Dear Generation: The Mystery of the Gospel (Colossians 2)

Dear Generation Podcast – Episode 14: The Mystery of the Gospel (Colossians 2)

This episode was recorded live at Jesus Night on 4.17.26. Every Friday at Jesus Place, we’ve been going chapter by chapter through the Bible, laying a fresh foundation of the reality of the Gospel. In this episode, we dive into Colossians 2 and talk about the mystery of the Gospel—Christ in you. We unpack what the presence of God really is, confront bad thinking and false beliefs that keep people bound, and share on identity in Christ and how knowing who you are in Him leads to real freedom from sin. This is a foundational conversation meant to strengthen believers in the truth of the Gospel and awaken hearts to the life of Christ within.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to the Dear Generation Podcast, where each episode is a letter to our generation. And our goal for every listener is to encounter the truth that sets them free and live a life that's worth the price that Jesus paid. Last Friday we did Colossians 1. Right? Colossians 1. We had a couple landing pads, is what we call them. So we'll read the one chapter, we'll go slowly. And we'll see what insight we get along the way. I literally have no notes, it's just the word. Um and as we read, with the Holy Spirit present, who's the author, he's gonna begin to bring insight and revelation as we read it. Um but that was last week, Colossians 1. And then we landed on Colossians 1.27, which was so interesting. Because Paul says, This is the mystery of the gospel, and he says, Christ in you, the hope of glory. Man, that is not that that is like if you try to unpack that truth, it there's a lot in there, but it's the simple yet complex truth that Christ is in you, and that's the mystery of the gospel. So if you ever want to know the mystery of the gospel, there it is right there, Colossians 1.27. Christ in you. I find it so funny that you know the mystery of the gospel is not you trying harder, you doing it on your own, you doing it on your own strength. Well, Paul says, it ain't about you, it's Christ in you. And that is a mystery, man. It it even gets your wheels going, like how, what, why, when, what's going on? Now the general concept is easy to understand. Oh, yeah, Christ in me. But if you dig a little deeper, it's kind of scratch your head, you know. But it's the simple reality of Galatians 2.20 explained. Galatians 2.20 says, Paul says, it's not I who live, but Christ who lives through me. And then he says, the life I now live in the body, the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who gave himself for me. So what I want to do is set that as a foundation, because we're we're just gonna, I'm just gonna read it real quick. Because I memorized it, but it's just hits different when you just read it. Galatians 2 20. My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. And verse 21. I like this too. I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless, for if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die. Whoa. Guys, there's a there's a truth bomb there, right there. So, Paul, if you read Galatians, Colossians, uh Romans 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or or 5 through 8 specifically, you'll hear Paul reference the law and grace and living by the Spirit, right? Which is the new life that we're living by. My old sinful self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. So I live this life now through faith in the Son of God. And then we're looking at verse 21 there, 221 Galatians. I don't treat the grace of God meaningless, for if by keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die for us. Let's stop right there, actually. That's a lot there. Paul's saying, if I could fulfill the law and that law could make me right with God, then Jesus didn't need to come down and die for us. There was absolutely no need for God to send his only begotten son. So what Paul is saying is that the law could not make you right with God. What is the law? The law is the do's and don'ts of the Old Testament. Uh, more so he's referring to within this context is the Mosaic Law, the law given to Moses on Mount Sinai, 613 laws and Ten Commandments, right? Most of you are familiar with the Ten Commandments. These laws were given to the people of God at that time, the people of Israel, to do what's right. But really, the law was a mirror. There's a lot of mirrors in here. And if you look at one mirror, you'll see it shows yourself, right? When you go before a mirror, who do you see? Yourself, right? The law was made a mirror to show you how sinful you were and how you couldn't match up to its standard. So the do's and don'ts, the try not to sin, the don't do that, the don't do that. We couldn't match up to it. When my mom told me not to touch the stove, guess what I did the next day? I touched the stove, okay? So, right? I fell short in the law. I could not fulfill the law. All the do's and don'ts, I only completed a couple of them, but the Bible actually says if you miss one, it's equivalent to missing them all. And so the cool thing is was that you were never meant to fulfill the law. You were never meant to complete all the laws perfectly and do it all perfectly and do it on your own strength to be right with God. That was never the point of the law. The point of the law was to prove to you, yikes, I can't do it. I can't match up to it, I can't do it on my own strength. I need Jesus. That was the point. So, what Paul is saying here is it's not the law that makes you right with God. It's God that makes you right with God. Isn't that amazing? It was Jesus coming down as a man, living a perfect life that you and I couldn't live, dying the death that you and I always deserved, was buried three days later, rose from the dead, defeated hell, Satan in the grave, and as a result, you've been made right with God. If you put your trust in Christ, you've been saved by grace through faith. Amen. Sorry, I had to stay stuck up on there because that's a beautiful truth that we need to slow down. Many times when we read the Bible, we could gloss over. Oh yeah, grace of God, oh yeah, law. Past it. And we don't get the fullness of what is trying to be said, right? Because we move past it so quick. But let's go to Colossians, okay? Last week we did Colossians 1. So if you're new here this week, all we're doing is literally reading one to two chapters of the Bible, letting it speak for itself. And then we have what we call a landing pad, which is one or two verses that really stuck out to us, or me, and I'll preach off that. Now, Colossians 2. Are we ready for this? I want you to know how much I have agonized for you and for the church of Laodicea and for many other believers who have never met me personally. Verse 2. I want them to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God's mysterious plan, which is Christ Himself. Okay, what's God's mysterious plan? Christ Himself. Pause. Okay, we can't get let's camp out there. Verse 2. The knowledge of God's mystery is Christ. That reminds me of Paul. He's like, I'm determined to know nothing but Christ and him crucified. Right? Guys, can I be honest? There's a temptation in the church today for many believers, including myself, to be like, well, Christ, yeah, but what more is there? What extra thing is out there aside from Christ Himself? And I want to propose to you, yes, there's there's great things out there. There's teaching on teachings on the gifts, there's um different teachings on different other things that encourage the body. Some don't, some do, right? But at the end of the day, when everything's stripped away, what was it all about to begin with? Christ Himself. So let me see this. Okay, if Jesus came down to the earth to preach one message, the gospel of the kingdom, right? Matthew 4 17, Jesus' first recorded words. He says, Repent, therefore, the kingdom of God has come near to you. The kingdom of God is at hand. So that was his message. That was it. Was the gospel of the kingdom. And then Paul, what was his message? He says, I am determined to know nothing but Christ and him crucified. His message was Christ and Christ crucified. What was Peter's message? Same thing. What was all the apostles' message? Same thing. So why we've why have we come to this place of like this greater knowledge and revelation other than what Christ has done? And come to all. Okay, I'll I'll put it this way. He's talking about the root. This is the root. When a lot of people are worried about the branches and the fruit on the tree, right? The branches of the fruit on the tree are great. They're the benefits of Christ, the benefits of salvation, right? That's amazing, right? And we could preach on different benefits and different gifts and different fruits on the tree. Everything comes back to who? Christ. Okay. But now God's mysterious plan was always Christ. Okay. Wasn't anything other than Christ Himself. It wasn't Christ subtracted or Christ added. It was just Christ. It was just Christ. And what he did and his life lived. Let's keep going. Verse 3. In him, in who? Jesus Christ. In him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Oh, I love that. That's good. So in Christ are all the hidden treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Amen. So Father, I'm just going to pray. What I like doing, I like pausing, reading slowly, chewing on it, and then praying it out. So that's the way I read the Bible. Um so I'm just gonna pray that out right now. You can pray it with me. God, I just thank you that your mysterious plan was Christ Himself. And God, I thank you that in Christ, all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are in him. And God, thank you that I am in him. The Bible says that I'm in Christ. God, I thank you that because I'm in Christ, I have access to all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge that are found in Christ. Thank you. In Jesus' name. Amen. That's amazing. Okay, verse four. I'm telling you this so no one will deceive you with well-crafted arguments. Interesting. Let's pause there, verse five. That is super interesting. So, Paul, he's saying, he's laying down the truth. Okay, number one, the mysterious plan of God was Christ Himself. It wasn't some crazy, out, far-fetched, supernatural idea. It was just simply, it was supernatural. It's Christ himself, right? He's centering the plumb line right back to him, right back to Christ. And then he says, I say this because no one will deceive you with well-crafted arguments. Can you agree that there's so many podcasters out there with well-crafted arguments? Can you agree that as you scroll through Instagram every now and then, you'll see a really great well-crafted argument that points to something other than Christ? Can we all agree? I see it every day. And it sounds good because they sound theologically correct, but it's well crafted in their own imagination. And at the end of the day, it's not pointing directly to Christ. It's Christ and this other thing. It's Christ but this. There's no but, there's no and, there's no if, it's just Christ. That's what Paul is saying. And so he's saying, He knows those teachers are coming. Right? Verse five. For though I am far away from you, my heart is with you, and I rejoice that you are living as you should, and that your faith in Christ is genuine and strong. Verse 6. Now this is where he talks about freedom from rules and new life in Christ. It's the freedom from the law that Paul is talking about. Verse 6. And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. 7. Let your roots grow down into him. Let your lives be built on him. Let your faith, uh then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. Okay, guys, this is let's let's just meditate on six and seven real quick, because there's a lot in here. He's explaining essentially the Christian life. And he's saying, Okay, now that you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord, it doesn't stop there. There's a continuation of you following him, right? He says you didn't just accept him and you slipped up your hand while no one was looking in a service at the tail end, and and then that was it. No, that was the gun went off for the starting of the race, and you continue to follow him. And then he and then he describes how by letting your roots grow down into him, let your lives be built on him. I I love he's he's saying, into him, on him. It's all about him. That's what Paul's saying. And then it says, as a result of your roots growing down into him and your lives being being built on him, then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught. What was the truth that they were taught? It's everything Paul is saying previously. It's everything Paul wrote, Colossians 1, right? It's everything Paul wrote to the church of Colossae, right? That's what he's talking about. And the truth. And what is the book of Colossians pretty much all about? Jesus being magnified, Jesus being the visible image of the invisible God, Jesus being the one that saved us only, and also the doctrine of Jesus, which is the good news of the gospel. Meaning you've been set free from roles, you've come into Christ, and you've been set free, right? And we we read in uh Colossians 1.22. Let's just go there real quick. Colossians 1.22 to specify what Paul is saying. Because he's saying, uh, he's saying, let me just get there again. He's saying, then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught. What was the truth they were taught? Let's go to Colossians 1.22. Colossians 1.22. Let's go to 21. Let's start with 21. This includes you who were once far away from God. I love the past tense language Paul's using. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. Verse 22 now. Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body as a result of Jesus dying. He has brought you into his own presence. You are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault. Guys, that's that's the truth of the gospel. Is Jesus died. What did he die for? To bring you into his own presence, to make you holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault. Everybody say, without a single fault. There goes your mind, but dude, I am full of faults, right? Your mind tries to justify who you were, not who you've become. Because the the the carnal mind, the Bible says in Romans 8, is at enmity with God. And so naturally your mind's gonna immediately be like, nope, but like I'm like just a sinner, like I'm just a filthy rag. I'm just like, I'm just like full of faults, I'm full of mistakes, I'm full of right. Your mind will immediately try to make you inferior. And then to your natural mind, you're thinking, oh, that's like humility because I'm thinking of myself as less. No, humility is not you thinking yourself as less, it's thinking of yourself less. Right? It's not you being inferior and like trying to hit yourself over the head saying I'm just a filthy sinner. That's not humility. That's actually false humility, and false humility is pride. And the last time I checked, the Bible says that pride comes before the fall. And also the Bible says that God resists the proud. And so I don't want to be on that side of history. I want to be on the other side where humility acknowledges the finished work of Christ. Humility says, Colossians 1.22, humility says, as a result, Jesus, of your death, you have brought me into your own presence and you have declared me holy, blameless, as I stand before you without a single fault. That is humility. You acknowledging the truth of what he's done. Let me ask you a question. What's more humble if I look in the mirror and seeing what and seeing what I have done, or me looking in the mirror and seeing what Christ has done? What's more humble? You you pick. So with that, I would say one of the biggest attacks on the church today would be self-centeredness. You see, you didn't see that one coming. You wanted me to say something, I don't know what you wanted me to say, but that this is what Paul is saying. It ain't about you, right? It's about Christ in you. You've died to begin with. You've died with Christ. It's Galatians 2.20, all over again. Self-centeredness is you thinking of yourself more than you think of Christ and what he's done in and through your life, right? And so, okay, can I give can can I can I give you some language for that? I hope this doesn't offend anybody, but um it kind of sounds like like this, ready? This is one example of many, ready? It sounds like a Christian saying, Well, yeah, brother, you know, I'm just like just I'm just a sinner. That's all I am. You know, saved by the string of grace. That's you know, and like, and I hear that term thrown out a lot, but that's like a missed context of actually what the Bible is trying to say, because if you're a sinner saved by grace, then that means grace erases the name sinner. Okay? Can we be clear that when you go through the cross, you become a different person? If any man be in Christ, he's a new creation. The old is gone, the new has come. What's the old? Sin. Then what's the new? Definitely not sinner, right? If your new creation has been made the righteousness of God according to uh 2 Corinthians 5 21, it's the gospel in one verse, ready? God made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that you and I might become the righteousness of God. So, what's humility? Humility is looking in the mirror, and instead of seeing your past, instead of seeing your sin, instead of seeing your faults, you look at Colossians 1.22. You're like, Father, I thank you that you've brought me into your own presence and I'm holy and blameless as I stand before you without a single fault. God, I thank you that I'm a new creation in Christ. The old is gone, the new has come. The old was me as a sinner, the new is me as a righteousness of God. That's humility. Amen. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, right? You're gonna get persecuted for being righteous. You're gonna get persecuted for doing what is right, but also being right with God. Just that, just that position, this just that identity right then and there will make you a persecuted folk. Okay. Whether that's with the world or with the church, unfortunately, right? Because the church, a lot of the church still have a uh a self-centeredness uh theology based upon what they've done, where they've been, who they think they are, or who they think they still are, but that's a whole misconception. Because once you come through the cross, you're a new person, you're a new creation. And now it's not you defining you, it's Christ defining you. Because it's no longer you who lives, it's Christ who lives in and through you. So can I give you a bomb statement that will that'll help you with this? Ready? The Christian life is more so not you living for Jesus as it is Jesus living through you. Okay? Now, when I first heard that, I was like, that's that's scandalous, right? Because I never heard it that way. But that's what Paul is saying. He's saying, hey, it's Christ in you, and the works you do now are empowered by Christ in you. So it's not you and you, it's Christ in you. And so the things that come out of you, the good works, all the all the works flow through him. Right? People like to say, you know, uh, take this out of context too. Faith without works is dead. I agree. But where do works flow from? Faith. That's what it's saying. Who gave you faith? Christ. Who's the author and finisher of faith? Christ. Right? So it's a whole perception change that yes, good works don't flow from you, it flows from Christ in you, and the author and finisher of your faith. So, yes, faith without works is dead, but where does that faith come from? And it doesn't come from your own works, it comes from Him. Amen. Faith proves that or Works prove that you have faith, but those works are not the works to prove your salvation. Those are the works that are a result of your salvation. And so what I would propose to you guys within this all is that please, for the love of God, do not think of yourself inferior and think that's humility. It's not prideful to believe that you're not a sinner, to believe that you are the righteousness of God, to believe that you're a new creation. That is not prideful. That's actually utter humility to the work of God because you couldn't make it your own reality. God had to make that your reality. You couldn't make yourself right with God, God had to make you right with God. Isn't that amazing? It's a beautiful truth. And that's the gospel. It's the beauty of the gospel. But yes, if you want snacks, guys, tear them up. I want those gone. And so please eat up. We've got water. Um, it's the least we could do for you guys tonight. And so amen, let's keep going. This is beautiful. So we uh dropped off at Colossians 2. What was it? 7? 7. Yeah. Okay. So look at the result of all this. Look at he didn't say the result of all this is pride. He said the result of all this, he will overflow with thankfulness. Does it not say that? The last sentence of verse 7. Come on. So, so look, there's this life that you can live rooted in him, growing in the faith of the truth that you've been taught, which is this truth right here. And as a result of that, your life will overflow with thankfulness. Why? Because you know you couldn't do it. You can't thank yourself, you gotta thank him. Because you know he's the one who did it to begin with. So you're gonna you're gonna overflow with this life of constantly thanking God. And I promise you guys, as you live your as you live your life constantly thanking God in the car, in the grocery store, wherever you go, you're gonna be utterly aware of God's closeness.

unknown 23:58

That's right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 24:00

Utterly aware of God's closeness. And maybe it's a time to adjust this other thing. Okay. A lot of uh the charismatic evangelical world is accused of using terminology that um may not be biblical. And one of these terminologies is the presence of God. Can I explain that to you? A lot of people are like, why do you say the presence of God? And like, feeling the presence of God, it's just about you feeling the presence of God. Uh God is omnipresent. Like, what do you mean? You don't have to feel him to know that he's there. Let me let me explain that. There's a difference between God's omnipresence and God's manifest presence. What I mean by manifest presence is his presence made known to you. And then theologically, he's everywhere. He's in you, upon you, around you. He's the only God that's omnipresent. The devil's not omnipresent. God is omnipresent, right? So his presence is omnipresent. Can you agree? Amen. Theologically, that is 100% accurate, right? Now there's an aspect of his presence that's revealed to us in a tangible way when we become aware of him. Now, for each mile of road, there's two sides of ditch, meaning there's an extreme this way and there's an extreme that way. There's an extreme this way where people are like begging for God to come, begging for God's presence to be made known. Um, that's an extreme. And then there's another extreme of like, you never need to feel the presence of God. The presence of God is not felt, it's just known in your head. You gotta know he's there. Okay, now, and then there's a middle road of yes, theologically, he's always there, but then there's this life that we can live where in moments in our life he affirms us with his presence. Listen, if you can feel the spirit of fear, if you can feel demons in your sleep, if you could feel different things, if you could feel pain, if you could feel conviction, why can't you feel the presence of God? Now, am I saying you live by those feelings? No, you live by faith, but that faith, right, those feelings are aligned to that faith. So I would go as far to say this, ready? I'll go on a limb and say this feeling the presence of God is essential in your Christian life. Why? Even when Jesus raised from the dead, he still physically appeared in his glorified body to his disciples. Because he knew his manifest presence would strengthen their faith. That's a mic drop. Okay. So it wasn't enough for the woman, Mary, who was the other Martha, was it? That came from the grave to testify to the Jesus is alive, the stoners are the way. It wasn't just enough for them to believe that reality, but Jesus knew I need to come. Now, and then there's people that are get weird with it, like Thomas, who had to like touch the holes in his hands, right? And the right, but he needed that, right? And and Jesus was like, Okay, okay, Thomas, I'll let you out I'll let you do it. All right. Put your hole on it and you know, do it all. Because he was doubting, right?

unknown 27:10

Doubting Thomas.

SPEAKER_00 27:11

Doubting Thomas, right? So so now watch this. The Bible literally says that he translated through the door. So he didn't open the door, he was like a ghost. He went straight through the door. And so I don't know about you, but like if that happened, I'm like, I don't need to touch your the holes in your hand. I'm good. I believe you're risen from the dead, Jesus. You're right there, you just went translated through a wall. The stone is rolled away. That's all I need, right? But he went the extra mile and he did that. And what did he tell Downing Thomas? He said, Blessed are those who don't see yet believe. I'm like paraphrasing, but that's what Jesus said to Thomas after he came and he felt it, the holes in his hand. So all that to say this, guys, the manifest presence of God is essential in your Christian life. Now, does that mean if you don't feel God, does that mean he's not there? No, absolutely not. But it is essential because in your Christian life, the affirmation of God to one's soul, which your soul is your mind, will, and emotions, the affirmation to your soul that God is near is the presence of God. Because as you worship God and you lift up your hands or whatever you do, and in a moment you just get the goosebumps, you get the sensation, you sense he's close, you sense his presence, you're like, oh my gosh, God is in this room. God is close. God, you know what God's presence is? It's his love. Because what is God? God is love. And when you feel his presence, you feel his love. That's why when you feel his presence, you either get goosebumps, you start crying, or you get some type of sensation. It's okay to feel God. Okay. But you're not living by those feelings. Those feelings don't dictate scripture, right? Jesus said, I'll never leave you or forsake you. Does that mean if you never feel the presence of God, that he leaves you or forsaked you? No. It's absolutely not true, right? So there's a balance, right? But there's something going on in the church where like it's extremes, right? Everybody paint to an extreme. It's like, it's either you're living by feelings, and if you don't feel God, you're far from God, or you don't live by feelings at all. And like, you don't need to feel God, you just need to be like numb and like believe the truth. And just, you know, like, dude, if we raise people, Christians, this way, you're gonna grow Christians up to be numb to an experiential knowledge of Christ. But it's essential to have an experiential knowledge to Christ. You know, atheists and many people that have come and converted and been uh encountered by God was through an experiential way. New age people, right? When they've come to Jesus and relinquished all their new age things, they've come to Christ because they've experienced, they've tasted and seen the goodness of God. And they turned away from their sin, right? So I'm just gonna hit on that point. A lot of people like, or from what I've seen, I don't know, it's trending now. I don't know. It's one of the things that's trending in my algorithm, is just a lot of people attacking like just the charismatic view on the presence of God. Like, guys, it ain't that deep. God reveals his closeness. You draw near to God and he draws near to you. James 4.8, right? And it's this, it's not that we live by it, but it's that it affirms our faith in God. Amen. It strengthens us. And it's essential, I believe, for the Christian life that you, as you worship, as you become aware of God, that you feel his presence. Amen. Now you're you're not gonna hit yourself over the head if you don't feel his presence. There's a balance. Awesome. Okay. Is that good? That cleared some a lot. Great. So there's a difference between God's omnipresence theologically and then God's manifest presence. Amen. All right, let's keep going. So right now we're in Colossians 2. If you just got here, um, we're just going through it verse by verse and just sharing thought by thought. And I'm just uh I got no notes. I'm just going as the Holy Spirit speaks. So, all right, verse um, where do we Okay, there we go, verse 8. Okay. Woo! This is good. Okay, verse 8, chapter 2 of Colossians, verse 8. Paul says, Don't let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world rather than from Christ. Pause. Okay, let's chew on this one. Paul's saying, There are people that are gonna come with empty philosophies, high sounding nonsense, meaning they sound like they're higher than thou, and they're using terminologies that sound very educated, but actually are empty. Right? And then he says, Um, empty philosophies, meaning philosophies that hold no truth in it, philosophies that sound good to the natural mind, but don't bring, don't produce fruit in the spiritual. Now, watch this. Where do they come from? Human thinking and from what? What did it say? Verse 8, human thinking and spiritual powers of this world, right? So verse 8 says, There are two things empty philosophies, high-sounding nonsense. And they come from two things either your human thinking or spiritual powers of darkness. Guys, this is nothing new, nothing new under the sun. This is still happening today. You scroll through Instagram, you'll bump into a reel of like this guy who thinks he knows what he's talking about, and he's a podcaster, whatever, he or she, doesn't matter. And you'll see a lot of this all throughout. I'm not saying every person you you scroll is that, but a lot of it is high-sounding nonsense, empty philosophy that come from human thinking andor spiritual powers, demonic doctrine. I would say it takes a level of spiritual discernment, but also some common sense. A lot of it's common sense, common reasoning. And if you know your word and if you know the gospel, you'll know what you'll know what's true. And so what when you hear these things, like for example, when I was referencing the presence of God, that was because I saw a real. I'm not gonna say the name of the guy, but he's a well-known guy. And he and and he was having this podcast and he said, Um, yeah, just charismatic say like the presence of God. And like that's just, you know, that just makes no sense because like God's omnipresent, and like you don't need to feel God, like that's um, you know, whatever else. Um, which there's a truth there, but also that's exaggerated truth. And so it sounds high, but within there, there's lacking truth. Like it's not either or a lot of it is both and. So it's yes, theologically, God is omnipresent, and we could bank on that, but also there's a reality that you can feel him and sense his closeness in a moment of time, and that is essential too. And so, what I what I would say is just balance the truth, weigh the truth, share the truth, just share it with somebody else that you know maybe is is more advanced in in their life in Christ than you, and be like, hey, what do you think about this? Like what this dude said, because what this dude said is putting a pebble in my step and it's making me doubt an area in my faith. And if it's making you doubt an area of your faith, most likely it's probably not the Lord, right? And you gotta weigh it with scripture, right? Um, but if it is, maybe it's challenging a wrong theology you have that needs to be squared up before the Lord. That too. So that's where I would say that. Also ask the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit teaches all things, he's the author of this thing, right here. Amen. Okay, verse 9. For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. Verse 10. So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler in authority. Okay, are you complete? Yes or no? If so, through what avenue are you complete? Christ. Amazing. So I'm gonna say it again. Verse 11. Oh, sorry, verse 10. Through your union with Christ. Everybody say union. Okay, this is where this is the mystery of the gospel again. Colossians 1 21 27, Christ in you, the hope of glory. That's referencing union with Christ. When you came to Christ, your spirit and Holy Spirit came together. He made your spirit alive. Before your spirit was dead in sin, now it's dead to the power of sin and alive in Christ. Amen. So it there's a reality and it's a mystery that you're unified with Christ. Does that now don't hear what I'm not saying. Now, again, people paint extremes. Oh gosh, we have to address every extreme now. Does that mean you're equal with God? No. That just means you're unified with God. You're unified with the very Spirit of God, which means you're aligned to His will, which means you have everything that pertains to life and godliness in Christ Jesus, 2 Peter 1:3. So you being unified with Christ is the mystery of the gospel. So it's not you on your own, it's Christ in you. It's it's you with Christ. Amen. So that's what he's saying. He's saying you're complete. You're not, meaning you're not lacking anything. You're not lacking. The only thing I would say is you're growing. You're not lacking, you're growing in aspects of Christ, aspects of truth. You're growing in faith. You're going from faith to faith, glory to glory. You're growing in that. But never the Bible does it say you lack. It says you've been given everything that pertains to life and godliness in Christ Jesus, 2 Peter 1.3. Then in here it says you've been complete. You are complete through your union with Christ. Amen. I I love this because the English word for perfect means flawless. But in the Bible, when it says be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect, it's not talking about being flawless. It's talking about being whole, meaning not lacking anything, meaning being complete. So the Greek word for perfect in the Bible, in the New Testament, is you lacking nothing. It's you being holistic. And so people can be perfect in that regard, right? And so people say, uh, no church is perfect. I agree with the English word. Yeah, no church is flawless, but I do believe some churches or many churches are perfect, meaning whole. They're not lacking anything, they're not lacking this, that, or the other. They're holistic in their approach to having church and having a community. And praise God. So that's what I would say about that. Let's keep going. All right, verse 11. Oh, this is. I love this. Okay. Verse 11. When you came to Christ, you were circumcised, but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision, the cutting away of your sinful nature. Verse 12 for you were buried with Christ when you died or when you were baptized, and with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the power of God who raised him from the dead. Okay, guys, guys, guys, guys, guys, look up here. You were circumcised. Okay, Paul is using this terminology because in the Jewish culture, uh, you had to be circumcised to have covenant with God and all these different things. Now you you freely have covenant with God, and now it's not a physical procedure, it's a spiritual one, where God takes your heart a stone and makes it a heart of flesh. And Paul's saying here that God literally, I like when I'm teaching the youth this, uh, I'm like, when you came to Christ, you were open heart surgery. And Christ went in your heart and he did a little surgery, and he plucked out the sinful nature that was in your heart, according to this verse. So, can I ask you a question? According to this verse, do you still have a sinful nature? The answer is no, you don't have a sinful nature. You still have flesh, but there's a difference between the flesh and the sinful nature. The sinful nature was the very core of the DNA that was implanted in your heart because of Adam. That got plucked out, that got circumcised out of your heart, and now you don't have a sinful nature. That's why you can't identify as one, right? Like if I was a boxing champion of the world and I had the Walter Waite championship of uh belt, I don't even know what's what it's called. Anyways, if I had the championship belt and I was at the top, right? And I I'm going versus a guy who's pretty good, and he knocks me out in the second round, I'm planted on the floor. What happens? He takes away my title. Now he's the world champion. I'm not, because he he knocked me out clean, right? And so I can't go the next day on Instagram and say I'm still the well-weight champion of the world. Everybody in the comments is gonna roast me and be like, dude, you got KO'd last night. Let it go, bro. Just let it go, right? In the same way, Jesus took away your sinful nature. You can't identify with it anymore. Isn't that amazing? If that doesn't put a smile in your heart, I don't know what does. Because guys, you are that is no longer your identity. And that's where freedom comes because right believing produces right living. Because if I still believe I'm a sinner, guess what I'm gonna do? Sin. But if I believe that I've been transferred and became a new creation, I'm no longer one. My sinful nature has been plucked out, I've been given a new nature in Christ, then freedom from sin comes. Amen? Okay. This is good. Verse 13. You were dead because of your sins, and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Past tense. Then God made you alive with Christ, and he forgave all your sins. This is the best news. This is the gospel right here. Ready? Verse 14. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross. That is the gospel. Okay, let's chew on this. So let's start with verse 14. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. Guys, look up here. You had some pretty big charges. You had some felony charges. You had a warrant for your arrest. You had some hefty charges on you. Okay. You knew there it was coming for you. Then Jesus canceled the charges against us. Thank you for watching this week's episode of the Dear Generation Podcast. We love and appreciate every single one of you. Make sure to like and subscribe on all social platforms, and we'll see you next time.