A Complete Salvation
Colossians 1:1-8
1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 2To the holy and faithful brothers in Christ at Colosse: Grace and peace to you from God our Father. 3We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints ¡X 5the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel 6that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God¡¦s grace in all its truth. 7You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, 8and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.
I His Greeting vs. 1-2
Paul the Apostle ¡Vfulfilling his divine calling to preach the gospel, to testify to the veracity of the death, burial, and resurrection, and to establish churches throughout the world by continually planting the seed of truth into the hearts of receptive people ¡V a man who speaks w/ an anointing and w/ authority.
Writing to the those who have received the message of truth; who had been set apart from sin unto God (holy) by an act of grace; and who remain faithful to the task in the midst of persecution, unrest, and apostasy.
II His Thanksgiving vs. 3-4
Paul was thankful that the believers at Colossae had an authentic faith measurable by their love for one another and by the growth of the church in Great Commission ministry. Paul was grateful that there was tangible evidence that this church was alive and fruitful to the glory of God. He was glad to know that they had a positive and powerful testimony and reputation.
III His Message vs. 5-6
Note: Faith and love spring forth from the hope that every believer has in Christ. It is a hope that is founded upon the promises of Christ as the living word found in God¡¦s written word. It is also a hope that is continually lived and proclaimed bearing fruit throughout the world.
Word: Gospel ¡V refers to the good news that Jesus died on the cross to pay for our sins, was buried, and that He arose from the grave on the third day conquering sin and death thus providing a means for all men to have their sins forgiven and to be redeemed.
A The Gospel is Received by Faith
1 An Issue of Trust
Notes: pistis to be persuaded something is true and to trust in it completely w/out reservation.
Origin: pistis comes from the root word peitho meaning to obey. All genuine faith is rooted in the spirit of obedience. Faith w/out works, w/out obedience, w/out love is not faith at all.
Verse: This is my command: Love each other. Jn 15:17
But someone will say, ¡§You have faith; I have deeds.¡¨ Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. Jm 2:18
Truth: Authentic faith is not dead intellectual accent, but rather it manifests an experiential lifestyle of loving religious conviction and compassion.
2 An Issue of Fact
Idea: Faith is not a blind leap of faith. Rather it is based on fact and grounded in evidence.
Verse: Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 1 Cor. 15:1-6
Idea: Faith is built on something stable and trustworthy ¡V proven by fire ¡V it can w/stand any and all test.
B The Gospel Results in Love
Truth: Genuine faith does not exist in a vacuum, but will ultimately manifest itself in a changed life. B/c Christ is love, those who are possessed by His love will exude His love. True believers will love the truth, the church, and the lost..
Verse: We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, ¡§I know him,¡¨ but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God¡¦s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. 1 Jn 2:3-6
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love w/ words or tongue but w/ actions and in truth.... For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 1Jn. 3:16-20
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. 1 Jn. 4:7-12
Note: The hallmark of genuine faith is love.
C The Gospel Rests in Hope
Idea: An assurance of something that will certainly take place.
Note: Hope is laid up (apokeimai) ¡V stored or reserved ¡V in heaven. Like a present put on lay away to be given at a later date. (Ephesians 1:13)
It has been stored up in heaven ¡V where neither moth or rust can destroy (Mt 6:19-21) ¡V It is being held in a safe place out of danger from being lost or stolen.
Song: My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but holy lean on Jesus name. On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand.
D The Gospel Reaches to World
1 The Gospel Impact
a. Bearing fruit (having a life-changing result)
Idea: The Gospel is not stagnant, but dynamic. Wherever you plant the seed of truth it we begin to grow. Authentic faith always grows and reproduces itself (see Mt. 13 ¡V the Parable of the Sower).
Note: Genuine salvation does not bear fruit b/c in and of itself, rather it bears fruit b/c it is united to the source. John 15:1-6 explains this truth ¡V ¡§¡Kif anyone abide in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit, but apart from me you can do nothing.¡¨
Truth: If my faith does not produce a fruit that is in accordance with the nature, teachings, and actions of Christ, then I have a false faith or no faith at all.
b. Growing (increasing ¡V in width and in depth)
Idea: The result of authentic faith is that people will be saved, that they will grow up in their faith and that they will get involved in the ministry of the Kingdom ¡V this is Great Commission ministry (Mt. 28:19-20).
2 The Gospel Catch
a. It must be heard
Note: This is the responsibility and privilege of the church and Christians ¡V to proclaim the love of God.
Verse: Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. Rm. 10:17
We are therefore Christ¡¦s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ¡¦s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 1 Cor. 5:20-21
Quote: How will they know unless they hear; and how will they hear unless we tell.
b. It must be understood
Truth: Understanding can only come as a result of the work of the Holy Spirit. He and he alone reveals truth.
Verse: Jesus answered. ¡§No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. Jn. 6:44
However, as it is written: ¡§No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him¡¨ ¡X but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man¡¦s spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. 1 Cor. 2:8-13
Example: The thief on the Cross ¡V the first convert ¡V he was a renegade Jew who hurled insults at Christ ¡V then came the realization ¡V He heard and saw the Christ, but then came the understanding ¡V and He was saved by grace through faith alone (see Ephesians 2:8-10). He went from a thief to a child.
IV His Encouragement vs. 7
Note: The Colossians learned about the truth from Epaphras ¡V a converted pagan Greek who took the good news back to his home. Paul¡¦s words are a confirmation to Epaphras¡¦ ministry, but they are also an encouragement to the Colossians that they received the complete truth from Epaphras and that he could be trusted to lead them and to represent them.
Additional Thoughts
Note the use of the Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit)
Paul is very subtle, but he presents Jesus as a person within the Godhead co-equal with the Father and the Spirit. Jesus is God ¡V He will later state that He is the physical representation of God. Paul is stating the Colossians that the philosophies and mystical ideas of the pagan culture of Colossae were wrong and that Jesus is indeed God in the flesh and the Savior of the world.
Testimony
Paul commended the Colossians for their strong testimony not just in Colossae, but throughout the world. What is your testimony, and what is the testimony of our church in our community and around the world?
What is the testimony of your Sunday School class?
The Church
„« The church is built solely upon her faith in Christ alone and upon her love for all people.
„« The purpose of the church is to have an impact for God in her community and around the world.
„« For a church to be successful, she must present a sterling and unblemished testimony and reputation as being a place of authentic faith, certain hope, and unconditional love.
„« A church can never become more than her faith, hope, and love will allow her to become.
Questions
1 Why did Paul present himself as an apostle? What is an apostle? What was Paul¡¦s authority?
2 Why did Paul refer to the believers at Colossae as holy? What is does it mean to be holy? How were they made holy?
3 Why did Paul introduce the Trinity? Why did he introduce the trinity of faith, hope, and love?
4 What is faith? How can I know if my faith is genuine?
5 Is my faith secure? What makes it secure?
6 What is the Gospel? Can the Gospel be thwarted? What is my responsibility as it relates to the gospel?
7 How does the gospel bear fruit? How can I know if the fruit is authentic and good?
Exegesis of Colossians 1:1-8
Paul, one who has received the divine anointing and call of God and who now represents with God¡¦s authority the truth, and Timothy, my prodigy and your faithful brother in Christ (who you know of by his sterling reputation as a the young pastor at Ephesus), to those who have received Christ by grace through faith alone and who have been set apart from sin unto God for a deliberate purpose to honor and glorify God as a family of faith in the city of Colossae, May you continue to experience in abundance God¡¦s undeserved mercy and His guiding presence of soothing peace.
We are continually overjoyed to lift you up to God in our times of intercessory prayer because we have heard nothing but great things concerning the veracity and tenacity of your living faith in Christ as your Lord and Savior and of the unconditional and sacrificial Christ-like love you share with one another and with the body of Christ as a whole. The way you behave speaks volumes about your authentic faith that exemplifies a well-informed trust in the certain event of Christ¡¦s death, burial and resurrection, and portrays a Christ-like love whose source is this certain assurance that Jesus was who He said He was, that salvation is a certain gift lavished upon you by His grace and received by your faith, and that you can live in the full knowledge that you will be fully redeemed upon the return of Christ. Furthermore, you can rest assured that your salvation is stored away in a safe place in heaven where moth and rust cannot destroy it and where thieves (including the devil himself) cannot break in and steal it ¡V you can rest assured that you are safe in the warm embrace of the triune God.
To satisfy this truth, that is that the gospel is transformational (that Jesus is the Savior of all men who receive Him by faith alone), you can be a witness that all over this world this basic and elementary truth is having an explosive and life-changing impact upon anyone who will believe. Whenever the truth is planted into the hearts of men, it germinates and begins to grow producing a genuine fruit that draws others to come and partake unto salvation which causes a growth spurt in terms of the number of people whose lives are being redeemed and in the number of believers who are maturing in their relationship with Jesus Christ. Thus, untold numbers of people are being saved from the condemnation of their sin, discipled in their faith so that they can bring the Great Commission full circle by surrendering themselves to the mission and ministry of God¡¦s Kingdom through acts of service in appreciation of God¡¦s gift to them. And this should not surprise you because the gospel has been having the same effect upon you since the day you heard the truth of Jesus Christ from one of my converts, Epaphras and understood it unto salvation by the revealing work of the Holy Spirit who pulled back the scales of misunderstanding and worldliness to reveal to each of you the truth of your sinfulness and the need for forgiveness which was purchased by Christ on the Cross and was demonstrated in his love when He pardoned you by His grace through the propitiation of His blood which brings forth His redemption ¡V the forgiveness of sins. Never forget, without the shedding of His blood, there would be absolutely no forgiveness of sins.
Indeed, Epaphras was the one who brought this truth to you, and you did well to listen to his simple yet sufficient teachings, because he was faithful to give you only that which you needed to have your sins forgiven and your salvation settled. He did not add even one thing to the gospel like others are attempting to do which has brought confusion among you. Listen carefully, it is by the work of Christ alone and nothing more ¡V if something else were required including good works, self abasement, or any other form of enlightenment, then Christ died for nothing. But Epaphras was true to present God¡¦s Word and Christ¡¦s work to you, just as now he honestly and compassionately represents you in the faith.
