Colossians 1:15-23
Friday, 24 February 2022
And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. –Colossians 1:18 [ESV]
The lordship of Christ in a Christian, is beautifully brought to light in today's reading. Without ambiguity, Paul states the undisputable, undeniable preeminent place of Christ in all areas- a powerful argument to counter all the false theologies that spread in those times and even today. The book of Colossians brings out one prominent theme mainly- Christ as the head of Church which is His body.
A Christian in reality is none but a slave to sin bought with the precious blood of Christ and henceforth becomes a slave to Christ. This is to say, Christ Jesus becomes the Lord of our life. This lordship of Christ in a Christian is built up on the fact that Christ is preeminent in everything. Paul's purpose is to show that Christ is preeminent- first and foremost in everything and the Christian life should reflect that priority. (NKJV Study Bible- explanatory note).
How can we practice this lordship in our everyday life?
Rooted in Christ: (Col. 2:7) rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught,... Our life should be sustained from the invisible roots that are developed by faith into Christ and all that He is. As a tree gets its nourishment from its invisible roots that go deep into earth, we Christians should be rooted and built up in Him, who provides all the nutrients for our Christian life and growth.
Alive in Him: (Col. 2:13) And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the un-circumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him,... Since it is an undisputed fact that we are made alive together with Him, He is on our side to take complete control of our lives. Earlier we were dead, but now become alive, for a different purpose. We need to live a life completely surrendered to Him who brought us to life and glory. His life- the eternal seed in us breeds life of divine nature within us. This life that is produced from the seed of God, the Word in us, leads us under His lordship.
Hidden in Him: (Col. 3:3) For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. It means you are in Him and the world should now see Christ— His divine nature manifested in us. Unless we die to our old nature, this is not possible. That is explained by Paul in Col.3: 5 -10. You may well notice two important words in these verses quoted above- put to death and put on.
Complete in Him: (Col 2:10) And you are complete in Him, who is the Head of all principality and power. Incompleteness brings in insecurity. But Scripture absolutely underlines the fact that we are complete in Christ in every sense. So with total confidence we can go ahead in life under His undisputed and sovereign lordship over our lives.
So dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us lead a life clothed in His love and His peace ruling our hearts and minds. Let this be our mark of Christianity that He rules every area of our life—visible and invisible.
Prayer: Dear Father in heaven, I surrender to the lordship of Christ to rule over every area of my life. In Jesus name, amen.
Listen: ‘Reign in me’
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