It’s an honour to share this word with you and I pray you will be encouraged.
Don’t Lose Sight of Who You Are
Colossians 3:12
“Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; (KJV Bible)
This verse speaks of the “elect of God.” Who are these people? Well, it’s you and me.
The word “elect” reveals what God thinks of us. It is the Greek word eklektos. This word is a compound of two words; ek and lego. The word ek means out, and the word lego means I say. When compounded the new word literally means, “Out, I Say!” (See Strongs Concordance Ref. 1588)
God loved us so much that He called us out from a lost eternity and started us on a path to come to Christ.
The word eklektos can be translated elected or selected. This indicates that those who have come to Christ, were elected to be an heir of salvation – personally chosen by God. (What an honour. Hallelujah)
The verse goes on to refer to the “elect” as “holy and beloved”.
The word “holy” is the Greek word hagios. In ancient times (Old Testament times) the word described awe, respect and reverence for a holy place or holy shrine; a place separated and set apart from other places. The word eventually came to refer to something that was separated from the rest of the world; sanctified, consecrated or holy. The use of this word (its Greek equivalent) in the New Testament tells us that once we came to Christ, the blood of Jesus separated us, consecrated us, and made us holy. Psalm 103:12 tells us “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.” (KJV Bible)
Holy (hagios) means God respects us as a holy dwelling place for His Spirit. God sees us (the elect) as different from others. So special that we are in a different, separated category from the rest of the world. God looked ahead into eternity and elected you, elected me, chose you, chose me.
The Devil will and does use everything he can to try and fool the elect into thinking they are far below what God has made them to be. The Bible teaches us to resist the Devil and he will flee. James 4:7-8 “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.” (KJV Bible)
And in finalising I would like to leave you with the words of the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 4:20-32;
“Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God - truly righteous and holy. So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbours the truth, for we are all parts of the same body. And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil. If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need. Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behaviour. Instead, be kind to each other, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. (New Living Translation)
God bless your comings in and your goings out.
André