He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,
16 for through him God created everything
in the heavenly realms and on earth.
He made the things we can see
and the things we can’t see—
such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.
Everything was created through him and for him.
17 He existed before anything else,
and he holds all creation together.
18 Christ is also the head of the church,
which is his body.
He is the beginning,
supreme over all who rise from the dead.
So he is first in everything.
19 For God in all his fullness
was pleased to live in Christ,
20 and through him God reconciled
everything to himself.
He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth
by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.
21 This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. 22 Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.
23 But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News. The Good News has been preached all over the world, and I, Paul, have been appointed as God’s servant to proclaim it.
Terrie's Comments:
Everything is reconciled to God through Jesus Christ. We are at peace with God through Jesus Christ. We have been brought into the presence of God through Jesus Christ. We are Holy and Blameless without a single fault we stand in God's presence all because of what God did through Jesus Christ, His son on the cross.
We MUST CONTINUE to BELIEVE this TRUTH and STAND FIRM in it! Once you are sure about the Good News DON'T drift away from it.
It is so easy to drift in our busy lives. We need to remember who we are in Jesus Christ, what He has provided for us and all the benefits we have received through Jesus and His death on the Cross. We have assurance not based on anything we have done but all because of what Jesus did on our behalf!
God is always and peace with me, he always sees me as holy, blameless and without a single fault ... This stance is not based on anything I have done or will do but all on what Jesus has already done for me on my behalf. This is the Good News!!!
God is not condemning me so why am I so hard on myself? Anyone else harder on yourself than God is? Perhaps we need to stop that in 2017. Start seeing ourselves and others the way God does through Jesus Christ!
Tori's Comments:
I love this simple statement of who God is. It's a beautiful way to state how Christ fits into that and where we come in.
Enemy. God loved me when I had made myself His enemy. Loved me so much He died for me... even though I was the one who had pushed away...
We are holy and blameless, not bogged down by shame or guilt anymore!!
Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!
AMEN TORI!
ReplyDeleteTerrie
Vs. 22...The truth of that verse was driven home to me through the conversation we had before Christmas, Terrie, and it's amazing how much easier it is to silence the condemning voice of the enemy now. Standing on the truth of how God sees me, through Christ, is so incredibly freeing!
ReplyDeleteGaining a deep understanding of who we are in Christ is essential to living in the Peace,joy and freedom He died to give us :-)
DeleteI feel like it's taken a long time for me to begin to understand it...better later than never!