faith
Truly Knowing God’s Grace (Pt.6)
Colossians 1:10 - 12 “And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.”
When you lead a life that is pleasing and worthy of the Lord there are four outcomes that Colossians 1:10-12 states will be displayed in your life.
Being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience is the third effect of asking God for spiritual wisdom and understanding.
We need to be strengthened by the Spirit of God on a regular basis. Ephesians 5 says, ‘Be filled with the Spirit’. What the verb tense is really saying is, ‘keep being filled with the Spirit’. Jesus told the disciples to wait for the gift the Father would send and that you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. How encouraging! Who doesn’t need the power of God being activated in our lives?
But there is also a purpose in receiving strength. Through it we will be able to endure and be patient. I personally do not enjoy either of these words, patience and endurance. We live in an instant society where patience is not seen as a virtue. We do not like waiting for anything. However, this is not the way of the Spirit.
James 1 says that we will have trials of many kinds and that they will test our faith. This testing develops patience or perseverance. It goes on to say that this patience is working in us to make us mature and complete, lacking nothing.
The picture that I see in this process is one of making bread. The yeast causes the bread to rise but it needs to be kneaded down. As it rises it is punched down so that the bread can have the right texture and taste. In the same way patience is worked into us through believing God in the midst of life’s trials. Yeast silently goes about the business of producing dough. You can’t hurry the process you just have to let it do its thing.
Patience is the quality of suffering without complaint. It bears the troubles of life without complaint in looks, manner or speech. I don’t know about you but there is one thing I don’t tolerate very well and that is whining. Who likes to be around people that are always complaining? But patience is the result of what the Spirit is doing in your mind and soul.
Endurance on the other hand not only bears suffering and hardship with determination and firmness but requires physical stamina as well. Now wonder we require strengthening with His Mighty Power!
When you lead a life that is pleasing and worthy of the Lord there are four outcomes that Colossians 1:10-12 states will be displayed in your life.
Being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience is the third effect of asking God for spiritual wisdom and understanding.
We need to be strengthened by the Spirit of God on a regular basis. Ephesians 5 says, ‘Be filled with the Spirit’. What the verb tense is really saying is, ‘keep being filled with the Spirit’. Jesus told the disciples to wait for the gift the Father would send and that you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. How encouraging! Who doesn’t need the power of God being activated in our lives?
But there is also a purpose in receiving strength. Through it we will be able to endure and be patient. I personally do not enjoy either of these words, patience and endurance. We live in an instant society where patience is not seen as a virtue. We do not like waiting for anything. However, this is not the way of the Spirit.
James 1 says that we will have trials of many kinds and that they will test our faith. This testing develops patience or perseverance. It goes on to say that this patience is working in us to make us mature and complete, lacking nothing.
The picture that I see in this process is one of making bread. The yeast causes the bread to rise but it needs to be kneaded down. As it rises it is punched down so that the bread can have the right texture and taste. In the same way patience is worked into us through believing God in the midst of life’s trials. Yeast silently goes about the business of producing dough. You can’t hurry the process you just have to let it do its thing.
Patience is the quality of suffering without complaint. It bears the troubles of life without complaint in looks, manner or speech. I don’t know about you but there is one thing I don’t tolerate very well and that is whining. Who likes to be around people that are always complaining? But patience is the result of what the Spirit is doing in your mind and soul.
Endurance on the other hand not only bears suffering and hardship with determination and firmness but requires physical stamina as well. Now wonder we require strengthening with His Mighty Power!
Truly Knowing God’s Grace (pt.3)
Colossians 1:9 states: “For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.”
Paul continually asks God to fill their church with the knowledge of His will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives. Why?
It is important to note that spiritual knowledge, wisdom, and understanding only come from the Spirit. Worldly thinking and spiritual thinking are poles apart. In Is. 55 it states that My(God’s) thoughts and ways are not yours. So we can’t continue to have the same thinking that the world does and assume that thinking is from God. In Romans 12:2 it says do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing and perfect will.
That is why it is vital to pray this prayer just as Paul was for the church at Colossae. The pattern of this world is not God’s and we are called out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light so we can show forth His light to the world. However, we need to know God’s will for ourselves so we need to be transformed.
God is at work in each of us to will and to do of His good pleasure it says in Philippians. His desire is that you be filled with the knowledge of His will – that the very Spirit of God would come upon and impart to you wisdom and understanding.
Begin today by making Paul’s prayer your prayer for you, your family and your church.
Paul continually asks God to fill their church with the knowledge of His will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives. Why?
It is important to note that spiritual knowledge, wisdom, and understanding only come from the Spirit. Worldly thinking and spiritual thinking are poles apart. In Is. 55 it states that My(God’s) thoughts and ways are not yours. So we can’t continue to have the same thinking that the world does and assume that thinking is from God. In Romans 12:2 it says do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing and perfect will.
That is why it is vital to pray this prayer just as Paul was for the church at Colossae. The pattern of this world is not God’s and we are called out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light so we can show forth His light to the world. However, we need to know God’s will for ourselves so we need to be transformed.
God is at work in each of us to will and to do of His good pleasure it says in Philippians. His desire is that you be filled with the knowledge of His will – that the very Spirit of God would come upon and impart to you wisdom and understanding.
Begin today by making Paul’s prayer your prayer for you, your family and your church.
Truly Knowing the Grace of God
18/01/12 18:49 Filed in: bible study, grace, faith
In Colossians chapter 1 Paul is giving thanks to God for the church that is growing in strength. He makes the statement that the gospel of Jesus Christ is bearing fruit and growing throughout the world and its all due to one thing found in verse 6, they truly understood God’s grace. In fact this letter was written because there were false teachers encouraging the church to worship angels and follow special rules, regulations and ceremonies.
This teaching is not confined to Paul’s days but even today the enemy is trying to add to the gospel. The truth is there is nothing we can do to earn our salvation. That is why our faith has to be in the finished work of Jesus Christ. Through His death and resurrection we have redemption and the forgiveness of sins.
Verse twelve has a powerful statement that is worth writing on the tablet of your mind: He had qualified you! There is nothing that you have to do or could ever do that will make you more fit to share in the inheritance we have with Him. Only faith in Christ Jesus and the work he did for us on the cross enables us to receive our eternal reward that is stored up for us in heaven.
Paul is saying he gives thanks to God because of this truth. That faith springs eternal in our hearts and we in turn have a love for God’s people. All that because we know that we have been saved from the dominion of darkness and our destiny is in heaven. God is the one that has qualified you, and that we receive by faith, so give thanks.
(Read chapter one and meditate on it while we share more thoughts on the chapter.)
This teaching is not confined to Paul’s days but even today the enemy is trying to add to the gospel. The truth is there is nothing we can do to earn our salvation. That is why our faith has to be in the finished work of Jesus Christ. Through His death and resurrection we have redemption and the forgiveness of sins.
Verse twelve has a powerful statement that is worth writing on the tablet of your mind: He had qualified you! There is nothing that you have to do or could ever do that will make you more fit to share in the inheritance we have with Him. Only faith in Christ Jesus and the work he did for us on the cross enables us to receive our eternal reward that is stored up for us in heaven.
Paul is saying he gives thanks to God because of this truth. That faith springs eternal in our hearts and we in turn have a love for God’s people. All that because we know that we have been saved from the dominion of darkness and our destiny is in heaven. God is the one that has qualified you, and that we receive by faith, so give thanks.
(Read chapter one and meditate on it while we share more thoughts on the chapter.)
What is Faith?
The best definition for faith is found in Hebrews 11. The NIV states: “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” What does that mean? It speaks of our hope and certainty of something we can’t see. But what does that really mean? Verse 2 of Hebrews 11 says: “This is what the ancients were commended for.” The ancients such as Noah, Abel, and Abraham were commended for their faith. They believed in the power of God to do exceedingly, abundantly beyond what we dare think or ask. (Ephesians 3:20)
The ancients believed that God created the universe and the whole world and everything that dwells within it. We are encouraged to believe the same way. Hebrews 11:3 says: “By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.” It is so important to understand this if we are to see God move in supernatural ways in our lives. Faith believes that God formed the universe through His spoken word. Everything that surrounds us is formed from the spirit. This tangible realm that we live in is not as substantial as the spirit realm.
Because we live by our senses we think this is more concrete than the spirit. If people believe in the spirit realm, the perception, at least which I had, is the spirit is more like vapour or smoke. The spirit realm is something ephemeral without substance that can be lightly wiped away. This concept is often portrayed in movies where the good guy doesn’t take anything spiritual seriously but can defeat anything with a gun. This is the arena of wisdom called “common sense”. But common sense does not govern the spirit realm, faith does. (To read more click here)
The ancients believed that God created the universe and the whole world and everything that dwells within it. We are encouraged to believe the same way. Hebrews 11:3 says: “By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.” It is so important to understand this if we are to see God move in supernatural ways in our lives. Faith believes that God formed the universe through His spoken word. Everything that surrounds us is formed from the spirit. This tangible realm that we live in is not as substantial as the spirit realm.
Because we live by our senses we think this is more concrete than the spirit. If people believe in the spirit realm, the perception, at least which I had, is the spirit is more like vapour or smoke. The spirit realm is something ephemeral without substance that can be lightly wiped away. This concept is often portrayed in movies where the good guy doesn’t take anything spiritual seriously but can defeat anything with a gun. This is the arena of wisdom called “common sense”. But common sense does not govern the spirit realm, faith does. (To read more click here)
