Colossians (Program #12) – Christ-The Mystery Of God’s Economy

What kind of book is the Bible to you? Maybe a book of stories of inspiring men of faith or perhaps a book of deep teachings and doctrines. Or, a book of ethics or words of wisdom for men to live by. Well, surely it’s all of these things but if these are all we see in the Bible, we’d missed the mark. Because embedded in all the stories, all the teachings, and all the ethics and wisdom lies the mystery of God and of His heart’s desire for man. Listen to Paul the Apostle in Colossians 1:25  “Of which I became a minister according to the stewardship of God, which was given to me for you, to complete the word of God, The mystery which has been hidden from the ages and from the generations but now has been manifested to His saints;”

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: TuneIn | RSS

Colossians (Program #11) – Filling Up What is Lacking Of The Afflictions of Christ

In the writings of the Apostle Paul, there are terms and  concepts found no other place in the Scripture.  It was Paul who talked about “the Body of Christ” and the “One New Man” and the “stewardship” or the “economy of the mystery”.  In Colossians 1:25 Paul said that it was given to him to complete or fill up the word of God.  Yet other writings came after his in the New Testament.  So in what sense was Paul’s ministry, a ministry of completion?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: TuneIn | RSS

Colossians (Program #10) – The Stewardship of God

Colossians 1:24 says “I now rejoice in my sufferings on your behalf and fill up on my part that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for His Body, which is the church.” Did you ever consider that there were still a lack concerning Christ’s suffering?  After all that He endured on our behalf to accomplish our perfect redemption on the cross, how could anything yet lack? But here is the Apostle Paul pointing us to the need that he sensed to fill up on his part that lacked. This can be a troubling even perplexing verse but it can also be the source of tremendous light concerning God’s ultimate heart desire.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: TuneIn | RSS

Colossians (Program #9) – Christ’s Relationship To Creation

In Colossians 1:25, the apostle Paul says “Of which I became a minister according to the stewardship of God…”  There is much to this verse.  Today on life study of the Bible, we spend our time intently on this one short phrase “the stewardship of God.”  Because to see it and understand it thoroughly is to gain an insight which can revolutionize the way in which we see and understand the entire Bible .

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: TuneIn | RSS

Colossians (Program #8) – Christ-The Firstborn From Among The Dead

Surely the Bible talks about many things. There are innumerable items mentioned in scripture, and we all have our own personal preferences–maybe the stories, or the fascinating prophecies, or the various spiritual experiences they did document. But there is a unique item that the whole Bible unveils to mankind, and that item is really a person, the person Jesus Christ. And in all the Bible, no book unveils this one so thoroughly and so highly as the book of Colossians. We come once again to this Christ unveiling book today, to see Him as the firstborn from among the dead.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: TuneIn | RSS

Colossians (Program #7) – Christ-The Firstborn Of All Creation

The Bible says in Colossians chapter 1 that “all things have been created in Christ, through Christ, and unto Christ”. This must mean that Christ is the very Creator. Yet He is also called the firstborn of all creation. Now here is the mystery, is He the Creator or is He the creature?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: TuneIn | RSS

Colossians (Program #6) – Christ-The Portion of the Saints

Colossians is a book that unveils Christ. It’s full of rich expressions that not only show us Christ, but that draw us to Him. In the very first chapter we’re told that God has qualified us for a share of the portion of the saints in the light. We’ll we may have read this many times, but have you ever considered what it is to partake of Christ in the light?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: TuneIn | RSS

Colossians (Program #5) – Christ-The Preeminent and All-Inclusive One, The Centrality and Universality Of God

God has often dealt with man through the promises that he has made to man. And these promises begin as early as Genesis chapter 3. But not until Genesis 12 did a promise of God include blessing or enjoyment for man. This promise of blessing to Abraham was altogether to do with the good land of Israel. But the Apostle Paul in the New Testament book of Galatians repeats that promise in the context of “blessing and enjoyment promise by God to us, His New Testament people”. So what does the land, so preeminent in Genesis, so preeminent in the Old Testament, have to do with us in the New Testament?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: TuneIn | RSS

Colossians (Program #4) – Delivered out of the Authority of Darkness And Transferred Into The Kingdom Of the Son Of His Love

The Lord Jesus declared in John chapter 8, “I am the light of the world, he who follows me shall by no means walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” What is it to walk in darkness? We all likely have our own set of mental images that are initiated by such a question. But the darkness that may be blinding us today may not be so obviously evil or sinister as you might think. Colossians reveals that anything, even any good thing, that occupies us that is not Christ Himself is likely an instrument of the authority of darkness.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: TuneIn | RSS

Colossians (Program #3) – The Apostle’s Prayer

Colossians 1:13 says, “Who delivered us out of the authority of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love”. This is a marvelous verse that is well beloved by many that love the Lord Jesus especially those whose background is easily described by the phrase “authority of darkness”. If we had a particularly sinful and dark past then likely our appreciation of this transfer is quite keen. To many others that may not have such an evil and wicked past seemingly, so while they may agree doctrinally that such a transfer has taken place, the heartfelt realization may not be quite as strong. But what was the apostle Paul referring to when he wrote these words to the believers in Colossi?  The answer to this question will likely surprise you.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: TuneIn | RSS