Be built up in Christ6So this is my message to you: because you have already received Christ Jesus as your Lord, continue to live in Him.7You have been rooted in Him, so now grow up in Him. Let your trust in Him continue to grow stronger as you live in the good of what you have been taught. And let your hearts overflow with thankfulness to God.8Be sure that no one puts you into bondage through clever sounding but empty talk that is the result of worldly thinking and dependence on the traditional way of looking at things, instead of being revelation of the truth in Christ.Sinful nature buried with Christ9For in Him the complete revelation of who God is has come to us in human form.10In Christ you have been given the fullness of His life. And He is supreme above every power and authority.11Because you live in Him, you have received a spiritual circumcision, not one done by men but by Christ Himself.12This circumcision involved cutting away your old sinful nature, which was buried once and for all with Christ when you were baptised. Now you have been raised to new life with Him through believing in God's power; that as He raised Christ from the dead, so He has also raised you from the death of sin to a new life with Him.13-14You were spiritually dead because of your unforgiven sins, because that old sinful nature had not been cut away. But then God brought you to life with Christ, He forgave all your sins and cancelled the written code of rules and regulations that were impossible for you to keep, and only consigned you to failure and defeat. Jesus removed this code by nailing it to the cross.15There He also disarmed the demonic powers and authorities that oppose us. His triumph over them on the cross was a public defeat for them!
Scripture quoted by permission. The passage above is taken from THE TRUTH VERSION. Copyright © 2009 by Colin Urquhart. All rights reserved worldwide. (The Truth New Testament)