Embracing Gifts

"Now this I say that no one may delude you with persuasiveness of speech. For though I am absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, rejoicing and seeing your order, and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ." Colossians 2:4-5 NHEB (See below for explanation of version).

These marvelous things the apostle has been sharing with them about the riches of wisdom and knowledge available in Jesus Christ is not just something to tickle their desire for more. It is instead a real necessary fortification for living in Christ Jesus. Paul now begins to outline for them the way to live in the Spirit and in the wisdom and knowledge of Christ.

There are critical ways of thinking that need to become the normal way of thinking for a believer. If these ways are not instilled, then nothing but trouble, trouble and more trouble is ahead. In fact, if one does not receive these truths, then the Christian life will seem like an impossible life to live, because failure and an inability to be victorious will be the norm. This is what we often feel and see in the body of Christ today. In fact, it is taught as fact. It makes my heart sad and I have had to repent of much I have taught in the past, once I began to see what the Holy Spirit actually said in this passage. It is awesome and it is the key in overcoming.

The reason these folk are able to be "in order" and have a steadfastness in Christ is because of the glories our Lord had accomplished for them. They entered into them and received them as fact. These marvelous facts will keep one in good order and in a faithful life in Christ. These things will occur when we are assured by faith that these items are true. First of all, in Christ are hidden all the riches of the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. There is nothing we need to know that Christ does not already know. There is nothing we need to embrace that has not been made available to us, including the mental, emotional and spiritual strength to embrace it. All this seems too good to be true in this "self-help" world of ours we call Christianity.

There is much for us to do, but it is not the normal things we normally concentrate on. Tomorrow we step into some of those instructions. But we begin by realizing these truths are placed among the instructions for living life in Him - because they contain the keys for our thoughts to reign in Christ. More tomorrow, Lord willing. This needed to be in a post by itself.

The translation I am using in this post and for much of my web work is a new translation called New Heart English Bible. It is not copyrighted and is dedicated to the Public Domain by the editors and translators. You may publish, copy, memorize, translate, quote, and use the New Heart English Bible freely without additional permission. Signed by the Translators. You may see and read the entire Bible in several editions at publicdomainbibles.com.