In Him...

“For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority; and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him. Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day— things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.”
Colossians 2:9-17

If you were asked “What is the importance of the cross?,” you would probably point to Christ’s death as the only basis for the forgiveness of our sins. That certainly is the primary focus of Scripture. As we are drawn to Christ for salvation, we understand that we are sinners separated from a holy God. We realize the wages of sin is death and that Christ alone could pay that penalty. By faith we receive Christ as Savior.

That is amazingly good news, but we soon discover that forgiveness of our sins does not cancel the power of sin habits. Sin still seeks to harass us as much as ever. It is even worse now because, as God’s sons and daughters, we no longer want to sin. At this point many resign themselves to a mediocre Christian life - grateful for their new relationship with Christ but unable to enjoy His resurrection life. The only answer is found in the same means that provided God’s full, blessed pardon - the cross of Jesus Christ.

There is yet another attribute of the cross that is significant in experiencing the triumphant life found in Jesus Christ. His death on the cross paid not only the penalty of sin (death); but He also secured out dominion over sin through our identification with His death, burial, and resurrection.

“For the word of the cross...is the power of God.”
1 Corinthians 1:18