May 11, 2011 (Colossians)

I'm out of the Old Testament. Can't take it any more, thanks to some insight from my husband! I'm going to focus on Colossians - probably for a while. I want to do some in depth study of this book. The study notes at the beginning of this book say this about the book:

Paul's purpose is to show that Christ is preeminent - first and foremost in everything - and the Christian's life should reflect that priority. Because believers are rooted in him, alive in him, hidden in him and complete in him, it is utterly inconsistent for them to live life without him. Clothed in his love, with his peace ruling in their hearts, they are equipped to make Christ first in every area of life.

Sounds like exactly what I need to focus my life on!

I've read these first couple of chapters in several versions and like the New Living Translation the best. I was struck by this verse:

^1:19 For God in all his fullness
      was pleased to live in Christ,

And then this verse:

^1:27b For this is the secret: Christ lives in you, and this is your assurance that you will share in his glory.

So just as God dwelt in the human body of Christ, so also Christ dwells in the human body of us. If you notice there is a comma at the end of verse 19. Here is the rest of that passage:

¹⁹ For God in all his fullness
      was pleased to live in Christ,
 ²⁰ and by him God reconciled
      everything to himself.
   He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth
      by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.

 ²¹ This includes you who were once so far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. ²²Yet now he has brought you back as his friends. He has done this through his death on the cross in his own human body. As a result, he has brought you into the very presence of God, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.

 ²³ But you must continue to believe this truth and stand in it firmly. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News. The Good News has been preached all over the world, and I, Paul, have been appointed as God’s servant to proclaim it.

We are God's friends because of Christ. Mind boggling - and that doesn't change, because our relationship to Christ doesn't change. It's ALL because of Him. And it's all through faith. We have to continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. I'm looking forward to this study!