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;
6 Which is come unto you as it is in all the world, and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth.
7 As ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellowservant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ;
8 Who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit.
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;
10 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God.
11 Strengthened with all might according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;
12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light,
13 Who hath delivered us from the power of dakness and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins,
15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
16 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:
21 And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled
22 In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy, and unblameable, and unreproveable in his sight:
23 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:
25 Wherof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God;
26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints,
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.
29 Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.
Oh, what a blessed portion of Holy Writ! Oh, may the Lord God make me to live by every blessed word!
Two themes that stick out to me in this passage are
1.) The preeminence, Godhead, and power of the Lord Jesus Christ; and
2.) The fruitfulness expected of the one who has faith in Him
Of Christ:
Starting in verse 14, the Lord Jesus is credited with a very many things:
Our redemption (v. 14)
Our forgiveness (v.14)
Being the image of God (v. 15)
Being the firstborn of ever creature (v. 15)
Being Creator of all things in heaven and earth (v. 16)
Being before all things, and He by Whom all things consist (v. 17)
Being the head of the body, the church (v. 18)
The beginning (v. 18)
The firstborn from the dead (v. 18)
Preeminent over all things (v. 18)
He in Whom all fulness dwells (v. 19)
Making peace through the blood of His cross (v. 20)
Reconciling all things unto Himself (v. 20)
Reconciling sinners to be holy, unblameable and unreproveable in His sight (v. 21)
Working mightily in His servant (v.29)
He hath done all things well indeed. And the application the writer (Paul by inspiration of the Holy Spirit) gives of what this means for the believer in Him is encouraging, and Oh! that I would take more heart in it. For I would that I should live by every precious truth contained herein. For this is what we read
Of the believer:
We have hope laid up in heaven (v. 5)
The word of the gospel brings forth fruit in us (v.6)
The grace of God is known in truth (v. 6)
We may be filled with the knowledge of His will (v.9)
We are given wisdom and spiritual understanding (v. 9)
We may walk in a way all pleasing to our God (v.10)
We may be fruitful in every good work (v.10)
We increase in the knowledge of God (v.10)
We are strengthened with all might by Him, to be patient, longsuffering, and joyful (v. 11)
We are partakers of the inheritance of the saints (v.12)
We are delivered from the power of darkness (v.13)
We are translated into the kingdom of Jesus Christ (v.13)
We are redeemed (v.14)
We are forgiven (v.14)
We are reconciled (v. 21)
We are made holy, unblameable, and unreproveable in His sight (v.22)
Christ in us is the hope of glory (v.27)
We are perfect in Christ Jesus (v. 28)
To think that Christ, in Whom it pleased the Father for all fulness to dwell, and in Whom dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily, resides in those who believe in Him! No wonder then that it is written that we might"walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God."
May the Lord increase my faith, and in so doing, increase every fruit of His Holy Spirt in my life.
No comments:
Post a Comment