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Colossians 1:9 That is why we keep on talking to God about you since the day we heard about you. We ask him that you may know everything he wants you to do. We ask him that you may be very wise and that the Spirit will help you to understand.
10 We ask him that you will live the way the Lord wants you to live, so that you will please him in everything you do. We ask that you will do everything that is good. We ask that you will see the fruit from what you do. We ask that you will know more and more about God.

 11 God has wonderful power. And we ask him to give you all the strength you need to go through all your troubles, to be very patient in them, and to be happy.

 12 Thank the Father who has made us ready to be with the people of God who live in his light.

Worldwide English (New Testament) (WE)

Far too many people believe they can only know the Lord if they get all the darkness and sin out of their lives before inviting Him in. But we observe from much of Paul’s writing that it is just the other way around. Take Ephesians, for instance. It is after he has presented the high truth of our identification with Jesus in His death, burial and resurrection that he presents how our lives can become pure. He only can give the enabling power to put away sin and bring our lives into alignment with God’s Kingdom. This comes after we know our identification with the Lord Jesus.

Now, it must be made very clear, as in the first part of Romans, that we can never know the salvation offered to us in Christ until we have repented of our sin. What we are learning in Ephesians and Colossian, particularly, is that there is much sin that has a hold on many of us that we can never conquer till we know the power of the indwelling Christ. Because of this, for a number of days we are going to deal with certain areas of uncleanness and sin as Paul brings them to our attention. We will be honest and we will present them over to the power of the living Christ.

See this in Colossians 3:5—

Mortify (deprive these things of their power, destroy their strength) therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence (unnatural and degrading passion, desire for that which is evil), and covetousness (greed), which is idolatry: for which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.

Take note that these are tendencies and ways of living that come from the earth. This is the realm that is coming with increasing speed under the dominion of the wicked one, the serpent who beguiled our Parents in Eden. Our redeemed lives now belong to the heavens. Jesus is drawing us there to live, even now, under the rule of Government that was created by Him and for Him. Read again Colossians 1:12-20. This is Scripture vital for our present-day understanding—that is, if we are going to live in victory over sin.

LOVING FATHER, I am very thankful to You for loving the world so much that You gave Your only begotten Son to die for us. Now, won’t You please bring it into our understanding that He not only died for us, He also died as us. That’s beyond the grasp of my mind. But I am ready for my heart to go there, and believe.

Berean Ministries
PO Box 38
Elk Park, NC 28622-0038