Freedom Streams Devotions

In verse 18 Paul goes on to say, “Let no one purposely defraud you of your prize, in humility and worship of the angels, standing on things which he has seen, vainly puffed up by the mind of his flesh.” The prize spoken of in this verse is Christ as our enjoyment. It is possible to be defrauded of this prize through humility, a very positive human virtue.

This mixture of cultures flooded the church at Colosse. The church should be a house filled with Christ and constituted with Him.

The constituent of the church should be Christ and Christ alone, for the church is the Body of Christ. Therefore, the content of the church should be nothing other than Christ Himself. Nevertheless, the good elements of culture, especially philosophy and religion, had invaded the church and saturated it

In verse 18 Paul goes on to say, “Let no one purposely defraud you of your prize, in humility and worship of the angels, standing on things which he has seen, vainly puffed up by the mind of his flesh.” The prize spoken of in this verse is Christ as our enjoyment. It is possible to be defrauded of this prize through humility, a very positive human virtue.

This mixture of cultures flooded the church at Colosse. The church should be a house filled with Christ and constituted with Him.

The constituent of the church should be Christ and Christ alone, for the church is the Body of Christ. Therefore, the content of the church should be nothing other than Christ Himself. Nevertheless, the good elements of culture, especially philosophy and religion, had invaded the church and saturated it

In verse 18 Paul goes on to say, “Let no one purposely defraud you of your prize, in humility and worship of the angels, standing on things which he has seen, vainly puffed up by the mind of his flesh.” The prize spoken of in this verse is Christ as our enjoyment. It is possible to be defrauded of this prize through humility, a very positive human virtue.

This mixture of cultures flooded the church at Colosse. The church should be a house filled with Christ and constituted with Him.

The constituent of the church should be Christ and Christ alone, for the church is the Body of Christ. Therefore, the content of the church should be nothing other than Christ Himself. Nevertheless, the good elements of culture, especially philosophy and religion, had invaded the church and saturated it

In Col.1 verse 28 Paul says that he announced Christ. Here Paul does not say that he taught Christ or preached Christ, but that he announced Christ. As he announced Him, he was “warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom” in order to “present every man full-grown in Christ.” Paul’s ministry, whether in announcing Christ or in warning and teaching every man in all wisdom, was to minister Christ to others so that they could be perfect and complete by maturing with Christ unto full growth.

To become full-grown in Christ is a matter of life. Christ must be added into us. Then we need to grow in Christ and gradually gain more of the stature of Christ. Eventually, as Christ is wrought into us, we shall become full-grown in Christ.

By our natural life it is not possible for us to be the kingdom people. This fact is made abundantly clear in 26:31- 75. Here we have a picture of the arrest and judgment of Christ. This record reveals that no one can follow Christ on the pathway of the cross by the natural life. The King can take this pathway, but we in our natural life cannot. Therefore, the Lord must die for us and enter into resurrection for us.

Today our life is hidden with Christ in God. But one day Christ will appear, and we shall be manifested with Him in glory. Although we shall be manifested with Christ in the future, now is the time for us to be hidden. At present, even Christ is hidden

If we are diligent to seek the surpassing righteousness, we shall eventually become merciful toward others. In our seeking we shall find that our natural man is weak and that we are prone to failure. If you do not realize the pitiful condition of your natural man, you will never have mercy on others.

The Lord wisely spoke about not being covered by a bushel. In ancient times a bushel, as a measure for grain, was something related to eating and therefore related to the matter of

making a living. Thus, hiding the lamp under the bushel indicates anxiety concerning our living.

To be righteous is to deal with ourselves, to be merciful is to deal with others, and to be pure in heart is to deal with God. Toward ourselves, we must be strict and allow no excuses.

Toward others, we should be merciful, giving them more than they deserve. But toward God we must be pure in heart, seeking nothing besides Him.

The Vision of Christ in Colossians

The Subjective Experience of Christ in Galatians

The Secret of Experiencing Christ in Philippians

The Issue of the Experience of Christ in Ephesians