Derek Thomas

And Paul wants them to understand what justification actually entails, that there is an implied

loss in the insistence on complying with ceremonial food laws, there is the implication, the subtle implication, that they're not otherwise truly justified.

They're not otherwise in a proper relationship in terms of the righteousness of God.

So Paul wants to say, what exactly are you when you trust in Jesus only?

And so he makes three statements here that unpack how Paul understands the radical nature of the gospel.

The first in verse 20, I have been crucified.

I have been crucified with Christ.

I have been crucified with Christ.

You know, four things were nailed to the cross.

Jesus was nailed to the cross.

There was a plaque in Aramaic and Hebrew and Greek that read, Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.

According to Colossians chapter 2, the record of debt, like a bill,

like a telephone bill, an electricity bill, or your mortgage.

It was nailed to the cross.

That record of death was nailed to the cross.

And here, in this latter section of chapter 2, Paul says, and I was nailed to the cross.

As a Christian, I view myself as having been nailed to the cross.

All of you.

Who you were as a child of Adam.

Who you were when you first came into this world.