Lessons From Paul's Salutations

Colossians 1:1-13

“1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 2 to God’s holy people in Colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ: Grace and peace to you from God our Father.”

“3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people …

“5 The faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel 6 that has come to you.

“In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world - just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace.

“7 You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, 8 and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.

“9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you.

“We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,10 so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way:

“bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11 to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, being strengthened with all power

“12 according to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of His holy people in the kingdom of light.

“13 For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

Praying for those you’ve never met …

In the devotional book Reflecting God each morning we pray for the Lord to reach out a foreign country – that people in that country will be saved and filled with the Holy Spirit and the next day that the Lord will raise up Christian leaders in that country.

Sometimes we don’t even know where the country exists on the planet and need to look it up on a map or on the internet.

Here we find Paul writing to a church where he has never been, so, how does he start his letter?

Colossians 1:1-113 NIV

“1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 2 to God’s holy people in Colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ: Grace and peace to you from God our Father.”

Colossians 1:1-113 LEB

“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the saints and faithful brothers in Christ in Colossae. Grace to you and peace from God our Father.”

Speak about Paul

He was Saul

Acts 9 “Paul still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord.”

The Damascus Road conversion (describe from memory)

The doubt and fear of the believers

At the massacre at Umpqua CC – Christians were targeted – police

responded

Paul was hunting Christians with the blessing of the religious rulers

Similar to Islamic “honor” killings

We serve a God of miracles! Spiritual miracles!

This man who was “breathing threats and murder against the disciples of

the Lord is now “proving that Jesus is the Messiah” (Acts 9:22b)

Mass murderer – Son of Sam – now leading prisoners to Christ

John Newton – Captain of a ship in the slave trade

The thief on the cross

Me … and you!

Paul is making a connection with the Colossian Christians

Paul is an apostle of Jesus Christ

Paul has been called by the will of God

Paul is a partner with Timothy – not “my” brother but “our” brother

(If my brother is your brother then we are also brothers!)

To “God’s holy people in Colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ” (NIV) – “the saints and faithful brothers in Christ” (LEB) – “the saints and faithful brethren in Christ” (NKJV / NASB)

God has called us to be faithful

God has called us to be holy (saints)

God is calling all who are “in Christ” – men and women to be faithful and holy

Brethren – archaic version meaning “fellow members”

More accurate than “brothers”

More accurately interpreted as “brothers and sisters”

The Salutation blessing: “Grace to you and peace from God our Father.” LEB

Quite often in correspondence we receive from other churches or pastors the complimentary close of the letter will say, “Grace and peace”.