J. L. Terveen Colossians 2
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The final aorist participle brings to emphatic climax Pauls exaltation of Christ
and his infinite superiority.
, a metaphor taken from the Roman world of
the tumultuous triumphal procession and parade for the returning victorious general, calls
to mind 2 Cor. 2:14 where Paul envisages himself as a privileged prisoner trailing along
behind Christ, a "slave of Christ." The object
in Col. 2:15 context, however,
reveals a very different feel, since the reference now clearly presents the powers and
principalities as true enemies of Christ. The visible display of Gods victory in Christ
through his death and resurrection emphatically proclaims the undeniable supremacy of
Christ over all. "The cross on which Christ died is compared to the chariot in which the
victor rode in triumph."
Perhaps most intriguingly for the purposes of this study, Paul closes off this most
significant early phase of the heart of his polemical argument in 2:8-23 with one more
emphatically end-positioned
, an inclusio holding the whole of 2:9-15 together.
"In Christ" God vanquishes all hostile spirit forces arrayed against the people of God.
"In Christ" the people of God share in his victory over their own sin and every enemy
that would seek to rule over them.
Conclusion. Throughout this study, careful attention has been given to highlight
the centrality of Pauls union christology for his first major polemical response to the
threat posed by the Colossian antagonist. In 2:8 it was seen that the emphatically end-
positioned "not according to Christ" gave the criterion for true gospel teaching, a
touchstone Paul would develop in the christological affirmations to follow. Cast, then,
within the framework of the "in him/Christ" concept, Paul develops the leitmotif of
"fullness" with a dual aspect God is "in Christ", and the believer is "in Christ." Paul