majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him in Colossians 3:11,
"Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised,
barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all."
Paul makes this observation while giving his readers direction on how
to live out their lives within the church. As he speaks of how his
readers are to treat one another and relate to one another within the
church, he points out that there are no favorites - no favorites in
the kingdom of God. We are all on the same footing with him as Jesus
Christ "is in all".
Earlier in the letter he says that although we were dead in sins and
living our lives according to the sinful nature, "God made you alive
with Christ." 2:13 Paul points out that all of our sins have been
forgiven and that they were nailed to the cross of Jesus Christ. The
practice of the day was to nail the offenses of criminals to their
crosses (those who were crucified) indicating the crime being paid
for. Paul uses this as a metaphor to point out all of our sins are
paid for. The result is "now he has reconciled you by Christ's
physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without
blemish and free from accusation..." 1:22.
Because of this we all now have a standing before God that is
unblemished, just like Jesus Christ. In Ephesians 1 Paul says God
chose that we would be holy and blameless in his sight and to adopt us
as his children - not to be just the subjects of his kingdom. We are
redeemed, forgiven, made for the praise of his glory, sealed by the
Holy Spirit and promised an inheritance!
How wonderful there will be no second-class citizens in the family of
God! No black sheep! I am quite certain that if it were so, I'd occupy
an inferior status in his kingdom, so this is wonderful news for me! I
may not receive all the rewards many of the wonderful believers over
the years will have in the resurrection - but I'll have a place at the
table with all!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd
love to hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment