Colossians Part Five

By Johnny Angel

Colossians 2:[6] As you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so continue to live in him. [7] Keep your roots deep in him and have your lives built on him. Be strong in the faith, just as you were taught, and always be thankful. [8] Be sure that no one leads you away with false and empty teaching that is only human, which comes from the ruling spirits of this world, and not from Christ. [9] All of God lives in Christ fully (even when Christ was on earth), [10] and you have a full and true life in Christ, who is ruler over all rulers and powers (NCV).


Today in my philiosophy class, everyone felt that the question being discussed related to God. Someone said that God is just something that you are raised up on and have faith in. God helped me share that though I serve the same God I was taught about as a child, He is more real to me than ever before. I know this because I see prayers answered, miracles performed, and I feel His presence. The professor actually agreed with me; however, he had to make the discussion go another way to prove his point. I have not been agreeing with all the junk that's been coming up in this class. I kept praying for the right time to share. Somehow, when God told me to speak, everyone was listening. I felt the power of God working through me. I was simply a vessel and mouthpiece for God to use.

The only way that one can do this is to continue to live in Christ. One must keep his roots deep in Christ and build one's life on the teachings of Christ. In doing this, no one will be able to lead a person away from the truth found only in the cross of Jesus Christ. All the false and negative things that go around are from the evil spirits in this world. That is because the devil is the ruler of this world. His demons run around helping him out. But praise God I do not have to worry about these evil powers hurting me. Jesus best explained the feeling that I have in Luke 10:20. "However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven." (NIV)

Verse 9 talks about God living in Christ fully, even when He was on earth. Paul wrote this because there was a group of people going around claiming that God only lived in Jesus while He was an adult. They taught that God did not live in Jesus during His childhood or while He was on the cross. This teaching was taking away the sin debt paid on Calvary because it wasn't allowing the Son of God to die for us. Instead it simply had a man dying for us. Thank God that He did live in Jesus the whole time, and He did pay the debt for our sins!

Verse 10 talks about having full and free live in Christ. This is so true! I run into so many people who are caught in a ritual of just going to church on Sunday. They may go on Wednesday and even attend a Bible study somewhere else during the week. But it seems like they only do it because they feel they have to. Some of them seem to do it to clear their conscience. Some of them seem to do it to see other people. When I run into them outside of a church setting, though, they seem unhappy. They seem to be living their lives however they want to. The people in my philiosophy class seem to view God as only some higher power. They don't understand that He wants a relationship with us.

God has been showing me lately more and more just what He means by having a relationship with us. Our relationship with God is not dependant on just reading the Bible and worshipping. Jesus went to parties and festivals with His friends. He liked to eat. But He knew when to stop eating before it became harmful to His body and became sin. People gave Him a hard time because He made life seem so pleasant.

One day Jesus told His disciples He had to go away. In the flesh, He couldn't be with all of them everywhere. But He promised in John 14 to send His Holy Spirit as a comforter. Several days after Jesus went back to Heaven, He sent that Holy Spirit to live inside of each believer. It is His way of being with us all the time. So when we are bouncing on a trampoline with our friends or watching a football game, Jesus is there with us. He is our friend. He goes everywhere we go. That is why we must be careful not to go where He doesn't want to go. If we do go where He doesn't want to go, He will help us know we shouldn't keep going there, and He will help us to quit going there if we will only ask for His help. But with Jesus living inside of every one of us and going everywhere we go, we have protection from spiritual harms. The ruler over all rulers and powers is with us. He has fun with us.

Last night me and some friends went to our youth pastor's house and played on his big trampoline. As we were jumping, it was like Jesus was there jumping with us. We finally got tired and just laid there talking and looking up at the stars. Jesus was there with us looking at the stars that He made! It is just so powerful to know that God is there through thick and thin. He is there in good times and bad times. He is watching over us. He is having fun with us.