
III. CONSIDER THE INDISPENSABLE ACCOMPANIMENTOF THIS
PARDON. The removal of the condemning powerof the Law. "Having
blotted out the handwriting in ordinances that was againstus, which was
contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross."
1. The nature and effects of this handwriting in ordinances.
(1) It is not the mere ceremoniallaw, though its ritual observanceswere
symbols of deservedpunishment or an acknowledgmentofguilt. We cannot
limit it to this law, though the outward observancesofver. 20 were speciallyin
view; for the apostle is not here distinguishing betweenJews and Gentiles.
(2) It is the whole Law, moral and ceremonial - "the Law of commandments
containedin ordinances" - which fastens upon us the charge of guilt, and is
the greatbarrier againstforgiveness. It was immediately againstthe Jews,
mediately againstthe Gentiles. It is the Law, in the full compass of its
requirements.
(3) The hostility of this Law to us. It was "againstus;it was contrary to us."
(a) Not that the Law was in itself offensive, for it was holy and just and good"
(Romans 7:12); but
(b) because our inability to fulfil it or satisfyits righteous demands exposedus
to the penalty attachedto an undischarged obligation. It was, in a word, a bill
of indictment againstus.
2. The blotting out of the handwriting. It was blotted out, so far as it was an
accusing witness againstus, by Christ wiping it out, taking it "out of the way,
and nailing it to his cross." It was not done by an arbitrary abolition of the
Law; moral obligations cannotbe removed in this manner; but by the just
satisfactionwhichChrist rendered by his "obedience unto death." It was
nailed to his cross, and thus its condemnatory powerwas brought to an end.
Strictly speaking, there was nothing but Christ's body nailed to the cross;but,
as he was made sin, taking the very place of sin, "bearing our sins in his own
body on the tree," the handwriting, with the curse involved in it, was
identified with him, and thus Godcondemned sin in Christ's flesh (Romans

3. 8:3). Christ exchangedplaces with us, and thus was cancelledthe bill of
indictment which involved us in guilt and condemnation.
IV. CONSIDER THE RELATION OF THE ATONEMENT TO THE
VICTORY OVER SATAN. "Having put off from himself the principalities
and the powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it."
It was the cross that gave the victory over the principalities and powers of
darkness, becausesinwas the ground of their dominion over man and the
secretof their strength. But no soonerhad Christ died and extinguished the
guilt lying on us, than the ground of their successfulagencywas undermined,
and, instead of being at liberty to ravage and destroy, their weapons of
warfare perished. Christ on the cross, as the word signifies, reft from him and
from his people those powers of darkness who could afflict humanity by
pressing homo the consequencesoftheir sin. He castthem off like baffled foes
(John 12:31), made such a show of them openly as angels, if not men, could
probably apprehend. He made the cross a scene of triumph to the
irretrievable ruin of Satan's kingdom. - T. C.
Biblical Illustrator
Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances.
Colossians 2:14
The handwriting blotted out
Bp. Davenant.I. WHAT IS MEANT BY HANDWRITING?
1. Opinions are various; yet all agree in this that something is intended which
by force of testimony may prove us guilty before God. Some assertit to be —
(1) The covenantof God with Adam (Genesis 2:17), for this being violated,
Adam and his posterity were held guilty of death as by a bond.(2) The
stipulation of the Jews (Exodus 19:7, 8), by which they bound themselves to
perfect obedience, by the non-performance of which they might be justly
condemned by their own hand.(3) The remembrance of our sins in the Divine
mind and in our own conscience (Isaiah43:25), by which we are convicted, as

4. by a bond. The Divine law says, "Thoushalt love the Lord," etc. Conscience
suggests, "Ihave not done so, and am, therefore, cursed.(4)Ceremonialrites
which testified to guilt, circumcision to depravity, purifications to the
filthiness of sin, sacrificesto the heinousness ofguilt.
2. I explain it to mean the moral law binding to perfectobedience and
condemning defect, laden with rites as appendages.
II. HOW IS IT AGAINST US?
1. As to the moral law, it is holy, just, and good;nevertheless it has become
deadly to us through sin (Romans 7:12, 13), because —(1)It propounds
decrees contraryto human nature (Romans 7:12, 13).(2)It arraigns, convicts,
and brings us in guilty of sin (Romans 3:20).(3) It denounces againstus the
sentence ofcondemnation (Galatians 3:10).
2. As to ordinances, they were contrary, because(1)Theywere almost infinite
as to number, and most burdensome as to observance Hence the appeal,
Galatians 5:1.(2)By their significationand testimony. For although they
seemedto promise the destructionof sin, yet there enteredinto them a
confessionratherthan expiation thereof.
III. HOW IT IS MADE VOID.
1. Universally and sufficiently as it respects God;because by the blood of
Christ such satisfactionis made to God that according to His own justice He is
engagedto acquit those debtors who flee by faith to the Deliverer.
2. Particularly and efficaciouslywhenit is blotted out from the conscienceof
those who lay hold of God by faith (Romans 5:1). There is no peace to a man
who sees himselfoverwhelmed in debt and entangledby a bond; but when
Christ's deliverance is acceptedthe soul enters into peace.
3. Notice the beautiful gradation. Not content with telling us we are forgiven,
Paul subjoins that the handwriting is blotted out; but lest any should think
that it is not so, but that a new charge may be raised, he adds it is "takenout
of the way";and lest it should be thought to be preserved somewhere, and
may yet be preferred, he says it is nailed to the Cross, rent in
pieces.Conclusion:We learn —
1. From the handwriting.(1) Since every man through it is guilty of death, how
dreadful is the condition of those who trample on the blood by which alone the
handwriting can be blotted out. God will require from them the uttermost
farthing.(2) We see the insane pride of those who think they can satisfy God,
yea, pay Him more than is due by works of supererogation. Butwhat need
then of blotting out the handwriting by the Cross?

5. 2. From its contrariety.(1) The depravity and corruption of our nature; for at
its institution it was friendly and wholesome.(2)The error of those who would
restore ceremonies androb us of our liberty in Christ.
3. From the abolition.(1)Since it is deprived of its condemning force we infer
that it still retains its directing force, and so we have not a licence to sin but a
motive to obey (Luke 1:74, 75).(2)Since the comfort of a troubled conscience
consists in its being blotted out, we must labour to maintain by faith not only
that Christ has procured that but that it is blotted out as respects ourselves. A
debtor does not considerhimself safe until he has seenwith his own eyes that
his bond is cancelled.
(Bp. Davenant.)
Our indictment cancelledby the Cross
J. Spence, D. D.Liberty is the wayto true life for man. A slave has nothing to
live for: but proclaim his freedom, and he becomes anotherbeing. So with the
man whom God sets free. Quickening from Godcomes in forgiveness ofsins.
I. THE INDICTMENTAGAINST US — the law of God as expressedin the
ten commandments and written in the heart (Romans 2:14).
1. Here we hate man's moral obligation, of which men everywhere have been
more or less conscious. Moralsenseofthe two greatduties of love to God and
our neighbour is everywhere diffused. The handwriting is so on every man's
soul that he knows and feels that some things ought to be done while others
are forbidden as wrong. Many attempt to efface the handwriting, as well as to
defy it, but that only confirms the fact that it exists in all the fulness of its
claim.
2. This handwriting is "againstus" because we have broken it. The law is for
the lawless,and its verdict is only againstthe sinful. It commands our
supreme love to God, and we have not loved Him, This is the debt we owe to
God as our Creatorand Father;we have not paid it and now cannot.
3. It is also "contraryto us." The terms are not exactly equivalent. The one
expresses silentcondemnation, the other a positive hostility. A man may owe a
debt he cannot pay, and this fact is an obligation againsthim, even though
there be no positive demand for payment. But if by the process of"dunning"
the debt is often brought before him, and he is unpleasantly reminded of it,
then the obligationis not only againsthim, it is contrary to him: it disturbs his
peace and fills him with dread. So the Divine law acting on the law of our
mind is constantly reminding us of our obligation, and is hostile to our peace.
Its spirituality is againstus, for we are carnal;its purity, for we are unholy; its

6. justice, for we have kept back God's due. Such is the indictment, "that every
mouth may be stopped" (Romans 3:19).
II. THE INDICTMENTCANCELLED. The verdict againstsinful men is
erasedor wiped out. This idea often recurs in Scripture in reference to sin —
"blot out all my iniquities."
2. It is takenout of the way; not that the law and moral obligationare
abolished, but the verdict is removed so that it cannot be adduced for our
condemnation. Literally it is "takenout of the midst," as if the handwriting
had lain betweenGodand His people — a barrier to their approachto Him,
and to their peace with Him.
3. The means. Nailing to the cross and so destruction. Its condemning force
was exhaustedon Christ, so that it is powerless againstallwho are in Him.
This is our discharge:the law has been fulfilled, and its finding againstus for
ever takenaway.
(J. Spence, D. D.)
The Cross the death of law
A. Maclaren, D. D.I. THE HANDWRITING OR BOND.
1. "Law" means primarily the ceremoniallaw which was being pressedon the
Colossians. The earlycontroversies onthis matter are difficult for us to
understand. It is harder to change customs than creeds, andreligious
observanceslive on, as every Maypole on a village green tells us, long after the
beliefs which animated them are forgotten. So there was a party Who refused
the admittance of Gentile converts to the Church except through the old
doorwayof circumcision. This was the point at issue betweenPaul and these
teachers.
2. But the modern distinction betweenmoral and ceremonialhad no existence
in Paul's mind, nor in the Old Testament, where we find the highest morality
and the merest ritual inter-stratified. The law was a homogeneous whole.
3. And the principles laid down are true about all law. Law, as such, is dealt
with by Christianity in the same way as the God-given code.
4. Law, Paul tells us, is antagonistic. It stands opposite, frowning at us and
barring our road.(1)Is it then become our enemy because it tells us the truth?
This conceptionis a strange contrastto the rapturous delight of Psalmists in
it. Surely God's greatestgiftto man is the knowledge ofHis will, and law is
beneficent, a light, and a guide, and even its strokes are merciful.(2)
Nevertheless the antagonismis very real. As with God, so with law — if we be
againstHim, He cannotbut be againstus. We make Him our dearestfriend or

7. our foe. The revelationof duty to which we are not inclined is ever
unwelcome. Law is againstus because —(a)It comes like a taskmaster
bidding us do, but neither putting the inclination into our hearts nor the
powerinto our hands.(b) The revelationof unfulfilled duty is the accusationof
the defaulter.(c)It comes with threatenings and foretastes ofpenalty. Thus, as
standard, accuser, andavenger, it is againstus.(3) We all know this. Eachof
us has seenthat apparition like the sword-bearing angelthat Balaamsaw,
blocking our path when we wantedto "go frowardly in the wayof our heart."
The law of the Lord should be "sweeterthan honey," etc., but the corruption
of the best is the worst, and we can make it poison. Obeyed, it is as the chariot
of fire to bear us heavenward; disobeyed, it is an iron car crushing all who set
themselves againstit.
II. ITS DESTRUCTION IN THE CROSS.
1. The Cross ends the law's power of punishment. Paul believed that the
burden and penalty of sin had been laid on Christ, and trusting ourselves to
the powerof that greatsacrifice, the dread of punishment will fade from our
hearts, and the law will have to draw the bolts of the prison and let the captive
go free.
2. The Cross is the end of the law as ceremonial. The Jewishritual had the
prediction of the Great Sacrifice forits highest purpose. When the fruit has
setthere is no more need for petals. We have the reality and do not need the
shadow.
3. The Cross is the end of the law as moral rule. Of course it is not meant that
Christian men are freed from the obligations of morality, but that we are not
bound to do "the things containedin the law" because they are there. Duty is
duty now because we see the pattern of conduct and characterin Christ. The
weakness oflaw is that it has no power to get its commandments obeyed; but
Christ puts His love in our hearts, and so we pass from the dominion of an
external commandment into the liberty of an inward spirit. The long schism
betweenduty and inclination is at an end. So a higher morality ought to
characterize the partakers ofthe life of Christ. Law died with Christ on the
cross that it might rise and reign in our inmost hearts.
(A. Maclaren, D. D.)
Cancelledand nailed up
New TestamentAnecdotes.There is a beautiful oriental custom which
illustrates the Atonement. When a debt had to be settled either by payment or
forgiveness, the creditor took the cancelledbond and nailed it over the door of
him who had owed it, that all passers by might see that it was paid. So there is

8. the Cross, the door of grace, behind which a bankrupt world lies in hopeless
debt to the law. See Jesus our bondman and brother, coming forth with a long
list of our indebtedness in His hand. He lifts it up where God and angels and
men may see it, and there as the nail goes through His hand it goes through
the bond of our transgressions to cancelit for ever. Come to that Cross!Not in
order that you may washawayyour sins by your tears or atone for them by
your goodworks, orefface them by your sophistries and self-deceptions. But
come rather that you may read the long black list that is againstyou, and be
pierced to your heart by sorrow that you have offended such a Being; and
then that lifting up your eyes you may see God turning His eyes at that same
cross atwhich you are looking, and saying, "I, evenI, am He that blotteth out
thy transgressions," etc.
(New TestamentAnecdotes.)
The law is againstsinners
J. Edmond, D. D.There are stronger things in the world than force. There are
powers more difficult to overcome than strong or brazen gates. Suppose we
found a prisoner condemned to die, and lockedup in his ceil, and we were to
ask ourselves how he could be savedfrom execution. There would appear
greatdifficulty in getting him out of prison. That iron door, with its great
bolt; that high window, with its guard of strong bars; those thick, strong
walls;those heavy gates outside;that watchful jailer, how impossible it seems
to overcome them all! Yet these are not the only difficulties, nor the greatest.
There is anotherthing, strongerthan all these, holding the poor prisoner to
death: there is the sentence of the law. For, unless he would himself become a
criminal, no man dares to help the condemned one out. Get the sentence
repealed, and the other difficulties are removed.
(J. Edmond, D. D.)
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(15)Having spoiled principalities
and powers . . .—This verse is one of greatdifficulty. Not, indeed, in the main
idea. The cross, as usual, is identified with the triumph over the powers of evil
which it won. The very phrase “made a show,” is cognate to the words “put
Him to open shame” applied to the Crucifixion (Hebrews 6:6). The apparent
triumph of the “powerof darkness” overHim was His real and glorious

9. triumph over them. The generalidea is familiar to us, telling, as in the noble
old hymn Vexilla Regis—
“How of the Cross He made a throne
On which He reigns, a glorious king.”
His forgiveness ofthe penitent thief was the first actof His all-saving royalty.
Accordingly, taking (as in 2Corinthians 2:14-16)his metaphor from a Roman
triumph, St. Paul represents Him as passing in triumphal majesty up the
sacredwayto the eternal gates, with all the powers ofevil bound as captives
behind His chariot before the eyes of men and angels. It is to be noted that to
this clause, so characteristic ofthe constant dwelling on the sole glory of
Christ in this Epistle, there is nothing to correspondin the parallel passageof
the Epistle to the Ephesians, which dwells simply on Christ as “our peace,”
and as the head of the Church.
The difficulty lies in the word here translated“having spoiled.” Now this
translation (as old as St. Jerome’s Vulgate), makes all simple and easy; but the
original word certainly means “having stripped Himself”—as in Colossians
3:9, “having put off (stripped off from ourselves)the old man.” It is a word
used by St. Paul alone in the New Testament, and by him only in these two
passages, the latter of which makes the sense perfectly clear. Being forced,
then, to adopt this translation, we see that the words admit of two renderings.
(1) First, “having stripped from Himself the principalities and powers,” that
is, having stripped off that condition of the earthly life which gave them a
graspor occasionagainstHim. But this, though adopted by many old Greek
commentators (Chrysostomamong the rest), seems singularly harsh in
expressionand far-fetched in idea, needing too much explanation to make it in
any sense clear. (2)Next, “having unclothed Himself, He made a show of
principalities and powers.” On the whole this rendering, although not free
from difficulty, on accountof the apparent want of connectionof the phrase
“having stripped Himself” with the context, seems the easiest. Forwe note
that a cognate word, strictly analogous, is used thus (without an object
following) in 2Corinthians 5:4, “Notthat we desire to unclothe ourselves, but
to clothe ourselves overour earthly vesture.” The context shows that the
meaning there is “to put off the flesh.” This is suggestedstill more naturally in
the passage before us by the preceding phrase, “in the putting off of the body
of the flesh”—a phrase there used of the flesh as evil, but found in Colossians
1:22 of the natural body of Christ. Accordingly many Latin fathers (among
others Augustine) rendered “stripping Himself of the flesh,” and there is some
trace of this as a reading or a gloss in the Greek of this passage. Perhaps,
however, St. Paul purposely omitted the objectafter the verb, in order to

10. show that it was by “stripping Himself of all” that He conquered by becoming
a show in absolute humiliation, He made the powers of evil a show in His
triumph.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary2:8-17 There is a philosophy which
rightly exercisesourreasonable faculties;a study of the works ofGod, which
leads us to the knowledge ofGod, and confirms our faith in him. But there is a
philosophy which is vain and deceitful; and while it pleases men's fancies,
hinders their faith: such are curious speculations aboutthings above us, or no
concernto us. Those who walk in the way of the world, are turned from
following Christ. We have in Him the substance of all the shadows ofthe
ceremoniallaw. All the defects of it are made up in the gospelof Christ, by his
complete sacrifice for sin, and by the revelationof the will of God. To be
complete, is to be furnished with all things necessaryfor salvation. By this one
word complete, is shown that we have in Christ whateveris required. In him,
not when we look to Christ, as though he were distant from us, but we are in
him, when, by the power of the Spirit, we have faith wrought in our hearts by
the Spirit, and we are united to our Head. The circumcision of the heart, the
crucifixion of the flesh, the death and burial to sin and to the world, and the
resurrectionto newness of life, setforth in baptism, and by faith wrought in
our hearts, prove that our sins are forgiven, and that we are fully delivered
from the curse of the law. Through Christ, we, who were dead in sins, are
quickened. Christ's death was the death of our sins; Christ's resurrectionis
the quickening of our souls. The law of ordinances, which was a yoke to the
Jews, anda partition-wall to the Gentiles, the Lord Jesus took out of the way.
When the substance was come, the shadows fled. Since every mortal man is,
through the hand-writing of the law, guilty of death, how very dreadful is the
condition of the ungodly and unholy, who trample under footthat blood of the
Son of God, whereby alone this deadly hand-writing canbe blotted out! Let
not any be troubled about bigoted judgments which related to meats, or the
Jewishsolemnities. The setting apart a portion of our time for the worship
and service of God, is a moral and unchangeable duty, but had no necessary
dependence upon the seventh day of the week, the sabbath of the Jews. The
first day of the week, orthe Lord's day, is the time kept holy by Christians, in
remembrance of Christ's resurrection. All the Jewishrites were shadows of
gospelblessings.
Barnes'Notes on the BibleAnd having spoiled - Plundered as a victorious
army does a conquered country. Notes, Colossians2:8. The terms used in this
verse are all military, and the idea is, that Christ has completely subdued our

11. enemies by his death. A complete victory was achievedby his death, so that
every thing is now in subjectionto him, and we have nothing to fear.
Principalities and powers - Notes, Ephesians 1:21;Ephesians 6:12, note. The
"principalities and powers" here referred to, are the formidable enemies that
had held man in subjection, and prevented his serving God. There canbe no
doubt, I think, that the apostle refers to the ranks of fallen, evil spirits which
had usurped a dominion over the world, John 12:31, note; Ephesians 2:2,
note. The Saviour, by his death, wrestedthe dominion from them, and seized
upon what they had captured as a conqueror seizes upon his prey. Satanand
his legions had invaded the earth and drawn its inhabitants into captivity, and
subjectedthem to their evil reign. Christ, by his death. subdues the invaders
and recaptures those whom they had subdued.
He made a show of them openly - As a conqueror, returning from a victory,
displays in a triumphal processionthe kings and princes whom he has taken,
and the spoils of victory. This was commonly done when a "triumph" was
decreedfor a conqueror. On such occasions it sometimes happened that a
considerable number of prisoners were led along amidst the scenes oftriumph
see the notes at 2 Corinthians 2:14. Paul says that this was now done "openly"
- that is, it was in the face of the whole universe - a grand victory; a glorious
triumph over all the powers of hell It does not refer to any public procession
or display on the earth; but to the grand victory as achievedin view of the
universe, by which Christ, as a conqueror, draggedSatan and his legions at
his triumphal car; compare Romans 16:20.
Triumphing over them in it - Margin, or, "himself." Either "by the cross,"or
"by himself." Or, it may mean, as Rosenmullersuggests,that "God
Colossians 2:12 triumphed over these foes in him; i. e., in Christ. The sense is
substantially the same, that this triumph was effectedby the atonement made
for sin by the Redeemer. See the word "triumph" explained in the Notes on2
Corinthians 2:14. The meaning of all this is, that since Christ has achievedfor
us such a victory, and has subdued all the foes of man, we should not be led
captive, but should regardourselves as freemen. We should not be made again
the slaves ofcustom, or habit, or ritual observances,orsuperstitious rites, or
anything whatever that has its origin in the kingdom of darkness. We are
bound to assertand to use our freedom, and should not allow any hostile
powerin the form of philosophy or false teaching of any kind, to plunder or
"spoil" us; Colossians2:8. The Christian is a freeman. His greatCaptain has
subdued all his enemies, and we should not allow them again to setup their
dark empire over our souls. The argument of the apostle in these verses

12. Colossians 2:13-15 is derived from what Christ has done for us. He mentions
four things:
(1) He has given us spiritual life.
(2) he has forgiven all our trespasses.
(3) he has blotted out or abolishedthe "ordinances" thatwere againstus.
(4) he has triumphed over all our foes. From all this he infers (Colossians 2:16
ff) that we should not be made captive or subdued by any of the rites of
superstition, or any of the influences of the kingdom of darkness.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary15. Alford, Ellicott, and others
translate the Greek to accordwith the translationof the same Greek, Col3:9,
"Stripping off from Himself the principalities and the powers:" God put off
from Himself the angels, that is, their ministry, not employing them to be
promulgators of the Gospelin the way that He had given the law by their
"disposition" or ministry (Ac 7:53; Ga 3:19; Heb 2:2, 5): God manifested
Himself without a veil in Jesus. "The principalities and THE powers" refers
back to Col 2:10, Jesus, "the Head of all principality and power," and Col
1:16. In the sacrifice of Jesus onthe cross, Godsubjectedall the principalities,
&c., to Jesus, declaring them to be powerless as to His work and His people
(Eph 1:21). Thus Paul's argument againstthose grafting on Christianity
Jewishobservances, along with angel-worship, is, whateverpart angels may
be supposed to have had under the law, now at an end, God having put the
legaldispensationitself away. But the objection is, that the context seems to
refer to a triumph over bad angels:in 2Co 2:14, however, Christ's triumph
over those subjectedto Him, is not a triumph for destruction, but for their
salvation, so that goodangels may be referred to (Col 1:20). But the Greek
middle is susceptible of English Version, "having spoiled," or, literally
[Tittmann], "having completelystripped," or "despoiled" forHimself
(compare Ro 8:38; 1Co 15:24;Eph 6:2). English Versionaccords with Mt
12:29;Lu 11:22;Heb 2:14. Translate as the Greek, "The rules and
authorities."
made a show of them—at His ascension(see on[2418]Eph4:8; confirming
English Version of this verse).
openly—Joh7:4; 11:54, support English Version againstAlford's translation,
"in openness ofspeech."
in it—namely, His cross, or crucifixion: so the Greek fathers translate. Many
of the Latins, "In Himself" or "in Him." Eph 2:16 favors English Version,
"reconcile … by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby." If "in Him," that

13. is, Christ, be read, still the Cross will be the place and means of God's
triumph in Christ over the principalities (Eph 1:20; 2:5). Demons, like other
angels, were in heaven up to Christ's ascension, and influenced earth from
their heavenly abodes. As heaven was not yet openedto man before Christ
(Joh 3:13), so it was not yet shut againstdemons (Job 1:6; 2:1). But at the
ascensionSatanand his demons were "judged" and "castout" by Christ's
obedience unto death (Joh 12:31;16:11; Heb 2:14; Re 12:5-10), and the Son of
man was raisedto the throne of God; thus His resurrection and ascensionare
a public solemntriumph over the principalities and powers of death. It is
striking that the heathen oracles were silencedsoonafterChrist's ascension.
Matthew Poole's CommentaryAnd having spoiled; some render it, seeing he
hath stripped or made naked, as runners and racers usedto put off their
clothes.
Principalities and powers;hence some of the ancients read putting off his flesh
(possibly by the carelessness ofsome scribes, writing that which signifies flesh
instead of that which signifies principalities, in all the authentic copies);but
besides that Christ hath not put off the human nature, only the infirmities of
the flesh, 2 Corinthians 5:16 Hebrews 5:7, it doth not agree with what follows.
One conceits that by principalities and powers are meant the ceremonies of
the law, because ofthe Divine authority they originally had; and that Christ
unclothed or unveiled them, and showedthem to be misty figures that were
accomplishedin his own person. But I see no reasonthus to allegorize, forit is
easyto discern the word is borrowedfrom conquering warriors having put to
flight and disarmed their enemies, (as the word may well signify disarming, in
opposition to arming, Romans 13:12 Ephesians 6:11,14), andsignifies here,
that Christ disarmed and despoiled the devil and his angels, with all the
powers of darkness. We have seenthat by principalities and powers are meant
angels, Colossians1:16, with Romans 8:37 Ephesians 1:21; and here he means
evil ones, in regardof that power they exercise in this world under its present
state of subjection to sin and vanity, Luke 4:6 John 12:31 2 Corinthians 4:4
Ephesians 2:2 6:12 2 Timothy 2:26; whom Christ came to destroy, and
effectually did on his cross defeat, Luke 11:22 John 16:11 1 Corinthians 15:55
Hebrews 2:14 1Jo 3:8; delivering his subjects from the power of darkness,
Colossians 1:13, according to the first promise, Genesis 3:15.
He made a show of them openly; yea, and Christ did, as an absolute
conqueror, riding as it were in his triumphal chariot, publicly show that he
had vanquished Satanand all the powers of darkness, in the view of heaven

14. and earth, Luke 10:17,18.
Triumphing over them; even then and there where Satanthought he should
alone have had the day by the death of the innocent Jesus, was he and his
adherents triumphed over by the Lord of life, to their everlasting shame and
torment. What the papists would gatherhence, that Christ did, in this
triumphant show upon the cross, carrythe souls of the patriarchs out of their
Limbus, i.e. their appointment to hell, is a mere unscriptural fiction; for those
that he made show of in his victorious chariot are the very same that he
spoiled to their eternal ignominy and confusion.
In it: some render this, (as in the margin), in himself, or by himself, i.e. by his
own powerand virtue and not by the help of any other; the prophet saith he
trod the winepress alone, and had not any of the people with him, Isaiah63:3:
yet it seems here better to adhere to our own translation, in it, considering
what went before of his cross, that he triumphed over Satanon it or by it,
because the death that he there suffered was the true and only cause ofhis
triumphs; there he trod Satanunder his feet, there he set his seed at liberty,
and they who go about to bereave them of it, and bring them into bondage, do
no other than restore to Satan his spoils.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleAnd having spoiled principalities and
powers,....Principalities of hell, the infernal powers of darkness, the devil that
had the power of death, the accuserof the brethren, who often objectedtheir
debts, with all his works and posse:these Christ has divested of their armour,
wherein they trusted to have ruined men, as sin, the law, and death; he has
ransomed his people from him that was strongerthan they, and taken the
prey out of the hands of the mighty; he has bruised the serpent's head,
demolished his works, destroyedhim himself, and all his powers, and defeated
all their counsels and designs againsthis elect: some render the word "having
put off", or "unclothed": and which some of the ancient writers apply to the
flesh of Christ, and understand it of his putting off the flesh by death,
whereby he gave the death blow to Satanand his powers, Hebrews 2:14, to
which sense agreesthe Syriac version, which renders the words, , "and by the
putting off of his body, he exposedto shame principalities and powers":but it
may be better interpreted of unclothing, or stripping principalities and
powers of their armour, with which they were clothed; as is usually done to
enemies, when they fall into the hands of their conquerors: unless rather this
is to be understood of Christ's taking away the power and authority of the
Jewishecclesiasticalrulers and governors, by abolishing the ceremoniallaw,

15. and the ordinances of it; declaring himself to be the alone King and Lawgiver
in his house, and requiring subjection to his institutions and appointments,
which sense agreeswith the context:
he made a show of them openly; when being raised from the dead, he
ascendedon high, and led captivity captive; he led Satanand his principalities
and powers captive, who had led others, as he passedthrough the air, the
territories of the devil, in the sight of God and the holy angels:
triumphing over them in it; which some understand of the cross, as if where
and by what he got the victory, there he triumphed; the cross, where his
enemies thought to make a show of him, expose him to public scorn and
contempt, and to triumph over him, was as it were the triumphant chariot, in
which he triumphed overall the powers of hell, when he had conquered them
by it: but the words may be rendered "in himself", as they are by the Vulgate
Latin and Syriac versions;and the sense be, that as he by himself gotthe
victory, his own arm brought salvationto him, so he alone shared the glory
and honour of the triumph: or it may be rendered "in him", and the whole in
this and the preceding verse be applied to God the Father, who, as in
Colossians 2:12;is said to raise Christ from the dead, to quicken sinners dead
in sins, and to forgive all their trespasses;so he may be said to blot out the
handwriting of ordinances, and to spoil principalities and powers, expose
them to public view and shame, and triumph over them, "in him", in and by
his SonJesus Christ: the whole is an allusion to the victories, spoils, and
triumphs, of the Roman emperors, who when they had obtained a victory, a
triumph was decreedfor them by the senate;in which the emperor was drawn
in an open chariot, and the captives being stripped of their armour, and their
hands tied behind them, were led before him and exposedto public view and
disgrace;while he was shouted and huzzaed through the city of Rome, and
had all the marks of honour and respectgiven him (b): now all that is said in
the preceding verses show how complete the saints are in and by Christ; and
stand in no need of the philosophy of the Gentiles, or the ceremonies ofthe
Jews;nor have anything to fear from their enemies, sin, Satan, and the law,
for sin is pardoned, the law is abolished, and Satanconquered,
(b) Vid. Lydium de re Militari, l. 6. c. 3.
Geneva Study BibleAnd having spoiled {u} principalities and powers, he {x}
made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in {y} it.
(u) Satan and his angels.
(x) As a conqueror he made show of those captives, and put them to shame.

16. (y) That is, the cross. The cross was a chariotof triumph. No conquerorcould
have triumphed so gloriously in his chariot, as Christ did upon the cross.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Meyer's NT CommentaryHYPERLINK "/colossians/2-15.htm"Colossians
2:15.[111]In this doing away of the law was involved the victory and triumph
of God over the devilish powers, since the strength of the latter, antagonistic
to God, is in sin, and the strength of sin is in the law (1 Corinthians 15:56);
with the law, therefore, the power of the devil stands or falls.
If ἀπεκδυσ. ran parallel, as the majority suppose, with ΠΡΟΣΗΛΏΣΑς, there
must have been a ΚΑΊ inserted before ἘΔΕΙΓΜΆΤ., as in Colossians2:14
before the finite verb, because otherwise no connectionwould be established.
Hence a full stop (Beza)must be placedbefore ἈΠΕΚΔΥΣ., or at leasta colon
(Elzevir, Bleek);and without any connecting particle the significant verb
heads all the more forcibly the description of this final result expressedwith
triumphant fulness: Having stripped the lordships and powers, he has made a
show of them boldly, holding triumph over them in the same. Observe the
symmetrical emphatic prefixing of ἀπεκδυσ., ἐδειγμάτ.,., and ΘΡΙΑΜΒ. The
subject is still always God, not Christ,[112]as Baur and Ewald hold, following
Augustine, Theodore of Mopsuestia, Erasmus, Grotius, Calovius, and many
others; hence the reading ἀπεκδ. τὴν σάρκα in F G (which omit Τ. ἈΡΧ. Κ. Τ.
ἘΞΟΥΣ.) Syr. Goth. Hil. Aug. was an erroneous gloss;and at the close, not
αὑτῷ (Syr. Vulg. It. Theodoret, Luther, Melanchthon, Elzevir, Griesbach, and
Scholz), instead of which G has ἙΑΥΤῷ, but ΑὐΤῷ should be written; see
Wolf in loc. The figurative ἀπεκδυσ., which illustrates the deprivation of
powerthat has takenplace through the divine work of reconciliation,
represents the ἀρχὰς καὶ ἐξουσ. as having been clothed in armour (comp.
Romans 13:12; Ephesians 6:11;1 Thessalonians5:8), which God as their
conqueror stripped off and took from them; Vulg.: exspolians. Comp. on
ἐκδύειν and ἈΠΟΔΎΕΙΝ, used from Homer’s time in the sense of spoliare,
Dem. 763. 28, 1259. 11;Hesiod, Scut. 447;Xen. Anab. v. 8. 23; 2Ma 8:27; and
on the subject-matter, Matthew 12:19;Luke 11:22. Moreover, we might
expect, in accordance withthe common usage ofthe middle, instead of
ἀπεκδυσάμενος, whichis elsewhere usedintransitively (comp. Colossians 3:9),
the active ἀπεκδύσας (comp. Matthew 27:28;Matthew 27:31; Luke 10:30); yet
even in Plat. Rep. p. 612 A, the (right) reading ἀπεδυσάμεθα is to takenin the
sense ofnudavimus; and Xenophon uses the perfect ἀποδέδυκεν, which is
likewise intransitive elsewhere (seeKühner, I. p. 803), actively, see Anab. l.c.:
πολλοὺς ἤδη ἀποδέδυκεν, multos veste spoliavit; comp. Dio Cass. xlv. 47.

17. Further, the middle, as indicating the victorious self-interestof the action (sibi
exspoliavit), is here selectedevenwith nicety, and by no means conveys (as
Hofmann, in order to refute this explanation, erroneouslylays to its charge)
the idea: in order to appropriate to Himself this armour; see on the contrary
generally, Krüger, § 52. 10. 1; Kühner, II. 1, p. 93 f. The disarming in itself,
and not the possessionofthe enemy’s weapons, is the interest of the victor.
Lastly, the whole connectiondoes not admit of any intransitive interpretation,
such as Hofmann, in his Schriftbew. I. p. 350 f. (and substantially also in his
Heil. Schr. in loc.), has attempted, making the sense:God has laid aside from
Himself the powers ruling in the Gentile world—which were round about Him
like a veil concealing Him from the Gentiles—bymanifesting Himself in
unveiled clearness.Something such as this, which is held to amount to the
meaning that God has put an end to the ignorance of the Gentile world and
revealedHimself to it, Paul must necessarilyhave said; no reader could
unravel it from so strange a mode of veiling the conception, the more
especiallyseeing that there is no mention at all of the victorious word of
Christ[113]converting the Gentiles, as Hofmann thinks, but on the contrary
of what God has effectedin reference to the ἀρχαὶ and ἐξουσίαι by the fact of
reconciliationaccomplishedon the cross;He has by it rendered powerless the
powers which previously held swayamong mankind; comp. John 12:30 f.,
John 16:11.
That these ἀρχαί and ἐξουσίαι are two categoriesofevil angels (comp.
Ephesians 6:12), corresponding to two classesofgoodangels similarly named
(comp. Colossians2:10), is taught by the context, which has nothing to do with
mediating beings intervening betweenGod and the world (Sabatier), or even
with human rulers. Ritschl, in the Jahrb. f. Deutsche Theol. 1863, p. 522,
understands the angels of the law-giving (comp. on Colossians1:20), of whom
God has divested Himself (middle), i.e. from whose environment He has
withdrawn Himself. Even apart from the singular expressionἀπεκδυσάμ. in
this sense, this explanation is inappropriate, because the ἀρχαί and ἐξουσίαι
appear here as hostile to God, as beings over whom He has triumphed;
secondly, because the angels who ministered at the law-giving (see on
Galatians 3:19) have no share in the contents of the law, which, as the νόμος
Θεοῦ, is holy, righteous, good, and spiritual (Romans 7), and hence no
deviation from God’s plan of salvationcan be attributed to the angels ofthe
law; and, finally, because the expressionτὰς ἀρχὰς κ. τὰς ἐξουσίας is so
comprehensive that, in the absence ofany more precise indication in the text,
it cannot be speciallylimited to the powers that were active in the law-giving,
but must denote the collective angelic powers—hostile, however, andtherefore

18. devilish. Them God has disarmed, put to shame, and triumphed over, through
the abrogationof men’s legaldebt-bond that took place by means of the
atoning death. The emphatic and triumphant prominence given to this
statementwas, doubtless, speciallyoccasionedby those speculations regarding
the powerof demons, with which the false teachers were encroaching onthe
work of Christ.
δειγματίζειν, preservedonly here and in Matthew 1:19 (comp. however,
παραδειγματίζειν, especiallyfrequent in Polybius; see Schweighäuser, Lex. p.
429), denotes, in virtue of its connectionwith the conceptionof triumph, the
making a show (Augustine, ep. 59:“exemplavit;” Hilary, de trin. 9: “ostentui
esse fecit”)for the purpose of humiliation and disgrace (comp. Chrysostom),
not in order to exhibit the weaknessofthe conquered(Theodoret, Böhmer),
but simply their accomplishedsubjugation; comp. Nahum 3:6 : θήσομαί σε εἰς
παράδειγμα.
ἐν παῤῥησίᾳ] is usually rendered publicly, before the eyes of all, consequently
as equivalent to φανερῶς in John 7:10 (the opposite:ἐν κρυπτῷ, John 7:4;
Matthew 6:4; Romans 2:28); but this the word does not mean (see on John
7:4); moreover, the verb alreadyimplies this idea;[114]and the usage ofPaul
elsewhere warrants only the rendering: boldly, freely and frankly. Comp.
Ephesians 6:19; Php 1:20. Hilary: “cum fiducia;” Vulgate: “confidenter
palam.” The objection that this sense is not appropriate to the actionof God
(Hofmann), overlooksthe factthat God is here representedjust as a human
triumpher, who freely and boldly, with remorseless disposalofthe spoils
acquired by victory, subjects the conqueredto ignominious exhibition.[115]
θριαμβεύσας αὐτ. ἐν αὐτῷ] synchronous with ἐδειγμ.:while He triumphed
over them. Respecting θριαμβεύειντινα, to triumph over some one, see on 2
Corinthians 2:14. Comp. the passive θριαμβεύεσθαι, to be led in triumph,
Plut. Coriol. 35. αὐτούς refers κατὰ σύνεσιν to the devils individually, who are
conceivedas masculine (as δαίμονες, κοσμοκράτορες, Ephesians 6:12), see
generallyWiner, p. 138 [E. T. 183];and ἐν αὐτῷ is referred either to the cross
(hence, also, the readings ἐν τῷ ξύλῳ or σταυρῷ) or to Christ. The former
reference is maintained by the majority of the Fathers (Theophylact: ἐν τῷ
σταυρῷ τοὺς δαίμονας ἡττημένους δείξας), Beza, Calvin, Grotius, and many
others, including Böhmer, Steiger, Olshausen, Ewald, Weiss,Bibl. Theol. p.
432, ed. 2; and the latter, by Erasmus, Luther, Melanchthon, Wolf, Estius,
Bengel, and many others, including Flatt, Bähr, Huther, de Wette,
Baumgarten-Crusius, Bisping, Bleek, Hofmann, Rich. Schmidt. The reference

19. to Christ is erroneous, becauseChristis not mentioned at all in Colossians
2:14, and God pervades as subject the entire discourse from Colossians 2:11
onwards. We must hold, therefore, by the reference to τῷ σταυρῷ, so that ἐν
αὐτῷ once more places the cross significantlybefore our eyes, just as it stood
emphatically at the close ofthe previous sentence. At the cross Godcelebrated
His triumph, inasmuch as through the death of Christ on the cross
obliterating and removing out of the waythe debt-bill of the law He completed
the work of redemption, by which the devil and his powers were deprived of
their strength, which rested on the law and its debt-bond. The ascensionis not
to be here included.
[111]Holtzmann, p. 156 f., rejects this verse because it interrupts the
transition of thought to ver. 16 (which is not the case);because δειγματίζεινis
un-Pauline (but in what sense is it un-Pauline? it is in any sense a very rare
word); because θριαμβεύεινis used here otherwise than in 2 Corinthians 2:14
(this is incorrect); but, especially, becausever. 15 canonly be explained by the
circle of ideas of Ephesians 3:10 and Colossians1:10;Ephesians 4:8;
Ephesians 2:15 f. (passageswhichtouch our present one either not at all, or at
the most very indirectly).
[112]Through this erroneous definition of the subject it was possible to
discoverin our passagethe descentinto hell (Anselm and others).
[113]In which sense also Grotius explained it, though he takes ἀπεκδυσάμ.
rightly as exarmatos. See, in oppositionto him, Calovius. Hofmann’s
explanation is also followedby Holtzmann, p. 222;it is an unfortunate
attempt at rationalizing.
[114]Hence Hofmann joins it with θριαμβεύσας, in which, however, the idea
of publicity is obviously already contained. Hofmann, indeed, assumes a
reference of contrastto the invisible triumphs, which God has ever been
celebrating over those powers. But thus the idea of θριαμβεύεινis extended to
an unwarranted amplitude of metaphoricalmeaning, while, nevertheless, the
entire anthropopathic imagery of the passage requires the strict conceptionof
the public θρίαμβος Moreover, the pretended contrastis altogetherforeignto
the context.
[115]It is an inconsiderate fancy of Hofmann to say, by way of controverting
our explanation: Who would be surprised, that the triumpher should make a
show of the conquered, “without previously asking their permission”? As if

20. such a thought, no doubt very silly for the victor, were necessarilythe contrast
to the frank daring action, with which a general, crownedwith victory, is in a
position to exhibit his captives without any scruple, without sparing or
hesitation! He has the ἐξουσία for the δειγματίζειν, anduses it ἐν παῤῥησίᾳ.
Expositor's Greek TestamentHYPERLINK"/colossians/2-15.htm"Colossians
2:15. In this difficult verse the meaning of almostevery word is disputed. It is
therefore imperative to control the exegesis by strict regard to the context.
The main question relates to the characterof the principalities and powers.
Subordinate questions are raised as to the subjectof the sentence and the
meaning of ἀπεκδ. The context before and after (οὖν, Colossians2:16)
requires us to bring the interpretation into close connexionwith the main
thought, the abolition of the Law.—ἀπεκδυσάμενος τὰς ἀρχὰς καὶ τὰς
ἐξουσίας. Till recently the principalities and powers have been explained as
hostile demoniacalspirits, and this view is held by Meyer, Ellicott, Lightfoot,
Oltramare and Weiss. In its favour is the impression made by the verse that a
victory over the powers is spokenof. How far this is so can be determined only
by an examination of the terms employed. Against this view the following
objections seemdecisive. ἀρχ. κ. ἐξ. occurseveraltimes in the Epistle, but
nowhere in this sense. In Ephesians 6:12 the reference to evil spirits is
definitely and repeatedly fixed by the context. This is not so here. Further, the
connexion with the context is difficult to trace. Bengelsays:“Qui angelos
bonos colebant, iidem malos timebant: neutrum jure”. Weiss expressesa
somewhatsimilar idea: “It seems that the Colossiantheosophists threatened
the readers that they would againfall under the power of evil spirits if they
did not submit to their discipline”. But not only have we no evidence for this,
but this interpretation cuts the nerve of the passage, which is the abolition of
the Law by the cross. Meyer’s view is more relevant: the Law is done away in
Christ, and since it is the strength of sin, sin’s power is thus broken, and so is
the devil’s power, which is exercisedonly through sin. Gess interprets that the
Law through its curse createdseparationbetweenmen and God, and thus
gave a point of support for the dominion of evil spirits. “Of this handwriting
have they boasted. Our guilt was their strength. He who sees the handwriting
nailed to the cross canmock these foes.” But these views are read into the
passage, anddo not lead up to Colossians 2:16. And where the JewishLaw
was absent, as in the heathen world, sin was rampant. Ellicott and Lightfoot
do not attempt to trace a connexion with the context, nor on their view of
ἀπεκδ. is one possible. All this strongly suggeststhat we should give another
sense to ἀρχ. κ. ἐξ. And this is securedif we identify them with ἀρχ. κ. ἐξ.
already mentioned (Colossians 1:16 and Colossians2:10). In favour of this are

21. the following considerations:(1) Unless we are warned to the contrary it is
natural to keepthe same meaning throughout. (2) We thus geta thought that
perfectly suits the context. This law that has been abolished was given by
angels, its abolition implies their degradation. To them was also subjectthe
whole of the observances ofeating, drinking, etc. (3) It is a powerful polemic
againstthe worship of angels (Colossians2:18), which is lost on the other view.
In effect Paul says, “Youare worshipping angels who were degradedwhen
Christ was crucified”. We may therefore take ἀρχ. κ. ἐξ, as in the rest of the
Epistle, as angelic powers, identicalwith στοιχεῖα τ. κόσμου, and holding a
specialrelation to the Law. The next question is as to the meaning of ἀπεκδ.
The translation “having put off His body” may be safelyset aside, for Paul
must have said this if he had meant it. The Greek commentators, followedby
Ellicott and Lightfoot, interpret “having put off from Himself”. The word is
used in this sense in Colossians3:9. They explain that Christ divested Himself
of the powers of evil that gatheredabout Him, since He assumedour
humanity with all its temptations. But (apart from the change of subject) the
change of metaphor is very awkwardfrom stripping off adversaries, like
clothes, to exhibiting and triumphing over them. More cogentis the objection
causedby the strangenessofthe idea. Christ wore our human nature with its
liability to temptation. But that He wore evil spirits is a different and indeed
most objectionable idea. The same translation is adopted by some who take
the other view of ἀρχ. κ. ἐξ., and the explanation given is that God in the death
of Christ divested Himself of angelic mediators. This is free from the
impropriety of the other view, but shares its incongruity of metaphor. The
more usual translation is “spoiled”. The middle can mean “stripped for
Himself,” and this again suits either view of ἀρχ. κ. ἐξ. If evil spirits, they are
stripped of their dominion; but if angels ofthe Law, they are despoiled of the
dominion they exercise. This view, though stigmatisedby Zahn as “an
inexcusable caprice,” is probably best. They are fallen potentates. There is no
need to worship them, or to feartheir vengeance, if their commands are
disobeyed. With the true interpretation of this passage,everyreason
disappears for assuming that Christ is the subject.—ἐδειγμάτισενἐν
παρρησία. “He made a show of them openly.” No exhibition in disgrace is
necessarilyimplied. The principalities and powers are exhibited in their true
position of inferiority, as mediators of an abolishedLaw and rulers of
elements to which Christians have died. ἐν παρ. is not to be translated
“boldly,” for courage is not needed to exhibit those who are spoiled. The word
is contrastedwith “reserve,”and indicates the frank, open exhibition of the
angels in their true position when the bond was cancelledandChrist was
manifested as the final revelationof God.—θριαμβεύσας.This seems to

22. express most definitely that the ἀρχ. κ. ἐξ. are hostile powers. Alford,
referring to 2 Corinthians 2:14, says the true victory is our defeatby Him.
Findlay thinks the reference in the verb (which is not earlier than Paul) is not
to the Roman military triumph, but to the festalprocession(θρίαμβος) of the
worshippers of Dionysus. In this case Godis representedas leading the angels
in processionin His honour; in other words, bringing them to acknowledge
His greatnessand the revelation of Himself in Christ. It is perhaps safestto
translate “triumphing over”. This is favoured by other passagesin Paul,
which imply that the ἀρχ. κ. ἐξ. needed an experience of this kind.—ἐν αὐτῷ
may refer to Χριστ. or σταυρ. or χειρόγ. The secondis best, for there has been
no reference to Christ since Colossians 2:13, and it is the cancelling of the
bond, not the bond itself, that is the cause of the triumph. It is in the death of
Christ that this triumph takes place. Zahn explains the passageto mean that
God has stripped away the principalities and powers which concealedHim,
not from the Jews, to whom He had revealedHimself, but from the heathen
world. Thus He has revealedHimself and these apparent deities in their true
character. He has triumphed over them in Christ, and led them vanquished in
His train. But this was not accomplishedon the cross, but through the
preaching of the Gospelamong the Gentiles, accompaniedwith such signs and
wonders as in the story of the maid with the spirit of divination and the
exorcists atEphesus. But this is not what is required by the argument, which
has the JewishLaw in view.
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges15. having spoiled] “Having put off
from Himself” (R.V.).—The Greek verb is apparently unknown before St
Paul; classicalillustration is impossible. Its literal meaning is “to strip off”;
and its voice is middle. This voice, it is alleged, compels us to explain it of the
Lord’s stripping off something from Himself, divesting Himself. And
explanations vary between(a) that given in margin R.V., (“having put off
from Himself His body”), supported by the Peshito Syriac version and (among
other Fathers)by Ambrose, Hilary, and Augustine (see Lightfoot); and (b)
that given in text R.V., advocatedby Lightfoot, and supported by
Chrysostom, Theodore ofMopsuestia, and other Fathers. In this last, the
thought would be that the powers of evil swarmed, so to speak, around Him
who had takenour place under “the curse of the Law,” and that He in His
triumph, stripped or castthem off.
The objectionto (a) is that it brings in an alien and isolatedidea, and in
obscure terms. The objectionto (b) seems to us to be that it presents to us an
image very peculiar in itself, and not obviously proper to the next words. To

23. castoff enemies and then at once to exhibit them are not quite congruous
ideas.
And why should we rejectthe A.V. rendering as if ungrammatical? The
lawful force of the middle voice would be as well representedby “stripping for
Himself” as “stripping from Himself”; it makes the subject of the verb to be
also in some degree the object of the action. And the Lord did “strip His foes
for Himself”: “He takethfrom him the armour, and divideth the spoils” (Luke
11:22). The imagery is then congruous;the disarmed and despoiledfoes are
then appropriately, as captives, “shewn” in triumph. We recommend
accordinglythe A.V.[83]
[83] It is objectedthat below, Colossians 3:9, we have the same verb in the
same voice used where the meaning clearly is “to strip from oneself.” But
classicalparallels existto such a varying use of the middle in neighbouring
contexts. See Sophocles, Ajax, 245, 647 (Dindorf). (Note by the Bishopof
Worcester.)
The Old Latin Version has exuens se, following explanation (b). The Vulgate
renders the verb exspolians—the immediate original of the A.V.
principalities and powers]Lit., the governments and the authorities, the
recognizedenemies of Redemption and the Redeemer. These made their dire
hostility supremely felt in that “hour” which He Himself called“the authority
of the Darkness”(Luke 22:53). The personaladversaries (under their Chief;
see the intimations of Luke 4:13; John 13:2; John 14:30), who had crossedHis
path so often as the “demons” of possession, now directly assailedHimself, as
they are still permitted in measure to assail(Ephesians 6:12)His followers,
who meet them in Him the Conqueror.—Seefurther above on Colossians
1:16.
made a shew of them] Nearly the same Greek verb as that used Matthew 1:19;
“make her a public example.” The Latin Versions have traduxit, “led them
along,” as the captives in a Roman triumph.
openly] Rather, boldly (Lightfoot). The “openness”indicatedby the Greek
phrase (quite literally, “in, or with, outspokenness”)is the openness of
confidence. It is used John 7:4 (where Lightfoot explains it to mean “to
assume a bold attitude”); Ephesians 6:19; Php 1:20.

24. triumphing over them] The Greek verb (thriambeuein) occurs elsewhere (in
N.T.)only 2 Corinthians 2:14; where it is variously explained “to make to
triumph” or “to lead in triumph.” Here it is of course the latter.—
Philologicallyit is probably akin to the Latin triumphus.
in it] The Cross. The margin A.V., “in Himself” is quite untenable, though it is
countenancedby the Latin, (in semetipso), and by Wyclif, Tyndale (“in his
awne persone”), Cranmer, and Rheims. The Genevan versionhas “in the
same crosse.”
The Lord’s atoning Death, the apparent triumph of His foes over Him, was
His absolute and eternaltriumph over them, when it was seen, in His
Resurrection, to be the mysterious Ransomof His Church from the curse and
from sin, and so His own glorificationas its Head. Vicit qui passus est;cui
gloria in œternum.
This whole passage while pregnant with primary and universal truth has
doubtless a specialreference all the while to the “Colossianheresy” with its
angelologyand angelolatry. He who is King of all orders of goodAngels is
here presentedas Conqueror of their evil counterpart; he, from both points of
view, fills the field.
Bengel's GnomenHYPERLINK"/colossians/2-15.htm"Colossians2:15.
Ἀπεκδυσάμενος, having stripped off, having spoiled) Matthew 12:29.—τὰς
ἀρχὰς καὶ τὰς ἐξουσίας, principalities and powers)Those, who worshipped
goodangels, atthe same time feared the bad; neither with goodreason:comp.
Colossians 2:10.—ἐδειγμάτισεν, made a show)This was done at His ascension,
Ephesians 4:8.—ἐν παῤῥησίᾳ, openly) While both they themselves beheld it in
their turn, and good angels, andthen men, and God Himself. The nakedness
of the vanquished enemy was manifest from the fact itself, and in the
Gospel.—αὐτοὺς, them) The masculine refers to the angels.—ἐναὐτῷ, in Him)
in Christ. So Hilarius the deaconexplains it. This (ἐν αὐτῷ)refers (belongs)to
the whole paragraph, [which treats of GOD down from Colossians 2:12.—V.
g.] and which is here concluded. [Evidently as Ephesians 1:20; Ephesians
2:5.—V. g.]
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 15. - Having stripped off the principalities and the
dominions (Colossians 1:16;Colossians 2:10;Acts 7:38, 53; Galatians 3:19;
Hebrews 1:5, 7, 14; Hebrews 2:2, 5; Deuteronomy 33:2; Psalm68:17).
Απεκδυσάμενος has been rendered, from the time of the Latin Vulgate,
"having spoiled" (exspolians), a rendering which is "not less a violation of St.

25. Paul's usage (Colossians 3:9)than of grammaticalrule" (Lightfoot; so Alford,
Ellicott, Wordsworth, Hofmann, Revisers). It is preciselythe same participle
that we find in Colossians3:9, and the writer has just used the noun
ἀπέκδυσις (ver. 11) in a corresponding sense (see note in loc. on the force of
the double compound). He employs compounds of δύω in the middle voice
seventeentimes elsewhere, and always in the sense of"putting off [or, 'on']
from one's self;" and there is no sure instance in Greek of the middle verb
bearing any other meaning. Yet such critics as Meyer, Eadie, Klopper, cling to
the rendering of the Vulgate and our Authorized Version; and not without
reason, as we shall see. The Revisedmargin follows the earlierLatin Fathers
and some ancient versions, supplying "his body" as objectof the participle,
understanding "Christ" as subject. But the context does not, as in 2
Corinthians 5:3, suggestthis ellipsis, and it is arbitrary to make the participle
itself mean "having disembodied himself." Nor has the writer introduced any
new subject since ver. 12, where" God" appears as agentof eachof the acts of
salvationset forth in vers. 12-15. Moreover, "the principalities and the
dominions" of this verse must surely be those of ver. 10 and of Colossians 1:16
(compare the "angels"ofver. 18). We understand St. Patti, therefore, to say
"that God [revealing himself in Christ; 'in him,' 15 b] put off and put away
those angelic powers through whom he had previously shownhimself to
men." The Old Testamentassociatesthe angels with the creationof the world
and the action of the powers of nature (Job 38:7; Psalm cir. 4), and with its
greattheophanies generally (Psalm68:7; Deuteronomy 33:2; 2 Kings 6:17,
etc.); and its hints in this direction were emphasized and extended by the
Greek translators ofthe LXX. Acts 7:38, 53 (St. Stephen); Galatians 3:19;
Hebrews 2:2, ascribe to them a specialagencyin the giving of the Law.
Hebrews 1. and it. show how large a place the doctrine of the mediation of
angels filled in Jewishthought at this time, and how it tended to limit the
mediatorship of Christ. The mystic developments of Judaism among the
Essenesand the Ebionites (Christian Essenes), and in the Cabbala, are full of
this belief. And it is a cornerstone ofthe philosophic mysticism of Alexandria.
In Philo the angels are the "Divine powers," "words," "images ofGod,"
forming the court and entourage ofthe invisible King, by whose means he
createdand maintains the material world, and holds converse with the souls
of men (see quotation, ver. 10). This doctrine, we may suppose, was a chief
article of the Colossianheresy. Theodoret'snote on ver. 18 is apposite here:
"They who defended the Law taught men to worship angels, saying that the
Law was given by them. This mischief continued long in Phrygia and Pisidia."
The apostle returns to the point from which he started in ver. 10. He has just
declaredthat God has cancelledand removed the Law as an instrument of

26. condemnation; and now adds that he has at the same time thrown off and laid
aside the veil of angelic mediation under which, in the administration of that
Law, he had withdrawn himself. Both these acts take place "in Christ." Both
are necessaryto that "accessto the Father" which, in the apostle's view, is the
specialprerogative of Christian faith (Ephesians 2:18; Ephesians 3:12;
Romans 5:2), and which the Colossianerrordoubly barred, by its ascetic
ceremonialismand by its angelic mediation. (See, on this passage, Alford; also
Peirce's 'Paraphraseand Notes,'2nd edit., 1729;RobertsonSmith, on 'Christ
and the Angels,' Expositor, secondseries, vol. 1:138, etc.;A. Sabatier's
'L'Apotre Paul,'p. 220, 2nd edit., 1881.)We are compelled, with all deference
to its high authority, to rejectthe view of the Greek Fathers, to which Ellicott,
Lightfoot, and Wordsworthhave returned, according to which "Christ in his
atoning death [in it; 'the cross,'ver. 15 b] stripped off from himself the
Satanic powers." Forit requires us to bring in, without grammaticalwarrant,
"somewhere"(Lightfoot), "Christ" as subject; it puts upon" the principalities
and the dominions" a sense foreignto the context, and that cannot be justified
by Ephesians 6:12, where the connectionis wholly different and the hostile
sense ofthe terms is most explicitly defined; and it presents an idea harsh and
unfitting in itself, the incongruity of which such illustrations as those of the
Nessus robe and Joseph's garment only make more apparent. It is one thing to
say that the powers of evil surrounded Christ and quite another thing to say
that he wore them as we have worn "the body of the flesh" (ver. 11;
Colossians 3:9). He made a show (of them) openly, having led them in triumph
in him; or, it (Ephesians 1:21, 22;Philippians 2:10; 1 Peter 3:22; Hebrews 1:5,
6; John 1:52; Matthew 25:31;Matthew 26:53; Revelation19:10;Revelation
22:9). In this, as in the lastverse, we have a finite verb betweentwo
participles, one introductory ("having stripped off"), the other explanatory,
Δειγματίζω, to make a show or example, occurs in the New Testamentbesides
only in Matthew 1:17, where it is compounded with παρα (RevisedText),
giving it a sinistermeaning of not belonging to the simple verb. With the
angelic "principalities," etc., for object, the verb denotes, not a shameful
exposure, but "anexhibition of them in their true characterand position,"
such as forbids them to be regardedsuperstitiously (ver. 18). God exhibited
the angels as the subordinates and servants of his Son (ver. 10: camp. Luke
1:26; Luke 2:10, 13;Mark 1:13; Luke 22:43; Matthew 28:2, etc.). "Openly" (
ἐν παρρησίᾳ: literally, in freedom of speech, a favourite word of St. Paul s)
implies the absence ofreserve or restraint, rather than mere publicity (comp.
Ephesians 6:19; Philippians 1:20). Θριαμβεύσας ("having triumphed;" 2
Corinthians 2:14 only other instance of the verb in the New Testament;its use
in classicalGreek confinedto Latinist writers, referring, historically, to the

27. Roman triumph) presents a formidable difficulty in the way of the
interpretation of the verse followedso far. For the common acceptationof the
word "triumph" compels us to think of the "principalities," etc., as hostile
(Satanic);and this, again, as Meyerstrongly contends, dictates the rendering
"having spoiled" for ἀπεκδυσάμενος.So we are brought into collisionwith
two fixed points of our former exegesis. If we are bound lexically to abide by
the reference to the Romanmilitary triumph, then the angelic principalities
must be supposed to have stoodin a quasi-hostile position to "the kingdom of
God and of Christ," in so far as men had exaggeratedtheir powers and
exalted them at Christ's expense, and to have been now robbed of this false
pre-eminence. The writer however, ventures to question whether, on
philologicalgrounds, a better, native Greek sense cannotbe found for this
verb. The noun thriambos ("triumph"), on which it is based, is used, indeed,
in the Latin sense as early as Polybius, a writer on Romanhistory (). But it is
extant in a much earlier classicalfragmentas synonymous with dithyrambos,
denoting "a festalsong;" and againin Plutarch, contemporary with St. Paul,
it is a name of the Greek godDionysus, in whose honour such songs were
sung, and whose worship was of a choral, processionalcharacter. This kinder
triumph was, one may imagine, familiar to the eyes of St. Paul and of his
readers, while the spectacle ofthe Roman triumph was distant and foreign (at
leastwhen he wrote 2 Corinthians). We suggestthat the apostle's image is
taken, beth here and in 2 Corinthians 2:14, from the festalprocessionofthe
Greek divinity, who leads his worshippers along as witnesses ofhis power and
celebrants of his glory. Such a figure fittingly describes the relationand the
attitude of the angels to the Divine presence in Christ. Let this suggestion,
however, be regardedas precarious or fanciful, the generalexpositionof the
verse is not thereby invalidated. (For further elucidation, see the Expositor,
first series, vol. 10. pp. 403-421;11. p. 78. On "triumph," in 2 Corinthians, see
Mr. Waite's Additional note in 'Speaker's Commentary.')The Revisers omit
the marginal "in himself" of the Authorized Version, which correctly, as we
think, refers the final ἐν αὐτῷ to Christ (ver. 10), though incorrectly implying
"Christ" as subjectof the verse. It was not only "in the cross" that God
unveiled himself, dispensing with angelic theophanies, but in the entire person
and work of his Son(Colossians 1:15;2 Corinthians 4:4; John 1:14, 18; John
14:9). "Which veil" (for here we may apply the words of 2 Corinthians 3:14)
"is done awayin Christ." So the whole passage(vers. 10-15)ends, as it begins,
"in him:" "We are complete in him" - in our conversionfrom sin to holiness
setforth in baptism, and our resurrectionfrom death to life experiencedin
forgiveness (vers. 11-13);and in the removal at once of the legalbar which

28. forbade our accessto God (ver. 14), and of the veil of inferior and partial
mediation which obscuredhis manifestationto us (ver. 15).
Vincent's Word StudiesHaving spoiledprincipalities and powers
(ἀπεκδυσάμενος τὰς ἀρχὰς καὶ τὰς ἐξουσίας)
For the verb spoiled, see on putting off, Colossians 2:11. The principalities and
powers are the angelic hosts through whose ministry the law was given. See
Deuteronomy 33:2; Acts 7:53; Hebrews 2:2; Galatians 3:19. Greatimportance
was attached, in the later rabbinical schools, to the angels who assistedin
giving the law; and that factwas not without influence in shaping the doctrine
of angelic mediators, one of the elements of the Colossianheresy, which was
partly Judaic. This doctrine Paul strikes at in Colossians 1:16;Colossians
2:10; here, and Colossians 2:18. Godput off from himself, when the bond of
the law was rendered void in Christ's crucifixion, that ministry of angels
which waited on the giving of the law, revealing Christ as the sole mediator,
the head of every principality and power(Colossians 2:10). The directness of
the gospelministration, as contrastedwith the indirectness of the legal
ministration, is touched upon by Paul in Galatians 3:19 sqq.; 2 Corinthians
3:12 sqq.; Hebrews 2:2.
He made a show of them (ἐδειγμάτισεν)
Only here and Matthew 1:19, see note. The compound παραδειγματίζωto
expose to public infamy, is found Hebrews 6:6; and δεῖγμα example, in Jde
1:7. The word is unknown to classicalGreek.The meaning here is to make a
display of, exhibit. He showedthem as subordinate and subjectto Christ.
Compare especiallyHebrews 1:1-14 throughout, where many points of
contactwith the first two chapters of this epistle will be found.
Openly (ἐν παῤῥησίᾳ)
Or boldly. See on Plm 1:8. Notpublicly, but as by a bold stroke putting His
own ministers, chosenand employed for such a glorious and dignified office,
in subjection before the eyes of the world.
Triumphing over them (θραιμβεύσας αὐτοὺς)
See on 2 Corinthians 2:14. If we take this phrase in the sense which it bears in
that passage, leading in triumph, there seems something incongruous in
picturing the angelic ministers of the law as captives of war, subjugated and
led in procession. The angels "do His commandments and hearkenunto the
voice of His word." But while I hold to that explanation in 2 Corinthians, I see
no reasonwhy the word may not be used here less specificallyin the sense of
leading a festalprocessionin which all share the triumph; the heavenly

29. ministers, though setaside as mediators, yet exulting in the triumph of the one
and only Mediator. Even in the figure in 2 Corinthians, the captives rejoice in
the triumph. Compare Revelation19:11. Our knowledge ofthe word
θριαμβεύω is not so extensive or accurate as to warrant too strict limitations
in our definition.
In it (ἐν αὐτῷ)
The cross. Manyexpositors, however, render in Him, Christ. This I adopt as
harmonizing with the emphatic references to Christ which occurin every
verse from Colossians2:5 to Colossians 2:14;Christ, four times; in Him, four;
in whom, two; with Him, three. In it is necessaryonly if the subject of the
sentence is Christ; but the very awkwardchange ofsubject from God
(quickened us together, Colossians 2:13)is quite unnecessary. Godis the
subject throughout.
PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
ChristTriumphant BY SPURGEON
“And having spoiled principalities and powers, He made a show of them
openly, triumphing over them in it.”
Colossians 2:15
To the eye of reasonthe Cross is the centerof sorrow and the lowestdepth of
shame as Jesus dies a malefactor’s death. He hangs upon the gallows ofa felon
and pours out His blood upon the common mount of doom with thieves for
His companions. In the midst of mockery, jest, scorn, ribaldry and blasphemy,
He gives up the ghost. Earth rejects Him and lifts Him from her surface.
Heaven affords Him no light, but darkens the midday sun in the hour of His
extremity. Deeperin woe than the Savior dived, imagination cannot descend.
A blackercalumny than was caston Him satanic malice itself could not
invent. He hid not His face from shame and spitting–and what shame and
spitting it was!
To the world the Cross must ever be the emblem of shame–to the Jew a
stumbling block and to the Greek foolishness. How different, however, is the
view which presents itself to the eyes of Faith. Faith knows no shame in the
Cross exceptthe shame of those who nailed the Savior there. It sees no ground
for scorn, but it hurls indignant scornat Sin, the enemy which pierced the

30. Lord. Faith sees woe, indeed, but from this woe it marks a fount of mercy
springing. It is true it mourns a dying Savior, but it beholds Him bringing life
and immortality to light at the very moment when His soul was eclipsedin the
shadow of Death. Faith regards the Cross not as the emblem of shame, but as
the tokenof Glory!
The sons of Beliallay the Cross in the dust but the Christian makes a
constellationof it and sees it glittering in the seventh Heaven. Man spits upon
it but Believers, having angels for their companions, bow down and worship
Him who ever lives though once He was crucified. My Brethren, our text
presents us with a portion of the view which Faith is certainto discoverwhen
its eyes are anointed with the eye-salve of the Holy Spirit. It tells us that the
Cross was Jesus Christ’s field of triumph! There He fought and there He
conquered, too.
As a victor on the Cross He divided the spoil. No, more than this–in our text
the Cross is spokenof as being Christ’s triumphal chariot in which He rode
when He led captivity captive and receivedgifts for men! Calvin thus
admirably expounds the lastsentence of our text–“The expressionin the
Greek, allows, itis true, of our reading, ‘in Himself.’ The connectionof the
passage, however, requires that we read it otherwise;for what would be
meageras applied to Christ, suits admirably well as applied to the Cross. For
as Paul had previously comparedthe Cross to a signal trophy or show of
triumph in which Christ led about His enemies, so he now also compares it to
a triumphal carin which He showedHimself in greatmagnificence. Forthere
is no tribunal so magnificent, no throne so stately, no show of triumph so
distinguished, no chariotso elevatedas is the gallows onwhich Christ has
subdued Death and the devil, the Prince of Death–no, more–has utterly
trodden them under His feet”
I shall, this morning, by God’s help, address you upon the two portions of the
text. First, I shall endeavorto describe Christ as spoiling His enemies on the
Cross. And having done that I shall lead your imagination and your faith
further on to see the Savior in triumphal processionupon His Cross, leading
His enemies captive and making a show of them openly before the eyes of the
astonisheduniverse.
1. First, our faith is invited, this morning, to behold CHRIST MAKING A
SPOIL OF PRINCIPALITIES AND POWERS.Satan, leaguedwith sin
and death, had made this world the home of woe. The Prince of the
powerof the air, not content with his dominions in Hell, must need
invade this fair earth. He found our first parents in the midst of Eden.
He tempted them to forego their allegiance to the King of Heaven and

31. they became at once his bond-slaves–bond-slaves forever, if the Lord of
Heaven had not interposed to ransom them.
The voice of mercy was heard while the fetters were being riveted upon their
feet, crying, “You shall yet be free. In the fullness of time there shall come
One who shall bruise the serpent’s head and shall deliver his prisoners from
the house of their bondage.” Long did the promise tarry. The earth groaned
and travailed in its bondage. Manwas Satan’s slave and heavy were the
clanking chains which were upon his soul. At last, in the fullness of time, the
Deliverercame forth born of a woman. This infant Conqueror was but a span
long. He lay in the manger–He who was one day to bind the old dragon and
casthim into the bottomless pit and seta sealupon him!
When the old serpentknew that his enemy was born, he conspired to put Him
to death. He leaguedwith Herod to seek the young child that he might destroy
Him. But the Providence of God preservedthe future Conqueror–He went
down into Egypt and there He was hidden for a little season. And when He
had come to fullness of years, He made His public advent and began to preach
liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to them that were bound.
Then Satan againshot forth his arrows and soughtto end the existence ofthe
woman’s Seed. By different means he sought to slay Him before His time.
Once the Jews took up stones to stone Him, nor did they fail to repeatthe
attempt. They soughtto castHim headlong down from the brow of a hill. By
all manner of devices they labored to take awayHis life but His hour was not
yet. Dangers might surround Him but He was invulnerable till the time was
come. At last the tremendous day arrived. Footto foot the Conqueror must
fight with the dread tyrant. A voice was heard in Heaven, “This is your hour,
and the power of darkness.” And Christ Himself exclaimed, “Now is the crisis
of this world; now must the Prince of Darkness be castout.”
From the table of communion the Redeemerarose atmidnight and marched
forth to the battle. How dreadful was the contest!In the very first onsetthe
mighty Conqueror seemedto be vanquished. Beatento the earth at the first
assault, He fell upon His knees and cried, “My Father, if it is possible let this
cup pass from Me.” Revivedin strength, made strong by Heaven, He no
longerquailed and from that hour never did He utter a word which looked
like renouncing the fight. All red with bloody sweatfrom the terrible
skirmish, He dashed into the thick of the battle! The kiss of Judas was, as it
were, the first sounding of the trumpet.
Pilate’s bar was the glittering of the spear. The cruel lash was the crossing of
the swords. But the Cross was the centerof the battle! There, on the top of

32. Calvary, must the dread fight of eternity be fought! Now must the Sonof God
arise and gird His sword upon His thigh. Dread defeator glorious conquest
awaits the Champion of the Church. Which shall it be? We hold our breath
with anxious suspense while the storm is raging. I hear the trumpet sound!
The howls and yells of Hell rise in awful clamor! The pit is emptying out its
legions!Terrible as lions, hungry as wolves and black as night the demons
rush on in myriads. Satan’s reserve forces, those who had long been kept
againstthis day of terrible battle, are roaring from their dens. See how
countless are their armies and how fierce their countenances!Brandishing his
swordthe arch fiend leads the van, bidding his followers fight neither with
small nor great, save only with the King of Israel!
Terrible are the leaders of the battle. Sin is there and all its innumerable
offspring spitting forth the venom of asps and sinking their poison fangs in the
Savior’s flesh. Deathis there upon his pale horse and his cruel darts rend
their way through the body of Jesus evento His inmost heart. He is
“exceedinglysorrowful, evenunto death.” Hell comes, with all its coals of
juniper and fiery darts. But chief and head among them is Satan–
remembering wellthe ancient day when Christ hurled him from the
battlements of Heaven he rushes with all his malice yelling to the attack!
The darts shot into the air are so countless that they blind the sun. Darkness
covers the battlefield and like that of Egypt it was a darkness which might be
felt. Long does the battle seemto waver, for there is but One againstmany.
One Man–no, listen, lestany should misunderstand me–one GOD stands in
battle array againstten thousands of principalities and powers!On, on they
come and He receives them all. Silently at first He permits their ranks to
break upon Him, enduring terrible hardness to spare a thought for shouting.
But at last the battle cry is heard. He who is fighting for His people begins to
shout, but it is a shout which makes the Church tremble. He cries, “I thirst!”
The battle is so hot upon Him and the dust so thick that He is chokedwith
thirst! He cries, “I thirst!” Surely, now, He is about to be defeated!Wait
awhile–do you see yon heaps? All these have fallen beneath His arm and for
the rest, fear not the issue!The enemy is but rushing to his own destruction!
In vain his fury and his rage, for look, the last rank is charging, the battle of
ages is almost over!
At last the darkness is dispersed. Hark how the Conqueror cries. “It is
finished!” And where are His enemies now? They are all dead! There lies the
king of terrors, piercedthrough with one of his own darts! There lies Satan
with his head all bleeding, broken! Yonder crawls the broken-backedSerpent,
writhing in ghastly misery! As for Sin, it is cut in pieces and scatteredto the

33. winds of Heaven! “It is finished, ” cries the Conqueror, as He came with dyed
garments from Bozrah,“Ihave trodden the winepress alone, I have trampled
them in My fury and their blood is sprinkled on My garments.” And now He
proceeds to divide the spoil.
We pause here to remark that when the spoil is divided it is a sure tokenthat
the battle is completely won. The enemy will never suffer the spoil to be
divided among the conquerors as long as he has any strength remaining. We
may gatherfrom our text, of a surety, that Jesus Christ has totally routed,
thoroughly defeatedonce and for all and put to retreat all His enemies or else
He would not have divided the spoil.
And now, what does this expressionmean of Christ dividing the spoil? I take
it that it means, first of all, that He disarmed all His enemies. Satancame
againstChrist–he had in his hand a sharp sword calledthe Law, dipped in the
poisonofsin so that every wound which the Law inflicted was deadly. Christ
dashed this sword out of Satan’s hand and there stoodthe Prince of Darkness
unarmed! His helmet was split it two and his head was crushedas with a rod
of iron! Death rose againstChrist. The Savior snatchedhis quiver from him,
emptied out all his darts, cut them in two, gave Deathback the featherend but
kept the poisonedbarbs from him that he might never destroy the ransomed.
Sin came againstChrist–but Sin was utterly cut in pieces. It had been Satan’s
armor bearer, but its shield was castawayand it lay dead upon the plain. Is it
not a noble picture to behold all the enemies of Christ–no, my Brothers and
Sisters–allyour enemies and mine, totally disarmed? Satan has nothing left,
now, with which he may attack us! He may attempt to injure us but wound us
he never can, for his swordand spearare utterly takenaway!In the old
battles, especiallyamong the Romans, after the enemy had been overcome it
was the custom to take awayall their weapons and ammunition. Afterwards
they were stripped of their armor and their garments, their hands were tied
behind their backs and they were made to pass under the yoke. Now, evenso
has Christ done with Sin, Death, and Hell–He has takentheir armor, spoiled
them of all their weapons and made them all to pass under the yoke–sothat
now they are our slaves and we in Christ are conquerors of them who were
mightier than we!
I take it this is the first meaning of dividing the spoil–totaldisarming of the
adversary. In the next place, when the victors divide the spoil they carry away
not only the weapons but all the treasures which belong to their enemies. They
dismantle their fortressesand rifle all their stores so that in future they may
not be able to renew the attack. Christ has done the like with all His enemies.
Old Satanhad takenawayfrom us all our possessions. Satanhad added

34. Paradise to his territories. All the joy, happiness and peace ofman, Satanhad
taken–notthat he could enjoy them himself, but that he delighted to thrust us
down into poverty and damnation.
Now, all our lostinheritances Christ has gottenback for us! Paradise is ours
and more than all the joy and happiness that Adam had, Christ has brought
back to us. O robber of our race, how are you spoiledand carried away
captive! Did you despoil Adam of his riches? The secondAdam has taken
them from you! Did you cut the whole earth asunder and cause the wasterto
become desolate?The secondAdam has defeatedyou–now shall the needy be
remembered and againshall the meek inherit the earth! “Thenis the prey of a
greatspoil divided, the lame take the prey.”
Moreover, whenvictors divide the spoil, it is usual to take awayall the
ornaments from the enemy–the crowns and the jewels. Christ on the Cross did
the like with Satan. Satan had a crown on his head, a haughty diadem of
triumph. “I fought the first Adam,” he said. “I overcame him and here’s my
glittering diadem.” Christ snatchedit from his brow in the hour when He
bruised the serpent’s head. And now Satan cannotboastof a single victory–he
is thoroughly defeated!
In the first skirmish he vanquished manhood, but in the secondbattle
Manhoodvanquished him! The crown is takenfrom Satan. He is no longer
the prince of God’s people. His reigning poweris gone!He may tempt, but he
cannot compel. He may threaten, but he cannot subdue for the crownis taken
from his head and the mighty are brought low. O sing unto the Lord a new
song, all you His people! Make a joyful noise unto Him with Psalms all you
His redeemed, for He has broken in sunder the gates ofbrass and cut the bars
of iron! He has broken the bow and cut the spearin sunder! He has burned
the chariots in the fire! He has dashed in pieces our enemies and divided the
spoil with the strong!
And now, what does this say to us? Simply this. If Christ on the Cross has
spoiled Satan, let us not be afraid to encounter this greatenemy of our souls.
My Brethren, in all things we must be made like unto Christ. We must bear
our cross and on that cross we must fight as He did with Sin, Death and Hell!
Let us not fear. The result of the battle is certain, for as the Lord our Savior
has overcome once, evenso shall we most surely conquer in Him. Be you, none
of you afraid with sudden fear when the Evil One comes upon you. If he
accuse you, reply to him in these words–“Who shalllay anything to the charge
of God’s elect?”

35. If he condemns you, laugh him to scorn, crying–“Who is he that condemns? It
is Christ that died, yes rather has risen again.” If he threaten to divide you
from Christ’s love, encounterhim with confidence–“Iampersuaded that
neither things present nor things to come nor height nor depth, nor any other
creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ
Jesus our Lord.” If he lets loose your sins upon you dash the Hell dogs aside
with this–“If any man sin we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ
the righteous.” If Deathshould threaten you, shout in his very face–“O Grave!
Where is your sting? O Death! Where is your victory?”
Hold up the Cross before you! Let that be your shield and buckler and rest
assuredthat as your Masternot only routed the foe but afterwards took the
spoil, it shall be even so with you! Your battles with Satanshall turn to your
advantage. You shall become all the richer for your attacks. The more
numerous they shall be the greatershall be your share of the spoil! Your
tribulation shall work patience and your patience experience–andyour
experience hope–a hope that will not make you ashamed. Through much
tribulation shall you inherit the kingdom and by the very attacks ofSatan
shall you be helped the better to enjoy the restwhich remains for the people of
God.
Put yourselves in array againstsin and Satan. All you that bend the bow shoot
at them–spare no arrows, for your enemies are rebels againstGod! Go up
againstthem–put your feet upon their necks–fearnot, neither be dismayed,
for the battle is the Lord’s and He will deliver them into your hands! Be very
courageousremembering that you have to fight a dragon without a sting! He
may hiss, but his teeth are broken and his poison fangs extracted. You have to
do battle with an enemy alreadyscarredby your Master’s weapons. You have
to fight with a naked enemy! Every blow you give him tells upon him for he
has nothing to protecthimself with!
Christ has stripped him naked, divided his armor and left him defenseless
before his people. Be not afraid. The lion may howl, but he cannever tear you
in pieces. The enemy may rush in upon you with hideous noise and terrible
alarms, but there is no real cause for fear. Stand fast in the Lord! You war
againsta king who has lost his crown. You fight againstan enemy whose
cheekboneshave been crushed and the joints of whose loins have been loosed.
Rejoice, rejoicein the day of battle, for it is for you but the beginning of an
eternity of triumph!
I have thus endeavoredto dwell upon the first part of the text. Christ on the
Cross divided the spoil and He would have us do the same.

36. II. The secondpart of our text refers not only to the dividing of the spoil but
to THE TRIUMPH. When a Roman generalhad performed great feats in a
foreign country, his highest rewardwas that the Senate should decree him a
triumph. Of course there was a division of spoil made on the battlefield where
eachsoldier and eachcaptain took his share. But every man lookedforward
rapturously to the day when they should enjoy the public triumph. On a
certain setday the gates of Rome were thrown open, the houses were all
decoratedwith ornaments and the people climbed to the tops of the houses or
stoodin great crowds along the streets.
The gates were openedand by-and-by the first legionbeganto streamin with
its banners flying and its trumpets sounding. The people saw the stern
warriors as they marched along the street returning from their blood-red
fields of battle. After one half of the army had thus advanced, your eyes would
rest upon one who was the centerof all attraction–riding in a noble chariot
drawn by milk-white horses–therecame the conquerorhimself, crownedwith
the laurel crownand standing erect! Chained to his chariot were the kings
and mighty men of the regions which he had conquered.
Immediately behind them came part of the booty. There were carried the
ivory and the ebony and the beasts of the different countries which he had
subdued. After these came the rest of the soldiery, a long, long stream of
valiant men all of them abating the triumphs of their captain. Behind them
came banners–the old flags which had floated aloft in the battle–the standards
which had been takenfrom the enemy.
And after these, large painted emblems of the greatvictories of the warriors.
Upon one there would be a huge map depicting the rivers which they had
crossed, orthe seas through which the navy had found their way. Everything
was representedin a picture and the populace gave a fresh shout as they saw
the memorial of eachtriumph. And then, behind, togetherwith the trophies,
would come the prisoners of less eminent rank. Then the rear would be closed
with the sound of trumpets adding to the acclamationofthe throng. It was a
noble day for old Rome! Children would never forgetthose triumphs! They
would estimate their years from the time of one triumph to another. High
holiday was kept. Women castdown flowers before the conqueror and he was
the true monarch of the day.
Now, our Apostle had evidently seensuch a triumph, or read of it, and he
takes this as a representationof what Christ did on the Cross. He says, “Jesus
made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.” Have you ever
thought that the Cross could be the scene ofa triumph? Mostof the old
commentators canscarcelyconceive it to be true. They say, “This must

37. certainly refer to Christ’s Resurrectionand Ascension.” But, nevertheless, so
says the Scripture, evenon the Cross, Christ enjoyed a triumph! Yes, while
those hands were bleeding the acclamations ofangels were being poured upon
His head! Yes, while those feetwere being torn with the nails, the noblest
spirits in the world were crowding round Him with admiration!
And when upon that blood-stained Cross He died in unutterable agonies,
there was heard a shout such as never was heard before for the ransomedin
Heaven–andall the angels of God with loudest harmony chanted His praise!
Then was sung, in fullest chorus, the song of Moses, the servant of God and of
the Lamb, for He had, indeed, cut Rahab and sorely wounded the dragon.
Sing unto the Lord for He has triumphed gloriously! The Lord shall reign
forever and ever, King of kings, and Lord of lords!
I do not feel able, however, this morning, to work out a scene so grand and yet
so contrary to everything that flesh could guess as a picture of Christ actually
triumphing on the Cross–inthe midst of His bleeding, His wounds and His
pains–actuallybeing a triumphant victor and admired of all. I choose, rather,
to take my text thus–the Cross is the ground of Christ’s ultimate triumph. He
may be said to have really triumphed there because it was by that one act of
His–that one offering of Himself–that He completely vanquished all His foes
and forever satdown at the right hand of the Majestyin the heavens. In the
Cross, to the spiritual eye, every victory of Christ is contained. It may not be
there in fact, but it is there virtually–the germ of His glories may be
discoveredby the eye of faith in the agonies ofthe Cross. Bearwith me while I
humbly attempt to depict the triumph which now results from the Cross.
Christ has forever overcome all His foes and divided the spoil upon the
battlefield. And now, even at this day is He enjoying the well-earnedreward
and triumph of His fearful struggle. Lift up your eyes to the battlements of
Heaven, the greatmetropolis of God! The pearly gates are wide open and the
city shines with her jeweledwalls like a bride prepared for her husband. Do
you see the angels crowding to the battlements? Do you observe them on every
mansion of the celestialcity, eagerlydesiring and looking for something which
has not yet arrived?
At last there is heard the sound of a trumpet and the angels hurry to the
gates–the vanguardof the redeemedis approaching the city. Abel comes in
alone, clothed in crimson garb, the herald of a glorious army of martyrs!
Hark to the shout of acclamation!This is the first of Christ’s warriors, at once
a soldier and a trophy, that have been delivered. Close athis heels there follow
others who in those early times had learned the coming Savior’s fame.