Calvin: the triumphant cross

Sunday, January 25, 2015
    Feast of the Conversion of Paul
Meditation:
    And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
    —Colossians 2:15 (NIV)
Quotation:
    For as [Paul] had previously compared the cross to a signal trophy or show of triumph, in which Christ led about his enemies, so he now [in Col. 2:15] also compares it to a triumphal car, in which he shewed himself conspicuously to view. For although in the cross there is nothing but curse, it was, nevertheless, swallowed up by the power of God in such a way, that it has put on, as it were, a new nature. For there is no tribunal so magnificent, no throne so stately, no show of triumph so distinguished, no chariot so elevated, as is the cross on which Christ has subdued death and the devil, the prince of death.
    ... John Calvin (1509-1564), Commentaries on the Epistles of Paul the Apostle to the Philippians, Colossians, and Thessalonians, Edinburgh: Calvin Translation Society, 1851, p. 190-191 (see the book)
    See also Col. 2:15; John 12:32; Acts 2:23-24; 1 Cor. 1:18; 2 Cor. 2:15; Gal. 3:13; Col. 1:16
Quiet time reflection:
    Praise be to the Cross and the Savior Who made it sacred. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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