Colossians 1:1-8
We are kicking off our Fall series this morning, a study through Colossians where Paul is once again fighting the false teachings about Jesus. A little context before we jump in. Paul wrote this letter from prison, and it was delivered to the church in Colossae by a man named Epaphras, who is believed to be the leader of that church. Paul had not visited the believers in Colossae when he wrote this letter, but Epaphras brought word to him that there were false teachers that denied the deity of Jesus, and the young church was fighting to hold on to what they knew to be true about Jesus.
Go ahead and open to Colossians. Colossians chapter 1. Before we read our passage in its entirety, I want to just start with verse 1. Read Colossians 1:1.
There is a lesson here that I don’t want to miss.
Paul - We often attribute his name-change to his conversion, when that actually isn’t the case. Saul was his given Hebrew name, and Paul was the Roman version of that name. Paul was a proud Hebrew, and grew up following the traditions of his Hebrew family. In Philippians 3, Paul says that he was a “Hebrew of Hebrews.” In his upbringing and education, he became a Pharisee, and was marked by the persecution of Christians, watching and approving the stoning of Stephen, and dragging Christians out of their homes and off to prison.
Then, he met Jesus, and everything changed. But not his name, not yet at least. Acts 13:12 is where we see the name change happen, while he was on the island of Cyprus, where a Roman proconsul was saved. If Paul wanted to continue to reach Gentiles, non-Hebrews, then going by his non-Hebrew name would have made the most sense, after all, he desired to be “all things to all people.” And so he carried the torch of the gospel, as an “apostle of Chris Jesus.”
Apostle of Christ Jesus - a messenger, one sent forth with orders. Paul, a messenger of the gospel, and here it is: “by the will of God.”
By the Will of God - This was not a self-appointed mission. Paul was not a self-declared apostle. And this is where we find good news for us.
See God desired to take a pharisaical persecutor of Christians and turn him into one of the greatest missionaries and church planters this world has ever seen. Why is this good news for us? Because God can take broken and wicked people and turn them into passionate followers of Jesus who change the world with the gospel, for His glory. Is that not good news this morning?
Read Colossians 1:1-8
Let me ask you a question. Can you remember a time when there was a struggle moving forward, but there was something at the end that helped you keep going? The proverbial “light at the end of the tunnel?” Reward is one of the greatest motivators. The simple, “if-then” statement has become a common occurrence in our house. If you clean the playroom, then you can have dessert. If you eat all your dinner, then you can go outside and play. But even with a reward like ice cream dangling out there, sometimes it’s still a painful process getting the playroom clean. We need to remind our girls about the reward, so that they continue pushing forward.
This is what Paul is doing here. He begins this letter with a reminder of the “hope that is laid up for them in heaven.” This is the reward. This is what they have to look forward to at the end of the journey. He is setting the stage for the rest of this letter by establishing a foundation on which to build. So what is this hope?
Hope that is laid up for them in heaven - Hope is defined as “a desire for some future good with the expectation of obtaining it.” The Greek word for “laid up” means to “put away, store.” So there is something good that has been stored in heaven, and these young believers have every expectation of obtaining it. But what do we know about it?
Peter tells us that it is imperishable, undefiled and unfading. Peter also tells us that it is being guarded by the power of God (1 Peter 1:3-5). Paul, in his second letter to Timothy, says that there is a crown of righteousness waiting to be awarded to those who love Him (2 Timothy 4:8). Not to mention we will be in the presence of Jesus. And one day will receive perfect, resurrected bodies and live forever in the new heavens and the new earth, where there will be no more pain, tears or sickness. What a thing to look forward to! So right out of the gate Paul lays this out there. This hope that you are holding on to, it is quite literally changing the way that you live!
3 Effects of Hope
1.. Hope Builds Our Faith in Jesus (4a)
Faith, biblically speaking, is a strong word meaning to believe. It carries the idea of being persuaded or convinced that something is true and trusting it with your life.
It took a while to get my girls to jump off the diving board. Once they had built up the courage to do it, there was one stipulation; I had to be treading water in the deep end to catch them. They believed that when they jumped in the water, I would be there to help them to the side of the pool. Being convinced that something is true and trusting it with your life.
So our faith in Jesus means that we are convinced that the truth of the gospel is that Jesus took our sin and the death that we deserve because of our sin on Himself, defeating sin but also death when He rose from the dead on the 3rd day. Our faith in Jesus means that we are convinced that there is no other name under heaven by which we are saved. This is where our faith begins.
But then the storms come. The water rises and we find ourselves treading water and we can so quickly lose sight of Jesus. This is what happened to Peter. He was standing on the water, and the waves picked up, and he took his eyes off Jesus, and began to sink. Frantic, he looked to the one who he had faith would save him. And when Jesus saved him, Peter’s faith was strengthened.
And when this happens to us, we must remind ourselves of the hope that is stored up for us in heaven, BECAUSE of Jesus. And when we re-focus our sights on that hope, we are reminded of the truth of Jesus. How he is our Shepherd.
How he is our Comforter. How he went through the pain and suffering of humanity to relate to our pain and suffering. And we believe that. And we rest in that. And he works in our lives, and he calms the storms and takes the weight off of our shoulders.
When we can see clearly what lies at the end of our journey here on this earth, it allows for greater motivation to keep fighting forward. Nothing else even comes close. We put our faith in money, but money runs out. We put our faith in people, but people fail us. We put our faith in our work, but the economy is fickle. When we put our faith in anything but Jesus to sustain us, to bring fulfillment and satisfaction in this life, then we have lost hope in the eternal.
2. Hope Compels Us to Love (4b)
Jesus says in John 13:34 that the world will know we are his disciples by our love for one another. This is a natural outpouring of our relationship with Jesus. It is a part of our new identity in Christ. When our hope is fixed on the eternal, our perspective changes. We see people not as friends, but as brothers and sisters in Christ. And this love requires sacrifice.
Real, others-minded, sacrificial love flows out of us. We want others to be ok. We want others to thrive! We see the storms and feel compassion for others. We see the pain and our hearts break for others. See here’s why, because the more we hope in the eternal, and the more our faith in Jesus grows, the more we die to ourselves, elevating Jesus and elevating others above ourselves.
What does this look like practically?
Live in harmony with one another (Romans 12:16)
Build up one another (Romans 14:19; 1 Thessalonians 5:11)
Be likeminded towards one another (Romans 15:5)
Accept one another (Romans 15:7)
Admonish one another (Romans 15:14; Colossians 3:16) Greet one another (Romans 16:16) Care for one another (1 Corinthians 12:25)
Serve one another (Galatians 5:13)
Bear one another's burdens (Galatians 6:2)
Forgive one another (Ephesians 4:2, 32; Colossians 3:13)
Be patient with one another (Ephesians 4:2; Colossians 3:13)
Speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15, 25)
Be kind and compassionate to one another (Ephesians 4:32)
Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs (Ephesians 5:19)
Submit to one another (Ephesians 5:21, 1 Peter 5:5)
Consider others better than yourselves (Philippians 2:3
Look to the interests of one another (Philippians 2:4)
Bear with one another (Colossians 3:13)
Teach one another (Colossians 3:16)
Comfort one another (1 Thessalonians 4:18)
Encourage one another (1 Thessalonians 5:11)
Stir up [provoke, stimulate] one another to love and good works (Hebrews 10:24)
Show hospitality to one another (1 Peter 4:9)
Clothe yourselves with humility towards one another (1 Peter 5:5)
Pray for one another (James 5:16)
Confess your faults to one another (James 5:16)
And this isn’t a chore or a burden, but a joy! We are united by the Holy Spirit, united in faith, and when that happens there is a supernatural change that occurs, causing us to view others differently, compelling us to love.
Paul affirms this in the young Colossian church. I have heard that you have faith in Jesus and sacrificial love for one another, because of the hope that is stored up for you in heaven. These are a result of the gospel, look at verse 5 again. Read 5b-6.
This gospel, that instills faith, hope and love, is infiltrating the world and is bearing fruit, meaning that people are believing it. They are getting saved! They are turning from death to life. But it isn’t just a large scale effect, Paul says. It is producing fruit in you, young church.
3. Hope in the gospel bears fruit (6)
To bear fruit means to be fertile or productive. Figuratively it means to bring forth works or deeds. When talking about bearing fruit in the world, this is the fruit of salvation. But when he narrows it down to the church in Colossae, it goes beyond the salvation experience, to a spiritual fruit bearing that comes from growing in faith. One commentator summarizes this same experience in the Thessalonian believers:
“An excellent illustration of the inherent fruit bearing ability of the gospel is found in the Thessalonian believers where the "Gospel did not come...in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction." (1Th 1:5)
The resulting fruit was the Thessalonian believers who "became imitators of (Paul, Silas & Timothy) and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit".
But the pervasive effect of the gospel did not stop there. These believers in turn "became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia". And how did they become an example? They in turn became "light bearers" of the good news "for the word of the Lord (the gospel)...sounded forth from them, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place their faith toward God went forth, so that no need to say anything." (1Th 1:6, 7, 8. 1Th 1:6; 1:7; 1:8).
The gospel transformed their lives, they followed the example of the church leaders on how to imitate Christ, and lived in such a way that others saw the change that Jesus can bring and were drawn to the gospel message as well.
Re-read 1:6-8
Application
For us this morning, I think the first question we need to ask ourselves is, “do I feel hopeful or do I feel hopeless?” Do I have a heavenly perspective and if so, is it influencing my life today? If I am feeling hopeless, how can I right the ship and refocus my heart and mind on hope eternal?
If you are feeling hopeless, a reminder of who Jesus is and what He has done will begin a process of victory over your hopelessness. If you need a place to start, just read Ephesians chapter 1 and look at ALL the things that you have been given because of Jesus. Read the gospel, and set your eyes on the person of Jesus. Read the end of the gospels and remind yourself of what it felt like when you finally understood what Jesus accomplished on the cross.
And as our eyes become and remain fixed on the hope of heaven, our faith in Jesus grows, causing our love for one another to flourish, and given us influence for the kingdom of God in our neighborhoods, our workplaces, our schools, or wherever else life happens. Because people will see that love, and our lives will bear the fruit of the gospel, just as Paul had heard about the young church in Colossae. But it’s all because of Jesus.
