Paul the apostle told the
Colossian church members that Jesus Christ reconciled them unto God
from their wicked ways through the sacrifice of His blood on the
cross. His sacrifice made them “holy, unblameable and
unreprovable” before the Heavenly Father, and in chapter one
and verse twenty-three Paul wrote a conditional “if” that
was relative to their continuing in their faith in Him. We read:
If you continue in the
faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the
hope of the gospel, which you have heard, and which was
preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am
made a minister;
The verse begins, “If
you continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be
not moved away from the hope of the gospel,...” Paul
places a condition on the Colossians by adding this small phrase, “If
you continue” which means “to
stay at or with, to tarry still, still to abide, to remain and
persevere” “in the faith”
or “with conviction of the truth of anything, belief” “grounded”
which means “to lay the foundation, to make stable, and
establish” “and settled” or “firm, immovable, and
steadfast”. He also added “and be not moved away” which
means “to move from one place to another or away from the existing
position” “from the hope of the gospel” which refers to
“expectation of good, hope, and the joyful and confident
expectation of eternal salvation”. It was imperative that the
church members not forsake their current beliefs in Jesus Christ, and
they were to be immovable in their dedication to “the hope” of
the good news concerning Him.
The
verse goes on to say, “which you have heard, and
which was preached to every creature which is under heaven;” Paul
emphasized that the Colossians “have heard”
which means “attended to and considered what was or has been
said, understood and perceived the sense of what was said”, and
this same “gospel” “was preached” or “published,
proclaimed and heralded” “to every creature” which
refers to “anything created” “under heaven” or “the
vaulted expanse of the sky with all things visible in it”. Though
there was not the technology of today, the gospel advanced throughout
the whole world.
Finally
the verse says, “whereof I Paul am made a minister;” As
though they didn't know, Paul reminds the church members that he was
“made a
minister”
which means “one
who executes the commands of another, especially of a master; a
servant or attendant”. Paul considered himself a “servant” to
the gospel of Jesus Christ, and his service was part of the reason
that the Colossians knew about Jesus in the first place.
When
we think about these words and conditions that Paul presented, it
would do us well to examine whether we are “grounded
and settled” in the
faith. Drifting away from the gospel of Jesus Christ and into other
beliefs is a danger that none of us can afford, and as Paul presented
his words to the Colossians, he knew they were being influenced to
believe the false doctrines of the Gnostics and the Judaizers. Lest
we be caught up in the influence of false teachings and heresies, let
us hold true to the hope of the gospel of Jesus, and may the Lord
keep us in the faith by His mighty power.
Next
time Paul shares about suffering that he experienced for the church
members in Colosse,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the
Mount” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ;
www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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