The Secret God Kept

by Alexandra Copeland

Life can be extremely challenging, with extreme highs and very difficult lows. It doesn’t matter what we’re experiencing as we sojourn on earth, most of us want to share both our good times and bad with someone. People mean the most to God, and they should mean a great deal to us as well. Facing the ebbs and flows will make us realize how important it is to have someone in our corners. For the Apostle Paul, this person was Timothy. He referred to him as his beloved brother. Paul had tremendous responsibility, and he had nothing like the conveniences of modern living to help him. Timothy proved his commitment and loyalty. Paul said that sending Timothy to complete a task would yield the same result as if Paul had done it himself. This speaks to Timothy’s heart regarding attention and detail to the things of Christ. 

The Apostle Paul was called to plant the foundation of the church, and Timothy was helping him in this very important work. They wrote to the Colossian church in the New Testament Book of Colossians and told them how much they had been praying and giving thanks to God for their spiritual growth. The Colossians church heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and they were growing in their faith. Colossians 1:7 says that Epaphras, another faithful servant of Christ, ministered to the Colossians, and they received the Holy Spirit. They began to love each other through the Spirit of Christ, and Paul wanted them to continue growing and abounding in Christ.

Reading Colossians 1, Paul’s love for God’s people is palpable, and so is his desire for them to continue the good work that the Holy Spirit was stirring up in them. In Colossians 1:9, Paul’s prayer was that God would give them complete knowledge of His Will, as well as spiritual wisdom and understanding. This is good news indeed. God is not a respecter of persons. He doesn’t love one person above another but loves us all the same. God’s heart for the Colossian church is His heart for us. He desires us to have a complete knowledge of His Will, and He also desires us to have spiritual wisdom and understanding.

There are times when we read and study God’s Word, and we don’t have a full comprehension of it. We need a divine revelation from Jesus Christ in order to make the Word come alive in our minds and hearts. The Holy Spirit will do this for us. He’s our teacher, and he lives on the inside of us. He can cut through the haze of our confusion and deliver razor-sharp revelation concerning what we need to know. We should make it our business to invite the Holy Spirit to make himself at home in our hearts, so that he can lead and guide us into the truth we need to hear and live.

Paul and Timothy prayed with urgency that the Colossian church would be strengthened in the power of the Holy Spirit because they understood what the church was up against. The church today is targeted with as much or more. The enemy uses technology to spread hatred and lies, to manipulate our minds by plots to shorten our attention spans, and to fill our hearts with resentment by tricks to turn us against one another. Adam and Eve were perfect in every way, and they fell for his deception. We are born into sin, and we often fall for his subtle tricks as well. We can easily see why it was always God’s plan for us to have the Holy Spirit operating inside of our body temples.

Colossians 1:27 tells us God wanted us to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for every person who desires it. This is a message kept secret for centuries. God made it a mystery, and no one knew it until Christ revealed it. The secret that God kept is that Christ lives in us through the Holy Spirit. This is our assurance that we will share in the inheritance God has given to Christ. It is so precious to God that He protected it in His heart until the timing was perfect. Paul knew first hand how challenging life can be, but he also knew the power of the Holy Spirit that God promised to pour out on His people. Because of the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit that Christ made available, we can accomplish all that Christ has assigned to us. We must be committed to walk and live in the 

Spirit, so we can continue to grow and flourish in our relationship with God. ■

 

"The Secret God Kept" written by renegades4CHRIST © 2019. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.