Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Colossians 2:15

"having despoiled the principalities and the powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it." — Colossians 2:15 (ASV)

The meaning of nearly every word of this verse is disputed. One of the key issues concerns the interpretation of “powers and authorities.” The interpretation preferred here is that which sees these as hostile supernatural powers, i.e., as the hierarchy of spiritual forces that are in rebellion against God (cf. 2:8; Ephesians 6:12). Paul affirms that Christ has “disarmed” (GK 588) these forces of evil. He has stripped the powers and authorities just as a conquered antagonist was stripped of his weapons and armor and put to public shame.

Paul goes on to say that God (in Christ) “made a public spectacle of them.” That is to say, he exposed them to public disgrace by exhibiting them to the universe as his captives. The added words, “triumphing over them by the cross,” expand this idea. The picture, quite familiar in the Roman world, is that of a triumphant general leading a parade of victory. The conqueror, riding at the front in his chariot, leads his troops through the streets of the city. Behind them trails a wretched company of vanquished kings, officers, and soldiers—the spoils of battle. Christ, in this picture, is the conquering general; the powers and authorities are the vanquished enemy displayed as the spoils of battle before the entire universe (cf. 2 Corinthians 2:14). To the casual observer the cross appears to be only an instrument of death, the symbol of Christ’s defeat; Paul sees it as Christ’s chariot of victory.