CCC - ENewsletter

A teaching on living victoriously

By Apostle Frederick K.C. Price

The following is an excerpt from Apostle Price's book, The Victorious, Overcoming Life.

The entire book of Colossians (as well as Paul's other epistles) is a guideline for Christian living. However, in the final verses of chapters three and four, Paul particularly covers a lot of territory concerning the victorious lifestyle.

He told the Colossians briefly but concisely about worship services. He wrote about husbands and wives, parents and children and bosses and servants (or as we say today, "employees.") And he wrote about prayer, right speech and making time count.

Colossians 3:16:
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

This verse means that if the Word of God is not "dwelling in you richly," it is because you are not letting the Word take authority in your life.

You must understand that you are in control. That means you can go as far as you want to go and as fast as you want to go. If God were making all this work, we would all be at the same level of spiritual maturity – and we would all be maturing at the same time.

Have you wondered why some people seem to be more spiritually advanced than others? That is because they are controlling their advancement. They are hungry for God and for His Word, and the hungrier they are, the more they feed on it. What you get out of anything is in direct proportion to what you put into it. This is true of spiritual things as well as worldly things.

For example, if you take 15 to 16 units for academic credit every semester, it will not take you long to get a college degree. By the same token, if you take only three or four units, it will take you five to six times as long to get a degree. You may finally get there, but it is going to take you much longer.

Hymns and spiritual songs

In addition to teaching and helping one another with hymns and spiritual songs, Paul said we should be singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. He is talking about singing in the spirit.

Many songs today are not the type of songs the Bible talks about. These songs will not help you because they are too full of unbelief. They are not consistent with the Word, and they do not give you what you need to know in order to operate in wisdom.

You can hear things subconsciously without purposely listening to them. Perhaps you have the radio on a music station as you drive home from work, and you are concentrating on traffic and thinking about other things. You do not consciously listen to a song and decide to memorize it. Yet, after you get home, you may find yourself whistling that melody.

That is why you need to be careful about what you hear, so that when you sing a song, it will be one that inspires you, encourages you and lifts you up. You should make sure the words are consistent with the Word of God. Some songs are beautiful, musically speaking; yet, they do not contain the Word of God. Listening to them will not bring out the peace of God in you.

The word dwell means to "live in and take up residence in." Literally, verse 16 means to let the Word of God live inside of you. Again, the word let implies that you have the responsibility to do this.

Colossians 3:17:

And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Whatever means the same thing as all. Paul wrote that whatever we do, whether it is speaking or doing things, we are told to do it in the name of Jesus.

How could you commit adultery in the name of Jesus? How could you lie in the name of Jesus? How could you bear false witness in the name of Jesus? How could you marry someone who is not a Christian and be "unequally yoked" in the name of Jesus?

This verse probably answers 99 percent of all the questions Christians ask concerning what is lawful for Christians to do. The Bible is not a book on a lot of "do's and don'ts." But there are many basic principles that can be applied in just about every situation. Anything you want to do that you cannot do "as unto the Lord," obviously is something you should not do.

This Scripture answers such questions as, "Can I, in Jesus' name, smoke pot, or get drunk, or shoot up with heroin, or get involved in a sexual situation?" Can you do these things in the name of Jesus? If you cannot, then you should not be doing them.

Continue in Prayer

With Colossians 4:2, Paul switches gears, so to speak, and begins to wind up his letter to this church, a people he loved in the Lord, but whom he had never seen.

Colossians 4:2-6:
Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving;
praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains,
that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.
Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time.
Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.

Paul's last exhortations include:

Continue in prayer.
Be thankful in your prayers.
Redeem the time.
Keep your speech courteous, but firm.

In other words, as you pray, do not let your prayer be, "My name is Jimmy; I'll take all you'll gimme." Do some thanksgiving in your prayer, and "Do not forget to pray for me," Paul wrote. He also said, "pray that God will continue to open doors for me to speak and preach. Although I am in prison for preaching the Word, I intend to continue explaining the mystery of Christ."

Redeeming the time literally means to "take advantage of every opportunity you have to do that which is right because you have no guarantee of any time that is ahead of you."

You can believe God and expect to live a long time, and that is right and proper. But you need to take advantage of each moment that you have, because all you really can count on is what is happening right now, and you cannot afford to procrastinate.

My wife will tell you that I do not let any time go by. I am always doing something. I have my Bible or a book on the Word with me all the time. If I have to go somewhere and sit and wait, I am reading, praying in tongues or studying the Word.

The most precious and important thing you have is time, and you cannot get any more of it. You cannot buy more. All you have is now. Redeem the time nd make every moment count.



*A teaching on living victoriously* By Apostle Frederick K.C. Price The following is an excerpt from Apostle Price's book, The Victorious, Overcoming Life. The entire book of Colossians (as well as Paul's other epistles) is a guideline for Christian living. However, in the final verses of chapters three and four, Paul particularly covers a lot of territory concerning the victorious lifestyle. He told the Colossians briefly but concisely about worship services. He wrote about husbands and wives, parents and children and bosses and servants (or as we say today, "employees.") And he wrote about prayer, right speech and making time count. Colossians 3:16: Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. This verse means that if the Word of God is not "dwelling in you richly," it is because you are not letting the Word take authority in your life. You must understand that you are in control. That means you can go as far as you want to go and as fast as you want to go. If God were making all this work, we would all be at the same level of spiritual maturity – and we would all be maturing at the same time. Have you wondered why some people seem to be more spiritually advanced than others? That is because they are controlling their advancement. They are hungry for God and for His Word, and the hungrier they are, the more they feed on it. What you get out of anything is in direct proportion to what you put into it. This is true of spiritual things as well as worldly things. For example, if you take 15 to 16 units for academic credit every semester, it will not take you long to get a college degree. By the same token, if you take only three or four units, it will take you five to six times as long to get a degree. You may finally get there, but it is going to take you much longer. Hymns and spiritual songs In addition to teaching and helping one another with hymns and spiritual songs, Paul said we should be singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. He is talking about singing in the spirit. Many songs today are not the type of songs the Bible talks about. These songs will not help you because they are too full of unbelief. They are not consistent with the Word, and they do not give you what you need to know in order to operate in wisdom. You can hear things subconsciously without purposely listening to them. Perhaps you have the radio on a music station as you drive home from work, and you are concentrating on traffic and thinking about other things. You do not consciously listen to a song and decide to memorize it. Yet, after you get home, you may find yourself whistling that melody. That is why you need to be careful about what you hear, so that when you sing a song, it will be one that inspires you, encourages you and lifts you up. You should make sure the words are consistent with the Word of God. Some songs are beautiful, musically speaking; yet, they do not contain the Word of God. Listening to them will not bring out the peace of God in you. The word dwell means to "live in and take up residence in." Literally, verse 16 means to let the Word of God live inside of you. Again, the word let implies that you have the responsibility to do this. Colossians 3:17: And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. Whatever means the same thing as all. Paul wrote that whatever we do, whether it is speaking or doing things, we are told to do it in the name of Jesus. How could you commit adultery in the name of Jesus? How could you lie in the name of Jesus? How could you bear false witness in the name of Jesus? How could you marry someone who is not a Christian and be "unequally yoked" in the name of Jesus? This verse probably answers 99 percent of all the questions Christians ask concerning what is lawful for Christians to do. The Bible is not a book on a lot of "do's and don'ts." But there are many basic principles that can be applied in just about every situation. Anything you want to do that you cannot do "as unto the Lord," obviously is something you should not do. This Scripture answers such questions as, "Can I, in Jesus' name, smoke pot, or get drunk, or shoot up with heroin, or get involved in a sexual situation?" Can you do these things in the name of Jesus? If you cannot, then you should not be doing them. Continue in Prayer With Colossians 4:2, Paul switches gears, so to speak, and begins to wind up his letter to this church, a people he loved in the Lord, but whom he had never seen. Colossians 4:2-6: Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving; praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains, that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak. Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one. Paul's last exhortations include: Continue in prayer. Be thankful in your prayers. Redeem the time. Keep your speech courteous, but firm. In other words, as you pray, do not let your prayer be, "My name is Jimmy; I'll take all you'll gimme." Do some thanksgiving in your prayer, and "Do not forget to pray for me," Paul wrote. He also said, "pray that God will continue to open doors for me to speak and preach. Although I am in prison for preaching the Word, I intend to continue explaining the mystery of Christ." Redeeming the time literally means to "take advantage of every opportunity you have to do that which is right because you have no guarantee of any time that is ahead of you." You can believe God and expect to live a long time, and that is right and proper. But you need to take advantage of each moment that you have, because all you really can count on is what is happening right now, and you cannot afford to procrastinate. My wife will tell you that I do not let any time go by. I am always doing something. I have my Bible or a book on the Word with me all the time. If I have to go somewhere and sit and wait, I am reading, praying in tongues or studying the Word. The most precious and important thing you have is time, and you cannot get any more of it. You cannot buy more. All you have is now. Redeem the time nd make every moment count.

Back to Newsletter