Sunday Sermon Colossians 1:1-8 Part 3
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Introduction
Introduction
Good morning and welcome to FCC where we worship God in Spirit and in Truth, one verse at a time.
Today, marks a special day in the history of FCC. We will start Live Streaming our services! So please, look around you and beware of the video equipment, cords, and anything else.
Praise God for the rainy weather! That is one thing I miss about Indiana is the rain and the lightening and the thunderstorms.
Read Colossians 1:1-8
Read Colossians 1:1-8
Prayer
Prayer
Review
Review
We have laid the Backdrop as well as soem of the groundwork for this Epistle, we have discussed how this church came to be and that Paul did not start it, nor ever visit it.
A few weeks ago, we learned that Paul became an Apostle by the will of God and what the will of God looks like in our lives.
Then last week, we talked about the significance of the doing life together and about discipleship.
We talked in detail about the greatest disciple who ever lived and how he was connected with others, he discipled others, and walked with others. Jesus has 12 disciples for 3.5 years.
God has called each and everyone of us to the one-another ministry.
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.
Did you notice that Paul is writing to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ?
What does this imply?
Does this mean that there was people that were not walking it out in the church at Colossae/
Does this mean that some our saints and some are aints?
Someone once said if your not a saint then your an aint!
Saints- hagios- dedicated to God, sacred, holy, worthy of God, morally pure, consecrated, set apart, blameless.
Saints are not something we put on are dash board church, or have in our yards.
Saints are those of us that have accepted Jesus as are Lord and Savior and are souled out for the Cause of Christ.
Church, the idea of the word “saints” is a group of people set apart for the Lord and His kingdom.
And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,
So, scripturally speaking, the “saints” are the body of Christ, Christians, the church.
All Christians are considered saints.
All Christians are saints—and at the same time are called to be saints.
First Corinthians 1:2 states it clearly: “To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy…”
The words “sanctified” and “holy” come from the same Greek root as the word that is commonly translated “saints.”
Christians are saints by virtue of their connection with Jesus Christ.
Christians are called to be saints, to increasingly allow their daily life to more closely match their position in Christ.
This is the biblical description and calling of the saints.
Do you get who are the saints, church? it is you and I!
By the way, what does this sound like from the OT?
Paul is using priestly language here, he is giving us a picture of what it meant to be a priest.
But guess what? We are now on the other side of the cross and so we are priest if we are souled out for Jesus!
What does the Word say about this?
And Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.” So Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before them all these words which the Lord commanded him. Then all the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” So Moses brought back the words of the people to the Lord.
We must ask ourselves, are we willing to do the same thing?
But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.
We are able to be a royal priesthood and a special people, because of our High Priest that is who?
Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Praise God for our High Priest who can sympathize with us!
Praise God that He became our sacrifice, that he took our sin upon us and gave us His righteousness, a robe of righteousness, that make us a Kingdom of Priests:)
Quiz Break
Quiz Break
Where was the church at Colossae?
In Philemon’s house
Who was the pastor of the church of Colossae?
Epaphras and then he handed the baton to Archippus when he went to find Paul to sahre about what was pouring into the church.
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.
So look closer, Paul used another adjective to describe the church at Colossae.
Faithful
What does it mean to be faithful, church?
Faithful- pi-stos- characterized by steadfast affection or allegiance (to someone or something). Of persons who show themselves faithful in the transaction of business, the execution of commands, or the discharge of official duties.
One who is convinced that Jesus has been raised from the dead
One who has become convinced that Jesus is the Messiah and author of salvation
One who is trustworthy
One who proves to be firm and reliable
the Word believe comes from the same root of the word, pisteo- to trust in the Lord and to have confidence in Him
I think we must ask ourselves,”Do these two adjective describe you and I? Do people say this about FCC?
Church, we also see the Colossians had tow addresses:
In Christ- spiritual, in Heaven
And In Colossae- physical, in Oregon or Washington
Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.
So again, we have two address church.
Paul goes on with his greeting to say, “Grace to you and peace from our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Always remember, that Grace is the means of salvation, while peace is the result.
Say it again!
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
So again, by grace you have been saved, through faith church. Faith in Jesus Christ and what he has done for you!
Grace is a gift, a free gift with no strings attached.
We are not saved by our works. Our works will not save us, but will be a by-product of our relationship with the Lord.
God saved us for good work church!
In fact, the text say that we should walk in them.
The Bible uses the word walking metaphorically.
It means our daily conduct!
We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints; 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, which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth; 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.
This is what we would call a run-on sentence. Paul struggles with this or does he?
In the actual Greek texts from the era when Koine Greek was used as a day-to-day language, Greek was usually written with no punctuation.
The words ran together completely, with no spacing or markup.
Accents, breathing marks, spaces, and other punctuation are added at a much later time, making texts easier to read.
Praise God they added this for us!
Church in everyone of Paul’s letters other than Galatians, Paul gives thanks to God and thanks for the church that he writing to.
In addition to this, he always says that he is praying for them.
And if you think about this, it is wise that a writer would do this, rather than starting off on the negative or with confrontation or even rebuke.
Paul first affirmed the churches, then he would go for the juggler.
There is a lesson here Church!
In our relationships, I think it is important that we give positive affirmation, before dealing with difficult issues in life.
Do you give thanks for the bride of Christ and for what God is doing?
Do you pray for the church? For the saints? And for those laboring in God’s vineyard?
Why is Paul thanking God for the Colossians?
Because of their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and the love for the saints.
Church, do you see the order here?
Faith in Jesus equals love for the saints!
If have put our faith in Jesus, then a natural by-product of our relationship with the Lord will be a love for the saints.
2. Because of the hope they have which is laid up for
them in heaven church, of which they heard before
in the word of truth the gospel.
Here we see a trilogy of words that the Apostle Paul weaves in and out of his Epistles:
Faith
Hope
Love
Do you see these here?
When Paul writes his letters, you can often see these throughout them.
And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
Why does Pauls start off with these as a central theme?
It is easy church, the Colossian church had heard the gospel as we have read, in faith the believed on the Lord Jesus Christ and now they have hope. The hope they had before this, failed them.
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
This is the best definition that we have.
They could not see Jesus, but believed upon Him.
They put their faith and hope in Jesus church and everything changed for them!
Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Epaphras shared the gospel with them and the surrendered unto Jesus.
A natural by-product of this saving grace is a love for God and a love for others.
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?
Re-Read Colossians 1:3-8
Re-Read Colossians 1:3-8
They heard the Gospel and were transformed church
They were souled out for Jesus
They were tired of just surviving, they wanted to live and thrive
They were tried of doing religious things that were not healing their hearts
So guess what? God sent Epaphras to share the gospel withe them.
And guess what? The text says they heard it!
This was not some intellectual accent, church
And they did not just hear the gospel with their ears, but rather their hearts
HEART
Church, look at this word. We have an ear in the middle of our hearts!
The question is: “Are we really listening?”
What is the gospel? What can the gospel do for us?
Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve.
The gospel heard and received by faith because of the grace that God had given them.
Colossians: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary Faith’s Definition
The faith that saves involves more than mere intellectual assent and emotional conviction. It also includes the resolution of the will to obey God’s commands and laws.
Obedience is the hallmark of the true believer.
Charles Spurgeon illustrated the importance of faith’s object by telling of two men in a boat. Caught in severe rapids, they were being swept toward a waterfall. Some men on shore tried to save them by throwing them a rope. One man caught hold of it and was pulled to safety on the shore. The other, in the panic of the moment, grabbed hold of a seemingly more substantial log that was floating by. That man was carried downstream, over the rapids, and was never seen again. Faith, represented by the rope linked to the shore, connects us to Jesus Christ and safety. Good works apart from true faith, represented in the story by the log, leads only to ruin.
I want to share a few closing comments about the gospel.
Gospel truth rests in hope church. Hope is one of the components of the great triad of Christian virtues that Paul talks about.
A result of having this hope is that we are willing to sacrifice the present on the altar of the future.
Because of the Gospel and our relationship with Jesus, our hop is not on things we cannot see.
The Gospel truth reaches the World.
which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth;
And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
3. The Gospel reproduces fruit.
Did you see that here in verse 6
which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth;
The gospel bears fruit and then spreads, sorta like a blackberry bush
For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Church, when the gospel is heard and recieved by grace through faith it produces fruit in the internal transformation of the individual, and also in the external growth of the church.
Spiritual growth of individuals will lead to new converts begin won to Jesus Christ!
Spiritual growth of individuals will lead to new converts begin won to Jesus Christ!
Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied.
WHY? Because of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
This is thesis statement or the summary of this great Book!
4. The Gospel is rooted in grace.
which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth;
Grace is at the very heart of the gospel.
For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age,
If we have received this grace, then look what we are called to do.
There will be fruit in our live church
Fruit in our lives
We learned here in these first 8 verses that the reason why this church existed was because Paul shared the gospel with Epaphras and Philemon.
The church at Colossae started in Philemon’s house and multiplied.
When the everlasting gospel is preached and lived out, it will reproduce church.
Churches die because the gospel is not being proclaimed and lived out loud.
Have you heard the gospel and believed on the Lord Jesus Christ?
Prayer
Prayer
Announcements
Announcements
Are there any announcements?
We have decided to cancel removing the bushes.
SAY AFTER LIVESTREAM
Is there anyone that would like to head up the Care Team that will go to the homes of those that are staying home because of Covid?
Benediction
Benediction
Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel,
The Lord Bless you!
Your Mission Starts Now!