Colossians 2:20 - 3:4

June 4, 2015

Colossians 2:20 - 3:4

Our passage for today highlights what I believe is the most significant difference between the followers of Jesus and the followers of every other religion. Basically, all of the other religions are DIY: Do-It-Yourself. The Judaizers had been encouraging the church in Colossae to follow rules in order to establish and maintain their relationship with God. Paul taught the church that such rule keeping may look good on the outside, but “they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires” (Colossians 2:23).

Where other religions teach their followers how to try and make themselves fit to meet their god, Jesus brings his followers into a right relationship with God. Because the problem of sin is a spiritual problem, it requires a spiritual answer, which is beyond our human capacity. God’s solution to the problem of sin is to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves: “You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world” (Colossians 2:20). Here Paul is reemphasizing the point he made in 2:12, “For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life.” Paul goes on to provide us with yet another gem, which is the very essence of Christianity: “For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3).

Every day is Thanksgiving Day when we remember that because we have died with Christ, we are now alive in Christ; Christ has set us free from the spiritual powers of this world. (Colossians 2:20)

BTW, I have found Eugene Peterson’s translation, The Message, to be very helpful in grasping Paul’s expanded teaching on this point in Romans 6:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=romans%206&version=MSG

Sē’lah

<><  <><  <><  <><

(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. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms is available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ is available as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.

Colossians 2:13-19

June 3, 2015

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 lives be built on Jesus and his great love for you.

In Chapter 1, we learned that Jesus holds all creation together. Here Paul affirms that Jesus “holds the whole body together” (Colossians 2:19). Did you ever have one of those days when you felt you were coming unglued, that you were coming apart at the seams? You may feel that way at times, but it can’t happen, because the Good Master, Christ Jesus, is holding you together. Go ahead; I know you want to shout,

H A L L E L U J A H!

Sē’lah

<><  <><  <><  <><

(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. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms is available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ is available as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.

Colossians 2:8-12

June 2, 2015                   

Colossians 2:8-12

We continue with our gem mining in Chapter 2 and quickly discover four more gems in this brief passage. First, let’s note the word play Paul uses to introduce this passage. Paul warns the Colossians, “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit. . .” (Colossians 2:8a NRSV). The Greek word for ‘takes captive’ (sylagogon) is very similar to ‘synagogue’ and thus was a thinly veiled reference by Paul to the threat posed by the Judaizers. The Good News of Jesus is, at its very heart, quite simple and the early church was continually being tempted to add to the Gospel. In the case of the Judaizers, they wanted to add religious law-keeping to the Gospel as well as male circumcision. Paul addressed this threat with four priceless gems.

The first gem is yet another reference to the supremacy of Christ: “For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body” (Colossians 2:9). The Nicene Creed amplifies this thought with its splendid prose about the deity of Christ.

The second gem, “So you also are complete through your union with Christ” (Colossians 2:10), echoes back to Paul’s assertion that “Christ lives in you” (Colossians 1:27). In the world’s culture, self-esteem is measured through the difference between the person you want to be and the person you perceive you are: the greater the difference, the lower your self-esteem. In God’s culture, the fullness of God lives in Christ and Christ lives in you. You are complete in Christ! There is no difference between the person you were created to be and the person you are, in Christ. How’s that for self-esteem!

The third gem is again a bit of word play. Male circumcision was about clipping away a small amount of skin. However, when we come to God through faith in Jesus, “Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your sinful nature” (Colossians 2:11b). The entire body of the sinful flesh, not just a small portion of skin, is put away in the circumcision of Christ.

The fourth gem takes only nineteen words to express what Paul took five hundred ninety words to say in Romans 6: “For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life” (Colossians 2:12). This is not a literal reference to water baptism when we join a church; rather it is our spiritual baptism. The Holy Spirit baptizes us into the life in Christ when we make our confession of faith in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. We are baptized into the fullness of God in Christ Jesus. Priceless!

Sē’lah

<><  <><  <><  <><

(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. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms is available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ is available as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.

Colossians 2:1-7

June 1, 2015

Colossians 2:1-7

Pretend you are dreaming and in your dream you walk into a small jewelry store. The display case on your left glimmers with beautiful diamonds, on your right are rubies and sapphires, behind you are emeralds, and in a display case in the middle are the most beautiful pearls you have ever seen. “Help yourself,” the proprietor says. Where do you begin? That’s pretty much how I feel after reading Colossians Two. There are so many precious gems, so many pearls, where do I begin? The precious gem that caught my attention today is in verse 3.

In this gem, I see Paul connecting the life in Christ to the words of Jesus, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). Paul teaches us that Jesus is our way of life, the truth of our life, our very life, because in Jesus are “all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3). Paul then describes our mission to seek the life in Christ as our way of life: “And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him.  Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness” (Colossians 2:6-7).

There is a huge temptation in our culture to try and be satisfied by just adding Jesus to our existing lives, as though we were adding a little spiritual seasoning to our life. Over and against this we hear the Great Commandment: "You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind” (Luke 10:27). When we make this our ambition, when we let our roots grow down into him, and let our lives be built on him, we find that in Jesus are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and we’ll never be satisfied with just a little spiritual seasoning. Like Paul we will affirm in our own lives, “Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 3:8).

Sē’lah

<><  <><  <><  <><

(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. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms is available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ is available as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.