Colossians 2:13-14 KJV
13) And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
14) Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
Over the past 100 years or so, archeologists have been unearthing the landfill outside the Egyptian city Oxyrhynchus, with 1000's of parchments from the times of the Apostles.
From these parchments, historians have learned that chierographon, handwriting, was actually used in a technical sense of "promisory note", a hand-written promise to pay.
In Colossians, where the KJV reads, "blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us", that was an accurate translation of the word, but an inaccurate translation of what Paul was saying. Paul was referring to the same cultural practice that he used with Philemon,
18 If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought, put that on mine account;
19 I Paul have written it with mine own hand, I will repay it
The handwriting, the chierographon, was cancelled by tetelestai, It is Finished. This was also learned from the parchments.
So, again, the King James is technically accurate, but still tends to give the wrong idea, as if there is a set of handwritten ordinances, and these were blotted out, and taken out of our way, being nailed to the cross.
Holman translates that passage in Colossians,
14 He erased the certificate of debt, with its obligations, that was against us and opposed to us, and has taken it out of the way by nailing it to the cross.
The New King James footnotes this word with "certificate of debt". This is just something they didn't know at the time of the King James translation.
But when we read this passage with this understanding in mind, it's not saying somehow that God had blotted out the Law, the 10 Commandments, but He's blotted out our debt for having violated the Law, by nailing that debt to the cross. He became sin, who knew no sin, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. And now our certificate of indebtedness to God is completely blank, clean.
Much love!
13) And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
14) Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
Over the past 100 years or so, archeologists have been unearthing the landfill outside the Egyptian city Oxyrhynchus, with 1000's of parchments from the times of the Apostles.
From these parchments, historians have learned that chierographon, handwriting, was actually used in a technical sense of "promisory note", a hand-written promise to pay.
In Colossians, where the KJV reads, "blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us", that was an accurate translation of the word, but an inaccurate translation of what Paul was saying. Paul was referring to the same cultural practice that he used with Philemon,
18 If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought, put that on mine account;
19 I Paul have written it with mine own hand, I will repay it
The handwriting, the chierographon, was cancelled by tetelestai, It is Finished. This was also learned from the parchments.
So, again, the King James is technically accurate, but still tends to give the wrong idea, as if there is a set of handwritten ordinances, and these were blotted out, and taken out of our way, being nailed to the cross.
Holman translates that passage in Colossians,
14 He erased the certificate of debt, with its obligations, that was against us and opposed to us, and has taken it out of the way by nailing it to the cross.
The New King James footnotes this word with "certificate of debt". This is just something they didn't know at the time of the King James translation.
But when we read this passage with this understanding in mind, it's not saying somehow that God had blotted out the Law, the 10 Commandments, but He's blotted out our debt for having violated the Law, by nailing that debt to the cross. He became sin, who knew no sin, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. And now our certificate of indebtedness to God is completely blank, clean.
Much love!