Day 189 "Made Alive With Christ" (Colossians: Chapter Two)

When something is dead, there is no life left in it. Several times in Paul's writings he has described the non-believer as being dead in one's relationship with God. There is no spiritual life. Here in chapter two of Colossians, Paul writes that the believer in Christ is made spiritual alive again, free to experience a relationship with God and free from the bondage to the written code and religious regulations that brought nothing but condemnation to man. Paul writes that it is Christ and the Spirit of God that circumcises our hearts and helps us to grow in our faith and closer in our relationship with God.

Colossians: Chapter Two

:2 "My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that

they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may

know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures

of wisdom and knowledge."

Paul, after his encounter with Christ, lived the rest of his life as a servant to the

Gospel. His main objective was for people to come to know Christ. In Christ,

we come to know God and deepen our understanding in spiritual wisdom and knowledge.

:6 "So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness."

There were many people still preaching in Paul's time that people still needed something else besides just Jesus. Not so, said Paul. We accept Christ by faith, and we are to continue to grow and live our life by faith, not by works. Nothing

else is needed or required. Jesus did it all.

:9 "For in Christ all the fullness of Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been

given fullness in Christ,"

There is nothing lacking spiritually when we come to Christ. He makes us whole and complete!

:11 "In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not

with a circumcision by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by

Christ."

Through faith in Christ, our old nature is being chiseled away and becoming

transformed into the image of Christ. Not by our physical efforts, but by the

transforming power of God's Spirit within us.

:13-14 "When you were dead in your sins and in the circumcision of your sinful nature,

God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all of our sins, having cancelled

the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood op-

posed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross."

Before Christ, we were spiritually dead to God. But through Christ, we have been made alive to God. All of our sins have been forgiven. We have been set

free from the religious codes and regulations. Christ completed it all on our

behalf.

:20 "Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though

you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules?"

Through Christ, we have been set free from the rules and principles of this world. If Christ set us free by faith, why would we consider returning back to our old way of living by works and performance? Christ now defines who we

are. Our identity is now in Christ, not defined by the world.

:23 "Such regulations indeed have appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed

worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they

lack any value in retraining sensual indulgence."

Living our lives by works and performance can produce a false sense of pride. Rather than drawing us closer to God through his grace, we can find ourselves trying to earn our way into God's favor. A telltale sign that this is going on in our lives is how we perceive our circumstances that take place around us. When they are good, do we feel that we have earned God's blessing? And when they are going badly for us, do we think God is punishing us or withholding his blessings from us? If so, we have definitely moved ourselves back into the performance mode. But Paul in his writing is very candid and encourages us not to let this take place in our lives.

"You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Are you so foolish?

After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your

goal by human effort? (Excerpts from Galatians 3:1-3)

Paul's last point about sensual indulgence has to do with resistance to our old

human nature. It is not by human effort that this can positively take place. I

believe that Paul is emphasizing that it is the Spirit within us the enable us to change, and that takes place through the transformational power of the Holy Spirit which helps us with transforming our thoughts and mindset- to see things differently and anew. For the believer, walking with God is much more

than simply having faith. It is faith allowing God's Spirit the freedom to work

within us and to change us from the inside out.

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When it is that we truly come to the point of believing that God, through

Jesus, has forgiven us all our sins (Past,Present, and Future), we no longer have reason to chase after holiness and acceptance by God through the following of laws and regulations. Why chase after what we already have

through Christ? He set us free to enjoy an intimate, growing relationship

with God.

We used to sing this song back in my Young Life days in high school. Grab a cup of coffee or tea and let your spirit be lifted as you meditate on the words of this song.

In his love, see you tomorrow...

"Carpe Momentum in Love" (Seize the moment in love)