Jesus Holds the Whole Body Together

Meditations on Colossians 

June 8, 2023

Jesus Holds the Whole Body Together

God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.

Colossians 2:13b-14

Read: Colossians 2:13-19

The gems keep on coming! First, Paul affirms the ultimate victory we have in Christ. In ancient times, when an enemy was defeated, the conquering general would take the defeated general prisoner and bind him in chains. When the conquering general returned home, there was a huge parade in his honor. The defeated general, in chains, was made to walk at the end of the parade where, now disarmed, he was shamed publicly. Paul uses this cultural reality as a metaphor for the victory Christ won over sin and death. Rising from the grave, Christ destroyed Satan’s power over sin and death. Satan was publicly shamed when Jesus forgave our sins, when Jesus canceled the record of the charges against us. (Colossians 2:13-15)

Next, Paul encourages us to remain vigilant and not dilute the complete victory over sin that Christ has won. This victory is for all people. No person who has come to faith in Christ is closer to the heart of God than you are at this very instant. No person can ever draw closer to God, than you can today, through your confession of faith in what Christ has done for you. Think of all the saints like Teresa of Avila, Mother Teresa, Madame Guyon, Brother Lawrence, Augustine, Martin Luther, John Wesley, and Billy Graham. None of these are closer to the heart of God than you. Let this sink in. Let your roots grow down into this truth, and let your life be built on Jesus and his great love for you.

My Takeaway: In Chapter 1, we learned that Jesus holds all creation together. Here Paul affirms that Jesus “holds the whole body together” (Colossians 2:19). As I continue to grow in grace, Jesus is holding me and nourishing me. I find this very comforting and drawing me closer to the reality of resting in his smile, 24/7.

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2023 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.