FOR THE LOVE OF GOD

Scripture Reference: Colossians 1:21-23

Their present reconciliation (verses 21b-22) – Continued.

Blameless means “without blemish.” The word was applied to the temple sacrifices which had to be without blemish. It is amazing that God looks at His children and sees no blemish on them! God chose us to be “holy and without blame” (Ephesians 1:4).

Above reproach means “free from accusation.” Once we have been reconciled to God, no charges can be brought against us (Romans 8:31-34). Satan, the accuser of the brethren (Revelation 12:1-12), would like to hurl charges at us; but God will not accept them (see Zechariah 3). People may have accusations to bring against us, but they cannot change our relationship with God.

The most important thing in our Christian lives is not how we look in our own sight, or in the sight of others (1 Corinthians 4:1-4), but rather, how we look in God’s sight. Pastor Wiersbe recalled counseling a Christian who was in the habit of reminding herself of her past sins and failures. He stated that she seemed to enjoy having other people criticize her. The pastor kept reminding her of what she was in God’s sight. Her constant emphasis on her failures denied the work that Jesus Christ had done for her on the cross. He stated that It did take time, but eventually she accepted her wonderful new position in Christ and began to get victory over criticism and depression.

Paul’s emphasis on our holy standing before God was certainly an attack on the false teachers, for they promised their followers a kind of “perfection” that nothing else could give. “You already have a perfect standing in Christ,” Paul wrote, “so why seek for it anywhere else?”

Their future glorification (verse 23). “The hope of the Gospel” means that blessed hope of our Lord’s return (Titus 2:13). Paul had already mentioned this hope: “The hope which is laid up for you in heaven” (Colossians 1:5). Later in the chapter, he called it “the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).

There was a time when these Gentile Colossians were without hope (Ephesians 2:12). The reason? They were without God. But when they were reconciled to God, they were given a wonderful hope of glory. All of God’s children will one day be with Christ in heaven (John 17:24). In fact, so secure is our future that Paul stated that we have already been glorified! (Romans 8:30) All we are waiting for is the revelation of this glory when Jesus Christ returns (Romans 8:17-19).

Paul’s statement to the Colossians seems to cast a shadow on the assurance of our future glory (reread Colossians 1:23). Is it possible for a true believer to lose his salvation? No, the if clause does not suggest doubt or lay down a condition by which we “keep up our salvation” by our continued works.

Paul used an architectural image in this verse, that of a house, firmly set on the foundation. The town of Colossae was located in a region known for earthquakes, and the word translated “moved away” (again in Colossians 1:23), can mean “earthquake stricken.” Paul was saying, “If you are truly saved, and built on the solid foundation, Jesus Christ, then you will continue in the faith and nothing will move you. You have heard the Gospel and trusted Jesus Christ, and He has saved you.” Remember, He has saved you, nothing of yourself has achieved that.

In other words, we are not saved by continuing in the faith. However, we continue in the faith and thus prove that we are saved. It behooves each professing Christian to test his own faith and examine his own heart to be sure he is a child of God (2 Corinthians 13:5; 2 Peter 1:10-12).

Paul shared the Gospel message with those in Colossae though he had not met them yet. He shared the assurance that they had in Christ Jesus and therefore we can surmise the same principle that Paul used with the Colossians, we can use today in sharing the Gospel message with those around us.

Though it seems gloom and doom is all about us, we can share God’s message of hope and assurance in Jesus Christ.

Adapted and modified excerpts from Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary Volume 2.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved

Scripture Reference: Colossians 1:21-23

The Colossians had never met Paul, but they knew that Paul had been instrumental in leading their pastor, Epaphras, to saving faith in Christ. They also knew that Epaphras had gone to Rome to consult with Paul and had not yet returned. The church members had received Paul’s letter, brought to them by Tychicus and Onesimus. But the false teachers in Colossae had been discrediting Paul and causing doubts in the people’s minds. “Why listen to a man who is a political prisoner?” they asked. “Can you trust him?”

Paul no doubt realized that this would be the situation, so he paused in the first part of this letter to give some words of explanation. He had been so wrapped up in exalting Jesus Christ that he had not shown any interest in writing about himself!

Even though Paul had not personally evangelized Colossae, it was his ministry in Ephesus that led to the founding of the Colossian church. Paul was “made a minister” (Colossians 1:25 NASB). A large part of his ministry consisted in preaching the Good News of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. His was a ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:17-21). Paul reviewed for his readers their own spiritual experience.

Their past alienation (verse 21a). The word translated alienated means “estranged.” These Gentiles in Colossae were estranged from God and separated from the spiritual blessings of Israel (Ephesians 2:11-13). The gods that they worshiped were false gods, and their religious rituals could not take care of their sin or guilt.

But this estrangement was not only a matter of Gentile position; it was also a matter of sinful practices and attitudes. The Gentiles were enemies, which means they were “actively hostile to God.” Even though they had not received a divine law, such as God gave to Israel, these Gentiles knew the truth about God through creation and conscience (Romans 1:18-23). They could not plead ignorance before the bar of God’s justice.

The enmity of their minds led to wicked works. Both in attitude and action, they were at war with God. “Because the carnal mind [the mind of the unbeliever] is enmity against God” (Romans 8:7). This explains why the unbeliever must repent, change his mind, before he can be saved.

Their present reconciliation (verses 21b-22). They did not reconcile themselves to God; it was God who took the initiative in His love and grace. The Father sent the Son to die on a cross that sinners might be reconciled to God. Jesus died for us when we were “without strength” (Romans 5:6) and could do nothing for ourselves. He died for us “while we were still sinners” and “when we were enemies” (Romans 5:8, 10).

Paul emphasized the physical body of Jesus Christ that was nailed to the cross. The false teachers denied the Incarnation and taught that Jesus Christ did not have a real human body. Their philosophy that all matter was evil made it necessary for them to draw this false conclusion. But the New Testament makes it clear that Jesus did have a fully human body, and that He bore our sins on that body on the cross (1 Peter 2:24).

The purpose of this reconciliation is personal holiness. God does not make peace (Colossians 1:20) so that we can continue to be rebels! He has reconciled us to Himself so that we may share His life and His holiness. We are presented to God “holy, and blameless, and above reproach” (Colossians 1:22).

The word holy is closely related to the word saint. Both of these words express the idea of “being set apart, being devoted to God.” In the New Testament, saints are not dead people who during their lives performed miracles and never sinned. New Testament saints were living people who had trusted Jesus Christ. Paul wrote this letter to living saints (Colossians 1:2).

To Be Continued

Adapted and modified excerpts from Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary Volume 2.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved

Scripture Reference: Romans 8:5-17

“You have the Spirit” – Continued

Please review Romans 8:9-11 for background to this section.

What a difference it makes in your body when the Holy Spirit lives within. You experience new life, and even your physical faculties take on a new dimension of experience. When evangelist D.L. Moody described his conversion experience, he said:

“I was in a new world. The next morning the sun shone brighter and the birds sang sweeter . . .  the old elms waved their branches for joy, and all nature was at peace.”

Life in Christ truly is abundant life!

However, there is a third level of experience for which the other two are preparation.

“The Spirit has you!”

Please review Romans 8:12-17 for background to this section.

It is not enough for us to have the Spirit; the Spirit must have us! Only then can He share with us the abundant, victorious life that can be ours in Christ. We have no obligation to the flesh, because the flesh has only brought trouble into our lives. We do however have an obligation to the Holy Spirit, for it is the Spirit who convicted (convinced) us, revealed Christ to us, and imparted eternal life to us when we trusted Christ. Because He is “the Spirit of Life,” He can empower us to obey Christ, and He can enable us to become more like Christ.

But He is also the Spirit of death. He can enable us to “put to death” (mortify) the sinful deeds of the body. As we yield the members of our body to the Spirit (Romans 6:12-17), He applies to us and in us the death and resurrection of Christ. He puts to death the things of the flesh, and He reproduces the things of the Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is also “the Spirit of adoption.” The word adoption in the New Testament means “being placed as an adult son.” We come into God’s family by birth. But the instant we are born into the family, God adopts us and gives us the position of an adult son. A baby cannot walk, speak, make decisions, or draw on the family wealth. But the believer can do all of these the instant he is born again.

He can walk and be “led by the Spirit of God.” The verb here means “willingly led.” We yield to the Spirit, and He guides us by His Word day by day. We are not under bondage to Law and afraid to act. We have the liberty of the Spirit and are free to follow Christ. The believer can also cry out: “Abba, Father.” Would it not be amazing if a newborn baby looked up and greeted his father! First, the Spirit says, “Abba, Father” to us (Galatians 4:6), and then we say it to God. (“Abba” literally means “papa”—a term of endearment.)

A baby cannot sign checks, but the child of God by faith can draw on his spiritual wealth because as His adopted children we are “heirs of God and a joint-heirs with Christ.” The Spirit teaches us from the Word, and then we receive God’s wealth by faith. What a thrilling thing it is to have “the Spirit of adoption” at work in our lives!

There is no need for any believer to be defeated. He can yield his body to the Spirit and by faith overcome the old nature. The Spirit of life will empower him. The Spirit of death will enable him to overcome/mortify/put to death, the flesh. And the Spirit of adoption will enrich him and lead him into the will of God.

Adapted and modified excerpts from Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary Volume 1.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved

Scripture Reference: Romans 8:5-17

The Word tells us, “Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.” So then, it stands to reason that there is no obligation to the old nature. The believer can live in total victory. Paul described life concerning the Holy Spirit on three different levels; and he encouraged his readers to live on the highest level.

“You have not the Spirit”

Please review Romans 8:5-8 for background to this section.

Paul is not describing two kinds of Christians, one carnal and one spiritual. He is contrasting the saved and the unsaved. There are four contrasts.

In the flesh—in the Spirit (verse 5). The unsaved person does not have the Spirit of God (Romans 8:9) and thus lives in the flesh and for the flesh. His mind is centered on the things that satisfy the flesh. But the Christian has the Spirit of God within and lives in an entirely new and different sphere. His mind is fixed on the things of the Spirit. This does not mean that the unsaved person never does anything good, or that the believer never does anything bad. It means that the bent of their lives is different. One lives for the flesh, the other lives for the Spirit.

Death—life (verse 6). The unsaved person is alive physically, but dead spiritually. The inner man is dead toward God and does not respond to the things of the Spirit. He may be moral, and even religious; he may appear to be a “good” person, but he lacks spiritual life. He needs “the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:2).

War with God—peace with God (verses 6-7). If you go back and peruse chapter 7 of Romans, you will see that the old nature rebels against God and will not submit to God’s Law. Those who have trusted Christ enjoy “peace with God” (Romans 5:1), while the unsaved are at war with God. “There is no peace,” says the LORD, “for the wicked” (Isaiah 48:22).

Pleasing self—pleasing God (verse 8). To be “in the flesh” means to be lost, outside Christ. The unsaved person lives to please himself and rarely if ever thinks about pleasing God. The root of sin is selfishness, self-centeredness; “I will” and not “Thy will.”

To be unsaved and not have the Spirit is the lowest level of life. But a person doesn’t have to stay on that level. By faith in Christ he can move to the second level.

“You have the Spirit”

Please review Romans 8:9-11 for background to this section.

“But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.” The evidence of conversion is the presence of the Holy Spirit within, witnessing that you are a child of God (Romans 8:16). Your body becomes the very temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Even though the body is destined to die because of sin (unless, of course, the Lord returns before then), the Spirit gives life to that body today so that we may serve God. If we should die, the body will one day be raised from the dead as promised, because the Holy Spirit has sealed each believer (Ephesians 1:13-14).

To Be Continued

Adapted and modified excerpts from Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary Volume 1.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved