Paul wrote the book of Colossians to combat false teachings that had infiltrated the church. These false teachings combined ideas from other philosophers and religions such as paganism, strains of Judaism, and Greek thought. This heresy, known today as Gnosticism, emphasized special knowledge and denying Christ as God and Savior.
Paul combated false teaching within the Colossians church by stressing Christ’s deity, His connection with the Father, and His sacrificial death on the cross. Paul states that in Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and that the mystery was Christ himself. Gnosticism insisted that important secret knowledge was hidden from most believers, it taught that the body was evil, and stated that Christ only seemed to be human but was not. Paul, however, said that Christ provides all the knowledge we need, that God himself lived in a body in Jesus Christ, and proclaimed that Jesus was fully human and fully God. We can have a clear understanding of scripture and not be carried away by false teaching by reading scripture within context, praying while reading the Bible and asking God to show its meaning, and sharing with others what you are learning in the Bible in the context of community. Also, it is important to have a set time of scripture reading and prayer every day. This is typically known as a “quiet time”. When you are reading a passage in scripture, be sure to take time to read the previous verses and following scripture to make sure you understand the context of the verses you are reading. Ask yourself some questions, such as, who was the audience of the scripture, what was the intent of the passage, was the scripture describing something that happened or is the scripture showing us how we should respond? Be careful when you only read one verse on its own, because it can easily be taken out of context. While you are reading the Bible, remain in an attitude of prayer. Ask God specific questions, such as — show me what this passage means? How does this passage apply to my life? How can I learn more about you through what this passage is saying? Be confident that God who loves you, and knows everything about you, will speak to you at that time through your reading of the Bible. The Bible can be better understood when it is studied in a community of other believers. A small group of three to six other provides great discussion and insight to scripture and and its meaning, purpose, and direction in our lives. In these small group settings, when one person shares, it stimulates thought in others, and questions are answered through further discussion. Though it is important to have personal time in the Word, we are also meant to live in community. Lastly, you should set a time each day to have your quiet time of prayer and reading the Bible. By spending time daily in the Word, you are demonstrating that you are in need of God’s strength and guidance each day depending on Him. Without Him, our hearts begin to become self-reliant and drift from our source of life. Also, we begin to believe lies from satan, who is always trying to sway us from God’s best, and lead us down a path of pain and confusion. Remember that God loves you, and that he wants you to know Him better through reading the Bible, and if your desire is to know Him, you do not need to live in fear of being carried away by false beliefs.
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Colossians 1:21-2321 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of[a] your evil behavior. 22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— 23 if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant. One of life’s unpleasant experiences is to be at odds with someone. It may be a falling out with someone in your family. Perhaps it’s a neighbor or someone at work. But whoever it is, it’s never pleasant. Conflicts always cause stress and anxiety. On the other hand, one of life’s most pleasant experiences is to make peace with a former enemy. When the barrier that caused the hostility is removed, there’s a sense of joy and release. It’s wonderful when a former enemy becomes a friend. Although many people don’t realize it, they’re at odds with the worst enemy imaginable: the living God! Our sin means that outside of Christ, we are enemies of God (Rom. 5:10). If we’re not reconciled to Him, we will face eternal judgment when we die. Alienation from God should cause far more anxiety than any human conflict! God’s enemies desperately need to be reconciled to Him. We Were Enemies of God Colossians 1:21: “… you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds.” You may be thinking, “Now wait a minute! Paul is talking to these pagan Colossians. They may have been like that. But I’ve never been hostile toward God. I was raised in a Christian home. I accepted Christ as a child. I never was alienated from Him.” Or, perhaps you came to Christ when you were older, but you still would say that you were never hostile toward God. You’ve never been an atheist. You’d say that words like “alienated,” “hostile,” and “evil deeds” don’t describe your past! But in faithfulness to the Scriptures, I must say that if you feel that those words are too harsh, you haven’t yet come to know your own heart in the sight of God. Whether you were saved at a young age or save as an adult the longer I’m a Christian, the more I’m appalled by the depths of my own sinfulness. Part of that sinfulness is the pride which inclines me to say, “I’ve got my faults, but I’m not a bad sinner!” We have been Reconciled Note that God takes the initiative (Col. 1:22): “Yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death.” In Romans 5:10-11, Paul puts it: “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.” At this point, someone may be thinking, “What’s the big deal about sin separating us from God? Even humans are able to forgive others who wrong them. Why can’t God just let bygones be bygones? Why did Christ need to die for our sins? Besides, my sins aren’t that bad. I’ve never killed anybody. I’m faithful to my wife. I work to support my family. I’m not a bad person. And I don’t have anything against God. Why does God require the radical solution that Christ had to die for my sins?” If you can relate to those thoughts, then you don’t sufficiently understand who God is or how great your sin is in His sight. Perhaps you’ve been wrongly influenced by our tolerant culture. We live in a time when tolerance of everyone, including their gross sins, is seen as a great virtue. We pull God down by making Him a benign, tolerant grandfather; and we lift ourselves up by thinking, “Compared to those awful terrorists, I’m a pretty good person!” Even as Christians, we’re somewhat embarrassed by the idea of God’s wrath against sin Continue in faith because we are reconciled Here, our responsibility is to be “firmly established and steadfast, not moved away from the hope of the gospel.” As you know, if you’re going to build anything of lasting substance, the foundation is critical. You can throw up a chicken coop without much of a foundation, but to build a house or an office building, you’ve got to lay a solid foundation. The foundation for the Christian faith is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Are you clear on the gospel? If I asked you to turn to your neighbor and explain it in 60 seconds, could you do it? Can you support it with specific Scriptures? Beyond that, you’ve got to lay the foundation of a basic understanding of the Bible and its core teachings. The enemy always has attacked the basic truths about the trinity, the person and work of Christ, the inerrancy of Scripture, salvation by grace through faith alone, the hope of Christ’s second coming, the need for holiness, and other key truths. Legalism is a constant threat (Col. 2:20-23). If you’re not grounded and steadily growing in biblical truth, you’ll get blown around by every wind of false doctrine that comes along (Eph. 4:11-16). 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. – Colossians 1:19-20
I often need to know the why behind every decision and purpose for everything in which I am involved. What that could look like is, my coach programming a certain weightlifting cycle or having me on a certain macronutrient diet. The seminary curriculum I am currently going through. Or the purpose of my military training. Often times, we don’t get the why and we are called towards submission to those who are over our care and well-being. In regards to what God is doing, God gives us the why behind everything in which He is doing. What we see is that from Genesis to Revelation, God’s theme of redemption and His mission for His glory and His name to be known and renowned is central. What has God been doing since eternity’s past and future? What is God doing in this point of time where we find ourselves in-between the resurrection of Jesus and His returning? We see that it is through Jesus that God is reconciling all things back to Himself through the blood of the cross of Jesus Christ. What we know is that our sin, our rebellion, is what separated us from God the Father as children. Through this separation, we deserved death; yet Jesus, who knew no sin, became sin on our behalf so that we may become the righteousness of God. Through this, God gave us the ministry of reconciliation as 2 Corinthians 5 tells us. What could happen is we can focus on either one or two views of the ministry of reconciliation. We can focus on the macro, which is about God using His church and His people to spread the Gospel here in Dallas and then moving out towards the ends of the earth. Or we can focus on the micro, which is God restoring our lives and transforming us into the image of His Son. Often, we are drawn towards focusing on the micro at the sake of the macro view or vice versa. I do believe that God has wired us a certain way and we are gifted and drawn towards either the micro or the macro. My hope and challenge for us is that we would not lose the big picture of what God is doing on the macro level. Which we see in Colossians 1:19-20, that God is reconciling all things back to Himself through the power of the Cross. I myself am all about the micro of the ministry of reconciliation. I absolutely love seeing the ministry of the Word of God change the lives of those who would call on the name of Jesus. I love seeing God heal, save and grow Christians in the Lord. Yet, if I focus all of my attention to the micro, I can lose sight of the macro and forget about the spreading and declaring of the Gospel to the nations. If I am all about the macro and not about the micro, I can forget about sanctification and pursuing holiness through the power of the Holy Spirit. Wherever you find yourself landing on your passions being the macro or the micro, my hope and prayer is that we would not forget that God is about reconciling all things back to Himself through the power of the Cross. God is able to save and He is making all things new (Rev. 21). |
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