Devotionals, February-July Colossians

February 1st,2021

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother. To God’s holy people in Colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ: Grace and peace to you from God our Father. Colossians 1:1-2

Today we will launch our devotional “Epistle To The Colossians,” as we start the month of February. It is anticipated that this will be completed at some point next year. Though the book is short, about 96 verses in total, that could be completed in 12 weeks with verse by verse exposition, we had to take a break in April. 

One of the interesting challenges of studying and teaching the Word of God is to balance topical teachings and Bible book verse by verse exegesis/exposition. There’s strong support for both, with one preferred by one group of people and the other preferred by another group of people. From personal observations, both are equally important. It is possible to get “strong meat”—Hebrews 5:14 in both. It is also possible to get foundational doctrines such as the sin of man, the cross, and resurrection in both. 

It is believed that Paul wrote this letter in Rome around 62 AD. That would be 1-3 years before he died. So, it is one of his late epistles. The map below shows where Colossae was located. You can see that Laodicea is not too far away from Colossae, about 15 km (9 miles) northwest. 

1. Paul starts by acknowledging God’s sovereign will in calling him. We can read detailed stories about this in Acts 9 and Galatian 1:15-through Galatians 2:10. We read: “But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, my immediate response was not to consult any human being.”—Galatians 1:15-16. Paul understood that His calling was not something that took place by surprise some time around 35 AD. For him and the people who knew him, yes, it was a surprise. But for God, it was something planned a long time before that. He had been set apart from the mother’s womb. Perhaps Paul remembers Jeremiah 1:5 that says “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” It was true for Jeremiah, it was true for Paul, and is true for everyone else whom God calls. Realizing this not only brings God all the glory—as the work of God cannot be attributed to the messenger He calls, it is also a doctrine that brings relief or rest to the person who is called, as the challenges of the call, which are always going to be there, can be considered to be “light affliction, which is but for a moment…working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.”—2 Corinthians 4:17. Many of us may never see the kind of challenges that these early disciples faced and yet we may also never be able to see the same level of fruitfulness. When Paul was called, he did not consult any human being. Not relatives;  not fellow journeymen on the road to Damascus; not Gamaliel, his mentor; not the apostles in Jerusalem. There was a guy that Jesus called to be a disciple and the guy requested time to go and say goodbye to his family. Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.“—Luke 9:62. This probably could disqualify 90% of Christians in the West, pastors included. There is a lot of “flesh-consulting” these days, but the flesh is never a good consultant. Most Christians I have come across do not have this mindset at all. There are some who do, but they are not that many. For many Christians, serving God is a job like you could be hired at Walmart. It’s rarely understood as a sovereign call of God. Even for other New Testament figures like Peter, John, Timothy, and Matthew, the call of God was personal. For Mark, who had family connections with Barnabas, that relationship “after the flesh”— 2 Corinthians 5:16, once created a big fight between Barnabas and Paul. They had to go separate ways over that, though later Mark reconnected with Paul. If this is how family members who are in ministry together can be affected, imagine the liability brought by partnerships of family members who are not even born again. It’s always good to ensure that family members are truly born again and committed to the mission before they can be involved in Gospel ministry, otherwise it could create a discipleship journey problem. 
2.   Paul was with Timothy when he wrote this epistle from Rome. In Philippians 2:19, another epistle believed to have been written in Paul’s final stage of ministry, Paul says that he plans to send Timothy to the Philippians. It is amazing that Christians in the early church were willing to stand together in midst of challenges and high costs of following Christ. Today, people who are imprisoned for the Gospel may not enjoy the same support and fellowship. You can see the coldness of love and hearts all around among Christians today. 
3.   The saints in Colossae, faithful brethren. Members of the church are considered “saints.” Ananias was once afraid of Paul because of what he had done against the “the saints in Jerusalem.”—Acts 9:13.  This epistle is addressed to people who are holy and faithful. People who are cleansed by the blood of Jesus and sanctified by the Holy Spirit. That’s how we become saints. Christians do not need to wait till they die to become saints. The blood of Jesus, not canonization, is what makes us saints. Faithfulness usually takes time to build and notice. The Greek word he uses is “pistois,” which can also mean “trustworthy.” Faithfulness is an important aspect of the fruit of the Spirit we should have (Galatians 5: 22-23). Faithfulness is proof of real faith. In many Bible passages, “pistis” is seen where the intended meaning is the faith that moves mountains and the faithfulness of remaining loyal to Jesus in obeying His commandments. This double meaning can be lost sometimes. It’s probably why it is not uncommon to see people who have “big faith” but are unfaithful. That’s like saying people can have “financial breakthroughs” by trusting God and yet they are not walking in holiness. It’s also common to see people you can find to be faithful in many areas—relationships, work, church, family, ministry—and yet they have little faith. They would not be  what William Carey calls “attempting great things for God.” They just hope they make it to heaven. That falls short of what Jesus considered faith useful for (Mark 11:22-24; Matthew 17:20). There’s no single place in the gospels where Jesus spoke of “little faith” in a positive way. He cheered a Roman with “great faith” (Matthew 8:8-10) and departed from his own hometown because of lack of faith (Matthew 13:55-58). Considering God’s generous promises and immutable nature, not trusting Him is very dishonoring (Numbers 23:19; Titus 1:2; Malachi 3:6).  Faithfulness and faith are equally important for the saints. Faithfulness was one of the 3 things that Jesus said the  Pharisees were lacking in, even though they were tithing faithfully (Matthew 23:23). So, even faithfulness can be split. It’s possible to commit to be faithful in giving finances to a missionary organization or ministry of the church and still be unfaithful in other areas. For Jesus, that’s hypocrisy. That’s not considered faithfulness.

Prayer: Father God, we thank you for the glorious calling that you gave to Paul and we thank you that all of us have our own callings and he is an example we would like to imitate. We pray that you bring us clarity where we may be unsure about our callings. We pray that you will bring along brethren, partners, co-laborers, so that we can advance your kingdom together. We pray that you continue to work in us powerfully in sanctifying our hearts so that we can walk worthy of our calling and remain faithful to your truth. In the precious name of Jesus, we pray. Amen!

February 2nd,2021

We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people. Colossians 1:3-4

We will be continuing the devotional “Epistle To The Colossians,” looking at Colossians 1:3-4 today.

1.   We always thank God, the Father, when we pray. Apostle Paul was clearly happy for the Colossians and thanked God for their faith. Later, he will explain more the benefits of redemption that they had received for which Paul, and everyone else, should be thankful. For example, He has translated us from the kingdom of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of light of His son (Colossians 1:13). Salvation is so comprehensive that we will probably be in heaven before we can fully comprehend the depth and height of it. However, there are many things that we already know that salvation offers to the saints and for those things we should be thankful. The Psalmist encourages us to enter God’s gates with thanksgiving (Psalms 100:4) or enter His presence with thanksgiving (Psalms 95:2). So, it’s fitting that as we read Paul’s letter we see him starting with thanksgiving. When we have a good relationship with the Lord and practice His presence, we do not solely go to Him in seasons when we are overburdened with worries of life. Sure, the Word of God encourages us to “cast all your anxieties on Him”—1 Peter 5:7 and we ought to do so when we are burdened with cares, but there are always many testimonies of God’s goodness, blessings, and redemption that we can bring before Him on a daily basis. In the New Testament we no longer bring animal sacrifices in God’s house, but we are still taught to bring sacrifices of thanksgiving and praise (Hebrews 13:15; Leviticus 7:12; Psalms 50:14; Psalms 116:7; Hebrews 10:14). The sacrifice that Christ has made has perfected us in righteousness forever and for that we should be grateful. Paul is praying for the church as He thanks God. Why is Paul concerned and  praying for people he has never met ? This should be an example for all of us to remember to pray beyond our own needs. We should pray for our local churches as well as the church in the nation where we live and around the world. We probably know specific needs of the churches we are closest to and those we should bring to the Lord in prayer. They can be in the same city or the same county or province—we can lift up their pastors, their ministries, their visions, their missions, and financial needs—and different other needs. Proverbs 11:25 says “A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.” This can be said of someone who refreshes others materially but it can also be said of someone who refreshes others spiritually or seeks their spiritual well-being (2 Corinthians 9:6; 1 Corinthians 9:11; Luke 6:38; Matthew 6:12). What this means is that in our prayer time we should make sure we always pray beyond our own personal needs—and also include the needs of the church family. We may even pray for some specific church members that we know have certain needs. When we do, we can be sure that God also will take care of our needs. I am yet to hear of someone who has lived a godly life helping others whom God has forsaken. Each thing I thought I did in sacrifice, God has returned to me several times above and beyond my initial seed.
2.   Because we have heard of your faith in God and love for all God’s people. In this we get more specific things that Paul was thanking God for. Salvation is a gift of God. We are saved by grace. Even faith is apportioned to us, we do not fabricate it (Ephesians 2:8-10; Romans 12:3). In that Romans 12: 3 verse we read “in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.” So, not only we are not saved by our own works, even the faith that saves us is by God’s grace, it is a gift of God. To a certain extent, every Christian has a gift of faith—perhaps not in the context of 1 Corinthians 12 spiritual gifts—“charismata”—miracle working faith—but in the context of Romans 12, that includes saving faith. And that faith that saves us is actually enough because when it comes to difficulties we face or mountains—Jesus said that the size of faith that was apportioned to people is not relevant (Luke 17:5-6). The words we see used for “little faith” in places like Luke 12:28 is actually “oligopistis.” So, those people had faith but it was so undeveloped that they were worried all the time and it was not producing kingdom results. Perhaps rather than pray for God to increase our faith, we should thank God for the faith He has already given to us and exercise it daily in the battles we face and needs we have. Paul also thanked God for the love they had for all people. Faith works by love (Galatians 5:6) and wherever true faith is, sincere love will be. The “love for all saints,” is clearly universal. While we should never overemphasize the global body of Christ—universal church at the expense of the local church—we should not be so selfish as to consider only the concerns of the local church and forget the universal church. For example, Paul had requested the church in Corinth and the Galatian church to collect offerings for the saints in Jerusalem (1 Corinthians 16:1-4) and other places (2 Corinthians 9:2-4). Surely if the churches in Corinth and Galatia should have been loving and financially helping other churches that were not local—then praying for people beyond the state/city limits or even the nation is the least we can do. Of course, we understand that this love that the people in Colosse were expressing for all God’s people went beyond just prayers and well-wishes (James 2:15-17; 1 John 3:17; 1 John 4:20). Because such faith and love prove that salvation has come to the people who have them, Paul thanked God the Father for such marks of the new birth—such evidence of regeneration—that kind of fruit that testified their salvation.

Prayer: Father God, we thank you for saving us through your Son Jesus Christ and giving each of us a measure of faith. Father, regardless of the size of faith each us has received, we pray that you teach us more about faith and how we can develop it into strong and mountain-moving faith—so that we can glorify you regardless of the storms, obstacles, and problems that we will have to deal with. May those who don’t know you see that our God is an awesome God. We thank you for the love shed abroad in our hearts, for all saints in our localities as well as beyond the state and nation, we pray that you hear the cries of your people who cry day and night for justice and relief in the midst of persecutions, and those who seek your anointing to help them spread your Gospel to the nations. In the generous name of Jesus, we pray. Amen!

February 3rd,2021

The faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace. Colossians 1:5-6

We will be continuing the devotional “Epistle To The Colossians,” looking at Colossians 1:5-6 today.

1.       Faith and love spring from eternal hope. The NIV is careful to connect verse 5 from the previous verse by repeating faith and love from verse 4 but the ESV, NKJV, and NASB go directly to “because of the hope.” In 1 Corinthians 13:13, Paul writes “now these three abide: faith, hope, and love.” While he says that love is the greatest of all in those 3, here he is saying that it is not possible to have love without hope—which itself is the basis of faith (Hebrews 11:1)—since faith is the assurance of things hoped for. First, hope. Second, faith. Third, love. But the greatest of these is love. The hope is “stored up for you in heaven.”—which means that something objective has to be depicted or painted to us before faith can seize it. We have to see Christ crucified and risen for us to believe (Galatian 3:1; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Faith is subjective, hope is objective. Our eternal reality is fixed but faith must be lived out by experience. God shows us what He has laid in store for those who love Him, we accept to come and take it (1 Corinthians 2:9). Faith is the substance of the invisible treasures of our hope in Christ. By faith, we sit at the right hand of God in the heavenly places (Ephesians 2: 6). It is as real and substance to us now as it will be when it happens “physically.” Modern man has been deemed to be more inclined to facts than faith, seeing than believing, proof than trust, material than spiritual, science than religion; and yet, we know that “God has also set eternity in the human heart.”—Ecclesiastes 3:11. Because of this, man’s intellect may not be the fortress that sometimes Christians think it is—even for the atheists. Aren’t they afraid of death? Everyone who does not know Jesus is virtually likely to be afraid of death. It is natural. But there’s hope of resurrection in Christ (John 11:25). That’s actually a realization that God can use. Fear of death is not a bad thing for those who need it to reconsider their eternal destiny.  In the “Case for Christ,” Lee Strobel tries to do a forensic research about the claims of Christianity. He investigates many claims and proves them to be factual. Jesus died and rose from the dead, this is a Bible claim and a historical fact. The question is, would someone just choose to disappear into the “void of eternity” without hope, or is it easier and more peaceful to “sleep in Christ?”—1 Thessalonians 4:14. At a certain point, fighting God and faith makes no sense, since everyone of us is like a grass that withers. But in Christ, we become more than grass appointed unto fire, we become “oaks of righteousness.”—Isaiah 61:3, that will endure for eternity. It is this hope of resurrection that the Colossians had heard, and they seized God’s offer by faith.  The Greek word used for “stored up” is “apokeimenen,” from “apokeimai,” which means to reserve, to store, to lay up. If you plan to go on a long trip for vacation, you will probably do hotel reservation. If you plan to go to Disney World, you will need to make a trip reservation. The hope of resurrection is described this way. In 2 Corinthians 5:1 we read: “For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands.”—NLT. That “eternal body” has to be reserved and God is the one who reserved it for us. We will not just stop by unannounced. It has to be planned in advance. We must prepare ourselves for heaven. That “eternal body” is a hope, so we don’t see it, but we can receive that by faith in Jesus Christ. Mortality is so predictable and preaching immortality is the easiest task given to the Christian saint because death is so obvious and incontrovertible and no advance in science and technology will ever change this. If there’s an area apologetics should aim, this is the most crucial point. People can resist truth all they want but in the end, “it is appointed unto man to die once, and after that to face judgment.”—Hebrews 9:27. What happens after you die ? That’s a question every single person should answer honestly with all seriousness. Nobody else will give an account for us. Nobody we can blame. It is personal. It is a question we can never afford to answer wrong. This hope of the resurrection the Colossians came to know when “they heard the true message of the Gospel.” It’s Good News but it has to be preached. “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?”—Romans 10:14. It is amazing how much people are willing to do once they get this revelation of eternal life. They will cross seas and nations to preach the Gospel. They will give to the needy and some are even willing to die for this truth.They know it is true. They believe everyone must know it. Hope of resurrection is truly the spring of faith and love. 
2.       This message spread to the whole world and bears fruit. The same message of hope preached to the Colossians has produced the same results elsewhere. In the scientific inquiry, something discovered in a researcher’s lab is accepted as universal once it can be replicated by other people. We have a 2000-year history and a multitude of saints in the “cloud of witnesses”—Hebrews 12:1, who can testify to us that the Gospel works. But, “we have church decline in the West over the last decade. It doesn’t work for this generation,”someone may say. That objection cannot cancel 2000 years of proven church history and multiple witnesses in various cultures and countries who have proven otherwise. The Gospel can work to the extent we believe it does. Jesus expected that it would continue to bear fruits until the end of the age (Matthew 24:14). God wouldn’t want to sit and wait out apocalyptic prophecies, unless He knew that it is possible to get more penitent sinners who receive this hope (2 Peter 3:9). Just imagine the feeling when the person you could be talking to at the airport or Walmart is the last soul to accept or reject Christ one minute before the rapture. I mean, this will happen to somebody. As long as God is patient, our job remains to keep doing the best to proclaim this message of hope. The harvest remains as plentiful today as it has ever been and the Gospel will continue to bear fruit all over the world whenever a preacher stands up and proclaims the hope of the resurrection that Jesus Christ offers those who believe.

Prayer: Father God, we thank you for storing for us this hope of resurrection—when our body given to corruption will be raised incorruptible. Lord, we pray that you fill us with your Sprit and power so that we can proclaim to those who are under fear and subjugation of death—that there’s eternal life available by faith in Christ Jesus. We pray that you open the eyes of many in this nation to see your truth and life in the Gospel and receive that. In the precious name of Jesus, we pray. Amen!

February 4th,2021

You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, and who also told us of your love in the Spirit. Colossians 1:7-8

We will be continuing the devotional “Epistle To The Colossians,” looking at Colossians 1:7-8 today.

You learned it from Epaphras, who is a faithful minister on our behalf. The person who evangelized Colossae had a name. His name was Epaphras. We read again about him in Colossians 4:12, where Paul writes that he was “always wrestling in prayer” for the Colossian church. That may help us here in trying to create a somewhat useful profile for this otherwise easily forgettable name. We also see in Philemon 1:23 that he was in prison with apostle Paul in Rome, where he had gone to visit the apostle. It is believed that even though apostle Paul did not bring the Gospel to Colossae himself, it had been impacted as a ripple effect of his ministry in Ephesus approximately 53-56 AD, since Ephesus was 100 miles West of Colossae and “all Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the Word of the Lord.”—Acts 19:10. The map below shows the province of Asia in the Roman Empire of those times.

Epaphras had been the pastor of this church in Colossae that was meeting in the house of Philemon. He is not as well-known as Timothy, Titus, and Silas—other people who were part of Paul’s apostolic mission group. They had many of these coworkers who don’t have a significant profile in the New Testament. For example, Clement, the Bishop of Rome, who replaced Peter after the apostles died is mentioned in Philippians 4:23 and as Paul mentions him he adds “and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.” I love that statement. Jesus once cautioned the disciples not to rejoice that the demons were submitting to their delegated authority as they cast them out in His name, rather to rejoice that their names were written in the book of life (Luke 10:17-20). Why is that ? When he healed the demon-possessed man in Gadarenes he told him to go sharing his testimony—which was Good News of great joy—but why did he tell the disciples not to rejoice in casting out demons? Because as exciting as miracles are, it means nothing if someone ends up in hell after doing all of that. Casting out demons is part of our great commission, but having our names written in the book of the Lamb is our most important objective. Judas cast out demons too (Matthew 10; John 17:12; John 6:70). It’s not so much about being part of a ministry team or being known for doing some great work of God as it is about securing our seats in heaven and having our names written down in the book of the Lamb. Some of the things that Paul wrote regarding this book of life can cause great theological debates between Calvinism and Arminianism, between Predestinarians and Free Will-ers, but our goal here is to keep those things simple. There’s a such a book and apostle Paul was so bold as to state he knew that those people were in the book. Can we say the same with great certainty for people in the churches today ? This is not a small talk because there are people Jesus threatens He could blot out of the book of life (Revelation 3:5). We should never grow complacent in our confession of being justified by faith and zealous pursuit of holiness (Philippians 3:9,14). What we can take away is that Epaphras was a wrestler and such overcomers in Christ, who are in the book of life, are the people who constantly wage war against the flesh, the world, and the devil—not just for their own souls but also for the souls of those in their church. He who is in us, the Spirit of Jesus Christ, is greater than He who is in the world (1 John 4:4). So, we have been equipped with all the power we need to be overcomers. Epaphras was the kind of pastor who was not satisfied with preaching the Gospel and wrestled for souls in prayer. He did it day and night, not just on Sunday afternoons or week-ends. His prayers for the members of his church are in God’s book of remembrance just as His own name was (Malachi 3:16; Acts 10:4). Few days ago, I read a news report at Christian Post about someone who worked at a certain church and was disillusioned because they could not remember his name, inspite of being involved in church activity as a volunteer for months, doing for free something he could have been paid $100 an hour. Hopefully, we will all do our best to remember people who give out their time in sacrifice like that, love them and remember them (2 Corinthians 3:2).

Who also told us about the love for others that the Holy Spirit has given you (NLT). Jesus had said that the disciples will be known by their love (John 13:35). When people have tasted the presence of the living God and the powers of the age to come, they fall in love with the Holy Spirit, who then pours His love in their hearts for other people (Romans 5:5). Love is the first aspect of the fruit of the Spirit mentioned in Galatians 5:22 and it brings God great glory when we bear this fruit (John 15:8), which touches many souls, who also taste and see that the Lord is good. Love is not in word only (1 John 3:18), even though kind words can be expressions of love (Ephesians 4:15; Colossians 4:6; Proverbs 15:1; Proverbs 15:4; Proverbs 16:24). Actions usually are the true demonstrations of love, but they have to be motivated by what is pure and holy as people could give their entire estate worth of millions of dollars in philanthropy and still be void of divine agape (1 Corinthians 13:3), when it is done for being recognized and boasting. When words and actions are full of love and done for the comfort, blessing, and sanctification of others, with no personal desire for boasting of doing good, then true love is present. The Colossian church that met at the house of Philemon had this. I have known by experience that church cell groups or small house churches allow people to bond in a way that larger congregations may not necessarily be able to. There’s nothing wrong with large churches doing both big and smaller meetings. Our lives should be known for the kind of love that marked the Colossian church. There are Christians I see and I am like, I wish I had love like that—Heidi Baker comes to mind. The Colossian church might not have been that big but their love was big. A church does not have to be big or own a luxurious sanctuary in an upscale part of the city to be known in heaven for its love for other people. There’s nothing wrong with having those luxuries but there’s nothing virtuous about having them either. “The goal of our instruction is the love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and a sincere faith.”—1 Timothy 1:5. This is the goal we should aim for as Christians whether our church is big or small, persecuted or in freedom, with a big church building or a modest one. Our hearts and consciences have to be guilt-free, cleansed by the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus and sanctified (Hebrews 9:14; Hebrews 10:22; Acts 15:9), so that through that cleansed heart and clear conscience we can have genuine faith in Christ and love people the Biblical way ( 1 John 3:18-22; 1 Corinthians 13:4-8; Philippians 4:8). Christians can’t love people with divine agape if their consciences are burdened with guilt, but once they have been cleansed thoroughly, they should pour out their lives for others (1 John 3:16; Philippians 2:17).

Prayer: Father God, we thank you for all the people whose names are written in the book of life—whom you have used to get the Gospel to this generation of ours. They may be well-known or not even known at all—but precious in your eyes is their death and glorious their lives that faithfully continued the propagation of this Good News. We pray, Lord, that in our times and seasons, we will be overwhelmed by your love—that your Holy Spirit will pour it in our hearts like He did for the Colossians—so that we can bless people with words we say—and also have actions that accompany our words to bring healing, salvation, hope, and restoration in the lives of many. In the precious name of Jesus, we pray. Amen!

February 5th,2021

For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives.  Colossians 1:9

We will be continuing the devotional “Epistle To The Colossians,” looking at Colossians 1:9 today.

For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We do not have the exact dates that Epaphras evangelized Colossae and started a church there. But since we have noted that this was probably an expansion of Paul’s ministry in Ephesus, which was 100 miles West, and where Paul was approximately 53-56 AD, then this letter written in 61-64 AD would suggest that apostle Paul and his apostolic mission group had been praying for the Colossian church for 5-8 years non-stop. That’s a long time to pray for a church and especially when you are praying for several churches. Do we wonder why the purity and the power of the early church is often seen as unattainable by the churches today—even though we serve the same Savior and are under the same covenant? Could it be that prayer was the driving force of their missions and churches and we have little of this going on today ?

Paul explains why they were praying non-stop. Because the church had heard the hope of resurrection, had put their faith in Christ, and were walking in love. Because Epaphras had told him about their sweet fellowship in the Spirit and the love they had for all the saints.  Scriptures tell us to “strengthen the feeble knees”—Hebrews 12:12, encouraging people who are weak to stand strong in the evil day or helping those who may be weak to be able to stand on their feet. But encouragement to stand strong should not be considered unnecessary for those who are already strong. Paul warned: “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!”—1 Corinthians 10:12. Churches that are strong should not be assumed that they will always be. Movements that start on fire for God cannot be guaranteed to remain so.

Have you ever heard of William Booth and the Salvation Army? Once upon a time, this was one of the greatest revivalist and evangelistic movement in the late 19th century. When I read the books of Smith Wigglesworth (1859-1947), I see how highly he talks about their evangelistic missions in the 1890s. But even Wigglesworth had changed his opinion about them by the 1930s. There may remain some  few franchises/districts of the organization that are still faithful to the original mission, but for the most part we now see it like the Catholic Caritas non-profit, solely focused on giving Christmas goodies to kids and food banks for the poor without serious evangelistic outreaches. Those things are good but Jesus is more about the bread of heaven that feeds the soul than the bread that feeds the stomach (John 6:26-35). When Jesus sends a letter to the Ephesian church we see Him saying “Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first.”—Revelation 2:4. The best way to maintain that kind of fire is “to strike the iron while it is hot.” To take opportunity of revival and people’s initial enthusiasm and continually pray for them to remain strong in the faith. Doing that for 1 week or one month or even one year is not enough.

I will confess that there are times I have been limited in geography in my prayer life. Times when I have had to move from one city to another and stopped praying for brethren or churches in the previous city. Now, I realize this shouldn’t be the case. But perhaps that also may have been because of the strength I had at the time to do all that. At some point, being busy with complex secular work can create difficulties to cover so many people in prayer. In any case, when God gives us the ability, it is important for us to pour our hearts in praying for our current cities and churches without forgetting to mention others we may have known or been a part of in the past. Recently, I am doing this more intentionally—rather than waiting to hear about a specific problem to pray for.

We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives. The Greek word used for pray in the previous sentence is “proseuchomenoi” from “proseuchomai,” which means offer prayer, supplication, and worship. We see it used in Matthew 6:6, where Jesus says that when we pray we should go into the closet or secret place and pray to the Father who sees in secret. The one used for “ask” in this sentence here is “aitoumenoi” from “aiteo,” which means to beg, make a request, petition. We see it used where Jesus talks about a son who asks a father fish (Matthew 7:10) and Herodias asking for the head of John the Baptist on a plate (Matthew 14:7).

There are two attitudes that should be balanced when we come before God in prayer:

The first is the attitude that we are sons of God and come before our heavenly Father. We know that as a good Father, we receive from Him whatever we ask for in prayer (1 John 3:22). If we ask for an outpouring of the Spirit or gifts of the spirit for a demonstration of His power, we know that we will receive that (Matthew 7:7-11; John 16:23). Because of this, we approach His throne with boldness. 

The second is the attitude that we are dust and ashes before the Sovereign king of the universe (Genesis 18:27; Job 30:19) and we approach Him with reverence and learn to pray in a submissive way according to His perfect will (Luke 22:42; James 4:2-3; Psalms 66:18; 1 Kings 3:11; Proverbs 1:28; 1 John 5:14). Petitioning or begging does not sound like a bold way you come and take what belongs to you—and it is true that through Christ’s redemptive work those things we ask for already belong to us ( 1 Corinthians 3:21; Romans 8:32;  Luke 15:31), but sometimes when mercy is what we need, then petitioning and begging can be appropriate (Luke 18:38; Psalms 62:12; 2 Kings 13:23; 2 Kings 24:20; Hebrews 12:28; James 4:8). If we are praying to God to save America, Europe, and the world from judgment, perhaps we need the same attitude Abraham had when praying for Sodom ? (Daniel 9:6-7; Ezra 9:7; Isaiah 53:6; Romans 3:23; 2 Kings 36:16; 2 Kings 18:12; 2 Chronicles 7:14).

I have heard teachings that disparage petitioning and begging—and yet we see apostle Paul having such prayers (2 Corinthians 12:8-10). We need both confidence and humility, standing both in our perfect righteousness in Christ and our limited understanding of God’s counsel, receiving our redemptive benefits that already belong to us and petitioning for God’s continued mercies.

Paul was petitioning the heavenly King on behalf of the Colossian saints to be filled with divine knowledge. The Greek word he used is “epignosis,” we see in the New Testament used differently from “gnosis,” another word for knowledge. For example we see this in Matthew 11:27, “No one knows the son except the Father and no one knows the Father except the Son, and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.” So, the knowledge Paul is praying for is revelatory. It is not the kind of knowledge you would acquire by going to a library and picking your favorite book to read. God has been pleased to give revelatory knowledge to a select group of people (Luke 10:21; Galatians 1:15; Matthew 13:11; 1 Corinthians 1:28). Even for a person who usually gets “epignosis,” it is possible that occasionally he/she may be stuck in “gnosis” and not get revelation about something (2 Kings 4:26-27; Luke 24:16; Acts 18:24-26; Galatians 2:13; Luke 19:42). Epignosis is what distinguishes weak believers and strong saints, because revelatory knowledge is power. It is not just any knowledge. Paul is praying for the eyes of their understanding to be enlightened—just like He does for the Ephesian church (Ephesians 1:18). This is something that we should pray for.

What is sin? For some people sin is something desirable, too difficult to defeat, associated temptations are scary, sometimes excuses for sin are acceptable. To others, sin is deadly, easily defeated, temptations are enticements that reflect an evil heart, and sin should be avoided at all cost. Based on how they view sin, those two groups of people are not operating from the same knowledge. Not everything you read about God or spirituality comes from epignosis. Many of the things we see—especially on social media—that purport to teach us about God or how we should live spiritually—are simply useless gnosis instructions that would not get us anywhere. Trained eyes know to distinguish epignosis from gnosis and staying away from gnosis gibberish that comes from the fallen human intellect and has no power to transform us into Christ’s image. Make no mistake, we do need certain “gnosis” to be effective in the ministry of the Gospel (2 Peter 1:5). Our faith is most strengthened by revelatory knowledge as we hear the Word but God does not want us to be ignorant of important practical ,earthly facts. We should just make sure we are highly selective of the things we read and accept as truth. Knowledge that influences our beliefs should not be taken lightly. Paul prayed for the Colossians to have revelatory knowledge that would be useful to distinguish things that are from God and things that are of human wisdom.

The word used for God’s will is “thelematos,” which means wish, determination, inclination, decree, purpose, volition, choice. If you are applying to an institution for something—say mortgage/loan for a house or building at a bank—they will make a “determination.” It is their decision that will be communicated to you about the course of action they have chosen to take—whether to agree or disagree. God has already revealed His prescriptive will in the Scriptures and yet—you can’t just possibly say that because you read king David killing Goliath you are going to physically kill some giant—and you have to enlist in the army in order to achieve such a feat. It may not be God’s sovereign or dispositional will for your life to join the military if He has another calling for you. That story of David paints a picture of valiance in standing up for God in the face of gigantic opposition rather than a general invitation for everyone to join an earthly army (1 Samuel 17:26; Philippians 2:25; 2 Timothy 2:4; Psalms 18:29). We could use a different example from the Bible to talk about God’s will regarding marriage and how to choose a spouse or which city to choose to live. You need God to reveal His will for your life.  There’s a high chance you won’t necessarily see all the details of that will in the Scripture. However, God’s prescriptive will can help you to have enough guidance since it is a lamp unto your feet (Psalms 119:105; 1 Thessalonians 4:3; John 8:12; Psalms 32:8; Romans 8:14).

Making good decisions that are in accordance with God’s will can only happen through spiritual wisdom and understanding. This is why Paul spent so much time praying for those churches. It is so easy for many Christians to confuse ideas that come from God and ideas that come the world. Worldly wisdom teaches you how to be successful according to the world’s standards and if you follow that, there are many kingdom-focused decisions that you will miss because you won’t be able to reach them as you will be pulled in a different direction. You can’t possibly learn to evangelize, plant a church, raise the dead, or run a Christian school from Steve Harvey’s TV show. It takes time to invest in God’s word to be able to start to understand how God thinks (Romans 12:1-2; Matthew 6:33). Understanding is “sunesis.”  It simply means facts joined together or sanctified, inductive reasoning, done under God’s light. It usually occurs after years of meditations have reached maturity.

I have studied Scriptures since I was a kid but it was not until a certain time into adulthood—particularly starting in 2015—that it seemed like the floodgates of understanding had been opened to me. Even when I would be at a random place doing random things—pick DMV or tag agency for example—standing in line for car registration renewal—I would get a Scripture quickened in my Spirit—out of the blue. It felt like I couldn’t see or hear anything—without seeing hundreds of Scriptures flashing in my eyes or hearing them in my heart and instantly knowing what is right and what is wrong (2 Timothy 3:15;1 John 2:27; John 16:13). Some Bible doctrines I had read with a “hazy” picture, that even teachings or books I respected had almost never touched—became as clear as day. God seemed to emphasize balance of “all truth” (John 16:13) in that season. “Mercy and justice kiss each other.”—Psalms 85:10. “Scriptures and power” are both important to be free from error (Matthew 22:29). “Love and truth” always go together (1 Corinthians 13:6; Ephesians 4:15).  “Salvation with no works and the good works after salvation” should be balanced (Ephesians 2:8-10; Titus 3:5; James 2:17; Acts 26:20; Philippians 2:12). “Faith and patience” should be balanced (Hebrews 6:12; Matthew 17:20; Luke 17:6; Luke 18:1; Romans 5:4-5; James 5:7; James 1:4; Hebrews 11:13). “Encouraging people to be self-sufficient by working hard and helping those who are weak or constrained” should be balanced (2 Thessalonians 3:10-11; 1 Thessalonians 4:11; Acts 20:34-35; 1 John 3:17; James 2:15-16; Ephesians 5:15-16). We could go on and on and cite about 50 topics like these, in which you will find one church or Christian movement emphasizing A at the expense of B or vice-versa.

For example, the 2 attitudes of prayer Confidence vs Humility—mentioned earlier in this devotional may not be embraced by all Christians. There may be some churches that will emphasize the rights of sonship. Healing is the children’s bread, they expect to be healed. They expect to get what they ask for all the time. There may be other churches that emphasize submission and suffering. They do not necessarily expect healing to take place all the time. While healing is such an easy topic, where I believe doctrines are clear-cut, this can get more complex in other doctrines such as the doctrines of dominion of man on earth and how governments should function. Does man still have the dominion God gave Adam ? Did Satan take it all ? If so, what should Christians expect when they pray ? Do they expect governments to be just ? Do they submit to unjust authorities ? To what extent ? What about democratic constitutions in Western countries that give rights to citizens to participate in good government ?  One church could emphasize a “Biblical worldview” that is similar to the Davidic kingdom while another would be Okay with a different view point like Daniel in Babylon for example. And how does the cross and resurrection change all these dynamics ? If all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Jesus, what should be the attitude of the church ? Government on earth in Scripture is not as clear cut as healing because healing is usually personal while government concerns society. You can choose to see a doctor or trust God for healing but you cannot choose to have a driver’s license before you drive a car because the government has already made that decision for you. But does this mean that Joseph Stalin as head of the Soviet government was right in establishing Gulags ? If we say the government can require people to have driver’s licenses, where and how do we draw the line that it cannot force them into concentration camps ? Were Gulags an abuse of power ? Who decides what an abuse of power is ? What if there’s an abuse of power and citizens and legislators have no ability to stop that ? It is a complex topic in which various Christian churches may have differing opinions or “understanding of things.” Christians who believe in greater individual freedom will have a different attitude in prayer from those who are fine with greater government control. Some will want deliverance and freedom while others will choose to accept suffering and submission. Our goal here is not to give an exhaustive “correct understanding”  on this specific topic, rather to show how 2 different understandings contrast within Christianity. For our short-to-medium length teaching on this topic, you can look at the 2020 Christmas devotional “Hail The Incarnate Deity” expositions on Isaiah 9:6 and Isaiah 9:7. Even those teachings were not exhaustive.

Understanding gives us an “operational framework.” When facts are joined together, they give us an expansive picture of what action we should take. A person with understanding would never be out of options because there are always a million doors you could go through, a million projects you can build, and a million more topics you could discuss (Proverbs 24:25; Proverbs 4:7; Proverbs 24:6; Proverbs 8:14; Proverbs 20:5; Proverbs 21:22; Psalms 147:5; Isaiah 40:28-31; 1 Kings 4:32-34; Malachi 3:10). Divine understanding opens us the gates of infinity.

Wisdom is different from understanding because you can’t possibly do all the amazing things that God will give you understanding about. People say that wisdom is applying knowledge and this is certainly true. It means nothing if we have a revelation of holiness and we make choices that lead us in being unholy. It means nothing to understand mysteries of how we can transform the world for Christ if we do not have the time to do all of that. It means nothing to have the understanding of breakthrough discoveries that we enjoy alone while lacking the wisdom to be able to bring it to the market—so to speak—or on a platform where other people can share in the same joy. Wisdom helps to be highly selective and prioritize things—what should come first and what should go second and what will come third. We know how facts are joined together by understanding, and then, in wisdom we begin to put the first where it should be and the second after that—and so on and so forth.

Sometimes people could scream that they want to see the letters XYZ when you are still on EFG, and you calmly ignore it because something is in the works—they have no idea what it is. God’s wisdom teaches you to go one step at a time. Worldly wisdom does not necessarily follow that because its definition of success is different from God’s definition. Even in the church everyone does not define revival or awakening or success the same way. Some Christians are happy “to do church,”  while others believe everyone should be born again. This doesn’t mean God has no definition for those terms. It simply means that not all Christians actually care what God thinks. People who are not expecting the same results cannot possibly share the methods.  Apostle Paul prayed for the Colossians to have revelatory knowledge in order to recognize God’s will and be filled with spiritual wisdom and understanding. We need this more than ever. We should be praying this over ourselves, our families, and the churches in this nation and around the world.

Prayer: Father God, we thank you that you want us to go higher in your kingdom and even if we may have walked in faith and love last month and last year, you are calling us to increase in greater love and demonstrations of power by faith. We thank you that your understanding is infinite, and your wisdom is unsearchable, and we will never be able to exhaust the revelations of knowledge in the Scriptures as well as hidden mysteries that are not written. We want to grow in intimacy with you and know your thoughts as you renew our minds and receive your wisdom—so that we can prioritize things of your kingdom—and even those things of the kingdom we know can further be selected based on what you want to be placed ahead of others  or done first to see your kingdom fill the whole world. In the glorious name of Jesus, we pray. Amen! 

February 6th,2021

So that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God —Colossians 1:10.

 We will be continuing the devotional “Epistle To The Colossians,” looking at Colossians 1:10 today.

So that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way. Hope, faith, and love were already evident in the Colossians. For that reason, apostle Paul prayed for them to be filled—that is, to have an abundance and flooding of divine knowledge, understanding ,wisdom, and will —and this prayer request had a goal in mind—so that they may live a life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way.

The Greek word used for walk is “Peripatesai,” from “Peripateo,” which means to conduct yourself, deport yourself, to live, to go full circle. The word for “worthy” is “axios,” and it means “suitable, recognized as fitting, matching the value.” We see this used again in Ephesians 4:1, where Paul writes “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called.” In this Ephesians 4:1 verse, calling is “kleseos,” from “klesis,” which means a divine call, an invitation. Revelatory knowledge, understanding, wisdom, determination of God’s will precede holiness because you need those things first to help you in your sanctification and walking worthy of your high calling in Christ.

Yesterday, we gave an example of how 2 groups of people can define sin differently: how it arises, temptations associated with it, how it is dealt with, whether victory is easy or difficult. To go further, we can say that even though temptation is not sinful—the very fact that temptation exists cannot tell us a whole lot about how a person is living. Jesus had temptation in the wilderness but He was driven by the Spirit to go there (Mark 1:12). So, he was in God’s will when He was tempted. He won the victory there and did not sin. In James 1: 14 we read: “but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.” Here, James does not have a very positive view of temptations—he places it solely at the feet of the sinner. There are temptations that Christians are simply not supposed to have—and if they have them, it is because they have opened the door to Satan in some kind of way. They are enticed by evil desires because they are not killing indwelling sin or getting sanctified (Romans 8:13; Colossians 3:5). This view of James 1:14 on temptation is different from the one of Mark 1:12.

Christians who are lacking in divine wisdom may not realize the snares of the fowler (Psalms 91:3; Psalms 124:7; Hosea 9:8; Galatians 5:26; Luke 6:29; Proverbs 1:10; Proverbs 1:17; Luke 21:34; Proverbs 6:5; Proverbs 29:6; Ecclesiastes 9:12; Matthew 6:13; James 1:5). So, the very existence of temptation, can sometimes, be proof of stupidity (being a fool—Proverbs 1:32). We need to be able to understand these things, without necessarily knowing the deep secrets of Satan (Revelation 2:24; 2 Corinthians 2:11; Revelation 2:10; Luke 22:31; 1 John 5:19; 2 Corinthians 11:3), in how he actually lays such traps for people or creates a world of new dogmas, philosophies, rights, ideologies, divisions, heresies, hostilities, entitlements, tolerance, and a whole host of other things that he will manipulate in order to keep people in bondage. To be able to walk worthy of the Lord you need divine revelation how to stay away from temptation before it can even develop into sin. That’s what our high calling in the kingdom of Christ demands. That’s how we walk in a manner worthy of our calling.

The Greek word for “pleasing” is “areskia,” and it means the effort to fully and properly please. It can also mean “complaisance, obsequiousness, and willing service.” This is a disposition to live your life in order to accommodate  the taste, feelings, and wishes of someone. It is complying with the requirements and promptings without giving troubles or difficulty. It is the opposite of being “stiff-necked”— 1 Corinthians 10:5; Exodus 32:9; Exodus 33:3; Numbers 14:11; Deuteronomy 9:13; Deuteronomy 31:27; 2 Kings 17:14; Acts 7:51

In the media and political news we often see the word “sycophant” used—sometimes we see it with one president or another—about a group of journalists or other professionals—who make an effort to please a government leader—usually in hopes of currying favor or advancing propaganda. This does not happen only under dictatorships with “state media” but can occur in the West as well in both mainstream and emerging independent media. While the word is used often in a negative way—it is good for Christians to be “Christ’s sycophants”—that is work hard to learn how to please Him. When a church is asking for volunteers who should host a Bible study in their homes—is it difficult to get people signed up ? What about unpaid teachers for Sunday school ? What about church parking attendants ? What about those going on mission trips abroad ? What about those going to full time Bible schools ?

King David was the kind of man who knew how to please the Lord. Not only in the way He danced before the Lord (2 Samuel 6:14; 1 Samuel 13:14), but also in general willingness to serve and live holy ( 1 Samuel 18:14; 1 Kings 9:4; Psalms 84:10; Psalms 101:1-6; Psalms 119:1; Psalms 104:33; Psalms 63:4; Psalms 34:1). Dancing for God and singing to Him in praises and worship please Him, but we know that worship goes much further than that (Romans 12:1; Matthew 15:8; John 5:23; Proverbs 23:26; 2 Corinthians 2:15; Luke 1:9). God’s pleasure is not limited to dances and songs like king Herod was pleased to see someone dance before him (Mark 6:22), so when the King of Kings is going to give out blessings and kingdom benefits, He looks at something else—keeping the commandments (John 15:7; 1 John 5:14; James 4:3; 1 John 3:22; James 1:6-7; Hebrews 11:6; Mark 11:22-25; 1 Kings 3:4-5).

Obedience should be done for its own sake, but God has been pleased to add rewards for obedience (Psalms 62:12; Galatians 6:7-9; 1 Corinthians 15:58; 2 Timothy 4:8; Matthew 6:33).  There’s nothing wrong with expecting divine blessing and rewards for obedience because it is God Himself who has saturated His Word with such promises. We should all desire to please God. We should aim to be His delight. Our words, our relationships, our jobs, our ministries, our projects, and our songs should be like a sweet fragrance incense ascending to heaven’s altar (Leviticus 6:13; Revelation 5:8). As you read how God tips the bowls of prayer from heaven to earth to birth revivals and blessings—how much do you wish you would please Him more and worship more? That should fire us up into passionate prayers.

Bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God. Before you can bear fruit in every good work, first of all, you have to agree that you must do good works.

Today, many churches teach that because we are saved by grace and not by works—therefore you have to be a couch potato and watch TV all day. Others believe that though we should do good works, we are not to try too hard—which is untrue—because as we saw in the “Contending To The End” devotional for the end of the year—contending for the faith, as seen in the Greek original, will involve striving (Jude 1:3; Colossians 1:29). As you can see, really apostasy in the West is a self-inflicted wound—because churches teach a false Christianity that tells believers to be idle and lazy (Matthew 20:3-4; Luke 19:12-27; 1 Corinthians 9:16; Revelation 3:11; Hebrews 6:12). So, first of all, we have to get that out of our head and realize that God has work for us to do. If you are told that serving God is striving and bad and you should stop, you will end up being lazy. If you are told that God saved you by grace and He has prepared good works for you before you were even born again and you should walk in those works in confidence, you will wait upon the Lord, seeking to know what those good works are and do them (Ephesians 2:8-10).

It is when we walk in holiness, living lives that are worthy of our calling, and pleasing God in every way, that the good works  we do are blessed to bear fruits (1 Corinthians 3:6-11; John 3:27; John 15:5, 16; Psalms 90:17; Haggai 1:9; Proverbs 27:18; 2 Timothy 3:17; Hebrews 13:21).

The Lord also wants us to grow in the knowledge of Him. I am thrilled by this prayer. I mean, think about all the mind-blowing things we saw yesterday in what Paul writes about “epignosis” in Colossians 1:9 and how we expounded it to see what that divine revelatory knowledge entails. Now, in verse 10, God wants us to grow or increase in that knowledge. I mean, where does it all end ? Paul writes that despite his abundance of revelations that God had given him, he knew in part (1 Corinthians 13:12). When we get to heaven, we will know fully. This means that until we get to heaven, there are more and more mind-blowing revelations of God that He will give to us.

God could snatch you and take you to heaven and give you a tour of all the mansions that Jesus has prepared for His bride and give you a 10 minutes lecture on Botany/Phytology, telling you all the plants that Solomon knew (1 King 4:33)—and the pharmaceutical product each of those plants in the world can be used to develop medicine for all the incurable diseases that exist (Revelation 22:2; Revelation 2:7; Ezekiel 47:12; Genesis 1:29; Genesis 2:9; Isaiah 38:21-22; 1 Timothy 5:23; 2 Chronicles 16:12-13; Jeremiah 8:22; Job 13:4; Colossians 4:14; Matthew 9:12; Jeremiah 30:17 ; Lamentations 2:13; 2 Kings 5:10)—not the Digitalis drug level stuff that are used by cardiologists today—which relieve symptoms but cannot cure people permanently, and yet with all that mind-blowing knowledge that cures all diseases and gives you insight about the glorious wedding awaiting the Bride of Christ—you would have been in heaven for just 10 minutes and you couldn’t possibly know the same things as we shall know by being with God in eternity.  With that brief visit, you would continue to know in part and see in part (2 Corinthians 12:2-4). We won’t know fully until we are finally home. In the meantime, we understand that revelatory knowledge is progressive and we should expect it to continue to increase.

There’s no-good reason we should be stuck in what we knew 5 years ago or 10 years ago or even last month. God wants to reveal Himself to His children. He also wants that knowledge to be applicable, to have an impact, to be transformative—so that it can help us in walking in a manner worthy of His holy calling as well as produce good works that will transform the nations.

Prayer: Father God, we thank you that your revelations, understanding, wisdom, and knowledge of your will shall lead us into holiness and all your paths are pleasantness. Lord, we acknowledge that we know the schemes of the devil in creating divisions, laziness, backsliding, apostasy, persecutions, immorality—and we want that to be exposed so that the church will be a pure and spotless bride—walking worthy of the high calling you have given the saints and we will all be zealous for good works to advance your kingdom. Lord, we ask that you help us crush Satan under our feet like you promised you would soon do—and fill us with greater and greater knowledge and wisdom so that we can finish your assignment for the church. In the glorious name of Jesus, we pray. Amen!

February 8th,2021

Being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience. Colossians 1:11

We will be continuing the devotional “Epistle To The Colossians,” looking at Colossians 1:11 today.

Being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might.  The Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit love the church intensely. It is a shame that this love is not fully reciprocated. “Love always trusts”—1 Corinthians 13:7. Why don’t we trust the Lord always? Why do we doubt His power that He has made available? Why would God go out of His way to “strengthen with all power”—the saints in Colossae—if not for the love God loves the church ?

•         The Greek word for “strengthened” is “dynamoumenoi,” from “dunamoo” and it means to empower, to fill with power, and enable. He is not going to strengthen the saints with some power, with a little bit of power, with a certain measure of power, rather  “all power.” Again the word for “power” there is “dunamis.”—which is what we often call “the anointing,” but literary is translated as ability, energy, force, and might. It is the ability to perform in God’s power. It is the believer’s ability to achieve things by the Lord’s inherent abilities. How many Christians and churches do you know believe this?  From my observation—at best 10% of churches and pastors believe this kind of power is available to Christians. At worst, it could be less than this because most Christians are really “unbelievers”—they want Jesus as a ticket out of hell—but don’t talk about God’s inherent abilities given to them. We can’t stand powerless Christianity. Christ has called us to power. Dunamis is noted in 120 instances in the New Testament and includes both the sanctifying power as well as the miracle-working power. When Jesus told the disciples that they will receive power (Acts 1:8), this is the word that is used. That promise was fulfilled on Pentecost and we went through “The Gospel Is Power” devotional to look into this in detail in the last 10 days of January 2021. Since that was completed and the final edits have been done as well—usually final edits take 24-48 hours as some initial posts may not properly convey the intended message—so, whoever is interested in final edited devotionals may go back and read those. In 1 Corinthians 12:10, the word used for the gift of miracles is “Dunamis“—literary the gift of power. Considering the context of what Paul is writing here, I believe he is focused on the sanctifying power of this dunamis because he talks about endurance and patience—aspects of the fruit of the Spirit we all need in sanctification.
•         According to his glorious might. God doesn’t meet our needs according to our intelligence, our financial resources, our country/state’s political environment, our relatives, friends, and connections; He may use those to bless us—but He meets our needs “according to His glorious might.” This is Good News because Christians in Pakistan, Japan, Norway, and USA—will have the same access to this power—even though their social, economic, and political situations may be different. As I go through this, I am remembering a Christian minister in a foreign country who contacted us recently and I am lifting him up in my prayers . We really should pray more for our brothers and sisters in Christ abroad. It is amazing what God’s power can do when people truly believe and I certainly hope that Christians who are blessed with the comforts that the West can provide, will not wait to be in difficult situations to learn to pray like this and avail themselves of the same power that Christians in hardships elsewhere simply cannot live without. The Greek word for “glorious” is from “doxa”—which can mean glory, honor, splendor, praise. When God does those powerful things to strengthen His people or do wonders, it brings Him honor and praise. It reveals His splendor. When Paul prayed for the Ephesian church, He prayed that they would know “the hope of their calling, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints.”—Ephesians 1:18. Do we have the hope of this calling ? Do we see the riches of His glory for our inheritance ? The word for “might” is “kratos,” and it can also mean dominion, strength, power, and vigor. The Lord wants us to be spiritually vigorous—not weak. He already knows our weaknesses and sympathizes (Hebrews 4:15)—but this is not for keeping us in those weaknesses. It is for strengthening us with all His power according to His glorious might. If you are weak before you pray and remain weak after you pray—then probably you don’t believe in the same Jesus of the Bible. We must believe in God’s power and His ability to strengthen us in our weaknesses as failure to do so can result in having a form of godliness while denying the power of God. In that state, we would not be able to be patient and have endurance when we face situations that test us mentally, emotionally, and our kingdom commitment.

So that you may have great endurance and patience. We all know the hardships the early church went through in those days of the launch of Christianity. In Hebrews 10:34 we read: “ You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. “ Have you been in prison for preaching the Gospel ? Has the police confiscated your car and house because of believing in Jesus ? These were the costs of discipleship back then. When you read the book “Tortured for Christ” by Richard Wurmbrand, you will see how the Romania and other Eastern Europe Christians were persecuted during the years of the cold war as the Soviet union continued to push communism. That’s much closer to what the early church endured. I don’t believe that it’s God’s rule for the whole world (Galatians 5:1; Colossians 2:15; 2 Thessalonians 3:1; Acts 6:7; Acts 26:18; Romans 16:20,23; Matthew 10:23; 1 Timothy 2:1-5), but it gives us a modern example of what endurance means under persecution. As pagans got converted, persecutions in the Western world disappeared. I do not know any Christian who would regret the conversion of the pagans that ended persecution. When Julian the Apostate was dying, on June 27th, 363, he groaned “You have conquered, O Galilean.” He meant that Christ had defeated opposition to His purposes. But before that happened, the early church Christians had situations that required great endurance to be able to hold to their faith without scandalizing the Gospel—being offended and falling away. We may not face these things—but how do we fare when we deal with less difficult situations politically, financially, relationally, and socially ?  And I am not even talking about certain situations that could be caused by our own errors—because there are Christians who may suffer losses because of making poor decisions socially and politically, for example, decisions rooted in earthly conspiracies, that have no Biblical ground and therefore lack divine support (1 Peter 2:20; 1 Peter 4:15)—I am not talking about these, rather I mean Christians who may have legitimate troubles that are simply a result of the fallen world we live in—when Satan strikes to try to ruin them. How do we fare in those circumstances ? Because it is in those situations where our true treasures are revealed, where our hope and faith will be tested and whether we actually believe in this supernatural power to strengthen us to have “great endurance and patience.” (1 Peter 1:7; Matthew 6:19-21). The fact is, even though persecution in the Western world is currently stealth and and not-so-obvious, it does happen, not just from outsiders, but also between differing Christian tribes. When you read the book “The Heavenly Man” by Brother Yun, you see him mentioning this in his book chapter “A New Kind of Persecution” that he noticed after he fled communist China into Europe. As long as Satan is in the world, he will try to discourage and put out the fire and love the saints have for God and those who are weak will have their love for Christ grow cold and lose their passion to serve. This is why we need that power that works through faith to give us endurance so that we can be immovable and run our race to the finish line (Acts 20:24; Hebrews 12:2).

•         The Greek word used for “great” in NIV is actually “pasan” and it can also mean full, every kind of, and all. This means that God is not just going to give us patience in certain situations but  prove to be insufficient or powerless in others. There are no circumstances when His power will fail because our problems have become too much for Him (Luke 1:37; Mark 9:23; Ephesians 3:19-20). Every single difficulty, regardless of how it started or its magnitude—God has sufficient power to give us the grace to endure and be patient. We should lift up our hands and thank Jesus for that power given to us.
•         The Greek word for endurance is “hypomonen,” from “hupomone,” which means steadfastness or “remaining in faith while under challenges.” That means, we are fully persuaded that God’s sovereignty actually has taken into account our situations (Romans 4:19-21)—and He will not allow trials and temptations that are beyond what we can handle (1 Corinthians 10:13; Hebrews 10:23). A passage that can encourage us about this we read it in Luke 21:13-19. There, we see Jesus telling disciples the hardships they could face and then He finishes by saying “by your patience possess your souls.” When these challenges come—something is at stake—our souls. We can choose to give up, save our lives and lose our souls; or we can choose to be steadfast and save our souls (Mark 4:17; Mark 8:35-38; Isaiah 48:10; James 1:21; 1 Peter 1:16-18). Endurance and patience are part of denying ourselves, taking our crosses, and dying to ourselves—aspects that are crucial for discipleship. Is it possible to be “saved,” without actually going through discipleship like that ? Not according to those passages. Perseverance of the saints in holiness under all circumstances is as important as initial justification by faith without works. Our initial salvation involves our belief in a crucified Savior who rose from the dead and regenerates our spirit (Romans 3-5). We then consecrate our bodies and start to walk in holiness (Romans 6-8), but once that is done, our minds should be renewed too (Romans 12), and as we progress, we start to learn how death and resurrection work in the Christian believer—not objectively—as Christ died and rose and He will not repeat that process—but subjectively—we live the experience (John 12:24; Galatians 6:17; Philippians 3:10; Romans 8:17). The story of Joseph is a good pattern to remember (Genesis 37-Genesis 46). It can help us reinforce this teaching in our minds. What Christians don’t realize is that there’s always resurrection on the other side. There are denominations that preach a false Gospel of the cross only without resurrection—of suffering without victory—of a kernel falling into the ground and remaining there dead—not rising up to produce many fruits. We must stay away from such a false gospel(Isaiah 8:20). A person is not a false teacher only by proclaiming unscriptural prosperity, a preacher can be a false teacher for proclaiming unbiblical suffering. We are not the saviors of the world. Our blood has no redemptive power to cleanse sinners their guilt. If it could wash away their sins, it may be a good idea for all Christians to die so that every lost soul in the 8 billions that dwell on earth can have eternal life. That’s not God’s plan for salvation. Look at Matthew 10:23 mentioned earlier in brackets, for example. If Jesus wants disciples to suffer, why does He encourage them to flee to a different city after persecution ? Wouldn’t they suffer more by staying in the same city they are persecuted ? We must learn to balance this truth. Just like the objective death of Christ was followed by a resurrection—our subjective or experiential death is followed by a “resurrection.” This prepares for a future physical death and physical, bodily resurrection, when the Lord comes to take His people. In the meantime, through patience and endurance, we will possess our souls—that means more than just “keeping your sanity,” in a crazy world—it means you remain steadfast and immovable in your faith in the Lord—not giving an inch of your soul to the world, the flesh, or Satan to deceive and destroy. As you do, you watch the Lord give you beauty for ashes, crown for despair, and splendor for shame (Isaiah 61:3; Romans 5:17; Hebrews 13:13-21).
•         Our whole souls should belong to the Lord just like our spirits became His dwelling place when we were born again (John 3:5; Romans 6:4) and our bodies became His when we became consecrated (Romans 6:13-14). The decisions of our intellects, the feelings of our emotions, and the determination of our will should remain firmly in the kingdom regardless of the dangers, attacks, betrayals, persecutions, and deceptions. Some call this resilience—but that sounds more like a psychology and secular term than a Bible and spiritual term. It is possible to be resilient in the midst of challenges while compromising integrity or denying the faith—what modern psychology calls coping—doing what you have to do to survive physically and financially. When you see a psychologist in the midst of problems, you will be taught coping skills. They won’t necessarily be inspired by Scriptures. Trials such as career pressure, material losses, and religious tribulations can cause backsliding even though some people may find a way to thrive or prosper by reducing their kingdom commitment to worry about this life on earth. When it comes to the proper way to endure and have patience—look at Job in the Bible. Even his wife wanted him to curse God and die (Job 2:9), but that would not have been endurance. Even Job’s friends were like modern therapists (Job 13:4). Job refused ungodly advice from “fallen gnosis” and stood firm in “epignosis” and faith. And when the fullness of time came, he received his own resurrection (Job 42; James 5:10-11), having already believed in the one of the Redeemer he knew by “epignosis” (Job 19:25). This call to endure in trials as we await the coming of the Lord or going to be with Him in heaven is similar to the enduring power and patience that the bride and bridegroom have for years of relationship as they walk in purity and holiness before their wedding. God calls the church to have that endurance and patience as we wait our heavenly bridegroom, Jesus, who will come to take His church to heaven (1 John 3:1-3; 2 Timothy 4:7; Philippians 1:21). This is why we should keep our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfector of our faith in order to run with endurance the race marked out for us (Hebrews 12:1-2).
• The NIV does not add “joy” in verse 11, but the NLT, NKJV, and NASB do. In Greek, the word used is “chara.” It means gladness, cheerfulness, or rejoicing exceedingly. God does not just want us to endure tribulations like a patient closes both eyes to endure a needle in the arm when blood is being drawn to check for infection or other possible blood abnormalities. He actually wants us to laugh and rejoice (Matthew 5:11; 1 Peter 3:14; 1 Peter 4: 13-14; James 1:2; Philippians 4:4; Romans 5:3-5; Nehemiah 8:10). It demonstrates the power of the kingdom of God within us when not only we remain unshakable in the midst of difficult circumstances, but also rejoice and keep our enthusiastic service for the Lord going strong— proving that we are more than conquerors through all things (Romans 14:17; Luke 17:21; Hebrews 12:26-28; Romans 8:35-37; Acts 19:20).

Prayer: Father God, I thank you that you strengthen us with all your power according to your glorious might to be able to be patient and have endurance in every kind of difficult situation and challenge. Lord, we pray, that you will reveal to us more and more of this truth, so that we can be strengthened in our faith and patiently bear the crosses that may come in life. We also pray that we will have the faith to believe in the resurrections that will come from those sufferings here on earth—and ultimately where they point us towards—the resurrection of our bodies for eternity. In the glorious name of Jesus, we pray. Amen. 

February 9th,2021

And giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. Colossians 1:12

We will be continuing the devotional “Epistle To The Colossians,” looking at Colossians 1:12 today.

We had seen that Paul started to pray for the Colossian church the moment he heard about their faith (Colossians 1:9). He is still praying several years after that initial news. Though there are certain things he is looking forward to have as he prays for them, there are certain things they already have, that they have already received, and for that, he is thankful. We had already talked about the importance of entering God’s presence with thanksgiving for mercies already received (Colossians 1:3). The Greek word used for thanks comes from “eucharisteo,” and it means thanksgiving or receiving with thanks. It is an acknowledgement of God’s grace at work in the lives of people for His own glory and their eternal gain. From this word we get Eucharist, which is probably a word more commonly used in Catholic traditions than Protestant traditions—as the Catholics use it for the Holy Communion done during the mass. 

I received my first Eucharist as a catholic at the age of 8 and it was a thrilling experience. Though I am a protestant now, I treasure that memory. The reason this is the name given to the holy communion is probably linked to the Last Supper, when Jesus was about to be delivered for our sins. “And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.”—1 Corinthians 11:24; Matthew 26:26-28. But what thanks was Jesus giving and to whom ? The thanks were given to the Father and the content of the prayer ? This was likely a Jewish prayer of Berakha (thanksgiving, blessing) that goes like “Blessed are You, O Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, Who creates the fruit of the vine.” At that time, God’s greatest work was creation and now He was about to do another work, which would be even greater—the work of redemption.

We thank God for the works of creation and the work of redemption because we are the beneficiaries of both. When He created man, he gave him dominion over His works (Genesis 1:26-29). Those works of creation yield a harvest and fruits that sustain life on earth. The work of redemption deals with the curse that came after the fall of man and restores man into a relationship with God by reconciling God and man and paying the penalty for sin that man should have paid. And how much thanks do we owe our God who not only has richly blessed us with the beautiful and glorious creation but also has reconciled us to Himself through the shedding of the blood of His own son ? (John 3:16; Romans 8:32; Matthew 26:28; 2 Corinthians 5:19; 1 John 2:2).

The Father also is thanked that the provision has had an impact on the saints—He has qualified them to share in the inheritance. The Greek word for “qualified” is “hikanosanti” and it can also mean to make sufficient, render fit, to help in reaching the place of sufficiency, to make someone competent. It is amazing that the qualification to attain the most glorious inheritance is by grace and not by works—that is we do not work or earn it (Ephesians 2:8-10). 

People who are educated—who get university masters or doctorate degrees attain qualifications in their field through years of laboring in their study courses. They have homeworks, exams, research projects, and a host of other works that they have to do to qualify for future jobs or positions that they will hold. They earn their qualifications. When it comes to salvation, we cannot qualify ourselves for heaven and it would not work even if we tried hard. If God does not qualify people, they will never be qualified regardless of how many times they pray, how many sacrifices they make, and how long they have been doing that.

No one will be saved by being a good person and salvation is not possible outside of faith in Jesus Christ who was given as a ransom for our sins (Acts 4:12; John 14:6; Galatians 2:21). It does not matter how many people can testify to a person’s goodness, kindness, generosity, or clean life—all have sinned (Romans 3:23) and one sin is enough to arouse the wrath of God (James 2:10). God is so holy that He will not behold iniquity, no matter how one considers it a justifiable compromise ( Habakkuk 1:13).

The Greek word for share is “Merida,” from Meris. It means a portion, a part, a district of a country, a province. We see it used in Luke 10:42, where Jesus said that Mary who sat at the feet of Jesus hearing whatever He had to say had chosen the good part. Jesus was speaking and she was taking in everything—in His presence. Martha, her sister was overwhelmed with all the works that had to be done—and she even chided her sister because she needed help in the kitchen. That attitude almost suggests that Jesus cared more about spending time in His presence and hearing the Word of God than the practical things that needed to be done to keep life going like cooking, shopping for groceries, washing dishes, cleaning, and all other important aspects of the home life. These things are important. Jesus didn’t say they were insignificant. But in comparison—one thing is needful—one thing is considered to be the most important—to know Jesus intimately. No matter how much service is done for him—it is of less value than actually spending time with Him, talking to Him, hearing Him speak, and following His instructions. Loving Him is more important than serving Him and if anything is to be done for Him, it should not be out of our own initiative but out of His direction. This is what Martha did not get. This is why Mary was considered to have chosen the better inheritance. Because our inheritance is spiritual—this helps us understand what that portion or province or dividend we have been qualified for is. We are shareholders in the heavenly kingdom. We are not just citizens (Philippians 3:20).

When Abraham was called out of Ur and followed God, we are told that he wasn’t actually looking for Canaan, in which his children of Israel would inherit, rather “He was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”—Hebrews 11:10. It is amazing that the beloved passage of Hebrews 11 that tells us about all the heroes of faith and the feats they performed for God—none is regarded so highly as what lies beyond the grave (Hebrews 11:13). Joshua entered Canaan, David had a kingdom, and Solomon was the wealthiest man in history—and yet with all of those accomplishments, miracles, and blessings received on earth—they had not yet received the better part of the promises. “For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.”—Hebrews 13:14. God wants us to serve Him now—have victories in this life—but we have to make sure we balance the kingdom message (Acts 13:22, 36; 2 Samuel 7:12; Psalms 40:10; Joshua 24:15;.Acts 20:27; Matthew 28:18-20; John 14:12).  Ultimately, the message of the kingdom is not only about what we can do and have now—rather what we are going to become and inherit in eternity (1 John 3:1-3; Job 19:26; Luke 20:36; John 17:24; Colossians 3:4).

The people we share the kingdom of God with are called “the saints in light.” There are no saints in darkness, that is for the devil’s kingdom and his works of darkness ( Ephesians 2:2; Ephesians 6:12; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Isaiah 29:15; Job 22:13; Isaiah 28:15;  Hebrews 4:13;  John 8:32; John 8:44; Ephesians 5:11; 1 John 1:7-9;  Romans 13:12-14; 1 John 3:10). Being a child of light is both a positional and experiential truth. A person who has just been born again, who may have had a life of darkness for years is instantly in the kingdom of light. A good example is the story of the conversion of apostle Paul in Acts 9. At one time, he was persecuting the church and had an encounter with the Lord of glory, Jesus Christ, in a dazzling light, and the next moment, he was a convert and became a saint. It is experiential because we start to walk in the light after we are born again and our lives are marked by God’s glorious presence and the holiness that emanates from that glory.

Do you share in the inheritance of the saints in light as those verses show what light and darkness mean ? If you do not, then this is the better part—the better portion—the better inheritance to seek after and take hold of. No saint will ever be qualified through personal endeavor but by God’s grace—all of us who believe in Christ will be qualified to share in that inheritance.

Prayer: Father God, I thank you that you have qualified us for sharing in the inheritance of the saints in light. We thank you for the cross of Jesus who bore our sorrows, paid our penalty, and filled us with the Holy Spirit so that we can live to serve you and glorify you. Lord, we ask that you shine your light and let more people see that light in this nation and around the world so that they can be awakened to your love and grace—and choose this inheritance that you are offering us. In the compassionate name of Jesus, we pray. Amen !

February 10th,2021

For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves. Colossians 1:13

We will be continuing the devotional “Epistle To The Colossians,” looking at Colossians 1:13 today. There are positive and negative things mentioned in Colossians 1:12-13.

The positive thing we saw it yesterday, we have been brought into an inheritance among the saints in light. The Father qualified us, called us, Christ redeemed us, and the Holy Spirit sealed us to guarantee our salvation.

When a seal of guarantee is placed upon official documents—say of an FDIC-backed bank, we know that there’s protection against loss as the deposited money is insured—backed by the “the full of faith of the United States.” When there was a financial crisis in Liban in 2020, people couldn’t withdraw the cash they wanted from their bank accounts. If the government decided that $100 was the limit, that was it. While such a situation has not yet happened to FDIC-backed banks in USA, the world always has uncertainties. Thankfully, we have inherited a kingdom of certainty and our inheritance is guaranteed (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:14; Ephesians 4:30). In that Ephesians 1:14, Paul actually calls the Holy Spirit “the pledge of our inheritance.” Who made the pledge ? What is the pledge? When will it be ours ? God the Father is one who made it because the Holy Spirit is also known as “the promise of the Father.”—Luke 24:49. Some Christians may have been atheists before coming to faith, demanding evidence that God was real, but now they do not need one. The “Spirit testifies”— Romans 8:16. They have seen God’s power at work and have full assurance that not only God exists, but also that He is working wonders in their own personal lives. He has made that guarantee through an inner and evident experience. So, being brought into this inheritance among the sanctified, who are in God’s eternal light, is a positive thing. It will be in our full possession on the “day of redemption,” which “is to come,” as those verses say. So, that will be the day of the rapture of the church.

The negative thing we read in these verses—is where we were before our new birth experience—and where billions of souls are located—their spiritual address. It is called “the dominion of darkness” or the kingdom of darkness. We had to be rescued from there. Though Adam and Eve’s sin in the garden of Eden was volitional—that is they had the free will to choose to sin and rebel against God—their reconciliation with God, restoration into relationship with Him, freedom from sin, and walking in holiness couldn’t have been willed—they couldn’t rescue themselves from the clutches of sin and Satan by their own effort. They needed help—they required a Savior.

The Greek word used for “rescued” is Errysato, from “rhuomai,” which means to pull, to snatch, and to deliver. Though the Greek word used for “snatch from the flames of fire” in Jude 1:23 is “Harpazo” and therefore has a close, but different definition, it rings a bell with the described state of those who are not born again. It is not just that the kingdom of darkness is full of evil—open or secret—seen or invisible—recognized or hidden—it is also a place of torment. The demons, known as “Legion,” that possessed the man of the Gadarenes that Jesus delivers in the Gospels feared being sent into the abyss—even though that is where they will eventually go. For the time being, since their final judgment has not yet arrived, they wanted to make a prayer request to Jesus. So that is a very negative place—that even demons do not wish to be. When sinners are hearing the Gospel through evangelism, they are being “snatched from the flames of fire.” The saints in Colossae had been snatched from those flames as Epaphras preached to them. They had been delivered from the dominion of darkness.

The word “rhuomai” is used in Matthew 6:13, where Jesus teaches what we call “The Lord’s Prayer,” and He finishes by saying “deliver us from evil.” This deliverance or rescue removed us from danger, oppression, bondage, slavery, and potential eternal destruction by God’s fire “that will consume His enemies.”—Hebrews 10:27, they are also known as people who are “appointed unto wrath”—1 Thessalonians 5:9. For sinners, eternal judgment is only a matter of time—and considering that it is everlasting—no gain or pleasure in sin for 100 years on earth—and for many people it is much shorter than that—would equal the torments, stench, and agony of that place. There will be no purgatory—where people can be for 10 years after death or even 50 years—and have them transferred to heaven after prayers of the saints on earth are heard. It is either heaven or hell—that is the correct teaching of Scripture. There’s no “middle kingdom.” Not now, when we are still alive, and not at all after we die. 

The rich man and Lazarus story in Luke 16:19-31 tells us about the situation between those in heaven and those in hell. The rich man died and went to hell while the poor man died and went to heaven. While social status does not determine who goes to heaven or hell—Jesus tells that story of a rich man who used to unleash his dogs and they would go to lick the sores of poor Lazarus. Now, in hell, he is praying for Lazarus to come and bring a drop of water to soothe his parched throat. If he could only have a drop. So, the torments of hell that Jesus describes there are conscious and people go there immediately after death—if they are not saved. Millions of people around the world will probably go there to burn for eternity by the end of this month. To avoid having relatives join him in hell, the rich man asked that Lazarus would be sent back to the earth from his glorious rest in Abraham’s bosom and go to warn his surviving brothers that it was not pretty in hell—so that they would no longer continue to live the same lifestyle of luxury, pride, pleasure, and earthly attachment that led him to that place. Abraham told the rich man that if his brothers couldn’t heed the Written Scriptures, they may not be convinced even if someone was to be raised from the dead.—showing us the power God has put into the written word to rescue sinners—if they are attentive to heed what it teaches. The power of the preached Word can be as efficient as miracles (Luke 16:31; John 3:18; John 5:36; John 10:25, 38; John 8:24; John 12:48; Luke 13:1-3; Luke 13:24; Acts 8:9-19; Acts 13:10-12)

The rescue that Jesus effected was a show of force—it was a demonstration of power because sinners cannot be rescued from their oppressor by human effort—but it was the task that God could successfully do.

First, the cross crushed Satan’s head. Then, the Gospel rescues sinners from Satan’s weakened grab on their lives.

People’s thoughts and feelings can be very powerful and sometimes they may not understand the hooks that Satan has in their emotional soul ties, in their generational curses, in their governments policies, in their friends’ parties, in their psychology therapist sessions, in their business dealings, in several deceptive services they are offered, false religions, addictions, political turmoil, and in a whole host of other things that Satan will use to ruin souls. It is a whole industry of deception and bondage that goes beyond those 10 possible schemes—it is really a “kingdom of darkness.” It is invisible and works through suggestive thoughts, seducing or depressive emotions, and sometimes even threatening verbal or legal commands—and sinners always cannot deliver themselves out of that (Genesis 3:15; Luke 10:18; John 12:31; Revelation 12:12; Colossians 2:15; Ephesians 3:10; Isaiah 49:24-25; John 10:28; Luke 11:20-23; Luke 22:3; John 13:27; Luke 22:31; Luke 22:59-60; Mark 8:35-38; Acts 5:3; 2 Timothy 2:26; John 8:34; 1 John 3:8; Acts 26:18; 1 Timothy 1:13; Isaiah 60:1-2). They live contrary to God’s will as they “practice lawlessness.”—1 John 3:4. Someone could say “my friends invited me to a party,” without discerning that the actual meaning is that the devil invited him/her to destruction (1 Peter 4:4; 2 Corinthians 6:14; Proverbs 1:10, 17; 1 Peter 5:8; 2 Corinthians 11:4; Matthew 16:22-23). This is why intercessory prayers for sinners while they are still on earth is very important since they have no hope if they die without converting to Christ (1 Timothy 2:1-5).

Jesus prayed with tears of blood for having the cup of the cross pass and yet He was willing to accept to pay that price for our salvation. While carrying that cross to Golgotha, a group of women were weeping for him, but Jesus told them to weep for themselves and their children (Luke 23:27-31; 1 Timothy 2:4; Acts 16:31; Acts 2:39; 2 Samuel 18:33; Jeremiah 6:26; Revelation 1:7; James 4:9; Ezekiel 3:18; Acts 20:26). Weeping may happen now or later, but what Jesus has assured is that weeping will happen. Praying for the lost is a serious business that we should approach with a heavy heart. If you have family members who are not saved, Jesus instructs you to weep over their sins and lost souls until they are converted and walk in holiness—without which none shall see the Lord. If Jesus does not rescue them, they will perish. Only someone stronger than the devil can pluck sinners from the clutches of the evil one and eternal destruction.

The kingdom that we have been brought into is the kingdom of the Son, Jesus. It was a translation as the KJV calls it or a transference as the NLT and ESV call it. A translation reminds us of Enoch and Elijah—who were translated from earth to heaven without dying as they pleased God and walked with Him—having been filled by His presence and having given a testimony of a walk of holiness and a call of repentance to the sinners of their time. The Greek word used for that word is “Metestesen,” from Methistemi and it can also mean to carry away, to exchange, to seduce. We see it used in 1 Corinthians 13:2, about the faith that removes mountains. We see it used in Luke 16:4 when the shrewd manager hatched a plan of how he would survive in case he were to be removed from his position. We also see it in Acts 13:22, that God removed Saul from his position as king, he departed from life and died. Even though God had initially decided to remove Saul, consulting a medium was the final straw that led to his death (1 Samuel 13:14; 1 Chronicles 10:13). We can see that in each of these, removal has a cause. It’s a cause-and-effect relationship to be translated or transferred into the kingdom of Christ.

Even if the Bible version translation that had been chosen was the lesser likely, “seduce,” it would still be correct theologically, because God woos us with the “chords of his love.”—Hosea 11:14 (also see Jeremiah 31:3). He does not just crush Satan and break off his hands, he also appeals to our hopes, longings, and curiosity. At any given time, either Jesus or Satan is seducing someone, one promises earthly happiness but his wages are death, the other promises eternal life and His rewards are thousands of promises for our life on earth along with crowns and mansions in heaven.

When Moses was initially called, he had seen a fire burning in a bush but the bush was not being consumed. His curiosity was aroused. Before he knew it, he was on his way to Egypt to meet his brother Aaron. The Lord, then, used him to carry away Israel from Egypt to Canaan.  As Hosea 11:14 tells us, the Lord actually wooed Israel as they saw His signs and wonders and all the miraculous provisions that He gave them.

It is true that the goodness of the Lord leads people to repentance (Romans 2:4). When God delays judgments for sins committed, His goodness that leads to repentance is at work. Refusing to turn to Him during that period of God’s patience is called “despising God’s mercies.” When God answers the prayers of a sinner who doesn’t know Him and that answered prayer leads to conversion, it is God’s goodness at work. When Christians show kindness to unbelievers and that kindness melts their hearts, it is God’s goodness leading them to repentance. So, we see that His deliverance has a two-fold or two-front action—against the devil and upon our hearts.

The New Testament makes it clear that there’s a difference between the kingdom of the Son and the kingdom of the Father, even though the Father and the Son are one. This may take us into an unnecessarily long explanation if we were to try to do a comprehensive study on it. But let it suffice to say that in 1 Corinthians 15:24, Paul talks about Jesus handing over the kingdom to the Father, after all opposing forces have been destroyed. So we can see that the kingdom of the Son has a certain time specificity in which it started and in which it will end—and all things shall be submitted and handed to the Father—even the kingdom of the Son Himself—after all rebellious forces have been destroyed.

Prayer: Father God, we thank you that you have delivered us from Satan, who was too powerful for us and we couldn’t have possibly known all his schemes, trickery, and snares to get away from him. Thank you for exposing sin, ignorance, and fear that kept us in bondage and bringing us into revelation, love, and faith so that we could be free.  Thanks for earthly blessings, miracles, and your kindness that we witnessed that showed us your goodness and made your face look attractive to our blind hearts. We pray Lord, that you teach us to intercede and weep over souls that are still held in bondage, so that they can be snatched away from the flames that may consume them. In the merciful name of Jesus, we pray. Amen!

February 11th,2021

 In whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:14

We will be continuing the devotional “Epistle To The Colossians,” looking at Colossians 1:14 today.

The Father has translated us from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of His beloved son, through whom we have redemption. Jesus is our Redeemer. It is important that we understand what this means. First, it is that redemption is only found in Christ.  Redemption is not found in anyone else. 

To explain the concept of redemption fully, we should start from the Old Testament.

When God told Moses how someone who was to become a slave could be redeemed by a relative, He said “If a foreigner residing among you becomes rich and any of your fellow Israelites become poor and sell themselves to the foreigner or to a member of the foreigner’s clan, they retain the right of redemption after they have sold themselves. One of their relatives may redeem them. An uncle or a cousin or any blood relative in their clan may redeem them. Or if they prosper, they may redeem themselves. ”—Leviticus 25:47-49.  Earlier verses like Leviticus 25:25-27 had mentioned about redeeming the land that belonged to the family if it had been sold to someone else during times of economic hardships and the family that sold it wanted to return their inheritance. A Hebrew couldn’t do this to another Hebrew (Leviticus 25:39; Jeremiah 34:8-13; 1 Kings 9:22; 2 Chronicles 28:10). God’s people were to treat each other with dignity. So, a Hebrew could only hire another Hebrew as an employee (Leviticus 25:40, 43).

We see that slavery could be caused by poverty and a person could sell himself as a slave to someone of economic means—he would be laboring and getting food, perhaps a little bit of money for clothes, but not really enough to be considered an employee ( Exodus 1:11-14; Acts 7:19;  2 Kings 4:1; Matthew 18:25)

There’s a difference between a hired employee and a slave. Employees have many rights that slaves do not have . Slaves are given enough remuneration just to survive so that they can be more productive for their masters and increase harvests for their owners. They are owned like property; they are not employed (Exodus 21:20-21). Slavery is oppressive. Relatives retained the legal right to redeem those slaves. The slave master couldn’t refuse to release the slave if the right price was paid by the relatives to buy back those slaves so that they can be set free (Nehemiah 5: 5, 8). Even if the family couldn’t raise the money to redeem the slave, God made a legal provision in which the masters were to free slaves and employees in the 7th year. (Deuteronomy 15:12-15; Exodus 21:2-3). A servant could decide to work for his master for life—for that to happen, a judge had to be involved (Exodus 21:5-6; Deuteronomy 15:16-17). 

Considering the long history of slavery in America and the post-civil war years of Jim Crow and all other things we know from the civil rights movement of the 1960s, America is a land that is ripe for revival—through revelatory understanding of redemption. There are floodgates of forgiveness, healing, and reconciliation that are hidden in this doctrine. It is also a land where judgments could be greater if redemption is not a concept understood by majority of people as we have quite plenty of resources, history, and knowledge to turn us into master preachers and practitioners of redemption. To whom much has been given, much will be required. In America, almost everyone understands what slavery is. It is part of the national fabric. For Christians, this should be even easier to understand. I do not believe there’s anything excusable for Christians who fall short of this. We must have revival and an awakening, and this is a major deficiency or shortcoming that cannot be left standing. As it is now, it has always been a weak point through which the enemy has come to steal, kill, and destroy. Should it be resolved, American Christianity would become unstoppable. The problem is that many Christians are actually not interested in seeing the church thrive. 

Rabbi Jonathan Cahn deals with related topics in the book “The Mystery of Shemitah.” That book may help because lack of understanding of redemption has made America remain stuck in its past and it doesn’t seem to have been released or forgiven by God (Deuteronomy 15:1; Exodus 2:23; Exodus 6:9; proverbs 28:15; Galatian 3:10; Isaiah 58:6).  Sure, salvation is personal and millions of people have received Christ, but the practice of mercy and justice itself doesn’t suggest that this redemption has been widely received. Faith in redemption produces those fruits. Absence of these reveals lack of understanding and receiving the redemption we have in Christ. You can’t be redeemed and wicked at the same time. You can see evidence of this on TV each time America is at an inflection point—the heat, the arguments, the counter-arguments, the riots, the flames, the political rhetoric—clearly divine forgiveness and redemption are foreign concepts in America—despite having all necessary opportunities to be masters of this truth.

I have never seen a topic that gets so many people fired up in America like the topic of race. It arouses even more passions than socialism vs capitalism debates. It gets so intense that usually my policy is to stay away from it as much as I possibly can. For many, even attempts to resolve these problems result in greater hardness of hearts, which compounds and increases the chasm (Jeremiah 30:12; Jeremiah 46:11; Micah 1:9; Micah 3:8; Micah 6:13; 2 Chronicles 36:16; Isaiah 1:5). Failure to resolve this 200-year-old issue is why American Christianity is so feeble internally, inspite of blessing many nations with missionaries. It is a mystery of mysteries. There are just countries that are less likely to understand this topic so easily, as they don’t have a similar history, like Canada for example, and yet may actually fare better in racial and intercultural relations. Most of the acrimonious debates seen in USA are not seen in Canada. This doesn’t mean that Canada does well in other areas—like religious liberty or Christian fervor/ revivalism. The good news is that since that book of Rabbi Jonathan Cahn got out, many ministries and churches seem to have had an interest into this truth of redemption, forgiveness, and reconciliation, and that might be a turning point for America. It won’t be an easy climb, though.

We shouldn’t have to pay the price of release through bloody wars (1860-1864) when there’s a Redeemer who paid the price with His own precious blood (Ezekiel 33:11; Jeremiah 8:22; Ephesians 2:15; Ephesians 6:9; Romans 3:17; Luke 19:42; Acts 3:19). We should hope for days of refreshing rather than days of confrontation. Warfare may not necessarily end in society—until Satan is bound and stopped from deceiving the nations, people will always seek troubles—but there are certain victories that are attained through release more so than through persistent prosecution of past problems and their current consequences (Matthew 18:32-33; James 2:13; Romans 3:19; Matthew 6:12, 15; Ephesians 4:32).

For Jesus to effect redemption, He had to be born as a man in order to be a legitimate “kinsman redeemer” (Hebrews 2:11, 17; Ruth 4:1-10; Isaiah 9:6; 1 Corinthians 15:45; Romans 5:17; John 1:12). He had to become one of us; be born like a man, live like a man, work like a man, and be under the same rules and laws man was under (Galatians 4:4). The redemption that Christ brought was comprehensive, even though many Christian denominations usually teach a few things about this redemption, not the full Gospel. For example, Christ in His redemption, redeemed us from the law and its curses (Galatians 3:13; Deuteronomy 21: 23; Romans 7:4; Colossians 2:14; 2 Corinthians 5:21). Now, the curses attending the law were quite comprehensive (Deuteronomy 28) and punishments could extend to the third and fourth generation (Exodus 20:5).

Attributes of God’s holiness are often ignored to focus on those of His mercy, but it doesn’t change how He governs the universe when something is missing in our teachings or understanding. If God says that judgments will continue to the 3rd and 4th generation of those who hate him, does it matter if someone doesn’t believe that ?  It will happen regardless of the attitudes of people. Thankfully, Christ became a curse for us—so for those who are born again, who have received Jesus Christ, they receive this benefit of redemption—they are not just redeemed from the law, they are also redeemed from the curses that accompanied disobedience.

Even though the law and curses that followed its infraction were important aspects of our redemption, the law wasn’t our only problem. Redemption goes much further than redeeming us from the law. The curse had started long before Moses came on the scene (Genesis 3:17-19; Romans 5:14). The ground was cursed, the days of man on earth became few, and even relationships became troubled as we see Cain killing his own brother Abel. For death to occur, man had to go through pain and suffering, that often involves sicknesses, even though that is not the only cause of death on earth.  So, the law helped us understand what redemption could do, it was our schoolmaster (Galatians 3:24), but it was not our only problem. 

In Christ’s redemptive work, all the consequences of the fall were dealt with. Sin, sickness, creation under bondage/ barren lands, slavery, the law, enmity, Satan, and of course death. The benefits of redemption would be released in phases. For example, though we are assured that we have passed from death to life by believing in Jesus, many people, except those who will be alive on the day of the rapture, will still die (John 5:24; 1 John 3:14; John 11:25; Romans 8:10; 2 Timothy 2:18; 1 Corinthians 15:26; Philippians 3:11). The Greek word used in Philippians 3:11 for “attaining” resurrection comes from “katantao” and conveys the meaning of reaching the shores after crossing a sea. Events like Israel crossing the red sea were merely shadows while Christ’s own death and resurrection provide us a pattern.

Death will be the last enemy to be destroyed, therefore the last consequence of the fall to be free from. Resurrection will be the last benefit of redemption to receive. However, in meantime, we can enjoy tastes of God’s glory and the powers of the age to come because redemption has provided for healing of sicknesses and occasionally, raising from the dead of a few people as a testimony of things to come (Isaiah 53:4-5, 1 Peter 2:24; Matthew 8:16-17; Psalms 103:3; John 11:43; Acts 20:8-10; Acts 9:36-42). When Paul wrote Philemon, he said that he was praying that Philemon would have epignosis—revelatory knowledge (translated as understanding in NIV but knowledge in ESV) of every good thing we have in Christ (Philemon 1:6). “Every good thing” is quite a prayer because we cannot even enumerate all of those things.  

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.

The first benefit of redemption we received is “the forgiveness of sins.” When we believe in the Gospel and receive Jesus, our transgressions are wiped out (Ephesians 1:7; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Job 19:25; Romans 4:7,25; Romans 3:25; 1 John 2:2; Psalms 103:12; Micah 7:19; Matthew 26:28; Hebrews 8:12; Jeremiah 31:34; Isaiah 43:25). Jesus is the only authorized Redeemer and since only blood can provide redemption, only the blood of a perfect Redeemer could meet God’s holy standards (Hebrews 9:22; Leviticus 17:11; Ezekiel 18:20; John 1:29; Revelation 5:2-6; 1 Corinthians 6:20). Jesus is the only legitimate Redeemer (John 10:8-10; Jeremiah 23:1). He is a quite sufficient one (Hebrews 7:25).

There’s no forgiveness of sins outside of the blood of Jesus, therefore, there’s no salvation outside of faith in Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 2:5; John 14:6; Acts 4:12). This is why we love Jesus and we will sing eternal praises—because He has lifted our burdens, taken our sorrows, and wiped out our sins.

Prayer: Father God, we thank you that you have given us redemption through your son, Jesus Christ. We thank you for all the good things we have in Christ Jesus, we thank you that the redemption gives us the hope of being free from slavery where Satan would have us be, from sin that would ruin us, from the law that wouldn’t give us peace, from generational curses, because of sins of our forefathers that we cannot undo, from our own sins, of which you have richly forgiven us. We pray that we may understand more fully the benefits of redemption so that we can bring those around us into Jubilee and proclaim the year of liberation for all who are still in all sorts of bondage. In the gracious name of Jesus, we pray. Amen. 

February 12th,2021

The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. Colossians 1:15

We will be continuing the devotional “Epistle To The Colossians,” looking at Colossians 1:15 today.

The Father has translated us into the kingdom of His beloved Son. In the name of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, repentance and forgiveness of sins are preached (Luke 24:47; Acts 3:19; Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:13-14). In the Son, we have redemption and all its glorious benefits. But who is this Son ? If the Son will ultimately hand over the kingdom to the Father after all opposition to His purposes has been destroyed (1 Corinthians 15:24), isn’t he a “smaller god” or not even God at all? Just a man given to us as a mediator of the New Covenant, who simply happened to be perfect ? Who is this Son of God that Paul is talking about?

Paul starts this Christology portion by affirming that Jesus Christ is God of very God. “He is the image of the invisible God.”

God is invisible and yet His eternal power and divine nature have been revealed to us through creation. “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”—Romans 1:20. Even though God is invisible, He is not unknowable. His qualities have been clearly seen. Even before Jesus came to reveal to us the image of the Father, many people had been able to know God. Though God has existed in eternity—as far as faith on earth is concerned—the knowledge of God has a beginning: “since the creation of the world.”  Man was part of that creation and He was made in the image of God.

Adam and Eve understood God’s eternal power. They fellowshipped with Him face to face, even though He was invisible. He talked to them, asked them questions, could put Adam to sleep if He wanted, make another human being out of one his ribs, and the new person could be totally human without any physical weakness and defects—after being taken out of one of the bones of her husband. Adam witnessed that power with his own eyes and told his children about it. Adam and Eve would then, become one flesh, reproduce children who also bore God’s image, and they were surrounded by all the amazing creatures like animals and trees (Matthew 19:4-5; Genesis 1:26-29). They knew God made it all. His power was undeniable to them. Their descendants Enoch, Noah, and Abraham knew that too.

God’s invisibility doesn’t diminish His omnipotence. Lack of faith or unbelief in an invisible God is what drove many ancient people to “exchange the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being.”—Romans 1:23. They made statues from perishable and decaying items to represent an incorruptible, immortal, and holy being—what a disgrace! (Exodus 32:1-4; Isaiah 44:17; 1 Kings 18:26; Acts 19:27; Isaiah 2:8; Isaiah 45:20; Isaiah 46:6; Hosea 13:2). It was not just thousands of years ago, in Bible days, when people bowed down to images of what they had built. To this day, there are still places where images of gods made by human hands are revered as worthy of worship and sacrifices.

I have seen such places and my heart has always been as heavy as when Paul was in Athens when he saw that (Acts 17:16). I love different cultures and their people and I know how each of them are valuable in God’s eyes—there are just people who may not have been as blessed as Israel to know the true God or blessed to grow up with the Christian faith— it is a privilege that many Christians seem to take for granted. We should pray that the eyes of all people—especially those who haven’t had a Christian influence for centuries may be opened to this true God (2 Corinthians 4:4; Acts 26:18). God is invisible and is everywhere. Jehovah detests images of idols that misrepresent Him. (Psalms 139:7-18; Proverbs 15:3, 11; Job 26:6; Jeremiah 23:24; Acts 17:24; Isaiah 66:1; John 4:24; Jonah 2:8; 2 Kings 17:15; Psalms 31:6; Jeremiah 10:8; Judges 10:4; 1 John 5:21; 1 Corinthians 10:14).

Idolatry can often take on a form different from the “traditional” meaning of making a wooden or stone image. Greed—the love of money is called idolatry in Ephesians 5:5, for example. So, a greedy person would be as detestable to God as a polytheistic or pantheistic pagan. Hollywood culture can seem to be the same. There’s even a TV show called “American Idol.” People are worshipped or praised without giving glory to God (Isaiah 42:8; Acts 14:15; Acts 3:12; Acts 12: 22-23).

If man longed for an image to be able to see God face to face, he got what he sought when Jesus Christ came because “He is the image of the invisible God.” Jesus is the exact representation of Jehovah (Hebrews 1:3).

The Greek word used for “image” in Colossians 1:15 is “eikon.” We see it used in the story of Jesus answering those who were trying to trap him when he asked for a coin and asked “whose image is this? “ (Matthew 22:20; Mark 12:16; Luke 20:24). They all answered “Caesar.” They did not say Nebuchadnezzar or Cyrus or Herod. An image of someone represents that person exactly, so there’s no room for error or mistake or mid-identification. They all knew the image on the coin was Caesar. There was no debate whether it could have been someone else. Now, we are told that Jesus is the image of the invisible God.

The Greek word used for “representation” in Hebrews 1:3, where we read about Jesus being “the exact representation of His being,”  is “charakter.”  It means an engraving, a stamp, an impress, an impression, exact reproduction. We should be familiar with this in the age when we are asked to show photo ID or passport photo in order to receive various services. Because people’s faces change, a passport photo at age 20 may not be an exact representation of how they look at age 45, even though 25 years is not a very long time, from an eternity perspective. This is not the case for Jesus.

The image of the Father that Jesus showed the world 2000 years ago has not changed by one bit. People may have changed, cultures may have changed, the way the Gospel is presented to sinners may have changed, how the church prays and ministers healing to the sick may have changed, but Jesus Christ remains the same yesterday, today, and forever—He is the image of the invisible God (Hebrews 13:8; Malachi 3:16; James 1:17; Numbers 23:19; Psalms 102:27; Daniel 6:26; Luke 1:50; Habakkuk 1:12; Exodus 3:14-15).

Representing God in anyway is an incredible, terrifying, transcendent, holy, and honorable task. Misrepresenting God is awful, disgusting, destructive, demonic, and ruinous. Nothing could ever be gained by misrepresenting God. Nothing could ever be gained by teaching wrong things about God—neither for the teacher of false doctrines nor for the hearers. Nothing could ever be gained by being a false Christ-ian, misrepresenting Christ’s character to the world while blaspheming His Holy name (Romans 2:24; Isaiah 52:5; Ezekiel 20:27; Ezekiel 36:20; 2 Timothy 2:19; Acts 11:26; 1 Samuel 2:29-30; Luke 13:26-27; Matthew 7:21-23; Titus 1:16; 2 Timothy 3:5; 1 Corinthians 13:2; Hebrews 12:14).

It is beyond amazing that a God who is so holy, so powerful, so eternal, so perfect would declare “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”—Matthew 3:17. That testimony of the Father before Jesus preached any sermons, healed any sick, raised anyone from the dead, or accepted the cross in the garden of Gethsemane, is so powerful. The Father trusted the Son completely. He was satisfied in the image Jesus was representing long before His public ministry and sacrificial death for our sins. Jesus Christ is the image of the invisible God.

He is also the firstborn who is over all creation. He was begotten but He was not created (John 1:14). He is the only begotten of the Father. Through Him, God will bring many sons to glory (Hebrews 2:10),  but He is the firstborn. He is over all creation—“ktisis” in Greek, which is God’s product, Divine work, something made out of nothing. The Son of God was Himself involved in the creation of the universe (John 1:1-3). For a detailed study on this, one can check “Hail The Incarnate Deity” devotional for the 2020 December Christmas season.

The Lord Jesus Christ made all creation, it belongs to Him, and He is over it—ruling and managing it as He wills. Some of the creatures may be rebellious, refuse to acknowledge Him, work against His purposes, but He sits there and laughs it all (Psalms 2:4). Jesus scoffs: what do they think they are doing ? (Psalms 50: 3, 21; Isaiah 42:14; Isaiah 65:6; Proverbs 21:30;  Isaiah 45:9; Job 5:12; Psalms 33:10; 1 Corinthians 3:19-20; Acts 5: 38-39). Occasionally, He suddenly converts some of them and they realize what folly it was to oppose His plan (Acts 26:14; Daniel 4:34; Acts 16:30; Hosea 11:9; Romans 9: 13-15). Other times, He crushes them like a house owner crushing an annoying fly in his house (Psalms 2:12; Psalms 110:1; Acts 12:21-23; Deuteronomy 32:39; Hebrews 12:29). All creatures serve Him, whether they know what they are doing or not (Isaiah 45:1-5; John 11:49-51; 1 Corinthians 2:8). He rules over all creation wisely, magnificently, graciously, sovereignly, and powerfully.

Prayer: Father God, we thank you that your image is so well represented in Christ Jesus and what a beautiful image it is ! You are so awesome, magnificent, beautiful, glorious, and majestically rule over everything that you have created. We give you our eternal praise and adoration—we bless your holy name now and forevermore. Lord, help us be free from any idols that we may have embraced unknowingly so that we can worship you the true God, in truth and in spirit. Help us to know you more intimately, so that we can be worthy representatives of your Holy Name. In the name of your perfect Son, Jesus, we pray. Amen.

February 13th,2021

For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. Colossians 1:16

We will be continuing the devotional “Epistle To The Colossians,” looking at Colossians 1:16 today.

We had previously seen that the Son of God, Jesus Christ, is the image of the invisible Father. He is the exact representation of the Almighty. He is also the firstborn Son of the Father, begotten not created. Through Him, many sons will be brought to glory. He is the Lord over all creation and rules everything sovereignly and graciously.

Verse 16 starts telling us that “in Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible. “ Yesterday, we saw the creation of man and woman. John 1:3 tells us “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”  Name anything in the universe, Christ’s imprint is upon it. Material things in the visible and in the invisible realm were made by Him.

One day, 11 years ago, I was visiting a family in Newberg, Oregon and we watched a documentary about the galaxies. The documentary was mostly about the Milky Way. This is our galaxy, which contains the solar system and has been called this name because of how it appears from the earth. The first thing that seemed shocking in that documentary is that there are approximately 100-400 billion stars in the Milky Way. A TED Talk by Juna Kollmeir puts the number at 250 billion with plus or minus 100 billion. So that’s within the same range just mentioned.

To put the magnitude of the stars of galaxy into perspective, let us look at the ratio of man to star in size. On earth there are 8 billion people. Every single person on earth would not even be the size of an ant if they were to be compared to the size of stars. The brightest star in the Milky Way is Rigel in the Orion constellation and its radius is 34.1 million miles. It is 78 bigger than the sun. That’s huge. But it is not even the largest one. The largest star is called UY Scuti and its radius is 1700 times larger than the sun’s.  The sun’s radius is 432,690 miles, which is 109 times that of the earth. So, the radius of the UY Scuti is roughly 734,400,000 miles.  On earth, there’s nobody we know who is 10 feet tall. The tallest person we know, Robert Wadlow, has been 8 feet and 11 inches. So, say 9 feet. Converting feet into miles, 9 feet are 0.0017 miles. This is the tallest person on earth, while UY Scuti has a radius of 734,400,000 miles. If we consider the diameter of the UY Scuti at 1. 4688 billion miles and the height of the tallest man at 0.0017 miles, we see that the ratio is 1.15 e -12. That’s our size when we are compared to the stars. Shocking indeed. “…though I am nothing” of Paul, in 2 Corinthians 12:11, rings a bell. The greatness of God fully displays our nothingness. We are dust, in the literal sense of the word (Genesis 18:27; Genesis 3:19). Now we understand why sinners will ask the mountains to fall upon them when they see Jesus returning because ” who will endure the day of His coming ? ” (Malachi 3:2; Luke 21:36).

Now, we have just picked one instance to get a concept of the wonders of space, but remember, not only there are over 100 billion stars in the Milky Way—in our galaxy—there are approximately 120 billion estimated galaxies in the whole universe. Consider that it is possible each galaxy has its own 100-400 billion stars just like the Milky Way does and you will find that mind-boggling. The Milky Way is shocking but there are even more astonishing galaxies. For example, the Andromeda galaxy is one of the closest galaxies to our Milky Way, it contains 1 trillion stars. That’s roughly 3-10 times bigger than the Milky Way. It’s fair to estimate roughly 30-100 trillion stars total in all galaxies combined. Nobody knows exactly. 

The Milky Way and all the other 100 billion galaxies are part of the visible things that God created. They can be studied using specialized tools to be able to study them. Invisible things would not be found on a telescope. You can’t take a telescope and try to locate Archangel Gabriel or Michael because they are invisible creatures. So, through Christ and in Him, God created all the amazing things we have on earth—plants, animals, and people. He also created the stars and the galaxies they are situated in. “For He spoke, and it came to be.”—Psalms 33:9.

The stories of creation do not have the term “Big Bang.” They have the stories of how God spoke the worlds into existence—therefore, the voice of the Lord is the “bang.” It’s like Paul going to Athens and finding the “altar to an unknown God.”—Acts 17:23. He said, the God whom you worship that you do not know, we come to proclaim to you. The same way, the “bang” of the big bang that seems like a mystery to astronomers is no other than the very voice of God saying “Let there be…”

The invisible things that were created in Christ that we see Paul mentioning here include thrones, powers, rulers, and authorities. He did not include, the seraphim, who are also known as the burning ones, we read them in Isaiah 6:3. These cover their eyes before the throne of God as they endlessly cry and sing “Holy, Holy, Holy…”—doing so 24 hours for 7 days a week and 365-366 days a year and have been doing so since they were created without stopping. They are among “invisible things” that God created.

There are other invisible things that are not included in Paul’s list. For example, angels known as “cherubim.” We see them guarding the garden of Eden in Genesis 3:24, when God cast Adam and Eve out of the garden.  So, from there we gather that one of their roles is being the guardians of paradise.  Referring to Satan, Ezekiel 28:14 states “ You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones.” This seems to be the same roles as the cherubim of Eden. However, the previous verse suggests that Lucifer may have had several roles in heaven as Ezekiel 28:13 talks about “ the workmanship of your timbrels and pipes.” This is likely  referring to heavenly music. He definitely had warring capabilities as well because we read that Satan had a dispute with Archangel Michael in Jude 9 and Archangel Michael invoked the name of the Lord to rebuke Satan.

Yesterday, we referenced Proverbs 21:30 when discussing about the rebellion of some creatures—”There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the LORD.” While our focus was about rebellious men on earth, it certainly applies to invisible creatures as well. One third of heavenly beings were cast out of heaven after there was a rebellion and they lost their position (Revelation 12:7-10). Since the sin of man was instigated by the temptation of Eve that Satan orchestrated, the fall of Lucifer must have occurred before that. He is at war against God but he will be defeated in the end. When Christ returns to reign on earth in the Millennial kingdom, Satan will be bound during that 1000 year period (Revelation 20:1-3), before his final doom later on. 

There are also cherubim  who stayed in heaven. We read about a group of cherubim who are known as “ the four living creatures.” Ezekiel 1:4-24; Ezekiel 10:1-2; Revelation 4:6-11. They guard the throne of God.

Paul also mentions thrones, powers, rulers, and authorities. Some of these are on God’s side while others are opposed to God’s purposes. We know this because when we read in Ephesians 6:12, we see that Paul writes saying that our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against principalities, powers, rulers, and spiritual forces of darkness. For example, when Gabriel brought the prophetic word for Daniel, he couldn’t pass through the heavens for 21 days because the prince of Persia withstood him (Daniel 10:3). Since Gabriel is invisible to human eye unless he is revealed for a reason—the prince of Persia who fought against his travel is an angelic being.

I have heard teachings that only in the Old Testament were demonic forces able to stop divine messages and they are no longer able to do so in the New Testament . Though Christ’s cross has accomplished a great victory for us, as we read in John 12:31 that the time for judgment of the world had come and Satan would be cast out, and we further see this again taught in Colossians 2:15, it would be inappropriate to underestimate the capabilities of Satan even in his weakened state. In 1 Thessalonians 2:18, we read that Paul planned a trip to see the Thessalonians and Satan blocked his way. Opposition to the Gospel usually occurs because Satan is fighting against the spread of the Good News (Revelation 2:10). The whole world is under the control of Satan—this is as true about USA and Europe as it is about Asia and Africa (1 John 5:19)., even though Jesus has all authority to act on earth (Matthew 28:18-20).  Jesus will not establish full control on earth until the Millenium. In the meantime, warfare with Satanic forces rages on. 

We should not fear because the good angels are on our side, helping those who shall inherit salvation—Hebrews 1:14. Also, the Holy Spirit who dwells in our hearts is greater than Satan who rules the dark world (1 John 4:4). We are the temple of the Living God. 

At this moment, the world is split into two—the world of the children of obedience also known as the saints in light and the world of the children of disobedience also known as the kingdom of darkness (Ephesians 2:2; Colossians 1:13). People belong to either based on what they are agreeing with in their walk. While in some places the New Testament makes these distinctions positional, other times they are simply described as obedience vs disobedience. At the end of the day, we are servants or slaves of the one we obey. The disobedient are slaves of Satan, regardless of whether they consider themselves Christians. There’s no neutral ground since Jesus said ” Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”— Matthew 12:30. So, it’s a real possibility that someone could be a Christian in name only, while working to advance a demonic agenda. Since dark forces are invisible, we have to be on alert (1 Peter 5:8), as a red- faced demon with 2 horns is unlikely to appear in our homes or on the streets to say that it is tempting people to commit sins on the streets or in their homes.

Invisible beings are only visible for those who can see the “spiritual realm.”—that is, angels would be able to see other angels easily because they belong to the same realm. Christians who receive the Word of the Lord by open vision would also be able to see that ( John 1:51; Luke 22:31; Acts 8:26; Acts 12:7; 1 Samuel 3;1; 2 Kings 6:17; Acts 2:17; Revelation 4:1). I go through the seer gift /seeing in the spirit or seer anointing in much greater detail in my yet-to-be published book “After God’s heart.” Because ‘seeing or not seeing in the spirit’ is a fall-related problem that can be easily established from Genesis (See Chapter 3:6 and Chapter 3:7, for example). Since regeneration raises the dead spirit-man from the death that took place after the fall, seeing and hearing in the spirit become possible for those who are born again, though this may vary in degree depending upon the baptism of the Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts. Always remember that New Testament saints have a greater access than any Old Testament prophet (Matthew 11:11; John 14:12; Matthew 27:51; Romans 5:2;  2 Corinthians 12:1; 1 Corinthians 2:9; Luke 11:11-13; 1 Corinthians 14:1). What Samuel, Elisha, and Ezekiel had in the Old Testament is even more so available now under the New and Better Covenant. There are lots of Scriptures that can help those who are interested. 

Invisible beings may be able to pass through closed doors just like Jesus did after resurrection (John 20:19). Since Jesus said we will become like angels after the resurrection, that suggests our resurrected bodies will have the same capability (Matthew 22:30; Luke 1:11; 1 Corinthians 15:48-50).

All these creatures were created through Jesus Christ and for Him. While all creatures were made for Christ, there are some that do not live for Him. However, God, in His sovereignty, ensures that they serve His purposes anyway. They were created for His praise, worship, and glory.

Prayer: Father God, we thank you that you created all things and for your glory they were created. We thank you for the Milky Way and other galaxies that reveal to us your majesty in the stars that you flung into the heavens. We thank you that as heirs of your kingdom we have angels who assist us in our pilgrim walk here on earth and Jesus confessing our names to those angels on a daily basis to help us in our struggle against the dark forces, who often block our path to advance your kingdom. We pray that you will open our eyes to see the invisible realm like Elisha—to be able to have courage and faith when we face challenges that we can’t conquer without having full assurance of your presence, power, and support. In the majestic name of Jesus, we pray. Amen!