Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Colossians Study Outline

Continuing with the Seven-Fold Prayer of Paul for Us of Colossians


There are always people who will say, "Well this is Paul who’s teaching Christ was the Creator." But when they say that, remember Paul agrees with every thing in Scriptures. He never contradicts anything. There may be instances where it may seem that Paul contradicts, but he does not. He is just using the Hebraisms that he learned under the lawyer Gamaliel and the Holy Spirit. Paul speaks from a layers point of view and for that one reason alone some of what he says causes confusion for many. Remember, Paul is teaching in the early stages of the New Church Age dispensation, and as a result we also find that God’s program for this Age has changed, because now we are all under “Grace”, rather than Law. The old Jewish administration is given way now to a level playing field where all are treated as equals before God. Still governed by the Ten Commandments and now with the Beatitudes. For this reason we're in a whole New Covenant, instituted by the Lord's Last Supper, judgment by man, and by mans hands death, in the shedding of water and blood (without which there is no Redemption [Hebrews 9:22, Leviticus 4:20, 26, 35, 5:18, 6:7, 14:6 [51-52], 14, 25, 17:11] and No Sanctification [1Peter 1:2, 2Thessalonians 2:13, 1Corinthians 1:30, 1Thessalonians 4:3-4] which qualifies us then for His Salvation), burial, resurrection and ascension [Romans 1:12, 8:17, 1Corinthians 3:9, 2Corinthians 6:1, Ephesians 2:5, Colossians 2:13, 19, 1Thessalonians 5:10, Ephesians 1:10, 3:15, Philippians 3:20, Hebrews 12:23, 1Peter 1:4-5, 1John 5:7, Revelation 3:12, 4:1] . Through which we now all must pass to receive the promised Eternal Life, a Life that is Light-Glory restored with in mans heart or soul. This is Salvation our New Ark awaiting the call home and heaven ward. But here we’ll see that Paul and John agree completely, that Jesus Christ is the Creator.
John 1:1
"In the beginning (the same three words of Genesis 1:1) was the Word, (notice the “W” of word is capitalized. The other word I like to use here is the Communicator. The “I AM than I AM” of Exodus chapter 3:14 ) and the Word was with God (Greek, Theos, meaning trinity and deity and anything that resembles Him), and the Word was God."
We have many groups out there that just can’t buy this, so they have twisted their writings and have made Jesus Christ something less than God. But while we are on this subject let’s look real quick in the book of Titus to show you they’re wrong, there also. I used this earlier back, but it’s also very appropriate here. If you have someone come to your door and they try to tell you that Jesus was not God, that He was a prophet or something less than God, and was not the Creator God, then this is the best verse we’ve found to confront that. All the other verses that prove that Christ was the Creator they’ll twist and try to get around it, and will argue form their limited perspective and point of view but on this one they can’t. They just can’t get around this one. Here Paul writes the following.
 
Titus 2:13
"Looking for that blessed hope, (that’s exactly were we are in the Church Age right now. And what’s the blessed hope?) and the glorious appearing (His second advent after the tribulation period) of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ:"
They just can’t get around the fact that Jesus Christ is also the great God. We’ve showed them the verse back in Isaiah chapter 9, and they’ll say, "Yeah, but that’s the mighty God, that’s not the Almighty God." They’ll just use any little thing to wiggle around it, but this verse in Titus, you can’t argue with. Because we’re looking for the great God, the Creator God, the God of the universe, the Father God and who is it? Christ Jesus!
 
John 1:2-3
"The same was in the beginning with God. (He has always been! He is from eternity past the same as the other persons of the Godhead) All things were made by him: (just like Paul says in Colossians. Everything that was ever created was created by God the Son.) and without him was not any thing made that was made."
As said before He is the Light which brought life to a dead planet for in the Light is Life and John bears this out as well. This Glory brought life and order to chaos, death. Whether it was heavenly, invisible, dominions or powers, regardless, everything was made by the Word. Now who’s the Word? We find that in verse 14 of John 1 and Revelation chapter 19.
 
John 1:14a
"And the Word was made flesh (relationship),…"
Do you see that? The Holy Spirit never took on flesh, God the Father of spirits never took on flesh, but God the Son did, and here is the evidence. Natural, mere earthy, worldly man of flesh, denotes mere human nature, the earthly nature of man apart from divine influence, and therefore prone to sin and opposed to God.
John 1:14a
"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us. (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,…)"
What’s he talking about? The Mount of Transfiguration where Peter, James and John went up into the mountain with Jesus, and what happened? He became shown like the sun from within Himself, and Peter, James and John witnessed that, and that’s what John is referring to in verse 14. Plus the fact that God declared Him the first begotten one after His ascension and this we find in Psalm 2 verse 7 and Hebrews chapter 1 verse 5.
 
John 1:14b
"…and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."
Well we're not going to take you all the way back to Genesis, as you all know the very first through the third verses. But instead let’s turn ahead to Hebrews chapter 1, and just notice how all these verses fit. John says, "The Word became flesh, and nothing was made without Him" Paul says in Colossians "Christ is the visible manifestation of the invisible God, and by Him all things were created." Now here in Hebrews, and I think that Paul dictated it to one of his converts, if not wrote this Epistle, as the Lord permitted Him to write half of the New Testament. 

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