His Love Ministries
We spread the gospel to the least of these with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ; We reach out to those the World has forgotten. Matthew 7:13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
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19 hours ago
19 hours ago
Does our life please God?
Jesus at His baptism was shown to be the Son of God by the Holy Spirit descending in bodily form LIKE a dove. This is God saying this Man is not like any man, He is not just a good man, a prophet, or a good teacher, He is the GOD MAN, The Savior of the World. This is the pivotal point at which in the book of Acts and here the descent of the Holy Spirit leads to the teaching, preaching, and all the other events which dominate the purpose and plan God has for Jesus and us. Jesus came to save sinners and He demonstrated that by living for God and loving the unlovely in all ways perfectly. Are we allowing God to lead us and guide us in all ways that we might be an instrument in God’s hands to be used for His purposes? Is that our desire, not my will but I desire to do your will Father?
Luke 3:21-22 When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened. 22 And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, "You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased."
Mark 8:36 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” -John 8:32
Our mission is to spread the gospel and to go to the least of these with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ; We reach out to those the World has forgotten.
hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en His Love Ministries on Itunes Don’t go for all the gusto you can get, go for all the God (Jesus Christ) you can get. The gusto will get you, Jesus can save you. https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions
3 days ago
3 days ago
Paul had a true shepherd’s heart. He wanted to see Christ formed in those people to whom he was privileged to minister. We are also called to “proclaim Him” following the example of Paul to “every man.” To remind every man of who Christ is, who they once were, who they are now in Him and seek to push them on to greater loyalty and faithfulness to the One who has saved them.
Mark 8:36 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” -John 8:32
Our mission is to spread the gospel and to go to the least of these with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ; We reach out to those the World has forgotten.
hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en His Love Ministries on Itunes Don’t go for all the gusto you can get, go for all the God (Jesus Christ) you can get. The gusto will get you, Jesus can save you. https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions
Wednesday Jan 29, 2025
Wednesday Jan 29, 2025
Joseph and Mary left Jerusalem after going to the feast of Passover and do not realize Jesus is not there until the next day. They go back and find Jesus teaching in the temple. They are amazed at what He is doing and anxious over not knowing where He has been. Jesus tells them the most important thing is not where He has been but what He has been doing. People always have places to go, people to see, and things to do, but are the things they are doing the most important thing? Jesus tells us here the most important thing is to be about His Father’s business. Are our lives centered around doing the most important thing? Yes, we have to live our lives, take care of our families, and make a living but in the midst of all of that if we are Christians then we are to be about the business of making Jesus known as Savior and Lord and bringing people to Christ to be saved. What is most important to us, is it what Jesus would want us to do?
Luke 2:48-49 So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, "Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously." 49 And He said to them, "Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business?"
Mark 8:36 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” -John 8:32
Our mission is to spread the gospel and to go to the least of these with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ; We reach out to those the World has forgotten.
hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en His Love Ministries on Itunes Don’t go for all the gusto you can get, go for all the God (Jesus Christ) you can get. The gusto will get you, Jesus can save you. https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions
Monday Jan 27, 2025
Monday Jan 27, 2025
Paul was doing here what He’s done already in this letter. He’s actually claiming and repurposing a word that the false teachers had been using. He’s beating the false teachers, once again, at their own game. Earlier in the book we saw they use the word “fullness”, or “completeness”. They thought that they had full knowledge, complete knowledge, and Paul takes that word back from them. He’s doing the same thing here, with the word “mystery.” He is in a very godly way, stealing the word back from them, to accomplish his own purposes. He’s using that word “mystery” to speak again of something that was once concealed but is now revealed.
Mark 8:36 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” -John 8:32
Our mission is to spread the gospel and to go to the least of these with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ; We reach out to those the World has forgotten.
hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en His Love Ministries on Itunes Don’t go for all the gusto you can get, go for all the God (Jesus Christ) you can get. The gusto will get you, Jesus can save you. https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions
Wednesday Jan 22, 2025
Wednesday Jan 22, 2025
Moses instructed Israel to build a monument with God’s law written on it when they entered Canaan (Deut. 27:1-8). This is a picture of them remembering how good God had been to them in spite of how they had acted and His love and faithfulness that would still be there in the future. They were swearing their allegiance to Him to live for Him from now on. Do you have any times in your life that you have set aside to remember how good God has been to you? All of us no matter who we are have done things that God doesn't approve of and also there are times in our life when God has sustained us in the toughest of circumstances. Let us remember that and thank Him today Amen!!
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” -John 8:32
Our mission is to spread the gospel and to go to the least of these with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ; We reach out to those the World has forgotten.
hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en Don’t go for all the gusto you can get, go for all the God (Jesus Christ) you can get. The gusto will get you, Jesus can save you. https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions
Monday Jan 20, 2025
Monday Jan 20, 2025
Remember that Paul went through the ultimate change in identity. Before he was Paul, who was he? Saul. Before he was Paul building up Christian believers in the faith, he was Saul the Pharisee, approving the execution of the earliest Christian believers. So even these two words, “I Paul,” which seem like they are just kind of thrown in randomly here, they actually have tremendously rich meaning. But it's because they call to remembrance for us this man, Paul, who was once alienated, who was once hostile in mind, who was once engaged in evil deeds. But then we remember what he became: The greatest Christian to ever live. That is what we were also, but if we have trusted Christ we have great potential to do mighty things for God too.
Mark 8:36 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” -John 8:32
Our mission is to spread the gospel and to go to the least of these with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ; We reach out to those the World has forgotten.
hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en His Love Ministries on Itunes Don’t go for all the gusto you can get, go for all the God (Jesus Christ) you can get. The gusto will get you, Jesus can save you. https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions
Wednesday Jan 15, 2025
Wednesday Jan 15, 2025
Everyone His Love Ministries reaches out to is locked up in some way. Some are locked up in bodies that don't work or the Nursing Home facility or in the wheelchair or bed they cannot get out of. We minister to youth who are locked up because of behavior problems or their parents and their cry is we want to have a “REAL FAMILY”. Other kids are locked up because of crimes. We reach those locked up correctional facilities; in addictions to drugs, depression, and suicidal thoughts. Jesus came to give us life and set us free and these folks are not free that we minister to, but we can set them free through Christ Jesus.
Mark 8:36 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” -John 8:32
Our mission is to spread the gospel and to go to the least of these with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ; We reach out to those the World has forgotten.
hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en Don’t go for all the gusto you can get, go for all the God (Jesus Christ) you can get. The gusto will get you, Jesus can save you. https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions
Monday Jan 13, 2025
Monday Jan 13, 2025
We have seen in verses 1&2 that he greets them by wishing for them the free favor of God and all the blessed fruits of it. GRACE is God’s riches at Christ expense
In verses 3-8 Paul’s thanksgiving to God for what he had heard concerning them, their faith, hope, and love
In verses 9-11 we saw his prayer for their knowledge, fruitfulness, and strength
In verses 12-14, His praise for all that God has done that we should realize God has qualified us to be a partaker in the inheritance, He has rescued us and conveyed us into His Kingdom and has given us the forgiveness of sins and the redemption through His blood
In verses 15-18 we saw who He IS, the image of God in the flesh, the firstborn over all creation, the one who created all things and holds it all together. He is the head of the church, His body and is the firstborn from the dead that in all things He might have the preeminence
Remember that there were some issues that Paul is hitting in Colossians in relationship to false teaching. And the false teachers that had brought about the problems in Colossae had taught that there were a series of emanating spirits descending from God; that God sort of spawned an emanating spirit, and then another one came, and another one, and another one, and they just kept getting lower and lower and lower and lower and lower and lower. And Christ was one of those descending, emanating spirits. They were good at the beginning, and then somewhere along the line, they started getting less good, and less good, and less good, and then bad, and then worse, and then worse. And way down at the bottom was somebody like Satan.
And that in order for a man to ascend to God, he had to climb back up that escalating ladder of spirits. No one of those spirits could do the job. No one of those Aons, no one of those emanating spirits, no one of those angelic beings, if you will, was sufficient to reconcile man to God. Man had to ascend the ladder of many of those to reach God.
Col 1:19 For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell,
1:19 Fullness: Paul tells them that in Christ alone all the divine powers and characteristics dwell to refute that any other created beings (angels, man) have authority greater than Christ.
“In him it was decreed that all the fullness should take up residence.” this is equal to saying that God himself (RSV “all the fulness of God”) was pleased to dwell in him.
Just in case anything got left out, there is nothing in anybody else of God. It’s all in Him. Just in case somebody didn’t get covered, the powers of deity, the attributes of sovereignty were not distributed among a multitude of beings. They are possessed by one visible in this one, Christ. You don’t need other angels to help you get saved. That’s what they were teaching. You don’t need other spirits. You don’t need other beings. “In Him all fullness dwells.”
He had no addition. Chapter 2 verse 3, “In Him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” He has no rivals. Chapter 2, verse 9, “In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily,” and you are complete in Him. There is no other necessary. John 1:16 says, “Of His fullness have we all received, and grace upon grace.” When you become a Christian all that He is becomes Yours.
We must constantly remind ourselves that we have no knowledge of the Colossian heresy apart from inferences drawn as cautiously as possible from the argument and wording of this letter, but it
would make sense in the present context if the heresy envisaged powers intermediate between the supreme God and the world of humanity, so that any communication between God and the world, in either direction, had to pass through the spheres in which those powers exercised control. Those
who thought in this way would be careful to treat those powers with suitable respect. But the whole of this teaching about God and the world based on mystical insight device is undermined here in one simple, direct affirmation: the totality of divine essence and power is resident in Christ. He is the one, all-sufficient intermediary between God and the world of humanity, and all the attributes of God— his spirit, word, wisdom, and glory—are disclosed in him.
The key word in Colossians is the word "all." This is an all inclusive word. When combined with "fullness," which is another comprehensive word, we have a very powerful statement about Christ. The half has never been told about Christ. It is not enough that the Lord Jesus Christ be eminent; he must be pre-eminent. This is a message we need in this generation if Christians are to continue to understand what we need to and believe about Christ.
The word "dwell" means to reside permanently in a place. It was used in the sense of the permanent residence of a town or village. "All the fullness" of God's work settles in Christ permanently. All saving power dwells in him (Acts 5:31; 17:31). The effects of the "fullness" is available to the believer.
PRINCIPLE: The person and work of Christ is preeminent in every aspect of our lives.
Col 1:20 and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.
1:20 Reconcile all things to himself: The Greek word used for reconcile means to change or exchange.
In verse 20 you see the word, about two or three lines down, “reconcile.” At the end of verse 21, you see it again, “reconciled” - past tense. This particular term - reconcile is the verb, reconciled is the past tense of the verb, and the noun is reconciliation – is a very important term in Christianity. You perhaps have heard about it in terms of the divorce courts, when perhaps when a divorce is begun, there is an effort on the part of the court to try to bring about a reconciliation. That is to put two warring parties back together again.
But the word “reconciliation” goes far beyond a relationship between two human beings. It is used in the Bible to speak of a man’s relationship to God in terms of the restoration of the right relationship between a man and God. Reconciliation then is God being reconciled back to man, or man, if you will, being reconciled back to God either way.
This refers to a change in a sinners relationship to God.
There is another term for reconcile that is used here in Colossians chapter 1. It is not katallassō that is used; it is apokatallassō. And again I point out to you that whenever a preposition is added to the front of a word, it intensifies the word. And so, what you have here is the word “reconciled” intensified so that it means thoroughly reconciled, completely reconciled, totally reconciled. And that is the terminology that is used here in Colossians. The word is different than the normal word “reconcile.” It has a greater intensity, and there is a reason for that. And I need to point that out to you.
In Colossians, he is fighting a counterattack from false teachers. The false teachers that were really confronting the church at Colossae had said that it could not be possible for a man to be reconciled to God by Jesus Christ alone.
The point that Paul is making here is this: that there is total and absolute and complete and full reconciliation through that one who is Jesus Christ. That’s the reason he uses a much more intense word.
So, Paul is showing that Christ is God, in verses 15 through 19, and he closes that section, “For in Him should all fullness dwell,” because that’s what pleased the Father. He is God. He is not a spirit, and He is able only and without any other assistance to reconcile men to God. And that’s the point that he wants to make.
Mark 8:36 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” -John 8:32
Our mission is to spread the gospel and to go to the least of these with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ; We reach out to those the World has forgotten.
hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en His Love Ministries on Itunes Don’t go for all the gusto you can get, go for all the God (Jesus Christ) you can get. The gusto will get you, Jesus can save you. https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions
Wednesday Jan 08, 2025
Wednesday Jan 08, 2025
In Luke 1:67-70 we see God open the mouth of Zacharias after having shut it because of unbelief in what God had told him in the temple. God uses him to speak about the promises of salvation through Jesus Christ which had been foretold since the beginning of time as we know it since the world was created. God has always had his prophets (those who spoke of Jesus) who told of all the great things that God would do through His Son Jesus and of the time when He would come. It is spoken of as already having been fulfilled because when God says something you can bank on it coming true. This redeemer was to come through the family line of David and it did. God still speaks today through His word and can use us to tell others about Him and all that He has done and can do for those who will believe and trust in Christ. Are we unbelieving like Zacharias or do we trust in God so much so that when He speaks to us through His word and prayer that we are willing to believe and follow Him wherever He leads us and in whatever He asks us to do?
Luke 1:67-70 Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying: 68 "Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited and redeemed His people, 69 And has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David, 70 As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, Who have been since the world began, Luke 1:76 "And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, 77 To give knowledge of salvation to His people By the remission of their sins, 78 Through the tender mercy of our God, With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; 79 To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace." 80 So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.
Mark 8:36 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” -John 8:32
Our mission is to spread the gospel and to go to the least of these with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ; We reach out to those the World has forgotten.
hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en His Love Ministries on Itunes Don’t go for all the gusto you can get, go for all the God (Jesus Christ) you can get. The gusto will get you, Jesus can save you. https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions
Monday Jan 06, 2025
Monday Jan 06, 2025
Colossians 1:17 – “He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”
John 8:58, when Jesus is standing before the Pharisees. He says, “before Abraham was, I WAS.” That’s not how it went, right? No, He said, “Before Abraham was, I AM.” Present tense verb. Indicating the timelessness of His deity. Similar concept here, with Paul saying, “He is before all things.” A present tense statement. But Christ was not only before Abraham though. Here it says He’s before “all things.” Including creation. Jesus Christ, being eternal, existed before there was any creation to speak of.
1:17 He is before all things: He existed in the beginning and he holds it all together by his power.
The significance of that, of what’s being conveyed here. Is the timelessness of Christ’s deity
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made.
He was in the beginning with God.” Now, while the universe has a beginning, even the atheistic big bang people would believe that. Christ has always existed. While the universe is temporal. With a definite start date and with a definite, one day end date. Christ is not. He is eternal. Micah 5:2, it’s a prophetic passage relating to Christ’s first coming. Speaking of Him being from Bethlehem. It says, “His going forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity.” Or Christ Himself would say in Revelation 22:13 – “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
Not only though, did the Lord Jesus exist before there was any creation. We see here that it is in Him that all things consist. Look at the second half of verse 17 – “and in Him all things hold together.” It means that the Lord Jesus is the sustainer of the universe, the Source of its perpetual motion. He maintains just the right amount of power and balance needed to ensure life’s existence and continuity. Hebrews 1:3 – He “ upholds all things by the word of His power.” The only reason that this planet hasn’t exploded or imploded or dissolved. The only reason our whole galaxy hasn’t just been dumped into a black hole somewhere is because of Christ. He’s upholding everything right now. He’s keeping the planets spinning. He’s keeping the stars burning. He’s keeping the ocean waters from flooding. He’s keeping the rain cycles going. He’s keeping our hearts beating. He’s providing brain activity to every single one of us here this morning. Not just to us, to those out in the world, who in foolishness, reject Him. He’s even giving life and breath and movement and existence to those who strongly oppose and hate Him.
He didn’t wind up the universe like a clock and then walk away from it. Not at all. No, He continues to sustain it all. His power upholds and guides what His hands have formed. You know the old song, maybe it is still a current song . . . “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands.” That’s true! Harry Ironside wrote this, he said: “It is His hand that holds the stars in their courses, directs the planets in their orbits, and controls the laws of the universe.
In verse 18. We get to our third “He is” statement.
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 may have the preeminence.
1:18 He is the Head of the Body:
Ephesians 1:22 And God hath put all things under His feet, and hath given Him to be the head over all things to the church,
Ephesians 5:23 for the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church, and He is the savior of the body.
There is a sudden shift in focus from all the things we’ve been considering in verses 15, 16 and 17. Paul goes from this discussion of Christ being the eternal image of the invisible God. And the firstborn of all creation. And the Creator of all things. And all things being created by Him and through Him and for Him. Now, it says, oh yeah, He’s also the head of the body, the church. As this section of Colossians 1 is taking off. As he’s powerfully assembling these thoughts, one after the other on top of each other. We would expect that Paul here would say something like, Christ is the supreme ruler of the universe. Or the king of the cosmos. But that’s not what we see. Instead, what we see here, verse 18, “He is also the head of the body, the church.” Now, the references to “the body” here, “the church” here. Those are references to the universal church. That is, all around the world who have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. from the Day of Pentecost, all the way up to the Rapture. This organism . . . this “assembly” of believers . . . which is expressed in local assemblies, like what we’re doing today. That assembly, over which Christ is, look at the word there, He’s “the head.” Now, a few key details and for many of us, reminders about this thing called the “church” over which Christ is the “head” . . .
First, the church is described in this way, in I Corinthians 12, all believers are baptized into it. We’re baptized into this body, the church, by the Holy Spirit, the moment we believe in Christ. I Corinthians 12:13 says, “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, [placed into on body] whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.”
Second, another reminder about the church, is that it is an especially diverse body. It always has been. There is “neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, [and] there is neither male nor female.” Galatians 3:28
Third, the church is a mystery not made known to previous generations.
In fact, drop down to Colossians 1:25, just a few verses down, it says, “Of this church I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God, that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints, to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” So, the church is a mystery, revealed in these times to the Gentiles.
Fourth, as we’re seeing from our passage, verse 18, the Head of the church is the Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 1:22-23 says, “He put all things in subjection under His feet and gave Him as head over all things to the church.” Or Ephesians 5:23 says, “For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church.” So, the dominion then, the Lord Jesus Christ extends not only through the natural universe, but it extends to the spiritual realm. He is ruler, simultaneously of the cosmos, as He is the head of the church.
Now, how are we to take that, in terms of how this passage, verse 18, ties into what we’ve just looked at in verses 15-17? Where we see these sweeping claims about Christ’s rulership over all creation. Is what he’s saying now in verse 18, somehow lessen what has already been said? Is this making Christ smaller by localizing Him in the church? Not at all! If anything, what this passage does, verse 18, when we consider in conjunction with verses 15-17, is really expand the significance of the claims that are being made of Christ’s role vis-à-vis the church. He is sovereign over creation, just as He is over the church. They go hand in hand. He is doubly preeminent. Preeminent over all creation. But also preeminent in the church. What that really ought to do for us, who are the church, is highlight the privilege that it is to be a part of God’s family. To be a part of the church. To be a part of this family of redeemed people. To know that Christ is as intimately involved in ruling and governing the church. As He is in all of creation. The church is no “side project” for Jesus Christ. It’s no “Plan B” for Jesus Christ. He loves the church . . . so much that He gave Himself for the church. He’s building the church. He’s protecting the church. He will pull the church out of the coming tribulation to come. He’s going to return and reign with the church. See, the church is not a place. It’s not an address. It’s not a thing we do or a place we go. It’s the body of Christ, with Christ as it’s head. As His act of love for the church, He exercises control over it and direction over it. Conforming each one of its limbs and organs. That’s you and me, into His image.
That brings us to our fourth “He is” statement, which comes at the end of verse
And He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.”
He is the beginning of the church
That word that you see there, where it says, “He is the beginning”, it can actually be translated either “beginning” or originator, “rulership”, or “rule”. We see it here as “beginning.” We see it in Matthew 19:4 as “beginning” where it says, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female[?]”
But the same word here, for “beginning” can also be translated “rule” or “ruler” in other places. So, which is it? Is Christ here, being described as the “beginning? Or is He being described as “ruling?” The answer is – “yes.” I think there’s a trace of truth to both definitions. Christ. The preeminent Christ . . . not only created everything that we see around us in the cosmos . . . He also established His church . . . and in that sense, He’s the beginning of both. But at the same time, He is ruler, as we’ve seen, both of the cosmos and of the church. He’s the head of both realms.
This work of the Spirit began on the day of Pentecost (Acts 1:5; 2:1–2; 11:15–16). It is a special body in which there is “neither Jew nor Gentile” (Gal. 3:28) but a whole new creation of God (Eph. 2:15). The church is a “mystery … which was not made known to men in other generations” (Eph. 3:4–5; cf. Rom. 16:25–26; Col. 1:26).
and the firstborn from among the dead: Christ is the first person to die and be resurrected who will never die again
Now, we see that Christ is “the firstborn from the dead.” It’s a clear resurrection reference when it mentions “from the dead.” But what about that word “firstborn”? We’ve encountered it already in verse 15. But how about here? Is this a matter of laying out a timeline? Is this saying that Christ is the first person to have every been raised from the dead? Definitely not that. We know that Jesus was not the first to be raised from the dead. We know that Elijah raised the widow’s son. We know that Jesus Himself raised Jairus’s daughter. We know that Jesus Himself raised Lazarus. So then what does “firstborn from the dead” mean here?
It means, “firstborn” here, is that, of all those who have been raised from the dead. . . the Lord Jesus Christ ranks first in importance among them. He was the first to rise in an immortal body. I Corinthians 15:20 says, “But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.” His resurrection marked triumph over death, the way other resurrections didn’t. Hebrews 2:15 says, “. . . through death he might render powerless him who had the power of death.” It’s by virtue of Christ’s resurrection, that He’s been elevated to a rank and a position higher than anyone else who rose from the dead. Romans 1:4 says, he was “declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead. Philippians 2:9 says, “. . . God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name.” He was the “Firstfruits” of those who die (1 Cor. 15:20) since, unlike others, He rose never to die again. [i] It’s only through Christ’s resurrection that the future resurrection of others is secured. John 5:28 says, “Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs who will hear His voice and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.” All of this is so that He might be known . . . Christ might be known and seen as preeminent in all things. “So that” “He Himself will come to have first place in everything.”
Christ is given first place over all Creation. He is preeminent. The same eternal Logos (John 1:1) who “became flesh” (John 1:14) and “humbled Himself” (Phil. 2:8) is now “exalted” by God the Father “to the highest place” and has been given “the name that is above every name” (Phil. 2:9).[ii]
What an answer that would have been to those who, in Paul’s day, were trying go bring Christ down a few notches. To strip Him of His preeminence, as though they could. They promoted their heretical teachings there in Colossae. To those who have presented such a false Christ, a weakened Christ, a cheap Christ. Paul here says “no.” Christ is preeminent. He is the image of the invisible God. He is the firstborn of all Creation. He is the Creator of all things. All things were created by Him, through Him, and for Him. He’s the sustainer of all things. He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning. He is the firstborn of the dead. He is, as we see at the end of verse 18 here, to have “first place” in everything.
We’ve considered here in these verses, the extent and the range of Christ’s preeminence in the creation and in the church. Now we need to ask ourselves Does Christ have preeminence in My life? The question we have to ask ourselves, as we’ve taken these truths. Does Christ have preeminence in My life? Or are there other That are crowding Him out? As you leave here this morning. Ask yourself, sincerely. Am I so stuck in my own little world, my own little fishbowl. My own little bubble, that I’ve failed to bow my knee, daily, to the One who created the world and sustains the world? Do I have such a slender view of the church, as being a place full of programs and rhythms and people I’ve been around my whole life . . . that I fail to acknowledge, daily, that it’s the Lord Jesus Christ who governs and reigns in His church? Am I allowing . . . in what I read, or what I watch, or who I associate with . . . influences in my life that would take away from Christ’s preeminence over my life? Or at least my recognition of His preeminence over my life?
It surely is through His death and resurrection that we have been saved. We praise Him for that. But the Christian life doesn’t end there. It really starts there, and it demands, once we acknowledge His death and resurrection, that we live in light of, His preeminence.
Mark 8:36 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” -John 8:32
Our mission is to spread the gospel and to go to the least of these with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ; We reach out to those the World has forgotten.
hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en His Love Ministries on Itunes Don’t go for all the gusto you can get, go for all the God (Jesus Christ) you can get. The gusto will get you, Jesus can save you. https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions
[i] Geisler, N. L. (1985). Colossians. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 673). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[ii] Geisler, N. L. (1985). Colossians. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 673). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
Wednesday Jan 01, 2025
Wednesday Jan 01, 2025
Deuteronomy 13:1-4 deals with the issue of false prophets and teachers. The Bible tells us there are people out there that want to draw us away from God and lure us into other things that ultimately will cause our downfall. In the Old Testament and today this is one of the worst things a person can do is lead another away from God. We need to be very careful of who and what we listen to. Just because it is on the internet, they are a pastor, or the person is on TV or the radio does not mean they are a sound biblical teacher. Many radio and TV stations do not care what someone teaches as long as they are getting paid and anyone can put anything they want to on the internet and portray themselves a good teacher. We are to separate and call out those who are false teachers. We need to make sure we stay away from them and others do too. Let us be diligent in making sure those we listen to or read their materials are really sound in the faith, so that we will be too.
"If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, 2 "and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, 'Let us go after other gods' -which you have not known-'and let us serve them,' 3 "you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the LORD your God is testing you to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 "You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice, and you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him. (Deuteronomy 13:1-4)
Mark 8:36 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” -John 8:32
Our mission is to spread the gospel and to go to the least of these with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ; We reach out to those the World has forgotten.
hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en His Love Ministries on Itunes Don’t go for all the gusto you can get, go for all the God (Jesus Christ) you can get. The gusto will get you, Jesus can save you. https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions
Monday Dec 30, 2024
Monday Dec 30, 2024
From Paul’s petition that the Colossians be enlightened about God’s redemptive working in their lives, he moved naturally into his epistle’s main emphasis—the exaltation and preeminence of Christ. In this paragraph (vv. 15–20) Paul mentioned seven unique characteristics of Christ, which fittingly qualify Him to have “the supremacy” (v. 18). Christ is: (1) the image of God, (2) the Firstborn over Creation, (3) Creator of the universe, (4) Head of the church, (5) Firstborn from the dead, (6) the fullness of God, and (7) the Reconciler of all things. No comparable listing of so many characteristics of Christ and His deity are found in any other Scripture passage. Christ is the supreme Sovereign of the universe![1]
Moving from describing what Christ has already done for us. To whom He is in His core. He hangs his thoughts, on the same two words. “He is.”
To the Pharisees of His day, Jesus affirmed His deity before them in John 8:58, with the words “I AM.” Now, what we have Paul doing to the Colossians of his day and to the church of our day. He’s building on what the Lord has revealed about Himself, when He said, “I AM”, by saying, “He is.”
To the church there at Colossae. This young church that was being threatened with this false and heretical picture of Christ. We’re going to get more into that, in Colossians 2. Paul here, in our text for today, describes Christ for who He is.
That’s the title of today’s message, “He Is.” Because in our time together, we’re going to work through these four magnificent and unequalled verses. Verses which one commentator says, “there never was a higher Christology.” What we’re going to do, is work through these verses, through the lens of those four “He is” statements.
Colossians 1:15 - “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.”
So, right away we have to ask the question? Who is “He” referring to here? Who is the “He” of verse 15? Well, the “He” is the “beloved Son” mentioned back in verse 13. “He” is the One, as we saw back in verse 14, is the One in whom we have “redemption” and “forgiveness of sins.” That’s a reference, of course, to the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus of Nazareth. The son of Joseph and Mary. The Galilean. The long-awaited and foretold Messiah of Israel. The One who died on a Roman cross. The One whose lifeless body was placed in a sealed tomb. The One who eventually rose from the grave. That man. Jesus. The God-Man. Is described by Spirit-lead Paul here, as the “image of the invisible God.”
John 4:24 says, God is spirit and He cannot be seen
Though it is grammatically possible to translate this as “Firstborn in Creation,” the context makes this impossible for five reasons:
(1) The whole point of the passage (and the book) is to show Christ’s superiority over all things.
(2) Other statements about Christ in this passage (such as Creator of all [1:16], upholder of Creation [v. 17], etc.) clearly indicate His priority and superiority over Creation.
(3) The “Firstborn” cannot be part of Creation if He created “all things.” One cannot create himself. (Jehovah’s Witnesses wrongly add the word “other” six times in this passage in their New World Translation. Thus they suggest that Christ created all other things after He was created! But the word “other” is not in the Gr.)
(4) The “Firstborn” received worship of all the angels (Heb. 1:6), but creatures should not be worshiped (Ex. 20:4–5).
(5) The Greek word for “Firstborn” is prōtotokos. If Christ were the “first-created,” the Greek word would have been prōtoktisis.[i]
1 Timothy 1:17 says, “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” Now, contrast the invisibility of the true God, with all the false gods of the world. Whether that be Brahma of the Hindu religion. Or Buddha, or the countless other deities whose likenesses have been carved into tree trunks or painted in caves over the centuries. For those so-called “gods” who are fabricated and made in the image of sinful humans; they are totally visible and creaturely and observable. They have mouths and eyes and noses, and hands and feet. It reminds us of Psalm 115:5-7 which says the following about false gods and idols. It says, “They have mouths, but they cannot speak; they have eyes, but they cannot see; they have ears, but they cannot hear, they have noses, but they cannot smell; they have hands, but they cannot feel; they have feet, but they cannot walk; they cannot make a sound with their throat.” Then that same psalmist concludes, “Those who make them will become like them, everyone who trusts in them.” We see this phenomenon, men bowing down to deaf and dumb and worthless idols, not just in the Old Testament, in Psalm 115, but in the New. Romans 1:22-23, again, speaking of the unbeliever, says, “Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and of four-footed animals and crawling creatures.”
Isaiah 44:14 He cuts down cedars for himself, And takes the cypress and the oak; He [a]secures it for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a pine, and the rain nourishes it. 15 Then it shall be for a man to burn,For he will take some of it and warm himself; Yes, he kindles it and bakes bread;Indeed he makes a god and worships it; He makes it a carved image, and falls down to it.16 He burns half of it in the fire;With this half he eats meat; He roasts a roast, and is satisfied.He even warms himself and says,“Ah! I am warm,I have seen the fire.”17 And the rest of it he makes into a god,His carved image.He falls down before it and worships it, Prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god!”
1:15 He is The Image of the Invisible God: Christ was the perfect image, an exact likeness and in the very form of GOD
John 14:9 – “He who has seen Me has seen the Father.” Those words, bringing it back to Colossians 1, testify to the fact that Jesus is a visible representation of God. Now we have Paul here in Colossians 1:15, referring to Christ as “the image of God.” That word for “image” is eikon. It’s a word, a Greek term, which we get our English word, “icon”. It means “copy” or “likeness.” Which fits perfectly here. Because what Paul is saying here in Colossians 1:15, is that Jesus is the perfect image – the exact likeness – of God Himself. Jesus is essentially and absolutely the perfect expression and representation of God the Father. As it’s put by the author of Hebrews in Hebrews 1:3 – “He is the radiance of His glory and the exact imprint of His nature.”
2 Corinthians 4:3 says, “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
Back in Colossians , as Paul is writing this Colossian church, you’ll recall was staring down the threat of this new heretical teaching. This “Christ-plus” form of theology. This “Christ-plus” form of worship. “Christ-plus-angels.” Or “Christ-plus-philosophy.” Or “Christ-plus-ascetism.” Paul redirects them here, with this supreme truth: Which is that the Christ that they worshiped. The Christ that they’d been taught about by Epaphras, was all the Christ they needed. A Christ who was more than a good man. More than a great teacher. More than a compelling miracle worker. Rather, He is the image of the invisible God. An exact, visible representation of God, and in fact, God Himself.
The Firstborn over all creation:
That term – “firstborn” is used in at least three different senses in scripture.
First – you’ll see it used in a very literal sense. Like in the description of the birth of Jesus. Luke 2:7 it says that Mary “gave birth to her firstborn son.”
In other settings – the word “firstborn” is used in a figurative sense. Like Exodus 4:22, that’s that scene where God is speaking to Moses about the coming exodus out of Egypt. God says to Moses, “Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Israel is My son, My firstborn”’.” Now there, there’s no sense of any actual birth taking place, as with Mary giving birth to Jesus. Instead, the Lord uses the word “firstborn” there, to describe the special plans and purposes and role that He has for Israel.
Then there’s this third way that the term “firstborn” is used in scripture. That’s to designate one’s place of superiority, or supremacy, or uniqueness. In Psalm 89, we’re going to see “firstborn” used in that sense, of supremacy.
Psalm 89:20. It says, “I have found David, My servant; with My holy oil I have anointed him.” 27 “I also shall make him My firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.” Now, we know that David was not the “firstborn” of Jesse. He in fact was the last born. But here, the word “firstborn” is being used to indicate supremacy, primacy, sovereignty. To make David, the king, “the highest of the kings of the earth.” That’s the meaning of “firstborn” here. Going back to Colossians, it is in that sense, that third sense, that Paul is using that term.
Christ has pre-eminence which means he has the highest rank or position and inherits the Kingdom as the firstborn did in the OT
They always received all the inheritance or at least double the portion of the others in the family
This passage actually highlights and emphasizes the absolute sovereignty and supremacy of Jesus Christ. He is totally and absolutely sovereign over the skies that He formed. Over the land masses He molded. Over the species He developed. As Hebrews 1:2 says, He is the “heir of all things.” He outranks everything. All people, everyone in the entire world He has made.
There have been, over the centuries, many false teachers and many false religions, who have taken this verse and run with it, to suggest that Christ is a created being, and that Christ is not God. They’ll point to this very verse, Colossians 1:15, as backup for their lies. They’ll say things like, “look, its right there in the word.” “Firstborn”. “Christ was born; therefore, He is created.” Now, they’ll try to be nice, and play nice. They’ll say, He’s still, of the highest rank in order of created things, and created beings.” Meaning, He’s entitled to our honor and special respect and reverence. But they will still insist that He was born. He was born as a created being. Just like you and I are born as created beings, but He’s not God.
Let’s go through some of the reasons why “firstborn”, that term “firstborn” in verse 15, does not, and cannot mean “created.”
1. First, it’s impossible for Christ to be both created, and the Creator of everything. If verse 15, as the Jehovah Witnesses and other groups would have it, is saying that Christ is created. A created thing cannot create itself. Creatures aren’t self-created. They are created, by instead, whatever created them.
Second, here’s another reason why “firstborn” cannot mean created. We’re told elsewhere in the scriptures that the “firstborn” Son of God received worship from the angels. Hebrews 1:6, speaking of God the Father says, “And when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says, ‘And let all the angels of God worship Him.’” Well, creatures, we know from going back to the ten commandments in Exodus 20, mere creatures are not to be worshiped. So, if Christ is a created being, the angels shouldn’t be worshiping Him. It would be a violation of the ten commandments. He’d be wrongly and idolatrously receiving worship from other created beings. The angels would be wrong to worship Him. We would be wrong to worship Him. Also if this were true under the Mosaic Law, the Jews were right to kill Him. For He blasphemed by holding Himself out to be God.
3. A third reason why “firstborn” cannot mean created. Verse 15, and that word there for “firstborn”, it doesn’t stand in isolation with what’s being said in this section of scripture as a whole. The point of this passage, verses 15-18, as we’re going to see, in its entirety, is to demonstrate Christ’s preeminence over all things. Which includes the fact, as we’ll see in verse 16, that He is the Creator of all; and includes the fact, in verse 17, that He upholds and sustains all things. The context of this whole section very clearly is that Christ has priority and preeminence over His creation. Superiority over and supremacy over everything. Not that He’s a created being. If Paul were suddenly, in verse 15, to say He’s a created being, he’d actually be agreeing with the very heresy he’s trying to refute throughout this whole book. So, for those reasons, and for so many others, we affirm that what Paul here was saying, when he said that Christ is the “firstborn over all creation”, is not that Christ was created by God. Or that He is less in essence than God. Quite the contrary. The word “firstborn” here, instead is a statement about Christ’s position of supremacy over His creation. It’s a statement of His rank of rulership and dominion. It’s a statement of His deity and His preeminence.
In fact, the false teachers, who have twisted “firstborn” to mean what they want it to mean. Would do well to read the next verse. Look at verse 16, it says, “For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things have been created through Him and for Him.”
So, here in verse 16, Christ’s supremacy is expressed in terms of His relationship to creation. His rulership over creation. You’ll note that the way that this is done is through these three different prepositions that are being used here. It is “by Him all things were created.” Then it says, “all things have been created through Him.” Last, it says all things have been created “for Him.” “By Him.” “Through Him.” “For Him.” Each of those prepositions expresses a different thought. We’re going to look at each of those prepositions and thoughts as we work our way through this verse.
First, is the statement here, that: “For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities.” So, “By Him all things were created.” When it says here that all things were created “by Him.” The idea is they were created through the power that was essential to Him. Creative power that is sourced in Him. Creative power that is a part of His being. Note the scope of His creative power.
The magnitude of His creative power is referenced in these three different areas that we see laid out in the rest of verse 16.
First, His creative power reaches everywhere. First, he says, “All things in heaven and on earth.” So, Christ created all things in the heavens. Meaning, He created the stars, and the planets, and the galaxies, and the constellations, and all other planetary marvels. He created all things. Then it says He created things both living and non-living here on earth. It says, “both in the heavens and on earth.”
Second, it says His creative power extends or reaches to all things “visible and invisible” there in verse 16. As we’re going to see when we get to Colossians 2, the false teachers there in Colossae were promoting these false dualistic beliefs. Under which material things, things you can touch and taste and smell. Things that are “visible”, to use the word here, were considered essentially evil. Whereas immaterial things, “things . . . invisible” were considered fundamentally good. Paul is collapsing these two ideas in together, and he’s saying that Christ created all of it. He created all the things we can see. He created all the things we cannot see. He created the trees and flowers. But He also created that unmistakable scent that each one gives off. He created the person. But He also created the conscience that resides within that person. He created the planet we live on, materially. Just as much as He creates the seasons or has created the seasons of summer and winter. Seasons of cold and darkness and seasons of warmth and light. He’s created it all. Visible, invisible, all of it.
Third, His creative power, it says, includes “thrones, dominions, rulers, and authorities.”
1:16 Paul gives us the ranks of angels and tells us that Christ created them and is superior to them to stop the heresy of angel worship being taught by false teachers.
Ephesians 1:20-21, it says, “. . . when He raised Him from the dead [speaking of Christ] and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion . . .” Or
Ephesians 3:10 says “. . . the manifold wisdom of God [that] might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places.”
Colossians 2:15 says, “When he had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.”
Then here in Colossians 1:16, Paul refers to “thrones and dominions and rulers and authorities.” Those are referring to angels. We know from Colossians 2, that the false teachers that had started to infiltrate Colossae there, they were promoting the worship of angels, as a part of their heretical teaching. Paul is outright rejecting those beliefs and practices here.
Paul is making it clear here in verse 16, that angels, whatever their rank, whether holy or fallen, whether “thrones, dominions, rulers, and authorities.” They are all mere creatures. Their Creator and Ruler is none other than the preeminent One, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Again, he’s getting out in front of this heresy. He’s saying to the Colossians here, essentially “Why would you be worshiping angels?” “When the One you ought to worship, is the One who created those angels.” Christ Himself.
At the end of verse 16, it also says, “all things have been created through Him.” That speaks of Christ being the divine agent in creation. In other words, Christ is the Person of the Godhead through whom God’s creative acts were performed. Of course, God the Father is the Creator.
Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”
Or Psalm 33:6, “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made. But the three Persons of the Trinity participated actively together in the works of creation.
John 1:3 says, “All things came into being through Him, [Jesus Christ, that’s a reference to Christ] and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.”
Hebrews 1:2 says, “. . . in these last days [He] [meaning God the Father] has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.”
In other words, in the act of creation, God did not act apart from Christ. Rather, it was through Christ, that God performed His various creative acts. The Son was the “master Workman” in Creation. Christ was the agent through whom God accomplished His creative acts. The point is, you cannot say that although Christ created some things. That He Himself was created originally. The One who is “firstborn” over all creation, is most certainly not a creature. Instead, as we see here, He is the very Creator.
At the end of verse 16, we’re told that all things were created “for Him.” He’s the One “for” whom all things were created. Meaning, the purpose and the goal of all things in creation, lies in their relation to Him – to Christ. They are literally for Him, “unto Him”, it could be translated. We need to think of the profoundness of that statement that’s being made there. That all things are “for Him.”
People today, should be praising Jesus Christ when they see anything in creation. Whether it be six feet in front of us. Or the minute complexities of life as seen through a microscope. Or when it’s looking out into the galaxies through a telescope. Glory should be attributed to Him. Not to the angels. Not to Mother Nature. Not to some atheistic principle of evolution.
No! It’s all, as this text says: “By Him.” And “Through Him.” And “For Him.”
Our natural tendency, even as believers. Which is to label Christ. We think of Christ as Christmas Jesus. The One who was in the manger in Bethlehem. We think of Him as carpenter Jesus. The son of Joseph and Mary. Building furniture. Never talking back to his parents. The One who grew in wisdom and stature and favor both with God and with man. We think of Him as crucified Jesus. The One who bore the punishment for our sins and the stripes that were laid across His back and took the crown of thorns upon His head. Fulfilled the Father’s perfect plan by offering salvation for those who would believe in Him. Or then we put Him in the category of the comforting Jesus. The One whose promises we look to for hope and support. The One we look to in prayer. The One we cry out to. The One through whom we find kinship with others who have believed in His name. That’s good to do all of that. Because He is each of those things. But behind it all, is this great truth. That the Jesus of the bible. The Jesus of Nazareth. Is the eternal Son of God. The second Person of the Trinity. The “image of the invisible God.” The “firstborn of all creation.” The Creator. All things were created by Him. All things were created through Him. All things were created for Him.
[1] Geisler, N. L. (1985). Colossians. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 672). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[i] Geisler, N. L. (1985). Colossians. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, pp. 672–673). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
Mark 8:36 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” -John 8:32
Our mission is to spread the gospel and to go to the least of these with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ; We reach out to those the World has forgotten.
hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en His Love Ministries on Itunes Don’t go for all the gusto you can get, go for all the God (Jesus Christ) you can get. The gusto will get you, Jesus can save you. https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions
Wednesday Dec 25, 2024
Wednesday Dec 25, 2024
Luke 2:8-11 says Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 10 Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 "For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Here we see in the book of Luke for the third time the appearance of an angel, a response of fear, the command not to fear, and the announcement of a birth that brings joy. This time it is not to a family, but to the lowly shepherds who were considered the least of all society and had a reputation of being untrustworthy. As in many places in the Gospels God shows His love for all people, especially those of the common people and lowly of status. God cares for all people and has a special place for those of low status as they are the ones who usually are willing to trust in Christ, whereas those with much status and wealth are usually not willing to humble themselves to trust in a Christ of humble nature. This is the good news that Jesus will save those who will humble themselves and come to Him only on the merits of what He has done. Many think they are good enough or do not need to be changed because of who they are and what they have accomplished. Are you one of those, or are you willing to humbly ask God to forgive you for being a sinner in need of a Savior? If so, don’t put it off, do it today.
Luke 2:8-11 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 10 Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 "For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
Mark 8:36 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” -John 8:32
Our mission is to spread the gospel and to go to the least of these with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ; We reach out to those the World has forgotten.
hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en His Love Ministries on Itunes Don’t go for all the gusto you can get, go for all the God (Jesus Christ) you can get. The gusto will get you, Jesus can save you. https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions
Monday Dec 23, 2024
Monday Dec 23, 2024
1:12 Qualified: To receive an inheritance in heaven through Jesus’ work on the cross
If Jesus had not died for our sins we would only receive wrath
Of course, the one blessing that ought to move us constantly to thanksgiving is that God has made us fit to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light” (Col. 1:12). The word fit means “qualified”: God has qualified us for heaven! And, while we are waiting for Christ to return, we enjoy our share of the spiritual inheritance that we have in Him (Eph. 1:11, 18–23).
In the Old Testament, God’s people had an earthly inheritance, the land of Canaan. Christians today have a spiritual inheritance in Christ. Canaan is not a picture of heaven, for there will be no battles or defeats in heaven. Canaan is a picture of our present inheritance in Christ. We must claim our inheritance by faith as we step out on the promises of God (Josh. 1:1–9). Day by day, we claim our blessings; and this makes us even more thankful to the Lord.
As we review this marvelous prayer, we can see how penetrating it is. We need spiritual intelligence if we are going to live to please God. We also need practical obedience in our walk and work. But the result of all of this must be spiritual power in the inner man, power that leads to joyful patience and long-suffering, with thanksgiving.
Have you been praying this way lately?[1]
Light: Refers to the Kingdom of God
Christ Is the Saviour (Col. 1:13–14)
Col 1:13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,
Man’s greatest problem is sin—a problem that can never be solved by a philosopher or a religious teacher. Sinners need a Saviour. These two verses present a vivid picture of the four saving actions of Christ on our behalf.
1:13 Delivered: This word in the original language Greek meant to draw to oneself or to rescue
Jesus rescued us from Satan’s kingdom and Hell
He delivered us (v. 13a). This word means “rescued from danger.” We could not deliver ourselves from the guilt and penalty of sin, but Jesus could and did deliver us. We were in danger of spending eternity apart from God. The sword of God’s judgment was hanging over our heads!
But this deliverance involved something else: we were delivered from the authority of Satan and the powers of darkness. The gnostic false teachers believed in an organization of evil spirits that controlled the world (see Col. 1:16; 2:10, 15): angels, archangels, principalities, powers, virtues, dominions, and thrones. John[1]
He transferred us (v. 13b). This word was used to describe the deportation of a population from one country into another.[1]
Jesus Christ did not release us from bondage, only to have us wander aimlessly. He moved us into His own kingdom of light and made us victors over Satan’s kingdom of darkness. Earthly rulers transported the defeated people, but Jesus Christ transported the winners.
The phrase His dear Son can be translated “the Son of His love.” At the baptism and transfiguration of Jesus Christ, the Father declared that Jesus was His “beloved Son” (Matt. 3:17; 17:5). This fact reminds us of the price the Father paid when He gave His Son for us. It also reminds us that His kingdom is a kingdom of love as well as a kingdom of light.
The experience of Israel in the Old Testament is an illustration of this spiritual experience; for God delivered them from the bondage of Egypt and took them into the Promised Land of their inheritance. God brings us out that He might bring us in.
Kingdom: This is our current Kingdom of salvation and eternal Spiritual relationship with God
Son of His Love: This Kingdom is given to His Son Jesus as an expression of Love. He is the beloved Son whom He loves
V14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.
1:14 Redemption: This word in the original Greek meant to deliver by payment of ransom
It was used in reference to freeing slaves from bondage.
Believers have been delivered from the bondage of sin
Through His Blood: Christ was a blood sacrifice like the OT lambs.
John 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming unto him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world!
He redeemed us (v. 14a). This word means “to release a prisoner by the payment of a ransom.” Paul did not suggest that Jesus paid a ransom to Satan in order to rescue us from the kingdom of darkness. By His death and resurrection, Jesus met the holy demands of God’s Law. Satan seeks to accuse us and imprison us because he knows we are guilty of breaking God’s Law. But the ransom has been paid on Calvary, and through faith in Jesus Christ, we have been set free.
He has forgiven us (v. 14b). Redemption and forgiveness go together (Eph. 1:7). The word translated forgiveness means “to send away” or “to cancel a debt.” Christ has not only set us free and transferred us to a new kingdom, but He has canceled every debt so that we cannot be enslaved again. Satan cannot find anything in the files that will indict us!
Forgiveness of Sins: We have been given a pardon from the penalty of sin.
To pardon is to remove the penalty without having deserved forgiveness
In recent years, the church has rediscovered the freedom of forgiveness. God’s forgiveness of sinners is an act of His grace. We did not deserve to be forgiven, nor can we earn forgiveness. Knowing that we are forgiven makes it possible for us to fellowship with God, enjoy His grace, and seek to do His will. Forgiveness is not an excuse for sin; rather, it is an encouragement for obedience. And, because we have been forgiven, we can forgive others (Col. 3:13). The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant makes it clear that an unforgiving spirit always leads to bondage (Matt. 18:21–35).
Jesus Christ is preeminent in salvation. No other person could redeem us, forgive us, transfer us out of Satan’s kingdom into God’s kingdom, and do it wholly by grace. The phrase, “through His blood,” reminds us of the cost of our salvation. Moses and the Israelites only had to shed the blood of a lamb to be delivered from Egypt. But Jesus had to shed His blood to deliver us from sin.[1]
Mark 8:36 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” -John 8:32
Our mission is to spread the gospel and to go to the least of these with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ; We reach out to those the World has forgotten.
hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en His Love Ministries on Itunes Don’t go for all the gusto you can get, go for all the God (Jesus Christ) you can get. The gusto will get you, Jesus can save you. https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions
Wednesday Dec 18, 2024
Wednesday Dec 18, 2024
Hi, This is Marty McKenzie with His Love Ministries. It’s the Christmas Season again, so let’s remember that Jesus gave Himself to provide the ultimate gift of salvation, when He died on that cross so that we might go to heaven. Eph 2:8-9 says For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works lest anyone should boast. And Jesus said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' So today and every day why don’t we give the gift of our time, our resources, and our abilities, to someone in need, that’s the least we can do since Jesus gave us His all.
Mark 8:36 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” -John 8:32
Our mission is to spread the gospel and to go to the least of these with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ; We reach out to those the World has forgotten.
hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en His Love Ministries on Itunes Don’t go for all the gusto you can get, go for all the God (Jesus Christ) you can get. The gusto will get you, Jesus can save you. https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions
Monday Dec 16, 2024
Monday Dec 16, 2024
Col 1:11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy;
He Prayed for Moral Excellence (Col. 1:11–12)
Wisdom and conduct should always be related to moral character. One of the great problems in our evangelical world today is the emphasis on “spiritual knowledge” and “Christian service,” without connecting these important matters to personal character.[1]
Knowledge, conduct, service, and character must always go together.[1]
It is God’s energy that empowers us. Colossians 1:11 reads, in effect: “With all power being empowered according to the might of His glory.” Paul used two different Greek words for God’s energy: dunamis (from which we get our word “dynamite”) means “inherent power”; and kratos means “manifested power,” power that is put forth in action. The grace of our Christian lives is but a result of God’s power at work in our lives. Spiritual growth and maturity can come only as we yield to God’s power and permit Him to work in us.
We usually think of God’s glorious power being revealed in great feats of daring—the Israelites crossing the Red Sea, David leading a victorious army, or Paul raising the dead. But the emphasis here is on Christian character: patience, long-suffering, joyfulness, and thanksgiving. The inner victories of the soul are just as great, if not greater, than the public victories recorded in the annals of history. For David to control his temper when he was being maligned by Shimei was a greater victory than his slaying of Goliath (2 Sam. 16:5–13). “He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit, than he who captures a city” (Prov. 16:32, nasb).[1]
Ephesians 3:16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man; 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height, 19 and to know the love of Christ, which surpasses knowledge, that you might be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,
Spiritual power is a mark of every Christian who submits to God’s Word and Spirit
We need to discipline ourselves to study the Word, understand it, and live by it.
As we grow weaker physically the Holy Spirit will strengthen us, energize, revitalize and empower the committed Christian.
Patience and Longsuffering are attitudes we have during trials
Jas 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,
Patience looks at enduring difficult circumstances
It is the opposite of despondency. This word is never used in reference to God, for God does not face difficult circumstances. Nothing is impossible with God (Jer. 32:27).[1]
Patience is an important characteristic of the maturing Christian life. If we do not learn to be patient, we are not likely to learn anything else. As believers, we are able to rejoice even in our tribulations, because we know that “tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance proven character; and proven character, hope” (Rom. 5:3–4, nasb).
We must never think that patience is complacency. Patience is endurance in action. It is not the Christian sitting in a rocking chair, waiting for God to do something. It is the soldier on the battlefield, keeping on when the going is tough. It is the runner on the race track, refusing to stop because he wants to win the race (Heb. 12:1).
Too many Christians have a tendency to quit when circumstances become difficult. One man used to remind his students, “It is always too soon to quit.”[1]
Longsuffering looks at enduring difficult people
God is long-suffering toward people because of His love and grace (2 Peter 3:9). Long-suffering is one fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22). It is among the “grace garments” that the believer should wear (Col. 3:12).
It is amazing how people can patiently endure trying circumstances, only to lose their tempers with a friend or loved one. Moses was patient during the contest with Pharaoh in Egypt. But he lost his temper with his own people and, as a result, forfeited his right to enter the Promised Land (Num. 20). “Like a city that is broken into and without walls is a man who has no control over his spirit” (Prov. 25:28, nasb).[1]
A pastor often visited a Christian young man who had been badly burned. The young man had to lie still for hours, and it was difficult for him to perform even the basic functions of life. “I wish God would do a miracle and heal me,” the young man said to his pastor one day.
“God is doing a miracle,” the pastor replied, “but not the kind you are looking for. I have watched you grow in patience and kindness during these weeks. That, to me, is a greater miracle than the healing of your body.”[1]
I can recall times in my life when all the circumstances around me pointed to difficulty and possible defeat. Yet my heart was filled with a spiritual joy that could only come from God. Sad to say, I also remember times (far too many!) when I gave in to the problems around me, and I lost both the joy and the victory.[1]
Col 1:12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.
The fourth evidence of God’s power in our lives is thankfulness. Christians who are filled with the Holy Spirit will be joyful and thankful (Eph. 5:18–20). When we lose our joy, we start complaining and becoming critical.[1]
The Colossian epistle is filled with thanksgiving. Paul gave thanks for the church in Colossae (Col. 1:3), and he prayed that they might grow in their own thanksgiving to God (Col. 1:12). The Christian life should abound with thanksgiving (Col. 2:7). One of the evidences of spiritual growth in our Bible study is thanksgiving (Col. 3:15–17). Our prayers should always include thanksgiving (Col. 4:2). The Christian who is filled with the Spirit, filled with the Word, and watching in prayer will prove it by his attitude of appreciation and thanksgiving to God.[1]
We should remember that every good gift comes from God (James 1:17) and that He is (as the theologians put it) “the Source, Support, and End of all things.” The very breath in our mouths is the free gift of God.
Thankfulness is the opposite of selfishness. The selfish person says, “I deserve what comes to me! Other people ought to make me happy!” But the mature Christian realizes that life is a gift from God, and that the blessings of life come only from His bountiful hand.
Mark 8:36 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” -John 8:32
Our mission is to spread the gospel and to go to the least of these with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ; We reach out to those the World has forgotten.
hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en His Love Ministries on Itunes Don’t go for all the gusto you can get, go for all the God (Jesus Christ) you can get. The gusto will get you, Jesus can save you. https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions
Wednesday Dec 11, 2024
Wednesday Dec 11, 2024
The Jews of Paul’s day boasted in their physical circumcision, claiming it was evidence they belonged to God. Many today think something they have done, or not done is what makes them right with God. What do you think it takes to go to Heaven? Good works, church membership, baptism, communion, Keeping the 10 commandments, I have done more good than bad? Jesus said in Matthew 7 that it has always been a matter of the heart, not the outward things that show what is really inside us. Paul said if you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord and that God has raised Him from the dead you will be saved. Have you done that?
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” -John 8:32
Our mission is to spread the gospel and to go to the least of these with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ; We reach out to those the World has forgotten.
hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en Don’t go for all the gusto you can get, go for all the God (Jesus Christ) you can get. The gusto will get you, Jesus can save you. https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions
Monday Dec 09, 2024
Monday Dec 09, 2024
Paul prays their Wisdom and understanding would lead to practical obedience
1:10 Walk worthy: believers are to live in a way that is consistent with Godly principles
Ps 4:3 But know that the LORD hath set apart him that is godly for Himself; the LORD will hear when I call unto Him.
Two words summarize the practicality of the Christian life: walk and work. The sequence is important: first, wisdom; then walk; then work. I cannot work for God unless I am walking with Him; but I cannot walk with Him if I am ignorant of His will. The believer who spends time daily in the Word and prayer (Acts 6:4) will know God’s will and be able to walk with Him and work for Him.[1]
Our purpose in life is not to please ourselves, but to please the Lord. We should walk worthy of our calling (Eph. 4:1) and worthy of the Gospel (Phil. 1:27), which means we will walk worthy of God (1 Thes. 2:12). In short, we should walk to please God (1 Thes. 4:1).[1]
Philippians 2:12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.[1]
In the Christian life, knowledge and obedience go together. There is no separation between learning and living. The wisdom about which Paul prayed was not simply a head knowledge of deep spiritual truths (see Col. 1:28; 2:3; 3:16; 4:5). True spiritual wisdom must affect the daily life[1]
God must make the worker before He can do the work. God spent thirteen years preparing Joseph for his ministry in Egypt, and eighty years preparing Moses to lead Israel. Jesus spent three years teaching His disciples how to bear fruit; and even the learned Apostle Paul needed a “postgraduate course” in Arabia before he could serve God with effectiveness. A newborn babe can cry and make its presence known, but it cannot work. A new Christian can witness for Christ and even win others—but he must be taught to walk and learn God’s wisdom before he is placed in an office of responsible ministry.[1]
People know you are different by the way you live
Being Fruitful: Spiritual fruit is the result of a righteous life
Leading people to Christ
Praising God
Giving Money
Godly Life
Holy Attitudes
Increasing In Knowledge: Epignosis…full knowledge..Need to increase in knowledge to achieve Spiritual Growth
Evidences of Spiritual Growth:
Deeper love for God’s Word
A more perfect obedience
Strong doctrinal foundation which is knowing the main principles of Gods Word
Greater Faith
Greater Love for others
Practical obedience means pleasing God, serving Him, and getting to know Him better. Any doctrine that isolates the believer from the needs of the world around him is not spiritual doctrine. Evangelist D.L. Moody often said, “Every Bible should be bound in shoe-leather.” Paul would agree.[1]
Mark 8:36 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” -John 8:32
Our mission is to spread the gospel and to go to the least of these with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ; We reach out to those the World has forgotten.
hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en His Love Ministries on Itunes Don’t go for all the gusto you can get, go for all the God (Jesus Christ) you can get. The gusto will get you, Jesus can save you. https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions
Wednesday Dec 04, 2024
Wednesday Dec 04, 2024
God didn't stutter when He gave us His Word the Bible, He said what He meant and meant what He said. God's word is the only real truth we have and it is meant to be first of all a revealing of His Holiness and standards for approaching Him because He is so Holy. Then it is also a revealer of how we can approach Him by being saved through what Jesus Christ did through His death burial and resurrection. We can come to God and be His friend through salvation, but only by His means and methods, all other ways lead to Hell. Trust Him today if you haven't for forgiveness of your sins. If you have trusted Him, thank Him for what He has done because without what He did we cannot come near a Holy God.
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” -John 8:32
Our mission is to spread the gospel and to go to the least of these with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ; We reach out to those the World has forgotten.
hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en Don’t go for all the gusto you can get, go for all the God (Jesus Christ) you can get. The gusto will get you, Jesus can save you. https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions
Monday Dec 02, 2024
Monday Dec 02, 2024
V9 For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;[i]
1:9 He prays for them to have a deep and thorough understanding of God’s will
In the language of the New Testament, to be filled means to be “controlled by.” When we are filled with anger, we are controlled by anger. To be “filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18) means to be “controlled by the Spirit.” Paul’s prayer, then, is that these believers might be controlled by the full knowledge of God’s will.[ii]
We understand the will of God through the Word of God.[iii]
Wisdom: or the ability to store up and organize principles of scripture
· Understanding: the ability to apply those principles of scripture to daily living, a mental putting together
The first step toward fullness of life is spiritual intelligence—growing in the will of God by knowing the Word of God.[iv]
Mark 8:36 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” -John 8:32
Our mission is to spread the gospel and to go to the least of these with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ; We reach out to those the World has forgotten.
hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en His Love Ministries on Itunes Don’t go for all the gusto you can get, go for all the God (Jesus Christ) you can get. The gusto will get you, Jesus can save you. https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions
[i] The New King James Version. (1982). (Col 1:9). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[ii] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 111). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[iii] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 111). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[iv] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 111). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
Wednesday Nov 27, 2024
Wednesday Nov 27, 2024
Deuteronomy 11:18-19 says "Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 19 "You shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. These commands to put the word on their hand and forehead were not literal commands but to remind them of how important God’s word is to us. God told the Israelites and therefore us too to always keep the word of God in the forefront of all that we do. We are to make sure we know what we believe and why we believe it. That can only happen when we read, study, and memorize the word of God. We are to take every opportunity as we go through our day and life to give object lessons to our children and grandchildren from the word of God. Every day presents new opportunities and lessons we can teach to our families if we know the word well enough and will only look around as we go throughout our day.
Mark 8:36 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” -John 8:32
Our mission is to spread the gospel and to go to the least of these with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ; We reach out to those the World has forgotten.
hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en His Love Ministries on Itunes Don’t go for all the gusto you can get, go for all the God (Jesus Christ) you can get. The gusto will get you, Jesus can save you. https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions
Monday Nov 25, 2024
Monday Nov 25, 2024
Paul’ Thankfulness (1:3-8)
Paul gave thanks to God for his readers frequently. He told them so, in order to enable them to appreciate the fact that he knew of their situation, and that he rejoiced in their good testimony. These six verses are all one sentence in the Greek text, indicating the unity of thought in this Bible passage.
The Apostle Paul was a great encourager, and this epistle is a good example of the grace of thanksgiving. In this section he gives thanks for what Christ has done in the lives of the Colossian Christians. But he also mentions thanksgiving in five other places in this letter: Colossians 1:12; 2:7; 3:15, 17; and 4:2. When you recall that Paul wrote this letter in prison, his attitude of thanksgiving is even more wonderful.[i]
Like Paul, we should be grateful for what God is doing in the lives of others. As Christians, we are all members of one body (1 Cor. 12:12–13). If one member of the body is strengthened, this helps to strengthen the entire body. If one church experiences a revival touch from God, it will help all the churches[ii]
Col 1:3 We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,
He gives thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
1:3 God and Father: The terms are used to show Jesus was one in nature with God
This is a affirmative statement about Christ’s Deity
Col 1:4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints
He Thanks God for the Faith they embraced
1:4,5 We see the 3 main graces that God gives us faith, love and hope.
1Co 13:13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
1Th 1:3 remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father,
1Th 5:8 But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.
The modern attitude is, “If you believe, you are safe.” But the obvious question is, “Believe in what?” Their answer: “Just believe!”
Nor are we saved by faith in a set of doctrines. I have often told the story about the famous evangelist, George Whitefield, who was witnessing to a man. “What do you believe?” Whitefield asked. The man replied, “I believe what my church believes.” “And what does your church believe?” asked the evangelist. “What I believe,” replied the man. Undeterred, Whitefield tried again and asked, “And what do you both believe? ”“Why, we both believe the same thing!” was the man’s evasive reply.
Saving faith involves the mind, the emotions, and the will. With the mind we understand the truth of the Gospel, and with the heart we feel conviction and the need to be saved. But it is only when we exercise the will and commit ourselves to Christ that the process is complete. Faith is not mental assent to a body of doctrines, no matter how true those doctrines may be. Faith is not emotional concern. Faith is commitment to Jesus Christ.[iii]
The evidence of true saving faith is love for fellow believers
He Thanks God for The Love they exhibit
and of your love for all the saints
of truth. Any other kind of faith is but superstition—it cannot save.[iv]
He Thanks God for The Hope they experienced
v5 because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel
1:5 The Believers hope is inseparable from his faith.
He has hope in going to heaven and sharing the glory of God
Certainty of going to heaven because God has promised
Romans 15:4 For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
1Pe 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,
,
It centers in a Person—Jesus Christ. The theme of this epistle is the preeminence or supremacy of Jesus Christ, and He is certainly preeminent in the Gospel. The false teachers who had invaded the fellowship in Colossae were trying to remove Jesus Christ from His place of preeminence; but to do this was to destroy the Gospel. It is Christ who died for us, and who arose again[v] 2 Corinthians 5:15
It is the “Word of truth” (v. 5) This means that it came from God and can be trusted. “Thy Word is truth” (John 17:17). There are many messages and ideas that can be called true, but only God’s Word can be called truth.[vi]
Everybody has faith in something. But faith is only as good as the object in which a person puts his trust. The jungle pagan worships a god of stone; the educated city pagan worships money or possessions or status. In both cases, faith is empty. The true Christian believer has faith in Jesus Christ, and that faith is based on the Word
Jesus secured it. Ephesians 2:11Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called "uncircumcised" by those who call themselves "the circumcision" (that done in the body by the hands of men) 12 remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.
The word Gospel means good news.
The word originally was used to express the good news of victory in battle or birth of a king
It is the good news of Christ’s victory over Satan, sin, and death
He Thanks God for the growth they encountered
Col 1:6 which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth;
1:6 The Gospel is preached to the whole world and It is for the whole world
It is the message of God’s grace (v. 6b). Two words in the Christian vocabulary are often confused: grace and mercy. God in His grace gives me what I do not deserve. Yet God in His mercy does not give me what I do deserve. Grace is God’s favor shown to undeserving sinners. The reason the Gospel is good news is because of grace: God is willing and able to save all who will trust Jesus Christ.[vii]
Isaiah 55:11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
Paul said that the Gospel was bearing fruit in all the world. The Word of God is the only seed that can be planted anywhere in the world and bear fruit. The Gospel can be preached “to every creature which is under heaven” (Col. 1:23). Paul’s emphasis was on “every man” (Col. 1:28). False teachers do not take their message to all the world. They go where the Gospel has already gone and try to lead believers astray. They have no good news for lost sinners!
If people are to be saved, they must hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And if they are to hear, we who are saved must carry the message. Are you doing your part?[viii]
3 kinds of fruit:
Spiritual attitudes
Righteous actions
New Converts
Galatians 5: 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
He Thanks God for The Ministry they enjoyed
They Were Discipled (Col. 1:7)[ix]
Col 1:7 as you also learned from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf,
1:7 Epaphras is most likely the founder of the church in Colosse
He shared the good news of God’s grace with them
Epaphras did not simply lead the Colossians to Christ and then abandon them. He taught them the Word and sought to establish their faith. The word translated “learned” in Colossians 1:7 is related to the word disciple in the Greek language. It is the same word Jesus used: “Learn of Me” (Matt. 11:29) or, in effect, “Become My disciple.”
These new believers were in danger of turning from the truth and following the false teachers. Paul reminded them that it was Epaphras who led them to Christ, discipled them, and taught them the Word. The word before (Col. 1:5) probably means “before these false teachers appeared on the scene.” Like the Colossians, we should beware of any religious leader who does not seek to win lost souls, but who devotes himself to “stealing sheep” from the flocks of others.
Epaphras was a faithful minister. He not only won people to Christ, but he taught them the Word and helped them to grow.[x]
He also shared the good news of their faith with Paul
When danger threatened the members of the church, Epaphras went to Rome to get counsel from Paul. He loved his people and wanted to protect them from false doctrines that would destroy the fellowship and hinder their spiritual development.[xi]
In that day, a disciple was not simply a person who sat and listened to a teacher. He was someone who lived with the teacher and who learned by listening, looking, and living. Discipleship involved more than enrolling in a school and attending lectures. It meant total surrender to the teacher. It meant learning by living. Perhaps our modern-day medical students or trade apprentices come close to illustrating the meaning of discipleship.[xii]
Epaphras faithfully taught his people and related them to Jesus Christ, but the false teachers came in and tried to “draw away disciples.” (For Paul’s warning about this problem, see Acts 20:28–30.)[xiii]
They Became Faithful in Christ (Col. 1:6, 8)[xiv]
Col 1:8 who also declared to us your love in the Spirit.
The Word of God is seed (Luke 8:11). This means the Word has life in it (Heb. 4:12). When it is planted in the heart, it can produce fruit. “All over the world this Gospel is producing fruit and growing”
When God’s Word is planted and cultivated, it produces fruit. Faith, hope, and love are among the firstfruits in the spiritual harvest. These spiritual graces are among the evidences that a person has truly been born again (see Rom. 5:1–4; Eph. 1:13–15; 1 Thes. 1:3; Heb. 6:9–12; 1 Peter 1:3–9).[xv]
True Salvation Evidence
Faith comes through the hearing of God’s Word (Rom. 10:17). Our Christian lives start with saving faith; but this is only the beginning. We learn to walk by faith (2 Cor. 5:7) and work by faith (1 Thes. 1:3). It is faith that gives power to prayer (Luke 17:5–6). Faith is a shield that protects us from Satan’s fiery darts (Eph. 6:16).[xvi]
Love is another evidence of true salvation, for the unsaved person is wrapped up mainly in himself (Eph. 2:1–3). The fact that these people loved all the saints was proof that God had changed them and given them eternal life. Christian love is not a shallow feeling that we manufacture; it is the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts (Rom. 5:5; Col. 1:8). It is worth noting that Colossians 1:8 is the only verse in the letter that mentions the Holy Spirit, and it is in connection with love.[xvii]
Hope is also a characteristic of the believer. Unsaved people are without hope because they are without God (Eph. 2:11–12). Those outside of Christ have no hope (1 Thes. 4:13). In the Bible, hope does not mean “hope so.” Our hope in Christ is as definite and assured as our faith in Christ. Because Christ is in us, we have the “hope of glory” (Col. 1:27).[xviii]
Hebrews 6:19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, 20 where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.[xix]
Mark 8:36 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” -John 8:32
Our mission is to spread the gospel and to go to the least of these with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ; We reach out to those the World has forgotten.
hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en His Love Ministries on Itunes Don’t go for all the gusto you can get, go for all the God (Jesus Christ) you can get. The gusto will get you, Jesus can save you. https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions
[i] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 106). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[ii] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 106). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[iii] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 107). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[iv] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 106). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[v] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 106). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[vi] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 106). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[vii] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 106). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[viii] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 107). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[ix] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 107). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[x] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 108). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[xi] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 108). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[xii] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 108). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[xiii] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 108). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[xiv] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 108). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[xv] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 108). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[xvi] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 108). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[xvii] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, pp. 108–109). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[xviii] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 109). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[xix] The New King James Version. (1982). (Heb 6:19–20). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
Wednesday Nov 20, 2024
Wednesday Nov 20, 2024
Deuteronomy 7:6 says For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth. Just as Israel was to be different from all the other nations we as Christians are called to be different from all those around us who don’t know the Lord. We too are called holy and need to remove all the sin in our lives as they were. We like the Israelites have nothing to boast in if we are Christians because we did nothing to earn it or deserve it. God loves us because He said He would if we would only trust in Christ. God brought us out with a mighty hand out of our former lives and set us free from the bondage of sin, let us live up to the name Christians we have been given.
Deuteronomy 7:6-8 "For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth. 7 "The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; 8 "but because the LORD loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers, the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
Mark 8:36 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” -John 8:32
Our mission is to spread the gospel and to go to the least of these with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ; We reach out to those the World has forgotten.
hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en His Love Ministries on Itunes Don’t go for all the gusto you can get, go for all the God (Jesus Christ) you can get. The gusto will get you, Jesus can save you. https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions
Monday Nov 18, 2024
Monday Nov 18, 2024
Intro:
Paul was the author, He was in prison at the time.
Letter is named for the city of Colosse, which was populated by Gentiles (any one other than Jews) and Jews.
Paul wrote this letter because Heresy or beliefs contrary to the Bible plagued the church.
The Church had Elements of Jewish Legalism and Pagan mysticism that later became known as Gnosticism. Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in ultimate or hidden truths, and to human transformation supported by various practices and experiences
The Gnostics believed that God is good and matter is evil
Self denial and neglect of the body were part of the beliefs
Jesus came out of God so He was less than God
This led them to deny His true humanity
They believed that a secret higher knowledge of scripture was necessary for knowledge of GOD & salvation
Jewish legalists
Believed that Circumcision was necessary for salvation
Had to observe OT rituals such as dietary, laws festivals, and Sabbaths
Also were into Rigid Asceticism or self denial
The Colossian heresy also called for the worship of angels and mysticism which is a belief that through deep thinking about God one can achieve a direct and immediate awareness of God or divine truth without the use of reason or any ordinary senses.
This “wisdom” would release them from earthly things and put them in touch with heavenly things.
All of this teaching was but man-made philosophy based on traditions and not on divine truth (Col. 2:8). It grew out of the philosophical question, Why is there evil in this world if creation was made by a holy God?[i]
These false teachers tried to change people from the outside, by means of diets and disciplines. But true spiritual growth comes from within.[ii]
Since to them matter was evil, they had to find some way to control their own human natures in this pursuit of perfection. Two different practices resulted. One school of thought held that the only way to conquer evil matter was by means of rigid discipline and asceticism (Col. 2:23). The other view taught that it was permissible to engage in all kinds of sin, since matter was evil anyway! It appears that the first opinion was the predominant one in Colossae.[iii]
PURPOSE
Three purposes emerge from the contents of this epistle. Paul wanted to express his personal interest in this church, which he had evidently not visited. He wrote to warn the Colossians, first, of the danger of returning to their former beliefs and practices. Secondly, he also disproved the false teaching that was threatening this congregation. The outstanding Christian doctrine that this letter deals with is Christology. Thirdly, Paul's great purpose was to set forth the absolute supremacy and sole sufficiency of Jesus Christ.
"The church today desperately needs the message of Colossians. We live in a day when religious toleration is interpreted to mean 'one religion is just as good as another.' Some people try to take the best from various religious systems and manufacture their own private religion. To many people, Jesus Christ is only one of several great religious teachers, with no more authority than they. He may be prominent, but He is definitely not preeminent.
"This is an age of 'syncretism.' People are trying to harmonize and unite many different schools of thought and come up with a superior religion. Our evangelical churches are in danger of diluting the faith in their loving attempt to understand the beliefs of others. Mysticism, legalism, Eastern religions, self-denial, and man-made philosophies are secretly creeping into churches. They are not denying Christ, but they are dethroning Him and robbing Him of His rightful place of preeminence."
MESSAGE
The whole message of this epistle is in 2:9-10a.: "For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete." The two statements in this sentence are the great revelations of the Colossian letter. The central doctrine in Colossians is Christology. Kenneth Hanna titled the first two chapters "the preeminence of Christ," and the second two "the preeminence of Christ in life."
The fullness of the Godhead is in Christ. This is an eternal fact that is always true. The Greek word translated "deity" (theotetos) occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. It does not mean divinity. Divinity is an attribute of God, but deity is the essence of God. It is not enough to say that Jesus Christ was divine. In a sense, every person is divine in that we possess some attributes that God also possesses. Only He possesses them perfectly.
The two main problems were the misunderstood doctrine of Christ and the misunderstanding of how this doctrine affects Christian living. The primary Christological passages in the epistle (1:14-23; 2:9-15) present Christ as absolutely preeminent and perfectly adequate for the Christian. The Christian life, Paul explained, flows naturally out of this revelation. The
Christian life is really the life of the indwelling Christ that God manifests through the believer.
There are many similarities between Ephesians and Colossians. The major distinction between them is that in Ephesians the emphasis is on the church as the body of Christ. In Colossians the emphasis is on Christ as the Head of the body. Also Paul wrote Colossians primarily to respond to a particular problem, whereas he wrote Ephesians primarily to expound correct teaching.
Paul did not begin by attacking the false teachers and their doctrines. He began by exalting Jesus Christ and showing His preeminence in five areas: the Gospel message, redemption, Creation, the church, and Paul’s own ministry[iv]
Jesus Christ is deity. He alone possesses the unique nature of God. In Him, the fullness of essential deity dwells in bodily manifestation (form or expression). The Apostle Paul explained Christ's fullness in three respects in this epistle:
In relation to creation, He is the Originator and Sustainer of all things (1:16-17). This includes all life.
In relation to redemption, He is the first-born from the dead (1:18).
Resurrection presupposes death. Death is due to sin. Between creation and resurrection, there was sin and death. In resurrection, Christ was victorious over sin, death, and the grave. He is Death's Master.
In relation to reconciliation, Christ is the maker of peace (1:19-20). The result of Christ's victory over death is peace. He is the reconciler of all the things that sin has separated. His reconciliation affects both people and the created world. In Christ, we see all the fullness of deity: creating, rising triumphantly out of death, and reconciling to the farthest reaches of the universe. That is the Christ of Christianity!
In relation to the church. 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 may have the preeminence.
In relation to Paul’s own ministry, v1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God,
Col 1:25 of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God,
The second major declaration of Colossians is that in Christ, God makes us complete (2:10a). Not only is the fullness of the Godhead in Christ, but the filling of the saints is in Christ too. Paul explained what this means.
First, it means that God restores us to "our true place in creation" in Christ.
We can regain the scepter and the crown as kings of the earth under God's authority (rule and reign over creation) (cf. Gen. 2:15). God has sent us out into all the cosmos to make Christ known (Matt. 28:19-20). Unfortunately, we do not always realize our position. We choose instead to grovel among the world's garbage heaps. Nevertheless, in this sense God makes us full in Christ: We come into a new relationship to all creation through Christ. God restores us to our divinely intended position in creation in Him. We are His trophies.
Second, God restores us to "our true relation to Himself" through Christ's resurrection. God communicates His very life to us so that we take our rightful place as God's subjects. God does not break our will. He captures our will by the indwelling grace of Christ's life. God makes us full in this sense too. We are His instruments.
Third, God restores us to "true fellowship with Himself" in Christ. We not only receive from God, but we can also give to God in service. Thus our fellowship is shared. We are His partners. We experience fullness in Christ, for in Him: God restores us to our true place in creation, to our true relation to Himself, and to our true fellowship with Himself. This restoration enables us to cooperate with God in His purposes. We become, not only trophies of His grace, but His instruments— and even His partners—in our generation.
In view of this revelation, Paul made a threefold appeal:
The first appeal is a warning against a false philosophy (2:8). Col 2:8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. Paul described this false philosophy in two ways. It is the tradition of men, which is essentially speculation or guesswork (theory). In this context, Paul meant human guessing that leaves God out of His universe. The theory of gradual evolution is an example of this. It is also the main belief of the world. This philosophy is simple because it tries to explain everything within the limits of the material. The material part of life is simple. The philosophy of antisupernaturalism is an example of this.
We correct this false philosophy by recognizing that Jesus Christ is the solution to the problem of the universe. When we realize that Jesus Christ is the first-born (first in rank and sovereignty), then we gain a true view of the universe. He is the Creator and the great cohesive agent in the universe.
Paul's second warning is against false mediation (things or methods designed to get us in touch with or closer to God) (2:16-18). Col 2:16 So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, 17 which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ. 18 Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,
He pointed out that ceremonies such as observing certain kinds of foods and festivals are only "shadows." We should not think that observing these ceremonies will improve our relationship to God. We have Jesus Christ, who is the substance to which these ceremonies pointed (e.g., the Jewish feasts). Another type of false mediation involves the worship of angels. We should have nothing to do with this practice because we have direct access to Jesus Christ. He is the Creator and Master of all creatures—including the angels. "There is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" (1 Tim. 2:5). To summarize, we should not allow religious ceremonies or created mediators to come between us and Christ.
Paul's third warning is against false confidences (2:20-23). Col 2:20 Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations-- 21 "Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle," 22 which all concern things which perish with the using--according to the commandments and doctrines of men? 23 These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.
Our spiritual enemy may tempt us to have confidence in the opinions of others. When false teachers say, "Do not touch this or taste that or handle something," we may think that those statements are authoritative. But this is legalism. Paul urges us not to follow such opinions—but to get our direction from the Lord Jesus. Our enemy may tempt us to put confidence in ascetic practices of refraining and self-affliction. Paul tells us to forget these things and to set our thinking on the things of Christ rather than on ourselves. Asceticism breeds dark self-examination and selfishness.
When we have a true view of Jesus Christ, He will be the focus of our thinking. That view will deliver us from the domination of the flesh. We need to base our confidence on God's Word, rather than on human traditions that do not reflect scriptural revelation accurately.
The matter of supreme importance to the church is her doctrine of Christ. Our Christian life and service will flow out of our doctrine of Christ. We are what we think. "As a man thinks in his heart so is he" (Prov. 23:7). Not only must Christ occupy the central place in our lives, but our understanding of Christ must be accurate. We can avoid all the errors that Paul warned against in this epistle by keeping a proper view of Christ.
This false teaching was a deceptive combination of many things: Jewish legalism, Oriental philosophy, pagan astrology, mysticism, asceticism, and even a touch of Christianity. There was something for everybody, and this was what made it so dangerous. The false teachers claimed that they were not denying the Christian faith, but only lifting it to a higher level. They offered fullness and freedom, a satisfying life that solved all the problems that people face.[v]
But Paul did not think his task completed when he had refuted the heretics, for he still had some important words for the church. In Colossians 3–4, Paul explained the greatest antidote to false teaching—a godly life. Those who say, “I don’t care what you believe, just so long as you live a good life” are not thinking logically. What we believe determines how we behave. If we believe that matter is evil, we will use our bodies one way; but if we believe that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, we will live accordingly.
Wrong doctrine always leads to wrong living. Right doctrine should lead to right living. In the two concluding chapters, Paul applied the preeminence of Christ to the daily affairs of life. If Christ is truly preeminent in our lives, then we will glorify Him by keeping pure, by enjoying fellowship with other saints, by loving each other at home and being faithful at work, and by seeking to witness for Christ and serve Him effectively. Unless doctrine leads to duty, it is of no use to us.
As we study this exciting letter, we must heed Paul’s warnings: “Lest any man should beguile you” (Col. 2:4), “Lest any man spoil you” (Col. 2:8), “Let no man therefore judge you!” (Col. 2:16)[vi]
Mark 8:36 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” -John 8:32
Our mission is to spread the gospel and to go to the least of these with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ; We reach out to those the World has forgotten.
hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en His Love Ministries on Itunes Don’t go for all the gusto you can get, go for all the God (Jesus Christ) you can get. The gusto will get you, Jesus can save you. https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions
[i] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 103). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[ii] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 104). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[iii] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 103). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[iv] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 105). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[v] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 104). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[vi] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 105). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
Wednesday Nov 13, 2024
Wednesday Nov 13, 2024
1 Thessalonians 5:18 says in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. I see people thanking God many times in the Bible. 8 times it is Paul who gives thanks even though he’s been locked up, beat up, shipwrecked and many other things have been done to him. I look around at all of us today who have been given so much, but complain so much and are not appreciative of all God has given us. Yes, it is close to Thanksgiving, but the Bible says we should be giving thanks all the time, even in the tough times. Are you complaining or thanking?
Our mission is to spread the gospel and to go to the least of these with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ; We reach out to those the World has forgotten.
hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net Don’t go for all the gusto you can get, go for all the God (Jesus Christ) you can get. The gusto will get you, Jesus has got you. https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en
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Sunday Nov 10, 2024
Sunday Nov 10, 2024
The Gospel of John is God’s premiere evangelization book. It is written by the disciple that Jesus loved using seven key signs that show that Jesus is God. He uses seven witnesses and the seven I am statements that Jesus gave us while He was here on earth. John does not give us any genealogy, no birth narrative, no manger scene, he just cuts to the heart of the matter when he introduces the book with the statement that in the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God and the Word was God. And if that is not enough in verse two he repeats the fact that He was there in the beginning with God. Folks, this book is written that we know that Jesus performed these signs and that we might believe as it states in Chapter 20:30-31. I don’t know about you, but I am excited about what God has shown us in this book and having seen all that God has done for us as we have found out about who Jesus really is and why He came to this earth for 33 years.
Chapters 1-12 - Show Us Jesus is Lord - The signs of the Son of God – 3 Years time
Chapters 13-17 - How to Grow In Christ – The Secrets of the Savior – A few hours
Chapters 18-21 - The Supremacy of Christ – Victorious over Sin and Death - A Few Weeks
there are the seven “signs” of John
Turns water into wine (John 2:1–12) Jesus is the source of life.
Heals a nobleman’s son (John 4:46–54) Jesus is master over distance.
Heals a lame man at the pool of Bethesda (John 5:1–17) Jesus is master over time.
Feeds 5,000 (John 6:1–14) Jesus is the bread of life.
Walks on water, stills a storm (John 6:15–21) Jesus is master over nature.
Heals a man blind from birth (John 9:1–41) Jesus is the light of the world.
Raises Lazarus from the dead (John 11:17–45) Jesus has power over death.[i]
In addition, there are the “seven witnesses” of John
John the Baptist “This is the Chosen One [literally, “Son”] of God” (1:34)
Nathaniel “You are the Son of God” (1:49)
Peter “You are the Holy One of God!” (6:69)
Martha “You are the Christ, the Son of God” (11:27)
Thomas “My Lord and my God!” (20:28)
John “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God” (20:31)
Jesus “I am the Son of God” (10:36; see also 4:26; 8:58)
Finally, there are the seven “I am’s” of John
“I am the bread of life” (6:35)
“I am the light of the world” (8:12)
“I am the door for the sheep” (10:7; cf. v. 9)
“I am the good shepherd” (10:11, 14)
“I am the resurrection and the life” (11:25)
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life” (14:6)
“I am the true vine” (15:1; cf. v. 5)
Jesus was actually sacrificed at the same time the Passover Lambs were being sacrificed.
Mark 8:36 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F
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“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” -John 8:32
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions.
Wednesday Nov 06, 2024
Wednesday Nov 06, 2024
Hi, I’m Marty McKenzie with His Love Ministries. In Philippians 4:1 Paul tells us to stand firm in the Lord. Are you spiritually stable? Or are you like the double minded man in James who doesn’t know what he believes and is tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine? The Bible tells us to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. So how can you stand firm in shaky times. You need to get your Bible out, read it, study it, memorize it, then you won’t fall prey to Satan’s lies and traps because you will Know the truth and the truth will set you free.
Monday Nov 04, 2024
Monday Nov 04, 2024
John 21:19 This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, "Follow Me." 20 Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, and said, "Lord, who is the one who betrays You?" 21 Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, "But Lord, what about this man?" 22 Jesus said to him, "If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me." 23 Then this saying went out among the brethren that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but, "If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you?" 24 This is the disciple who testifies of these things, and wrote these things; and we know that his testimony is true. 25 And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen.
A committed Christian’s will is content with following.
19 This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, "Follow Me."2Pe 1:14
Follow Me” This is a PRESENT ACTIVE IMPERATIVE as is v.22. This is related to the renewal and reaffirmation of Peter’s call to leadership
Our Lord’s words, “Follow Me!” must have brought new joy and love to Peter’s heart. Literally, Jesus said, “Keep on following Me.” Immediately, Peter began to follow Jesus, just as he had done before his great denial.
Peter later wrote that Christians who follow Jesus Christ faithfully to the point of dying for Him bring glory to God by their deaths
1Pe 4:14 If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified. 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people's matters. 16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter.
He lived with this prediction hanging over him for three decades
2Pe 1:14 knowing that shortly I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me.
Notice that Jesus does much more than predict Peter’s death. John wishes us to understand that Jesus went so far as to predict the way in which Peter would die: “(Now Jesus said this to indicate clearly by what kind of death Peter was going to glorify God.)” (verse 19). Peter’s previous effort to resist the arrest of Jesus was contrary to the gospel, and this is why Jesus rebuked him and abruptly ordered him to stop resisting His arrest. The death which Peter will experience is a death that will glorify God. Jesus also indicates that Peter will die in his old age, and thus he is informed that his death is not imminent. But his death for the Savior’s sake is certain: Notice it says that his death would glorify God. How? Because anybody who dies for their faith in Jesus Christ is a glory to God.
I agree with those who see here a prophecy that Peter truly will follow Jesus, by dying on a Roman cross:
More important is the way stretch out your hands was understood in the ancient world: it widely referred to crucifixion (Haenchen, 2. 226-227). … Bauer (p. 232) proposed long ago that this ‘stretching’ took place when a condemned prisoner was tied to his cross-member and forced to carry his ‘cross’ to the place of execution. The cross-member would be placed on the prisoner’s neck and shoulders, his arms tied to it, and then he would be led away to death.
The words, “Follow Me,” constitute the first calling of the disciples (Matthew 4:19; Mark 1:17; John 1:43). As time passed, these words took on a much deeper meaning. Following Jesus meant putting Jesus above family (Matthew 8:22). It meant a whole new way of life, where former practices would be unacceptable (Matthew 9:9; Mark 2:14). Before long, Jesus let His disciples know that following Him meant taking up one’s cross (Matthew 16:24; Mark 8:34). (At this point in time, our Lord’s reference to “taking up one’s cross” was, at best, understood symbolically.) For the rich young ruler, it meant giving up his possessions (Matthew 19:21; Mark 20:21). And now, for Peter, it means not only carrying on the Master’s work, but taking up a very literal cross. It would seem that at every point where following Jesus is more precisely defined, another challenge to follow Him is given. So it is in our text.
I fear that Christians today understand these two words, “Follow me,” in a superficial way. When Paul writes, “For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21), we interpret his words in a somewhat self-indulgent fashion. We suppose that Paul means living as a Christian is glorious, trouble-free, and fulfilling. It is, to put it plainly, “the good life.” In other words, we get to live it up here, and then when we die, it gets even better. There is a certain sense in which this is true. But we must understand Paul’s words in the light of what Jesus is telling Peter here, in our text, about following Him.
To follow Christ is to walk in His steps, to live as He lived, to serve others as He did, and to lay down your life for the sheep, like Him. In Philippians chapter 1, Paul is therefore saying, “For me, to live is to live just as Christ did, taking up my cross daily, laying down my life for His sheep.”
"Obedience to Jesus' command, Follow Me, is the key issue in every Christian's life. As Jesus followed the Father's will, so His disciples should follow their Lord whether the path leads to a cross or to some other difficult experience."
Peter got the message. He was willing to lay down his life for the Savior.
Do you know what Jesus is saying to him here? "Peter, you're going to grow old, “because He says, "When you’re old, so you're going to have a full life, Peter. And when it comes to the end of your life, you're going to be crucified."
That means, to Peter, that when it comes down to the crux at that hour, he's going to confess Christ and die for Him, right? Now don't you think that's good news to Peter who last time he had a chance to die for Jesus blew it? And so He says, "Peter, I'm going to give you another chance, you're going to live a full life and then at the end you're going to hang in there, it's going to come down to a life/death issue and you're going to stand up and say I believe in Jesus boldly and you're going to die for it." Now I can imagine the thrills were shooting up Peter's back like crazy because he was going to get a chance to prove his love for Jesus.
Peter committed his life to Christ and Christ said, "Peter, you'll live for Me and you'll die nailed to a cross." That's the destiny that God had designed for Peter. That's a beautiful promise. O Peter I'm sure in his heart just was saying over and over again...if I only had another chance...if I only had another chance to show the Lord I could be faithful in a crucial situation...if I only had one more chance to show Him my love in a life/death thing, O I'd do it, I'd do it. And so the Lord says, "Peter, you'll do it...you'll do it." And, you know, it's a good thing He told Peter cause Peter would have lived his whole life a nervous wreck thinking that every time he came to a real issue he'd blow it. And a leader with no confidence is no leader at all. And the Lord knew that Peter would worry himself about this so the Lord says, "Peter, you can relax through your whole ministry. When it comes to the end, you'll proclaim My name, you'll die a crucifixion death, don't worry about it."
Following Jesus means being where He is. Jesus said in John 12:26 that, "If any man serve Me, let him follow Me that where I am, there will My servant be also." In other words, Jesus wants servants to go where He goes. That's the first thing about following. You go where He goes. Real simple. And in all the days of your life, in all the circumstances of your life, in all the places of your life, in all the relationships of your life, you should be able to say when asked, "Why are you here?" I'm here because I'm following Jesus and this is where He's led me today.
Following Jesus means to pattern our lives after His attitudes. His holiness and His purity and His obedience to God becomes the pattern for us. Jesus said in Matthew 5:48, "Be ye perfect even as I am perfect." We are to pattern our lives after Him. As He was faithful to the Father and obedient, so are we to be faithful and obedient..
Thirdly, following Jesus means a willingness to suffer sacrifice for His sake. That's the nitty-gritty. Are you willing to do that? In Matthew 16 Jesus said, "If any man follow Me, take up his cross," right, "and follow Me." Now that's talking about the suffering sacrificial side of following Jesus.
But what does it mean to take up your cross, to bear your cross? in those days the victims of crucifixion bore the crossbeam of their own cross on their back as they marched to crucifixion. And in Matthew, as this was being spoken, the people in Galilee would well understand it because when the Roman General Varus had broken the revolt of Judas of Galilee, he crucified as a punishment two thousand Jews and he placed their crosses along all the roads leading through Galilee so that everywhere that everybody went they saw people hanging on crosses, two thousand of them. And all these people had borne the crossbeam on their back to their own death.
What Jesus is saying here is that means to be willing to sacrifice yourself for a cause. That's what it means. And Jesus is saying the same thing, are you willing to sacrifice everything you hold dear, everything you love, all the stupid little things that occupy your time, all your dreams and all your ambitions to be obedient to His cause? That's the real issue.
20 ¶ Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, and said, "Lord, who is the one who betrays You?" Joh 13:23,25; 20:2
21 Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, "But Lord, what about this man?"
22 Jesus said to him, "If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me."
Mt 16:27-28; 25:31; 1Co 4:5; 11:26; Re 2:25; 3:11; 22:7,20
"Follow...you follow Me, Peter." What does He mean? He means, "Peter, get your eyes off of everybody else," like Paul said in 1 Timothy 4:16, I love this, "Take heed unto thyself."
Following Jesus means Peter’s job was to follow, not to meddle into the lives of other believers. Beware when you get your eyes off the Lord and start to look at other Christians! “Looking unto Jesus” should be the aim and practice of every believer (Heb. 12:1–2). To be distracted by ourselves, our circumstances, or by other Christians, is to disobey the Lord and possibly get detoured out of the will of God. Keep your eyes of faith on Him and on Him alone.
This does not mean that we ignore others, because we do have the responsibility of caring for one another (Phil. 2:1–4). Rather, it means that we must not permit our curiosity about others to distract us from following the Lord. God has His plan for us; He also has plans for our Christian friends and associates. How He works in their lives is His business. Our business is to follow Him as He leads us (see Rom. 14:1–13).
But why was Jesus singling him out? What about the rest? What about John? At some point, it appears that Jesus and Peter have gone off by themselves, apart from the others. Verse 20 seems to indicate that Jesus and Peter are walking by themselves, with John following behind, at a distance. Peter turns around and sees John, some distance away. He and John had been closely associated in the fishing business, and even as disciples. Later, they will work very closely together as apostles, as we see in the Book of Acts. Peter could not resist asking Jesus about John’s fate. If Peter had to die to follow Jesus, was this also true of John? Peter seems to have the same attitude toward suffering. If he had to suffer, then surely John should be expected to suffer in just the same way, for the same period of time
This description highlights his intimacy with Jesus. That intimacy was evidently a factor in Jesus’ plans for John to which He proceeded to refer (vv. 22-24). These plans included his writing this Gospel (v. 24). Therefore by presenting the writer as an intimate of Jesus, John was establishing his credentials as a reliable eyewitness of what he reported. A second reason is that this description also reminds the reader of John’s intimacy with Peter. This helps us understand Peter’s question about Jesus’ will for John. Peter evidently wanted to know what would happen to his young friend if he himself was going to suffer crucifixion.
23 Then this saying went out among the brethren that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you?”
Following Jesus means people play their parts and God puts it all together.
Peter was guilty of giving too much attention to John, when our Lord had narrowed the focus of the discussion to Peter’s love, and Peter’s service. Jesus further indicated to Peter that he would glorify his Master by his death, a death that was similar to His death, a death by crucifixion. Peter had fixed his attention on John. From John’s words here, we know that others erred in the same way Peter had. It was a popular misconception that Jesus promised John that he would not die until His return. It was only that—a popular misconception—and John corrects it here.
Following Jesus means we are not here to compete with each other. Here we have the problem of rivalry and competition in the church. The Gospels clearly indicate that Jesus eliminated competition as a motivation for Christian activity. But it is rare to find that in practice today. The church has followed the world in this regard, competing and struggling within itself, thereby diminishing its message, and often destroying its effectiveness. Jesus says we do not have to worry about what others are doing, but to be faithful to what God has given us to do; he will put it all together.
This is how the church should operate. We are to fulfill the gifts God has given us. He will put it together. We are not in competition with anybody; we do not have to struggle for position. We each have been given a ministry, not only leaders, preachers and teachers, but to everyone has been given the gifts of the Spirit, and they define our ministry.
The twelfth chapter of First Corinthians indicates there are two things we must never say: Because we have gifts given us by the Lord, we must never say to anybody, "I have no need of you," (1 Corinthians 12:21). But how many times we hear that in the church: "We have no need of you. We can get along fine." I have heard churches boast that they had no need of any other church because they had adequate resources of their own. But that is not in accord with the mind of the Lord.
The second thing we must never say is, "You have no need of me. I as so ungifted, so poor, I have nothing to offer." You cannot say that. You have gifts which the Spirit of God has given to you and you alone. Thus we must not look at one another and ask, "Lord, what do you want to do with him?" Jesus' word is, "That is none of your business. Follow me. I will put it all together."
The reference to Jesus’ return is probably a reference to the Rapture rather than the Second Coming in view of what Jesus had promised these disciples in 14:1-3.
By the time John was writing this Gospel, Peter was probably already dead. If this is the case, then what is John’s purpose in writing about this incident? It is clearly not for Peter’s benefit. John tells us his reason for writing about this. It was to clear up the misconception some had that John would not die before the coming of our Lord. Jesus did not say that John would be alive at His return. He simply told Peter that if it was His will that he (Peter) die, and that John remain alive until His return, that was of no concern to Peter—it was none of his business. Death, like everything else, falls within the boundaries of our Lord’s sovereign control of all things. If death is God’s business, His sovereign business, then it is not Peter’s business to raise questions about John’s death.
John himself is not so taken with himself. John keeps the focus on our Lord, and on the truths He spoke.
Following Jesus means Our eyes should not be on ourselves, but on Christ. Our focus should not be on what others are doing for Christ, or what God is doing for them. Our focus should be on Him, and on our love for Him, as shown by our loving service to His flock.
This is the “Great Commission” of John’s Gospel. It is certainly different from the Great Commission of Matthew’s. But when you stop to think about it, the point of both Gospels is the same. Matthew emphasizes the authority of our Lord, and the Lord’s command to make disciples. John focuses on our love for the Lord, and the privilege we have to show our love for Him by caring for those He loves, in a way that is consistent with His sacrificial death at Calvary. How simple, how beautiful that is! How effective the church would become if we would but return to it.
The last word here is for both the fisherman and the shepherd: We rest upon a reliable testimony.
Following Jesus means our words are concerned with Jesus.
24 This is the disciple who testifies of these things, and wrote these things; and we know that his testimony is true. Joh 19:35; 3Jo 1:12,14
So, the beloved disciple is identified, ‘these things’ refer to the gospel. We have this very curious plural ‘we’. What’s going on here? Is John schizophrenic as he finishes the book? “We, me, myself, we write this.”
The early church probably endorsed this letter somehow, this gospel. In fact, some believe that the church at Ephesus was the church that was involved in John’s assembly of the Gospel, and they said, “Yes, we’ve seen those things and we know that what John has borne witness of is true, and so we agree with these things.”
This description of the writer stresses the reliability of his witness. "These things" probably refers to the whole Gospel, not just what immediately precedes.
25 And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen. Am 7:10; Joh 20:30
This final verse along with the one preceding it returns to the broad perspective with which this Gospel began in its prologue (1:1-18). The prologue presents the Word humbling Himself and entering the world in incarnation. This verse presents the world as not able to contain all the revelation that the Word made. John's final word was that what he wrote, and what everyone else could write, would be only a small part of what could be written to bring honor to Jesus Christ.
John has been very selective in what he has chosen to present as evidence in favor of his conclusion that Jesus is, indeed, the Son of God and the Savior of the world. And in his final words, John testifies that the words of this book are “the gospel truth.” It is not for lack of evidence that men are eternally lost. John has now set the evidence before his readers, and he urges each of us to draw the conclusions this evidence merits.
Obedience to Jesus’ command, Follow Me, is the key issue in every Christian’s life. As Jesus followed the Father’s will, so His disciples should follow their Lord whether the path leads to a cross or to some other difficult experience.
The false rumor about Jesus’ words to Peter show the possibility of misunderstanding God’s promises. Christians must seek to understand God’s Word accurately.
Peter and John have been off the scene (except for their books) for centuries, but you and I are still here. We are taking His place and taking their place. What a responsibility! What a privilege!
We can succeed only as we permit Him to transform us.
The verdict is clear. You should believe that Jesus is the promised Messiah—the Christ—and that by His sinless life and sacrificial death, your sins may be forgiven. And having believed the verdict, you should not only be overcome with His love for you, but you should be compelled by your love for Him, to serve Him as you shepherd His lambs. The evidence abounds; the verdict is clear. The question that remains is this: Given this evidence, how will you respond to Jesus Christ?
Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry.
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.
He was saying you can't write about God's love, the whole universe couldn't handle it.
Mark 8:36 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
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“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” -John 8:32
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions.
Wednesday Oct 30, 2024
Wednesday Oct 30, 2024
Deuteronomy 4:2 says You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you. Five times in the Bible God tells us not to add to His word or take anything away from it. We talked about this earlier in the week how God’s word came directly from Him using human authors to write it. God wrote the Bible so that we would know how to live so as to please Him, what to do, how to do it, plus have access to His wisdom. If we are wise, we would make sure we know the Bible and the God who wrote it well enough that we can do these things. God is so serious about His Word that He writes in Revelation 22:18-19 For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. Let us be very careful with His word. (Deuteronomy 4:2,12:32; Proverbs 30:6; Ecclesiastes 12:13; Revelation 22:18-19)
Mark 8:36 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” -John 8:32
Our mission is to spread the gospel and to go to the least of these with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ; We reach out to those the World has forgotten.
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The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions
Monday Oct 28, 2024
Monday Oct 28, 2024
John 21:14 This is now the third time Jesus showed Himself to His disciples after He was raised from the dead. 15 So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?" He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You." He said to him, "Feed My lambs."16 He said to him again a second time, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?" He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You." He said to him, "Tend My sheep." 17 He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?" Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, "Do you love Me?" And he said to Him, "Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You." Jesus said to him, "Feed My sheep. 18 "Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish." 19 This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, "Follow Me."
Today we look a little closer at the three do you love Me statements and what they mean to us in practical terms of what we need to do and how we need to live in light of these questions. Peter is like us in that he is not willing to totally commit to something unless we are sure WE can pull it off. So, Jesus gives a prophecy of how Peter will die. He tells Peter that he will live to be an old man and then they will put him on a cross. That he will glorify God through his death. That is just like God to let us know, yes you have failed, yes you are hesitant to fully commit now because of your failure, but I am going to use you anyway. Also, I want to let you know that when it comes time to stand up for me, you will not fail, you will not make the same mistake again and you will ultimately do the will of God as you are supposed to when it really counts. 2Co 9:15 Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!
14 This is now the third time Jesus showed Himself to His disciples after He was raised from the dead. Joh 20:19,26
John said that this was the third post-resurrection appearance "to the disciples" (i.e., the apostles, cf. 20:19-23, 26-29). Chronologically this was at least Jesus' seventh post-resurrection appearance (cf. 20:11-18; Matt.
28:8-10; 1 Cor. 15:5; Luke 24:13-32; John 20:19-23, 26-29). Nevertheless it was the third appearance to the disciples, and the third appearance to the disciples that John recorded.
John viewed this appearance as further proof of Jesus' resurrection. Perhaps he viewed it as completing a full complement of testimonies since he drew attention to its being the third appearance to the disciples. The number three in Scripture sometimes connotes fullness or completeness (e.g., the three Persons of the Trinity). However by calling this appearance a "manifestation" (Gr. ephanerothe, cf. v. 1) John indicated that he also viewed it as a revelation of Jesus' true character. So far Jesus had reminded these disciples of lessons that He had taught them previously that were important for them to remember in view of their mission. He had also set the stage for an even more important lesson that would follow.
I believe there are lessons to be learned from this miracle in the light of its similarity to the great fish harvest of Luke 5. Because of the fishing miracle in Luke 5, Peter and the other disciples came to see Jesus (and themselves) in a whole new light. There, Peter realizes he is not worthy to be in the same boat with Jesus. In John 21, Peter and the others are once again awed by our Lord and His works. In both texts, these professional fishermen were not able to catch anything on their own, even though they were laboring in the area of their expertise.
Jesus taught them that He is the source of their success, He is the One Who, when obeyed, makes men fruitful fishermen.
In Luke 5, the disciples were called to leave their fishing boats and to become “fishers of men” (5:10). I believe that John 21:1-14 is a reaffirmation of that original call. The disciples are all waiting around, wondering what to do with their lives.
I believe that by means of this miracle Jesus reiterates and reinforces their original call, which came in Luke 5.
There are some interesting differences in these accounts as well—and lessons to be learned from them.
The most obvious (and probably the most important) difference is that in Luke 5, Jesus was in the boat. In John 21, Jesus is on the shore. You may think I am pressing the limits of this story, but there is a lesson here: “Jesus is able to guide, to provide for, and to watch over His disciples just as well (better?) from a distance, as He is able to care for them “up close and personal.” From 100 yards away, Jesus knew they had caught no fish. From 100 yards away, Jesus could guide them to an abundance of fish. Even before they saw Him, Jesus was prepared to provide for their needs. He had breakfast “on the table,” so to speak, when they arrived on shore. Were the disciples uneasy about Jesus going away, about Jesus leaving them to return to His Father? Such fears are unfounded. He is just as able to care for them when He is in heaven as He was to care for them while He was on earth. I think this was a significant part of the lesson He wanted them to learn.
That is why this story is included here -- to teach us that in the work of evangelizing, whether through mass evangelism or individual witnessing, God himself is working with us and will supply far more than we ever dreamed.
Both of these accounts refer to Peter as "Simon Peter." Recall that when the Spirit of God uses the name "Simon" Peter, the natural Peter, the one with whom we feel a kinship, the Peter in us all, is in view.
And three times, Jesus is going to ask Peter the same question, or at least, we think it’s the same question, but as we’ll see as we move through this there’s actually a subtle shift in this question that we can’t see in our English Bibles, right?
It’s a rich picture of how intimately Jesus knows His friend, Peter, and by implication, how He knows us.
So, not only the guilt of, “Oh, I failed, and I didn’t respond well,” but, “Let me restore you to a place of usability that’s far beyond your wildest imagination.”
We need to keep this in mind as well, especially those of us who are very aware of our own sins, and how we have failed…
No matter how great a person is, he may fall (cf. 1 Cor. 10:12).[i]
Would you begin to understand that nothing you will ever done will make Him love you more, -and nothing you have ever done will make Him love you less. And when you start there, I believe the prayer thing is going to take care of itself.” But we’re all in this performance quota, “I have to do this before God will look on me favorably.”
He could not have demonstrated His love more profoundly than He already has. Why would He then change that conditionally based upon our works? So the motivation is, “I love you, and I want to respond well to you.”
Not, “I need to pray more, I need to be more faithful, I shouldn’t have done that.” What a terrible way to live the Christian life. Ultimately, that performance mindset that you’re talking about is legalism. It’s an attempt to self-justify and we have to come back and say do we believe that Christ has paid it all, and that we’re accepted not because of what we do, - but because of what He has done? And Peter had to realize that as well. As we pick up this account in John’s Gospel, Jesus has just finished cooking breakfast for His friends, and He’s about to have a conversation with Peter.
to follow Christ as maybe we have promised to do. Jesus is in the business of restoration. I am inclined to understand verses 1-14 in terms of evangelism—being fishers of men. But it is not enough to simply bring a lost sinner to faith in Jesus Christ; that person should also be discipled, and thus brought to maturity in Christ. This seems to be implicit in the Great Commission:
Lu 24:33 So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, 34 saying, "The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!"
Mr. 16:7 "But go, tell His disciples--and Peter--that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you."
Jesus is not seeking to correct (or even rebuke) Peter here for his three-fold denial. Jesus personally revealed Himself to Peter, probably before He appeared to the disciples as a group (1 Corinthians 15:5; Luke 24:34; Mark 16:7). I believe it is there that our Lord dealt with Peter’s three-fold denial, and forgave him. In our text, Peter is eager to be with our Lord. I believe this is because Peter’s sins have already been confronted and forgiven, and thus he has already been restored to fellowship with the Master
I am not even inclined to see this text as Peter’s restoration to leadership. There are some scholars who hold that Peter was restored to fellowship in his private interview with Jesus, and that this incident is his public restoration to leadership. I see the emphasis of this passage falling on humble service, not on leadership, per se.?????????
this passage is more about love than about leadership. Love for Jesus is demonstrated by faithfully caring for His sheep. So, too, when we care for the sheep whom our Lord loves, and for whom He gave His life, we show our love for the Shepherd.
caution should be exercised in making too much of the two different words for “love” which are employed in this text. The two verbs are agapao and phileo. The first two times Jesus asks Peter if he loves Him, the word for love is agapao. The third time Jesus asks, He employs the term phileo. Every time Peter responds to Jesus’ question, indicating his love, he employs the word phileo. The distinctions that some make between these two terms may hold true in some cases, and for some authors. They do not seem to hold true for John, who often uses different terms for the same concept. When commentators do seek to emphasize the distinctions between the two Greek words John uses, they do not agree as to what the meaning and emphasis of these terms are. We should keep in mind that when Jesus spoke to Peter and asked him these three questions, He spoke not in Greek (the language in which the Gospel of John is written), but in Aramaic, the language spoken by the Jews of that day. The change in words may have some significance, but I hardly think it is the key to understanding the passage.
Jesus began by addressing Peter as Simon the son of Jonas. In the Gospels, Jesus addressed Peter this way on only the most important occasions. These were his call to follow Jesus (1:42), his confession of Jesus as the Son of God (Matt. 16:17), and as he slept in Gethsemane (Mark 14:37).????????????
When Jesus addressed Peter this way here, Peter probably realized that what Jesus was about to say to him was extremely important.
"His [Peter's] actions had shown that Peter had not wanted a crucified Lord. But Jesus was crucified. How did Peter's devotion stand in the light of this? Was he ready to love Jesus as he was, and not as Peter wished him to be?"
His will is content with following. His work is compelled by love. His way is committed to God. And his work, or his will is content with following, but his words are about Jesus.
Number one, his work is compelled by love. A real committed Christian operates on the basis of his love for the Lord. Two, his way is controlled by God. He has learned how to give his life totally to God and trust Him for it. His will is content with following. He's happy to do what Jesus leads him to do. Fourth, his words are concerning Jesus. His work is compelled by love. His way is controlled by God. His will is content with following. And his words are concerned with Jesus.
A committed Christian operates on the basis of his love for the Lord.
15 ¶ So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?" He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You." He said to him, "Feed My lambs."
Each question begins with Simon, son of John. It’s funny to me that He names him Peter, but He never calls him Peter but one time. At least, it’s only recorded one time that He calls him Peter. He still calls him Simon. I think it has to do with the person of him before the Holy Spirit indwells him because in Acts he’ll be known primarily as Peter. But now, Jesus still calls him Simon. Called Him Simon Peter every time something important occurred. Original calling, garden of gethsemane, and now.
Peter had denied that he was one of Jesus' disciples and that he even knew Jesus three times. Thus Jesus' question was reasonable. He wanted Peter to think about just how strong his love for Jesus really was.
"There can be little doubt but that the whole scene is meant to show us Peter as completely restored to his position of leadership. . . . It is further worth noting that the one thing about which Jesus questioned Peter prior to commissioning him to tend the flock was love. This is the basic qualification for Christian service. Other qualities may be desirable, but love is completely indispensable (cf. 1 Cor. 13:1-3)."
Our Lord’s addition of the words, “more than these do,” really got to the heart of the matter. Our Lord’s prediction of Peter’s denials came in the midst of Peter’s confident boasting that even if all the others denied Jesus, he certainly would not. In other words, Peter was claiming a higher level of devotion than the rest. Jesus is simply asking him to re-evaluate his boastful claim. And this Peter did. Peter could truthfully affirm that he did love Jesus, but he would not go so far as to claim that his love was greater than that of his fellow-disciples. He also speaks of his love in terms of the Savior’s assessment of it: “Yes, Lord, You know I love You.” To this our Lord replied, “Feed My lambs.”
There is some discussion over what Jesus means here. The verse could be translated (and understood) in several ways. (1) “Peter, do you love me more than these fish, more than this boat and the nets, and the things which represent your life of a fisherman?” (2) “Peter, do you love Me more than you love these men?” (3) “Peter, do you love me more than these men do?”
But a comparison of these two accounts reveals that what he means is, "Do you love me more than these men love me?" Before he denied Jesus, Peter had inferred that he loved Jesus much more than they. "All men will forsake you, Lord, but I will lay down my life for you," he had said. Clearly he regards himself as more faithful and more committed than the others, whom he expected would desert the Lord in a time of danger. Thus Jesus addresses these words to him, "Do you love me more than these?"
When we bring that into our context, taken together, “Peter, now that you’ve denied me three times, remember I told you you’d deny me? Now that you’ve denied me three times, can you tell me that you love me more than these people love me?” That’s the question He’s posing to him.
And Peter is saying, “Look, Lord you knew I was going to deny you three times, you know if I love you or not, Lord.”Now, Peter is starting to develop a fuller Christology. This Jesus Christ knows everything about him. And He knows everything about him now. That’s why it grieved him, I think. Three times, “Lord, you know I love you. You know everything.”
Peter has learned some painful but necessary lessons. He does not judge himself in relationship to the others, but reads his own heart and replies, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." He makes no mention of the others. Here is a great lesson on how we are to look at others. Peter indicates he has learned to read his Lord's mind better. In the Garden of Gethsemane he felt that his love for Jesus required that he assault the enemies of his Lord, but here he learns that he is responsible to feed the sheep of Jesus. That is the correct manifestation of love.
Jesus responded graciously by giving Peter a command, Tend My lambs” This is an PRESENT ACTIVE IMPERATIVE. All three of these statements are the same grammatical form.
Note that Christ gives Peter a new commission: he is now a shepherd (pastor) besides being a fisher of men. (See 1 Peter 5.) He is now to shepherd the lambs and sheep and feed them the Word of God. All Christians are expected to be fishers of men (soul-winners), but some have been called into the special ministry of shepherding the flock. What good is it to win the lost if there is no church where they might be fed and cared for?
When Peter sinned, he did not lose his Sonship, but he did fall away from his discipleship. For this reason Christ repeated His call, “Follow Me.” Christ also confronts Peter with the cross (v. 18), indicating that Peter would one day be crucified himself. (See 2 Peter 1:12–14.) Before we can follow Christ, we must take up the cross. When you recall that earlier Peter tried to keep Christ from the cross, this commandment takes on new meaning (Matt. 16:21–28).[ii]
He told Peter to tend (Gr. boske, feed) His lambs (Gr. arnia). Previously Jesus had referred to Himself as the Good Shepherd (10:14). Now he was committing the care of His flock to this disciple who had failed Him miserably in the past. Jesus had formerly called Peter to be a fisher of men, an essentially evangelistic ministry (Matt. 4:19). Now he was broadening this calling to include being a shepherd of sheep, a pastoral ministry.
The image, however, changes from that of the fisherman to that of the shepherd. Peter was to minister both as an evangelist (catching the fish) and a pastor (shepherding the flock). It is unfortunate when we divorce these two because they should go together. Pastors ought to evangelize (2 Tim. 4:5) and then shepherd the people they have won so that they mature in the Lord.
Here is the chief work of a shepherd. Jesus says to Peter, "Feed my lambs"; "Tend my sheep"; "Feed my sheep." Three aspects of feeding are suggested here:
"Feed my lambs." Teach the children. Do not wait for them to grow up. Teach children from the Word what life is all about.
Peter was grieved because Jesus found it necessary to ask virtually the same question three times. I do not like to be asked the same question repeatedly. I conclude that either the person asking the question wasn’t paying attention (this could not be the case with Jesus), or that my answer was not acceptable or credible. The three-fold repetition must have registered with Peter as being related to his three-fold denial. Peter was grieved because he realized that the bold and even arrogant claims he had made proved to be empty. Peter is not distressed with Jesus; he is grieved over his own sin.
Jesus is not attempting to shame Peter; he is seeking to reaffirm his call to service. Did Jesus question Peter about his love for Him three times? Then note that three times Jesus instructed Peter to care for His sheep. Does Peter fear he has been cast aside as useless? Jesus tells him to return to His work, three times!
Peter really did love Jesus. But Peter needed to understand that his love for the Savior was not as great as he thought, just as his ability to catch fish was not as great as he seemed to think. In loving, and in landing fish, Jesus was supreme.
Even in the thing Peter did best (fishing), he could not hold a candle to Jesus, who proved to be far better at fishing than he. Peter sought to prove his love for Jesus by boasting about it, by arguing with his fellow-disciples about it (see Luke 22:24), and by being the first to draw his sword and lop off an ear, or perhaps even by being the first man into the water and onto the shore. These were not the benchmarks our Lord had established for testing one’s love for Him.
The proof of one’s love for God is sacrificial service —feeding our Lord’s sheep.
The way I understand verses 15-19 is something like this: “Peter, do you really love Me as much as you say? Then prove your love for Me by taking care of My sheep.” Jesus is the “Good Shepherd,” Who cares for His sheep (see John 10).
If Peter really loves his Lord, then his passion will be the Lord’s passion.
The circumstances must have reminded Peter of the scene of his denial. And if the circumstances as such did not remind him of this, what was about to happen was bound to do so. Note the following resemblances: 1. It was at a charcoal fire that Peter denied his Master (18:18). It is here at another charcoal fire (21:9) that he is asked to confess (his love for) his Master. 2. Three times Peter had denied his Master (18:17, 25, 27). Three times he must now own him as his Lord, whom he loves (21:15-17). 3. The prediction with reference to the denial had been introduced with the solemn double Amen (13:38; see on 1:51). The prediction which immediately followed Peter’s confession was introduced similarly (21:18).
Ps 1:1 Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
But it has been shown that the resemblance is even more pointed. In reverse order the same three ideas—1. following, 2. a cross, 3. denying—occur here in 21:15-19 as in 13:36-38.” William Hendriksen, Exposition of the Gospel According to John, II , p. 486.
John 21:15-17 is more about love than about leadership. “Peter if you’re going to love me, part of that will be shepherding and feeding and caring for my sheep, but the manifestation of those attributes come connected to your love to me. If you love me, Peter, you will shepherd the flock that I will give to you. My passion, Peter, will be your passion. The things I’m concerned about, Peter, will be the things you’re concerned about, if you love me.”
16 He said to him again a second time, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?" He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You." He said to him, "Tend My sheep." Ac 20:28; Heb 13:20; 1Pe 2:25; 5:2,4
Now the first and third words for “feed”, “Feed my sheep… feed my lambs… “ is the same word. The middle word is the word I want to talk about. The middle word is the word shepherding. Some of your translations use the word “care for”, and it has the root of a pastor. In fact, the word that Jesus uses here for Peter to shepherd is the word for pastoring and for eldering. Pastoring is the gift, eldering is the function. It is a shepherd; one who cares for people. The shepherd-sheep relationship describes the spiritual task of leaders of God’s people. The command ‘to shepherd’ includes guiding, guarding, feeding, protecting.
Then, "Shepherd my sheep." The word means, watch over, guard them. In Peter's first letter he says to the elders to whom he is writing, "Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, watching out for them," (1 Peter 5:2). Try to discern where they are at, apprehend the coming dangers, warn and guard them. That is the work of a shepherd.
The verbal tense conveys urgency. It calls upon the elder to have the official life of devotion to serving the flock of God.”
17 He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?" Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, "Do you love Me?" And he said to Him, "Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You." Jesus said to him, "Feed My sheep. Joh 2:24-25; 16:30
Jesus is the “Good Shepherd”; He is the Shepherd who came to lay down His life for His sheep. If Peter really loves Jesus, he will care for the Master’s sheep, and he, like the Master, will lay down his life for the sheep. Love manifests itself in service—humble, sacrificial, service.
You become like the people you love. The things they love, you love. If Peter really loves his Lord, Who is the Good Shepherd, then Peter will surely seek to shepherd in the same way.
He will seek the lost sheep (evangelism). He will feed and tend the young and vulnerable lambs (discipleship). And, like the Good Shepherd, he will lay down his life for the sheep. That is why the Lord moves so quickly and easily from verses 15-17 to verses 18 and 19. Peter had assured his Lord that he was willing to die for Him (Matthew 26:35), and so he will. But he will not die in the manner that he once supposed—seeking to keep His Master from being arrested and crucified. Peter will die, as the Savior did, as a good shepherd, and for the sake of the gospel.
Finally, "Feed my sheep, my grown-up ones."
The instrument of feeding, of course, is the teaching of the Word of God. Open their minds to the thoughts of God. This is the missing element in the church today.
The primary function of shepherding is in teaching and explaining the Gospel and the Word to the flock of God.
People are not thinking the thoughts of God, not looking at life the way God sees it, but following blindly after the fantasies and the illusions of the world. What is necessary is the unfolding of the mind of God in obedience to the word of Jesus: "Teach the word." The weakness of the church flows from a famine of the Word of God.
Peter had learned not to make rash professions of great love. Therefore he did not compare his love for Jesus to the love of the other disciples as he had done before. He simply appealed to Jesus' knowledge of his heart.
Notice that throughout this interchange Jesus consistently referred to the sheep as His sheep, not Peter's sheep. Moreover Jesus described Peter's ministry in terms of acts, not in terms of an office. Later Peter wrote to elders urging them to apply these same viewpoints to their pastoral ministry (1Pet. 5:1-4).
The Greek word for “sheep” at the end of John 21:17 means “dear sheep.
A committed Christian’s way is controlled by God.
Having loved Jesus Christ to that extent that you'd give your life for Him, it's no problem to hand Him your life and let Him keep it. Didn't Paul say, "I'm confident that what I've given the Lord He'll keep till the day of Jesus Christ?" And as a Christian, you can say, "All right, Lord, I love You, here's my life, You've got it now, it's up to You to do what You want." Are you willing to say that? Whatever God's will is, he'll do it. The committed Christian yields the control of his destiny to God, no questions asked. Psalm 37:5 puts it this way, "Commit thy way unto the Lord, trust also in Him." Just let it go. Here's my life, God, and it's Yours, do whatever You want. And Paul says, "If I live, I live unto the Lord. If I die, I die unto the Lord. So, if I live, if I die, I'm the Lord's." See. I gave myself to Him.
18 "Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish."
Joh 13:36; Ac 12:3-4
Peter had been learning how his self-confidence led to failure and how he needed to depend on Jesus more (i.e., "You know vv. 15, 16, 17). Jesus reminded Peter that as time passed he would become increasingly dependent on others even to the point of being unable to escape a martyr's death. Therefore, Jesus implied, Peter should commit his future to God rather than trying to control it himself as he had formerly tried to do.
"The long painful history of the Church is the history of people ever and again tempted to choose power over love, control over the cross, being a leader over being led."
For Peter, following Jesus would involve more than teaching, it would ultimately involve pain, suffering, deprivation, and death. This was historically fulfilled.
Clearly this book was written after the death of Peter, as John records the way Peter would die. Eusebius, the church historian, tells us that when Peter went to Rome at the close of his life (by the way, he did not found the church at Rome at all; he went there much later), he was finally imprisoned, his hands were bound and he was led out to the place of execution, and there he was crucified. At his own request he was crucified upside down because he did not feel he was worthy to share the manner of his Lord's death.
Jesus is saying that preaching and teaching the Word of truth in a mixed-up world like ours will call for sacrifice. It may mean living in primitive conditions, under difficult circumstances, and not feeling harassed, but privileged, to teach and to suffer for the sake of the Word of God. Peter found this to be true. He ultimately obeyed his Lord. He had said, "I will lay down my life for you," and Jesus replied, "You will indeed, not like you once thought, not in defense of me with a sword, but in the teaching and preaching of the Word. Eventually you will lay down your life for me."
A committed Christian’s will is content with following.
19 This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, "Follow Me."2Pe 1:14
Follow Me” This is a PRESENT ACTIVE IMPERATIVE as is v.22. This is related to the renewal and reaffirmation of Peter’s call to leadership
Our Lord’s words, “Follow Me!” must have brought new joy and love to Peter’s heart. Literally, Jesus said, “Keep on following Me.” Immediately, Peter began to follow Jesus, just as he had done before his great denial.
Peter later wrote that Christians who follow Jesus Christ faithfully to the point of dying for Him bring glory to God by their deaths
1Pe 4:14 If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified. 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people's matters. 16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter.
He lived with this prediction hanging over him for three decades
2Pe 1:14 knowing that shortly I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me.
Notice that Jesus does much more than predict Peter’s death. John wishes us to understand that Jesus went so far as to predict the way in which Peter would die: “(Now Jesus said this to indicate clearly by what kind of death Peter was going to glorify God.)” (verse 19). Peter’s previous effort to resist the arrest of Jesus was contrary to the gospel, and this is why Jesus rebuked him and abruptly ordered him to stop resisting His arrest. The death which Peter will experience is a death that will glorify God. Jesus also indicates that Peter will die in his old age, and thus he is informed that his death is not imminent. But his death for the Savior’s sake is certain: Notice it says that his death would glorify God. How? Because anybody who dies for their faith in Jesus Christ is a glory to God.
I agree with those who see here a prophecy that Peter truly will follow Jesus, by dying on a Roman cross:
More important is the way stretch out your hands was understood in the ancient world: it widely referred to crucifixion (Haenchen, 2. 226-227). … Bauer (p. 232) proposed long ago that this ‘stretching’ took place when a condemned prisoner was tied to his cross-member and forced to carry his ‘cross’ to the place of execution. The cross-member would be placed on the prisoner’s neck and shoulders, his arms tied to it, and then he would be led away to death.
The words, “Follow Me,” constitute the first calling of the disciples (Matthew 4:19; Mark 1:17; John 1:43). As time passed, these words took on a much deeper meaning. Following Jesus meant putting Jesus above family (Matthew 8:22). It meant a whole new way of life, where former practices would be unacceptable (Matthew 9:9; Mark 2:14). Before long, Jesus let His disciples know that following Him meant taking up one’s cross (Matthew 16:24; Mark 8:34). (At this point in time, our Lord’s reference to “taking up one’s cross” was, at best, understood symbolically.) For the rich young ruler, it meant giving up his possessions (Matthew 19:21; Mark 20:21). And now, for Peter, it means not only carrying on the Master’s work, but taking up a very literal cross. It would seem that at every point where following Jesus is more precisely defined, another challenge to follow Him is given. So it is in our text.
I fear that Christians today understand these two words, “Follow me,” in a superficial way. When Paul writes, “For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21), we interpret his words in a somewhat self-indulgent fashion. We suppose that Paul means living as a Christian is glorious, trouble-free, and fulfilling. It is, to put it plainly, “the good life.” In other words, we get to live it up here, and then when we die, it gets even better. There is a certain sense in which this is true. But we must understand Paul’s words in the light of what Jesus is telling Peter here, in our text, about following Him.
To follow Christ is to walk in His steps, to live as He lived, to serve others as He did, and to lay down your life for the sheep, like Him. In Philippians chapter 1, Paul is therefore saying, “For me, to live is to live just as Christ did, taking up my cross daily, laying down my life for His sheep.”
"Obedience to Jesus' command, Follow Me, is the key issue in every Christian's life. As Jesus followed the Father's will, so His disciples should follow their Lord whether the path leads to a cross or to some other difficult experience."
Peter got the message. He was willing to lay down his life for the Savior.
Do you know what Jesus is saying to him here? "Peter, you're going to grow old, “because He says, "When you’re old, so you're going to have a full life, Peter. And when it comes to the end of your life, you're going to be crucified."
That means, to Peter, that when it comes down to the crux at that hour, he's going to confess Christ and die for Him, right? Now don't you think that's good news to Peter who last time he had a chance to die for Jesus blew it? And so He says, "Peter, I'm going to give you another chance, you're going to live a full life and then at the end you're going to hang in there, it's going to come down to a life/death issue and you're going to stand up and say I believe in Jesus boldly and you're going to die for it." Now I can imagine the thrills were shooting up Peter's back like crazy because he was going to get a chance to prove his love for Jesus.
Peter committed his life to Christ and Christ said, "Peter, you'll live for Me and you'll die nailed to a cross." That's the destiny that God had designed for Peter. That's a beautiful promise. O Peter I'm sure in his heart just was saying over and over again...if I only had another chance...if I only had another chance to show the Lord I could be faithful in a crucial situation...if I only had one more chance to show Him my love in a life/death thing, O I'd do it, I'd do it. And so the Lord says, "Peter, you'll do it...you'll do it." And, you know, it's a good thing He told Peter cause Peter would have lived his whole life a nervous wreck thinking that every time he came to a real issue he'd blow it. And a leader with no confidence is no leader at all. And the Lord knew that Peter would worry himself about this so the Lord says, "Peter, you can relax through your whole ministry. When it comes to the end, you'll proclaim My name, you'll die a crucifixion death, don't worry about it."
Following Jesus means being where He is. Jesus said in John 12:26 that, "If any man serve Me, let him follow Me that where I am, there will My servant be also." In other words, Jesus wants servants to go where He goes. That's the first thing about following. You go where He goes. Real simple. And in all the days of your life, in all the circumstances of your life, in all the places of your life, in all the relationships of your life, you should be able to say when asked, "Why are you here?" I'm here because I'm following Jesus and this is where He's led me today.
Following Jesus means to pattern our lives after His attitudes. His holiness and His purity and His obedience to God becomes the pattern for us. Jesus said in Matthew 5:48, "Be ye perfect even as I am perfect." We are to pattern our lives after Him. As He was faithful to the Father and obedient, so are we to be faithful and obedient..
Thirdly, following Jesus means a willingness to suffer sacrifice for His sake. That's the nitty-gritty. Are you willing to do that? In Matthew 16 Jesus said, "If any man follow Me, take up his cross," right, "and follow Me." Now that's talking about the suffering sacrificial side of following Jesus.
But what does it mean to take up your cross, to bear your cross? in those days the victims of crucifixion bore the crossbeam of their own cross on their back as they marched to crucifixion. And in Matthew, as this was being spoken, the people in Galilee would well understand it because when the Roman General Varus had broken the revolt of Judas of Galilee, he crucified as a punishment two thousand Jews and he placed their crosses along all the roads leading through Galilee so that everywhere that everybody went they saw people hanging on crosses, two thousand of them. And all these people had borne the crossbeam on their back to their own death.
What Jesus is saying here is that means to be willing to sacrifice yourself for a cause. That's what it means. And Jesus is saying the same thing, are you willing to sacrifice everything you hold dear, everything you love, all the stupid little things that occupy your time, all your dreams and all your ambitions to be obedient to His cause? That's the real issue.
Mark 8:36 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” -John 8:32
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[i] Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1985). The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Jn 21:15–17). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[ii] Wiersbe, W. W. (1992). Wiersbe’s expository outlines on the New Testament (270). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
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“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” -John 8:32
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