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”.
In all of the letters in the Bible where these two words are found they are in the opening salutation.
Right up front they are blessing the people to which they are writing.
Is this how Christians should start their communications with others
In person
In writing
On the phone
By email
Whenever?
What is the usual attitude that you expect when you go to the DMV?
BAD ATTITUDE!
What if we, as little "Christs", ambassadors for Christ, were to go to the DMV or the post office or to an IRS audit or everywhere with an attitude of “Grace to you and peace from God our Father?”
It might not be with those words but with that attitude? What difference would it make?
The world says, “If they’re going to act like jerks, I am, too!”
Jesus says, “Grace and peace to you.”
We can be the conduits of God’s grace and peace.
What if our actions and demeanor said, “I am extending God’s grace to you today and my actions will only bring peace to your life and not frustration.”?
What if???
Colossians 1:3-4 NIV
“We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people …”
Colossians 1:3-4 LEB
“We give thanks always to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ when we pray for you, since we heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints …”
We give thanks for you … in prayer …
Giving thanks –
Praying through the attendance sheet or church directory while giving thanks
Giving thanks is different than “praying for”
Giving thanks is binding
Giving thanks heals wounds
Giving thanks acknowledges that they are as much a child of God as you
Giving thanks recognizes that God is the source of all His children
It is good to pray for situations (illness, general difficulties, struggles with sin)
It is not good to complain in prayer!
God is NOT a big fan of complainers!
Sometimes we just HAVE to unload, don’t we?
Like you’re going to EXPLODE if you don’t unload?
God can handle it.
It is better to unload to God than to someone else!
What do we do AFTER we’ve unloaded to God?
Repent if our attitude was ungodly
Pray for a Spirit Anointed solution to the problem
Ask the Lord to show you if YOU are the problem
PRAY FOR AND THANK GOD for that fellow brother or sister in
Christ
Remember, when you attack another Christian you are attacking a member of the body of Christ.
Illustration: “I can punch my brother but you’d better not try it!”
God knows the situation.
There were some problems in the church at Colossae
Paul did not come right out and confront them
He didn’t walk up and spiritually “punch them in the nose”.
He identified them as people who were saints
He identified them as people who were IN CHRIST!
He started by blessing them
He then told them of his prayers of thanksgiving for them
What would it be like if we used that pattern in our interactions?
So, why did he give thanks for them?
We give thanks for you
Because we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus
Because the Colossians realize that salvation is through faith
That only faith in Christ Jesus provides salvation
That Jesus is the Christ – the Messiah – the Son of God
Because if you love Jesus you’ve GOT to love His people
“God, I love you, but, I hate the ones you love and who love you, too.”
WHAT??? Impossible!
Jesus said in John 13:34-35 LEB
“A new commandment I give to you: that you love one another - just as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this everyone will know that you are My disciples - if you have love for one another.”
Jesus clearly identifies this as a command or commandment; non-negotiable.
What if we were to follow the pattern of Colossians 1:1-4?
Greeting each other with a blessing?
Giving thanks in prayer for one another when we pray?
Some of you may already practice this.
What if we all did?
Invitation if the Holy Spirit leads
Closing prayer
