Author: Ben Bourland

“[And this He will do] provided that you continue to stay with and in the faith [in Christ], well-grounded and settled and steadfast, not shifting or moving away from the hope [which rests on and is inspired by] the glad tidings (the Gospel)” Colossians 1:23a ->me: ‘and this He will do’ -> Jesus will reconcile us to God in the body of His flesh through death…so that He can present us holy and faultless in the Father’s presence. ‘Stay with and in the faith’ – True Christian faith is the beginning of a life which, given by God, will be brought to completion be Him (Philippians 1:6). Genuine faith is seen in patient and steadfast day-to-day Christian living, while counterfeit faith, so hard in its early stages to distinguish from the real thing, withers and dies. God’s point of view is that genuine faith is assured of continuing to the end…while the human view is that Christians discover whether their faith is of the genuine sort only by patient perseverance, encouraged by the Christian hope of eternity with our Savior.

“…although you at one time were estranged and alienated from Him and were of hostile attitude of mind in your wicked activities, yet now has [Christ, the Messiah] reconciled [you to God] in the body of His flesh through death, in order to present you holy and faultless and irreproachable in His [the Father’s] presence.” Colossians 1:21-22 ->me: There are 2 awesome points in these 2 verses for me today -> 1) Paul does not talk about any works or ritual we must complete or achieve in order to receive this reconciliation to the Father. So we cannot do anything to EARN the reconciliation; however -> 2) The hostile attitude of mind and hostile activities (which are best portrayed in Romans 1:21-32) follow a sequence…Wrong thinking leads to vice, vice to further mental corruption, so that the mind, still not totally ignorant of God’s standards, finds itself applauding evil. Verse 22 here does not say that God’s action in Christ, and my acceptance of the gospel, have automatically and instantly made me perfect. Having been given a new life, I must behave in accordance with it. This I can do only because of the reconciliation (between myself and the Creator God, the God of Israel) which was achieved on the cross.

“For it has pleased [the Father] that all the divine fullness (the sum total of the divine perfection, powers, and attributes) should dwell in Him [Jesus] permanently, and God purposed that through (by the service, the intervention of) Him [the Son] all things should be completely reconciled back to Himself, whether on earth or in heaven, as through Him, [the Father] made peace by means of the blood of His cross.” Colossians 1:19-20 ->me: God was pleased to have His entire fullness dwell in the tabernacle of the body of Jesus where we now abide with Him. The person of Jesus provides the vessel or location that both the Father and His creation can co-exist because of the cleansing flow of the blood of Christ spent on the cross. Jesus was raised because He must live for us to be able to live IN Him. THIS WHY WE WORSHIP!!! Because of the work of Jesus to show that He is the rightful Lord over all things (because He conquered the last boundary – DEATH), it is through Him that the Father will reconcile ALL things back to Himself…this is everything…all of creation, world powers, world rulers, world thought, and anything other form of governance or entity you can think of. I (we) am the first of His creation to manifest that reconciliation through our sanctification. These 2 verses are so powerful! The entire culmination of God’s total plan is summed up RIGHT HERE!!

“He also is the Head of [His] body, the church; seeing He is the Beginning, the Firstborn from among the dead, so that He alone in everything and in every respect might occupy the chief place [stand first and be preeminent].” Colossians 1:18 ->me: In order to be an active member of the body of Christ, I must be paying attention to and listening for the instruction of the Head. When I am not conforming to the instruction, commands, and will of the Head then I am not ‘working’, I am a lame appendage. So, what I feel the Lord is telling me today is that when I am not being obedient to the Rule of Christ as Head of the body (the church) then I am not falling in line with what I have been designed to do in in the Church Body of Christ. This aspect becomes even more important for those who will be held to a higher account of leadership/teachers in the church (this is me too as the leader of a Life Group). If this is correct then all those churches who believe you can be a vibrant growing church with leaders and teachers working through enslavement by unrepentant sin, no matter the sin, are fooling themselves. Paul’s 2 letters to the Corinthians to turn them from their fornication is a perfect example.

“For it was in Him that all things were created, in heaven and on earth, things seen and things unseen, whether thrones, dominions, rulers, or authorities; all things were created and exist through Him [by His service, intervention] and in and for Him, and He Himself existed before all things, and in Him all things consist (cohere, are held together).” Colossians 1:16-17 ->me: All things were thought up and designed by Jesus–all types of things in all dimensions and realms. All things were created by Him personally; not only did He think them up but He formed them with His own hand and put them into place. All things are controlled by Him. There is nothing that happens that He is not intimately involved in. Jesus was there before anything else was and He holds everything together by His might and will. Yesterday the Lord called on me to do something crazy and through a struggle with my flesh the Lord gave me the strength to obey and I was blessed to be a part of what God wanted to happen – He used me as an aspect of this strength to manage the universe….how stinking awesome is that??? This is what God wanted to teach me this morning following on from yesterday’s QT—>My joy comes from glorifying God through obedience to Him; plain and simple. I should not expect anything from God for He has already done more for me that I could ever comprehend deserving. Happiness to the believer is obedience and worship.

“[The Father] has delivered and drawn us to Himself out of the control and the dominion of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in Whom we have our redemption through His blood, [which means] the forgiveness of our sins.” Colossians 1:13-14 ->me: What an awesome truth to ponder on -> God rescued us; He has drawn us to Himself. He has plucked us out of satan’s dominion and set us in the safety and rule of His Son the Lord Jesus. The dominion of darkness cannot touch the Kingdom of the Son of His Love. I must realize and internalize this truth in order to have the hope in the promises God has made about the future and eternity. We are covered and cleansed by the washing of the blood of the cross. Our sins are no more; they are literally washed away. Lately have been focused on God making me feel good about my life in Him -> “God I have been seeking You in your word and desire to be with You, so why are you not making me feel good inside about it??” This is absolutely backwards!! The base bottom root of all intention must be glorifying God and His Kingdom….not what he can do for me and my morale. God may give me that peace I have felt from Him numerous times but getting that should not be my motivation for seeking Him through my quiet times or prayer. Lord God forgive me for not having the right heart lately; for allowing my sinful fleshy being to focus on self rather than YOU, the Creator of heaven and earth.

“[We pray] that you may be invigorated and strengthened with all power according to the might of His glory, [to exercise] every kind of endurance and patience (perseverance and forbearance) with joy, giving thanks to the Father, Who has qualified and made us fit to share the portion which is the inheritance of the saints (God’s holy people) in the Light.” Colossians 1:11-12 ->me: Verse 11 contributes 2 very important pieces to Paul’s prayer – 1) That growth in the knowledge of God, and in holiness, is an uphill battle. 2) That strength for this battle can only come, but will surely come, from the power of God Himself. “Might of God’s Glory” – The image that comes to my mind when I read this is the image John gives us in Revelation of his vision of heaven with peeling thunder and lightning emanating from the throne. This glory would be filled with power and an unsettling view of His might and capability. I am to enact EVERY type of endurance and patience WITH JOY and I am able to do this because of being invigorated strengthened with ALL the power . This is so applicable in some situations I am in today. Finally I must remain in an attitude of thankfulness to the Father Who through the work of His Son has certified and equipped me to take part in the inheritance that has been given to and is in Christ Jesus. All I can think about when I read this verse is how I need to knock down my pride and fall to me knees in front of that quaking throne.

“<read verse 9 again to follow>That you may walk (live and conduct yourselves) in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him and desiring to please Him in all things, bearing fruit in every good work and steadily growing and increasing in and by the knowledge of God [with fuller, deeper, and clearer insight, acquaintance, and recognition].” Colossians 1:10 ->me: Being ‘filled with knowledge’ means that it is something that done by God. He gives/fills me with this knowledge. Through reading His word, that knowledge He gives me can then be equipped by viewing that knowledge through spiritual insight and wisdom. I believe that all of this combined together leads to understanding and discernment of things going on in the spiritual realm. When I do this it will enable me to live out my earthly life in a way that is worthy of God; where He is pleased with my conduct, the way I live, and the way I treat others. Because I understand the gravity of spiritual things I will desire to please God in all that I do. With my new found knowledge and wisdom, I will also know how to make the most out of every good work. This results in growing and increasing IN AND BY the knowledge of God. In and By -> The more knowledge I am filled with, the more information I will have to grow in my relationship with God and have reverential fear of Him.

“For this reason we also, from the day we heard of it, have not ceased to pray and make [special] request for you, [asking] that you may be filled with the full (deep and clear) knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom [in comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes of God] and in understanding and discernment of spiritual things—” Colossians 1:9 ->me: This passage of Colossians 1:9-14 is one of my favorites and have been working to memorize it. It is because of what God has already done that Paul can pray with confidence for what God will do. Having begun a work of grace, God will continue and complete it (Phil 1:6). The ‘knowledge of God’s will’ is more than simply an insight into how God wants His people to behave: it is an understanding of God’s whole saving purpose in Christ, and hence, a knowledge of God Himself. Knowledge, wisdom, and understanding are best understood by looking at how these words were used in the Old Testament and Jewish background; in which they regularly denote aspects of character which God seeks to instill in His people through persistent instruction. Now take what I know about these three words and focus them on comprehending spiritual things. This is why this verse is so powerful to memorize in conjunction with the following 4. Lord help me to pray for the right knowledge, wisdom, and understanding; the ability to discern your thoughts and intentions.

“[The truth of the Gospel] has come to you. Indeed, in the whole world [that Gospel] is bearing fruit and still is growing[by its own inherent power], even as it has done among yourselves ever since the day you first heard and came to know and understand the grace of God in truth.” Colossians 1:6 ->me: God is doing, through the gospel, what He always intended to do. He is sowing good seed in the world, and preparing to reap a harvest of human lives recreated to reflect His glory. In this self-centered age I will do well to remind myself how often Paul’s ‘you’ is plural – and that he is not merely referring to a collection of individuals, but indicating a corporate unity, the Body of Christ. During my study of this verse today there was one thing that stuck out to me – The response to the gospel will involve not only intellect but also emotions; it should also be stated that intellect and emotions, head and heart, are not simply two separate compartments without an adjoining door. Clear recognition and understanding of the genuine Christian Gospel – that God so loved the world that He gave His Son to die for it – is a most powerful igniter to full-hearted Christian love for God in return. More clearly -> Such an emotional response can in its turn fuel the desire for a deeper intellectual understanding of God’s nature and purposes….&….a deeper intellectual understanding of God’s nature and purposes can fuel desire for a stronger relationship and love for Him.