You searched for In Christ - Page 51 of 80

Colossians

Paul an apostle belonging to Jesus Christ through the desirous will of God and brother Timothy, to the Saints even¹ faithful brethren in Christ in Colossae, grace is to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ².

We give thanks to God even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, communicating in worship always concerning you, having heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love, the one unto all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in the heavens, which beforehand you heard by the word of the truth of the gospel, the one having arrived unto you, just as also in all the world, and it is bearing fruit and growing just as also it is bearing fruit and growing among you, from which day you heard and have come to experientially know the grace from God in truth, just as you learned from Epaphras, our beloved fellow slave, who is a faithful servant of Jesus Christ concerning all of you, who also has shown clearly unto us your love in the Spirit. Because of this we also, from the first day we heard, do not cease communicating in worship and asking concerning you in order that you should be filled up where you are lacking with the full experiential knowledge of His desirous will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding to walk worthy of the Lord into all things pleasing³, in every good work bearing fruit and growing unto […]

ColossiansLuther Walker2016-10-12T06:02:34-07:00

Love and All Things

What are the “all things” that love is directed at in 1 Corinthians 13:7?

Love bears all, 1 Corinthians 13:7

“All” is restricted by the verb “to bear”, which comes from a word that means, “to put a roof on”, “to keep silent” or “to cover”. It is used four times in Scripture and is typically translated in the context as “remaining silent”. Love does not speak out even when it had the right to demand that which legitimately belongs to it, 1 Corinthians 9:12 (Many translation us the word “suffer”; however, this is not the Greek word for “suffer”, but rather the one for “remaining silent”)

Love believes all, 1 Corinthians 13:7

Belief comes from faith. Scripture defines faith as that which gives hope substance and is the evidence of accomplished deeds not seen, Hebrews 11:1 (Note: Although many of the translations use the word “things”, the original language does not. Faith is the substance of that which is hoped for, the evidence of accomplished deeds not seen.). Since a promise is always the basis for hope, faith is taking God at His Word, Romans 8:24, 25.
Because a promise is the basis for faith, the “all” has to be restricted to that which has been promised. Since love is directed at other believers, John 13:34, 1 John 3:23, 24, it will take a person at his or her word.
The abuse of love is not justified here, for if saints are continually doing wrong they are to be admonished and if they refuse to change their minds (repent) other saints are to separate from them. Romans 16:17; 1 Thessalonians 5:14. This is also an expression of love, by seeking the best for the one loved, which can require separation […]

Love and All ThingsLuther Walker2023-12-14T12:32:16-08:00

Overcoming the Enemy Within

But I say, walk by the Spirit and you will in no way bring to completion the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh and these oppose one another in order that that which you should desire, this you do not do, Galatians 5:16, 17

The sin nature is one of the more predominate enemies that we face each day of the three that seek to thwart our Christian walk. Unlike Satan, who will flee if we resist him, or the world system, which is designed to rock us to sleep like a little baby, the sin nature never goes away. Morning, noon, and night, it is always there. It seeks to keep us in slavery and demands that we fulfill it desires. So how do we overcome such a formidable foe?

We do not fight the sin nature with law, for the law gives it strength. No, in all actuality, we do not fight the sin nature at all. It is too strong for us! So how do we gain freedom from its grip? By governing our lives according to the Spirit.

You see, in Christ we are dead to the sin nature. We died with Christ and have been raised to walk in newness of life. We need to recognize this truth and act appropriately. As we govern our lives according to who we are in Christ the desires that the Spirit produces in us will make us slaves to righteousness, which is totally contrary to the desires from the flesh, which seek to make us slaves to unrighteousness. The two desires do not mix. You cannot be Spiritual and carnal at the same time. Therefore, […]

Overcoming the Enemy WithinLuther Walker2012-12-29T15:10:01-08:00

One Incredible Expression of God’s Love: The Greatest Gift of All

In the Gospel of Luke the author looks back on events with the purpose of setting things in order. You see, something quite miraculous had happened; something that was not expected, and in the end changed the world. Luke begins his record by stating that he has undertaken the task of setting things in order for all that had been accomplished so that the most excellent Theophilus¹ would have a full understanding of the events that surrounded Jesus’ life. Unlike other historical records, Luke’s was different because he was writing about a wonderful work that God had done; a work that would forever change the relationship of men to God and would bring about the downfall of our enemy, Satan; a work that was wholly unexpected from man’s point of view, for Luke’s history tells of something that no man could have ever thought possible. God came to be in the flesh.

So stunning was this new event, that not even the spirit beings could understand it. …which none of the princes of this age knew. For if, assuming it is true, they knew, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory². How could the God who created the universe be in the form of a man who is created a little lower than the angels? You had made Him for a short time a little lower than the angels, You have crowned Him with a proper opinion and honor… ³ This was nothing they had seen before, even though many of times the spirit beings had been with the Son of God when He manifested Himself to men as the Messenger of […]

One Incredible Expression of God’s Love: The Greatest Gift of AllLuther Walker2023-11-23T12:51:14-08:00

Changing the Gospel Message

The good news of The Christ is a gospel of grace and faith, yet, there are those who seek to change this gospel into a different message, which is not good news at all (Galatians 1:6, 7). They take the very basic truths concerning our salvation and lives as saints belong to God and twist them to manipulate people into following them.

The Gospel of The Christ includes the good news about salvation. Scripture is very clear that we are saved by grace through faith, Ephesians 2:8,9. It is His (God’s) attitude by which He gives us a benefit without consideration of merit that provides us with an opportunity to take God at His word concerning salvation. He says that we are to believe that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures to be saved, 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. Yet, there are many false teachers today who change this message into one of works, rather than of faith. They say to be saved you must accept Jesus into your heart, have a relationship with Jesus, make him Lord of your life, ask him to forgive you of your sins. None of these take God at His word, therefore, they are not out from Faith.

The good news does not stop at salvation, that is only the beginning. As part of our salvation, we have been taken out of Adam – no longer seen before God as condemned along with all of unsaved mankind – and placed into The Christ – a new creation in which the old things (who we were in Adam) have passed away and all things are new (who we are in Christ). 2 […]

Changing the Gospel MessageLuther Walker2023-12-14T12:32:49-08:00

Previous 505152 Next