Triumphant Faith: The Object of Our Faith

by Timothy Howe

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. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.                              Colossians 2:8-12

The Basis for Triumphant Living
Last week I wrote about living triumphantly. Knowing that we have already experienced the One who is the Cause for victory in our lives should give us great confidence even as the world around us seems to dissolve. What is the basis for this triumphant living, however? What is the foundation by which we can we expect victories in our lives? Faith. Faith in the triumphant work of Christ gives us the potential for victory in our lives. Accordingly, I will call this Triumphant Faith. But let's be sure of one thing. The faith itself holds no power. The power of our triumphant faith rests solely in the Object of our Faith - Jesus the Messiah. Let's examine the Colossians 2:8-12 passage by passage in order to see just how we build a Triumphant Faith.

Build a Triumphant Faith by grasping these 5 realities.

Grasp Captivity to Christ

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.

Paul makes it clear what is the foundation to our faith - Christ. In the previous blog I noted that Paul made a clear distinction beginning in Colossians 2:6-7 between the traditions of Christ versus the traditions of men. The phrase as you receive the Christ Jesus the Lord (2:6) refers to a specific understanding of the origins of truth as they are found in Christ Jesus. Here Paul contrasts that with the refusal to be taken captive by philosophy and empty deceit according to human tradition. What does this mean? Does this mean that a follower of Jesus rejects philosophy and learning? By no means. What it means is to guard ourselves from any teaching that captures our attention and desires from the truth of who Christ is and what Christ wants for our lives. Paul is warning us to be captivated with Christ and not anything of this world. I can sit on the edge of my seat as my baseball team is challenging for a chance to go to the World Series. I should be captivated in the same way to see how the Lord is working in my life. 

Grasp Divinity of Christ

⁹ For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,

As one devotes himself or herself to the traditions of Christ, the next step is to recognize just who this Messiah was. The above passage is but one that indicates that Jesus was something more than just a man. He was Divine. Colossians 2:9 explains that Christ was the full expression of the Divine present in human form. People have a hard time comprehending this because it is so foreign to us. But it is the foundation for the work that Christ did on the cross. It is the foundation of His promise to send the Holy Spirit. It is the foundation of the Holy Spirit in our lives. And it is the foundation of a triumphant faith that leads to a triumphant living.   

Grasp Authority of Christ

^10b and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.

The recognition of Jesus' divinity helps us to understand what sort of authority he possesses. The above verse makes clear that Jesus is the head of all rule and authority. His authority extends from the events in history to the machinations of the cosmos. Though He has permitted free will and the inevitable consequences that result, He is still ultimately in control. This should not only provide us hope in the difficult times, but also confidence that things will turn out well for His kingdom sake. Nothing, I repeat, nothing catches Him by surprise. The cross was not "Plan B." This was part of the eternal design to demonstrate the need for a person to die to self in order to gain the kingdom of God.

Grasp Unity with Christ

^10a and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. ¹¹ In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ,

In the previous section we noted the ultimate authority of Jesus. Now comes an exciting, if not startling, realization. Paul states that we have been filled with Christ. We have been unified with Him. His authority becomes a shared authority by extension. We have the ability to overcome the trials and tribulations of this world because He overcame the trials and temptations of this world. This does not mean that we will avoid difficulties. Neither the Bible nor church history indicates that to be true. Anyone who teaches that being a follower of Jesus means only good things are headed your way are not teaching the Bible faithfully. But what it does mean is that we possess the same authority that Christ did. How is this possible? Through the power of the Holy Spirit. Our faith is a triumphant faith precisely because we know that we live in the triumphant power of Christ. 

Grasp Vitality from Christ

¹² having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.

Unity in Christ means that we are living in Christ. The Apostle Paul pointed out that we are made alive in Him as we believe in Him. As He was raised from the dead, so too are we. We trust in an eventual and eternal resurrection from our mortal death. Yet even now we are offer a resurrection of a different sort. 1 Corinthians 15 tells us that when Christ died on the cross he defeated two things - death and sin. As we believe in him and are united in Him, we also have these two areas defeated in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin, but slaves to righteous. My question is "So, why do we so often continue to live as if sin ruled our lives not victory?" Living in Christ means that you have been set free. Live triumphantly by possessing a triumphant faith that you are victorious. 

Build a Triumphant Faith by grasping...

     Captivity to Christ

     Divinity of Christ

     Authority of Christ

     Unity with Christ

     Vitality from Christ

Accept God's Best, Nothing Less

by Timothy Howe

A Promise Fulfilled

We have seen the story of Joshua, God granted the people of Israel their Promised Land. What God said he would accomplish for this people, He did. 

His fulfilled promise demonstrated his care.

He cared about Abraham. Abraham would be called a friend of God. He followed God by faith. God's fulfilled promise was a fulfillment of His relationship with Abraham.

He cared about the Israelites. He protected them as they wandered through the desert. He provided for them in their hunger. His presence proceeded them and followed them on their journey. 

He cared about His promise. God keeps his word. The entrance into the Promised Land by Israel shows that God is faithful. 

A Promise Deferred

At the very time that God manifested His faithfulness, part of Israel demonstrated their faithlessness. 

Eastern Tribes

Joshua 22 records the story of 2½ tribes who decided that they did not want what God promised. The tribes had noticed other land that they preferred which was outside of the scope of what the Lord had in store for them. 

The Land of Gilead

These 2½ tribes returned to the land they originally wanted in 22:1-6. They had chosen the land of Gilead on account of their wealth matched the perceived wealth of the land. We find this story in Numbers 32:1-5. This land was outside of the promise of God (22:9). The result ended up with most of the people of Israel in land of Canaan and these Eastern Tribes remaining in land of Gilead.

The Eastern tribes stayed in Gilead because they thought they knew best. They failed because they thought they knew best. Truly the Lord knows what is best for us. 

An altar at the Jordan

The Eastern Tribes made the situation worse by erecting an altar at the Jordan out of in direct disobedience to God's word. The nation of Israel was instructed to worship the Lord only at the Tabernacle. The Eastern Tribes' altar resembled a worship site so much that the other tribes were willing to go to war with them. The Eastern Tribes explained that the altar was only a memorial stone. The truth is that the altar represented their selfishness  and fear. (22:24ff) 

The assembly of Israel accepted the altar and the explanation of the Eastern Tribes because it was good in the eyes of the people of Israel. They thought they knew best. They failed because they thought they knew best.

Disappearance

As you read the rest of the story of Israel, one thing stands out. These 2½ would eventually disappeared. They merged into the other peoples who inhabited the land of Gilead. They would worship their gods and turn their back on God. Their rejection of God's best led to their ultimate demise.

Are you wandering?

You might be wandering during a desert time in your life. Rely on God to bring you through it. Wait on the the Lord. He will see you to what He has in store for you. 

Are you waiting?

Can you imagine? The Lord has something planned, and people would willingly choose a different outcome. Yet, I wonder how many of us do that very thing. We are on the path of God's best for our life, when we get distracted by something else. Some of these distractions might even be "good," but they are not God's "best." Why accept something inferior to God's best?

Have the courage to accept God’s best for your life and nothing less.

What will God accomplish through you?

by Timothy Howe

We have seen in Acts 16 that God prevented Paul from continuing the ministry he was already successfully doing in order to give Him a new vision to which Paul responded in obedience. The unfolding of the rest of the story is remarkable.

Paul took the Gospel to a new place
Paul was the first person recorded to take the gospel to Europe. He was definitely the first person to take the gospel to Macedonia. God calls many people to different expectations, but what a satisfying joy in the Lord it is to be on the cutting edge of the advance of the gospel. Paul had already done his "part." He could have spent his life training the believers that he had seen come to know the Lord in Asia Minor, but he opted to see what else God had in store for him.


Paul met unexpected results
I find it interesting that the vision Paul received in Troas was of a man requesting him to come to Macedonia, yet his first convert a woman. His next significant work in Philippi was of the healing of the demon-possessed girl. We don't see a man converted until the jailer asks "What must I do to be saved?" in Acts 16:30. Paul found a balance between explicitly following God and being prepared for the unexpected opportunities God laid before them. There are constantly times in our lives when God may be working and if we are not spiritually ready for them, we might miss the greatest opportunities for ministry. 


Paul created close friendships 

Paul later writes with much affection in his letter to the Philippians. He calls them partners in the gospel, and tells him that he longs to be with them. Paul found that in obeying God, he was not only accomplishing an objective, but he was also establishing lifelong friendships. God rewards our obedience in beautiful ways throughout and after ministry beyond the fruit that ministry produces. 


Paul established a powerful legacy
The ministry that Paul began in Macedonia flourished. Paul's letter to the Philippians is much more positive than his other letters because he has less to correct in them. He even references them as a positive example to the Corinthians (2 Cor. 8). In a broader sense, Paul's work in Macedonia went beyond Philippi to a church that daily searched the scriptures (Berea) and another church that he would later boast about (Thessalonica). 


Paul's work had eternal significance 

There are people in heaven because of Paul's obedience. God accomplished amazing things because Paul was willing and able, and because he responded. Paul gave up being a Pharisee, being important, having a life of comfort, etc., because he decided to pour himself into things that matter for eternity. 


To whom are you taking the gospel?


Are you are at a personal state in which you are spiritually attuned to the ministry opportunities, even unexpected ones, that God has prepared for you right now?


Are you establishing close godly friendships? 


What is the spiritual legacy that you will leave?


What are you doing that will have eternal significance?


What will God accomplish through you?

What is God asking you to do?

by Timothy Howe

Which way?
Sometimes it is so hard to figure out just what God is doing. What are we supposed to do? Yesterday we saw how Paul was prevented from going to a certain place to start a new work. 


Paul focused on what God was doing
Clearly, Paul got the message when the Spirit of Jesus prevented him from going to Bythnia. As a result, he stayed the course until he arrived at the end of Asia. He literally got to the point where he could not go forward. Then he waited for God to show him what was next. Paul had confidence that God would give him knew direction. He was not going to have to figure this out on his own. 


Paul was at a place where he could hear God 
Acts 16:9 speaks of the vision Paul received from God. There was no confusion. He was supposed to go to Macedonia. This is in stark contrast to simply being "prevented" from going into Bythnia. The lack of precision in the earlier episode is followed up by a very specific request to go to a specific location. Paul's willingness to listen to God earlier led him to a place of being able to hear clearly when God next spoke. He was able to recognize God's voice because he was constantly in communion with Him. He says so repeatedly in his letters. 


God had a new plan for Paul
The reason that God had prevented Paul's previous strategy from going forward was not because God wanted to punish Paul or cause Him stress. God had a plan to reach Macedonia with the gospel. God knows just what is needed where. He has a plan for each of our lives. No one is here by accident.We all have a purpose. Sometimes the path that we are on is not serving the perfect purpose God has constructed for us. If that is the case, He may ask us to adjust that path to suit His plans. 


God's plan was clear to Paul
Paul had no doubt what God wanted for Him to so. Since he was at a place where he could clearly hear from God, he recognized the message that God gave him. God was asking him to do something new. He wanted him to take the gospel to Europe. Any discouragement Paul may have felt earlier had to now be replaced with the exhilaration that God was about to do something radically new through him. 


How would you answer the following questions?
Am I focused on what God is doing in my life? 
Am I at a place where I can hear from Him?
Can I recognize His plan for my life? 
What is God's plan for my life?


Pray through these questions. Take life off "autopilot," find a convenient time and place, hear from God and assess what He is asking you to do.

What is God preventing you from doing?

by Timothy Howe

This week I am focusing on Acts 16 in which Paul and his companions take the gospel to Macedonia, in what is our first record of the gospel reaching Europe. It was a time of an unparalleled advance of the Gospel. It is easy to assume that all went according to plan. But this would be wrong.


Paul was already successful in ministry 
You will recall that Paul possessed a very fruitful ministry up to this point and  had previously experienced a successful missionary journey. Now he was revisiting some of the places where he had started churches. 


Paul had a good strategy
Paul's strategy up to this point was to go first to the synagogue, reason with the members how Christ fulfilled the scriptures, and work with believers in starting a new congregation. This strategy led his team to start numerous churches.


Paul had a good plan
Paul began this second missionary trip for the purpose of strengthening the churches which had been founded on the earlier trip. This was a good idea considering the hostility they were subject to. During this time he determined to set out to a new region to spread the gospel. This made sense based on what he had already accomplished. 


God prevented Paul from carrying out his plan
Next something strange happened. The Scriptures tell us that the Spirit of Jesus prevented Paul from going to this new region. This does not make human sense. Paul was already doing a good work. We should presume that he would have been just as successful in this new area. Certainly, it would have been good to carry the gospel to a new place. 


God wants what is best
Human sense does not compare to a Divine plan. Yes, it would have been good to start churches in the new region, but God was less interested in what was good. Instead, He pushed Paul towards what was best. God had a plan so much bigger than Paul could have imagined. This week we will see what that plan was. But first, we need to understand that in order to carry out His plan for Paul's life, God had to first prevent Paul from accomplishing Paul's plan for his life. 


What is God preventing you from doing right now?
Whenever you get frustrated that things are not going as expected, it might not be that things are just not working out. Ask yourself the question - "What is God preventing me from doing?" This will help you to open your eyes to see what else he might have in store.