Category Archives: Struggle

Refresh & Restore Bible Study — June 8, 2023

Greetings Sojourners!

As I have walked back through these passages in Colossians 2[1] and dug into the cross-references[2] again, I am reminded again how beautiful God’s Word is and how poignant His way of saying things through those He breathed the Scriptures through (2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Peter 1:16-21). The way Colossians 1 speaks of Jesus is with such a reverence and awe that it makes my heart ache with longing to see Jesus. I hope that, as you read the words of God – not my feeble commentary, you are moved to worship and awe as well.

There is a shift between the very end of Colossians 1 (v. 1:24) into the beginning verses of Colossians 2, but it needs to be understood that, as Paul talks about ministering and serving and those being served growing in Christ, this is not a shift from faith to works. No, Paul speaks of the suffering (v. 1:24), ministering (v. 1:25), preaching (v. 1:28), toiling (v. 1:29), struggling (v. 2:1), encouraging (v. 2:2), and growth through walking with Christ (vv. 2:6-7) as results of worshiping the Lord. These actions are fruit of God’s Spirit being within a believer (Galatians 5:22-23). And I am humbled and thankful that I can have any part in making “the Word of God fully known” to you, dear Sojourner (v. 1:25).

So, with no further ado, today we will dive back into Colossians 1:24-2:7!

Refresh & Restore Bible Study — May 18, 2023: When the Loving Kindness of God Our Savior Appears – Refresh & Restore | A JustKeithHarris.com Podcast

This is the May 18, 2023 episode of the Refresh & Restore Bible Study, provided by JustKeithHarris.com. You can find the written version of this, along with Scripture references and footnotes, at: https://justkeithharris.com/2023/05/17/refresh-restore-bible-study-may-18-2023/
  1. Refresh & Restore Bible Study — May 18, 2023: When the Loving Kindness of God Our Savior Appears
  2. Refresh & Restore Bible Study — May 11, 2023: Sufficient Grace
  3. Refresh & Restore — December 29, 2022 (Behold the King)
  4. Advent 2022 — The Story of Christmas
  5. Advent 2022 — December 24 (Christmas Eve Reading for Our Kiddos)

Paul’s Ministry to the Church (vv. 1:24-2:5)

1:24 Now [3]I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh [4]I am filling up [5]what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions [6]for the sake of his body, that is, the church, 25 [7]of which I became a minister according to [8]the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 [9]the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. 27 [10]To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are [11]the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, [12]the hope of glory. 28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that [13]we may present everyone [14]mature in Christ. 29 For this [15]I toil, [16]struggling [17]with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.

2:1 For I want you to know [18]how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, 2 that [19]their hearts may be encouraged, being [20]knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of [21]God’s mystery, which is Christ, 3 [22]in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I say this in order [23]that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. 5 For [24]though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your [25]good order and [26]the firmness of your faith in Christ.

Colossians 1:24-2:5

When I see Paul so confidently and boldly talk about suffering, I find myself wrestling with my own desire for comfort and my tendency to avoid suffering. But we need to realize that Paul is not boasting of his own inner strength. He is recognizing the “surpassing worth” of Jesus (Philippians 3:8). I recognize in Paul’s writing here that I have shortcomings in that area. Where I long for strength, there needs to be worship. Where I get to serve, there needs to be worship. Christ is to be the forefront of the Christian life because He is “all and in all” (v. 3:11). In that worship – and this is perhaps the most un-21st-century, un-American-Dream, un-human-nature thing that I can probably think of – our desire for personal comfort needs to be outweighed by our desire for Him.

Think of all the trouble and effort a bride goes to in preparation to stand before her husband-to-be and be married. In those moments, the discomfort of clothing and shoes are forgotten. It is to be so for the Church. Y’all, if you are in Christ, the groom awaits – and is worthy of all worship, praise, honor, and the worst discomfort this world and Satan could hurl at us. Corey Ten Boom, who knew firsthand the horrors and pains delivered at the hands of Nazis in concentration camps put it well: “I’ve experienced His Presence in the deepest darkest hell that men can create…. I have tested the promises of the Bible, and believe me, you can count on them.”

Reading these words from Paul again and contemplating his struggles and suffering due to his worship reminds me why I am deeply critical of the prosperity gospel, which promises material (especially monetary) blessings in exchange for faithfulness and promises positive declarations free of suffering. This selective interpretation of Scripture overlooks the Bible’s clear teaching about suffering. What about Daniel, Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael? What about Jesus?!? And what of Jesus’s promises that the world will look at us and treat us as it did Him (John 15:18-25, 7:7; 1 John 3:13)? He is worth it all (Revelation 4:11)!

In writing this, I want to emphasize how far I am from these things on my own. Paul, Daniel – all of those who suffered in the Bible and since for the sake of the Lord – they were far on their own, too. They, like us, needed the power of God through His Spirit (John 15:26-27). I think of Paul, formerly known as Saul of Tarsus, who persecuted the early church. Despite his wicked sinfulness, He met Jesus on the road to Damascus and was transformed (Acts 9:1-31) – brought from death in his sin to life in the very Christ he persecuted (Ephesians 2:1-5). He is different as he writes to the church at Colossae because of what God has done and was still doing in him. His is willing to suffer and considers all previous accomplishments and accolades as loss, placing his focus on knowing Christ and sharing in His sufferings (Philippians 3:1-11). His testimony serves as a testament to the transforming power of God’s grace and the hope that comes only from known Christ.

This is why Paul can use his own life and ministry as an example for working faithfully for God’s Kingdom. I highlight Paul’s dedication to following Christ’s example and caring for the church, emphasizing the significance of discipleship and spiritual maturity, and I underscore the revelation of God’s mystery through Christ, extending the opportunity for all people to experience the riches of God’s glory and have Christ as their hope. But I also acknowledge the challenges the Church faces, both externally through persecutions and internally through false teachings (not just in Colossae, dear Sojourner).

His desire for the churches was for them to remain encouraged, united in love, and rooted in the knowledge of God in His gospel – for them to find strength in His Spirit and in the ministry of the Word. That is my desire for those I am blessed to serve at Christ Community, and I hope that you are 1) saved by grace through faith in Jesus, and 2) have a pastor in a local church who desires these things for you and strives in the ministry of the Word to point you to the One who makes it happen!

For more, check out the original Bible studies from this section:

Walk With Christ as You Received Him (vv. 2:6-7)

6 [27]Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 [28]rooted and [29]built up in him and [30]established in the faith, just [31]as you were taught, abounding [32]in thanksgiving.

Colossians 2:6-7

As a pastor and a disciple of Christ, I find myself reflecting on the goal of reaching people with the gospel and helping them mature in their faith. It makes me wonder, are making disciples and promoting spiritual maturity goals that drive us? And more importantly, is this reflected in my life – not because I am a pastor but because I profess faith in Christ?

In this reflection, I want you to understand that I am not joining in the popular activity of criticizing the church. Instead, I see the church as the Bride of Christ, and it is crucial for us to treat and regard the church with grace and love. Through my own journey with Christ and my involvement in my local church, I have great hope for the church. I have found that Jesus is the source of that hope, and I pray that He would use me to make a difference through my ministry within the local church.

I think of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a pastor and martyr who served during the Nazi regime in Germany. He dedicated himself to helping young ministers grow in Christ. When he left Germany for safety in America, he felt convicted that his true calling was to be in Germany. He repented and returned, ultimately facing arrest and imprisonment – inevitably in Nazi-run prisons and a concentration camp. Bonhoeffer’s example is a testament to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ, where everything else pales in comparison.

Knowing Christ and seeking His Kingdom should fill us with hope. It is a treasure worth more than everything we own, and it prompts us to be willing to sacrifice and endure suffering. We must remember that the suffering we experience on earth is temporary, while God’s Kingdom is eternal. My desire is to help others walk in Christ, to see them rooted, built up, and established in their faith – just what Paul points us to in Colossians 2:6-7.

As I reflect on these verses further, I think about the various ways people describe what it means to be in Christ – being saved, born again, or a Christ-follower. Yet, I am aware that some may use these terms to hide their disbelief and navigate “church” culture. I also observe the shift in the southeastern United States from being known as the Bible Belt to a predominant worldview of “moralistic therapeutic deism,” where people speak generically about God and attend churches for community without embracing biblical teachings. Receiving Christ Jesus as Lord is of utmost importance. It goes beyond a mere label or outward profession. It is about submitting to Jesus as Lord, recognizing His sacrifice as a ransom for many and embracing Him as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (Romans 10:9-13). Merely calling oneself a Christian without true submission to Jesus as Lord is incompatible with genuine belief. Confessing Jesus as Lord and believing in His resurrection are the hallmarks of true salvation.

For more, check out the original Bible study from this section:

Wrapping Up

I invite you to assess your own life considering Jesus’ teachings and the words we have read from Colossians 1-2 today.  Have you truly received Jesus as Lord? Does your life reflect the transformation that comes from knowing Him? Are you putting off your old self and being renewed in the likeness of God? If not, I urge you to repent and believe. It is not too late for you to receive Jesus, to confess Him as Lord, and to be saved.

If you are in Christ, I encourage you to consider the depth of your faith. Receiving Jesus as Lord is the foundation for growth and maturity. Making disciples requires personal investment and time. Being rooted in Christ provides sustenance and support, while building up in Him involves growth and putting His Word into practice. The church is built through love and service, and being established in the faith brings assurance and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Confronting harsh truths offers an opportunity for repentance and faith in Christ. May we all seize that opportunity and worship Christ as Lord, walking in the hope and maturity that He offers!

[1] All Scripture references unless otherwise noted are from the English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Col 1:1–2.

[2] Cross references show what the Bible says about a particular verse, section, or word. I use the cross references heavily in my study of the Word, especially when preaching and/or teaching the Word. Cross references that parallel the verse, section, or word but do not directly reference it are marked by brackets, for example [1 Peter 2:9-12]. Cross references of similar themes will be designated by the word “See”.

[3] See 2 Corinthians 7:4 – I am acting with great boldness toward you; I have great pride in you; I am filled with comfort. In all our affliction, I am overflowing with joy.

[4] [2 Timothy 1:8] – Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God….
[2 Timothy 2:10] – Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

[5] See 2 Corinthians 1:5 – For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.

[6] [Ephesians 4:12] – …to equip the saints for the work of the ministry, for building up the body of Christ….

[7] ch. 1:23 – …if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

[8] See Ephesians 3:2 – …assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you….

[9] Ephesians 3:9 – …and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things….
See Romans 16:25-26 – Now to Him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith….

[10] [ch. 2:2]

[11] Ephesians 1:18 – …having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which He has called you, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints….
Ephesians 3:16 – …that according to the riches of His glory He may grant you to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in your inner being….

[12] 1 Timothy 1:1 – Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope….

[13] ch. 1:22-23 – …He has now reconciled in His body of flesh by His death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before Him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

[14] See Matthew 5:48 – You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

[15] 1 Corinthians 15:10 – But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain.
1 Timothy 4:10 – For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially those who believe.

[16] ch. 4:12 – Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God.
[ch. 2:1]

[17] See Ephesians 1:19 – …and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His great might….

[18] Philippians 1:30 – …engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

[19] ch. 4:8 – I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts….
Ephesians 6:22 – I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage your hearts.

[20] [ch. 3:14] – And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

[21] v. 1:27

[22] Isaiah 11:2 – And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
Isaiah 45:3 – I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hoards in secret places that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, who call you by your name.
1 Corinthians 1:24 – …but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
1 Corinthians 1:30 – And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption….
1 Corinthians 2:6-7 – Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory.
[Luke 11:49] – Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute’….
[Ephesians 1:8] – …which He lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight….

[23] Romans 16:18 – For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naïve.
[Ephesians 5:6] – Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.
[2 Peter 2:3] – And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

[24] 1 Corinthians 5:3 – For though absent in the body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing.

[25] 1 Corinthians 14:40 – But all things should be done decently and in order.

[26] 1 Peter 5:9 – Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.

[27] ch. 1:10 – …so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God….
1 Thessalonians 4:1 – Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more.

[28] Ephesians 3:17 – …so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith – that you, being rooted and grounded in love….

[29] Acts 20:32 – And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.
Ephesians 2:20 – …built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone….
See 1 Corinthians 3:9 – For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.

[30] Hebrews 13:9 – Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them.

[31] Ephesians 4:21 – …assuming that you have heard about Him and were taught in Him, as the truth is in Jesus….

[32] ch. 4:2 – Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.
Ephesians 5:20 – …giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ….

Refresh & Restore Bible Study — May 25, 2023

Greetings Sojourners!

Early in 2022, we began a study on the epistle of Colossians but were unable to complete it at that time due to my schedule. Over the next month or so, we will finish that study: Jesus Over All!

Rather than diving in right where we left off, it is important that we refresh our memories – definitely necessary for me – so that we keep our study in context. We will revisit Colossians 1[1] today, Colossians 2 next week, and then revisit each of the two sections of Colossians 3 after that. This will poise us to be able to finish the study and to grow by God’s Spirit in the study of His Word as He intended when Colossians was written – to the church then, now, and until the return of Christ. Furthermore, I will be including the biblical cross references[2] in the footnotes so that those who are interested can see what the Bible says about itself.

Colossians 1 is important for understanding Paul’s letter to the church at Colossae not only because it is the first chapter but because it contains the beautiful Christological hymn (vv. 1:15-20) which illustrates Jesus’ preeminent position over everything that is – over all creation, and especially over us. God has graciously revealed this to us so that we can see Jesus appropriately – high above us and worthy of all worship. Yet, despite our own sinfulness and unworthiness, He offers us “redemption” (v. 1:14) and the opportunity to be delivered “from the domain of darkness” and to be transferred to His Kingdom (v. 1:13). What a beautiful opportunity to recognize Jesus is Lord and above all else and to move our hearts to believe in Him (Romans 10:9-10)!

Refresh & Restore Bible Study — May 18, 2023: When the Loving Kindness of God Our Savior Appears – Refresh & Restore | A JustKeithHarris.com Podcast

This is the May 18, 2023 episode of the Refresh & Restore Bible Study, provided by JustKeithHarris.com. You can find the written version of this, along with Scripture references and footnotes, at: https://justkeithharris.com/2023/05/17/refresh-restore-bible-study-may-18-2023/
  1. Refresh & Restore Bible Study — May 18, 2023: When the Loving Kindness of God Our Savior Appears
  2. Refresh & Restore Bible Study — May 11, 2023: Sufficient Grace
  3. Refresh & Restore — December 29, 2022 (Behold the King)
  4. Advent 2022 — The Story of Christmas
  5. Advent 2022 — December 24 (Christmas Eve Reading for Our Kiddos)

Introduction (vv. 1:1-2)

1 Paul, [3]an apostle of Christ Jesus [4]by the will of God, and Timothy [5]our brother,

2 To the [6]saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae:
[7]Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

Colossians 1:1-2

The book of Colossians is an epistle written by the apostle Paul to the church in Colossae, which was established by their pastor, Epaphras. It highlights the importance of everyday individuals like Epaphras in spreading the gospel and emphasizes the significance of Jesus in our lives and churches.

One of the main themes in Colossians is the preeminence of Jesus Christ over everything. Paul teaches the Colossians deeper truths about Jesus to build upon the gospel they received from Epaphras. The whole epistle highlights various aspects of Jesus and warns against false teachings that damage His church.

False teachers and distractions continue to challenge the Church today, but the good news is that Jesus is our shepherd who offers abundant life and eternal security. His grace and love – the opposite of what we deserve – provide us with peace. The goal of studying Colossians is to recognize Jesus’ supremacy, deepen our faith, and display Him as sufficient in the face of all difficulties, those that come from within and from without.

Throughout this epistle, Paul urges us to focus on Jesus, trust in His work, and guard ourselves against false teachings. Jesus is the center of our faith, offering hope and salvation to all who believe.

For more, check out the original Bible studies from this section:

Thankfulness and Prayer for the Church at Colossae (vv. 1:3-14)

3 [8]We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 since we heard of [9]your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, 5 because of [10]the hope [11]laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in [12]the word of the truth, the gospel, 6 which has come to you, as indeed [13]in the whole world it is [14]bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you [15]heard it and understood [16]the grace of God in truth, 7 just as you learned it from [17]Epaphras our beloved [18]fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf 8 and has made known to us your [19]love in the Spirit.

9 And so, [20]from the day we heard, [21]we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that [22]you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all [23]spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as [24]to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, [25]fully pleasing to him: [26]bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 [27]being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for [28]all endurance and patience [29]with joy; 12 [30]giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in [31]the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 He [32]has delivered us from [33]the domain of darkness and transferred us to [34]the kingdom of [35]his beloved Son, 14 [36]in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Colossians 1:3-14

In this section, Paul offers a prayer of thanksgiving to God for the church at Colossae. He expresses gratitude for their faith in Christ, their love for one another, and the hope they have that comes from Christ. Despite facing false teachings, Paul prays for their continued growth in knowing God and walking with Him. He highlights the significance of faith, love, and hope within the church, emphasizing that faith in Christ is the foundation, love for fellow believers comes from God’s Spirit, and their hope is centered on Jesus and their eternal inheritance.

Paul also celebrates the effectiveness of the gospel, the Word of Truth, which is bearing fruit and growing. He emphasizes the importance of continually embracing and sharing the gospel message, which centers on Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. Despite his own circumstances, Paul finds encouragement in knowing that the gospel is still being preached and producing faith, love, and hope. He recognizes that the gospel’s power lies in Jesus, who is living and active.

Paul expresses admiration for Epaphras, who has shared about the Colossian church and its faith, love, and understanding of God’s grace. Both Paul and Epaphras celebrate what God is accomplishing through the gospel and the Holy Spirit’s power. They demonstrate humility and joy, desiring Christ to be exalted above themselves. Paul refers to Epaphras as a fellow servant and faithful minister of Christ.

This section concludes with a call to reflection and prayer. Readers are encouraged to reflect on their relationship with Christ and to offer prayers of thanksgiving for hearing the gospel, having faith in Christ, and the hope of eternity. They are also urged to express gratitude for their faith community, the impact of the gospel, and the opportunity to be part of God’s work. Additionally, there is a call to thank God for the privilege of sharing the good news and to pray for those who have not yet heard and need the opportunity to embrace faith in Christ. Paul’s prayer for the Colossian believers encompasses their faith, love, and hope, and he prays for their growth, endurance, and thankfulness for their salvation and inheritance in Christ.

For more, check out the original Bible studies from this section:

The Preeminence of Christ (vv. 1:15-20)

15 [37]He is the image of [38]the invisible God, [39]the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, [40]in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether [41]thrones or [42]dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created [43]through him and for him. 17 And [44]he is before all things, and in him all things [45]hold together. 18 And [46]he is the head of the body, the church. He is [47]the beginning, [48]the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For [49]in him all the [50]fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and [51]through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, [52]making peace [53]by the blood of his cross.

This section is a hymn that exalts and explains the identity of Jesus Christ. Throughout these six verses, the importance of understanding the true nature of Jesus in response to false teachings that had infiltrated the early church is clearly emphasized. Jesus, God in flesh and the Truth, is the only way to salvation and surpasses any distorted versions of the gospel presented by false teachers. This section points to the historical context of heresies and the recurring need to affirm the biblical understanding of Jesus throughout church history.

This passage presents scriptural evidence for Jesus being fully God and fully man, emphasizing his divine nature and his humanity. Jesus is described as the “image of the invisible God,” representing the visible representation of God and embodying His glory and nature. It needs to be clarified that the term “firstborn of all creation” does not imply that Jesus is a created being, but rather emphasizes His authority and position as the King of kings.

The passage further establishes Jesus as the creator of all things, both visible and invisible, in heaven and on earth. Jesus is credited with the power to bring everything into being and sustain the universe. He is described as being before all things and encompasses the entirety of existence. These verses highlight the divinity, authority, and creative power of Jesus, establishing Him as the preeminent and sovereign ruler over all creation.

The significance of Jesus and the beliefs surrounding Him for believers and non-believers is consistently emphasized here. This stresses the importance of recognizing Jesus as the ultimate authority and helps one not be swayed by false teachings or idolatry. Jesus is clearly shown to be the head of the Church, guiding and leading believers through His Word and Spirit. Furthermore, there is also an emphasis on Jesus’ role in reconciliation. Jesus is referred to as “the firstborn from the dead,” signifying His role as the origin of everything and the one who has conquered death. Through His life, death, and resurrection, Jesus made a way for humanity to be reconciled with God. His sacrifice on the cross and subsequent reconciliation of all things to God demonstrate God’s grace, mercy, and love.

The significance of understanding the true nature of Jesus Christ and the importance of holding onto the biblical depiction of Him cannot be emphasized enough – His divinity, authority, and creative power, as well as His role in reconciliation between God and humanity. Let us reflect on the magnitude of Jesus’ sacrifice and the love of God in reconciling humanity to Himself and worship Him!

For more, check out the original Bible studies from this section:

Wrapping Up (vv. 1:21-23)

21 [54]And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, [55]doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled [56]in his body of flesh by his death, [57]in order to present you holy and blameless and [58]above reproach before him, 23 [59]if indeed you continue in the faith, [60]stable and steadfast, not shifting from [61]the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed [62]in all creation under heaven, [63]and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

Colossians 1:21-23

The way Colossians 1 wraps up gives an invitation from God to the readers and hearers of the epistle – the original audience and even today – to respond to His Word and Spirit. Throughout the Bible, there are invitations extended by God to humanity. Examples include God inviting Noah and his family into the ark, inviting Israel through His prophets, and Jesus inviting all who labor and are heavy laden to find rest in Him. Through the work of His Spirit through the reading, hearing, and preaching of His Word, God offers the same to us today.

Reconciliation is offered by God through Jesus, an offer that acknowledges that humanity, due to sin, was alienated and hostile toward God, described as being dead in trespasses and sins. This challenges the notion that all people are inherently good and highlights the need for Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. God, in His love and mercy, reconciled humanity through Jesus’ death, offering salvation and presenting believers as holy and blameless.

It is my prayer that all of us recognize our need reconciliation with God, and that if any have not that they respond by repenting of their sins and believe in Jesus. Remember, this invitation emphasizes that salvation is by grace through faith, not based on deserving it. It is also an invitation for those who believe to continue in the faith, remaining stable, steadfast, and rooted in the hope of the gospel. Re-reading Colossians 1 has led me to examine my own life. I pray it does you, too.

[1] All Scripture references unless otherwise noted are from the English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Col 1:1–2.

[2] Cross references show what the Bible says about a particular verse, section, or word. I use the cross references heavily in my study of the Word, especially when preaching and/or teaching the Word. Cross references that parallel the verse, section, or word but do not directly reference it are marked by brackets, for example [1 Peter 2:9-12]. Cross references of similar themes will be designated by the word “See”.

[3] See 2 Corinthians 1:1 – Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the church of God that is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in the whole of Achaia….

[4] See 1 Corinthians 1:1 – Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes….

[5] See 1 Thessalonians 3:2 – …and we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s coworker in the gospel of Christ, to establish and exhort you in your faith….

[6] Ephesians 1:1 – Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus…. | See Philippians 1:1 – Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons…..

[7] Romans 1:7 – To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. | 1 Corinthians 1:3 – Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

[8] Ephesians 1:15-16 – For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers…. | Philemon 4 – I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers….

[9] See 1 Thessalonians 1:3 – …remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

[10] v. 23 | See Acts 23:6 – Now when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. It is with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.” | Titus 1:2 – …in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began…. | Hebrews 3:6 – …but Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son. And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.

[11] 2 Timothy 4:8 – Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing. | 1 Peter 1:4 – …to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you….

[12] See Ephesians 1:13 – In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit….

[13] [v. 23] | [Psalm 98:3] – He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. | See Matthew 24:14 – And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

[14] John 15:5 – I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. | John 15:16 – You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. | [Philippians 1:11] – …filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

[15] [Romans 16:26] – …but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith…. | [Ephesians 4:21] – …assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus….

[16] See Acts 11:23 – When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose….

[17] ch. 4:12 – Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God. | Philemon 23 – Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings to you….

[18] ch. 4:7 – Tychicus will tell you all about my activities. He is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord.

[19] [Romans 15:30] – I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf….

[20] v. 4

[21] 2 Thessalonians 1:11 – To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power….

[22] [Ephesians 1:17] – …that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him….

[23] ch. 4:5 – Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. | Ephesians 1:8 – …which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight…. | [1 Corinthians 12:8] – For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit….

[24] [Psalm 1:1-3] – Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. | See Ephesians 4:1 – I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called….

[25] [2 Corinthians 5:9] – So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. | [Ephesians 5:10] – …and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. | [1 Thessalonians 4:1] – Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more.

[26] v. 6

[27] See Ephesians 3:16 – …that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being….

[28] Ephesians 4:2 – …with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love….

[29] See Matthew 5:12 – Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

[30] ch. 3:15 – And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. | Ephesians 5:20 – …giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ….

[31] See Acts 26:18 – …to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.”

[32] 1 Thessalonians 1:10 – …and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

[33] Luke 22:53 – When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness.” | Ephesians 6:12 – For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

[34] 2 Peter 1:11 – For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

[35] [Ephesians 1:6] – …to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

[36] See Ephesians 1:7 – In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace….

[37] See 2 Corinthians 4:4 – In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel for the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

[38] See 1 Timothy 1:17 – To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

[39] [Psalm 89:27] – And I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth. | See Romans 8:29 – For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

[40] Ephesians 1:10 – …as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

[41] [Ezekiel 10:1] – Then I looked, and behold, on the expanse that was over the heads of the cherubim there appeared above them something like a sapphire, in appearance like a throne.

[42] Ephesians 1:21 – …far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.

[43] Romans 11:36 – For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. | 1 Corinthians 8:6 – …yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.

[44] [John 8:58] – Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” | See John 1:1 – In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

[45] [Hebrews 1:3] – He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.

[46] See Ephesians 1:22-23 – And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

[47] Revelation 3:14 – “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write, ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation.

[48] Acts 26:23 – …that the Christ must suffer and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles.” |                     1 Corinthians 15:20 – But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. | Revelation 1:5 – …and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood….

[49] ch. 2:9 – For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily….

[50] See John 1:16 – For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.

[51] See 2 Corinthians 5:18 – All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation…. | See Ephesians 1:10 – …as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

[52] See Ephesians 2:14 – For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility….

[53] [Ephesians 2:13] – But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

[54] See Ephesians 2:1-2 – And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience…. | See Ephesians 2:12 – …remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

[55] [Titus 1:16] – They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.

[56] [Romans 7:4] – Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God.

[57] Jude 24 – Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy…. | See Ephesians 1:4 – …even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. | See Ephesians 5:27 – …so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

[58] 1 Corinthians 1:8 – …who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

[59] See John 15:4 – Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.

[60] ch. 2:7 – …rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. | Ephesians 3:17 – …so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith – that you, being rooted and grounded in love….

[61] vv. 5-6

[62] Mark 16:15 – And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. | [Acts 2:5]

[63] See 2 Corinthians 3:6 – …who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

Refresh & Restore Bible Study — May 11, 2023

1 I must go on boasting. Though there is nothing to be gained by it, I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. 2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows. 3 And I know that this man was caught up into paradise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows— 4 and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter. 5 On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses— 6 though if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth; but I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me. 7 So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.[1]

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Refresh & Restore Bible Study — May 18, 2023: When the Loving Kindness of God Our Savior Appears – Refresh & Restore | A JustKeithHarris.com Podcast

This is the May 18, 2023 episode of the Refresh & Restore Bible Study, provided by JustKeithHarris.com. You can find the written version of this, along with Scripture references and footnotes, at: https://justkeithharris.com/2023/05/17/refresh-restore-bible-study-may-18-2023/
  1. Refresh & Restore Bible Study — May 18, 2023: When the Loving Kindness of God Our Savior Appears
  2. Refresh & Restore Bible Study — May 11, 2023: Sufficient Grace
  3. Refresh & Restore — December 29, 2022 (Behold the King)
  4. Advent 2022 — The Story of Christmas
  5. Advent 2022 — December 24 (Christmas Eve Reading for Our Kiddos)

Greetings Sojourners!

It has been quite a while since I have been able to write (for pleasure instead of school), and I am ecstatic!

For those of you who have been keeping up with my grad school journey, it is finally at an end! I passed my oral exams last Friday and graduate tomorrow. I have learned a lot and been stretched in ways I did not expect, but by God’s sufficient grace, Candice’s perseverance, my kiddos patience, and prayers of my family, friends, and fellow Sojourners, I can now breathe and begin applying all that I have learned. And I cannot express how thankful I am that the application of it kicks our Refresh & Restore Bible studies off once more!

Another reason I am ecstatic is that I am getting to revisit this particular devotion. When I began 2023, I intended to hit at least forty devotions – ambitious considering how much of the year would be teaching school and going to school. Needless to say, I did not hit that mark. Far short, actually. This is the second devotion of 2023.

The first draft of this was unfinished, and I had no idea. In January 2023, my world was full of anxiety. I had allowed work and life to weigh on me heavily. More than a decade of the roller coaster of anxiety and depression, along with highly stressful jobs/careers had taken its toll. I tried my best to hide it (even though I have learned the hard way that such things are as damaging as they are foolish), but my health had begun to be affected by it worse than ever. Daily panic attacks and anxiety had invited painful inflammation in all my joints. I honestly did not know how I would keep it all going. My family – home family and church family – were my only solace.

And amid all that, I wrote the January 11 version of this devotion. Looking at it now, I am thankful that I did. The hope that I knew I had in Christ Jesus alone was there. The sufficient grace that He was continually pouring into my life was there, and I knew it. I just did not realize how much farther I had to go in this leg of my journey, and, thankfully, today I can edit it from the vantage point of God having carried me through that season of difficulty.

A Thorn in the Flesh (vv. 1-7)

The content of verses 1-7 are widely debated, and I do not intend to wade into that debate today. When it comes to Bible interpretation, I tend to take the Alistair Begg approach: in Scripture, the main things are the plain things. Chas Rowland puts it a little clearer: in Scripture, the important things are clear, and the clear things are important. There are parts of this passage that are clear and parts that are purposefully left unclear.

When I say purposefully left unclear, I mean that the Holy Spirit obviously did not decide to give us the specific details regarding the content of the “visions and revelations of the Lord” (v. 1), what it means to be “caught up to the third heaven” (v. 2 – and which Paul himself did not know whether it was “in the body or out of the body”), what it means to be “caught up into paradise” (v. 3 – which Paul states only “God knows”). If I were to give my best and most theologically sound interpretation of these things, it would be two-fold: 1) I don’t know, and 2) it cannot be (fully) known because the Bible clearly does not provide the information, we need to know these things.

It is okay to say “I don’t know” when it comes to Bible interpretation. That does not mean we do not need to study or that we should not dig into God’s Word to search for answers. Those are good and valuable things – things that we should be doing and doing regularly. But it is important to be honest about what we do not know or understand in the Bible, especially if the alternative is to teach or proclaim things that may be untrue or dangerously heretical. All too often pastors and church folks will fill in what they perceive as gaps and try to make clear what the Bible does not. At best, this practice might lead people to check the Bible to see whether what is taught is true or accurate, but unfortunately, people are all too willing to take people’s opinions, views, and best-guesses at what unclear passages are talking as gospel truth at the expense of the actual truth of the gospel.

Some might balk at my saying that there are things in Scripture that cannot be fully known, but we are limited to what God has given us in His Word – and rightly so! The Bible contains everything that can be known about God. There are commentaries galore, but they are written by men. Peter’s second letter deals with this subject at length in the section of 2 Peter that leads to his teaching on how dangerous false teachers are. Look at this passage from 2 Peter 1:19-21 which talks about the importance of the special revelation[2] of God found in His Word versus the direction men (or women) may take it:

And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Peter is talking about the illuminating value of God’s revelation through Scripture. Man’s interpretation can be helpful, but it is the Word that is a lamp for our feet and light to guide our path (Psalm 119:105)!

So, here is what is plain and clear in verses 1-7 and therefore main and important.

  • Paul was given visions of “surpassing greatness” (v. 7). Based on the context (“third heaven” and “paradise)”, he was given some sort of glimpses into heaven.
  • These visions were so great that Paul wished to boast about them, and it took great pains to keep him from boasting. Paul had written earlier to the church at Corinth about the dangers of such boasting, explaining that is why God chooses “what is low and despised in the world…so that no human being might boast in the presence of God” (1 Corinthians 1:28-29) and reminding them – and apparently himself – of the Lord’s words in Jeremiah 9:23-24: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth.”
  • Paul was given “a thorn in the flesh” to “keep [him] from becoming conceited”. There are three main categories that interpretations of this “thorn” fall into: “(1) spiritual or psychological anxiety (such as anguish over Israel’s stubborn unbelief); (2) opposition to his ministry or message; and (3) a recurring and tormenting physical malady”.[3] Scholars and theologians find reasons in the text for all three. I have speculations but find no value in sharing those with you here. What is clear is that God allowed this “messenger of Satan to harass” Paul just as He allowed similarly with Job – just for different reasons. It is the same God who decided not to give us more information in this section of Scripture. I trust Him and His wisdom.

If you are uncomfortable with not knowing more about this, let me give you a little guidance on how to proceed. First, I would tell you to dig into the biblical cross-references (those little letters that point you to other places in the Bible that talk about similar things/topics that connect you to Bible verses – almost like little biblical footnotes). Limit yourself in your searching to what can be known in the Bible. Second, be careful about letting your favorite Bible guy or gal tell you fully what the Bible limits. Our Father knows best, and if He has not fully revealed something, be wary of a “preacher” who touts full revelation. That means what has been revealed to him (or her) did not come from the Bible. I am scared of those people. I would rather be a Bible-guy, satisfied with what is in it, than a popular preacher spreading my own words. Furthermore, if God had waited nearly 2,000 years for your favorite preacher to shed light on His Word or even needed them to make clear what His Word could not, that God would neither be loving nor sovereign.[4] Who loves you more: the God of the Bible who revealed Himself through His Word, or someone who claims to have more or better knowledge than what the Bible offers?

The good news, especially for us in this Bible study is that what comes after verses 1-7 is clear and plain and, therefore, important and main!

Sufficient Grace (vv. 8-10)

Whatever the “thorn in the flesh” was, it was so bad that Paul says that he “pleaded with the Lord” about it three times that it would “leave” him (v. 8). The word translated “plead” means to “call for or upon someone as for aid, to invoke God, to beseech, entreat”[5]. Paul was literally begging God to make this “thorn”, this “messenger of Satan” that was harassing him to go away – because God was the only one who could make it go away! Apparently, Jesus’ answer was different than the one Paul was looking for: no.

I know something of struggling and begging God to take the struggle away. I also know a little bit about the answer being no. Thankfully, Paul’s “no” carried with it an explanation. Paul’s “no” got a verbal answer from Jesus (notice the red letters). Rather than taking away this thorn (which again was allowed by God) Jesus – the King of kings and Lord of lords – told him: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Rather than immediate – or eventual since we do not know if this thorn was ever removed – relief, Jesus told Paul that He would supply the strength to endure the thorn, that sufficient grace would be provided in his moments of need.

This may not seem like good news since we live in an era where immediate gratification or immediate relief are what many people are seeking, but this really is good news. You need to understand that I am not saying this out of some sense of religious obligation. When I cry out for God to rescue me from a struggle that has plagued and harassed me, I want immediate deliverance, too! I begged Him for relief daily for most of the last year and earnestly hoped my “thorn” would leave me right then and there. But it didn’t. It didn’t immediately go away, and it will likely be back. Paul’s “thorn” would not go away, but neither would Jesus! Jesus – Emmanuel (“God with us”) – met Paul’s weakness and provided sufficient – enough to overcome and get through – grace and strength to carry him! Jesus meets me in my struggle and stays with me and will meet you, too. He provides the same sufficient grace for you and me today.

Paul pleaded and begged for relief received the presence of Jesus and the full strength of God Himself to overcome the struggle! I hate my struggles. I hate being weak. More often than not, I find myself feeling hopeless when the struggles linger and return. But I am so thankful that despite the struggle, I find the presence of God. I find His strength. I find grace sufficient to do more than survive but to live and thrive in Christ. I find new mercies (Lamentations 3:22-23). Like Paul, I find Jesus, time and again.

The good thing for us is that we do not have to wait for an audible word from the Lord to intervene in our times of despair. The words from our passage today – those red letters –are spoken to us as well. We don’t have to wait for God to speak because He has spoken![6]

Paul just thought that the visions he had were of surpassing greatness, but through the sufficient and continual grace of Jesus he grew to understand that the presence of Jesus was better than the loftiest visions. At the end of Paul’s life, shortly before his death (by martyrdom), he wrote to the church at Philippi. He did not talk to them of a thorn or visions. He spoke to them of the “surpassing worth of knowing Christ [his] Lord” (Philippians 3:7). He explained to them and to us that everything he had previously boasted in – his Hebrew heritage, his Pharisaical pedigree, his exorbitant education, and even his most-valued visions – was equivalent to and counted by him as “rubbish” (Philippians 3:8) – literally “refuse…of dung, and figuratively of the filth of the mind”.[7]

I want you to think about what these visions likely showed Paul and what this statement means. Paul’s vision was one of heaven – of paradise! But it paled in comparison to the “surpassing worth” of Jesus! Heaven, without Jesus, (pardon the crass language here) is crap. Read that again. A Jesus-less heaven is worthless – as the kids today say, “straight trash”. Does that seem odd to you? If it does, you are boasting about the wrong things!

Paul was at risk of boasting in the wrong things in our passage today, but by the grace of God, he received a “thorn”. The Lord allowed something bad to bring about the grace that helped Paul boast only in Christ. What did not seem like a blessing – and would not have been had it not been for Christ – blessed Paul because of the grace it gave him. The question for us, and honestly the question I must ask myself often, is whether or not I can be satisfied with the grace and presence of Christ in the face of continued difficulty.

Wrapping Up

I am thankful that Jesus is better than my struggles. His power is enough to withstand. His Spirit never leaves me nor forsakes me. And, just as He promised, He is with me always, “even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). But I need constant reminding.

If I am not careful, I can be so boastful. God’s power becomes eclipsed in my mind by my pride. His grace gets masked by my desire to be my own man and get through in my own steam. Thankfully, I have the Word of God and passages like ours today to remind me of the gift of God’s sufficient grace!

In fact, when I wrote the first draft of this devotion, I was boasting relief when the thorn was just digging into me the deepest. But I couldn’t even record the podcast for it because I was in tears every time I started. During the months since, I have been brought low, depressed, and more anxious than I have ever been in my life. I have desired to quit just about everything in my life. But God’s grace has been, is, and always will be sufficient. So, now being on this side of that rough patch leaves me boasting only about Him – I can surely testify that the strength provided and victory were His because all I had in me was quit.

What about you?

Are you satisfied with the idea of heaven apart from Jesus? Would you rather have a mansion and immediate release from your earthly troubles rather than be in the presence of God and experience His sufficient grace? These are difficult questions, but they are necessary ones. God is big enough and strong enough for our questions. His loving-kindness can withstand and carry us through our darkest days and nights. His mercies and sufficient grace are enough to get us through whatever thorns tear at us. That’s good news! And I needed to hear it today – as much or more than when I first studied it four months ago. I hope it helps you as well.

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 2 Co 12:1–10.

[2] General revelation “about God’s existence, character, and moral law is given to all people; it is seen through nature, God’s historical works, and an inner sense that God has placed in everyone” and “called ‘general revelation’ because it is given to all people in general”. Special revelation is “God’s revelation to specific people”. “The Bible is special revelation and so are the direct messages from God to the prophets and others as recorded in the Bible’s historical stories.” (Wayne A. Grudem, Christian Beliefs: Twenty Basics Every Christian Should Know, ed. Elliot Grudem (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005), 18)

[3] Douglas J. Moo, “The Letters and Revelation,” in NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible, ed. D. A. Carson (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2018), 2096.

[4] Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House, 2004), 68.

[5] Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2000).

[6] Wayne A. Grudem, Christian Beliefs: Twenty Basics Every Christian Should Know, ed. Elliot Grudem (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005), 19.

[7] Zodhiates

Songs for Sunday, April 30, 2023

Here are our Scriptures and songs:

  • Scripture | Psalm 30 —

1  I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up and have not let my foes rejoice over me. 2 O Lord my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me. 3 O Lord, you have brought up my soul from Sheol; you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit.

4 Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name. 5 For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.

6 As for me, I said in my prosperity, “I shall never be moved.” 7 By your favor, O Lord, you made my mountain stand strong; you hid your face; I was dismayed.

8 To you, O Lord, I cry, and to the Lord I plead for mercy: 9 “What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it tell of your faithfulness? 10 Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me! O Lord, be my helper!”

11 You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, 12 that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!

  • Scripture | Philippians 2:5-11 —

5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Refresh & Restore — January 11, 2023

1 I must go on boasting. Though there is nothing to be gained by it, I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. 2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows. 3 And I know that this man was caught up into paradise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows— 4 and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter. 5 On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses— 6 though if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth; but I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me. 7 So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.[1]

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Refresh & Restore Bible Study — May 18, 2023: When the Loving Kindness of God Our Savior Appears – Refresh & Restore | A JustKeithHarris.com Podcast

This is the May 18, 2023 episode of the Refresh & Restore Bible Study, provided by JustKeithHarris.com. You can find the written version of this, along with Scripture references and footnotes, at: https://justkeithharris.com/2023/05/17/refresh-restore-bible-study-may-18-2023/
  1. Refresh & Restore Bible Study — May 18, 2023: When the Loving Kindness of God Our Savior Appears
  2. Refresh & Restore Bible Study — May 11, 2023: Sufficient Grace
  3. Refresh & Restore — December 29, 2022 (Behold the King)
  4. Advent 2022 — The Story of Christmas
  5. Advent 2022 — December 24 (Christmas Eve Reading for Our Kiddos)

Greetings Sojourners!

This week’s devotion is for me. I have been looking at this passage for a couple of weeks now and am so thankful that it exists! I need this.

But it is for you, too! We all need to be reminded of Jesus’ words here.

And there’s even better news: I aim to be brief in this week’s Bible study! The spring semester of school is well underway, and my classes at William Carey are back in full swing. So, I have several irons in the fire at the moment. This is important, though – too important to go unsaid, too necessary for me to say.

I hope it helps you as much as it has me.

A Thorn in the Flesh (vv. 1-7)

The content of verses 1-7 are widely debated, and I do not intend to wade into that debate today. When it comes to Bible interpretation, I tend to take the Alistair Begg approach: in Scripture, the main things are the plain things. Chas Rowland puts it a little clearer: in Scripture, the important things are clear, and the clear things are important. There are parts of this passage that are clear and parts that are purposefully unclear.

When I say purposefully unclear, I mean that the Holy Spirit obviously did not decide to give us the specific details regarding the content of the “visions and revelations of the Lord” (v. 1), what it means to be “caught up to the third heaven” (v. 2 – and which Paul himself did not know whether it was “in the body or out of the body”), what it means to be “caught up into paradise” (v. 3 – which Paul states only “God knows”). If I were to give my best and most theologically sound interpretation of these things, it would be two-fold: 1) I don’t know, and 2) it cannot be (fully) known.

It is okay to say “I don’t know” when it comes to Bible interpretation. That does not mean we do not need to study or that it is not okay to dig into God’s Word to search for answers. Those are good and valuable things. But it is important to be able to be honest about what we do not know or understand, especially if the alternative is to teach or proclaim things that may be untrue or dangerously heretical.

Some might balk at my saying that it cannot be fully known, but we are limited to what God has given us in His Word – and rightly so! The Bible contains everything that can be known about God. There are commentaries galore, but they are written by men. Peter’s second letter deals with this at length in a section that immediately precedes a section on how dangerous false teachers are. Look at this passage from 2 Peter talking about the importance of the revelation of God found in His Word versus the direction men (or women) may take it:

And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

2 Peter 1:19-21

Peter is talking about the illuminating value of God’s revelation through Scripture. Man’s interpretation can be helpful, but it is the Word that is a lamp for our feet and light to guide our path (Psalm 119:105)!

So, here is what is plain or clear in verses 1-7 and therefore main or important.

  • Paul was given visions of “surpassing greatness” (v. 7). Based on the context (“third heaven” and “paradise)”, he was given some sort of glimpses into heaven.
  • These visions were so great that Paul wished to boast about and that took great pains to keep him from boasting. Paul had written earlier to the church at Corinth about the dangers of such boasting, explaining that is why God chooses “what is low and despised in the world…so that no human being might boast in the presence of God” (1 Corinthians 1:28-29) and reminding them – and apparently himself – of the Lord’s words in Jeremiah 9:23-24: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth.”
  • Paul was given “a thorn in the flesh” to “keep [him] from becoming conceited”. There are three main categories that interpretations of this “thorn” fall into: “(1) spiritual or psychological anxiety (such as anguish over Israel’s stubborn unbelief); (2) opposition to his ministry or message; and (3) a recurring and tormenting physical malady”.[2] Scholars and theologians find reasons in the text for all three. I have speculations but find no value in sharing those with you here. What is clear is that God allowed this “messenger of Satan to harass” Paul just as He allowed similar with Job – just for different reasons. It is the same God who decided not to give us more information in this section of Scripture. I trust Him and His wisdom.

If you are uncomfortable with not knowing more about this, let me give you a little guidance on how to proceed. First, I would tell you to dig into the biblical cross-references (those little letters that point you to other places in the Bible that talk about similar things/topics). Limit yourself to what can be known in the Bible. Second, be careful about letting your favorite Bible guy or gal tell you fully what the Bible limits. Our Father knows best, and if He has not fully revealed something, be wary of a “preacher” who touts full revelation. That means what has been revealed to him (or her) did not come from the Bible. I am scared of those people. I would rather be a Bible-guy, satisfied with what is in it, than a popular preacher spreading my own words.

The good news, especially for us in this Bible study is that what comes after verses 1-7 is clear and plain and, therefore, important and main!

Sufficient Grace (vv. 8-10)

Whatever the “thorn in the flesh” was, it was so bad that Paul says that he “pleaded with the Lord” about it three times that it would “leave” him (v. 8). The word translated “plead” means to “call for or upon someone as for aid, to invoke God, to beseech, entreat”.[3] Paul was literally begging God to make this “thorn”, this “messenger of Satan” that was harassing him to go away – because God was the only one who could make it go away! Apparently, Jesus’ answer was a different one than Paul was looking for: no.

I know something of struggling and begging God to take the struggle away. I also know a little bit about the answer being no. Thankfully, Paul’s “no” carried with it an explanation. Paul’s “no” got a verbal answer from Jesus (notice the red letters). Rather than taking away this thorn (which again was allowed by God) was: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Rather than immediate – or eventual since we do not know if this thorn was ever removed – relief, Jesus told Paul that He would supply the strength to endure the thorn, that sufficient grace would be provided in his moments of need.

This may not seem like good news since we live in an era where immediate gratification is what many people are seeking, but it is truly good news. I am not saying this out of some sense of religious hocus pocus. When I cry out for God to rescue me from a struggle that has plagued and harassed me, I want immediate deliverance, too! I begged Him for relief earlier today and earnestly hoped that the malady would leave me right then and there. But it didn’t. It didn’t immediately go away, and it will be back. Paul’s “thorn” would not go away, but neither would Jesus! Jesus – Emmanuel (“God with us”) – would meet Paul’s weakness and provide sufficient – enough to overcome and get through – grace and strength to carry Paul through! Jesus meets me in my struggle and stays with me. He provides the same sufficient grace for you and me today.

Paul pleaded and begged and received more than a response from Jesus; he received the presence of Jesus and the full strength of God Himself to overcome the struggle! I hate my struggles. I hate being weak. More often than not, I find myself feeling hopeless when the struggles linger and return. But I am so thankful that in the midst of struggle, I find the presence of God. I find His strength. I find grace sufficient to do more than survive but to live and thrive in Christ. I find new mercies (Lamentations 3:22-23). I, like Paul, find Jesus.

The good thing for us is that we do not have to wait for a word from the Lord to intervene. The words – those red letters – in today’s passage are spoken to us as well. We don’t have to wait for God to speak because He has spoken!

Paul just thought that the visions he had were of surpassing greatness, but through the sufficient and continual grace of Jesus he grew to understand that there was something better than even the best visions. Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi came at the end of his life, shortly before his death (by martyrdom). He did not talk to them of a thorn or visions. He spoke to them of the “surpassing worth of knowing Christ [his] Lord” (Philippians 3:7). He explained to the church at Philippi and to us that everything he had previously boasted in – his Hebrew heritage, his Pharisaical pedigree, his exorbitant education, and even his most-valued visions – was equivalent now and counted by him as “rubbish” (Philippians 3:8). For context, the word translated “rubbish” was the word used to describe “refuse of grain, chaff, or of a table, of slaughtered animals, of dung, and figuratively of the filth of the mind”.[4]

I want you to think about what these visions likely showed Paul and what this statement means. Paul’s vision was one of heaven – of paradise! But it paled in comparison to the “surpassing worth” of Jesus! Heaven, without Jesus, (pardon the crass language here) is crap. Read that again. Heaven without Jesus is nothing. A Jesus-less heaven is worthless – as the kids say, “straight trash”. Does that seem odd to you? If it does, you are boasting in the wrong things!

Paul was at risk of boasting in the wrong things in our passage today, but by the grace of God, he received a thorn. The Lord allowed something bad to bring about the grace to help Paul boast only in Christ. What did not seem like a blessing – and definitely would not have been had it not been for Christ – was a blessing because of the grace given to Paul to withstand. The question for us, and honestly the question I have to ask myself often, is whether or not I can be satisfied with the grace and presence of Christ in the face of continued difficulty.

Wrapping Up

I am thankful that Jesus is better than my struggles. His power is enough to withstand. His Spirit never leaves me nor forsakes me. And, just as He promised, He is with me always, “even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). But I need constant reminding.

If I am not careful, I can be so boastful. God’s power becomes eclipsed in my mind by my pride. His grace gets masked by my desire to be my own man and get through in my own steam. Thankfully, I have the Word of God and passages like ours today to remind me of the gift of God’s sufficient grace!

What about you?

Are you satisfied with the idea of heaven apart from Jesus? Would you rather have a mansion and immediate release from your earthly troubles rather than be in the presence of God and experience His sufficient grace?

These are difficult questions, but they are necessary ones. They are questions that I struggle with as I plead for relief. But God is big enough and strong enough for our questions. His loving-kindness can withstand and carry us through our doubts. His mercies and sufficient grace are enough to get us through whatever thorns tear at us.

I pray that I can boast like Paul did at the end of today’s passage that he was able to be “content” – to “be well–pleased”[5] – in “weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities” because when he was weak, he was strong because of Jesus’ sufficient grace. I am not there yet, but there is sufficient grace to get me there eventually. That’s good news! And I needed to hear it today. I hope it helps you as well.

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 2 Co 12:1–10.

[2] Douglas J. Moo, “The Letters and Revelation,” in NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible, ed. D. A. Carson (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2018), 2096.

[3] Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2000).

[4] Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2000).

[5] Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2000).

Refresh & Restore — August 11, 2022

27  Make me understand the way of your precepts,
and I will meditate on your wondrous works.
28    My soul melts away for sorrow;
strengthen me according to your word![1]

Psalm 119:27-28

Refresh & Restore Bible Study — May 18, 2023: When the Loving Kindness of God Our Savior Appears – Refresh & Restore | A JustKeithHarris.com Podcast

This is the May 18, 2023 episode of the Refresh & Restore Bible Study, provided by JustKeithHarris.com. You can find the written version of this, along with Scripture references and footnotes, at: https://justkeithharris.com/2023/05/17/refresh-restore-bible-study-may-18-2023/
  1. Refresh & Restore Bible Study — May 18, 2023: When the Loving Kindness of God Our Savior Appears
  2. Refresh & Restore Bible Study — May 11, 2023: Sufficient Grace
  3. Refresh & Restore — December 29, 2022 (Behold the King)
  4. Advent 2022 — The Story of Christmas
  5. Advent 2022 — December 24 (Christmas Eve Reading for Our Kiddos)

Greetings Sojourners!

I have written in the past regarding struggles that I have, so I will not revisit that here today. In fact, it is my plan to be brief.

It is not often when I am found at a loss for words, but there are a few things that are on my mind as I write this that I want to say – and I hope that it is helpful to someone.

First, it is okay to struggle. It is. The idea that any one of us can be self-sufficient and manage to never have anything overwhelming happen is on one side a pipe-dream and on the other utter foolishness.

I spent too many years in my twenties trying to give the impression that I had it (whatever it is) together. And, in all of that time putting up a façade of strength and resolve, I became more and more prideful, grew to try to rely more on my own strength (which was lacking in the first place), and forgot that complete and total surrender and reliance upon God is the bedrock of faith. We trust in Him because He is God. When we are weak, He is strong. When we are drowning in whatever this fallen world throws on us, He sets our feet on the rock (Psalm 40:2) – He is even the Rock!

Second, there are many people who are struggling. Sometimes, I pride myself in getting to be the guy God uses to help struggling people. I am not so foolish to think that I can fix people’s troubles, but I enjoy getting to point people to the Christ who is my hope – to the God who saves (eternally and in present times of trouble). Over the past few weeks, a sister and some brothers in Christ reminded me that it is good to be helped and not just try to help others. In the midst of some angst, exhaustion, and despair, they helped me like I have helped others. They pointed me to Jesus. They prayed for me. I rejoice that God is not only my Savior but that He has not left me alone. His Spirit never leaves me. And He moved in the hearts of these helpers to help me.

Lastly, there are varieties of struggles that I could not begin to enumerate. But the existence of those struggles does not mean that God is not there. He is. It does not negate the hope that is in Christ for us to struggle. The trials and tribulations of this life is why we “take heart” in the One who “has overcome the world” (John 16:33)!

I know have a dear sister in Christ who has gone through many sorrows and trials over the past few years than many will ever go through in their lifetimes. She has consistently reached out for people to pray and lift her up to the Lord. He hears those prayers. He loves her.

He loves me and you, too.

The verses above appeared in my quiet time yesterday, specifically verse 28, and reminded me of what I do when I find myself overwhelmed. I meditate on God’s Word – not ohmmmmmm with legs crossed, but listening to or reading chunks of God’s Word and let my mind dwell on Him rather than whatever has me bogged down in the moment. As I say this, I feel it necessary to say that this is not a magic cure. His Word is not a series of incantations that force my struggles into submission. This ain’t that. But fixing my mind upon Him, like we have been looking at in Colossians, means that my struggles are in perspective correctly with eternity.

Yesterday when I read verse 28 – “My soul melts away for sorrow; strengthen me according to Your Word” – I was reminded why I do what I do, both in personal pursuit and relationship with God and in getting to write these devotions. I seek to be strengthen by God through His Word. And I want to help you, dear Sojourner, to receive the very same thing – to point you to Him through His Word and receive the help and salvation you need.

I told you I wanted to be short and will live up to that. My feeble words are over, but I want to give you something so much better. I want to share with you some passages from the Word that help me when I am struggling. There is no better place to turn when our souls are melting away with sorrow that the Word of the King of kings and Lord of lords.

Passages for Meditation

7  The Lord is good,
a stronghold in the day of trouble;
He knows those who take refuge in Him.

Nahum 1:7

6 [Humble yourselves], therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.

1 Peter 5:6-7

19  Remember my affliction and my wanderings,
the wormwood and the gall!
20    My soul continually remembers it
and is bowed down within me.
21    But this I call to mind,
and therefore I have hope:

22    The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
His mercies never come to an end;
23    they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
24    “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in Him.”

25    The Lord is good to those who wait for Him,
to the soul who seeks Him.
26    It is good that one should wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord.

Lamentations 3:19-26

8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

2 Corinthians 12:8-10

21    Do you not know? Do you not hear?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22    It is he who sits above the circle of the earth,
and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;
who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
and spreads them like a tent to dwell in;
23    who brings princes to nothing,
and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.

24    Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,
scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,
when he blows on them, and they wither,
and the tempest carries them off like stubble.

25    To whom then will you compare me,
that I should be like him? says the Holy One.
26    Lift up your eyes on high and see:
who created these?
He who brings out their host by number,
calling them all by name;
by the greatness of his might
and because he is strong in power,
not one is missing.

27    Why do you say, O Jacob,
and speak, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
and my right is disregarded by my God”?
28    Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
29    He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
30    Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
31    but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40:21-31

4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

Philippians 4:4-9

28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Matthews 11:28-30

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ps 119:27–28.

Refresh & Restore — July 28, 2022

5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.[1]

Colossians 3:5-11

Greetings Sojourners!

Today is my 37th birthday, and birthdays are a good time for introspection.

Younger me had a lot of different goals over the years – plans for where I thought I would be by this point in my life. At 7, I wanted to be a “singing-preacher” (what I thought a minister of music was). At 17, my plans included teaching for a few years, getting my master’s degree, becoming a principal, and having a doctorate by 35 years old. At 27, I wanted to overcome the burnout and depression I was experiencing. I had burned out and quit ministry a few weeks before my 30th birthday and moved back home.

If someone had told me in 2015 that I would have the contentment and peace I have today in my walk with Christ and in my home life, I would have laughed in their face and probably told them they were full of something. I spent so long wanting to be something that I lost track of who I was. My identity became wrapped up in my job. That is a very modern way of putting the situation. Biblically, workaholism is a form of the sin of pride. Burnout, for me, was when my prideful pursuit of being somebody turned into the realization that work or status could never give me what I was looking for – was never intended to provide the feelings and validation I craved (really, coveted).

All of that sounds really negative (it definitely felt negative), but as I sit here in reflection today, God has blessed me and fulfilled me over the past seven years in ways I never could have imagined. The first blessing was finding Him in His Word and in prayer and realizing that He had never moved. The second blessing is realizing how amazing and beautiful a life God had built me by giving me Candice and the kiddos. There were more blessings than I can possibly list here, but ultimately, finding my identity in Christ helped me see which aspects of my life needed to removed – or put to death. Work had to have its place. Success and recognition had to have theirs, too. Eventually, after a lot of repenting, life rearrangement, correction through the Word, and more than a little training from Candice, I found joy in pastoral ministry that I never had in the years prior to burning out.

I do not want you to miss this: the issue that burned me out was sin. Pride is a dangerous thing. It is like the carbon monoxide of sinfulness – tasteless, odorless, and deadly. It crept in subtly and slyly. It began with a mix of not getting the recognition I felt I deserved. People told me that. Church folks, even. Then, I got a taste of recognition. Humility left quickly. I wanted more. The idea that I could become something quickly overtook my ministerial life. The fulfillment that came from compliments and attaboys was fleeting. The larger my pride became, the smaller my satisfaction. I just wanted to quit – and did! But pride tainted that, too. I faked a sabbatical so I would not have to live with the reality of failure, intending to extend it until I could bear the reality that I was spent.

As I said, there were things in my life that needed to be killed – that needed to be dead to me. There were areas of my life that had to be pruned, cutting away some of the weeds and thorns that were keeping me from growing. That is what Paul is talking about in this section of Colossians. In the midst of their dealing with false teachers, they had sin of their own that needed to be taken off as well as aspects of being like Christ that they needed to put on. We, like the Colossian church, need to be active in putting to death the sin in our lives and taking it off so that we can live the life we have in Christ.

Put to Death (vv. 3-7)

There is a famous quote from the puritan pastor John Owen: “Do you mortify; do you make it your daily work; be always at it whilst you live; cease not a day from this work; be killing sin or it will be killing you.”[2] In that quote, he describes a daily process of examining one’s life in order to kill – mortify, as he calls it – sin before it kills you. If you compare that to the way we talk about sin today, Owen sounds a bit crazy. How can he take something so seriously that obviously is not anymore? Either he is wrong, or the modern view of sin is. Which one lines up with the Bible? Owen, obviously.

There is a lot of anxiety around talking about what sin is. I have read or heard no fewer than a dozen people – in the last month, mind you – who talked about how things that used to be a sin or actions that people used to consider sin are sins no longer. This is related to the necessary presuppositions we have been talking about over the past month. If you believe the Bible really is the Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16-17), then what it calls sin is sin. If you believe that those who are saved are different, as taught in the Bible (Ephesians 4:20-24), then what is taught to be sin in the Bible should no longer be a part of our lives. God knows what we need and how we need to live – and not live.

Before we dive into what appears to be the first of two lists of sins, we need to ask ourselves a question: if sin really is as deadly as the Bible says it is (Romans 6:23, James 1:14-15), why would someone want to convince us otherwise? It reminds me of the difference in the way people talk about cigarettes now versus how they did thirty years ago. Thirty years ago, the Marlboro Man and Joe Camel were cool culturally and iconic. Then, the dadgum surgeon general decided to attack the tobacco industry and act like cigarettes could cause lung cancer. I remember seeing commercials in the 90s talking about why “big tobacco” wanted to downplay the cancer risk of smoking: they wanted to sell cigarettes. Who would take advantage of us like that in regarding sin?

Ultimately, Satan! Look at the way he is described in Revelation 12:12: “But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!” Satan “prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). His agenda is to “steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10). He is dangerous in that since “he knows his time is short” he is like a predator backed into a corner. But understand this: he is not looking for minions to rule over in hell. He is not going to be in charge there. He is going to be an inmate. And he is spitefully evil and wants to see as many people misled as he can.

As we begin to look at these sins listed, we need to acknowledge a few things. First, God’s Spirit gave the list, not Paul. These were not pet peeves that Paul had and wanted to get rid of or to pick on. We need to be careful and guard against calling “evil good and good evil” (Isaiah 5:20). Second, we must be careful to present it as it is in the Bible. There is always a temptation to emphasize sins that we hate while making light of sins we either commit ourselves or that we just do not think are a big deal. God alone gets to set the agenda regarding His righteous standard and sin. We must guard against letting our own agendas try to steer the text of Scripture.

I have thought a lot about how to present this information and have decided to merely list it out in a chart format. I have used the same lexicon and Greek dictionary on all the words to present their definitions fairly. Even when there are not quotations in the definitions, the information comes from Spiros Zodhiates’ The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament[3]. More importantly, I looked at every verse in the New Testament and a few from the Septuagint (Greek translation of the Old Testament, 3rd century b.c.) that contained these words. This may seem like a boring way to present the information, but I want to make sure you can see what the information is and keep it as objective and free from bias as I can. Take notice of some of the passages that are used multiple times as it shows that those particular sins were affecting multiple places, people groups, and churches.

These are the sins Paul says we need to put to death – things that are “earthly” rather than godly:

“sexual immorality” πορνεία (porneía)This is a catch-all term that describes anything sexual that deviates from the intimacy between husband and wife. The WSNTDICT uses “fornication” as a part of the definition, which means any sex outside of marriage, emphasizing that the sin is not merely an issue of timing (like calling it premarital sex) but emphasizing that marriage between a husband and wife is God’s plan for sex.1 Corinthians 6:13 – “Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food” – and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.

1 Corinthians 6:18 – Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.

1 Corinthians 7:2 – But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband.

2 Corinthians 12:21 – I fear that when my God may humble me before you, and I may have to mourn over many of those who sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, sexual immorality, and sensuality that they have practiced.

Galatians 5:19 – Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality….

Ephesians 5:3 – But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints.

1 Thessalonians 4:3 – For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality….

Revelation 9:21 – …nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.
“impurity” ἀκαθαρσία akatharsíaThis basically means unclean, but it not as clear cut as the idea of being unclean in the OT. This means that something has been tainted by sin and gives a connotation of being rotten. This sort of sin can be by oneself or with others.Romans 1:24 – Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves.

Galatians 5:19 – Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality….

1 Thessalonians 2:3 – For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive….

Matthew 23:27 – “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness.  
“passion” πάθος páthosThis word is only used three times in the NT. Our passage and the one from 1 Thessalonians imply or include lust while the Romans usage is accompanied by “dishonorable”. The understanding is that these particular passions negatively affect those who participate in them.Romans 1:26 – For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature….

1 Thessalonians 4:5 – …not in the passions of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God….
“evil desire” ἐπιθυμία epithumíaThis word is stronger than the English portrays. There is a longing – almost lust – that accompanies this desire. It is like an appetite that needs to be satisfied.1 Timothy 6:9 – But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction….

2 Timothy 3:6 – For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and lead astray by various passions….

2 Timothy 4:3 – For the time has come when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions….

Titus 3:3 – For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.

James 1:14-15 – But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

1 Peter 1:14 – As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance….

1 Peter 4:2-3 – …so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God. For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensualities, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry.

2 Peter 1:4 – …by which He has granted to us His precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

2 Peter 3:3 – …knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires.

Jude 16-18 – There are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires, they are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage. But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. They said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.”
“covetousness, which is idolatry” πλεονεξία pleonexíaThis is an interesting word. It means covetousness or greediness, but it has a kind of inherent meaning of being the root of other sins – like greediness that sparks a desire to do other sins.   It is idolatry because it seeks to forsake God as the object of worship by being filled or satisfied by things of earth.Romans 1:29 – They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips….

Ephesians 5:3-5 – But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among the saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and God.

Luke 12:15 – And He said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

Wrapping Up

He follows this list saying that “on account” of these sins “the wrath of God is coming” (v. 6). The wrath of God is not to be taken lightly. It describes the attitude of God toward sin. He hates it (Psalm 5:4). That hatred drives His wrathfulness toward sin.

I mentioned earlier how we need to be careful not to over-emphasize or de-emphasize sin but rather to look at it the way it is presented in the Word. There are many preachers who use sin and fear of God’s wrath (which is appropriate) to, in a sense, scare the hell out of people – to motivate them to follow Christ out of a fear of God’s wrath and eternal damnation.

What I want you to see here is that, for those who put their faith in Jesus, He bore the wrath of God our sins deserve on the cross (Colossians 2:13-14, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 9:26, Isaiah 53:10-11). We are all of the things represented – all of the wickedness – in the lists above. Jesus is none of those things. But “while we were yet sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

Love is a much better motivator than fear!

So, if you read through those sins and looked at the verses that show them for what they truly are – that show us sinners who we are, you can either decide to ignore what you know about the wrath of God or you can embrace the offer of love and forgiveness.

I do not sit here and type this in judgment. There is no ulterior motive of condemnation. No, I am a sinner, too. The difference is that I have put my trust in Jesus – what He has done on the cross, His resurrection, and what He is doing and going to do. I have given my life to Him. And little by little, day by day, year by year, He makes me more like Him. The sin that I clung to so closely becomes distasteful. And He appears more lovely and dear.

Will you take an honest assessment of your life? I hope that in doing so you realize your need for Him. If you would like to talk to someone, reach out; I would love to help you. If you realize that you have become distant from Him, repent and turn back; He has not moved. Remember the warning from John Owen: you better be killing the sin in your life because it is surely killing you. But Jesus…. He offers life.

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Col 3:5–11.

[2] John Owen, The Works of John Owen, ed. William H. Goold, vol. 6 (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, n.d.), 9.

[3] Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2000).

Refresh & Restore — July 21, 2022

5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.[1]

Colossians 3:5-11

Greetings Sojourners!

If you look back over the first seventeen installments of our study of Colossians (this is the eighteenth!), I have said again and again how much I love the book of Colossians. And I do. How much I love to study it. Again, I do. But the book of Colossians can be tough – it is meant to be, yet it is loving in its toughness. I am not particularly excited to write on this particular section, though. Why? It deals with sin.

Oftentimes, if asked, church folks would remark that sin is a constant topic in sermons they hear. And it may be in some places. I am reminded of an episode of The Andy Griffith Show that features Barney Fife, sitting right on the front row, sleeping through the sermon of a prestigious visiting preacher. As they were filing out of the church, Aunt Bee, Andy, and Barney stop to talk to their pastor and the visiting preacher:

Aunt Bee: Oh, Dr. Breen, your sermon has such a wonderful lesson for us.

Andy: Yes, sir, you really hit the nail right on the head there.

Barney: Yes, sir, that’s one subject you just can’t talk enough about…sin!

The studio’s laughter follows as does Andy’s embarrassment, but this reveals something about the nature of people’s attitudes toward preaching and studying the Bible – especially within the church. There is a hellfire-and-brimstone view that has left many callous toward talking about sin, in some cases injured by a misuse of talking about sin, or ignorant of it because some pastors refuse to talk about it at all.

When we talk about sin, read about it in the Bible, or listen to sermons from passages that deal with sin, what do we say, understand, or hear about it? If asked, most who are part of a local church would say that they believe the Bible is true and what it says is necessary to live, but what about when we get out into the world? What about our lives and the lives of those around us? When the rubber hits the road, the majority of us would definitely disagree with Barney and feel that we have had enough talking about sin.

Before we get into this passage, I believe we need to have a brief reminder of the presuppositions – “basic beliefs that are essential for a particular type of study to be conducted”[2] – that we have stated to be necessary to study the Bible.

  1. The Bible is what it claims to be (2 Timothy 3:16-17). It is God’s Word. It is true. It contains everything that can be known about God and is sufficient to bring us to Him.
  2. There is a difference in the lives of those who know Christ – are saved/born again – and those who do not – are lost/dead in their sins (Ephesians 2:1-10, 4:20-24).

Today, we add to those the fact that God has authority over creation, which He Himself created. What He intended to be right is right, and what He intended to be wrong is wrong. What He says (see presupposition one) goes. That means He has the authority to declare what sin is. Again, most church folks would say they agree with those statements, but what about when His Word declares an activity you enjoy as a sin? What if it was your family, friends, or kids?

What happens when one of your presuppositions or your world view is challenged by something you come across in the Bible? I am quick to say that, when confront with this in theory, my beliefs will change if I find they are contradictory to God’s Word. That is theory; what about when that theory intersects real life?

This is where the pre- part of presuppositions is extremely important. These beliefs need to be nailed down before the rubber hits the road. Look at people in the Bible who we would call “heroes” whose beliefs before their trials and tribulations made the difference in how they made it through.

  • Joseph survived his brothers faking his death, selling him into slavery (Genesis 37:12-28), being slandered by his master’s wife (Genesis 39:1-21), and ending up forgotten in Pharaoh’s dungeon (Genesis 40). Yet he was faithful throughout because of the beliefs that came before and could say to the very brothers whose jealousy set all those terrible events in motion that led to Joseph being exalted by Pharaoh: “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today” (Genesis 50:19-20).
  • Job’s worship of God was tested in ways we never hope to experience. God Himself described him as being unlike any other person on earth – “a blameless and upright man” (Job 1:8, 2:3). Satan took his children. His great material wealth was brought to nothing. Satan asked even to be able to attack his health because if one were to “stretch out [their] hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse You to Your face” (Job 2:5). So, Satan made it so their were sores from the tip top of Job’s head to the soles of his feet (Job 2:7). Yet despite all the loss and pain – including three knot-headed friends and a disparaging wife – Job never recants his faith in God.
  • Daniel, Hananiah (Shadrach), Mishael (Meshach), and Azariah (Abednego) were taken from their homes, imprisoned, indoctrinated, and made into eunuchs (Daniel 1). Their names that spoke of Yahweah were traded for names proclaiming gods of Babylon (Daniel 1:7). Yet they continued the faith in Babylon as they “had done previously” (Daniel 6:10) and saw God strengthen their bodies (Daniel 1:8-21), answer their prayers (Daniel 2:17-18), give interpretation to dreams (Daniel 2:19-45, 4:19-27), stand with them in the midst of the fiery furnace (Daniel 3:16-26), and shut the mouths of lions (Daniel 6:16-24).

The faith and beliefs that come before mattered when it came time to live them out.

For that reason, today’s Bible study will serve as a reminder of what the Bible teaches about sin and why Paul wrote Colossians 3:5-11.

How Sin Works (James 1:13-15)

Most of the time when we talk about sin, we talk about it generically. If asked in church who is a sinner, we are quick to remark that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). At Christ Community, if one of our pastors asks the congregation what the “wages of sin” is, there is a resounding “death” (Romans 6:23). But that is generic. That is hypothetical sin. What about when it gets personal? We see it in other people’s lives and are well-acquainted with their sins. But, when it comes to recognizing it in ourselves, we are like the hypocrite Jesus describes in Matthew 7:1-5; we have a giant log stuck in our eye (unconfessed sin we are willfully ignorant of) while trying to point out the sawdust in the eye of another (sin we would rather recognize). We know how sin works in the lives of others but all too often fail to recognize it – and repent of it – in our own lives. It is important for us to know and understand how the Bible talks about sin and let our lives – “assuming that you have heard about [Jesus] and were taught in Him, as the truth is” (Ephesians 4:21).

If we were to describe the workings of one’s life, we call it the life cycle. James 1:13-15 clearly defines the cycle of sin from temptation to death:

13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.[3]

In this brief passage, we see three things that are necessary for our understanding of sin.

First, we see that sin does not come from God. To see it one needs only to look back to the Fall in Genesis 3 and the first sin ever to be committed. God told Adam what was right. He gave Him the idyllic garden of Eden and every tree in the garden for food – except one. God told Adam that to eat of that tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, would cause him to “surely die” (Genesis 2:16). There has been debate as long as there has been a Bible as to who made whom sin: Adam, Eve, or the Serpent. The serpent had his role, to be sure, but Adam and Eve each made their own decisions to disobey the commandment of God. But, as we said in our third presupposition above, God has the right and authority as Creator to declare what is right in His creation – and to command against going against that as sin. Adam, who heard the command from God Himself, willingly disobeyed. And every one of his descendants from the beginning until the return of Jesus has dealt with the repercussions and struggles that come from their own sin (Romans 5:12).

Second, we get a picture of what exactly temptation is. Temptation originates in our “own desire”. James gives a fishing analogy. Temptation is like a lure attached to a fishing pole. Fishing lures are designed to look like the most appetizing food for certain types of fish. When a fish sees the lure moving through the water, it cannot help but bite it. Then, the hook hidden within the lure is set, and it is too late for the fish. They are reeled into the real-life consequences of biting onto the lure.

For humans, it is not a shiny lure attached to nearly invisible fishing line but be assured: there is a lure. It looks like what we desire most – what we want that we either know we should not have, or our wants wrapped in a way we should not have them. Do not be mistaken; the sins we desire are attractive to us. So often the struggle one has with sin is because of the great desire they have to commit that sin. Think of the time spent thinking or fantasizing about sinning – not planning to commit said sin, of course, just looking.

Think about King David. He could have easily made the list of “heroes” above as Joseph, Job, Daniel, Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael were all sinners, but David gives a better example of what it looks like to be hooked. David was described as a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14, Acts 13:22). David’s lure was lust and desiring sexual sin.

Early on in David’s narrative, he married Saul’s daughter Michal (1 Samuel 18:27). Later, he met Abigail who was described as “discerning and beautiful” (1 Samuel 25:3). She helped keep him from making mistakes due to her husband Nabal’s treachery, and Nabal’s death happened to coincide with Michal marrying another (1 Samuel 25:44 – though 2 Samuel 3:13-14 shows David never stopped considering her his wife). It would make sense if David simply married Abigail, yet David married her and a woman named Ahinoam at the same time (1 Samuel 25:43). God never supported polygamy but intended marriage to be between a husband and wife (Genesis 2:24-25). David obviously wanted three wives to support his appetites.

Fast forward to 2 Samuel 11, and we see David chose to stay home rather than be where he should be – at war with his soldiers, on his roof with a clear view of a naked woman – Bathsheba, wife of Uriah, and his sending of his servants to take her (2 Samuel 11:1-4). In 2 Samuel 11:2, it says “It happened, late one afternoon”. What happened? Sin. His looking gave way to taking. David’s sin had him hook, line, and sinker. And what he thought would be casual sex – that 2 Samuel 11:4 seems to say he thought could not result in conception – produced live evidence of their union.

That is a good segue into the third thing James 1:13-15 teaches us about sin. The fishing analogy gives way to the analogy of conception and birth. That desire that lures in verse 14 is compared to conception – to human biology. Conception is when a man’s sperm fertilizes a woman’s egg. Lust does not do this. Sex does. Conception is supposed to lead to birth. The baby has a life. But sin is about death. The conception of sinful desire in the mind and heart ultimately leads to committing the sin. It is rarely enough to just enjoy the guilty pleasure of sin once. The behavior grows into a lifestyle. And sin, “when it is fully grown” brings forth death. That life of sin earns – remember “the wages of sin” (Romans 6:23) – death.

Wrapping Up

When we look at sin, it is tempting to question all this talk of sin producing death and doubt and whether a good and loving God would allow such – whether He would really let the consequences of sin be death. To that, I would remind you 1) of the existence of death, and 2) what our good and loving God did for sin was to give Himself as a sacrifice to bear the death we deserve on the cross, not ignore it.

Next week, we will begin diving into the specifics of Colossians 3:5-11. The sheer volume and span of the lists (there are two) of sins will hit us all more than once. It will not be enjoyable. It will be uncomfortable. You may even be mad at me before it is over. I promise you that I have been mad at me in studying this, too.

I urge you to meditate on what we have seen from James 1:13-15 and in Colossians 3:5-11. Search your heart. As you do, consider the Holy Spirit’s motives for giving such a passage to the church at Colossae and to us today. Why would He take the time to tell us here – and again and again throughout Scripture – what we should be putting to death in us (Colossians 3:5) and what we should be taking off as if it were a filthy garment (Colossians 3:8)? Does He just not want us to get to do what we want to do and be happy?

God is the Creator. He knows how He designed life to work best. He knows what truly brings happiness – following Him, and He knows what brings death and sorrow – sin. He knows how to take lost sinners who are dead in their trespasses and sins and make them alive together by grace through faith in Jesus (Ephesians 2:1-10).

So, I pray that God grants repentance for you where you need it. I pray the same thing for me. And I pray that God helps us to learn to pray like David in Psalm 139:23-24:

23  Search me, O God, and know my heart!
        Try me and know my thoughts!
24  And see if there be any grievous way in me,
        and lead me in the way everlasting!

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Col 3:5–11.

[2] F. Leroy Forlines, Biblical Systematics: A Study of the Christian System of Life and Thought (Nashville, TN: Randall House Publications, 1975), 5.

[3] ESV, Jas 1:13–15.

Refresh & Restore — June 2, 2022

8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.[1]

Colossians 2:8-10

Refresh & Restore Bible Study — May 18, 2023: When the Loving Kindness of God Our Savior Appears – Refresh & Restore | A JustKeithHarris.com Podcast

This is the May 18, 2023 episode of the Refresh & Restore Bible Study, provided by JustKeithHarris.com. You can find the written version of this, along with Scripture references and footnotes, at: https://justkeithharris.com/2023/05/17/refresh-restore-bible-study-may-18-2023/
  1. Refresh & Restore Bible Study — May 18, 2023: When the Loving Kindness of God Our Savior Appears
  2. Refresh & Restore Bible Study — May 11, 2023: Sufficient Grace
  3. Refresh & Restore — December 29, 2022 (Behold the King)
  4. Advent 2022 — The Story of Christmas
  5. Advent 2022 — December 24 (Christmas Eve Reading for Our Kiddos)

Greetings Sojourners!

My heart is heavy after the evil events this past month in Uvalde, TX and Buffalo, NY. I have tried to form words on this to write here, but have failed. Plain and simple, there is evil in this fallen world. We feel helpless and small in its wake. But I find myself clinging more and more to Jesus’ words and John’s response at the end of Revelation:

He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! (Rev. 22:20)

We need Him. Come, Lord Jesus!

In the week since TX and nearly month since NY, there can be seen a different sort of wickedness. Here in the United States, there is a lot of partisan finger pointing with both sides calling the other bad (and all sorts of other things), but this particular wickedness is one of the few bipartisan efforts in the US government today. It is opportunism.

Lives were lost, and one side says that this pain needs to be used to push through gun legislation. Senseless killing is seen as an opportunity to push policy. People made in the image of God were slaughtered, and the other side blames the first for the murderers to have opportunity to kill in the first place. We need to repent of such. In times when the evil seems to much and the words just do not come, it is okay to be quiet. But, when evil happens and you see opportunity for advancement – of yourself or your platform or agenda, it is time to assess what is going on in your own heart. When hearts should be rent in sadness and hurting for others, especially hearts professing to be “comforted by God” and by His Spirit comforting others (1 Corinthians 1:3-5), but take time to talk policy first, the worldliness of our own hearts can be seen, too.

I remember back in February 2019 in the aftermath of the Aurora, IL shooting. Similar opportunities arose – again from both sides. News took the stories and ran with them. It was the fault of gun legislation and the lack thereof. There should have been this and that. And, in the midst of that, there were reports of the plant manager texting his wife that he loved her as his last act before passing. People took that and ran with it, too.

That plant manager, Josh Pinkard, was my friend. He was my youth pastor while he was a student at Mississippi State University. To his wife, that text was more than a story. His children and parents did not see it as an opportunity to push legislation or deny it. Even as I wipe away tears and type this now, the opportunism stings. I imagine it does for some in Buffalo and Uvalde as well.

It stings for me because it reminds me of the original perpetrator of evil here on the earth: Satan. It is his MO to “steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10). He lives for the opportunity to devour and destroy (1 Peter 5:8). He looks for weaknesses to exploit. That’s what he did in the garden, too. He saw an opportunity to tempt Eve, and “her husband who was there with her” (Genesis 3:5) – to exploit on their curiosity and pride and point them toward sin, and the rest of us through that Fall (Romans 5:12). Satan even tried to tempt Jesus Himself when He was physically at His lowest and hungriest (Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 1:12-13, Luke 4:1-13), but Jesus did what our original ancestors did not: He held to the Word of God (Psalm 119:9) and resisted the devil (James 4:7).

For the Colossian church, their lack of knowledge gave opportunity for Satan and his false teachers. Remember that this was not a church started by Paul. The churches he started were often accompanied by longer visits filled with teaching and discipleship. This church was started by Epaphras who was saved and brought the gospel back home with him. Now, there were false teachers on all sides prying at the edges of what the Colossian church knew about the gospel and seeking to tear it to shreds with their false gospel. Looking at their struggle and reading how Paul sought to help them can help protect us today. Satan is still on the prowl for such opportunities today. Let us look and see how the same message that Paul gave the Colossian church can help protect us and ours today.

See to It That No One Takes You Captive

That command seems too simple when reading it for the first time. If only it were that easy: do not get captured. We have already looked at how evil the world is today, would that command alone be enough to protect people? Absolutely not. I cannot imagine sending my daughter off with friends or on a church trip and saying, “Hey, you know I love you; don’t get kidnapped.” Negative. Her mother and I have talked and talked and taught and tried to train her to watch out for things – to be wary. We have actually given her a list (a very short list) of people that can be trusted – at the exclusion of every other person on the planet!

Paul does similarly with the Colossian church in today’s passage. He does give the command to guard themselves against capture, but, in doing so, he lists specific dangers – specific captors – who are prowling and wanting to abduct the church from the safety of the gospel and imprison them in damning false gospel.  He even gives them a list of people that they can absolutely trust not to lead them astray with the gospel, but Paul’s list is even shorter than mine: Jesus. It is important to understand this before diving into the various false gospels. It is not as important to understand all of the facets of each area of false teaching; it is important to realize they are “not according to Christ” (v. 8). As we talked about in last week’s Bible study, one must know what the Bible teaches to protect against false teaching.

Paul has already gone to great lengths and, through the Holy Spirit, has given them that beautiful Christological hymn in 1:15-20, but now, again through the Holy Spirit, is going to help them see the danger that is already in their midst.

Philosophy and Empty Deceit

The word philosophy is a compound word in the original language: philo (love) + sophia (wisdom).[2] There have always been people who love wisdom – really who love knowledge and facts and can talk/debate them all day long. The teachings of Plato and Aristotle had been around for nearly 500 years at that point, and their use of logic and discussions running parallel (or added to) religion were fairly widespread. There were people then, like today, who sought to supplement their religion with philosophy. And that sort of false teacher was trying to do that with the gospel among the believers at Colossae.

Think of opportunists who try to ask questions today that are reminiscent of Satan’s question in Genesis 3:1, “Did God actually say ___?” They allow logic and reasoning to allow them to take God’s Word and pick and choose what is correct. What they end up with is very little Bible and mostly what appeases their own intellects and desires. The false teachers appealed to human logic and reasoning to “delude…with plausible arguments” as Paul wrote about earlier in v. 4. Test teachers to see whether they proclaim Christ or argue against His Word (1 John 4:1-6). If you are not in the Word, you are in danger. See to it that you are not captured.

Then, there were those who Paul refers to simply as “empty deceit”, basically empty promises. This could be from a false god or simply promises that take advantage of the church’s lack of biblical knowledge to lead them astray. There are many forms of this today that picture how easy it would have been for the Colossian church, especially since they did not have the Bible like we do today and their lack of discipleship. Think of how many people are hoodwinked by faith healers and prosperity gospel preachers, wicked men and women who stage miracles and perform sleight-of-hand trickery to get rich at the expense of the unhealed and the poor. Think of the people who write books promising hope and health and prosperity under the guise of Christianity or being a preacher who produce disciples whom Hank Williams described in his song “Dust on the Bible”: “not one word of Bible verse, not a Scripture do [they] know”.

God’s Word is full of promises He has made. The Colossian church struggled to tell the difference between the false and empty with the genuine promises of God because they lacked a teacher and the Word. We have access to both today. See to it that you are not captured.

Human Tradition

It is said that the seven words that can kill an organization are we’ve never done it like that before. In the case of the Colossian church, there was a deadlier phrase: we’ve always done it this way. Human tradition is powerful. But, more powerful than tradition is ignorance. How many of our traditions do not go back as far as you think? For example, there is a popular end-times theory that God plans on rapturing His church before the time of tribulation begins. I have heard several people in the last two weeks specifically reference this as what the church has believed for 2,000 years. Yet the earliest known teaching was by a man named John Nelson Darby in the 1830s.[3]

This is going to sound like something an English teacher would say, and, since I am one, I will not argue against it: you need to check your sources. Where are you getting your information? Are your sources using the Bible – all of it and not a few proof-text verses – to get their biblical information, or are they presenting you with opinions. We need to be like the Bereans in Acts 17. They were eager to receive the gospel but not so eager as to take it immediately but were “examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so” (Acts 17:11). Again, the Colossian church had limited means to check the sources of the false teachers, but there are so many ways to spend time in God’s Word today that we are without excuse. Often, we are led astray because we want to hear what false teachers are preaching. We would rather believe that God is going to snatch up His church before tribulation starts because that seems nice rather than recognizing that Jesus Himself promised the church that she would have tribulation (John 16:33) and that the Bible teaches that the church has experienced tribulation at the hands of Satan since it began (1 Peter 5:9). See to it that you are not captured.

Elemental Spirits of the World

The word translated “elemental spirits” is actually a word used in the original language to talk about the alphabet or, basically, “elementary principles”.[4] I think John MacArthur gives a good illustration for this: “To abandon biblical truth for empty philosophy is like returning to kindergarten after earning a doctorate”.[5] Basically, Paul is describing trading the gospel of Jesus Christ to childish beliefs or that a childlike mind could make up.

Paul asks a question regarding the elemental spirits later on in v. 20 that can help us see the issue here: “If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations…?” Why trade Christ for lesser things?

Of course, the difficulty here is that the things of Christ are to be taken on faith. Faith is “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1), while the “elemental spirits” can be observed and seen. It is definitely easier to walk outside and feel the warmth of the sun than to understand that Jesus, the Son, “upholds all things by the word of His power” (Hebrews 1:3) – that while creation reveals the Creator, one is seen and the other requires faith to see His handiwork. But once you have seen His fingerprints in creation, how can you go back. How can you trade the God who is Light Himself (Genesis 1:3, 1 John 1:5-7, Revelation 21:23-26) to worship the sun that could not exist without Him? Yet Satan exploits that opportunity – the desire to see and the difficulty of faith – to make fools out of men who think they are wise when they exchange “the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things” (Romans 1:22-23). See to it that you are not captured.

Wrapping Up

We will continue looking at the way that Paul talks about these false teachings over the next few weeks, and I hope that they help you in your walk with Christ. It is scary to think that there is evil in the world. It is scarier to me to see how we respond to the evil. My pastor reminded us last Thursday night that evil does not win and shared a verse with us, Romans 12:21: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

This is an important reminder and one that reflects Paul’s writings here in Colossians. He does not give more focus on the dangers than he does to Jesus. If you are “in Christ”, it serves you well to remember that Jesus is God – that “in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily” (v. 9). If you are “in Christ”, you have been “filled in Him” (v. 10), that is, His Spirit is in you (1 Corinthians 3:16). Jesus is “the head of all rule and authority” (v. 10) and is “greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

As we looked at in the beginning of today’s Bible study, there are those who would exploit evil situations to give opportunity for their own agendas. But there is opportunity for hope in Jesus Christ, even in the face of such evil and wickedness. There are two passages of Scripture that were referenced in our Bible study that highlighted the evil attacks of Satan and the trouble we have in this world. I want to close by looking at the fuller context of them to show the hope that can be found even in the midst of attack.

  • John 10:10-11: The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
  • John 16:33: I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

Do you see why the context of the Word is so important? We are not left with death and tribulation because life is offered – hope is offered – by Him who has already overcome the world! He does not offer peace by way of legislation or empty promises, He has made “peace by the blood of His cross” (ch 1:20). And He offers that peace to all who would have faith in Him.

I am praying for you, dear Sojourner, that you can find the only peace in the tribulation of this world: Jesus Christ. I am praying that you are in His Word and spending time with Him in prayer. And I pray that you “test the spirits” (1 John 4:1-6) to see what is of God and what is not.

I am thankful for Jesus. And I again echo the cry of John in Revelation 22:20: Come, Lord Jesus!

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2016. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

[2] Friberg, Timothy, Barbara Friberg, and Neva F. Miller. 2000. In Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament, 4:400. Baker’s Greek New Testament Library. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.

[3] Feldmeth, Nathan P. 2008. In Pocket Dictionary of Church History: Over 300 Terms Clearly and Concisely Defined, 49. The IVP Pocket Reference Series. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic.

[4] Louw, Johannes P., and Eugene Albert Nida. 1996. In Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains, electronic ed. of the 2nd edition., 1:587. New York: United Bible Societies.

[5] MacArthur, John F., Jr. 1992. Colossians. MacArthur New Testament Commentary. Chicago: Moody Press.

Refresh & Restore — May 12, 2022

24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, 25 of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God 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 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. 29 For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.

2:1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, 2 that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. 5 For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.[1]

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Refresh & Restore Bible Study — May 18, 2023: When the Loving Kindness of God Our Savior Appears – Refresh & Restore | A JustKeithHarris.com Podcast

This is the May 18, 2023 episode of the Refresh & Restore Bible Study, provided by JustKeithHarris.com. You can find the written version of this, along with Scripture references and footnotes, at: https://justkeithharris.com/2023/05/17/refresh-restore-bible-study-may-18-2023/
  1. Refresh & Restore Bible Study — May 18, 2023: When the Loving Kindness of God Our Savior Appears
  2. Refresh & Restore Bible Study — May 11, 2023: Sufficient Grace
  3. Refresh & Restore — December 29, 2022 (Behold the King)
  4. Advent 2022 — The Story of Christmas
  5. Advent 2022 — December 24 (Christmas Eve Reading for Our Kiddos)

Greetings Sojourners!

I have wracked my brain to think of how to introduce this week’s Bible study in some creative and catchy way. But all I can think is that I wish this section was not in the Bible. I know that sounds terrible.

This passage highlights an area of struggle – of inadequacy – for me. Simply put: I do not want to suffer. I want to be comfortable. I want to be free of anxiety and depression and anger and difficulties and…well, discomfort in general. To a certain extent, this means that I am just like everyone else. But, for me, specifically, this is part of the “passions and desires” of my worldly self that need to be crucified (Galatians 5:24).

When I read and study the Bible, I try to follow James 1:22 and be a doer of the Word who hears the Word preached (or comprehends the Word while reading) and actually does it. Unfortunately, that is hard. And I fail at that. A lot. And there are parts that I come to, like today’s passage where I just simply do not want to do what it says or participate in what it talks about.

The idea of suffering in Scripture comes up more than most people realize. Many do not see it because the verses that we pick out to focus on allow us to ignore the sections that deal with it. There is a form of false teaching that is quite prevalent today known as the prosperity gospel. It basically proclaims that God has health and wealth for you should you simply remain faithful. If you give money or support certain ministers or speak positive things into existence, then there is a blessing (in the form of, again, health and wealth) waiting for you.

What about Daniel, Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego)? People talk about the wealth and prosperity they had in Babylon. They talk about the power to rule and govern that they received. What about when Nebuchadnezzar had the made eunuchs and stripped them of their God-honoring names for Babylonian idolatry? Were they not still slaves in Babylon, far from their home?

What about Jesus? He was poor and hated while on earth. Are we more than Him? No. Listen to Jesus’ words in John 15:18-21:

“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’”

That passage scares me. And it comforts me. I am frightened of suffering and persecution, but I long to be associated with my Savior. I do not invite suffering – and especially do not long for it – but am I willing to “count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 3:8).

Today’s passage specifically deals with suffering in a manner that continues in Jesus’ suffering during his time on earth (and for His Bride, the Church). We get to see Paul talk about why the suffering he is experiencing – remember, this is one of the prison epistles written prior to his martyrdom – are worth it because they help bring people to Christ and those who are in Christ to maturity.

Are we willing to suffer – or even be uncomfortable – for someone to know Christ? Is our desire for comfort greater than our desire for Christ?

I am asking myself these questions as I write and can assure you of one thing, I am not boasting of what I have or can accomplish in this week’s Bible study. If no one else needs to hear this, I write to myself.

Paul’s Example

To understand where Paul is coming from – his perspective on suffering, one must first understand his testimony. He was not born Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles. He was born Saul of Tarsus, “circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless” (Philippians 3:4-6). He was the cat’s pajamas – all that and a bag of chips – or, to quote one of my sophomores – good, like great.

When the apostles were preaching in Jerusalem following Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension, the church was exploding. The church at the time was known as “the Way” (Acts 19:9, 23; 24:14, 22) because they were in consistently focused on preaching the gospel to everyone who listed and living it out in their lives. Thousands were being baptized and “the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47). Those who were being saved were ecstatic. The Pharisees and Saul were irate – and murderously so.

Peter and John were arrested for healing “a man lame from birth” (Acts 3:2) and proclaiming the gospel in Solomon’s Portico (Acts 3:11-26). The powers-that-were admonished them to cease preaching, leveeing every threat they could muster of suffering and death, and Peter infamously replied: “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:19-20). And speak they did.

From there, the church grew even more. It prayed for boldness (Acts 4:23-30), and God answered their prayer by granting that they “were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness” (Acts 4:31). The status quo in Jerusalem was in the rear view at that point. The church was thriving and ministering to each other and those around them. The Holy Spirit was moving. But the chief priests and Pharisees were not willing to budge a single inch. Instead, they called in Saul of Tarsus.

Saul enters the narrative of Acts at the end of the life of a man named Stephen who was described as “full of grace and power…doing great wonders and signs among the people” (Acts 6:8). Local synagogue members rose up against him trying to tear down his preaching, but “they could withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking” (Acts 6:10). They were not listening. They did not repent and believe at the gospel preached. They grabbed him and drug him before the council. Their anger was met with grace as Stephen’s face “was like the face of an angel” (Acts 6:15). They leveed charges against him to the council, and he charged them all by preaching. They heard him and were “enraged” and “ground their teeth at him” (Acts 7:54). They heard but would not repent. They “laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul” (Acts 7:58). They picked up heavy stones and threw them one by one to execute him.

I cannot imagine being in Stephen’s situation. I am afraid I would have faltered or given in or remained silent. Yet Stephen made two more statements: “Lord, Jesus, receive my spirit” and “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (Acts 7:59-60). The Lord granted his request and let him sleep while his body was murdered. The servant was not greater than the master. He received what his Savior received. He responded as His Savior responded. “And Saul approved of his execution” (Acts 8:1).

Saul went to work against the church in Jerusalem. His task was described as a “great persecution” where he “ravaged the church” (Acts 8:1, 3). He viciously attacked Christ’s bride. Yet her work continued. The work of the church did not stop in suffering but instead spread, “scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria” (Acts 8:1). It spread so that Saul got warrants for imprisonment and execution against the church in Damascus – that “if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem” (Acts 9:1). His threat against the Bride grew until he came face to face with Christ on the Damascus road.

If someone had ravaged my wife and I found myself in a show down, there would be nothing but wrath and vengeance. I would do all I could to visit the terror she experienced back on the attacker and more. Jesus blinded him, humbled him, and introduced Himself to Saul. The Pharisee of Pharisees had to be led by the hand to Damascus. He sat there blind for three days.

Jesus spoke to a local believer named Ananias and gave instructions regarding Saul – that He had plans for him. Ananias, of course, was skeptical. Jesus was trustworthy, but Saul had a track record of evil against believers. And Jesus gives him a very odd response,

“Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” (Acts 9:15-16)

What?! The King of kings and Lord of lords – the God who is rich in grace, mercy, and love sets out to make someone suffer for their sins?!

While Jesus was talking to Ananias, Saul was praying. He had been given a vision of Ananias coming to return his sight. Ananias was obedient. Saul’s sight was regained. The Holy Spirit filled Paul, and he was saved and baptized. That which sounded like a punishment – “I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name” – can it be a blessing? Can it be grace?

I think Paul (Saul made new) can speak best to whether this is grace or judgment. We looked earlier at Paul’s pedigree (“Hebrew of Hebrews”, etc.), now let us listen to the rest of the testimony:

“But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith – that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and may share His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection of the dead.” (Philippians 3:7-11)

Paul knew what Christ’s salvation meant. He felt like he was the “least of the apostles” because he had “persecuted the church of God” (1 Corinthians 15:9). It is through Paul’s words that we know “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). He even described himself as being the chief of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15). He knew he deserved death and Hell. Yet Christ had saved him. The servant was not greater than the master. He received what his Savior received. And He was forever in awe of the love and mercy that Christ showed him – that Christ had forgiven the sins against His Bride and allowed Him to serve her and bring her members to maturity.

That’s good news.

What Does This Mean for Us – for the Church Today?

The example of a sinner as bad as Paul gives hope for a sinner as bad as me. I hear people often mention some wicked and wretched sinner in their area and tout that there is no hope for him or her – that God simply won’t fool with someone like them. Well, he saved Paul. He saved me. And, if He hasn’t yet, I pray that He saves you, too, despite your sins!

Usually, I give a better exposition and explanation of our passage, but I felt strongly about showing Paul’s history and example. I think that his example – and what he says here in this letter to the Colossian church shows us how we should be working for God’s Kingdom in our local church and the communities around it. So, we will break it down into some bite-sized chunks for us to consider.

  • (v. 1:24) Paul did not mind suffering for Christ because he got to follow after His example and care for His church.
  • (v. 1:25) Paul’s primary goal in his ministry was to be a good steward of what God had given him – the Word of God, and he intended to make it “fully known” to everyone he could.
  • (v. 1:26) The church now knows “the mystery” as God has revealed His full story. We have all the information we need. Everything that can be known about God is found in the Bible.
  • (v. 1:27) God’s people are no longer just Israel. He has made a way in Christ for all people to experience “the riches of the glory of this mystery” and have Christ, “the hope of glory”, in them – to be in Christ.
  • (v. 1:28) Spiritual maturity is a thing. Paul felt a sense of responsibility to help people grow in Christ. That is called discipleship, and it is the command of the Great Commission (“make disciples”, Matthew 28:19). Paul considered it worth suffering for, so maybe we need to repent of not discipling or not being discipled in the Word of God.
  • (v. 1:29) Paul spent his life and all his energy in this task. It was not enough. Nothing would be accomplished without the Spirit’s “energy that He powerfully work[ed] within [Paul]”. The same is true for us today. Our efforts are nothing without His strength (Philippians 4:13).
  • (vv. 2:1-3) Paul wants to make sure that all the churches he can are being discipled – not just the one’s he planted. There are three things that he desires for those who have not seen him “face to face”: 1) “that their hearts may be encouraged”, 2) that they be “knit together in love”, and 3) that they may “reach all the riches of full assurance and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge”. Basically, he desires that they know Christ and make Him known. Such is the essence of Kingdom work.
  • (v. 2:4) There are those who are seeking to tear down the church. They may attack it with the same persecutions that Paul once did. In the case of Colossae, they are attacking it from the inside with cancerous false teachings. This highlights the necessity of discipleship. If one is not rooted and established in Christ, they will be blown over and hoodwinked by false teaching. We will hit on this more in the coming weeks.
  • (v. 2:5) Paul is able to rejoice for the Colossian church’s “firmness” of faith because he trusts that God is going to work in His church by His Spirit and through the ministry of the Word.

Wrapping Up

While I do wish that this was not part of the reality of walking with Christ, I am immensely thankful that he saved a sinner such as me. I do not want to suffer and am not going to seek it out, but I pray that God receive the glory for whatever He chooses to do with my life.

I find that it is not suffering that causes me to stumble. It is aggravation. It is the discomfort. It is not fitting in and being an outsider because of what He has done in me. I want the epitome of the American dream with heaven as a nice retirement plan. But the servant is not greater than the master. If the world hated Him yet loves me, am I His?

I do not deserve the second and third and sixty-seventh chances that He has given me. I do not deserve Him. But He loves me and has given Himself for me (Galatians 2:20). That matters. The fact that I know the magnitude of His love because of the depth of my depravity and sinfulness means that there should be nothing more valuable than that love. I was His enemy; He adopted me into His family. I deserved wrath; He gave love instead.

The servant is not greater than the master. The world hated Him, so it will hate me, too. But, praise be to God, He loves me despite that hatred. His care is greater than the suffering. And, when it inevitably comes, may we be found like the disciples, “rejoicing [to be] counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the Name” (Acts 5:41).

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2016. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.