Wednesday
Read Colossians 1:15-28
15 Christ is the visible likeness of
the invisible God. He is the firstborn Son, superior to all created things. 16For
through him God created everything in heaven and on earth, the seen and the
unseen things, including spiritual powers, lords, rulers, and authorities. God
created the whole universe through him and for him. 17Christ existed
before all things, and in union with him all things have their proper place. 18He
is the head of his body, the church; he is the source of the body’s life. He is
the firstborn Son, who was raised from death, in order that he alone might have
the first place in all things. 19For it was by God’s own decision
that the Son has in himself the full nature of God. 20Through the
Son, then, God decided to bring the whole universe back to himself. God made
peace through his Son’s bloodc on the cross and so brought back to
himself all things, both on earth and in heaven.
21 At one time you were far away
from God and were his enemies because of the evil things you did and thought. 22But
now, by means of the physical death of his Son, God has made you his friends,
in order to bring you, holy, pure, and faultless, into his presence. 23You
must, of course, continue faithful on a firm and sure foundation, and must not
allow yourselves to be shaken from the hope you gained when you heard the
gospel. It is of this gospel that I, Paul, became a servant—this gospel which
has been preached to everybody in the world.
24 And now I am happy about my
sufferings for you, for by means of my physical sufferings I am helping to
complete what still remains of Christ’s sufferings on behalf of his body, the
church. 25And I have been made a servant of the church by God, who
gave me this task to perform for your good. It is the task of fully proclaiming
his message, 26which is the secret he hid through all past ages from
all the human race but has now revealed to his people. 27God’s plan
is to make known his secret to his people, this rich and glorious secret which
he has for all peoples. And the secret is that Christ is in you, which means
that you will share in the glory of God. 28So we preach Christ to
everyone. With all possible wisdom we warn and teach them in order to bring
each one into God’s presence as a mature individual in union with Christ.
Think
Often when we read the gospels Jesus is so familiar and friendly that we
forget who he is. Colossians 1:15-20
should help us to gain a more complete understanding of who is speaking to us.
Paul speaks about the task of preaching about Christ, telling everybody
this good news; in the hope of bringing 'each one into God's presence as a
mature individual in union with Christ.' - 28
Pray
I long to be 'a mature individual in union with Christ.' (vs 28). I want
to know the secret that 'Christ is in me' (vs 27). I need your Spirit's wisdom and help.
No comments:
Post a Comment