4/18/23 ECP weekly devotion (Weeklies) to my ECP Family from Charles L. Robinson Jr. of Edifying Christian Publication:
In this week's devotion, we will gander at father-like (encouraging and protecting) advice that the Apostle Paul provides to the believers in Christ at Colosse through his epistle Colossians. The believers received Christ by their personal choice amongst others nearby and far away (all the world) privileged to their same choice to receive Christ. Some that had the same choice to receive Christ chose a different choice. Their "spoil" identified their different choice.
The believers accepted Christ as their Lord; recognized Christ as their truth; conducted themselves in the likeness of Christ; remained secure, strong, and healthy through Christ as their source; and grew in their predestined - God purposed lives. Some privileged to the same choice as the believers in Colosse chose different. They chose things without God purposed functioning such as secular rather than divine insight-knowledge, deceitful trickery, and so forth. The Apostle's fatherhood ignited and encouraged believers at Colosse with faithful (without flatter) words regarding their positioned growth combined with protective admonishment towards capture. He (the Apostle Paul) warned the believers to remain watchful for the other choices (the things without divine functioning) to deprive them of their choice (the things with divine functioning) due to spoil's (the things without divine functioning) antagonism, dislike, and contradiction (repugnance) towards their divine functioning.
What doe the above expository teach? Beware of spoil that attempts to deprive you of your growing-God purposed functioning relationship with Christ. Remain secure and strong in the Lord (Christ Jesus) and apply non-acceptance to just anything said or done. ECP Family, it's one of those circumstances whereby you have to say "No disrespect but I've come too far".
"As ye therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him: Rooted and built up in him, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after traditions of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ". Colossians 2:6-8
"Since we heard that your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints, For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof we heard before in the word of truth of the gospel: Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day you heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth" Colossians 1:4-6
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