The fruit of the Spirit is only produced when we know, understand, believe, and reckon to be true what God has freely given us by Christ's death, burial, and resurrection.
Many attempt to find favor and salvation by the works of their flesh. Christ has put off the body of the sins of the flesh for those who believe.
Grace in action is living out who God has already made us in Christ.
Paul warns the Galatians that false teaching had hindered their spiritual progress, and that a little leaven leavens the whole lump.
We ought not to make the cross of Christ of none effect by adding the law to our Christian walk.
Paul gives the allegory of Hagar and Sarah as a comparison of bondage vs promise and grace.
Understanding our position before God is the most important thing apart from our soul's salvation.
Paul continues to point to the cross in which the Galatians now take offense.
As a believer, to return to the law is to depart from your service to God.
God equips sons with the knowledge and wisdom God intends us to have through His completed Word via the revelation of the mystery of Christ.
The law was not given to provide life or righteousness, but to reveal sin and show mankind’s need for a Saviour.
Those who seek righteousness and justification through the works of the law place themselves under a curse.
By the pattern of Abraham in Gen 15:6 we are counted righteous when we trust exclusively in what Christ has done for our eternal soul's salvation. We are justified by faith.
A believer ought to answer this question daily, "Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law? Or by the hearing of faith?"
Why would a believer frustrate our complete position in Christ by adding the bondage of the law to our lives in Christ and grieve the Holy Spirit of God?
The leaders in Jerusalem recognized God's working through Paul and agreed to limit their ministry to the circumcision while Paul continued among the uncircumcision.
Those from Jerusalem who were putting members of the body of Christ under the law of Moses were wrong to do so as it is contrary to the truth of the gospel of grace.
Paul stands in defense of the gospel as false brethren sought to bring believers into bondage by the law of Moses.
The gospel of the grace of God originated with Christ Himself, and it was Paul's duty, as it is ours, to stand in defense of the gospel.
We must defend the truth of God's grace and reject teachings that place believers back under the law. It is only in liberty, set free from the law, that we can serve God.
Enemies of the cross challenged both Paul's authority and his message. Paul reminds his audience that the gospel that they learned from Paul was given directly from the risen Lord Jesus Christ.
As we study Galatians, we are reminded to stand fast in the liberty Christ has provided. We are to walk by faith, serving God from a position only accessed by grace.
Many who claim Christ do not follow His commandments in the red letters. They can't.
How is it that many testimonies fail to mention the cross at all?
Despite the law being holy, just, and good, it is a curse to those under it. Christ has redeemed believers from the curse of the law.
Recognizing the differences between the contents of prophecy and mystery is vital in understanding who we are so that we may serve the Lord worthily.
Many know of Jesus after the flesh (as He was in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) rather than according to the revelation of the mystery of Christ.
You cannot be saved unless you know what the gospel is. But did you know that you can actually know what the gospel is and not believe it?
The Corinthians request evidence of Christ in Paul. Paul's response is to have them examine themselves.
What fellowship does Christ's body have with darkness? With a harlot? There should be no fellowship with the wickedness of the world.
Paul can list the Corinthian's wicked behaviors and confidently declare, 'such were some of you'.
In Christ, we are seated in heavenly places. Our Savior and Head is above all principalities and powers.
Paul asks them again, 'Know ye not?' This time calling out despicable behaviour that even the world identifies as wrong.
Though seemingly contrary to their appearance on the outside, the Corinthians are exhorted to remember that their identity is in Christ.
We are dead to the law by the body of Christ.
God has made us free from sin, giving us glorious liberty to serve Him!
Paul asks, "Know ye not?" beginning with "That so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death?"
Christians should not be surprised when they look around and see a wicked fallen creation.
Being ignorant of God's will from the Bible rightly divided means that a believer is not able to do God's will.
The mystery of Christ reveals how that man can be saved without Israel, without Israel's law, and without Israel's covenants.
Jesus came once to shed his blood to dedicate the New Covenant with Israel. He will one day come back to earth to usher in the kingdom promised to Israel and reign as King.
What happened to Israel? How do Gentiles find themselves able to be saved during Israel's blindness and fall?
In this final lesson in the book of Colossians, we study those who were doing the work of the ministry.
The goal of any assembly should be to produce faithful ministers and workmen in accordance with the Bible rightly divided.
Examining Paul's prayers will help us understand prayer in this dispensation of grace, with a focus on the believer's inner man.
Whether we find ourselves in a position as a husband, wife, child, master, or servant, we know that we can carry out the Lord's will in whatsoever we do.
The mystery of Christ would have us to know and walk according to Godly order. As we examine wives, husbands, parents, and children we learn how the mystery of Christ informs these states that we may find ourselves in.
To deny our standing as sons is to not properly understand who you are in Christ. This improper understanding will inevitably rob you of the riches that you have in Christ. Remember, you either are in Adam or in Christ. Are you Christ’s?
Words matter. The devil uses words to beguile and deceive. In truth and right doctrine is where unity is kept. We need to be in the word of God, renewing our minds so that we use our liberty in Christ to serve the Lord in whatsoever we do.
It is only in God's Word that we find wisdom, as God's Word is where the Spirit teaches us. God's Word works effectually in those who believe it. As we grow in knowledge and spiritual understanding, we are to teach and admonish one another in the body of Christ according to God's abundant grace.
Now that we have learned that the believer's life is hid with Christ in God, Paul exhorts us to do service and behave in a manner becoming of a saint.
As we learn about our salvation and complete position in Christ, we begin to comprehend what God has done for us. As we grow in knowledge and understanding, we can know that we were bought with a price, and that God desires that we all carry out service to him. Learning God's will from scripture, we begin to gain a renewed mind that can drive our mortal bodies to do the will of God.
In this lesson we'll learn that Abraham received righteousness without circumcision, covenants, Israel, or the law. We too are given Christ's righteousness by faith alone without circumcision, covenants, Israel, or the law when we believe Christ's finished work on the cross.
It is abundantly clear that the believer is now counted dead with Christ and subsequently risen with Him. If these things are true, then we ought not to live after the rudiments of the world, but rather after Christ who is our Head.
In the concluding lesson of chapter two, we remind ourselves of the purpose of the book: to gain knowledge of God's will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding so that we may walk worthy and bear fruit.
Do not think yourself to be under the law (that is only a shadow of things to come), but rather as a member of Christ's body (which is the current operation of God).
By grace through faith in Christ's shed blood, we have been forgiven all trespasses and have been set free from sin.
The operation of God identifies us with Christ's death, burial, and resurrection.
Up until this point in the book of Colossians, Paul has taken (and will continue to take) every opportunity to exalt Christ. Christ is the fulness of the Godhead bodily... we are complete in Him.
We become saved members of the body of Christ when we believe that Jesus Christ, God manifest in the flesh, was delivered for our offences and was raised again for our justification.
Paul labours according to the ministry the Lord Jesus Christ gave him. He describes himself as being a minister of the dispensation of God, the mystery...
Paul makes it clear to the Colossians that what he is communicating is the revelation of the mystery of Christ which was given to him by the resurrected, glorified, Lord Jesus Christ. The news of "Christ in you, the hope of glory" is an amazing truth! That Gentiles can be saved without Israel, without the law, and without the covenants has been revealed to us through Paul, the apostle of the Gentiles.
In this lesson we look at the incredible work Christ has accomplished for Jew and Gentile alike in this dispensation of grace. The work that Christ has done on our behalf now motivates us as saved members of the body of Christ to do reasonable service, worthy of our vocation, to the Lord.
In this lesson we delve into an incredible portion of the book of Colossians detailing the deity of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Jesus is fully God and fully man, later to be described as, "the fulness of the Godhead bodily". Christ is the preeminent!
As believers, a prerequisite to being able to serve God is to know the will of God according to the Bible rightly divided. (Col 1:9-10) This is also referred to as the "renewed mind". This starts with understanding what Christ has done for us and who we are as saved believers in Him.
In this lesson we cover Colossians 1:9-10, which summarize the purpose of the book. Paul's desire for the Colossians is that they might be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. We must have knowledge and understanding, and know the will of God prior to being able to walk worthy. These verses teach us that as members of the body of Christ, belief must precede behavior. Good works (the fruit of the Spirit) are only possible with the proper motivation, stemming from a mind that is renewed by the word of God rightly divided.
Colossians is a rich epistle that describes the necessity of knowing and understanding the will of God in order to walk worthy. In this introduction we'll do a brief survey to understand the context and purpose of this epistle.
Colossians is a rich epistle that describes the necessity of knowing and understanding the will of God in order to walk worthy. In this introduction we'll do a brief survey to understand the context and purpose of this epistle.
