September

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 The Apostle Paul understands the power of hearts of believers being knit together in love. This is where we can grow the most in understanding His love for us

Colossians 2:1-3 “1 For I want you to know what a great conflict I have for you and those in Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh, 2 that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

Remember that the church in Colosse was most likely an outcropping from the church in Ephesus where Paul stayed from about 52-55 AD. Colosse was near Laodicea and the two churches new of each other. It is also worthy of mentioning that this Laodicea is the same one in Revelations 3:14; the lukewarm church. I point this out since Paul’s letter to Colosse was one of almost combativeness in defense of the Lordship of Jesus. Paul was combating Gnosticism which was undermining the fervor for the gospel and deity of Jesus Christ. I recommend reading Revelations 3:14-22 to understand the potential of loss for the believer that falls into mental ascent of Christianity coupled with a legalistic way of life instead of leaning Jesus and the gospel of Christ. This is not unlike the typical battle going on in the church today.

Paul wants them to know that he has a great love and burden in his heart for them and for their true salvation. This is not any different than the pain he spoke of in Galatians 4:19 and is typical of a person that understands the potential loss for people that slip away from the gospel of Christ. The Colossians knew of Paul, but had never seen him which makes it even more difficult for Paul to fully express his concern; they did not have a personal relationship with him to stand on. Readers of the gospel today are in the same boat, so to speak, in that we must rely on the written word instead of personality traits of the man. This is exactly how God wants it, in that all too often men lean toward following a specific person instead of the word of God as it stands. 

There is a principle in verse 2 that is sometimes overlooked in our “me first” world today. In the KJV the word comforted was used instead of encouraged and Paul ties their “comfort” to their being knit together in love. The body of Christ is just that, a body of believers. God’s plan was never intended to be one of self-centeredness, but rather of community. This does not advocate commune living where everyone looks, acts, and does the same thing. Paul is focusing the Colossians on the like mindedness of Christ where others are put first before self. God’s plan is so much more than dressing, looking, or living alike. A man by himself can never grasp the full understanding of God and His word, it takes all of us together, each bringing a Psalm, Hymn, or Spiritual song to understand the fullness of God and all of the riches He has in store for us (1 Corinthians 14:26). Paul’s letter is one of love and encouragement which is very different to many of the teachers and preachers today. In fact there are even some denominations that lean so far the other direction that the members do not feel they have been to church unless their hearts have been pricked. I believe the knowledge of the true mystery of God is not fully preached today. Believers do not need greater understanding of their sin actions and techniques to overcome them; they need a deeper understanding of who Jesus Christ is and what He actually did for us on the cross. My concern is that Christians today are often not necessarily true believers; but rather doers, always looking for the next fix or task to complete in order to stay in right standing with God. This is the furthest from the truth of the gospel of Christ. We are not called to be a “doer” of Christianity; we are called to “be” in Christ Jesus.

All of our worries, pains, shortcomings, and difficulties in this life whether brought on by our own bad actions or just from living in this world have been nailed on the cross and paid for by the blood of Jesus. We don’t need more money we need more understanding of Jesus. We don’t need more rules we need more understanding of Jesus. We don’t need more political regulations we need more understanding of Jesus. We do not need more faith; we need less of us in our face. We do not need more of anything other than a fuller understanding of Jesus and His love for us. Colossians 1:9-23 needs to be read and read and read until it becomes a part of your personal understanding. Paul prayed this over the Colossians, pray this over you. 

Notice that being knit together in love comes before attaining all riches and fullness of understanding.  The Greek word SUMBABAZO was used in Ephesians 4:16 and translated as “compacted” in KJV. Allow the word of God to “compact” us together to the point that believers are inseparable from each other as we all have “Christ in us”. Our brothers and sisters in the Lord should come first in our lives over self. This can only happen as each believer truly becomes a believer of the gospel of Christ and not just a partial believer still working legalisms for righteousness, and comes to the understanding that Jesus is in each of us. 

Verse 3, “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” is the accumulative fruit of verses 1&2 fulfilled. As humans we tend to put so much focus on the have or have not of life, that we miss the depth that Godly wisdom and knowledge can offer. Everything we need has been given to us spiritually according to Ephesians 1:3. This wisdom and knowledge goes far beyond the short sightedness of just salvation that Christians tend to focus on. If you look at the nine spiritual gifts of the Holy Spirit that are found in 1 Corinthians 12 it is clear that wisdom and knowledge were written first for a reason. Godly wisdom and knowledge is the foundation of everything we need while living here on earth. Why would we need wisdom, knowledge, faith, or any other spiritual gift once we are in heaven in the presence of our Lord? The Spiritual gifts are for us today while here on earth. Although some people seem to have larger depths of Godly wisdom and knowledge than others, a person by themselves can only grasp a limited understanding. Collectively however, we can learn and grow together and this is what Paul is trying to help the Colossians understand. Our walk as Christians has far more ramifications than just each individual’s personal understanding and knowledge of God. Remember that Paul is combatting Gnosticism which leans heavily toward each individual’s mental ascent over the collective support and faith of several like-minded believers coming together for a single purpose. .

 Receiving Christ and walking in Christ are completely different. All Christians receive Christ when they confess and believe in Him, but those who understand who they are in Christ will abound with thanksgiving in their daily walk in life. 

Colossians 2:6-7 “6 As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. 

 When I ask Christians if they believe in Christ they look at me funny and say “of course I do”. I then ask them again and am asking you now, “do you really believe in Christ” We all can say yes because that is how we received our salvation in the first place, Romans 10:8-10. The problem with Christians today is the same as it was in Paul’s day. We do not take the time to fully understand what has happened in the spirit realm the moment we become born again.  

We receive our salvation without having done anything righteous to deserve it. We didn’t have to fast and pray for it, we didn’t have to read a certain number of chapters in the bible to earn it because it is a free gift. We sure didn’t become saved on our own holiness because the word of God says that there is none righteous, so we had to be saved by God’s grace through faith, Ephesians 2:. Ask yourself this question, “If I was saved by faith why do I act like I do in trying to gain God’s blessings by worrying myself with my own actions” When it comes down to brass tacks and we take a close look at our personal actions in our walk with God, many Christians do not live a life of faith but one of sight and personal actions trying to justify that they even have faith. I believe a majority of Christian’s today live a life with a mixture of faith in some areas, worldly philosophy in others, and a whole lot of works and legalisms in their misunderstood effort to gain or maintain God’s favor and blessings. If this were not the case, the churches would be full and people would be more joyful in their everyday lives. Look at Paul’s response to the Galatians in 3:1-, “Oh foolish Galatians, having begun in the spirit are you now made perfect by the flesh” 

 Here are some additional litmus tests to determine if you truly live by faith. What is your first reaction to an adverse situation? When you feel a sickness symptom do you reach for medication or call a doctor and then pray When you believe you heard from God to give a certain amount of money or it’s time to make your tithe offering, do you look at your check book and think of all the other things you need or want to determine if what you thought you heard was truly from God? How enthusiastic are you about sharing your belief with those who may not be Christians or really don’t know about Jesus Do you freely invite your friends or neighbors that do not go to church to come with you? I am concerned the answer to these questions for the majority of Christians today is no. As a whole we truly do not fully believe, because we do not fully understand the power of God’s grace in our lives. With the exception of a few of the “mega” churches around the world, why are there so many empty seats in your church. News flash; It’s not because everyone else is going to one of those mega churches. I hear many Christians say that if a person wants to know about Jesus then they need to go to church to hear about Him. Church is not for the unsaved to go to become saved; the church building should be a Christian’s favorite filling station. If you want to take a drive on a long vacation what is the first thing you do before you get fully underway; you go fill your vehicle up with fuel. Then as you are traveling you are always keeping an eye on your fuel gage and comparing your distance traveled to the next fuel stop. Christians that go to church and wait for people to come to them to ask about Jesus are like the traveler that goes to their favorite fuel station to fill up, but never leave. They just sit there with their motor running afraid to drive away from the gas pump. Face this fact; Christians as a whole do not go out and tell their friends and acquaintances about Jesus because they are afraid that they will be rejected; or worse yet, their friend will come to church and the word will not work for their friend.  The reason Satan can keep this fear alive in a Christian is because there are times when that same Christian did not receive what they asked for so they have their own doubts. Rampant sin in the streets is not the cause of the decline of the church today; doubt in the heart of a believer is what has allowed sin to become rampant in the streets. 

I had to come to this very truth in my own life several years ago and accept that I didn’t really believe what the word of God says about my blessings, health, and acceptance from God, because my actions did not prove it. The only reason I did not truly believe in all areas of my life is because I had not made the preached gospel my own. There are also a lot false teachings and legalistic teachings that need to be weeded out from the true gospel. Don’t confuse taking the time to read your bible with making His word real in your life. Why are you reading the bible, to learn about your relationship with God or to gain brownie points?  I use to read because I was told that is what I was supposed to do as a Christian. Just because something is spoken from the pulpit does not always make it true, because it is preached from a clay vessel. When I realized that the gospel of Jesus Christ was God’s love letters to His children I could not read enough. Even if scripture is used during the message until you search out what is preached from the word of God and make it your own you are at risk of being misled or not gaining the full truth of the preached word for yourself.  We come to Jesus just as we are and He accepts us, we fall back into religious works and efforts to keep our salvation or gain God’s blessings because we are not “rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith as you have been taught abounding in it with thanksgiving”.  Verse 7 was Paul’s answer to the Colossians back then and it is still true today. Without studying God’s word and asking the Holy Spirit to reveal it to your spirit, you will never understand that “Christ is in you the hope of glory” Colossians 1:27. This is the great mystery that the profits of old looked into, but never understood and could never obtain. Because of the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross over 2000 years ago, God now lives in us and He is our hope of glory. Unless you establish in your heart the true deity of Jesus Christ and realize that He is everything you need, you will be tossed about with every wind and doctrine and compounded with your own doubt. 

“6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man unstable in all his was.” (James 1:6-8) 

Establish your faith, become rooted and built up, and never let go of your thanksgiving.   

 For He Himself is our peace. There is nothing more powerful in the life of a believer then to understand that Jesus is your peace between you and the requirements of God against man. 

Ephesians 2: 14-16, 14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, 15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, 16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.

 In the previous three verses it is clear that the Apostle Paul was speaking mostly to those who once were Gentiles, but in doing so in the presence of the Jewish believers, he was setting the stage for peace and brotherhood through the unity of the Blood of Christ. Jesus Himself is our peace, to the Gentiles He gave them hope when they had no hope of drawing close to God since they by nature were not of the chosen people. Peace to the Jews in that He was the final sacrifice needed for all sins. This is important to understand, in that both the Gentile and the Jew can learn from each other, now that they are one in Jesus. The Gentile, having no law of Moses, or list of Godly rules obviously was not weighed down by the heaviness that was associated with the Jewish religion. The Law of Moses was given as a tutor, for the purpose of keeping the children of Israel sin conscious and to give them an ability to temporarily reconcile themselves back toward the grace of God (Galatians 3:24,25). Under the Law however, there was never any true grace or reconciliation, hence there was a constant strife for the diligent Jew to be observant of his every action and be ready to make another animal sacrifice when he or she fell into any sin. (Hebrews 10:11-14 “And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But this Man, *(Jesus) after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, 13 from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. 14 For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified”). *(Added by me to help emphasize who “He” was in this verse) With the Gentile being without any law of God, they were also unaware of who the true God was and were always searching for and moving from one god to another. The Jewish Christian could now help the newly converted Gentile know their God. In Jesus both the Jew and Gentile are now one body. The Jew could now learn from the born again, ex Gentile, how to walk by faith instead of constantly by works of the law. The ex-Gentile could now learn from the born again, converted, Jew the awesome power and glory of the true God. Jesus truly created one new man from the two and made peace, both with each other and with God through His sacrifice for all sins.    

 Because we live under the New Covenant, God has made known to us the full dispensation of His grace toward all man. Do not let the enemy steal from you what Jesus has already paid for by His shed blood. 

Ephesians 3:1-7, 1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles--2 if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, 3 how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, 4 by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), 5 which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: 6 that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, 7 of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power.  

 Paul was not actually a prisoner in the sense he was held captive against his will. He could have walked away from his call anytime and gone to heaven just the same. What he is expressing is that he has such an appreciation and love for Jesus and what Jesus did for him, that he could never choose to leave his call. Paul was compelled, out of his love for God to be this prisoner for Christ. Christians as a whole do not understand completely what Jesus has done for us, if we did none of us would act like we do. We all would be as Paul. The most interesting point here is, Paul not only persecuted “The Way” which we call the church, but as a Jew and even more so a Pharisee he would have never entered into the house or even a conversation with Gentiles; and yet after his conversion, Paul is the primary Apostle to bring the gospel to the Gentiles. 

 Before his conversion, Paul would have fought to the death, anyone claiming that Gentiles would be fellow heirs and of the same body as the Jews. There was no way a “dog” would enter into the Abrahamic blessing which the Jews held as only for them. And yet even today we still do not understand just what a blessing we truly have, and this blessing as a “child of God” is the very principle Paul writes about in most of his letters. When you think about it, he had to be a willing prisoner of Christ in order to spend so much of his life, which brought him heavy condemnation and punishment, for preaching and giving us these truths. 

Verse 2 “if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you,” 

 In verse 2 Paul is referencing his call into the ministry for Jesus, by Jesus as read in Acts 9:15. “But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the Children of Israel.” This is when Jesus is speaking to Ananias, a Christian to go to the house of Judas and lay hands on Paul that he may receive his sight. Paul’s Damascus road experience had left him temporarily blind, but most people reading this do not realize the importance of a Christian being the one to go lay hands on Paul that he may see again. 

Look at what Jesus spoke in Mark 16:17-18 17 “And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." 

I tell people this truth all of the time and most people hearing it act as though they have never heard of it before. These signs shall “FOLLOW” those who believe; believers are not to follow the signs. Christians should have such a belief in Jesus and what He did for us on the cross that these signs should follow us like the dust cloud that followed “Pig Pen” from the Charlie Brown cartoon. Peter walked past the sick and his shadow crossing them healed them, Acts 5:15. Today we almost run away from a sick person as if the sickness is going to get on us. So of course Jesus had to send a Christian to lay hands on Paul because that is what we are called to do. And Paul was the best person on the planet to go to the Gentiles to teach them about Jesus. 

Paul knew the Laws of Moses and the Prophets better than most Pharisees. It was through the spiritual gift of wisdom and the spiritual gift knowledge, that the Holy Spirit was able to reveal the truth of the gospel Jesus Christ and God’s grace to Paul. The most exciting of all is the Holy Spirit did this through the books we call Old Testament. 3 how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, 4 by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ). Through the study of Acts and several of the books written by Paul one can see that he spent approximately fourteen years alone in Tarsus learning from the Lord. 

Verse 5 which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: 6 that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, 7 of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power”. Keep in mind that for centuries the children of Israel had the books of Moses. We read throughout the Old Testament where the prophets studied them constantly and wrote of their own revelations about the coming Messiah and yet even when Jesus showed up on the scene, no one recognized Him.   

 Walking worthy of the calling of which you were called is the greatest love you can show Jesus, your Lord and Savior.

Ephesians 4: 1-3, 1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 

 Paul saw himself as a prisoner of the Lord in that his heart’s desire was to live every aspect of his life for Jesus and the gospel of Christ. This does not mean that he was a captive prisoner, but chose to be a willing vessel that was compelled to reach the Gentiles for the Lord. Paul examples a walk of worthiness before the Lord as he was consistently perfecting his own understand of Jesus in addition to putting the desires of his flesh under his feet. (1 Corinthians 9:27). 

When Paul calls for us to walk in all lowliness he is not referencing to weakness or putting ourselves down before others. On the contrary for a Christian to put oneself down either secretly or before man is to call God a liar. God is the one that has lifted our head, (Psalms 3:3). We are called to be a light to the world, but to submit one to another. Submitting to each other is actually an action of lowliness where we are to give favor to our brother in the Lord; to hear his heart and share ours with him. In doing so there is the power of unity when we pray for one another (Ephesians 5:20, 21). Gentleness, longsuffering, and bearing in love with one another is best understood by reading 1 Corinthians Chapter 13. This is referred to as the love chapter and is a tall order for people in the world, but not so for those who have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. As we learn the love of Christ we are able to extend it to others. We are called to love others as we love ourselves. There are seven locations in six books of the New Testament that teach us this truth; therefore, it must be important to move forward in God. (Matthew 19:19, 22:39, Mark 12:31, Luke 10:27, Romans 13:9, Galatians 5:14, & James 2:8) Paul tells us that of faith, hope, and love the greatest of these is love (1 Corinthians 13:13). Learning to love oneself is sometimes a problem when life has put a person down to the point they no longer love or even respect themselves. I believe this happens to Christians when there is a lack of understanding regarding the differences of faith, hope, and love. Bad circumstances happen to everyone, but those in Christ Jesus have an advocate and a petition before God for help in times of need. Romans 8:28 tells us, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose”.

Faith is the substance of things hoped for, Hebrews 11:1. This tells us that faith is in the past. We must have faith to believe that the word of God spoken to Abraham regarding this covenant was real. We must have faith that Jesus actually died and rose again for our salvation; we must have faith that the bible written over two thousand years ago is the true word of God. Faith is past tense. Hope is future in that we are taking our faith in what we believe has happened or has been done for us, and will have the same power in our desires and prayers for the future. “For one does not hope in what one can see”, (Romans 8:24). Love is present; it is the accumulation of faith in the past, hope in the future, and pulling them both together for any situation in life now. This is the power to bear with one another with love. As we purpose to see ourselves and our brother the way God see us, there is no room for envy and strife. 

Not “endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace”; is the one “toe in the door” that Satan uses to keep the body of Christ, the church, fragmented. If one can put a thousand to flight, and two can put ten thousand to flight, then if Satan can continue to keep denominations separated over man’s doctrine, and members separated over envy and strife, then he is allowed to continue in his stolen power, doing what he wills with man, and the different denominations from actually being the “body of Christ”. Think about this! How long does a person’s arm live once it has been severed from the body? Without a connection to the brain a human eye has no use. It is the church, the body of Christ, who has been given the keys of the kingdom of heaven. We have been given the power to bind and loose both heaven and earth, but the true power of this truth lies in our coming back together as one body of Christ. In Matthew 16:19, Jesus is the one that gave us the keys; we the church are the ones that are pulling His body apart with our separation of denominations and lack of unity within each church. Paul began dealing with this issue in the church, as seen in 1 Corinthians 1:12, nearly two thousand years ago and here we are today, even further from the truth because this lie has gone worldwide. 

It’s time for God’s children to lay down the differences found inside the box of each denomination and within each church. We can only do this by recognizing that if Jesus Christ is taught in a denomination; that He was crucified for our salvation that God raised Him from the dead, and to openly confess Jesus as our Lord, then those who believe and speak are our brother and sister in the Lord. Anything else taught that causes separation is a lie, “let God be true and every man a liar”, (Romans 3:4).    

 Entering God’s rest is only through faith and believe in what God has already done for you through Jesus perfect work on the cross. 

Hebrews 4:1-2 “1 Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. 2 For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.” 

 The majority of Christians have still not entered God’s rest due to the same disbelief the Israelites had. Entering into rest is not an automatic action just because one becomes born again. The most difficult thing for a Christian to do is to live by faith. We receive Jesus by faith, but by nature we have never lived by faith. If you read and put the timeline down, God’s original intention was to bring His people out of bondage, teach them how to follow Him, make provision for their sanctification, and immediately thereafter take them into their promise land of rest. It was their unbelief that kept them out of Canaan. True Joshua did lead the next generation into the promise land, but King David in Psalms 95:7 said “today if you hear His voice” indicating that His rest still is available to enter into. Remember that Hebrews was written to Jews who had become followers of Jesus, but were turning back toward the Old Mosaic Law. It is always easier to find an action to do in order to receive something than it is to expect to receive it just because the person said they would give it to us. Especially if we do not immediately see the fruit of what was offered and time sets in. With God everything He says is both yes and amen, but it is our minds that need renewing and not out spirits, that keep us caught up in all of man’s rules. Learning to trust God on His timing is the key. He is never early, and He is never late, in fact He is always right on time. The problem is we do not purpose to get out lives set on God’s timing because that requires living by faith. This apparently is what happened to the people in Hebrews, they did not stand on faith, but fell over into what they knew best; the works of the law because Jesus had not returned as soon as they originally thought.  You would think a new born again Christian would be able to remain in the same faith they had in the first place to receive salvation, and they would if the works and wages message was not preached so much from pulpits around the world. For some Preachers the ability to stir up their faith to get them saved is all they tend to preach on so the members are stuck in salvation and do not grow in knowledge. For others they preach a modified faith/works message that leaves the hearers with the confused thought of; faith gets you saved, but the works keeps you saved and this has created the double mindedness so prevalent in Christians today.  

 For indeed the gospel was preached to them. The children of Israel while in Egypt did not hear the good news of Jesus by name as we did when they were being lead out, but through the signs shown them. The Passover feast was the primary sign they missed. After 416 years of slavery, approximately ten generations, God gave them their deliverer Moses. After many signs from God showing His awesome power through Moses, the final sign was when the Death Angel passed over each “believers” house just because they sacrificed and ate the Passover lamb. This was the largest living proof that through one sacrifice the Children of Israel would be delivered from death and yet that was their very fear and common complaint to God while in the wilderness; why has God brought us out here to kill us all through starvation of food and water, and then give us over to the giants to kill us. The signs they saw and the words from God given to them through Moses was not mixed with faith to make it their own. Sound familiar? Biggest lie of all is that we have to muster up the faith on our own to believe the word of God, and that it has to be done through some kind of rule or regulation or work or action. Ephesians 2:8 is very clear, “8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God”, the faith needed to receive salvation is also given to us by God. “God has dealt to each one a measure of faith”, Romans 12:3. Nowhere does the New Testament tell us to work for our faith nor to work to keep our salvation; we are to enter into His rest through faith in what Jesus did on the cross over 2000 years ago.  

 “But the word which they heard did not profit them”, is also an interesting point to consider. What we hear is related to what we listen to, duh. We all know this, but often forget it when we start listening to anything that does not line up with the word of God. After Jesus gave the parable of the Sower explanation to His disciples, He went on in verse 23 & 24 of Mark 4 to say this; 23 “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear." 24 Then He said to them, "Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given”. What we listen to is very important, but to go along with the hearing, is the using of faith along with the hearing. If we listen to legalism preached over faith and grace than we will mix legalism with grace and pollute the blood of Christ. It is just as detrimental to listen and subject your mind to a works and wages, or legalistic message as it is to listen to trash talk about how bad the economy is or even things of violence or sexual connotations. Why, because the more you listen to something the more you will receive of it? And the more you participate in something, the more of whatever you participate in will mold who you are. To those who choose to hear the true grace word of God, the more of God’s grace will come to you, measure for measure. The children of Israel that came out of Egypt had spent so much of their life under the teachings of “the care of bondage”, (Note: even a mistreated slave was cared for by his master and did not have to look for his own food), that they chose to not mix what they were seeing and hearing from God. Even after they were delivered out of Egypt, with the faith God gave them. This lead to their unbelief, which lead to their doubt, which lead to their own natural reasoning, which lead them back to wanting “the care of bondage”.    

 The division of soul and spirit is the most difficult concept for man to understand. Once understood it becomes easier to walk in the spirit and give less power to the flesh (our soul) in our daily walk in life. 

Hebrews 4:12-13 “12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.  

 As humans in our natural thinking we have great difficulty separating the difference between our spirit and soul, but by looking into the perfect word of God we can see the difference. Those in Christ have the perfect spirit from the Son, but our soul which was trained by our old man spirit and how we were raised is still active. Just like the example of joints and marrow; it is the marrow that gives us life, but without the joints we could not move about. If the marrow becomes attacked by a disease it weakens the whole body and there may need to be a marrow transplant. Likewise our old spirit weakens our whole body and God gives us a spirit transplant. If a joint goes bad just the joint needs attention and starts with simple strengthening depending on the severity of the problem. This is the very reason Romans tells us to renew our minds daily. Our spirit is as perfect as it can be since it is the spirit of the Son, Jesus. Our soul needs to be renewed by building up our new man in spirit and that only happens by renewing what we think and what we have learned in our natural pre born again state.  

 Most people, with the right information, can see the difference between spirit and soul, and marrow and joints. I find few people understanding and often never even recognize the difference between thoughts and intents of the heart. The religious quote Matthew 5:28 “But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart”, and use it to push the point that because many of our thoughts are bad we are bad and in a consistent state of asking forgiveness (repentance) since even a simple sinful thought is the same as performing the sin act. Christians miss the difference between a thought and intent. Yes God knows all of our thoughts, but we are not held accountable for every thought that comes into our minds. That would be impossible since once something is in our mind it can and often comes back with little effort. This is why it is so important to be cautious with what we watch and listen to. If we read Matthew 5:28 with this in mind it is clear that the man “looks to lust at her” is saying his intent is more than just recognizing she is attractive. Even if the next thought is of a sinful nature you are not committing the sin; it is what you do with that thought from that point on that matters. You have the choice to cast it off or dwell on it. Sin does not just erupt out of our lives like an uncontrolled volcano. It first has to take root deep in our thinking before it can manifest itself in our flesh. Even if you are stupid and impulsively follow through with the sinful thought, God is not right there ready to condemn you for it even though verse 13 clearly states that nothing is hidden from God. Nothing you did was hidden before you received Jesus into your heart and God loved you then. How much more will He love and reach out to you once you accept Jesus and become His son or daughter.  We must remember John 3:16 and that God so loved the world before anyone was saved that He gave Jesus for our ransom. In fact Romans 8:35, 38-39 are proof that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ or the love of God. This includes our sins! God still loves us and has not turned His back on us when we sin, but in doing so we are opening up ourselves for the Devil to steal our blessings that are coming from God. It is not sin that will keep you out of heaven, it will probably get you there faster that you wanted to go, but unbelief that will keep you out of God’s rest, (see notes on Hebrews 4:11). For a Christian, living in sin is like a person setting down to watch a specific channel on TV, but purposely turning it to a different channel and wonder why their show is not on. That sounds stupid when you think about it, but Christians are doing just that every day. Remember that in the “model prayer” spoken by Jesus in Luke 11:2, He claimed that God’s will shall be done on earth as it is in heaven. If that was never possible, for God’s will for us to live here on earth in His blessings, than Jesus prayed a lie. The fact is God wants us to live in His blessings and enjoy Him and have a good life here on earth and then get to go on to heaven. Christians should renew their minds to help change their soulish nature so that they can line their thoughts up with His. We purpose to overcome sin in our lives not to gain righteousness with God, but because of the precious gift of salvation and forgiveness He has already extended to us. That is our reasonable service to Him. The good news is that in our renewing our minds and overcoming our sins we can now get back on the correct channel to be able to watch what we wanted to in the first place; God’s blessings coming to us. We will then be able to receive what God has already given to His children.   

 Christ did not glorify Himself, but God glorified Him because He laid down His life for us. 

Hebrews 5:1-6 “1 For every high priest taken from among men is appointed for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 He can have compassion on those who are ignorant and going astray, since he himself is also subject to weakness. 3 Because of this he is required as for the people, so also for himself, to offer sacrifices for sins. 4 And no man takes this honor to himself, but he who is called by God, just as Aaron was. 5 So also Christ did not glorify Himself to become High Priest, but it was He who said to Him: "You are My Son, Today I have begotten You." 6 As He also says in              

Verse 1 The Old Testament Priest is a picture of Jesus and His ministry. Both were appointed by God to intercede for the people toward God. Verse 2 The O.T. priest could have compassion on the people, because he also dealt with the same temptations the people did. Jesus overcame the same temptations. His temptations from the Devil after being in the wilderness forty days are the foundational superiority of Jesus over the O.T. priest. Because of the weakness of the sin nature of man to abstain from sin the O.T. high priest had to make first a sacrifice for himself then sacrifice for the people. Blood sacrifice for man’s sin as retribution for sin was established with Adam and Eve when God sacrificed an animal after they ate the forbidden fruit. The difference here is that the O.T priest had to make offering after offering for himself yearly and then for the people, because the blood sacrifice of an animal did not purify the sin, but merely was a temporary covering. Jesus was the sacrifice for all of our sins, not just another animal. 4. Every O.T. high priest was appointed by God from the tribe of Levi, the same tribe Aaron was of. No one took on this position himself, because of the weight and severity of certain death to anyone un- worthy of the position to enter into the Holy of Holies, the presence of God. Also we must remember that Jesus came from the tribe of Judah not Levi as the OT priests did. This is significant in that God is showing us that He has made a change in the requirements of High Priest. His Son who is far more self-appointed as high priest for us and the writer of Hebrews quotes prophesy from Psalms 2:7 “I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee." son is far superior to that of a high priest. Verse 6 is the fi appointed position over that of O.T. high priest. The O.T. priesthood was one of limits according to the tribe a man was born and according to the life span of the priest, hence, there was always the replacement of the current priest with a another appointment. Verse 6 references the order of is superior to the O.T. high priest. See my notes on Hebrews 7:1-3 regarding the Melchizedek priesthood.   

 There are two types of righteousness, self and Godly. Paul was willing to count all of his accomplishments as rubbish for the gain of righteousness from God. Only through letting go of our personal accomplishments are we able to fully understand the power of His resurrection. 

Philippians 3:8-11 “8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection of the dead.”

 Paul is following up from his previous statement to confirm that he counts everything he had, position as a Roman, and his position as a leader of the Pharisees, and any accomplishment he has made as worthless for the gain of the knowledge of Christ.  This statement throws all self-righteousness right out the window.  Today there are fewer people who make a commitment to Christ because they were raised in a Christian home.  Many people come to Jesus after they have lost everything and are looking for something bigger than them to believe in.  It is rare that a person makes a decision to come to Jesus after they have made great accomplishments, self-pride is too strong, 1Corinthians 1:26.  In fact Jesus was even confronted by the Pharisees when was found keeping company with the tax collectors and harlots.  A Pharisee would never “defile” himself by getting close to people like that much less sit down to fellowship with them.  In Matthew 9:12. Mark 2:17, & Luke 4:17 Jesus responds to the accusation of the Pharisees that those who are well have no need of a physician, only the sick.  In Mark 2:17 it is recorded that He continues by saying He did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.  These statements were not indications that those who were not sick and those who had accomplished any level of self-righteousness did not need Jesus.  He is confirming that those who recognize their need and lack will hear His call.  Sickness starts long before it is manifested in the flesh and the word of God is very clear that no one is righteous on their own, Psalms14:3, 53:3. 

 Verse 9 is clear that there are two types of righteousness; self and Godly. Paul had a deep understanding that he did not want to stand on any of his own righteousness, but rest completely on the blood of Jesus.  Godly righteousness can only come through faith in Jesus and what He did on the cross and not our personal accomplishments, Romans 10:8-10.  Righteousness from God can only come as a gift, Romans 5:15 and a person can only receive a gift if their hands (heart) are open and not found holding on tight to their own accomplishments.  Would you try to catch a football thrown at you while holding onto another object so tight that no one could take it away?  No, the thought of even trying that sounds stupid, and yet people try to come to Jesus all the time holding on to self and all of their personal accomplishments and even old lifestyles in fear that what they have is going to pale in comparison to what God can give them through Jesus.

 In Western culture, knowledge is a mental ascent or understanding, but in Eastern cultures knowledge is experiential, 1 Kings 1:4.  Paul wants to have an experiential understanding of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit.  Paul understood that Jesus did not raise Himself from the dead, but that it was the power of the Holy Spirit that was in Him coupled with the fact that since He was without sin the grave could not hold Him, (Ephesians 1:19-20).  In John, Luke and Acts, Jesus tells His disciples that He will send a Helper, (the Holy Spirit), to be with them after He goes up to heaven.  Paul is not looking for sufferings as a means to gain this knowledge of Christ.  No one should look forward to suffering, but we live in a fallen world and therefore suffering does happen.  Jesus was greatly comforted as a result of His sufferings, and now sits at the right hand of God. We can learn how to look forward to God for His comfort when in various trials and sufferings, James 1:2-3.  We are to not look forward to the comfort of this world as its comfort is only fleshly and temporal, Romans 12:2. 

 Acts 24:15 is clear that there will be a resurrection from the dead, both the just and unjust.  Paul knows that it is our acceptance of Jesus and His righteousness that is the only way we will see heaven.  He was not implying that he had not received salvation yet because salvation is given to us when we become born again, Ephesians 1:14.  The Greek word KATANTAO which is translated attain actually means “arrive”.  Paul knew he had salvation, but had not arrived in heaven while still here on earth.    

 We are not held accountable by God for what we do not know or understand, however we should purpose to walk in the light that we do know trusting that the Holy Spirit will lead us into a deeper understanding. 

Philippians 3:15-16 “15 Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. 16 Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind.”

 Paul is encouraging us to have the same mind as he does. Paul knows that only if we let go of all accomplishments of righteousness in the past and refrain from works of righteousness in the present, then God’s righteousness will prevail in our lives.  We must also let go of our past, present, and future failures since we are still in this human form and will be so as long as we live here on earth.  The last part of verse 15 should be a comfort to everyone that does not know or understand the difference between working for the Lord in His righteousness verses working for righteousness in the Lord.  Even if we think contrary to the truth of God, as long as we continue to grow in knowledge, understanding, and wisdom, God will reveal His truth to us in a way we can understand it.  This mind of maturity Paul is referencing to, which he has, is the same mind of Christ; to live for others over self and to spread the good news. 

 It is obvious that most Christians walk at different levels than others.  Even two people coming into the Lord at the same time will progress at different levels.  In verse 16 Paul is encouraging us to walk in the knowledge and understanding that we have and not try to walk in another person’s knowledge.  Humans in general tend to judge our place in society and ultimately our worth by comparison to the friends we have and the people we cross paths with or work with.  Christianity is plagued by the same fleshly mind set.  Nowhere in the bible are we told to be like or think like any other person then to have the mind of Christ.  We will have examples of Godly men and women to look to, but we will never be them.  Paul is not asking us to do anything different than Jesus did while here on earth.  He had to learn who He was spiritually since He came into this world as a baby.  We even read that at the age of twelve His parents lost track of Him and later found Him in a Temple studding the word of God.  As I have mentioned before Jesus’ wilderness experience after He became baptized and filled with the Hole Spirit was just as much for Him to realize who He was as it was the Devil.  We are called to make that same spiritual step in learning and allowing the Holy Spirit to bring to revelation who we are in Christ.  This is the same rule and the same mind Paul is talking about in the last of verse 16; not learning how to think and act like someone else in the church, but to learn who we are in Christ Jesus.  Remember to have the mind of Christ is simply to esteem others above self and desire to spread the gospel. 

 Paul is stressing growth and winning not just surviving.  All too often Christians find themselves hanging on till the Lord comes or they pass away from this life into the next to realize their blessings.  That is very sad, they have missed a very large reason Jesus died for us.  He is the restorer of our communication with God while here on earth.  Jesus Himself said, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly”, John 10:10.

Paul makes a similar statement at the beginning of verse 13, but then goes to a deeper topic.  Reaching forward and letting go.  It is so human to either hold on to our past accomplishments or constantly judge ourselves against our past failures.  For a Christian both actions are un-Godly and count the blood of Jesus as worthless. 2 Corinthians 5:17, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.  Revelations 21:5, Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." And He said to me, "Write, for these words are true and faithful."  All is all, and does not have selections.  We cannot hold on to the good and hand off the bad to Jesus to take care of, because even our good is as filthy rags in His sight according to Isaiah 64:6. There is just no way can we move forward while looking or holding on to the past.  We must constantly look and move forward in our walk with Christ. 

There are two very important things in verse 14.  First the Greek word DIOKO translated as “press” is a word used figuratively to describe one running in such a way that they will receive the prize. Paul is telling us to keep running for the prize.  Secondly, is knowing that the “prize” of salvation cannot be acquired by works of righteousness. According to Titus3:15 Paul must be referencing the rewards in heaven that come from service for the Lord.