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Positive Words Newsletter
#129 -- 9th February 2007
Expanding your awareness of "the simplicity that is in Christ
(II Corinthians 11:3)
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As You Received... So Walk [Colossians chapter 2 --continued from issue 128]
Paul continues in chapter 2 with this powerful statement: "Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him" (ESV). "As", in the same manner, as you received him. The word "received" is in the sense of learned. Some translations use "accepted", that is, accepted what you were taught about Christ. I should also note that "Christ Jesus the Lord" is not used anywhere else in Paul's epistles. "As you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him". So, how did you receive him? Romans 10:9,10 states that "if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." "As... so..." How then do we continue in the Christian life? By belief and by affirmation, in the same manner as you received Christ the Lord. What are we to do? We are to walk.
This is a different picture from the previous verses. A soldier doesn't walk -- a soldier marches. So the picture has changed to that of a pilgrim who is walking, searching for truth, always walking. So go on walking (present active tense here) in the same way as you received Christ, with belief and affirmation. To walk in Bible terms refers to your manner of life, the way you conduct yourself. How are we to walk? We will live our lives as pilgrims because that's what the Bible says we are. We have citizenship in a heavenly country and here on earth we are just strangers, pilgrims. We are to walk in this life using our believing and making our affirmation. Walk, it says, in the same manner as you received him.
Notice the "in Him" again. I should point these out to you. There's "faith in Christ" in verse 5 , "walk in him" in verse 6, and "rooted and built up in him" in verse 7. What does it mean to be "rooted"? (only here and Ephesians 3:17). Once again the picture changes. Now it is a natural picture, in particular a growing tree. And it's interesting because the tense here is "having been rooted once and forever". This is the crisis experience which we call salvation; it is both a fact and a truth. It happened and nothing is going to change it. It is established and secure. Our roots are down deep in Christ, to use the picture. Now we know what is holding us in place. Our roots are in him.
Yet the next phrase is "built up in him" in the continuous tense. So we can translate it "having been rooted and being built up in him". The building is progressive, its still under construction. Now we have an architectural picture. How is your building progressing? You see, what Christ placed within me when I received him is perfect, permanent, and has potential. That's solid. That's everything that Christ is in me. That's permanent. But the appreciation of it, the awareness of it, the understanding of it is here in my mind. How are we being built up in him? By reading his Word, by taking in the concepts that he has made available for us, by talking to Him and developing the relationship.
So we've gone from a military world to the pilgrim world, to the natural world, and now the architectural world. They are all pictures of our growth as positive Christians. And it doesn't stop there. It continues, "and established in the faith, just as you were taught". Now we're in school. I've often said that the best model of the church universal is as an educational institution. We are here to teach people. We are not a first-aid station to place a Band-Aid on a situation. We are not a country club, for people to come and relax and feel good about themselves once a week.
Remember the old Chinese proverb? "If you give a man a fish he'll eat for a day, but if you teach him how to fish he'll eat for a lifetime." To give him the fish is a Band-Aid. Yes, there are times for that kind of situation. But the lasting work that the church does is as a teaching institution. And it says here that we are "established in the faith, just as you were taught." "Established" is to be made firm and stable, and teaching establishes us. That's why we need to listen to positive teaching. That's why we need to use our time in the car to listen. We need also to read and listen to the Bible every day, because a verse a day keeps the devil away. We need all those inputs to teach us, to establish ourselves in the faith. "All preaching is yelling; all teaching is telling", as one wise person once said. I'm tired of being yelled at when I watch Christian television or go to church. We need good teaching, for it establishes us, helps us progress in our faith journey.
And finally verse 7 says "abounding in thanksgiving". The word "abounding" is overflowing, like the Niagra Falls. Overflowing with thanksgiving. Not just saying "thank you" when we slip into bed at night or just saying "thank God that day is over" or saying "well, thank you Lord, that was exciting. I wonder we can top it tomorrow". Not just saying thank you but overflowing with thanksgiving. And now the picture is of water, aquatic. Its very interesting the way in which all these illustrations are given. Each one is trying to get one part of the truth across to us in terms we can understand.
So we have seen the way we should handle these folk who want to beguile us, these people who want to entice us with nice-sounding phrases (verse 4). The way we keep our head straight is to first recognize that we are rooted and can and must progress in the faith. Verses 4-7 are key verses to a positive, practical Christian life.
[to be continued] -- Peter Wade.
You Have Been Saying
Hi Peter, God Bless, I talked to you by email a few years ago about getting an ordinatiion through the web. explained I remember you encouraged me. so I did. Well, it has been Great, not just because of the peice of paper (which opened some doors) but I was able to walk out on what God wants me to do. I've been able to work in a jail ministry, a clown ministry (I'm (Yo Yo), taught at a homeless center. I am also teaching at a local church, a new believer's class, called Fellowship with the Father. That's not all, I per-formed my Daughter's wedding. God is so good! -- Rob, NY
I was reading this morning in the "Outdo..." book about the "capricious will of God" with respect to His sovereignty and I have to admit that as you said in the book, if you follow those lines of believing (that everything that happens is God's will), your life can be topsy turvy. I think I've seen a certain amount of that in my life recently, but... that said, it has been a growing experience. One that I will not want to re-learn. Yes, we have to have a "single eye", not seeing only God in every situation, but like rejoicing in all situations, we rejoice in the situation (about God's ultimate victory), not about the situation, thinking this is God's victory. The truth lies in the Word, not our experiences. I finally realized the danger when I read the book this morning. It is a fantastic book. A half-chapter at a time book! Loaded with real practical truth. -- Guy, WA
You can get your own copy of the book "Outdo, Outwit and Outperform" from... http://peterwade.com/resources/ .
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