A Christ Centered Life

 

 

A Christ-Centered Life

In this short letter to the Colossian Christians Paul goes to great lengths to proclaim the supremacy and the sufficiency of Christ in all things and for all people.  He is Lord over all creation and has brought redemption for all those who would have faith in Him and what He accomplished on the cross through His shed blood, death and resurrection. He brings freedom to those who are being held captive by Satan in the the kingdom of darkness, and translates them into the kingdom of light so that they may have a new life in Him.

Since a kingdom must have a king, in reality we must choose which king we serve. We cannot serve two kings at one time so must be rescued from the kingdom of darkness whose king is the world, the flesh, and Satan by recognizing we are sinners, being willing to walk away from known sin, crying out to God for mercy and grace, and by putting our faith in the saving blood of Christ Jesus. Christ Jesus then becomes our new King and we belong to Him. He has given us the Holy Spirit to enable us, in all ways, to live for our King and abide by His will.

Paul prays for the Christians by giving thanks that the grace of the Father, the gospel of the Son, and the love of the Spirit have been made manifest to them so that they can experience and exemplify the faith, love and hope of the Christ-centered life.  Paul calls on the Christians to remember who they are and what they have because of the shed blood of Christ and His wondrous work of grace and truth.

We are to be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding…

How? Through prayerful study and reflecting on the Word of God with the Holy Spirit as our Teacher.
Why?  So as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord fully pleasing Him by bearing good fruit in every good work.

We are to be continually increasing our knowledge of God.
How?  Through setting aside a daily time to be prayerfully in His Word relying on the Holy Spirit for enlightenment of His truth. Why?  So we can apply what we have been shown to the circumstances of each day.

That we may be strengthened with all His power and grace for all endurance and patience with joy
Why?  Because He has delivered us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

 

~Annie~