Living in The Kingdom of God’s Son in our temporal life on this earth is the glorious blessing Paul focuses on in the first chapter of his letter to the Colossians and us.

Paul greets with the blessing of grace and peace, thanks God for the faith, love and hope they had since they heard the gospel.

Then reveals more of the work of God our Father, His Son and the Holy Spirit in their lives and ours living in the kingdom of the Son. One of his concluding phrases is: Messiah in you, the hope of glory.

“Paul, an emissary of Messiah Yeshua through the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the holy ones and faithful brothers in Messiah at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Yeshua the Messiah.” Colossians 1:1-2.

Living in faith, love and hope

“My, how they love one another….” In the second century, Tertullian wrote that pagans said that of Christians.

They were living in accord with Jesus’ new commandment.

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also love one another . By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35.

Paul cited the example of the Colossians:

“We give thanks to God the Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, praying always for you, having heard of your faith in Messiah Yeshua and of the love which you have toward all the holy ones, because of the hope which is laid up for you in the heavens, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the Good News which has come to you, even as it is in all the world and is bearing fruit and growing, as it does in you also, since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth, even as you learned from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant, who is a faithful servant of Messiah on your‡ behalf, who also declared to us your love in the Spirit.” Colossians 1:3-8.

Living in the Kingdom of God’s Son

This is the gospel of the work of God our Father, His Son and the Holy Spirit in our lives.

“For this cause, we also, since the day we heard this, don’t cease praying and making requests for you, that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, that you may walk worthily of the Lord, to please him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God, strengthened with all power, according to the might of his glory, for all endurance and perseverance with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who made us fit to be partakers of the inheritance of the holy ones in light, who delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the Kingdom of the Son of his love, in whom we have our redemption, the forgiveness of our sins.” Colossians 1:9-14.

Living in the light of the knowledge of the glory of God

God resolved to reveal Himself to mankind in Messiah Jesus, His Son, as His image, in and through whom we can see our Father. (John 14:7-10; 1 John 1:1-3).

In Jesus the Messiah the invisible, the unknowable God is both seen and known to us.

“…seeing it is God who said, “Light will shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Yeshua the Messiah.” 2 Corinthians 4:6 (1 Timothy 6:16; 1 John 4:12; John 1:18)

Through him, God reconciled all things to Himself. “having made peace through the blood of his cross.“

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created in the heavens and on the earth, visible things and invisible things, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things are held together. He is the head of the body, the assembly, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he might have the preeminence. 19 For all the fullness was pleased to dwell in him, and through him to reconcile all things to Himself by him, whether things on the earth or things in the heavens, having made peace through the blood of his cross,” Colossians 1:15-20.

The Son has reconciled us to God our Father

Until we turned to Messiah Jesus and were born again, we were at enmity with God. After his resurrection, Jesus said to his disciples:

“Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. You are witnesses of these things. Behold, I send out the promise of my Father on you. But wait in the city of Jerusalem until you are clothed with power from on high.” Luke 24:46-49 (Psalm 16:10; Luke 9:22, 44; 17:25; 18:32; Acts 8:26-40; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, Acts 2)

“You, being in past times alienated and enemies in your mind in your evil deeds, yet now he has reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and without defect and blameless before him, if it is so that you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the Good News which you heard, which is being proclaimed in all creation under heaven, of which I, Paul, was made a servant.” Colossians 1:21-23.

Messiah in you, The Hope of Glory

Living in perspective of The Kingdom of Heaven which is to come. (Revelation 21-22).

“This is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and him whom you sent, Yeshua the Messiah,” John 17:3.

“Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and fill up on my part that which is lacking of the afflictions of Messiah in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the assembly, of which I was made a servant according to the stewardship of God which was given me toward you to fulfill the word of God, the mystery which has been hidden for ages and generations. But now it has been revealed to his holy ones, to whom God was pleased to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Messiah in you, the hope of glory. We proclaim him, admonishing every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Messiah Yeshua; for which I also labor, striving according to his working, which works in me mightily.” Colossians 1:24-29.

All Scripture quoted above is from the World Messianic Bible WMB

 

~ Bill Bremer

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Bill Bremer is Founder and Managing Director at Kingdom Relationships Colorado.

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