Our first foreign guests

It was nice to receive our first foreign guests last Saturday.

From Down-Under We had Andrea Burgess visiting. This Australian lady is here in Belgium from May 18 to June 10, for a Congress on child psychiatry.

From Great Britain, we had Brother Malcolm from Newbury visiting, who took advantage of the bank holiday in his country to visit Brother Steve from Mons.

It was a good idea of Méthode that everyone introduced themselves, so that we can form an idea of the path that everyone has travelled on a religious level.

Before the service, we went into further detail on the reasons why those who have not enjoyed full immersion as baptism at a nontrinitarian church cannot actively participate in the sacrificial meal. In the coming Services we will also talk about this further and consider how the first Christians saw their meetings and the breaking of bread.

In any case, we can be satisfied with how a sense of unity has already been created here in Anderlecht.

The hostess had once again provided a delicious meal, which everyone could enjoy while still a lot of thoughts were exchanged before everyone was satisfied to go to his own place.

Colossians – An Exhortation for Unity in Love #5 Unity of believers – Expressed in words

 

The Unity of believers – Expressed in words

This theme of a loving cooperation and unity continues in Chapter 4. Here, whereas the previous chapters spoke of matters of behaviour, and attitude; this section deals with words. For not only must the Spirit of Christ be seen in all our actions; our conversation also must be reflective of the one who always spoke his Father’s Word. And this is seen in 3 ways – words of Prayer (4:2-3), Proclamation (4:3-6) and Care for fellow believers (4:7-18).

That which ought to come first and foremost in the utterances of the Saints, is the offering of Prayer to the Father:

« Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving; withal praying also for us, that God would upon unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds » (4:2,3).

The saints at Colosse were to pray – but not simply a ‘shopping list’ of repeated requests, rather a watchful, thoughtful petition that the Father would be with the Apostle’s preaching, opening a door of opportunity for Him that the work might continue.
And in this, we are given a significant insight into the mind of the apostle. Bound in prison, in threat of his life, in dire circumstances; his overriding concern was not for himself, and for the severe discomfort he was enduring. It was for the fact that whilst he was in chains, he was unable to preach the Gospel to the dying sinners around him. That « the mystery of Christ » was not being « made manifest » by him, as he had been divinely commissioned to do. Thus, the primary – and indeed only – thing he besought the brethren to pray for, was that he might have such opportunity presented to him, even in such dire circumstances when preaching the Word may well be farthest from the minds of many hirelings who place present advantage over future gain.

The Apostle besought the brethren to pray for « a door of utterance ». Indeed, he had been granted such a « door » several times previous to this. At Ephesus (1Cor 16:8, 9 and Troas (2Cor 2:12), so he informed the Corinthians,

« a door was opened unto me of the Lord ».

Here, a ‘door’ being an entrance or means of passing from one arena to another, the expression is used to denote the manner in which words might have opportunity to pass from Paul to the hearts of the hearers. Being alone, as when he was imprisoned at Rome, there was no-one to hear – the door was either closed, or was not even present at all. So, the ‘doors of his lips’ (cp Ps 141:3) were not permitted to allow the Gospel message to pass through them. But when it so fitted the Purpose of the Deity, opportunity was given; a ‘door’ was opened that Paul, and the message he bore, could enter beyond it, that the words of Life might not be bound.

And that the prayers of the brethren were indeed heard is evident from Paul’s Epistle to the Phillippians, for there he speaks of how his deliverance into Caesar’s palace was beneficial for « the furtherance of the Gospel » (Phil 1:12,13). And again, he refers to those who had received the word, upon the opening of the door of opportunity for it’s utterance:

« all the saints salute you, chiefly they that are of Caesar’s household » (Phil 4:22).

So it was, even within the sufferings of imprisonment, the Gospel was preached – and received.

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Preceding

1. Colossians – An Exhortation for Unity in Love #1 Separation from the world
2. Colossians – An Exhortation for Unity in Love #2 Completeness of the united Body of Christ
3. Colossians – An Exhortation for Unity in Love #3 Living the Truth
4. Colossians – An Exhortation for Unity in Love #4 Speaking the truth
5. What if’s
6. Being a Prayerful Person
7. Request to learn to pray
8. God’s Words for the Pilgrimage #1 Twentieth Century Man and the Pilgrimage Process
9. What are the obligations for a Christian?

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Additional reading

1. 7000 to 20000 words spoken each day
2. A World Made of Sentences
3. Do not be afraid to learn or to speak
4. Conversations that Matter
5. Life is like a ten-speed bike.
6. Not liking your Christians
7. Our attitude at a difficult task
8. Don’t wait to catch a healthy attitude
9. You only lose energy when life becomes dull in your mind
10. If you want to go far in life
11. Greatest single cause of atheism
12. Faith antithesis of rationality
13. Our stance against certain religions and immigrating people
14. Choosing your attitudes
15. Doctrine for today
16. A learning process for each of us
17. Not the circumstances in which we are placed constitutes our comfort
18. The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands
19. Raise a standard to which the wise and honest can repair
20. Work with joy and pray with love
21. We have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace
22. Remember that who you’re being is just as important as what you’re doing
23. Life and attitude of a Christian
24. Attitude to others important for reaching them
25. Spread love everywhere you go
26. Unconditional love
27. Ask Grace to go forward
28. Sow and harvests in the garden of your heart
29. Inculturation today calling for a different attitude
30. The Curse of Gold
31. What’s church for, anyway?
32. Who are the honest ones?
33. God won’t ask
34. The manager and Word of God
35. Believe and speak and act in ways which show we have life in Christ’s name
36. Necessity to be cheerful to help yourself and others
37. Depths in Conversation
38. Abhor evil. Adhere to goodness
39. Finish each day and be done with it
40. Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap
41. Work with joy and pray with love
42. If your difficulties are longstanding, try kneeling
43. He who kneels before God can stand before anyone!
44. Get up in the morning and pray for the Lord’s blessings
45. When having taken a new direction in life, having become a Christian
46. Light and Salt – Parables of Influence
47. Nominal Friends of the Truth
48. Testimony Special Issue 2018- Difficult Conversations
49. The Big Conversation
50. Faithful Are the Wounds of a Friend
51. Faith, storms and actions to be taken
52. Today’s thought “To set the mind on the spirit is life and peace” (July 31)
53. Relapse plan
54. Being prudent – zorgvuldig zijn
55. How us to behave
56. How we think shows through in how we act
57. Act as if everything you think, say and do determines your entire life
58. Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience
59. Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal
60. A Living Faith #3 Faith put into action
61. A Living Faith #4 Effort
62. A Living Faith #6 Sacrifice
63. A Living Faith #9 Our Manner of Life
64. 9 Ways to Deal with Complexity at Church
65. Followers with deepening
66. Relying on the Love of God
67. Are Christadelphians so Old Fashioned?
68. Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal
69. People will never forget how you made them feel
70. Pray that we will make the time to listen: listen to God and listen to each other

Colossians – An Exhortation for Unity in Love #4 Speaking the truth

 

Chapter 4 – Speaking the truth

We have seen that the central exhortation of this Epistle is, as expressed in the words of Paul’s prayer
for the believers:

« that their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of they mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ » (Col 1:2).

Being united together in a « full assurance of understanding », true brethren in Christ experience a joyous fellowship which greatly surpasses any friendship the world can offer. For the unity of the believers ought to mirror in measure, that perfect unity subsisting between the Father and Son. Thus the lord prayed:

« keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are … neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us … and the glory which thou hast given me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one » (Joh 17:11,21,22).

Being risen with Christ in the baptismal waters of a typical grave (Col 3:1), this is a powerful influence which irresistibly draws brethren together, irrespective of their personal differences. By contrast to the morass of humanity who seek only their own, whose only desire is to satisfy the grovelling instincts of the flesh, Christ’s brethren have no regard for the temporal advantages of this life. Rather, being One with him, and in him, they seek to set their affections

« on things above, not on things on the earth », (Col 3:2),

for ‘above’ is where their Master is, and is therefore where their hope of life is hid (3:3). They are elements of a New Creation (cp 2 Cor 5:17), formed in the image and likeness of their maker (Col 3:10) – the constituent parts of a « new man » (Col 3:10), formed by the living influence of the Word upon the tables of their heart. And as a new man – complete in Christ, having no need of further addition by way of the traditions of men and the Judaising influence of those who would have them believe in « another gospel » – they stand whole, with mutual regard one for the other,

« forbearing one another, and forgiving one another » (Col 3:13),

even as Christ forgave them.

 

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Preceding

1. Colossians – An Exhortation for Unity in Love #1 Separation from the world
2. Colossians – An Exhortation for Unity in Love #2 Completeness of the united Body of Christ
3. Colossians – An Exhortation for Unity in Love #3 Living the Truth
4. Participants bonded together into one body
5. Oneness with Christ is like glue that ought to hold us together
6. Baptised believers left in the world to use
7. Jesus high priestly prayer for unity

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Additional reading

1. Not about personal salvation but about a bigger Plan
2. Looking at what the Gospel of Thomas Teaches
3. The night before Jesus his execution
4. The Hater of Jesus and Jesus’ followers having become a speaker for him
5. Days of Nisan, Pesach, Pasach, Pascha and Easter
6. A fact of History or just a fancy Story
7. Be Honest
8. Unity
9. Commitment to Christian unity
10. Being one in Jesus, Jesus in us and God in Jesus
11. Blindness in the Christian world
12. Not making a runner
13. Not bounded by labels but liberated in Christ
14. Today’s Thought: “Your life is hidden” (May 16)
15. Today’s Thought (August 10): Upon this I awaked
16. Today’s thought “Putting on the robe of compassion, kindness, humility and meekness” (November 15)
17. Taught by God to love one another
18. The Greatest of These is Love
19. Matthew 18:21-22 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Forgive 77 Times!
20. Forgiveness always possible
21. He who knows himself, is kind to others
22. Forgiveness
23. Tunnel under resentment
24. Today’s thought “Forgive … from your heart” (January 16)
25. Beautiful feet of those who announce the good news
26. The Ecclesia