Colossians 1:9-18
Colossians 1:9-18
New King James Version (NKJV)
Preeminence of Christ
9 For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. 13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.
My Thoughts:
- So many things we can choose form today, so let’s start with (vv. 10-11) we read “that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy;”
- When I read these two verses is makes me think about something that Jesus said in (John 8:29) “And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him.” As a Christian our goal is to live a life that pleases God. How do we do this? By studying our Bibles so we may understand His wishes and living the life that Christ taught us to live. When we do these things we please Christ and we ourselves become like Him.
- I think he is also saying that being a Christian means that we should be in a constant state of growth. As Christians we should be able to look back at our lives and see that we have made a steady progression to becoming more like Christ.
- In (vv. 12-14) we read “giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. 13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.”
- “giving thanks to the Father” I read in here that is was the Father that who inaugurated the plan of salvation. Both verse 12 and 13 reinforce this idea.
- “qualified us to be partakers” He literally qualified us through our faith the ones that have accepted Jesus Christ (Eph. 2:8).
- Let’s finish with (vv.15-16) “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.”
- “He is the image of the invisible God” we read in (John 1:18) that “No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. Now let’s look at (Gen 12:7) we read “Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him.” And there are other examples (Gen 17:1; 18:1; Deut. 31:15), so we see that Christ had already reviled Himself to man well before His birth.
- “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth” now we see Christ in a different light, it is clearly stated as Christ being the creator of all things (see John 1:3).
- “All things were created through Him and for Him.” All things for Him, Christ is the center which is the goal of all things in creation moves toward, He is theAlpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last (Rev. 22:13).
Thought of the Day
“Even the smallest light can make a difference in the darkest night”
Some of us may not especially enjoy poetry. But often a few lines of verse will grip our imagination, as do the following by Francis Thompson: “The innocent moon that nothing does but shine, moves all the laboring surges of the world.” The moon is nearly 240,000 miles from Earth and is only 1/400th the size of the sun. With no light or heat of its own, it reflects the radiance of that greater heavenly body. It appears to be relatively insignificant. Yet, the moon quietly and almost imperceptibly moves the oceans of the world by its gravitational pull. Most of us may not seem all that influential or well-known. We don’t have the giftedness, the wealth, or the position to make much of an impact on our society. Our names don’t appear in the newspaper, nor are they mentioned on television. We may think that all we can do is practice our faith in the humdrum routines of everyday life. But perhaps, unnoticed by us, we are having an influence on the people around us by our Christlike attitudes and actions. Let’s not be concerned, then, about our seeming lack of influence. Instead, do what Jesus commanded: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16-note). – V C Grounds
Jesus bids us shine with a clear, pure light
Like a little candle burning in the night;
In this world of darkness we must shine
You in your small corner, and I in mine. —Warner
Personal Reflection and Discussion
- What do think Paul meant in (v. 12)?
- What do think Paul meant in (vv. 17-18)?
- What other things do you see in the text?
Prayer Activities
- Call your Partner and discuss this devotional.
- Continue to have a prayer list and continue to praying for them.
- Pray with them and ask for the following;
- For God to help with your understanding of the Bible.
- For God to strengthen our faith.
- For the individuals on your pray list.
- Let’s use (Psalms 48:1-2) for today’s prayer verse.
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These verses are telling us of the might and power of God’s love. Verse 12 tells us to be thankful and so we should. We should stop and think each day on what was done to save us, to “qualify” us. Believers cannot be qualified on their own. God must make us sufficient through Jesus. The inheritance that we recieve isnot one we can earn but we receive it because God qualified us. So Jesus will award us in the end. Praise God. Verses 17 and 18 are believed to be a part of a song of praise. This song, these verses, are recognized as an early christian hymn. Unfortunately I could not find the hymn in my studies. God is worthy of all praise. We cannot praise Him enough. We cannot love Him enough. All we can do is pray for the Holy Spirit to interpret our moanings and groanings into the praise and love worthy of our God.
We speak of unconditional love for people but we are not truly capable of this type of love. We can only thank God that He can love unconditionally. He knows us for who we are and still allows us to come in to His kingdom.
It’s interesting tht here we see ALL THINGS were created by Him, for Him and through Him all things still consist, He has delievered us from the power fo darkness and translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son; and yet we have to gain and increase our knowledge of Him. He is not boostful and forceful. All powerful and yet he stands at the door of our hearts and softly knocks. What a loving and merciful God we serve. We owe Him our honer and our very lives, and yet He doesn’t demand it of us. This picture speaks volumes to us. He waits for me…Why do I hesitate in lovingly following his leading in my heart. He is Good and worthy of my praise…let alone my service.
to many times it takes us hitting the bottom before we even start looking for Him.