Labour

“… for which I also labour, striving according to his working, which works in me mightily.”

The Apostle Paul laboured, that the Church of Jesus Christ would be strong and be presented holy and perfect before God. He worked to embed the message of the gospel in the hearts and minds of the Christians, so that they would not be taken from the truth or embrace any kind of error.

Paul is showing us in this letter, the attributes of Jesus Christ so that the believers will not be lead astray and follow a false Christ. To see Christ in all His glory, builds up our faith to trust Him more and follow Him more closely. This is the purpose of this book, that we might see the Lord and the depths of the sacrifice He made for us. This will cause us to be grateful and lift our eyes off our own situation and focus them on Him who we love.

Paul is not doing and saying these things by his own efforts. It is the power of God within him, as the Holy Spirit guides him and directs all that he says and does. How wonderful to know that God is in charge of our lives and we don’t have to fret or worry about any situation, no matter how dire it may be. God is able to sustain us. We have the amazing example of the Apostle Paul to show us that way, and the rich spiritual blessings we receive at God’s hand. Life was in no way easy for the Apostle, yet it was full of blessing and usefulness. God lifted him out of hatred and bitterness and set him on a rock so that he could serve the Lord in all the ways that he did.

The same is true for us if we are believers and are following Him. It does not matter particularly about our earthly circumstances, for the Lord purposes all things, and we rejoice in His daily provision and blessing. What is important is our dedication and devotion to the Lord, to live every part of our lives for His glory. We keep ourselves in the love of God and self-discipline, to walk worthy steps through each day. The enemy will be kept at bay, as our faith is placed in the only Saviour, our Saviour, Jesus.

Paul is not exclusive in his experience of the mighty working of the Holy Spirit, we also can know the depths of His power as we live from day to day. He will teach us and give us opportunities to serve and witness, as He allows. He loves us, so may we trust His judgment as He leads us through each day. Let us not allow guilt and blame to ruin our souls and any root of bitterness grow up. We are not able, but our God is able…

Perfect

“whom we proclaim, admonishing every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus;”

The gospel is proclaimed. It is proclaimed in all its richness and glory before all who will listen. The purpose of God’s message is the changing of the dark human view into the glorious light of God; the resurrection of dead souls to eternal life; the beginning again of a new life in Christ. The message is simple and clear… repent and believe. We turn from the sin that infests us and walk in the light of God rather than the light of our own darkened eyes. We believe in the person and work of the only Saviour of souls, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the centre of the message, for He has humbled Himself and shed His blood that we might be redeemed from the empty way of life we all follow in this life. 

When the gospel is spoken, we implore people to turn and be saved. It is the imperative. We must believe or be lost eternally. The choice is very clear and stark. Believe or perish. We teeter on the brink of disaster and hardly know it. We feel so safe and secure until trouble comes and we are cast into doubt and sorrow. This often drives us to God and the search for a Saviour’s love. This is one of the situations that God often uses to bring people to faith, because we will never come to God until we see our abject need.

 If we continue on the natural trajectory of our lives, we will land in perdition. This is the message of warning from a loving God. He is holy and all His judgments are just and holy. He warns us of impending judgment for our sin and to seek the refuge in a Saviour’s salvation so that we are safe from the consequences of our own folly. The cost to us is free. We are set free from our sin and given new lives to live for the glory of God and the comfort of our souls. 

We must be clear about who we are trusting in. There are many false views of Christ and many deniers of hIs person, who He is as the eternal God, and able to save and change the human heart. We tend to make a Jesus after our own ideas rather than looking intently into the Scripture and finding out what He is like as He presents Himself to us. It is easy to construct an idol and many do this and are deluded. Jesus is not like us, He identifies with us, but is the perfect God and lived a perfectly obedient life, unlike us. His motivations are different from us and all His words and deeds were for the glory of the Father in heaven. We must be sure we are really following Him and not someone presented to us falsely.

We follow His perfect ways and become more and more like Him. This is the purpose of our Christian life to refine us and conform us to the view of God and not our own ideas. We need to be taught in all the wisdom of God, and we continue in the Lord, learning and growing all through our Christian lives. 

The purpose of the Apostle Paul in this letter is to teach the Christians what Christ is like that they might be more Christ-like in life and speech. One day we will be presented as perfect before the Father as the redeemed and glorified people of God. Until then we seek to be like Him, as He is revealed to us in this letter, and in all the Scripture. 

“that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming conformed to his death, if by any means I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained, or am already made perfect; but I press on, that I may take hold of that for which also I was taken hold of by Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 3:10-12

Riches

“to whom God was pleased to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory;”

The saints of God are now identified as including the Gentile people, of whom the Colossian Christians are a part. God does not just include the Gentile nations but makes known to them, the richness of His glory. All the glory that is revealed in Scripture is now revealed to all who will come to God in faith. The offer stands to the “whosever will” and all humankind is now invited to hear and respond to the gospel message.

The mystery of the gospel has now been revealed to all peoples. The door of mercy is open to all who will respond to the gospel call and repent and believe. All that has been kept with the Jewish people, is now fully open and available to anyone who seeks the Lord. The glory of God is that He has lifted the Gentiles, who have dwelt in darkness for so long, and are now included in the church of Jesus Christ. It is the mystery and crown of the magnificent gospel message.

Anyone can respond and enjoy the riches of salvation: forgiveness of sin; a new life in Christ; spiritual communion with the eternal God. This caused quite a stir with the Jewish believers, who did not want to give up their exclusive relationship with God, and God has had to deal with His people to show them the riches and depths of his mercy to all people. He is no respecter of persons.

This is shown in the lives of the Christians at Colosse. The goodness and mercy of God is laid out to a watching world as the Christians live out their lives to the glory of God. Paul is stirring up the grace of God in the hearts of the Christians and where they now stand in relation to God. They are in Christ and have the eternal life in them and the hope of everlasting glory. They are the people of God and of the household of faith and therefore have now dignity and purpose in the family of God. They are the work of God in the frail vessels of human form.

We who believe on Christ have a peculiar dignity, lifted up from the dirt of sins and this tawdry world. We are the possession of Christ and do not need to carp of complain ever again. The riches of God dwell in us and the express revelation of Jesus is our daily view. Let us enter into all that God has purposed for us- outsiders who have been brought into the heavenly experiences of the Christian life, and deep and ultimate blessings of the holy God.

What is our hope of this eternal glory?

It is the person of Christ in us, the marks of the eternal God in our lives that lead us to salvation and holiness of life. There is no other hope for us in this life or the next.

Revealed

“.. the mystery, which has been hidden for ages and generations. But now it has been revealed to his saints,”

The mystery of the Word of God is the message of the gospel. The Word is God proclaims the gospel in the Old and New testaments, and has been revealed from the beginning. But it is veiled in the time before Christ. It is held for the Israelite nation and entrusted to their care for the time of great understanding when it would be proclaimed to all people, and revealed to the saints of God. The message can only be understood and accepted when the Holy Spirit gives the person discernment to accept it and believe. It is by the mercy of the Lord that we have this message and the power to believe it.

The Word in the New Testament is the clear and open revelation of Jesus Christ to the world. He is presented as the Saviour of the world and the Holy Spirit is given freely to all who repent and believe. The full light of God shines out in the message of the gospel and the way to God is made plain and so easy for the fallen human psyche to access and follow. The gospel message rings out from the Scripture and the faithful voices that preach it, and we can hear and believe.

At the appointed time and generation, Jesus comes into the world and ministers to us and shows us the heart and mind of the Father. He shows us the standard of God; teaches us the way to God and gives His life as a ransom for many. Christ raises up servants who will proclaim the good news about salvation and a new life for all who come to Him in faith. The way is opened up to the Gentile nations as well as the Jewish nation and the message goes out to whoever will listen. In the generations past it seemed that the Gentile nations were left out of the reckoning of God and the way was darkened for them, but now the light has dawned and the message is open to whoever wants to listen and believe.

“Many nations will go and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths.” For out of Zion will go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem;”

Micah 4:2

Salvation is offered freely and there are great gatherings into the kingdom, of people to faith in Christ, and the Christian pathway with God. The kingdom has come and God is calling in His elect people who will bow their knee to Him, obey, and follow the way of Christ.

The way to God is now revealed and the hidden message is now the message being preached to all. It is revealed and understood by the saints of God and all who believe in the Lord Jesus are brought into fellowship with God, with renewed minds and heart of love.

“It will happen afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; and your sons and your daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams. Your young men will see visions. And also on the servants and on the handmaids in those days, I will pour out my Spirit.”

Joel 2:28-29

What a glory to be alive in these days! What blessings we enjoy and what possibilities for those who believe! Let us take our place as the servants of the Lord and proclaim the good news however we are able, in all our circumstances and with great joy. Let us not be bowed down by our situation and the difficulties of life and the discouragement of the enemy. The Word is revealed and we believe, by His mercy alone…

Fig tree

The fig tree has grown exponentially

Not according to my own intentionality

The figs are ripening quickly

I am wondering so sickly

What to do with them fickly

They burden down the branches heavily

The leaves sprout ever- readily

Making a huge green canopy

Over the garden superlatively.

Stewardship

“… of which I was made a servant, according to the stewardship of God which was given me toward you, to fulfill the word of God,”

Paul may have been the apostle to the Gentiles, but he regards himself as a servant of the church. He does not lord it over the Christians or think highly of himself. He is a servant of Christ, who has been given a task to do by God, which he is accountable for. He has been given the task and the message that he is preaching, according to the will of God that the Word of God might be fulfilled.

Paul takes his position very seriously, and has suffered much because of it. He is very earnest to be a good steward of the task in hand and to fulfil all the word of God as to what is required of him. He takes no reward from any person, but supports his ministry with his own labour, lest he deflect funds from those who need them. He works with his hands to make his living and works out the service to the Lord in that also.

He is a minister of the church and a preacher of the gospel. These two tasks go hand in hand, for the message of the gospel must go out if people are to be saved. The preacher and teacher cannot just focus on one aspect of the work, but support the people of God and reach out to others who do not know Him. The gospel must not be forgotten, and God will use whoever is willing to ensure that does not happen.

The message is powerful and effectual and can bring souls to a place of belief in God and lives of power and service.

“For I am not ashamed of the Good News of Christ, for it is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes; for the Jew first, and also for the Greek.”

Romans 1:18

Paul’s dedication to the cause of Christ to the Gentiles people, is seen in this book so clearly. He lifts up the Lord Jesus that we might see Him clearly and what He has done for us, is the whole purpose of the life of Paul, and the life of every Christian. The more clearly we see Christ, the greater our devotion. The more clearly the gospel is preached, the greater the spiritual harvest of souls.

Paul is investing his time well and laying up his treasure in heaven. It certainly is not in this world! He is a good steward of his life, for he is investing it in the purposes and ways of the Lord his God and not in himself. Our stewardship of our time and effort should be patterned after the example of Paul, and we also will bear spiritual fruit to God.

Afflictions

“Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and fill up on my part that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the assembly;”

Paul is rejoicing in the fact that his sufferings are his fellowship with Christ and for the edification of the church. Paul is not the Saviour of the church but the one who builds it up and strengthens the believers to follow the Lord and only Him. Paul is an Apostle and his words are recorded in holy Scripture for our benefit as the people of God. This letter is not just for the lifting up and instruction of the Christians at Colosse, but for the whole, the Church of Jesus Christ. It is the Word of God.

The Apostle Paul rejoices to be counted worthy to suffer with Christ and to bear in his body the marks of that suffering. He speaks about making up the sufferings of Christ in his own body, as if he is fully identifying with the suffering Saviour. Christ suffered for us and bears in His body the scars that show how he suffered and the consequences of our sin. We rejoice in those sufferings of the Suffering Saviour, for they bought our freedom and released us from the penalty of our sins, the eternal death. It is not a shame to suffer for Christ, to be misunderstood and treated in a cruel way, as this is the pathway of every Christian. We do not “fit” the way of this present evil age, as our minds have been renewed and our souls are alive to God. The evil around us grieves us, because we belong to God and the Spirit who dwells within us witnesses with our spirit that we are children of the heavenly kingdom.

As we progress in the Christian life, the ways of this world become less and less attractive to us as the Holy Spirit refines our lives. Part of this is the road of suffering, and God permits us to suffer that we might lean heavily on Him and trust in the words that He says to us.

It is becoming increasingly hard to be part of anything in this world, as the corruption of sin spreads wider and becomes more virulent. It is affecting even the church of Christ and points to the coming end times. We need to be always on our guard about what we put into our minds and what we tolerate in our behaviour. God wants all of us, because He knows that is what is best for us. In the time of suffering we will look to Him and find that He is all we need. We too will identify with Christ and be full of joy to be counted worthy to suffer for His sake.

Steadfast

“if it is so that you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the Good News which you heard, which is being proclaimed in all creation under heaven; of which I, Paul, was made a servant.”

These deep and great provisions made for us by God are ours and are the reality of our lives if we continue in the faith. We have the call to persevere to the end and make our salvation a reality. We must endure many things and keep close to the Word of God and make our calling and election sure.

“But he who endures to the end, the same will be saved.”

Matthew 23:13

We must be grounded and steadfast if we are to endure to the end of the road. The road is long and full of temptations and dangers and if we are to be over-comers, we must ground ourselves in the Word of God and remain committed to following the Lord Jesus. We rejoice to read the Scriptures everyday and meditate on its precepts and put them into practice in our lives. The Scripture is the only foundation for our faith and life, and we must not deviate from it or look for other sources of teaching and comfort. God is our teacher and the Spirit within will direct our thoughts and give us good motivations to obey and serve. He will give us the grace to persevere and continue safely to the heavenly home and the full fruition of our salvation.

Our hope for the future is in the gospel of Jesus Christ. There is no other message of salvation and no other means whereby we can come to God. The truth about the coming kingdom and the promise of complete salvation from our sin and a hope in heaven is our hope, not the things of this life. Even the reality of Christian fellowship is not the ultimate comfort to us, but the fact that we are included in the kingdom and will one day be with Christ and reign with Him. Our union with Christ is everything and powers and enervates all we do and is our motivation for life and service.

This gospel is still being proclaimed and beloved by all who are marked for salvation. The message of the gospel is being spread through the whole earth and we keep it free from contamination of falsehood and false “Christian” religion. We keep to the message revealed in the Scripture and handed down to us from the Apostles. It is easy to contaminate the message, but God will keep His people and ensure all who will come to Him will be saved. There is much falsehood today and so many voices that preach and teach and call us to listen. We must be discerning about what we listen to and judge correctly about what is from the Word of God and what is not.

Paul is a servant in this regard and has laid down his life to spread and guard this message of the gospel so that many will be saved and come to know Christ. God has set Him apart to do this and this is the calling of all those who know the Lord Jesus, to spread the good news and rejoice in the forgiveness of sins. We continue to search the Scriptures to fill our minds with the truth of it, so that our discernment will grow and our courage to stand for the truth is strong. God will honour us if we put Him first and keep the message of the gospel true to His revealed Word and obey Him. Then our hope will be sure and steadfast and we will endure to the end.

Blameless

“yet now he has reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and without blemish and blameless before him,”

Christ has to come in the flesh to deal with the sins of our flesh. He willingly took on the body of His humanity and went through the process of birth and growth as a human man in order to identify with us and be the representative of the human, who would make recompense to God for our sin. He willingly walked this sinful world, that we might have a pattern for life and a model to live by. He sacrificed His life in heaven to walk the road of suffering in our world. How difficult it must have been for Him to live here as the perfect man amid the sea of fallen and sinful people in our society.

Yet in his body He bore away the punishment for our sin and reconciled us to God. He paid the dreadful penalty for our sin so that we would never have to. The price was the death of that precious and perfect body, that He took so willingly on our behalf. It was so bruised and battered that you could not see the features of His face and it was so broken, Jesus could not carry the cross to the site of crucifixion. We will never understand the depths of such a love, until eternity. We have no love like this, we are such rotten creatures, who have killed our Saviour on the cross and caused Him to suffer so.

Because of what He suffered and the price He paid for our sins, the physical and spiritual price of it, we get to go free. This is the greatest news the world has ever heard, and yet we are so silent about it. Are we ashamed about it? Has it become commonplace to us in our minds? We really need to consider Him regularly and meet with other believers around the table of remembrance, so that we never lose sight of what was done for us and accomplished on that cruel cross.

We were presented to God as holy people, without any stain of sin on us and with all our acknowledged blame firmly put away, through the sacrifice of Christ. Blame is such a destructive emotion and brings us down if we believe what other people tell us. Although we have done wrong things, yet the effect of the blood of the covenant secures our position before God and we are made righteous before Him. We are not faultless as Christians, but made blameless before Him in love.

“… even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and without blemish before him in love;”

Ephesians 1:4

We are free people, free from any condemnation and free to chose to do the right thing and love God first and best. We will seek to be like Him and to serve Him with everything we are.

Past times

“You, being in past times alienated and enemies in your mind in your evil works,”

We have great need of this reconciliation with God, because of our moral and spiritual state before Him. We are His enemies and alienated from Him because of the state of our mind and the evil works that come from that state. We are the enemies of God because our minds are not conformed to His ways of thinking and we have a warped and faulty mindset that leads us and keeps us away for knowing God and walking with Him.

Paul is reminding the believers in Colosse of the dire state of their previous life without the Lord and the evil mindset that they once had. This has all been changed now because of Christ and what He has done for them. They are reconciled now through the shed blood of Christ and He alone is able to rescue them from sin and keep them in right fellowship with the Father.

The mindset is changed when we come to God. We take on the humble state of being contrite before the Lord and are changed by God and brought to repentance and faith because of Him. We are no longer puffed up in the pride of our own thinking, but take on ourselves the mind of Christ, who has shown us the way to God. We see His mind, His words and deeds as He lived here on earth and we read the record of them in the New Testament. We understand how we must relate to God and we walk in obedience to that way.

The redeemed person is no longer an enemy of God, but a dearly beloved daughter or son and brought into a right relationship with the Father and in the family of God. The evil works have now gone and we are walking in fellowship with the one who made us and loves us with unending love.

It is good, at times, to remember who we once were and what we have now been given in Christ. He has rescued us from the empty way of life we once had and given us dignity and purpose in His dearly beloved Son, so that now we also are dearly beloved children and saints of God. What a salvation we possess and what a Saviour that He should include us in His kingdom!

We now have renewed minds and our speaking and deeds are free to be conformed to His image and we are able to please him because of our faith in Him.