Wednesday – January 6, 2016
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior. It is hump day and once again let’s be ready for God’s Word. The Word of God is an indispensable part of our day to day walk with the Master. It is crucial that we build our knowledge base that we ask and allow the Holy Spirit to teach us to connect things together, and that we then operate in wisdom in abeyance of the Word of the Lord and leadership of the Holy Spirit.
Now let’s get back to our study of this wonderful Book of Colossians. I have spent some time on the phrase “Christ in you, the hope of glory:” but we will now move on recognizing that one way or another these things are going to interconnect.
Colossians 1:27-29 (KJV)
27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
28 Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:
29 Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.
The glory of God is the goodness of God. The ultimate manifestation of the goodness of God was Jesus, the Messiah. The glory is the goodness of God but like everything else there are no random occurrence of events or material manifestations there is a cause or an author in this case the Holy Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit is The Glory of God who causes the various manifestations of the goodness of God in this material world. Jesus was dependent upon the Holy Spirit, the goodness of God, in His earthly ministry and so are we in our earthly ministry.
Hebrews 9:14 (KJV)
14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
Colossians 1:28 starts with the word ‘whom’ which more accurately should be translated ‘which’. Notice back in verse twenty-six there is reference to a mystery that has been hidden. We now know that mystery was the redemption of mankind by God Himself in the person of Jesus returning the Holy Spirit, the Blessing, into the earth for each and every person not just a few.
Colossians 1:26 (KJV)
26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
So, the ‘whom’ should be ‘which’ because it is a direct reference back to the phrase “Christ in you, the hope of glory:” The ‘Christ’ referred to in this phrase directly is the Holy Spirit, but let me be quick to point out that this was only possible because of Jesus, the Messiah, the Anointed One.
Colossians 1:28 (KJV)
28 Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:
Paul’s stated purpose of preaching this wonderful news and warning people about not receiving and acting upon the gospel (good news) was so that each one could be presented “perfect in Christ Jesus:” The word ‘man’ is a reference to mankind, men and women, not only those that are physically male. The Apostle Paul wants to present everyone perfect or complete in Christ Jesus. This is a tall order and of course not within his power alone for each person hearing the message must chose to receive and do or not. Many get saved and that is where their walk with God stalls. Yes they may one day enter Heaven but with absolutely nothing to show for all the years they were in the earth and responsible to mature and do the works of God. They are what are commonly referred to as carnal Christians.
1 Corinthians 3:1-3 (KJV)
1 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
2 I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.
3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
When we are ‘in’ something we are immersed to one degree or another. The more committed to what we are ‘in’ the less distracted we will be to less important things around about us. The Holy Spirit is everywhere present simultaneously, He is the Anointing upon us, and he resides within us at salvation and thereafter. He is our Teacher, our director but we must chose to listen. To be ‘in’ Jesus means that we are completely surrendered to His will and are striving to be just as He is under the tutelage of the Holy Spirit. We are like soldiers in the Army. When you are in the Army in a war zone your focus is on the duties at hand not issues back home whatever they might be because if we allow that distraction it may cost our life or that of our fellow soldiers. We are in a spiritual war zone and the damage can be significant and eternal if we allow the enemy to distract us in our mission in the Kingdom of God. As we stay focused our Heavenly Father will take care of those other issues and we will be complete lacking nothing in Christ Jesus. Paul ends this discourse by telling us that he is in the same battle, he is pressing forward and the Lord is working with great power in him as a result of that diligence. I have to ask myself: is He working in me mightily or am I on the sidelines getting the stuffing beat out of me?
Colossians 1:29 (KJV)
29 Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.
By Pastor David R. Wood
