Faith, Hope, and Love Colossians 1:1-8

Transcription

1 Faith, Hope, and Love Colossians 1:1-8 The theme of Colossians is the preeminence of Christ. Paul gave a shout out to this in verse eighteen. Notice And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. Colossians 1:18 (NKJV) The word preeminence in the Greek. Preeminence (Greek): to be first in rank or order Like being first in line, or being the top in your graduating class, or being first born in your home. You re first in rank and in order. That s what you re going to find as the consistent theme here in Colossians. Paul is writing to a church that is a new fellowship, a group of new believers who are made up of Gentiles, who have allowed Gnosticism, Jewish legalism, and eastern philosophy to be mixed with their Christian faith. Paul wants to clean this up. Reminding them that Jesus was not just another prophet or spiritual guru like many others in the world. He is not even on the same platform as any of the others. He is the head of the church and in all things he must have preeminence. Paul even reminded them in earlier verses He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. Colossians 1:15-17 (NKJV) This really cleans it up; He is the creator of all things in heaven and on earth, they were created through Him and for Him. Copyright 2015 Chris Fraley 1

2 So, when it comes to the church, He is the one who birthed the church and is to be the one who is head of the church, and He is the one we worship as a church. There is no one deeper than Jesus, there is no one greater than Jesus, and there is no one smarter than Jesus, He s all we need. I am reminded of that song we have sung before, Just Give Me Jesus, you can have all this world, just give me Jesus. That s what Paul was getting at here. And this is the reason that Paul writes this letter to Colosse. Making sure that they put Jesus in His rightful place; first. Read verse one through eight, and then we will walk through it together. Vs. 1-2 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are in Colosse: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Saints, why are we saints Wildwood? Not because of what we have done, but because of who we know. Christ is the only one that can make a sinner a saint. That s exactly what He does as we come to the cross; He eliminates our sin, and imputes to us His righteousness. Now that we are in Christ we are as righteous as we will ever be. We don t add to it, we just live it out in the power of the Spirit. We are saints because of the work of Christ in us. What we do, is evidence that we are saints. Its evidence that Christ lives in us. Here Paul points to the evidence in the church of Colosse. Faithful brethren. It s the fruit of abiding and walking in the Spirit. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness Galatians 5:22 (NKJV) If you re walking in the Spirit, faithfulness will be what flows from your life. No where will you find flakey, as a fruit of the spirit, that s the flesh. Copyright 2015 Chris Fraley 2

3 So, if you re struggling in the area of faithfulness, ask the Spirit of God to fill you a fresh, and you ll see faithfulness become active in your life. Vs. 3 We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always Giving thanks and praying always. Let me remind you again of Paul s place of residence, he was still in a Roman prison for preaching the gospel, same place he was in as he wrote the last letter to the church of Philippi. Waiting to be seen by Caser Nero. And here again much like the last letter he was still rejoicing. I give thanks for you, and I am always praying for you. If there is a secondary theme here in Colossians it would be thankfulness. In four chapters he mentions it five times. Chapter 1:12, 2:7, 3:15, 17, and 4:2. Paul had a grateful heart for this church, a church that he didn t start, had not visited physically, and did not know personally. But when he heard about them, he did not take threat by them nor did he try and control them, he was thankful for them. That s the will of God for our lives, to have a thankful heart. in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1Thessalonians 5:18 (NKJV) In everything. Let me ask you a question: Are you grateful for what God is doing in the life of those around you? When we hear that someone is growing in their faith, when we hear that God has prospered someone else s business; can you rejoice in what God is doing in others, even though your conditions might not be what you would wish for? When someone else is healed of something physical but you re struggling with a life threatening even painful disease; can you rejoice in what God is doing in their life, even when He has not done the same in your life? Paul reminded the church of Corinth For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we Copyright 2015 Chris Fraley 3

4 were all baptized into one body whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. 1Corinthians 12:12-13 (NKJV) And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. 1Corinthinas 12:26 (NKJV) When one member is touched by the hand of God it benefits the rest of the body, it should bless and strengthen our faith. It s a way for us to look beyond ourselves and get our eyes on others. We should rejoice when God is bringing a blessing into someone else s life. Paul was in prison suffering for the Lord while this church was birthed and blessed. Notice the next thing that Paul pointed out, not only was he thankful for them, he was also praying for them. Paul had an intercessory prayer ministry while he was in prison. If he couldn t be with them physically, he could be there spiritually as he prayed for them. It s what we read about the early church, they were given to prayer immediately after there was new life brought in. Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. Acts 2:41-43 (NKJV) Notice the church that was committed to prayer was a church that God was blessing; it s what keeps us moving in the right direction. If it worked for the first church, then it will work for the last day s church. I am blessed to be a part of a church that is given to prayer. It s one of the reasons that we see the hand of God on us and among us; because we strive to be a church that seeks the face and the heart of God, in all that we do. Notice why Paul was so thankful for this church, notice what he heard about them Copyright 2015 Chris Fraley 4

5 Vs. 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all the saints It s believed that Paul wrote this letter because of a visit from Epaphras. He is mentioned in verse seven as you also learned from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf Colossians 1:7 (NKJV) I mentioned earlier Paul had not started this church, nor had he visited this church. He had only heard about them, thus he writes this letter to them. It was in response to what he had heard about them; verse four tells us what he had heard; we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all the saints. How cool is that? They were known for their faith and love. There are a lot of things that churches can be known for: Some are known for their programs, they offer the latest greatest programs, if it s what s happening now there doing it. Others are known for their political persuasion, you get an ICLU update every Sunday, there are petitions to sign in the foyer once a month, you might even be told what party to sign up for. Some are known for being showy, they have the light and fog shows during worship, they like to wow everyone. Some are known for evangelism and forgetting about feeding the sheep or others are known for feeding the sheep and forgetting about the lost. The list goes on and on, time doesn t allow for us to list them all. Paul could say about the church of Colosse; what we have heard is that you are a church with a great faith in Christ Jesus and an amazing love for all the saints. Faith and love what a great thing to be known for, Paul would even add hope in verse five. Notice Vs. 5 because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel Faith, hope and love. It s what Paul said when everything else fades, these three would remain. Copyright 2015 Chris Fraley 5

6 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. 1Corinthians 13:13 (NKJV) Faith, because what does the author of Hebrews remind us But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a re-warder of those who diligently seek Him. Hebrews 11:6 (NKJV) It s the first mark of a mature church, that they are a church of faith. The church that gathers together without believing God is going to do great things will not experience renewal, revival or blessing. Jon Courson A mature church is a church that believes God is going to reward them as they diligently seek him. The second mark of maturity is love. Love, because this is what others looking in should see in us. "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." John 13:34-35 (NKJV) Love is the fruit of a life that has been changed by Jesus Christ. We love now because he has filled our tank with love. The third mark of maturity is the hope of Heaven. The church that keeps their eyes on Heaven will make all the difference here on Earth. It s what motivates us to share the gospel with those around us. That s how the church of Colosse came to faith. Notice Vs. 5 which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel The church of Colosse was marked with faith, hope, and love because they had put their faith in the gospel. Notice the emphasis on the hearing; they heard the gospel and it gave them an opportunity to put their faith in the One, the gospel pointed to Jesus. Paul tells us how this works in Romans ten Copyright 2015 Chris Fraley 6

7 But what does it say? The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart (that is, the word of faith which we preach) Romans 10:8 (NKJV) Notice, it s near you, it s in your mouth, and in your heart. How did it get there? It came when the word of faith was preached. Notice what can follow that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Romans 10:9-10 (NKJV) For whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved." Romans 10:13 (NKJV) Notice the gospel is preached, and then there is an opportunity to believe, and confess, and when that happens a person is saved. That s why Paul said what he did in Romans So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:17 (NKJV) In other words, God s plan to get the good news out, is up to you and I, and the church. I remember the first time I shared my faith; I was at the bus station in downtown riverside. It s that song that Gary ray shared with us last week. In his song, We re Gonna Shine, he says We are Your church oh God We are a city on a hill Because of what You ve done, we re gonna shine We are Your church oh God We are Your plan to reach the world Because of who You are, we re gonna shine. Gary Ray We don t say it with that cool South African accent, the church. Copyright 2015 Chris Fraley 7

8 Gary and I were talking last week about the church, and those who have hang ups with the church, or those who would say I don t need the church, is such a foolish statement.. Jesus died for the church, established the church and then commissioned the church, and we line up with his heart. The church can be a powerful tool to advance the kingdom. There is not one verse in the book of Acts where the gospel advances to the lost without a human agent. David Platt You won t find it, that s God s plan to use the church, to bring the gospel to a world that needs it. That s exactly what happened here in Colosse, notice who brought the gospel Vs. 7-8 as you also learned from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, who also declared to us your love in the Spirit. Epaphras a dear and fellow servant, a faithful minister on your behalf, he was the one who brought the gospel to Colosse. More than likely he heard it through Paul when Paul was in Ephesus and then he took it back to his hometown, Colossi. It didn t stop there Epaphras, who is one of you, a bondservant of Christ, greets you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. For I bear him witness that he has a great zeal for you, and those who are in Laodicea, and those in Hierapolis. Colossians 4:12-13 (NKJV) He not only brought the gospel to his hometown Colosse but he also brought to the neighboring towns. Cherry Valley, Beaumont, Banning, Forest Falls, Highland, and Redlands. Just kidding. Hierapolis and Laodicea. His vision to get the gospel out went beyond his home town. I love the simplicity of that. Just simply telling people what he knew about Jesus. Copyright 2015 Chris Fraley 8

9 It was Edward Kimbell a Sunday School Teacher that helped lead Dwight L. Moody to Christ. It was J. Wilbur Chapman that was converted at a Dwight L. Moody crusade; who then led Billy Sunday to Christ, and Billy Sunday led Mordecai Ham to Christ. In 1934 Mordecai Ham came to Charlotte North Carolina, he set up tent and had several revival meetings, it was one of those meetings where Billy Graham heard the gospel and gave his life to Christ. Billy Graham, at age sixteen, gave his life to Christ. Think about all those who would come to Christ through Billy s ministry. It s believed that 210 million people have come to Christ through his ministry, and if you listen to Billy Graham, I am sure you will agree he is simply telling people about Jesus, he simply told them what he knew about Jesus. Let s do that Wildwood, tell others about Jesus, simply tell them what you know, and let the Holy Spirit do the rest. Copyright 2015 Chris Fraley 9