Prayer: In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen
Who misses receiving handwritten letters in the post? The only post these days seem to be bills or bank statements! We still get a few Christmas or birthday cards and the odd postcard but no letters. Our communication from family and friends comes via short texts or a slightly longer email or social media, but it is not the same!
Over the next few weeks, we are going to be looking at the book of Colossians, which is an epistle, otherwise known as a letter, from the Apostle Paul to the church in Colossae. Paul knows how to write a decent letter; this is one of his shorter ones. He is writing ‘in chains’ he says, from prison in Rome, so he probably had plenty of time to write!
He writes to this church as if he knows them well but in fact, he has never met them. He has heard all about them from his friend and most likely their church founder – Epaphras, who has gone to Rome to visit Paul. Epaphras most likely heard and was taught about the Christian faith when Paul was in Ephesus and then went back to his hometown of Colossae to plant a church there and to teach them the good news and truth of the gospel.
Here’s a map to show you where Colossae is in relation to Ephesus. It is quite near Laodicea and Hieropolos, where Epaphras also planted churches, and Paul asks them to share the letter with the church at Laodicea after they have read it and read the one he sent to them. That letter seems to have got lost as we don’t have a record of a letter to Laodicea. However, you have probably heard about Laodicea as it is one of the letters to the church’s written by John in the book of Revelation. They are accused of being ‘lukewarm’ in their faith.
Michael and I had the privilege of going on a study tour to Turkey, Greece, and Rome when I was studying, back in 2013. Being neither hot nor cold was an apt analogy for Laodicea for the town sat between Hierapolis with warm springs and Colossae who had a fresh cold spring running through the town. (photos)
Paul’s letter to the Colossians is known as a ‘friendly letter’ not like his rebuking letter to the Galatians, where after the opening niceties he doesn’t take long to reproach them for deserting the truth of the gospel!
There are some issues regarding false teachers that Paul addresses in this letter to the Colossians, but he begins with thanksgiving, praise, and prayer for them. He is keen to reassure and encourage them in their faith.
Let’s take a closer look… (open your bibles or follow on the screen)
He opens in his typical fashion, introducing himself as an apostle of Christ Jesus. They would be familiar with who Paul is, even though they hadn’t met him. Reminding them that he is an apostle of Jesus, gives his letter a note of authority. He acknowledges that Timothy is with him as he writes and is possibly his scribe.
Paul addresses them as God’s holy people; he often uses the very similar term saints. Not holy on their own account, but faithful and holy in Christ. In that way we too are saints…a good thing to remind ourselves. Remembering that we are holy in Christ might help us live up to that title! But we don’t lose it even when we fail, because it is through Christ who is always righteous that we are holy! Thanks be to God!
He greets them with grace and peace from God, our Father. They are in the same family, these saints he has never met, because they have the same Father. Isn’t it wonderful to think that we have family with fellow believers all over the world!
Before getting to any of the issues in the Church that Epaphras has told him about, Paul spends time giving thanks and praising them for the wonderful things he has heard about from Epaphras.
He says they always give thanks when they pray for them. (v3) There is encouragement just in that line. The church is being prayed for, and not just by Paul, he says “we”. We can just imagine Paul praying regularly with Timothy and those like Epaphras who come to visit him in prison. I pray for our church here almost every day. A few of us pray together for St Luke’s on Wednesday mornings. I also know our Bishops pray regularly for us and all the churches in the diocese. Many others will also pray as our name comes up regularly in the Bishop’s Monday prayers. It is uplifting to know others are praying for you.
Why does Paul give thanks? Because he has heard of their ‘faith’, ‘love’ and ‘hope’. (v 4-5) Three key hallmarks of our Christian faith. The faith they have in Jesus and the love they have for all Gods’ people, which spring from their hope in ‘heaven’, no matter what is going on now, they have hope in future blessings, giving them strength for today.
How is your faith, love, and hope?
I know I give thanks for these things in our church. I see your faith grow in Jesus, your love for one another and others as you seek to care, and I always pray that you will hold onto hope in the assurance of our future in Jesus.
These three areas should continually grow as we grow closer to Jesus. Our deepening love for Jesus should deepen our love for others – calling us to act in love and pray for those in need, both those known to us and wider in our community and world. A good time to remind you about Anglicare’s winter appeal, being generous to those who don’t have is one way we can show God’s love. Our love should also increase our prayer life to pray for the poor and homeless, the refugees, the lonely, the addicted, those caught in conflict, those lost seeking fulfilment in temporary pleasures.
We show our love by telling them about God’s love. Paul notes how the gospel is bearing fruit among them. The true message, the good news they had heard from Epaphras, is bearing fruit. (v 6) This is the message they need to hold onto, not the false teachers that he will warn them about in the next chapter. He affirms Epaphras as a ‘faithful minister in Christ’.
The last few weeks we focused on how to share our faith, and I pray that as we pray and look for opportunities to share the good news more that we will bear fruit. Sometimes we might just plant a seed, and the fruit will come later. But we need to be in the planting business!
At verse 9 Paul says due to the good news of their love in the Spirit that Epaphras has shared with them, he has not stopped praying for them. It doesn’t mean he is literally on his knees every minute of the day praying for the Colossians, but he continues to regularly pray for them. He remembers them in his prayers. In his letter to the Thessalonians Paul talks about praying without ceasing! Again, the closer we walk with Jesus, the more we will continually be talking to him – and that’s prayer!
What does Paul pray for?
We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, 10 so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, 12 and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.
He asks God to ‘fill’ them, he wants them to be filled up with God. That they will have the knowledge of his will through all understanding that the Spirit brings.
It is not worldly knowledge, but the best knowledge of all. To know God’s will for their lives. To seek God’s will, rather than their own. We pray this every time we pray the Lord’s prayer – your will be done!
He prays for wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit so that he would live in us. In John 14, we read of Jesus telling his disciples that he will be sending the Holy Spirit to teach them all things and remind you of everything I’ve said. And in John 16, Jesus tells them that when the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth.
It is the Holy Spirit they need to trust and to listen to.
As they are filled with God and his Spirit of wisdom and understanding they will therefore live lives that are worthy of the Lord. For they will be living in his will, rather than following their own, or other false teachers.
Is your life worthy of the Lord, do you seek to do his will? It is very hard in this world to not hear the constant voice of advertisements that tell us we need to be pleasing ourselves with the latest car, face cream, holiday, dining experience etc. There’s nothing wrong with those things as long as our first priority is seeking God’s will and loving others as we love ourselves…
As we live our lives for the Lord then Paul says we will bear fruit with every good work, growing in the knowledge of God. Again, it is as we grow in our relationship with God that our lives will bear fruit. It may be seen in our kindness towards others, an encouraging conversation, a smile, a delivery of a meal to those in need. There is one among us this morning who cooks extra for me to give away.
We can’t live a worthy life pleasing God in our own strength. What does Paul also pray? That they would be strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience. (v11)
God will give us the strength we need to live for him, in good times and in struggles when we need great endurance and patience.
With God filling and strengthening us we can give joyful thanks to our heavenly Father. Paul has already mentioned faith, hope, and love and now he mentions another characteristic of the Christian life – JOY! (v12)
To have joy in our lives because we know Jesus and are walking daily with him is a great witness and testimony. I pray you have the joy of the Spirit.
We can have joy because we are in God’s family, we are inheritors with his Son Jesus, and we live in his Kingdom of light. No matter what darkness may surround us in this world, we can walk in the light of Christ. That is something to give joyful thanks for!
Paul finishes this section of prayer and thanksgiving reminding the Colossians that they have been rescued from darkness, forgiven of sins, and brought into his kingdom. (V13-14) Alleluia – yes?!
I pray this prayer from Colossians 1: 9-12 every day. It is on my prayer app under the heading of ‘My walk with God, Growing more like Jesus.’
I recommend it to you. It is a powerful prayer. Note the fullness that Paul longs for them to have. It is the fullness of God that Jesus longs for us to know. Paul uses the word “all” as he prays. Like Paul praying for the Colossians, I pray that you will have “all” wisdom and understanding, pleasing God in “every way”, strengthened with “all” power.
As we work through this letter over the next few weeks, I encourage you to read it several times, just like you would a real letter from a loved one, asking the Holy Sprit to teach you the truth of the gospel and to fill you to the brim, growing in faith, hope and love and in the knowledge of God and of his Son Jesus Christ.
Let’s pray: Lord, we thank you for the Apostle Paul and his letters that have been recorded for us to read and be encouraged by. Letters that are still relevant for us today 2000 years later. Lord fill us with your Spirit, teach us to seek your will every day and to love so that we may live worthy lives, bearing fruit for your glory. In Jesus name. Amen.