One thing I love about studying form the New Living Translation is that the thoughts are usually so clearly expressed that they don’t need much explanation. That is the case with this passage from Colossians written by Paul. Read these scriptures slowly and review them in your heart. Don’t pass through or over them too quickly. Wait until they truly sink in and you grasp what has been said before you move on. What is being said here is phenomenal and if you can grasp this and add it to your heart it will guide you in understanding much of what the scriptures are teaching us.
Note this: The Old testament speaks frequently of the “Anointed One of God” which is both referred to in this way or specifically will use the word “Messiah”. When “Anointed One” or “Messiah” are translated into the New Testament language of Greek the word translates to “Christ”. Christ is Not a Last name, It is a promised and eternal person and position of power before God and all the nations.
Colossians 1:11-14
We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light. For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.
Speaking regarding Christ (The Anointed One) Jesus. The Apostles and first elders are praying for us to be filled with All His Glorious Power in order for us to have the endurance and patience we need. They are asking that we be filled with Joy (Can anyone use some joy) giving thanks to the father who set this all up for us. There are two kingdoms in this world (but only one in the world to come) and He has made it possible for you and I to share in the blessings and inheritance of those who are children of and live in the kingdom of light. He came to the dark kingdom and rescued us from its rulership and influence and moved us into the kingdom ruled and administered by His son.
He was able to do this because Jesus paid the full and eternal penalty that was due us when He died and rose again in Power. Do you understand that death is the doorway to the execution of judgement against sin which leads to eternal isolation and suffering? When Jesus raised from the dead He changed what existed on the other side of that door for those who are in the kingdom of light mentioned here. By raising from the dead He proved that He has power over the outcome.
The passages that follow explain the very person and nature of Christ and the thing to keep in mind is that Gods plan from forever back included Christ doing what He did. The scripture is so clear in so many places that Christ born in Bethlehem as a baby existed first as God forever before that. The Old Testament clearly pointed to the deity of Messiah (Christ). Anyone questioning this or doubting it should do a quick review of Psalm 2 attached as a comment to this.
Christ Is Supreme (Colossians 15-23)
Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth.
He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see—such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him.
He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.
Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything.
For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.
This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions.
This includes You and Me
Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.
But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News. The Good News has been preached all over the world, and I, Paul, have been appointed as God’s servant to proclaim it.
Hope Echos 
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