Knowing More About the Plan of God

God's Plan for Blessing His Children

Book of Ephesians Chapter 1:1-12

The Apostle Paul always reminds us that he was living and acting under the control of a power from on high. The Divine will of God!

In fact, to share Paul's beliefs is the means of a strong and effective Christian life!

We will notice also that by the power of the Holy Spirit, Paul knew, these letters, these epistles, were not just intended for these Churches of his day but, to all Christians everywhere and in all the ages until the return of Jesus Christ.

In fact, the Apostle Paul was part of God's plan for blessing His children!

Paul was writing to the faithful in Christ Jesus, all the Saints of God in all ages!

This will not change in this epistle to the Ephesians.

The Book of Ephesians reveals to us a deeper knowledge into the "grace" of God!

The Book of Ephesians will also give us another look at God's plan for this world.

Let's begin:

*****Eph 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:

Eph 1:2 Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

We are not only to be "saints", which is clearly misunderstood in our world, but also the "faithful". We are to be faithful saints!

To be faithful is to obey the truth of Jehovah God. This means all the Word of God and not bits and pieces that we choose to obey!

Isa 25:1 O LORD, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.

Who then are the faithful?

First there is Jehovah God.

Deu 7:9 Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;

Deu 7:10 And repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face.

God is faithful in His love and He will be just as faithful in His wrath.

Next there is the Lord.

Rev 1:5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,

Rev 1:6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

So, then we as the saints of God are also to be faithful.

1Co 1:9 God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

We cannot be in fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ, without being faithful to the things of our Father in Heaven!

No one can live in God without being a channel for God, by Jesus Christ!

The Lord Jesus Christ is God's "Grace" poured out onto this world we live in!

2Co 2:14 Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.

2Co 2:15 For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish:

2Co 2:16 To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?

2Co 2:17 For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.

If you need a blessing from God, then you better know His Son in a personal way! Amen and Amen!

*****Eph 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

What is God's greatest blessing? It is when God can bestow His blessings upon His children!

God will allow some earthly blessings to those who know His Son, but God's greatest blessings are spiritual and heavenly and not of this world!

Before we go any further we need to know the word "Grace".

What is "Grace" in the Word of God?

1) The "Gospel" is the "Grace of God.

Act_20:24 But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.

2) The application of the "Gospel" and it's saving power to our lives is also the "Grace" of God.

Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

3) Everything that comes by Jesus Christ is the "Grace" of God!

1Pe 1:13 Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

Rom 11:5 Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.

Rom 11:6 And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.

4) Grace then is certainly the unmerited favor of God!

Eph 3:8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;

"God's Riches at Christ Expense".

Before Jesus Christ came into this world, God did bless His people with material things. Abraham received land, wealth, and fame.

These are still the same things all the world seeks after today!

We know that as Israel first grew it misused and hoarded up these things refusing to share even amongst themselves and certainly not with any other nations.

These things always go against the will of God and Israel was warned many times and then punished many times.

The great change when the Lord Jesus Christ came, is that God deals with mankind in spiritual things with spiritual blessings.

Heb 1:1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,

Heb 1:2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

It should be obvious that spiritual blessings can only come by the Holy Spirit!

It is the Holy Spirit who is the major force in our world against evil!

It is also the Holy Spirit who brings forth the act of salvation to the believer! (We call this Holy Ghost conviction)

Rom 8:9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

Rom 8:10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

Rom 8:11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

So, let’s look at this word "chosen".

*****Eph 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

We can only come to one conclusion as we read this Scripture. God chooses only those who are in Jesus Christ!

Without Jesus Christ you cannot be the "chosen" of God! (let this sink in)

Joh 14:17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

Joh 14:18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

Joh 14:19 Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.

Joh 14:20 "At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you".

Joh 14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

God wants us to be with Him. God has wanted us to be with Him since before He laid the foundations of this universe!

Why did God create mankind, the answer is right here in His words?

We can only be holy and without blame, by embracing the righteousness of Christ, because we have no righteousness of our ourselves and then we must be endowed with the Holy Spirit.

This is our only means of being blameless! Amen

Col 1:21 And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled

Col 1:22 In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:

When God first created all things, we should notice though things were good and some even very good, not one of them was perfect.

In the end, when the Lord returns to claim His church, when we meet Him in the clouds, we will have finally reached perfection!

Our perfection can come only by the Lord Jesus Christ! Amen

Because we are chosen to be made perfect through Jesus Christ we are hated by this imperfect world!

Joh 15:19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.

So, let’s look at that word "predestinate".

*****Eph 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

Eph 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

According to Calvinism, God calls only those He has predestined to eternal life ( our own choice is not involved). He renews their spirit (Not the Holy Spirit moves into, not sealed with the Holy Spirit) and then draws only those to Jesus Christ, so in this way salvation is entirely by "grace".

A free gift to only those God has selected Himself as He created them. This is a false belief and therefore a false doctrine!

They believe, God then justifies just these believers, declares them righteous (not the righteousness of the Lord Jesus) and adopts them into His family and sanctifies them. (this is a false belief)

They believe, saving faith, is a gift of Christ Jesus. Repentance is a doctrine to preached along with faith. Good works are the fruit of true faith. (this is a false belief)

What then is the truth?

The truth is, God has not determined that just certain ones will be saved and the remaining will abandoned to the Lake of Fire!

God has determined that only those who have(chosen) and (accepted), "by faith", in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation will be saved and all those who reject the work of the Lord Jesus Christ will be destroyed!

God would not be God if He specifically chose certain ones for salvation and certain ones for damnation!

God has given this choice to us to make freely only after knowing the truth!

The truth is, God calls, and we are the ones who must make the choice!

Therefore, the church is the "Elect", those who have elected to place their faith in the work and the promises of Jesus Christ.

The Scriptures say, we are predestined but only by Jesus Christ to Himself!

The Scriptures say, we have no righteousness of our own,(our righteousness is as filthy rags) we must be seen as having the righteousness of Jesus Christ by accepting Him as our Savior!

It is Jesus Christ who will present His "bride" to His Father in Heaven.

It was not God who prearranged this marriage contract with those that He chose!

Jesus Christ did not just die for the few believers, Jesus Christ died for all the sin in all the world, past, present and future!

Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Joh 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

Joh 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

None of these Scriptures in this passage of John point toward Calvinism, in fact these Scriptures destroy Calvinism!

God has only chosen those who have accepted "His" Son and are filled with "His" Spirit!

It is only these who are adopted in the family of God, having been removed from the family of Satan, that are the "Bride of Christ".

Being adopted, we then have direct access to the throne room of God.

It is only the believer who will become an adopted brother or sister to Jesus Christ with freedom to enter in the Heavenly Mansion of God!

God is so full of "Grace" that it is over flowing, but it is only by Jesus Christ that this "Grace" can be applied to the believer!

Eph 2:7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

God's "Grace" is in fact His glorious free love for His Son and those of His Son.

God has accepted each believer who is washed in the blood of His Dear Son, He loves so much!

Rom 3:24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

Rom 3:25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;

Rom 3:26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

*****Eph 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

Those that cringe when they hear the word blood, should not forget that it is through the death of Jesus Christ, who shed all His blood, just so we who believe could be saved. It is the beloved who are saved!

We were slaves in bondage to Satan who directed us according to his will.

We were unable to redeem ourselves to buy our freedom from him because it would lead to eternal separation from God, our Creator.

In the time of the Scriptures, a kinsman could redeem a member of his family if he was able to pay the debt that was owed.

We know the wages of sin is death. The Lord Jesus Christ claimed the right of the kinsman redeemer and paid the debt, which was His own death that we all can be free from the bondage of Satan.

Heb 2:15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

Heb 2:16 For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.

Heb 2:17 Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.

Heb 2:18 For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.

We are redeemed from the guilt and the power of sin through the blood of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ!

We have been forgiven all the sin we have ever had in our lives and forgiven from all future sin until the day God calls us home!

Psa 103:11 For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.

Psa 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

Psa 103:13 Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.

Psa 103:14 For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.

We can see that the only thing that may exceed or at least match the "Grace" of God is the "Mercy" of God!

*****Eph 1:8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;

We must understand that we cannot be saved unless we are called. (Holy Ghost conviction)

This the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit then freely gives us enough wisdom and prudence to understand God's process of salvation.

It is only at this time when we have enough knowledge to make a right choice!

Prudence is the ability of judging what is the best choice.

Prudence is conforming to the rules of reason, truth and morality.

Prudence says, being blessed of God can come only by faith in the "Gospel" of Jesus Christ.

Those who have Spiritual wisdom are in the habit of being prudent!

Those who have worldly wisdom will usually make the wrong choice.

Therefore, it is so important to openly show or teach the word of the "Gospel" to those under Holy Ghost conviction!

God will give us enough understanding to know what to do.

Rom_12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

If not for this measure of faith we would never understand the mystery of God's will!

What is God's will? (It is certainly not what the Calvinist teach)

1Ti_2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

God will make this little mystery known before we make our choice.

*****Eph 1:9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:

We should understand when we see the word mystery in the Scriptures, it will not be something mysterious and difficult to understand.

A mystery in the Scriptures is just something God did not show to the Old Testament Saints.

1Co 2:7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:

1Co 2:8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

We already know that God is always on time, when the time came to unlock the truth that He was ready to reveal to humanity.

We know that Israel had rejected the idea that Jehovah would also be the God of Gentiles, so God put Israel aside until the fulness of the Gentiles would come to Him in what we call the "Church Age".

Rom 11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

After the rapture of the Church God will return to deal with the salvation of Israel.

Israel had missed the first opportunity to know the redemption of Christ and we should be aware, that the cause of this was the false ministry of the leaders of Judaism of that day.

It is God's will that everyone will be saved! This has not been the case of the past and will not be the case in the future.

There will always be those who reject the truth of God!

Jehovah God has an eternal purpose and plan for this world and it is His good pleasure to bring it about.

Why do we have so many that teach the Scriptures by dispensation? Verse 10

*****Eph 1:10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:

Some say the method according to which God carries out His purpose towards man is called a dispensation.

Others say God's method of carrying His purpose is by His covenants.

The key to dispensation is maintaining a consistency in literal interpretation and maintaining a distinction between Israel and the Church.

The truth is, God has set seasons in which He will accomplish His will and His purpose!

Ecc 3:1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

Ecc 3:17 I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.

God has certainly appointed seasons of His will and purpose, just as He has appointed the Summer, the Winter, the Fall, and the Spring of each year.

God has an eternal purpose and plan for this world and He moves at His own pleasure and His own time.

God designs time as He sees fit to fulfill His purpose!

We are foolish to believe that God waits too long for certain things to take place!

We may totally understand the Word of God, but we will never know the seasons which He chooses to keep to Himself!

We must learn to be patient!

The truth is, there is coming a day when God will gather in one, all things in Christ Jesus!

Though "the rapture of the church" is a small part of this gathering, this is not speaking of the "Rapture" which will have already taken place.

Through the ''Gospel" we are first gathered individually and united with God through His Son.

God next gathers those individuals at His own pleasure, whether it be by age, or illness, or other means.

At the Rapture, God will gather all the "Body of Christ" that remain at His coming.

In the Millennial Kingdom, Christ will gather those who remain after the 7 years of Tribulation upon this earth.

At the end of this 1000 years, the fulness of time upon this earth, God will gather all things in Heaven and on this earth and place them in the New Heaven and the New Earth.

There will certainly be a climax to this world we live upon now!

Rev_21:5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

All these things will be gathered in Jesus Christ!

This world simply refuses to believe that world history lies in the hands of our Righteous God!

In this Scripture that word "dispensation" means stewardship, or better understood "house-management".

We must realize that God has placed into the hands of Jesus Christ, the management of God's Spiritual Household!

1Pe_2:5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

Our entire Cosmos, God's creation, is as a house under the management of God and God has placed all these things into the hands of Jesus Christ!

When death and Hell have been removed and evil will be no more, a new and perfect world will be established for the Lord Jesus Christ and all His followers!

It is the Lords "spiritual house", the Holy Ghost filled children of God who will join with the angels who elected to stay with Christ who will move on into an entirely new creation!

Until this time we are to go about the work God has given us to do through Christ!

Eph 4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

Eph 4:12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

We are all missionaries, if not one of these, for the work of the ministry!

*****Eph 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

Eph 1:12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

God lives in the eternal world, which we call Heaven and even Heaven will be made new.

God took only 6 days to create the heavens and the earth that now exist but what did Jesus say?

Joh 14:1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

Joh 14:2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

Joh 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

Joh 14:4 And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.

How wonderful will this new place be?

1Co_2:9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

We know that only God knows what we need for a life in eternity, so God foreordained what He would do, for those who had the faith to believe in His Son.

God has made each believer to be His own son or His own daughter and His own most cherished possession, (His jewels).

So, we must also realize that our everlasting joy is a free gift of God.

Certainly, God will always be God, but the New Heaven and the New Earth will be created for the pleasure of each believer.

Just as a father should for their own children, God has implied that He will protect, care for, improve and enjoy His inheritance as much as we will enjoy being with Him throughout eternity! Amen

The New Heaven and the New Earth will be perfect because a perfect God will have made all things perfect even the believer!

God does things as He pleases, and it has pleased God to do these things!

Who can we obtain such an inheritance?

Mar_12:30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

Those who can love the Lord in this manner!

It's called "faith"!

It is only by "faith" that we can believe!

Heb 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Amen!

Knowledge From Walking in the Wisdom of God

Increasing in Knowledge by Walking in Wisdom

Book of Colossians Chapter 4

Wisdom is the proper use of knowledge according to the Webster dictionary.

It can also be said that Wisdom is the opposite of "philosophy".

The absolute truth of wisdom is that wisdom is one of the names of Jesus Christ the Messiah!

1Co 1:24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, "Christ the power of God, and "the wisdom" of God".

1Co 1:25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

1Co 1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, "who of God is made unto us wisdom", and "righteousness", and "sanctification", and "redemption":

1Co 1:31 That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

In other words, who are those who are wise? Those who have chosen Jesus Christ!

If we are walking in the truth of the Lord, we are walking in wisdom!

If we lack any other wisdom, we need only to ask the Lord in a prayer of faith.

Jas 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

Jas 1:6 But let him ask in faith,

We should always be growing in wisdom as we grow in the knowledge of the Lord!

Let's begin:

*****Col 4:2 Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;

Col 4:3 Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds:

Col 4:4 That I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.

We must always remember, prayer can move the hand of God if it is a prayer of faith and in the will of God, but every prayer should begin with thanksgiving for what God has already done, and this only after acknowledging the Almighty God, our Heavenly Father.

We are also to keep watch and be aware of the times we are in, according to prophecy.

We are in the Church Age yes, but we must be aware of the times and the seasons!

Most important of all, we are to "continue" our walk with our Lord!

We must pray for our local church, but also for all the "Body of Christ"!

We should prayer for others, but we should also desire that others would pray for us. This is what the "Body of Christ" is all about!

We must also pray for the lost! The more we pray for the lost, we will realize they are in great danger of the wrath of God and are in need of salvation. We do not have the power to save them, but we do have the knowledge to lead them to Jesus who can save anyone at any time, and anywhere!

We should also pray for the missionaries, that God would provide their needs, provide fruit for their labor, but also that God would open new doors for the "Gospel" of Jesus Christ.

If the Holy Spirit is working prior to the arrival of the missionary, souls will be saved!

God will never send a missionary to a place, He has not already sent the Holy Spirit!!!!!!

We must certainly pray for our Pastors!

We should pray that they should always have liberty to preach the "Gospel".

We should pray that our pastor has many opportunities to preach the Gospel.

We should pray that our pastor be filled with the Holy Spirit of power.

We should pray that our pastor is free to preach the whole counsel of God without rebuke.

We should pray that our pastor is on fire for God.

We should pray that God would keep them healthy!

Heb 13:17 Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: "for they watch for your souls", as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.

SO, it is only those who have moved on from "babes in Christ" to true disciples who can walk in the wisdom of the Lord!

*****Col 4:5 Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.

Col 4:6 Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.

Our greatest witnessing tool, is the way we live out our lives before others, not just other brothers and sisters in Christ but, also before the lost of this world.

Christianity is a daily walk!

Christianity is a life shaped and controlled by the Lord who is our true "Wisdom"!

Christianity is a life that by itself is instructive to those who are lost!

A lot of things could be said about "redeeming the time" but in a true sense, the Holy Spirit means to make the best use of our time after we know we are the redeemed of the Lord. (I know I fail in this things myself)

We are to walk wisely because the truth is, we are certainly in the army of God but, we are always walking in the enemies’ territory.

Our greatest attempt should be for us to be ambassadors for Christ. Remember ambassadors are sent from a foreign land to improve the relations beteen countries. We are only pilgrims in this world for our home is in Heaven!

We are certainly to be standfast for the Lord, and unmovable in the ways of Jesus Christ!

Our speech must always be with "grace"!

We know that "Grace" is the unmerited favor of God and this must be instilled in us so that when we speak to the lost, we are to understand that they also must see this unmerited favor of the Lord through our actions and speech toward them.

Rom 13:7 Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.

Rom 13:8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.

We will always get better results if we do not first offend those we are seeking to lead to the Lord!

A good thought is this: "these we are witnessing to already know how to be lost, what they do not know is how to be saved".

Our speech must be well seasoned with the same "grace" that Lord offered to each of us!

Pro_11:30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.

We must remember that the key to be a good witness is to "walk wisely" in your own life!

We must also understand we do not seek to understand the sinful ways of the lost, we come to show them the godly ways of the Christian.

We must also realize that evil company can be infectious!

Psa 106:35 But were mingled among the heathen, and learned their works.

We do not have to needlessly expose ourselves to ridicule!

Amo 5:13 Therefore the prudent shall keep silence in that time; for it is an evil time.

Remember as a Christian we are God's "jewel" and we should always be radiant before the eyes of others!

If those who are lost do not see a difference in your life as compared to their own, they will never see a reason to seek the Lord!

And now Paul begins to close out this great epistle.

*****Col 4:7 All my state shall Tychicus declare unto you, who is a beloved brother, and a faithful minister and fellowservant in the Lord:

Col 4:8 Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that he might know your estate, and comfort your hearts;

We will see as Paul closes out this epistle a great list of Christians who traveled with Paul at one time or another and who were all concerned about this church and the false teaching that had entered into this church.

This what we have to do with those who would teach a false doctrine. We must gather against them with the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Paul begins with Tychicus.

Some may say who is this Tychicus, but Tychicus traveled greatly with the Apostle Paul. He was a native of Asia and you can find his name in the Book of Ephesians, Colossians, 2 Timothy, Titus and the Book of Acts.

Act 20:4 And there accompanied him into Asia Sopater of Berea; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timotheus; and of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus.

Tychicus was so full of Jesus Christ that he could go anywhere at any time and fill in for any pastor and be welcomed.

Tychicus actually delivered the epistles of Paul to the Ephesians, the Colossians, and Philemon.

He would go on special missions for Paul. He even went to the island of Crete and gave Titus a much-needed rest.

He was not only a beloved brother in the ministry, not only a faithful minister of the Gospel, but Paul said he was a fellow-slave to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Next was Onesimus:

*****Col 4:9 With Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They shall make known unto you all things which are done here.

We know Onesimus as the escaped slave of Philemon who after meeting the Apostle Paul, realized after he was saved that he needed to return to his owner and face the consequences for the things he had done, and he did.

He also became a beloved brother in Christ to Paul and many others.

Onesimus became a brother to all the brothers in the church in Philemon's house. We should point out that there are never to be any social distinctions in the church.

A slave can sit on the same pew as the king!

We should also note that, it is very possible that there were others in this church that owned slaves and who also witnessed these things.

The poorest person is to be just as welcome and loved as the richest person.

And we should never forget how the Lord measures the tithe!

Luk 21:1 And he looked up, and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury.

Luk 21:2 And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites.

Luk 21:3 And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all:

Luk 21:4 For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God: but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had.

You might say well we would have a better building program with the rich, but the truth is, we can have a better blessing program with those like this poor woman this day observed by Jesus Christ, but the church must remain open to both, so we can learn all these lessons that Christ Jesus points out to us.

I will say it again, every step Jesus took, and every word Jesus spoke are great lessons for us all to learn!

Next was Aristarchus.

*****Col 4:10 Aristarchus my fellowprisoner saluteth you, and Marcus, sister's son to Barnabas, (touching whom ye received commandments: if he come unto you, receive him;)

Aristarchus was a Macedonian of Thessalonica.

He was one of the Christians attacked by that mob of Ephesus.

Remember these Christians were not so much attacked for preaching the Word of God as they were attacked because a union of silversmiths and metalworkers who had stirred up the city because they were losing the business of supplying idols made for the worship of the goddess Diana.

Aristarchus was a fellow prisoner of Paul while he was in Rome.

This man stood by his beliefs even if it cost him his life. He also stood side by side with all other Christians and he would never desert his brothers and sisters in Christ.

We need more such men as Aristarchus today.

Heb 13:3 Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.

Almost everyone remembers John Mark (Marcus) in this Scripture.

Everyone remembers how Mark got off to a bad start.

Act 12:25 And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ministry, and took with them John, whose surname was Mark.

Mark was a Jew and the son of one of the many Marys that had followed Jesus.

Act 12:12 And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying.

This was the house that was praying for Peter and it was Peter who led Mark to the Lord for his salvation.

Mark joined Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey, but it seems he may have been just too young to step out into this evil world.

Act 13:8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith.

Act 13:9 Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him,

Act 13:10 And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?

Act 13:11 And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.

Notice it was just after this event that Mark went back to Jerusalem.

There are many things in this world that would scare a "Babe in Christ" where the mature Christian would withstand.

Act 13:13 Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia: and John departing from them returned to Jerusalem.

We should also understand if you have not been called of God to the missionary field then, it is very hard to be of much use.

The Holy Spirit had called Barnabas and Paul, but Mark needed to grow stronger in the Lord, so his faith would not fade, and he did.

Mark later joined Barnabas when He and Paul felt they could cover more ground if they split up.

Mark had rebuilt his reputation and had become very useful not only to Paul but also to the Lord in the ministry.

2Ti 4:11 Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry.

Paul wanted these Colossians to know this thing. Marcus was to be received as a child of God and a very valuable member of Paul's team of missionaries.

Paul even had a man named Jesus, who was called Justus so there would be no confusion!

*****Col 4:11 And Jesus, which is called Justus, who are of the circumcision. These only are my fellowworkers unto the kingdom of God, which have been a comfort unto me.

The name Jesus was a popular name but as a missionary it would cause confusion because the Lord Jesus had certainly raised from the dead.

Justus was another Jew from Rome who had turned to Jesus Christ.

The Jews in Rome were strict religionist so not many of them were saved.

Act 28:24 And some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not.

Act 28:25 And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers,

Act 28:26 Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive:

Act 28:27 For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

This was the final turning point for Paul to spend his time and effort on the Gentiles and the epistles began to flow from his hand and others, all inspired by the Holy Spirit.

I believe this is also why wrote the Book of Romans, also inspired by the Holy Spirit, but a place so full of the world and of evil and immorality!

Justice had remained with Paul in Rome until the very last.

It is time to note that the Jewish people are so full of religion that they struggle just as these Roman Jews had done.

Religion is not a manner of salvation!

Religion cannot make anyone acceptable to God, because only Jesus Christ can do this thing!

Mat 5:20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

The Pharisees were the most religious of all Jews!

Paul wrote of these Jews so full of religion in the Book of Romans:

Rom 10:1 Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.

Rom 10:2 For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.

Rom 10:3 For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.

Rom 10:4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.

We see much of this still around today, not only the Jews but in many others who say they are religious.

We can also see many Christian churches so full of religion they have forgotten the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ!

Paul moves on to Epaphras.

*****Col 4:12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.

Col 4:13 For I bear him record, that he hath a great zeal for you, and them that are in Laodicea, and them in Hierapolis.

So far, all the names mentioned have all been Jews who have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul had this phrase he used that he always adhered to.

Rom_1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

Rom_2:10 But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:

Epaphras was the pastor to this church at Colossae and he had gone to Rome to get Paul's advice on how best to handle the false teaching that was going on in his church.

Epaphras was a faithful minister, a faithful servant, and a fellow servant of all these things to Jesus Christ.

Epaphras was so committed and so dedicated to take the Gospel to the Gentiles that Paul called him his fellowprisoner in Christ Jesus!

This pastor reminds me of our own pastor, he did everything he could, even toiling in prayer for the members of his church.

Of course, the church belongs to Jesus Christ and Epaphras knew this also.

Epaphras prayed that above all, this church would come to know the complete will of God and then do it perfectly!

This should also be a prayer for our own church! We already know the revealed will of God, so this prayer is for something special!

Eph 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

Epaphras worked hard, not only for his own church but for all the surrounding churches. (Laodicea, Hierapolis)

And everyone loved Luke.

*****Col 4:14 Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas, greet you.

Luke was also a Gentile Christian and he was not one of the apostles as many think.

Most everyone knows that the Apostle Paul has more books of the New Testament accredited to him, the next being the Apostle John.

Luke is accredited with the Book of Acts and the Book of Luke and Luke wrote more words that the apostle Paul, though it is the message that is most important and not the number of words and Luke has a great message.

The thing we must always remember is that the Lord says all Scripture is profitable for us!

2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

2Ti 3:17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

No one's writings are of anymore importance than the next because we need the to complete Word of God to have the greatest understanding of our Father in Heaven, His Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Luke was a missionary and evangelist himself and very valuable to Paul but maybe his greatest act to Paul, was that as a physician, he kept the apostle Paul going all those years.

I also personally believe that it was Luke who penned the words to the Book of Hebrews as Paul dictated them to him.

Luke was not an eye witness to the gospel events, but he did investigate these events from those who were eyewitnesses. so, we can see how accurate the Gospel's really are when we compare them.

Then we have Demas:

Demas traveled with Paul for some period of time and was dedicated to the Lord for that period of time but what is remembered of this man is that he later turns his back on the Lord.

This is a life of tragedy because our walk with the Lord is to be daily walk.

He was a fellow laborer of Paul at one time:

Phm 1:24 Marcus, Aristarchus, Demas, Lucas, my fellowlabourers.

Here in this Scripture, Paul has nothing to say of him. (and Demas, greet you)

Now he is just known as someone who quit on God.

2Ti 4:10 For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.

Demas forsook the apostle Paul and Paul said the reason was that he loved this present world more than the work of the Lord.

This is the same reason, so many quit on the Lord today!

And Paul continues:

*****Col 4:15 Salute the brethren which are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the church which is in his house.

We know that the church in the city Laodicea has been made famous for the Scriptures written in the Book of Revelation:

Rev 3:14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;

Rev 3:15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.

Rev 3:16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

What we see that this church also had a humble beginning in the home of Nymphas.

The thing we should understand is, that even this church had the opportunity to read and study the Scriptures of the apostle Paul.

*****Col 4:16 And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea.

We must understand the books of the New Testament were all written to the Church and not to the pastor of those churches.

His job was to read and teach the Word of God given to him that had been prepared by the Holy Spirit.

1Th 5:27 I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read unto all the holy brethren.

And the church is expected to obey these words as all the Word of God!

2Th 3:14 And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed.

We should also understand that just because an epistle is mentioned here from Laodicea does not mean that Paul wrote an epistle that is missing because all his epistles were passed from church to church.

And Archippus:

*****Col 4:17 And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it.

Archippus, the son of Philemon had begun his own ministry and was now teaching and preaching at this church in Colossae.

Every young preacher needs to be encouraged.

*****Col 4:18 The salutation by the hand of me Paul. Remember my bonds. Grace be with you. Amen.

When we see these things in Paul's epistles we can know that though Paul did not actually write all the words in his epistles, he would normally take the pen in the end and write the last few words.

There were many reasons for this, but the main thing was that all these Christians knew that these were the words of the apostle Paul as given to him by the Holy Spirit.

Remember the church in Corinth had been given some bad writings that were claimed to be from Paul because Paul's hands were mostly crippled.

Paul would not allow this to happen again!

Paul adds for the Church to remember his bonds as he had previously asked.

Col 4:3 Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds:

As Christians, if we cannot be encouraged by the character of the apostle Paul then we should feel ashamed.

With all the things that happened to the apostle Paul and he remained true to the Gospel, our little petty tribulations do not mean very much.

Next week the Book of Ephesians.

Amen

Peace in the Christian Family

Increasing in the Knowledge of the Peace of God

Book of Colossians 3:12-4:1

Last week we saw that the Christian Life is not very easy. If we live in these bodies of flesh we will find it very hard to be like the Lord Jesus Christ.

This should still be our goal!

The Lord knows that this is impossible for us to do every day because in our heart we would be like Christ, but we find that our flesh is weak and cause us to give in to temptation. We need watch out for things that are not good for us and pray for the strength to overcome our weaknesses!

Mat_26:41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, "but the flesh is weak".

We must base our faith on the knowledge that once we have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ, we have a new life and we are to hate all the things of our old life.

Rev_2:6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

It was these Nicolaitans the Lord hates and we are to hate this doctrine also.

We see this in our world today more than ever before.

These were professing Christians who brought a false freedom to sin into the Church.

They brought licentiousness into the church which is, an excessive indulgence of Christian liberty!

The modern-day church has become this way and licentiousness is the god of fools!

If we have removed the old man and put on the new man, then we know we do not have the freedom to sin in any case!

If we are at peace with God, then we have become the elect of God and this should be noticeable to all the world!

*****Col 3:12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;

Col 3:13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.

We could say, what are the essentials of Christian character?

Those who are the elect, are those who have chosen to follow in the ways of the Lord Jesus Christ. God knows we will not be perfect and God knows in fact, we will make many mistakes, but God will always defend His Church.

Luk 18:7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?

Luk 18:8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?

It is also a fact that when the Lord returns, He will have already called the church out of this world and He will not find any of faith but those who see Him will certainly realize everything they have said of the church was wrong and some of them may then become believers but for most who have already rejected the truth, it will be too late!

It is mainly the Jews and the strangers that help them, whose eyes will be opened.

Rom_11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

We may not realize it but there are also elect angels who have stood by Christ rather than follow Satan!

1Ti 5:21 I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality.

When we get to Heaven, we will be surrounded by just those who have chosen Jesus Christ and rejected the world and all the angels who have also rejected Satan (Lucifer)!

So, while we are still here on earth to serve the Lord, let us be blameless!

Let us be the moral standards for this immoral world!

Let us show true affection to all our brothers and sister in Christ!

Let us pity the lost enough to still love them and witness Jesus to them if the opportunity arises.

Let us express gentleness in our way of life.

Let us be modest in all our life style.

Let us be meek in our demeanor.

Let us be patient Christians, busy for the Lord, knowing He will be returning soon, or at any time!

Let us bear with and endure one another in a loving way! As the Lord commands!

Let us forgive just as the Lord has forgiven us, because there are consequences to all these things but to this one especially.

Mar_11:26 But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.

The Lord says even if we are in a quarrel with someone and we are the ones who are right, we must still forgive that other person.

Christ said to forgive!

Peter asked: Mat 18:21 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?

Mat 18:22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.

Jesus said we are to forgive every time, period! Another sin is in holding a grudge!

All these things are covered by the "garment of mercy" which resembles the mercy of God.

Even with all these things, there is still something of greater importance in the way we are to treat all others.

*****Col 3:14 And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.

How does the Bible explain Charity?

1Co 13:4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,

1Co 13:5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;

1Co 13:6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;

1Co 13:7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

1Co 13:8 Charity never faileth:

How does the dictionary explain charity?

The dictionary says charity is love that compares to the supreme love of God. A giving, affectionate love.

It is easy to see that the English dictionary just does not have enough words to explain charity as well as God does.

The only perfect One that we know of is the Lord Jesus Christ, charity is the bond of perfectness, when we love others the way that the Lord loves us and gave Himself for us!

Gal_2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Charity can resemble God's "grace"!

When we wear the "garments of mercy" and put on the cloak of "Grace" and these things rule our heart, then we can say we are at peace with God.

A tall order for any of us but the Lord will help us be these things and more, if we will just follow His example and get up close and personal with Him!

*****Col 3:15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.

When we are saved we have become at peace with God.

Rom_5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

Only as we grow in Christ, are no longer babes in Christ but, mature Christians will the peace of God rule in our hearts.

The truth is, those who are at peace with God and have the peace of God are the same ones who will show the love of God, not only in their own heart but toward all others!

The peace of God may be the greatest blessings we can receive from the Lord!

True peace comes only to those who know Jesus Christ personally and as their Savior!

If we notice that word "rule" in this passage, this means that this is a commandment.

Notice this is a commandment for each saint of God but also for the body of the Church!

And above all we are to be thankful for the great benefits for serving the Lord.

Psa_68:19 Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.

We must make a choice as the elect of God, are we going to be obedient to all the Word of God or not?

If God has allowed us to be in harmony with Him and in true peace, then surely, we can give these pitiful temporary bodies to Him for His use!

These are things we are called to do and if each one of us including myself, would be obedient in these things we could alter the course of this world.

We can blame the world for many things, but we cannot blame the world for the laziness of the church!

God has only one body of true believers and they are scattered in all denominations and it is time for us to unite on the truth of God!

It's time to leave those who reject the truth of the Scriptures behind, they made their choice!

There will be no strife’s and no divisions where the peace of God rules in the heart of the believer!

*****Col 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

What is the Word of Christ?

The entire Old Testament will lead us to Jesus Christ our Savior.

The entire New Testament was written from the words of Jesus Christ as given to the apostles.

All Scripture is given by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit:

2Ti_3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

So, all these are the Words of Christ!

Jesus Christ is the Author of salvation!

Heb_12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Jesus Christ is the "subject matter" of the entire Bible!

Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Joh 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God.

Joh 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

We are to dwell in the Word of Christ!

We are to live in it as a home, we are never to be a stranger or a visitor, or as an acquaintance.

We are to allow the Word of Christ to dwell in us!

It is not enough that it is our home, but it must be our heart, it must become our spiritual nature.

It must control our life and our conduct in this life!

Psa 119:11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

To dwell richly means we are to have an intimate knowledge of the Words of Christ.

We must seek to understand all that God has to say to us!

We must teach and admonish one another!

God has chosen the church to be the greatest place for this but, there must also be some personal study time.

We must be joyful enough to sing the Words of Christ.

We must be engrossed with Jesus Christ!

Act_17:28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.

What so ever we do in deed, we must do it in the name of Christ Jesus!

*****Col 3:17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

We see that in all these things we have a choice we can be a Christian or we can be part of the world. There is no in between!

As Christians, we are responsible for all the things we do, we cannot blame others!

As Christians, we know that the name of Jesus Christ is the only name God will accept in His presence.

We are to do all things in His name!

We cannot approach God without Jesus Christ!

The world hates us, and the world hates us for this one thing, they hate the Lord Jesus Christ!

God will only accept a life that comes to Him in the name of Jesus Christ, all others will find death!

When we speak we should speak Jesus, this is our new language!

1Pe 4:11 If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

So far, we have seen what the Lord commands each individual Christian and now let's see what Jesus speaks of the family.

*****Col 3:18 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord.

We must understand that the Christian home is the first place we are to practice all the commands of God.

We know that God is a God of order!

Wives are to submit themselves to the Lord because God created man first and woman second. The wife was created as a helpmeet to the man.

She is the weaker vessel physically in most instances.

The woman is to never to submit in such a way to a husband who thinks he is a king.

The husband is honor his wife as his helpmeet or their prayer life will suffer greatly!

1Pe 3:7 Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.

This husband and wife union is to be as two Christians submitting to one another but as the wife submits to her own husband and the husband to his own wife.

Eph 5:20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

Eph 5:21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.

1Co 7:2 Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.

The Husband to wife relationship is to be as the relationship as the Lord Jesus Christ is to the church!

Eph_5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

As Christians this obligation of these two Christians should be until the death of one or the other.

1Co 7:39 The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord.

And now the husband.

*****Col 3:19 Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.

Husbands also are to love their wives as Christ loved the Church and remember Christ gave His life for the church, we should not be afraid to give our lives for our wives.

The husband is not to have dominion over his wife. Dominion is not about love.

The husband is not to be a tyrant!

The love of the husband for the wife is to be as the "agape" love of God toward His children.

This is a love that is selfless and unselfish.

This is a giving and sacrificial love, remember the word "Charity".

This is a love of the will as much as a love from the heart.

This a love of commitment. The husband must be committed to this relationship as well as the wife.

And get this husbands, this is a love that works for the highest good of the wife! Besides the Lord she is to be the most important person in the life of the husband.

The truth is, the husband does not seek a wife to fulfill his needs but just the opposite, the husbands desire is to meet, nourish and nurture his wife, all their days.

A husband is to love sacrificially, regardless if his wife is not perfect in her commitment.

The example here is the Lord and the church. The Lord is perfect, but the church, (the bride) is less than perfect!

The Lord does not give us commandments He is not true to, Himself!

Above all these things, both the husband and the wife are to obey Christ Jesus regardless, this is the will of Jesus Christ and the Father!

And next the children:

*****Col 3:20 Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.

Col 3:21 Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.

We know we have been using the Christian family as our example and all these things of the families that do not know Jesus Christ struggle the most with their children.

In the Christian family that has the Christian father and the Christian mother then the children should obey their parents in all things.

God is well pleased with all these things!

In fact, Christian children who obey their parents can even extend their years of happiness.

Exo 20:12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

That word obey means for the children to respect the authority of their parents because their parents have respected the authority of our Father who is in Heaven.

When the children disrespect the parents, they have disrespected God!

There is only one, "only one" limitation for the children in these things.

Mat 10:37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

If both parents or either parent go against the Word of God, then the children are certainly not to follow!

The child must be very careful in this thing but anything that causes the child to renounce the Lord "should not be observed"!

The most important task of the parents is to follow the Lord and give this example to the children.

The next most important task is to raise the children in a godly manner according to the Word of God.

The child must understand that though the parent is not always right, he or she must still have an opportunity to observe discipline and order.

A good rule of thumb for all children is in a passage from the Book of Ephesians.

Eph 6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.

Being obedient to parents is just the right thing to do and God loves righteousness!

As a Christian father the bulk of responsibility will always aimed at him but raising children is the equal responsibility of both parents.

1Ti 3:4 One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity;

The children must never be provoked to do ungodly things.

The children must be prepared to serve the Lord first!

The children must next be prepared to be godly parents themselves.

If we as parents anger our children, then teaching will stop until that anger passes.

Children should never be pampered but it at all possible parents should meet the needs of the children.

Children on the other hand must realize that both parents have duties and they must be given the time to do these things.

Children must realize the world we live in and accept that the parent has more knowledge than they might have.

The children should submit to the parents but again not as tyrants but as loving parents trying to do the right thing.

We all still live in these bodies of flesh, so problems will arise but as it is in all our lives, Jesus Christ is still the answer, even when dealing with children!

The parents must observe that there is a proper way to discipline children and the worldly way for the most part should be ignored, and the Word of God followed!

Even when parents have made mistakes, the Scriptures still say to honor the parents!

Deu 27:16 Cursed be he that setteth light by his father or his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen.

God is very strict because we all as the children of God have a Father in Heaven that always knows what's best for us even when we disagree!

There is a great Scripture that meets the standards God has set for us all!

Pro_22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

In the times of the Bible many families had servants. Remember it was illegal for the Jews to have slaves.

We can also relate this next today in our jobs and other places.

*****Col 3:22 Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God:

Col 3:23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;

Col 3:24 Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.

Col 3:25 But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.

We know these Scriptures were written in Bible times. These Scriptures deal as much with today and the work place of today as they did in the day of Paul.

In the day of Paul, if a master of men embraced Christianity then what was he to do with his slaves. God provides him the answers.

A Christian master, in Paul's time or today is place in a precious position.

As Christian workman we are to put forth our best effort no matter our circumstances.

If the work we do conflicts with the Word of God, we should find a new profession if possible, but this may not always be the case.

A Christian worker should never be just an average worker but always better than average.

This means we must be obedient workers no matter who our master or what they believe.

The Christian Master is to be no different from the Christian worker because he or she knows they also have a Master!

Eph 6:9 And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him.

The Christian worker to has an obligation to be a witness for the Lord as best he or she can.

The Christian master and the Christian worker are to consider themselves working for the Lord!

Eph 6:7 With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men:

Keeping in mind that the Christian will still have to obey the unjust commands of their masters.

1Pe 2:18 Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward.

1Pe 2:19 For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully.

1Pe 2:20 For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.

It is the reverence for the Lord that should be the mark of the Christian worker.

As Christians we are not to be disappointed with the service we give to an unjust master because our aim is to please the Lord in everything we do!

Eph 6:6 Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;

We sometimes get confused when we talk about the "Judgment Seat of Christ".

Certainly, our salvation will not be in questioned.

Many think we will only be judged for the work we have done for the Lord and we will.

We will also be judged for how we served in our workplace. We will be judged for all our activities while being a Christian.

It is very important that we shine bright as Christians and not as any part of this world in all we do!

Masters and Management certainly will face a harsher judgment than the servant or the employee!

*****Col 4:1 Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven.

As Christian Masters we are to treat all those under us, no matter if they are Christian, equally and just.

We know the Lord provides for the saved and the just!

That word "knowing" is very important because the Christian masters should know according to the Word how to perform his or her job, knowing the Lord is observing as He sees all things everywhere!

We can only serve one Master in all the things we do, and we must serve knowing that He has His eyes upon us always.

Again, not so He can just beat us down for our failures but, so He can reward us for our goodness!

One of the first steps in righteousness is to respect the relationship!

It does not hurt to know somethings about the people you work with but demanding such knowledge is also wrong.

Pro 27:23 Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds.

All in all, a friendly relationship works out to be the best!

Pro_18:24 A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

We can see that the Lord had a lot to say about our economy of today!

Amen