Gtcotr/ss072813
The
letter to the Church in Colosse was written around AD62 by the Apostle Paul while
imprisoned at Rome under Nero. History accounts the first five years of Nero’s
reign as the “golden days” however things soon changed – not only for Nero,
Rome, and the Apostle Paul, but also for those living in Colosse. History amazes
us with how quickly things can change …
The
city of Colosse boasted a large population in the early 60’s and was known to
be one of the chief cities of Phrygia, a prominent region in Asia Minor near
the city of Laodicea. Both Colosse and Laodicea are situated in the country we
now know as Turkey.
Whether
or not the Apostle Paul had earlier visited Colosse is uncertain and argued by
many scholars, nonetheless we know he had traveled extensively through the
region of Phrygia on more than one occasion. Without respect to a potential
earlier visit, Paul had confident knowledge of the Church in Colosse and was
concerned for their future.
This
letter to the Colossians is not prophetic but is rather instructional. Had it
been prophetic surely Paul would have mentioned the soon coming earthquake
which overwhelmed the city in AD66, less than 4 years forward, or the
destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem less than 8 years away. Rather Paul,
through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, found it more critical to deal with
the fundamentals of the Christian faith and encouraged the Believers in the
Church of Colosse to maintain a close watch over the doctrines of Christ. Paul
did not address their physical safety but rather their continued maintenance of
spiritual security.
The
Apostle Paul was more than familiar with the central truths of the doctrines of
Christ. He understood them from the standpoint of revelation, not argument. It
was his calling to be an Apostle and overseer of the Church and to this call he
was fully committed.
Paul’s
concern was not that the Christians in the Church in Colosse had been taught
wrong but rather that some, having received the truth of God’s grace, were now
being drawn away with:
Colossians 2
8 Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human
thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ.
Bear
in mind grave times lay ahead for every Christian living in the Roman Empire.
The faith of some Believers would soon be shaken and many would search for
answers that made emotional sense. Paul desperately wanted the Church to know
and be established in the truth of the Gospel before trouble came. We cannot
allow tragedy to determine theology.
We
must establish “Principles before Problems” …
Not
only were Christians in mortal danger at that time but within a few short years
Nero would even execute his own mother after failing the first try; allow his
female consort to banish and murder his wife; he would poison his step-brother
who was rightful heir to the throne; repeatedly kick his pregnant wife so hard in
his fit of rage that it caused both her death and the death of their unborn
child; falsely blame Christians for the burning of Rome; begin persecuting
Christians, the likes which had never before been seen – like using Christians
as human torches to light his gardens; he would spend the state into bankruptcy;
crucify the Apostle Peter and behead the Apostle Paul, and finally on June 9,
AD68, at age 30, commit suicide rather than face the judgment he knew was
forthcoming.
Needless
to say, a tumultuous time was brewing and there were so many issues Paul could
have taken to account - Yet Paul remained focused on the stability of the
Church and purity of the doctrine of grace above all else. He knew the
importance of keeping the main thing the main thing.
Troubles
may come and go but the Church will outlast them all. The Apostle Paul was not distracted
from his calling to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He did not allow himself
to be drawn into arguments over smaller matters – rather he stuck to the
unchanging truth of God’s grace.
This
morning we are going to survey the first chapter of Colossians and secure three
certain truths which will never change.
What
are we going to learn and confirm from the message today? Without regard as to what may be taking place
around us -
1. The Good News is changing lives all over the
world.
2. You stand before God without a single fault.
3. We should work hard but we must depend on
Christ who lives in us.
Colossians 1 NLT
1 This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an
apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy.
2 We are writing to God’s holy people in the city of Colosse, who
are faithful brothers and sisters in Christ. May God our Father give you grace
and peace.
Note: Paul was
chosen by the will of God, not the will of man.
3 We always pray for you and we give thanks to God the Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
4 For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for
all of God’s people,
5 which comes from your confident hope of what God has reserved for
you in heaven. You have had this expectation ever since you first heard the
truth of the Good News.
6 This same Good News that
came to you is going out all over the world. It is bearing fruit everywhere by
changing lives, just as it changed your lives from the day you first heard
and understood the truth about God’s wonderful grace.
The Good News is
changing lives all over the world.
15 Christ is the visible
image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is
supreme over all creation.
16 For through Him God created everything in the heavenly realms and
on earth. He made the things we can see
and the things we can’t see – such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and
authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through Him and for
Him.
17 he existed before anything else, and He holds all creation together.
18. Christ is also the head
of the Church, which is His body.
He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So He is first in
everything.
19 For God in all His fullness was pleased to live in Christ,
10 and through Him God reconciled everything to Himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and
on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.
21 This includes you who
were once far away from God, you
were His enemies, separated from Him by your evil thoughts and actions.
22 Yet now He has reconciled you
to Himself through the death of Christ in His physical body. As a result, He
has brought you into His own
presence, and you are holy and
blameless and you stand before Him
without a single fault.
23 But you must continue
to believe this truth and stand firm in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance
you received when you heard the Good News. The
Good News has been preached all over the world, and I, Paul, have been
appointed as God’s servant to proclaim it.
This includes you:
You stand before God without a single fault.
Colossians 1
25 God has given me the responsibility of serving His Church by
proclaiming His entire message to you.
26 This message was kept secret for centuries and generations past,
but now it has been revealed to God’s people.
27 For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ
are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing His glory.
28 So we tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching
everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God,
perfect in their relationship to Christ.
29 That’s why I work and
struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me.
We should work hard
but we must depend on Christ who lives in us.
These
truths will never change! This is the truth unvarnished …
