Charis Notes - Separation Is In Our Minds

Colossians 1 : 21

And you who once were alienated and enemies in your minds, by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled.

Our lives produce what we believe in our hearts, how we see and understand God will eventually show in our lives. Here in Colossians, Paul uncovers the heart of the problem; our alienation from God is in our minds.

Adam in Genesis 3 was alienated from God in his mind after he fell. Adam was afraid to meet with his loving Father; he expected punishment instead of love. If we see ourselves as sinful, dirty, separate in our minds, this will manifest in our lives and actions.

God is not alienated from us, but we in our minds are alienated from him. We need our minds transformed into the truth of his goodness and His unconditional love. God never has separated himself from man, we separate ourselves from him.

All our sin, past, present and future sin was nailed to the cross with Jesus and died at the cross. Everyone born this side of the cross, 2,000 years ago has had their sin forgiven before they were born. They made have been born into Adam but their sin was already washed away never to be recalled. Sin does not separate us from God, unbelief in God’s goodness; in our minds is what separates us from God.

As we look on Jesus, feast on His love, bask in his grace and are consumed with his words, we are transformed in our minds and start to reflect our new born spirits. 

Friday's Five - Colossians 1 v 12-14

Colossians 1:12-14

Always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light.

 For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.

Here in Colossians chapter 1 Paul writes some life changing truths to the Christians living in the days of the early church.

Faith in Christ is simply our thank you for all Christ won at the cross now abundantly available to us by grace.  The more we drench ourselves in the amazing truths and light of all he has done the greater we can revel and enjoy all the benefits of grace.

Works, performance, reading the Bible, prayer, fasting, seeking after God alters nothing with God. God has provided all I need by grace through Christ. Everything is already mine. I can rest in all Christ has won for me.  The only trouble is that is we don’t know realise all the wonders of the grace provided. Grace is quite simply too good, too marvellous, too extraordinary, too scandalous to be true. But it is true and the more you bask and experience its fathomless bottomless ocean the more you want.

Christ’s is the source of life, the power of life, the energy of life and the joy in every believer’s heart.

Here in Colossians the vast ocean of grace is explored: -

He has enabled you to share in the inheritance – We are the sons of God, joint-heirs to all the riches of glory. We inherited all the promises and glory that Christ deserved. The fatted calf has been slain, the best wine poured, the best clothes draped on our shoulders and the finest ring placed on our finger. All the riches and blessings of Christ are ours.

He has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness – Christ died as me. I was united in death on the cross with Christ and my old sinful nature was crucified and was buried. The kingdom of darkness has no hold on me; death has lost its victory.

Transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son – By Christ’s resurrection i have been brought into a new Kingdom. Christ lives in me and all the glory and triumph of God’s kingdom now reigns in my life.

Who purchased our freedom  - Christ purchased my freedom from sin and the law. I have a clean heart, my spirit is united with Christ and I am free from every curse and requirement of the law. I am not searching for God, I have found him. I am not trying to be holy; I have been made holy by him.  My identity is in Christ; all that is Christ is living and working through me. I am free.

Forgave our sins – All my sins, past, present and future sins are forgiven. Sin does not separate me from God; in fact nothing separates me from God. I am righteous, holy and when God looks at me, he sees Christ in me. I am saved by grace and I am eternally held by grace.

God’s grace available through Christ is truly scandalous.  It breaks every law and rule that was created and gives me what I do not deserve, the riches of heaven.

Christ purchased my freedom and forgave all my sins. I am now a citizen of the kingdom of heaven and Christ lives in me, united with me.

Grace Notes - Colossians 2 v 14

Colossians 2:14 - "Having cancelled the written code with it's regulations that was against us and that stood opposed to us, He took it away nailing it to the Cross".

He has cancelled the written code! Now why did He have to cancel that? Because Jesus could not give you His righteousness while the Law existed towards you and it's towards the world and those not saved but for those in Christ, we come into the benefits of the Cross and so that Law has been cancelled.

Why did it have to be cancelled? If it was not cancelled - the 10 Commandments would demand a righteousness of you that you couldn't give. But once it is cancelled now legally Christ can give you His. What did He give you? His righteousness. What's that? Right standing with the Father. That means right standing equal to the standing Jesus has. That means you stand before the Father on equal terms with how Jesus stands before the Father. YOU have access to the Father. Access to grace. Access to intimacy with the Father - you can stand there with innocence just as if you have never sinned and just as if no one had sinned against you. YOU are accepted in the Beloved just as Jesus is because the Law that demanded righteousness and brought wrath on your life has been cancelled.

"And where there is NO law - there is NO transgression".

Not only has God forgiven all your sins up until the point where you got saved and all the future has been blotted out on the Cross but He has taken away the means by which the devil accused you or God could condemn you. He has taken away the Law and you no longer grasp after righteousness through the Law or try to obligate God to bless you through what you do but now having got this righteousness as a gift and you no longer grasp after it and humble yourself and lay your life down to the point of death if necessary not out of a place to get identity but because YOU have identity.

Rob Rufus

Grace Notes - Colossians 2 v 6

Colossians Chapter 2:6; “Just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him”.

Rob Rufus explains that we walk and live our Christian life by and through grace.

How did you receive Him?

Grace through faith – so how do you continue to live in Him? Grace through faith!

People say “Well you got saved by grace through faith but now you need to be sanctified by coming back under the law!”.

No – it says just as you received Christ so continue to walk in Him. Right believing – not trying to be right living! The sanctification is a fruit of a changed life that believes this message and gets into the Presence and glory of God and God begins to change him. He changes our heart first.

Some Christian behavior embarrasses some people but the Father isn’t trying to say “Stop that! Stop that!”. He wants them to believe this message so He can change their hearts and as they believe this message then the weird behavior will get less and less until it falls away.

I know you know this – but God wants it really in our hearts and He says “Don’t let anyone deceive you with empty philosophy”. “For in Christ all the fullness of the deity live”. Then let’s read from verse 13. “When you were dead … He forgave us all our sins”.

He circumcised our old nature – where did we get that old nature from?

First Adam! What was Adam’s sin? Was it pornography or adultery? No – it was unbelief in the goodness of God because God said “I have made you in My image and likeness” and Satan said if you eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil then you can become “like God”.

He was already in the image and likeness of God – so he had unbelief in the truth of God’s goodness and tried to develop self-righteousness apart from God!

When you were born again it was because the Holy Spirit convicted you of that unbelief in grace and He circumcised your heart. We don’t have a sinful nature and a righteousness nature! That old nature has been cut away! Under the Old Covenant you had physical circumcision. I am not trying to be crude – but it was a snip on the tip and then they threw the tip away. They didn’t try to stick it back on again with Bos-Stick or glue! So when your old nature is cut away it is thrown away!

So you do not have a sinning nature on the inside of you! You have a new creation nature that wants to believe in the goodness of God! It doesn’t want to run out and do terrible things! Yes you still have appetites in your physical body and memories in your mind. Some of our appetites want to do wrong things and it is not coming from the old nature but memories of the flesh.

Grace Notes - Colossians 2: 9,10

Colossians 2: 9,10 says; "In Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form and you have been given fullness in Christ".

Other translations say "You have been made complete in Christ".

Ryan Rufus explains that for the Christian everything comes out of God’s grace and our heavenly position in Christ:-

That means you can't receive anymore fullness in your heavenly position in Christ! That means you have been made absolutely complete in your heavenly position in Christ! Some of you are looking like you don't believe that! You need to see where you are!

We are not talking about your flesh or your soul but your spirit that has been made alive with Christ and seated with Christ in the heavenly realms! How can God be in heaven and also living inside of you? That is the glory realm! It is multi-dimensional and don't try to understand it with your mind! You have been given fullness in Christ!

That means you don't have to try and achieve anymore righteousness or achieve anymore perfection. You have got 100% righteousness and 100% perfection and 100% obedience and love and faith and authority and health and riches! And 100% victory and passion and access to God all the time! That is your heavenly position in Christ!

What is your heavenly position? It is that you are seated in the heavenly realms and have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus and have been given fullness and made complete in Christ. You have been made holy and complete in Christ and that is your heavenly position!

Living holy is not about living without sin! Living holy is about living from your eternal heavenly position in Christ Jesus!