Letters: Colossians

Opening Question:

How do we give thanks?

illustration about thanksgiving

Coming off the cusp of Thanksgiving, most of us surrounded ourselves with people we are thankful for and indulged in the food in which we are thankful for plenty.

Last we we looked into the letter of 1 Thessalonians, and we are going to look into another letter that Paul wrote to the Colossians.

A little background on Colossians-

Where was Paul writing from?

He is writing from Prison

Colossians is similar in content and structure to Ephesians, yet it has almost identical shout outs found in Philemon. Where it mentions the people who are prisoners of the gospel alongside him such as Mark, Luke and Aristarchus, He also mentions Tychicus who will deliver the letter with Onesimus, who was the renegade slave of Philemon that converted to the faith.

Why is he writing?

More than likely Paul caught wind of possible trouble brewing in Colossae, and he found it necessary to check in on them. Jumping in to Colossians 1:

Colossians 1:3–5 NASB 2020

3 We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints; 5 because of the hope reserved for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel

Faith. Love. Hope.

Paul writes giving thanks to the Colossian church for their Faith and Love as the result of their hope in the gospel.

Things look Good, They are doing well

Paul finds it necessary to warn them of the dangers and reinforce their faith.

Illustration of me taking off the wallpaper and the fire alarm goes off.

Although everything was fine, I still told the kids that they should always listen to the fire alarm and not dismiss it as a false alarm.

As Paul began his address, he commends on their faithfulness

After he displays his thanks to God for them, he pleas to them to continue in the faith and love that comes through the hope of the Gospel.

Faith and Love are important, but should always stem from the hope of the gospel and the work of Christ.

As we look at this letter today, alarm bells are going off all around us. We face division in our society over many issues, many of which have seeped into the church and are poisoning unity.

So as we look at Colossians, I hope we remind ourselves that all faith is not equal. Having faith in humanity should never exceed our faith for Christ. All love is not equal. Jesus himself points out that you cannot love both God and Money, such loves are incompatible.

Alarm bells should be going off in our heads as we line up what the world tells us to have faith in and how the world tells us to love. Just Like Paul addressed the Colossians, we need the same charge: continue in the faith and love which comes from our hope in Christ Jesus.

Colossians 1:9–10 NASB 2020

9 For this reason we also, since the day we heard about it, have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;

Illustration about not having aligned belief and practice.

What is Paul urging the for the church in this letter?

Right Belief and Right Practice

Wrong Belief tempting the people of Colossae:

Mystic traditions and Greek Philosophy

Judaizers

Colossians 1:15–20 NASB 2020

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation: 16 for by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or rulers, or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 He is also the head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. 19 For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, 20 and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.

Answer- Christ is the perfect being, who was present in the flesh, and through his work, we too can reach perfection.

It is not individual religious practices that make you right in the eyes of God, but Jesus.

Its easy for us to look back on what Paul is addressing and have a sense of superiority of viewpoints. Before we view their viewpoints as archaic or faulty, perhaps we should remind ourselves of what Jesus said on the Sermon on the Mount:

Matthew 7:3–5 NASB 2020

3 Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and look, the log is in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye!

As we look at the truth of what this letter is tell us, we need to identify the speck, who knows, maybe we are actually the one with the plank in our eye, but we need to view Scripture’s instruction carefully.

If Paul is telling them about Thanksgiving, he’s also telling them about thanks-living. about how to live on the basis of being grateful people, thankful to God in everything despite everything, thankful because of what God has done, thankful because of what God will do, thankful in the present to be part of the family that call Jesus as Lord.

-NT Wright

Thanksgiving and Thanks-living

To give thanks we need to acknowledge the work of Jesus.

We should thank God for his work.

Thank God for our brother’s and sisters in Christ.

Thank God

If Paul wishes to address his thankfulness to us, He would start by addressing what true belief is. In order to look at our belief in proper light, he would make sure that we trust in Jesus, the Messiah.

How many times do people wish to engage in moral conversations with one another, yet certain fundamental differences keep us from having meaningful dialog.

Encouragement for Today:

Increase your knowledge of the Lord.

Listen to/ read the word.

Reshape your Worship

If what you shape your time around isn’t conducive to worship, perhaps you should let it go.

Give Thanks

Prayers.

Words of encouragment

Colossians 3:17 NASB 2020

17 Whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

Colossians 4:2 NASB 2020

2 Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving;