Worker

“even as you learned of Epaphras our beloved fellow servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf,”

Again, Epaphras is commended to the Colossians Christians as a “fellow servant” and a “faithful servant.” Epaphras is faithful to his Lord and God and has a heart for the people and for the spread of the gospel. 

Paul not only counts his brother in Christ as faithful, but also a fellow servant. Paul is the Apostle to the Gentiles, but sees himself as a humble servant of God. He does not Lord it over others or presume that they want to listen to him. He counts himself as the least of believers, because he persecuted the church of Christ and is “one born out of season” 

“And last of all — as to the untimely birth — he appeared also to me, for I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I did persecute the Assembly of God”

1 Corinthians 15:8-9

The witness of Paul to us is huge, not just in what he has said, recorded for us in Scripture, but in the magnitude of the holiness of his life. 

Although Epaphras is not an Apostle, Paul counts him as acting and speaking on his behalf, as the leader of the congregation. Epaphras has taught the Colossians Christians the gospel, and has carried our the will of God in that place. 

Fruit

“which has come to you; even as it is in all the world and is bearing fruit and growing, as it does in you also, since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth;”

The truth and good news of the gospel has come to the Christians at Colosse through the will of God and the labour of Epaphras. He has been given a heart of deep feeling for the people of Colosse and longs to see them brought to God. He has started the mission there, after his own conversion at Ephesus. Paul knows Epaphras and is supporting the work of God at Colosse, because he knows Epaphras will be faithful to the gospel that is being spread everywhere. 

The good news that Jesus is the Saviour of human souls is spreading and the kingdom is being set up in this world. As the message is preached, people are being touched by the Holy Spirit and seeing their need of forgiveness and therefore coming to faith in Christ. It is a wonderful time of gathering in souls for the kingdom of God. 

Trouble is coming, even for this little church in Colosse. They will need this letter from the Apostle Paul to support them in the coming days. An earthquake is coming which will destroy Colosse and the church will be affected, maybe closed, or maybe the Christians will be spread further abroad. It is often hard to understand the purposes of God, but they are sure and steadfast and His will is not thwarted by anyone. God will honour the work of Epaphras and encourage him in his faith. He is a faithful servant and spends time in prison like the Apostle Paul. He is also called “Archippus” in the letter to Philemon and Paul describes him as a fellow-soldier in the faith. 

“Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon, our beloved fellow worker, to the beloved Apphia, to Archippus, (Epaphras) our fellow soldier, and to the assembly in your house:”

Philemon 1:1

The fruit of the gospel is spreading everywhere and taking root and bearing more fruit. This is true in the lives of the believers at Colosse too. They are growing in grace and faith and love, since the time they heard and believed. They are making good progress in the spiritual life and are growing in numbers and in the knowledge of God and in His particular love for them. They serve Christ and each other as they live their lives devoted to God. 

Hope

“because of the hope which is laid up for you in the heavens, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the Good News,”

The faith and love of the believers at the church in Colosse is secure because their eyes are firmly on the coming kingdom. Their hope in Christ is real and certain, because they believe. They consider what God has laid up for them in the coming kingdom and it influences every part of their lives, in faith and love.

“Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven.”

Matthew 5:12

This is the key to Christian contentment. Whatever state we are in, nothing and no one will touch our eternal inheritance kept in heaven for us. It is the constant comfort and confirmed in us by the Holy Spirit. The things of this life never completely satisfy and our souls need something beyond us to fulfil our spiritual desires. 

The Colossian Christians heard this truth in the preaching of the gospel. They heard this from Paul’s teaching and also Epaphrus, and Paul is reminding them of this truth. The element of the eternal must be part, the main part of the gospel, otherwise it becomes a social gospel and therefore no gospel at all. If there is nothing beyond the here and now, then nothing is worth it. 

“If we have only hoped in Christ in this life, we are of all men most pitiable.”

1 Corinthians 15:19

The main event is after this life, and what an event it will be! As we lay hold of the gospel of truth, that those who are forgiven and believe have a glorious treasure laid up for them in the heavens, so we will persevere and our salvation will last the test of time in this difficult world. 

Beloved, whatever you are facing, keep your faith and love alive and hold on to the glorious hope in Christ of the coming kingdom. It is the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the power of God to salvation, to everyone who believes. 

Love

“Having heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all the saints…”

Paul gives thanks to the Lord and prays for these true believes, because he has heard about their faith in the Lord Jesus and that they love each other as well. Paul knows how they are trusting in Christ and leaning upon Him for protection and rescue and have committed their souls to Him for salvation and heaven. Perhaps he has had conversations with Epaphrus and has had discussions about the church and the difficulties it faces as a body of believers.  Epaphrus was a spiritually minded brother, who also ended up in prison like the Apostle Paul. Paul is writing to encourage them all in the Lord Jesus their Saviour and to help them to have full confidence in Him alone. 

This love is the mark of the true Christian, and it is the seal that will keep the Christian in the love of God right to the very end of their lives and the end of the era. Many make the claim to be Christians in our time but this mark of the Spirit in not in their lives. Many claim to be Christians and have no feeling for other people, not even the people of God. This should not be. We can boast of our faith and can boast of our great works for God, but if there is no love for other believers, and love for those without a Saviour, we have not the love of God in our hearts and minds. 

“I saw, and behold, the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him a number, one hundred forty-four thousand, having his name, and the name of his Father, written on their foreheads.”

Revelation 14:1

Christians are sealed with the Holy Spirit and kept safe until that great day of the marriage supper of the Lamb. We exhibit the fruits of the Holy Spirit who indwells the lives of the people of God and the greatest of these is Love. 

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God, and knows God.”

1 John 4:7

“I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred forty-four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the children of Israel:”

Revelation 7:4

We do not love in word only but in deeds and acts of kindness and support for each other. To neglect each other is to not love, and we are not made perfect in love. These saints in Colosse were not like at, but prayed, sympathised with and served each other, as they saw need. 

Thankful

“We give thanks to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,”

How good to be thankful for Christian fellowship and the spread of the gospel. Paul is thankful to God for these sisters and brothers in Christ, event though he has never met them, and probably will never meet them. They are precious to him because of the link with Epaphras, who became a Christian believer in Ephesus and saw the need for the Christian witness in Colosse, and started the church there. Paul is supportive of his brother, who has been a trailblazer in this regard. He writes to encourage him and the congregation that he leads. 

Paul is thankful to God for His saving power displayed in the church at Colosse and is glad for the blessing on this church. He knows that God leads people as He sees fit and will expand the cause of Christ through many and varied witnesses. Paul gives his blessing in this cause for the Lord and assures them of his prayers.

We tend to think of the churches praying for Paul in all his travelling and ministry, but Paul shows us the necessity for the Pastors and Teachers to pray for their own people and Christians in other settings too. Paul is the great Apostle and his prayers are heard in heaven, as a faithful and righteous man. 

“Confess your offences to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The insistent prayer of a righteous person is powerfully effective.”

James 5:16

Grace

“to the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colosse: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Paul addresses the Christian believers as “saints and faithful brothers in Christ.” This is the faithful and true band of believers in the church at Colosse, who love the Lord Jesus and have true faith in Him. This is a typical salutation of the Apostle Paul.

He sends them grace and peace from God the Father. To know the grace of God is to be a possessor of salvation and the forgiveness of sins in the Lord Jesus Christ. All those who possess this grace are the redeemed people of God who have that peace with Him, and all punishment and condemnation has gone for them. To have peace with God, is everlasting peace and precludes all peace. There is no peace if we have no peace with God. 

“Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify for himself a people for his own possession, zealous for good works.”

Titus 2:14

To know the Lord Jesus Christ is the greatest state to be in, for in Him, we have peace with God and with all others. He is our peace and has bought this situation for us with His precious blood. 

“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off are made near in the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who made both one, and broke down the middle wall of separation,”

Ephesians 2:13-14

Without Christ we are far away, but now are brought near and enjoy the fellowship of His Holy Spirit and the company of other believers. Paul addresses the saints at Colosse and also all of us who love Christ and belong to the kingdom. 

Credentials

Photo by Dziana Hasanbekava on Pexels.com

“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, and Timothy our brother,”

Paul starts his letter with his spiritual credentials. Paul does not boast about his academic qualities or qualifications, but values his Apostleship above all. He is an Apostle of Jesus Christ, one born out of time and through the will of God.

He includes Timothy his beloved younger brother, who he has trained up in the ministry and is dependable and faithful to the Lord. The Colossians knew Timothy, and this would add weight to the Epistle and encourage them to listen to what the Apostle said them for their spiritual benefit. 

The believers at Colosse had never seen Paul in the flesh and therefore he endears himself to them, that they might listen to the Apostle that God has provided for them, to encourage them in the Lord their God and in their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul has the weight of the will and authority of God behind what he is saying here in this letter, and has been made an Apostle and is validated by the Word of God, which he preaches and teaches. All his authority, doctrine and miracles of validation come from God and are validated in the Holy Scripture. 

Colosse

This is a new series on the letter to the Colossians from the New Testament.

The letter to the church at Colosse was written by the Apostle Paul in AD 62. The church at Colosse was founded by Epaphras who because a Christian in Ephesus, and planted the church in Colosse, seeing the need there. The letter is addressed to the holy people in the church at Colosse. It was the smallest church to whom Paul wrote an Epistle. Colosse suffered a massive earthquake two years after this letter was written and the city was destroyed. 

Paul begins the letter with thanksgiving to God for the believers in Colosse and extends warm love to them. His prayer is that they make progress in the faith and in love for their Saviour, Jesus.

“For this cause, we also, since the day we heard this, don’t cease praying and making requests for you, that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, that you may walk worthily of the Lord, to please him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to the might of his glory, for all endurance and perseverance with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who made us fit to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light; who delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the Kingdom of the Son of his love; in whom we have our redemption, the forgiveness of our sins;”

Colossians 1:9-13

The preoccupation in this letter is the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. The supremacy of Christ is paramount in the mind of the Apostle and he addresses difficulties that the church is having and encourages them in the faith handed down to him by God and preached and taught by him as the Apostle to the Gentiles. 

Paul focuses on the person and work of Christ; the message of the gospel; dealing with false doctrine; focus on Christ in the Christian life; prayer.

Paul writes this letter from a prison cell, his last prison cell. He is still concerned about the churches of Christ and writes to them and cares for them, right to the last moment of his life. He is alone except for Luke and asked for others to visit him, even Mark, who was rejected in the past. He is cold and asks for his cloak and the books and parchments that he has in Ephesus. His protege Timothy is to bring them to him and bring the comfort he needs at this time. 

This Epistle is for the edification of the church at Colosse and also us who read it now. It points our view and our mindset to the Lord Jesus Christ and His preeminence in our lives. It takes our view away from ourselves and the pagan and distracting religion that is everywhere in all times and cultures and puts our focus on the LORD. 

I hope this series of writings will be an encouragement to you as a Christian and if you are not a Christian, that you will fix your mind on Christ and come to Him as the only Saviour of our souls and who holds our eternal destiny in His hands.