Colossians 1:12-13 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 He has delivered us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, Paul goes on here to tell what a part of being "qualified" by Him to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. First of all, nothing but the imputed righteousness of Christ does this. It is objective and unchangeable, and is part of what is being said to be steadfast with here; Colossians 1:22 provided that you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which has been preached to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister. God then begins a work in His saints of knowing God's Sovereignty, and His Glory in that. Knowing that His glory is seen in those He saves, and those He does not. When Isaiah saw and heard the angels proclaiming "the whole Earth is full of His glory," existential things are involved with that, and so Paul speaks of the complete Sovereignty of God here, centered in the glorious Lord Jesus; Colossians 1:15-19 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation; 16 for in him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities--all things were created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the first-born from the dead, that in everything he might be pre-eminent. 19 For in him all the fulness of God was pleased to dwell, Verse 15 speaks of such things as Romans 9 talks about, that all things are created to show forth different aspects of God's Attributes. Some vessels of Wrath made for eventual destruction in eternal Hell, and some made for vessels of Mercy, which includes what is talked about being "transferred to the kingdom of light, in His beloved Son." That includes being more one in mind with Christ (the revealed mind, as in what is revealed to us in Scripture that Christ had). This is talked about by Christ in John 17. Paul's magnificent prayer in this chapter is inspired by Christ Himself, and is what He said about praying for those the Father gave Him. Paul knew this; Colossians 1:22 For this I toil, striving with all the energy which he mightily inspires within me. A lot of the "maturity" Paul is referring to has to do with grasping the Sovereignty of God as told in verses 15-19 above; Colossians 1:28 Him we proclaim, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man mature in Christ. This is just a brief synopsis of this chapter in Scripture. It is a mighty powerful chapter, and there is much to meditate on for a lifetime, just here, that is for sure! And we ought to be giving thanks to God the Father for it. In fact, if we are saints in light, we can't help but do that.  Read less

Romans 8:28-30 28 We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the first-born among many brethren. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified. These verses are rightly called "The Golden Chain" in reformed circles. When hounded by Satan, the flesh and the world, one may think of Satan asking us to curse God. The fact is, we come to God on no other grounds but His Sovereignty. We love Him because He first loved us, and loves us to the end. The verses above does remind me of the tune "The Chain," by Fleetwood Mac. Satan wants us to "damn God's love, damn God's lies (wants us to call God a liar, who can't keep His promises). God answers back to us "you must never break the chain," for there is no other way by which we can come to Him, and love Him, and serve Him. So, we run into the shadow of the Most High and flee for refuge in Christ alone. There is only one way for God to love us overall, and if we don't acknowledge that He loves us in the way described in the verses above, "he can never love us again" (or "there is no other way"), and this goes along with the words I think of as "and if you don't love me now, you will never love me again, I can still hear God saying you must never break the chain, never break the chain; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nVT44ahu3E The words "listen to the wind blow, watch the sun rise," reminds me of Jesus speaking to Nicodemus in John 3 about the "wind blows where it will," when speaking of the Sovereignty of God.  Read less

Matthew 6:5-9 5 "And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 7 "And in praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 Pray then like this: Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name... The hypocrites spoken of here include the Pharisees, etc., who were doing things like prayer to show people how they were "earning" their salvation. The reward for believing one can earn their own salvation is Hell. A man made salvation (where being saved and kept saved has to do dome "earning") will only get a person what man is capable of in their fallen states. Thus Jesus says "they have their reward," that they can conjur up. The Sovereignty of God is saturated in the passage above. As God created and chose His elect before He created the Universe of them, so one could say God did it in "secret" (chose an elect according to His own Sovereign Eternal Counsel and pleasure. So, as God did it in a way "in secret," the "secret" here has the flavor of being in one mind with God about that (John 17-"that they may be one with Us"). Just as God chose an elect in that way, BEFORE the foundation of the world, so Jesus says; Matthew 6:8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need BEFORE you ask him. The "reward" Jesus says the Father will give those who think and pray along the lines of God's Sovereignty (magnifying it) is Himself, and being in one mind with Him. Thus Paul says "he loved me, and gave Himself for me" in Galatians; Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Paul is saying that he died to any other belief that is not based on God's Sovereignty from start to finish. Thus Jesus is referred to as the "Alpha and Omega," and we are exhorted to know that Jesus is the Author and finisher of our faith, through and through. That is to rise up in us through and through as yeast in dough  Read less

Matthew 5:8 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Does not have to do so much with being sinless, although the desire to be such will be a mark of God's saints. This has to do with faith in God and His attributes, including Sovereignty. Jesus said that to the elect the secrets of the Kindom of Heaven have been given, and also here; 1 John 5:20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us UNDERSTANDING, to know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. And this goes along with John 17:3 (and other passages); And this is eternal life, THAT THEY KNOW THEE the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. The "that they know thee" also has the meaning of understanding or comprehending what God has revealed about Himself, and His eternal plan of salvation for His elect. So, we do get a taste of seeing God work in people, and also passing by people (Jacob and Esau-Romans 9). The "pure in heart" has also to do with knowing God, and the faith He gives us, and also His promises through faith (knowing that He saved us and loved us from all eterntiy, or "before the foundation of the world," or before He created the Universe or anything in it-Romans 9); Acts 15:9 He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. Psalm 12:8 The promises of the LORD are promises that are pure, silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times. As Psalm 19 says, the Law of the Lord is "pure..."; (rendered "perfect" here in verse 7, and "pure" in verse 8, and "clean" in verse 9); Psalm 19:7-9 7 The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; 8 the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; 9 the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever; the ordinances of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether. The Law was no doubt given first to show how far we fall shorl, not how good we are; Romans 3:19-20 19 Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20 For no human being will be justified in his sight by works of the law, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. The fact is, what is said in Romans 3:9-18 is pretty much summed up in Psalm 12:1 by David; To the choirmaster: according to The Sheminith. A Psalm of David. Help, LORD; for there is no longer any that is godly; for the faithful have vanished from among the sons of men. So, the elect become "wise," as it says in Psalm 119:7 above, "making the simple wise," and they flee to Christ as their only hope and refuge from the Law and God's wrath; John 6:28-29 28 Then they said to him, "What must we do, to be doing the works of God?" 29 Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent." And thus, we see the "pure in heart" are those (also from among the gentiles), or includes what I said above about being purified by faith, as Acts 15:9 above tells.  Read less

Ephesians 3:20-21 20 Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, for ever and ever. Amen. The "power that is at work within us," firstly and utmost lets us see that His Glory is in the Church which is in Christ Jesus to all generations, and throughout the whole world ("the whole world is full of His Glory"-Isaiah 6), as Romans 9 and the whole tenor of Scripture relates. And, that "for ever and ever, for and from all eternity. True Saints will say the "Amen," or be in agreement with that. In our fallen states, it is fr more abundantly "all that we can ask or think." To the regenerate, they start, just start, to comprehend such. His "Glory" is there, no matter what, not depending upon our subjective percieving of it. It is an objective unchangeable truth, whether people subjectively believe it or not.  Read less

Acts 1:3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God: A very good solid treating of what "infallible proofs is in the above verse is found in a paper wrote by Joel R. Parkinson called "The Presuppositional Meaning of Acts 1:3" here; http://www.trinityfoundation.org/journal.php?id=273 The Holy Spirit in me gives a hearty "amen" to what he is saying.  Read less

John 1:1-5 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him; and without him was not anything made that hath been made. 4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness apprehended it not. John begins with the eternality of Jesus, before God created the Universe. God loves us to reflect on His eternality, and so John begins this book. God's Eternality is connected with His Sovereignty, and again establishes in Scripture the distinction between the Creator and His creatures (and all He created). This "distinction" is especially born out in His Sovereignty in verse 3 above. God loves to be thought of in His Majesty, above anything we can compare here on earth, and we see this most important aspect of the Most High reflected in His Sovereignty spoken of here; Ephesians 1:21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come; John 1:1-2 speaks of this aspect before "this age," or "in the age to come." It speaks of the Sovereign Eternality of God above all things always. God goes into more detail about this, John 1: 2, as to His Sovereign creation of people, and their purpose (saved, not saved, not based on woks, but because of His Good Sovereign Eternal pleasure by His own Internal Counsel before He created people) in Romans 9 with Jacob and Esau (which all people fall into the category of one or the other). In John 1:4...; In him was life; and the life was the light of men. ...The "light" being spoke of is just that. God's Sovereignty and appointing or "electing" or "predestinating" of people, for one thing, beforehand. Again, as Romans 9 says, not "predestinating" because He saw something in peoples "works" beforehand, but the cause of God predestinating people refers to Him and people (individuals, not their "works"). This also goes for those God chose not to save (vessels of wrath made for destruction, as Romans 9 says it). As for John 1:5; And the light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness apprehended it not. The word "apprehended," could easily just as well correctly be translated "comprehended," or "understood." The elect achieve this savingly. Though we can't understand God exhaustively, what He has revealed can be comprehended savingly through such as Romans 9 and the whole tenor of Scripture. So the word "attained" here is in contrast with "apprehended it not" in John 1:5. It is faith in this "light," of all that I have spoken above, and which Scripture clearly speaks of (and can be "apprehended," or "understood") that God reveals about Himself and His purposes is what "attained" includes here; Romans 9:30-33 30 What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness HAVE ATTAINED IT, that is righteousness through faith; 31 but that Israel who pursued the righteousness which is based on law did not succeed in fulfilling that law. 32 Why? Because they did not pursue it through faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, 33 as it is written, "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone that will make men stumble, a rock that will make them fall; and he who believes in him will not be put to shame." Of course some Israelites did even in the Old Testament "attain" this, as the "law" given in the Ten Commandments and all the foreshadowings and "types" in the Old Testament pointed to God's, in a way, "Higher Law" (His Sovereignty), the Ten Commandments speaking of none could attain righteousness by perfect keeping of it (which it demands), as Romans 3 and other passages tell of, and all the "types" of Christ in the ceremonial laws given to them, and also the "types" or "figures of" in various people. Abraham did believe this, as seen in him believing that if he killed Issac, as God commanded him to do at one time (then rescinded that command), God would have to resurrect Issac in order for Him to keep the promise that He made him when giving the Abrahamic Covenant. This for one thing symbolized the coming resurrection of Christ, but also speaks of how all the "elect" are "born again" into the "light" spoken of above. And of course 11 of the original 12 disciples were saved, and this speaks of in a way the same way all the elect are saved. God, through the Holy Spirit "manifests" Himself and His Name to us. and so this also manifests itself in time when we come to salvation; John 17:6 RSV "I have manifested thy name to the men whom thou gavest me out of the world; thine they were, and thou gavest them to me, and they have kept thy word. Not that there was ever a salvation other than by Grace, God progressively revealed throughout the Old Testament, and fulfilled it in Jesus. Such as we see the symbolic act of Jesus turning the water into wine symbolized. Not that it was any different before that, but it was a "better," or more progressive "revealing" that was taking place in Christ. Thus we see the term used "the better wine" being brought out last in the narrative of Jesus doing that miracle; John 2:11 This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and. MANIFESTED his glory; and his disciples believed in him. All that I have said above is extremely important, especially to connect just what the "light" is spoken of in John 1:4. It is the same thing that John is referring to in 1 John 1:6 below; 1 John 1:5-10 5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not live according to the truth; 7 but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. Not that we "earn" this "cleansing from all sin," but John speaks of how to teach and believe, and teach others, that shows you are "cleansed from all sin" (that is savingly "cleansed" by saving knowledge through faith, even though we do sin in other more practical ways in our walks).  Read less