A note from the desk of our Pastor:

“For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.”

Colossians 3:3

Good Morning Dearly Beloved,

The term doctrine, in a simple sense, means the body of essential truths taught by Jesus Christ. The doctrine, singular, was then expounded on by the Apostles in the early days of the New Testament church. The Apostles each had unique theological areas of focus as they taught the things of Christ. Our study verse this week captures a cornerstone of the Apostle Paul’s theology. 

The verse begins with the concept of metaphorical death. The Apostle says the disciple is dead, not physically, but rather metaphorically to this world and to sin. The Greek from which this is translated presents the concept in the past tense. In other words, the believer reading this is currently dead. Why? Because the believer is dead to sin through the death of Jesus Christ.

The second half of this verse focuses on the believer being hidden. There are two levels of meaning in this section of the teaching. First, the spiritual life of the believer is hidden from outside observation. At first blush, this seems contrary to living a life of devotion to Christ. However, the Apostle is making the point that spirituality is an internal act of devotion not an outward-facing demonstration. Thus, it is hidden from judgment by anyone other than God.

Second, this portion of the verse refers to the security of the child of God. There are two layers of protection. The Apostle says that we are hidden with Christ. This points to the teaching that we have been made both heirs and joint heirs with Christ. The first layer of protection is to be in the eternal presence of Jesus Christ. The second layer is that Jesus Christ is in God meaning we are also in God. Any force that might desire to remove our eternal salvation would have to defeat both Christ and God to accomplish this task; making it, without question, impossible to achieve.

Our Prayers are with you daily,

Brother Jeremiah