The Truth of the Gospel

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Donny Haynes

Kentucky MBC

Colossians - The Preeminence of Christ • Sermon • Submitted 3 months ago • Presented 3 months ago • 53:45

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Colossians 1:3–8 (KJV 1900)

3 We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,

4 Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints,

5 For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel;

6 Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth:

7 As ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellowservant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ;

8 Who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit.

Verse 3

Paul starts just about every one of his letters this same way.

Greets Them

Gives Thanks

Gives Teaching

He greets them, with an introduction of himself, naming the recipients, and then he Gives Thanks for whatever pertinent qualities they exhibit, and then he Gives Teaching.

2 most important things we can do for each other.

Be Thankful.

Look to someone near you and tell them that you are thankful for them and why?

Pray for each Other.

Colossians 1:4 (KJV 1900)

4 Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints,

What is the greatest commandment?

Just so happens that Jesus was asked that question.

Matthew 22:36–37 (KJV 1900)

36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?

37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

FAITH is TRUSTING and OBEYING God.

Hebrews 11:1 (KJV 1900)

1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

the substance of things hoped for = TRUST

the evidence of things not seen = OBEDIENCE

Love the Lord = Faith

Matthew 22:39 (KJV 1900)

39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

Love you neighbor = Obedience

Colossians 1:4 (KJV 1900)

4 Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints,

This kind of faith and love are given to you as gifts from the Holy Spirit of God making them Spiritual gifts.

When you have faith in God and you obey in love for others, it will lead to Hope.

Colossians 1:5 (KJV 1900)

5 For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel;

As we trust God we develop faith, the development of faith leads us to love our neighbors, and when we do these 2 things, the result is Hope.

Their exhibition of the abiding spiritual gifts.

1 Corinthians 13:13 (KJV 1900)

13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

Love is the Key to proving your faith in order to experience the hope.

Therefore, you faith is important and your hope is important, but the are absolutely nothing without obedience, Love.

The foundation to these gifts is the focus of verse 5.

The Communication of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Colossians 1:5 (KJV 1900)

5 For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel;

gospel = evangelion from which we get evangelize, or evangel, it simply, really, is a technical term for “good news.” And it originally was a term used in relationship to a battle.

We find that in some non-biblical records of the past, there would be occasions when a certain city would fight another city, and in Greece particularly the country was divided into city-states and each city-state would maintain its own army and everything like that. So, they would be in battles. And frequently there would be a great battle and everybody in the city would be waiting to hear news from the battlefield. There weren’t any telegraphs so there had to be messengers. All of a sudden, on the horizon, the messenger would appear, returning from the city from the battlefield. He would come flying into the city and usually by his appearance it would become very, very obvious what the news was. If his face was shining, if his spear was decked with a laurel wreath, if his head had a wreath on it and he was swinging a palm branch then joy would automatically fill the city and he would cry out—We had won. And the word that is used to describe that is euangelion, the good news, the news of victory. And that is indeed the gospel. It is the news of victory.

The word Gospel is a word of Victory. we have been delivered from death to life, from sinners to saints.

Jesus Christ

Jesus Proclaimed the Gospel

Matthew 4:23 (KJV 1900)

23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.

Jesus Commanded us to

Jesus Preached the Gospel.

Mark 16:15 (KJV 1900)

15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

We are also to

We Protect the Gospel.

Philippians 1:17 (KJV 1900)

17 But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel.

We are also to

We Pour the Gospel On.

Philippians 1:27 (KJV 1900)

27 Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;

This is to be something we set ourselves to accomplish, this is an objective that demands discipline to reach, the communication of the gospel.

So, we are to proclaim it, and while we’re giving a positive proclamation we are to be able to defend it against the attackers, and we’re to work hard at it.

What brings us together in fellowship?

The Gospel

Philippians 1:5 (KJV 1900)

5 For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;

This fellowship produces thanks.

Philippians 1:3 KJV 1900

3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,

2 Timothy 1:8 (KJV 1900)

8 Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;

We are to Put up with the suffering because of the Gospel.

Do you see the process?

You receive the Gospel, you are to Preach the Gospel, you are to Protect the Gospel, you are Pour into the Gospel, and lastly, you may have Pain for the Gospel.

On the flip side, we are not to Prevent the Gospel.

1 Corinthians 9:12 (KJV 1900)

12 If others be partakers of this power over you, are not we rather? Nevertheless we have not used this power; but suffer all things, lest we should hinder the gospel of Christ.

Paul said he was not

Romans 1:16 (KJV 1900)

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

1 Thessalonians 1:5 (KJV 1900)

5 For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.

So, if we are going to understand the book of Colossians, and we are going to understand the Spiritual gift, and why we should be thankful and praying for one another, we have to understand the Gospel.

The Comprehension of the Gospel.

1. The Gospel is Received by Faith.

Colossians 1:4 (KJV 1900)

4 Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints,

What does it mean to believe?

What is he saying?

How do you become a Christian?

How do you receive this good news?

Simply by believing.

The word, in the Greek, the verb is pisteuo, to believe, to have faith.

The word simply means

Believing = to be persuaded … to be convinced that something is true and to trust it.

Faith is believing.

Faith is based on evidence.

Faith is based on fact.

We saw Hebrews 11 earlier in the message.

Faith is not wistful longing, it is knowing with absolute authority and absolute certainty, it is taking something you can’t see that seems way out there and giving it substance.

The relationship between faith and Christ Jesus is the relationship that saves.

In Acts 16:31 , it says:

Acts 16:31 (KJV 1900)

31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

It uses the preposition epi which suggests resting on a foundation.

In Acts 20:21 , it says:

Acts 20:21 (KJV 1900)

21 Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

which uses eis which means to find a dwelling place in, to go into, to abide in, to find a home.

And here it says—“Have faith in Christ,”

It is as if we had come to a place of security and anchor. And so, our faith in Christ is like resting on a foundation, finding a home, putting out an anchor. And salvation comes to us in human experience simply by believing. That’s the simplicity of it, that’s the beauty of it. John 1:12 :

John 1:12 (KJV 1900)

12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

“As many as received Him to them gave He power to become the children of God even to them that … what?… believe on His name.” to believe on His name. That’s the beginning of the gospel. And that’s all there is to it.

2. The Gospel Reproduces Love.

Colossians 1:4 (KJV 1900)

4 Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints,

Where there’s true faith there’s going to be love.

If you truly believe in Christ, you’re truly His child; you’re going to love your brother. I mean, that’s just there. It is inevitable that where there is a healthy faith there will be a true love for the brothers.

Faith does not lead to isolation.

It is faith in Christ, in a sense that purges us of selfishness and gives a new perspective toward others. And our love is a reflection of His love for us.

I love what he says here, and I think this is very practical. “Since we heard of your love to all the saints.” Isn’t that something? It was a non-selective love. They loved everybody. Beautiful concept.

Philippians 2:2,

Philippians 2:2 (KJV 1900)

2 Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

Now, what he means by that is loving everybody the same … loving everybody the same. Yes, the gospel truth will result in love.

There are two crucial sides to the Christian life. One is faith, the other is love.

What is that saying?

One is sound doctrine, the other is experiential love.

We’re saved by faith.

We’re saved to love.

And love toward each other, people, simply means the act of self-sacrificing service toward one another.

3. The Gospel Rests in Hope.

Colossians 1:5 (KJV 1900)

5 For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel;

Remember 1 Cor 13:13

1 Corinthians 13:13 (KJV 1900)

13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

What hope is this? “It’s laid up for you in heaven.” The verb means reserved, it’s the divine-lay-away-plan.

Peter calls it, 1 Peter 1:4 ,

1 Peter 1:4 (KJV 1900)

4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,

We have a laid-away inheritance in heaven … what a fantastic truth.

When I think about our hope, it really excites me. Think about it this way. God established our hope by making us sons. Listen to that. God established our hope by making us sons. Listen to 1 John 3:1 ,

1 John 3:1 (KJV 1900)

1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

He established our hope by making us sons. And you want to hear something exciting? He will fulfill our hope by making us like His Son … verse 2, 1 John 3:2

1 John 3:2 (KJV 1900)

2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

God established our hope by making us sons and fulfills our hope by making us like His Son.

The gospel gives us love for one another and hope for eternity. Faith and hope are inseparably linked. We believe and so we hope.

4. The Gospel Reaches Worldwide.

Colossians 1:6 (KJV 1900)

6 Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth:

Especially here in Colossians, the gospel is not just one more mystery religion of the Roman Empire. The gospel is not just one more local sect … because the Colossians were getting bombed by these local sects, these forms of the mystery religion that we went into discussion on last time, and he’s saying—Hey, people, the gospel is for the world.

The Gospel is the same anywhere you go. It’s not merely an addition to the cults of the cities of Asia Minor, it’s the true good news and it’s the true good news for the whole world.

5. The Gospel Reproduces Fruit.

Colossians 1:6 (KJV 1900)

6 Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth:

This is really the heart of the gospel, it is a living thing. The Word of God is alive and powerful, it is productive.

Divine energy produces fruit.

The gospel is like an inward energy that spreads like the mustard seed becoming a tree. It’s alive and when it falls into the divinely prepared heart it bears fruit. It not only works within, not only bearing fruit within but it spreads, and those are the two ideas,

The first idea of bearing fruit has an inward concept, the second is a spreading thing.

The gospel gets into somebody and grows and he begins to mature and then it spreads and the church begins to grow. So, you have internal spiritual transformation and you have external growth in the church.

6. The Gospel is Rooted in Grace.

Colossians 1:6 (KJV 1900)

6 Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth:

He just can’t get-through a paragraph here, in fact, this whole section from 3 to 8 is one sentence, he can’t even get through one sentence here without throwing grace in because grace is at the heart of the gospel.

All other religions are based on the assumption that you do something to earn something. All other religions are based on the fact that a man can, by his own works, commend himself to God. He can earn salvation by humaneffort mixed with a certain degree of divine grace.

But Paul is always, forever, laying the axe to the root of legalism. He is always chopping at the tree of works and he’s going to really chop it down in Colossians 2:19 and following, when we get there in Colossians, but for now he just begins to take a whack at it. God is freely, sovereignly, merciful and forgiving, due to nothing we have done but His own grace, so he calls it the grace of God in truth.

Grace is simply God giving us what we do not deserve.

So, Paul says- Another thing about the gospel, it’s by faith, results in love, rests in hope, reaches the world, reproduces fruit and is rooted in grace.

And lastly, and this gets it right down to us, listen

7. The Gospel is Reported by Men.

Colossians 1:7–8 (KJV 1900)

7 As ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellowservant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ;

8 Who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit.

Someone has to take the gospel to people. Notice the gospel was given to Epaphras who passed it on to Colossae.

What did you learn from Epaphras?

The grace of God in truth, the gospel. He’s the one that gave it to you. They had heard the gospel from a man … Epaphras, our beloved, fellow slave, I love that. See that word, our dear fellow servant? That’s sundoulos, our fellow slave, our faithful minister. I’m so thankful to God for Epaphras. Listen, the gospel truth is reported by men.

There’s got to be a human channel. That’s us.

Acts 1:8 (KJV 1900)

8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

We are His witness, that’s us. To the disciples He said: You go out and testify of Me.

Romans 10:8–16 (KJV 1900)

8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;

9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.

13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?

15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?

2 questions this morning.

Have you received the Gospel? Faith

Have you shared the Gospel? Love

Do you have Hope?

Who is mentioned in Colossians 1:7 as a faithful minister of Christ and a dear fellowservant?

According to Colossians 1:6, what does the gospel bring forth as it is spread?

What is the relationship between faith and love as discussed in Colossians 1:4?

In Colossians 1:5, what is the hope that is laid up for believers in heaven?

Based on the sermon, what is the significance of the word 'Gospel' and its association with victory?

How can you apply the concept of faith and love discussed in Colossians 1:4 to your relationships with others?

How can the idea of hope laid up in heaven, as mentioned in Colossians 1:5, impact your perspective on current challenges you may be facing?

In what ways can you be a faithful minister of Christ like Epaphras, as mentioned in Colossians 1:7?

How can you ensure that your faith in Christ Jesus is producing love for others, as indicated in Colossians 1:4?

Reflecting on the concept of the Gospel bringing forth fruit, as in Colossians 1:6, in what areas of your life do you see fruitfulness through the message of Christ?

How can you express thankfulness for your faith and love towards others, similar to how Paul thanked the Colossians in Colossians 1:3–8?

What practical steps can you take to actively share the Gospel message as instructed in Acts 1:8 and Romans 10:14–15?

In what ways can you demonstrate love for all believers, like the Colossians were commended for in Colossians 1:4?

How can the concept of hope laid up in heaven, mentioned in Colossians 1:5, guide your decisions and aspirations for the future?

What specific challenges or struggles could you overcome by holding on to the hope found in the Gospel, as discussed in Colossians 1:5?

What is the significance of the phrase 'the grace of God in truth' as mentioned in Colossians 1:6?

How does the relationship between faith, hope, and love as discussed in Colossians 1:4–5 reflect the core message of Christianity?

According to the sermon, how does the Gospel message lead to both internal spiritual transformation and external growth in the church?

How can you actively participate in proclaiming, defending, and living out the Gospel message in your daily life?

What steps can you take to deepen your understanding of the Gospel message and its impact on your life, similar to how the Colossians learned from Epaphras in Colossians 1:7?