Paul

A Sheep Contemplates Colossians 1:28-29

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Presenting Every Person Mature in Christ

Dear friend in Christ,

Let’s settle in together this morning with a warm cup of something comforting, our Bibles open to Colossians 1:28–29, and hearts ready for the gentle leading of the Spirit. These two short verses come near the end of Paul’s magnificent portrait of Christ and his own ministry. Writing from prison, the apostle has just unveiled the glorious mystery now made known to the Gentiles: “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (1:27). Against the background of false teachers in Colossae who offered secret knowledge and spiritual elitism to the few, Paul now describes the open, costly, Christ-centered work of proclaiming the gospel so that every person might grow into maturity in Jesus.

Here is the text (ESV):

“Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.”

Notice the emphatic “Him.” Not a system of rules, not a secret code for the initiated, not even a set of moral improvements—but Christ Himself. Paul and his co-workers (the “we”) announce a Person. The verb katangellō carries the idea of publicly proclaiming or making known as a herald. In a city tempted by philosophies that diminished Jesus or added something extra to Him, the remedy was simple and profound: keep proclaiming the risen, sufficient Christ.

This proclamation is not mere information. It involves two practical means: warning and teaching. The word for “warning” (noutheteō) literally suggests placing something in the mind—counseling, admonishing, gently putting sense into someone’s head so they turn from danger. It is the pastoral care that says, “Beloved, this path leads away from Christ; turn back.” The word for “teaching” points to positive instruction in the truth. Both are done “with all wisdom”—not the secret wisdom of the false teachers, but the wisdom that comes from knowing Christ and His purposes. And both are for “everyone.” Three times Paul repeats “every person” (panta anthrōpon). No one is excluded. The gospel is not reserved for an elite inner circle; maturity in Christ is the aim for all who hear and believe.

The next phrase is beautiful and weighty: “that we may present everyone mature in Christ.” The word teleios (often translated “perfect” or “mature”) speaks of completeness, full-grown, fully developed—like an adult rather than a child, or (in the language of the day) one who has been fully instructed rather than a novice. Earlier in the chapter Paul spoke of believers being presented holy and blameless before God through Christ’s reconciliation (1:22). Here the focus is on the ongoing work of discipleship that leads to that maturity. We do not present people perfect in ourselves or by our own effort; we present them mature in Christ. He is both the standard and the source of their growth.

Paul then becomes personal: “For this I toil, struggling…” The verbs are strong—kopiō means to labor to the point of weariness, and agōnizomai evokes the image of an athlete straining in contest. Ministry is hard. Prison chains, opposition, the daily care of the churches, the heartache of seeing people drift—all of it is real. Yet Paul does not rely on his own strength. He labors “with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.” The same power that raised Christ from the dead is at work in the apostle, enabling the very toil that would otherwise crush him. What a tender and strengthening truth for anyone who feels weak in the work of pointing others to Jesus.

My friends, these verses warm the heart because they show both the dignity and the dependence of gospel ministry. Christ is proclaimed to all. Maturity in Him is the goal for every believer. And the energy for the labor comes from the risen Lord Himself. Whether you are a parent teaching children, a friend gently warning someone who is drifting, a small-group leader opening the Word, or simply a believer sharing the hope of Christ with a neighbor, this is the pattern: proclaim Him, admonish and teach with wisdom, aim for maturity in Christ, and do it all by His power working in you.

Personal Reflection Questions

  1. When you think of “proclaiming Christ,” do you tend to focus more on information about Him or on introducing people to Him as a living Person? How might that distinction shape a conversation this week?
  2. Is there someone in your life who needs gentle admonition (a caring warning that places truth in the mind) more than additional teaching right now? What wisdom and courage from Christ would you need to offer that?
  3. In what area of your own walk are you still growing toward maturity in Christ? How does knowing the goal is “in Christ” rather than “by my effort” free and motivate you?
  4. Where do you feel most weary in the work of loving and pointing others to Jesus? How does Paul’s description of laboring according to Christ’s energy speak into that weariness today?
  5. Who is one person you could intentionally walk with toward greater maturity in Christ this season? What simple next step (a shared Scripture, a meal, a prayer) might the Lord be inviting you to take?

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for the mystery now revealed: Christ in us, the hope of glory. Strengthen us to proclaim Him clearly to every person, warning with tenderness and teaching with wisdom, that many may be presented mature in Your Son. When the labor feels heavy, remind us that it is Your energy powerfully at work within us. Make us faithful stewards of this gospel, for the sake of Christ and the joy of Your people. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

May these words warm your heart today and send you out in the strength of the One who works mightily in His people.

Your fellow sheep.

A Sheep Contemplates Colossians 1:24-27

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The Hope of Glory

Dear friend in Christ,

As we settle in together this morning—perhaps with a warm cup in hand and our Bibles open—let’s linger over these words from Paul, written from the quiet of a prison cell yet full of surprising joy. He has just spoken of the great reconciliation Christ has accomplished. Now he turns to the cost and the privilege of carrying that good news forward.

Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness—the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

There is a tender honesty here. Paul does not pretend that following Jesus costs nothing. He rejoices in what he is suffering for the Colossians. The phrase that often catches us is “I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions.” He is not suggesting that the atoning work of the cross was incomplete or that anything must still be added to the sacrifice that reconciles us to God. That work is finished. What remains are the afflictions that still belong to the people of Christ as they walk the path their Head walked. There is a measure of suffering appointed for the sake of the church’s growth and witness, and Paul is glad to take up his share of it. His pains are not wasted; they are spent for the body. In the strange and beautiful economy of the gospel, hardship endured in love becomes one of the ways the life of Jesus is carried to others.

From that place of costly joy he describes his calling: “I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness.” He is a steward, not an inventor. The message is not his to edit or soften; it is a trust given by God. And that message is nothing less than the word of God in its fullness—the complete gospel of Christ. He is to unfold it so that the Colossians, and we with them, may see its depth and its reach.

What he unfolds is a mystery “that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people.” For centuries the full scope of God’s plan had remained veiled. Prophets spoke in partial light; the nations stood largely outside the covenants of promise. Now the veil is drawn back. God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Here is the heart of the matter. The mystery is not a secret code or a private spiritual technique. It is a Person. Christ—once hidden, now revealed—has taken up residence among the Gentiles, and in each believer. The One who created all things and reconciled all things by the blood of His cross now dwells in ordinary people who were once far off. That indwelling is not a temporary boost; it is the hope of glory. The same Christ who is in us now is the guarantee and the substance of the glory that is coming. What we will one day see face to face we already possess, in measure, by His presence within us.

Paul’s suffering, then, is not an interruption of this good news; it is part of the way the news is carried. The steward rejoices because the mystery he proclaims is worth every chain. And the mystery itself is intimate: the living Christ has made His home in us, and that home is the surest pledge that glory will one day fill every part of us.

Personal Reflection Questions

  1. Name one current difficulty or cost you are facing because you belong to Christ or are seeking to serve His people. How might you, even in a small way, offer that difficulty back to the Lord this week as something spent for the sake of His body?
  2. Who is one specific person in your church or circle of influence who needs encouragement or practical help right now? What is one concrete step you can take in the next few days to serve them, even if it feels inconvenient?
  3. Where do you sense the Lord inviting you to be a better steward of the gospel—in a conversation, a relationship, or a place of influence? Write down one clear action you will take this week to present the word of God more fully to someone.
  4. In a particular struggle or temptation you are facing, what would change if you paused three times today to remember that Christ is in you as your hope of glory? How will you remind yourself of that reality?
  5. Identify one person who does not yet know Christ. What is one simple, natural way you can share with them something of the hope that is in you this week—perhaps a word of encouragement, an invitation, or a quiet act of love that points to Jesus?

Prayer

Father, thank You that the mystery long hidden has now been made known in Your Son. Thank You that Christ dwells in us as our sure hope of glory. Help us to rejoice even in the afflictions that come with following Him, and to steward the gospel faithfully for the sake of His body. Quiet our fears, steady our hearts, and let the presence of Jesus within us spill over into the lives of those around us. In His name we pray, Amen.

Your fellow sheep.

A Sheep Contemplates Colossians 1:21-23

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Presented Holy

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

As we sit with God’s Word this morning, pleasantly warmed by the dawning Sun and our morning cup of coffee, let us turn our attention to some very inspiring words from the Apostle Paul.

Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But 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— if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant

There is a quiet, astonishing mercy in the way Paul speaks to the Colossians here. He does not begin with their present struggles or with a list of things they must now achieve. He begins with memory: “Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior” (Colossians 1:21).

The word for “alienated” carries the sense of being cut off, strangers, outside the circle of belonging. Their enmity was not merely external; it lived in the dianoia—the mind, the inner orientation of the person. Hostility toward God had become the default posture of their thinking and living. Many of us know that territory. We have known seasons, or long stretches, when God felt distant, when prayer felt like speaking into emptiness, when the desires of our hearts ran contrary to His. Paul refuses to soften the diagnosis. We were not merely confused or slightly off-track; we were enemies.

And then the gospel turns the page: “But 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” (v. 22).

The reconciliation is not an abstract idea or a change of attitude on our part. It is accomplished “by Christ’s physical body through death.” Paul is careful to stress the real, bodily humanity of Jesus and the concrete event of the cross. The same Lord who is the image of the invisible God and the one through whom all things were made (vv. 15–16) entered our flesh and died in it so that enemies might be brought near. The purpose of that death is not merely forgiveness in the sense of a wiped slate; it is presentation. God intends to set us before Himself as holy, without blemish, and free from accusation—language drawn from both sacrificial purity and the courtroom. On the last day, when every charge is read, there will be nothing left to bring against those who are in Christ. The accusation will not stick.

This is not because we have become impressive. It is because the death of Jesus has already answered every charge and has already covered every stain. The “now” of reconciliation is already true for those who have been united to Christ, even while we still feel the tug of the old hostility and still stumble in our behavior.

Verse 23 then holds before us the necessary evidence of that reconciliation: “if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel.” The condition is real, yet it is not a threat hanging over uncertain people. It is the natural fruit of genuine reconciliation. Those whom God has reconciled He also keeps, and the keeping shows itself in perseverance. To be “established and firm” is to be rooted, like a house whose foundation does not shift when the wind rises. The hope of the gospel—the hope of being presented holy—is the anchor. Paul adds that this is the same gospel that has gone out to every creature under heaven, and of which he himself is a servant. The scope is vast; the means is personal. The same message that reached the Colossians has reached us, and the same Christ who reconciled them is reconciling us.

What a tender balance this passage strikes. It will not let us minimize the seriousness of our former alienation, nor will it let us live as though the cross has not already changed our standing. It calls us to steadiness without ever suggesting that our steadiness is what earns the presentation. Christ has already done the reconciling work; our continuing is the sign that we are truly His.

Personal Reflection Questions

  1. Where do you still feel the old alienation or hostility of mind most keenly—perhaps in a particular habit, a recurring doubt, or a relationship? What would it look like to bring that specific place under the reconciling death of Jesus this week?
  2. When you imagine standing before God “without blemish and free from accusation,” what emotions rise in you? Does the promise feel too good to be true, or does it free you to rest?
  3. What practical practices (Scripture, prayer, community, worship) most help you stay “established and firm” rather than drifting from the hope of the gospel? Which of these might you strengthen in the coming days?
  4. How does knowing that the same gospel has gone out “to every creature under heaven” shape the way you think about people who still seem far from God?
  5. If someone asked you what it means that you have been reconciled “by Christ’s physical body through death,” how would you answer in a way that is both true to the text and warm enough for a searching heart?

Prayer

May the God who has already reconciled you in the body of His Son keep you steady in the hope of that same gospel, until the day He presents you holy and blameless in His sight.

Your fellow traveler on the heavenly journey

A Sheep Contemplates Colossians 1:18-20

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The Peacemaker

Dear friend in Christ,

As we settle in together this morning—perhaps with a warm cup in hand and our Bibles open—let’s linger over these astonishing words from the heart of Paul’s letter to the Colossians. Paul is writing to a church being tugged toward ideas that would shrink Jesus down to something less than He is: a useful teacher, one spiritual option among many, or a step on a ladder toward higher knowledge. Against that, he lifts up this soaring declaration of Christ’s absolute supremacy.

And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. (Colossians 1:18-20, NIV)

These verses sit inside the great Christ hymn of Colossians 1:15-20. Paul has already shown us Jesus as the image of the invisible God and the one through whom and for whom all creation exists. Now he turns to the church and to the cross, showing that the same Christ who is Lord over the cosmos is also the living Head of His people and the one who brings peace where there was hostility.

He is the head of the body, the church.
The church is not a religious organization that happens to honor Jesus; it is His body. He is the source of its life, the one who directs its growth, and the one from whom every member receives what it needs. When we lose connection with the Head, we wither. When we stay joined to Him, the whole body is supplied and held together, growing with a growth that comes from God (see Colossians 2:19). This is deeply comforting: you do not have to invent your own spiritual path or chase after every new voice that promises deeper experience. Your life is found in the Head who already knows you and holds you.

He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead.
“Beginning” (arche) means both origin and ruler. Jesus is the source of the new creation. And because He is the firstborn from the dead—the first to rise in glory, never to die again—He has opened the way for everyone who belongs to Him. Death does not have the last word. The supremacy Paul speaks of is not abstract; it is personal and future-oriented. In everything—your fears, your future, your final breath—He is first. That is why we can face tomorrow with hope rather than dread.

So that in everything he might have the supremacy.
Paul is not interested in a Jesus who is merely important. He is declaring a Jesus who is preeminent in every realm: creation, the church, and the age to come. Nothing and no one else can share that place. This was the medicine the Colossians needed, and it is the medicine we need when other loyalties quietly compete for the center of our hearts.

For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him.
The Father was not reluctant; He was pleased. The whole fullness of deity dwells in the Son (Colossians 2:9). There is no deficiency in Jesus that must be filled by angels, special knowledge, or human effort. All that God is, He has made known and given to us in Christ. We do not approach a partial Savior. We come to the one in whom the fullness of God was glad to dwell.

And through him to reconcile to himself all things… by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
Here the cosmic scope meets the bloody particularity of the cross. Reconciliation is not a vague spiritual atmosphere; it was purchased at great cost. The blood of His cross is the means by which hostility is ended and peace is made. Paul will go on in the next verses to apply this personally: once you were alienated and hostile in mind, but now He has reconciled you (1:21-22). The same Christ who holds all things together is the one who has brought you near. The peace He made is not fragile. It rests on a finished work.

What warmth there is in these truths, dear ones. You are not left to reconcile yourself to God or to hold your own life together. The Head of the body has already done what you could never do. The firstborn from the dead has already gone before you. The one in whom all fullness dwells has already made peace through His blood. All that remains is to stay joined to Him, to keep giving Him first place, and to rest in the reconciliation He has accomplished.

Reflection Questions

  1. In what area of your life is it hardest right now to give Jesus the place of supremacy—your plans, your fears, your relationships, or something else?
  2. How does knowing that Christ is the living Head of the body change the way you think about your place in the church and your dependence on Him?
  3. Where do you still feel the pull of “not enough”—as though Jesus needs to be supplemented by something else—and how does verse 19 speak to that?
  4. What would it look like this week to live more fully as one who has already been reconciled, resting in the peace made by the blood of the cross rather than trying to earn or maintain it?
  5. Because He is the firstborn from the dead, how does that reality touch a specific grief, fear of death, or uncertainty about the future that you are carrying?

Prayer

Father, thank You that in Your Son all Your fullness was pleased to dwell. Thank You that He is the Head of the church and the firstborn from the dead, so that in everything He has the supremacy. Help us to live as those who have been reconciled by the blood of His cross. Quiet the competing voices that would diminish Him in our hearts, and teach us to find our life, our direction, and our peace in Him alone. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Your fellow sheep.

A Sheep Contemplates Colossians 1:15-17

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The Image Who Holds All Things Together

Dear friend in Christ,

Let’s settle in together for a few quiet moments—perhaps with a warm cup in hand and your Bible open to Colossians 1. These verses come from the heart of a letter Paul wrote to a young church that was being tugged in different directions. Impressive-sounding ideas and spiritual experiences were quietly trying to edge Jesus out of the center. Into that confusion Paul lifts a clear, expansive vision of who Christ truly is. These are not distant theological statements; they are pastoral words meant to steady ordinary believers who need to know their Lord is bigger than their fears, their questions, and the powers that press in around them. Let these truths wrap around you like a comforting embrace as we walk through them together.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. (Colossians 1:15–17)

Paul begins with a stunning claim: Jesus is the image of the invisible God. He is not a lesser reflection or a helpful approximation. In the Son we see the Father’s nature fully and finally. What God is like—His character, His heart, His glory—is made known in Jesus. We do not have to guess or construct our own picture of God; we look to the One who has already come. The word “firstborn” here does not mean Jesus was the first created being. In the biblical world it often spoke of rank, inheritance, and preeminence. Christ stands before and above all creation as its rightful heir and Lord. He is not part of the created order; He is the One through whom the created order exists. How warming it is to know we are not left to invent a God who fits our preferences. We receive the real One.

Then Paul presses further: “For by him all things were created…” He leaves no category out. The visible world we can touch and the invisible realities we sense but cannot fully see—angels, powers, spiritual authorities—all came into being through Christ and for Christ. Creation is not random, and it is not ultimately about us. It finds its origin, its purpose, and its goal in Him. This was a direct answer to the false teaching in Colossae that treated certain spiritual powers as rivals or intermediaries. Paul says, in effect, they are not rivals; they are creatures. Christ is the Creator. Everything exists because of Him and is oriented toward Him. Beloved, this lifts our eyes. The pressures you feel, the unseen forces that seem to loom large—they are not ultimate. They were made through Him and for Him.

Finally, Paul anchors us in the present: “And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” Christ is not only the beginning of creation; He is its ongoing Sustainer. He is “before” in both time and rank. And right now, in the present tense, all things hold together in Him. The universe does not maintain itself by its own momentum. Your life, the church, the nations, the unseen spiritual realm—none of it is self-sustaining. It coheres because the risen Lord actively upholds it. When life feels like it is coming apart at the seams, this is not sentimental comfort; it is a claim about reality. The same One who spoke creation into being continues to hold it—and you—in His hands.

These verses invite us to rest our weight on a Christ who is not one spiritual option among many, but the One in whom everything finds its place. They also call us to live with a quiet confidence: the Lord who created all things and for whom all things exist is the same Lord who has reconciled us and who even now holds our scattered days together. Let this truth warm your devotion today. Rise in the knowledge that you are held by the Image of the invisible God, the One who is before all things and in whom all things hold together.

Questions for Reflection

  1. Where in your life right now do you most need to remember that Christ is the image of the invisible God—that you do not have to invent or shrink your picture of Him?
  2. How does knowing that all things (including the powers and pressures you feel) were created through Him and for Him change the way you view your circumstances this week?
  3. In what area of your life does it feel like things are coming apart? What would it look like to consciously entrust that area to the One in whom all things hold together?
  4. Are there any “rival” voices, philosophies, or anxieties that have been quietly competing with Christ’s supremacy in your thinking or affections? How might you re-center on Him?
  5. As you go through your ordinary responsibilities today, how can the truth that Christ is before all things and holds all things together shape your posture of trust and worship?

Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us Your Son, the true image of the invisible God. Help us rest in the knowledge that all things were created through Him and for Him, and that in Him all things hold together. When life feels fragmented, remind us that we are held by the One who is before all things. Draw our hearts to worship Him alone. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

May this devotion warm your spirit and draw you closer to our loving Savior.

Your felloe sheep,

A Heart Hungry To Worship Part 9

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True biblical worship so satisfies our total personality that we don’t have to shop around for man-made substitutes.[1]

Chapter 8

Saul of Tarsus

The story of Saul of Tarsus is one of the most dramatic stories of all time. He explodes onto the scene in the book of the Acts of the Apostles as a terrifying figure. Highly educated and possessing a formidable personality coupled with fanatic devotion, Saul enters the Biblical record as a sworn enemy of Christianity.

Saul is first seen in the Bible standing in approval at the stoning death of Stephen, a deacon in the early church. Following Stephen’s death, Saul is revealed as the instigator in the systematic persecution of the fledgling church. Not content with shattering the church in Jerusalem, Saul obtains permission from the religious leaders to seek out the followers of Jesus wherever they may be, going as far as Damascus, Syria, in zealous pursuit of his targets.

What made Saul so dangerous was his belief system. Saul was a devout Jew, a member of their Sanhedrin and the protégé of the greatest rabbi of that time. Saul was so adamant in his beliefs that he developed a very rigid and intolerant view of any Jewish person who embraced anything other than the Judaism he espoused.

Saul was the most dangerous type of person there is – one who believes, beyond any doubt, that he is acting on God’s behalf and is not subject to any other authority. His mentality was that of the “repent or die” variety. Today, we would probably label Saul as a religious extremist or a terrorist on par with the zealots in the Taliban. Saul acted to keep his religion pure. He wanted it free from the influence of Jesus of Nazareth, who claimed to be the Jewish Messiah, the fulfillment of prophecy.

Saul’s life undergoes a dramatic change one day. He is exposed to the God he claimed to serve and leaves the encounter a changed and humbled man. Interestingly, God used blindness to deliver part of His lesson to Saul, just as He did with Jie Li.

The Bible records the story in Acts, chapter 9. Saul was traveling to Damascus when, suddenly, a bright light enveloped him and a voice from heaven spoke.

“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”[2]

Saul realizes that he is in the presence of the supernatural and his question seems to be one of clarification. Is it God, Himself, speaking or an angelic messenger? To his surprise, the voice identifies himself as Jesus. Saul’s shock is evident. He is bent on destroying the followers of Jesus, believing that Jesus was a charlatan, a fake, and now he is faced with overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Jesus speaks from heaven. He is divine.

Blind from the heavenly light, humbled by the voice of Jesus, Saul is led to Damascus a thoroughly confused man. For a number of days he is alone with his thoughts, coming to terms with the difference between what he always believed to be true and truth itself.

During the time Saul is contemplating all that is happening to him, God is busy preparing the next step in drawing Saul to the worship of His Son. God speaks to a Christian believer, Anaias, and tells him to go find Saul and speak to him.

Anaias is naturally afraid. Christians are in hiding because of Saul’s activities and now God is asking him to approach Saul directly. Anaias is hesitant, clearly wondering if God can possibly be serious. He is assured that not only does God want him to visit Saul, but also that God is in the middle of drafting Saul into service for the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Anaias finds Saul, puts his hands on Saul’s head as he prays for him and, just like Jie Li; God answers the prayer and restores sight to Saul. Saul now has a choice to make. For three days, he has prayed to God for clarification, guidance, and wisdom. Anaias challenges Paul with a mini-sermon followed by a question:

“The God of our fathers has chosen you, that you should know His will, and see that Just One (Jesus) and should hear the voice of His mouth. For you shall be His witness unto all men of what you have seen and heard. Why now do you tarry? Arise, be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord”[3]

Saul is a thoroughly changed man. He does get up and become a Christian. He has accepts the incontrovertible evidence that Jesus is God’s Messiah. He did not just hear a voice and see a bright light. Scripture is clear that Paul beheld the resurrected Christ. He wrestled with this vision for three days and concluded that he had been wrong in his beliefs about Jesus, Christianity, and salvation from God.  For a person of his position, status and temperament, this is a miraculous change. God will use the zeal that characterized Saul and direct it into taking Jesus’ Gospel into the rest of the world. The champion of Jewish orthodoxy would become the champion of the Christian faith. The change is so dramatic that Saul starts using the Greek form of his name, Paul, to symbolize that he is no longer the same individual.

Saul, now Paul, becomes an evangelist, missionary, church planter, and author of the majority of the New Testament. His great intellect, his religious training, and his personality are used by God to spread Christianity throughout Asia Minor and Europe. He truly fulfills Anaias’ prophecy concerning him as Paul will witness before kings, civic leaders, and military commanders across the Mediterranean world. He becomes an unapologetic spokesperson for the Lord Jesus Christ.

The conversion Saul experienced, while dramatic, is not unique. Millions of people throughout the last two millennia have come to determine that Jesus Christ truly is God’s Messiah, the only way to eternal life. No matter how hostile or how angry a person may be towards Jesus, there is always hope for them. God continues to call men and women from all temperaments, all backgrounds, and all personalities through the Holy Spirit to Himself.

There are times when the Holy Spirit gently persuades men and women of the truth about Jesus Christ. There are other times when He uses very dramatic methods. Some people, like Saul, have a great desire to worship God but their idea of how to worship Him is flawed. In His graciousness, God takes measures to correct their thinking, revealing to them the proper way to worship. Other people have no idea of how to worship Him at all, like the Samaritan woman. They have given up in despair of finding a relationship with God. Gently, the Holy Spirit draws them to Jesus Christ, restoring hope to their lives. God knows what each person’s personality is like. He knows the backgrounds they come from. He understands the questions, objections, and longings that fill each of us because He made us to worship Him. He continues to draw us so that we can come into a relationship with Him that enables us to worship Him properly.

Both Jie Li and Saul stand as examples that no one is beyond the reach of God. There is no person who is too bad or who has done too much wrong for God to reach and draw into a personal relationship with Himself. In the words of Saul,

“This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the chief.”[4]

If God can save someone like Saul, a murderous fanatic, or Jie Li, an underworld crime boss, then He can save anyone. This gives everyone of us hope and a reason to celebrate.

[1] Warren Wiersbe, The Integrity Crisis

[2] Acts 9:4

[3] Acts 22:14-16

[4] 1 Timothy 1:15

A Foundational Truth

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Foundational Truths

Many times, whenever I preach or write on various subjects, someone will invariably say, “why don’t you just preach Jesus? No Old Testament stuff, just preach Jesus.” My answer to them? No one can know Jesus Christ as He really is if you only know Him as the Redeemer of the New Testament. We must preach Jesus as He truly is – all of Him – or we preach another Jesus than the Bible speaks of.

Jesus was Creator before He became Redeemer or Savior. He became our Savior dying on the cross and rising from the grave on the third day because of mankind’s sin. Much, if not all, of that sin is mankind’s rejection of God’s Word, the denial of Him being the Creator. One truly “preaches Christ” when he first of all preaches Him as Creator.

The great message of Christianity is that the just shall live by faith, speaking of them that believe, to the saving of the soul. But what is this saving, living faith? The faith of which Hebrews speaks of is outlined in chapter 11. It is the faith of Abel, offering an acceptable sacrifice. It is Enoch’s faith, pleasing God in obedience. It is Noah’s faith, believing and acting on God’s Word. It is the faith of Abraham, stepping out on God’s promises. But, first of all, it is foundational faith. It is the faith by which “we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear”, Hebrews 11:3.

Any meaningful faith for salvation must be founded on God’s special creation of all things. The saving gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is founded on creation. The very last reference to the gospel in the Bible is found in Revelation 14: 6-7: “And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,  Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.”

The angel has the everlasting gospel and its message is for people to worship the One who made heaven and earth and the sea and the fountains of water. The gospel is much more than the cross and the resurrection, it also includes the coming kingdom and God’s great creation. Without creation, the gospel has no foundation and no logical end. The gospel is the good news that Jesus came to save who? Those who were made in God’s image on the earth and who are now marred by sin. What is the end purpose? So that mankind will live with God and enjoy Him forever in His Kingdom. Death first entered God’s finished creation when Adam sinned. Now that Christ is risen, the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul is seeking to assure young Christians at Corinth of the validity of the gospel. He preached to them that which they had believed. In verses 3-11 Paul stresses the witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus. In verses 12-19, Paul says, because Jesus rose from the grave it guarantees a future resurrection to all who have hope in Christ. But then, Paul goes further, In verses 20-28 he says that Jesus’ resurrection restores man’s lost estate, reverses the consequences of Adam’s sin, conquers all enemies of God and destroys death itself. In verses 29-34 Paul says this promise not only gives assurance of eternal life, but strength for godly living and triumph over persecutions and opposition. And then, in verses 35-49, Paul ties it all back to creation.

Everything is tied back to creation. Biological, physical, human – all aspects are discussed. Every individual creation of God has been designed with its own marvelous structure for its own divine purpose, as it pleased God to make it like He did. Since each individual creation is distinct it could not have “evolved” from any other.

I am so amazed at so-called Christians who accept as fact Christ’s resurrection from the dead but not the Genesis record of creation in 6 days. Jesus said, “from the beginning of creation God made them male and female,” speaking of mankind. Not after 18 billion years of cosmic history or 4 ½ billion years of earth’s evolution but on day 6.

Psalm 115:16 tells us the very purpose of earth’s creation was that it should be a home for the children of men. A person cannot believe Christ’s words and reject Moses’. Listen to Jesus in John 5:46-47, “For had you believed Moses, you would have believed Me, because He wrote of Me. But if you believe not his writings, how will you believe My words?” In the book of Revelation, Jesus says, “I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.”

The Apostle Peter, not too long before his martyrdom, wrote a remarkably prophetic passage about the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. Listen to the words of 2 Peter 3:3-6,

“Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers walking after their own lusts saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? Since the fathers fell asleep all things glorifying God continue as they are from the beginning of creation.” For this they willingly are ignorant of – that by the Word of God the heavens were of old and the earth standing out and in the water; whereby the world that was then being overflowed by water perished.”

Scoffers arise, those who dismiss the Bible as fairy tales or myths, denying special creation. They replace sudden, special creation by God with uniformity and evolution. They willingly deny a universal flood. Anotherwords, they will deny the Genesis account of creation and the flood and in doing so deny the truth of John 1:3, 1:10 and Hebrews 1:2 which state that God created the world through Jesus Christ.

Creation is a non-negotiable doctrine. What a person believes about creation, about the origins of the earth and mankind, will influence what they believe about the meaning and purpose of life. So many of the great founding fathers of science knew this. Kepler, Galileo, Pascal, Newton, Boyle, Breuster, Faraday, Kelvin and others believed that they were glorifying God as they probed and discovered His marvelous works.

Understand this, belief in the Genesis account of creation is necessary for a correct understanding of who Jesus is as the Bible presents Him. To believe in another Jesus, one who did not create the world in 6 days, one who did not create man in His image, one who is not Lord over creation because you believe He was not the Creator, is to send yourself to hell.

Salvation is found in the Jesus of Holy Scripture, not the Jesus of one’s imagination. Salvation is found in believing in Jesus as He is presented in the Bible, not as we wish He was presented. He is either the Creator Lord or He isn’t. You cannot straddle the fence on this issue. The New Testament simply will not allow it. From the Gospels to the letters of Peter, Paul, and John, Jesus is clearly presented as the Creator Lord.

At the beginning, I said that many times I am asked, “Why don’t you just preach Jesus?” I do. I do preach Jesus. I preach Him creating the world in Genesis as part of the Godhead. I preach Him throughout the Old Testament sustaining the world He created. I preach Him in the New Testament redeeming the world He created. I preach Him in Revelation coming back to claim the world He created. What Jesus are you preaching?

 

 

Ponderables

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The religions that man creates are actually attempts to escape having to face the true God. We invent religion – not because we are seeking God but because we are running away from Him. — James Montgomery Boice
The Apostle Paul wrote what is perhaps the most perceptive critique of human nature ever written and it is recorded in the Letter to the Romans, chapter 1 verses 18-32:
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.

24 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. 25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed [q]forever. Amen.

26 For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.

28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; 32 and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.