Monthly Archives: January 2023

Colossians 3-Bear One Another

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Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. Colossians 3:12-14

The book of Colossians should be a manual for every Church, there is so much practical instruction and wisdom here. First notice Paul addresses the Church as the “Elect of God”, yes, if you are a Born Again Christian then you are the elect of God, you are a Child of the King, you are part of the Body of Christ. And that’s why this letter applies to all of us Christians, nobody is exempt from these teachings

The next part is Paul describes the fruits or characteristics we should be demonstrating or producing as Born Again Christians. Compassion, mercy, kindness, humbleness, meekness, and patience, does this describe you or your Church? If not, maybe you need to work on that, or maybe your Church does also. The Church is always an interesting entity, so many different people coming together for the same common goal, Jesus Christ. When we bring together all these different people, we have conflicts, however we need to learn to love one another as Christ loves us

As Paul instructs here “Bear and forgive with one another” There are going to be times when your Church family hurts your feelings or does something wrong against you, we are called to forgive them because Christ has forgiven us. Now this should be going both ways, we should forgive any quarrels or fights we may have with one another in the Church. I know this sounds easier then what it really is, but remember the battle doesn’t belong to you, it belongs to The Lord. The Church is the body of Christ, Jesus is the Head of the Church, those Christians who don’t act appropriately will have to answer to Christ himself, not just us

What is the bond of perfectness or unity? It’s love, as Peter said “Love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8) Remember even when we didn’t deserve mercy or grace, Christ gave it to us anyway, why? Because Christ loves us, our fellow Church family might not deserve to be forgiven however we forgive anyway, why? Because Christ loves us and demonstrated that love for us all on the cross

There is no perfect Church because there are no perfect people. So let’s stop making excuses why we hate everyone at our local Church, there are a million reasons why God could hate us, be God chooses to love us anyway, because God is full of grace and mercy. We need to be more like Christ , and love the Church as Christ loves the Church

Therefor , elect of God, the Church, bear the fruits of the Holy Spirit, and love and forgive one another, in Jesus name Amen!

Colossians 3- One In Christ

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Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all. Colossians 3:11

One of the big mistakes I see made in Christianity, is the alignment with social groups and issues. Now you might wonder what is wrong with this? First of all, we need to understand our identity comes from Christ and not ourselves. When you have become truly Born Again in Jesus, your old self died and your new self was risen with Christ. At this point, I’m sure there are alot of Carnal Christians I lost with this statement, and that is total the point

As the Apostle Paul says here “There is no Greek or Jew, no circumcised or uncircumcised, Barbarian or Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all” Now let me paraphrase this for modern understanding, “there is no black and white, there is no different nationalities, there is no rich and poor , in the body of Christ, we are all one in Jesus Christ. As Christians we are all part of the Body of Christ, the Church , there is no one greater than the other, there is no separation based on race or social status. If you don’t understand this, then you totally missed the root of the gospel

When I see Churches that cater to one particular race or caters to a particular group, this is a complete heresy. There is no Biblical foundation to support this practice whatsoever. Temporarily it might be easier to only associate with “Christians” who look and think only like you, but this isn’t the Kingdom of God. The body of Christ is composed of  “The Great Multitude” (Revelation 7:9) There isn’t only one race in Heaven, or one group in Paradise, it’s the elect from God brought together by one common denominator, Jesus Christ

For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12:13

Paul goes on to teach, there is only One Holy Spirit, and we are baptized in only One Church, the Body of Christ, doesn’t matter who you are , we are Born Again by the same Holy Spirit, by the One and only Lord Jesus Christ, and the only God the Father

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:28

Paul even takes it a step further here, spiritually it doesn’t even matter if you’re male or female , we are all One in Jesus Christ! While we can argue exactly what Paul was referring to here, the point is there is only One God, One Lord, One Holy Spirit, and One Church! (Ephesians 4:5-7)We are all brothers and sisters through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen!

Colossians 3- New Man

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Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them. But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Colossians 3:5-8

How do we know if someone is truly Born Again? Jesus said “You will be known by your fruit” (Matthew 7) If someone has truly become transformed by the Holy Spirit, we should see some evidence of spiritual fruit. If someone continues to live in the same sinful lifestyle as before they came to Christ, then they have never been reborn to begin with. As Peter said “It’s like a dog returning to his own vomit” (2 Peter 2:22) Meaning someone who continues to live in habitual sin

The Apostle Paul said “Mortify therefore your members, which are upon the Earth or Put to death, the components of your earthly nature” As Jesus said to the women caught in adultery ,your sins are forgiven go and sin no more” (John 8:11) Jesus didn’t say, your forgive so keep on sinning. There is an expectation of your transformation when you come to Christ, God is not going to leave you where He found you

Going back to what Paul was saying here, notice he lists all the carnal and fleshly sins that we commit, he said Put them to death or in layman’s terms “stop sinning”! This is a message that today’s Church doesn’t even want to hear, we love hearing about eternal life and God’s Kingdom, but sanctification that’s a forbidden word in today’s Carnal Christianity.

Now I know it’s easier said than done, I know there are many of us who struggle with addictions and bad influences, but the Holy Spirit is living inside of you. As Paul said “The same Holy Spirit that raised Jesus Christ from the dead” (Romans 8:11) Think about that, the Holy Spirit is living inside of You as a Born Again believer in Christ. Greater is He living inside of me, than He that is living in the world (1 John 4:4) 

Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: Colossians 3:9-10

Notice the language here by Paul, put off the old man and his deeds (sins) and put on the New Man. Your old man was crucified and buried with Christ, your New Man was risen to eternal life with Christ, put on your New Man and walk by the Holy Spirit and not by the flesh

When you understand this concept, you understand what Jesus was saying “Unless you are Born Again, you will not see the Kingdom of Heaven” (John 3:3) Put on the New Man in Christ, Amen!

Colossians 3- Risen With Christ

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If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. Colossians 3:1-4

The worst thing someone could say to you is “I never knew you were a Christian”, because Jesus will probably say the same thing to you in the end, “Depart from me, I never knew you” (Matthew 7:23) So many Christians are trying to still fit into the world, while still abide in Christ. This is not possible, if you are a Born Again Christian, then the evidence should be clearly seen. 

Look at the words from Paul here “If you are then Risen with Christ, seek those things which are above” Notice Paul doesn’t use a watered down explanation of someone’s faith, like many Christians today would just say they identify as a Christian. No, if your truly saved, your old self died with Christ, and your new self has been risen with Christ, hence Born Again

Paul is not talking about a Sunday Christian, that checks off the box for the week and then goes back to their normal living. Paul is talking about those who truly became Born Again in Christ by the Holy Spirit, that died to their old self and are walking in the newness of life. Seek those things which are above! Don’t concern yourself with carnal and temporal things, seek the Kingdom of God which is eternal

The Apostle Paul goes on to say “Set your affection on the things above, not on things on the earth” Well Paul just destroyed every prosperity preacher and false religion out there, why? Because of all them are motivated by carnal things. If you look to the root of every false teacher and religion, they all have one common denominator, they are motivated by worldly things, money, sex, and power.

When Christ died on the cross for your sins, your old self died with him also. If your old self hasn’t been crucified to that cross, then you are still dead in your sins. Most people don’t want to accept this truth, that’s why the real gospel of Jesus Christ is offensive to the world. That’s why the real Jesus Christ is so offensive to the world, because Christ is the Light exposing the darkness.

Think about this statement Paul makes, “when Christ , who is our life” , Is Jesus Christ your whole life? Does everything you do in life revolve around Christ? If not, then you need to do some self examination, because for those who are Born Again in Christ, have been Risen with Christ, Jesus Christ is our whole life, Amen!

Colossians 2- Set Apart

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And not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God. Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, (Touch not; taste not; handle not; Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men? Colossians 2:19-22

Continually we see the Church referred to as the Body of Christ (Romans 12, 1 Cor. 12) here Paul is using this example as, saying “not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered”. As we talked about previously, Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church, and everything is built upon his authority and teachings within the Church, or at least it should be. When we see false teachers and false teachings enter the Church, it poisons the entire Body. That’s why we cling to Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone) , and Sola Christus (Christ Alone)

Many outside influences invade the Church and cause it to move away from God and from the authority of The Bible. That’s why Paul says here “If you are dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why as though you’re living in the world” If you are Born Again through Jesus Christ, then why would you follow the practices of the fallen world? You have been set apart by the Holy Spirit, as the Apostle James said “Those who love the world, is an enemy of God” (James 4:4)

The Apostle Paul dealt with a large issue of Christians falling back into their previous religions when joining the Church. This is why there was so much discussion about Circumcision and The Sabbath, Jewish Christians wanted to remain in Judaism while following Jesus Christ. As the author of Hebrews stated “in that He(God) says a New Covenant, He (God) made the first obsolete” (Hebrews 8:13)

Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh. Colossians 2:23

As Paul said to the Church of Corinth, “You are not your own, you were bought with a price” (1 Cor. 6:20) You belong to Christ, you are part of the Church, everything you do and say affects the Kingdom of God. While the false religions and ideology appear to contain some sort of wisdom, they are in opposition to Christ. They don’t honor God or the Body of Christ, instead they satisfy the carnal flesh with worldly lusts

If Jesus is your Lord, then Christ is your Master, you belong to Him. Set yourself apart from your old self and become transformed by the Holy Spirit, Amen

Colossians 2- The Sabbath

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Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, Colossians 2:16-18

Christians are often very confused when it comes to the topic of Keeping the Sabbath” I actually did a whole teaching on this topic on my YouTube Channel. So to first understand this topic, we need to understand , what is the Sabbath? And what does it mean to Keep the Sabbath? If you ask a Hebrew Roots person or Seven Day Adventist, how do you Keep the Sabbath? Most likely they will say, they worship God on a specific day and don’t work

So as you can probably guess, most Christians on Sunday worship God and don’t usually work, so are they still Keeping the Sabbath? Well in a spiritual sense, Yes, but the legalist will say No, you must observe Saturday as your Sabbath. I would like to first start with some more questions, what Covenant are you in? Hopefully you said your in the New Covenant with Christ. Then , when did Jesus or the Apostles command us to Keep the Saturday Sabbath in the New Testament? The fact is nobody ever commanded the Sabbath to be kept in the New Covenant.

In Exodus 31:13, God told Moses “Tell the Children of Israel, to Keep my Sabbaths as a sign between me and You” So who was this command for? The Israelites and why? Because it was a sign of the Mosaic Covenant. As the Apostle Paul teaches here “Let no one judge you in regard to what you eat, or drink, or regard to a feast, new moon or Sabbath” (v16) Why? Because we are in the New Covenant with Christ, we are not in the Mosaic Covenant with Moses. As the author of Hebrews says “He (Christ) is a mediator of a Better Covenant which was established on better promises (Hebrews 8:6) and also says “By calling the covenant New he made the first one obsolete” (Hebrews 8:13)

So what was the purpose of the Sabbath and all the rituals of the Mosaic Covenant? As Paul says here “Which are a shadow of things to come” The Sabbath was a foreshadow of Christ, just as the sacrificial system was a foreshadow of Christ, just as the temple was a foreshadow of Christ. Jesus Christ is our Rest (Hebrews 4, Matthew 11:28)

So how do we keep the 4th commandment? We abide in Christ, we are Born Again in Christ. As Jesus said “Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden, and I (Christ) will give you Rest”(Matthew 11:28), Amen!