The Apostle Paul, said Peter (2 Peter 3 v.16), writes “some things … that are hard to understand which the ignorant and unstable twist”!  We suspect some verses in today’s reading of Chapter 1 of Colossians are an example of this. Paul writes about Jesus as “the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation” [1 v.15].  He goes on to say that “he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.” [v.18].

From this we learn that the resurrection of Jesus, following a life in which he succeeded in making God’s will his will led to his being made pre-eminent by God. . But doing God’s will was not an automatic process, it was an incredible challenge, remember his agonizing in the garden of Gethsemane.  (see Luke 22 v.42).  

His resurrection to eternal life was the starting point at which he was made pre-eminent in everything. It was a new beginning, one could say, a new creation. 

Paul says, in reasoning with the Galatians, that neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, “but a new creation” [6 v.15]  He said the same thing in 2 Corinthians 5 v.17, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation”.  Our awareness of these quotations provide the foundation for our understanding of how all things were created FOR Christ. God’s work of creation was with him in mind from the very beginning. We note how Peter expresses this about Christ, “He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was manifest in these last times … “ [1 Peter 1 v.20] by “God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory …” [v.21] 

The glory of Jesus came from God, he gave him pre-eminence because he was obedient unto death.  Our understanding can be confused by translators who, thinking of Jesus as God himself; this appears to have influenced their translation in a few places.  An example is the Greek preposition ek.  It occurs in our Colossians chapter no less than 31 times. It has the primary meaning of in, but the translators have used no less than 6 different English words in that chapter. Now we know you cannot translate from one language to another word for word and always make meaningful sense, but we noticed how in verse 16, they have rendered it as “by” – “for by him were all things created”  Yet the ESV, we use has a footnote against ‘by’ – that says – That is, ‘by means of’, or ‘in’

Think, if they were created for him, it does not make sense that they were created by him.  Have we confused you?  God created the world with Jesus in mind.  Jesus lived and died with us in mind (Read John 20 v.20-21)   The “new creation” flows on from the original creation of Adam and Eve.  Are you part of the new creation, taking on the name of Christ in baptism?   Or will you be among those who fail because they stay related to Adam? 

 Today we completed reading ACTS. The last 2 verses of the book tell us that Paul was in Rome for “two whole years … and welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.” That is where Luke ends his narrative, we have no inspired record of what happened to him after that. We notice the emphasis on Paul proclaiming God’s Kingdom – it is sad that as the generations passed that the message preached about the personal future of the righteous became totally corrupted to one of human imagination; that of an immortal soul having some kind of existence in heaven.

Our reading today in Isaiah has wonderful details about God’s Kingdom that “shall come to pass in the latter days … and all the nations shall flow to it … and say:  Come let us go up … to the house (temple) of the God of Jacob that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths for out of Zion shall go the law and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem … he shall judge between nations … nation shall not lift up sword (weapons) against nation, neither shall they learn war any more” [2 v.2-4].   

     The kingdom Paul was proclaiming was this kingdom that Isaiah reveals. God spoke of it also through other prophets, and we should know well how Jesus preached it.   But – now note – Isaiah has another vision of our days, a fearsome vision, three times in the last 11 verses of today’s 2nd chapter we encounter the phrase, “in that day”!  His vision describes a time when “the lofty pride of man shall be humbled” [v.11] with a warning “against every high tower” [v.15] – and never have there been more towering buildings than today.    Later Isaiah sees in vision “the day of the great slaughter when the towers fall … the LORD comes from afar, burning with anger … to sift the nations with the sieve of destruction” [30 v.25,27,28]  This compares with words in today’s chapter, “the lofty pride of men shall be brought low, and the LORD alone will be exalted in that day … when he rises to terrify the earth” [v.17,19].  Those who do not know God’s word and have no relationship with him will be terrified.

     Let us make sure we know what God has spoken through the prophets, we will come across some awesome words about “that day” as we continue our readings in Isaiah for the next several weeks.

Our readings in ACTS have now brought us to the time when Paul returns to Jerusalem and is arrested. Those possessed with the Holy Spirit gift of prophecy in Caesarea told him that imprisonment awaited him if he went up to Jerusalem and “the people there urged him not to go up to Jerusalem.” [ch. 21 v.12] But Paul responded, “”What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” [v.13] So they ceased trying to persuade him to stay “and said, “Let the will of the Lord be done.”

And so Paul went up to Jerusalem – and was arrested!  Would we have done so – if we had been Paul?  But we are not Paul, we have not been converted like he was – hearing the actual voice of Jesus, knowing the Scriptures (the Old Testament)  thoroughly – and then our minds suddenly coming awake to their true meaning and their wonderful message about the Lord Jesus Christ. 

But in letting ” the will of the Lord be done.” Paul was opening up the way for other things to happen!   After the physically stressful time of his many travels which he summarises in his 2nd letter to the Corinthians, writing of his “imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned …” [ch.11 v.23-25] he at last would have time and relative peace to write many encouraging (and warning) letters to those he had converted. He would also testify before a king and a governor, influence a ship’s captain – and other such situations. 

Paul’s life, even though he was not “free” in a physical sense, was one of continuing opportunities to serve his Lord.  It is a powerful example to us in our lives, to look for how “the will of the Lord” for us – is opening ways for us to be of service to him in new and spiritually stimulating ways.  The longer we live the more we should become  conscious ” that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” [Rom. 8 v.28]  Let us make sure we get the point – for the “good” of “HIS purpose”!

Have you seen things working together for good in this way in your journey in life?  We usually only see this clearly when we look back.  The value of the struggle in climbing the ‘steep and rugged pathway’ is only clearly seen when we contemplate the value of the end result – and maybe it was not so steep as it seemed at the time – for we come to see that our Lord was with us.