July 23, 2006
Colossians 1
Rev. Brian Hawes
Prayer and Scripture
reading: Paul
· Starting this morning we’re
going to shift gears and spend some time in the book of Colossians. The city of Colosse was located in
present-day Turkey and had been a major center of commerce and trade. By the time this letter was written, it had
diminished in importance to a second-rate market town. What’s significant biblically is that Paul
didn’t start the church in Colosse – Epaphras, who was converted during Paul’s
ministry in Ephesus, started it. So
let’s begin by reading the first couple of verses
· Colossians 1 – Paul, an
apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 2 to the
saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are at Colossae: Grace to you and
peace from God our Father. In every
letter he wrote Paul addresses problems in the church, so we know that the
Colossian Christians aren’t perfect – none of us are. And yet Paul calls them “saints and faithful brethren.” The word for saints actually means “holy
ones.” Think about it – when we look
at ourselves we see our faults and sins, yet God sees what He is making us to
be – holy ones. That’s good news.
· Verse three - We give
thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 4
since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for
all the saints; 5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you
previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel, which has come to you, just
as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as
it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understood the
grace of God in truth; 7 just as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved
fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf, 8 and
he also informed us of your love in the Spirit. That’s a long sentence, but let’s see if we can unpack it a
little bit.
· Paul writes that they give
thanks to God for the Colossian Christians.
Why? Verse four - since we
heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the
saints. Faith and love bring
thankfulness and prayer. Paul and
Timothy gave prayerful thanksgiving because of the faith and love lived out by
the church. We likewise need to be sure
to give thanks and prayer to God for the faith and love of Christ we see lived
out in the lives of others.
· Why does the church show
such faith and love? Verse 5 - because
of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the
word of truth, the gospel, which has come to you, just as in all the world also
it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you
also since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth. Have you ever been in a situation you felt
was hopeless? Sometimes when I think
about my mom not being saved, I feel like it’s a bit hopeless. And to be honest, sometimes when I think
about Kim’s heart condition I feel a bit hopeless too. But did you notice that the hope Paul’s
writing about isn’t a hope based on circumstances? The true hope we have is the hope of the gospel, the good news
of Jesus Christ, the hope of an eternity spent with God, the hope that spurs us
on to faith and love. That’s where
our future lies, in the hope of the gospel.
· There’s more. Those Christians heard the word of truth and
allowed it to multiply the fruit of the gospel within them. …of which you previously heard in the
word of truth, the gospel, which has come to you, just as in all the world also
it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you
also since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth. It’s easy for us to forget that growing up
in Christ is a process. When we make
mistakes, they don’t have to knock us back to ground zero but instead can serve
as steps of growth toward being like Christ. The Colossian Christians obviously made mistakes, yet the gospel
within them kept growing and bearing fruit in them. When we first hear the truth and understand and receive it, it
grows within us as long as we keep walking toward Christ. And that’s an encouragement to us.
· Verse seven - 7 just as
you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a
faithful servant of Christ on our behalf, 8 and he also informed us of your
love in the Spirit. A couple of
things strike me about these two verses.
First of all, how thankful we can be for those who shared with us the
truth that transformed our lives.
When I think about my background and the bad choices I’ve made in my
life, I know I’d be in serious trouble if Pastor Jim Cayton at Calvin
Presbyterian Church in Tigard hadn’t shared the gospel with me in November of
1974 and started me on the journey toward Christ. Second, when we see the love of Christ shown in other people’s
lives, we need to share that. We
need to tell those folks how much we appreciate what we see in them. We need to share with others the love we
see, so that they too will be encouraged.
· Verse nine – For this
reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you
and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all
spiritual wisdom and understanding.
Because of the faith and love and growth in the gospel the believers
showed, Paul and Timothy kept praying and praying and praying for them. I can believe that Paul prayed continually
for them, because his letters are very prayerful and prayer filled. But what’s interesting is what he prayed
for. Faith and love and growth are
important, but what’s crucial to Paul is that Christians be filled with knowing
God’s will and with the wisdom and understanding to follow it. That’s significant, because if we don’t know
God’s will, we kind of wander aimlessly around wondering what’s next. Proverbs 29:18 says, Where there is no
vision, the people are unrestrained, but happy is he who keeps the law. In other words, if we don’t pray for each
other that we will know God’s will, we lose focus our focus on God. Paul is challenging us by example to pray
for one another, that we will know God’s will and have the wisdom and
understanding to follow it.
· But there’s more Paul is
praying for. Verse 10 – so that you
will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects,
bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. This is a scary one for me. My heart longs to walk in a manner worthy of
and pleasing to the Lord, but so often I fall very, very short. But I know that as long as I keep striving
for these things, God will be pleased with me.
Living and loving God’s way will help us bear fruit in good works and
come to know God better and better.
That’s something we can encourage each other in by praying for each
other.
· Paul prays for still more. 11 strengthened with all power, according
to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience;
joyously 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the
inheritance of the saints in Light.
It’s easy for us to feel like all this is on our shoulders, like we’ve
got to figure out a way to find the strength to do all this. But Paul hits the nail on the head when he
points to Christ and His power and prays that believers will be strengthened in
this power. The power of the Holy
Spirit strengthens us and enables us to have the perseverance and patience to
keep on in Christ. We don’t have to
do it in our own strength. We have to
have the commitment to keep growing up in Christ, becoming more like Him, but
He gives us the strength. And that’s
some of the best news we could ever hear, isn’t it?
· Verse thirteen – For He
rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of
His beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. We can grow in all these things because
of what Jesus did for us by dying on the cross. We don’t have to come up with the means – we just have to be
willing and submitted to Christ.
· And now Paul moves on to
Christ’s credentials – who He really is.
Verse fifteen – He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn
of all creation. 16 For by Him all
things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things have been
created through Him and for Him. 17 He
is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 He is also head of the body, the church;
and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will
come to have first place in everything.
19 For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell
in Him, 20 and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made
peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on
earth or things in heaven. Christ
rules over all, is above all, and created all.
He’s in charge, period. Think
about it this way – everything God is, all the fullness, Christ is. Jesus is no less powerful than God the
Father. What Paul’s saying is that,
because of the great power that Jesus Christ has, and because He has made this
power available to us, we can become like Him. We can grow in faith and love and maturity in Christ because of
this awesome power He holds and has placed within us by the power of the Holy
Spirit. That’s what the context is
telling us. And that’s exactly what we
need to hear. Christ’s power is working
in us and through us.
· Then Paul takes a brief trip
down memory lane and reminds us of the past.
Verse twenty-one – And although you were formerly alienated and
hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, 22 yet He has now reconciled you in His
fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and
blameless and beyond reproach – 23 if indeed you continue in the faith firmly
established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that
you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which
I, Paul, was made a minister.
Notice how, after mentioning our past, Paul doesn’t dwell on it. We tend to dwell on our past. Paul reminds us of our past just long enough
so that we can remember how far we’ve come.
Where we were isn’t important – it’s how we’re continuing in the
faith that’s important. Continuing
in what Jesus is working in us by His power and in making Him the absolute
focus of our lives is what’s important.
· Verse twenty-four – Now I
rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf
of His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ’s
afflictions. 25 Of this church I was
made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your
benefit, so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God, 26
that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations,
but has now been manifested to His saints, 27 to whom God willed to make known
what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is
Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 We
proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so
that we may present every man complete in Christ. 29 For this purpose I also labor, striving according to His
power, which mightily works within me.
Paul was a master at something I struggle with – rejoicing in suffering.
That’s hard for me. But I will gladly suffer if it means more
and more people come to Christ and grow up in Him. I count it one of the greatest honors of my life to be here
serving with you as your pastor. I know
I can never become the kind of great man Paul was, but I’m striving to allow
God to work His power in me to make me the person and the pastor He created me
to be. And that’s the call for all of
us. We’re all called to allow His
power in us to make us the people He created us to be. By His power He can and will do it. His grace is more than sufficient. So let’s encourage one another to keep
growing in Christ, to keep being filled with His power, to keep becoming like
Christ. Let’s pray for one another that
we all become like Christ.
· Let’s pray.