We do not know for certain if the false teachers were suggesting that the Ephesian believers were without sin, or if that is something the… Read More »1 John 1:8-10 – Confession provides a glimpse into who we think God is
Ever feel like your life is just going in circles? The same old things days after day and week after week. The drudgery of the same old routines can make life seem like you are going in circles and stuck in the mud. With an earthbound perspective, life really is little more than going in circles and the same pattern. The repetitive cycles of infancy, adolescence, and old age; work, rest, and more work; marriage, children, and grandchildren; diapers and dishes; progress and regress can seem awfully ordinary and terribly tedious.
God, however, does not want us simply to endure the mundane and tediousness. Our ordinary activities can be infused with spiritual significance. Paul calls us to a bigger picture, a higher perspective in Colossians 3. He calls us to look up and focus on Him to gain perspective for our earthly endeavors.
Throughout chapter 3, we will see that knowing the truth about Christian living invites us to live an ordinary life in an extraordinary way. Paul’s exhortations in chapter 3 are practical applications of the doctrine he has presented in chapter 2. A brief overview of chapter 3 is: believers are to seek spiritual values (3:1–4), put off the sins of the old life (3:5–11), and put on the virtues of the new life (3:12–17). This in turn should affect their relationships with other members of their families and society (3:18–4:1).
Today, we will look at verses 1-4 so it will be shorter. Verses 5-11 really go better together as a unit, so it would not be great to break that up. Also, verses 1–4 are seen as a hinge between the primarily doctrinal section of chapters 1–2 and the primarily practical section of chapters 3–4. These verses conclude the polemic against the false teachers with a further exaltation of the supremacy of Jesus, and they provide the starting point for the alternative to the false teaching with an exhortation to make Christ central in all areas of life.
1 Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. 3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory. (NASB)
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
CLOSER LOOK:
Read More »Colossians 3:1-4 Focusing on JesusThis post will finish the case for the representative immediate imputation of sin that was started in the previous post. This post will further review… Read More »The case for representative immediate imputation of sin pt 2
Over the past few posts, we have looked at the three major views/models on the imputation of sin. We have looked at what this idea… Read More »The Case for the Representative View
Bringing our examination of the various models/views on the imputation of sin to a close, this post will evaluate the Representative Imputation model looking at… Read More »Evaluation of Representative Imputation
Continuing our series by looking at the different views on the imputation of sin, this post will focus on the final view that will be… Read More »The Representative View of Imputation of Sin
Following the previous post on the Realistic view of the imputation of sin, this post will provide an evaluation of this view. It will look… Read More »Evaluation of Realistic Imputation
After reviewing the mediate view of imputation on sin and evaluating it, we now turn our attention to a more popular view on the Realistic view of Imputation of sin.
The earliest explanation for the sin of Adam and the guilt of all his descendants was the realistic theory which states that human nature constitutes both generically and numerically a single unit.[1] The same substance which acted in Adam and Eve, having been communicated to us, their act was as truly and properly our act, being the act of our reason and will, as it was their act.[2] It is imputed to us therefore not as his, but as our own. This means humanity literally sinned in Adam, and consequently the guilt of that sin is our personal guilt and the consequent corruption of nature is the effect of our own voluntary act.[3] “The total guilt of the first sin, thus committed by the entire race in Adam, is imputed to each individual of the race, because of the indivisibility of guilt.”[4] This means that each individual nature is guilty and corrupt for the whole of the first sin or “offense” against God because even though the common nature is divisible by propagation, the offense and the guilt are not divisible.[5]
As we continue to look at the different popular models on the imputation of sin, today’s post will focus on an evaluation of the Mediate… Read More »Evaluation of Mediate Imputation
Today’s post will finish the brief examination on what is sin, what is imputed sin, and how does it fit into a representative model. What… Read More »Examination of Imputed Sin pt. 2