Posted by Pastor Pat on September 29, 2011
To understand the Book of Colossians it is helpful to examine the three movements within the book itself; they are logical and sequential. In the first chapter Paul explains the sufficiency and singularity of Jesus Christ. He speaks of the exalted Christ. Here he identifies for the reader what is considered “orthodoxy”.
The word orthodox, from Greek orthos (“right”, “true”, “straight”) + doxa (“opinion” or “belief”, related to dokein, “to think”),1is generally used to mean the adherence to accepted norms, more specifically to creeds, especially in religion.2
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Posted by Pastor Pat on July 27, 2011
The book of Colossians forms one of the most translucent revelations of Jesus Christ found within Holy Scripture. The veil has been rent and we are privileged and exposed to a full portrayal of who He is and what He has done for His people. Here we find the promise fulfilled and the picture completed.
Often, as is true with most of our handling of God’s Word, we read various pieces without seeing how the pieces fit into the bigger picture. This is unfortunate for us and demeaning to the text.
The book of Colossians is comprised of verses. These verses link together to form paragraphs and the paragraphs are part of a singular thought. Paul is not jumping from subject matter to subject matter as if there is no coherent thought and intentional design. Each of the verses and paragraphs form a thread in a beautiful tapestry. Each is a different color used by God to paint a breathtaking portrait of His Son. He is the promised seed within the Story. To understand the parts, you must understand the whole. It is the parts that make up the whole and it is the whole that brings continuity to the individual parts.
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Posted by Pastor Pat on February 6, 2011
“These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.”
(John 15:11)
The stability of the Christian life is built on the bedrock of God’s Word. We believe what He has said is true and will most certainly happen. Yet the certainty of His Word is built on the supremacy of His rule. His Word will happen because His will cannot be thwarted (Daniel 4:35).
Our ultimate joy rests in knowing God will never let His Word fail. The hope we have is not tentative or speculative as if to say there is the slightest chance that it will not happen. Our hope is a confident anticipation and our joy is real and firm despite our circumstances and surroundings.
Listen carefully to the following three verses (John 15:11; 6:24; 17:13).
John 15:11 “These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.
John 16:24 “Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full.
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Posted by Pastor Pat on November 12, 2010
Part 3
I. Justification is looked upon as a provision of grace and thus a gift (Romans 3:24; 5:16,17; Titus 3:5-7) and is appropriated by means of faith and stands in direct contrast of being attained by works (Acts 13:38, 39; Romans 3:21, 22, 26, 28, 30; 4:2-6, 9, 11, 13; 9:30-33; 10:1-13; Gal. 2:16, 17, 21; 3:6, 8, 11, 21-26; Titus 3:5).
Because this is true, you and I have nothing to boast in or of. The Scriptural evidence is so overwhelming that it is impossible to get around it. If it could have been attained by works, then it would not have been by faith. In the Heidelberg Disputation of 1518 Martin Luther made the following comments. Theology of the Cross – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theology_of_the_Cross
• He is not righteous who does much, but he who, without work, believes much in Christ.
• The law says “Do this”, and it is never done. Grace says, “believe in this” and everything is already done.
II. Justification is based on the sinless life and sacrificial death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 1:17; 3:25; 5:18, 19) and thus justifying faith finds its object in the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 3:22; 4:22-24).
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Filed Under: Paul
Posted by Pastor Pat on November 9, 2010
Part 2
In Romans 3 the word “justified” is used several times (Rom. 3:4, 10, 20, 24, 26, 28, 30 [see also “righteous” Rom. 3:5, 21, 22, 25, 26). Only God can declare a man righteous and yet men continually seek ways to make themselves righteous.
“THERE ARE fundamentally only two doctrines of salvation: that salvation is from God, and that salvation is from ourselves. The former is the doctrine of common Christianity; the latter is the doctrine of universal heathenism. “The principle of heathenism is, negatively, the denial of the true God, and of the gift of his grace; and, positively, the notion that salvation can be secured by man’s own power and wisdom. Whether the works through which heathenism seeks the way of salvation bear a more ritual or a more ethical characteristic, whether they are of a more positive or of a more negative nature, in any case man remains his own Savior; all religions except the Christian are autosoteric . . . And philosophy has made no advance upon this.”
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Posted by Pastor Pat on November 6, 2010
Part 1
Romans 3:19-31
How can I be right with God? What does it mean to be right with God? How would you like to never have to worry about God being mad, angry, or upset with you? How would you like to find rest in the midst of life’s struggles? How would you like to finally measure up to God’s righteous expectations for you? Apart from sounding incredible, it also sounds impossible. But you and I can be right before God.
The book of Romans has already created a dilemma within man by revealing his position of complete spiritual bankruptcy before God (Romans 1:18-3:20). Chapter three verse ten is emphatic, “there is none righteous no not one.” In light of his condition man is barred from God’s presence, guilty of sin and a recipient of God’s full and undiluted wrath. In our next post we will consider the doctrine of justification by faith.
Posted by Pastor Pat on October 10, 2010
Read Ephesians 4:1-6
Whatever Paul brings to the table in 4:1 and following is a consequence of his previous thought. Paul begins in verse 4:1 by imploring his audience “to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which they have been called.” Somehow we have twisted the thought of walking worthy to mean something that is meritorious and thus resulting in our acceptance before the Father. Yet everything up to this point clearly points out how our acceptance before and access to the Father is firmly rooted in and flowing from our in Christ status (1:5; 2:18; 3:12).
“He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will” (Eph. 1:5).
“For through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father” (Eph. 2:18).
“In whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him” (Eph. 3:12).
The thought of worthy is something that is compatible with or suitable to. Paul’s simple thought is that our lives should mimic our spiritual union with Christ. Whatever we are in Christ we should be while in the world. It is His life flowing into us and thus flowing out of us. Although it might be anti-climatic, let us not forget that the “us” of Ephesians is the “we” of the church and not the “us” of isolated independent individualism.
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Posted by Pastor Pat on March 15, 2010
Read Ephesians 2:1-10
Paul continues to show the immeasurable nature of God’s redeeming grace by noting the context in which it took place. It is as if he provides the reader with a snapshot or summary of the whole story from beginning to end. It is because we were dead in our trespasses that God would have to forgive us by means of redeeming us from sin’s debt (1:7). Verses 2 and 3 describe the state of what all once were prior to their adoption as sons and daughters (1:5).
Verses 1 through 3 do not distinguish between male or female, Jew or Gentile, bond or free. All are in the same dead state brought on by trespass and sin. Paul highlights the enemies of grace: the world, the devil, and the flesh. All three work to overthrow and undercut the provision of God for the inability of man. Verse 4 acts as a sharp contrast to the initial three verses. It functions as an explosion of hope. In contrast to all that we are, here stands God who is rich in mercy and great in love. He does not allow us to continue as we were but sets us on a path of life and light. Because of who God is in essence, all His actions are inseparably linked to and flowing from this abundant resource.
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Posted by Pastor Pat on March 3, 2010
Read Ephesians 1:3-14
Throughout this short letter, Paul speaks of God’s superabundant activities flowing from Himself to His people. Such words as “rich, lavish, surpassing greatness, surpassing riches, unfathomable riches, surpasses knowledge and far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think” (1:7, 8, 18, 19; 2:4, 7; 3:8, 16, 18, 19, 20) are employed in an attempt to capture the magnitude of God’s person and work to redeem His people from sin’s debt and to adopt them as sons. All of this was written by Him into His story (1:4, 5, 9, 11, 21; 2:7, 10; 3:11).
Paul’s opening sentence reaches from verse 3 to verse 14. Here is an avalanche of descriptive words that unveil what God did in the securing of His people for Himself. Here we read of God as a tri-unity working (energy) to secure for Himself worshipping sons and daughters. Our passage speaks of God the Father blessing (v. 3), choosing (v. 4) and adopting (vv. 5, 6) trespassers into His family. We can equally note the activity of the Son to redeem slaves by forgiving debt by means of His own substitutionary and voluntary death (vv. 7, 8). It is the Son who makes known to us the mystery of their eternal purpose (vv. 9, 10), how from rebellion, division, and damnation He brings peace, harmony, and life. It is through Him and in Him all things created find the object that silences the rage from within and the loneliness that robs and destroys. What is the outcome, the inheritance of His activity? Through Him, the alienated are adopted, the rebel is restored, the indebted are pardoned and the forsaken are chosen.
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Posted by Pastor Pat on January 23, 2010
The church of Ephesus played a significant role in the life and ministry of the apostle Paul. By simply noting the occurrences of the city in the New Testament it becomes apparent that the church of Ephesus was a prominent center for the apostle Paul and the apostle John. Let us consider the following verses as they are found in the New Testament record:
1. Paul’s first visit to Ephesus happened in Acts 18:18-21.
This is the first occurrence of the word in the New Testament.
2. In Paul’s absence, Priscilla and Aquila instructed Apollos (Acts 18:24-28).
When you read the narrative it is straightforward and clear.
3. Paul returned to Ephesus, taught the disciples and evangelized the unbelieving (Acts 19)
1. Taught on Spirit baptism (Acts 19:1-7)
2. Taught on the kingdom God for two years (Acts 19:8-10)
3. God performed extraordinary miracles through Paul (Acts 19:11-22)
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Posted by Pastor Pat on December 8, 2009
Read Ephesians 5:1-6
There is an element of perplexity offered to us in the text. Is it possible for those who have the inheritance to become disinherited? Is it possible for those who are citizens of His kingdom to be expelled from its realm? There is a weight to what faces us in this text that must not and cannot be negated. Paul speaks to the Ephesians and reminds them that if in Adam behavior characterizes their lives then they are in real danger of losing their inheritance and becoming outcasts of His kingdom.
Let us attempt to put his charge in its literary context. Paul speaks of those whom God as a Trinity secured to become sons and daughters by fully engaging all that He is in His essence and all He has at His disposal. All the resources of God were deployed for the purpose of redeeming the sinner’s debt and adopting the orphaned. Everything in chapters 1 through 3 speaks to the new man created when God acted. It is from this tree that unity, purity and charity now flow. In the absence of individual purity and charity, the unity secured by the cross is in jeopardy of failing. This failure refers to its manifestation in the community of faith. Nothing can ever undo what God did. Yet it is possible to speak and live so poorly as to significant obscure the manifestation of the cross in one’s community of faith.
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Posted by Pastor Pat on November 20, 2009
Read Ephesians 4:17-32
The intent of this article is to show how what we once were in Adam we no longer are, but still have. Paul’s point from the beginning of the letter all the way through chapter 3 is to note how those who were once in sin’s debt and alienated from God are now redeemed from sin and adopted into God’s family. He is their Father and they are His children.
Paul is clear in verses 17 through 22 as to what this in Adam condition looks like both as a state and as a function. I would like us to consider the graphic nature of Paul’s language in describing those apart from Christ. There are several descriptive phrases that help us mark the unbelieving state and practice.
First, there is the futility of their mind (v. 17). The word “futility” speaks to vanity, emptiness. “The word contains the idea of aimlessness, the leading to no object or end.”[1] It is the same word used in Romans 8:20 (“For the creation was subjected to futility. . .”) and in 2 Peter 2:18 (“For speaking out arrogant words of vanity. . . ”). There is emptiness to the conclusion drawn by those who do not and will not acknowledge God. Because there is no fear of God within their thinking, they have no wisdom (Ps. 111:10; Prov. 9:10). This is the manner of life that characterizes the unbelieving.
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Posted by Pastor Pat on October 31, 2009
“ He caused the storm to be still, So that the waves of the sea were hushed.”
(Psalm 107:29)
Have you ever felt as if you have no control over your life? It is the kind of feeling you get that wakes you up in the middle of the night and refuses to let you sleep. The emotion you experience is probably the same as one whose parachute is not opening even though every possible chord is pulled. Regardless as to what you might think and what others might tell you, the ‘feeling’ you have is less than ideal and your emotional stability is shot. When we find ourselves sucked into the vortex of the storm, what are we to do?
Why is God allowing us to experience a life out of control? I believe there are at least four reasons why such times visit our lives.
- First, trials come to assure us that we are not in control (James 4:13, 14).
Because of depravity, we have this incredible capacity for unbridled arrogance. For whatever reason, we actually believe the humanistic reports concerning our development and future. Whenever we think we have “our act together,” God has a way of showing us just how fragile the best-laid plans are. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »
Posted by Pastor Pat on October 25, 2009
2 Corinthians 9:6
Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in every thing, you may have an abundance for every good deed;
While teaching the teens in the earlier part of the year I spoke on “The Seven Laws of the Jungle.” These “Laws” are dispensationally generic meaning regardless as to the dispensation they neither change nor become dated or irrelevant. One of the seven is called, “The Law of Sowing and Reaping.” In the providence of God this “Law” is no less true concerning giving.
At WBC we believe in what is called “Grace Giving.” This means we believe God is big enough to supply the needs for the advancement of His ministry in us and through us. We are equally convinced that God will use His people to meet the financial needs of the local church ministry. Thus at WBC you will not hear perpetual pleas for financial assistance nor will guilt be used to motivate the people of God to give. If somehow the corporate fellowship does not believe the ministries of WBC are worthy of continuation through financial giving, then they will come to an end. God’s will, in some ways, can be determined by the availability or lack therein of financial backing.
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Posted by Pastor Pat on October 19, 2009
“Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:22)
Peter’s question in verse 21 is intriguing because it is either very sincere, innocent or it is deceptive and pharisaical. Perhaps Peter thought he was already reasonably forgiving or he was maybe thinking of a situation where he was being “victimized” and wanted to know when he could “pull-the-plug” on another individual relationally.
Why did Peter say, “Up to seven times?” Let us consider some historical insight.
“It was Rabbinic teaching that a man must forgive his brother three times.” (Barclay, Matthew, 193). The prophet Amos uses the formula, “For three transgressions and for four” which many have “deduced that God’s forgiveness extends to three offences and that he visits the sinner with punishment at the fourth.” When Peter suggested “seven times,” he thought he was going very far. He expected commendation by His Lord.
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