On the Cross Christ Stripped Off the Rulers and Authorities and Triumphed over them

Col. 2:15 portrays the warfare that took place at the time of Christ’s crucifixion; as He was dying on the cross to accomplish redemption, Christ stripped off the rulers and authorities swarming around Him, putting them to shame and triumphing over them in the cross. Hallelujah!

The Lord Jesus had a joy set before Him, and for this joy, He endured the cross, despising the shame, and loved the church to the uttermost.

The cross is the greatest sign of love – God in Christ loved us so much that He gave Himself up for us to gain us, redeem us, and make us His bride to be His wife. What a love is this!

When we see the Lord’s dying love, we’re attracted, inspired, and drawn to Him.

Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her.

He had the church as the bride set before Him, and for this, He endured the cross and despised the shame.

On the cross, He accomplished many wonderful things.

On the negative side, Christ accomplished an all-inclusive redemption, and on the positive side, the life within Him was released so that it may be imparted into us in His resurrection to regenerate us and make us part of His body, His bride.

Christ offered Himself as the sacrifice for sins and bore the sins of many.

Sin is a big problem between us and God; our sins separate us from God and keep Him away from us.

Sin is anything we do not in oneness with the Lord, anything that comes out of our fallen human being.

We do not only sin; we are sinners, for sin is in our very nature.

We sin because we’re sinners, for there’s the sinful nature of Satan within us.

So the Lord Jesus came to offer Himself as the sacrifice for sins, and He bore our sins in His body on the tree.

Even more, He was made sin for us. He who did not know sin was made sin on our behalf.

God not only put all our sins on Christ on the cross; He looked at Christ and saw Him as being sin itself, and He judged sin in the flesh. Wow!

This is why, temporarily, the Lord Jesus was separated from the Father’s presence – the economical aspect of His presence.

God had to judge sin, and sin at that time was focused on Christ, for Christ became sin for us.

At the same time, on the cross Christ cast out the ruler of this world and judged this world; He cast the ruler out and judged the world usurped by Satan.

On the positive side, Christ died as a grain of wheat and released the divine life within Him so that all those who believe into Christ would be regenerated and have the divine life to be members of the Body of Christ and part of the church as the bride of Christ.

Praise the Lord for His wonderful work on the cross!

Seeing the Warfare that Took Place at the Time of Christ’s Crucifixion and His Triumph

Col. 2:15 is a window into what happened in the spiritual realm at the time of Christ’s crucifixion.

In this verse, we see that there was a warfare going on. In the latter part of His crucifixion, the second half of three hours on the cross, there was a warfare going on in the spiritual realm.

Satan thought that he was the winner, for he managed to nail Jesus on the cross, so he was in charge.

This is why during the first three hours of His crucifixion, many of those around Him mocked him and asked Him to save Himself by coming down from the cross.

But in the second part of His time on the cross, something else happened: God put all our sins upon Christ.

All the negative things in the universe were placed on Christ, and everything negative thing in the universe was being terminated.

Satan himself was being destroyed, and all his evil powers were cast out and destroyed.

So Satan and his evil powers came swarming around Christ on the cross to stop this aspect of His death.

But Christ knew what He was doing. He went to the cross willingly, and He was willing to die for us, for He had the church as the joy set before Him. And He knew that He will judge Satan and cast him out.

In His crucifixion, Christ was working to accomplish redemption, and God the Father was working to judge sin.

At the same time, the rulers and authorities were busy in an attempt to frustrate the work of God and Christ.

At that time, the cross was the focus of the entire universe, for every party in the universe was there on the cross.

Man was there, God was there, Christ was there, and Satan and his evil powers were all there.

There was a battle raging at the cross, for Satan thought that he managed to defeat Christ, but through the cross, Christ defeated him, destroyed him, and cast him out. Wow.

The rulers and authorities who were under Satan, that is, the evil angels, the fallen angels subordinate to him and working for him (Eph. 2:2), were all swarming around Jesus Christ on the cross.

They were even hanging on Him, as close as a piece of garment is on us.

The Lord bore all our sins. He was working on the cross to accomplish redemption, bear our sins, terminate sin, and cast out the ruler of this world.

The suffering that He went through on the cross is unbelievable. It was intense.

The pain within the depths of His being is something that only God the Father can understand; there’s no way for us to even describe it.

It was intense, unbelievable suffering. He went through both the physical, spiritual, and psychological suffering for us – for me and for you, because He loved us, and He wanted to gain the joy set before Him – the church as the bride.

While God was judging sin, the evil rulers and authorities were present and were very active, swarming around the crucified Christ, pressing in very closely.

We would have never known this had it not been for Paul writing about it in Col. 2:15.

The evil rulers and authorities pressed in so closely on the Lord Jesus that God had to strip them off.

He stripped off the rulers and authorities as one strips off a piece of garment.

He defeated them through the cross, made a display of them openly, and triumphed over them in the cross.

As Christ was working to accomplish the work of redemption, Satan and his rulers were pressing on Him and tried to stop Him; however, God stripped them off, making a display of them openly, triumphing over them in the cross. Praise the Lord!

He put them to open shame and triumphed over these enemies. Wow.

What can we say but thank and praise the Lord for this wonderful fact, and stand in it in our daily life!

Lord Jesus, we praise You for Your wonderful work on the cross. Thank You for having the church as the joy set before You and therefore being willing to endure the cross and despise the shame. Thank You, Lord, for bearing all our sins on the cross. We are so grateful for You taking all our sins away. You who did not know sin were made sin by God on the cross, and we are made the righteousness of God in Christ. Praise You, Lord Jesus, for all You have done for us on the cross. Praise You for Your wonderful redemption! Praise You for defeating the enemy through the cross. Hallelujah, on the cross Christ stripped off the rulers and authorities that were hanging on Him and triumphed over them in the cross! Amen, Lord, You are the victorious One. Though Satan tried to kill You and then stop You from accomplishing redemption, You put him to open shame and triumphed over him and his armies through the cross! Praise the Lord!

In the Economy of His Salvation, God Enlivened us, Nailed the Law to the Cross, and Stripped Off the Rulers and Authorities

May the Lord have mercy on us and remove any veils from our eyes so that we may see what happened at the cross when Christ died for us.

For the joy set before Him, Christ endured the cross and despised the shame.

He was willing to go to the cross and die for us. Evil men put Christ on the cross, but He went there willingly.

While He was on the cross, Christ was laboring to accomplish redemption.

God the Father was also there to judge sin and to nail the law to the cross.

Col. 2:13-15 is a wonderful portion describing what happened at the cross when Christ was crucified.

On the cross, He has forgiven all our offenses, and wiped out the handwriting in ordinances, which was against us, which was contrary to us. He has taken all these rules and ordinances away and nailed them all to the cross.

Also, He stripped off the rulers and the authorities, making a display of them openly, triumphing over them on the cross.

The reference to triumph shows that there was a battle going on. A war was raging while Christ was on the cross.

First, Satan and his armies wanted to put Christ to death by the cross, and they did everything they could for this to happen.

The corrupt Roman politicians cooperated with the hypocritical religious people to put Christ on the cross.

But then Satan realized that Christ was actually judging him and his armies on the cross, so he and his authorities were hanging on Him, trying to stop Him from doing this.

God was there actively judging sin and nailing the law to the cross.

Christ was there accomplishing redemption. And Satan and his authorities were there to interfere, pressing in close to God and Christ.

Then, God stripped them off, triumphed over them, and made a display of them openly, putting them to an open shame. Hallelujah!

The law and the angels were set aside through the cross; the law was nailed to the cross, and the evil angels had been stripped off by means of the cross.

This is God’s economy in His salvation on the cross; in His economy, there’s no room for the law or the angelic powers.

We should not return to the law or try to obey the law, neither should we worship angels.

Rather, we need to simply come to Christ and be one with Him. He will enliven us and make us His bride, the church.

In the economy of His salvation, God enlivens us, nails the law to the cross, and strips off the evil rulers and authorities. Hallelujah!

We are no longer bothered by things such as regulations, conditions, terms, or requirements; all these were nailed to the cross, and we have been enlivened with Christ and by Christ.

On the cross, Christ bore all our sins, put to shame all the evil powers, and terminated everything negative thing in the universe.

This He did for the joy set before Him, the church as the bride. He engaged in warfare for the bride, for the joy set before Him.

He suffered for us in a way that only the Father knows and only He can understand.

But He did it all for the joy set before Him, for Him to gain the church as His bride.

And He will gain the bride and the kingdom of God! We all are included in this!

The Lord Jesus took the Father’s will and drank the cup that the Father gave Him to drink.

When He was praying in the garden the night before He was arrested, He asked the Father to take this cup away from Him, but then He said, Not My will but Your will be done.

The will of God and the cross are very closely related. This is God’s will for us also.

In the economy of His salvation, God defeated Satan, stripped off the rulers and authorities, and nailed the law to the cross; furthermore, He enlivened us and made us members of the Body of Christ.

Today we are here for the church as the bride of Christ and the kingdom of God.

We are living a normal daily life as His overcomers so that we may be raptured when He returns.

The goal of our whole being is focused on the joy set before us, which is the manifestation of the kingdom of God, the wedding feast in the coming age.

For this, we are also willing to be put on the cross in our daily life so that Christ may live in us.

Just as Christ did the marvellous work on the cross because of the joy set before Him, so we have the joy set before us and are willing to pay the price to the uttermost.

Also, we remind the enemy – Satan with all the rulers and authorities – that at Calvary God stripped them off and triumphed over them.

We can order them to flee, and we focus only on Christ, not on any ordinance, rule, or even angel. Praise the Lord Jesus Christ!

Lord Jesus, thank You for the economy of Your salvation by which You enlivened us, nailed the law to the cross, and stripped off the rulers and authorities. Praise the Lord for His triumph on the cross. Though evil men cooperated with the enemy to crucify Christ, He triumphed over the evil rulers and authorities through the cross. Hallelujah! Amen, Lord, we stand in Your victory today. You have overcome Satan and put him and his evil authorities to open shame, making a display of them openly. Amen, Lord, we stand in Your victory and we remind the enemy of him being defeated at the cross! Satan, you and your evil authorities have been defeated on the cross. God stripped you off and triumphed over you on the cross. Hallelujah, we today stand one with the Lord, being part of the joy set before Him, and we want to bring Him back and be with Him in the wedding feast! Hallelujah, Jesus is Lord! Praise the Lord Jesus, the Victorious One!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by brother Ron Kangas in the message for this week, and portions from, Life-study of Colossians, msg. 23, by Witness Lee, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Enjoyment of Christ and our Growth in Life unto Maturity (2023 Thanksgiving Blending Conference), week 6, entitled, The Joy Set before Christ and the Joy Set before Us.
• Similar articles on this topic:
  – Understanding, appreciating, and experiencing the mystery of God: reflections and notes on the economy of the mystery, article by John Pester in, Affirmation and Critique.
  – 3 Aspects of Christ’s Death in a Hymn of Praise, via, Holding to Truth in Love.
  – Blood for Redemption; Water for Regeneration, via, New Jerusalem blog.
  – God’s working during Christ’s crucifixion, a portion from, The Move of God in Man, Chapter 5, by Witness Lee.
  – What Is God’s Complete Salvation in the Bible? Read more via, Bibles for America blog.
  – Christ’s crucifixion accomplishing the eternal redemption of God, a portion from, Life-Study of Job, Chapter 16, by Witness Lee.
  – The New Testament indicates that God was exceedingly active as Christ suffered on the cross, and again we should see in Christ’s manifest activity the hidden operation of God to effect a victorious redemption through Him…read more via An Open Letter.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – Praise Him! praise Him! Christ is Victor! / He has won the victory! / Sin is judged, old Adam finished, / Full redemption now we see! / Vanquished all the evil powers / Thru the Cross triumphantly! (Hymns #124 stanza 1)
  – And now the mighty deed is done, / On the cross! On the cross! / The battle fought, the vict’ry won, / On the cross! On the cross! / To heav’n He turns triumphant eyes; / ” ’Tis finished” now, the Conqu’ror cries, / Then bows His sacred head and dies, / On the cross! On the cross! (Hymns #103 stanza 4)
  – Lord, Thou hast shown the mystery, / How on the Cross I died with Thee; / I need no other pow’r or way / That I may triumph day by day. / That cross of Thine is also mine, / Into my life its light doth shine; / When I believe I’m dead with Thee, / The world has lost its pow’r o’er me. (Hymns #488 stanzas 1-2)