New book - Colossians 1:1-8 says...
Today's verses are Colossians 1:1-8, which read,
v.1, 2 - Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.
This is a typical opening of a letter from Paul to a church. Colossae lies along a river and was a very prominent city but then the main road was re routed around them and the city went into decline. We have seen that many times when an interstate replaces the main road that ran through a town. Timothy is mentioned as he attended to Paul while he was in prison in Rome when this letter was penned.
It is written to the "saints and faithful brethren" of the church in this depressed town. Those descriptive words give you a great insight on the brethren of this church. They have focused on holiness, being called saints, and loyalty, being called faithful, to Christ. Paul prays for them to experience grace and peace from God as he does for all of his 13 epistles or letters.
v.3, 4 - We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints;...
Paul never went to Colossae. Even though he never went there, he gives thanks to God and prays for these brethren who he has never met. He has heard of their faith in Christ Jesus and the love (which most likely came in some physical action of compassion) for the church. Their faith was evident to others and their love for the body of Christ was seen enough that when Paul heard of it, he puts them on his prayer list.
v.5, 6 - ...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;...
The hope laid up in heaven is not "I hope I get it" but a hope of certainty to those who hear the word of truth, the gospel of Jesus Christ, and respond to His call. That certainty of heaven comes from hearing and the hearing leads to following and the following bears fruit that is increasing. When we understand the grace of God in truth, that which we have heard through the gospel message of Christ on the cross and triumph over the grave, then we follow that call. The result of following Christ is the fruit of the Spirit which is ever increasing in our lives. Peace, patience kindness, goodness, etc. are to be increasing in the life of a true believer who understands God's grace in which he has heard and followed after. This is what has happened and is happening in the Christians that are in the church in Colossae.
v.7, 8 - ...just as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf, and he also informed us of your love in the Spirit.
It is most likely that Epaphras was the founder of the church in Colossae. He was converted under Paul's ministry in Ephesus and then went back to his home town of Colossae and started a church there. Here is an example of a second generation Christian from Paul doing exactly what Paul was doing throughout Asia Minor.
Epaphras is loved dearly by Paul. Epaphras is equal with Paul. Epaphras is as dedicated to Christ as Paul. There is an equality in Paul's language here to Epaphras. Peter does this same thing when he calls the elders of a church, "fellow elders." He is one of them and they are of the same position as he. This second generation Christian is being spoken of in the same terms of the first generation Christian. Is there a lesson here for us to learn this morning?
We typically rank people by their influence or by their years of service or maybe by their family name or amount of resources. We build in our minds those who are in the "in" crowd and those who are in the "out" crowd, those who really matter and those who don't. Peter and Paul and the apostles are very important to the birth of the church but they speak to those who are answering the call to Christ as nothing less than fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. They speak of them in terms of equality for the sake of salvation. They may have different roles to fulfill given by God but when it comes to salvation, their language expresses no hierarchy that I am better than you because I physically saw Jesus and you did not.
Paul acknowledged that the work of God through the faithful servant Epaphras was as real as his work of God to the other churches and deserving of his time in prayer and this letter of greeting to them. He affirmed the work done through Epaphras and Epaphras himself as a faithful servant of God. Do we affirm others in this manner within the body of the church and especially newer or second generation Christians who hear and respond to the call of God? Do we call them and respond to them as truly "fellow" bond-servants of Christ just like us, nothing less and nothing more? Let's pray.
"Lord, Paul shows us again his humility as he prays for a work that he didn't start but it is no matter to him who gets the credit other than You. He sets earthly pride aside to acknowledge and pray for others who are following his example and going where he has not gone. May we see another fellow brother or sister in Christ today and let them know through our speech that our equality in Christ's salvation brings joy and our prayers for them and their work for God. Amen."
Pastor Adam
v.1, 2 - Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.
This is a typical opening of a letter from Paul to a church. Colossae lies along a river and was a very prominent city but then the main road was re routed around them and the city went into decline. We have seen that many times when an interstate replaces the main road that ran through a town. Timothy is mentioned as he attended to Paul while he was in prison in Rome when this letter was penned.
It is written to the "saints and faithful brethren" of the church in this depressed town. Those descriptive words give you a great insight on the brethren of this church. They have focused on holiness, being called saints, and loyalty, being called faithful, to Christ. Paul prays for them to experience grace and peace from God as he does for all of his 13 epistles or letters.
v.3, 4 - We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints;...
Paul never went to Colossae. Even though he never went there, he gives thanks to God and prays for these brethren who he has never met. He has heard of their faith in Christ Jesus and the love (which most likely came in some physical action of compassion) for the church. Their faith was evident to others and their love for the body of Christ was seen enough that when Paul heard of it, he puts them on his prayer list.
v.5, 6 - ...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;...
The hope laid up in heaven is not "I hope I get it" but a hope of certainty to those who hear the word of truth, the gospel of Jesus Christ, and respond to His call. That certainty of heaven comes from hearing and the hearing leads to following and the following bears fruit that is increasing. When we understand the grace of God in truth, that which we have heard through the gospel message of Christ on the cross and triumph over the grave, then we follow that call. The result of following Christ is the fruit of the Spirit which is ever increasing in our lives. Peace, patience kindness, goodness, etc. are to be increasing in the life of a true believer who understands God's grace in which he has heard and followed after. This is what has happened and is happening in the Christians that are in the church in Colossae.
v.7, 8 - ...just as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf, and he also informed us of your love in the Spirit.
It is most likely that Epaphras was the founder of the church in Colossae. He was converted under Paul's ministry in Ephesus and then went back to his home town of Colossae and started a church there. Here is an example of a second generation Christian from Paul doing exactly what Paul was doing throughout Asia Minor.
Epaphras is loved dearly by Paul. Epaphras is equal with Paul. Epaphras is as dedicated to Christ as Paul. There is an equality in Paul's language here to Epaphras. Peter does this same thing when he calls the elders of a church, "fellow elders." He is one of them and they are of the same position as he. This second generation Christian is being spoken of in the same terms of the first generation Christian. Is there a lesson here for us to learn this morning?
We typically rank people by their influence or by their years of service or maybe by their family name or amount of resources. We build in our minds those who are in the "in" crowd and those who are in the "out" crowd, those who really matter and those who don't. Peter and Paul and the apostles are very important to the birth of the church but they speak to those who are answering the call to Christ as nothing less than fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. They speak of them in terms of equality for the sake of salvation. They may have different roles to fulfill given by God but when it comes to salvation, their language expresses no hierarchy that I am better than you because I physically saw Jesus and you did not.
Paul acknowledged that the work of God through the faithful servant Epaphras was as real as his work of God to the other churches and deserving of his time in prayer and this letter of greeting to them. He affirmed the work done through Epaphras and Epaphras himself as a faithful servant of God. Do we affirm others in this manner within the body of the church and especially newer or second generation Christians who hear and respond to the call of God? Do we call them and respond to them as truly "fellow" bond-servants of Christ just like us, nothing less and nothing more? Let's pray.
"Lord, Paul shows us again his humility as he prays for a work that he didn't start but it is no matter to him who gets the credit other than You. He sets earthly pride aside to acknowledge and pray for others who are following his example and going where he has not gone. May we see another fellow brother or sister in Christ today and let them know through our speech that our equality in Christ's salvation brings joy and our prayers for them and their work for God. Amen."
Pastor Adam
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