Colossians (Program #12) - Christ-The Mystery Of God’s Economy

What kind of book is the Bible to you? Maybe a book of stories of inspiring men of faith or perhaps a book of deep teachings and doctrines. Or, a book of ethics or words of wisdom for men to live by. Well, surely it’s all of these things but if these are all we see in the Bible, we’d missed the mark. Because embedded in all the stories, all the teachings, and all the ethics and wisdom lies the mystery of God and of His heart’s desire for man. Listen to Paul the Apostle in Colossians 1:25  “Of which I became a minister according to the stewardship of God, which was given to me for you, to complete the word of God, The mystery which has been hidden from the ages and from the generations but now has been manifested to His saints;”

 

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1 & 2 Samuel (Program #26) - A Prophecy Concerning the Seed of David Being Called the Son of God

2 Samuel 7 contains ones of the great prophecies in all of scripture. When God tells King David, “I will raise up your seed after you, which will come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. It is he who will build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his Father, and he will be My son.”

Well, we all realize now that this Word was prophesying concerning the first coming of Christ. Christ is the seed of David. The Lord Jesus Himself referred to this passage when speaking to the pharisees during an exchange where they were trying to trap Him. Listen to Matthew 22:41-45, “Now when the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus questioned them, saying, What do you think concerning the Christ? Whose son is He? They said to Him, David’s. He said to them, How then does David in spirit call Him Lord, saying, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand until I put Your enemies underneath Your feet’? If then David calls Him Lord, how is He his son?”

Well this question, “what do you think concerning the Christ?”, is the question in the universe and ultimately must be answered by every man.

 

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Colossians (Program #11) - Filling Up What is Lacking Of The Afflictions of Christ

In the writings of the Apostle Paul, there are terms and  concepts found no other place in the Scripture.  It was Paul who talked about “the Body of Christ” and the “One New Man” and the “stewardship” or the “economy of the mystery”.  In Colossians 1:25 Paul said that it was given to him to complete or fill up the word of God.  Yet other writings came after his in the New Testament.  So in what sense was Paul’s ministry, a ministry of completion?

 

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1 & 2 Samuel (Program #25) - God’s Building Himself in Christ into our Being Through the Metabolic Process of Transformation

Most believers and readers of the Bible recognize that prophecy is an important component of scripture. There are great books of the Bible that have long been recognized as being important from a prophetic perspective. Books like Revelation in the New Testament and Ezekiel and Daniel in the Old Testament. But normally, we don’t think of the history books in the Old Testament as being important for prophecy. And while this may be generally true, there are notable exceptions such as 2 Samuel 7. Listen to 3 verses from this chapter and see if you can find the prophecy that Witness Lee considered one of the highest in all of scripture.

“When your days are fulfilled and you sleep with your fathers, I will raise up your seed after you, which will come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. It is he who will build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his Father, and he will be My son.”

 

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Colossians (Program #10) - The Stewardship of God

Colossians 1:24 says “I now rejoice in my sufferings on your behalf and fill up on my part that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for His Body, which is the church.” Did you ever consider that there were still a lack concerning Christ’s suffering?  After all that He endured on our behalf to accomplish our perfect redemption on the cross, how could anything yet lack? But here is the Apostle Paul pointing us to the need that he sensed to fill up on his part that lacked. This can be a troubling even perplexing verse but it can also be the source of tremendous light concerning God’s ultimate heart desire.

 

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1 & 2 Samuel (Program #24) - Our Need for God to Build Christ into Us

Upon a casual reading, 2 Samuel 7 seems simple enough to understand, it begins with King David expressing his heart’s desire to build a dwelling place for Jehovah. The Lord’s response to David seems to be a very good illustration of His love and mercy toward David, telling him that instead of wanting David to build something for Him, the Lord needed to build something first for David. But if we look more carefully and through the lens of God’s economy, we will see that 2 Samuel 7 reveals one of the highest revelations in the entire Bible.

 

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Colossians (Program #9) - Christ’s Relationship To Creation

In Colossians 1:25, the apostle Paul says “Of which I became a minister according to the stewardship of God…”  There is much to this verse.  Today on life study of the Bible, we spend our time intently on this one short phrase “the stewardship of God.”  Because to see it and understand it thoroughly is to gain an insight which can revolutionize the way in which we see and understand the entire Bible .

 

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1 & 2 Samuel (Program #23) - The History Concerning David (10)

In 2 Samuel, David becomes secure and well established as the one king over all the tribes of Israel. As king, he’s prosperous, respected, loved, and secure from his enemies, even admired by the surrounding nations. In this situation, David’s true heart is clearly manifest. What he desires to do is to do something for God, even to build God a dwelling place in Israel. But having such a one on this earth whose heart was fully one on its own, Jehovah responds to David’s expression of wanting to do something for Him in a most surprising way.

Listen to this passage from 2 Samuel 7:

“Thus says Jehovah, Is it you who will build Me a house for Me to dwell in? For I have not dwelt in a house, since the day I brought the children of Israel up out of Egypt to this day; but I went about in a tent and in a tabernacle. more…

 

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Colossians (Program #8) - Christ-The Firstborn From Among The Dead

Surely the Bible talks about many things. There are innumerable items mentioned in scripture, and we all have our own personal preferences–maybe the stories, or the fascinating prophecies, or the various spiritual experiences they did document. But there is a unique item that the whole Bible unveils to mankind, and that item is really a person, the person Jesus Christ. And in all the Bible, no book unveils this one so thoroughly and so highly as the book of Colossians. We come once again to this Christ unveiling book today, to see Him as the firstborn from among the dead.

 

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1 & 2 Samuel (Program #22) - The History Concerning David (9)

After years of being persecuted at the hands of the evil king Saul, David has finally become king, fulfilling the promise that Jehovah had given to him as a young boy. Now, the entire nation of Israel was with him. And, even the surrounding nations lent their support to him as king. But most importantly, David had Jehovah’s presence with him as well. With all things fully in order under God’s sovereign arrangement, what would David turn his attention to now?

Many before him had sought greater riches and glory for themselves, but David has a different kind of heart. David had a heart that was fully one with the Lord. So and with his own house in order, David turned his full attention to God’s house. What a marvelous picture and pattern for us as believers today.

 

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