1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of
God, and Timotheus our brother, 2 To the saints and faithful brethren in
Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 We give thanks to God and the Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 4 Since we heard of your faith
in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints, 5 For
the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the
word of the truth of the gospel; 6 Which is come unto you, as it is in all
the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye
heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth: 7 As ye also learned of
Epaphras our dear fellowservant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ;
8 Who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit. (Col
1:1-8)
The
Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ and His Preeminence
Paul minces no words in holding forth the Bright Light of the Person of Christ
at the outset of His Epistle. After his salutatory greeting, he proceeds
immediately to offer thanks God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ – for they
are One in Nature and Purpose. He has heard of the faith and love of God’s
people at Colossae and he offers thanksgiving prayer for those good attributes
of the people. This brings us to examine our own approach to prayer. We may not
hesitate to pray for those who are sick or in need, but what of those who are
commendably doing the work of the Lord with zeal? Should we not offer those
people their “roses while they yet live?” Roses can also represent our prayers
for others:
Wonderful things of folks are said
When they have passed away
Roses adorn the narrow bed
Over the sleeping clay
Give me the roses while I live
Trying to cheer me on
Useless are flowers that you give
After the soul is gone
R. H.
Cornelius
“We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying
always for you.” We are quick to express our wants but sometimes
remiss in expressing our gratitude. Just as Esau only considered the want
of the moment and foreclosed his birthright, so do we too often pray only for
the need that arises without a word of thanks for the common good of every
moment of life. And we must remember in prayer those who are serving the
Lord well on difficult and perilous missions fields or some other service of
the Lord – not waiting until they have died of fevers, or been driven into
exile. The prayer of thanksgiving given here by Paul also morphs into a prayer
of praise to the Lord who has granted such blessings to His chosen people. “For
the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the
word of the truth of the gospel; Which is come unto you, as it is in all
the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye
heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth.” Those who
labor with success in the fields of the Lord do so by the grace of God.
The church is not restricted by stone walls, but wherever the faithful are
found: “. . . the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at
Colosse.” The saints are not important for their own persons, but for
their relationship to the Savior who redeemed them. Jesus is the Preeminent of
all Living – He has been dead for three days and now lives eternally that His
believers may share the same benefit.
The soundness of any building is completely dependent upon its foundation. If
the foundation is the shifting sands of public opinion and of the world, then
the building will be as temporary as the world has always been. If, on the
other hand, the foundation is solid rock – that Solid Rock of Christ- then its
permanence is assured. It is the foundation that cannot be seen without digging
about the base of the building. The church, and her members, stands erect and
certain. When the passers-by wander nearby, they admire the building, but
cannot see the foundation Stone. They must dig about the foundation to discover
the reason for the steadfast nature of the Church. They must be assured of the
source of our faith and our salvation.
So the great Foundation Stone is the Lord Jesus Christ and His Preeminence.
Without Christ, there can be no Church. Without Christ, there can be no
Christian believer. We are glad that the Lord Jesus Christ is Preeminent, for
His nature is Love, and His burden is easy to be borne. If the Fallen Angel
were the preeminent one, we should all suffer in misery and die without hope.
But Christ has conquered that Adversary of our souls. So His Preeminence is the
source of our thankfulness. The great Pillars of the Christian life are
outlined in verses 3 through 8. Of course, those Pillars must find their footing
on that Sure Foundation. “Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I
lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a
sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.” (Isaiah
28:16)
The Pillar of Prayer: “3 We give thanks to God and the
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you.” “Move,
shoot, and communicate” are the three fundamentals of military combat. Though
communicate comes along last in that slogan, it is by far the most important
for victory on the battlefield; for if the elements of the army do not
communicate, nothing else matters. The same is true for the Christian. We are
soldiers in the great Army of God. He is our Commander and Captain of our
souls. He knows the Battle Plan, and He knows the disposition of the enemy’s
force. So our hope depends upon His commandments. How do we communicate with
God? By reading and studying the General Orders (Bible) He has issued; and by
communicating with Him in prayer. The term ‘Communion’ itself disallows a
one-way conversation. We make our petitions to God, but we also listen for His
answer. When a soldier addresses the Commanding General, he does so with great
respect and reverence. How much more so should the mortal address his Creator?
There are certain qualities of prayer that should be pointed out.
First of all, prayer is offered out of a believing heart. “And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer,
believing, ye shall receive.” (Matt
21:22)
Secondly, prayer must be offered out of a seeking after the will of God and not
our own wills. “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye
may consume it upon your lusts.” (James 4:3) If we have taken upon our
souls the Mind that was in Christ, we shall ask for those things that He is
inclined to grant. (1 Cor 2:16)
Thirdly, prayer must be offered out of a heart not set upon sin, and with a
Godly motive: “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear
me.” (Psalms 66:18)
Fourthly, prayer must be persevering. Why is this so important? Because we are
like little children to whom our parents may be reluctant to say NO. If our
prayers are not answered according to our petitions, perhaps the thing we pray
for is either not edifying to our souls, or the time is not ripe. Remember,
after prayer, we must also listen and meditate upon the Lord’s response. He
will not respond while we are out on a drinking binge any sooner than He will
hear our prayers offered when we “regard iniquity” in our hearts.
We must get to a quiet place where the Word of god is the ONLY Word we hear. We
must pray unceasingly. “Watch ye therefore,
and pray always.” (Luke 21:3)
Fifthly, we must pray with faith, hope, and love. “Since we heard
of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all
the saints, For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof
ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel.” Faith, Hope,
and Love are the main ingredients for the Christian Life and, yet, the greatest
of these three is LOVE because LOVE covers ALL sin. “And now abideth
faith, hope, charity (love), these three; but the greatest of these is
charity (love).” (1 Cor 13:13) Love is the sign to the world
that we belong to Christ: “A new commandment
I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also
love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye
have love one to another.” (John
13:34-35)
Pillar of Fruit: “. . .whereof ye heard before in the word
of the truth of the gospel; 6 Which is come unto you, as it is in all the
world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard
of it, and knew the grace of God in truth.” Prayer is the salient
nature of the Christian, but fruit also identifies the tree. The fruit we bear
tells the world what kind of tree we are. Bear in mind, however, that it is the
Tree alone that determines the kind of fruit WE are. If we are apples, than we
must have come from an apple tree. And then what kind of fruit will our seed
bear when planted? I suspect apple seed will bear an apple tree like unto that
Tree from which we were plucked. “Even so
every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth
evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt
tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is
hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know
them.” (Matt 7:17-20)
In these opening verses of Colossians, we find the great Foundation of our
faith described in that Preeminence of Jesus Christ. If we are like Him, we
need not worry so much about the correctness of our prayers for they will be
offered for the things that it is His will to grant; and they will be offered
out of a believing heart; and, lastly, they will be offered in Hope of a
Righteous answer – whether according to our desires or not. “. . . Thy will be done in earth.” (Matt
6:10)
Finally, how do the lost acquire faith – how do we reach the people of that ‘other’
flock of Christ – chosen but not yet called? “ But they have not all
obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? 1So then faith cometh by hearing,
and hearing by the word of God. But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their
sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.” (Romans
10:16-18) How did
the word go out? We must not sit smugly upon the blessings of our salvation. I
question the salvation of any soul that is not compelled to cry out concerning
the great mysteries whereby he was saved! We must go forth as laborers and
return bearing our sheaths. This is exemplified in the last two verse of today’s
text: “As ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellowservant, who
is for you a faithful minister of Christ; Who also declared unto us your love
in the Spirit.” We, too, become fellow servants of Paul, timothy,
Epaphras, Ryle, and others when we proclaim that same news whereby we
are set free.
