Peter Misselbrook's Blog
May 1 2020 - Colossians 2:6-23 – Nailed to the cross

Paul is writing to those in Colossae who had welcomed the message concerning the Lord Jesus Christ that had been preached to them. Now, however, some are in danger of being led away by “hollow and deceptive philosophy” (Colossians 2:8) – by human ideas which may seem attractive, even very spiritual, but which lead away from Christ.

Don’t be distracted by such ideas, says Paul, “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness” (2:9-10). There is nothing that God has for your blessing that is to be found outside of Christ. There is nothing you need to know of God that is to be known apart from Christ. You need nothing other than him; you only need more of him. So, “just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness” (2:6-7).

In particular, the good news of the gospel centres in the cross of Christ. His death and resurrection are the source of the Christian's life and are to determine the shape of that life.

Paul paints a graphic picture of what Jesus accomplished for us at the cross. Think of all the many ways in which you have fallen short of all that you should be. Imagine them written out as a long list of charges against you, charges that might be brought against you in the court of heaven. God took that lengthy charge sheet and nailed the whole thing to the cross of Christ. Jesus took our place and bore the penalty for our wrongdoing; our charge sheet has been wiped clean (Colossians 2:13-14).

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, oh my soul!

But there is even more to be found in this picture. The law also has been nailed to the cross. All of those details of the "written code with its regulations, that stood opposed to us and was against us" (2:14) have been nailed to the cross. Our life is not to be shaped by the rules and regulations of an external code but by the person of Jesus Christ and by the life of his Spirit within us, enabling us to live to please God where the law only served to condemn us. So Paul warns the Colossians against those who would drag them back into a life dominated by detailed regulations rather than a life shaped by Christ (2:16-17). Are Paul’s words any less relevant today?

We need to realise that in Christ we also have been nailed to the cross. We died with him to the things that formerly shaped our lives and have been raised to new life with him (see 2:12 and 20-21). We share in his resurrection life and in his triumph over all the powers that previously held us captive (2:15). We are called to live the resurrection life, the life that flows from the power of the risen Christ at work within us (see tomorrow's passage).

Father God, thank you for Jesus, your Son, in whom the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form. Thank you that he paid the penalty for all our sins and that there is no more condemnation for us; we are forgiven, justified. Thank you that he has triumphed over all the powers of darkness through the cross and by his resurrection from the dead. Gladly we own him as Lord. Help us to live as those who have been raised from the dead and whose lives are shaped by the risen life of Christ within us.

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May 1 2019 - 1 Samuel 23:7-29 – David fleeing from Saul

Saul was intent on killing David whom he viewed as a threat to his kingship, so David had to flee from Saul. Accompanied by 600 men he fled from one city to another seeking to avoid capture. In the end he seems only to have been safe in desert regions.

Saul's son, Jonathan, was equally convinced that David will be king, but his attitude to David could hardly be more different from that of his father. Jonathan knew that David had been chosen by God and that he enjoyed God's favour and protection; what other explanation could there be for his victory over Goliath and his many other conquests? Jonathan was content to take second place to David in the kingdom. The two of them sealed their agreement and friendship in a solemn promise or covenant.

It has often been said that the hardest instrument to play in the orchestra is second violin. We need to cultivate the spirit of Jonathan who was content to see someone else favoured by God over himself. More than that, he was ready to devote himself to supporting and protecting the one who might be seen as stealing his place as future leader of God's people. This reminds me of John the Baptist who, when many of his disciples were leaving him to follow Jesus said, "He must increase but I must decrease." We need to remember that we must always play second violin to him who alone is to have the supremacy among the people of God, to him who has embraced us in his covenant love and called us into his service. Jesus Christ is our Lord and our King.

As David and his men were hiding in the Desert of Ziph, some of the inhabitants from that region went to Saul to tell him that David was in their area and that they would be pleased to lead Saul to him. Saul replied "The Lord bless you for your concern for me" (v.21) before asking them to return to get more information. It is easy for us to recognise Saul's hypocrisy here; he is living in disobedience to God and seeking to oppose the purposes of God while at the same time appealing for the Lord's blessing on those who aid him in his evil plans. In this he was so like his later namesake, Saul the Pharisee, who believed that he would secure the Lord's favour by opposing those who owned the Lord's anointed as their king.

But God does not give his blessing to those who oppose him. His blessing rested rather on David, his anointed, and on those who had recognised David as their leader. As Saul closed in on David he was suddenly called back by a messenger saying "Come quickly! The Philistines are raiding the land" (v. 27). David is kept safe from death by the providential hand of God.

Have there been times when we have wandered away from obedience to God and from faithfully following the Lord Jesus but have still asked God to bless us?

When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word,
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will, He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.
Trust and obey, for there's no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

Sovereign God, give me the discernment to see where you are at work and who you choose to raise to positions of prominence in the work of your kingdom. Give me the grace to be content with the place you have chosen for me. Help me always to trust you and follow Christ; may all my energies be devoted to building the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ rather than seeking a kingdom for myself.

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Peter Misselbrook