Norbie, Donald: Colossians-1990-01 ~ Intro

And we're going to start a study in the book of Colossians, and uh, in this book of Colossians, he takes up that matter. He talks about being qualified for heaven. And it's a wonderful thing to know that, uh, you're right with the Lord, and to know that you are, are qualified, as far as God is concerned, for heaven. I'm gonna start reading in Colossians chapter one with verse one. Colossians one and verse one. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are in Colossae. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 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. For this reason, we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, that you may have a walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God, strengthened with all might according to his glorious power, for all patience and long suffering with joy, giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. He's delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love, in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins. And we stop with the reading there. Let's think a little bit about this book. The book of Colossians. It's written to Christians who are living in Colossae. And there were three cities in that area, Colossae and Laodicea and Hierapolis, in this particular area, and there were churches that were established in these different cities there. It's in the area that's called Turkey today. Paul is the writer. He d- he speaks of himself as the writer, and he's writing to these Christians who are there, and uh, uh, he's going to be sending this letter along with the letter to Philemon. Let's look at an outline here quickly of the book, so you get an idea of of how it's laid out. First, there's a salutation, verses one and two. This is a greeting, just sort of when you see this is a letter. When you start a letter, you start out and say, Dear John, how are you? I am fine. Just some opening remarks. So this is the salutation, the first two verses. And then the verses we read today are the prayer. Paul gives us his prayer for these people. First, he's, he expresses thanksgiving, verses three to eight. Uh, there are things here he's very thankful for, and then there's the petition that he makes, verses nine to fourteen. In other words, a request to God, things he's asking God to do for these Christians. The next section, we're not going to look at some of these today, but the next section emphasizes Christ's supremacy. It's a beautiful passage, and we'll get into that probably next Sunday, where it just tells us, uh, how great, really, the Lord Jesus Christ is, what a great person and wonderful person he is. Then, from verse twenty four of chapter one to two and verse five, Paul talks some about his ministry, his work, what God has been doing through him. The next section, he emphasizes that Christ is enough. If you have Christ, you don't need anything else as far as being right with God and as far as your spiritual life is concerned. And he hits at legalism, and there is some spiritism and some other things too. Uh, people getting into this way of thinking that if I keep certain rules and do certain things, this will make me right with God, and then I'll qualify for heaven. And he's emphasizing here that no, Christ is enough. If you have Christ, then you don't need this other thing as far as qualifying for heaven. And he gives us some principles for holy living, and then principles for the family. Beautiful section there. And then finally he talks about always pray, and then the end is personal greetings. Now today what we're going to look at especially is the salutation and then his, his prayer for them in those verses three through fourteen. We're going to look first at the salutation, the greeting. How does Paul introduce himself? Well, he just says Paul. No titles in particular. You know, the religious world is very fond of titles today. People will call, that are in religious work, may be called reverend, they may be called doctor, they may be called bishop, they may be called the right reverend, very fond of titles, and yet the Lord told his disciples, don't use titles in Matthew twenty three. and we might want to just look at that quickly because, um, here the Lord is, is emphasizing the, uh, the fact that he wants, uh, his disciples to, uh, just be very humble before him and, uh, and not put on a big show in Matthew twenty three, and he says in verse eight, you do not be called rabbi or teacher, for one is your teacher, the Christ, and you're all brothers. Do not call anyone on earth your father, for one is your father, he who is in heaven. And do not be called uh, teachers, for one is your teacher, the Christ, he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. So he says, don't take titles and elevate one above another. It's hard for people to get used to that. Up in the jail, we have many from Roman Catholic background that are in jail, and uh, if I'm visiting them, they think, well, because I, I do some Bible teaching and so forth, uh, that I should be given some title. So usually what they'll do, they'll call me father. We talk visiting some of them, they'll say, father, I'm glad you're here, and so forth. And I'll say, oh, don't call me father, uh, you know, I'm just a Bible teacher, I'm just here to help you. And they'll say, okay, father, and and they'll keep on doing it. It's so ingrained, you know, the use of, uh, titles. But Paul here, as he starts off, says, Paul. Sometimes he's called Brother Paul or that, but no big, uh, display of titles, not wanting to have a position higher than anyone else. He just wants to be a servant. He says, uh, we proclaim not ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves your servants, for Jesus' sake. That was the attitude he had. Now, he does say here that he's an apostle. He wants to remind them of the fact that he is comes with authority as Christ's servant. An apostle is someone who's sent with authority. He carries the authority of the one sending him. And so Paul reminds them of that. He says, I am an apostle, one of those that the Lord has chosen, and here, as I'm writing, these now are words then you can take as coming from the Lord because I come with his authority. The apostles had unique authority, and he says, I'm an apostle by the will of God. He's very strong on that. He says, I didn't choose this. I didn't just elevate myself and decide one day when I was working away at my tent making, hey, I think I'd like to be an apostle and, uh, choose this for myself. No, he says, I was chosen by God, by the will of God. The Lord put his hand on me. The Lord said, Paul, I'm choosing you, and I've got a work for you to do. And Paul was very confident of that. And then he includes Timothy, our brother. Timothy was the younger Christian who traveled a lot with Paul, who was very close to him. He was his spiritual son in the faith, and Paul just, uh, enjoyed working with him. He's our brother, he says. He writes, now it's interesting how he, he describes the people he's writing to. He says, to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are in Colossae. Saints. Many people today think, well, when you die, if you've lived a great life, maybe a uh hundred years later they'll decide you're a saint and they'll canonize you and you'll become a saint. But actually he's writing to living people. And Christians, those who've accepted the Lord Jesus, are called saints. And the word saint really means someone who's set apart. You're set apart for God, you belong to God. The, the priests, for example, in, uh, the Old Testament days were set apart for God, for service for God. The priests were anointed, they went through a special ceremony, and then they entered into this service for God. Now, what he says here is really all Christians are priests, and all are set apart for God, and so he describes all of them as saints. If you're a Christian, you're a saint. Mike just gave his testimony here a short time ago. He's a saint. Don't let it go to your head, for we're all saints. All Christians are saints. You're set apart for God, see? So he writes here to the saints, and he he also says they're faithful brothers and sisters. Brethren here, including both men and women. You're in a family. When you accept the Lord, uh, you're brought into God's family. You're brothers, you're sisters, you're part of his family. It's wonderful to know that. Uh, when people accept the Lord, you know, I oftentimes say to them, now, remember, you've entered a family, God's family. Uh, you've got brothers and sisters, and they're not perfect, but they love the Lord too, and you're part of God's family, and and you can encourage and you can support one another. And it's wonderful to realize you're part of his family. Now, he describes these as being faithful brothers. In other words, they were the kind that could be depended on. They were, uh, brothers and sisters who were faithful, who took their stand for the Lord. You could depend on them. They weren't in and out. They weren't on hot and cold. They were faithful brethren. I hope God can say that about us if we're Christians. You're faithful. And so this is the way he describes it, and they're in Colossae. Now, the greeting is very simple. He says, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul liked this greeting. The word grace was the Greek way of greeting. The Greeks, when they would meet someone, would say charis, grace. And the Hebrews, when they met, they would say shalom, peace. They still do that today. And Paul brings them both together, and in effect he's saying, isn't it beautiful? As Christians, I, you can know grace, you do know God's grace. By grace you've been saved through faith. And, uh, he says because of that grace, you've got peace. Grace always comes before peace. If you don't have grace, if you don't know God's grace, if you don't know his forgiveness, you don't really have peace. But if you know that, then you have peace. And so he greets them in this way. You as Christians, you know God's grace, you have peace. How blessed you are. Now, as he begins his prayer, he begins by being thankful. Thankful to the Lord. And this is something that should mark us as Christians. You've accepted the Lord Jesus. One of the things that should mark you is being thankful. See, the person who doesn't know the Lord goes through life, and he just takes everything for granted, or else he takes credit for himself. I've had people say to me, I don't figure God's done anything for me. I've done it for myself. And, uh, one person I remember saying, you know, I don't want God in my life. I just want him to leave me alone. I'm gonna make life on my own. That's a very proud, foolish, really irrational way to look at life. Because all of life comes from God himself. You're alive. I'm alive this morning. Our hearts are beating, our lungs, we're breathing, our bodies are functioning because there's a God in heaven, a creator of all, who sustains life, who gives us life. We aren't the source of life itself. No one of us chose to be born, and no one of us has been able to choose, for example, the fact that we're healthy and we have normal bodies and we're here this morning. None of us, in a sense, chose to be born in the United States or to, or in the country that we, wherever it is that we were born. There are many things here that, uh, we have just received. In fact, Paul says, what do you have that you haven't received? If you have received it, why do you boast as if you didn't receive it? So there should be, uh, a sense of dependence and a realization that everything we have comes from God, and if we realize that, then there should be thankfulness. So he says here, we give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, always praying for you. Now he describes them, and these are Christians Paul had never visited, apparently. He had been in Ephesus, but he hadn't visited this area. And he, he's writing here as someone who's heard about them, he's heard about their acceptance of the Lord and their faith, uh, but he hasn't personally visited them yet. This man that he's going to s- mention, uh, Epaphras, is one who, uh, had, uh, come to him and was helping him, and he'd come from that area. Now he's going back, and he's taking the letter, and he's taking greetings from Paul. But he says in verse four, we heard of your faith. We've heard about it, Paul says. And faith is in Christ Jesus. Th- this is a... giving us two aspects of the Christian life. There's faith in Christ Jesus, and then he says, your love for all the saints. When a person becomes a Christian, he becomes a believer in the Lord Jesus. He enters a life of faith. He begins to believe. And his whole life then is a life of believing and growing in his belief. And when you accept the Lord, you begin to enter into a life of love. You begin to love others. You begin to love Christians. Before I was a Christian, I- I sometimes think back, and, uh, I remember, although I said words and I went to church, I didn't really believe. It wasn't a personal faith. I went to a church where every Sunday we said the Apostles' Creed. I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only son. And we went on to say, go over the Apostles' Creed. And yet, it wasn't personal to me. These were words I was saying. I didn't really believe in God. I didn't really pray. I didn't really have a personal relationship with God. I, I just went through the ritual, the motions in the church. It was very different when I accepted the Lord as my own Lord and Savior, and I entered into a personal relationship with him, then I believed, and I could pray. And now I wasn't just saying words, I knew I was talking to God, and God was listening, and I had a relationship with God, and it was a new experience for me. And then I wanted to get a Bible, and I wanted to read the Bible because I wanted to have God talking to me. And it was very, very different before I went through the motions. And before I was a Christian, we went to church, and we might greet a few people. We didn't know that many people, and I didn't feel close to anyone. I really didn't feel like I belonged, in a sense. But I remember when I accepted the Lord and I began meeting with a group of Christians who knew and loved the Lord, I, uh, felt a love for them, I, and they felt a concern for me and an interest in me, and it was a new experience for me. So he speaks here of the love, faith in Christ Jesus, your love for all the saints, and that should mark us as Christians. Those are evidences that a person really belongs to the Lord. And what is true also is, they have hope laid up in heaven. Hope. There's hope. There are many people in this life who really don't have any hope, and then especially if things start getting, uh, difficult for them, they really don't have hope. If they discover they've got a terminal illness, someone has cancer, facing death. Like a woman in our home recently was speaking of her father and saying that he, uh, had a tumor, a brain tumor, it was cancerous, and, uh, she said, my mother doesn't really know yet how serious it is, and he doesn't either, but the children know, and they realize, uh, it's terminal, he's gonna die, and if you don't know the Lord, you know, you begin to have fear. What happens when I die? If there's a God, is he going to judge me for my sin? And there's fear, and there's uncertainty. There isn't hope. But when the person comes to a place of faith, he speaks of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven. You come to believe there is a life after this life, and it's a better life. Jesus said, if I go away, I'll come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And, uh, so we're characterized, we're marked by hope. I want to go over to Hebrews eleven and read there how it describes these people who are believers and describes the hope that they have. Hebrews eleven and verse thirteen. It says, these all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, were assured of them, embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly they seek a homeland, and truly, if they had called to mind that country from which they'd come out, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better, that is a heavenly country. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their father, to be the called their God, for he was prepared a city for them. So here are people who, uh, by faith lived a life of pilgrimage, he says, realizing this home, this life is not permanent. I'm looking forward to a better, a heavenly home, a heavenly country. And if you turn to First Peter, chapter one, he speaks here to of, uh, the, uh, wonderful promise that we have. First Peter chapter one, He says in verse four, he, that we have an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you. You've got reservations in heaven, is what he's saying. And, uh, there's a better land ahead. So that Christians are those who have hope, and uh, he describes that here, this hope laid up for you in heaven. So this is something that marks Christians. As life goes by, as they face death, there's hope. There's a realization there's a better life on the other side. There is a heaven, there's a God who loves me. There's a savior who's waiting for me. I have hope, the hope which is laid up for you in heaven. Do you have hope? If you heard the news today, for example, if you suddenly became very ill and you went to the doctor, and the doctor examined you and, uh, came out with real concern and said to you, you know, you're a very sick person. I'm gonna have to put you in the hospital right away. It doesn't look good, you may die. Would you have hope? Would you be able to say, well, I know, I don't particularly want to die, but I know if I should die today, I'd go to be with the Lord. He speaks of this hope that's laid up for you. So that's something that marks these Christians. Now, the way they got this hope was through the word of God. He says, you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, which has come to you, as it is in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit. Notice some of the things he says about the, this message they heard. He says it's truth. Isn't that good to know? He says, the word of the truth of the gospel. Now, we live in a world where there's a lot of falsehood, a lot of confusion, and where ideas change. And, uh, sometimes if you're going to school, you wonder, is there anything that will be true and unchanging? Textbooks changes, are changing. Uh, ideas change. Philosophies of education change. We live in a world where there's lots of change, and sometimes people almost think, well, there is no such thing as absolute truth. But here he says, this message from God is a word of truth, something you can trust, something that isn't going to change. He says it's the gospel, it's good news, good news. You know, when you're a sinner and you're troubled by your sin and you're broken about it, to hear the good news that God loves you and God will forgive you. It's good news. He says also, it's interesting in that he describes it as if it were a seed with life in it. He says it's going to, uh, bring forth fruit. It has it among you, and it is in all the world. The gospel bringing forth fruit. Remember in Matthew thirteen, the Lord said the man went out to plant. He took seed, and he planted the seed. And, uh, he said, the Lord said, that's, that's the word, that's the, the message of the gospel. And, you know, when we plant seed, seed has life in it, and it's going to grow. My garden is growing. We're eating some out of the garden. And in the spring, I planted seeds. And when I planted those seeds, I had confidence that there was life in that seed, and that, uh, it would grow, you know, and there would be a harvest. And as we think of the gospel, this is how he describes it. He says there's life in it. As this message is given out, if people's hearts will open to it, if their hearts will be like good ground and they'll be open to the word of God, that seed, this message, has life in it that can completely change you, give you a new life. And this is how he describes it here. He says, this message, this gospel message, is bringing forth fruit among you and in all the world, this wonderful message of the gospel. Isn't it exciting when you think about it? You share the gospel with someone, there's life in this message that can completely change their lives. There's power in it. There's life in the message. And so he describes it that way, and he says it's bringing forth fruit. Now, a lot of the des- world is like a desert to God. There's not much fruit there. There are places in the southwest, for example, down in Arizona, where you can go along a highway, and you can see one side of the road that's just desert, and you can see the other side that is green and just, uh, you know, they're grow- growing crops. There's been seed planted, they've- it's been watered, it's been irrigated, and there's just an abundant crop. And it's kind of like that as far as God is concerned, looking down on the world. He sees parts of the world where it's just like desert, a lot of it like desert, nothing for him. But where he sees Christians who have accepted the Lord, have accepted the message, there he says now they're green, they're growing, there's fruit, there's a harvest for God. It's beautiful to see. He speaks of, uh, Epaphras, our fa- dear faithful servant, the one who'd come to them and come to him and had helped him. Now, the next part, and we want to notice this beginning with verse nine, There's the, uh, petition, things he's going to pray for them. He's thankful for what God's doing, but now he says, I've got things here I'm asking God to do for you. He says, we do not cease to pray for you and ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. He says, for you as Christians, I want you to know what God's will is. What does God want for you in your life? How will you find that out? Paul says it's, it's very important, and I want you to get to know what God's will is. Now, people accept the Lord, and maybe they've just been living their own lives any way they wish. There's been no thought at all of what God wants. They've been able to say, it's my life, I do with it what I wish. When they accept the Lord, now they come into the position of saying, Lord, how do you want me to live? How do you want me to, uh, live in my family, in my marriage? How do you want me to, uh, live in my work? How should I live, Lord? And here we find this out through the Word of God. I, if we turn back to two Timothy chapter three, just a couple of verses here, two Timothy three sixteen and seventeen, he says, all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. So as a Christian, we say, how should I live? Uh, how should I act? How should I speak? What should my life be like? And here we look at the Word of God, and as we read it, the Lord is teaching us, and he's helping us know the way we should live. And so Paul here is, his prayer is, I want you filled with the knowledge of his will. I want you to be intelligent and wise, so you'll know how to live as you should. And then he says in verse ten, then I want you to live obediently, that you may have a walk worthy of the Lord. An obedient life, fully pleasing to him, fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God. I want to see you growing and developing, he says, just like a, a beautiful fruit tree and bearing fruit for me. Now, it's lovely to see a fruit tree loaded down with fruit, because you say, now that's, that's the goal, that that's what you're aiming for. You're not just happy to have leaves, you know, for shade tree, that's all right, but fruit tree, you want fruit. And, uh, it's beautiful to see a tree just loaded with fruit. Uh, my cherry trees right now are loaded with cherries, and the branches are bending over, and the fruit is just beautifully red and ripe, ready to be picked. And God says here, I would like to see you as Christians have a life that is pleasing the Lord, obedient to him, so that your life is just full of fruit for God. People look on your life and say, isn't that a beautiful life? Uh, isn't it amazing the changes that God is bringing in that life? A fruitful, obedient life. So Paul says, I want you to know what God wants in your life, and then he says, I want to see you express that. I want to see you carry out the will of God and obey it. So that's his prayer. And then in verse eleven, he says, I pray that you'll be strengthened with all might according to his glorious power, for all patience and long suffering, with joy. He says, I want to see you spiritually strong and strength. Because maybe sometimes, you know, as Christians, we'll say, well, I, I, I wonder if I can really obey. I wonder if I, my life can really be changed. We have patterns built in that are maybe not good, that are need to be changed. And here he says, I'm praying that you will be strengthened with all might. Sometimes I've talked to people who've had, you know, real problems with sin, and they have, uh, sometimes said to me, well, I, I wonder if I accept the Lord, will I be able to live the life? Will I be able to do what I should? I- I've failed in so many ways, now I'm so weak, and can I really live the Christian life? And of course, Paul says here, I'm praying that you'll be strengthened with all might because God is able to work in your life and change you so that you can do these things that will please the Lord. Your life can be changed. Your life can become a beautiful life. And so this is his prayer, that you'll know, that you will live obediently, and that you'll have the power and the strength to really live for God as you should. I want to go back to Ephesians one and verse nineteen, and notice here how he, he speaks of this power. He says in verse nineteen, what is the exceeding greatness of his power toward us who believe according to the working of his mighty power, which he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places. So he's praying that they will come to know this power, this power of God working in their lives. This power, he says, that even raised Christ from the dead. So as a Christian, there is power available to live for the Lord. Now he gives thanks as he comes to the end here of this prayer section. He gives thanks to the Father who's qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. He doesn't say you qualify yourself. Sometimes people will say, well, I have to qualify for this, uh, particular job. There's certain courses I have to take, and I have to do this, and and I'll pass certain tests, and then I'll qualify, and I'll be accepted. But here, as he speaks of to these Christians, he's thanking God, who's the Father, because he's qualified us. We can't qualify ourselves for heaven, but he qualifies us by giving Christ to die for us and for by taking care of the problem of sin. So he qualifies us. Are you qualified this morning for heaven? He says here, God qualifies us. And then it goes on to say, he delivers us from the power or the authority of darkness. He translates us, transfers us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, delivered from the power of darkness. The devil is a powerful person, and the devil exercises his power and control over millions of people. And really, when you accept the Lord, you're breaking loose from that power and that authority, and you're, you're defying him, and you're saying, I'm through serving the devil, and I'm accepting the Lord. I'm putting myself under new authority. I'm rejecting that power. And there's a transfer into this kingdom. And this takes place when a person accepts the Lord. It's wonderful to realize, as a Christian, uh, you don't have to feel any longer I'm under the authority of the devil, and I- I'm weak, and I- I can't break loose from my sin. No, we've been delivered, he says, from that power of darkness, and we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins. How wonderful to know that. Redemption. Uh, we've been freed now from the power of sin, and we've been freed, he says here, from the guilt of sin. We have forgiveness. We have forgiveness. What a wonderful thing to know that. Sometimes I talk to people who are thinking about accepting the Lord or... and they'll say, I don't know if I could ever forgive myself. I think of the things I've done, and I don't know if I could ever forgive myself. I don't know if God could forgive me. Can God forgive some of these sins? And of course, the good news is, yes, there's forgiveness. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins. What a wonderful thing to be freed from that. Not to have to go back over your past, over your sin, over your failure, and to just let that thing, uh, just work on you constantly, but to be free from that and to realize I've been forgiven through the blood, through the death of the Lord Jesus. I'm free. I'm free. I'm completely free. So Paul here, as he's speaking, uh, in his prayer, he, he prays for them in order to know the will of God and then to live the life and to have the power of God in their lives so they can, uh, live a life honoring to the Lord. How wonderful to know that. We don't ever have to say, you know, there's some sin or some problem in my life that is too great for me to change, because God can enable you to change. And then he's so thankful for this deliverance and for this redemption and for this forgiveness of sin. But we asked as we started out, are you qualified? And I hope we can say this morning, you know, I've received the Lord Jesus, and I am qualified for heaven. I'm qualified to be a partaker of the inheritance of the saints in light, not because of what I've done, but because of what God has done for me.