THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT CHRIST
Text: Col. 1:1-8
Introduction
1. Our world is desperately in need of some good news. Suzanne Jennings wrote this song in 1999:
I woke up Monday morning, walked out on the lawn
My eyes were barely open, and my mouth began to yawn
Picked up the daily paper, every single headline said,
That this ole world is full of trouble, and I wished I'd stayed in bed.
Sometimes the bad that's goin' on's enough to bring you down.
Turned on my television and began to flip on thru
All 100 channels, On Demand, and Pay per view
Not one message had a meaning that was good in any way
Just before I wrote the whole world off, I heard the Father say,
"Don't forget what I have promised, you can overcome it all!"
Well my knees began to shake, and my heart began to beat,
And a funny new sensation worked its way into my feet
The Spirit of glad tidings came from somewhere deep inside,
And holdin' back the flood was just like holdin' back the tide.
I couldn't help but circulate to everyone I know.
I'll spread this talk all over town about the peace and joy I've found in You, good news!
This story is about to break and blessed are the feet that take the Truth, good news!
I'm slippin' on my gospel shoes--Cause I've got good, good news! (Words: Suzanne Jennings, performed by Gaither Vocal Band, 1999).
2. Proverbs 25:25 (NLT)
25 Good news from far away is like cold water to the thirsty.
3. What's so good about the Good News?
A. It Gives Us Hope
B. It Changes Lives
C. It Changes How We Treat Others
4. Let's stand together as we read Col. 1:1-8.
Proposition: We need to bring the Good News about Jesus to our community.
Transition: One of the most important things about the Good News is...
I. It Gives Us Hope (1-5).
A. Confident Hope
1. Paul begins this letter with, "This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy."
A. PAUL BEGINS HIS salutation identifying himself as "an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God."
B. He does not write as a private interested party but as Christ's apostle who speaks with authority.
C. By identifying himself in this way Paul is not trying to establish his badge of rank or to put his readers under his thumb.
D. His authority is not increased by the use of the title apostle, just as it is not reduced when he omits it or substitutes "servant" or "prisoner." Being an apostle is simply what he is.
E. When Paul says that his calling as an apostle came "by the will of God," it reflects his basic conviction that Christ called and empowered him to carry on a divine task that was entrusted to only a few.
F. In the Old Testament, God appeared to prophets and sent them forth to proclaim the word. In Paul's case, Christ appeared to him and sent him out to proclaim a particular gospel.
G. He did not decide to go into the apostolic ministry but understood himself to have been set apart by God from his mother's womb to carry the gospel to the nations.
H. His authority was unique since it derived directly from Christ, but Paul did not see himself as set apart for high office from which he could rule the roost and issue divine directives.
I. God assigned him a task, not a status (Garland, NIV Application Commentary, The – Colossians and Philemon, 39-40).
2. After identifying himself names the church he is writing to, "We are writing to God’s holy people in the city of Colosse, who are faithful brothers and sisters in Christ. May God our Father give you grace and peace."
A. Paul greets the church as "holy and faithful brothers in Christ."
B. Holiness has to do with being set apart from the world unto God and does not imply that these believers belong to some exalted echelon of saints.
C. As God has made Paul his own as Christ's apostle, so God has made the Colossians as his covenant people in Colosse.
D. The word "holy" (or "saints") was applied to Israel in the Old Testament, and Paul intentionally includes Gentile Christians under this category. It means that they also belong to the eschatological people for whom all the promises apply.
E. Paul customarily identifies the recipients of his letters as "saints," but he does not usually address them as "faithful." This expression most likely refers to their steadfastness under pressure.
F. Their faith is not teetering on the brink of extinction, trapped in error, or at the mercy of those hawking false teachings. They are holding fast to the head, and Paul only warns them about others who do not. Their faith is not perfected, however, and Paul wants to buttress it further and revitalize their growth.
G. In this greeting, he establishes their common commitments so that he can move on to instruct and warn them. His goal is to ensure that they remain securely established in their faith and growing in their knowledge.
H. To be in Christ means to be incorporated in him so that he encompasses the entire life of the believer.
I. The recipients may be Colossians, but the only identity that matters to God is that they are Christians. That means that Christ determines everything in their lives.
J. Paul will later make clear in the letter that his death becomes their death, his burial their burial, his resurrection their resurrection, his victory their victory.
K. To be in Christ means that he determines the behavior of believers. One cannot be "in the world" or "into magic or drugs," for example, and be "in Christ."
L. Being in Christ gives Christians their true identity beyond their race, nationality, or clan. Paul therefore calls the Colossians "brothers" (Garland, 41-43).
3. Nearly all of Paul's letters start with an introduction, move on to a thanksgiving, followed by a prayer. Having dealt with the introduction let's move on to the prayer. Paul says in vv.3-4, "We always pray for you, and we give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all of God’s people,"
A. PAUL INFORMS THE Colossians that he regularly prays for the church and gives thanks for them in every prayer.
B. Thanking God for their faith and love implies that he gives God the credit for it, not them.
C. He is thankful for their faithful acceptance of the gospel, which has spilled over into their love for others.
D. If Paul is writing from Rome, news of their faithfulness has even reached the capitol of the empire.
E. Their active love is a sign of a genuine faith based on a solid hope. We meet the familiar triad of faith, love, and hope, but they are not in order here.
F. The Colossians have faith and love because of "the hope that is stored up… in heaven."
G. In this letter, hope becomes "the greatest of these" (see 1 Cor. 13:13) because it is the very thing that the Jewish critics have disparaged: What hope do Gentiles have? (see Eph. 2:12).
H. Ephesians 2:12 (NLT)
12 In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope.
I. Paul is not concerned about a so-called "false doctrine" that "tended to cheat them of their hope." Instead, he wants to counter those who have belittled and maligned the Colossians' hope, prompting some of them to develop nagging doubts.
J. This backdrop best explains why the opening thanksgiving emphasizes their hope of glory. Paul wants to revive their faith in the certainty of what the gospel promises (23) (Garland, 46-47).
4. Paul then continues the reason for his thanksgiving in v. 5 when he says, "which come from your confident hope of what God has reserved for you in heaven. You have had this expectation ever since you first heard the truth of the Good News."
A. The faith that Paul commends in 1:5 is not faith in general but faith in Christ Jesus. It refers specifically to the belief that God raised Jesus from the dead and that he offers all believers, Jew and Gentile, the same promise of life.
B. In 2:12, Paul reminds his readers that they were raised with Christ through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.
C. This faith is not something that can be possessed like a piece of property or enshrined in a creed. It is a vibrant force that expresses itself in how we live.
D. Consequently, Paul commends them for faith proven by tangible demonstrations of love for the saints.
E. He rejoices in its firmness, but he would also like to see it more securely established.
F. "Love" refers to the mutual love that Christians have for one another, a basic Christian virtue. Faith directed toward Jesus Christ is embodied in love for others.
G. It is a "supernatural, God-given love," because he refers to it a second time as "your love in the Spirit" in 1:8.
H. Christians are not united solely by their mutual interest in personal salvation but are knit together in love. This love is a force within that seeks release by giving itself to others, not a vacuum that selfishly craves to be filled by what others can give to us.
I. True disciples of Christ, inspired by love, intend every action to bring benefits to others.
J. A sure hope is the source of faith and love. What is interesting in this formulation is that hope is not grounded in faith, but the reverse—faith is grounded in hope.
K. "Hope," therefore, does not refer to the "subjective attitude of expectation." Rather, it refers to the thing hoped for.
L. The believer's hope cannot be defined as the world defines hope. The believer's hope is entirely different from the world's hope or desire or wish. The world desires and wishes for what it can see, and they may or may not be able to get what they long for. The believer's hope is entirely different in that it deals with spiritual things, and the believer will unquestionably get what he hopes for (Practical Word Studies in The New Testament, 1066-1067).
M. Paul does not clarify what that hope precisely is except that it is stored up in heaven. We can assume that he has in mind the glorious future that Christ has established for believers.
N. The "hope of glory" in Colossians 1:27 is based on Christ's being in us. Christ is the image of God, in whom all things were created, and the firstborn from among the dead.
O. The implication in Colossians is that Christians are also being transformed into the image of God and will know the resurrection from the dead. This hope encapsulates "the word of truth, the gospel" (Garland, 47-48).
B. Hope In Christ
1. I read that a few years ago some researchers performed an experiment to see the affect hope has on those undergoing hardship. Two sets of laboratory rats were placed in separate tubs of water. The researchers left one set in the water, and found that within an hour they had all drowned. The other rats were periodically lifted out of the water and then returned. When that happened, the second set of rats swam for over 24 hours. Why? Not because they were given a rest, but because they suddenly had hope! Those animals somehow hoped that if they could stay afloat just a little longer, someone would reach down and rescue them. If hope holds such power for unthinking rodents, how much greater should its effect be on our lives.
2. One of the great blessings of being IN CHRIST is that we have hope, and that is something that the world cannot comprehend.
A. Romans 15:13 (NLT)
13 I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.
B. Here Paul tells us that God is the source of all hope, and therefore, without God there is no hope.
C. 'But because we are in Christ we have hope that non-believers cannot understand.
D. We have hope because we know that Jesus died for us on the cross and made us one with God again.
E. We have hope because we know that Jesus said he is going to prepare a place for us.
F. We have hope because we know that Scripture says that if Christ is in us we will reign with him for all eternity.
G. We have hope for the present, hope for the future, and the hope that our past is forgiven.
H. If you are here today and you're feeling defeated, lost and discouraged know that you have hope here and now.
I. If you're here today and you feel like all hope is lost, know that God has a glorious plan for you, and he has promised never to leave you or forsake you.
J. If you are in Christ today you have the hope of glory!
Transition: Another great aspect of the Good News is...
II. It Changes Lives (6).
A. Changing Lives
1. Our vision statement here at New Life is "Transforming lives one at a time!"
A. Transform: to make a thorough or dramatic change in the form, appearance, or character of someone or thing.
B. This word encompasses all that we are about here at New Life, because we are about seeing God make dramatic changes in people one at a time.
C. People can make external changes, but only God can make internal changes, and that is what the Good News is all about.
2. In v. 6 Paul writes, "This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives, just as it changed your lives from the day you first heard and understood the truth about God’s wonderful grace."
A. The second feature for which Paul gives thanks is the universal impact of the gospel as it sprouts up everywhere on earth, including Colosse.
B. The gospel's effects testify to its truth. Paul applies two criteria here to judge the genuine power of the gospel: its "universality and effectiveness."
C. Paul notes how the gospel has swept across geographical and racial barriers. Against all odds, it has found a ready reception throughout the world; and this power to surmount territorial resistance testifies to its truth.
D. The message of God's love for all humankind and Jesus' sacrificial death to redeem us by grace speaks in any language or culture.
E. It speaks to the universal condition of every human being—male or female, slave or free, Jew or Gentile (and whatever other divisions humans may create).
F. The "individual churches" composed of converted Gentiles "were for Paul a sign of the universal scope of God's saving purposes and hence of still greater things to come."
G. The truth of the gospel is also effective, "bearing fruit and growing" (1:6). Schweizer comments that "just as a tree without fruit and growth would no longer be a tree, so a gospel that bore no fruit would cease to be a gospel."
H. Most, however, would not have called the advance of the gospel in the Greco-Roman world a triumphant success.
I. The church was not taking the world by storm. The Jewish historian Josephus, penning his history of the Jewish war and of the Jews at the end of the first century, hardly gave mention to Christians.
J. The Roman historian Tacitus mentioned Christians only as Nero's scapegoats for the fire of Rome.
K. By contrast, Paul could see what they could not. A seed as small as the mustard had been sown, and it would produce magnificently because of God who gives the growth (1 Cor. 3:7).
L. The gospel was bursting forth in small groups of Christians not only in such vital centers of the empire as Rome, Corinth, and Ephesus, but also in declining towns such as Colosse, in the hearts of slaveowners such as Philemon, and in runaway slaves such as Onesimus.
M. The difference is that the gospel is not some alien import or a noxious infestation but something deeply rooted in human need and in God's purposes for the whole creation (Garland, 48-49).
N. The Good News was making, and still is making a difference, not because it is filling buildings and making money, but rather because it is transforming people one at a time!
3. One of the reasons that the God News has this power to transform people is it's the truth!
A. We live in a society that no longer believes in the concept of, as one of my Bible college professors used to call it, true truth.
B. Christians used to believe that truth did not shift like a kaleidoscope, but pragmatic relativism increasingly rules in our culture today and has even infected many believers' perceptions of things.
C. This relativism assumes that an idea cannot be inherently true, but it is good if it works for now.
D. Fewer Christians today take for granted that Christianity provides the standard of truth and morality by which all life and all other religions can be assessed.
E. Many assume that we all worship the same God and that whatever a person chooses to believe about that God is valid or just as good as another's belief.
F. To question one's belief system is to be unpardonably judgmental and intolerant(Garland, 53).
G. John 14:6 (NLT)
6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.
H. Notice that Jesus didn't say he was "a truth," but rather "the truth!"
I. And the reason the Good News has the power to transform is because it is truth that is based on THE TRUTH of Jesus!
B. Transforming Lives One At A Time
1. Illustration: A family from a remote area was making their first visit to a big city.
They checked in to a grand hotel and stood in amazement at the impressive sight.
Leaving the reception desk they came to the elevator entrance.
They’d never seen an elevator before, and just stared at it, unable to figure out what it was for.
An old lady hobbled towards the elevator and went inside.
The door closed.
About a minute later, the door opened and out came a stunningly good-looking young woman.
Dad couldn’t stop staring.
Without turning his head he patted his son’s arm and said, "Go get your mother, son."
2. Only the power of the Good News can transform lives!
A. 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NLT)
17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
B. You can change your clothes.
C. You can change your hair color or style.
D. You can change jobs.
E. You can change addresses.
F. You can change phone numbers.
G. You can change your mind.
H. But only JESUS can change you!!!
Transition: The Good News gives us hope, it changes us, and...
III. It Changes How We Treat Others (7-8).
A. Love For Others
1. Now Paul introduces someone into his letter that the Colossians new well, a man named Epaphras.
A. The Colossians learned it, the gospel, from Epaphras who apparently founded the church at Colosse.
B. Paul called him a dear fellow servant, a humble description from a great apostle, and a faithful minister of Christ, as opposed, no doubt, to those unfaithful ones who here and elsewhere were disturbing the faith of God's flock (John Walvoord and Roy Zuck, ed., The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, 670).
2. In vv. 7-8 Paul says, "You learned about the Good News from Epaphras, our beloved co-worker. He is Christ’s faithful servant, and he is helping us on your behalf. 8 He has told us about the love for others that the Holy Spirit has given you."
A. The third cause for Paul's giving thanks is how Epaphras has laid a solid foundation for the Colossians in the true gospel (1:7-8).
B. The gospel can only bear fruit successfully when people faithfully proclaim it and when others respond with understanding and obedience.
C. This is the only thanksgiving section in which Paul mentions the name of a particular person.
D. He identifies Epaphras as a "dear fellow servant," the one who first taught them the gospel, and as "a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf."
E. Paul did not believe that as an apostle he was the only one qualified to preach the gospel. He was commissioned by God to preach to the Gentiles, but he could not be everywhere.
F. He rapidly equipped his converts to spread the gospel in places where he could not go himself. Apparently, Epaphras represented Paul in his home territory and may have founded all three churches in the Lycus valley: Colosse, Laodicea, and Hierapolis (Col. 4:13).
G. Paul firmly believed in the unity of the missionary effort (1 Cor. 3:5-9), and he identifies himself here with Epaphras as a "fellow servant" of Christ.
H. He regards what this servant has done in Colosse as an extension of his own ministry, without wanting to take credit for it, for both work together in the same field.
I. He does not view Epaphras as one of his underlings but treats him as his collaborator and clarifies that both serve Christ. Epaphras does not have two masters, Christ and Paul. He has only one—Christ.
J. Undoubtedly, Epaphras had told Paul all about the church in Colosse. Some concern from Epaphras about the false teaching that had come into Colosse prompted Paul’s response through this letter.
K. But Epaphras had also told Paul about the character of the church—they had great love for one another, they showed love outside the fellowship, and they loved the well-known Paul as a brother in Christ.
L. Such love comes from our relationship with Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit because this love is a fruit of the Spirit.
M. Christian love comes from the Holy Spirit. The Bible speaks of it as an action and attitude, not just an emotion. Love is a by-product of our new life in Christ (Barton, Life Application New Testament Commentary, 871).
B. Love One Another
1. Illustration: Tertullian in the second century reported the comments of pagans in his day: "Behold, how these Christians love one another! How they are ready to die for each other!"
2. The proof of our transformation by the Good News is our love for others.
A. John 13:34-35 (NLT)
34 So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.
35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
B. The size of your Bible does not indicate that you are a follower of Jesus.
C. The size of the cross you wear around your neck is not an indication that you are a follower of Jesus.
D. The "I'm a Jesus person" t-shirt you wear is not proof that you are a follower of Jesus.
E. How well, or not so well, you sing "Oh, How I Love Jesus," doesn't prove that you are a follower of Jesus.
F. The only thing that proves it is how you love people.
G. It's how you love your brothers and sisters in Christ.
H. It's how you love those who are not your brothers and sisters in Christ.
I. It's how you treat the cashier at Kroger.
J. It's how you treat the waitress at Pizza Hut.
K. "Your love for one another will prove that you are my disciples!"
Conclusion
1. What's so good about the Good News?
A. It Gives Us Hope
B. It Changes Lives
C. It Changes How We Treat Others
2. THREE THINGS TO REMEMBER...
A. ALWAYS BE PREPARED TO TELL PEOPLE ABOUT THE HOPE YOU HAVE IN JESUS!
i. 1 Peter 3:15 (NLT)
15 Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it.
B. NEVER FORGET WHERE YOU CAME FROM!
i. Ephesians 2:4-5 (NLT)
4 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much,
5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)
C. LOVE OTHERS THE SAME WAY JESUS LOVES YOU...UNCONDITIONALLY!
i. Matthew 22:37-40 (NLT)
37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’
38 This is the first and greatest commandment.
39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
