Colossians 1:3-8
September 26, 2012
Oak Park Baptist Church – Wed Bible Study Series
Colossians Bible Study
Colossians 1:3-8 [HCSB]
3We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints 5because of the hope reserved for you in heaven. You have already heard about this hope in the message of truth, the gospel 6that has come to you. It is bearing fruit and growing all over the world, just as it has among you since the day you heard it and recognized God’s grace in the truth. 7You learned this from Epaphras, our dearly loved fellow slave. He is a faithful servant of the Messiah on your behalf, 8and he has told us about your love in the Spirit.
Last week we looked at who wrote this letter and we found out that Paul was the author, just as it is stated in v.1 and in 4:18…
We also looked into the approximate date it was written and we established that this is one of what is known as the “Prison Epistles” by Paul… because they were written FROM prison. It is believed that this was during his Roman imprisonment just prior to his death.
Tradition has Paul being put to death around 62-65AD and that would place the writing of this letter around 60-61AD. This letter was a companion letter sent by Paul to the churches in Colossae and Laodocia. The letter to Laodocia has never been found.
This letter was also sent at the same time Paul sent his letter to Philemon about the run-away slave Onesimus. The man carrying these letters to their destinations was named Tychicus as set forth by Paul in 4:7-8
So what we can gather from this letter is that Paul is in prison and he has sent this letter to the church in Colossae with a man named Tychicus who is traveling with the run-away slave Onesimus…
Another aspect we learned was that Paul was NOT the founding member of the church in Colossae, but it is believed that Epaphras founded this church after he was converted under Paul’s ministry in Ephesus…
So Paul is sending a letter to a church where they have never met him personally, but know of him by reputation. He knows they respect his authority as a leader within the church and so he uses this opportunity to teach them with this letter.
So after his greeting, Paul jumps right off into teaching… [read v3]
3We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,
Here in this verse we find Paul laying down a foundation for his teaching… he is projecting an attitude of thankfulness for many reasons, but mainly for 2 reasons:
First Paul wants to disarm any detractors within the fellowship that may be thinking Paul is lording over them and that he really doesn’t care… Paul wants the church in Colossae to know that caring WAS the reason for his letter! So he begins the letter with thanksgiving!
He thanks God for the church in Colossae and he tells them that every time he goes to God in prayer that they he is thanking God for this church! So Paul uses this to disarm any critics about his motives…
But I believe MORE than that Paul TRULY cared about these believers. His heart is truly thankful and he rejoices at every thought he has about this church that was founded by a fellow believer… this church that was established because of other believer’s obedience to the Great Commission!
I believe Paul’s heart truly was lifted every time he thought about this church because even though he was not directly involved they were moving forward in their service to God… this was REASON for rejoicing by Paul and he wants them to know it. [read v4]
4for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints
But this attitude of rejoicing by Paul was not unfounded. He had heard report after report from others who had visited the church in Colossae, and ALL those reports had good news to bring…
I want to point out something here that we MAY overlook when reading this verse… Paul says, “for we have heard…” those are four very simple words, but carry with them some great implications!
for we have heard… means that first of all Paul was keeping track of this fellowship. He was interested in how they were doing! This reveals Paul’s concern and care for them! Paul was keeping his ear to the ground so that he could know of their spiritual growth and progress…
for we have heard… also gives the implication that there were others who had the same care and love for this fellowship… they would bring news of the fellowship to Paul. Their desire was growth and spiritual maturity within the body and so they knew that Paul could mentor them in this growth process!
This phrase reveals Paul’s love for this fellowship and it reveals Paul’s desire to stay connected TO them and to see how God was blessing their obedience! This phrase actually reveals a lot about Paul’s heart toward this church!
for we have heard… here Paul mentions that he has heard of their faith… this means he has heard all about their faith… FROM their saving faith and how they had come to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior… but also how they were living out the faith they proclaimed! They were a congregation that loved as Christ loved!
As believers, when we receive Christ by faith… that is a great and a wonderful thing BUT, it does not stop there as we find that this faith in Christ is ALWAYS lived out in loving those around us… in loving those who mistreat us… in loving those who despitefully use us… [read Matt 5:11-12]
11“You are blessed when they insult and persecute you and falsely say every kind of evil against you because of Me.
12Be glad and rejoice, because your reward is great in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
…this is a picture of the love of Christ… to love the ‘unlovely’
Paul saw within the reports coming out of Colossae that this group of believers loved Jesus and they were loving each other… their love and faith in Christ stood out and Paul took notice and wanted them to know they were on the right track in this area…
So Paul sets the tone with an attitude of thanksgiving and then he praises them for how they are revealing their faith in Christ through their love for one another!
But why would they be loving one another… Paul details a bit here about why they are able to love as they are loving… [read v.5-6a]
5because of the hope reserved for you in heaven. You have already heard about this hope in the message of truth, the gospel 6that has come to you...
Paul wants them to understand a most important point in serving God. They are only able to have faith in Christ and love one another BECAUSE of one thing…
He uses a phrase here to describe that ‘one thing’… Paul says it is because of ‘the hope reserved for you in heaven…’ What do you think that is?
What we can KNOW is that Christ died for us… Christ forgives us… and Christ saves us… and based on the promise of Jesus… Christ is preparing a place for us in heaven… [read John 14:1-3]
1“Your heart must not be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in Me. 2In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if not, I would have told you. I am going away to prepare a place for you. 3If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come back and receive you to Myself, so that where I am you may be also.
Christ is our hope! Later in that John passage Jesus tells us that He is the way – the truth- and the life! In other words… Jesus is the ONLY way… our only hope! So when Paul says, the hope reserved for you in heaven… he is speaking of the eternal salvation given thru Christ!
Then as v5 continues and the 1st part of v6 Paul then affirms what they already knew… Paul basically says here… Hey this is nothing you did not know already because you have HEARD it and you have surrendered to it! [read v.5-6a again]
5because of the hope reserved for you in heaven. You have already heard about this hope in the message of truth, the gospel 6that has come to you...
Paul wants them to know that their faith in Christ and their love for each other has its foundation in the Gospel of Christ! The gospel that has come to them…
This is an important point to understand… we don’t produce our own faith in Christ, it is granted by God as a gift to us…
We cannot love each other on our own but the love we have flows directly from the Gospel of Jesus Christ… from the saving grace Christ provides when He comes into our hearts!
Paul then goes on to encourage these believers in Colossae that they are NOT alone in this struggle to serve God in a godless world… [read v6b]
It [the Gospel] is bearing fruit and growing all over the world, just as it has among you since the day you heard it and recognized God’s grace in the truth.
Here Paul is informing the believers in Colossae that this same gospel that has saved them and has given them the love they have for each other is being taken all over the known world…
But not only is it being taken around the world but it is taking root and bearing fruit all over the world… Paul uses the statement, ‘…just as it has among you…’ to give these believers a point of reference on how God was working in other parts of the world!
This was a source of encouragement for these believers. For many believers, EVEN TODAY, we tend to have a moment when we think like Elijah did in that cave after his mountaintop experience… we think “I’m ALL alone in this struggle!” OR as a church we think “We are the only church that cares…”
But here Paul lets them know that the Gospel is being spread and that it is taking root and bearing great fruit just as it had at their church…
I know that as a pastor I sometimes get to feeling like this… wondering if I’m the only one who cares or if our church is the only light in this city, even though I know better!
But having you guys in the yellow shirts here is a great encouragement to me and it lets me know just as Paul was letting these believers know that the Gospel is going throughout the world, and God is moving and I am NOT alone!
People when it seems as if we are alone and the world is against us remember that Christ is ALWAYS there, and that He has promised to never leave NOR forsake us! God’s grace and love has come to us and it will NOT abandon us!
Finally Paul end’s this section with v7-8 and he gives these believers even more encouragement. [read v7-8]
7You learned this from Epaphras, our dearly loved fellow slave. He is a faithful servant of the Messiah on your behalf, 8and he has told us about your love in the Spirit.
Paul knew what was at stake in this church, he knew about the problems of heresy that were beginning to pop up and he wanted them to know that they were loved!
Love not only by HIM but by one of their own… Epaphras, possibly the founding pastor for this church. Epaphras has filled Paul in on what is going on within the church in Colossae and Paul is writing to encourage these believers that Epaphras has given him a very positive report!
Paul wants these believers to know and understand that they were loved… even when they may NOT think they are loved… they are loved! But not only this…
Paul again reaffirms the love of this congregation and reinforces the teaching that the love they felt for him and for the church was a love they could NOT create, but it was a love flowing directly from God.
I believe this is important for us today as it reveals to us the importance of edification and encouragement among believers! We should let others know about our victories and also about our struggles so that they can rejoice with us OR they can pray FOR us… or even lend a hand in dealing with the struggles at hand!
Today we are encouraged by these volunteers coming to our city, but what I want to share about this is that THIS is normal Christianity! What these people are doing, while super and great, it is actually what we ALL should be doing!
Normal Christianity exposes the world to the love of Christ in many forms… but mostly in ways that reveal of our love for our community.
Paul knew about the heresy he was going to have to face later in this letter but his desire was to encourage and pray for these believers! What is YOUR goal in serving Christ!
We are called to bear up one anothers burdens and we are called to be an edifier and encourager within the faith. Here Paul gives us a great example of how this will look…
Let us pray that our faith and love for each other is something that others will look at and say, “…there is something different about him/her…” Let us pray our faith is lived out and that God is gloried!
Let’s pray!
