J. L. Terveen Colossians 2
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that describe this redemptive reality. Notably, all are rooted firmly in the christological
soil of union with Christ theology.
Efficacious Redemptive Realities and the Death of Christ
In the elaborate series of metaphorical images tumbling almost redundantly
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over
each other in Col.2:11-15, the basic direction of Pauls thought seems clear enough.
Jesus death and resurrection has effectually brought forgiveness of sins, deliverance
from hostile alien spirit-powers, and new life to those who are "in him" by faith.
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Through a summarizing exegetical look at each of the metphorical pictures, the central
place of an "in him/Christ" christological perspective will be seen to be the determinative
feature throughout Pauls expanded presentation of the redemptive effectiveness of Jesus
death.
Circumcision and the Death of Christ. The imagery of circumcision in Col.2:11
has occasioned no little exegetical debate due to the varying syntactical and semantic
possibilities in the text. Full value, however, has not always been granted to the
emphatically placed relative clause
leading the reader into the circumcision
metaphor. Given the incorporative christological context in 2:9-10, the initial "in whom"
whose antecedent is Christ (
, 2:10) could well be understood to set the
interpretive tone and direction for what follows.
Paul immediately clarifies the spiritual nature of the "circumcision" he says the
Colossian believers had received in Christ with the poignant
,
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a term that
combined with the divine passive
underscores the divine agency for
this circumcision.
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This circumcision, Paul stresses, is wholly the work of God and is
only experienced "in Christ." Though frequently scholars reference Christian baptism at