📖Romans 12:2
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
God has a plan for every single one of us. However, without a renewed mind, it is impossible for us to perceive and, therefore, obey His will, which is our predestined purpose.
📖Romans 7:25
I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.
I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.
What is the essence of being fully Jesus from the perspective of the born-again believer, Paul?
The Apostle Paul wrote the book of Colossians to the church in Colossae to address misleading doctrines and to encourage the believers. Paul was greatly concerned about the state of the church, and he expressed this in chapter 2.
📖Colossians 2:1-15
Verse 1-8: For I want you to know what a great conflict I have for you and those in Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Now this I say lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words. For though I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ. As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.
📖Jeremiah 33:3
‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’
‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’
Paul desired that the believers be united in love and that they have a better understanding of the mysteries of the Father and the Son, Christ. In Him is the complete library of wisdom and knowledge needed to function as a son of God.
Any information found outside of Him is deceiving. Worldly philosophies, including legalism, strive to endanger us. Legalism is the belief that one may gain God’s favour by obeying man-made rules, including those related to food, festivals, and other traditions. Another doctrine that seeks to hoax people is the one of dual nature– “I am unfortunately inhabited by both the Holy Spirit and satan. There’s a fight between God and the devil in my body, and my actions are based on the victor.”
📖Colossians 2: 9-12:
For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,
For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,
Jesus was not a lesser or separate being, though He sojourned on earth in the form of a man. His form was strategic in God’s intellectually superior and meticulous plan to offer salvation to mankind (Luke 4:18-19, Luke 19:10, John 17:4). His impeccable plan was showcased to all principalities and powers, and its effects were many. One of such was the access to God’s holy nature that believers were granted as they joined the Body of Christ, in which God’s purity already resided.
📖Ephesians 3:10
To the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places,
To the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places,
Apostle Mary Banks writes it in this way in her book “The Thought War”:
"Traditionally, we have been told we will never be one hundred percent holy as long as we live in these bodies of flesh. The general consensus is that the flesh is sinful and sooner or later it will cause us to sin against God. We believed this. However, the Father did not neglect the flesh in the salvation process. He knew that the Law of Sin and Death working in our members would once again bring us into captivity. As we allow the Word to express itself without any private interpretation, open your heart to the likely assassination of your belief system."
"Being complete in Christ means we lack nothing. It means God's work in us is finished; and there is nothing else that has to be done. We do not need anything else to accomplish what God has called us to do and to be. He has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness. When we say we are deficient, we can only be deficient in those things He told us to add to our faith. God's work is complete."
God cleanses our sinful bodies, rendering us excuseless when we sin. The word of God is sharp, powerful. It comes to cut out anything that is to be in us.
All we need is the Holy Spirit, whom God granted us when He transitioned us from darkness to light.
📖 Verse 14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
📖Romans 7:12-14
Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good. Has then what is good become death to me? Certainly not! But sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful. For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin.
Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good. Has then what is good become death to me? Certainly not! But sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful. For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin.
📖Hebrews 7:18-19
For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness, for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.
For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness, for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.
Verse 15: Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.
📖Matthew 5:14-16
“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
Colossians 2 provides the theological foundation for the reality in Matthew 5:14-16. The power to shine as light comes from being complete in Christ and receiving the new life through the born again experience. A person cannot be a light until they have been brought out of darkness into the light of God's kingdom.
Paul's command in Colossians 2:6-7 is the practical guidance that enables believers to shine.
📖Colossians 2:6-7
As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.
As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.
Christ is the standard, and walking in Him will require action, that deliberate acts of obedience.
Some ways to accomplish this instruction are reading the Word, continually praying, using biblically sound resources to delve into various focuses, and permitting your light to shine. Listening and engaging the word strengthens our reverence for God.
“Your decisions are as superior as the materials that inform your mindset.” -Apostle Joshua Selman
Reflect and Respond
- Have you chosen to be a godly person, or do you just desire it?
- Are you cognizant of the things God has spoken of you in His Word?
- Are you born-again? If yes, do you really know that you are complete in Christ?
- Do you completely grasp the concept/reality of being complete in Christ?
Delivered by: Minister Romario Mitchell
Summarized by: Francianne Richards
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