Our change in travel and
class time continues to benefit. It took less than 30 minutes for our travel
this morning, so we were able to start even earlier. That helped us to get
ahead of schedule by the end of our morning session and be set for finishing
our material by lunch tomorrow. Several of the students must leave on Friday
afternoon to get back to their homes and be ready to preach on the Lord’s Day.
We began covering the book of
Colossians this morning, laying out the theme of the preeminence of Christ and
His place as head of His body, the church. As we examined the doctrinal section
of Colossians, we dealt with several points:
· How our hope of heaven is tied to “the word of the
truth of the gospel.”
· God’s plan for the growth of Christians – (a) be
filled with the knowledge of His will, (b) walk worthy of the Lord, (c) fully
please Him, (d) be fruitful in every good work and (e) increase in the
knowledge of God. That increase of knowledge brings about the repeating of that
process resulting in an ever-increasing growth.
· The two different spheres or realms of rule into which
men place themselves (“the power of darkness” and “the kingdom of the Son of
His love”) and the effects of each.
· The preeminence of Christ in the natural world and in
His new creation – the church.
· The glory, treasure and blessings available through
the gospel to those who are “in Christ.”
· How the philosophy, empty deceit and traditions of man
make spoil of those who yield themselves to such and are robbed of the rich
blessings found only in Christ.
· An examination of whether baptism is rightly termed a
“work of man” or “the working of God.”
· We also looked at the particulars known about the
errors addressed by Paul in this epistle and their conflict with the gospel of
Christ.
During the afternoon session,
we got started with the “application” portion of Colossians in chapters 3 and
4. We began by showing the incompatibility of being raised with Christ to a new
life, yet retaining an earthly mindset. We considered the particular sins
mentioned that must be “put to death” if we are to please Christ. We will start
in the morning, the Lord willing, with Colossians 3:12.
I am very impressed with this
group of students. They all show excellent attention to the studies throughout
the day. In past classes, we have had the occasional one or two that seemed to
go in and out multiple times a day, more than seemed necessary. (When I see
that behavior, I do not invite them back to attend another class.) There are
none that have done such during this week. They have all worked diligently and
have shown great interest in growing in their understanding of Scripture. I
look forward to working with all of them in coming studies, the Lord willing.
