Alive In Christ!
August 4th, 2021
Last week in Colossians chapter 1 we saw that the Colossians were having certain issues that Paul needed to address in his letter to the church. Paul grounds the Colossians and us in Jesus Christ so that our eyes are always fixated upon Christ. We talked about how we can see Christ clearly at times (through the Holy Spirit, Scripture, Church) but that at other times when we get down into the water of life and start swimming in it, we sometimes lose sight of Christ and we get lost and it is during those times we need to come alongside each other, to keep pace with each other, and to encourage one other toward our faith in Christ. We need to help one another see Christ more clearly as we move through life.
In chapter 1 Paul grounds us firmly in Christ by reminding us of who Christ is:
He is – the image of the invisible God,
He is – the firstborn of all creation
He is – the one by whom all things were created
He is – the one who is before all things
He is – the one who holds all things together
He is – the head of the church
He is – the one through whom God has chosen to reconcile all things
Paul roots us and grounds us in our faith in Christ to ensure that we have a firm footing – a firm root system holding us in place and nourishing us – so that we may deal with the problems of life as they come. This week in chapter 2 we will look at what it means to be "Alive in Christ." As we move forward in this letter it will be helpful to have an image in our minds of a large Oak tree connected to and being nourished by its vast root system. We are to be as connected to Christ as the Oak tree is connected to its roots – giving us all the nourishment we need to sustain our lives.