February 9, 2020
Morning Service

Colosse was a city located in Asia Minor (modern day Turkey) about 100 miles away from Ephesus.  It was a small city along the trade route that ran from Ephesus to the Euphrates River.  Paul had never been to this church, but it is believed that it was planted by those he ministered to during his years at Ephesus as in Acts 19:10 he says “all of Asia Minor had heard the word of the Lord.”  It may have been Epaphras, who Paul mentions in this letter, that founded the church there and it is his visit to Paul, while imprisoned in Rome, that prompts this letter.  It seems that the church was battling false teaching that was a combination of all the religions in the area.  Greek speculation, Jewish legalism, and Oriental mysticism were all combined into one package known as “Gnosticism.”  They claimed to have special and superior knowledge of spiritual things than that of even the apostles.  They taught that true happiness could only come from the knowledge of the deep secrets that were revealed only in their cult.  They believed the divinity of the spiritual realm did not translate into the physical world; thus negating the teaching of the human side of Jesus.  There are many of the same type of teachings alive today with Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witness and the Unity church; each claiming to have a “new or deeper” revelation of spiritual things.  We must be very careful with our involvement with any such claims that are taught to be received from God.  Paul told the Galatians this:

  Gal 1:6-9 I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, (7) which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. (8) But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. (9) As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.

            Can Paul be any clearer on that point?  We have been given all we need to live a life of following Jesus right here in our Bibles.  When we are confronted with anything that does not align with it, we must reject it as not true.  Our Bible needs to be the filter in which we run everything through to judge it as truth.  Paul uses this letter to the Colossians to strongly refute this false teaching.  He does this by making a strong case of the supremacy, preeminence, and sufficiency of the Lord Christ Jesus.  We will see Him portrayed as the “Head of all principality and power, the Lord of creation, the Author of reconciliation, the Redeemer, the Base of our hope, the Source of our power, the Head of the church, the Embodiment of the full deity of God, and the resurrected Savior.”  We will see that we are “complete” in Him lacking nothing. 

Col 1:1-8 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 in Colosse: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (3) We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, (4) since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints; (5) because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, (6) which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth; (7) as you also learned from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, (8) who also declared to us your love in the Spirit.

            Paul here right from the beginning states his position of authority as an “apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God.”  Paul had not chosen to be an apostle but was chosen by God to be one.  An apostle is “one that has been sent to preach the gospel” and Paul had been hand-picked by God to do so.  It was a calling God placed upon His life and Paul was faithfully following it.  He praises them for their faith and their “love for all the saints.”  He then states the origin of that love as coming from the “hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of truth of the gospel.”  The people at Colosse had heard the Word, accepted it as their own, and allowed it to transform them producing a spirit of love for their Lord and for each other.  Their lives were changed for the better as they were “bringing forth fruit” in their lives.  That change was made evident by the things that they were doing, saying and in every manner of their life.  When we fully yielding to the power of the Holy Spirit it doesn’t just change who you are on Sundays, but it changes who you are all the time even when no one is watching.  Following Jesus goes beyond the things that we are doing and becomes the very way we identify who we really are.  This was evident in the church at Colosse.

Col 1:9-12  For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;  (10)  that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;  (11)  strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy;  (12)  giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.

        Notice Paul again stresses the importance of prayer.  This is twice now he has emphasized that he is praying for them all the time. It may seem at times that we are helpless and too far away to make an impact in someone’s life, but prayer changes things and distance makes no difference.  He specifically prays for them to be “filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.”  He prays that God would supply these to meet the need that is present in their lives.  They are being confronted by this false teaching of “greater knowledge” thus the church there needs the true knowledge, understanding, and wisdom that comes from our faith; believing that He is and rewards those who seek Him.  Knowledge is knowing the facts.  Understanding means, we are able to grasp the meaning of that knowledge.  Wisdom is the application of these two into our lives.  These three things do not come instantly upon our confession of faith, but they are attained a little at a time along our journey of following our Savior.  Seek that knowledge, understanding, and wisdom for yourselves and pray for it for those around you that are struggling.  Read your Bible anticipating that the Holy Spirit opens the eyes of your heart to truly understand and apply God’s Word to your life.  He then describes what that true knowledge, understanding and wisdom of the Lord produces in our lives:

·        A walk worthy of the Lord:  diligently following Jesus with your whole heart imitating Him with your life; which pleases God fully.  All He asks is for our best.

·        Being fruitful:  Your actions will reflect the change in your heart; doers of the Word and wisdom in action.

·        Increasing in knowledge:  You now have a thirst and hunger to know God more intimately and only He satisfies that desire.  The more you have the more you want.

·        Strengthened according to His glorious power:  We are no longer only able to act upon the abilities we have, but we have tapped into His glorious power (Phil. 4:13) This is one that we all know, but do we understand and apply it?

·        Demonstrating patience and longsuffering with joy:  We now view suffering and trials as joyful knowing that they are drawing us to a closer walk with our Lord; attitude is everything.  Unfortunately, this only comes through practice

·        Being thankful for our calling to follow:  We realize that God has graciously offered to us a chance to walk with Him through this life being more than a servant but His friend.  He reveals to us all we need to know and understand about Him to have a close personal relationship.  We are blessed beyond what we deserve.

 

Seek not only to know God, but to understand His love for you and then apply that to wisely and faithfully following Him.  “If you love Me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15)