So I’ve really missed writing things for this blog. As much
as I have been enjoying putting 2-3 bible studies together a week, there’s
nothing like sitting down, opening the Bible and having a blank document open to
write your thoughts out on. Now, I
truly believe Colossians has been the most instrumental book in shaping my
Christian walk over the last 2 years. God has really spoken to me through it.
As I’ve talked to numerous people on different occasions about this, they
always ask the question, “why?” I’ll try to give them a brief 60-second recap
of the book, but I just can’t give it justice. So my desire is to slowly make
my way through the book of Colossians and write out why it’s been so crucial to
my walk with Christ. The goal is to try and flesh out my thoughts on why
Colossians has been key to my walk in Christ. The key word here is “try.” I’m
no scholar, just a 20-year-old guy trying to live a life that brings honor to
my Lord and Savior.
Colossians 1:1-14
Take some time to read it before diving into what I have to
say.
A quick background of the Colossians church: The book of
Colossians was written around 60-61 A.D. by Paul; and was written to the church
of Colossae. The church was dealing with a lot of false worship (Colossians
2:18, and 2:20). Paul is trying to
draw their attention back to the truth of the gospel through this letter. He
wants them to understand they cannot add to their salvation by worshipping
anything else.
So how does the book of Colossians really apply to our
Christian walk? In this first chapter, Paul draws the attention to prayer and
who Jesus really is. He starts out by calling the members of the church “saints
and faithful brothers” (vs 2). He wants to encourage them in the beginning even
though he is writing to correct them. He knows they still love the Lord, they
just need to be challenged in their thinking. That’s when we get to verse 3 and
we find now Paul’s train of thought.
1) Paul is thankful (Verse 3-8)
In verse 3, “We always thank God, the Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, when we pray for you.” So
we see here again that Paul is starting off his letter not with correction or a
to-do list, but by telling them “we always thank God” for you! This has
challenged me in the way I pray. I can so easily drift straight into praying
for myself or things I want. Even when I pray for other people, I don’t usually
start by thanking the Lord for them! But yet, all of us have friends that are
blessings! Let us follow Paul’s example of always thanking God first and
foremost when we pray for each other.
The thing here though, is why does Paul always thank God for
them always first and foremost? We find the answer in verses 4-7, “we heard of
your faith in Christ Jesus” (Vs 4). “Because of the hope laid up for you in
heaven” (Vs 4) “You have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel,
which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and
growing” (Vs5-6). We clearly see
through these verses that Paul has heard of their faith in the gospel and the
gospel advancement work they are doing. Even though Paul knows they are
struggling with false worship in ways, He doesn’t want to start off by
correcting them. But rather through encouraging them by bringing to the
forefront of their minds the good fruit that is coming from their ministry.
2) Paul prays for their lives (Verse 9-11)
In Verse 9 Paul writes, “And so, from the day we heard, we
have not ceased to pray for you…” So
just like Paul tells the church they are always thanking God for them, he also
wants to let the church know he is also praying for them in 4 different ways.
Before I dive into what the 4 different ways are though, we
have to understand here that Paul knows the Colossian church had a solid and
firm grasp of the gospel. That
this was their motivation in all that they did. They had received a “hope laid
up for you in heaven” (Vs. 5) And because they had received this, Paul is
laying out for them what it means to live their lives in a way that glorifies
the Lord.
First, Paul prays, “that you may be filled with the
knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding” (Vs 9). This
is the first thing Paul prays for because it is crucial that that believers
understand what the Lord’s desires are for us. We must understand what God is
teaching us through His Word to have “spiritual wisdom and understanding.”
There is no excuse for being ignorant as to what God is calling us Christians
too. For it is all laid out clearly in His Word.
Secondly, He prays, “to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord,
fully pleasing to him” (Vs. 10). Paul understands if the Colossians have an
understanding of what the Lord’s will is for them, they will understand what it
means to live a life “fully pleasing to him.” We must first understand God’s will
through His Word to understand the way God is calling us to walk.
He then prays, “bearing fruit in every good work and
increasing in the knowledge of God” (Vs 10) Paul wants them to understand that
they will be living a life that is “fully pleasing” to God if they are bearing
fruit in their actions and gaining knowledge of God. So as we seek God’s Word
to find his will for our lives and we put this into practice, we will be
“bearing fruit” and “increasing in knowledge.”
Lastly, Paul prays, “May you be strengthened with all power,
according to his glorious might” (Vs 11). Paul is reminding them through this
prayer that they are strengthened through the Holy Spirit. He wants them to be
constantly remembering they do not have to do any of this on their own. God is
going to help them with “endurance and patience with joy” (Vs 11).
So it is key to see how these four things work together.
They first must understand God’s will in order to live a life that honors the
Lord. And as they seek to honor the Lord and live a life that pleases Him, they
are going to bear fruit and increase in knowledge. But, Paul wants them to
remember it is not always going to be easy, so he is reminding them that it is through
God’s power and strength that they will be able to endure!
3) Paul points their attention to the Father (Vs 12-14)
So Paul follows up praying they may be strengthened with
God’s power by saying, “giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to
share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the
domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in
whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
So Paul starts with thanking the Lord and ends with thanking
the Lord. This is crucial to see. Paul realizes the only reason any of the life
he is living in verses 9-11 is possible because of Jesus death on the Cross. He
starts by thanking the Lord for the Colossian church and ends by thanking the
Lord for his glorious gospel that allows not only Him, but the entire Colossian
church to have eternal life. It is the “Father, who has qualified you to share in the
inheritance of the saints.” Praise God that this can still be true of us today.
For it clearly says in John 3:36, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal
life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God
remains on Him.”
