King of the Jews
Nailed to his cross
"Blotting out the handwriting[1] of ordinances[2] that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;" (Colossians 2:14)
What does Paul mean by this verse?
This plaque above the cross was the official proclamation of Caesar through Pontius Pilate saying This is the King of the Jews.[3]
The the handwriting[1] of rules and [2] recorded dept obligation of owing Herod for the benefits of his government had been shifted to another king, one Jesus.
What it blotted out was the "cheirographon" which "refers to a handwritten document, particularly a legal or financial document such as a certificate of debt or a bond."
Jesus was the Christ, the anointed king of Judea who was, like John the Baptist, explaining the kingdom of God as one form of self government which set the captive free through the practice of pure Religion by way of the Perfect law of liberty.
What you had owed Herod before you would now owe Jesus and his appointed ministers if you received their baptism.
This was a decentralized form of government but it consisted of an intigrated population of peculiar people bound by spiritual elements of righteousness.[4]
Paul had been writing the "the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse:"[5] because they had heard of their faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which they had to all the saints, [6]
According to Paul the gospel had been preached in all the world,[7] and faithful servants were ministering to the people.[8] It was for this cause that he hoped they had both understanding[9] and good works.[10] But also talked about them all having been delivered from the darkness and already translated into the kingdom of Jesus Christ.[11]
When he told them they had been translated[12] into the kingdom he was talking about having been removed from the kingdom of darkness.[13]
We see the phrase "power of darkness," in the gospel [14] where Luke talked about the chief priests, and captains of the temple, and the elders, [15] who were the government official and the police who came out against Christ and his followers to bring them before the Sanhedrin which was the congress of the day. This was an arrest by government to bring him before that tribunal, that power of darkness and impeach him as an usurper of the throne of Judea.
We see the same metaphor in Acts 26:18 [16] about turning eyes from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan who is the adversary of God. This seems required that God's way be sought to receive forgiveness and inherit through the sanctification by faith.
And again in Ephesians 6:12 we see the metaphor one more time speaking of rulers and powers of darkness.[17]
Paul goes on and talks about the blood of Jesus Christ redeeming them with his own blood. [18] He goes on to say that Jesus was the first born of every creature.[19] The word "creature" is the word for "the act of founding, establishing"[20] It came from a word meaning create or make habitable for a people.[21]
Paul also talks about Christ as the head of the body or corpus of His appointed Church which like the Church in the Wilderness served the people in congregations.[22]
Christ had called new men to come out and serve the kingdom. To be doers of the word and he said he would take the kingdom from them that had it and give to them whom would bear fruit.[23] He would appoint that kingdom to His little flock.[24]
And he did just that with the words of their own mouth.[25] He would then appoint the kingdom to these new called out ministers[26] This new called out body would be the servant government of those congregations of the people who would repent from the alienation of their minds from the ways of God.[27]
What were these wicked works?
The Corban of the pharisees that made the word of God to none effect.
Again Paul speaks of the gospel of the kingdom having been preached to every creature or "institution" and advises that we be not moved away from His gospel.[28]
Paul preached Christ first. It was His Gospel which told us what we must do to obtain Eternal life. Jesus said we must be Doers of the Word. And clearly it was Christ's ordinance that we Keep the Commandments[29]
So, "Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances" had nothing to do with the ten laws written by God. It had to do with the heavy burdens placed on the people by law makers who exercised authority one over the other.[30]
Certainly we are saved by grace and not by works but how do we know we truly believe in Jesus except by our works. Is it the truth when we say we love Jesus? Can it be the truth if we are by policy not keeping His commandments?
The truth is most people are subject to more hand written ordinances today than they were at the time of Christ. This is because they have not repented of their sin of covetousness. They still want to rule over one another rather than love one another. They are still greedy for gain and fail to attend to the Weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith which include caring for the needs of our neighbors and the widows and orphans of our society through Pure Religion in matters of health, education, and welfare. We are NOT to provide for the needy of society through the Covetous Practices and the men who call themselves benefactors but who exercise authority one over the other like the socialists do.
The Way of Christ was like neither the way of the world of Rome nor the governments of the gentiles who depend on those fathers of the earth through force, fear and fealty who deliver the people back in bondage again like they were in Egypt. Christ's ministers and true Christians do not depend upon systems of social welfare that force the contributions of the people like the corban of the Pharisees which made the word of God to none effect. Many people have been deceived to go the way of Balaam and the Nicolaitan and out of The Way of Christ and have become workers of iniquity.
The Christian conflict with Rome in the first century Church appointed by Christ was because they would not apply to the fathers of the earth for their free bread but instead relied upon a voluntary network providing a daily ministration to the needy of society through Faith, Hope, and Charity by way of freewill offerings of the people, for the people, and by the people through the perfect law of liberty in Free Assemblies according to the ancient pattern of Tuns or Tens as He commanded.
The modern Christians are in need of repentance.
"Follow me!" —Jesus the Christ.
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- If you think you have a calling to be a Minister of God or you might want to dedicate your life to Christ as an Ordained Minister of His Holy Church, contact us to start the process of discipleship and become the benefactors who exercise only love, NOT authority.[31]
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Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 5498 χειρογραφον cheirographon khi-rog’-raf-on; neuter of a compound of 5495 and 1125; something hand-written ("chirograph"), i.e. a manuscript (specifically, a legal document or bond [figuratively]): — handwriting but cheirographon inludes the meaning of a bond as in the "the concept of a written record of debt or obligation ..."
- Usage: The term "cheirographon" refers to a handwritten document, particularly a legal or financial document such as a certificate of debt or a bond. In the context of the New Testament, it is used metaphorically to describe the record of debt or the legal demands that stand against humanity due to sin.
Cultural and Historical Background: In the ancient Greco-Roman world, a "cheirographon" was a common legal instrument. It was a handwritten document that acknowledged a debt or obligation, often signed by the debtor. This document served as a binding agreement that could be used in legal proceedings to enforce repayment. The concept of a written record of debt was well understood in both Jewish and Greco-Roman cultures, making it a powerful metaphor for the spiritual debt incurred by sin.
- Usage: The term "cheirographon" refers to a handwritten document, particularly a legal or financial document such as a certificate of debt or a bond. In the context of the New Testament, it is used metaphorically to describe the record of debt or the legal demands that stand against humanity due to sin.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 1378 ~δόγμα~ dogma \@dog’-mah\@ from the base of 1380; TDNT-2:230,178; {See TDNT 196} n n AV-decree 3, ordinance 2; 5
- 1) doctrine, decree, ordinance
- 1a) of public decrees
- 1b) of the Roman Senate
- 1c) of rulers
- 2) the rules and requirements of the law of Moses; carrying a suggestion of severity and of threatened judgment
- 3) of certain decrees of the apostles relative to right living
- Luke 2:1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree <1378> from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.
- Acts 16:4 And as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees <1378> for to keep, that were ordained of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem.
- Acts 17:7 Whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees <1378> of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus.
- Ephesians 2:15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances <1378>; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
- Colossians 2:14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances <1378> that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
- 1) doctrine, decree, ordinance
- ↑ King of the Jews
- Matthew 2:2 "Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him."
- Matthew 27:29 "And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put [it] upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!... 37 And set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS."
- Mark 15:2 "And Pilate asked him, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answering said unto him, Thou sayest [it]... 26 And the superscription of his accusation was written over, THE KING OF THE JEWS."
- Luke 23:3 "And Pilate asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answered him and said, Thou sayest [it]... 38 And a superscription also was written over him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS."
- John 1:49 "Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel."
- John 18:37 "Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice."
- John 19:12 "And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him: but the Jews cried out, saying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar’s friend: whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar... 19 And Pilate wrote a title, and put [it] on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS. 20 This title then read many of the Jews: for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city: and it was written in Hebrew, [and] Greek, [and] Latin. 21 Then said the chief priests of the Jews to Pilate, Write not, The King of the Jews; but that he said, I am King of the Jews. 22 Pilate answered, What I have written I have written."
- Acts 17:7 "Whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus."
- ↑ Binding the soul and Spirit
- “1 My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee. 2 Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye. 3 Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart. 4 Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call understanding thy kinswoman: 5 That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words.” Proverbs 7:1-5
- “20 My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother: 21 Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck. 22 When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee. 23 For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life: 24 To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.” Proverbs 6:20-24
- “3 Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:.. “7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. 8 It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones. 9 Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:” Proverbs 3:3-9
- ↑ Colossians 1:2 To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace [be] unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
- ↑ Colossians 1:4 Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love [which ye have] to all the saints,
- ↑ Colossians 1:6 Which is come unto you, as [it is] in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as [it doth] also in you, since the day ye heard [of it], and knew the grace of God in truth:
- ↑ Colossians 1:7 As ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellowservant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ; 8 Who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit.
- ↑ Ephesians 1:18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
- Ephesians 4:18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:
- Ephesians 5:17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.
- Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
- Colossians 1:9 For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;
- Colossians 2:2 That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ;
- 1 Timothy 1:7 Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.
- 2 Timothy 2:7 Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things.
- ↑ Acts 9:36 Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas: this woman was full of good works and almsdeeds which she did.
- Romans 13:3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:
- Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
- 1 Timothy 2:10 But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.
- 1 Timothy 5:10 Well reported of for good works; if she have brought up children, if she have lodged strangers, if she have washed the saints’ feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work.
- 1 Timothy 5:25 Likewise also the good works of some are manifest beforehand; and they that are otherwise cannot be hid.
- 1 Timothy 6:18 That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;
- 2 Timothy 3:17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
- Titus 2:7 In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity,
- Titus 2:14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
- Titus 3:8 This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.
- Titus 3:14 And let ours also learn to maintain good works for necessary uses, that they be not unfruitful.
- ↑ Colossians 1:9 ¶ For this cause we also, since the day we heard [it], do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;10 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; 12 ¶ Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
- ↑ 3179. μεθιστημὶ methistemi meth-is’-tay-mee; or (#1Co 13:2) μεθιστανω methistano meth-is-tan’-o; from 3326 and 2476; to transfer, i.e. carry away, depose or (figuratively) exchange, seduce: — put out, remove, translate, turn away.
3179 ~μεθίστημι~ methistemi \@meth-is’-tay-mee\@ or (#1Co 13:2) ~μεθιστάνω~ methistano \@meth-is-tan’-o\@ from 3326 and 2476; ; v AV-remove 2, put out 1, turn away 1, translate 1; 5 1) to transpose, transfer, remove from one place to another
- 1a) of change of situation or place
- 1b) to remove from the office of a steward
- 1c) to depart from life, to die
- ↑ Colossians 1:13 Who hath delivered us from the power <exousia> of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
- ↑ Luke 22:53 When I was daily with you in the temple, ye stretched forth no hands against me: but this is your hour, and the power of darkness.
- ↑ Luke 22:52 Then Jesus said unto the chief priests, and captains of the temple, and the elders, which were come to him, Be ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and staves?
- ↑ Acts 26:18 To open their eyes, [and] to turn [them] from darkness to light, and [from] the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
- ↑ Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places].
- ↑ Colossians 1:14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, [even] the forgiveness of sins:
- ↑ Colossians 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
- ↑ 2937 ~κτίσις~ ktisis \@ktis’-is\@ from 2936; TDNT-3:1000,481; n f AV-creature 11, creation 6, building 1, ordinance 1; 19 1) the act of founding, establishing, building etc
- 1a) the act of creating, creation
- 1b) creation i.e. thing created
- 1c) institution, ordinance
- ↑ 2936 ~κτίζω~ ktizo \@ktid’-zo\@ probably akin to 2932 (through the idea of proprietor-ship of the manufacturer); v AV-create 12, Creator 1, make 1; 14 1) to make habitable, to people, a place, region, island 1a) to found a city, colony, state 2) to create 2a) of God creating the worlds 2b) to form, shape, i.e. to completely change or transform
- ↑ Colossians 1:18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all [things] he might have the preeminence.
- ↑ Matthew 21:43 Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.
- ↑ Luke 12:32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
- ↑ John 19:15 But they cried out, Away with [him], away with [him], crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar.
- ↑ Luke 22:29 And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me;
- ↑ Colossians 1:21 And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in [your] mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled
- ↑ Colossians 1:23 If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and [be] not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, [and] which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;
- ↑ : Matthew 19:17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
- John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
- John 15:10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.
- 1 John 2:3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
- 1 John 3:22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
- 1 John 5:2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.
- 1 John 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
- Revelation 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
- ↑ Matthew 23:4 For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.
- ↑ Matthew 20:25-26 But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;
Mark 10:42-43 But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them. But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister:
Luke 22:25-26 And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve.