As we continue through Colossians, I just want to remind you of some things. A man named Epaphras was the founding pastor of this church. He was one of Paul’s spiritual sons.
He visited Paul with a question about the Gnostic heresy that was creeping into his church. The Gnostics taught that everything in the material world is evil. God cannot touch it, so He created a number of lower beings as mediators.
According to their cult, Jesus was at the bottom of this list. This was a blatant denial of the Lord’s deity. Because he’s dealing with this subject, Paul gives us one of the clearest pictures of Christ in this small letter.
In my last post, Paul showed us that we have been transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of Christ. Now he describes exactly who Christ is.
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.
Colossians 1:15-16 NIV
In this verse we see Christ as the Creator. Sometimes that confuses people. They trip up over the words, God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Much of the problem is that we’ve developed a religious language that’s not based on the Bible. It seems like it’s based on songs and traditions. If you listen to our language, you get the idea that there are three Gods.
The fact is that there is only one God. Another important point is that we’ve been created in the image of God. That should give us a foundation for understanding Him. Just like us, there are three parts to His being – Father, Son and Spirit.
Part of the problem is that we like formulas. Many times, I’ve heard that we must pray to the Father, through the Holy Spirit, in the name of Jesus. While there’s nothing wrong with that, a lot of what we do sounds like this…
If you were meeting with a friend, would you say, “I just want to sit down with your body and talk to your mind through your ears.”
We don’t do this in the natural. We simply say, “Can I talk to you?”
Even something as simple as “Who created the world?” sometimes can be confusing.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
Genesis 1:1-3 NIV
We know that God created everything, but we argue over whether it was the Father, the Son, or the Spirit who said, “Let there be…”
This is why Paul’s description of Christ is so important. It answers the burning question. Was it Father, Son, or Spirit who created us? What I’m trying to say is that it doesn’t matter – God created us – all the parts of His being worked together.
That’s like asking; was it my spirit, soul or body who drove my car? I DROVE MY CAR!!!
I think that we get so caught up in the parts of God’s being, that we miss the big picture. God Himself lives in us. I have access into His presence because of Christ.
I don’t believe that the Lord is as concerned over our formulas as much as our relationship with Him. We must deepen our walk with Christ, by spending quality time with His Holy Spirit.
Question: How would you characterize your relationship with the Holy Spirit?
© 2023 Nick Zaccardi
The Spirit and the Word 