Colossians 1:1-4
~17 min read
💠Consider this: How is your faith in God and love for Him growing as time moves on? How is your faith in God and love for Him being manifested in your life?
TRANSCRIPT
I greet you in the blessed name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We will begin a new series of messages from the book of Colossians. The title of our message is "A Faith And Love That Shines."
The book of Colossians was one of four letters written by the Apostle Paul while he was in prison, together with Ephesians, Philippians, and Philemon. The city of Colossae was located about 100 miles from the city of Ephesus, which is today the western part of Turkey. In ancient times, it was a prominent city, but during the time of Paul, it became a small city because it was overshadowed by its more prosperous neighbours like Laodicea and Hierapolis. In A.D. 60, these three cities—Colossae, Laodicea, and Hierapolis—were devastated by a great earthquake. Colossae was mainly involved in the wool trade, and the population was primarily Gentiles, but they also had quite a large Jewish community, which was drawn to the city because of trade and business.
The Bible does not mention that Paul ever started a church at Colossae or even visited the city. The man whom God used to start the Colossian church was Epaphras, who was mentioned in Colossians 1:7 and Colossians 4:12. Apparently, he was a native of Colossae, and he was converted to Christ while visiting Ephesus, where he met the Apostle Paul. He then returned to his city and started the church.
Whenever you read the New Testament letters, you will notice there is a particular theme in each of those letters, and the book of Colossians was focused on the supremacy and sufficiency of Christ as the head of all creation and of the church. There was a reason why Paul had to focus on this particular theme. Remember, there was a mixture of Jews and Gentiles living in the city. Therefore, it was not surprising that the city was either influenced by the Greek philosophical system or the legalism of Judaism.
On one hand, the Greek philosophical system—very similar to Gnosticism in the 2nd century—believed that God was good and matter was evil. Since God was good, He could not have created a world that was evil. He must have created this world using lesser gods. So they had rejected God as the Creator, and they had also rejected the humanity and deity of Jesus Christ. Since God was good, He could never become a man because man was evil.
On the other hand, there was the legalism of Judaism, which believed that circumcision, the keeping of certain Jewish laws, dietary laws, and the observation of holy days were necessary for salvation. In other words, Christ alone was not sufficient for salvation. These heretical teachings had crept into the Colossian church, and it became so serious that Epaphras had to travel almost 1,000 miles to Rome to visit Paul in prison. So Paul had to write this letter to deal with this heresy, and he had to focus on the supremacy and sufficiency of Jesus Christ as the head of all creation and of the church.
This is just a brief background of this letter. Like all the other letters, Paul would begin with an introduction. Verse 1: "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timotheus our brother."
When false teachers had infiltrated the church with their heretical teaching, they will attack the truthfulness of the message, and they would do that first by attacking the authority of the messenger. They would say things like, ‘Paul was not like the twelve apostles. He was just a self-made, self-appointed apostle with no divine authority, no credentials at all. So don’t listen to him. Don’t trust him. He is not an apostle appointed by God.’
Isn’t it true that sometimes when people cannot find fault with the message, they will find fault with the messenger? They will attack his character, question his credentials, or accuse him of things he did not do or say. When they succeed in doing that, the authority is undermined. When that happens, no one would want to listen to the message anymore. So at the very onset, Paul had to establish his apostolic authority, and he said, "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ."
Apparently, John was the last apostle to be alive, and by the inspiration of God, he gave this very stern warning at the end of the Holy Scriptures: Revelation 22:18-19: "For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book."
Paul said he was an apostle "by the will of God." In other words, I am an apostle not by my own choice, or by the church, or by the people. I am an apostle specially chosen and sent out by the resurrected Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus, and he was called to be an apostle to the Gentiles by the will of God. And God used him to write the majority of the New Testament books—thirteen or fourteen if you believe that he was the one who wrote Hebrews— it would be fourteen books out of twenty-seven books.
"And Timotheus our brother." Ever since Timothy met Paul on his second missionary journey, he had been his co-labourer, his spiritual son, and his constant companion. Timothy was a faithful man. Although Paul was imprisoned at this moment, Timothy still faithfully stood by his side.
Verse 2: "To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colossae." Paul called the believers in the Colossian church ‘saints and faithful believers.’ The original Greek word for "saints" means ‘holy, sanctified, or set apart.’
The Roman Catholic Church has a different understanding about being a saint. They have many saints—St Anthony, St Nicholas, St Teresa, St Anne, and so forth. What they teach about sainthood is not what the Bible says. The Roman Catholic Church teaches that a saint is someone who has been canonised by the church through certain procedures.
Firstly, a saint is someone who is dead and is in heaven. Most of the time, he had been martyred, and he had done many good works during his lifetime. To be a saint, he must at least have one confirmed miracle. The name of this nominated person would then go before the council. Obviously, he could not go personally because he had already died. Someone would represent him on his behalf before the council and present his merits and good works, giving evidence of at least one confirmed miracle.
Another person would also appear before the council. He is called the Devil's Advocate, and he would argue against the nomination and try to tear the person down. When the council finally decides that the nominated person is worthy and qualifies to be a saint, then he or she would officially be canonised as a saint.
Does this match what we read in verse two about the saints at Colossae? Notice the saints in verse two were very much alive, and they would be reading Paul's letter. It would be foolish to think that Paul was writing to a group of dead people at Colossae. Like any other local churches, the faithful brethren in the Colossian church would be made up of different levels of spirituality. Some might be very knowledgeable in the Scriptures, others might be less knowledgeable, yet others might have just come to know the Lord recently. But nonetheless, they were all known as saints.
In the New Testament, 61 times the words "saint" or "saints" were used to describe the believers. For example, in Ephesians 1:1, Paul wrote ‘to the saints at Ephesus’; he was not writing to dead people. In 2 Corinthians 13:13, Paul ends by saying, "All the saints salute you." He was not saying all the dead people salute you but rather all the Christians salute you, greet you. Sadly, we have been so wrongly influenced by this world's view of sainthood that none of us would ever introduce ourselves as ‘I am a saint.’ But the reality is that every Christian is a saint, and every saint is a Christian.
Look at the second part of verse two: "Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." Grace is the unmerited and undeserved favour of God, while peace is the result of the reconciliation of man and God through Christ's death and the shedding of His precious blood on the cross of Calvary. Because of our sins, we are not at peace with God; we are at war with God, either passively or actively. We are at war with each other, and we are always at war with ourselves. That is why we experience so much misery, and there is so much unrest in this world.
As believers, we have received God's grace in salvation, and the result is we are at peace with God, and we can be at peace with one another and with ourselves. That is why the word "peace" always comes after "grace." However, as long as we are alive in this world, we will still be troubled by sin and the trials of life. But we can receive God's grace for every sin, and we can receive God's peace for every trial. As the saying goes, ‘Peace is not the absence of trouble, but the presence of God in the midst of trouble.’ We may be in deep trouble; there may be adversities, afflictions, troubles, sicknesses, illnesses, and potential death. But yet we can experience the peace of God because of His presence in our lives, and His peace will guard our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Because that will be the place that worries, anxieties, doubts, and confusions would always attack—our hearts and minds. But the peace of God will guard it.
Verse three: "We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you." Even though Paul had never met the Colossians, yet he gave thanks to God for them, and he was always praying for them. He had been giving thanks and praying for them since when?
Verse four: "Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints." Take note of the two things mentioned about the Colossians: their faith in Christ Jesus and their love to all the saints. Both faith and love are the fruit of the Spirit.
I. Their Faith In Christ Jesus
What is faith? The word "faith" can mean the objective faith, as in the doctrine of the Christian faith, like the Bible or the Gospel. It can also mean the subjective faith, as in believing, depending on the context. Here, the words "your faith" were a reference to the subjective faith, as in their belief in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Their belief in the only Messiah and Saviour of the world.
Faith is to believe. We all live by faith every day of our lives, whether you agree with it or not. We turn on the tap, fill the glass, and drink the water. We believe it is all right, even though we do not know what is in there. We have no idea what is in the pipes. There was once when I was serving in the army, I was tasked to clean the water tanks. When we reached the bottom of the water tanks, you cannot ever imagine what kind of strange creatures lived at the bottom of the tank.
Faith is to trust. When we go to a restaurant, we eat what they lay out for us on the table. We trust that the chef knows what he is doing when he cooks the dishes. When we travel on an airplane, we do not know who is sitting in the front driving the airplane. We trust that the pilot is trained and qualified to fly the airplane and bring us safely to our destination. We live by faith; that is the only way we can survive.
Faith in the spiritual dimension is far different from this kind of faith. But nonetheless, it has the same idea—it is about believing and trusting in the object of our faith, and that is God. The Bible says the power of God can save, but He will only save those who believe. Believe in what? Believe in your heart that Jesus is the only Saviour of the world. Believe in your heart that Jesus was the only begotten Son of God, who died on the cross and shed His precious blood. Believe in your heart that God has raised Jesus from the dead. Believe in your heart that Jesus is who He said He was. Believe in your heart that Jesus promised to do what He said He would do. Believe in your heart that He is the only way, the truth, and the life.
The Bible says it, we believe it, and that settles it. We believe what God says—that is faith. Salvation is by faith. Salvation is not baptism. Salvation is not going to church. It is not following a set of rules and regulations. It is not morality. Salvation comes when a man or a woman recognises that he or she has absolutely no resources, he or she is totally depraved and lost, and looks to the only One who died and paid the penalty of his and her sins on the cross of Calvary, and says in his heart, "I believe." It doesn't matter who that person is—whether he is the king of a great nation or he is the beggar in the street—he believed and has faith in the Almighty God.
Notice Paul said, "Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus." This is a reference to their faith in action. Their faith manifested in works. As James 2:20 says, "Faith without works is dead." It does not mean that people can earn salvation through good works, but rather those good works are evidences of their faith. A true saving faith will always result in the mighty work of God in the life of the believer.
How do we know? Because it is for this reason God has saved us and created us in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:10 says: "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."
Can a Christian who is truly saved by the precious blood of Christ yet live a life without a radical change, without evidences of a transformed life? Let us listen to the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, who said in John 15:1-2: "I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit." Producing fruit is a necessary consequence of being in Christ.
In the Gospel of Luke 6:46, Jesus said: "And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" Obeying the words of our Lord Jesus Christ is a necessary consequence of calling Him Lord, Lord.
In John 15:8, Jesus said to His disciples: "Herein is my Father glorified" - how? - "that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples." Good works do not make a person a disciple. He is a disciple if he believes in the Lord Jesus Christ, but good works prove that he is a real disciple. When the believer does good works, he bears fruit for the glory of the One who has saved him.
Take a moment and consider this: Can a faith that has no impact in our lives actually be the instrument to redeem us from sin, death, and eternal damnation? Can a faith that is simply a verbal profession—’Oh, I have faith. I believe in Jesus Christ. I have said the sinner’s prayer. I have signed the sinner’s card. I’ve called Jesus my Lord and my Saviour’—but is all just paying lip service, no life transformation, it does not lead us to live a life of worship, obedience, trust, and devotion to Christ. Can that faith, that profession of faith, actually save us? The answer is no.
Dear friend, if we have true saving faith, it means God’s sovereign grace has reached into our hearts to regenerate us, to cause us to be born again, to transform us from a sinner to a saint. And God will create in our souls the desire to forsake our sins, to serve and obey His word. It does not mean that as a newborn believer, we immediately know everything we should and should not do. No, those things will come as we grow in our knowledge of God’s word and through the wonder-working of the Holy Spirit. But at the point of our conversion, as new creatures born into God’s family, there is this immediate spiritual orientation—this turning around, this change of direction.
One classic example in the Bible is none other than Zacchaeus. Remember the tax collector? The moment he believed in Jesus, there was this immediate spiritual orientation, this turning around, this change of direction, and he cried out: "Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold" - which means four times (Luke 19:8).
It was not just an empty profession of faith. True saving faith begins with this immediate spiritual orientation, this turning around, this change of direction—this repentance—and then it will continue to believe and trust in the God who has saved him. It will grow and produce more and more spiritual fruits, so much so that the people around us will see this faith in action. They will see this faith manifested in works.
Just like Paul said about the Colossians: "Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus."(Colossians 1:4)
II. Their Love To All The Believers
Secondly, Paul heard of their love to all the saints. In other words, the Colossians were not selective in who to love and who not to love. They loved everyone—all the believers. Throughout the Bible, we have been commanded to love: "Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength." (Deuteronomy 6:5) "Love thy neighbour as thyself." (Leviticus 19:18)
Perhaps the most difficult thing to do is to love your enemies. Jesus said: "Bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you." (Matthew 5:44) Indeed, that is the most difficult thing to do, especially to people who persecute, reject, gossip, slander, and hate us.
There are several Greek words used for love—for example, love for friendship, love for family, and even sensuous love - eros, where we get the English word for erotic. But the original Greek word for love used here is agape. It is the highest form of love. It is a self-giving and self-sacrificing love. It is the kind of love that characterises God. It is the love that God supernaturally and divinely enables believers to have. Remember, the Bible tells us: We love God - we agape God - because he first agaped us (1 John 4:19). It was He who first loved us and enables us to love Him with this divine supernatural love.
Firstly, true agape love is a mark of our salvation. 1 John 3:14 says:"We know that we have passed from death unto life" - how do we know that we have been saved? Delivered from eternal death unto eternal life? - "because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death." Which means if you do not have this agape love for your brother, what is your condition? You are still in your unredeemed state. You are not a believer no matter what you say.
Secondly, true agape love will be tested. 1 John 3:17 says: "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?" In other words, you may think you have the love of God dwelling in your heart. You may think you have great love. But here is the test: You have this world’s goods, which means you have been blessed with wealth and material things. And here comes a brother in need of financial help, and you shut your heart of compassion and refuse to help when you can. You are deceiving yourself.
Almost every week I will speak to our missionaries from Myanmar after the prayer meeting. Without fail they will always give thanks for the Bethelites who have supported them. They know that some of those who gave cheerfully and willingly to support them do not know them personally and have not even seen them before. How is it possible for someone to render help to another person whom he or she has never seen before? It is the Holy Spirit that produced this love, this agape love, that compels the person to help. Remember, love is the first to be mentioned in the fruit of the spirit.
Thirdly, the ultimate expression of this true agape love is when you are willing to lay down your life for your brethren. 1 John 3:16: "Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren." As believers, we will grow in this agape love, and the ultimate expression of this love is when we are willing to lay down our lives for the brethren.
When we think of people laying down their lives for the brethren, we think of the reformers, right? People like William Tyndale, John Hus, John Rogers, Hugh Latimer, and so forth. They were willing to be burned on the stake for the sake of the Gospel so that millions and millions, including you and I, are able to read the Bible and be saved.
And then we think of those missionaries who gave up their lives, the comfort of home, and to go to places where they could be potentially killed for preaching the Gospel. They did not all of a sudden have that kind of boldness. It was through years and years of walking in the Spirit. It was through years and years where this love, which is produced by God, is being cultivated, and it has grown. It has been tested, and one day it is able to have this ultimate expression of love.
So you see how love will grow? You see how faith will also grow?
Dear friend, what about us? Do we have this agape love, this self-giving and self-sacrificing love? Or is it all just about me and myself—me and my family? Have we grown in this faith and in this love so much so that we trust God and His Word more and more, we love God more and more, and through the way we interact with one another—through our giving, through our prayers—we see the manifestation of this faith and this love?
Like the Colossians, a faith and a love that shines. So much so that Paul said: ‘Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus. Since we heard of your love that you have to all the believers’ (Colossians 1:4). How wonderful one day that the same thing could be said of us—a love and a faith that shines for the glory of God!
Let us pray.
Our Father in heaven, we give Thee thanks for this opportunity for us to start a new series of messages from the book of Colossians. And as we learn from this inspired and preserved Word of Thee, may Thou teach us so that we not only know Thy Word, but we also apply Thy Word into our lives.
As Thou hast taught us this morning, that as true believers, it is not just about paying lip service; it is not an empty profession of faith. If we have true saving faith, it will be a faith and a love that will grow. It will be a faith and love in action and manifested through works. Otherwise, all will be in vain, no matter what we say.
So may each heart examine himself or herself—if truly we have true saving faith. Have we grown in such a faith and love that shines for the glory of Thee?
We pray all this in Jesus’ name.
Amen.
THE BOOK OF COLOSSIANSA Faith And Love That ShinesA Faith And Love That ShinesColossians 1:1-4
The Blessedness Of Our Christian HopeThe Blessedness Of Our Christian HopeColossians 1:5-6a
The Transforming Power Of The GospelThe Transforming Power Of The GospelColossians 1:6b-8
The Need For PrayersThe Need For PrayersColossians 1:9
Prayer for Spiritual ExcellencePrayer for Spiritual ExcellenceColossians 1:9-12
Walk Worthy Of The LordWalk Worthy Of The LordColossians 1:10-11
What Does It Mean To Call God Our Father?What Does It Mean To Call God Our Father?Colossians 1:12a
What Does It Mean To Be Citizens Of God’s Kingdom?What Does It Mean To Be Citizens Of God’s Kingdom?Colossians 1:12b-13
I Am Redeemed And ForgivenI Am Redeemed And ForgivenColossians 1:14
Message 3: What is Christ to you? My Covenantal Head!Message 3: What is Christ to you? My Covenantal Head!Colossians 2:4-9, 19
Message 4: What is a healthy and sound church? My Covenantal Haven!Message 4: What is a healthy and sound church? My Covenantal Haven!Colossians 2:7
Message 2: What is Church to you? My Covenantal Family!Message 2: What is Church to you? My Covenantal Family!Exodus 12:48-49, Colossians 2:11-12
