Increasing
in Knowledge of God's Plan
Book
of Colossians 1:17-29
At
the end of last week’s
lesson, the Scriptures described Jesus Christ as the image of the
invisible God.
That
word invisible means that it was not the body of Jesus that was
important, it was His characteristics!
Those
that worship angels, and those that believe that those who die being
Christians become angels should take note, no one can represent God,
but His only begotten Son.
In
the Lord's divine nature, the invisible image, in His human nature,
the visible image, of our Father in Heaven, who existed before all
the worlds, before all time, from all eternity!
It
is this world and all things that are seen that were created by Him.
It
is Heaven and all the unseen world that were also created by Him.
All
the things seen and unseen were created by Him and for Him.
All
things created, seen and unseen, have a purpose in the salvation plan
of God!
Let's
continue:
*****Col
1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
The
Lord Jesus Christ is the "glue" that binds this entire
creation together.
If
you believe in evolution then you believe our world evolved from
chaos. The truth is Creation as described in the Book of Genesis
makes our world a cosmos rather than chaos.
The
Lord Jesus Christ was and is the essential element of our Creation!
All
those who are confused about creation need to pay close attention!
Since
it is the Lord Jesus Christ who is the complete image of our Heavenly
Father and He is before all things, then we are fools to think we are
not subject to Him!
We
may live in the "here and now" but there is coming an end
to all things.
1Co
15:24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the
kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule
and all authority and power.
Many
talk about the great battles near the end such as Armageddon but just
the voice of the Lord can end any battle, just the appearance of the
Lord will annihilate all sin and all sinful men.
The
Lord Jesus Christ is the Head of all things!
*****Col
1:18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the
beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might
have the preeminence.
That
"body", is the "body of Christ".
The
Church is a living organism, which carries on lively activities, by
individual living believers. The head of this "body" is our
Living Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
This
world considers any group who gather to be a church. The truth is,
the Church is made up of a group whom God has called out of this
world as a special group of His own.
There
is the universal Church: Eph 1:22 And hath put all things under his
feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
Eph
1:23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.
There
is the local Church: Eph 5:23 For the husband is the head of the
wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour
of the body.
Eph
5:24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the
wives be to their own husbands in every thing.
Eph
5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the
church, and gave himself for it;
As
our own head gives direction to our bodies, so does Jesus Christ give
direction to the Church, both local and universal!
It
is Jesus Christ who gives us the gifts for the building up of the
Church.
Eph
4:7 But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure
of the gift of Christ.
Eph
4:8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led
captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
Eph
4:9 (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended
first into the lower parts of the earth?
Eph
4:10 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above
all heavens, that he might fill all things.)
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:
Eph
4:13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the
knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of
the stature of the fulness of Christ:
Eph
4:14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and
carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and
cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
Eph
4:15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all
things, which is the head, even Christ:
Eph
4:16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by
that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working
in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the
edifying of itself in love.
Those
so-called places of worship that reject the ways of Jesus Christ are
not a church and certainly not part of the universal church!
The
Church is alive but it seems today that the church is on the death
bed with little or no life, because the church has rejected the
teachings of Jesus Christ who is the Head of the Church!
The
true Church is totally dependent on its Head, and that Head is the
Lord Jesus Christ!
Study
on this end time prophecy of the final Church Age and you will see
that even this prophecy has come true
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.
Rev
3:21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my
throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in
his throne.
Rev
3:22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto
the churches.
This
is another reason we should realize that the Lord is soon returning
to take us home!
It
is Jesus Christ who began the Church and there can be no church
without Jesus Christ.
The
person who does not follow the teachings of Jesus Christ cannot be
part of the Church!
Today
the Church is full of lies:
1Jn
2:21 I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but
because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth.
1Jn
2:22 Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He
is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.
1Jn
2:23 Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but)
he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.
1Jn
2:24 Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the
beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall
remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.
God
intended for the Lord Jesus Christ to have preeminence over all
things on this world but also in Heaven.
*****Col
1:19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;
There
is no way to avoid this Scripture! It cannot be misunderstood! The
fulness of God is within the Living Lord Jesus Christ
It
is the Divine will of the Father that the Lord Jesus Christ possess
the Divine Nature of God enforced by the Holy Spirit.
How
do we describe our God?
God
is Spirit.
God
is self-existing.
God
is perfect, God is absolute perfection.
God
is one God, but God is in three persons, the Father, the Son, the
Holy Spirit.
God
is the truth.
God
is love.
God
is Holy.
God
is eternal.
God
is immense.
God
is omnipresent.
God
is omniscient.
God
is omnipotent.
God
is merciful.
God
is "Grace".
God
is Just and He is the Justifier of those who seek to be just.
God
is Almighty and there are many other characteristics of God!
But
it pleased the Father that all these things and more dwell in the
Lord Jesus Christ.
How
can we deny our Savior?
*****Col
1:20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him
to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be
things in earth, or things in heaven.
This
great All Powerful, Almighty God, poured Himself into a body of flesh
to die for all our sins. Our Savior made our peace with His Father by
the shedding of His blood.
It
is earth where sin began. thus, we are all sinners.
The
things in Heaven, being the saints in Paradise, or Abraham's bosom,
who had died for Christ had come.
It
was not the cross that was needed to catch the eye of the Father.
It
was not so much that Jesus Christ was willing to die for us.
The
truth is, it was "love" that took Jesus Christ to the
cross, that His blood be shed for each and every sinner who has ever
lived!
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.
But
we see that "faith" in these things is the key to
salvation!
It
is "faith" in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ who
possesses the fulness of God the Father that we can be reconciled to
God!
*****Col
1:21 And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind
by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled
Notice
that God has reconciled all humans to Himself but He has also
reconciled all His creation to Himself (all things).
First:
Did the Lord shed His blood for every human being from the time of
Adam until sometime in the future? Absolutely!
Then
is this a universal salvation as some believe? It could have been!
It
is important for us to consider certain things.
We
must know the Lord God on a personal level! This is impossible
without making peace with God!
Rom
5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ:
To
live in this world after salvation we must have the peace of God:
Php
4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto
God.
Php
4:7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall
keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
To
be a Christian is to have the God of peace live in our hearts:
Php
4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things
are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure,
whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report;
if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these
things.
Php
4:9 Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and
heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.
We
know that that enemies of God are always hostile, hateful, and
rebellious.
We
should also notice that the death of Jesus Christ met the
requirements of Divine Law and opened the door to Divine Love!
Mat
22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all
thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Mat
22:38 This is the first and great commandment.
Mat
22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour
as thyself.
Mat
22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
We
who were once the enemies of God have been reconciled to Him by the
blood of His Dear Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who by His resurrection
has now opened the door for our own resurrection!
The
mind that was once full of deceit and lies can now be filled with the
love of God!
1Co_2:16
For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him?
But we have the mind of Christ.
We
must clearly understand, it is by the death of Jesus Christ that we
are reconciled to God!
*****Col
1:22 In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and
unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:
The
entire material body of flesh of the Lord Jesus Christ was the
instrument of our reconciliation. The body of Christ here represents
His manhood and not any part of the Church. It is through the death
of the physical body of Christ that we are reconciled to God. We
cannot stress this enough.
The
sacrifice of Christ was the voice of God proclaiming love!
Rom
5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were
yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Rom
5:9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be
saved from wrath through him.
Rom
5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the
death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by
his life.
Rom
5:11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus
Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.
God
sacrificed the body of Christ so I did not have to sacrifice my own
body!
Isa
53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for
our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with
his stripes we are healed.
Jesus
Christ in His flesh, exhibited the character of God, therefore He
could be the substitute for our sins!
It
is only by the "Cross" that we learn that we can have a
brotherhood of Christians who can make a great nation.
Politicians
cannot do this, and political process can never achieve this thing!
As
Christians we are reconciled to God but we are also reconciled to
ourselves. We find it hard to forgive ourselves but God has made a
way to even solve this problem by the death of His Dear Son.
It
was by the death of Christ Jesus that each believer can be holy,
unblameable, and unreproveable in the sight of God. What a blessing!
It
is by the "Cross" that we begin learning of our Father and
our Elder Brother, the Lord Jesus Christ!
It
takes "faith" to understand these things and we must
continue in "faith" to be grounded and settled in the truth
of God!
*****Col
1:23 If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not
moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and
which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I
Paul am made a minister;
The
truth is we will all face the Lord in Judgment.
The
Christian will face the Lord when we meet Him at the "Judgment
Seat of Christ". This is not a judgment for salvation because
that is already taken care of or we would not be Christians.
Paul
is saying it just makes sense for us to continue to be grounded in
our "faith" and settled and be not moved away from the hope
of the "Gospel".
We
need to keep in mind that we can never move the hand of God without
"Faith"!
The
foundation of that "Faith" must be the "Gospel"
of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The
Gospel can reach any class of people!
Those
teachings contrary to the Gospel can only reach certain classes of
people.
For
what is the hope of the "Gospel"?
That
we all might be reconciled to God and presented perfect before Him.
That
we might be given the privilege of living forever with Him.
That
we may worship Him and serve Him throughout eternity.
That
we may go wherever He goes forever.
We
must not only profess Christ, we must live for Christ to get a full
reward.
2Jn_1:8
Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have
wrought, but that we receive a full reward.
If
we profess Jesus Christ and do not live for Jesus Christ, we are
living a lie!
As
Paul explains, these are the rules for reconciliation!
What
did Jesus say? Joh 15:6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth
as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into
the fire, and they are burned.
Joh
15:7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what
ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
Paul
repeats what our Saviour said: He rejoices in his sufferings for the
Church.
*****Col
1:24 Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that
which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his
body's sake, which is the church:
Col
1:25 Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of
God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;
The
Lord Jesus Christ had great joy in providing the pathway for our
reconciliation to His Father.
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.
Paul
being as much like Christ as he possible could, also rejoiced in his
own sufferings.
The
foundation of the Church is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of
the Living God.
Mat
16:15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
Mat
16:16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the
Son of the living God.
Mat
16:17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon
Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my
Father which is in heaven.
Mat
16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this
rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail
against it.
Jesus
Christ is the Head of the Church "which is His body"
Eph
1:22 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the
head over all things to the church,
Eph
1:23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.
The
Lord's body being now substituted by Christian believers.
1Co
12:12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the
members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is
Christ.
1Co
12:13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether
we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all
made to drink into one Spirit.
The
Church is now in need of a minister who will willingly suffer for
others and that is where the individual Christian comes in.
The
Lord Jesus Christ suffered greatly to form His Church.
The
Apostle Paul and all the apostles suffered greatly to further the
Gospel and grow the Church.
We
are now the ministers of the "Gospel", this is not just the
job of the Pastor!
1Pe_2:9
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation,
a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who
hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
We
may be that generation of the Church Age which will end when the Lord
returns!
Laboring
for Jesus Christ on this earth will never be easy.
Serving
the Church in this world will never be easy.
We
will always have to suffer for Jesus Christ!
For
the most part, the church means nothing to the average man or woman.
The
church is only tolerated if it stays in its place.
It
is alright for the church to do social service in the community but
not by Jesus Christ.
The
Church is never to interfere with the workings of mankind or the
workings of government.
We
can see that the world does not understand the church nor the Head of
the church, our Savior!
This
is not the Church that is the body of Christ!
To
trust in the Lord is to ignore foolish people
The
job of the church is to fulfill the will of God!
2Pe_3:9
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count
slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any
should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
All
these things were a mystery to the Old Testament Saints.
*****Col
1:26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from
generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
The
great mystery to the Jews was namely, Christ justifying and
sanctifying Gentiles, as well as Jews.
There
are many mysteries in the Scriptures that are hidden from the natural
man but God does not hide anything to those who are saved and spend
time studying the Scriptures.
A
man once wrote that when the Lord first reaches into the mind, He
will cause it to think and then later He will touch the heart to
reveal His purpose for our life.
Another
great mystery to those who are lost is God's plan of salvation!
Eph
2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of
yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph
2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
The
average person cannot understand how this is true and again this is
our job to show them the way!
The
truth is in the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
*****Col
1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of
this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of
glory:
Every
Church must have a Pastor who will share the "great mystery of
God".
This
mystery is "Christ in you the hope of glory"!
Religion
after religion speak of the many ways to get to Heaven but the truth
is there is only one way to reach the "glory world" and
this is by Jesus Christ!
Unless
Jesus Christ comes to dwell within you, you have no chance of seeing
Heaven much less live throughout eternity with our Heavenly Father.
Php_1:19
For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer,
and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,
It
is only by the work of Christ that we can be reconciled to God and
then only if we believe these things to be true.
If
Christ abides in us then we must abide in Him. Christ must be
accepted by "Faith"!
We
might question the things around us whether they are truly ours, but
what is inside of us we certainly possess!
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.
The
sure ground we stand upon is our "hope in glory" and this
hope is sealed by the blood of Jesus and His guarantee is that He
lives within us and will never leave us.
Joh
14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another
Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
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.
Some
may say, well I thought this was the Holy Spirit. God in the flesh,
is Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit in His presence is the Lord Jesus
Christ.
Jesus
Christ lives in each believer in the person of the Holy Spirit!
We
see that is God the Father who took the time to make these things
known to all the world, but this has been rejected by most of this
world!
Jesus
Christ rose from that grave because He conquered death and now we can
live eternally with Him.
Jesus
Christ is the first fruit!
Rom_11:16
For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the
root be holy, so are the branches.
We
should remember when Jesus Christ rose from the dead those that
followed Him saw that His claim of being God in the flesh was true.
God
can never be bound by death because He is the true essence of life!
Another
thing we must certainly realize is that Christ Jesus is not picky, He
will live in any believer, no matter their background.
2Co
1:21 Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath
anointed us, is God;
2Co
1:22 Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in
our hearts.
God
has warned this entire world that no one can enter into His glory
unless Jesus Christ lives within them!
This
is the very reason Jesus is hated so much, the world knows this is
true!
*****Col
1:28 Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in
all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:
You
see God must warn all mankind of this truth or He would not be God!
You
see as an individual, we must submit to the truth of God in Jesus
Christ.
Eze
33:9 Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from
it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but
thou hast delivered thy soul.
As
believers this is our job today and really it is our only job with
living holy to increase our chance to witness to those who do not
know the Lord.
*****Col
1:29 Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working,
which worketh in me mightily.
To
labor is to work hard. Some think it is only the Pastor who is to do
this thing but the Lord Jesus said we all are to do this thing called
evangelism!
When
we have used all our own strength then the Lord will supply the
needed strength to continue.
1Co
15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable,
always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that
your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
When
we can understand the plan of God and know that the Lord Jesus Christ
lives within us by the Holy Spirit, we will find the yoke of the Lord
is easy but this world will show us how much they are our enemy.
If
we focus on this wonderful place called Heaven and not on the things
of this world, our job will not be so hard.
If
we need extra strength it will come from the Lord.
If
we have loved ones, let's begin with them and then friends and then
whosoever crosses our path.
God's
plan is the only plan that will work in this evil world!
Amen