Category Archives: Christ

Bible, Christ, Provision, Riches, Scripture, Supply

ACCORDING TO, NOT OUT OF

PHILIPPIANS 4:19

“And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

I am not and probably never will be wealthy in the eyes of the world. Being in full-time ministry, and now serving as a missionary, I do not expect to make an extravagant salary. My wife and I are content to live on what our ministry supporters provide. It’s been amazing these past 3 ½ years to see how the Lord has moved the hearts of people to give. I praise Him for that.

Why am I talking about that? Because in today’s verse, Paul points us to the true source of our provision. He says, “My God will supply.” The Greek word translated as “will supply” really means He will fill up, He will overflow, He will cram you full. That says a lot more than just “supply.” And when Paul says “according to His riches” that’s important. He could have written “out of,” but he didn’t. The Holy Spirit wants us to know that we are given richly because He owns it all.

APPLICATION

I just recently memorized Romans 8:32. “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?” You see, that’s the extent of His giving. He gives above and beyond. He gave His own Son. I read a quote today that said, “The Son of God became a man so that men could become sons of God.” That is giving according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Our riches will not last. Even the wealthiest person’s wealth will eventually give out. But not God’s. His riches go far beyond anything this world has ever seen. Everything that has ever been created belongs to Him. He gives according to His riches because He is a generous God who loves His children. James tells us in James 1:17, “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.”

What should we do with such blessings? We should give “according to” also. We give knowing that God will bless that gift. He will take it a multiply it. I heard a story last night about a nine year girl who wanted to help orphans. With some help from friends, she designed a T-shirt that went viral. In a short amount of time, she had over $9,000 which grew to over $200,000. One little girl’s burden was exponentially multiplied by the Father. As the Father blesses you, turn around and bless another.

Lord, I praise You for being my source of provision and never letting me down.

You can make an investment in our ministry at www.twr.org/carl-willis

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Bible, Christ, Comfort, Near, Return, Scripture

THE LORD IS NEAR

PHILIPPIANS 4:5

“Let your gentle spirit be known to all people. The Lord is near.”

We all use comforting and encouraging words from time to time. We say things like “You’ve got this” or “I believe in you.” These kinds of sayings can lift a person in despair and help someone who is struggling with a particular trial. We may even tell a loved one “I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.” I’ve said that and have been told that.

Paul uses a phrase at the end of this verse that seemingly was a common, comforting saying among the early believers. He says, “The Lord is near.” Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers describes this phrase like this, “A translation of the Syriac ‘Maran-atha’ of 1Corinthians 16:22—obviously a Christian watchword, probably referring to the Second Advent as near at hand; although, of course, not excluding the larger idea of that presence of Christ in His Church of which that Second Advent is the consummation.” Whether Paul was referring to the Second Coming of Christ being near or that Christ through the Holy Spirit was near to them at all times, Paul’s greeting in this phrase was meant to encourage.

APPLICATION

In Romans 10:8, Paul quotes from the book of Deuteronomy when he writes, “But what does it say? “THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching,…” Paul knew that these Roman believers needed to be reminded that Christ, through the Word, was near. That’s the idea also in today’s verse. Christ is near.

But how about the other possibility of that phrase’s usage, that the Second Coming was near. Many in the early church thought Christ’s return was imminent. Many believe that today. It seems everything is ready for His return, but the exact day and hour only the Father knows. I believe Paul stook to his script. He wanted these Philippian believers to live each day as if it could be the day of Christ’s return.

The same holds true for us today, beloved. One – Christ is near and dear to us daily through the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives and in the edification and instruction of His written Word. But we should also live today as if it could be the day of His return. Behold, the Lord is near. Maranantha!

Thank You, Lord, for being near to me each and every day. I look expectantly for Your return.

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Bible, Christ, Imitation, Reflection, Scripture

IMITATE ME

PHILIPPIANS 3:17

“Brothers and sisters, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us.”

Didn’t you hate it when your were little and your brother or sister would walk around imitating everything you did or said? There were four of us Willis children in the household, so this was easy to do. It might be cute at first, but the novelty wears off after the first hour or so. I would get so mad if that happened to me. But I gave back as quick as I received, lol.

Paul is inviting the Philippians (and us) to “join in following my example.” The Greek literally reads, “imitators together of me be.” The Greek word for “imitators together” is summimétés. This word only occurs in this verse. It means to be a fellow-imitator. It comes “from a presumed compound of sun and mimeomai; a co-imitator, i.e. Fellow votary – follower together.” (Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance).

APPLICATION

The question you have to ask yourself is, “Is my life worth imitating?” Paul could ask this question because his life was dedicated to following Christ. He had made that decision after his Damascus Road experience. He had answered the call of Christ to go and reach the Gentiles with the Gospel. He was confident that his life was worth imitating.

That did not mean Paul was perfect. Far from it. In Romans 7:18 Paul writes, “For I know that good does not dwell in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.” (For a look at Paul’s full discourse on this, read Romans 7:14-25.) Despite his battle with his flesh, Paul was confident in his invitation to imitate because it would be Christ they were imitating, not him.

Can you say the same? Could you invite someone to imitate you? When our children are little, they will play dress up and pretend to be mommy or daddy. Will they still want to imitate you when they see you interact with a rude clerk or in rush hour traffic? Our lives have to be a reflection of Jesus. That will draw people to imitate Christ in us.

O Lord, let me decrease so that You can increase. Let others only see Jesus in me.

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Bible, Christ, Death, Life, Scripture

LIFE AND DEATH

PHILIPPIANS 1:21

“For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

This verse has a special place in my heart. My wife and I had the verse reference inscribed on our daughter Cathleen’s headstone. Cathleen only lived six hours and died back on 9/11/87. We did not lose a child. We know exactly where she is. And one day when her mom and I get to heaven, she will introduce us to Jesus (rather than the other way around). She is not dead. She is fully alive!

Paul was ready to die for Christ. He was trusting in His all sufficient mercy and grace to release him from prison. But if not, he was ready to die. God did indeed have mercy, and Paul was released after two years of his house arrest imprisonment. Of course, we know Paul was arrested a second time and was martyred sometime in A.D. 66. Paul was ready to live or die for Christ.

APPLICATION

Most, if not all, of you reading this blog today will not have to make the decision to live or die for Christ. What exactly does it mean for us then? What did Paul mean when he said, “to live” and “to die” for Christ? First, Paul says “to live is Christ.” His reason for living was to glorify Christ. Albert Barnes gives four purposes for Paul’s living for Jesus. “1) a purpose to know as much of Christ as it was possible to know, 2) a purpose to imitate Christ, 3) a purpose to make his religion known, as far as possible, among mankind, and 4) it was a purpose to enjoy Christ.”

Then Paul says, “to die is gain.” Now, humanly speaking that makes no sense, does it. We tend to see death as final. We even say someone has “checked out” when they die. But Paul saw it differently. The word “gain” is kerdos and it means a profit or advantage. Paul knew all he had invested in this life would produce a profit – eternal life with Christ. Who could ask for more?

While we are here, we should live every day with a purpose (as Barnes mentioned above). We should seek to glorify the only One worthy of glory. And then when the day comes to “cash in our chips” we should lay it all down without pause. We are about to enter our reward. To live or die – it’s all for Christ!

Father God, give me the courage and peace to live or die for Christ each and every day.

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Admonished, Bible, Christ, Scripture, Teaching, Thankfulness

TEACH AND ADMONISH

COLOSSIANS 3:16

“Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”

Don’t you just hate it when someone tries to “school” you or admonish you? It takes some thick skin sometimes to accept that. Depending on who is doing the schooling or admonishing it can be even harder. If that person does it out of spite or in a condescending way, we may respond back negatively. Let’s see what Paul says about this in today’s verse.

The key for Paul (and us) is the first part of the verse – “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you.” If you don’t have this, you will teach and admonish in the wrong way and receive it wrongly as well. It won’t be centered on His Word or Will. But look what happens if you do. You will sing and praise the Lord. That’s the last part of this verse.

APPLICATION

The Greek word for “teaching” is didaskó. HELPS Word Studies says this about didaskó. “In the NT didáskō (‘teach’) nearly always refers to teaching the Scriptures (the written Word of God). The key role of teaching Scripture is shown by its great frequency in the NT, and the variety of word-forms (cognates).”

“Admonishing” is the Greek word noutheteó. It is “used in the New Testament to describe the act of admonishing or warning someone with the intent of correcting behavior or beliefs. It involves a gentle but firm guidance, often with a moral or spiritual focus, aiming to bring about positive change. This term is used in the context of Christian teaching and pastoral care, where the goal is to nurture spiritual growth and maturity.” (Strong’s Lexicon).

Is that how you teach and admonish? Is that how you are taught or admonished? Let us all focus on the Word of Christ to richly dwell within us so we can teach and admonish in that manner. No matter what you think, you have not learned it all yet. No one has arrived. Receive and give to please the Lord.

Lord God, help me give and receive teaching and admonishment in the manner Jesus would have.

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Bible, Christ, Forgiveness, Scripture, Wronged

FORGIVENESS

COLOSSIANS 3:13

“bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so must you do also.”

Forgiveness! This is probably the top personal relationship issue that brings Christian growth to a halt or pushes one’s growth to higher levels. Forgiving someone is not an option. It’s a command. We are expected to forgive others when they do us wrong – even if they don’t realize they have harmed us. I’ve had to deal with this. I am sure you have as well.

Paul is continuing his thought from verse 12 (take a sec and review that verse). In verse 13, he addresses the issue of forgiveness. It is important to note that the two verbs in this verse – “bearing with” and “forgiving” are actually participles tied back to the main verb in verse 12 which is “put on.” In other words, to be able to bear with someone or forgive someone you must first have put on this new heart Paul talks about.

APPLICATION

As I read Albert Barnes’ words on forgiveness on this verse, I felt I needed to share his words in entirety. So, here they are:

“If any man have a quarrel against any – Margin, ‘or complaint.’ The word used here – μομφή momphē – occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. It means, ‘fault found, blame, censure;’ and here denotes occasion of complaint. The idea is, that if another one has given us just occasion of complaint, we are to forgive him; that is, we are:

(1) to harbor no malice against him;

(2) we are to be ready to do him good as if he had not given us occasion of complaint;

(3) we are to be willing to declare that we forgive him when be asks it; and,

(4) we are always afterward to treat him as kindly as if he had not injured us – as God treats us when he forgives us; see the notes at Matthew 18:21.

Even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye – Learn here that Christ has power to forgive sin; compare the Matthew 9:6 note; Acts 5:31 note. Christ forgave us:

(1) freely – he did not hesitate or delay when we asked him;

(2) entirely – he pardoned all our offences;

(3) forever – he did it so as to remember our sins no more, and to treat us ever onward as if we had not sinned.

So we should forgive an offending brother.”

Wow! No way to say that better. Forgive each other! Bear with each other! Just as Christ forgave you, forgive them. And that means we must die – die to our rights, die to our emotions, die to our self! Can you do that today?

Forgiveness can be hard, Lord. Give me the ability today to forgive those who have wronged me and those who even refuse to offer me forgiveness.

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All, Bible, Christ, Different, Scripture

THE ALL

COLOSSIANS 3:11

“a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, and free, but Christ is all, and in all.”

If you were dropped on this earth without any prior knowledge of the people, you might think we were all intentionally separated by our skin color or our language. I have the privilege to travel all over this globe and let me tell you something – there isn’t a smidgen of difference between us. Some people like to talk about the differences, but we are all created by the same great Creator.

Paul is insistent that the Colossians know there is no separation between believers. Whomever accepts Jesus and follows Him are brothers and sisters in Christ. That is clear as Paul lists these groups – very different groups. But the one little word that caught my attention is not evident in the English. In the Greek, the last phrase literally reads, “but the all and in all Christ.” What word did you see? It’s the little definite article “the” which is in the original. Christ is not just all. He is THE all.

APPLICATION

I know you don’t want a grammar lesson. But you have to look at this little Greek definite article, ta. This separates Christ from the rest of the so-called gods. Christ is THE all. There is no other. It’s interesting that no commentator I read even mentioned this. I wonder why.

My wife is THE one for me. God is THE God. THE Bible is THE Word of God. That little word is so important. I believe Paul is saying that you may have all these other groups which are all brought together because of THE Christ. No other person could have done that.

We have heard stories of bitter enemies who became friends due to a life-changing experience one or both had with THE Christ. I have seen people set free from bondage by THE Christ. Don’t trust a substitute. There are many out there. Come to THE Christ and discover a whole new way of living.

Thank You, Father, for THE Christ You sent for me.

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Bible, Christ, Conduct, Devil, Image, Mind

ACCORDING TO HIS IMAGE

COLOSSIANS 3:10

“and have put on the new self, which is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created it”

 

Our grandson is the perfect image of me! Just kidding. He does have my first name as his middle name. But he really resembles his mama and dad. He is the image of them both. When he is being good it’s his mama. When he’s mad it’s his dad. Not really. Just had to get a jab in for my great son-in-law.

We are all familiar with the Genesis story. “26 Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ 27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” I truly believe this is on Paul’s mind when he penned the words in today’s verse.

APPLICATION

You see, when we get rid of that old self, God renews us in His perfect image. We gain His knowledge and stop seeking the knowledge of the world. Just think about that. We gain the mind of Christ.

Whose image and knowledge and mind do you want? Christ’s or the devil’s? What a silly question. But what does the mind of Christ allow you to do? Why would you want that? With His mind you see the world differently. You see people differently. You simply live differently.

Today, as you go through your day, remember whose mind you have. When that old self is trashed (which is what Paul has been talking about these past few verses) you walk in victory. You walk with your head up. You walk looking upward and onward.

 

Father, I desire to live in Your image and with Your mind.

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Bible, Christ, Christ's Return, Glory, Revelation, Scripture

REVEALED IN GLORY

COLOSSIANS 3:4

“When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”

I was taking a drive with some friends recently in Jamaica which took us through a mountain pass. As we reached the other side of the mountain, we came around a curve to reveal the ocean and beaches on the north shore. It was breathtaking. This view had been hidden until we made that last little turn. Then the scene exploded with various shades of blue in the water and the white sand of the beach. It was truly glorious.

Paul tells us today that Christ will be revealed one day in His fullness. The Greek word for “revealed” is phaneróō. It means to reveal or uncover something that had been previously hidden. Paul uses this word twice in this verse. Christ will be revealed at some point when He returns to take us home. But we also will be revealed with Him in glory at that same time. This verb is in the Passive voice which means it will be done to us. Christ will “reveal” us in His glory. What a promise!

APPLICATION

In Mark 16 we see Jesus appear after His resurrection. Verse 12 says, “Now after that, He appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking along on their way to the country. Then in verse 14a we read, “Later He appeared to the eleven disciples themselves as they were reclining at the table;” Wouldn’t that have been marvelous to be a part of?

How does God reveal Himself today? Well, I believe what I beheld the other day on that road was a glimpse of His glory in creation. I see Him in the innocence of my seven month old grandson. I saw Him in the faces of men worshipping the other night. God is revealing Himself all around you. But you have to be looking.

I like how the Apostle John put it in 1 John 4:9. “By this the love of God was revealed in us, that God has sent His only Son into the world so that we may live through Him.” One day we will be revealed with Him in glory. We will be part of His heavenly cohort when He makes that final appearing on earth as Judge and King. Get ready!

Lord, You are promising so many incredible things. I cannot wait to experience glory with Jesus. 

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Bible, Christ, Hidden, Jesus, Scripture

HIDDEN WITH CHRIST

COLOSSIANS 3:3

“For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”

I am looking forward to playing hide and seek with my seven month old grandson. He and I can hide from his Nana and let her find us. It won’t be hard because I know we will both be giggling. But there is not anyone else I had rather play hide and seek with than him right now. He is such a joy to be around.

Paul tells the Colossian believers to remember where they are. First of all, they are dead! He says, “you have died.” That literally means to die away from. The Greek word is apothnḗskō which “stresses the significance of the separation that always comes with divine closure. It stresses the ending of what is ‘former’ – to bring what (naturally) follows.” (HELPS Word Studies). Then Paul tells them they are “hidden with Christ in God.” Wow! That’s powerful. The verb “is hidden” is kruptó which means to hide or conceal something.

APPLICATION

Let’s continue that thought. We are hidden, we are concealed with Christ. The little Greek word sun/syn is the word for “with.” I looked in the original to see how sun/syn was used. In the previous verses, Paul often uses it as a preposition connected to the main verb. But not here. It stands alone. It literally reads kekryptai syn, has been hidden with. I really believe Paul wanted to emphasize the togetherness we have in Christ.

Who are you closest to in the world right now? For me, it is my wife, then the rest of the family. Friends come in next, followed by acquaintances. Do you see the degression of togetherness? I am the closest to my wife because I spend the most time with her. I want that same togetherness with Jesus. Don’t you?

Then rest, my friend. You are hidden with Christ in God. Nothing can separate you. You are closer than together. Is that even possible? Yes, it is – in God. He is the One Who brings us together through the sacrificial gift He made for us all those many years ago. Together – forever!

Father, I give You praise for hiding me with Christ. I long to be near Him.

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