SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/6/2017
11:17 PM
My Worship Time Focus: Intro to
Colossians 3:1-4
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Colossians
3:1-4
Message of the
verses: “1 Therefore if you have
been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is,
seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on the things above, not on
the things that are on earth. 3 For you have died and your life is hidden with
Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will
be revealed with Him in glory.”
John MacArthur entitles this chapter in his commentary on
Colossians “Living the Risen Life.”
These are very important verse from the Word of God and as we look at
the reason that Paul wrote them to the Colossians church we will find out that
they indeed are necessary for us to walk with Christ in our lives today.
We have been studying the book of John in my morning
devotions and lately we spent close to two months looking at the 17th
chapter of John’s gospel, a chapter that is called “Jesus’ High Priestly
Prayer,” and in that chapter we see the word world mentioned eighteen times,
and in some of those times it is mentioned Jesus is praying for His disciples,
and later on for us to go into the world to spread the good news, but not to be
affected by the world system. The Great Commission
found in the 28th chapter of Matthew says the same thing, believers
going out into the world to preach the gospel.
The thing about this is that if Christian are to reach
the world then they cannot be of the world and this I realize is a paradox, but
true. Jesus Christ was certainly the
best example of being in the world but not being of the world as it was
impossible for Him to do that since it was impossible for Him to sin, and being
attracted to the things of this world system is sinful as John points out “15
Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world,
the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust
of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not
from the Father, but is from the world. 17 The world is passing away, and also
its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever (1 John 2:15-17).”
Our citizenship (believer’s citizenship) is not on this
earth, but is in heaven. We are actually
aliens on this earth and our Lord Jesus Christ, our Head is in heaven praying
for us as our High Priest, so we are to always answer to Him.
John MacArthur concludes his introduction with the
following, which will also give us an outline of where we will be going with
these verses:
“It is only when we rise
above the world that we can both appreciate the appalling spiritual poverty in
which most people live and learn to fix our minds on heavenly realities. Our blessings are in heaven (Eph. 1:3); the
angels are there (Eph. 3:10); Christ is there (Eph. 1:20); and we, through our
union with Him in His resurrection, exist in the heavenly the heavenly realm
(Eph. 2:6). Because the things most
important to us are in heaven, we must not be entangled in this present
world. All those Scriptures provide the
backdrop for Paul’s message in 3:1-4 as he moves to the practical side of the
epistle. He begins by calling the
readers to that preoccupation with heavenly reality that is the hallmark of
true spirituality, and the starting point of practical holiness. Five features will help unfold the power of
heavenly living on earth: the reminder,
the responsibility, the resource, the reason, and the revelation.”
4/6/2017 11:41 PM
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