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Go to meet the Savior glorious face.
What manner of behavior?
And God's illumination by heart Walker right so that our preparation would be pleasing in His sight. 36 in the back.
Right, that's all my friends.
Please make it hear the stars.
Right story.
The meaning of.
Sinful man said.
The draw thy sovereign favor.
To the same.
Despair.
Uncle Thucks.
Us from the fall to break.
Thank you that we can be here this afternoon together in this way, the real Lord Jesus, and we just would pray as your word is open this afternoon again.
Your Spirit will be able to bring before us Christ and His perfection. This has been mentioned, we know.
The word that we've opened and your Spirit can bring before us in a way that is perfect. And Lord, help us to clear away the things in our lives that are distracting us from you, Lord, and help us to learn as your word is open. Pray that there be food here, not just for the older ones, but also for the many children here. We just pray that there would be words of.
Comfort, encouragement and teaching for each one and we just would thank you that we can be here together in this way and we just would ask for your help in Jesus name, Amen.
As much as I.
Look forward to getting to our death and resurrection of Christ later on in the epistle. I think that to bypass the second-half of chapter one would be a real shame is is that brings before us Christ as the preeminent one and it was very much on the hearts of many that we would have priced magnified before us.
So maybe if others are in agreement, we could begin with verse 12.
Chapter One.
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Also, since it's, it's difficult to speak on this book without going into other chapters as we were doing.
Perhaps we could start there and read also the entirety of chapter 2, Colossians chapter one, and verse 12, giving thanks unto the Father which hath made us meet.
To be partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in light, who have delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the Kingdom of His dear Son, in whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins, Who is the image of the invisible God, the first born of every creature. For by Him were all things created that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be Thrones or dominions or principalities.
For powers all things are created by Him and for Him, and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist, and He is ahead of the Body, the Church, who is beginning, the first born from the dead, that in all things He might have 3 minutes. For please the Father, that in Him should all fullness dwell, and having made peace through the blood of His Cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself.
By Him I say, whether they be things in earth or things in heaven, and you that were sometimes alienated anatomies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath He reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you wholly and unblameable and unreprovable in His sight, if you continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you have heard and which was preached.
To every creature which is under heaven, whereof I, Paul, and May administer.
Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for His body's sake, which is the Church, whereof I am made a minister according to the dispensation of God, which is given to me for you to fulfill the word of God. Even the mystery which has been hid from ages and from generations, but now it's made manifest to His Saints, to whom to whom God would make.
Known What is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ, and you the hope of glory whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom, they may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. Where unto I also labor, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily. For I would that you knew what great conflict I have for you and for them and Laodicea.
And for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh, that your hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of the of Christ, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. And as I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words. For though I be absent in the flesh.
Am I with you in the Spirit, joy and beholding your order and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ? As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walking in him, rooted and built up in Him, and established in the faith, so you have been taught, abounding therein with Thanksgiving. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy.
And vain deceit after the tradition of men, and after the rudiments of the word world. Excuse me, and not after Christ.
And in Him dwelleth all fullness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in Him which is the head of all principality and power, In whom also you have you are circumcised from the circumcision made without hands, and putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ, buried with him in baptism, Wherein also you're risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised Him from the dead. And.
And in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh hath He quickened together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross. And having spoiled principalities and powers, He made a show of them, openly triumphing over them in it. Let no man, therefore judge you, and meet, or drink, or in respect of.
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Or of the new moon, or the Sabbath days, which are a shadow of things to come, but the body is of Christ. Let let no man beguile you of your reward and voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen faintly puffed up by his fleshy mind, and not holding the head, from which all the body, by joints and bands, having nourishment ministered and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God.
Therefore, if he be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why is the living in the world? Are you subject to ordinances, touch not, taste not handle not which all are to perish with the using after commandments and doctrines of men, which things have indeed assured wisdom in all will worship and humility and neglecting of the body not in any honor to the satisfying of the flesh.
Verse 12 reminds us of a comment made in the last meeting by our brother Saks that.
Is God that has done this work is made us.
His work, it's not anything we did.
And here we have it was God who made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the Saints and light.
Him that made us meet.
We were talking at lunchtime a little bit.
Considering some of the ones that are a little bit younger.
And you maybe hear us say things like made us meet.
And some other things that are worded in this chapter as such.
Maybe you could explain to us what it means?
That he has made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the Saints and light so that we all understand that.
Instead of the word meat may be fit, made us fit he, he put us in the condition.
That we could be partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in life.
He prepared us, He put us in the right condition to be able to be partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in life.
That means for you, you're able.
I could put it that way. You're able to participate in this. You're able to be a partaker.
Of the inheritance of the Saints and light.
Sometimes we think of the young people as, you know, not quite being able to comprehend some of the truths that are taught and so on. It isn't true.
It's not true.
Sometimes seen I've seen.
Amazing comprehension of the truth. My children as young as three years old and I kid you not.
So don't. Don't sell yourself short because you're young or make an excuse.
You're able to comprehend the truth. God has made you fit to comprehend the truth and to participate in it.
But don't hide behind the fact that you're young.
If you want God and you want to know God, he's made you fit.
He's made you capable and able to do that.
And you're no less able to participate and to partake of the truth of God than anyone of any other age.
I think the Darby translation is very helpful here too. It says.
Giving thanks to the Father who has made us fit for sharing portion of the Saints and light, who has delivered us from the authority of darkness and translated us into the Kingdom of the Son of his love. I was thinking of how you know, the Lord said he spoke.
In the Gospels of how, you know, when a strongman arm has his goods, when he's armed, his goods are in peace, but one that's stronger comes in, he can take those goods. I'm, I'm butchering the verses, but I think we all are familiar with those verses, right? Well, that's the Kingdom that we've been translated into. That one who is stronger than the Prince of Darkness has come into that, that Kingdom that he had here on the earth.
The world and he has he is stronger than him. He is plucking out of that authority of of Satan. He is plucking the children of light and you know he makes us fit.
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Has been brought out to understand and not only to understand, but to be able to do the things that he puts before us. You know, the Lord is not giving us instruction without giving us the ability to do it. You know, an unbeliever cannot do the things that please the Lord. They can't, but we can't. We have power to be the children of God.
It would be cruel.
To ask someone to do something knowing that they don't have the ability to do it.
God the Father is not like that.
He loves us too much.
And to give us requires to do something.
No, we can't do it. Gives the ability to do it.
That's wonderful truth, You know, it tells us that God works in us both the will and to do, not only the Willy, but he gives the ability to do what he wants. It's very important to see that.
I'm wondering about this inheritance.
Out If somebody passes on to death, they leave behind them possessions.
Fast for their family or to others.
It's called an inheritance.
Now we know in another place it speaks about.
Well, I'm thinking about Ephesians chapter one and.
There's 11.
It speaks here about in whom also.
To whom? Referring to Christ?
And whom also we have obtained an inheritance.
Being protested according to the purpose of him to work with all things after the council of his own will.
Well, we know that the Lord Jesus.
Comes into possession of every created thing in the universe.
But.
He shares his inheritance.
With you and I because we are like Co heirs. Is that the thought here in this person that speaks about the.
He made meat.
Any partakers of the inheritance? Is this the inheritance of every creative thing in the universe?
Well, what is the inheritance? Brother John wrote to us and the new translation is portion.
And it's a place as well.
So it's more than just inheritance.
But it's the place and portion of the Saints that is ours through the redemption of the Lord Jesus Christ.
That we share together and the places where God dwells because God dwells in light unapproachable. We read this and.
Timothy, and so it's. I don't know if it's exactly the same thought as the inheritance of all creative things.
I would not say it doesn't include that, but I think there's more here. It's it's the portion of the Saints in a particular place that's in light where God dwells. How can he have us there?
Well, where are you referring to in Ephesians? One, He's placed us wholly and without blame before Him, in love, in His sovereign grace, but on a righteous basis.
The work of the cross and so.
He's translated us from the authority of darkness were to walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing. The authority of darkness does not have a claim upon us anymore. We don't have to respond to that authority just like the Romans five were those two headships. We're now under Christ. We don't have to respond to send anymore. We don't have to respond to that old headship under.
Ad.
No, we're in a new Kingdom.
What kind of a Kingdom?
Oh, there's a Kingdom of the Son of his love, the Kingdom where his Son, who is the object of his Father's heart, is the center of everything. We have been brought into a new place where we have the same person who is the object of God. The Father's heart is the object of our hearts, and it's a sphere of love. And so why do we obey?
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The love of Christ constrains us. We're not under the authority of darkness anymore, but we obey the Lord because we're in a sphere of love and the and the love of Christ constrains us and we're in a we're in a different Kingdom now. There's a different authority. It's the son of his love at the center. But I think it's beautiful the way he's characterized that way, the son of his life.
And so that love permeates that sphere.
Light, no sin can be there. He fitted us for that through the work of the Cross, took care of the question of sin for His own glory.
And to bring us to Himself in that place where he dwells for the satisfaction of his own heart. But at what a cost? At what a cost and whom we have redemption through His blood shouldn't be in there. That's the means. It's the greatness of the person that's in view that brought us into that place, not the means. You get the blood later.
But right now it's in verse 14 and whom we have redemption, even the forgiveness of sins.
In who? In this person, who is the object of the heart of God, the Son of his love.
We have redemption, the forgiveness of sin. That's how she can make us, how he has made us meet to to enjoy that portion that is going to be the portion of all and is the portion of all his own in life. Verse 13 says we've been delivered from the power of darkness. That's a scary place to be.
And who's behind the power of darkness? I believe.
It's Satan, and I just want to say it's that same phrase when Judas came and.
And came to the Lord Jesus in the garden. And the Lord says to him, this is your hour and the power of darkness. And that moment in time when Judas betrayed the Lord Jesus with the kiss. We know Satan was behind that move. We know that Satan entered into Judas and he went out of that upper room.
But that's the domain that people are in before they've been redeemed.
Through the Lord Jesus Christ. It's a scary position to be in. The word redemption means to be purchased and set free.
That's what God wants for us. He wants his people to be free, free to serve him, free to worship him. So I think it's nicely been explained. But we have, we've been brought into a new place or a new sphere that's light to the very place where God dwells. We've been brought under a new authority, the authority of love, the strongest.
Force in the universe.
The power of God's love.
And then we have a new condition, and that's liberty to be set free. So we have light, love and liberty. God has brought us into all of that, and no wonder we can give thanks. I mean, we were as James has just described. Think of the condition we were in before he reached out to us in grace.
He has changed everything from darkness to light, from the power of darkness to the to the Kingdom of the Son of His love.
From the chains of sin to redemption, we can give thanks.
Light, love and liberty.
But then with that, with the bringing up of that person, his dear Son, and the Son of his love, the whole subject changes, doesn't it, to the person of Christ. And so he goes on in verse 15 to unfold the glories of that person.
Brother.
Facebook, being faithful to me, criticized my ministry to me a little over a year ago. And one of the things he said was you always start with what's wrong and correct it.
I I'm sorry that I have that tendency, but.
There have been some who have used this term, first born here to prove that Christ was not the eternal Son of God. And they, they, they, they come. This is one of the verses they use and they use this term first born. So I see he was born, you're born, there's a time you're born. So he couldn't have been the eternal Son because he, he was born.
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Is born first, yes, but.
Well.
This term first born, the Greek word is prototos, from which we get the word what.
Prototype.
He's the first born of creation, not because he was first to be born, but because he's the prototype. He is that which all of this creation was created in accordance with.
That's really what it means.
And the proof that it has nothing to do with him being born is the next verse, and you have the word fo it means What I'm about to say is the reason for what I just said.
And so it says he was the first born of creation. Why? Because by him.
All things were created.
He's a prototype of creation because it was by him or through him that all things were created. That's the reason. That's what makes him.
The first born of creation.
And that implies that in all creation we can see something of Christ.
It perfectly represented God. He that has seen me, has seen the Father, and the Son of God was made flesh. He stepped into his own creation, and He was the image of the invisible God, perfectly manifested God. And not only that, we read in Matthew 11.
That I'll just turn to it at my finger. There Matthew 11, verse 27. All things are delivered unto me of my Father, and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father neither knoweth any man. The Father saved the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.
It was the burning desire of his part to make God known.
And he was the image, the perfect.
Image of the invisible body perfectly made him known in incarnation, and so when he stepped into his own creation, He who created all things, what place would be properly his?
The preeminent place and 1St born is not a priority in time. I have a family and there's a first born in my family. That's priority and time. He was the first one born. First born here is not priority in time doesn't just mean the oldest one, it means a place of preeminence above every other place.
When the Son of God stepped into his own creation, the only place that could be rightfully is and was worthy of him was the number one place of first place. And so that's why he is first born. It's it's the thought of preeminence rather than priority and time first place. And that's an incarnation.
He stepped into his own creation. In the Old Testament. It's it's again and again shown there that the first born had a particular position.
I think position might have been another word we could have used.
It just so happens that it was because they were the first born in time that gave them the position.
But that's not the case here. That is the case when you get down to verse 18, however.
Here it's.
First born of every creature, but in verse 18, it's first born from the dead. So there it is, the fact that he was the first to be raised up out from among the dead and gives him in that position because of that. There. That's not the case here, and you're still with the same object that he might have the preeminence.
At all things later, later on in the epistle, we find that there was there were those who might be guilty of worshipping angels.
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And when you just consider who this one is that we've been speaking about?
By him were all things created.
That are in heaven and that are on earth. Visible and invisible. Angels are nothing more.
And creatures, yes, they're wonderful creatures. Yes, they're powerful, intelligent, but they are still just creatures. Here is the creator, the one who brought all things into existence, whether invisible or invisible. How much greater? Think about the funds, the dominions, the principalities, things that you and I have. Really.
Know.
Full concept of He created all of that. This one is above all of those things.
They're all all created by him.
For Him, what a place that puts Him in in our hearts to bow before Him and to worship Him.
All those things.
You know, we might, we naturally tend to go low. It's like an archery. It's like you're still aiming low and you try again and the instructor says no, you're still aiming low. I think about that in John's gospel with those I am statements, you know.
Throughout this pathway here in this world, you have examples of many dear believers, Humans but redeemed.
But interacting with him and they show us just how we naturally are.
We, we aim to look, you know, at the, at the grave of Lazarus.
You know, it wasn't that the Lord Jesus just came to to stop people from dying, to heal sick people.
You know, and it wasn't just that he could pray to God his Father and that as a favor to him, the Father would raise Lazarus. He says, no, I am the resurrection and the life. You're aiming too low.
It's not just that he'll do this for me. I am the resurrection in the life. He's not just a branch. He I am the vine, he says. I'm not just the one who provides you with food. I am the bread.
Which came down out of heaven the human tendency is always to aim too low with our thoughts and the spirit of God would raise our our thoughts of.
Of the Son of God up to where He truly is as the preeminent One above all those things. He created them all. He is. He is preeminent above all of those things. That is where our hearts rightfully belong. We belong spiritually on our on our knees before Him in worship and adoration for who He is.
The Gnostics taught that.
The material world was a mistake created by a Demiurge God who was Jehovah of the Old Testament, who created the material world and their doctrines. We need to escape it, escape this material world. And at best they saw that Jesus Christ came to teach how to escape the material world.
The Spirit of God says no, He made it.
He is that God who made it all.
It just feels by the Spirit of God just deals a blow to that doctrine.
For that teaching he made it all. It subsists as his creation.
It exists because he is.
And he just places them in this preeminent place. He's not just a teacher to teach us how to get to a higher spiritual plane or some elevator plane.
Is preeminently above everything, and that's the very place that he wants to bring us into.
As his He comes from that place. He came from that place of light and love.
He don't he not only.
Created it.
But he is the one still holding it together and that's what that verse means. That word consists in your King James Bible should be subsist.
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What it means is that he's holding it together.
And in Job chapter 34, I think verse 14.
Job says if he take if he took his breath back to himself, everything would cease to exist. I'm paraphrasing, but that's what Job said. Essentially God with to withdraw his breath, everything would cease to exist.
And.
Here is a deeper mystery which.
Should be much more precious to us is that he not only created this physical world that the Gnostics said was work was evil, he entered into it.
How about that?
He didn't just create it, he entered into it.
Just to add to that a little bit, you know, it's not just the Gnostics. If you look at the world's prevailing view, separate from God right now, what is it is that there was a Big Bang. Something came from nothing.
And you know, we've just evolved over millions of years. We've gone from.
Slime in a pond to humans.
And you know, the interesting thing of that is there's no creator. There is no love.
There's no purpose, there's no morality, there's no nothing. You can't define what's right and wrong, and that's what's being pushed through the entire education system right now. But if you compare that with what we have, there is no comparison. Not only is there a God that spoke and it came into being.
But that God is the definer of love itself.
And he, with the relationship with his son for all eternity, wanted us to enter into that relationship. So he sent his son into this world as a baby to go to that cross to pay so that we could be delivered from the Kingdom of darkness. You know, if you look at the prevailing attitude of the world, all the, the suffering of this world is just things gone wrong in evolution. And there's no, no solution for it other than just to suffer.
If you take a look at what?
This chapter tells us not only is there a creator, not only does he love us, not only did he send his son, but his son is the head of the body which we become part of when we become believer. And he's preeminent in everything. And he's going to deliver us from. He's delivered us from the Kingdom of darkness and translated us into the Kingdom of his dear son. The contrast is staggering.
It brings meaning to your life. It brings the greatest of all emotions. It brings purpose. It defines what's right and wrong.
And the Lord himself is at the center of it all, that in all things he might have the preeminence. And that's what God, the Lord is trying to bring before us in this chapter is that who is the one is it that is at the absolute center of everything that we've been given the inheritance.
Not only the inheritance in terms of being joiners with Christ, which is almost phenomenal or beyond comprehension, but what we're actually being given as well in every respect. There is no comparison between the two. And it's it's good for us to consider that because if you take.
What this world is teaching today.
It's just there's nothing to it. But what we have here is greater than the greatest thing you can possibly imagine. And it's all centered in Christ that in all things he might have. And you know, if we can get just a little bit of a grasp on that.
The joy that that brings in the purpose that that brings is unbelievable. You know, I appreciate this, and I've said it before. My parents had this verse that in all things he might have the preeminence.
On the wall in our living room from the time I was.
Was an old picture Glee crossing on the beach.
At sunset and they had stuck the old letters on it with a big key in the middle of it. All things he might have the letters tore. They took it down. The kids are giving my parents it was they took a bunch of baby pictures and put it up in its place. My mom was deeply convicted.
About the Lord being in place.
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Down. I made another picture. If you go to their house today, that's what's there. Where is the Lord in our lives when we recognize the position?
That he should have in everything. And I say that this is for myself because it's very easy for us to practically turn to living materialistically, which is what most of the people in this world do, or naturalistically where we just live for ourselves. We have to go to work every day and try and enjoy ourselves and then we die. I mean, that's that's the prevailing perspective, this world apart from Christ, but this is.
Infinitely better than that, and certainly worthy of us to consider deeply.
Can we sing a hymn? I know it's not the end of the meeting, but we could sing him #150.
Did you say 151 fifty? This is not to close the meeting, he said. He's not trying to close the meeting. We just want to sing this hymn.
#150.
So.
Just.