VICTORY PROCESSION

1Corinthians 2:14-16 "But thank God! He has made us His captives and (ALWAYS) continues to lead us along in Christ’s triumphal procession. Now He uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume. Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing. To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. And who is adequate for such a task as this?"

The picture St. Paul is paining with words is that of Roman legions parading back through Rome with their prisoners in chains after a military victory. We were once driven along by sin and our old sin nature in spiritual chains, in bondage. Jesus Christ has taken the absolute totality of all sin for all time for the whole human race. He has broken our chains, cancelled the debt we owed by paying for it on the cross.

Colossians 2:11–15 "When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your sinful nature. For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with Him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead. You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for He forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. In this way, He disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by His victory over them on the cross."

Thus, because of all God has done for us in Christ Jesus, we are NOW ever and always walking in the procession of THE Conqueror, Jesus Christ. It doesn't matter what difficulties are at play right now in our lives, because the follower of Jesus Christ is always being led in the Triumph of Jesus Christ, His atonement. 

Thus, it could be seen as a shameful thing to talk about "getting the victory" in a situation. For the victory belongs to the singular, only and eternal Victor and we belong to the Victor where He has made us to be and live as more than conquerors. Jesus died that I might not die forever and He rose again from the dead that I might live forever.

Jesus' absolute victory over Satan, all the forces of spiritual darkness, over both death, hell and the grave in an historical "given.". Following Jesus Christ is following Him out of death and into His living victory, not striving toward one we could have never won anyway. We walk from our Lord's victory not towards it.

What procession are you in? Is the devil using cancelled sin, your history and mine, to bind our hearts and minds in fear, doubt, shame. Does what we have done keep us looking at cross as if it somehow worked for others, but WE are "too far gone" (which is a satanic lie.) Are you dragging those ponderous chains Jesus has already cut off because the enemy told you, "Those are YOURS to carry forever and you can't do anything to rescue yourself."

The devil actually spoke truth: we all have sinned and we can do nothing to change our circumstances. What the Holy Spirit reminds us, though, is the eternal truth that it has NEVER "by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy HE saved us, by the washing of regeneration that the renewing work of the Holy Spirit in us." Our place in the victory procession of Jesus Christ has been assigned by the Victor. We are His, and as we follow Him, we can shake those broken chains like musical instruments. We are unbound and delivered into Jesus' victory by the Holy Spirit.