Bible Study: Colossians 3 (cont.)

Good morning dearly beloved of God and Ray

We would continue our Bible study this morning to conclude chapter 3 of Colossians

We stopped at verse 16 but I would lean back a bit into 15 where Paul says since we're all members of one body in Christ we are to allow our hearts be controlled by the peace of God.

The purpose of this is so that our fellow believers can be comfortable around us and be happy with us. So that we don't become a cancerous part of the body of Christ. This leads into 16 where he says we should also allow the word of God dwell richly in us. We need this to help us be useful to the body of Christ in teaching, and admonishing one another with wisdom. If we don't have adequate knowledge of the word of God then how are we to teach and admonish others with all wisdom?

A valid guide to to a christian daily life is dropped in 17, whatsoever we do, or say. Let it be in the name of Jesus. Remember Paul telling Athenians in the Acts of the apostles that in Christ we live, we move and have our being. He he restates it to the Colossians.
But how do we do all things in the name of Jesus Christ?

He simply meant that all actions and word from them must be put to the test of being in his glory. Since we are bought with a price, crucified with him and now live unto him, all things we do or say must be to his credit. We can no longer live to ourselves. We only then must do those things he wants us to do and say only those things he wants us to say.

As he did with the Ephesians in chapter 5, he does to the Colossians here. Giving them family guides. Wives must submit to their husbands as they would submit to the Lord. So a wife not submitting to her husband is equally not submitting to God.

Then husbands must love their wives and not be harsh with them. See that order we talked about last time? He followed it here too. Submission first then love can be.
Children are to obey parents if not for anything but to please God. So even if one doesn't like his parents or think they don't deserve to be obeyed, at least do it to please God. Fathers also have a role to encourage obedience from children.

A father must strive to earn the children's trust. He must make it easier for them to obey him by showing them by all means how his instructions and decisions are only guided by love and selflessness. His well meaning must be clear to all, then with that it becomes easy to be obeyed.

He then tells servants to serve masters as if they serve God. Not with eye service but with a sincere heart. This today applies to employees. This is because God gives a reward to faithfulness, even faithfulness to man, God rewards. This tells us that when we are faithful to our fellow man, God sees us and is pleased.

In 24 he tells us that even our service to masters translates into service to Christ. There is no favoritism in Christ. Faithfulness to mankind is faithfulness to God. This all stems from the position of love. If we love our brother then we can love God. John says in his first epistle, we have passed to life from death because we love the brethren.
God be with you today as you go out to win.
I love you plenty.

Bible Study: Colossians 3

Good morning love

We are resuming our Bible study of Colossians today.
My leave and trip to Enugu had meant there was no sense in a long distance Bible study.
I pray that the Holy Spirit brood over our understanding as we study this morning.

Paul began Colossians 3 on a frank note. His message here was straight to the point. If you are with Christ on high then act it. Simple. Don't take the awareness of being risen with Christ and keep it under your pillow while being occupied by what obsesses the world.
Only those things that are relevant to the kingdom of God should be on our mind to dwell on.
I would give you some references to better understand him here.
Remember Jesus telling his disciples in

Bible Study: Colossians 2 cont.

Good morning, love.

Hope you went to bed early last night.
We skipped this study yesterday because I had to rush to the office. Today calls for another hurry but I insist it mustn't be skipped a second day in a row.

So let's dive right into it.
The second part of Colossians 2 where we stopped last time.
starting from verse 12, may I say that the baptism Paul was referring to here is not the water baptism we know. No, far from it. Remember that physical activities do not perfect spiritual accomplishments. Far from it, what Paul was referring to here is the baptism into Christ. The putting on of Christ. See Gal.3:27.
When you become born again and accepted Christ you were baptised into Christ. (Dipped into Christ) The Greek word Baptizo which Paul used paid no respect to water. It in a general sense means to dip into or to immerse into. So Paul saying we were immersed in Christ could not be mistaken as a dipping into water.
If we are immersed in Christ when he died on the cross, hence we resurrected with him with a new life when he resurrected 3 days later.
Verse 13, being dead in sins and uncircumcision of flesh. Bible scholars have debated why Paul who had been an advocate of the circumcision of the heart in supremacy over the flesh would come here to say this. Also remember what I once told you about the incidence where Paul had to circumcise Timothy. So this presents a valid theological debate.
For me I see this as Paul giving a cheeky reminder to these set of gentiles that they were once godless and without any prior contact with God which can be seen as the lowest state of spiritual awareness.

Now Paul brings the big show in verses 14-15.
He tells the full implication of the passion of Christ to our Christian life. He took all handwritten accusations of the devil which was contrary to us. Note that the Greek word hupenantios was used for contrary. It means opposed, adversary or against. It meant that those handwritings were opposing us, against us. They were not, as most preachers like to say, false handwritings. That would be a wrong interpretation which would make the sufferings of Jesus a bogus and unnecessary exercise.
the open defeat and humiliation of the devil referred to in verse 15 takes one back to Gen.3;15.
Let no one hence judge us on things of tradition or human rules and observations which were a shadow or shade or a better word is adumbration of things to come.
This is the pain of Christianity today. We subject ourselves and our fellow believers to shadows while we lose sight of the light. We hence hide ourselves from the grace and love of Christ because we have created a massive shadow of works.
Verse 18 warns against worship of angels. Even till today, some of us think of it as humility to ask angels or Mary to help us out. It is a beclouded pride. It means discounting Christ and his sufferings on the cross as no effect and rather preferring the mediation of angels. it means failing to recognize Christ as the head.

So if we are dead with Christ, we should not be alive to the world and its ordinances. Rather we should be alive only to God and his grace.
verses 20-22 calls us back to the prophecy by Isaiah in Isa.29:13 where God says men have fashioned their relationship and worship of Him not after His own way but by their erratic perception of God. So we say to ourselves, to please God we must do this, do that etc and often forget what God himself has said on how to please him. John 3:16, Heb.1:6 etc. We fail to believe and have faith in the power of his grace and love but we expect that as long as we don't eat or touch certain things we automatically please God.
this message Paul also shared with his protégé, Timothy saying in ITi.4:8 that bodily exercise profits little but godliness is supreme (I paraphrase).

May God bless your understanding as you read this.
Amen.