Unpacking Colossians 1

[Updated: Mar 9, 2022]

As I journaled this morning and had asked what Heaven wanted me to share to the Platinum and Gold members, I heard, “Unpack Colossians 1 for the folks. Use the Passion Translation. It has riches that need to be explored. Simply teach from it. Call their spirit forward and teach from your spirit to their spirit. Teaching typically comes from the soul to the soul whereas revelation is spirit to spirit, however teaching can also come from the spirit and go to the soul or spirit depending on the recipient.

Understanding that as the riches of your inheritance unfold it will impact your faith for your faith, although it is of the spirit, is impacted many times by the experiences of your soul. If you have seen the provision of the Father manifested in your life many times your spirit and soul have little trouble believing for future provision from the Father. It simply becomes an expectation much like that of a child toward their parents that they don’t have to worry about the utility bill or the mortgage or rent payment. It is simply taken care of in their behalf by the providers in their life. I, as your Father, am the provider in your life. As you become comfortable with that provision it becomes easier for you to exercise faith for the next thing needed. The more that occurs, the more comfortable your soul is with that arrangement. It needs to know that it has not a care in the world, that what is needed for its physical and emotional comfort has already been provided for by the Father—by Me.

An outflow of the revelation of the riches of the Father brings peace—to your spirit and to your soul0 (v. 3). Paul starts out stating his position—an apostle called by God with a destined purpose. He was not in his personal employ but rather was employed by Me. Therefore, he had a natural expectation of provision in order to fulfill the purpose and calling.

Paul commends them in verse 3 for their faithfulness to Jesus and love to the believers in Jesus whether Jew or Gentile. These qualities qualified them for verse 5 when Paul describes that their faith and love rise within as they access all the treasures of their inheritance which are stored up in the Heavenly realm. Those treasures are the things needed for the fulfilment of their calling and purpose. Nothing you need has not already been provided for as you have connected your lives to the purpose of the Father. Nothing!

Paul points out that the revelation of the true gospel which is that you have a purpose in the overall plan of God and provision has already been made for you to be able to fulfill that purpose. Nothing is lacking! It was true on the day you first believed—it is true now!

Paul says this wonderful message is spreading abroad and is powerfully changing hearts and minds throughout the earth. This truly is good news. Religion has tried to put qualifiers and limits on the gospel, but it does not change the gospel.

He points out that as believers walk this understanding out in their daily life they naturally bear fruit as a result of them walking out the grace of God in and for their lives. As long as they are planted in the truth of the gospel, they bear fruit. They don’t have to try to bear fruit. They don’t have to confess that they are bearing fruit, they don’t have to be sure to read 5 chapters a day in their Bible to bear fruit, they simply bear fruit. It is not hard. It is a natural outflow of connectedness.

Ephaphras, the founder of the Colossian ecclesia was a faithful servant of the Father and had done well in unfolding the revelation of the good news—the good news that you did not have to strive any more to please the Father. You simply need to be in relationship with the Father. After a Jewish system of laws, rules, commands, etc. the freedom of the gospel was good news to the formerly Jewish believers. To the pagans it was good news to find what they had been searching for all their lives.

The Gospel of Embrace

A natural outflow of the empowerment of the spirit will be demonstrations of the love of the Father. The message of the gospel is not one of judgment but of embrace by the Father of His creation. It is a gospel of embrace.

You have been embraced by the Father, and He has embraced you. He has unfolded to you His purpose for your life on the earth and made provision for every step of it to unfold in your lives. Where you experience challenges in your walk ask, “Where am I not embracing the Father?” “Where am I not experiencing His embrace?” With the embrace of the Father comes healing for the spirit, soul, and body.

No aspect of your being is excluded from the benefits of the embrace of the Father.

Look at Paul’s prayer for them (v. 9). He prayed that they would receive the perfect knowledge of God’s pleasure over them—not his anger toward them for He is not angry toward them. With that knowledge you become reservoirs of wisdom of all kinds, and of spiritual understanding—understandings coming forth from your spirit, not you soul.

He prayed that they would walk in the ways of true righteousness—not a pseudo-righteousness that religion strives to bring forth. As you walk in His righteousness you will be pleasing God in everything you do. You will be fruit bearing branches simply saying yes to his direction, yielding to living from the spirit, not the soul. This will bring about a more rapid maturing as you walk in the knowledge of the Father you now have.

Paul further prayed that they would be energized with God’s explosive power from the realms of Glory thus filling them with hope.

How does this happen? By embracing that the Father made you worthy to receive the glorious inheritance free of charge simply by living in the light—living out what Isaiah 61 said—be light.

You have been rescued from the tyranny of the realm of darkness and translated into the Kingdom realm where all your sins are cancelled and redemption is released into your life.”

This portion was from Colossians 1:1-14.