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Galatians 5:16-23 teaches that at any moment we are either walking by the Holy Spirit or according to the sin nature. Walking by the Spirit, enjoying fellowship with God, walking in the light are virtually synonymous. During these times, the Holy Spirit is working in us to illuminate our minds to the truth of Scripture and to challenge us to apply what we learn. But when we sin, we begin to live based on the sin nature. Our works do not count for eternity. The only way to recover is to confess (admit, acknowledge) our sin to God the Father and we are instantly forgiven, cleansed, and recover our spiritual walk (1 John 1:9). Please make sure you are walking by the Spirit before you begin your Bible study, so it will be spiritually profitable.

Colossians (2011)

Colossians (2011)

January 2011 - December 2012

The epistle to the Colossians is a book that focuses on the sufficiency of Jesus Christ and the significance of that for our spiritual life: for the way we think and the way we live.
The author of this epistle is the apostle Paul.

There was heresy going on in Colossee, which was a blend of different ideas. We run into the same kind of thing today. There is all manner of blends of religions today. People think they can pick a little bit of this and a little bit of that, mix it together and add a sprinkling of something else and come up with something they think works for them, and make some new religion. Religion isn’t something that you can believe in because it just “works for you,” it has to be something that has objective reality and objective truth, and is internally coherent and consistent. Yet most of what most people believe is nothing more than a bunch of irrational bilge that somehow makes them feel good rather than deal with what the Word of God says about their basic condition as a sinner. People don’t like to recognize they are a sinner and in disobedience to God because in arrogance they are rejecting the truth.

So with this Colossian heresy, we see the focus is on the sufficiency of Christ. It is that which helps us to realize that no matter what the issues are that we face today, the solution is still the same. It is still the sufficiency of Christ. There are three areas of sufficiency that are always attacked by false teaching and by Satan: the sufficiency of Christ, the sufficiency of grace, and the sufficiency of God’s Word. If God’s Word, God’s grace, and Jesus Christ aren’t enough, then where are we going to get help? We going to go to psychology, to science, sociology, or to some other area of human thought and thus we are going to dilute and diminish the power of God, and we end up destroying grace, destroying Scripture, and destroying the reality of who Jesus Christ is. This is the reason Paul is writing.

Video DVDs of these lessons can be ordered here and here.

To view all video Bible studies in the Colossians series, click here (Vimeo) or here (YouTube).

To listen to this series as a podcast, copy and paste the following URL into your podcast software.
www.deanbibleministries.org/podcasts/2011colossians.xml		  
31 - Ministry: Goals, Obstacles, Virtues [B]
Sun, Oct 09, 2011
by Robert Dean
Passage: Colossians 1:28
Series: Colossians (2011)
Duration: 50 mins 8 secs
Continuing our review of spiritual gifts, we are reminded that two of these gifts (apostle and prophet) ceased around 95 to 100 A.D. Yet it was primarily through Paul's gift as Apostle that God revealed the Mystery Doctrine. Emphasis is placed on a congregation reaching spiritual maturity, but how is that measured? We learn the steps: understanding, knowledge, and finally wisdom, which is a skillful application of the knowledge we've acquired, which begins and is based upon understanding.

The Apostle Paul refers to "the riches of Christ." How do we attain it, and how does it relate to the Mystery of God?
Video:watch Audio:listendownload Text:readslideshow
32 - Do We Really Love to Know God's Word? [B]
Sun, Oct 16, 2011
by Robert Dean
Passage: Colossians 2:1-2
Series: Colossians (2011)
Duration: 52 mins 36 secs
Video:watch Audio:listendownload Text:readslideshow
33 - What Treasure are You Seeking? [B]
Sun, Oct 23, 2011
by Robert Dean
Passage: Colossians 2:2-4
Series: Colossians (2011)
Duration: 1 hr 8 mins 17 secs
What treasure are you seeking? Scripture tells us that spiritual assets and riches already exist in the believer's life. But how can we know that is true? How can we have that assurance?

In this lesson we learn these riches are activated as we learn God's Word, creating confidence and the ability to apply the Word to real life situations. We acquire wisdom, a skillful execution of the knowledge we have. We learn the true meaning of Paul's reference to "mystery" and how it is related to the new entity - the body of Christ. We learn that all (not some) treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ and are ours. Here's the formula for our growth process: understanding = knowledge = wisdom.

So what is bringing the most meaning and significance to your own personal life?
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34 - How Does Your Spiritual Garden Grow? [B]
Sun, Oct 30, 2011
by Robert Dean
Passage: Colossians 2:4-6
Series: Colossians (2011)
Duration: 53 mins 21 secs
In the classic nursery rhyme, there is a line that says, "how does your garden grow?" As we begin to phase out of Paul's introductory section of Colossians, we begin to learn of the imperatives used to guide believers in the basic structure of the Christian life. In this lesson, we learn that order, organization, and self-discipline are keys to a good spiritual "garden". Are you including in your own daily structure reading God's Word, prayer time, and Bible study? If Paul were mentioning twenty-first century believers in his greeting as he was the Colossians, would he be thankful for our own orderly, organized, and self-disciplined spiritual life?

How does your (spiritual) garden grow?
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35 - Walking in Christ [B]
Sun, Nov 06, 2011
by Robert Dean
Passage: Colossians 2:6-7
Series: Colossians (2011)
Duration: 47 mins 3 secs
The culture of Asia Minor was known for its different philosophies and a tolerance that different religions were accepted within the culture as having equal value. In modern day 21st century society, we experience the same thing. Yet, the Bible clearly teaches that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is a gospel of exclusivity. So how then are Christians to "think", living in such a pagan culture? And is there a secret to the Christian life? In this lesson, we begin to learn more about the 30 imperatives that Paul writes about that are to define the Christian life. The centerpiece of the Epistle of Colossians is in vs. 6-15. The core of that centerpiece is in vs. 6 and 7 - "walk in Him". We learn that this is both positional and experiential.
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36 - Four Keys to Walking in Christ [B]
Sun, Nov 13, 2011
by Robert Dean
Passage: Colossians 2:6-7
Series: Colossians (2011)
Duration: 53 mins 9 secs
The Greco Roman culture, not unlike our own culture, had no sense of sin. Yet we are again reminded by Paul, who uses the term 164 times, that we are "in Christ." But how do we receive Christ? How do we walk in Him? In this lesson, we learn that our walk experience is how we conduct our life, dependent upon God step by step and moment by moment.

There are four keys in vs. 8 to walking in Christ. We are "rooted", we are "built up"; we are "established"; and we are "abounding". Understanding these concepts determines how your spiritual life grows and progresses.

How well do you know doctrine? How is your own spiritual life growing?
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37 - How to Have a Full, Rich, Robust Life [B]
Sun, Nov 20, 2011
by Robert Dean
Passage: Colossians 2:8-9
Series: Colossians (2011)
Duration: 52 mins 9 secs
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38 - Is Sufficient Enough? [B]
Sun, Nov 27, 2011
by Robert Dean
Passage: Colossians 2:10-11
Series: Colossians (2011)
Duration: 56 mins 6 secs
As we continue learning more and more about walking in Christ, we must examine how the meaning of life is defined. Is it determined by what gives us our own personal sense of pleasure? When we suffer, do we get the feeling that God is perhaps withholding from us something good we would otherwise experience? And do we think we know what it takes to solve our own problems?

As we grapple with today's worldviews of self-sufficiency, we learn more in this lesson what God's Word means by the word "sufficient."
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39 - Discovering Your Wealth [B]
Sun, Dec 04, 2011
by Robert Dean
Passage: Colossians 2:12-13
Series: Colossians (2011)
Duration: 50 mins 59 secs
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40 - Baptism of the Holy Spirit and Regeneration [B]
Sun, Dec 11, 2011
by Robert Dean
Passage: Colossians 2:12-14
Series: Colossians (2011)
Duration: 49 mins
Video:watch Audio:listendownload Text:readslideshow
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