Our Creator God
Colossians 1:13-20 ESV
“He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.”
When we believe in Jesus Christ to be our Lord and Savior,
God delivers us from the domain of darkness. We are delivered from the power
and control of darkness (evil, wickedness, sin, and Satan). Sin no longer rules
our lives. For, Jesus delivered us from our bondage to sin, and he now empowers
us to live godly and holy lives, pleasing to God (Rom 6:1-23; Eph 4:17-24).
Jesus Christ is God. He is the second person of our triune
God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And, he is our creator God. He holds
everything together. And, he is head over his true church, his body, which is
comprised of all those who believe in him with genuine faith – a faith which
dies with him to sin and which lives with him to his righteousness in the power
of God.
Holy and Blameless
Colossians 1:21-23 ESV
“And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.”
Faith in Jesus Christ means we have a before and an after,
and the after is not to look at all like the before. We are to be changed, not
left the same. We once were doing evil deeds. We don’t continue doing evil
deeds.
And holy, blameless, and above reproach is not merely our
status now that we are in Christ by faith in him. It is our lifestyle. We are
to be holy in all our conduct, not just positionally holy. And, holy means to
be set apart for God and for his service, and set apart (unlike, different) from
the world because we are being conformed to the likeness of Christ.
But, this is conditional. We must continue in the faith,
stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel. And, what is
that hope? It isn’t just forgiveness of sins and eternal life with God. It is
deliverance from our slavery to sin and it is a walk of holiness, purity, and
righteousness in the power of God. Our hope is freedom from slavery to sin.
Mature in Christ
Colossians 1:24-29 ESV
“Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.”
If Paul were preaching the kind of gospel most are preaching
today, at least here in America, he would not have been persecuted the way he
was. For, why would anyone persecute you if you tell them that God is enthralled
with you in your unregenerate state and that all you have to do is accept his
affection for you and you are saved and heaven is guaranteed you?
Why would anyone persecute Paul if he told them that they
don’t have to turn away from their sinful lifestyles, they don’t have to obey
the Lord, and they don’t have to submit to Christ as Lord (owner-master) of
their lives? For, all they must do is just confess Christ as Lord and say they
believe in him, and now they can sin all they want, and Jesus covers their sin
for them.
But, that isn’t what Scripture teaches, and it isn’t what
Paul taught, and that is why Paul was persecuted, because he confronted people
in their sins, and he called them to repentance and to obedient faith in Jesus
Christ, and he warned them of divine judgment if they did not repent and if
they did not obey the Lord, too.
For, the goal of Paul’s preaching was not to make everyone
feel good about themselves and to console them while they continue living in
sin. His goal was to tell them the truth, and to warn them against going the wrong
direction, and to teach them how to grow to maturity in Christ.
And, we should have the same goal when we share the gospel
of our salvation with others, too. It should be to tell them the truth, for it
is the truth which will set them free if they believe it and if they apply it
to their lives.
And, the truth that is in Christ Jesus is that Jesus died to
free us from our slavery to sin so that we would now walk in holiness and in
purity and no longer according to our flesh. For, if we walk according to our
flesh, we will die in our sins, but if we walk according to the Spirit, then we
have eternal life with God (Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Jn 1:5-9).
Knowing
You Jesus
By Graham Kendrick
All I once held dear, built my life
upon,
All this world reveres and wars to own;
All I once thought gain I have counted
loss,
Spent and worthless now compared to
this.
Knowing You, Jesus, knowing You
There is no greater thing.
You're my all, You're the best,
You're my joy, my righteousness,
And I love You Lord.
No comments:
Post a Comment