In a Manner Worthy
Colossians 1:9-10 ESV
“And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.”
As followers of Jesus Christ, we aren’t born again of the
Spirit of God just so we can go to heaven when we die, or just so we can escape
hell. We are born again to a new life in Christ Jesus, not at all like our old
lives. For, when we are born again, we make a spiritual U-turn with our lives.
We die with Christ to our old lives of sin, and we are
resurrected with Christ to newness of life in Him, created to be like God in
true righteousness and holiness. We are delivered from our slavery (bondage,
addiction) to sin so that we now can become slaves (bondservants) of Jesus
Christ.
This is the knowledge of God’s will for our lives, that we
no longer live in (walk in) sin, because with his blood shed on the cross, he
set us free. And it is his will that we now walk in (conduct our lives in)
holiness, righteousness, godliness, purity, morality, honesty, and faithfulness
to our Lord.
For, in that way, we are walking (conducting our lives, in
practice) in a manner worthy (suitable, fitting, praiseworthy) of the Lord. And
we are living our lives, in his power and strength, in a manner which is fully pleasing
to him.
And we are to be bearing fruit (spiritual results, outgrowth)
in every good work which God has prepared in advance that we should walk in
them, increasing in the knowledge of God and in our obedience to him and to his
word, in his strength and power, with all endurance, patience, and joy.
[Lu 9:23-26; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Jn
1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; Gal 2:20; 2 Co 5:9; Eph 5:10; 1 Thess 4:1; 1 Jn 3:22; 2 Tim
2:4; John 15:1-11; Eph 2:10; 1 Co 15:58; 2 Co 9:8; Phil 2:12-13; Tit 2:11-14]
Colossians 1:13-14 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.”
When Jesus Christ died for us on that cross, it was to
deliver us from the domain (control, power) of darkness (sin, wickedness, evil)
over our lives. Sin is to no longer have dominion over us, for Jesus set us
free. We are to no longer walk in conduct according to the flesh, but according
to the Spirit.
When he delivered us from the domain of darkness, IF, in
fact, we were delivered, then he transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved
Son. He then gave us new lives in him to be lived to him and to his
righteousness, empowered by the Holy Spirit who now lives within us.
For, the redemption that we have in him involved him shedding
his blood for us on that cross to buy us back for God so that we would now
honor God with our lives (with our bodies). For, Jesus died that we might no
longer live for ourselves, but for him who gave his life up for us.
[Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 2 Co 5:15; 1 Pet 2:24]
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.”
I like those words “WHO ONCE.” And that it because these
words say that when we believe in Jesus, with true faith, that our old lives of
living for sin and self are done away with, and we don’t live like we did
before. We are no longer hostile to God, doing evil deeds, as a matter of
practice.
This is not to say that we will never sin again (1 Jn
2:1-2), but that sin should no longer be our master. Sin should not control
what we do. We should now be living under the control of the Holy Spirit, and
we should be living to please our Lord in all that we do and say.
For, the grace of God is not free license to continue living
in sin without guilt. The grace of God, which brings salvation, trains us to
say “No!” to ungodliness and fleshly passions and to live self-controlled,
upright, and godly lives while we wait for Christ’s return (Tit 2:11-14).
And Jesus didn’t reconcile us to God to make us holy and
blameless just positionally or as a status we wear. For, he says we must walk
in holiness, and he says that we are righteous who make righteousness our
practice. And “above reproach” has to do with how we live, too.
And we have to continue in the faith (true faith), stable
and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel (the true gospel). And
this means that we must continue to die to sin and self, daily, and we must
walk (in conduct) according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh, until
the very end.
For, if we make it our practice to live in sin, to obey sin,
and to do so habitually and deliberately and premeditatedly, Scripture teaches
that we will not inherit eternal life with God, but we will die in our sins,
even if we profess faith in Jesus Christ.
[Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 14:23-24; Jn 15:1-11; Rom
6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Co
6:9-10, 19-20; 2 Co 5:10, 15; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; Tit
2:11-14]
*The following is a secular song, but these words express
God’s words to us, that we would let him be our freedom, that we would let him
shelter us and be our light, and that we would find our hope, and our peace and
safety in him and not in the things of this dark world. All he asks of us is
that we love him, which means we submit to him as Lord, and we obey his
commands.
All I Ask of You
by Andrew Lloyd Webber
No more talk of darkness,
Forget these wide-eyed fears;
I'm here, nothing can harm you,
My words will warm and calm you.
Let me be your freedom,
Let daylight dry your tears;
I'm here, with you, beside you,
To guard you and to guide you.
Let me be your shelter,
Let me be your light…
Love me, that's all I ask of you
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uahlf4fo3iQ
No comments:
Post a Comment