Colossians (Program #39) – Not Defrauded of Your Prize of Enjoyment of Christ

What is your favorite book in the Bible? Maybe many would say the gospel of John or perhaps one of the other gospels. Others will surely pick the book of Revelation with all the exciting things it says about the end times. But what about the writings of Paul, the apostle, which actually make up the bulk of the New Testament? How many of you picked one of Paul’s letters? Let’s see what Paul has to say about his ministry in Colossians 1, it says “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; To whom God willed to make known what are the riches of this glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

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Colossians (Program #35) – The Receiving of Christ

There’s a seemingly simple verse in Colossians 2 that says, “As therefore you have received the Christ, Jesus the Lord, walk in Him.” Well as I said, this verse seems simple. But consider for a moment, the Bible says that Christ is the very God. It also says that His dimensions surpass even the Universe itself. So just how is it that a simple man of limited proportions and capacity can receive, even contain, this vast immeasurable and all-inclusive Christ who is the very mystery of God.

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Colossians (Program #34) – Rooted and Built Up in Christ With the Processed God

Here’s a question for you to ponder, “Does God have a history?” What does the Bible say? Of course it says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” and that’s clear enough. But, in the New Testament’s first book Matthew, we discover that God is not just simply God; He is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit – God. And even more incredibly, He has become the enter-able God. Our God does have a history, a mysterious history. And to unlock it, Colossians gives us the key in chapter 2:2, “That their hearts may be comforted, they being knit together … unto the full knowledge of the mystery of God, Christ.” Christ, the mystery of God is also the history of God.

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Colossians (Program #17) – To Walk In Christ-The Mystery Of God

The book of Colossians is a book to give us the highest vision of Christ. It’s a book unveiling Christ. In chapter 1, Christ is shown as item after item until finally He’s revealed as the very mystery of God. But there’s also a practical side to this book, a practicality that is expressed in chapter 2 in verse 6, “As therefore you have received the Christ, Jesus the Lord, walk in Him.” This is a popular verse to many Christians, but also a perplexing one. For though it sounds simple enough, just how is it that we can walk in the One whom we received?   Well, if our eyes can be enlightened, the Bible in several key portions gives us the key, provided our hearts are open and clear, and that we have full assurance of understanding.

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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;”

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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?

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Psalms (Program #16) – The Mixed Expressions of the Psalmist’s Sentiment in His Enjoyment of God in God’s House (1 & 2)

One reason that the Psalms may be so beloved among Bible readers is that for the most part that the Psalms were written very simply and they are easy to understand. The Psalmists often had problems and distresses we can relate to and they came to seek the Lord out of these troubles. But if you contrast this to the way the New Testament is written, there is a big difference. Take the apostle Paul for example, he also had problems and was frequently in distress. But he didn’t speak of these troubles in the same way. His language was on a higher plan. “Great is the mystery of Godliness”, Paul writes, “Who was manifested in the flesh.” Well, surely this was referred to Christ and Paul’s focus was always, always, always on this Christ, who not only manifested God in His own flesh, but is waiting to manifest Himself in our flesh, even through the most difficult of circumstances.

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Job (Program #3) – The Trials of Job (2)

Job 2:1-3 say, “Then one day, when the sons of God came to present themselves before Jehovah, Satan also came among them to present himself before Jehovah. And Jehovah said to Satan, Where have you come from? And Satan answered Jehovah and said, From roving the earth and going about in it. And Jehovah said to Satan, Have you considered My servant Job? For there is none like him on the earth, a perfect and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil. And he still holds fast his integrity, though you have moved Me against him to destroy him without cause.”

This book of Job has been a real mystery to all those who have read it for centuries and it’s a wonderful thing to have the opportunity to explore this book from the standpoint of God’s New Testament economy. To look at this book, this Old Testament book, from the perspective of the New Testament.

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Ephesians (Program #66) – Christ in God’s Economy, Taking Christ as our Person

Many books in the New Testament speak of the mysteries of God. First of all, Colossians tells us that God is a mystery but that Christ is the mystery of God. But then Christ also is a mystery. And so Ephesians tells us that the mystery of Christ is the Church.  Well, you may say what’s so mysterious about the Church?  The Church in reality is where the immeasurable Christ far above all, can still be so small and so intimate that He can dwell within us. Even makes His home in our hearts. Now this is mysterious.  For as the apostle Paul himself put it, “this mystery is great, but I speak concerning Christ and the Church.“

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Ephesians (Program #14) – A Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation and the Eyes of Our Heart

Ephesians is a book filled with marvelous spiritual facts, it reveals the mystery of the will of God. Yet to many people even Christians, Ephesians is a closed book; though they read it and understand the words, they do not gain the vision that is conveyed in this book. That’s because to see spiritual truth in reality is different from mere mental comprehension. That’s why the apostle prayed so earnestly in the first chapter that the readers would have all the necessary tools to see and enter into the vision that he is presenting in his letter. Listen as he prays in verse 17 & 18, “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the full knowledge of Him. The eyes of your heart having been enlightened that you may know what is the hope of His calling and what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.”

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