The Great Transfer

Background

The LETTER:

WRITTEN by PAUL (ROMAN? PRISON)…60-61 A.D. ....EPHESIANS, PHILIPPIANS, PHILEMON

WRITTEN to CORRECT FALSE TEACHING, specifically REGARDING WORKS being the CAUSE of SPIRITUAL GROWTH

PAUL CONCLUDES = CHRIST is SUFFICIENT.. Not only to BRING ONE IN the kingdom, but to KEEP THEM and CAUSE them to GROW!

NOT A JESUS ++ THING...

JESUS + ANYTHING ELSE = FALSE GOSPEL...

PAUL was WRITING to a COMMUNITY of believers HE HADN’T ESTABLISHED directly! (RARE) …ESTABLISHED by EPAPHRAS

CITY OF COLOSSAE:

Lycus River valley of west-central Asia Minor, MODERN DAY = TURKEY.

DIVERSE RELIGIOUS/PHILOSOPHICAL VIEWS…FROM HIGHWAY of TRAVELERS...

HUNDREDS OF YEARS = PROSPEROUS…TEXTILE INDUSTRY, MAJOR HIGHWAY

BUT in PAUL’S TIME....1ST CENTURY A.D. = INSIGNIFICANT, SMALL/RURAL..... REROUTED TRADE made LAODICEA PROMINENT

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Text: Colossians 1:1-14

Colossians 1:1-14

Colossians 1:1–14 (ESV)

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.

PAUL BEGINS by outlining his CREDENTIALS ....he is an apostle, a SPECIAL MESSENGER/WITNESS of Jesus who was APPOINTED by GOD.

(V2) This LETTER was WRITTEN to BELIEVERS = “SAINTS”… “BROTHERS”

SAINTS = the PEOPLE of GOD…literally in the GREEK it is “HOLY ONES” a substantive use of the adjective.

BROTHERS = INCLUDES MEN & WOMEN (SISTERS)....FAMILY of GOD.

WRITTEN TO BELIEVERS = APPLICABLE/RELEVANT FOR US.

DESCRIPTION: 1ST IN CHRIST, 2ND AT COLOSSAE.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,

4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints,

5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel,

FAITH, HOPE, & LOVE…ALL REPRESENTED HERE.

FAITH IN CHRIST.....LOVE FOR SAINTS.....HOPE IN HEAVEN....

(V5) Our HOPE is LAID UP....GREEK: "RESERVED”....

Essentially the idea from the range of meaning is that it is GUARDED to ENSURE a FUTURE DELIVERY of WHAT was PROMISED...

Illustration - RESERVATION at a RESTAURANT…WAITING FOR YOU....VS. 2 HOUR WAIT @ OLIVE GARDEN

IMPERFECT THOUGH....UNSAVED DON’T WAIT FOR OPEN TABLE....FOR US - GUARANTEE, RESERVED…SET OUR HOPE.

HOPE “is the TOTALITY of BLESSING that AWAITS the CHRISTIAN in the LIFE to COME”

RESERVED by the FATHER....

Our ETERNAL HOPE = UNCHANGING. If our HOPE was for THIS LIFE ONLY?---PITIED ABOVE ALL!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

6 [WORD OF TRUTH/THE GOSPEL] which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth,

7 just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf

8 and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.

EPAPHRAS was the one who BROUGHT the message of the GOSPEL to COLOSSAE! CO-SLAVE of PAUL!

CONVERT of PAUL’S FROM EPHESUS??

GOSPEL WORK - DUTY FOR ALL…NO ONE KNOWS EPAPHRAS…NOT APOSTLE ETC.

ONLY MENTIONED - COLOSSIANS, PHILEMON.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*** (V3-8) HE SUMMARIZED THEIR FAITHFULNESS…THEN PRAYS FOR IT TO CONTINUE:

PAUL’S prayer:

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;

KNOWLEDGE of GOD’S WILL....SO THAT WE OBEY, WALK WORTHY..... BEARING FRUIT…KNOWING GOD.

PRAYER to KNOW GOD’S DESIRE....THEN DO IT…NOT ENOUGH JUST TO KNOW!

(V10) GROWING in FRUITFULNESS & (EXPERIENTIAL) KNOWLEDGE of GOD...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy;

12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.

Pray that GOD will continue to STRENGTHEN YOU to do his will…THROUGH HOLY SPIRIT & GOD’S GRACE---EMPOWERED TO SERVE & OBEY HIM.

NEW COVENANT PRIVILEGE.

OT LAW PROVIDED RULES…BUT NO POWER TO OBEY.

Tom Schreiner says in his Pauline theology concerning the Old Covenant:

“The letter designates those who possess the law but lack the power to keep it; the Holy Spirit is the gift of the new age, enabling people to keep God’s law” - p. 138

NT PRIVILEGE ALONE...

STRENGTHENED in ENDURANCE and PATIENCE…that the CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY would be able to PERSEVERE in their SERVICE to GOD. MAINTAINING a WALK that was HONORING to HIM.

(V12) THANKFUL that we are able to SHARE with the SAINTS in LIGHT…all a WORK of GRACE.

THANKSGIVING = RESPONSE to GRACE....NOT to WAGES.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PRAYER SUMMARY:

PAUL PRAYS that they would KNOW GOD’S WILL so they would receive the following RESULTS:

WALKING WORTHY - BEARING FRUIT INCREASING IN KNOWLEDGE OF GOD

The ABILITY and STRENGTH to PERSEVERE in serving Christ

THANKSGIVING filled with JOY.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PRAYER is a RESPONSE to ALL GOD HAS DONE IN CHRIST:

13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,

14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Big Idea: To become a Christian isn’t to just become a better version of the existing you, but it is a transfer of worlds, from the power of darkness into the kingdom of Jesus Christ, the beloved son, and thereby to be devoted to His service.

NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN.

Both DELIVERED and TRANSFERRED are AORISTS in Greek…holistic/completed, etc. “past” ish.

Transfer- has SEMANTIC RANGE of “REMOVING”…

***BOTH ENTERING NEW KINGDOM…& EXITING DOMAIN OF DARKNESS

Bandwagon Illustration: Seahawks...Ivan & I with Patriots jerseys at the ready...

(v14) WE HAVE REDEMPTION == PRICE PAID TO FREE A SLAVE...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WE WERE:

DEAD IN SIN

FAR FROM GOD

EN ROUTE TO HELL

SLAVE TO SIN

UNDER REIGN OF DARKNESS

BUT NOW:

SAVED BY GRACE

GROWING IN KNOWLEDGE OF GOD

BEARING FRUIT & WALKING WORTHY

EN ROUTE TO HEAVEN

SLAVE OF CHRIST, FREE FROM POWER OF SIN

A MEMBER OF THE KINGDOM OF HIS BELOVED SON..

***This is what God has done for us in Christ…and do we ever think about how great our salvation is?

++THIS IS THE HOPE FOR WHICH RESERVATIONS HAVE BEEN MADE. ++

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Takeaways:

Be ENCOURAGED that this is NOT your TRUE HOME! Our HOPE is in HEAVEN and it is RESERVED for us!

PRAY this PRAYER that PAUL offers for the COLOSSIANS. For yourself, for family, for church family, etc.

KNOW GOD’S WILL

WALK WORTHY....GROW IN FRUITFULNESS & OBEDIENCE

EMPOWER YOU to SERVE HIM

REMIND yourself that THOSE OUTSIDE of CHRIST are in DESPERATE NEED of SALVATION. Apart from the righteousness we earn through Jesus Christ, MANKIND is UNDER the REIGN and DOMAIN of DARKNESS.

“Missional church is a community of God’s people that defines itself and organizes its life around, its real purpose of being an agent of God’s mission to the world. In other words, the church’s true and authentic organizing principle is mission. When the church is in mission, it is the true church” - (Tod Bolsinger, Canoeing the Mountains, p. 30)

AMERICA is a MISSION FIELD.

WE CAN ALL BE A PART...EPAPHRAS STARTED CHURCH IN COLOSSAE

Are there AREAS of your LIFE that you HAVEN’T SUBMITTED to the NEW KINGDOM? WE’VE TRANSFERRED REALMS...CHRIST must be KING OVER our ENTIRE LIVES and every thing we do.

LOOKING TO COMMUNION....SELF-EXAMINATION.

COMMUNION = REMEMBERING & THANKING THE SACRIFICE OF CHRIST.

GREAT TRANSFER ALL OF GRACE...

MOMENT TO THANK THE LORD FOR SALVATION.

AT THE CROSS....

IN PROVIDENCE OF BRINGING GOSPEL TO YOU SPECIFICALLY!

****Close in Prayer?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

COMMUNION:

1 Corinthians 11:23–32 ESV

23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. 27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. 31 But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

COLOSSIANS OUTLINE:

(1:1-1:14) Salutation, Greeting, & Prayer - 14 verses

(1:15-23) The Preeminence of Christ-Over creation, death, and you - 8 verses

(1:24-2:5) Paul’s Motivation & Service - 11 verses

(2:6-2:15 //2:16-2:23) Walking in Christ, Resisting False Teaching - 9 verses or 17 verses

(3:1-17) Seeking Heavenly Things - 17 verses

(3:18-4:1) The Christian Home - 9 verses

(4:2-4:6/4:7-4:18) Concluding Instructions - 18 verses