Month: July 2024

The Source of Gratitude and Peace

Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies (heart of compassion), kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. Colossians 3:9-13

Whoso offers praise glorifies Me: and to him that orders his conversation aright will I show the salvation of God. Psalm 50:23

Do the things that Colossians 3:9-13 lists that we are to “put on” seem difficult? Does the prospect of attaining prevailing gratitude, love and peace seem a distant hope?

First, Paul was speaking to those who have accepted Christ as savior. Outside of His indwelling Spirit, these things are not just difficult, they are impossible.

Second, these traits do not come after getting our sin in submission by our own efforts, any more than we can evict all the darkness out of a room so it will be light in there. If the light is turned on, the darkness is driven out by the presence of light. [Let me observe here that light does not fill a room in a static manner, as water fills a container. It flows from its source in a continual manner. The speed at which it travels is considered the “universal constant”, the fastest physical thing in the cosmos.] Rather, it is the instantaneous saving transformation of our sprits at salvation, and the purposeful transformation of our minds by the Word that enables banishment of the things that we are to “put off” and the adoption to the characteristics that we are to “put on”.

“Put” is a verb. This passage is not saying the process of transformation is automatic. We do have to resist the flesh and the devil. I am not backpedaling on what I have said in the previous paragraph; I am saying that the power to resist comes from the Spirit of God and that must come first to drive out the darkness.

Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my Strength, and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:14

Further, we must stay deliberately engaged in the Word. Engagement in this sense is not mere reading. It implies willingness to be conformed to the revelations of the Holy Spirit.

Graphic depicting some aspects related to the mind, heart, and spirit.

Whose Faith is it, Anyway?

I am grateful for Your word!

16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. 17 But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid. 18 For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. 19 For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. 20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. 21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. (Galatians 2)

Three times in the passage above, Paul refers to the “the faith of” Jesus the Son of God. It does not say faith in, it says faith of. [Translations other than the KJV (even the NKJV) have mostly translated this as “faith in”. My amateurish look at the Greek text did not help me much because the meaning of the possessives depends on parsing the language accurately. I must defer to someone trained in Greek grammar to sort this out. So, I refer to an article by Bobby Grow who takes a look at this exact passage in an evenhanded way. He favors the way the King James has it, all things considered.] If we are “crucified with Christ” and if the life that is now in us is the indwelling Christ, as stated clearly in verse 20, then “faith of” would lend credence to His faith being active in us.

On the other hand, the passage goes on the speak of the possibility of our “building again” as transgressors. This is most likely if we are not actively renewing our minds according to the word and submitting to it.

If it is the faith of Christ by which He did all the Father gave Him to do (and it is). If it is the faith of Jesus that allowed Him to conquer the grave, though He had become sin that its power in us might be broken when it was nailed to the cross in Him (and it is). Would we not do well to understand that it is now His faith that is the power by which we are to live. Does not our self-generated faith come fearfully close to the works of the Law that Paul was saying are totally ineffective at justifying us?