Colossians Part 2
Colossians Part Two
Last time, we looked at why Paul refers to the people of the
church at Colossae as saints. We saw that we are already as righteous and holy
in the core of our being as we can ever get. We also saw that Paul is very
interested in the Colossians (and us) continuing to expand our knowledge of God
and His grace. This is because Paul knew very well the incredible result.
He points it out in verses four and five where we read, “…we
heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the
saints; because of the hope laid up for you in heaven.” In verses seven and
eight we learned that Epaphras had preached to the Colossians and then returned
to tell Paul of their love in the Spirit. In addition to love for other
believers the Colossians had that general love that simply flows from us, as we
grow in grace and the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith and love are
fruit borne out of all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of
understanding the hope of the gospel of God’s magnificent grace toward us.
We’ll finish up the chapter today, beginning our study with
verse nine.
9 For this reason also, since the day we
heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be
filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and
understanding,
The reasons Paul has listed for his
interest in praying for them are faith, love for all the saints, and love in
the Spirit. Faith and love spring up because of the hope of the gospel. This is
why Paul asks God to fill the Colossians with the knowledge of His will.
According to John 6:40, the gospel
expresses the will of God.
John 6:40 (NASB)
40
"For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the
Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up
on the last day."
Galatians 1:4 (NASB) –speaking of
Jesus
4
who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this
present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,
Father loves us. He wants us to
know Him and to love Him; to have a relationship with Him. So, before He even
created us, He made a plan to rescue us and make us free from the bondage into
which He knew that we would place ourselves.
Knowing His grace, in all its
fullness, brings with it more profound understanding of God’s will. Paul
expresses this another way in Romans 12.
Romans 12:2 (NASB)
2
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove
what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
The word translated “prove” here is
dokimazō (δοκιμάζω).
It carries the sense of “test with a positive outcome,” “test so as to
approve.”—NET Bible.
Now we get to the heart of the
matter with regard to the wealth that comes from the full assurance of
understanding God’s grace it all its fullness.
Verse 10 so that you
will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects,
bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
11 strengthened with
all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness
and patience; joyously
12 giving thanks to
the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in
Light.
These three verses pack a lot of
information into a single run-on sentence—something to which Paul is particularly
prone. Let me break these benefits apart in a list:
·
walk in a manner worthy of the Lord
·
please Him in all respects
·
bear fruit in every good work
·
increase in the knowledge of God
·
strengthened with all power, according to His
glorious might
·
attain all steadfastness and patience
·
joyously give thanks to the Father
·
share in the inheritance of the saints in Light
It’s important that we read the Word carefully. For years,
I’d read verses like this and think they were telling me I wasn’t good enough
and needed to do more. But that isn’t what the passage says at all. It makes
very clear the fact that these are the result of deeper understanding of God’s
will. As I mentioned earlier, Paul was very interested in us continuing to
expand our knowledge of God and His grace. This was because he knew very well the
wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding.
When we look at things the way the world looks at them, it’s
easy to think that if we do not use the Old Testament law as a moral compass we
will fall into sin. That idea is wrong-headed because it originates in worldly
thinking—the idea that we are responsible to act righteously in order to be
righteous. The world’s system is based on judging good and evil—eating from the
wrong tree. But that’s not the way God’s system works. God says that in His
economy, we are made righteous by His grace; and because we are righteous, we behave righteously.
Philippians 2:13 (NASB)
13
for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His
good pleasure.
God gives us the desire to act
righteously. This is made even more clear in Titus chapter two.
Titus 2:11-15 (NIV)
11
For the grace of God that
brings salvation has appeared to all men.
12
It teaches us to say
"No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present
age,
13
while we wait for the blessed hope--the glorious appearing of our great
God and Savior, Jesus Christ,
14
who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are
his very own, eager to do what is good.
The good news is that grace teaches
us to say no to ungodliness. Grace teaches us to live godly lives in this
present age. Jesus, grace personified, purifies us and as a result, we are
eager to do what is good.
Titus chapter 2 concludes with
Paul’s instructing Titus
15
These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with
all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.
The gospel is the good news of
God’s grace toward us. Your antennae should go up and an alarm should sound
when you hear someone instilling guilt, fear mongering, or preaching self-improvement—which
is just a form of behavior modification. There are none of those in the gospel.
Getting back to Colossians at verse 13 we find that God’s
immeasurable grace has already accomplished a very profound thing.
13 For He rescued us
from the domain of darkness, and transferred
us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,
14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of
sins.
·
He rescued us from the domain (authority) of
darkness.
·
He transferred us to the kingdom of Jesus Christ
·
He redeemed us
·
He forgave our sins.
The word translated “transferred” means to transpose,
transfer, remove from one place to another—Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of
the New Testament. It’s the same word used in I Corinthians 13 when Paul is
talking about faith to move (transfer) mountains.
I love this verse because it helps me see the reality of
Jesus work on my behalf. My senses perceive that I live under the same ruler as
everyone in the world, but the fact is that I live in the kingdom of God. Every
day I see my need of understanding this more fully. I often find myself walking
by sight, but when I walk by faith, I prove (dokimazō ; test so as to approve)
that all God says about His grace toward me is true and I begin to experience
the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding.
As we return to Colossians chapter one at verse 15, Paul
helps bolster our assurance of understanding by shifting his focus from who we
are, and the good news of what God has done for us, to who Jesus Christ is and
some of His incredible accomplishments.
Colossians 1:15
15 He is the image of
the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
This may seem a little confusing
since we know that Jesus is not a created being. The word translated
“firstborn” is prototokos. This is a compound word, Proto meaning before, and Tokos
meaning either birth or supremacy of place or position. According to the
translators of the New English Translation, “The significance of the -τοκος
element as indicating birth or origin (from τίκτω,
give birth to) has been virtually lost except in reference to literal birth. The
emphasis is on the priority of Jesus' rank as over and above creation.”—NET
Bible.
Thayer says, points to the usage of
prototokos in Revelation 1:5 and Colossians 1:18, which we’ll see shortly, in
saying, “[Jesus] who was the Son of God long before those who, by his agency
and merits, are exalted to the nature and dignity of sons of God, with the
added suggestion of the supreme rank by which he excels these other
sons.–Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament.
Both Revelation 1:5 and Colossians
1:18 talk about Jesus as firstborn of, or from, the dead. Clearly this is
referring to His supremacy since it would be ridiculous to think that death was
His father.
The New Living Translation does a
great job with this verse and hits the meaning on the head.
Colossians 1:15 (NLT)
15
Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before
anything was created and is supreme over all creation,
Hebrews 1:3 says that Jesus is,
“the exact representation of [the Father’s] nature”
This idea of the supremacy of Jesus is important. The next
five verses emphasize it heavily.
Picking up at verse 16
For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth,
visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or
authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.
17 He is before all
things, and in Him all things hold together.
18 He is also head of
the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so
that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.
19 For it was the
Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him,
20 and through Him to
reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His
cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.
The supremacy of Christ should assure us completely about
His grace toward us. The good news is that Jesus brought peace and
reconciliation as we see in Ephesians 2:14-17
and 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 (NASB)
14
For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke
down the barrier of the dividing wall,
15
by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments
contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new
man, thus establishing peace,
16
and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by
it having put to death the enmity.
17
AND HE CAME AND PREACHED PEACE TO YOU WHO WERE FAR AWAY, AND PEACE TO
THOSE WHO WERE NEAR;
2 Corinthians 5:18-19 (NASB)
18
Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through
Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation,
19
namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not
counting their trespasses against them
Getting back to Colossians, we can see how this
reconciliation benefits us.
Verse 21 And although
you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds,
22 yet He has now
reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you
before Him holy and blameless and beyond
reproach—
23 if indeed you
continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from
the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all
creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister.
Verse 23 might seem unsettling since it appears to say that
our holy, blameless, above reproach status hinges on our behavior;
specifically, continuing in the faith. We know from many other passages of
Scripture that as believers our salvation is assured.
Just as He sealed Noah into the Ark, so He seals us in
Christ with the Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 1:13-14 (NASB)
13
… you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,
14
who is given as a pledge of our inheritance…
Since Jesus was victorious over
death, He can never die again. So it is with us.
Romans 6:8-11 (NASB)
8
Now if we have died with Christ,
we believe that we shall also live with
Him,
9
knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die
again; death no longer is master over Him.
10
For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.
11
Even so consider yourselves to
be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
So our salvation is secure. We were
re-created and can’t be reverted to what we were.
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NASB)
17
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things
passed away…
Again the New Living Translation
adds clarity to what Paul is trying to say here.
Colossians 1:23 (NLT)
23
But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it.
Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News.
Paul has shown us the incredible
benefits of growing in grace and the knowledge of God, and he wants us to be
encouraged not to drift away from the assurance we had when we believed the
truth of the good news.
I’ll close by finishing the chapter.
We’re at verse 24 Now
I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on
behalf of His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in
Christ's afflictions.
25 Of this church I
was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for
your benefit, so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God,
26 that is, the
mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now
been manifested to His saints,
27 to whom God willed
to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the
Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
28 We proclaim Him,
admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may
present every man complete in Christ.
29 For this purpose
also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.
The previously hidden mystery is Christ in you, the hope of
glory. Just think of it; you have the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ, who is the
exact representation of the Father living in you!
In Colossians chapter two, Paul expresses his desire for the
churches “that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in
love, and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of
understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God's mystery, that is, Christ
Himself.” –Colossians 2:2 (NASB)
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