Based on Colossians 1:9-18 (New King James Version)
“For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.”
What does salvation in Christ consist of? Does it just consist of believing in Christ and nothing more? Should there be something more than just a simple prayer confessing a faith? Does salvation have more purpose than just escaping hell and getting into heaven? My hope in Christ is that there are many people asking themselves these questions, but it seems like very simple answers are looked for and accepted. We live in an era where egocentrism and selfishness rule. The great majority of people only look for what is temporarily convenient. And if they are given answers that align with that, then they are content. The majority are satisfied with things that in the end align with their goals.
The first thing we could say is that there is nothing wrong with asking God genuine questions. But the issue is that worthwhile questions are what should be made. And for this to happen, a person needs to take their focus away from themselves and open up to a much larger view. The reality of the universe does not consist of what we are going to eat today, or the shoes I’m going to buy in a few days, or whether I’m going to get married or not, or if interest rates will rise or fall, or who will be the next head of state, etc. To be able to make worthwhile questions to God, the focus should not be on the superficial, or on vanity, or on this passing world, because absolutely everything we see will one day go away. Money, power, fame, comfort, and even our personal relationships will end someday. All of this physical and visible world will cease to exist for you and me, as well as for all humanity. Our eyes may not see it, but all of this will end someday. And if that is true, should we then worry about it so much? It’s not that it doesn’t matter, because it affects us, but should our attention be so focused on all of this? And the answer should be, no. This is what the Word says, which should help us focus on what really matters: “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.” Matthew 16:25-27.
Let’s see for a moment the Apostle Paul’s focus. The Word says: …that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding…” So then, what can we see here? From the moment that he is talking about the spiritual, he is no longer dealing directly with the physical or carnal, but rather, with another kingdom, another dominion, and of course, something that affects the here and now also. In other words, to be able to deal with the here and now, and in such a way that it aligns with the future, he is focusing on the beyond, on the permanent. The invisible and spiritual world is immovable. The immovable should always be put first so that we can then know how to deal with the temporary, and never the other way around. If a person is always focused on what is carnal and temporary, they will never understand, or worse, or get right the eternal. They will always err, and remember that the meaning of “sin” is to “err”. This is the problem with sin, the issue of not understanding, or less, doing those things that are completely right with God. If there is error or sin, then quite simply, they have not hit the target, the center of everything. That is why the Holy Spirit through Paul guides us to make the spiritual the most important, so that we don’t sin, so that we get things precisely right. The things of God have an incredible exactitude. They are not as general as some make them out to be. For example, this issue that all beliefs take us to the same God is absurd. If that were true, then there would be a crazy and schizophrenic god. It can’t be the same god that tells one group to love their neighbor, and to love their enemies, and tell another group to kill the infidels. And also, that the same god tell you that there is one eternal life after all of this, and for the same god to tell someone else that lives are recycled, and that a person lives many lives, and the only thing that changes is the form between one life and another. There must be some common sense employed, although unfortunately, common sense is not very common today. Sadly, I see that that the more “intelligent” and “evolved” our civilization thinks it is, the more foolish and decadent it becomes, by destroying its own nature.
Now then, let’s see the questions made at the beginning. Salvation consists of many other things, but it has only one focus. We know through the Scriptures that there must be first complete repentance from all sin, and a conversion without any reservations to the Lord. That should come before a person asks the Lord to come into their heart. And there is something very practical in this. In order to legitimately start over in Christ, everything should be left behind, there should be a turning way from everything that caused spiritual death in a person, for the wages of sin is death. And also, the other practical side to this is that for Christ to come in and reign as Lord in a life, there must be a complete surrender, and that can only happen when there is true repentance and conversion from all sins. And second, there should be this faith that accepts Jesus, not just as Savior, but more importantly, as Lord, because a savior only gives you a service, per se, but the Lord guides you to what you must do, and where you need to go. All of this is very practical when it is understood. And this new birth is just the beginning. Salvation does not consist only of a beginning, but also, of a continuance, an eternal path without end. And there are many things that need to occur on a journey like that. There is a lot to be done, and for all eternity. That’s why we are taught in this passage that we must be filled with all knowledge of His will, so that we can walk as is worthy of the Lord, and not just here and now, but for all eternity. And what should be precise in all of this? That the beginning, the present, and the end is Christ. We need to think about Who we belong to and Who we should serve. A person will never get to anything eternal if they are only thinking about themselves, and about fulfilling their own will, instead of having their eyes put on Christ, and looking to comprehend, to understand, but above all, to do His will. So then, are you looking to fill yourself with His knowledge so that you can do things that are worthy of Him, for your own good, and for His glory? Lord bless! John