Beloved, I am glad to share with you today on the theme ci-above taken from Col 2.1 and following. Indeed, caring for the glories of the Lord Jesus is the way to be edified and rooted in Him. The roots of a tree provide it with both food and stability (Pr 12:3). If the Christian is not strengthened in the faith (Col 1:21-23), he risks being carried away “by every wind of doctrine” (Eph 4:10-16; Mt 13:18-23). Precisely dangerous winds were blowing in Colossi: philosophy, tradition, the worship of angels, religious ordinances,… all that verset 8 calls vain deceptions. With no less imagination, doctrines and theses are invented and abound today. Let us be afraid to listen to any teaching that deviates from the Word of God. The Enemy of our souls, by the agents he employs, would like to seduce us, make us his prey, dispossess us, frustrate us with the price of combat. But the great battle was fought and won by an Other. The cross where Satan thought for a moment to triumph marked his total and public defeat; he himself was dispossessed of his armor and possessions (Luke 11:17-23). Let us not bear to let ourselves be taken, or rather taken from the Lord, anything that belongs to Him.
What we should or should not do stems from who we are. Now our double position has just been clarified: First, wedied with Christ, died to the principles of the world; we can no longer take as a rule of life the principles that govern this world, with their moral or religious pretensions, and their often false measure of good and evil. Thenwe are “resurrected with Christ.” People from above, let us think of things from above, let us apply the principles from above in our most ordinary circumstances. Yes, you are dead, and the new, imperishable life you now possess is “hidden with Christ in God.” “That is why the world does not know us -that is, cannot understand us- because it has not known Him” (1 John 3:1-3). But when Christ is manifested, then all will know what our secret was. Although our life is in heaven, we are left on earth with dangerous moral “limbs”, in other words our lusts. Let us apply death to all these guilty manifestations of the old man. Because of them “the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.” Because of them too this anger fell on our perfect Substitute.
So, the apostle now judges the system of false doctors from the point of view of our position as Christians. What is that position? “You died with Christ,” it says. This is not our whole position, for we are also resurrected with Him and united with Him in heaven; but it is the fact of our death with Christ that the apostle uses to show theuselessnessof the system of ordinances. They are for the earth, for someone who lives in this world, and who through them would like, in this life, to enter into a relationship with God. Now, the Christian died with Christ, as chapter 6 explains to the Romans. It is therefore no longer in the existence to which the ordinances adapt. He died to the elements of the world. What does a dead person have to do with this? No longer alive in the world, that is, no longer living from the life that directs the thoughts and principles of the world in religious things (and even in everything), why would the Christian act as if he were still living from this life, establishing ordinances? Paul summarizes these ordinances in these few words: “Do not take, do not taste, do not touch.” They were established according to the teachings and commandments of men. It was a yoke that was to be imposed on Christians, on the pretext that their abstention from the things that God created (1 Tim. 4:3), would lead them to holiness. Meticulous prescriptions which, on the contrary, diverting thoughts from the things of heaven and carrying them to the things that perish, are destructive of true holiness. What is left for the soul that has bound itself to these ordinances? Nothing; “they are destined to perish by use”.
The following verses have been compiled for your edification and grouped together for your better understanding.
You have everything fully in Christ:
- Life delivered: communion with the death of Christ
Rom 6:6 knowing that our old man was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that we might no longer be slaves to sin;2 Cor 4:11 For we who live are constantly delivered to death because of Jesus, so that Jesus’ life may also be manifested in our mortal flesh. Gal 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; and if I live, it is no longer I who live, it is Christ who lives in me; if I now live in the flesh, I live in faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself up for me. Col 2:20 If you died with Christ in the rudiments of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, are these precepts imposed on you;2 Tim 2:11 This word is certain: If we died with him, we will also live with him;
- Receiving Christ
Mt 10:40 He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me. Mk 9:37 Whoever receives in my name one of these little children receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me, but the one who sent me. Luke 8:40 On His return, Jesus was received by the crowd, for all were waiting for Him. Jn 1:12 But to all who have received her, to those who believe in her name, she has given the power to become children of God, who are born,
- Rewards of the faithful for spiritual service:
-To the soul-winners Dn 12:3 Those who have been intelligent will shine like the splendor of heaven, and those who have taught righteousness, to the multitude will shine like the stars, forever and in perpetuity.
-To the humble servants Mt 10:42 And whoever gives only a glass of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you in truth, he will not lose his reward.
-To the faithful stewards Mt 25:23,34 His master said to him: It is good, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful in little, I will entrust you much; enter into the joy of your master. 34 Then the king will say to those who will be at his right hand: Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take possession of the kingdom that has been prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Mk 9:41 And whoever gives you to drink a glass of water in my name, because you belong to Christ, I tell you in truth, he will not lose his reward.
-To the benevolent Lk 6:35 But love your enemies, do good, and lend without hopeing for anything. And your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is good for the ungrateful and for the wicked. John 4:36 He who reaps receives a wage, and gathers fruit for eternal life, so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.
-To the good men of every nation Rom 2:10 Glory, honor and peace for whoever does good, for the Jew first, then for the Greek! 1 Cor 3:8 He who plants and he who waters are equal, and each will receive his own reward according to his own work.
-To the good men of every social class Eph 6:8 knowing that everyone, either slave or free, will receive from the Lord according to what he has done well. Col 3:24 knowing that you will receive the inheritance from the Lord as a reward. Serve Christ, the Lord.
- Wisdom of the world
Isaiah 29:14 Therefore I will strike this people again with wonders and miracles; And the wisdom of his sages will perish, and the intelligence of his intelligent men will disappear. Jer 4:22 Surely my people are crazy, they do not know me; They are foolish children, devoid of intelligence; They are skilled at doing evil, but they do not know how to do good. -; Rom 1:22 Boasting of being wise, they have gone mad;1 Cor 3:19-20 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. So it is written: He takes the wise in their cunning. 20 And again: The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, He knows that they are vain. Col 2:23 They have, in truth, an appearance of wisdom, in that they indicate voluntary worship, humility, and contempt for the body, but they are without any merit and contribute to the satisfaction of the flesh. John 3:15 This wisdom is not that which comes from above; but it is earthly, carnal, evil.
From all the above, we note that there have been ordinances for an earthly people, but they have run their course, they have found their end on the cross; why bring them back to impose them on Christians, and even aggravate them with meticulous prohibitions? These are things coming from man who wants to glorify himself in this way in the flesh. Indeed, the apostle says: “Who do have an appearance of wisdom in voluntary devotion and humility, and in that they do not spare the body, not giving it a certain honor.” The apostle agrees that there is, in these abstinences and macerations that the false doctors prescribed, an appearance of wisdom. This voluntary, that is to say, arbitrary, worship or devotion to beings raised above men, that is to say,angels, this alleged humility that was shown by affecting to disregard the body, not giving it a certain honor and not sparing it, indulging in voluntary deprivations of all kinds, all this was beautiful to see in the eyes of men. These erroneous doctrines later penetrated the Church, and we saw them, these lonely menarly dressed, letting themselves be exhausted by hunger, and thus acquiring a reputation for holiness. But it was an apparent wisdom; although there might have been sincerity in some, it was what they imposed on themselves of their own will, so it was the flesh that benefited; it was for the satisfaction of the flesh, not for the glory of Christ. Happy freedom than the one where the Christian was put by his death with Christ. It delivers him from the yoke of ordinances, not, however, so that he may use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, for those who are of Christ have crucified the flesh with passions and lusts. Dead with Christ, they live to God. Dead with Christ, they were also resurrected with Him. Our prayers sustain you all in your efforts to truly walk with Christ.
PRAYER OF ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR
I now invite every person who wants to become a new creation by walking in the truth, to pray with me the following prayer:
Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lusts of the world ignoring your love for humans. I admit to having sinned against you and ask your forgiveness for all my sins, because today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as Lord and personal Savior. I recognize that you died on the cross of Calvary and rose from the dead for me.
I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lead me every day to the eternal life that you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal yourself to me and strengthen my heart and faith, so that your light may shine in my life right now.
Thank you, Lord Jesus for accepting me into your divine family, so that I may also contemplate the wonders of your kingdom.
I will now choose a nearby waterpoint to baptize myself by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All adoration, power and glory are yours, now and forever and ever. Amen!
I would be happy to respond to any questions and comments you may have, before sharing with you tomorrow “putting on the characters of Christ.”
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you abundantly.
David Feze, Servant of the Almighty God.