This is the gospel that you heard …
Summary: There are many ways to describe the Gospel message. Paul excels at demonstrating how this is done.
Continue reading “Colossians 1:23e – A Good Message”Colossians 1:23d – The Place of Safety
… and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel.
Summary: There are many ways to understand words, but the more words we have, the better we can understand the meaning. God’s Word, the Bible, contains hundreds of thousands of words. The picture they paint is very clear.
Continue reading “Colossians 1:23d – The Place of Safety”Colossians 1:23c – Roots & Rocks
[ … if you continue in your faith,] … established and firm …
Summary: Faith is a funny thing. Sometimes, we see it as a rock, and other times, we think of it as a tree. There are things to be learned from both examples.
Continue reading “Colossians 1:23c – Roots & Rocks”Colossians 1:23b – The Map
[If] … you continue in your faith …
Summary: How should we describe faith? In these days of computers following a map is much different than it used to be. Yet the principles are the same. “Do we trust the map?,” or “Do we trust the computer?,” are both basically the same question.
Continue reading “Colossians 1:23b – The Map”Colossians 1:23a – IF
… if …
Summary: A short little word can mean a lot, especially when used as a condition for Christ’s redemption.
Continue reading “Colossians 1:23a – IF”Colossians 1:22b – His Plan Was Jesus
… to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation …
Summary: Understanding what believing in Jesus means for us after death is life-changing.
Continue reading “Colossians 1:22b – His Plan Was Jesus”Colossians 1:22a – A Change of Heart
But now he has reconciled you [to God] by Christ’s physical body through death …
Summary: The means of reconciliation is not an intellectual exercise. Rather, it is an act of love so profound that it blinds us to anything else.
Continue reading “Colossians 1:22a – A Change of Heart”Colossians 1:21 – How the Battle Goes
Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.
Summary: The construction of Paul’s sentence provides us with some interesting insights into our relationship with God.
Continue reading “Colossians 1:21 – How the Battle Goes”Colossians 1:20b – Part IV: The Cross
… by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
Summary: We conclude our meditation on this passage with a look at the cross. More than a blood sacrifice, balancing the scales of justice required pain and humiliation as well.
Continue reading “Colossians 1:20b – Part IV: The Cross”Colossians 1:20b – Part III: A New Covenant
… by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
Summary: The importance of blood is well understood. Without it, we cannot live.
Continue reading “Colossians 1:20b – Part III: A New Covenant”