“You MUST please God, but you can NEVER please God.”

 Dear Michael  

I know the Bible as well as most folks ’round here. And I certainly know the bible better than most typical christians… and get this… for the past few years my favorite verse has been “AND CERTAIN MEN CAME FROM JAMES”
(GALATIANS 2.)
Now, why would I pick up on that verse? It’s because it shows a dynamic that went on in Paul’s day… with Paul’s work… and those who would destroy his work.
The fundamentalists tell us to “love God’s word” and that “IT’S ALL INSPIRED” and such…. well… what about AND CERTAIN MEN CAME FROM JAMES???
That little verse packs quite a punch.
It should strike fear into our hearts about the poison that a PRIDE MESSAGE can contain.
If you check out Galatians two… “they came to spy out our freedom”… and the rough and tumble brawl Paul got into with Peter and those dudes from James…. something was going down there that I NEVER heard discussed in all my years of “going to church”.
Why? Why did not one preacher ever, ever, ever bring up the FIST FIGHT revealed in Galatians two??? It’s because it would reveal their ruse.
When I hear The James Gang tell me “YOU MUST DO THIS” or “YOU MUST DO THAT”… it sounds a lot like the serpent telling Eve, “YOU WON’T REALLY DIE.”
Both messages start with the word “YOU”… And thus, they take their eyes off God and God’s purpose, plan, promises and word.
“you”, “you”, “you”,
The word YOU, I, ME, and MINE are the Freewiller’s wet dream word.
Remember Paul says we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against spiritual wickedness, etc. ???
To me The James Gang is all about “flesh and blood” — like what you can see… and what you can “prove”… like the Pharisee who stands in public to pray… so he can be seen and adored by the crowds.
“Everyone can see that I prayed.”
(Prayed what, the so-called “sinners’ prayer?”)
Paul says they should whack their own weener.
Strong language.
Proof that this is a serious problem.
Years ago, I knew a brother named Will Powell… whose son committed suicide due to these James Gang christians who infected his mind with a NO WIN situation.
“You MUST please God, but you can NEVER please God.” — type of thing.
Brother Powell was really hurt over losing his son.
The James Gang will never accept responsibility for the bull shit chaos they sling at us like monkeys with poo.
And you have to know, that Will Powell’s son is not the only one who could not see his way out of that mess.
In fact… Paul… in the first two chapters of Romans has The James Gang’s number… when he says… “you command to not steal, yet YOU are stealing” and “You say NOT to commit adultery yet YOU are committing adultery”… and “YOU are a teacher of minors”.
A teacher of minors? Wow, what an insult to the pushers of law and works. Would that they cut themselves off.
The verse “AND CERTAIN MEN CAME FROM JAMES” should give anyone the freedom to despise the James Gang. Bunch of meddling busy-bodies, and stinking of self-righteousness.
Grace to you Michael.
The favor granted to those who do not/ can not/ dare not earn it.

Ace.
P.S. The other day I posted a video about that Calvary Chapel dude from Canada who said “GOD OFFERS GRACE”

— About how ridiculous it is to suggest that “GRACE” is offered… You see, if it’s “offered” you must meet the qualification of the “offer” to get the grace. And if you meet the qualifications… grace ceases to be grace. It becomes something earned, merited, and deserved.
God operates in grace.
But…
God does not “offer” grace.
Our message is about God.
God’s work. God’s purpose. God’s glory in His Boy.
Their message is all about man and what man must do the take up the slack in God’s operations of grace.
They’re nuts.
May they cut themselves off.
GALATIANS 5:
12 Would that those who are raising you to insurrection struck themselves off also!

DO CHRISTIANS “WORSHIP” SATAN?

SATAN WAS A DAMN FOOL TO OFFER “KINGDOMS” TO CHRIST.

Andy Cap commented: “Ace, what’s your view on the origins of evil and was Satan created as a man killer from his creation or did he become evil by himself? A few questions there. Thanks.”

Well… I don’t have a “view” on the matter. I know that christians glorify Satan. They infer he was self-created… which leads them down the road to believing there are TWO GODS, one good and one evil.
For us, there is one God. one creator of all. And redeemer of all.
There is an old testament verse which says something like “God’s hand trembled when he created the crooked snake.”
And of course Jesus says he was a man-killer from the beginning.
So… on the whole my “view” is that Satan gets way too much credit for things. As I see it, he’s less than clever. He was played in the garden of Eden. Acted like a school yard bully with Christ in His final hours. “I’ll give you the kingdoms of the world” hype- ha.
As if he really runs things.
Satan is just as deluded as any character in this grand play. His rule is more like F-Troop than anything from Dante’s Inferno.
It’s more like Homer Simpson is running the world than a “Satan” with a master scheme.
Consider his great plan at the Tower of Babel. What a disaster. It’s like he put “H R” (human resoursce ) in charge.
You know, how you can watch a movie and you fall into the story line so deeply that your heart/pluse quickens, or your jump out of your chair when the bad guy suddenly shows up… ?
Well, when you don’t see the purpose of God (Eph 3:11) you’ll be like the chrisians and get all caught up in this characters’ role and actions.
God is the creator of all. Good and evil.
Satan is one of His creatures. And boy, ain’t he doing a hellava job? He makes us all jump out of our chairs.
Satan’s greatest power is our blindside.
HR says “hop” and we better hop. Or there’s hell to pay.
The serpent probably really believed what he told Eve in the garden (“You won’t really die”) .
On the whole, I’d say mankind’s real enemy is death, not Satan. And death meet it’s match on the cross of Christ. And death will be the final enemy to be put away.
I Cor 15:20-28 lists 4 enemies to be abolished finally by the work of God in the cross of Christ. And Satan is not even in the list.
The list is: Rulership, Power, Authority and Death.
Satan is way overrated in the big scheme of things.
———

Satan offered Christ “the kingdoms of this world” if He would just bow down and worship him.
Just think– what a ridiculous offer — “Hey Christ, worship me and I’ll give you the kingdoms of Shaka Khan, and the Aztecs. And all war lords throughout time.”
Keep in mind that all war lords (kingdoms-governments) rule by the threat of death.
Christ came to defeat death on the cross and will finish it up at the consummation of the eons. (I COR 15:20-28)
Death, the final enemy, will be abolished at that time — with that thought in mind, what attraction would a “kingdom of this world” hold to the King of the eons, whose rule has nothing to do with the threat of death, but instead the elimination of death????
Salvation — ultimately speaking — is salvation from death.
And death, is the real enemy of mankind .. and the final enemy to be abolished. So says I COR 15:25.
Quick thoughts before I return to my cup of morning coffee.
Ace.

——

POST SCRIPT: When Satan offered Christ the “kingdoms of this world”… think about it… what kind of damn fool would offer the Firstborn of Creation, the creator of the eons and the purpose of the eons, — the “kingdoms of the Aztecs and Shaka Kan. and every other war lord who bloodied the pages of history. What a laugh… like that’s a prize?
“Hey Christ, worship me and I’ll give you the kingdom of Adolf, Joe Stalin, and Mao… and you’ll be rich.”
Keep in mind all the kingdoms of man are created by bloodshed (death) — And Christ came to defeat death.
All human governments exist due to the threat of death if you don’t comply.
Christ came to defeat death.
His rule is/will be something we’ve never seen before: The “rule” by eliminating death!!!
We have no idea all the good stuff that awaits us.
Anyway, Grace to you Andy.
Thanks for prodding me to jot down these notes.
Ace.
—

Tony, HERE’S WHERE I GET THE IDEA THAT WE (THE CHURCH, WHICH IS HIS BODY, WILL BLESS THE UNIVERSE):

EPHESIANS 2:
6 and rouses us together and seats us together among the celestials, in Christ Jesus,
7 that, in the oncoming eons, He should be displaying the transcendent riches of His grace in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
(So, the GRACE He has shown to US, will be on display.)

EPHESIANS 3:
9 and to enlighten all as to what is the administration of the secret, which has been concealed from the eons in God, Who creates all,
10 that now may be made known to the sovereignties and the authorities among the celestials, through the ecclesia, the multifarious wisdom of God,
11 in accord with the purpose of the eons, which He makes in Christ Jesus, our Lord;

(So, At one time, this stuff was “a secret” — but “NOW” it’s being made known to two groups…

1. the sovereignties among the celestials
2. and the authorities among the celestials…
   Those two groups are checking out just how GRACIOUS God is to us “bad boys of Antioch” (as I like to say.)

But one day, “through the ecclesia” all the celestials will come home. See Colossians 1:15-20). And through Israel, all the nations will come home.

Grace to you, sleepy head.
Linwood

NOTES ON THE FIRST IDIOT IN HEAVEN

NOTES ON THE FIRST IDIOT IN HEAVEN
I’ve read many books in my life on this religious topic or that one… but THE FIRST IDIOT IN HEAVEN is the only book I’ve ever read that acknowledges and salutes the saints listed in Romans, chapter 16. Listen… those folks in Romans 16 were very much like the folks who show up here to listen to Martin’s chats and make comments… we’re a ragtag bunch folks from all over the world, and the thing we have in common is we believe God and that is unique.
We’re plumbers, bakers, wives, ex-doubters, consultants, tentmakers, ex-christians, smokers and lovers of chocolates. Well, when I read Martin’s salute to the kids in Rome, I got choked up. Paul’s friends and co-workers had a lot of love. They loved each other and they loved Paul. And of course they loved the Lord.
Go read Romans 16… and then get a copy of THE FIRST IDIOT AND HEAVEN and read Martin’s nod to those guys. They are just like us. Misfits who found that their life was hid together with Christ in God. (COL 3:3)
Grace to you.
Ace.

MARTIN’S BOOKS CLICK HERE

THE FREEWILL CHICK IS SO THRILLED ABOUT THE GREAT WHITE THRONE… BUT WHAT IF…

What If… The Great White Throne Is Gonna Be Very Much Like Saul’s Experience On The Road To Damascus?

For the life of me, I don’t get why freewillers love to preach about the “GREAT WHITE THRONE”… but we barely hear a whisper from them about The Work Of God In The Cross Of Christ .
Have they lost their ever-loving little-minds?
They talk about the “great white throne” so much they reduce it to an abbreviation: The GWT.
Ain’t that sick?
But… what if…
What if Paul’s salvation was a “pattern” of things to come?
Well, what do you know… Paul even says, (in I TIM 1:15-16) that he was shown mercy and saved AS A PATTERN of things to come.
Not only that, but Paul says he was the WORST OF ALL SINNERS. Check it out.
So… what if the “GWT” was not a hinderance to salvation but a necessary step, along the way to salvation, for most? Like Saul’s “judgment day” on the road to Damascus?
Was Saul saved on the road to Damascus? Kinda. But he was really saved by the work of God in cross of Christ.
Did Saul say “the sinners prayer” on the road to Damascus? No.
The best he could utter was “Who are’t thou Lord?”
And Jesus replied “I’m the guy you’re pissing off.”
And nothing more needed to be said.
Saul became Paul.
A “pattern” indeed.
So, how exactly do you pray “the sinners’ prayer”?
Well… You might say “Uh-oh, who are’t thou, Lord?”
And thus, the journey begins.
And essentially the Lord will say “Arise, go into the city, and it will be shown to you how you might have to suffer a bit.” (It’s not a “think and grow rich” message.)
So, flip back and forth between I TIM 1:15-16 and Acts 9:1-16. And tell me if I’m wrong.

We need “patterns” to make sense out of life and progress. and Paul clearly says he was the worst of sinners and he was a pattern of things to come.

I suspect that’s good news.
Ace.

NOTES ON THE TOWER OF BABEL.

NOTES ON THE
TOWER OF BABEL.
Tue morn 4:21 A.M.
GOOD Morning.

In most of the old testament bible stories we often say “this is a type of Christ”.
For example we might say Joseph was a type of Christ. Or we might say Noah and his ark was a type of Christ.
But when we look at the story of the TOWER OF BABEL surely we’d have to say IT IS A TYPE OF THE WORLD. Right?

There is a guy named Tainter, who, way back in the 80’s wrote a book about HOW COMPLEX SOCIETIES TEND TO FALL APART.

Well… who would deny that ours is a complex society?

We have complex laws and rules about everything: lightbulbs, toilets, how to build your own house, how your food is grown, delivered, packaged, the list of rules is endless. Now we have masks and c-v crap all over.

Ours is the TOWER OF BABEL multiplied.

What brought down the Tower of babel?
Language confusion? Why, this person was speaking a language of WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME. and the other guy was saying the same thing. And the labor union got involved, and the environmental movement slapped on some annoyance lawsuits and the whole glorious structure of MAN came to naught.

We, today, in our society have been trying so hard to build a tower of babel. Who would deny that that USA is a kind of empire, with bases all over the known world.

How many more complex rules do we need before we see the structure start to crumble???

I think God loves it when man tries to build a glorious tower. He just loves to see us exhaust ourselves and come to naught.

We’re trying to always prove we can get along without Him. But He just chuckles.

We try to build complex societies and God just points to the Cross of Christ.

CAN YOU FIND THE TRUTH OF GOD FROM THE KJV?

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  CAN YOU FIND THE TRUTH OF GOD FROM THE KJV?

CAN YOU FIND THE TRUTH OF GOD FROM THE KJV?

1. ISAIAH 45:7 God created both good and evil.
2. All is of God. Acts 17:25, II COR 5:18-19, Romans 11:36.
3. God is the savior of all, I TIM 4:10.
4. That “Eternal” is not necessarily “eternal”.
   A) Christ will reign “forever and ever” VS Christ will reign UNTIL …(Revelation 11:15, VS I COR 15:25)
   B) Everlasting hills VS the hills made low.
   — “everlasting hills” (Gen 49:26)
   — “hills to be made low” (Isa 40:4)
   C) Jonah in the belly of the whale “forever” VS three days and three nights.
5. That THE CROSS is the central theme of God’s purpose reaching way into the past and way into the future. It achieves what God wants. (Revelation 13:8 “And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” King James Version)
6. With the Bible’s 800,000 words, you must ignore some parts… no one can incorporate or factor in everything and make sense of it all. Unless you ignore THIS PART in order to place more emphasize on THAT PART.
7. Some parts appear to contradict other parts.
8. The question is — what do you ignore, and what do you emphasize??
9. If God is the savior of all, you can almost ignore the “judgments” of God. Why? Because in the KJV you can see that the “judgments of God” were met in the CROSS.
10. And IF God is the savior of all, judgments must be a part of the salvation process. Not a hindrance to it.
11. It seems to me, the Concordant translation of the Bible is way better than the KJV. But you can find many truths of God, from the King James Version of the Bible.
12. Here’s how:
13. Limit the bad, expand the good.
    Is punishment “everlasting”? — No, otherwise, Christ’s death on the cross would be “everlasting”.
    Is “judgment” the moment where everything is TOO LATE and your fate is then sealed — doom or bliss in heaven? NO, otherwise Saul, on the road to Tarsus, would have been doomed. That moment in time was truly a “judgment” for Saul, who became Paul.
    ALSO: Limit the audience — Most of the Bible was written specifically for the Jews. It concerns promises made to them. It concerns God’s dealings with them. It concerns how God is going to use them to “bless the nations.”
    Only Paul’s letters were sent out the gentile nations. There you’ll find promises God makes to those of the nations, and how God will use those of the nations to bless the whole universe. The Jews will bless the nations. Those of the nations will bless the universe. Big plan, huh?
    The KJV is not a perfect translation of the Bible. But you can still discover things there that will “blow your mind”.
    I was a King James kid, for many years, and when I discovered ISA 45:7 that God created both good as well as evil… I was knocked off my high horse. My mind went racing back and forth for many years trying to re-organize everything I thought I knew about God.
    You see, my first years as a christian I was like most, I was basically a “zoroastrian” dude. I believed kinda, that there were two Gods, one good and one evil.
    ISA 45:7 shattered that concept for me. And eventually I could see that “all is of God”… as revealed in Romans 11:36, etc.

If you can, get yourself a Concordant Literal New Testament. In it you’ll discover that God’s vocabulary is tighter than you might imagine. The KJV is loose and sloppy in many areas.
But the Concordant translation does it’s honest best to reveal what God’s word says, without standing between you and it, and interpreting it for you.
You’ll even discover that the VERB FORMS God uses are powerful and revealing in the Concordant version.
For example in John 3:16…
The KJV says “God so loved the world”… past tense.
The CLNT says “Thus God loves the world”… a timeless verb form.
You can find many truths in the King James.
But you’ll find many more in the Concordant Version.

God bless the KJV. For many of us, it’s all we had for years and years. Yes, it’s kind of cute in it’s poetic, old English, style. Yes, it’s misleading when it comes to “evil” and the “judgments of God”… But you can still find many universal truths in it’s pages. Even though you somehow feel you’re cheating yourself… or cheating the truth by ignoring difficult passages.
——
But… better to ignore the troublesome passages regarding “hell” — than to diminish and belittle God’s work in Christ’s cross just because you don’t see a way around the word “eternal” when it comes to “eternal” punishment.
How much better to EXALT and HOLD IN HIGH ESTEEM (“glory”) the work Christ did on the cross (as God does, see Romans 6:4).
——
How much better to see “judgment” as Saul did on the road to murder the saints of God. Judgment, on that day, lead Saul to say the magic words “WHO ARE’T THOU LORD?”
And with that question, the journey began.
And then the nations were bless through the work of Paul.

Grace to you.
Ace.

NOTES ON THREE FLASHES OF LIGHT – and God’s purpose.

1. I’ve seen a video floating ‘round on youtube about the flash of light that happens inside a woman’s body, when the sperm connects with the egg. A FLASH OF LIGHT and life begins.
2. And we consider the FLASH OF LIGHT associated with Christ’s resurrection, not seen by eyewitnesses but implied the brilliance of the clothing at the empty tomb. (Luke 24:4, Matt 28:3)
3. And don’t forget the FLASH OF LIGHT that knocked Saul off his feet — to begin God’s gracious dealing with gentiles, the evangel of our salvation and… shall we say… the birth of the ecclesia, which is His body? (EPH 2:13-16, Acts 9:1-5)

That life and birth and change itself would be associated with a flash of light is not a new thought. But the light seen by Saul in Acts 9 needs a closer look.
You see, the twelve apostles only knew the resurrected Jesus.

He was still “Jesus Christ” to them—
He was not yet “Christ Jesus” — it’s a big deal. Hang with me, I’ll explain.

The twelve saw Him ascend, taken away from them in a cloud. But that was all they saw. From then on they had hope and expectation. And yes they were awestruck. But not “blinded”.

Not like Saul was to be.

When we hop over to Acts 9… something strange and wonderful happens. It is Christ Jesus who, reveals himself to the worst of sinners (I TIM 1:16) , in a way He never did to the twelve.

Saul sees the GLORIFIED CHRIST… The twelve never did see this. Why would God pick out a murderous so-and-so, to reveal THE GLORIFIED CHRIST to, but not to the devoted twelve?

A change is afoot.
And we’d do well to pay attention.

Saul becomes Paul. And the Glorified Christ reveals things to Paul — that no one knew before. (EPH 3:1-11)
In fact,
Paul completes the word of God (Colossians 1:25). That’s how great the revelation was.

Yes, it all started with a blinding FLASH OF LIGHT.
And if you’re smart, you’d spend some time in Paul’s letters. More than likely, you’ll see one flash of light after another. And if you’re like me, you say “Wow, God’s purpose makes sense.” (EPH 3:11)

Just thinking’

Ace

HEY WATCHMAN NEE FANS —

HEY WATCHMAN NEE FANS —
Can you believe I said that Watchman Nee was an enemy of the cross?
(PHILIPPIANS 3:18) — (See my video “THREE VIEWS OF THE CROSS”)
Ha. He was. He was into works just like all the “certain men came from James.” (GAL 2:12)
And his spawn – the Witness Lee Cult — they too are enemies of the cross. They are all about self-righteous accomplishments. They are so sure they are “the church” and we’re not.
The guys who blend works and grace are just a pride factory.
You see, God’s grace is favor shown to anyone who deserves the opposite of favor.
And if God graciously saves one bad boy (Like Paul?) (See I TIM 1:16 – Paul was a “pattern” of what’s to come.) — then God must save all who do not deserve it — why? — Because God does not play favorites. God is no respecter of persons.
The Witness Lee local church’s “eternal purpose of God” becomes the “eonian purpose of God” according to all literal translations of the Bible. That means you guys will not RULE “forever”, even Christ does not RULE for ever. See I COR 15:20-28.
One day, all will be gathered together in the Christ. — By God’s work in Christ’s cross. (EPH: 1:10)

ACE

THREE VIEWS OF THE CROSS

THREE VIEWS OF THE CROSS

1. “The Cross” is a symbol used to rally the troops. (As in the warlord Constantine) A pendent to hang around your neck. (As in $9.95 at Walmart.) A banner to fly into battle. (Back to Constantine)
2. “The Cross” is a personal burden and/or some suffering you must bear to make you a perfect little angel. Madame Guyon kinda taught this, as well as Brother Lawrence, Fenelon and Watchman Nee.
3. Finally, “The Cross” is the work of God in Christ’s death and resurrection for all… to Justify all. Reconcile all. Vivify all. Complete all.

Posted below is all the places where Paul mentions “THE CROSS”.

(Not the “crucifixion”, nor the resurrection, nor the death of our Lord… although those are the same topic generally… Below we just list the specific phrase “THE CROSS” to see what we can discover.)

You’ll see that Paul will have none of that pendent business, nor will he cotton to the idea of “the cross” being our personal sufferings. Instead, you’ll see that Paul has the view that THE CROSS is the power of God to bring all creation into perfection and completion. THE CROSS is God’s answer to our every query.
We say (in a whiny voice) “Why?” And God’s answer is focused on the Son of His love, and all that happened on Calvary’s hill. Let’s get started.
I suggest you put on your sunglasses when you read these verse — they are that bright:

I CORINTHIANS 1:
17 For Christ does not commission me to be baptizing, but to be bringing the evangel, not in wisdom of word, lest the cross of Christ may be made void.
18 For the word of the cross is stupidity, indeed, to those who are perishing, yet to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
19 For it is written, I shall be destroying the wisdom of the wise, and the understanding of the intelligent shall I be repudiating.
20 Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the discusser of this eon? Does not God make stupid the wisdom of this world?
21 For since, in fact, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom knew not God, God delights, through the stupidity of the heralding, to save those who are believing,
22 since, in fact, Jews signs are requesting, and Greeks wisdom are seeking,
23 yet we are heralding Christ crucified, to Jews, indeed, a snare, yet to the nations stupidity,
24 yet to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God,

GALATIANS 5:
11 Now I, brethren, if I am still heralding circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? Consequently the snare of the cross of Christ has been nullified.
12 Would that those who are raising you to insurrection struck themselves off also!
13 For you were called for freedom, brethren, only use not the freedom for an incentive to the flesh, but through love be slaving for one another.

GALATIANS 6:
12 Whoever are wanting to put on a fair face in the flesh, these are compelling you to circumcise only that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ Jesus.
13 For not even they who are circumcising are maintaining law, but they want you to be circumcised that they should be boasting in that flesh of yours.
14 Now may it not be mine to be boasting, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

EPHESIANS 2:
13 Yet now, in Christ Jesus, you, who once are far off, are become near by the blood of Christ.
14 For He is our Peace, Who makes both one, and razes the central wall of the barrier
15 (the enmity in His flesh), nullifying the law of precepts in decrees, that He should be creating the two, in Himself, into one new humanity, making peace;
16 and should be reconciling both in one body to God through the cross, killing the enmity in it

PHILLIPIANS 2:
5 For let this disposition be in you, which is in Christ Jesus also,
6 Who, being inherently in the form of God, deems it not pillaging to be equal with God,
7 nevertheless empties Himself, taking the form of a slave, coming to be in the likeness of humanity,
8 and, being found in fashion as a human, He humbles Himself, becoming obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
9 Wherefore, also, God highly exalts Him, and graces Him with the name that is above every name,
10 that in the name of Jesus every knee should be bowing, celestial and terrestrial and subterranean,
11 and every tongue should be acclaiming that Jesus Christ is Lord, for the glory of God, the Father.

PHILLIPIANS 3:
17 Become imitators together of me, brethren, and be noting those who are walking thus, according as you have us for a model,
18 for many are walking, of whom I often told you, yet now am lamenting also as I tell it, who are enemies of the cross of Christ,
19 whose consummation is destruction, whose god is their bowels, and whose glory is in their shame, who to the terrestrial are disposed.
20 For our realm is inherent in the heavens, out of which we are awaiting a Saviour also, the Lord, Jesus Christ,

COLOSSIANS 1:
18 And He is the Head of the body, the ecclesia, Who is Sovereign, Firstborn from among the dead, that in all He may be becoming first,
19 for in Him the entire complement delights to dwell,
20 and through Him to reconcile all to Him (making peace through the blood of His cross), through Him, whether those on the earth or those in the heavens.

COLOSSIANS 2:
13 Who rouses Him from among the dead, you also being dead to the offenses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He vivifies us together jointly with Him, dealing graciously with all our offenses,
14 erasing the handwriting of the decrees against us, which was hostile to us, and has taken it away out of the midst, nailing it to the cross,
15 stripping off the sovereignties and authorities, with boldness He makes a show of them, triumphing over them in it.