Spotify for Podcasters has changed their platform. It is no longer a seamless application. Fortunately I was able to get this message download it via a file. If I figure out how to make new episodes you’ll see them posted. Otherwise thank you for listening and I’ll just see how the Lord leads. Using this platform has been helping me dig into the word of God, and I just share what I find. Keep digging on your own. The book of Colossians ends with tons of examples of church relationships.: husbands, wives, children, parents, masters, slaves, etc. In chapter 4, Paul mentions about a dozen groups or individuals that he fellowships with even from prison. This simply isn’t small talk this is Paul’s enjoyment of the new man, even from prison. Get ready, watch, we found pursuing Christ every day and in everything in these last days.  Steve Steve.jones@ccofqc.org

Setting our affection on the things above means this is where the Christ has preeminence over all things.This is the atmosphere of the throne- Christ all and in all. We know the world below demands we live according to its atmosphere: religion, human government, politics, education, culture, philosophy, sports, etc. all set a tone that is not according to Christ who is above. There is , however, an atmosphere that we are to enjoy on earth and is called the One New Man, which is not just an alternative to the worlds atmosphere, but rather the unveiling of the mystery hidden through all the previous ages. The New man touches His purpose and desire from eternity past and His goal for eternity future on the earth. The New Man has a visible expression and a testimony of Jesus on the earth. It is an atmosphere where it is impossible for individuality or distinctions to prevail or have a place because Christ is all and in all! (vs.11). Verses 12-15 describe the visible, touchable, tangible atmosphere of this New Man. It is forgiving, loving ,peaceful etc . This is an atmosphere where Christs life is flowing through the saints to all the members. This New Man brings the things above down to the world below. The world sees this atmosphere where Christ flows as a place on earth that sets the tone for Gods purpose and becomes a place that establishes dominion over the worlds atmosphere of religion, human government, politics, education, culture, philosophy, sports, etc. The New Man breathes His disposition, offers His forgiveness, demonstrates His love and arbitrates His peace (12-15). The old man cannot live in this atmosphere because It is cannot thrive. The flesh is exposed and self is terminated. This New Man atmosphere is what God is longing for on the earth today where you live.

And have put on the new man, which is being renewed unto full knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, Where there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free man, but Christ is all and in all." (Colossians 3:10-11) A life that is set on the things above, is receiving that life for a particular purpose. That purpose is the creation of the new man. We cannot think of the new man as only Christ in you. It is Christ in as the hope of glory, the desire of His expression. Praise the Lord Christ is in you, but you and Jesus do not make up the new man. The new man has two parts, quite simply the head and the body. The head we know is Christ and the body is the expression Christ through the many members. You see ? This is the hope of His glory. This is why Paul told the believers to cling to the Head (2:19) because this evaporated all of the things that are below, the false, teaching, the culture, the world, the philosophy, the law, the man made ordinances and the self. Our occupation in our daily life and in everything is to hold the head. This may seem like the goal of Christians as individuals, but it is not. The goal is for the head to fill you up as a member of the body and then for you to richly supply the saints with His Life. This supply of His life knits us all together, we all become connective tissue that stimulates the growth of the rest of the body. This is what it means to grow with the growth of God." (Colossians 2:19)This growth is the expression of His glory. This means the new man emerges as all the members are receiving life supply from the throne or the Head. Each member then allows his life to flow through them as a means of supplying this rich life of Christ to the rest of the body. This is how the new man is formed. The Christian life therefore is constantly for the production of the new man wherever you live. A Christian cannot isolate himself from other believers. A Christian cannot grow apart from other believers. We may have extenuating circumstances, like Paul, who was in prison, but you see, in chapter 4, that he did everything he could to Supply and be supplied by other members of the body. In conclusion, the church is where there cannot be a bunch of distinctive Christians. It’s a place! Christ has a location! And it’s in his body where there cannot be a Jew and a Greek, cultured and uncultured, etc. etc. your distinction cannot exist simultaneously in the body. Your self cannot exist here. What is here in the church then? It’s a place where Christ is all and in all. This little phrase, Christ, all, and in all, is a summation of chapter 1, where Christ is presented as the one who is in all things above all things accomplishes all things, is holding all things together, and in all things he is having the preeminence. Where on the Earth can we see this kind of Christ? Only among the saints who have this revelation of the New Man. Get to know the new man.

.The eternal goal of God is poured out from the throne. The new Jerusalem is the culmination of man’s enjoyment of His life poured out from the throne. The churches in all localities are to typify, be a Testimony, or a lampstand of what it looks like to live by this throne. In Revelation, chapter 1-3 we see Christ ministering to the churches as the Spirit and the Word to produce the new man which will culminate in the new Jerusalem. To hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches is a church that is setting their affection on things above, on Christ, who is their life. Just consider Isaiah‘s experience in Isaiah 6. He was before the throne, witnessing endless praise, and exaltation of the Seraphim before the throne. He was distressed because of his uncleanness, and the uncleanness of the people of Israel. Well, God cared for Isaiah so that he could receive a Supply from the throne for that situation. Now compare this to our ability to come before the throne in Colossians 3:1-2. We are hidden with Christ in God! This is our situation today in relationship to the throne. We have all access to come boldly to the throne, live by the throne, to set our affections on the throne. There Christ, who is our life, is supplying us moment by moment with his life. Interceding for us. Ministrying for us. And above all administrating God’s eternal purpose to do something. That’s something is the creation of the new man which is foundational to the new Jerusalem which is above. The new man emerges on the Earth as believers set their affections on the throne, where we enjoy Christ as our constant life. "And he showed me a river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb in the middle of its street." (Revelation 22:1) We need revelation, however, to see that Christ is administrating continuously from before the throne for the life of all the churches: "John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is coming, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, And from Jesus Christ, the faithful Witness, the Firstborn of the dead, and the Ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has released us from our sins by His blood" (Revelation 1:4-5) Now "…, He who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands:" (Revelation 2:1) "In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting on a high and lofty throne, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Seraphim hovered over Him, each having six wings: With two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to the other, saying: Holy, holy, holy, Jehovah of hosts; / The whole earth is filled with His glory. …Then I said, Woe is me, for I am finished! / For I am a man of unclean lips, / And in the midst of a people of unclean lips I dwell; / Yet my eyes have seen the King, Jehovah of hosts." (Isaiah 6:1-5) "If therefore you were raised together with Christ, seek the things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things which are above, not on the things which are on the earth." (Colossians 3:1-2)

"Put to death therefore your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and greediness, which is idolatry; Because of which things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience; In which you also once walked, when you lived in these things. But now, you also, put away all these things: wrath, anger, malice, blasphemy, foul abusive language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his practices" (Colossians 3:5-9) We have no capacity to accomplish the content of these verses without understanding the previous 4 verses. So many believers are lost in the Christian struggle, gritting their spiritual teeth striving to mortify the words and deeds of the flesh and put off the old man! Let us consider a few important things in these verse: 1. The word “therefore” in verse 6 ( and verse 12) means what we are instructed here to do In these verses is because of what has taken place in the previous 4 verses! In short the old man is put off, mortified and cast off because we now have Christ as our Life. 2. The phrase “since you have put off the old man with his practices" is in the aorist tense. IIt happened in the past and it’s done, once and for all. This indicates that the putting off the old man is not up to our future performance but rather a constant realization that the victory has been achieved through Christ. 3. Finally, the old man is just that, old. It is the former life. The Christian life, we shall see,is about living in the realm of the new man. New means something that has never been seen before. The old is something that has been dealt with, a “has- been” and has no place with Christ on the throne, it has been crucified and no longer has vitality. Old! So all of these things: to put to death, to cast off, or to put off are not commandments for us to keep, but Irather realities that we need to enjoy with Christ as our life. They are declarations of what has happened through Christ, and declare what has happened through Christ is supplied to us from the throne, therefore set your affections there, where your life is now hidden in Christ with the Father. The life of Christ is also now in you, “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Therefore, the imperative to “ set your affections on things above.” Is an all inclusive imperative. To set your mind on the things above is to enjoy the reality of the old man’s demise and of the new man’s existence. This is so practical! What are you doing, what are you watching, where are you going, what are you uttering, feeling, thinking????? We interrupt the flesh, the self, the ‘old man “ by setting our affections on this Christ, who is our life! It’s all really true ! Christ is my life! He dealt with everything through his crucifixion, and then buried it all and left it there, arose into the newness of life, and then took it to the throne, declaring the culmination of it all! And then he dispensed this life into my spirit! His life is my life as I experience an endless supply from the throne. So right now , Jesus, I just set my mind on you, these things , and praise your name. This does not mean we are perfect, that the flesh will never rise up and seek to defeat us, but it means the principalities and powers of that realm are once and for all defeated, and I am now wired to receive and enjoy the very life of Jesus Christ 24/7. So brother, sister, set your mind on that, and that alone!

"For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ our life is manifested, then you also will be manifested with Him in glory." (Colossians 3:3-4) Living the life where we seek the things above, where we set our affections on the things obove has nothing to do with our performance. It is,rather, our point of reference and the position from which we live. The contrast here in Colossians is the below life and the above life. We wake up and by default begin our day in neutral. Without the setting, and the seeking above, we will automatically gravitate towards the below life. We find ourselves just coasting through the day and picking up speed as we are swept along by the life below. Unfortunately that then becomes our point of reference and our position from which we handle everything that comes our way. We find ourselves living by our environment, by the atmosphere around us, by our feelings within us, and we all can testify what this looks like at the end of the day. Paul says in Colossians 3:3 “ you are dead.” That seems like an unattractive statement, but actually, it is most wonderful, because it simply says we don’t have to live this below life anymore. Jesus took care of that! And now “your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Amen! Consider the position of Christ and the Father on the throne above (3:1-2): it is a honored, authoritative, victorious, secure, seated, finished, satisfied and glorious position. All that God desired for us from eternity past and into eternity future is seated right there with Christ in the Father. Now, look and see where you are. Hidden with Christ in God! This is your real position, and nothing can change it. This is the above andcan be our point of reference in regard to everything. So, Seek the above. Set your affections there. This is why it is important to wake up and spend time with Jesus as early as possible. By default, we will gravitate to the below life, but praise the Lord we are dead, and Christ has brought us into the above life. And from there we are able to receive the Life because we know from there the Spirit of Christ has been poured out. That above life has been transmitted into our spirit. "And if Christ is in you . . . the spirit is life" (Romans 8:10 ) Now, here is another contrast: the hidden life and the manifested life. The hidden life is the “above” life and it is intended to become a manifested life, not just in the future, but in our daily “below” life as we set our affections above. Saints, the life in you is supplied from the life above. This life is longing to be manifested below. This life is the resurrection life, it is the crucified life, and it is this hidden life that is with Christ in God. So, where is your affections right now? Where is your mind? Interrupt that! Right now set your affections on what is true. Peruse Christ, His person and His work. Love Him, sing to Him, open up to Him because this is your position in reality. Allow His life in you to be manifested from the throne in all your living. Praise the Lord! "Always bearing about in the body the dying of Jesus, that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our body; for we who live are always delivered unto death on account of Jesus, that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh;" (2 Corinthians 4:10,11)

Paul urges all believers to set our affection on that which is above. What is above? Christ is there. And he is sitting at the right hand of the father. This is the eternal glorification of Christ from eternity past. To sit down at the right hand of the father indicates that man has now been brought before the throne of God. The glorification of Christ means that we can now be supplied with God’s life. Paul urges us to seek, and to set our mind on the Christ, who is above. We no longer are chained to the things which are below. Those are the negative things that he mentioned in Colossians 2 : the sin, the guilt and condemnation, the powers and principalities, the culture, the teaching, the philosophy, the religion, and on, and on! Do not set your affection there, but set your heart up on the Christ. Why? Because the throne of glory is the source from where we receive the supply of all of God‘s life that has been purposed for us from eternity past. All the riches of God, all that God desires a man to be on the Earth, to live on the Earth, the reality of all things on the Earth. All of it is in this Christ now seated beside the father above. This is where we need to set our heart, because this Christ, seated on this thrown is from whence all of what God desires for us flows from. Jesus intimated that he wanted to get inside man and be his satisfying supply : "Jesus stood and cried out, saying, If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes into Me, as the Scripture said, out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water. But this He said concerning the Spirit, whom those who believed into Him were about to receive; for the Spirit was not yet, because Jesus had not yet been glorified." (John 7:37-39) So In order for Jesus to be your constant daily supply he must be exalted on the throne! Eventually in Acts 2 the Holy Spirit came and here’s what Peter had to say about that, "This Jesus God has raised up, of which we all are witnesses. Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God and having received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father, He has poured out this which you both see and hear." (Acts 2:32-33) Jesus ascended into heaven and was glorified at the right hand of the father. Then the father gave Jesus something. The father gave him the Holy Spirit as promised. The father GAVE Him to Jesus! Why? Because Jesus was now glorified and all of his person and life could now be mixed into the Holy Spirt. "So also it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living soul”; the last Adam became a life-giving Spirit." (1 Corinthians 15:45). So brothers and sisters this is the Spirit that was poured out up on all the followers and Believers of Jesus. The Holy Spirit contains the very life of Jesus Christ as the Spirit. if you have theSpirit of God, you must have the indwelling Christ who is now seated at the right hand of the Father. So from your spirit, set your heart above, not on things below,, and receive right now the thrones’ supply.

““Holding the Head” is the conclusion of Paul’s discourse. Recall how Paul comes to this conclusion. In chapter 1, he displays the all sufficiency of this rich Christ. In chapter 2:9 he says Christ displayed all these riches as the fullness of God when he was on earth bodily. 2:10 states we have received all of this fullness. 2:11-13 describes how we have received this fullness, through faith in the operation of God. That operation is the cross, the burial, and the resurrection. 2:14-15 provides us with the assurance that God at the cross dealt with all the guilt and condemnation, and he removed any authority that says otherwise. This is our eternal warranty that nothing can ever change what his Son did on the cross. This means Christ is our life and he is in us eternally and nothing can prevent us from enjoying his fullness. In between all of these verses Paul mentions the kind of things that try and keep us from enjoying this fullness. This is why he puts the little word “not” in front of “holding the Head “ (2:19). This little word “not” is saying, “You’ve got the fullness in you, through the operation of Almighty God at the cross and He has provided His eternal Warranty that it all is true, and yet you are living by something other than the fullness!?” That is NOT holding the Head! So the obvious response should be “Hold The Head!” Everything else is a shadow, the food, the drink, the Sabbath, the Jewish celebrations, etc. (16-17). They all pointed to Christ, but He came. He’s now installed in you as your life, as the fullness, the Head (10), you are complete in him. Hold the head! He is the reality of all those things. Or some say, “don’t handle that, touch that, or taste that” (21). They attempt, even with good intentions, and even Bible-based principles to govern your Christian life. These things have no value in dealing or curbing the indulgences of your flesh (22-23). Hold the Head! You’ve got the one who did it all, conquered it all, and perfectly pleased the Heavenly Father now living in you as the Head. You are complete in him, and he in you! This is why Paul says that these other things will rob you of your prize, which is Christ (18). To the lay hold of this prize is to lay hold of this Reality which is to lay hold of the Head. Saints, there is no other way to live the Christian life. Christ, as your H ead is in you sending constant signals regarding every aspect of your daily life. This is the rich supply that the Head gives you. And this rich supply is not simply for you as an individual, No! These impulses are a supply intended so as to knit us together with all the saints, nourishing one another, that the church might grow with the growth of God. Living by this revelation produces the church. Just consider, when you come in to physical contact with other saints, who have been living by this Head supply, there is a spiritual knitting together. We can’t just talk about the weather or how are you doing? I’m good, etc. We’ve been living by the Head! This living, holding the head, gushes out and into all of our conversation and worship. This is the growth of God. Paul will reveal this more in the next two chapters. For now let us enjoy the revelation that the Head is actually in you. And then let us seize hold of our head, Jesus, as we live by the constant supply of his impulses in every aspect of our living. Amen.

"Stripping off the rulers and the authorities, He made a display of them openly, triumphing over them in it." (Colossians 2:15) The cross is not only an erasing of all that condemns us but it is also a stripping away the power of all opposing rulers and authorities once and for all. Any future dealings with powers that oppose God have already been defeated on the cross. This is why Paul was able make such statements in Romans chapter 8: “What shall we say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? Who shall lay any charges against Gods elect? Who, or what can separate us from the love of God?” Nothing! These rulers and powers, however, are able to manifest themselves through a speaking. They seek to delude us with persuasive speech (vs4) spoil us through philosophical reasoning (8) judge us by telling what we should do (16), defraud us by telling what we shouldn’t do (18-21). It is all a “reasonable” speaking that seeks to nullify the fullness we have in Christ. This is why in Colossians.2:10 he says we are “complete in Christ, who is head over all rule and authority” This means Christ is head over all of the speaking. The “speakers” can be Satan (the accuser of the brethren), religion, teaching, culture, government, worldly wisdom etc. It is a false speaking that seeks to usurp the Headship of Christ. It appeals as a reasonable speaking but seeks to deny that Christ is our life and that he is enough. We need to recognize that this speaking, manifests itself as a reasoning in our mind. It is a speaking over us, about us, a speaking that seems true about ourselves, or about our environment, or about the situations that we are dealing with, about the times we live in, about things that occur in our daily and in our worldly life. However “reasonable “ it is not according to Christ (8) nor does it hold him up as the Head. (19) What we need to realize is that the power of the cross includes the removing of this speaking, this authority that seeks to rule over us. God took this authority out of the way when Jesus died on the cross. Through Christ, he triumphed over them once and for all. Why does he still allow them to have breathing room? I can’t answer that perfectly but I do know in His wisdom all of it is used to wake me up and drive me to Christ, to his fullness! Know that “in all these things we more than conquer through Him who loved us.” And be persuaded that nothing, “no principalities, nothing present nor things to come nor powers nor height nor depth nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:37-39) What happened on the cross has solidified our relationship with the father, and has terminated the “wanna be” power of any kind of ruler or authority that would seek to infiltrate our reasoning and dissuade us from the fullness we have in Christ.

"Wiping out (or erasing) the handwriting in ordinances, which was against us, which was contrary to us; and He has taken it out of the way, nailing it to the cross." (Colossians 2:14) The operation of God eternally puts us In Christ, thus we are said to be complete in Him (2:10).This is an unbelievable yet true operation (11-13), but there’s more!While Jesus was on the cross bleeding for our offenses God was nailing something else to the cross: The handwriting of ordinances. What is that? When a criminal was crucified, it was customary to identify their guilt. A placard often followed with them on their journey to the cross, and then was nailed on the cross with them. On that placard was their guilty charges and reasons why they were being crucified. I do not know about you, but I am guilty. Like Paul said in Romans 7 there is something good in me that wants to keep the law, but oh wretched man, that I am, who can deliver me ?! The handwriting of the law exposed Paul’s, guilt and condemnation. This is the purpose of the law. Let the law expose your wretchedness. Say God, “I am wretched! The law reveals it. I am condemned, and I am guilty. The placard is not big enough to display my guilt.” But look what God did, he nailed that placard on the cross with Jesus. It says here in verse 14 in effect that our failure to keep those ordinances were contrary to us or against us. In the context of Colossians 2 this means our guilty verdict was opposing our opportunity to enjoy the fullness described in verses 9 and 10. That means whatever was happening on the cross could not be ours because of what was written on that placard. But then read…”He took it out of the way. It was hanging around our neck, condemning us, but He removes it out of the way and nails it to the cross of His Son. Now look at it! Erased, Wiped clean! The charges aren’t just dropped, but the debt is fully paid for, satisfied, and all God sees is a pure white placard. There’s nothing there! No wonder Paul continued to say in Romans 7, “thanks be to God, who has delivered me through Jesus Christ his Son. Therefore, there is no condemnation, ever, to those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Rom.8:1) The blood has cleansed us from all unrighteousness.The Father then erased the hand writing of ordinances that would otherwise indicate us as guilty, and He nailed THAT to the cross! Oh praise the Lord!

It is one thing to realize that in Christ, all the fullness of God dwelt. (2:9).It is quite another thing to see that we are complete in Christ. (2:10). We have received the fullness. But, it is still another huge thing to allow this fullness to operate in our lives. In other words, are we living by the Christ who is in us? Is he the "Head of all (other) rule and authority” in our daily living? Verse 12 says there is a requirement of faith on our part in this operation of God. God has done something in our being through Christ that this fullness might be ours. Do you believe it? At first glance, we might categorize verse 11 through 13+ as verses describing our ability to identify with what Christ done. He died. We died, he was buried. We were buried, and he arose, so we arose, however, this is more than simply doctrinally or historically, identifying with Christ. These verses describe the operation of God. This operation of God are not things that only happened in the past through Christ, but they are the fullness that is in us. He is the means whereby we enjoy him as our fullness. Verse 11 says he circumcised us. Our flesh has been cut away entirely through the work of Christ on the cross. This circumcising Christ lives in us, as the one who’s freed us from our flesh, our self. We no longer need to reference our self at all. Christ is our source. He is our fullness through what he has done upon the Cross. This is why Paul says I am crucified with Christ, and I, my flesh, no longer lives. Then he says we are buried together with him (12). The operation of God has taken us to the grave. What else are you going to do with something that has died? The operation of God discards the dead flesh once and for all. Christ took our sinful flesh to the grave. According to the operation of God, Christ, who knew no sin, officiated over the burial of all of it. That which has died, has life no more. And then most wonderfully we go with him into resurrection. This resurrection is a living. It is His life now constantly supplied as our life. This operation of God after cutting us open, so to speak, dealing with our sinful flesh, officially burying our offensive flesh, then brought us together with Christ into the newness of his life. This life of Christ has been installed in us. This is the fullness that we have received! This is the operation of God! Do you believe it? This is why Paul could say, "As therefore you have received the Christ, Jesus the Lord, walk in Him," (Colossians 2:6). How? Through faith in the operation of God! You received this life now walk in this life. Walking in the life, the fullness, is the evidence of our faith in the Christian life. We live the Christian life through faith in the operation of God!

Colossians 2:9-10 are certainly verses for the believer to know and recall. More than that they are a reality that we live by. They actually summarize what we’ve learned in Colossians. They are the riches we are to enjoy, the treasure we need to find, and the prize we need to run after. Verse 9 declares that all the fullness was seen in Jesus when he was on the Earth. This means all the riches, the treasure, and the prize are in this fullness. This Fullness was on display when Jesus was on the Earth, and then verse 10 says that this Fullness is now in you. You are complete in him. And in the context of chapter 2, you are not to add anything to that Fullness! How could we and why would we?! Read John chapter 1 the first 16 verses. Get into the excitement of John. We saw Jesus! He was the very speaking of God in the flesh, the word! And in him was life, and his life is the light to all mankind. Verse 16 we have received his Fullness. What does that mean? The Fullness IS the word, the life and the light all compacted in this Fullness that we have received. What we saw is now in us as the Fullness! And then John adds we are receiving this Fullness grace upon grace, upon grace, meaning that Grace is a Supply of the Fullness. Saints, just wake up and breathe and I guarantee you you’re going to need the the grace of God, which is the Fullness that we have received through the Christ that now lives in our spirit. This is how we live! Grace upon grace upon grace. The supply of the Fullness becomes a never ending fountain of life. He tells the Colossian Saints don’t live by anything else. In this episode, I have asked you to politely examine the preaching and teaching that you’re hearing today. At the end of most messages, we are being urged to do something, to be something, to get something more, to be more relevant in this day and age or even to have a new experience. I understand this. There is an urgency on the part of any good minister to challenge the people of God in these last days, however, I don’t hear much that directs saints to get to the fullness in you. They may even direct you to depend on the power of God, but do we know that this power comes from the Fullness that’s deposited in our spirit? To not urge saints to live by the Fullness means death. That simply means there’s a lack of life in those challenges. We need life!We need to live by the Fullness. Do you realize Jesus,bodily, as a man , completely lived by the Fullness of the father. In other words, the father was enough. If he lived by the Fullness, why should we not live by the Fullness that is in us? All the things that we are asked to do, all the changes we are asked to make, and all the challenges presented to us through preaching are in the Fullness. Find the Fullness, live by the Fullness grace by grace by grace, and all of these things preached to us will be added unto us out of His Fullness.

“The world has yet to see what God can do with a man fully consecrated to him.” This dilemma was put to DL Moody to which he added, “By God’s help, I aim to be that man.” This has been the noble response of many believers. Let’s clarify. Firstly, the world HAS seen such a man fully consecrated to God and secondly He is the only man who has ever pleased God fully. His name is Jesus. "For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily,” (Colossians 2:9) “Fullness” means completeness, abundance, perfection , nothing lacking This was Christ in the flesh. A man fully consecrated to the Father. The world has indeed seen such a man! Moreover we are wretched men and women who need deliverance. "Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from the body of this death?”(Rom. 7:24). Who?! Oh “Thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (Romans 7:25) Through Christ, the wholly consecrated One, we find deliverance. “And you have been made full in Him, who is the Head of all rule and authority." (Colossians 2:10) Read that! You’ve been made full out of His fullness!. As a spiritual runner in this race, that Paul is referring to , you are equipped, you’re in good shape, and extremely qualified to run this race. You’re made full!. If you are saved, you have Christ in you and he has successfully completed the work that God gave Him to do for mankind. And He now is in you. You were made to run in this race. Get to the Supply, Jesus, who fully and completely and perfectly lived this Christian life. Wake up, don’t be according to anything else, and lay hold of Christ in all things because you have been made complete in Him, and the one who is in you is head and authority over all of those things that seek to usurp Him as having first place. Amen.

Verses on thankfulness in Colossians: "Having been rooted and being built up in Him, and being established in the faith even as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving." (Colossians 2:7) "And let the peace of Christ arbitrate in your hearts, …; and be thankful." (Colossians 3:15) "And whatever you do in word or in deed, do all things in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." (Colossians 3:17) "Persevere in prayer, watching in it with thanksgiving," (Colossians 4:2) The biggest danger for believers is to find ourselves “not after Christ” (2:8). If we live after anything else but Christ, we open ourselves up to discontentment, disillusionment, and frustration. After salvation, we need to discover that we were meant for one thing, and that is to find Christ in us and then live supplied by his life. In short “Christ our Life” (2:4). This is God’s eternal purpose: the life of His son expressed through the Saints in the church and throughout eternity. A person who lives with such a Supply it’s not discontent or frustrated in this world, but rather thankful. Paul says here “abounding with thanksgiving”. Where? In prison, in chains, restricted and limited. Why? Because we are “rooted and being built up in Him. How?Because if we live “in Christ” no matter the circumstances we can be content. (Philippians 4:11). This means that living literally “in Him” has the consequence of abundant thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is not simply a holiday or an obligation at prayer time or affered when we receive good food or gifts. It is rather a spontaneous response to our environment from a saint who is living in Christ. Unlike the world, we can thank God for everything! Remember, Paul said, I rejoice in my suffering’s. That is not the flesh speaking. This is a man who was captivated by the life of Christ within him, and realized Him as All and in all things . Certainly difficult things happen. The world, at best, can only come up with logical reasons why such and such happened and hopefully feel better about the situation. The believer has the realization that there is another Life in them. This Life is also touched by our earthly circumstances and can supply us with His life as we pass through all things. This Life has a purpose through every circumstance. Thanksgiving then is a practical way that enables us to receive the Supply of His Life in us. It requires faith and typically an open mouth as we call upon His name. It is possible, therefore, to abound with thanksgiving, no matter what we face. Let us not utter frustration, discontentment and dissatisfaction over this earthly life, but whatever we do in word or deed do it with thanksgiving; whatever erupts in our life, family and relationships may the peace of Christ arbitrate over us with all thanksgiving; and may we continually persevere in prayer, opening our mouths, abounding with thanksgiving. Amen.

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency of the power may be of God and not out of us." (2 Corinthians 4:7) "I pursue toward the goal for the prize to which God in Christ Jesus has called me upward." (Philippians 3:14) "But what things were gains to me, these I have counted as loss on account of Christ. But moreover I also count all things to be loss on account of the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, on account of whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as refuse that I may gain Christ" (Philippians 3:7-8) "Do you not know that those who run on a racecourse all run, but one receives the prize? Run in this way, that you may lay hold." (1 Corinthians 9:24) “Run this way”, because you cannot run any other way. There only one way to the Father for salvation, and there’s only one way to run in this Christian life. All of our struggles in this sense are the same, all of our races are the same. And all of us can obtain the prize laid out for us. Jesus is not simply our future prize but He is our prize right now as a present possession in us. To run the race any other way is not normal. Paul said not all that run will obtain this prize. This certainly does not mean a person is not saved, but it means they chose not to run after Christ in their daily life. The way to obtain the full enjoyment of Christ at the end of this age is to enjoy Christ in all things now. This is an unusual race. The treasure or the prize has already been received, We “have this treasure in earthen vessels” our bodies. You have been fueled, set up, equipped for this race upon your salvation. Spiritually, get up and hit the ground running. Open up this treasure . Pursue this Christ in you. Find Him in everything. Getting to this prize and living your daily life for this prize is the end of the race prize! Paul said "I therefore run in this way, not as though without a clear aim; I box in this way, not as though beating the air;" (1 Corinthians 9:26) So get up, get to Jesus, take this Jesus into everything today, and lay your head down at night being found in Him. Do this by faith, believe regarding the Christ in you, pursue Him as your constant supply for all things. Don’t run in any other way. Of course, don’t let the world, self, besetting sins etc. interfere with the way you run. These things are obvious, but we often run by religious exercises, by good common sense and cultural living, and by letting the routine of daily life become our race course. Paul stated that he ran in a clear way with purpose. He found Christ in all things. He counted everything but loss that he would lay hold of Christ and Christ would lay hold of him. If you want to obtain the prize, literally grab hold of the prize, every single day . To run any other way through your day is to allow some other thing to cheat you of your prize. Run this way! So you might lay hold of Him in that day. This means at the judgment seat of Christ we are going to be judged! This judgment is before the 1000 year reign. We do not talk or teach much concerning this judgment of believers. Let’s change that! Let’s believe we will give account. You’re not given multiple jobs or works or religious things you must accomplish. You’ve been given Christ and he is your life and he is in you right now. You’ve been given the means to enjoy him. He lives in your spirit as Spirit. He wants to be your all in all and in everything. This is the basis of your reward. Christians must give an account. Before we all enjoy living together in the New Jerusalem, we will serve with the Lord according to our reward in the Millennial kingdom. Your reward, your prize is in you right now for you to enjoy right now. For us to live otherwise means we will be disapproved or found unworthy of reward in the coming kingdom. This is the meaning of well done thou good and faithful servant. Do not be beguiled or cheated or defrauded of your prize today.

"For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those in Laodicea, even all who have not seen my face in the flesh," (Colossians 2:1) "I have fought the good fight; I have finished the course; I have kept the faith." (2 Timothy 4:7) Paul could have said here “I have struggled the good struggle”. This is the same word he uttered in Col.2:1 "For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you” It is also the identical word in Hebrews 12:1, "Therefore let us also, …run with endurance the race (or struggle) which is set before us," Paul was a spiritual athlete. This word “struggle” means the place of contest, the arena or stadium where the Greeks would gather and watch athletes contest for a prize. Paul writes this word from his unnatural arena, prison, where he is restricted in chains between guards, but he considers this a “vantage point” in spiritual engagement. His arena audience is all the saints who have never seen his face in the flesh. What an unusual image! How does he contend for the prize? He prays without ceasing, rejoices in his “arena” , receives this rich word regarding Christ, and delivers this word to us. Yes to us! Because this is a contending word meant for “even all who have not seen my face in the flesh.” It is Gods eternal purpose and word for all the ages. This contending word is Christ, to know Him as the mystery of God revealed. Not only for salvation, but now living in you. The prize/treasure, therefore, is Christ Himself who contains all the riches of knowledge and wisdom. (Col. 2:2-3). This word is a real word. It contends that Christ is really in you. Christ is really in all believers. Oh, don’t only receive this Christ, but walk and live in Him. (Col.2:6). Let us join in this contending word that our “hearts may be comforted, as we are being knit together in love” with all the saints who also have Christ in them. Let’s contend to know all the “riches of the full assurance of understanding, unto the full knowledge”. That means we all are athletes with Paul receiving this word and we are struggling, wrestling, fighting and running to obtain the treasure, the prize, Christ as our life in everything.

This is a hard word for some, but please listen. Just consider that God has an eternal desire from the ages that is culminating right now in these last days. The church represents that culminating desire. We are not to simply be waiting and watching but are urged to be ready and watching. Growth and maturity in the church where Christ is formed in us is how we are ready, whether we die or are raptured. The eyes of the Lord are searching for this maturity, for the presentation of “every man full-grown in Christ;" (Colossians 1:28) To the the Galatians Paul described this process as travailing "again in birth until Christ is formed in you," (Galatians 4:19) “Again” means that they went after something other than Christ so “again” he struggles for them to mature which includes: Christ in you, being full grown in you, formed in you, and even “again”formed in you if we have wandered away from maturity. Where is this full grown, mature Christ in your community? "And she brought forth a son, a man-child, who is to shepherd all the nations with an iron rod; and her child was caught up to God and to His throne." (Revelation 12:5) ((you can read Revelation 2:26-27 assuring us this is also overcoming believers) This full grown Christ is the man-child in Revelation 12. The great woman is all the believers throughout all the ages. All of her is not going to be complete or mature, but out of her this “man child” is the desire of God through the ages: “Christ in you…formed in you…full grown in you, the hope of glory!” The arrival of this man -child in the heavens, prompts Michael and the angels to cast Satan and his followers from having any more access in the heavens. He can no longer accuse us because there we are standing before the Father fully formed in Christ. Satan is speechless. Praise the Lord! This is what God is longing for as a culmination of all things. Satan and his host are angry, the antichrist is possessed and havoc ensues during the last 3 1/2 years. God will care for Israel and believers that remain on the Earth who were not mature. He has a whole millennium to care for them and eventually deal with the enemy. Then every man will be brought into the new Jerusalem as a ready, mature, woman bride. Most believers don’t like this interpretation. The goal here is not that you agree with a particular interpretation, but that we see that God’s desire/purpose will be wrought out in time. This means to mature, to be full grown, and to grow up into him in all things is needed now. Regardless of an interpretation, we should set our mind to think upon this need for maturity as believers. He is looking for this maturity and we will all stand before the judgment seat. May we be found watching and ready.

"And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us (and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only Begotten from the Father), full of grace and reality." (John 1:14) "This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of Jehovah. And when I saw it, I fell on my face and I heard the voice of someone speaking." (Ezekiel 1:28) Christ in us has a Hugh Hope. It is the hope of glory! Glory is a word we use to describe the expression of God. We can’t just put this glory in a future tense as if it’s something we’re going to experience one day in heaven. Nor can we file it as the doctrinal endgame: justified, sanctified, and then glorified! Glory is not simply part of a process. Glory is a Person (Christ) and glory has a place for His shining (You)!. Christ in us has a present day active hope that has a moment by moment goal of conforming us more to the image of God’s Son. That is Glory! Paul rejoiced in sufferings, prayed, struggled, admonished and taught every saint not only for a future glory, but for a present day manifestation of that glory. He said to the Corinthians: "But we all with unveiled face, beholding and reflecting like a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord Spirit." (2 Corinthians 3:18) The glory comes from the beholding of the Lord in you. Just sit yourself frequently in front of this Christ in you! Talk, cry out, love, rest in Him. We will start to reflect Him, His glory in our living. What does this glory look like? Well, Ezekiel had a strange way of describing the glory of the Lord, but it’s really an awesome example. Please read Ezekiel chapter 1. What we see is heavenly creatures before the throne moving by God’s Spirit with the impulses of God, without hesitation. What we see according to verse 28 is the appearance of the glory of God in the heavenly’s. Praise the Lord we can see this glory of God in a human being, Jesus. No human being ever has moved perfectly on the Earth with every impulse according to the Father. Jesus did! And now this Christ, with all of his impulse to please, the Father, in every thought, every feeling, and every will, this Christ is in you the hope of glory! Surely you see this. Christ in you is your only hope of glory! While walking in this godless world, there is one distinct way to glorify God before you leave it. It is Christ in you the hope of glory. Do not miss out on this wonderful, glorious revelation.

Christ in you the hope of glory. I would say most believers have this underlined. Why is it underlined or highlighted? What does this mean to you? This meant everything to the apostle Paul. This is why he prayed without ceasing and rejoiced in all his sufferings, this is why he was “announcing, admonishing to every man and teaching every man in all wisdom “ This is why he “labored and struggled” (Colossians 1:28-29) He wanted the saints “to know how great a struggle” he had for them. (Colossians 2:1). That this Christ would be known in them, and grow in them. Christ is actually not a name but a title. It means the anointed one or the Messiah. Think about what it meant for Paul, who was historically a devout, pharisaical Jew, to utter these words, the “Messiah in you, the hope of glory!”No Jewish person would ever think that way religiously. They were looking for the outward Messiah. And then who does he say this to, gentiles! Gentiles to the devout Jewish religious person, even to this day are dogs and swine, unclean. To even think that the Messiah could live in a gentile would be heretical. What transformation took place in Paul’s life! He was no Jonah for sure. Jonah was told to go to Nineveh and proclaim repentance to the gentiles, or God’s wrath would fall upon them. Jonah ran away from God, he didn’t want to go, and finally we know, God got a hold of him in a dramatic way, and caused him to go preach repentance to the Gentiles of Nineveh. And guess what? They repented and God spared them. Oh this made Jonah feel sorry for himself and his situation. Paul, on the other hand, not only shared the revelation of Christ in the gentile, but he labored, admonished, wrestled and struggled that the Gentiles saints might know that the Messiah has come to live in them. Christ, coming and living in the believers spirit is such a foreign concept to Christianity even today. They want the Saving Jesus but resist the Christ who wants to be all and in all. That costs too much. We may want to give up the struggle. Oh saints, don’t give up. Christ in you is the only hope of glory. Christ in you and in all the believers around you is the only hope of glory. Fight the good fight, announce Him, admonish every brother or sister at every opportunity. Speak in all wisdom and revelation of the full knowledge of Jesus Christ. Not just a partial knowledge. Not just a saving knowledge. But a knowledge that this Christ in you is the hope, is the joy, and is the life of every believer in all things. Labor, wrestle, struggle that Christ might be formed in your life and in the church

"So then we, from now on, know no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him so no longer." (2 Corinthians 5:16) This verse indicates that Christ “from now on” is not merely known historically. And actually, from now on, we don’t know any man merely according to the old creation. Now that we are in Christ, we are new creations, and we perceive everything from that perspective. (2 Corinthians 5:17). The new creation is that we are in Christ and he is in every believer. Praise the Lord for the historical manifestation of Christ! We need the Gospels, but the Christian life is more than merely imitating the historical example of Jesus. Paul’s apostleship to the churches, therefore, reveals that Jesus is actually in the Saints. Paul’s apostleship began unlike the other apostles. He saw Christ in the body, in the spirit. The way this apostle knew Christ is the way we know Christ. Of course all the apostles experienced Christ in this way after his ascension, but this was Paul’s exclusive, subjective enjoyment of Christ. And, this is mine! Yours! And this is what he shares with all the churches to enjoy! He describes this enjoyment as the riches of Christ If we are to know Christ today, according to the revelation of God‘s word, we must know him in our spirit, and in the body. This is the way God intended for us to know him from eternity past. This revelation, Paul says therefore, completes the word of God. This means there’s nothing else that can be added to the church for us to experience the church. There is no new expression of the gifts, no new manifestation of the Spirit, no new, charismatic, preaching,no new revelation, no new program, no emotional experience, etc. that can exceed what Paul reveals to us. This is why he says "To whom God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory," (Colossians 1:27). This is why he says he labors diligently and prays fervently that the eyes of the Saints would be opened. This is the goal of the new creation, you in Christ, and Christ in you! It is not only Paul’s writing, and sharing that completes the word of God, but it is also our appreciation, our enjoyment, and our living out this rich truth that completes the word of God. This revelation is intended to capture you and catapult you to live in the realm of this new creation thus manifesting our part in the completing of the word of God.