Colossians 1:18
Hard Work, No Joy
Have you ever worked hard for what you thought was for Christ but you experienced little joy? As a matter of fact, you felt agitated as you worked? If and when that happens, it helps to step back and consider if what we’re doing is an assignment from Christ and if we’re doing it in His power. Or, are we doing something we decided was a good idea and we’re pushing through in our own strength.
Why is this important? Just as Christ is the head of every man, 1 Corinthians 11:3, He is Head of the church, His body, which he metaphorically describes in 1 Corinthians 12 as some members being the eye and some the feet.
Writing to the church in Colossians 1:18, Paul states Christ is “head of the body, the church, and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.”
Christ is the head of every man. Christ is the head of the church.
When we do the work Christ assigns us it may be challenging and difficult, but we will also experience Christ’s joy. Matthew 25:23
How joyful are you in your service to the Lord?
Lord Jesus, we praise You, HEAD OF THE CHURCH and life of the body of believers. May our words and actions be an extension of Your will, strength, and power.
Would you like to better be able to discern the voice of the Lord to ensure that you’re walking in His will? Listen to Debbie’s teaching, “How to Discern the Voice of God,” on Podbean or YouTube.
Firstborn From the Dead
Some time ago I went to a funeral where we celebrated the life of a dear woman who went to be with the Lord. Why were we able to celebrate her life even though we were sad she was no longer with us? We could celebrate her life because we knew she was with Christ, who Colossians 1:18 describes as “the beginning, the Firstborn from the Dead.”
Firstborn from the Dead. How can Jesus be called that? Didn’t He resurrect people to life? Weren’t the graves opened and people rose when Jesus died on the cross and the veil in the temple was torn?
Yes, Jesus raised people from the dead and yes, the tombs were opened and people raised when He died. However, those who had been resurrected died again. Jesus is called the firstborn from the dead because He was the first to rise in a resurrection body, never to die again.
In Revelation 1:4-5, John also referred to Jesus as the firstborn of the dead. “Grace to you and peace, from Him who is and who was and who is to come, 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.”
Later, in Revelation 1:12-20, John saw the resurrected Lord. He heard Jesus speak. As a result, John “fell at His feet like a dead man” so shocking it was to see Jesus in glory.
The Firstborn from the Dead is alive and well as you will be when you join Him in glory.
Lord Jesus, we praise You, the FIRSTBORN FROM THE DEAD and thank You that we, too, will be alive forever.
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Hard Work, No Joy
Have you ever worked hard for what you thought was for Christ but you experienced little joy? As a matter of fact, you felt agitated as you worked? If and when that happens, it helps to step back and consider if what we’re doing is a mission Christ assigned to us and we’re relying on His wisdom and power, or if it’s an activity we decided was a good idea and we’re pushing through in our own strength. Why is this important? Colossians 1:18 explains that Christ is “head of the body, the church…so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.” In other words, if it is not Christ’s idea then it’s not a good idea and will not be empowered by Him. Why? As a body is lifeless without its head, so we the church are lifeless apart from Christ. We may do what we consider to be important, but if it is done apart from Christ’s calling and Spirit it is merely human effort. Therefore, it is important for us to continually seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18) so that both our individual and corporate actions flow from Christ’s mind and are done in His power. When we do the work Christ assigns us it may be challenging and difficult, but we will also experience Christ’s joy. Matthew 25:23
Lord Jesus, we praise You, HEAD OF THE CHURCH and life of the body of believers. May our words and actions be an extension of Your heart, strength, and power.
BORN from the DEAD
Some time ago I went to a funeral. We celebrated the life of a dear woman who went to be with the Lord. She follows Christ, who Colossians 1:18 describes as “the beginning, the firstborn from the dead so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.”
“Born from the dead.” Have you ever thought about what that means? Christians have a “new birth.” Before our salvation, we are “dead in our trespasses and sins.” However, after we repent of our sins and confess Jesus as Lord, we receive the Holy Spirit and are “born” and made alive in Christ. What we experience internally at salvation will be fully realized eternally at our bodily resurrection. Witnesses saw the resurrected Christ lead the way as the firstborn from the dead. As He rose, we will rise to be with Him forever in heaven. Share the good news!
Lord Jesus, we praise You, the FIRSTBORN FROM THE DEAD!
Hard Work, No Joy
Have you ever worked hard for what you thought was for Christ but you experienced little joy? As a matter of fact you felt agitated as you worked? If and when that happens, it helps to step back and consider if what we’re doing is a mission Christ assigned to us and we’re relying on His wisdom and power, or if it’s an activity we decided was a good idea and we’re pushing through in our own strength. Why is this important? Colossians 1:18 explains that Christ is “head of the body, the church…so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.” In other words, if it is not Christ’s idea then it’s not a good idea and will not be empowered by Him. Why? As a body is lifeless without its head, so we the church are lifeless apart from Christ. We may do what we consider to be important, but if it is done apart from Christ’s calling and Spirit it is merely human effort. Therefore, it is important for us to continually seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18) so that both our individual and corporate actions flow from Christ’s mind and are done in His power. When we do the work Christ assigns us it may be challenging and difficult, but we will also experience Christ’s joy. Matthew 25:23
Lord Jesus, we praise You, HEAD OF THE CHURCH and life of the body of believers. May our words and actions be an extension of Your heart, strength, and power.
BORN from the DEAD
Some time ago I went to a funeral. We celebrated the life of a dear woman who went to be with the Lord. She follows Christ, who Colossians 1:18 describes as “the beginning, the firstborn from the dead so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.”
“Born from the dead.” Have you ever thought about what that means? Christians have a “new birth.” Before our salvation, we are “dead in our trespasses and sins.” However, after we repent of our sins and confess Jesus as Lord, we receive the Holy Spirit and are “born” and made alive in Christ. What we experience internally at salvation will be fully realized eternally at our bodily resurrection. Witnesses saw the resurrected Christ lead the way as the firstborn from the dead. As He rose, we will rise to be with Him forever in heaven. Share the good news!
Lord Jesus, we praise You, the FIRSTBORN FROM THE DEAD!
Hard Work, No Joy
Have you ever worked hard for what you thought was Christ, but you experienced little joy? As a matter of fact, you felt agitated as you worked? If and when that happens, it helps to step back and consider if what we’re doing is a mission Christ assigned us and we’re relying on His wisdom and power, or if it’s an activity we decided was a good idea and we’re pushing through in our own strength. Why is this important? Colossians 1:18 explains that Christ is “head of the body, the church…so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.” In other words, if it is not Christ’s idea, then it’s not a good idea and will not be empowered by Him. Why? As a body is lifeless without its head, so we, the church, are lifeless apart from Christ. We may do what we consider to be important work, but if it is done apart from Christ’s calling and Spirit, it is merely human effort. Therefore, it is important for us to continually seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18) so that both our individual and corporate actions flow from Christ’s mind and are done in His power. When we do the work Christ assigns us it may be challenging and difficult, but the result will be Christ’s joy. Matthew 25:23
Lord Jesus, we praise You, HEAD OF THE CHURCH and life of the body of believers. May our words and actions be an extension of Your heart, strength, and power.
Hard Work, No Joy
Have you ever worked hard for what you thought was Christ, but you experienced little joy? As a matter of fact, you felt agitated much of the time? If and when that happens, it helps to step back and consider if what we’re doing is a mission Christ set us on and we’re relying on His wisdom and power, or if it’s an activity we thought was a good idea and we’re pushing through in our own strength. Why is this important? Colossians 1:18 explains that Christ is “head of the body, the church…so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.” In other words, if it is not Christ’s idea, then it’s not a good idea and will not be empowered by Him. Why? As a body is lifeless without its head, so the church is lifeless apart from Christ. We may do what we consider to be important work, but if it is done apart from Christ’s calling and Spirit, it is merely human work. Therefore, it is important for us to continually seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18) so that both our individual and corporate deeds flow from Christ’s mind and are done in His power. When we do the work Christ sends us to do, the result will be we enter into Christ’s joy. Matthew 25:23
Lord Jesus, we praise You, HEAD OF THE CHURCH and life of the body of believers! May our words and actions be an extension of Your heart, strength, and power.
Praise to Jesus, HEAD OF THE BODY, the CHURCH
“He (Christ) is also HEAD OF THE BODY, THE CHURCH;”
Christ is the founder of the church: the body of believers. Therefore, Christ is the rightful HEAD. And, as a body is lifeless without its head, so our churches are lifeless apart from Christ. We may serve in our church, but if we serve in our own strength, it’s just that – “ours.” What Christ seeks are people like Steven, a disciple in the early church. His job was to serve food to the widows. That might seem like an insignificant task that anybody could do. But listen to whom was sought for the assignment: men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom. (Acts 6:3) Acts 6-7 is a good reminder of how God uses Christians who are filled with the Spirit. Thank you for your service in the church. Be encouraged that as you prayerfully ask God to fill you with the Holy Spirit, He’ll use you to His glory.
Lord Jesus, we praise You, HEAD OF THE CHURCH. Fill us with Your Spirit and wisdom so our words and actions are done in Your power and strength; for Your glory.
Praise to the FIRSTBORN from the DEAD
“He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.”
Recently, I went to a funeral. We celebrated the life of a dear woman who went to be with the Lord. She follows Christ, who is the firstborn from the dead.
“Born from the dead.” Have you ever thought about what that means? Christians have a “new birth.” Before our salvation we are “dead in our trespasses and sins.” However, after we repent of our sins and confess Jesus as Lord, we receive the Holy Spirit and are “born” from our dead state and made alive in Christ. What we experience internally in our spirit at the moment of salvation will be fully realized eternally at our bodily resurrection. Christ has led the way as the firstborn from the dead with a resurrection body. We can be sure that as He rose, we will rise!
Lord God, we praise You, the FIRSTBORN FROM THE DEAD!
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