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September 14, 2021

The hope laid up for you in the heavens (2)

Col. 1: 27 To whom God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory, Gal 2: 20 I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

[Part 2 of 2]Yes, in 3:4 Paul says that Christ is our life and that when Christ is manifested, we shall be manifested with Him in glory. But suppose we do not live by Him; instead we live by the self and by our preferences, loving only those saints who match our taste. To love the saints selectively is to live by the self, not by Christ. If we have this kind of living, we shall not be happy when the Lord Jesus Christ appears in glory. Therefore, the laying up of the hope in the heavens depends on our living. If we live Christ and are one with Him, we should be able to say, "Lord Jesus, I love You, and I take You as my life and as my person. Lord, I want to be with You in Your glory and see You face to face. I want to enjoy Your presence, even Your physical presence, in a practical way. Lord, I'm waiting for this and I'm expecting this." If you contact the Lord in this way day by day, you will be very happy at His coming. Suppose, however, that you do not care for the Lord or contact Him. You may not sin or go into the world, but you continually live by the self. You respect the Lord Jesus as the Savior and as the Lord. But although you honor Him, He is not dear or precious to you, and you do not have intimate fellowship with Him. You neither live Him nor take Him as your person. Do you think that, if this is your daily living with respect to the Lord Jesus, you will be excited and shout praises at His coming? Certainly not! Rather, you will withdraw from Him in shame. Whether or not Christ's coming back will be glory to you depends on how much hope you have laid up in the heavens by living Christ today. (c) 2007 Living Stream Ministry.

Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of Colossians, pp. 14-15. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].

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Life-study of Colossians