"Stripping off the rulers and the authorities, He made a display of them openly, triumphing over them in it." (Colossians 2:15) The cross is not only an erasing of all that condemns us but it is also a stripping away the power of all opposing rulers and authorities once and for all. Any future dealings with powers that oppose God have already been defeated on the cross. This is why Paul was able make such statements in Romans chapter 8: “What shall we say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? Who shall lay any charges against Gods elect? Who, or what can separate us from the love of God?” Nothing! These rulers and powers, however, are able to manifest themselves through a speaking. They seek to delude us with persuasive speech (vs4) spoil us through philosophical reasoning (8) judge us by telling what we should do (16), defraud us by telling what we shouldn’t do (18-21). It is all a “reasonable” speaking that seeks to nullify the fullness we have in Christ. This is why in Colossians.2:10 he says we are “complete in Christ, who is head over all rule and authority” This means Christ is head over all of the speaking. The “speakers” can be Satan (the accuser of the brethren), religion, teaching, culture, government, worldly wisdom etc. It is a false speaking that seeks to usurp the Headship of Christ. It appeals as a reasonable speaking but seeks to deny that Christ is our life and that he is enough. We need to recognize that this speaking, manifests itself as a reasoning in our mind. It is a speaking over us, about us, a speaking that seems true about ourselves, or about our environment, or about the situations that we are dealing with, about the times we live in, about things that occur in our daily and in our worldly life. However “reasonable “ it is not according to Christ (8) nor does it hold him up as the Head. (19) What we need to realize is that the power of the cross includes the removing of this speaking, this authority that seeks to rule over us. God took this authority out of the way when Jesus died on the cross. Through Christ, he triumphed over them once and for all. Why does he still allow them to have breathing room? I can’t answer that perfectly but I do know in His wisdom all of it is used to wake me up and drive me to Christ, to his fullness! Know that “in all these things we more than conquer through Him who loved us.” And be persuaded that nothing, “no principalities, nothing present nor things to come nor powers nor height nor depth nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:37-39) What happened on the cross has solidified our relationship with the father, and has terminated the “wanna be” power of any kind of ruler or authority that would seek to infiltrate our reasoning and dissuade us from the fullness we have in Christ.