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 1 
 on: October 22, 2025, 08:13:19 AM 
Started by Soldier4Christ - Last post by Soldier4Christ
Filling the Earth

“And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth” (Genesis 9:1).

This was the first command God gave to mankind in the new world after the Flood. Actually, it simply renewed the first command given to Adam and Eve in the primeval world. “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth” (Genesis 1:28). The Old English word “replenish” means simply “fill,” and the same is true of the Hebrew word (mala) from which it is translated. In fact, of its 220 occurrences, the King James translators rendered it “replenish” only seven times. Almost always they translated it as “fill,” or the equivalent.

Thus, God’s first command to men and women was to multiply until the earth was filled. Despite our latter-day concerns about exploding populations, this goal is far from accomplishment today. “Filling,” of course, would imply filling only to the optimum capacity for productive human stewardship of the earth under God.

The pre-Flood earth was filled in only 1,656 years, but it was “filled with violence through them,” and God finally had to “destroy them with the earth” (Genesis 6:13).

In spite of man’s failures, the Lord has given a gracious promise: “And the LORD said,...as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD” (Numbers 14:20-21). This will not be man’s doing, however. When Christ returns in power and great glory as the destroying Stone, then “the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth” (Daniel 2:35). The new earth will finally be filled with an innumerable multitude of the redeemed (Revelation 7:9), and “the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea” (Habakkuk 2:14). HMM

 2 
 on: October 21, 2025, 08:03:42 AM 
Started by Soldier4Christ - Last post by Soldier4Christ
Treasures of Wisdom and Knowledge

“In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” (Colossians 2:3)

Paul had just promised Christians that they would be endowed with the “riches of the full assurance of understanding” that would enable them to possess an acknowledgment of the triune Godhead. The ability to understand and the profound awareness of the Trinity is possible because all “the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” are in Christ—who is in us!

In Colossians 1:9, Paul prays that they “might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding,” a sufficient awareness of information that will enable them to have “understanding in all things” (2 Timothy 2:7). Jesus explained to His apostles that His parables were devices to reveal to them “the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand” (Luke 8:10).

This wisdom and knowledge is the “treasure” of the Lord Jesus, not of the world (1 Corinthians 1:17-31), nor is it contained in the intellect of the “natural” man (1 Corinthians 2:6-16). The understanding and acknowledgment that comes through the world’s philosophy out of the reasoning of the unsaved mind is “earthly, sensual, devilish” (James 3:15).

Thankfully, “the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy” (James 3:17). God’s work is “very good.” When the creation of our new man is executed (Ephesians 4:24), we are given the “mind of Christ”—not His omniscience but the kind of mind that can now understand spiritual matters (1 Corinthians 2:16). Truly, we have been made friends with God. Jesus said, “For all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you” (John 15:15). HMM III

 3 
 on: October 20, 2025, 08:31:30 AM 
Started by Soldier4Christ - Last post by Soldier4Christ
Full Assurance of Understanding

“That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ.” (Colossians 2:2)

There are two key aspects to this message. Our hearts need encouragement by “being knit together.” The result will produce a “full assurance of understanding” and an acknowledgment of the mystery of the triune Godhead.

The comforted hearts are to be “knit together.” The Greek term sumbibazo means “to force together, to compact.” Paul uses this term to illustrate the impossibility of teaching God anything. “For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?” (1 Corinthians 2:16). Positively, the strength of the church body comes from being “joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth” (Ephesians 4:16). Those “joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God” (Colossians 2:19).

The result of the encouragement is wonderful: we should attain to the riches of “full assurance.” The Greek term plerophorias is only used four times: promising understanding in our text, a full assurance of the gospel (1 Thessalonians 1:5) and of hope (Hebrews 6:11), and the full assurance of faith (Hebrews 10:22).

The Greek synonym plerophoreo identifies “sure belief” among us (Luke 1:1), being “fully persuaded” of God’s promises (Romans 4:21). We should be “fully persuaded” in our own mind (Romans 14:5) while making “full proof” of our ministry (2 Timothy 4:5). All of this makes our testimony “fully known” in the world (2 Timothy 4:17). Perhaps the goal of “full assurance” is that we “may speak boldly, as [we] ought to speak” (Ephesians 6:20). HMM III

 4 
 on: October 19, 2025, 09:23:28 AM 
Started by Soldier4Christ - Last post by Soldier4Christ
Christ in You

“To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27)

The New Covenant includes a mystery Paul had the privilege of revealing to the Gentiles (Colossians 1:24-29). The history and prophecies of the Old Covenant contained a few hints of God’s plan for the last days, but the focus was centered on the “fulness of time” when the Messiah would come (Galatians 4:4).

Paul seemed thrilled to “preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ” (Ephesians 3:8) and to have the responsibility of unveiling “the grace of God which is given me to you-ward” (Ephesians 3:2). More than the obligation, Paul felt a dread judgment if he failed (1 Corinthians 9:16). It follows that we should be clear in our own declaration of this mystery.

Simply put, the mystery is “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Obviously, that is the result of salvation. The new message is the completed work and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. The promises of the prophets and the long history of Israel tend to obscure the eternal plan of God (Ephesians 3:11)—thus the detailed effort of the New Testament writers to amplify the “whosoever will” aspect of the gospel message.

“Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven” (1 Peter 1:10-12).

Now it is possible for the whole world to have a personal and eternal relationship with Jesus Christ. HMM III

 5 
 on: October 18, 2025, 08:17:12 AM 
Started by Soldier4Christ - Last post by Soldier4Christ
The Wisdom Mine

“Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding?” (Job 28:20)

In one of his monologues, Job compares his search for spiritual understanding to human explorations for metals and precious stones. “There is a vein for the silver,” he said, “and a place for gold....Iron is taken out of the earth, and brass is molten out of the stone” (vv. 1-2).

These all are easier to find than true wisdom. “It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire. The gold and the crystal cannot equal it: and the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold. No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls: for the price of wisdom is above rubies. The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold” (vv. 16-19).

Neither have animals discovered it: “nor the fierce lion passed by it...it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air” (vv. 8, 21). “The depth saith, It is not in me: and the sea saith, It is not with me” (v. 14).

“But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding?” (v. 12). Job is driven to ask where one must go to find and mine the vein of true wisdom.

It is certainly “not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought” (1 Corinthians 2:6). The mine of evolutionary humanism that dominates modern education and scholarship will yield only the fool’s gold of “science falsely so called” (1 Timothy 6:20).

Job found true wisdom only through God, and so must we, for only “God understandeth the way thereof...unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the LORD, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding” (Job 28:23, 28). The Lord Jesus Christ is the ever-productive mine “in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3). HMM

 6 
 on: October 17, 2025, 09:49:59 AM 
Started by Soldier4Christ - Last post by Soldier4Christ
Watchful Sobriety

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)

Several words are used in Scripture to imply spiritual watchfulness, and each has a slightly different meaning. Only as we compare and combine these words do we get the full force of the Scripture exhortations to watchfulness.

One such word is the Greek word agrupneo, translated “watch.” In Mark 13:33 we read, “Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.” The word literally means to be sleepless and comes from two Greek words meaning “to chase” and “sleep.” It implies a purposeful and active state of awareness.

The term more commonly used is gregoreo. It is a stronger word meaning to arouse oneself and shake off lethargy, implying activity on the part of one who is fully awake. “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith” (1 Corinthians 16:13), and “continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving” (Colossians 4:2). “Watch ye, therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh” (Mark 13:35).

A third word is nepho, which literally means to abstain from drink that would produce stupor, as well as sleep, and therefore conveys the additional idea of sobriety. By combining the teaching of these three words, we are instructed not only to keep awake but to keep active and to avoid the intoxication of this world’s seductive pleasures.

In our text, we see that we are not only to be sober (nepho) and vigilant (gregoreo), but we also see the reason why. Our “adversary the devil” is a vicious opponent. He stalks us both day and night with brutal cunning. We dare not underestimate him by figuratively closing our eyes in sleep or dulling our senses with intoxicants. “Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober” (1 Peter 1:13). JDM

 7 
 on: October 16, 2025, 08:43:17 AM 
Started by Soldier4Christ - Last post by Soldier4Christ
Confidence in the God of Truth

“My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips. Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David.” (Psalm 89:34-35)

In Greek, Roman, and more modern false religions, lying and deception are common behaviors among their gods. Not so with the Lord of the Bible! And we are glad of that. What confidence can be built on an unstable foundation? As Proverbs instructs us, “Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint” (25:19).

Our God is not untrustworthy, prone to deception and wavering, but the God of truth. “God is not a man, that he should lie” (Numbers 23:19). God’s truthfulness is unchangeable: “It was impossible for God to lie” (Hebrews 6:18). If we don’t have confidence in God to reliably relay to us the truth, how likely are we to step out in faith in times of doubt? We must fall back on the assurance that the God of the Bible is the God of truth, and we know we can rely on Him “to keep you from falling” (Jude 1:24-25).

God also expects that same truthfulness from those made “in his own image” (Genesis 1:27) who aspire to be His holy children (1 Peter 1:15-16). So we should strive to be of the same mind as God when it comes to the truth. “Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour” (Ephesians 4:25).

Our God sets the standard and example of consistent truth-loving and truth-telling for us to follow. This may seem like a tall mountain to climb, but we should not lose heart. God is for us! He is willing and able to help us, for “God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts” (Galatians 4:6). DWR

 8 
 on: October 15, 2025, 09:20:08 AM 
Started by Soldier4Christ - Last post by Soldier4Christ
Hardened or Sprinkled Heart?

“Blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.” (Romans 11:25)

In Romans 11, Paul explains a marvelous outcome from Israel’s unbelief: many Gentiles would hear the gospel and be saved. The word “blindness” has caught readers’ attention. What does it mean and how does this blindness happen?

The King James Version translates the Greek word porosis as “blindness” or “hardness.” It means to grow calloused through stubbornness. The most famous biblical example is surely the pharaoh of Exodus. “When Pharaoh saw that there was respite [from the plague of frogs], he hardened his heart” (Exodus 8:15). He hardened his own heart when he refused to submit to God. Then he did it again! “And Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time [after the plague of flies] also” (Exodus 8:32). It is after the fifth and sixth plagues that Scripture says, “The LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had spoken unto Moses [in Exodus 7:3]” (Exodus 9:12).

This historical king provides an example of how one becomes blind to truth, which Romans 1 outlines. At first, “when they knew God, they glorified him not as God” (Romans 1:21). Next, “wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts” (Romans 1:24). In the same way, God gave pharaoh and the pharisees of Jesus’ day up to the hardening of their own hearts. “Because of unbelief they were broken off” (Romans 11:20).

And yet Jesus stands ready to soften the heart, bring spiritual sight to the blind, and rebuild the seared conscience of any who “will hear his voice” and “harden not your hearts” (Hebrews 4:7). Therefore “let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience” (Hebrews 10:22). BDT

 9 
 on: October 14, 2025, 08:25:33 AM 
Started by Soldier4Christ - Last post by Soldier4Christ
Head of the Church
“And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.” (Colossians 1:18)

The “head” is both “chief” and “source.” When the Lord Jesus had accomplished the work of reconciliation on Earth, God the Father “put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all” (Ephesians 1:22-23).

The church, of course, is the assembly of the Redeemer, constituted and commissioned to do “the work of the ministry,” operating on Earth under delegated leaders (Ephesians 4:11-12). Even though the human focus is the making of disciples (Matthew 28:19-20), there is a constant gallery of “principalities and powers in heavenly places” who need the display of “the manifold wisdom of God” that is only made “known by the church” (Ephesians 3:10).

Although there is a sense in which all of God’s twice-born are spiritually part of a “body” that is “knit together” by the Holy Spirit (Colossians 2:19), our participation is realized in the localized assemblies throughout the earth. One day the entire church will be completely assembled in heaven, a “general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven” (Hebrews 12:23).

Therefore, the Head of the Church is preeminent and has all fullness, being the firstborn from the dead. He is “far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come” (Ephesians 1:21). The mission of the Church, commissioned over two millennia ago, embraces an ageless goal. Ultimately, He will “present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing” (Ephesians 5:27). HMM III

 10 
 on: October 13, 2025, 08:51:13 AM 
Started by Soldier4Christ - Last post by Soldier4Christ
Creator of All Things

“For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him.” (Colossians 1:16)

The phrase “all things” is used throughout these verses to emphasize that everything has been brought into existence by the “dear Son” (Colossians 1:13, 16-20).

    All things were created through Him and for Him.
    All things consist (stand together) in Him.
    All things will give preeminence to Him.
    All things reside in His fullness.
    All things will be reconciled to Him.

The list of created things in verse 16 is exhaustive: heaven, Earth, visible and invisible things, and the rulers in and of the universe—thrones, dominions, principalities, powers. Jesus Christ is “far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come” (Ephesians 1:21).

The Creator existed before all things and now “approves” all things. Solomon understood this as he spoke of wisdom: “The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was” (Proverbs 8:22-23), just as He chose us “before the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4).

When the Lord Jesus revealed Himself to John, He said, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty” (Revelation 1:8). These grand sweeps of eternity are anchors for our faith. But we must not lose sight that “the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word [the word of the Creator] are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men” (2 Peter 3:7). HMM III

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