When your mind is all over the place - pray in tongues!

When your mind is all over the place - pray in tongues!

There are some who say that praying in tongues is not for today, or is even dangerous. I disagree, in fact I would say praying in tongues is something we should do more of these days. I will say a little about the “dangers” later, but want to focus on the practical.

There are two types of praying in tongues in the Bible. First, there is the instance we see in Acts 2, where the disciples prayed in various natural languages, but ones that they did not know. The Spirit enabled them to speak in a foreign language, and people who understood that language understood what they were saying and were amazed (Acts 2:5-12). That does still happen sometimes today, it happened to a friend I knew at university, but this is not what I want to talk about.

The second type, and the type that is most relevant on a day-to-day basis is talked about in 1 Corinthians 14. So what can we learn and how can we put this into practice? It is a gift from God, it is a language that we do not know, and may not be a human language. The most important point is 1 Cor 14:14

For if I pray in a tongue , my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful.

We find this gift hard to come to terms with because it makes no sense to us, but that is the point! There are times when I don’t know what to pray, or my mind is all over the place. In those times it is good to pray in tongues, to pray in the Spirit. My mind might be shot to pieces, but I can still pray in the spirit.  And this will edify me! That is the point (1 Cor 14:4). Now if you know me at all, you will know that I greatly value the mind. I love to take an intellectual/analytical approach to things, but I do not make an idol out of that, and there are times when I know my mind is not being helpful or functioning effectively. So, along with Paul, “I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding” (1 Cor 14:15)

Appreciating that 14:14 is crucial is important. I cannot pray in English in my mind, but I cannot pray in tongues in my mind. I have to move my tongue! I can do it quietly, but it I cannot pray in tongues with my mind.  I also find that after praying in tongues I will then pray in English, but in a more sensible, faithful way than I was doing beforehand.

In short, praying in tongues is a very useful gift and one we should make use of.

Now, let’s finish by looking briefly at some objections. First, a key point that Paul is making in 1 Cor 14 is that praying in tongues in a public meeting, unless there is the gift of interpretation, really is a waste of time and a rather silly thing to do. This is something that we sometimes do in charismatic churches, and I have never understood why. Praying in tongues edifies the individual, but it is not “magic”.

Those who are wary about tongues, or think it was only for the early church, may worry about its misuse, but there is really no need to. We might worry that we are praying rubbish. Well, sometime we might be! But we have all prayed a reasonable amount of rubbish in English! But here is the really important point. I have said I believe praying in tongues helps me. How am I to judge myself? How should you judge me? There are two ways. The first is the quality of my life. How well does my life match up to Biblical standards? The second is this. Teaching and preaching is one of the main things I do, and the question to ask is. How well does my teaching and preaching align with the Bible? How well does it help other people know and understand the Bible?  These are objective standards. Sometimes people worry about things that they don’t need to worry about. 

So in these strange days and times, spend more time doing that strange thing, praying in tongues.

Jeremiah 2:28-30 - Why do you bring charges against me?

2:28

God now mocks the people. They had worshipped these useless idols thinking they would help them, so God asks them where their idols are now? What help are they giving? The answer, of course, is none at all. And it wasn't as if they had only one useless god, they had dozens of the things. But a hundred useless gods are no better than one useless god. The converse is that if we do trust in the Lord He will answer when we call, He does deliver us from trouble. 

2:29,30

Then we get the “why do you bring charges against me?” People are all too ready to blame God, yet will not blame the false gods they call upon. This makes no sense at all.

God had punished the people with the hope that they would respond to correction, but to no avail. And the sword had devoured the true prophets. Judah was ripe for judgement.

Colossians 2:5,6 - How firm your faith in Christ is

2:5

Paul knew that fundamentally the Colossians were doing fine, their faith was in Christ, and firmly so, but even when people are doing well they still need encouragement. We are all weak and can be swayed in the wrong direction. They were surrounded by all these competing voices. So Paul assures them that though he is not physically present with them, he is present with them in spirit. Sometimes we need encouraging that we are going in the right direction.

2:6

In Galatians Paul is shocked that though they started off with Christ they were now in danger of going down a legalistic/fleshly route. Things had not reached that stage in Colossae, but Paul exhorts them to continue in Christ, just as they received Christ. Notice that the command is to “continue to live your lives in Him”. It is not about some “commitment” or “profession of faith”, but about living our lives in Him. It is an active faith that counts.

Jeremiah 2:21-27 - I had planted you like a choice vine

2:21,22

They had been planted like a “choice vine”. They could have been good, if only the heart of man was not deceitful and corrupt. But they did turn against God and in rejecting God they became a corrupt wild vine. Denying God has dire consequences. They tried to do something about the sins, but to no avail. Our society tries to solve the problems that sin inevitably brings, but to no avail. Most of all our guilt lies before the Lord.

2:23,24

“How can you say ‘I am not defiled’?” We are often blind to our defilement, vehemently denying it. They quite clearly had run after the Baals (false gods). And God is not afraid to use very clear and graphic language to describe Judah’s running after idols. She is like a camel on heat! Not a pretty picture. When we chase after idols it demeans us.

2:25-27

Israel was desperate to chase after these idols. Sin gets a hold of us and makes us utterly irrational. “As a thief is disgraced ..” Sin, rebellion, trusting false gods, all these things demean us. “So the house of Israel is disgraced”. The whole nation was disgraced, all their various leaders.

The extent of their disgrace is shown up by their saying to wood “you are my father” and to the stone “you gave me birth”. Idols were generally made of wood or stone. How stupid of them! Especially when they could call on the living God! Yet in difficult times we can all find it so hard to trust God. We need to remind ourselves who God is.

Colossians 2:3,4 - In whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge

2:3

“In whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge ”. There were many sources claiming to have knowledge and wisdom. Paul has been stressing that Christ is all we need. Now this does not mean we ignore the world. It is clear that Paul knew a lot about the prevailing thinking of the day, but in Christ we have everything we need. Christ is not one religious figure among many, not one philosopher among many. He is the Lord, He is the Son of God. Moreover, Jesus said “I am the truth, the way and the life “(John 14:6). The truth is not merely a set of ideas, it is embodied in the person of Jesus Christ.

2:4

Paul now states his purpose in going on about all this stuff: so that no one will deceive them with fine sounding ideas. The Greek culture was very much into ideas. Today many atheists and sceptics may promote what, superficially, seem like interesting or plausible ideas. In truth, a little thought and probing will expose most of these ideas to be nothing but hot air. We need to be awake to the truth. Awake not woke!

Jeremiah 2:18-20 - You said, "I will not serve you!"

2:18,19

The Nile and the Euphrates were the rivers that defined Egypt and Assyria, just as the Thames and the Seine define London and Paris. Instead of going to God for help, Judah had gone to Egypt and Assyria for help. So Judah was suffering greatly. She needed to learn from this, to realise that abandoning the Lord was not a good idea! We need to have awe for God. It isn’t just a matter of abandoning the Lord, but forgetting His greatness. Our God created all things, so we can safely trust in Him.

2:20

The rebellion of Israel and Judah was not a slip-up, not a simple mistake. It was a deliberate and wilful act. Our rebellion against God was deliberate and wilful. They purposefully broke off their bonds to the Lord, just as we see our society doing likewise. Having rejected God, they prostituted themselves to idols. High hills and spreading trees were associated with idol worship. 

Colossians 2:1,2 - Encouraged in heart, united in love

2:1

Paul often recounts incidents that happened in his life. Galatians, 2 Corinthians, 1 Thessalonians are examples. There are some who think that preaching should be just Bible exposition, this is not a Biblical pattern! Of course, “preaching” that is purely stories is sadly lacking, but God uses our personal experiences as well as theological explanation to communicate the truth. Sometimes Paul recounts events in order to defend himself, Galatians and 2 Corinthians are examples of this. At other times it is to build up the relationship with the people, to establish heart connection. Here and 1 Thessalonians are examples of this. Paul wanted them to know that he struggled on their behalf.

2:2

Here Paul states that the explicit purpose of these struggles was encourage them, to strengthen their hearts. And this was so that they may be united in love in order to reach the full riches of the gospel. Note that it was not so that the Colossians would think what a great man Paul was. Rather it was to build up the relationship that the Colossians had with each other, and that this would help them “reach full assurance of understanding and knowledge of God’s mystery, which is in Christ”. We gain understanding not just through study, but through study and experience. The use of words like knowledge and mystery may be Paul countering the many false ideas that were swirling around in the culture of the day.

Jeremiah 2:14-17 - Have you not brought this upon yourselves?

2:14-16

“Is Israel a servant, a slave by birth?” This is a rhetorical question, expecting the answer no. Israel’s heritage was not to be a slave. Likewise with us, we were called to freedom (Gal 5:1). Yet Israel was oppressed. The lions that roared were nations that attacked Israel, previously it was Assyria, soon it would be Babylon. The land was laid waste and desolate.  “Cracked your skull” can equally be translated “shaved your head”. Either case implies a serious blow to the nation. None of this was meant to happen!

2:17

Why was all this happening? Because they had brought in on themselves! We are all keen to blame God, “why have you let this happen to me?” “why is there so much suffering in the world?”. The answer is often it is not God’s fault, it is our fault. Judah had forsaken God. They had stopped trusting Him and stopped obeying Him. The Lord had led them, He had led them out of slavery and into the promised land. He had provided for them and had defended them. Israel’s response was to stop following Him!

Colossians 1:28,29 - Warning and teaching everyone

1:28

So we proclaim Christ, “warning everyone ..”. Do you notice this? Warning people is a fundamental part of gospel proclamation. “Teaching everyone with all wisdom”. People need to be taught. They need to be taught with regard to their lack of understanding, and their false ideas. They also need to be taught how to live. All this teaching is done with “all wisdom”. The aim of this is to present people as mature in Christ. We are to teach with authority.

1:29

Paul dedicated himself wholeheartedly to this task. And he did so with all of Christ’s energy that He powerfully worked within Paul. We receive divine power that enables us to work hard for the gospel. The gospel is not about a human set of ideas or a human programme. It is about a divine mission instilled and empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Some Biblical Perspectives on the CoronaVirus

It seems that the majority of “Biblical” perspectives on the current situation have a presupposition that God has nothing to do with the impact of the virus, and that it is an enemy of God, a battle that God is somehow having to battle with. Over the past year or so I have been working through the book of Isaiah, and have recently started on Jeremiah. In those books you get a very different perspective. In the time of Isaiah Assyria was the big problem, in Jeremiah’s time it was Babylon. Assyria and then Babylon were the dominant nation, a nation that sought to conquer, and would conquer many nations, including Israel.

So if you were in Judah at the time of either Isaiah or Jeremiah and someone asked you what the biggest problem facing the land was, you would have immediately said Assyria or Babylon. However, God, through the prophets, gave a very different answer. Judah’s biggest problem was her rebellion against God. That was the number one issue she needed to address, it was far more important than Assyria or Babylon.

One verse I read this morning was Jeremiah 5:22 (NIV)

Should you not fear me?” declares the Lord.

    “Should you not tremble in my presence?

I made the sand a boundary for the sea,

    an everlasting barrier it cannot cross.

The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail;

    they may roar, but they cannot cross it.

The people were fearing Babylon, they should have been fearing the Lord. Then look at the next bit. I live by the sea and go on many walks by the shore. We just take it for granted that the sand acts as a boundary to the sea. The sea can sometimes be so calm, at other times it is in a violent rage, but there is a boundary. Assyria and Babylon were powerful nations, but they were under God’s control, what they could do was limited by God. Now at one level that is scant comfort! Assyria was allowed to overrun much of the country, they even got to the very walls of Jerusalem, but then they were stopped. Babylon was allowed to destroy the nation, to conquer Jerusalem, to destroy the temple. Many people were carried off into exile in Babylon. But Babylon was limited, it did not last forever, but was defeated, and then the Israelites were allowed to return. Why did God allow Assyria to get to the walls of Jerusalem? Why did God allow Babylon to vanquish Judah? In fact allow is far too weak a word, God used Assyria, He used Babylon. Why did He do that? Because God’s priority was (and is) that His people return to Him, that they end their rebellion against Him, that they live in obedience to Him, and put their trust in Him instead of idols or other nations.

So what does all this say to us in our present crisis? Is the corona virus just something that has happened, or has God sent it for a purpose? Oh, I know that last thought will shock some of you. What should we fear most, this virus and all the associated effects, or should we fear the Lord? What does this nation need most? Is it for us to find a cure of a vaccine for the virus, or is it for us to repent?

What are you praying for most? Is it for the scientists to find a cure for the virus, or is it that this nation (and not just this nation) will look at its life in the light of God’s word and end its rebellion? What do you think this nation needs most? Is it a cure, or is it repentance?

Jeremiah 2:12,13 - They have forsaken me

2:12

“Be appalled at this you heavens, and shudder with great horror”. The actions of God’s people has a cosmic effect, a global effect. If we are unfaithful to God then we suffer and the whole world suffers. As Peter says, judgement begins with the house of God (1 Peter 4:17). The good news is that if we repent then this will bring blessing to all. Just as when Israel finally repents and recognises who Jesus is how great the outpouring will be (Rom 11:12).

2:13

“My people have committed two sins”. First, they had abandoned God. Secondly, they have sought to “build their own cisterns”, to work out life for themselves, to depend upon themselves. Both these things were foolish things to do. God is a perfect provider. More than that, much more than that, He is the spring of living water. He gives us true life, making our lives truly valuable and worthwhile. Our own methods simply don’t work. Just look at how governments seek to tackle problems. It is one problem after another, and nothing seems to work.

Colossians 1:26,27 - Christ in you, the hope of glory

1:26

The gnostic type and pagan religions talked about “mystery”. In pagan religions it referred to secret knowledge that was only available to special elite. Paul completely transforms this concept. Now the mystery is made known, and it is made known to all of God’s people. It was hidden, but is hidden no longer. We must be very wary of any group or teaching that claims to have hidden knowledge. The mystery was hidden, ie for a long time no one had a clue how God’s plans could possibly be fulfilled. But now they mystery has been made known, and God’s purpose is that it is made known. In particular, it is made known to His saints, ie to those who are set apart for God. This group is not restrictive, for it includes all who believe.

1:27

“To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches ...”. There are two important points from this. The first is that the glory is as great for the Gentiles and for the Jews. In Christ there is neither Jew nor Gentile. The second is that any culture has its beliefs, but the glory of the gospel is infinitely greater than any of them. What is this glory? It is Christ in us, the hope of glory. Everything is centred on Christ. But what about the hope of glory? The root meaning of glory is to do with weight in the sense of significance. 

Jeremiah 2:9-11 - Has a nation ever changed its gods?

2:9

“Therefore I bring charges ...” God brings charges against Israel, and He says He will do this for their children’s children. Israel is guilty and will have to deal with God the judge. And so will later generations. Why this last bit? It could be that God knew there would be many generations in Israel who would continue to rebel against God, or maybe it is an allusion to Ex 19:5,6.

2:10,11

God tells His people to look at other nations. They all worshipped idols, idols which were nothing at all and utterly useless, yet the people’s stuck to one god, to one idol (or set of idols). They were faithful to their idols, yet Israel and Judah were not faithful to their God. And their God was the one true God who acted on their behalf. They had exchanged their glorious God for worthless idols. Sadly we all too often do that. We can see it in the sin-affirming parts of the church, exchanging God’s wisdom for the foolish and harmful wisdom of the world. But we can all do this whenever we seek security in something other than God. 

Colossians 1:24,25 - I rejoice in my sufferings

1:24

In my comments on the last verse I noted the importance of reading things in context, this even more important if we are to understand this verse. The so called “difficulty” is “I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions” and people are so worried that Paul is in some way saying that Christ’s death on the cross was not sufficient. The commentaries get hung up on this as well. Let me say quite bluntly “you are complete idiots”. Paul is definitely not saying there is anything lacking in Christ’s sacrifice, that would make rather a nonsense of everything else he wrote, including the rest of Colossians. Paul was not writing an academic treatise, and he wrote with passion. There were some teachings denigrated physical suffering, saw it as a sign of weakness and disfavour with God, perhaps a little like some “prosperity gospel” or “word of faith” types do. We need to imagine the emotion behind Paul's writing. He knows that the gospel is built on suffering, namely Christ's suffering, and that we are called to share in His sufferings. So he is writing more in a polemical manner. What he is saying is that rather than denigrate suffering, he rejoices in it, and suffering is a fundamental part of the Christian life, and the spread of the gospel. Paul was “proud” of his sufferings! And the church grows and prospers (in a Godly sense) only when the people of God are prepared to pay a price. Suffering is fundamental to the gospel in many, many ways.

1:25

Paul is the servant of the church. These days we tend to use the word “leader” and talk a lot about leadership, but the Bible is actually more interested in servanthood. Remember that the great passages in Isaiah are about the servant of the Lord (Isaiah 42:1-9; 49:1-13; 50:4-11; 52:13-53:12). Note also that Paul became a servant of the church, he did not choose to become its servant, but God chose Him. And God gave him this commission. This adds something further to the concept of being a servant of the church. A servant of the church is not there to do what the church wants but to do what God wants to be done for the church. There is a vital difference. And what God wants is for God’s word to be presented in all its fullness. Paul may have used the term “fullness” as a counter to gnostic type teaching.

Jeremiah 2:7,8 - I brought you into a fertile land

2:7

God didn’t just lead them through the wilderness, there was a goal in view, a destination. God led them to the Promised Land. This was a fertile place that produced much fruit. But Israel defiled the land. They did this with their injustice, bloodshed, corruption and idol worship. They made His inheritance a detestable place. One can see this on a greater scale with the whole of creation. Eden was a paradise, but man corrupted it. 

2:8

The priests did not ask “where is the Lord?” When we go through difficult situations it is natural to ask questions like “why is God letting this happen?” See that God is encouraging us to do this (as He does throughout the Bible), indeed, He rebukes the priests for not asking the question. Sometimes we think that faith is never questioning God, that is not a pattern we find in the Bible! Later on we will see that Jeremiah questions God, even criticises Him. God want us to question Him, but there was much worse going on in Judah. The Lawyers and judges did not know God, did not understand His ways (very true of our country today!). The leaders rebelled against God, and the prophets prophesied rubbish. This situation is all too familiar for us today.

Colossians 1:22,23 - In order to present you holy and blameless

1:22

We have been reconciled with God, and this was achieved by Christ’s physical death on the cross. Note the emphasis on the physical death. The pre-gnostics of the time thought the physical was evil. Today some might try and spiritualize everything. This was done in order to present us as holy and blameless in God’s sight. We are above reproach before God. Again, the gnostic type ideas would tell them their bodies were evil, beyond redemption. This is not true. We have been fully redeemed, body, mind and spirit.

1:23

The “once saved always saved” mantra is deeply unbiblical, at least if it is taken in the sense that once we have made a profession of faith it doesn't matter what we do with our lives. We are completely secure in our salvation, but we need to “continue in the faith”. Now we need to remember the context and the purpose for which Paul was writing. The Colossians lived in an atmosphere where there were many ideas and religions swirling around. His intention was that they needed to continue to lay hold of Christ and Christ alone. If they went off and followed one of these other ideas, or “added” it to the gospel then they would have no gospel at all. We must not be shifted from the hope of the gospel. This gospel has been proclaimed in all creation. The gospel is universal. It is not a gospel for some people, but others have a different gospel. There is only one gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ.

Jeremiah 2:4-6 - What fault did you find in me?

2:4,5

God now calls upon Israel to hear the word of the Lord. They had forgotten God’s ways and needed to learn them again, much as our society does. “What fault did your ancestors find in me?” God had set Israel free from slavery in Egypt, He had led them to the promised land. Yet they strayed so far from Him. Instead of following the living God who loves them, they chose to follow worthless idols. And so the nation became worthless. So it is with a society that rejects the ways of God, they will become worthless.

2:6

Judah was faced with many serious threats, but they reacted in the totally wrong way. They should have remembered the God who brought them out of Egypt. He had led them through the barren wilderness, through a terrible place where there were many dangers, and no one could reasonably expect to survive. This had happened many years ago, but they knew the history. They knew there was a God who could save them, but instead that had turned to worthless idols. Turning to God in times of troubles is a good thing to do. Of course, we should have a much deeper, a much more consistent relationship. But no matter what state we are in today, turning to God today is a good thing to do.

Colossians 1:20,21 - To reconcile all things to Himself

1:20

So far the focus has been on who God is, more specifically who Christ is. Now we come to our relationship with God, and we start from a very bad place, for we have sinned against God and are by nature objects of wrath. The good news is that God was pleased to reconcile us with Himself through Christ. Again, it is extremely presumptuous of anyone to suggest that we need to add something to this. And it wasn’t just us that was reconciled, it is all things. Now what does this mean? How is creation involved in this? Well creation does not function as intended because of our sin, but when we are reconciled through Christ, and we live in faith and obedience creation will start to function as it should. Christ is the person through whom all this is achieved, the means that it is achieved is by Christ’s blood shed on the cross.

1:21

Once we were enemies of God, once we were alienated from Him. We were hostile to God in our minds because of our evil behaviour. Man does not like being told that he is guilty, that he is wrong. So instead of trying to correct our behaviour we try and pretend that God does not exist. This was once true of us, and we see it in the lives of other people. We also need to remember that when atheists or other sceptics argue against God their prime motivation is not the truth, but to avoid having to admit their evil behaviour. Intellectual arguments are fine, but at the root is a spiritual problem.

Jeremiah 2:1-3 - Go and proclaim

2:1,2

“The word of the Lord came to me”, this echoes the words in 1:4. Now the focus is the actual prophesying to the nation. Jeremiah was to proclaim “in the hearing of Jerusalem”. In one sense v2 looks a bit fanciful, rather looking at events through rose tinted spectacles. For Israel went through the wilderness because of her disobedience, and they were not exactly a happy band of travellers, complaining there way across the desert. Yet despite, they did follow the Lord through the wilderness. There are times in the life when our following of Jesus is not exactly done with great joy and gladness, yet the key thing is that we continue to follow Him.

2:3

Despite Israel’s failings, they were still following God through the desert, and God defended her against any enemies who attacked her. This is relevant as now that Babylon was a great threat, Judah was turning to other nations for help. She should have learnt from her history.

Notice that it says about Israel that she was the “firstfruits” of God’s harvest. Israel was meant to be a model of what a godly people were like so that the rest of the world could follow.

Colossians 1:18,19 - He is the head of the church

1:18

Paul now talks about Christ’s supremacy in terms of the church. Christ is the head of the church. If ever anything is put as the prime purpose of the church other than following Christ, then we are going in the wrong direction. Christ is the firstborn of the resurrection of the dead. His resurrection was different than that of Lazarus. Lazarus came back as a mortal man, destined to die again. Jesus was raised with a resurrection body never to die again, and we too will rise immortal. Christ has supremacy in all things. 

1:19

One of the many trinitarian errors that go around is modalism, essentially seeing God as existing in three modes. The truth is that there is one God who eternally exists as three persons. The three persons are distinct, but are all equally God. Here we see that all the fulness of God dwells in Christ. He is not less than God, He has not got a “bit of Godness” in Him, He is fully God. In the Colossian context this means that there was no need whatsoever to look to anything else to make things complete. Everything that is needed is found in Christ, and God has said that is the way it is. So if God says all His fullness dwells in Christ, and someone then pipes up that they think we need to add something in order to get the full picture, then such a person is being extremely presumptuous.

Jeremiah 1:17-19 - Get yourself ready!

1:17

The Lord has very firm words for Jeremiah. Earlier He has told him that He created him in the womb, and that He would be with him. Now He instructs Jeremiah to get himself ready. God may anoint, appoint and equip us for various tasks, but we still have our part to play. Jeremiah has to stand up and say whatever God wants him to say. “Get yourself ready” is literally “tighten your belt around your waist”. He is warned not to be terrified by “them”, them being the various people he would speak to. Why should he not be terrified? Because if he was God would terrify him even more! Sometimes we talk a lot of rubbish about the fear of the Lord, often fear just means fear. If we think about it at all we are very foolish when we choose to be afraid of men rather than afraid of God!

1:18

But it is not just that fearing men rather than God is a foolish thing to do, God has strengthened Jeremiah, and He has strengthened us. God made Jeremiah like a fortified city and a bronze wall, able to stand against the whole nation. Now this did not mean Jeremiah was a superhero, it did not mean he would not face opposition and suffering, for we will later read that he did face these things. But God would enable him to stand up in the face of opposition. He would stand against “kings, officials, priests and the people”. Everyone was against him! But God is able to make us stand.

1:19

While God was promising protection, He was definitely not promising an easy life! “They will fight against you” There would be serious opposition, but they would not overcome Jeremiah. Why Because God would be with him and would rescue him. God takes direct action on our behalf.

Colossians 1:16,17 - All things were created through Him and for Him

1:16

These verse elaborates on the primacy of Christ. “In Him all things were created”, and this includes things in heaven and on earth, ie nothing is excluded. It includes the visible and the invisible. And it includes thrones, authorities, rulers. Absolutely everything was created through Him and for Him. Paul is going to great lengths to stress that there is nothing that is not subject to Jesus, that was not created by and for Him. 

1:17

“He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together”. The first part of the sentence essentially restates what has been said, There is nothing at all that is greater than Christ, and that He is not a created being. The second part states that Christ holds the whole universe together. There is no deism here, where God starts the show off and then leaves it to get on with it. Christ actively holds everything together. This does not mean the universe does not function according to the laws of physics (which were also created through Christ). The universe is not merely physical. There are two main wrong worldviews. In the West the wrong worldview is to see the universe, and you and me, in purely physical or material terms. The predominant wrong view at the time was gnostic type ideas which did believe in a spiritual dimension, but saw the material world as inherently evil. The Biblical worldview is that there is both a spiritual and material dimension, they were both created good, and in Christ are redeemed. In Christ the two work together in harmony.

Jeremiah 1:15,16 - I will pronounce my judgements upon my people

1:15

When looked at from a normal historical perspective it would look as though Babylon had decided to invade Judah, and this was the result of the normal way in which different nations rise and fall, but we read here that God says He will summon all the peoples of the northern kingdom. So from a God perspective this would happen as a result of His decree. So does this mean that Babylon had no part to play in this? Had no responsibility? Absolutely not. In the Bible we also find that God holds Babylon responsible for her actions. In our minds the sovereignty of God and human freewill (human responsibility as a far better term) seem to be incompatible, but from a Biblical point of view they are perfectly compatible, there is no conflict. The Babylonians would “set up their thrones” at the gates of Jerusalem. The gates were where judicial decisions were made. God’s plans for Judah did not look good!

1:16

Now we get why this would happen. God would pronounce His judgements on His people. Note that He has not disowned His people, but He is judging them for their disobedience, for their wickedness, and their forsaking the Lord, and worshiping idols instead. The babylonian invasion was not a random action, but one that would follow as a result of their persistent sin.

Colossians 1:15 - He is the image of the invisible God

1:15

We now come to a great hymn of praise to Christ, declaring in the most clear terms the divinity and greatness of Christ. If anyone has any doubt about the divinity of Christ, nor that the early church was convinced that Christ is God, then just read 1:15-20 and ask yourself if this could be said about anyone who was just a man. It is possible that this hymn existed before Paul wrote this letter and that he has adopted this hymn, possibly modifying it to emphasise the points that were most applicable to the Colossian situation. Alternatively it may have been entirely written by Paul. it really doesn’t matter which of these two scenarios is true, it is the truth expressed in the hymn that matter the most. The primary purpose of the hymn is to put the focus entirely on Christ, to avoid the Colossians being distracted by any other ideas.

“He is the image of the invisible God”. The Greek word of image, eikon, indicates that Christ is not a mere copy of God, but shares in the very nature of God. The invisible God is made known to all. Sceptics may say “show me God and I will believe”, well if they look at Christ they will see God.

“The firstborn over all creation”. Firstborn should not be taken in a temporal sense, as is done by all the false religions that reduce Christ to the greatest of all the created beings. Instead it refers to primacy of function and position. If we want to understand life, the universe and everything we need to start with Christ as Lord over all.

Jeremiah 1:11-14 - You have seen correctly

1:11,12

The Lord now starts preparing Jeremiah. First He helps to assure Jeremiah that he is seeing correctly. So God shows him an almond tree and asks Jeremiah what he sees. Jeremiah says the branch of an almond tree, and God assures him that he has seen correctly. When we think we have heard from God most of us question whether we have heard correctly or not, and Jeremiah would be given words that went against what every one else was saying. “Everyone else” would include the king, religious leaders, other “prophets” and the people themselves. Jeremiah needed assurance that he was hearing correctly. An almond tree was not a random vision. In Hebrew “watching” sounds like the Hebrew for “almond tree”. God assures Jeremiah that He will make sure that His word is fulfilled, so Jeremiah will not look a complete fool.

1:13,14

Now we start to move into the heart of the matter. So God shows Jeremiah a vision of a boiling pot tilted towards the north. This represented a disaster coming upon the land from the north, and it would afflict all people. Jeremiah should be getting the idea that his message was not going to make him popular!

Colossians 1:13,14 - He has delivered us from the domain of darkness

1:13

We have been rescued from the kingdom of darkness and brought into the kingdom of the Son. People in those days believed in various spirits and thought their lives were subject to these spirits in various ways. Things are not actually that much different today. The situation for most people is that they view life as being under the influence of dark forces, and indeed they are. These tend to be seen as economic, social, sexual, or whatever. Various situations seem to dominate life, and not in a good way. But we have been rescued from that and brought into the kingdom of Christ, the Son of God whom the Father loves. There is a whole different ethos to the kingdom of light. We tend to see non-Christians as sinners who need to be saved, and this is true, but we also need to see them as people who need to be rescued from darkness. We need both these perspectives, if we only have one we do not have a Biblical perspective. If we look at God’s attitude towards Israel in the Old Testament then we see that He takes both views in roughly equal measure. Israel is a sinful nation, and her sin is her biggest problem, her rebellion against God. But we also see her as a people who need to be rescued from darkness.

1:14

“In whom we have redemption”. It is in Christ that we are set free from the kingdom of darkness, and this comes through the forgiveness of sins. A mistake we can make is to think that setting people free from poverty, or drug addiction, or whatever will bring them into the kingdom of God.It won’t! We should, of course, to all we can to help the poor and needy, but it is only in Christ that a person is saved, brought into the kingdom of God. And it is only through the forgiveness of sins. Being poor or needy does not make someone any more virtuous. God having a special concern for the poor is not the same as saying they are in any way morally superior (or less bad).