Monthly Archives: December 2024

THS SPINOFFS OF TRUTH

Apologetics, ,

Colossians 1:22-23 NIV
[22] “But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— [23] if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.”

How imperative it was for Paul to explain to the Colossian church the foundation truths about Jesus!Without this basis, their entire experience as children of God would topple and disintegrate. However small or apparently insignificant a deviation from the truth, the entire gospel is undermined and becomes useless.

All the realities of forgiveness of sin, reconciliation with the Father, a new standing in grace, holy and accepted, and every other blessing we enjoy, are spinoffs of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. Undermine that, and we are left with nothing.

When the Corinthian church was tempted to dismiss the truth of the resurrection, Paul not only argued for the truth but also pointed out the terrible implications for God’s children if there is no resurrection of the dead. Then Jesus did not rise from the dead either, and that was unthinkable!

1 Corinthians 15:13-19 NIV
[13] “If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. [14] And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless, and so is your faith. [15] More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if, in fact, the dead are not raised. [16] For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. [17] And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. [18] Then those also, who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. [19] If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.”

Any deviation from the details of the gospel given to us in God’s Word has serious implications for our lives now and our hope for the future.

Paul battled against different false teachers and their false teachings in different churches. For example, the Galatian believers were plagued by Jewish teachers who insisted that Gentile believers be circumcised to be saved. To Paul, this was an issue of dire significance, of life and death. Christ plus anything was “another gospel” and under God’s curse.

Galatians 1:6-9 NIV
[6]”I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— [7] which is really no gospel at all. Evidently, some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. [8] But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! [9] As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!”

Anyone who believes the teaching that undermines faith in the sufficiency of Jesus’ death and resurrection renders the gospel useless for them.

Galatians 5:2-4 NIV
[2″Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. [3] Again, I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. [4] You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.”

These seem like harsh words, especially for us in an era when people are taught that truth is not objective or absolute. Truth is what we want it to be…our truth…my truth.

The objective truth of Jesus’ death and resurrection is a fact of history. Many have taken pains to disprove its historical fact, only to be convinced of its truth and drawn to faith in Jesus. “Who Moved the Stone?” by the lawyer, Frank Morrison, is a classical example of one who lost the battle against unbelief.

So, what is Paul saying to us?

Jesus is who He said He is, the Son of God! Jesus said He would die and rise again, and He did! Jesus gave His disciples authority and the Holy Spirit to interpret these historical facts, and they did! We have a complete record of the revelation the Spirit gave them to understand these spinoffs and their implcations for our lives. All this is proven and trustworthy.

Only one thing is left to do. Obey by believing! Outs lives depend on it!

HEAD OF THE CHURCH

Apologetics, ,

Colossians 1:18-20 NLT
[18] “Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything. [19] For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, [20] and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.”

Head of creation, supreme in the universe, head of the church, first in everything. This is the position, office, and role of Jesus, earned through His obedience even to death and given to Him by the Father. There is no one higher than Jesus in the entire universe.

Paul has completed his resume of the supreme person of Jesus’ being and function in defense of the truth
against the false doctrines of the Gnostics. Their fanciful philosophy makes no sense compared with the very real person and work of Jesus.

Why is it so important that God’s people stay faithful to the truths of the gospel that they have been taught and believed? Our entire lives here on earth and our destiny in eternity rest on the solid foundation of fact and truth.

If Jesus is not God, the Son of God, if He did not live and die as history reports, if He did not rise from the dead, and if He does not reign as Lord of heaven and earth and head of the church, then everything we pin our hopes on is a myth and a mirage. The superstructure of our faith crumbles, and we have no reason for victory over sin and death and the hope of eternal life in the presemce of God.

Although doctrine does not save us…faith in Jesus does…our faith must rest on solid truth. We can not play fast and loose with what we believe. Believing the false teachings we are inclined to embrace does not make lies truth.

This principle applies not only to the broad truths of God’s Word but also to the small print and the finest details of what God has written. We add or change anything in the Bible to our peril.

We live in a time when many words are spoken or written in God’s name, which He has neither spoken nor authorised. People claim to function in offices not sanctioned in Scripture; prophecies are uttered in His name, and authority exercised, which has been wrenched from Jesus Himself.

We have Jesus’ example of the way to relate to God’s eternal Word. Under severe pressure, He verbalised His attitude, and His modus operandum for His entire personal life and public ministry…

Matthew 4:4 NIV
[4] “Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Matthew 4:7 NIV
[7] “Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

Matthew 4:10 NIV
[10] Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”

Jesus responded to Satan’s subtle attempts to break the union between Himself and the Father. He was resolute and determined to be in absolute submission and obedience to the pure Word of God.

So should we!

Only on the solid foundation of truth can we commit ourselves, now and in eternity, to the grace of the one who saves and secures us through our faith in Him.

A MATCHLESS CV

Apologetics, ,

Colossians 1:15-17 NLT
[15] “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, [16] for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see— such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. [17] He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.”

Why does Paul launch into a CV of Jesus so mindblowing that it’s difficult to comprehend a person so accomplished. Not all the Einsteins who ever lived can hold a candle to Jesus, the Son of God. How, then, can these foolish false teaches go around peddling the idea that Jesus is anything less than who He is?

The Colossian believers were being harassed by false teaching.

Gnostic philosophy was making its way into the Christian church. Jesus isn’t who He said He is. He’s just the highest of a series of “emanations”, levels of spirit beings between us and God. For people to “know” God means that we must go through these spirit beings to gain a superior kind of knowledge. Salvation, therefore, is about knowledge, not grace!

“What nonsense!” Paul exploded. “Who taught you such rubbish?”

Jesus is who He said He is. He is not a superior “spirit being,” as you say. He is God who came in person, a real person and a perfect replica of God! He created the universe in harmony with God, the Father, not some lesser “God” as you claim. He even made the powerful spirit beings who operate in the world. He is the absolute sovereign ruler of the universe, and He keeps it all going by His power.

Anything less than the real Jesus, who is both perfect God and perfect man, would mean doom for us humans. How could we ever be accepted by a holy God in our unholy state? No amount of “knowledge”, however great or superior, can ever do anything to rid us of our sin.

We need a real, perfect man to stand in for us. Jesus is the only real, perfect man who qualified.

Let’s examine His qualifications. How do we know He is God? First, He was a man, but He did what only God can do in partnership with God. He healed the sick, He calmed storms, He walked on water, He opened blind eyes and deaf ears, He raised the dead…He died and rose again!

He perfectly represented the Father on earth.

Exodus 34:6-7 NLT
[6] “The Lord passed in front of Moses, calling out, “Yahweh! The Lord! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. [7] I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin…”

Second, He fulfilled every prophecy about Himself. His prophesied His own death, and He died. He said He would rise again, and He rose again. He said He’s coming again, and He will come. He said He has the power to forgive sins and proved it by healing a paralysed man.

Third, He said we would be saved through faith in Him. We are saved, in our experience, and in the presence of His Spirit in us. Those who believe in Him have peace and freedom from guilt.

Who else could have done all this and not be God?

Like the Colossian believers, let us not be fooled by lying false prophets. The truth is that Jesus is God, and that He saves all who call on His name in faith.

HOW CAN WE BE SO SURE?

Apologetics, ,

Colossians 1:13 NLT
[13] “For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, [14] who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.”

It’s all very well to pray a grand prayer like the one we examined yesterday, but how can we be so sure that God will answer us? After all, He only does what is in line with His will.

God’s answers to many of our our prayers depend on what He has done to intervene on our behalf. What has He done to ensure that what we pray is according to His will?

Does He really want us to know Him, to experience His power, and to rejoice in His goodness? Of course He does! He made it all possible by rescuing us from Satan’s power and bringing us supernaturally under His own benevolent rule. We did nothing to contribute to what He has done.

How do we know that we have been forgiven and freed from our guilt and the fear of punishment?

Something powerful has happened inside; something has changed in our conscience and in our emotions. We no longer have that sense of impending doom. We have inner lightness and freedom from guilt that is different from the heaviness we once felt. We have a deep assurance that we are okay with God. We feel loved and secure. All these changes are real even if we cannot explain what has happened.

These new experiences can only point to one thing. God has done something to make these changes supernaturally possible.

How did He rescue us from Satan’s power? I didn’t really understand this truth until I took a long, hard look at what Jesus did at the cross. Let me jump the gun and explain what Paul has to say in the next chapter.

Colossians 2:14-15 NLT
[14] “He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. [15] In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.”

Satan held us captive in the following ways.

  1. He claims to be Lord over us because he has captured us by our sin. He has us in his power and under his influence. No matter what we do, we cannot get free of his control.
  2. He holds us captive by reminiding us of our fate. We are stuck with him and doomed with him to eternal judgment.
  3. He uses these lies to deceive us into thinking that we are still forced to serve him.
  4. He holds up our disobedience to God’s laws as proof that we are doomed.

But God did something unthinkable…

  1. He took all our guilt, placed it on Jesus, and had Him killed in our place. He took every law we broke, every sin we committed, every rebellious thought and act, and nailed it to the cross, writing over all the charges, PAID IN FULL.
  2. He showed the devil up to be a liar because we are no longer guilty of any sin. Satan tries to deceive us into believing that we are still guilty and in his clutches. We are not! We are free and under God’s rule and protection.
  3. He did all this before time. This means that He took care of our sin and guilt before they happened. Satan’s accusations are all false because our sin no longer exists. People who still follow and worship Satan have been caught in his lies.

Revelation 13:8 NLT
[8] “And all the people who belong to this world worshiped the beast. They are the ones whose names were not written in the Book of Life that belongs to the Lamb who was slaughtered before the world was made.”

The devil has been unmasked. He is NOT LORD, after all. JESUS IS LORD.

So, we have objective proof that we are safely in God’s hands and under His care and protection. God had Jesus killed for us! Satan’s most powerful weapon is useless. His lies have been exposed. Now we have God’s truth as the covering under which we can live in peace and freedom.

AN ALL-INCLUSIVE PRAYER FOR LIFE

Prayer, ,

Colossians 1:9-12 NLT
[9] “So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you COMPLETE KNOWLEDGE OF HIS WILL and to give you SPIRITUAL WISDOM AND UNDERSTANDING. [10] Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better. [11] We also pray that you will be STRENGTHENED WITH ALL HIS GLORIOUS POWER so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be FILLED WITH JOY, [12] ALWAYS THANKING THE FATHER. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light.”

In view of the Colossians’ good report, Paul characteristically pens a prayer for his readers. Although it seems a long, involved request, his prayer is short and simple and expresses his desire for these Colossian believers to experience everything it takes to be a flourishing Christian in a hostile environment.

His five requests are interspersed with the “so that’s” which are the outcome of what God provides in answer to his prayer. Paul’s written prayers are littered with expectations of what his prayers for them will produce.

Let’s examine his prayer in more detail.

  1. Complete knowledge of God’s will.

Knowledge of God’s will is top priority because it is God’s will that should always be paramount in our lives. Since God’s will is expressed in His commands, it shouldn’t be difficult to know what God requires of us.

1 John 3:23 NLT
[23] “And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us.”

Everything God wants us to do, be, and become are found in these two simple instructions.

  1. Spiritual wisdom and understanding.

Knowledge itself is helpless without understanding. Knowledge and spiritual wisdom and understanding put us on the road to knowing God better. Knowing God as in intimate knowledge of His character and ways are the essence of eternal life.

John 17:3 NLT
[3] “And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.”

Again, the more we get to know God and understand His ways, the more we will grow in wisdom because wisdom is the application of the knowledge we gain as we learn His ways.

How important this process is in our walk of faith. The Holy Spirit has many functions as our Helper, one of which is to be the Interpreter, making sense of our daily experiences as we traverse life.

  1. Strengthened with all His glorious power.

As much as we need the knowledge of God’s will and the wisdom and understanding to apply it to our daily lives, we need the power to carry out what we learn to do.

This is beyond us as mere mortals. Without God’s enabling, we can no more do God’s will than any unbeliever. Through grace, God’s power works in us to do w hat pleases H.

Philippians 2:12-13 NLT
[12] “Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. [13] For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him.”

This life of faith and obedience is a partnership between God and us. Both partners are essential to pull it off. The spinoff of this partnership is the patience and endurance we need to go the course. There is no reward for those who quit before the end.

  1. Filled with joy.

This race we are called to run is no white-knuckle, nail-biting, worthess endurance exercise just to test our mettle. The prize for those who finish is literally “out of this world”! We don’t run with gritted teeth but with hearts overflowing with joy…there’s a goal so priceless that, to miss it is unthinkable, an unimaginable inheritamce for those who win.

  1. Always thanking the Father.

What better to keep us on track than the goodness of the Father? He has made this all possible; He has done everything for us and in us; He waits at the finish line to reward us for everything He has accomplished. In the end, all the glory belongs to Him.

What a prayer, reaching the heights of God’s desire for His people. Why not pray Paul’s prayer for fellow believers!