Paul and his ministry part 2
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1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, 2 that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. 5 For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.
6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
Pray
I. His Striving for the Christians.
Pray
1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, 2 that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. 5 For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.
6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
Col
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, 2 that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. 5 For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.
1. What is the most important characteristic of a pastor or minister?
6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
1. What is the most important characteristic of a pastor or minister?
Colossians: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary Chapter 7: Paul’s Love for the Church
intelligence, education, leadership ability, boldness, holiness, or speaking ability
Most of the established men of the church will say the most needed quality of the pastor, next to his love for Jesus is his love for the church.
The New Testament teaches us the concept of the church not only as Christ body but also as His bride.
Turn to
Paul gives us this picture of husbands loving their wives to paint a beautiful picture of not only how we ourselves must sacrifice things for her but to impress on us how Christ sacrificed Himself for church.
Giving ourselves up for her
You see Christ sacrificed Himself for church
Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
Eph 5:25-
Marriage in the single most celebrated image in the bible. A wedding was the greatest celebration and social event in the ancient near eastern Hebrew. These celebrations lasted for days and getting ready for the wedding might go on for months or years.
This picture is clearly given by the apostle John of the marriage of the bride to the Lamb in the book of Revelation
And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.”
The reason God gives us this image is not so apparent to us today as we continue to defile the picture of marriage.
We live together, celebrate the relationships of homosexuality, we have common law marriage and the list goes on.
The beauty, celebration and glory this picture brings has been lost in the secular world. People look at marriages like a BIC lighter. When the gas runs out I’ll just toss it and buy another one at the 7/11.
You can not love and serve the Lord Jesus Christ without loving His bride
So as we apply this image of marriage to the church - - there is no wonder the church seems to be failing.
Paul charged the members and elders of the church in Ephesus
Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.
The pastor is the shepherd of the flock and he must love the flock as much as he loves the owner the flock.
The pastor is the shepherd of the flock and he must love the flock as much as he loves the owner of the flock.
He charged the members and elders of the church in Ephesus
Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.
Acts 20
Paul greatly loved the churches not only those he visited and planted but those he never even saw face to face.
Christ died for His church and the Apostles would die for it also.
Christ died for His church and the Apostles would die for it.
Christ also commanded that we love God and our brothers and sisters.
Christ also commanded that we love God and brothers and sisters.
And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.
1 John
If we just say we love Jesus and don’t love those who are the church we fall completely short of serving the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Greek word for sin was a term used in archery, which meant to “miss the target.”
Not loving those who love the Lord no matter how hard it is sometimes to love them is missing the target.
It is sin to fail to love others in the church
This is another good example as to why scripture reads:
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
This is why Christ came and died for our sins, if we reject Him our sins will count against us and to reject His church is also a rejection of Him.
This is why we need Christ, if we reject Him our sins will count against us and to reject His church is also a rejection of Him.
Paul told of his love for the church so many times in his epistles that we would be here all night if I were to cover all of them.
I. His Striving for the Christians.
I. His Striving for the Christians.
A. The magnitude (v. 1)
Paul was constantly working to build the church for Jesus. He wrote about this in chapter 1
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
2 To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father.
3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father.
We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,
Col 1
29 For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.
Col
We are going to look at several points to Paul’s striving and we should find some application for our work in the church,.
We should find some application for our work the church, This of course is the body of Christ.
This of course is the body of Christ.
A. The magnitude (v. 1)
A. The magnitude (v. 1)
How important was this struggle for those who would read this letter?
For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face,
For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face,
2. Why was it important for Paul to express his struggle for those who would read this letter?
It is not enough to say it was great, yes that are the words used but it goes deeper than that.
The word agōn is the word where we get the English word agony. This is translated as struggle.
It is different from of the word used in verse 29 which is best translated strive. There is striving with the Lord’s power and energy from within.
Here in verse 1 of chapter 2 he is expressing his agony for them even though they were not likely going to meet face to face. His agony for them came from his deep love for them as part of Christ church.
agōn
William Barclay writes “Here is a brief lifting of the curtain and a deeply moving glimpse into Paul’s heart. He is going through a struggle for these Christians whom he had never seen but whom he loved.
William Barclay writes “Here is a brief lifting of the curtain and a deeply moving glimpse into Paul’s heart. He is going through a struggle for these Christians whom he had never seen but whom he loved.
The deep love Paul had for the church was what made him give his life for it. Executed under the order of Nero, only because he was a roman citizen was he beheaded and not crucified. He gave his life in service to Christ and His church.
Here is a brief lifting of the curtain and a deeply moving glimpse into Paul’s heart. He is going through a struggle for these Christians whom he had never seen but whom he loved.
B. The recipients (v. 1).
B. The recipients (v. 1).
Colossians: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary Chapter 7: Paul’s Love for the Church
Paul, too, had a deep love for the church and gave his life in service to it. He frequently expressed his love in his epistles. To the Corinthians he wrote, “You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men” (2 Cor. 3:2); “Our mouth has spoken freely to you, O Corinthians, our heart is opened wide” (2 Cor. 6:11); “I will most gladly spend and be expended for your souls” (2 Cor. 12:15). He told the Philippians, “I have you in my heart” (Phil. 1:7).
In almost all his epistles he expresses this deep love for fellow believers.
William Barclay, The Letters to Philippians, Colossians, and Thessalonians, 3rd ed. fully rev. and updated., The New Daily Study Bible (Louisville, KY; London: Westminster John Knox Press, 2003), 148.B. The recipients (v. 1).
To the Corinthians Paul wrote, “You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men” (); “Our mouth has spoken freely to you, O Corinthians, our heart is opened wide” (); “I will most gladly spend and be expended for your souls” (). He told the Philippians, “I have you in my heart” ().
Men inspired by God did not write these things lightly. These words were breathed out by God and we should learn from them and express the love we have for all the believers in the church.
What can we do as believers when it comes to all the churches in our community?
Had Paul simply wrote this letter and never expressed his fight for the church and his deep affection I can only imagine that this letter would never have been seen again.
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Had Paul simply wrote this letter and never expressed his struggle and deep affection I can only imagine that this letter would never have been seen again.
Paul’s love for the whole church was the cause of the great struggle he had. He wrote this letter not only to the Colossians but to the church in Laodicea and Hierapolis. These were the churches in the Lycus valley
B. The recipients (v. 1/2)
B. The recipients (v. 1/2)
3. Who was this letter written too?
Paul’s love for the whole church was the cause of the great struggle he had. He wrote this letter not only to the Colossians but to the church in Laodicea and Hierapolis. These were the churches in the Lycus valley and we know this from chapter 4, where Paul talks about all the churches in this valley and even tells them to share this letter and the one written to the church in Laodicea.
Paul also writes to those who he has never meet face to face - then in the first century and those in 2018.
There was nothing secret here, there was no special information for the Colossians, Paul wanted all the churches to be encouraged. He was not concerned about church politics or their programs or their children’s church or the music the choir sang.
There was nothing secret here, there was no special information for the Colossians, Paul wanted all the churches to be encouraged. He was not concerned about church politics or their programs or their children’s church or the music the choir sang.
He wanted those who read this letter to see his struggle and love for us that is only second place to Christ.
Paul wrote to the Philippians;
For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.
Phil 1:21-
possess the wisdom and knowledge of Christ.
C. V:2-5
C. V:2-5
that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.
that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ,
1. For spiritual strength.
We can see several things here that Paul is wanting the Colossians and us to learn.
1. A heart of strength
1. A heart of strength
1. For spiritual strength.
First I think we need to understand the heart.
Modern day Americans often take matters of the heart as emotions.
In the bible this term heart is more closely related to the inner part of the person. The KJV more rightly says “bowels”
I am poured out like water,
And all my bones are out of joint:
My heart is like wax;
It is melted in the midst of my bowels.
My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door,
And my bowels were moved for him.
Song of sol
But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?
John MacAuthor writes the translators of the KJV:
“did so because strong emotions produce physical reactions in the lower part of the abdomen. Even today someone who is anxious feels what are called butterflies in the stomach. The abstract concept of emotions was viewed in terms of the concrete physical effects they produced.”
William Barkley says the church should have courageous hearts
The heart and mind are attached as a rail car is attached to the locomotive. The mind is what motivates the heart.
It is impossible to separate the two. We say “I know in my heart that this is the right thing for me to do or the right girl or man to marry.” But the Christian can’t separate the mind and the heart.
In when Jesus says
Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.
Jeremiah tells us from God:
17 Do you not yet understand that everything entering into the mouth goes into the stomach, and is cast out into the sewer? 18 But the things going forth out of the mouth come forth out of the heart, and these defile the man. 19 For out of the heart come forth evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual immorality, thefts, false testimonies, slanders.
This brings us to the first petition that Paul is struggling for:
This brings us to the first appeal that Paul makes:
17 Do you not yet understand that everything entering into the mouth goes into the stomach, and is cast out into the sewer? 18 But the things going forth out of the mouth come forth out of the heart, and these defile the man. 19 For out of the heart come forth evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual immorality, thefts, false testimonies, slanders.
Jeremiah tells us from God “The heart of man is deceitful and desperately sick, who can understand it?
I the Lord search the heart and test the mind to give everyman according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds. 17:9-10.
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”
This brings us to the first appeal that Paul makes:
Without a strong and courageous heart people are quickly subdued to that which may briefly appear better or more gratifying to the flesh.
1. A heart of strength
1. A heart of strength
Paul was petitioning the Colossians to have a heart of strength.How do we make our hearts strong?
How do we make our hearts strong?
We exercise it.
How many of you panicked last Saturday when we thought there might be a missile headed towards us?
There was wide spread panic everywhere. A lady driving her car just came to a sudden stop on H1 in traffic. She got hit and it was amazing she was not injured.
A tourist fell over dead with a heart at the beach when he heard. Is that coincidence?
Barkley goes on in his commentary to relay a story recorded by an ancient Greek historian:
"There was a Greek regiment which had lost heart and was utterly dejected. The general sent a leader to talk to it to such purpose that courage was reborn and a body of dispirited men became fit again for heroic action. That is what "their hearts may be encouraged,” means here. It is Paul’s prayer that the church may be filled with that courage which can cope with any situation.
Without a strong and courageous heart, people are quickly subdued to panic, fear, frustration and can easily and quickly be distracted to things that may appear better or more gratifying to the flesh.
"a Greek regiment which had lost heart and was utterly dejected. The general sent a leader to talk to it to such purpose that courage was reborn and a body of dispirited men became fit again for heroic action. That is what "their hearts may be encouraged” means here. It is Paul’s prayer that the church may be filled with that courage which can cope with any situation.
We must constantly strengthen our heart/mind combination to reason with the intellect God gave man.
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
2 Tim
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,
The way to strengthen the heart and mind is through biblical truth. Not lies or man-made truths that the Colossians were facing.
tit 2:11
Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.
1 tim 4
Now you might be thinking to yourself well this sounds good,
Without a strong and courageous heart people are quickly subdued to that which may briefly appear better or more gratifying to the flesh.
Should I count on my own strength, must be self-reliant?
No, Paul all along in chapter 1 has been telling the Colossians how Christ is in them and how Christ is all sufficient and because of the Gospel they have all the Mystery of Christ that has been revealed to them.
4. And what else do they have?
They have the helper and so do I and you --- if you believe.
that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
Now our little train is complete and our hearts are encouraged and strengthened.
Remember earlier I compared the heart and mind to a locomotive and rail car? Well now we have the caboose. Do you know where the conductor of the train works? The caboose. The engineer may make the train go from the locomotive but the conductor is in charge of the train.
Now our little train is complete and our hearts are encouraged and strengthened.
We must let the Holy Spirit be our conductor.
The second appeal to the Colossians is to be of one heart in unity.
2. For the heart of unity.
2. For the heart of unity.
“That they may be knit together in love”
Remember what Paul had told the readers of this letter in the first chapter in verse 4 and 5
since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints,
since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel,
since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints,
“Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up in heaven.”
because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel,
col
Paul’s message to the Corinthians was clear “without love we gain nothing, no matter how we speak like men or angels without love we are nothing but a clanging gong.”
And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
The churches unity is an organic unity. It occurs naturally when people have faith in Christ and rest on the foundation of scripture. It does not come from church politics or organizational policies.
In the Gospel of John in Jesus High Priestly Prayer he prayed for unity so that the world would know who were true Christians.
The churches unity is an organic unity. It occurs naturally when people have faith in Christ and rest on the foundation of scripture. It does not come from church politics or organizational policies.
All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.
For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
In the Gospel of John in Jesus High Priestly Prayer he prayed for unity so that the world would know who were true Christians.
20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.
The late Frances Schaeffer called the unity of the church “the final apologetic” to the watching world
Make slide verse 21
Without unity in the church we can only expect the world to find what Jesus says in verse 21 of his prayer to be false.
Without oneness in Christians the world will not believe that the Father sent the Son.
Without oneness in Christians why would the world believe that the Father sent the Son.
Paul was petitioning the Colossians to unity so that there were no quarrels among them about the faith and the gospel. So that they were prepared to resist the false teachers and for the world around them to see their unity in Christ only.
1 Cor 1
For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him.
In addition to love or part of love that brings unity we must have what?
Humility
27 Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, 28 and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. 29 For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, 30 engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.
1 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy,
In order to have unity we must have humility
phil 1:
3. For the heart of Understanding.
3. For the heart of Understanding.
The next petition is that their hearts are to be certain and unwavering in the understanding and wisdom of God’s mystery.
“to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. 5 For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.”
9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
Paul repeats the encouragement that he prayed chapter 1
9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy;
co
Col 1:
And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
Paul’s desire to have the Colossians experience the riches and full assurance is important to their joy and hope in the blessings that Christ will bring.
How can we rest in Christ if we don’t understand what he taught and what the scriptures reveal.
If we have a confident footing in our understanding of the knowledge and wisdom revealed in Christ we can learn to apply it in everyday life.
When we apply a heart of understanding to what we know and learn from the bible we will not be easily distracted or as Paul says deluded by the persuasive arguments from men.
Paul often warned us in his epistles that there would be false teaching as does Peter in
The Colossian church or any church will not be swayed in chasing after some new gospel which is a false gospel.
Paul was always warning us in his epistles that there would be false teaching as does Peter
1 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.
2 Peter 2:
The only way to know when someone is speaking falsely is to know the truth. We can’t know the truth unless we have an understanding and knowledge of Christ.
D. The purpose (vv. 2, 3).
D. The purpose (vv. 2, 3).
D. The purpose (vv. 2, 3).
God sent Christ to fulfil the prophecies that He spoke through the Old Testament Prophets. He sent Him to live the law perfectly and to have no sin.
D. The purpose (vv. 2, 3).
God sent Christ to show us the humility and submission to the Father that God requires of unrighteous creatures.
But, only by surrendering to what he has done for us and having faith in what Christ did when he was crucified, died , was buried and rose from the grave on the third day are we made complete and able to discern truth.
So having a heart that is encouraged, knitted together with other believers and steadfast in the teaching, preaching and study of the Word of God will keep the church and the believer stable and lasting until Christ returns for His bride.
Paul was struggling and encouraging the Colossians with a very specific purpose in mind and he repeats another important point here concerning the mystery hidden.
So as we wrap this up I want to bring out this last appeal that Paul is making to us about our election to Christ.
Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
Paul was struggling and encouraging the Colossians with a very specific purpose in mind and he repeats another important point here concerning the mystery hidden.
The word therefore as usual refers back to something previously written.
I think we can see that it does it can take us back to verse 5
For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.
or
To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds,
or
And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,
or
We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints,
Col 1
All of Colossians up to this point has been preparing them for the warning he is about to give them in the remainder of chapter 2.
He wants them to know what they first learned just as Epaphras taught them was what they needed to cling to and be strengthened in for their continued sanctification.
just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf
col 1:had trained them from the was what they needed to cling to and be strengthened in.
had trained them from the was what they needed to cling to and be strengthened in.
“Since you received Christ Jesus, the Lord”
That by the way is what we do.
We receive Him! We do not seek after him:
as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”
Rom
Paul quotes in his letter to the Romans:
The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good. The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.
Wise and fools expound......
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.
Note that Paul writes us a unique explanation here for Jesus. This is the only place in in Paul’s epistles that this phrase is used
“Christ Jesus the Lord”
We learn much from this phrase.
Christ refers to His deity and that what Paul has explained before that He is the image of the invisible God, the first born of all creation. v1:15
He is the Head of the body, the church v1:18
The mystery of God v1:27 and 2:2
and all wisdom and knowledge v2:3
Paul used “Jesus the Lord” likely to remind the Colossians that because they received Him as the Christ sent from God to save mankind we must also obey Him by walking in Him as LORD.
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
Paul prayed for this also
so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
they understood his sufficiency
that they submitted to Him as Lord.
This leads them to walk in Him
II. His Warning to Them (vv. 4–7):
II. His Warning to Them (vv. 4–7):
A. The peril (v. 4).
The familiar term walk refers to daily conduct. In this context it means primarily to continue believing the truth about Christ, not allowing their Christology to waver.
Colossians: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary Walking in Christ
The familiar term walk refers to daily conduct. In this context it means primarily to continue believing the truth about Christ, not allowing their Christology to waver.
B. The praise (v. 5).
The apostle John writes in
For the Christian there is a larger picture when it comes to walking with Him.
C. The protection (vv. 6, 7).
The apostle John writes in
whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.
We live in union with Him. Our lifestyle reflects Christ
As we face the day to day challenges of the world and the opposition that comes with living for Christ and having Christ live in us, we must consistently ask ourselves that mid 90s cliché, “What would Jesus do?”
Being “rooted and built up in him”
Is the description of our walk. The Greek word used for rooted is in the perfect tense. This indicates that it is a completed and un-reversible experience. Once the Gospel has entered the man or woman and taken root and the implanted Holy Spirit is awakened it is a permanently rooted tree and it will grow and be built up. The Greek form of this word built up is in present tense. It is a continual action word.
A permanently rooted tree will be built up and the greek form of this word is in present tense. It is a continual action word that “like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.”
The man or woman who has receive and taken the Gospel truth into their heart, mind and soul is “like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.”
Paul again reminds them in this verse of what they have been taught and that this building up will establish their faith.
1 Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
4 The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
1 Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying,
3 “Let us burst their bonds apart
and cast away their cords from us.”
4 He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the Lord holds them in derision.
5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
and terrify them in his fury, saying,
6 “As for me, I have set my King
on Zion, my holy hill.”
7 I will tell of the decree:
The Lord said to me, “You are my Son;
today I have begotten you.
8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
and the ends of the earth your possession.
9 You shall break them with a rod of iron
and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
be warned, O rulers of the earth.
11 Serve the Lord with fear,
and rejoice with trembling.
12 Kiss the Son,
lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,
for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.
1 O Lord, how many are my foes!
Many are rising against me;
2 many are saying of my soul,
“There is no salvation for him in God.” Selah
3 But you, O Lord, are a shield about me,
my glory, and the lifter of my head.
4 I cried aloud to the Lord,
and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah
5 I lay down and slept;
I woke again, for the Lord sustained me.
6 I will not be afraid of many thousands of people
who have set themselves against me all around.
7 Arise, O Lord!
Save me, O my God!
For you strike all my enemies on the cheek;
you break the teeth of the wicked.
8 Salvation belongs to the Lord;
your blessing be on your people! Selah
To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.
1 Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!
You have given me relief when I was in distress.
Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!
2 O men, how long shall my honor be turned into shame?
How long will you love vain words and seek after lies? Selah
3 But know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself;
the Lord hears when I call to him.
4 Be angry, and do not sin;
ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah
5 Offer right sacrifices,
and put your trust in the Lord.
6 There are many who say, “Who will show us some good?
Lift up the light of your face upon us, O Lord!”
7 You have put more joy in my heart
than they have when their grain and wine abound.
8 In peace I will both lie down and sleep;
for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.
To the choirmaster: for the flutes. A Psalm of David.
1 Give ear to my words, O Lord;
consider my groaning.
2 Give attention to the sound of my cry,
my King and my God,
for to you do I pray.
3 O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice;
in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.
4 For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;
evil may not dwell with you.
5 The boastful shall not stand before your eyes;
you hate all evildoers.
6 You destroy those who speak lies;
the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.
7 But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love,
will enter your house.
I will bow down toward your holy temple
in the fear of you.
8 Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness
because of my enemies;
make your way straight before me.
9 For there is no truth in their mouth;
their inmost self is destruction;
their throat is an open grave;
they flatter with their tongue.
10 Make them bear their guilt, O God;
let them fall by their own counsels;
because of the abundance of their transgressions cast them out,
for they have rebelled against you.
11 But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;
let them ever sing for joy,
and spread your protection over them,
that those who love your name may exult in you.
12 For you bless the righteous, O Lord;
you cover him with favor as with a shield.
To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments; according to The Sheminith. A Psalm of David.
1 O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger,
nor discipline me in your wrath.
2 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing;
heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled.
3 My soul also is greatly troubled.
But you, O Lord—how long?
4 Turn, O Lord, deliver my life;
save me for the sake of your steadfast love.
5 For in death there is no remembrance of you;
in Sheol who will give you praise?
6 I am weary with my moaning;
every night I flood my bed with tears;
I drench my couch with my weeping.
7 My eye wastes away because of grief;
it grows weak because of all my foes.
8 Depart from me, all you workers of evil,
for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping.
9 The Lord has heard my plea;
the Lord accepts my prayer.
10 All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled;
they shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment.
A Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning the words of Cush, a Benjaminite.
1 O Lord my God, in you do I take refuge;
save me from all my pursuers and deliver me,
2 lest like a lion they tear my soul apart,
rending it in pieces, with none to deliver.
3 O Lord my God, if I have done this,
if there is wrong in my hands,
4 if I have repaid my friend with evil
or plundered my enemy without cause,
5 let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it,
and let him trample my life to the ground
and lay my glory in the dust. Selah
6 Arise, O Lord, in your anger;
lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies;
awake for me; you have appointed a judgment.
7 Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered about you;
over it return on high.
8 The Lord judges the peoples;
judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness
and according to the integrity that is in me.
9 Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end,
and may you establish the righteous—
you who test the minds and hearts,
O righteous God!
10 My shield is with God,
who saves the upright in heart.
11 God is a righteous judge,
and a God who feels indignation every day.
12 If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword;
he has bent and readied his bow;
13 he has prepared for him his deadly weapons,
making his arrows fiery shafts.
14 Behold, the wicked man conceives evil
and is pregnant with mischief
and gives birth to lies.
15 He makes a pit, digging it out,
and falls into the hole that he has made.
16 His mischief returns upon his own head,
and on his own skull his violence descends.
17 I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness,
and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.
To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith. A Psalm of David.
1 O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.
2 Out of the mouth of babies and infants,
you have established strength because of your foes,
to still the enemy and the avenger.
3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
4 what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?
5 Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under his feet,
7 all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the field,
8 the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
9 O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
To the choirmaster: according to Muth-labben. A Psalm of David.
1 I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;
I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.
2 I will be glad and exult in you;
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.
3 When my enemies turn back,
they stumble and perish before your presence.
4 For you have maintained my just cause;
you have sat on the throne, giving righteous judgment.
5 You have rebuked the nations; you have made the wicked perish;
you have blotted out their name forever and ever.
6 The enemy came to an end in everlasting ruins;
their cities you rooted out;
the very memory of them has perished.
7 But the Lord sits enthroned forever;
he has established his throne for justice,
8 and he judges the world with righteousness;
he judges the peoples with uprightness.
9 The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
10 And those who know your name put their trust in you,
for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.
11 Sing praises to the Lord, who sits enthroned in Zion!
Tell among the peoples his deeds!
12 For he who avenges blood is mindful of them;
he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.
13 Be gracious to me, O Lord!
See my affliction from those who hate me,
O you who lift me up from the gates of death,
14 that I may recount all your praises,
that in the gates of the daughter of Zion
I may rejoice in your salvation.
15 The nations have sunk in the pit that they made;
in the net that they hid, their own foot has been caught.
16 The Lord has made himself known; he has executed judgment;
the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands. Higgaion. Selah
17 The wicked shall return to Sheol,
all the nations that forget God.
18 For the needy shall not always be forgotten,
and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.
19 Arise, O Lord! Let not man prevail;
let the nations be judged before you!
20 Put them in fear, O Lord!
Let the nations know that they are but men! Selah
1 Why, O Lord, do you stand far away?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
2 In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor;
let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised.
3 For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul,
and the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the Lord.
4 In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him;
all his thoughts are, “There is no God.”
5 His ways prosper at all times;
your judgments are on high, out of his sight;
as for all his foes, he puffs at them.
6 He says in his heart, “I shall not be moved;
throughout all generations I shall not meet adversity.”
7 His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression;
under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.
8 He sits in ambush in the villages;
in hiding places he murders the innocent.
His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;
9 he lurks in ambush like a lion in his thicket;
he lurks that he may seize the poor;
he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net.
10 The helpless are crushed, sink down,
and fall by his might.
11 He says in his heart, “God has forgotten,
he has hidden his face, he will never see it.”
12 Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up your hand;
forget not the afflicted.
13 Why does the wicked renounce God
and say in his heart, “You will not call to account”?
14 But you do see, for you note mischief and vexation,
that you may take it into your hands;
to you the helpless commits himself;
you have been the helper of the fatherless.
15 Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer;
call his wickedness to account till you find none.
16 The Lord is king forever and ever;
the nations perish from his land.
17 O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted;
you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear
18 to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed,
so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.
They will be “established in the faith”
One commentator says “The familiar term walk refers to daily conduct. In this context it means primarily to continue believing the truth about Christ, not allowing their (the Colossians) Christology to waver.” JM
The apostle John writes in
whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.
We live in union with Jesus, our lifestyle reflects Christ
As we face the day to day challenges of the world and the opposition that comes with living for Christ and having Christ live in us, we must consistently ask ourselves that 90s cliché, “What would Jesus do?”
Lastly when we walk in Christ and seek the knowledge and understanding of His mystery, growing in the body of Christ, serving others with humility and seeking to be a light in the world, Just as the Colossians learned and we learn we will gain wisdom and
ABOUND in THANKSGIVING.