2018-03-02
Good Morning Dear Ones,
I’m commanded by the Holy Spirit to begin a new segment of these “Knowing God” messages called “Christ and Believers.” Today, I’m to write about unity and His love modeled. In the beginning of COL 2, Paul mentions the hard work he has been doing for the recipients of this letter, the people of Colossae, Hierapolis, and Laodicea. At this time, the nature of Paul’s imprisonment was that he was free to write letters and move around the house where he was held in house arrest by the Romans. COL 2: 2-3, “I write this letter in order that they might be filled with courage and may be drawn together in love, and so, have the full wealth of assurance, which true understanding brings. In this way, they will know God’s secret, which is Christ Himself. He is the key which opens all hidden treasures of God’s wisdom and knowledge.” Our access to God’s mystery, as described here, sets us apart from all non-believers. We are not better than they are in our nature, but we can do something about our sinfulness in following Christ’s example and understanding God’s will for us. There is no effort made here to engender our being judgmental.
So, here’s what our approach should be according to God’s will: 1) The Gospel is for the “Jew first and also the Gentile” [RO 1: 16]; 2) God’s purpose is to sum up all things in Christ. So, “stand together in your faith in Christ, and don’t believe false arguments no matter how good they seem to be” [COL 2: 4-5]; 3) The instantaneous change from a mortal to an immortal resurrection body takes place at the time a believer physically dies, and he will never experience spiritual death, as the serially sinful person does. 1 COR 15: 42-57 describes this change to a resurrection body for believers]; 4) Due to inclusion in the Kingdom of God, believing Gentiles are humbled by God and are not arrogant [PS 139: 2, 5-6, 13-14, and 23-24; RO 11: 17]; 5) The hardening of the Jews is temporary, so we should not think we are so wise. Their stubbornness regarding Christ will last only until the complete number of Gentiles has come to faith in Him [RO 1: 16-17; RO 11: 25; 1COR 15: 5; EPH 1: 9 and 3: 3-6; 2 THESS 2: 7]; 6) Believers will be free from human-crafted regulations [COL 2: 4 and 8].
All believers are instructed to avoid deceptive philosophies, like Gnosticism and practices based on worldly human-crafted traditions [COL 2: 4 and 8]. We must understand that Christ is the fullness of God in bodily form [COL 2: 9]. COL 2: 11 reveals the nature of circumcision of the heart. This, unlike physical circumcision accomplished by human hands, is carried out by Christ. Any believer will be aware of the change in his thinking, priorities, and decision-making that is involved with the divine circumcision of the heart. This helps us to better understand how Christ is both Man and Deity. Because at baptism, we were buried and raised to a life in Christ, we were eternally forgiven for our past sins and sin’s power over us. We had been spiritually dead in the law, but are now alive in Christ. He nailed our sins to the cross [COL 2: 12-14]. The approach a true believer takes is governed by the Holy Spirit and not by the law [RO 7: 6; COL 2: 15]. No longer would it be right to judge a believer by the day of the week he celebrates the Sabbath or by what he eats [COL 2: 16]. People who are falsely humble or who worship angels are not living in Christ [COL 2: 18-19]. The greatest problem with human-crafted rules and regulations is that they don’t restrain sensual indulgence [COL 2: 23].
PRAYER: O Lord, the relationship that You ask us to have with You is both intimate and soul-healing. There are few things we could value as this most satisfying and edifying interaction with You. It is life-altering and in our best eternal interests. As humans driven by worldly and bodily desires, we were lost and miserable. We didn’t have You in our lives to better them. But, You have, by Your grace, decided to make us Your family, Your friends, and Your spiritually adopted children [RO 8: 14-16, 26-27; RO 5: 9-11]. In raising us to our lives in You, Dearest Jesus, You have given us eternal forgiveness, justification, and salvation [1 JN 1: 9; RO 4: 3; JN 3: 16]. You have healed us from the power our former sinfulness had over us and made us alive in You. You deserve eternal praise and thanks for these wonderful blessings. Our misery has dissolved, and lives are richly blessed every day. We have much to learn from You, which is why the Holy Spirit asks us to read and absorb Your word throughout our lives. We can now look forward to a heavenly and eternal fellowship with You. We pledge to engage in faith-building activities with others and to convey Your Gospel to those who are willing to listen and have not yet come to faith in You. We acknowledge Your omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence in deep respect. We proclaim You are an awesome God! In Your holy and mighty name, Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: The Scriptures have much to say about the relationship between Christ and believers. I’m commanded to continue writing on this absorbing subject. We’ll look at some of the blessings that come to us as believers and have a reiteration of Christ’s very nature. I’m reminded that some Christians don’t understand the nature of the Trinity, as the Bible describes it. DT 6: 4-5 and EX 20: 1-5 have instructed us to know that God is One Being, the only Deity we should worship. This One Being has three personalities: 1) God, the Father Himself, who is not visible to us, except through His accomplishments; 2) Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, who was seen by humans, had human form, Who saves all believers, and Who lives; 3) the Holy Spirit, Who, while unseen, lives in the souls of believers and instructs us in all things pertaining to God’s will for us. It is with this understanding that my devotions are written. We are encouraged to enjoy the power that knowing God gives us and to do what strengthens faith in Him, rather than the opposite. He is with us all and helps us through our challenges and promise to have ever-deepening faith. Praise and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2017. All Rights Reserved.
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