Kolose 1:13

1:13 He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves, ¹ 

Kolose 2:15

2:15 Disarming ²  the rulers and authorities, he has made a public disgrace of them, triumphing over them by the cross. ³ 

Kolose 2:20

2:20 If you have died with Christ to the elemental spirits ⁴  of the world, why do you submit to them as though you lived in the world?

[1:13]  ¹ tn Here αὐτοῦ (autou) has been translated as a subjective genitive (“he loves”).

[2:15]  ² tn See BDAG 100 s.v. ἀπεκδύομαι 2.

[2:15]  ³ tn The antecedent of the Greek pronoun αὐτῷ (autw) could either be “Christ” or the “cross.” There are several reasons for choosing “the cross” as the antecedent for αὐτῷ in verse 15: (1) The nearest antecedent is τῷ σταυρῷ (tw staurw) in v. 14; (2) the idea of ἐδειγμάτισεν ἐν παρρησία (edeigmatisen en parrhsia, “made a public disgrace”) seems to be more in keeping with the idea of the cross; (3) a reference to Christ seems to miss the irony involved in the idea of triumph – the whole point is that where one would expect defeat, there came the victory; (4) if Christ is the subject of the participles in v. 15 then almost certainly the cross is the referent for αὐτῷ. Thus the best solution is to see αὐτῷ as a reference to the cross and the preposition ἐν (en) indicating “means” (i.e., by means of the cross) or possibly (though less likely) location (on the cross).

[2:20]  ⁴ tn See the note on the phrase “elemental spirits” in 2:8.