Colossians 1:15-2:15- Christ in You, Your Hope of Glory
All Scripture is God-breathed and useful, but there are some Scriptures that we can consider the Himalayan mountaintops of the Bible. In the next few months, we will be looking at a series of great texts that inspire and move us - the "Himalayan Heights" of God's Word.
Today's Reading: Colossians 1:24-29
The Colossian church was beset by heresy, one we do not know specifically. All we know for sure is that it hit at the heart of the Gospel and elevated other things above Jesus. Paul told them our faith was all about Jesus. He exalted Jesus and told them that Christ in them was their hope of glory.
Again, read the entire text of Colossians 1:15-2:15 every day, then focus on our featured passage during this week. This week, we exalt Jesus!
Again, read the entire text of Colossians 1:15-2:15 every day, then focus on our featured passage during this week. This week, we exalt Jesus!
Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I am completing in my flesh what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for his body, that is, the church. 25 I have become its servant, according to God’s commission that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. 27 God wanted to make known among the Gentiles the glorious wealth of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 We proclaim him, warning and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ. 29 I labor for this, striving with his strength that works powerfully in me.
Through the Bible Readings: 1 Chronicles 22-23, John 18:25–40, Psalm74:10–16, Proverbs 15:15–17
If you wish to read through the Bible in a year, follow these readings.
Devotional: Christ in You, Hope of Glory
It is likely that the heresy taking hold in Colossae was some version of Gnosticism, in which mysteries and secret knowledge became the focus of the faith. Growth was not about coming to know Christ more fully but about learning new secrets that were revealed only to the inner circle. Paul made it clear that our faith is not about secrets and mysteries and hidden knowledge known only by the inner circle. We are not a secret society.
Still, Paul uses the word mystery here, and elsewhere, almost in a way to aggravate and irritate those who claimed to have secret knowledge. There is only one mystery that matters, Paul says. He uses that term several times in his writings, and as he says in verse 26, it refers to truth that was not revealed in previous ages but has now been made plain to the saints of the church age.
The mysteries that Paul speaks of are truths that were not revealed clearly in the Old Testament or even clearly during the life of Jesus, but were made plain to the Apostles by the Holy Spirit, and especially to Paul. And every time he mentions the concept of mysteries, there is one common theme - Jesus Christ.
Here, Paul refers to one of the greatest of mysteries, the idea of the indwelling glory of Christ in us as believers. Jesus is not just a teacher who gives us great ideas to live by. He doesn't just give us motivational ideas,. By his Holy Spirit, he indwells us and changes us from the inside out, filling our lives with the glory of God.
That is your hope, my friend, that Jesus Christ dwells within you and is at work in your life, by the Spirit he sent. That is glory!
Father, I praise you for the life-changing power of your son who dwells within me. Thank you for being a personal God who works personally in us,
Think and Pray:
What does it mean that Christ dwells in us and works on us from the inside out?
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