As You Have Received

“³ In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. ⁴ And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words. ⁵ For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ. ⁶ As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:….” Colossians 2:3-6 KJV

It would be wise for all of us to read the first 3 verses of Colossians 2 and then read through verse 7 as we move forward in these thoughts.

Paul has a few warnings in this chapter and verse 4 is one of them. He wants those who are reading what he has written to be careful about what they receive. It is so easy to be led along with ways of thinking that are not of the Word nor the Spirit. The interior of our beings must be subjected to the Spirit through the Word. If there is no breath of life and no interior peace, joy, and love – then we are not walking as we have received. We simply received. Learning to walk in obedience involves all of our beings. Our time in stillness and quiet with our Lord will determine everything.

Paul says – “In the same way you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him.” It is a matter of receiving Him — His grace and power to live. John 3:3, “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again (from above), he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Please notice there is a change in the way we “see.” He did not say there is a change in the way we understand (although that will surely follow), but he addressed the empowerment to “see” kingdom matters.

Then we have this in Colossians 2:5, “For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ.” (In my opinion, the word “spirit” here should be “Spirit.” It is simply a translator’s call as all Greek letters were originally capitals). I say that because of this verse, “But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.” (1 Corinthians 6:17)

Notice what Paul could “see” in the Spirit as he focused there. He saw their attitude – their orderliness and their steadfast faith in Jesus. He was in Rome when this book was written. He did not say others had told him, as he did in 1 Corinthians 1 about a problem, but here Paul made it very clear to all that it was “in Spirit” that he saw what was in their interiors. He took joy in what he saw.

This is known among those who “see.” It has been overlooked by those who don’t. He connected with them in Spirit. Oh yes! This makes relating to others much easier, and we are not prone to receive a bad report about them if in Spirit all is well with them. There is much to be discovered in this, but it is enough to begin to grasp that we are to “see” and to inter-relate in “Spirit.”