How is your study going? How has God's Word been speaking to you this week? Today I will share what I saw as I walked through this passage....
Following are my notes which I was reading from at various points in this video:
11May
you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all
endurance and patience with joy, 12giving thanks to the Father, who has
qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13He
has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom
of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of
sins.
- Colossians 1:11-14
Paul knows the believers are
struggling to understand... to choose between tradition and submission.
Paul wanted them to have the proper theology and he wanted to help them
understand how to put it into practice. So where does he start?
Salvation. Let's break this down:
Verse 12 = the believers could thank God because HE made it possible
for them to go to heaven and be like the saints (aka the good guys of the old
testament).
Verse 13 = it wasn't anything they did.... God did it all, HE
delivered them from dark and dreary places into hope and, someday, they will be
spending eternity in heaven with Jesus.
Verse 14 = through Jesus they are redeemed/let off the hook from
paying the price of sin, which is death, they are forgiven!
Paul goes on in verses 15-21 to draw
out the powerful character of Jesus, God incarnate. You almost get the
sense he is indirectly saying: what power can man have or do that can
compare?what power on earth can produce anything even close to the Almighty?
Let's take a look at a few of these verses:
16
For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and
invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things
were created through him and for him.
17
And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
18
And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn
from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.
19
For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,
20
and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in
heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
Verse 16 = EVERYTHING, including the positions of people, were created
through and for Jesus.
Verse 17= in Jesus it is all tied together, it all runs to Him
Verse 18 = Jesus IS in charge... not was but IS.
Everything else runs from Jesus. Basically, man has NO authority
that doesn't come from Christ first. So now we see that not only is all
of life tied to him but also, everything that is to come, comes from
him. With him is beginning and end.
What does it all mean? Within
these 3 verses we get the sense that Paul could be saying, in the face of the
Judaisers trying to mislead the believers, that NOTHING they do, no amount of
energy to create any sort of pattern or routine means anything unless it
starts with or leads to Jesus. Observances, traditions, rituals.... those
were created for man and are there for man... they do nothing to bring people
closer to salvation in Jesus. Verse 20 seems to back this up by stating
how peace was made by the blood of the cross. NOT by the work of man.
So what did this mean to them then? Well, we can only guess, and we are only just getting
started, but look again at verses 11-12:
11May you
be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all
endurance and patience with joy, 12giving thanks to the Father, who has
qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.
Because of the power of the cross
(salvation), and the power of Jesus Christ, the believers can be strengthened to
endure the debates and the problems which abounded in a first century secular
society which worshiped multiple gods and clung deeply to traditions and
rituals. As a result of their faith in
Christ they could also give thanks to God.
Christ they could also give thanks to God.
So how does this all apply to us
today and this study on How To Be Thankful?
After all, you tuned in today NOT for a lecture on how Jesus saves by faith
instead of works.... but that is just it. The first century Christians
knew this too, but they struggled against the false teachings of a group of
traditionalists who I believe threatened their sense of Joy and Gratitude by
suggesting salvation required more than it did. Why else does Paul repeat
the idea of giving thanks so many times in this letter? True gratitude and
salvation are linked. As a matter of fact, I believe the first step to true
gratitude is salvation. Without salvation, we have no true
eternal reason to be thankful. When we reflect on the power of Jesus and
what he has done for us, so much of this earth seems fleeting in
comparison. Everything else is temporal, passing, and when it passes, so
does our thankfulness. But a gratitude placed on eternal things?
How does that ever run out?
There is nothing wrong with
tradition, so don't cancel Thanksgiving dinner on a misunderstanding! The
Bible speaks often about remembering and the festivals that existed for
this purpose. As a matter of fact, Jesus used these occasions to deliver
some of his messages: "I am the light" spoken during I, personally,
think there is a lot to be said for tradition, and especially the tradition of
giving thanks... when it is done with a right heart: seeking to dig deep into a
meaning which can not only cause us to pause in reflect, but also to project
and grow into the days/weeks/months that follow. BUT, we must guard against a
simple tradition of JUST BECAUSE, and make ready for something deeper and much
more profound each and every time... perhaps even being ready and willing to
make/allow changes when need be (even if it means things won't be done like
they have always been done).
Please take time today and for the remainder of this week to reflect on how your Salvation has given great cause to be thankful. What are some things God has delivered you from by offering his grace over your circumstances and choices? If you want, you can print the leaf document below and fill them out with gratitude reflections.
Also, I hope you will shine your light and hope to others by sharing some of these deep-heart gratitude reflections on Facebook or your blog and be sure to link back here in the comments below or on my Facebook page so we can celebrate together!
I pray this devotion is already drawing you closer to a deeper walk of gratitude through Jesus Christ.
Blessings,
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