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The Epistle to the Colossians

INTRODUCTION

Dr. Grant C. Richison

I. ORIGIN OF THE COLOSSIAN CHURCH

2:1 indicates the Colossian church had never seen Paul. cf. 1:4,7,8

The biblical historical background to Colossians can be seen in Acts 19:10, 26.

Paul missed Colosse on both of his missionary trips, Acts 16:6; 19:1.

Paul sent Epaphras to preach to them, Col 1:7.

Paul evangelized the churches of the Lychus Valley where Colosse was located. Also Laodicea and Hieropolis were located there.

The Colossian church was mainly Gentile, 1:21,27; 2:11.

II. THE CITY OF COLOSSE

The city lay in the Lychus Valley where is Turkey today.

Mountains surrounded the area. It was about 100 miles inland west from Ephesus.

It was overshadowed in importance by Laodicea and Hieropolis due to changes in the main road. As a result traffic and trade went to her rival cities.

The people of Colosse were mostly Phrygians and Greek colonists.

There were a great number of Jews in that section of the country. Antiochus the Great (223-187 B.C.) transplanted 2,000 families of Jews from Mesopotamia and Babylon to Phrygia and Lydia. Many lived in this region at this time.

Colosse was situated in the province of Phrygia or the Roman province Asia.

The region was subject to earthquakes.

III. OCCASION

During Paul's absence from the Lychus Valley an insidious error crept into the Colossian Church. Epaphras went to Rome to report the inroads of this heresy (1:7,8). The heresy was a combination of Judaism and incipient gnosticism (anything material was sinful).

These errors led to two practical problems:

1. Asceticism (2:21-23) -- flee from the world

2. License (3:5-17) -- indifferent to the world

IV. PURPOSES:

To set forth Christ as pre-eminent (1:18; 2:9). This is God's answer to error.

Jesus is no angelic being from God; he possesses a real body (cf. 1:16-17). In that body is all the fullness of the Godhead. Angels are subject to him. There is no need for any other mediation than Christ between God and man (1:19-20).

To warn against the false philosophies of tradition, legalism, mysticism and asceticism (2:18-23).

V. THEME

Christ the head of the universal church, 1:18.

VI. KEY VERSE

1:18 -- "And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence."

VII. KEY WORD

"All" -- 32 times

VIII. DATE

About A.D. 61 in Rome.

IX. OUTLINE

Preliminary statements, 1:1-2

Pre-eminence of Christ, 1:3-2:3

Polemic against error, 2:4-3:4

Practical exhortations, 3:5-4:6

Personal messages, 4:7-17

X. MISCELLANEOUS MATTER

The book was carried to Colosse by Tychicus, 4:7-9 (compare Ephesians 4:7).

Ephesians, Colossians and Philemon written at the same time.

Colossians is similar to Ephesians

78 of 95 verses bear a resemblance.

Emphasis of Ephesians -- the body of Christ; emphasis of Colossians -- Christ, the head of the body.

Colossians was written by Paul while he was in prison in Rome (1:1; 4:10,18).

The book of Colossians is characterized by repeated emphasis on positional truth (status quo of the believer in God's eyes) (1:24-29; 2:9; 2:20-3:4).

The book is Christocentric (Christ-centered).

Colossians, Chapter One

Colossians 1: 1

"Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother."

The first two verses of the book of Colossians comprise the salutation.

"Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ"

Paul does not begin his epistles with customary introductions of our day. Salutations of our day are irrelevant. We begin a business letter with the term" Gentlemen" and yet we know that there is not a gentleman in the whole crowd! We write, "Dear Sir," when we know that they are neither "dear" nor "Sir!!" We cannot start a letter with "Hey, you" either!!

The name "Paul" means "little." If there was anyone who could call himself "Mr. big," it was the apostle Paul. He was the greatest missionary of the first century. He was one of the great men of his day. In Judaism he had a promising career. He was a Pharisee. He was the outstanding persecutor of the church. He ran out of victims in Jerusalem so he went to Damascus to capture more Christians, "Then Saul (Paul), still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem" (Acts 9:1-2). He was on his way to murder the disciples in Damascus.

On that road to Damascus he met the risen Lord and received Jesus Christ as his Savior. As a Christian he spread the gospel to the Gentile Roman world. The Lord Jesus ruined his previous career of killing Christians! One look at Jesus and it changed everything in his life. Jesus' worst enemy became his greatest emissary.

Paul was not one of the 12 original Apostles. One qualification for apostleship was seeing Jesus. He saw the risen Christ (I Cor. 9:1; 15:8-9). God gave him miraculous powers to authenticate his apostleship (II Cor. 12:12; Heb. 2:3-4).

The word "apostle" conveys the idea of special commission from God. The apostle was under a divine commission to found the church and write Scripture. This is the highest ranking gift in the Bible. There are no more apostles today. No one has the right to write Scripture. This gift, as all gifts, can only be bestowed by the sovereignty of Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation (I Cor. 12:11,13).

Paul was the human author of Scripture but the Holy Spirit was the divine author, "For prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit" (II Pet 1:20). This does not mean that the human author mechanically writes Scripture with little or no input from his person. It means that the Holy Spirit guides every word he writes to accurately convey what God wants to communicate to man.

Paul was Christ's apostle. He was not the church's apostle. He was a special emissary on special divine assignment from Christ (John 17:18). He took his marching orders from Jesus Christ.

PRINCIPLE: When Jesus Christ fills our horizon, we can do nothing else but serve him.

APPLICATION

When we truly meet the Lord Jesus we lose interest in pleasing self. The greatest thing that can happen to a young person is to meet the Lord Jesus young enough that they can give their entire life to the Lord. Boy friends, girl friends, cars, career do not compare with knowing and serving him (Phil. 3:10). When we devote our lives to the Son of God, we live no lives of regret.

Paul makes his commitment clear in I Cor. 9:16,17, "Or if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!" He said, "I must preach the gospel whether I want to do it or not. whether it is convenient or not, I have no choice." God is no cruel task master. He is a wonderful master who gives us a sense of satisfaction when we serve him. Paul did not quit. He served to the best of his ability which is all God asks. This kind of commitment gives us direction, point and purpose. We keep our drive no matter what opposition may come our way.

"by the will of God"

Paul is an apostle by the will of God, not by his own self appointment. He did not choose the career of an apostle. He became an apostle because he came into confrontation with the Lord of Glory. He was on his way to arrest Christians when the Lord arrested him and dispatched him to dispense the gospel.

He did not earn nor deserve the right of apostleship. It was clearly within God's domain to place him in this special privilege within Christianity. It is not by his own merit or strength or sufficiency. God's sovereign choice is the basis for his apostleship.

PRINCIPLE: The Christian does what he does "by the will of God."

APPLICATION:

People often rationalize themselves into a course of action and then say, "This is the will of God." When things fall apart they say, "Why did God do this to me? It is God's fault that I am in this situation." Their course of action came from themselves, not God.

Others blame Satan for their difficulties whereas it the problem was self-induced. We make foolish decisions and say foolish things and then blame it on Satan whereas it is not Satan at all.

We all make decisions which have nothing at all to do with the will of God. We blame Satan but is our own foolish mistake. For example, a person may say "I lost my job because of my testimony for Christ." But it was not his testimony at all, he lost his job because he was loafing on the job. He had the attitude that the world owed him a living. He did not view his job as part of his Christian service. Instead of doing his job as unto the Lord, he was a sloppy worker. Satan does not have a thing to do with this. Satan's system does attack Christians but not in this kind of incident.

"and Timothy our brother"

Timothy was a vest-pocket edition of the apostle Paul. He was Paul's companion on many of his travels (II Cor. 1:1; Phil. 1:1; II Thes. 1:1) and his son in the faith (II Tim 2:1). Timothy had a Gentile father (Acts 16:1) but Jewish mother and grandmother (II Tim. 1:5). He learned the Old Testament from a young age from them (II Tim. 3:15).

Paul hand-picked Timothy to serve with him. Timothy joined Paul on his second missionary journey at Lystra where he was reported to be effective in ministry (Acts 16:2). Thereafter they were almost inseparable. Wherever Paul went, he took Timothy. Wherever Paul could not go, he sent Timothy. "Now if Timothy comes, see that he may be with you without fear; for he does the work of the Lord, as I also do" (I Cor. 16:10). Paul personally polished him as a leader. He wrote I & II Timothy to this young pastor.

Paul had numerous colleagues and friends but none of them were quite as close as Timothy. Note his view of Timothy in Philippians 2:10-23, "But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, that I also may be encouraged when I know your state. For I have no one like-minded, who will sincerely care for your state. For all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus [but not Timothy]. But you know his proven character, that as a son with his father he served with me in the gospel. Therefore I hope to send him at once, as soon as I see how it goes with me."

Timothy was a spiritual "brother." He belonged to the family of God. He was not a physical relation to Paul. "Brother" also indicates that he does not share apostleship with Paul. He is a "brother," not an "apostle."

God brought these two men together and they remained together. Their friendship stuck. Their friendship glued together with a divine adhesive. Others forsook Paul. When the going got tough, they quit, "This you know, that all those in Asia have turned away from me, among whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes" (II Tim. 1:15). Paul knew what it was like to have some bitter disappointments in his friends and co-workers.

What kept Paul and Timothy together? They had nothing in common. Paul was much older than Timothy (Philemon 9). In I Timothy Paul said, "Let no man despise your youth." Usually, people who have a large age gap do not remain together for very long unless they are relatives These two were poles apart in their family background. Paul was a pure blood Jew (Phil. 3:5). Timothy was half Jew, half Gentile. His father was a Gentile (Acts 16:3).

They were poles apart in their education. They were not on the same plane. Paul had a graduate degree. He sat at the feet of Gamaliel. There is no record of any formal training of Timothy.

PRINCIPLE: God breaks down natural barriers between people.

APPLICATION:

Even though these men came from radically different backgrounds they served the Lord side by side. Paul mentored Timothy in action. Everything he learned he learned from Paul. Timothy was both loyal and faithful. Jesus Christ compensates for the differences in culture, education, financial background. He annihilates the differences that separate.

Colossians 1:2

"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."

"To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are in Colosse"

The two phrases "in Christ" and "in Colosse" point to two spheres. "In Colosse" is the location where the saints at Colosse live. This is their earthly address. "Saints" in the Bible are people on earth (I Cor. 14:33; Eph. 4:11,12; 5:3; 6:18; Col. 1:4,12; Heb. 6:10; Jude 3). Here the "saints" locate at Colosse.

The phrase "in Christ" is their spiritual sphere. This is their position (status quo) before God. As God views them, they have the same status quo as Jesus Christ as in God's eyes.

Paul characterizes the Colossians with two descriptions. First, he called them "saints." This means that they are set apart as chosen for God. The Colossians were "saints" because they possessed by God in a distinctive way. The blood of Christ bought and paid for them. God acquired them by the death of Christ. This is not a term of morality. It has nothing to do with how we act. It has more to do with who we are. This is not a term of condition but of position. We belong to God. At our point of belief God claimed us for his own. Therefore, we belong to him. We are saints by virtue of our position in Christ.

Second, Paul calls them "faithful brethren." The Colossian church faced false doctrine. However, Paul describes them as "faithful." They are dependable; God can count on them to remain true to truth. Not all saints are faithful. They have enough faith to receive Christ and that is about all.

The church at Colosse was one of two churches (the other church is Rome) to which Paul wrote that he never visited. Epaphras founded the church at Colosse.

PRINCIPLE: Grace always precedes peace. Grace is God's provision for the Christian life. Peace is the enjoyment of God's provisions.

APPLICATION:

Peace is orientation to the grace of God. A person experiencing peace is in the process of experiencing God's grace. Why you do not have peace in your life? Is it because you are experiencing God's grace?

"Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ"

This is Paul's customary greeting to churches by Paul. "Grace" is the normal Greek salutation. "Peace" is the normal Hebrew salutation.

This is no perfunctory greeting. Paul conveys his heart for the Colossians here.

This is not saving grace. This is grace for daily living. It is grace for the pilgrim path. Grace enables a believer to maintain his spiritual equilibrium (Rom. 12:3). A believer full of grace will go off on no tangent. Grace makes it possible for us to put a proper estimation upon ourselves (James 4:6; I Pet 5:5). Grace is something that God provides; we cannot earn or deserve it (I Pet. 5:10). God gives enough grace so we can face anything that may come our way (II Cor. 12:9,10).

"Peace" is the other spiritual commodity God gives. This is not peace with God. That peace we receive at the point of salvation. This is peace of God, God's very own peace for everyday life. It does not take much for people to get our goat. We charge into conflict over something insignificant. Paul desires that every believer will know the peace of God in whatever situation they face. This is the ability to call an armistice because the war is over. We no longer need to fight insignificant battles.

PRINCIPLE: Grace is what sustains us in the Christian life. It is God's provision for daily living.

APPLICATION:

The peace of God disappears quite often with Christians. It leaks out somewhere. Peace goes when we lose our temper and speak harshly to our family. We wound those closest to us. The peace of God enables us to live with a tranquil spirit. In the midst of turbulence with people no one ruffles us. When everyone else is upset we are calm. We can sit down in the inside. Not many of us have that kind of serenity.

It is easy to have peace when everything is going our way. We are on top of the world. When everything comes up roses and everything is brakes for us, we can live the spiritual life. That is not the test of spirituality. The test is when we face trouble. God's peace is dynamic in the middle of trouble.

Colossians 1:3

"We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you"

Verses 3-8 comprise one sentence. This sentence sets forth a three fold thanksgiving. Verses 3-5 give reason for thanksgiving -- the linking of a trio of graces in the Colossians: faith, love, hope. Verses 6-8 present the source for thanksgiving.

Paul gave thanks for the Colossian faith, v3-4a; love; 4b; hope,v5; fruit, v6.

Throughout this passage the impact of the gospel upon them is central. Wherever the gospel is preached, it will do the same thing. Life is in the seed, not in the sower. It is the gospel that saves, not the messenger of the gospel. Always the seed is good but sometimes the ground may be poor. That will affect the harvest.

The first of the three fold thanksgiving is the Colossians faith, v4

"We give thanks"

As is his custom, Paul gives thanks for those to whom he writes, 1:3-8. Paul did not give thanks for the Galatians or the Corinthians (II Corinthians). If he can honestly thank God for the people to whom he writes, he always does so. As soon as the salutation is complete he introduces what he thanks God about them (compare Rom. 1:8). He could not honestly thank God for the Galatians. It is amazing that he could thank God for the Corinthians (I Cor 2:1).

This is a prayer for people Paul never saw. Paul had met two of their members, Epaphras and Philemon. Both may have been converts of Paul in other areas such as Ephesus. He never saw their face (2:1) yet he thanked God for them. "Everything we heard about you we heard second handed." We thank God for those who are born again because they are a miracle of God's grace.

PRINCIPLE: Thanksgiving ought to be a part of every prayer. Whatever the matter of our rejoicing ought to be the matter of our thanksgiving.

APPLICATION: How much time do you spend giving thanks for other Christians? Are you thankful for the people who are a blessing to your Christian life? Do you thank God for the person who led you to Christ or the person who took an interest in you and helped you through the hard places even though they may be miles away?

"to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ"

Paul's prayer is directed to God as Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanksgiving must first eye God as the source. The Father is the source of everything that comes our way.

God the Father is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Father is the source, the Lord Jesus is the means of blessing.

Make sure you send your requests to the correct Heavenly Department. We pray more effectively when we address our prayers properly. Invariably in the Bible when thanks is expressed it is expressed to God the Father.

Paul acknowledges that God the Father through the Lord Jesus is the cause of what transpired in Colosse. Each thanksgiving in his epistles is an occasion for praise for what God has done. Here he gives thanks for calling the church together in faith and their growth in that faith.

PRINCIPLE: We should direct our prayer to the Father.

APPLICATION: Are you sending your prayers to right Heavenly Department?

"praying always for you"

Paul does not pray for them once and then forget it. Productive prayer is continuous. Sporadic prayer is not in God's design for the believer. It must go on and on. Prayer takes work. Paul "always" prayed for the Colossians.

I Thessalonians 1: 2 "We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers, 3 remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father."

I Thessalonians 2: 3 "For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe."

I Thessalonians 5: 17 "Pray without ceasing."

PRINCIPLE: God expects us to pray continuously.

APPLICATION: Do you pray regularly for others?

Colossians 1:4

"since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints"

Paul gives thanks (v.3) for the Colossians because they operate on fundamental methodologies of the Christian faith.

"since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus"

Note the subject for which Paul gives thanks -- for the work of God in them. God worked three principal graces in their lives: faith, love and hope.

First, God worked faith in their lives. The Colossians were willing to risk their future by their faith in Christ. Faith here is not an act of faith but an attitude of faith. It denotes the idea of firm persuasion and therefore trust. Faith is past oriented. It rests upon facts; it is based on the past. Faith is no leap in the dark.

The emphasis in this context is upon believing in Christ instead of false heresies and philosophies about to be denounced. This is faith anchored in Christ, resting in him. It is the soul's reliance upon him. Our faith should sink into him as the anchor sinks into the floor of the sea.

Of the trio of graces, faith always comes first. Faith must come first. We should never discredit faith in favor of love. Faith is the foundation of virtue. It is no mere feeling. Faith is a fact of experience that has a worthy object of truth. Christ the object of faith gives faith its value.

If we deposit money in a bank, our money is not safe in relation to the dimension of our faith in the bank. It is safe in relation to the size of the bank's solvency. We are not a Christian because we exercise faith; we are a Christian because we exercise faith in Christ. Faith is not the key; the key is the object of faith (Jesus Christ, Col. 2:5; Acts 20:21;24:24; Gal 2:16; 3:22,26; Phil 3:7-9; II Ti 3:15).

Paul thanked God for two things: one vertical and one horizontal; one horizontal and visible and the other perpendicular and invisible. "Faith in Christ" -- that is perpendicular and invisible. "Love for all the saints" is horizontal and visible. We prove we have faith in Christ when we love the saints. We demonstrate faith when we love the brethren. Faith is for the sake of love. We do not love for the sake of faith.

PRINCIPLE: The value of our faith lies in the object of our faith.

APPLICATION: We may have faith in ourselves, faith in humanity, faith in our physician, wife, husband and the structure of government but none of these faiths are the proper object of a relation with God. We are not right with God until we exercise faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the true object of our faith.

The second area about which Paul gives thanks for the Colossians is their love.

"and of your love for all the saints"

Second, God worked love in them for each other. In spite of differences and weakness, they loved each other.

Love is a corollary truth to faith (v. 4a). True faith produces love. It is easy to love the saints in heaven. They do not have a sin capacity. The difficult part of loving saints on earth is that they sin. We must love them, sin capacity and all. We do not have the spiritual skill to dissect the old capacity from new one. We must love the entire person and take them for what they are. This is the ear-mark, trade mark and hall mark that we belong to Jesus (Jn 13:34,35).

"Love" is in the present tense. Love is the out outworking of faith (1:4a; Gal. 5:6). Love is not self-centered or self-surrounded. Love purges us of our selfishness and gives us perspective in our relationships with others.

Love is the greatest characteristic of the Christian faith (I Cor 12:13); the greatest commandment in the Christian faith (John 13:34,35); the greatest constraint in Christian faith (II Cor 5:14); the greatest covering in the Christian faith (I Pet 4:8).

PRINCIPLE: God expects us to love all the saints, not just the popular or pleasant ones.

APPLICATION: We will do well to search our hearts to see if we love God's people. The outstanding, tangible, visible, external evidence that we have faith in Christ is that we love all the saints on earth that we know. That means the ornery ones and the nice ones too. Some of us are right ornery. We can blame our parents or whoever we please, but some of us are just hard to please. We are hard to get along with. We are not as polite as we should be. We are not as thoughtful as we should be. Some non-christians have better manners than we do.

Colossians 1:5

"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"

The third area for which Paul gives thanks for the Colossians is their hope. He thanks God that the Colossian faith was not secret, their love was not partial and their hope was not misplaced.

"because of the hope"

Paul links together the Colossian faith and love with their hope.

"Because of" -- because of the glorious anticipation of their future together. Their hope is not the ground of either faith or love but it is the occasion of both faith and love. It is a grand occasion to develop them and call them out to action. Paul gives thanks "because of" their hope in the wonderful prospect of Christ's coming. Because they have such hope, they act more boldly and lovingly.

Hope is no fancied feeling of future bliss but a present experience that gives complexion and composure to every day of life. Hope is the motive behind faith and love. Hope reaches into the future and brings it back into the present. Hope reaches into heaven and brings it back down to earth.

The third grace God worked in them was hope. The Christian has a future. We look for the blessed hope (Tit. 2:13). The hope of heaven impacts how we live on earth. The more we fix our hope on eternal values the more liberal we will be on earth.

The Greek word for hope has no relation to our English word "I hope so." That is a desire with no assurance of fulfillment in fact, "I hope it will not rain today." I have no guarantee of that. There are clouds on the horizon so I take my umbrella with me. The New Testament word for hope is something that is certain because it does not depend on us. It depends on the word and work of Christ.

PRINCIPLE: Hope anticipates, faith appropriates. Faith accepts what hope expects.

APPLICATION: If you are not a Christian you have a horrible future. Your future is the lake of fire. If all the hope you have is social insurance, God help you. If you are born again you have a wonderful future: the hope laid up in heaven.

Hope for the Christian is also the anchor of the soul. It settles our attitude and gives us tenacity for the tough times. The future is as bright as the promises of God.

Hope is the present object of faith. It is already in existence laid up in heaven.

"which is laid up for you in heaven"

"Which is laid up for you in heaven" -- The word "heaven" is in the plural, "heavens." This is a reference to the invisible spiritual kingdom that surrounds us on all sides right now. There is hope for us right now because it comes from an invisible spiritual kingdom surrounding us presently. This is the good news that right now, as we face trouble, Jesus' presence is available to us. He imparts his strength and enables us to stand against adversity. This is the hope of the gospel that awakens faith.

"Laid up" means to be preserved. Hope is stored up for us like a treasure. God guarantees our salvation in eternity. We can blow it down here but we will not lose eternity there. We can never lose our salvation because we never did anything to gain it.

The Christian life revolves around our choice. In time we can choose to live on the basis of the divine operating assets or not. In eternity everything depends on God. Jesus is there praying for us to guarantee our salvation (Heb. 7:25). He also prays that we will succeed in our work in time.

"For you" -- No matter what happens in this life, we will live forever. God could take us to heaven the moment we accept Christ but he has a plan for us in time. We are his personal representatives down here. We are ambassadors for Christ. What we do as an ambassador in time will determine our reward in eternity.

Our hope will be revealed in sight at the rapture. Hope produces faith. Faith in turn grows into love. Hope is the foundation.

"of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel"

Hope is awakened by the gospel (I Thes 1:3; 5:8; I Cor 13:13).

Our hope rests in the truth of the gospel. The test of reality is not whether it pleases us or is comfortable but whether it is true.

"Heard" -- Light houses have horns as well as lights. Ship captains cannot see the light in dense fog so they use the fog horn. There are two things involved in the Christian life: walk and talk, life and lip, and they must go together. When people come to Christ the word will get out. Your family will hear about it first thing. God converts our tongue when we receive Christ.

PRINCIPLE: Our hope rests in the truth of the gospel.

APPLICATION: Have both your life and lip been converted?

Colossians 1:6

"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"

"which has come to you, as it has also in all the world"

The gospel spread over the Roman empire like an epidemic (1:23; Rom. 1:8). It produced fruit among the Colossians. Their influence spread to their city and communities around them.

This indicates the gospel's authenticity. The gospel is universal in its impact. It was a force among them. The gospel is for the whole world. It is not one message among a pluralism of many; it was a message of singular power.

"and is bringing forth fruit"

God was at work through out the Roman Empire. People are coming to know Christ through out the civilized world.

Growth and fruit-bearing go hand in hand. This phrase refers to the continuing growth of the gospel. The grammar indicates there is an innate energy in the message. It conveys inherent power. The inherent energy of a living organism produces fruit. It is the outward result of effective witnessing. The person who receives the gospel of necessity bears fruit (I Thes 2:13).

"as it is also among you since the day you heard"

Growth began with the initial reception of the gospel. The gospel triggered new life. The Colossians heard and embraced the gospel. Their lives were transformed. The late coming legalists had no part in that dynamic.

PRINCIPLE: The gospel has inherent power to win people to Christ (Rom. 1:16). We do not win people to Christ by our persuasion but by our gospel.

APPLICATION: Are you afraid to share your faith? Do you lack the confidence to introduce people to Jesus? The argument of this passage says we should not depend upon our persuasive abilities. The Spirit filled believer depends on the dynamic of the gospel. All we need to do is share the message. The message then takes over to win people to Jesus Christ. The sword will not cut as long as it remains in the scabbard. It must be unsheathed to be effective. If the gospel is preached it will produce fruit.

"and knew the grace of God in truth"

The Colossians should have fully understood the grace of God and should have been immune to the false teaching spreading in their area.

A major characteristic of the true gospel is that it is a gospel of grace. Some preach a gospel of works (Gal.1:6-7). The true gospel is grace plus nothing (Rom. 11:6; Eph 2:8-9).

The heretics of Paul's day were preaching the gospel of legalism. The grace of God in truth is the grace of God without adulteration. It is the grace of God in its simplicity. The message was one of undiluted grace. The gospel came as an act of grace on God's part. It was a message from God, not men. God took the initiative.

PRINCIPLE: Grace and works are mutually exclusive (Rom. 11:6).

APPLICATION: We cannot gain God's favor by merit (Gal. 2:21). Jesus won God's favor by his merit. True Christianity rests in the provision of Christ's death upon the cross. Jesus' death satisfies the just demands of an absolutely holy God. This is true both for becoming a Christian and living the Christian life.

Colossians 1:7

"as you also learned from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf"

Paul developed people wherever he went. His epistles are replete with references to people into whom he poured his life (Rom. 16).

"as you also learned from Epaphras"

The Colossians learned about the gospel from Epaphras. His name occurs three times in the Bible. The first occurrence is here (1:7). The second occurrence is 4:12 where Colossians indicates he probably established the church at Colosse. The last occurrence is in Philemon 23 where he was under arrest in Rome with Paul.

"our dear fellow servant"

He probably brought faith to Colosse. Paul and Epaphras served the same Master and were busy in the same work. He had made a long hazardous journey to Rome where he became a prisoner with Paul. That is why he was "dear" to Paul. Those who serve Jesus Christ often find a place in their hearts for each other.

The word "servant" here means minister. Paul calls him a "slave of Christ" in 4:12. That is a step beyond a minister. A slave has no rights. Epaphras waved his rights. He relinquished all his rights to Jesus Christ. He was satisfied to do the Savior's bidding.

"who is a faithful minister of Christ"

Others were unfaithful to the truth. Tychicus was another "faithful minister" and "fellow servant" of Paul (Col. 4:7). God entrusted Epaphras with the gospel; he was faithful in discharging it. He was true to the message and to getting the message out. He was a true blue servant of God.

It is one thing to serve the Lord on a missionary tour or in the market place. One can be quite spiritual in that kind of circumstance. It is something else to serve the Lord in the adversity of prison life. The closer we get to people under duress the more we can detect their imperfections. Paul saw the character of Epaphras in distress. He counted him "faithful" in that situation.

"on your behalf"

Epaphras was Paul’s personal representative (Phil. 2:25; 4:18). He was not the Colossian minister but the minister of Christ on their behalf. Jesus' appointed him to this work, not the Colossians.

PRINCIPLE: God wants us to multiply ourselves through other people.

APPLICATION: Is there someone in your life into whom you are pouring your life? Are you multiplying yourself in someone else?

Colossians 1:8

"who also declared to us your love in the Spirit."

Epaphras told Paul and his companions that the Colossians loved them.

"in the Spirit"

This is the only place in Colossians that mentions the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the author of Colossians but he mentions himself only once.

Romans 15:30 declares that believers can love by the love that the Spirit imparts, "Now I beg you, brethren, through the Lord Jesus Christ, and through the love of the Spirit, that you strive together with me in prayers to God for me." It is the Holy Spirit who enabled them to love Paul.

Two other similar expressions about how New Testament believers loved shed light on how we are to love.

Tit 3:15, "All who are with me greet you. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with you all. Amen."

II Jn 1:1, "To the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all those who have known the truth."

This is spiritual love. They loved Paul in the things of Christ. New Testament believers loved through the Holy Spirit, loved in the faith and loved in the truth.

The trinity is revealed in verses 6-8: "God" (v.6), "Christ" (v7), "Spirit" (v8).

PRINCIPLE: The Holy Spirit can enable us to love those we would not otherwise love.

APPLICATION: Are you facing a difficult person in your life? Do you depend upon the Holy Spirit to enable you to love that person?

Colossians 1:9

"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"

This verse begins the body of the epistle. Paul begins with a prayer for the Colossians that touches all the bases of their need. This is one of the greatest prayers of the Bible.

Paul first begins with intercession for the Colossians and then moves to thanks for what God has already done for them. It is ironic that Christians ask God to do things for them he has already done. We ask God to forgive us for our sins when we already have forgiven us in Christ (v. 14). We ask God to allow us to enter his kingdom, when he has already done that as well (v.13). It is more proper to thank God for these things than to ask him for them.

"For this reason we also"

"This reason" is their original reception of the gospel (vv. 3-8). Paul prays for them (vv. 9-14) because of their reception to the gospel and love for all the saints.

"since the day we heard it"

They heard it from Epaphras. The news of their response to the gospel led to a prayer request. This prayer answers to their faith.

"do not cease to pray for you"

This is one of the remarkable prayers of the apostle Paul. Other prayers of Paul can be found in Ephesians 1, 3, Philippians 1, II Thessalonians 1. When we read his prayers we are at a high water mark of spirituality in the New Testament. We ought to be at our best in prayer. When we pray we enter the presence of God. The white heat of that presence should melt away spiritual superficiality and sham. Pretension dissolves in God's presence.

This is incessant prayer but it does not mean that Paul prayed for them perpetually. It simply means that he prayed for them on a regular basis. We should pray for people regularly (Acts 20:31; Eph. 1:16; I Thes. 1:2; 5:17). Many people do not cease because they do not start.

PRINCIPLE: Dead earnestness is essential to true prayer.

APPLICATION: We need to seize every opportunity to pray. Prayer is the place where we fight spiritual battles. Do you have a spirit of prayer? Do you seize every opportunity to pray for people you may influence? Are we dead earnest about prayer? We believe in prayer but we do not pray very much. We subscribe to the idea of prayer but when we announce a prayer meeting a minimum number of people come. We believe in prayer if an emergency lands into our lives. Otherwise, we show little interest in prayer. We are eloquent in prayer if it involves our family or our person. If it involves someone else we are quite casual about prayer.

In the prayers of the New Testament we detect the deficiencies of the saints. Paul prays for things they lacked in their spiritual life. Paul's prayers pinpoint the primary and paramount needs of the saints.

This prayer falls into two halves. The first half are petitions for the Colossians and the second half is thanksgiving for the prerogatives God gave them in Christ.

"and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will"

This is the first of two requests Paul prays for the Colossians. The first petition for which Paul asked was that the Colossians might be filled with the knowledge of God's will.

This is the outcome of a great desire. The word "ask" means to implore. It denotes earnestness. This is a request of great earnestness.

"That" is the purpose of the prayer request.

The word "knowledge" means to go beyond the surface of the facts. It sees the truth in the facts. It finds experience in the truth. This is a full knowledge gained from the experience of concentrating on the subject. The operating principle here is the will of God is contained in the Word of God. We cannot know the will of God apart from the Word of God. God has not revealed his special will in nature, in trees and flowers. God's will never contradicts his Word. God's will never transcends the principles of his Word.

The word "filled" suggests filling to the top or brim. Paul prays that they will be satisfied with nothing less than the limit of the knowledge of God's will. He wants them to obtain an entire insight into the will of God. "Filled" means to be controlled to the tiniest detail. We need to know the will of God not only in major decisions of life but in the little decisions as well. It is to pervade our purpose, plans and thoughts.

Most of us are satisfied with being half-filled with everything except food. We do not stop eating until we are full. We are not that way when it comes to spiritual food. We are satisfied with a starvation diet in spiritual things. We snack on spiritual junk food and run off to the spiritual race only to run with very little spiritual energy. It is God's will that we be filled with spiritual food. Most of us are not even half full. God wants us to be chock-block full of the knowledge of the will of God. God wants us to be experts in the will of God. If God answers this prayer we will know all the implications of his will for our lives.

PRINCIPLE: Unless we are speaking terms with the will of God we will have little wisdom and understanding in the spiritual battle we face.

APPLICATION: If we have little spiritual discernment we will get caught up in every spiritual disease that comes along. We will be susceptible to unsound teaching. Dr. Harry Ironside used to say, "If it's new, it's not true. If it's true, it's not new." We need to take care before we embrace anything that is different or new. If it deviates from the Bible we need to be cautious.

The first thing Paul prays for the Colossians is that they will be filled with the knowledge of God's will. The will of God is a great theme in Scripture.

"and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will"

Note the number of passages dealing with the will of God:

John 7:17, “If anyone wants to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority."

We must be willing to do his will, sight unseen. We must be willing to do his will before we even know what it is. We say, "Well, I will consider whether the will of God fits my personality, then I will do it." No, God wants us to be willing to do his will no matter the cost.

God will leave us in the dark about his will if we are not willing to do it. God is willing to reveal his will to us if we are willing to ascertain it. We dare not say to God, "I would like a free, 30 day trial, of your will. If I like it, I will do it." We will never know the will of God in that case.

We cannot dictate to God the terms on which we will condescend to do his will. God does not have to make a deal with us. He does not need us; we need him. We do not bankrupt the will of God when we do not do it; we bankrupt ourselves. We cannot blackmail God.

Eph 5:17, "Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is."

It is not enough to know the will of God, we need to understand it. We do not need a Ph.D from our local university to understand it either.

Rom 12:1,2, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."

We cannot prove the will of God until we "present" or yield our bodies to God for his use. We cannot prove the will of God until we are free from the gravitational tug of the world.

Many other verses speak to the will of God: Mt 7:21;12:50; Acts 21:14;

II Cor 8:5;Heb 10:36;13:20,21;I Pet 3:17; 2:15; 4:1,2 ;I Jn 2:17

Col 4:12 " Epaphras, who is one of you, a bondservant of Christ, greets you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God."

Epaphras was completely in the will of God. He was not on the edge of it. He was dead center in the will of God. He was not on the periphery of God's will.

Acts 13:32 “For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and saw corruption."

David fulfilled all of God's will. We feel that if we fulfill three quarters of God's will we do fine. "That is a good average. Why should God ask for anything more?" What percentage of obedience do we want from our children?

Jesus did the will of God: John 4:34; 6:38-40; Mt 26:39

PRINCIPLE: God expects us to do his will unreservedly.

APPLICATION: Are you willing to do whatever God asks of you?

"with the knowledge of His will"

The word "knowledge" indicates a full understanding of God's will. This word is a key word in the book of Colossians (1:9, 10; 2:2; 3:10).

God makes his will known through the Holy Spirit's teaching ministry in the Word of God. The false teachers at Colosse claimed a super knowledge to the Word of God. Paul prays that the Colossians will receive their super knowledge from God's Word (Colossians). Paul's desire is that they may have a thorough knowledge of God's will. The Colossian renegades offered a false knowledge. To counteract this Paul prayed for a deeper knowledge of God's will on their part.

The will of God here is the whole purpose of God in Christ. This is the will of God in the complete sense, not simply the will of God for salvation or his general decree. This is the will of God both in belief and behavior. The most important thing in the life of a child of God is the will of God. If we are going to please God, we need to find out what his will is and do it. If I want the smile of God, I need to find his will.

"in all wisdom and spiritual understanding"

The Holy Spirit uses the word "wisdom" six times in Colossians (Col. 1:9, 28; 2:3, 23; 3:16; 4:5). Wisdom is the application of truth to experience. It is the ability to apply truth to life that comes only from God (James 1:5; 3:15). Wisdom is insight into the true nature of things. It is the faculty of judging and acting aright. "Full knowledge" is not the end; it is the means. The end is the wisdom to apply truth to experience.

False teachers submitted only the "appearance" of wisdom" (2:23). Their "wisdom" trapped the Colossians in legalism. So the "wisdom" for which Paul prays for them is prudence. It is the ability to look at actions in terms of their results.

When we apply truth to experience we end up with "spiritual understanding." This is the ability to categorize and relate a principle to a problem. "Understanding" (Col. 2:2) is perspicacity or discernment. This is the ability to pierce into a problem and work it to an adequate solution. Understanding is critical knowledge that can apply the knowledge of the first principles of Christianity to any situation. This is the ability to live the Christian life effectively.

There is emphasis on "spiritual" in the original language. This is knowledge from the Holy Spirit, not from the Gnostic Judaizers. The false teacher's wisdom was all show (2:8,18,23). The most clever human philosophy can never understand this apart from divine revelation. This revelation comes by the Bible. No matter how erudite and brilliant people may be, they cannot get "full-knowledge" without God disclosing divine information to them.

Note the word "all." This is a key word in Colossians. The word occurs no fewer than 32 times in this one little letter of four chapters. This word applies to both "wisdom" and "understanding." We need "all" wisdom and "all" understanding.

PRINCIPLE: It is one thing to have knowledge; it is another thing to use that knowledge properly.

APPLICATION: Are you the type of person who loves to acquire knowledge about Christianity but care little about living it? The words "wisdom" and "understanding" are crucial to you. Those words will enable you to live out the Christian life. That is why Paul prayed that the Colossians would have "all" "wisdom" and "understanding." Do you have the courage to pray that God will give you those graces to live the Christian life? If you are frustrated with your Christian life, these two qualities may be the answer to your problem.

Colossians 1:10

"that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God"

Paul's purpose in this passage is that the Colossians would live a life pleasing to God.

"that you may walk "

"Walk" means to live a course of life as a philosophy of life (Co. 2:6; 3:7; 4:4). We must not divorce our position in Christ from our daily course of life. The standing of the believer must relate to the state of his life. The first two chapters of Colossians set forth our status quo before God; it is perfect in Christ. Although our position is right before God, we must ring the changes on our walk if our position is going to be effective on a daily basis. If we walk a carnal life, it will not affect the status of our standing before God. However, God is interested in our walk.

Paul holds up a high ideal that we "walk worthy of the Lord.." Paul never separated doctrine from life or theology from experience. The word "walk" unites what we believe with how we live. H.C.G. Moule says we are to "beware of an untheological devotion." That kind of devotion will ultimately evaporate and disintegrate.

Paul is afraid that alien philosophy will invade Christian truth. He wants the Colossians both to know what they believe and live out what they believe. Many people believe that they can live a healthy spiritual life with a minimum of Bible. However warm and fuzzy this thinking may be, it is dangerous to the very foundation of Christianity. There is no "last" to it. Fashions of thought and attractive personalities cannot sustain the Christian life.

"worthy of the Lord"

The word "worthy" means of equal value. The adverb "worthy" means suitably, in a becoming manner; in a manner of equal value with the thing (in our case -- person) referred to. We are to walk according to the equal value of the Lord. Our lives are to be commensurate with who our Lord is. Our lives should reflect the person we know so intimately. The way we live should mirror our Lord and what he did for us. Is our life consistent with the character of Christ (Compare I Th 2:12; Ro 16:2; Eph 4:1; Phil 1:27)? Creed and conduct are inseparable.

None of us is worthy. Our goal is to walk in such a way that it will reflect on the Lord of glory in a positive way.

PRINCIPLE: Walking worthy of the Lord presupposes that we know who and what the Lord is and has done so that we can match our life with his provision for us.

APPLICATION: Are we praying for each other in these days of doctrinal erosion? Is your life suited or fitted for the Lord you serve? Do you have a case of arrested spiritual development? Are you eating right? Maybe spiritual paralysis has set in? You may not be totally paralyzed, just immobilized. We may be impotent in the Christian life. Are we operating at 50% of our peak potential? We could be a 50% better Christian if we "walked worthy" of the Lord.

Our walk is our testimony. The Christian's testimony (II Cor. 1:12) is like a young woman's reputation. It takes a long time to build but a very short time to lose it. Once we lose our testimony it takes a long time to build confidence in us again. The attitude of many people is "They did it once, they'll do it again. They will revert to type."

When we walk a life that corresponds to the who and what the Lord is, we will "please Him."

"fully pleasing Him"

Literally, this phrase means "unto all pleasing." Paul wants us to give pleasure to the Lord. "Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God" (I Th 4:1). This also infers that a true Christian may have God's displeasure.

This word "pleasing" was used originally in the negative sense of a "yes-man" in extra biblical Greek. This person is willing to do anything to please a benefactor. The Bible does not use this word in the sense of a cringing attitude. "Pleasing" implies anticipation to meet the desires of God.. It is the willingness to do any wish the Lord may please. It is the desire to fulfill what is eternally due to God.

We think of the Lord's desires in association with affection. We love him, how can we please him? We try to please the Lord beyond the explicit statements of Scripture. Just as a devoted son seeks to please a parent, we seek to please God. We seek to anticipate God's wishes, "Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him" (II Cor 5:9).

People need prayer that they will please God over men. There is a great temptation to live our lives around what men think as over against what God thinks. God condemns pleasing men (Col 3:22; I Th 2:4; Gal 1:10).

Four results come from pleasing God with our lives:

"being fruitful in every good work" (v. 10)

"increasing in the knowledge of God" (v 10)

"strengthened with all might" (v. 11)

"giving thanks to the Father" (v. 12)

PRINCIPLE: It is possible to please God.

APPLICATION: Are you seeking to correspond your life with God's provisions for you? Are you, therefore, pleasing God? Are you interested in giving God pleasure? We cannot please everyone so we might as well please the Lord and let the chips fall where they may. Would you like God to be proud of your life? When your children make a good play in baseball we are proud: "That's my boy/girl!" On the other hand, when our children embarrass us by their behavior when we have company, we want to disown them or make out like they belong to our neighbors. God is not ashamed to call us "brothers" (Heb. 2:11). Are you walking in such a way as to warrant the smile of heaven? Are you living with a great amount of spiritual aberration? God is not happy with erratic spiritual walk. Everything we do reflects on God.

"being fruitful in every good work"

The words "being fruitful" and "increasing" were also used in verse six. This phrase directs attention to the life within. Knowledge without appropriation of knowledge is vain.

Christ is the source and energy to produce the fruit. The Christian should produce fruit drawn from Christ. Present tense = the Christian life is to constantly bear fruit, not simply on occasion. To be fruitful means to be productive (John 15:1-5).

"In every good work" is active goodness of any kind (Eph 2:10; Gal 5:5; Titus 1:16; 2:7,14; 3:8,15). Works are not the foundation of a right relationship to God but the outcome of that relationship. "Work" here is any kind of activity undertaken on behalf of Christ. Everything done for this reason is a mode of fruitfulness.

Note that it says we are to be fruitful in "every" good work. There are many good works in the Christian life. The Christian should work on every one of them.

We cannot come into eternal life by good works (Rom. 4:5; Eph. 2:8,9). If a person tries to curry brownie points with God to placate an angry God he has missed the point of Christianity. The message of Christianity is that God IS placated by the death of Christ. Good works is the FRUIT, not the ROOT of salvation (Eph. 2:10; Titus 2:14; 3:8). God expects us to demonstrate to others that we have a personal relationship with him. Are you willing to serve God on earth (Joshua 24:15; Dan. 6:20; Rom. 1:9; 14:18; I Thes 1:9,10)?

Are you involved in the things of Christ? It will be a rude awakening for some of God's people when they stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ. Our generation is inflected with the erroneous idea that pervades Christianity that we hire a pastor and staff to do all the work while the congregation sits, observes and criticizes. When we stand at the Judgment Seat we will be accountable for the gifts and abilities God has given us. God does not have two standards, one for the pulpit and one for the pew. There is not one brand of Christianity for the plumber and one for the preacher. God expects all Christians to do ministry (Eph 4:11,12).

PRINCIPLE: God has a plan for ministry for every believer.

APPLICATION: Do you have ministry? Your ministry may not be public, but do you have a ministry? If you have come to Christ, you should have some ministry whereby you demonstrate that you have come to know God. It need not be spectacular or sensational ministry but it needs to be real. We bring what we have to God's service. God does not expect us to serve him beyond our ability. All he expects of us is to do what we can with what we have. Bring whatever you have and say, "Lord, I would like you to use me. I may not be brilliant but here I am. I would like to be used by you."

God did not design the Christian life to be static. If we stand still in our spiritual growth, we will become static.

Today, we come to the second spiritual fruit of pleasing God: increased knowledge of God.

"and increasing in the knowledge of God"

The word "increasing" indicates that the Christian life is progressive. We never arrive at a complete knowledge of God. We can always learn more about him.

The more we know of God the more we will grow in our faith (I Pet 2:2; II Pet 1:5-7; 3:18; Jude 20). The Christian life is activated by a crisis know as new birth. That crisis triggers a life-long process of knowing more about God. As we "increase" our knowledge of God we move through spiritual babyhood, childhood, adolescence and, if all things are equal, we eventually become mature spiritual adults.

There are peculiar temptations to each phase of our spiritual journey of maturity (I John 2:12-14). If we do not advance in our Christian life it may be because we have not grown in our knowledge of God. We may have a case of arrested spiritual development. We are dwarfed and have become a spiritual pygmy. Our knowledge of God should be greater than it was last year.

This knowledge is no mere abstract knowledge but knowledge of a person (Hosea 6:3; John 17:13). We must cultivate an appetite for knowing God. If we continue to be spoon-fed in spiritual things we will remain a baby. We must learn to feed ourselves. If we do so, we will increase in the knowledge of God. There is no way to increase in the knowledge of God without increasing in the knowledge of the Word of God.

PRINCIPLE: Our idea of God should grow larger as we grow as Christians.

APPLICATION: Is your idea of God greater today than the day you came to know Christ? The ultimate purpose of creation is to glorify God. How can we glorify God if we do not sufficiently know who he is?

Colossians 1:11

"strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy"

The third result of pleasing God is spiritual strength. This verse has three words for strength: "strengthened," "might" and "power." Paul's prayers significantly emphasize power because power transforms saints.

"strengthened with all might"

The first word for spiritual strength is the word "strengthened." The word "might" is spiritual vitality.

There is a play on words in this phrase, "empowered with all power." The Colossian saints will need "all might" to meet the situation in Colosse. Is this a tautology? The point is that we might we strengthened with the strength of another. The power lies with God, not us. We cannot obtain God's power via a conference in the Rockies or by a seminar on personality development.

If we are strengthened with "all" might, does that mean we are almighty?!! No, this is sufficient strength for whatever situation we might face. We generally water down biblical terms. We usually translate this word "all" to mean "some" strength. "God will give me 'almost all' strength I need to live the Christian life!"

The word "might" is inherent ability or the ability to perform anything. God has given us the inherent ability to perform his service. The word "strengthened" is the term for endowed strength. This is not a strength of our own. It is a strength that God gives.

God provides the energy, the fuel or dynamo for the Christian life. When we draw upon this Divine dynamo we harness God's power for everyday life. If we are inept in our Christian life, the fault lies with us. We do not use the power God provides. There is no short-supply on God's side.

There are many promises of God whereby he gives his power to those in need:

Joshua 1:9; I Kings 2:2; Isaiah 40:29,31; Romans 4:20; I Corinthians 16:13; II Corinthians 12:9,10; II Timothy 4:16,17; I Peter 5:10

III John 2 "Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers." John wants them to be as strong spiritually as they are physically. If some of us were as strong physically as we are spiritually we would be confined to a bed.

PRINCIPLE: For every requirement God makes, he makes the power available to do what he wants of us.

APPLICATION: No matter how difficult the demand for Christian service may be, no matter how difficult the task, God always makes available his resources to match the need.

The second phrase for power in this verse is "according to His glorious power."

"according to His glorious power"

"Power" is the word for overcoming resistance. This word is only used of God in the New Testament. Of the number of words for "power" in the New Testament, this word means manifested power. This power is measured by the might of God. God's "glorious power" speaks of the manifestation of his essential being. This is the power that God declares to us when he reveals himself to us.

The words "according to" express the measure of the supply of power. God proportions this power to the believer, not merely according to his need, but according to the supply of God.

"His glorious power" is the power of his glory (Eph. 1:18-23; 3:16; 6:10). This may mean according to his grace. God does not give according to our weakness but according to his glorious power.

We have patience and longsuffering according to the might of his glory (literally). God's glory will manifest what he can do about endurance of problems and our temper with people. God himself will fortify us against the attacks of Satan. Not only does the power of God help us but his "glorious" power enables us to live the Christian life. Spiritual life needs spiritual strength. We need more than spiritual support.

There is much talk about power in evangelical circles today. The biblical emphasis is upon power for "endurance" and "longsuffering." We are strengthened with "all power" and "according to his glorious power." It takes God's power to endure circumstances and to be longsuffering with people. Our natural proclivity is to become easily upset at our fate or at people. God's power is important for this tendency.

PRINCIPLE: God provides divine enablement for any issue of life. God makes us powerful with his might.

APPLICATION: When a spiritual crisis rages about your life, do you draw upon God's power? The strength of your spiritual life will be tested when life becomes grim with tragedy, sickness, surgery or death.

Paul prays that the Christian will have power for "all patience and longsuffering with joy."

"for all patience"

God's power is designed for "patience" and "longsuffering with joy."

This is not sour resignation to the acceptance of God's will. It is not the passive acceptance of the inevitable. "Endurance" is the pro-active action to move ahead no matter the difficulty. Strength comes from the power inherent in God himself. It is the ability to put our faith in the strength that God gives us.

"Patience" is far more than the ability to bear circumstances. It is the ability to turn adversity into a glory of God. "Patience" does not yield to adversity in life. It faces trouble head on. No circumstance in life can defeat a person who draws upon the power of God. No set back can vanquish this kind of person. This person triumphs over anything life may hand out.

The Greek word is not the same as puny English word "patience." We say, "I wish I was more patience with my wife." This is not the passive acceptance of the inevitable. It is unrelenting effort even in the face of difficulty and trial.

The word in the original means tenacity or endurance. It is that capacity of bull dog stick-to-it-tiveness. This person says, "It is too soon to quit. I am not going to give up." A president of a college that I attended preached a sermon every year, "Don't Quit Too Soon." If we have God's strength strengthening us in our daily life, we will not throw in the towel. God's power will enable us to bear through the problem.

There is a difference between "endurance" and "longsuffering." "Endurance" relates to adverse circumstances. "Longsuffering" relates to difficult people primarily.

"Patience" is the word "endurance" (James 1:3; 5:11). This word is used of an athlete in Hebrews 12:1 who runs with dogged persistence the entire course.

PRINCIPLE: "Patience" means to remain under. It does not easily succumb to problems.

APPLICATION: A lack of patience leads to discouragement. Are you developing a hide like a rhinoceros? The real issue is can you bear it. Are you tempted to quit? Do you have the virtue of persistence?

Patience relates to events and circumstances while "longsuffering" relates to people.

"and longsuffering"

Patience and longsuffering are often placed together in Scripture (II Co 6:4,6; II Ti 3:10; James 5:10-11).

"Longsuffering" is virtue in the face of provocation from people. Our natural instinct is to retaliate whether by act or attitude. This is virtue in the face of provocation (I Co 13:4).

"Longsuffering" means long-temper (Gal. 5:22,23; Col 3:12). A longsuffering person will not rashly retaliate. Can you draw out your temper to a great length? Longsuffering is the capacity to suffer a long time. Are you a veteran servant of Christ. Have you been tested and tried so that you can take the heat? Can you take it?

Whereas a lack of "patience" leads to discouragement, a lack of "longsuffering" leads to retaliation or revenge (Prov 15:18; 16:32). "Endurance" means to sustain under pressure of trial and relates to hope while "longsuffering" means to slow to anger and relates to mercy.

PRINCIPLE: "Longsuffering" is patience with people.

APPLICATION: A man is as big as the people that annoy him. When criticism comes your way, do you cave in? An occupational hazard of Christian work is criticism. If you cannot take it you might as well make your reservation for the first flight to the moon!! There is no such thing as life on earth without criticism.

"with joy"

Fortitude and longsuffering are not morose qualities but should be accompanied by joy (inner animation; John 15:11; 16:24;II Cor 8:1,2; I Th 1:6; I Pet 1:6,8; I Jn 1:4).

The devil wants to rob us of our joy. God wants us to have inner animation of the soul even in bad circumstances and with difficult people.

PRINCIPLE: God gives us the power to have inner animation (joy) even in the midst of difficult circumstances and problem people.

APPLICATION: We say, "I have the right to be sour, bitter and critical of others. I have been deeply hurt by what they said about me." God's design for us is that we will have "joy" in any circumstance and with any person. Do you resign yourself to the will of God or do you rejoice in the will of God?

Colossians 1:12

"giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light."

This verse begins another phase of Paul's prayer. First Paul prays that God would intervene for the Colossians, now he demonstrates his appreciation for what they already have in Christ. There is a great distinction between what we need and what we have in Christ. It is a great pity if we do not understand this distinction.

"giving thanks to the Father"

Thankfulness is the fourth effect of entering God's will (1 Thes. 5:18; Phil. 4:6). Note the other times Paul asks the Colossians to be thankful (3:15-17; 4:2).

We give thanks to the Father because he is the source of our privileges in Christ. God's grace is already provided for every believer by Christ. The word "grace" is at the root of the Greek word for "thanks." If we enjoy the benefits of the inheritance, God should receive the glory for supplying it.

Gratitude is appreciation for God's provisions. Thanksgiving is a trait of a believer alive to God's grace. Thanksgiving is a process. God does not want us to give thanks once and then cease. We are to give thanks at all times (I Thes 5:18).

Note that thanksgiving is directed to the Father. The Son and the Spirit are mediators. Thanksgiving is never directed to them. If we know which department to place our requisition we will receive our answer sooner. If we know who to address we will get an answer sooner. We pray to the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit.

PRINCIPLE: If we orient to the grace of God (God's provisions) we can give thanks in every heartache or adverse circumstance.

APPLICATION: Thanks in difficulty and trial means we are oriented to the plan of God for our lives. This means we orient to the eternal and not the temporal.

Biblical thanksgiving always has a sufficient reason or content for the thanks. It is more than an emotional outburst.

"who has qualified us"

There are two reasons why we are to give thanks:

We were made sufficient for our eternal inheritance.

We were delivered from the Satanic realm (v.13).

The first content of thanks is that God qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints. We are not fit in and of ourselves for heaven. We are "qualified" because God qualified us in Christ at the moment of salvation. This qualification comes from our status quo with Christ (positional truth). We qualify because we are one with Christ. Note that God is the one doing the qualifying. The reason we give thanks is that God made us sufficient, not deserving (II Cor 2:16; 3:6)

II Tim. 2:21, "Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work."

We are fit positionally before God eternally by our salvation in Christ, however, we may not be fit for the master's use even though we are fit for heaven. We are fit for heaven because the blood of Christ cleansed us from sin but we may not be clean vessels. God will by-pass the unclean saint and use someone with less training, giftedness or skill.

PRINCIPLE: We are eternally fit for heaven the moment we receive Christ but we are not necessarily fit for service.

APPLICATION: We are as eternally fit for heaven one second after we receive Christ as we ever will be. No amount of spirituality or witnessing will make us any more fit for heaven. Fitness for heaven depends upon the finished work of Christ, not on our work for Christ. Because of the incomparable work of Christ on the cross, the believing sinner stands perfect in the sight of God (Eph. 1:6; II Cor 5:21). God puts into the believer, the split second he comes to know Christ, God's own righteousness. We cannot add to or subtract from our exalted, eternal, unalterable position in Christ. This is true of every born again believer no matter the quality of his life.

"to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light"

The word "partakers" means to share. Christians are partners with Christ. Christ is the heir of God (Heb. 1:2). Heirship is based on sonship (Rom. 8:16,17). All those who unite with Christ share his inheritance (Eph. 1:11). We are accepted in the Beloved One (Eph. 1:6). Salvation qualifies us to inherit God's kingdom.

We are joint-heirs with Christ, "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs-heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together" (Rom. 8:16,17). What does it mean to possess a joint-heirship with Christ? When a couple opens a joint account in the bank, they both have access to the entire account. In the human account it is whoever gets there first gets the money! In the divine account both access the account equally. This does not mean that half of it is the Lord's and half mine.

We share in the inheritance of the saints. A "saint" is a person who has entered into union with Christ eternally. This is a person set apart unto God forever. The moment we are born again we become a saint. It will take time to take on the characteristics of a saint. We need to be taught how to grow spiritually. It takes times to grow in grace. We may not be very saintly, but we are a saint. As we grow, we become more saintly.

The "light" is the spiritual sphere into which the Lord transformed us from the authority of darkness (Eph 6:12). God took us out from under the authority of Satan and his rebel kingdom and placed us under the sovereignty of King Jesus. "Light" refers to God's presence in heaven. God's glory is his manifest presence (I Tim. 6:16).

PRINCIPLE: We share in the heirship of Christ.

APPLICATION: Do you realize how rich you are spiritually? The more we examine our spiritual inheritance the more we realize how rich we are. We may live in a spiritual slum district whereas we could live in a spiritually in the best part of town. What a pity to live beneath our spiritual privileges! We live like a pauper when we are a millionaire.

Faith makes tangible what is invisible to the naked eye.

Colossians 1:13

"He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love"

Having given thanks for the inheritance for which the Father qualified believers, Paul now moves his thanks toward the believer's rescue from the satanic realm.

"He has delivered us from the power of darkness"

The words “delivered” and “conveyed” relate to the themes of the Old Testament.

We were delivered from Satan’s kingdom, a kingdom of darkness (Eph 6:12) by placing our faith in the cross. God calls Satan's kingdom utter darkness (Mt. 25:30) We are called out of darkness (I Pet. 2:9). "Darkness" is more than the absence of light; it is the opposite of light. Darkness is not only without God; it is against God. We have been delivered from rebellion against God.

The word "delivered" means we were delivered at a point in the past -- our conversion. This deliverance is absolutely finished. There is no progress in this rescue. It is an event. This is a spiritual rescue greater than the deliverance of Israel from Egypt.

The word "power" is authoritative power. God rescues us from the authority of Satan. We are no longer under his evil rule. Darkness has no more authority over us. Satan's authority has been broken. We do not have to obey him any longer. The world is becoming more vicious and cruel every day. "Power" here probably means jurisdiction. We are no longer under the jurisdiction of Satan. We are out from under the tyranny of Satan.

PRINCIPLE: The believer is rescued from the kingdom of Satan and placed into "the kingdom of the Son of His love" permanently.

APPLICATION: We need to be reminded that we cannot become dislodged from the kingdom of Christ. We can also forget that we belong to another kingdom than this world system. All the power of Satan cannot remove us from that kingdom. We irrevocably belong to God's kingdom. We have been permanently transferred from Satan's kingdom to Christ's kingdom. We are under a brand new authority. The only thing left for Satan is to try to fool us that we belong to his kingdom. It is easy to get our eyes off what God has done for us in Christ. We subjectively get our eyes on people or other things and not on the objectivity of truth.

Paul presents the negative side of who rules us in the first half of the verse now he turns to the positive side.

There is no middle ground between the diabolical kingdom of Satan and the divine kingdom of God. We are either in one kingdom or the other. There is no progression between the two kingdoms. God conveys us into his kingdom instantaneously and immediately.

"and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love"

The word "conveyed" means to move a large body of people into another dominion. It was the custom of a victorious army to move a defeated population to another country. Israel was moved to the Mesopotamian valley in the Babylonian captivity. Here Christ moves people from the dominion of Satan to his own dominion. The believer not only is dislocated from Satan's kingdom but put into an entirely new kingdom.

God is not trying to convey us into his kingdom; he has already done it. We have been apprehended by Christ.

The phrase “the kingdom of the Son of His love” is unique in the New Testament. The normal expression relates the kingdom to the Father. This is not the millennial kingdom of Christ but the kingdom of which the Father has entrusted to him until his millennial kingdom. In the end Jesus will give the kingdom to the Father in any case (I Cor 15:24-28).

Jesus took us out of one sphere and placed us into another. He put us into a new status quo before God. We are now members of the universal church. We are now light in the Lord (Eph. 5:8). We have been called out of darkness into his marvelous light (I Pet 2:9). There is no one big enough, no Devil or demon, who can eject us from that kingdom. We have been conveyed into God's kingdom.

Many of us labor under the delusion that no one loves us. That is because we have not come to the understanding that God loves us unconditionally, just as we are.

PRINCIPLE: We need to know how rich we are before we know what kind of accommodations we can afford.

APPLICATION: Why should we drive a Chevrolet when we can afford a Cadillac? If we do not know what we are worth, we live below God's provisions for us. We assume that all cars drive like a Chevy. We live our Christian life on a bumpy road rather than on the smooth road of God's grace. Once we ride a Cadillac we know the difference. Once we live in grace we will know the difference. We will think that they repaired all the roads!

It is important to examine our spiritual bank book. Many never look at their spiritual account by examining the Word of God. If God has put wealth to our account, it will dishonor him if we do not use it.

Colossians 1:14

"in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sin."

This verse expresses one of our eternal positions before God. Our salvation consists of two things in this passage: redemption and forgiveness. Sin sold us out and therefore enslaved us. If we are to be redeemed, we must be redeemed from sin. God does this by forgiveness through the blood of Christ.

"in whom we have redemption"

“Redemption” means to rescue by ransom. This is the strongest word for redemption in the Bible. This particular word for redemption means to buy back as a slave from captivity. Figuratively, it means to release from sin by payment of a ransom (Eph. 1:7,14; 4:30; Rom. 8:23; Heb 9:15; Lk. 21:28). God procures our liberty by payment of a ransom. That ransom was the blood of Christ.

Because this term for redemption is intensive (redeem from), it indicates the completeness of our redemption. No subsequent slavery can follow.

We use the word redeem in association with pawn brokers. If we pawn our ring then later want it back, we must redeem it from the broker. To redeem the ring we must pay a price with interest. In the case of our salvation it was Jesus who paid the price (Mark 10:45; Acts 20:28; I Cor. 6:20; I Tim. 2:5,6; II Pet. 2:1).

"through His blood"

Ephesians 1:7 sets forth the same truth although it adds “through His blood.” Some manuscripts add that phrase here as well.

Redemption is not through moral teaching, ethics or right living. It is through the sacrificial death of Christ. We are not redeemed by the laws of the Old Testament but by the shedding of the blood of Christ (Rev. 5:9).

"the forgiveness of sin"

“Forgiveness” means “remission” by Christ who paid the price on the cross (Rom. 3:24-26). God has remitted the price to be paid because of our sin.

The word "forgiveness" means release from captivity. God releases us from the bondage of the penalty of sin. We are pardoned; our sin is canceled by the death of Christ. Our sin will not be mentioned against us anymore. Our sin is dismissed and discharged. We are set free.

PRINCIPLE: We were held in the grip of the penalty of sin but Jesus released us from our sin by his shed blood.

APPLICATION: Most people do not realize that God forgives sins once for all. For those who place their faith in the blood of Christ their sins are gone forever. They stand forgiven eternally. All our sins, whether past, present or future are forever forgiven. The slate is wiped clean (Matt. 26:28; Acts 5:31; 10:43; 13:38,39; I Jn. 2:1,2).

Have you come to realize that Jesus Christ can separate you from your sins forever? His death paid personally for your sin (Heb. 1:3). If you accept that fact for yourself by faith, your sins are eternally forgiven in God's eyes (Rom. 4:8).

Colossians 1:15

"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation."

We come to a grand and lofty section of Colossians. The Holy Spirit presents the Son of God in all his towering preeminence.

Verses 15-20 presents the glory of Christ. Jesus is unique in seven distinct ways. These distinctives qualify him to have the supremacy (v.18). In seven strokes the Holy Spirit sets forth the imposing superiority of the Son of God:

The image of God

The Firstborn over all creation

Creator of the universe

Head of the church

Firstborn from the dead

The fullness of God

The Reconciler of all things

This is why he is King Jesus, the sovereign King of the world.

"He is the image of the invisible God"

First, Christ is the image of the invisible God. “Image” is means more than that Jesus is like God; he is the representative and manifestation of God. "Image" denotes not only the image but pattern, the original which sets forth likeness or resemblance of God.

Jesus represents the Father like picture of a president on a dollar bill (Heb. 1:3). If we have seen Jesus, we have seen the Father (John 1:14;14:9). He is not made in the image of God as man is made in the image of God. He is the “express image” of God (Heb 1:3). Since he is God he reflects all that God is.

The "Son" is the exact image, not the derived image of God. He does not merely resemble but represents God (Rom 8:29; I Cor. 15:29). He has all the essence of deity. He is sovereign, eternal life, omniscience, omnipotence, immutability, etc. He is God himself (II Cor. 4:4). The Son is essentially and eternally the image of God. We see God best in the person of Christ. He is the highest form of special revelation. We see God in Christ like we see images from the rays of light. The Son is the revealer of God.

His image is that of the "invisible God." The Son is the only person of the trinity that is manifest to man (John 1:18; 6:46; I Tim 6:16; I John 4:12). He is the revealer of the trinity. God is perfectly seen in Christ.

"Image" implies a prototype of which it is a copy. As a Son to the Father he is an exact derived reproduction of God (Heb 1:3; Phil 2:6). The next verse demonstrates that Paul is speaking of the Son as prior to all creation.

PRINCIPLE: Jesus is all of God that we will ever see (John 10:30; 14:9; Col. 2:9).

APPLICATION: The Lord Jesus is the great, grand and glorious theme of Scripture. He is both the center and circumference of the Word of God. The Old Testament predicted his coming, the gospels announced that he came, the remaining Scriptures predict his coming again. Delete the Lord Jesus from the Bible and you have a theme without a plot, music without harmony and a car without a motor. In this passage Jesus is set forth in all his towering superiority.

Jesus stands set apart from David, Solomon, John, Peter and Paul. He is incomparable to any human being. He is far removed from a simple human being. To put Jesus on the same level with men infuriates God, "And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!” (Mark 9:7). Peter, James and John had just made a comparison of Jesus with Moses and Elijah. The Son is absolutely unique and shares his glory with no man.

Are you beginning to realize how wonderful the Lord is?

The second description of Christ in this verse is his relationship to creation -- he is the “Firstborn over all creation.”

"the firstborn over all creation"

This is not a statement about the creation of Jesus Christ because he cannot create himself. He is not a creature. He created all things (John 1:3; Heb. 1:2,3). He came from eternity. He is everlasting (Prov. 8:23-26). “Firstborn” indicates his dominion over all things. The firstborn in Israel had the right to rule. Jesus has the right to rule because of his rank over all creation. He is the sovereign God of creation.

The word "firstborn" has nothing to do with the first Christmas. Nowhere does the Bible teach that Jesus began at