Be filled up with the subject of the Christ.
Col 2:6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus
the Lord, so walk ye in him:
Col 2:7 Rooted and built up in him, and established
in the faith/confidence, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.
Col 3:16 Let the word/theme/subject/topic of Christ
dwell in you richly in/with all wisdom; teaching and admonishing/bringing to
mind one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in
your hearts to the Lord.
Col 3:17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving
thanks to God and the Father by him.
Mat 12:43 When the unclean/impure spirit is gone out
of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.
Mat 12:44 Then he saith, I will return into my house
from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.
Mat 12:45 Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven
other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and
the last state of that man is worse than
the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.
If we view ourselves as vessels, a simile often
used in the scriptures, it may help us understand some basic, vital facts that
impact on our walk with Jesus.
We start out as vessels that are not empty. We
have our own ‘mind’. By the grace of God we may repent/change/replace our
‘minds’, call upon Jesus and be filled with the Holy Spirit in the miracle of
re-birth. This is taking up our Cross, denying our ‘selves’ and following the
indwelling Christ. Fantastic!
What a great start to a lifetime opportunity to
know (be acquainted with) Jesus, whom to know is eternal life.
Only it is always up to us to;
Col 2:6 As ye
have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so
walk ye in him:
Jesus gave us a stark warning of the real
danger in ignoring this requirement in the story of the empty, swept and
furnished house. It wouldn’t stay vacant for long! And the old tenant would
return with seven of his mates. Please note Jesus isn’t talking about demons,
just unclean/impure spirits. While some may take this story to be about
‘spiritual’ beings, the fact is that in the Greek literary culture of that and
earlier times ‘spirit’ would be used in the sense that we sometimes use it in
English. We may say that someone was in good spirits, or high spirits, or low
spirits. Saul is described as experiencing times of having an evil spirit in 1
Samuel 16:23 and David playing the harp, which put Saul back into good spirits.
Not exactly exorcism! I think we can reasonably apply the lesson of this story
to the things that we may become taken over by. Obsessions, compulsions,
appetites, fears to name a few.
I don’t know about you but this has been my
experience.
Whatever
interest/obsessions/weaknesses/failings we may have had prior to being filled
with the Spirit of Christ, they would be multiplied following a season of not
being filled with the Spirit of Christ.
A wonderful side benefit of being filled with
the spirit of Christ is that this stimulates a being filled with the subject or
topic of the Christ. The Greek text of Col 3:16; Let
the word/theme/subject/topic of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; uses
logos which as well as meaning word is also often used in the scriptures
meaning message, theme or subject matter.
Thereby we can expect to consequently be
actively and enthusiastically sharing this theme of the Christ.
Have you noticed how sports fans are not shy to
share their passion with anyone who’ll listen? And with those who won’t? As we
are filled with the subject of Jesus, sharing our thoughts in wisdom will be a
joy.
Our ‘witness’ to Jesus the Christ ought not be
a duty. It can be the overflow of a heart filled with the Spirit of the Christ.
Colin Thompson.
Gateshead. England. (Nobody important.)
Comments welcome by email to colin@followingjesuschrist.co.uk
Other material on site at http://www.followingjesuschrist.co.uk/