Page Two: “Tied To Jesus Christ” 3/17/13
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And as you can see, fountains are not just for observing and admiring and letting the spray get you wet.
Nor is knowing Christ. If we don’t have a living one-on-one relationship with Christ, it’s a lot like reading about the fountains in Kansas City, MO and liking it and even enjoying it; but at a distance. That, folks, is what some people think and know about Jesus Christ. They admire Him. They like Him and enjoy Him; but at a quote “safe” distance. Folks, the farther you are from Christ, the farther you are from God’s Kingdom. Let me show you why I say that. Please turn the page with me here to Colossians chapter two and look with me at verse nine. Colossians 2:9 “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. (10) And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: (11) In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: (12) Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. (13) And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;…” Colossians is an amazing book of the Bible for at least three reasons. One, it is a prison epistle, written from the Mamertine Prison in Rome in the year 58 or 59 A.D. |
Second, it was written to people that Paul had never met. The Holy Spirit inspired this letter. The words were written by God Himself through the Apostle Paul. And third, the central message is this. You, Christian, are now “in Christ.”? Jesus Christ lives in the Believer. And the Believer lives in Jesus Christ.
By belonging to Christ, you get to enjoy not just the spray and the look of the water; but the very water itself. Now, please look close with me at Paul’s description here of your saving relationship to Christ? Look at Verse ten – Ye are complete in Him. Verse eleven – In whom ye are circumcised with the circumcision of Christ Verse twelve – Buried with him in baptism Verse twelve – Risen with Him Verse thirteen – Quickened together with Him The “in Him’s” and the “in whom’s” in your Bible are really what describe the Christian. Something other-worldly happened when Jesus was crucified. And something just as other-worldly happened when you entered into Christ. So, my heart is concerned about this subject today; what does it mean to be “united to Jesus Christ”? I want to show you from the Bible just three things. First, there are two kinds of people around you and me; those “in Christ” and those “outside of Christ.” Some people prefer Jesus at a distance. Some people like the spray, but they have no inclination to experience what it’s like inside the fountain. |