Prayers for the Colossians

Welcome

Good morning everyone and welcome. Today we are going to be starting a new sermon series focused on the book of Colossians. I think I’ve mentioned in the past how I work on sermon planning ahead of time. Usually I like to be about 6 months ahead of where we are. But a few months ago Dan and I were talking about what we would be preaching on in the new year and to our surprise both of us had scheduled to preach through Colossians! So if you see that FCC is going through Colossians as well, no, Dan and I didn’t plan that, but it is nice that God would work in that way so that Dan and I can talk about these sermons!

Today we are going to go over a brief introduction to the book of Colossians and look at the first half of chapter 1.

Prayer

Introduction to Colossians

As we begin to look at Colossians (and any book for that matter), it is good to understand the background about the book. Colossians is a letter, written by the apostle Paul to a church in Colossae. What makes this church a bit unique is that Paul did not start this church. Instead, we will see in this first section that this church was started by a man named Epaphras. We aren’t necessarily given details about the start of this church, but I tend to lean towards the idea that some scholars have, that while Paul was in Ephesus preaching and starting the church there, Epaphras was in town and heard the gospel. Epaphras became a believer and as a result, went back home to Colossae and began to share the news of Jesus and start the church that Paul is now writing to. The church grows and eventually while Paul is in prison in Rome he is visited by Epaphras. Epaphras then takes this letter back to the Colossians.

A simple outline that I came across explains the 4 chapters of Colossians like this.

The Savior is Supreme (Chapter 1)

After his introduction and greeting, Paul is going to remind them about the supremecy of Christ, that he and he alone is the focus of their faith and the hope that they have is only rooted in Jesus.

Salvation is Simple (Chapter 2)

In chapter 2 Paul is going to bring up different false teachings that people have been leading fellow believers in. Paul will once again remind the church that they are to follow Christ and not human traditions and teachings.

Saved to Serve (Chapters 3-4)

Finally in chapters 3-4, Paul will remind the church how they are meant to live. Faith in Jesus changes us, it changes the way we live and interact with our world and so Paul gives practical guidance on that topic.

Today then, we will be looking at verses 1-14 which can be broken up themselves into two different sections. In verses 1-8 we find Paul’s introduction as well as a thanksgiving section. Verses 9-14 are a prayer that Paul has been praying for the church.

Faith, Love, Hope

Colossians 1:1–8 NIV

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To God’s holy people in Colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ: Grace and peace to you from God our Father. We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people—the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace. You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.

Paul begins this letter like he does with many others, a simple greeting with a little information. As I mentioned previously though, the church in Colossae hasn’t met Paul before. Now, I imagine they have likely heard about him, but Paul didn’t start this church nor has he visited it. Because of this, Paul has to actually, reallly introduce himself. He is an apostle of Christ Jesus who is writing to them because of the will of God. Paul has been given this position of authority to preach and share the gospel, mainly to the gentiles, but also to fellow Jews as well. He mentions Timothy as well, who was one of Paul’s most prominent partners in ministry. Paul then addresses who he is writing to. God’s holy people in Colossae, faithful brothers and sisters in Christ. While this seems pretty standard, remember Paul’s background as a Jewish leader. The Colossians were mainly gentiles and Paul calls them “God’s holy people.” This is quite extradinary for a Jew to say of non-Jews. Israel was God’s holy people, and within them Priests were the “holy ones.” Paul can do this not because of their character or good works, he can call them God’s holy people, people who are set apart by God and for God, because of their faith in Jesus.

Quick application for us, this privilege can still be said of Christian believers today. We are God’s holy people as followers of Jesus. This title is not reserved for Israel, it is made available to any who place their faith in Jesus. Later in chapter 3 we will read about what we are called to do then as God’s chosen people.

(8th Grade basketball team, we had to dress up the day of games. Kahkis and dress shirts. Why? Because we were playing for Coah Tria. Paul says in Colossians 3:12 “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” Because of who we are as followers, it affects the way we “dress” the way we live our lives.)

Paul then moves into this prayer of thanksgiving for the church. He thanks God for them whenever they are praying for the church. He does this becaues he has heard about this church, he has heard about the faith that they have and the love that is working itself out in their life as a result of this faith. They way they are living and loving people in their community is making a difference and word of this has reached Paul. These believers heard of God’s grace, they believed in Jesus, and their lives were changed. This is what the gospel has been doing all over the world and so Paul is thankful to hear about their ministry and faith.

I think Paul’s response is also something that we should be practicing. We can hear about other churches and the work they are doing, people who are coming to faith in Jesus, ministries that are reaching people, and we can simply thank God for that. We can thank God that the gospel and the Holy Spirit are moving in those communities. And I think it is good that we do this publicly. Why? Becuase it further demonstrates that our church is not the only church that we care about. We care about God’s Church, capital C. And any news of the gospel being spread and faith growing to maturity in people is worth thanking God for and celebrating. This is where Paul mentions Epaphras as well, the one who heard the gospel and took is back to Colossae.

Live Worthy

Colossians 1:9–14 NIV

For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Paul continues by saying, “For this reason...” Everything that Paul has already said leads into this next section, which is a prayer for the Colossians. Paul has heard about their faith and their desire to love one another and ever since then, Paul and his partners have not stopped praying for them. Whenever Paul and his partners have their time of prayer, they are lifting up this church. So what are they praying for this church? I think all of these topics are things that we can and should be praying for. Not only for ouselves but also for other churches and other ministires that we partner with.

Fill them with knowledge of his will.

Often times when we talk about God’s will we are applying it to very specific instances in our life. We ask that God would show us his will in how we ought to handle difficult relationships, what God’s will is with our job, what his will is for where we ought to live. But I don’t think this is what Paul is talking about here. One author says that “Paul’s focus is on what God delights in and what God takes pleasure in. It’s much less about knowing what my specific future holds, and much more about knowing what will be pleasing to God.” Paul gives us this answer later in chapter two, Colossians 2:2–3 “My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

Wisdom and knowledge are found in Jesus. If we want to know God’s will, we are to look at Christ because he is supreme. This is one of the main point of the entire book. Christ is everything. We don’t need to add to him, knowledge and wisdom are found in him and so if we seek Jesus, if we see him more clearly, then we will grow in wisdom and knowledge of God’s will. For us then, we can pray that we would all see Christ more clearly. That we would all grow in our relationship with him and as a result of that, we would grow in our knowledge and wisdom of God’s will.

Paul then says that he prays for this, SO THAT, there is a result in their lives. He wants them to grow in wisdom and knowledge of Gods will so that they can live worthy of the calling that has been given to them and strengthened with power.

Grow in knowledge and wisdom so that you can bear fruit.

As we mature in Jesus, as we get to know him more, as we learn from him and grow as Christians, we bear fruit. This doesn’t happen as a result of ourselves, it happens because we are following Jesus and allowing the Holy Spirit to lead us. I know I have used this illustration before, but an apple tree doesn’t grow apples by grunting and trying really hard. It grows apples when it has good soil and the right nutrients to feed it. We don’t bear fruit because we try hard enough, we bear fruit when we are abiding in Jesus, in the right soil with the right nutrients.

2. Grow in knowledge in order to be strengthened with all power.

We also grow in knowledge so that we can be strengthened with all power according to God’s glorious might. Now, what would you think Paul would be praying for in relation to God’s might? God has all of this power and so Paul will be asking God to give great power to the Colossians, right? What kind of power would he give this church? He prays that they would be strengthened with power so that they would have patience and endurance. This is what they need God’s power for and it is also what we need God’s power for. We need God’s power in order to be patient and to have endurance when it comes to following Jesus. Things in life will not always go as quickly as we have planned and following Jesus will not always be easy. Because of this, we need patience and endurance that comes from God’s power.

Application

So what does this all mean for us? What does the introduction and opening prayer of Colossians teach us and how does it impact our lives?

We are God’s holy people. How amazing is it that through Jesus, God would look at us and call us his. I pray that we would recognize how amazing this is more often in our life. We can have the absolute worst day imaginable, yet we can still find comfort and encouragement in knowing that God calls us his.

Pray for these things for our church, for other churches, and for yourself. Ask God to give you knowledge and wisdom. Ask him to help you bear fruit. Ask him to strengthen you with power so that you can have patience and endurance. Ask God to help you focus completely upon Christ and how he alone is enough for you.

Prayer

Communion

Colossians 1:12–14 “and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

Through Jesus’ death and resurrection we have been rescued from the dominion of darkness and brought into the kingdom of Jesus. Through Jesus we have redemption, we have forgiveness of our sins. Let us give thanks to the Father for what Jesus has done for us as we recieve communion together this morning.