"Christ
In You, The Hope Of Glory"
Colossians 1:23-27
23) If
ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the
hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every
creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;
24) 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:
25) Whereof
I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me
for you, to fulfil the word of God;
26) Even
the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made
manifest to his saints:
27) To
whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among
the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
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o many, the teaching of God's Word
is quite strange because it does not equate with popular or individual opinion.
It is perhaps a mystery to those outside the "Ark of Safety" because
it has been given to those willing to go outside the norm and accept the
salvation plan of God. Yet, many who enjoy the fame and applause of the masses
and generate a great following, have never experienced
the salvation plan prescribed in the Bible.
The scripture tells us that the beginning
of wisdom comes when we first reverence the Lord and count Him worthy to unveil
to us His purpose for our natural birth. Even those outside of God's salvation
plan must know that life has to have more meaning than to simply "eat,
drink and be merry," "follow your own dreams" or "do 'it'
till it feels good."
What men think, and the theories
they compose about themselves, others and society, are of no consequence to God
and are virtually worthless. Their only purpose and goal must be to lead man to
recognize his birth in relationship to God and salvation, or the best theories
are of no value.
The challenge God has given to those
born with or without great intelligence is to seek Him for "real"
help. This mandate to those who pride themselves in knowing God will go
unheeded unless their priorities go beyond their personal relationships, a
physical edifice, or memories of "what used to be."
If your tie to God is based on such
fleshly associations, then question yourself as to whether the salvation plan
preached to you from lifelong friendships and kinships included the requirement
of a sinless life. Just as God causes a person to recognize that there is a
purpose for their birth, He causes that same person to realize there is a
necessity for re-birth or spiritual birth. He sets before us an open door to
find the answers to any questions we have regarding Him and His expectations of
us.
Let us never forget what the Lord
worked so hard to instill in His disciples: He stressed to them that before
they could teach or preach anything, they would have to go to
Ask those with whom you have to do
if they have met this requirement. By meeting this requirement—that is, being
baptized and filled with the power of His Spirit—one will understand that
Christ inside you is the only hope we have of fulfilling what God intended
from the beginning of our natural life. His plan and purpose has always been
to change us from a sinful nature to a sinless one, from a fleshly mind to
a spiritual mind, and from a earthly habitation to
a home of glory.