King James Bible Study – [Mark 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.]
Date: Thursday, December 15, 2022
Chapters: THE BOOKS OF COLOSSIANS & PHILEMON
Study: Ministers of God
Hello My Brother/Sister/Friend,
I am not sure if I should mention this because my pastor is said to reveal this on January 01, but he has me creating this wall calendar to hand out to our members with the events for the year. Our theme for next year is, “Go Forward!”, and I tell you what, that is the right attitude to have. We, as faithful Christians, are going to be tried like you would not believe in the coming year, and we certainly cannot go back. The only option is to Go Forward, backed up not only by the promises of God, but the power if Christ.
[Philippians 3:13-14,20-21 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. 20 For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: 21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.]
The Book of Colossians was written by Paul in approximately 64 AD. The epistle (letter) was written to the church of Colosse, who were instructed to share it with other churches. The purpose of the letter was to address doctrinal issues within the church. What we are to learn is that we are complete in Christ, who is the Head of the Church, God in the flesh, created all things, and all things are created for Him, [Colossians 2:10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:]
We know that Paul spent the last two years of his life as a prisoner in Rome, when he wrote these letters, he did so with the anticipation that he would get out of there and visit with these towns that had learned of their faith in Christ. When Paul got word of the Colossians and their faith in Christ he was ecstatic.
[Colossians 1:1-5,9 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timotheus our brother, 2 To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 4 Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints, 5 For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel; 9 For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;]
[To the saints and faithful brethren] Notice who this is addressed to, not only the saved, but the faithful. You see, new Christians need some encouragement and guidance from faithful saved mature Christians so that they can minister to them and teach them how to walk with Christ as the Bible teaches, not man. We can love Jesus and great faith our salvation by grace, but what good is grace if that is all we get is saved. We want a blessed filled life with Christ, otherwise, if we walk in our own flesh being saved, it will be very hard on us. He reminds them, and all of us, that all things were created by and for Christ.
[Colossians 1:16-20 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. 19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; 20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.]
[that in all things he might have the preeminence.] [Preeminence; First place; Superior; high in station, and rank.] Jesus, since He is KING, wants first place in our lives, and let me tell you, if He gets it then the possibilities are endless as to what He will do for us. In order for that to happen, we must move forward in our faith, yet still remain grounded and settled in our faith.
[Colossians 1:23,27-28 If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister; 27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: 28 Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:]
[that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:] No, God, does not require our own perfection, after all we mess up more often than we care to admit. What He does require is faithfulness, and our willingness to allow Him to take precedence in our lives. You see, some false doctrine was being used that Paul was concerned of, so he decided that it was best to let them know what the truth is before anything escalated. He cautions them against devices which lead to their falling away from grace such as Judaizing teachers, carnal wisdom, human inventions, and traditions being brought in, as these were not consistent with the full assurance of Christ. Much of their doctrine had come from the people in Laodicea, which was not far from Colosse.
[Colossians 2:1-3,5-6 For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh; 2 That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; 5 For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ. 6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: 8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.]
[so walk ye in him:] While we are definitely not under the Law, we ought to be living our lives in a way that does reflects Jesus. Why? We were dead in our sins, and now alive in Him. Believe it or not, by our seeing how the world deals with things through their eyes and our increasing knowledge of God, we are able to discern the truth from the lies. Most religions are not about the truth of the Gospel, they are about tradition and submission to their will, not God’s. We, who are faithful, are testimonies that we are complete in Christ.
[Colossians 2:10-12,16-18 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: 11 In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: 12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. 16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: 17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ. 18 Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,]
[your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels,] God, has two commands that I do not care what time you were born into, if we are going to worship Him, we must follow them, [Exodus 20:3-5 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;]
These people were vainly worshiping angels, believing themselves to be unworthy to speak directly to God, they believed them to be their intercessor so to speak to God. The worst thing was that it was out of a pretend humility that they worshiped angels, as to not daringly plead immediately to God. Well, first of all; no one is worthy, except for Jesus, to speak directly to God, which is why we do need an intercessor. Second; their “humble” actions were not warranted as they took the honor which was to be given to Christ alone and gave it to the angels. And third; God, knows the heart of every person and whether or not their faith is vain to begin with, [Romans 8:34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.]
With that said, we have no idea what people are dealing with, and what they are struggling with as there is a difference between being a minister and a stumbling block. We cannot force someone into living the life that we want them to live, we need to let them follow what God wants them to do. If they mess up, then God will handle it, and if they ask for help, then we need to be there with open arms in the way that Jesus would.
[Colossians 2:20-23 Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, 21 (Touch not; taste not; handle not; 22 Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men? 23 Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh.]
[not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh.] Let me tell you, we all have things that we feel if we did them it would dishonor our bodies being the temple of God. Some women do not wear pants, some wear scarves over their heads. Some people do not eat pork or shellfish, while others do not eat meat at all. These are not things done as part of our faith nor should they be, they are personal preferences based on what they feel will honor God. If the church is commanding any of these things as part of their worship, then it is teaching a false doctrine. Being dead with Christ means that when we put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ as our Saviour we are no longer walking, talking corpses, we are living souls, made alive through Him.
[Colossians 3:1-6 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. 5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: 6 For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:]
[Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth;] [Mortify; To subdue; to abase; to humble; to reduce; to restrain;] Since we are saved by grace, we ought to do whatever we can to remove sin from our lives. Until I dedicated my life to Christ, I never knew that the life I was living was full of sin. We do not change overnight, it takes a lifetime to remove sin, and even then, it is not long enough, but we are more than complete, we are witnesses for Christ. Being saved and understanding the pain Jesus went through ought to motivate us to walk with Him, be more like Him, and live in a way the reveals Him through us.
[Colossians 3:15-17,23-25 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. 23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; 24 Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. 25 But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.]
[And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord,] Since we are the body of Christ, and He is the Head of us, what better form of gratitude can we give then to live our lives in the newness that He made us. By the way, man means mankind, so God is talking about men, women, and children that are belong to Jesus, and we need to love one another as the brothers and sisters in Christ that we are. Of course, we are not always going to get along with each other, but that is where the love of Jesus comes in.
[Colossians 4:1-6 Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven. 2 Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving; 3 Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds: 4 That I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak. 5 Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. 6 Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.]
[give unto your servants that which is just and equal;] We are all the same, even Jesus said that we He is not above us concerning this. We are not required to agree with one another, but we are required to love one another. The Book of Philemon was written to a convert named Philemon around 64 AD, who lived in Colosse and it was written to seek help for a runaway slave named Onesimus. What we are to learn from it is that Christian principles must be applied to social relationships as well as personal, [Philemon 1:6 That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.]
Life is so precious, so fast, and so hard sometimes, but did it ever occur to anyone who are so judgmental of those who have fallen from grace that that is their judgment? Some will learn, and repent of their sin and go on to be great testimonies, a man named Onesimus was one of them. Paul, wrote a small personal letter to a convert named Philemon, who lived in Colosse. Philemon, was sent to find Onesimus who actually penned down this letter for Paul.
[Philemon 1:1,4-7,10-11 Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our brother, unto Philemon our dearly beloved, and fellowlabourer, 4 I thank my God, making mention of thee always in my prayers, 5 Hearing of thy love and faith, which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all saints; 6 That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. 7 For we have great joy and consolation in thy love, because the bowels of the saints are refreshed by thee, brother. 10 I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds: 11 Which in time past was to thee unprofitable, but now profitable to thee and to me:]
[Which in time past was to thee unprofitable,] Before we got saved we were unprofitable, servants to the world, and even if we did serve in the Church, it would count for nothing. Jesus only recognizes us if we have accepted Him as our Saviour, [Matthew 7:22-23 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.]
You know, we can get caught up in some messes trying to live this life we are handed, on our own, but Christ changes all that and turns us into something more valuable than anything on the earth. Onesimus, turned out to be a valuable minster not only for God, but Paul as well, [Philemon 1:15-20 For perhaps he therefore departed for a season, that thou shouldest receive him for ever; 16 Not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved, specially to me, but how much more unto thee, both in the flesh, and in the Lord? 17 If thou count me therefore a partner, receive him as myself. 18 If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought, put that on mine account; 19 I Paul have written it with mine own hand, I will repay it: albeit I do not say to thee how thou owest unto me even thine own self besides. 20 Yea, brother, let me have joy of thee in the Lord: refresh my bowels in the Lord.]
[but above a servant, a brother beloved,] Paul, was so confident in how Onesimus had turned his life around that he was willing to take responsibility for any wrongdoing that he may have done. We are God’s ministers, and I am not talking about preachers, teachers, and evangelists, we are His servants and while we do need to mind people that we ought to live for Christ, we also need to love them as Christ loves is all, [John 15:12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.]
Today’s Prayer: God, In the midst of all my struggles, failures, and doubts, I remain confident that You will complete the work You began in me. You accepted me as I was, and since then You lovingly began reshaping my life into an image of Your Son. Not only are You continuing the good work You began, but You are perfecting those things that weaken my faith and my testimony. I thank You that You will fulfill Your purpose in me, no matter what people believe, I thank You for Your grace that abounds so much, I thank You for using me to serve You, and I thank You for keeping me faithful. Lord, lead me and guide me, teach me, and show me Your will for me, let me not get caught up in ordinances to please man, rather live to please You, and fill me with Your wisdom so that I can be ready to answer those who are trying to discourage me. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
Are You 100% Sure You Are Going To Heaven?: https://imfollowingjesus.com/Biblestudy/ready-to-follow-jesus/
Receive The KJB Daily Devotions In Your Email: http://eepurl.com/2WMzT
Missed A Message: https://imfollowingjesus.com/Biblestudy/
Visit I’m Following Jesus: https://imfollowingjesus.com/Biblestudy/welcome/
Read Today’s Bible Reading: http://kingjamesbible.imfollowingjesus.com/
I’m Following Jesus On Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/readytofollowJesus/
Copyright © 2022 I’m Following Jesus, All rights reserved.