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Epistle of Paul to the
Colossians III
Fred R.
Coulter—October 30, 1993
This is
number three in our series and study that we are doing through the book of
Colossians and we are following through on the Expanded Amplified
Translation for the purpose of studying; because Paul’s epistles are so
absolutely inspiring, that we need to have as full an understanding in its
amplified meaning of these epistles as we can. And last time we came down
through Colossians 1:18, who is the
firstborn. So let’s just review a couple of Scriptures concerning that, so
that we really fully understand and comprehend that Jesus was literally the
firstborn twice.
Matthew
1:25—this talks about Jesus’ first birth, His human birth: “But he [Joseph] did not have sexual
relations with her until after she had given birth to her son,
the firstborn; and he called His name Jesus.” Now, the Greek for firstborn there is ‘prototokos.’ When we
come back here to Colossians 1, where it says that ‘He is the firstborn of
every creature,’ that is kind of a misleading translation, simply because it
doesn’t mean the firstborn of every creature.
And here is
the way I translated it beginning in Colossians 1:15 of the Amplified
Translation, now: “Who is the exact image and similitude of the great invisible
God, the firstborn [prototokos] (by
the resurrection)…” Of the creation has reference to what God is
doing/creating in us. That is the creation He is talking about not everything
that has been made. And this is where people really get off the beam where they
say that Jesus was the first created of God, the first born of God, and so
forth. That is not correct. And it means that He is: “…the firstborn (by the
resurrection), the prototype of all that God is creating by this means.”
Now, just
one other Scripture I want to review in Revelation, the first chapter. So that
we can be sure and understand that there is a difference between first begotten
or only begotten and firstborn. Now, the Greek word, which is translated begotten is ‘gennao.’ Jesus Christ being
the only begotten, in the Greek is ‘monogenes.’ Mono: we have that even today, we have a monorail that means a single rail—or one. So, ‘monogenes’
means the only begotten.
Here in
Revelation 1:5 it says:
“And from Jesus Christ, the faithful Witness, the Firstborn from the dead…” The Greek
there is ‘prototokos’—so Jesus was born again.
Now, one
other Scripture we need to cover: Romans 8:29 and then we will go ahead and
pick up from there. But, I wanted to be sure and review this because this
always becomes a central part of our understanding as we are going forward in
understanding the Word of God. Romans 8:29: “Because those whom He did foreknow… [that is
us, He called us before the resurrection] …He also predestinated… [that is the
predestination of God’s plan] …to be conformed… [that is to be made
like] …to the image of
His own Son… [And, of course, then if you have the image, the image is
made after the reality, you cannot have an image unless there is a reality.
That’s why when God said: ‘Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness.’
That shows that we are made in the image of God. So that means that God being
the reality has a body, a face, hands, legs, feet, etc. So when we see image of
His Son here, Christ is the reality. And we are going to be made in that
spiritual image of His Son.] (Now, notice): …that He might be the firstborn [prototokos] among
many brethren.” And so that is what it means of Jesus Christ being the
firstborn of every creature. That does not mean of the creation but of those
that God is creating now. We are created in the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
The process of conversion is spiritual creation.
Now let’s
come back to Colossians, our Amplified Translation of it, and let’s
continue on now. Now let’s just finish and bring everything right up to date
where we were. Let me just review Colossians 1:15-17. “Who is the exact image
and similitude of the great invisible God… [So if we are going to be in the
image of Jesus Christ, Who is the firstborn among many brethren, then it is
going to be that resemblance of family. That’s why Jesus said, when Philip
said, ‘Show us the Father.’ Jesus answered and said, ‘Have I not been with you
so long a time that you have known Me, Philip, if you have seen Me, you have
seen the Father.’]. …the similitude of the great invisible God, the firstborn
(by the resurrection), the prototype of all that God is creating by this means;
Because by and through Him (the Son) were all things created and brought into
existence, all things on the earth and in the vast reaches of the heavens and
universe, all visible things and all invisible things regardless of whether
they be thrones or lordships, or principalities or authorities and powers; all
things (everything that exists) were created by and through Him, and for Him.
And He (the Son) existed before every one of these things, and in Him all
things continue to exist and subsist.”
Now let’s go
on here with v 18 and then we will see some very important things concerning
Jesus Christ: “And He is the head of the body, the church (the assembly of the
called-out ones); He is the beginning, the originator of all things, the
firstborn [by the resurrection] from among the dead… [firstborn again is
‘prototokos’] …that He might hold the first rank, and have the highest dignity
and pre-eminence in all things…. [And, of course, that means through all
eternity.] …Because in His Son, God the Father was pleased to have the
fullness and abundance of all things dwell and reside” (vs 18-19). And so Paul
is leading up to, as we will see by going through these things, to show us the
greatness of the calling of God, to show us the greatness of Jesus Christ as
our Savior and to show the tremendous and fantastic plan that God has for us.
Then when we
come to Colossians 2—we will see how penurious, how vain and empty is the
philosophy that was trying to deceive the brethren there in Colosse to
following into the worship of fallen angels. Now let’s continue on down through
v 20: “And by and through Him (the Son) to reconcile and restore to favor and
blessing all things unto Himself, having made peace, harmony and tranquility
through the blood of His cross; so that through Him all things might be
reconciled, whether it be the things on earth, or the things in the heavens and
universe.” Now, that is quite a statement, isn’t it? Let’s look at this and
study these verses a little bit more in detail. First of all, we know that
Christ was made the Head of the Church. And Jesus Christ is the only one who
can be the Head of the Church. Now, too many times people have placed men
between them and God and literally made the man the head of the Church and were
more willing to follow the commands of a man then the clear commands of Jesus
Christ. So this is why the Apostle Paul is making it absolutely clear that
Christ is the Head of the Church, He is sitting at the right hand of the Father
in heaven above and that is what we need to constantly look to.
Now let’s
come here to Ephesians 1:20 so that we see that Paul continues in the same
theme in Ephesians as he did in Colossians. Ephesians 1:20—it talks about
the mighty power of God “Which
He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, Far above every principality
and authority and power and lordship… [that means anything that is on the
earth or that Satan has] …and power and lordship, and every name that is named—not only in
this age, but also in the age to come…. [Which then is the Kingdom of
God. Now this is almost exactly the same as he is expressing to those in the
book of Colossians there, the same thing concerning Christ.] …For He has subordinated all things
under His feet, and has given Him to be head over all things to the
church, Which is His body—the fullness of Him Who fills all things in
all” (vs 20-23). So, in other words:
·
there is absolutely nothing in this world,
·
there is nothing that has been created,
·
there is nothing that Satan can offer,
·
there is nothing that the demons can offer,
·
there is nothing that any human being can offer that
can fill what God is going to do with us and through us and to us.
So we
need to really just grasp that and keep it in mind constantly.
Now let’s
come to Ephesians 5:23, it is talking about Christ as the Head of the Church
also the husband of the Church that He is going to marry. “For the husband is the head of
the wife, even as Christ is the Head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.” Now we might interject in there, this just came to
mind, so let’s put it in there, this does not mean that the husband wields the
rod of iron over his wife. Let’s do a little quote that we have on one of the
other series that we did, Jesus said to the Scribes and Pharisees: ‘I desire
mercy and not sacrifice.’ Go learn what that means. So in this sense we need
to, as husbands, understand what it means Christ is the Head of the Church and
He is the Savior of the body.
Now, let’s
come down to v 25: “Husbands,
love your own wives, in the same way that Christ also loved the church, and
gave Himself for it… [because the word gave means to give up]
…So that He might
sanctify it, having cleansed it with the washing of water by the Word; That He might present it to Himself as the glorious church, not
having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it might be holy and
without blame. In the same way, husbands are duty-bound to love their wives as
their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself” (vs 25-28).
Notice that
is not done with beatings, that is not done with commandings, that is not done
with a rod of iron, that is not done with a heavy hand—that is done in
love. That doesn’t mean that you become weak or mousy or anything like that, it
just means that if Christ is in you, since He’s the Head of the Church, we as
husbands need to conduct our lives toward our wives in that particular way.
But, also that the wife needs to submit to her husband as the Church submits to
the Lord. So it works all ways.
Now coupled
with that, let’s understand that there is, as we will see, let’s turn to 1-Corinthians
11:1. Because Christ is the Head of the Church, there is always a limiting
factor on every minister and we need to understand that. I am sure we do, but
let’s just rehearse it and emphasize it here. 1-Corinthians 11:1: “Be imitators of me, exactly as I also am of Christ. Now I praise you, brethren, because you have remembered me in
all things, and you are keeping the ordinances in the way that I delivered them to you. But I want you to understand that the Head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is the man, and the Head of Christ is God” (vs 1-3). And Jesus said, ‘My Father is greater than I am.’
Now, let’s
go to the book of Revelation 3:18, where it says that Christ is the beginning.
I just talked to someone on the phone the other day who said that he needed to
understand what this verse meant. Before we go to Revelation 3, let’s go to
Revelation 1 again and let’s see what Jesus said concerning Himself, and we
covered somewhat of this at the Feast of Tabernacles. Now, let’s stop and think
about this for a minute. If Jesus created everything that there is, that God
the Father had Him, Jesus Christ, create everything? That’s why He is called
the Word in John, the first chapter. And that Jesus was God before He became
flesh, and it’s not true that while He was in the flesh, He was one hundred
percent God—He wasn’t. He emptied Himself, it says in
Philippians, the second chapter, and took upon Him the same form and image as
man. So He was not wholly God. He was God in the flesh, but God in the flesh is
not the same as God in the Spirit. That’s why when Jesus was on the earth, He
had to pray with strong cryings and tears ‘to Him who is able to save Him from
death.’ And if He were wholly God in the flesh, then He couldn’t have died. So
since He was God, that means that He continued to exist from all eternity, just
as God the Father. He is the one who is the Creator, because God the Father
delegated that to Him.
Now when we
come to Revelation 1:8, Jesus said: “‘I am Alpha and Omega, the Beginning
and the Ending… [That means He is the agent of the beginning, that does
not mean that He was the beginning of the creation of God or the first thing
that God created, doesn’t mean that at all. He is the agent of the beginning;
He is the agent of the ending.] …I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the Ending,’
says the Lord, ‘Who is, and Who was, and Who is to come—the
Almighty.’”
Now, let’s
come to Revelation 3:14—and this is where many go to say that Christ was
the beginning of the creation of God, because that is what it is in the
English. But it doesn’t mean that He was that thing which was created first. It
means that He was the agent of the beginning of the creation of God. Now
let’s pick it up here in Revelation 3:14: “And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans,
write: These things says the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginner
of the creation of God.” That doesn’t mean He, Himself, was the first thing
created, that means He was the one who began the creation. And He is
continuing to do it with God the Father in us, because what God is doing in us
now is the greatest creation that God is accomplishing. So this is why then,
this is why that it is through Jesus Christ that all these things have been
done.
Now let’s
come back to Colossians 1:20 again, and let’s look at just a couple of things
here that are very important. “And by and through Him (the Son) to reconcile
and restore to favor and blessing all things unto Himself…”
We can go to
Acts 3 because this becomes very important in understanding how God is going to
reconcile everything, and there is a statement that is made there which is
quite profound which most people miss. But let’s begin with this here in Acts
3:19—and it talks about Jesus Christ—here is the sermon that was
given: “Therefore, repent
and be converted in order that your sins may be blotted out, so that the times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; And that He may send Him Who was before proclaimed to you, Jesus Christ, Whom the heaven must indeed receive until the times of restoration of all
things…” (vs 19-21). And that restitution then is the reconciliation of
everything. We are the first part of that reconciliation, right now. That is
what is so important and that is done, it is done through the blood of Jesus
Christ.
Now back to
Colossians 1:20: “…having made peace, harmony and tranquility through the blood
of His cross…” Now there is so much we could say about the blood of Jesus
Christ. I could actually take another sermon for it, but let me just mention,
go back and reread the section in the Passover book concerning the blood of
Jesus Christ and what it does for us, we will cover just a few of those verses.
Let’s go to
Romans 5 and let’s see how God did this and in what way did He do this and
because of His love that He did this for us. Let’s pick it up here in Romans
5:6: “For even when we
were without strength, at the appointed time Christ died for the ungodly. For rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, although perhaps
someone might have the courage even to die for a good man. But God commends His
own love to us because, when we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much
more, therefore, having been justified now by His blood…” [And it is
through His blood that we are put in right standing with God the Father in
heaven above. And that is what is so fantastic and that is what is so important
for us to comprehend. The blood of Christ and His sacrifice only can accomplish
that. Just remember this, nothing can
substitute for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Let me repeat that, nothing can substitute for the sacrifice
of Jesus Christ.] (Now let’s continue): …Much more, therefore, having been justified now by His
blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if, when we were enemies,
we were reconciled to God through the death of His own Son… [Now isn’t
that something? That is really a verse to think about, to pray about, to
understand that God reconciled us, set the things in motion so that we could be
reconciled while we were still enemies of God, and for us who live in this age,
before we were ever born.] …much more then, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His
life. And not only this, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus
Christ, by Whom we have now received the reconciliation” (vs 6-11). And that is
through Jesus Christ by God the Father in heaven above in the Holy of Holies
with Jesus Christ sitting at His right hand.
Now let’s
come back to Colossians 1:20 again. Now here is the part of the verse I want to
cover: “…so that through Him all things might be reconciled, whether it be
things on the earth or the things in the heavens and universe.” Now what is
there to reconcile in the heavens and the universe? That means to make
everything right, to bring it back together. What is going to be the final
act of reconciliation that is going to take care of things that occurred in
heaven? Why are there things in heaven that need to be reconciled? Let’s ask it
that way. The reason is this: Satan the devil rebelled, did he not? Yes, he
did (Isa. 14; Ezek. 28). He took one third of the angels with him, did he
not? Yes (Rev. 12:4). God still has not reconciled the problems that
that has caused. Now, since the demons and Satan have rejected God, then He
cannot make it right by their repentance because they have refused to repent.
So God has to make it right. What is the vehicle that God is going to do to
make it right? God is going to bind Satan and the demons.
Now there is
one verse in the book of Hebrews that says He is going to destroy the devil,
there is another one, which says that he is going to be in the blackness of
darkness forever and ever. So it is not clear exactly from the Bible exactly
what is going to happen to Satan the devil and the demons but we know that
there can be no total peace, there can be no total reconciliation of all of
God’s creation and His plan until Satan the devil has been taken care of, along
with his demons. Now that is why when we read in the book of Revelation that
after Satan is used for the last time he is cast back into the lake of fire and
then Satan is no more heard of and only after that is done and then the Great
White Throne judgment where salvation will be offered to everyone who never had
an opportunity and then those human beings who reject the plan of God and will
have committed the unpardonable sin, they will die the second death.
So in order
to make things right when you have something that is irreconcilable then you
must eliminate it and that is what God is going to do so that all that will be
reconciled with Him will be together in the Kingdom of God. Then, and only
then, can New Jerusalem come down out of heaven from God the Father and be on
the earth. So that is quite a statement where it says that; “He might reconcile
all things, whether it be the things on earth, or the things in the heavens and
universe.”
Now let’s
come back to Colossians 1:21. We covered part of this in Rom. 5 that we already
covered; that He reconciled us while we were still enemies of God. Now here in
Colossians 1:21 in the Amplified Translation: “And all of you were once
alienated and antagonistically estranged… [that means you were hostile to God]
…even in a state of animosity and enmity, actually enemies (of God) in your
minds by your own wicked, malevolent and evil works, your own daily actions and
deeds; yet now has He reconciled and ransomed you.”
Let’s look a little bit
about the nature that we have, as human beings with the law of sin and death in
us. Let’s go to Mark, the seventh chapter, and this is why there is nothing,
brethren, no force from the outside that is going to correct the problems of
the inside—because we are enemies of God in our minds:
·
by our thoughts,
·
by our works,
·
by the law of sin and death within us.
Now, this
last week I had the local church here; I asked them to do a project—you
might want to do this, and I would appreciate your input on it. Think of every
reason why the mark of the Beast—when it comes—will be hailed as
the best thing that has ever happened, which the Bible says is the worst. And
why businesses will like it, banks will like it, individuals will like it,
governments will like it, etc. And it just dawned on me another reason why the
mark of the Beast is so insidious because that is the ultimate outside force,
which is used to coerce people into doing what is right, as the society
considers the things that are right. Whereas God, on the other hand, wants
us to have the character by choice to do the things that are right, rather than
being forced to do the things that are right from the outside. So that is why
the mark of the Beast is so absolutely awful, it takes away your choice and
your character and you give it up to the force of Satan the devil through the
mark of the Beast to coerce people to do what they should do by choice. Because
the mark of the Beast won’t change the heart. The reason is that only God
can change the heart. So that is why Christ has to come into us. That
is why we must be reconciled to God.
Here, Mark
7:20: “And He said, ‘That
which springs forth from within a man, that defiles the man. For from
within, out of the hearts of men, go forth evil thoughts, adulteries,
fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickednesses, guile,
licentiousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness; All these evils go
forth from within, and these defile a man’” (vs 20-23). Hence then
we are enemies of God. And you cannot correct that with the mark of the Beast.
You may be able to force people for a while to do something. You may be able to
coerce them into not stealing. You may be able to coerce them into not cheating
on their business dealings, or whatever it may be. You can coerce them to bring
the underground economy up aboveboard because now there is no cash. But you
have not changed the heart and that is what is so important. God wants the
heart changed
·
by conversion,
·
by His Spirit,
·
by His righteousness,
·
by His love
·
and by His goodness.
Now let’s go
to Romans, the eighth chapter, because the word enemy in the Greek is
the same word as we find in Romans 8 concerning the carnal mind being enmity.
And we are enemies of God. Where? In our minds. So that’s what must be
changed. That’s why Jesus Christ told the Pharisees, ‘clean first the inside of
the cup and then the outside will be clean’—because the Pharisees were
those who liked to take and make everything clean and look right on the
outside, but within they were full of excess and extortion, just like whited
sepulchers full of excesses and rottenness.
Let’s look
at what God did in this reconciliation. Let’s pick it up here in Romans 8:1: “Consequently, there is now no
condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus… [Even though we still have the
‘law of sin and death’ in us, even though we have not overcome. We are saved by
grace. God does not condemn us, because we are fighting to overcome sin,
because we are to bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Jesus
Christ. And the sins that we have are the inner battles because as Paul said
every time he wanted to do good evil was present. Well only the Spirit of God
can expose that evilness and that wickedness of your mind. And that is why the
struggle is so intense. And because that struggle is intense and because you
don’t want to do the works of the flesh, you don’t want to sin, but you want to
follow Christ, therefore there is no condemnation to you who are in Christ
Jesus.] …who are not
walking according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit… [And that
is what you are following. The things of the Spirit of God.] …Because the law of the Spirit of life
in Christ Jesus has delivered me from ‘the law of sin and death.’ For what was impossible for the law to do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God,
having sent His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin,
condemned sin in the flesh” (vs 1-3). And please understand that that
means in exactly the same flesh that we have with the law of sin and death in
us. That is why it says in 1-Peter 2:24, that Jesus Christ; Himself bore in His
body our sins to the cross.
So Christ
had to overcome the ‘law of sin and death.’ So when you really understand it,
the judgment that God put on all human beings, to give them, within their
members and in their minds, ‘the law of sin and death,’ God took the same
judgment upon Himself to redeem us. And that is so profound, brethren, that it
is still hard for us to really grasp that kind of love. When you think and you
ask yourself, ‘What is the greatest thing that I would do for someone else?’ We
can’t even come close to the greatness of what Christ has done. We can’t even
come near to the love of what God has done for us that God would do this. In
the person of Jesus Christ, give up being God who is Holy and perfect and
righteous and sinless and to take upon Him the likeness, the same flesh as we
have, with the ‘law of sin and death’ in Him so that He could die and in His
living in the flesh He would never sin. So that He could be that perfect
sacrifice. That is really fantastic when we really grasp it. And when we do then,
I need to ask you this question:
·
Do you want to sin? No.
·
Do you want to do those things that are carnal? No.
·
Do you want to have just the physical things in this
life? No,
—because
since you have the Spirit of God and are walking after the Spirit, you are
minding the things of the Spirit and not the things of the flesh. The very fact
that you keep God’s commandments, the very fact that you want to do those
things which please God, show that you are not doing those things of the flesh
to follow the flesh.
Now, let’s
come down here to Romans 8:4 and let’s continue this now: “In order that the righteousness of the
law might be fulfilled in us… [That is the true righteousness.] …who are not walking according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit: For those who walk according to the
flesh mind the things of the flesh; but those who walk according to the Spirit mind the things of the Spirit…. [And that is what we are doing,
brethren. Right now at this minute studying the Word of God.] (v 6): …For to be
carnally minded… [or that is to follow the mind of the flesh] …is death,
but to be spiritually minded is life and peace… [And that is what Christ
has brought,] …Because the carnal mind is enmity…
[same word, root word as enemy] …enmity against God, for it is not subject to
the law of God; neither indeed can it be…. [So the very fact that you
want to keep the commandments of God, the very fact that you are desiring to do
those things which are pleasing to God, show that you have the Spirit of God
and the Spirit of God is leading you and you are not carnal minded in as much
as you are not trying to live your life by the schemes and the sins of the
flesh, but you are trying to live your life by the commands of God through His
Holy Spirit, which He has given through His Son Jesus Christ.] …for it is not subject to the law of
God; neither indeed can it be. But those who are in the flesh
cannot please God…. [because they do not have the Spirit of God.] (v 9, we
will finish right here): …However, you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if the Spirit of God is indeed dwelling within you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him” (vs 4-9).
Now, let’s
come back here to the book of Colossians again and let’s go on. Now this is really
quite a profound statement when it says that in Colossians 1:21: “And all of
you were once alienated and antagonistically estranged, even in a state of
mental animosity and enmity, actually enemies (of God) in your minds by your
own wicked, malevolent and evil works, your own daily actions and deeds; yet
now at this time has He reconciled and ransomed you in the body of His own
flesh through His sacrifice, even the death (the very death of the Son of God)
to present you before God the Father, (yes, in His very presence)… [Now we need
to understand that, brethren. When we pray to God, and our prayers go up to
Him, they come right before the very throne of God. And just like it says there
in Rev. 8 when John saw the altar and the incense coming up from the altar it
was the prayers of all the saints coming right up before God the Father. So
when we pray and we say, ‘Our Father’ we have direct access to the greatest
Being in the universe. Now, that is what the reconciliation is all about.] (Now
here is how we stand before God): …as holy and consecrated, even unblamable,
unimpeachable and unblemished before Him” (vs 21-22). Now that is an awesome
thing to understand. That is tremendous to understand.
Now, let’s
go back to the book of Romans, please, for a minute, let’s pick it up here in
Romans 3:22: “Even the righteousness of God… [Which means that we have been given the gift of the
righteousness of Jesus Christ imputed to us.] …Even the righteousness of God that is through the faith of Jesus Christ, toward all and upon all those who
believe; for there is no difference. For all have sinned, and come short of the
glory of God; But are being justified freely by His grace through the
redemption that is in Christ Jesus; Whom God has openly manifested to
be a propitiation through faith in His blood, in order to demonstrate His
righteousness, in respect to the remission of sins that are past, Through the
forbearance of God…” (vs 22-26). So this righteousness and the gift
of righteousness, which is imputed to us, is given so that we may, brethren,
stand before Him, Holy and blameless and spotless and without blemish. So that
is a wonderful and awesome thing.
Oh yes, here
we go, I found that verse, Romans 5:17: “For if by the offense of the one man death reigned by the one,
how much more shall those who receive the abundance of grace [now
notice:] and the gift of
righteousness.” Now, God gives that to us, a fantastic and tremendous gift. No
one can earn the righteousness of Jesus Christ, because only Christ was
wholly righteous. So, God gives this righteousness to us, imputes this
righteousness to us, through His love.
(go to the
next track)
…how we are
to operate within this, how we are to do this, how we are to live our lives;
and it is not going to be that God is there dogging our step every step of the
way to make us do His will. That is what the mark of the Beast is going to be
so people are going to be made to keep the laws of the land, made to submit to authority. God does not want that,
·
He wants us to voluntarily love Him,
·
to choose His way,
·
to submit to His way,
·
to keep His commandments,
·
because He wants us to choose that.
Now, let’s
come here to Philippians 2:12: “So then, my beloved… [this is very important] …even as you have always obeyed… [very important
thing, that means that we have no pretense in what we are doing, we are
striving to obey at all times] …not as in my presence only… [and too many people do that, that
is called politics, to do things to be seen, and we have to realize the
One we have to deal with, we stand before Him naked, so God knows] …but now much more in my absence, work
out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God Who works in you… [that
righteousness is created by Christ in us, with God’s Spirit and God is working
in us, within us] …both
to will and to do according to His good pleasure. Do all things without complaints and
disputes; So that you may be blameless… [there that connects right with
Col. 1.] …and without
offense, innocent children of God in the midst of a crooked and
perverted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world… [and boy,
brethren, I tell you the darkness is coming on this world so fast, it is
breathtaking, so these Scriptures really have a lot of meaning for us.] (Now
here is how we do it.): …Holding forth the Word of life” (vs 12-16). That’s
what we have to hold onto because the words of Jesus Christ has given us,
inspired for us, they are life and they are truth.
Now let’s
come back to Colossians 1:21—let me suggest that you put in your notes:
1-Cor. 6:9-11, which shows the past conduct of many of those that God called,
including us. Now let’s continue on with Colossians, our Amplified
Translation of it, and let’s pick it up here in Colossians 1:23—now
after he says that we are to be “…holy and consecrated, even unblamable,
unimpeachable and unblemished before Him (v 22): If you truly continue to
embrace and adhere to the faith which has been established… [which, as we will
see, is Christ in us, and that is the whole purpose. Paul is bringing this
whole first chapter up to a crescendo in v 27. So we are going to make it
today.] …If you truly continue to embrace and adhere to the faith which has
been established, and continue firm and steadfast on that foundation; not being
moved away, or swerving from the hope of the glad tidings of the Gospel, which
was proclaimed and heralded to all the creation which is under heaven… [which
means that we really don’t understand how far the Gospel was preached with the
twelve apostles and the Church that God raised up in the first century. We have
a small, little pittance of what the Church was with what is contained in the
New Testament. But Paul says that it was preached under heaven, to all the
creation. So how far that was, we do not know. It is continuing to be preached,
isn’t it?] (continuing now, v 23): …of which I, Paul, became a minister and
servant. Now at this time I am rejoicing in my sufferings and afflictions for
you, in your service and on your behalf. And I am filling up and completing, in
a sense, that which has been left behind and unfinished of the tribulations and
afflictions of Christ in my own flesh, for and on behalf of His body, which is
the church, the assembly of the called-out ones” (vs 23-24).
Now, let’s
look at a couple of references we can tie in this with the Apostle Paul. Let’s
go to Acts 9. Let’s see the very calling of the Apostle Paul. It was prophesied
in the very beginning of his ministry that when he was Saul. Of course, it is
interesting, Carl pointed this out to me some time ago. He said, “It’s
interesting, Saul, who is of the tribe of Benjamin was the first king of Israel
who failed and was a sinner. Saul, of the tribe of Benjamin, who is a Pharisee,
who is a killer and destroying the Church God called and he succeeded.” That is
just a little interesting sidelight as you go through the Bible. So here is the
calling of Saul, as we find it, who became Paul in Acts 9:1: “Now Saul, still breathing out
threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high
priest, Asking him for letters… [now, those were arrest warrants,
because the high priest was sitting in the seat of Moses and gave that
judgment] …to take to the synagogues at
Damascus, so that if he found any who were of that way, he might bring them bound [in chains] to Jerusalem” (vs 1-2). So then, God called him,
knocked him off his donkey and he became blind and they led him into Damascus
and he was three days without sight (vs 3-9 paraphrased).
So then God
talks to Ananias, and Ananias said in v 10: “…‘Behold, I am here, Lord.’ And the Lord said to him, ‘Arise and go into the street which is called Straight, and
inquire in the house of Judas for one named Saul from Tarsus; for
behold, he is praying, And he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming
and putting his hands on him, so that he may receive sight.’ Then
Ananias answered, ‘Lord, I have heard from many people about this man,
how many evil things he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. And even in this place he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on
Your name.’ But the Lord said to him, ‘Go, for this man is a chosen
vessel to Me, to bear My name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel; For I will show him what great things he must suffer for My
name’” (vs 10-16).
So right
with the beginning of the calling of the Apostle Paul, it was a calling to a
ministry, which had tremendous suffering to it. That is why I did the two
sermons, So You Think You Have Suffered. Paul understood this, that’s
why he said even in his body he was filling up the afflictions of Christ.
Now, let’s
go to Philippians, the third chapter, and see another view of how Paul viewed
his status with God. Isn’t that something? Most ministers today, or most people
who desire to be ministers, let’s look at it that way, are looking for all the
power, and all the glory, and all the things that they can get out of it,
rather than as the Apostle Paul was when Christ told him ‘you’re going to
suffer.’ Well, a little later down the line they learn that. Hopefully they
repent and change, let’s hope so. Now let’s see what the Apostle Paul counted
everything that there was and how he looked at the suffering that he was going
through.
Now, let’s
pick it up here in Philippians 3:8: “But then truly, I count all things to be loss for the
excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord; for Whom I have suffered
the loss of all things, and count them as dung [the dregs
of the refuse]; that I
may gain Christ And may be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is derived from law, but that righteousness… [which we
saw, the right standing with God, which is the gift of God through His grace] …which is by the faith of
Christ—the righteousness of God that is based on faith; That I may
know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His
sufferings, being conformed to His death… [And how did he endure all of this
suffering?] (v 11): …If
by any means I may attain unto the resurrection of the dead…” (vs 8-11).
So he always had that as a
goal and he counted all of that as nothing, as it were. Now the apostles, you
can read there in Acts, the 4th chapter, that when the were beaten and let go
and came back and prayed with the brethren, they were praying that they were
counted worthy to share in the sufferings that Christ suffered. Now, on the
other hand, we are not to go out and provoke suffering. Listen, it’ll find us,
because we are human beings and we’re living in this evil world.
Now, let’s
come back to Colossians and let’s continue on here. Let’s pick it up in
Colossians 1:25: “For which cause I became a minister and servant according to
the administration and stewardship of God…” Now this is interesting because the
ministration or administration and stewardship of God. A steward is something
which most people today have very little concept of, or stewardship. A steward is one who is given responsibility and complete control over someone else’s
goods or property to run as a trustee, honestly and forthrightly realizing
constantly that nothing belongs to him—and so that is how Paul viewed his
ministry and that is how every minister needs to view the Church of God. That
they are the husbandry of God, they are the sheep of God, they are the
inheritance of God and do not belong to the minister.
So Paul
understood this, that is why it’s “…the stewardship of God, which was given to
me for you, in order to complete and fulfill the word and the message of God….
[So Paul here, at this point, knew that he was going to finish and help
complete writing the New Testament. And the message of God is v 26]: …The
mystery of God’s own will and desire… [Isn’t that something? God has given us
the understanding, at least as much as we are able to grasp, of His own secret
plan and of His own will and desire.] …which has been hidden, and not revealed
in the past ages, generations or civilizations… [That’s why salvation was not
given until Christ came to bring it, except with the few exceptions of those
kings and prophets in the Old Testament, and such as those that are called the
patriarchs. Those were the only ones who received salvation until Christ.] …but
now has been made manifest and revealed to the saints… [So, brethren, what we
have and understand is so profound. And it was revealed]: …through Jesus Christ
and the gospel of the Kingdom of God” ( vs 25-26).
Now here is
what he is coming to: v 27. This is the fulcrum, the central theme of the first
chapter and all of the rest of the book of Colossians hangs on v 27. You have
the first chapter leading up to this, which then gets our minds on Christ, then
you have the second chapter which shows how philosophy leads away from this and
then you have the third chapter the which shows us how to grow and overcome and
develop the character of God which v 27 is talking about.
Now, let’s
read v 27: “To whom God did will… [that means He purposed] …to make known and
to reveal what is the riches and the abundant blessings of the magnificent
glory, even the surpassing magnitude of this mystery among the nations… [Now,
the King James says the ‘gentiles’ and that means those of other nations
other than the Jews and the Israelites, that is all it means.] …which is Christ
in you, the hope of the magnificent splendor and glory (which shall be revealed
in us).”
Now that is
the whole key to understanding the book of Colossians. It is Christ in us, the hope of glory. And that is of the splendorous magnitude of the great plan of
God. Let’s finish vs 28 and 29 and we will expound a little bit more on v 27.
“And it is He, Jesus Christ, who we are announcing and preaching, even
admonishing and teaching every person in all wisdom and understanding; in order
that we may present every person perfect, fully accomplished in Christian
character, and free of short-comings in Christ Jesus. And it is to this end and
purpose that I am laboring, earnestly striving according to His inner working,
which is working and functioning within me with dynamic strength and energizing
power.” So that is the whole purpose and goal of the ministry. If any minister
wants to know what his goal is in teaching the brethren, there it is right
there in vs 28 and 29.
Now, let’s look at some verses which will help expand and
amplify v 27. Let’s go to Ephesians 1:4: “According as He has personally chosen us… [Now that is
God the Father. God the Father is the One who calls us. Think of that for a
minute! If you think about the Psalm that David had when he said, ‘Oh, Lord,
when I consider the heavens and the earth and the things that you have made,
what is man that You think on him? Behold, You have made him a little lower
than God, a little lower than Elohim.’ Brethren that is fantastic when you
realize that God the Father Himself is the One who draws us to Christ.] …He has personally chosen us for
Himself before the foundation of the world… [Now, that
means that was His plan, not that God followed every genetic trace of our
ancestors down to us and said, ‘Okay because of the genes, I am choosing them.’
No, because this is by grace, this is not by inheritance of a physical, genetic
line.] …[This was His plan] before the foundation of the world in order that we might be
holy and blameless before Him in love; Having predestinated us for sonship… [And that is
what it means in the Greek, not adoption, sonship, we are going
to be the children of God, not the children of someone else adopted by God.
This means sonship of children by] …to Himself through Jesus Christ…” (vs 4-5).
It is to God the Father, Himself. We receive the
begettal, what? From God the Father, don’t we? Yes. So it is, “…to Himself through Jesus Christ,
according to the good pleasure of His own will… [And that still blows my
mind, brethren. And that means of His very own will and desire.]
…To the praise of the glory of His grace… [Which means that the
angels and those who come into the Kingdom of God after the first resurrection will
praise God for the glory that He has done in us. That is why the
apostle Paul said, ‘that Christ in us is the hope of this glory.’] …wherein He has made us objects of His grace in the Beloved Son; In Whom we have redemption through His blood, even the remission of sins, according to the riches of His grace, Which He has made
to abound toward us in all wisdom and intelligence; Having made
known to us the mystery of His own will…” (vs 5-9).
That is His own will! Isn’t that something? That God has
revealed and made known to us, by His calling, by His Spirit, by the New
Testament, His own will. And brethren, that just thrills me every time I think
of it. And that humbles me every time I think of it. And it is so awesome that,
I don’t know about you, but it just leaves me in a kind of blubbering mass of
unworthiness. And I am sure that it affects you the same way. That God would do
that, “Having made known to us the mystery of His own will, according to His
good pleasure, which He purposed in Himself” (v 9). Now that is awesome, that
is something, that is absolutely something!
Let’s go to
1-John, the third chapter, and let’s really grasp and understand this to the
very best that God’s Spirit will lead us to understand it. And, of course,
brethren,
·
we grow in knowledge,
·
we grow in understanding,
·
we grow in God’s Spirit
·
and we grow also in the spiritual feeling and emotion
of these things.
When we first heard we are going to be the sons of God, ‘oh yeah,
that is interesting.’ But now when we hear that we are the children of God,
doesn’t it have a whole lot more meaning than it did when you first heard it?
Doesn’t it sink deeper into your consciousness and into your mind and into your
soul and heart and being, that God has loved us this much?
1-John 3:1:
“Behold! What glorious love the Father has give to us… [Remember
what David said, ‘What is man, that You are mindful of him?’ And you might put
your own name there. What am I? What are you? That God is mindful of us!] …that
we should be called the children of God! For this very reason, the world does
not know us… [It doesn’t comprehend us. It doesn’t understand our belief and
faith and love.] …because it did not know Him. Beloved, now are we the children
of God, and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be; but we know that
when He is manifested, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him exactly
as He is” (vs 1-2). And what is this to do for us? Brethren, God wants us to be
inspired. As I said at the Feast of Tabernacles, God is not going to beat us
into the Kingdom of God. God wants us to love Him and be inspired. And that is
what v 3 says, that if we understand this and if we understand the calling of
God and if we understand the love of God and if we comprehend it to the degree
and the point that we do now—which we hope to grow in more in the
future—here is what we are going to do: “And everyone who has this hope
in him purifies himself, even as He is pure.” And that means cleanses himself.
How do you cleanse yourself?
Let’s go to
1-John 1:7: “However, if
we walk in the light, as He is in the light, then we have fellowship
with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, His own Son, cleanses us from
all sin” That is how, brethren, we are purifying
ourselves—through Jesus Christ.
Now back to
1-John 3:3: “And everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, even as He
[Christ] is pure.”
Now let’s go
back to Ephesians, the third chapter, and we will go ahead and close off
Colossians, the second chapter, by finishing here in Ephesians 3. To see the
tremendous calling that God has given and what God is holding out to us freely
is the tremendous and wonderful and fantastic gift that God has that we are
going to be His sons. Ephesians 3:11—and of course, the Apostle
Paul said that this was made known by revelation. You can’t find this in the
Old Testament, brethren. That is why the New Testament must interpret the Old.
That is why the New Covenant is superior to the Old. That is why the Word of
God in the New Testament gives us
·
the very words of God,
·
the life of God,
·
the mind of God,
·
the purpose of God,
which
was not understood in past ages, as we saw.
Ephesians 3:11: “According to His eternal purpose,
which He has wrought in Christ Jesus our Lord, In Whom we have boldness and direct access with confidence through His very own faith…. [So we never flag or
fail on that faith, brethren. We may get weak, we may have our difficulties, we
may struggle in overcoming sin, that is true, absolutely, without a doubt. But
we can have]: …confidence through His very own faith…. [That is by
Christ’s faith in us.] …So then, I beseech you not to faint at my
tribulations for you, which are working for your glory…. [And Paul was
writing this from prison. Paul understood the afflictions and tribulations he
went through.] (v 14): …For this cause I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, Of Whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named” (vs
11-14). And yes, God is a family and yes, God is creating
His family and yes, we are going to be the firstborn in the
Kingdom of God, the firstfruits after Christ, at the first resurrection and we are going to be named after the Father, that is why He has
called us, that is why He has given us His Spirit.
“That He may grant you according to the riches of His glory…
[Right from the very being of God Himself through His Holy Spirit. To you! of
the riches of His glory. And here is what God wants to be for you.] …to be
strengthened with power by His Spirit in the inner man…. [The inner man because
that is where it is at brethren.] …That Christ may dwell in your hearts by
faith; And that being rooted and grounded in love, you may be fully able
to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and
depth and height…. [God wants us to understand His plan. God wants us to know
His love. God wants us to understand about Jesus Christ.] (v 19): …And to know
the love of Christ, which surpasses human knowledge… [That means it surpasses
any human knowledge or any human wisdom or any human philosophy. It’s got to
come from God.] …so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God…. [And
that is what God wants for you. And of course, that will be completed at the resurrection.]
(Now notice this promise, v 20): …Now to Him Who is able to do exceeding
abundantly above all that we ask or think… [So when you get discouraged,
brethren, think on these things and turn to this verse and just tell God that
you know that He is able to do abundantly above everything we might even think
of, or even ask Him. So the awesome destiny that God has for us is
overwhelming, brethren. Now how’s He going to do it?] …according to the power
that is working in us, To Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus
throughout all generations, even into the ages of eternity. Amen” (vs
16-21).
Now what I
want you to do is to capture whatever inspiration that God gave us today. Sort
of encapsulate that in your mind:
·
think on the plan of God,
·
the purpose of God,
·
the family of God,
·
the calling of God,
·
the magnificence of Christ,
·
the greatness of His sacrifice,
·
the overwhelming abundance of His love that He has
given to us
And then I
want you to get that paper that Carl Franklin gave us at the Feast concerning
the trinity, and I want you to labor through that it is going to be difficult,
I know. Some of you may have already read part of it or perhaps a few of you
may have read all of it. I will have to admit I have not quite completed it all
myself, so I am going to try and do it by next week. And what I want you to do
is compare this greatest thing of philosophy that is contained in this paper
showing the trinity and hypostasis and the pagan thoughts about God, and
understand that it is the rudiments of the demonic spirits of this world. And
then, what I want you to also do, please, is then when you are done with that,
if you can and if you have time, please reread and study the article that I did
just before the Feast that you are complete in Christ which goes through
chapter 2 verse-by-verse, because next week we are going to go through chapter
2 verse-by-verse. And I want you to compare the greatness of God’s plan as
compared to the penurious stupidity of the philosophy of men. And then we will understand
in Colossians, the second chapter, let’s turn to it here. I am going to read
here in the King James, Colossians 2 and we will end here. When you
consider all that has been said here and the inspiration that God has given us
to understand His way, now when you read Colossians 2:8: “Beware lest any man
spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit after the tradition of men after
the rudiments of the world and not after Christ.” Now doesn’t that make that
verse leap right off the page?—doesn’t it? So we can understand there is
nothing to compare with what God has given us. And the wisdom of this world
through its philosophy or ‘sophia’—as
it is in the Greek, or ‘philosophia’: lover of wisdom. Nothing can
compare of that.
That is why Paul said, “The
eye has not seen, nor the ear heard, nor is it entered into the heart of men
the things which God has prepared for those that love Him.” And brethren,
philosophy and theology and the things of the world can never replace or
compare to the greatness of God’s plan.
All
Scriptures in New Testament from The N.T. in its Original Order, A Faithful
Version
·
Exception:
Colossians: Expanded Amplified Version
Old Testament Scriptures: King James Version
Scriptural References:
1)
Matthew 1:25
2)
Colossians 1:15
3)
Revelation 1:5
4)
Romans 8:29
5)
Colossians 1:15-20
6)
Ephesians 1:20-23
7)
Ephesians 5:23, 25-28
8)
1 Corinthians 11:1-3
9)
Revelation 1:8
10)
Revelation 3:14
11)
Colossians 1:20
12)
Acts 3:19-21
13)
Romans 5:6-11
14)
Colossians 1:20
15)
Mark 7:20-23
16)
Romans 8:1-9
17)
Colossians 1:21-22
18)
Romans 3:22-26
19)
Romans 5:17
20)
Philippians 2:12-16
21)
Colossians 1:22-24
22)
Acts 9:1-2, 3-9 (paraphrased), 10-16
23)
Philippians 3:8-11
24)
Colossians 1:25-29
25)
Ephesians 1:4-9
26)
1 John 3:1-3
27)
1 John 1:7
28)
1 John 3:3
29)
Ephesians 3: 11-21
30)
Colossians 2:8 (KJV)
Scriptures referenced, not quoted:
- John 1
- Philippians 2
- Isaiah 14
- Ezekiel 28
- Revelation 12:4
- Hebrews
- Romans 5
- 1 Peter 2:24
- Revelation 8
- 1 Corinthians 6:9-11
- Acts 4
Also referenced:
- Book: The Christian Passover by Fred
R. Coulter
- Sermons: So You Think You Have Suffered!
Reformatted: 3-20-09 (bo)
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