Sermons from the Epistle to the Colossians

EVIDENCE OF LIFE

COLOSSIANS 1:1-8

JUNE 27, 1999

One of Satan's shrewdest ploys comes by creating an atmosphere in which a genuine believer thinks his faith and understanding of the gospel is second-rate. Something is missing, or so it seems. This usually comes about through the influence of those who lay claim to unusual spirituality or mystical insights or deeper-levels of the Christian life. The true believer is left with despair over what he perceives as a lack or failure on his part. He genuinely desires to follow after Christ, but is left with the feeling that he cannot reach this new level before him. Once he enters into despair, his effectiveness as a witness for Christ is diminished, his zeal is quenched, and his passion for Christ is cooled.

This kind of despair often affects unsuspecting believers. At the heart of it is the idea that Jesus Christ and the gospel is not enough. You must add something to Jesus Christ and his finished work. You must have some particular kind of experience. Or you must engage in some particular religious activities or attend certain conferences if you are really going to be a spiritual person. Despair has been fostered by a variety of groups, some knowingly and some rather innocently. They say, 'If you are going to be a real Christian or a spiritual Christian, then you must do certain things or have certain experiences or achieve certain levels of intellectual depth or understand certain secrets of the Christian life'.

It was in this atmosphere of disenchantment which Paul wrote to the Colossian believers. He focuses on helping believers who were slumping in their spiritual passion due to doubt and despair. His aim in the epistle is to hold before them the majesty and sufficiency of Jesus Christ, their Redeemer. He pulls back the curtain which had draped before their eyes, to show them once again the wonder of the Jesus Christ and his gospel. Every Christian finds himself encouraged when seeing afresh the glory of Christ and his gospel which has lasting effect upon the believer. It is just such a look that Paul takes. We join him in seeing the evidence of life.

The Apostle Paul did not found the church in Colossae. As a matter of fact, though he likely knew a few of the brethren in that church (including Philemon), he had not been there. Instead, this church likely sprang up while Paul had his lengthy stay in Ephesus, where Luke records, "And this took place [i.e., Paul's daily reasoning in the Scriptures to all who would attend] for two years, so that all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks" [Acts 19:10]. Colossae was about 100 miles from Ephesus. They had their own "Tri-Cities" region with Laodicea and Hierapolis forming a triangle with Colossae in the Lycus Valley of what is now modern Turkey. The pastor of the church was Epaphras, who had delivered the gospel to them as a "fellow-servant" with Paul in the work of gospel proclamation. He probably sat under the Apostle's teaching while in Ephesus, was soundly converted, then carried the gospel back to his home area of Colossae. Paul would have been the "grandfather" of this church, so he was well-respected among them.

Now the church in this small town faced problems. With the influence of various folk religions which were prevalent in the Roman Empire, along with a Gnostic-like presence, the young believers were beginning to wonder if they had truly received the right message and had the right experience for eternal life. Did they really understand the realities of Jesus Christ, they questioned. The influence had crept within the church, mixing Judaism, Christianity, pre-gnosticism, and folk superstition into the thoughts of the people. They were confused. Confusion led to doubts. Doubts led to despair. So when the report reached Paul who was imprisoned in Rome, with pastoral love, he sets the record straight for the church at Colossae by showing them the supremacy of Jesus Christ in both his person and work.

His opening greeting follows a normal pattern of letters in the first century, but with added insight on the evidence of God's saving work in Jesus Christ. Perhaps you have found yourself struggling on occasion by doubts and despair over the Christian life. Let us see how the Apostle affirms the evidence of life among these believers and us as well.

I. An Affirmation of the Evidence of Salvation

After stating his authority for speaking to the Colossians by virtue of his apostolic office, Paul calls them "saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are at Colossae." We see this common term "saints" used by Paul to refer to those who are in Christ. It literally means, 'holy ones' or 'those who are set-apart'. He does not point to a special elite among the church, but to the ordinary believer who is qualified by the work of Christ to be called a saint. They were not hot and cold but "faithful brethren in Christ." They lived in relationship to Jesus Christ by faith. They were faithful and brethren because they were "in Christ."

Having begun with this identification, the Apostle proceeds to offer thanks to God for the Colossians and to assure them that he continually prayed for them. "We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you." In the next paragraph we see the content of what he was praying, but here he only assures them that he considered them Christian brothers and therefore prayed regularly for them. (We can take a note of motivation in our own lives to pray for our fellow believers regularly.) In typical Pauline fashion, as he explains to them the fact of his praying, he uses this as a way to exhort them in the faith and instruct them more properly in the gospel.

These believers were suffering under the despair of doubts. But rather than just coming out and saying, 'I just want to tell all of you once and for all that you are saved for sure!', Paul affirms their salvation by pointing to the clear evidence of saving grace at work in their lives. Once they had these evidences in mind, they could be encouraged on their own of the reality of their salvation.

1. Faith in Christ Jesus

These were not "secret Christians." Their trust in Jesus Christ was demonstrative, for the Apostle could say of them, "We give thanks...since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus." It was the kind of faith that others could see and talk about. It was noticeable, rather than questionable. Should that not be a characteristic of all who claim to be Christians? I'm afraid that there are times that some have a questionable faith rather than a noticeable faith.

What kind of faith did they have? We are told even in secular circles that it is important for everyone to have faith. They go on and describe a belief in something, whatever the person might choose. So they may have faith in themselves or in an institution or in an organization or in an experience or in their self-worth or in a philosophy of life. But that is not the kind of faith of which the Apostle spoke. He identifies the content of this faith as "faith in Christ Jesus." It is a faith or trust or belief or a clinging to or a resting in Jesus Christ.

"In Christ Jesus" was a short-hand way of expressing both the person and work of Jesus Christ. It is a faith that is focused upon a living Person, God's Son who became a Man in the Incarnation. True faith is not a philosophy of life. It is a confident trust that God invaded the world of time and space in the person of his Son. "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:14). Why Jesus came is included in the focus of faith. For true faith looks to the righteousness of Jesus Christ in fulfilling the law, the satisfaction of Jesus Christ bearing the judgment of God at the cross, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ to atone for sins, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ to impart life to spiritually dead men. Is your faith resting firmly in Christ Jesus?

2. Love for all the saints

A real faith will certainly be seen in "the love which you have for all the saints." If we can think for a moment about the people of Colossae, I think we will be encouraged by the power of their faith in Christ. Here was a hodge-podge of people in the Roman empire, living in a prosperous area of Asia Minor. Laodicea was known for its industry of wool-dyeing, Hierapolis was known for its recreation-oriented hot springs, and Colossae was known for its strong Phrygian population, a people given to idolatrous paganism. With the mixture of wealth, recreation, and paganism, the Colossians heard the gospel and found their whole attitude in life changed. Now they had a love for one another. No longer were they wrapped up in the self-centeredness of typical existence. Their delight was found in the sacrificial care for their fellow-believers.

Is this not amazing? Even in our century we recognize that when people are focused upon wealth they normally have little time for others, especially if it does not prosper their financial lives. They live for the power and materialism gained through wealth. Those who are pleasure-minded through an indulgence in recreation have little interest in others, except what others can do for them to increase their pleasure. Often they use people for their own selfish interests. They give no thought to sacrificing their recreation time in order to serve others. Paganism breeds selfishness. It is a self-satisfying attitude toward life, which views the world through a strictly man-centered lens.

In this atmosphere, the power of the gospel invaded the hearts of the Colossian believers, so that they began to sacrificially love one another. They cared for each other's needs. They sought to be servants to one another in the body of Christ. Tertullian, one of the early church fathers, said that 2nd C. pagans in exasperation declared, 'See how these Christians love one another!' Bruce Shelley, in commenting upon the reasons for the rapid spread of the gospel in the first couple of centuries of the church's existence, pointed out "the practical expression of Christian love was probably among the most powerful causes of Christian success" [Church History in Plain Language, 35]. Do you truly love the brethren?

What is the key to this kind of love? Can we just work hard to muster it and see it transpire? Paul adds, "and he also informed us of your love in the Spirit." It was a love in the sphere of relationship to the Holy Spirit, by his indwelling, that the believer is able to love. In other words, the kind of love which he describes can only be wrought by God the Spirit. It is not natural to man. We all know people who have certain propensities for affection or kindness or service. But agape-type love is not natural to the human heart. Instead, man is naturally selfish, bent on following his own desires, and using people for his own ends. Christian love through the Spirit's power becomes the ruling principle in the life of the believer. While the believer loves all men, he especially loves his fellow believers because of the common life and love which possesses them. Gardiner Spring has captured this magnificently. Those who love Christ love those who are like Him and those who are beloved by Him. Here all distinctions vanish. Name and nation, rank and party, are lost in the common character of believers, the common name of Christ. Jew and Gentile, bond and free, rich and poor, are one in Christ Jesus....Actuated by the same principles, cherishing the same hopes, animated by the same prospects, laboring under the same discouragements, having the same enemies to encounter, and the same temptations to resist, the same hell to shun, and the same heaven to enjoy, it is not strange that they should love one another sincerely and often with a pure heart fervently. There is a unity of design, a common interest in the objects of their pursuit which lays the foundation for mutual friendship and which cannot fail to excite the "harmony of souls." The glory of God is the grand object which commands their highest affections and which necessarily makes the interest of the whole the interest of each part, and the interest of each part the interest of the whole [The Distinguishing Traits of Christian Character, 56].

3. A firm hope in what lies ahead

Notice how Paul states that "hope" is the reason for their faith and love: "because of the hope laid up for you in heaven." He sees hope as a root of the demonstrative behavior of the Colossian believers. Why is this so? We must first see that the Bible describes the unbeliever as a person without hope. "Therefore remember, that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh,...that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world" (Eph. 2:11-12, italics added). Now the Apostle writes that these believers have a "hope."

The idea of "hope" does not mean a wishful thinking, as it is used so often in our day. It is an anticipation, an expectation, an awaiting of fulfillment of that which is certain. One definition that expresses it well is "a confident expectation." Hope has an aim based upon the promise of God and work of Jesus Christ. Peter said that God "has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time" (I Peter 1:3-5). He further tells those believers that in order to live the sort of lives commensurate with our faith in Christ, you are "to fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ" (I Peter 1:13).

Hope moves our vision away from everything temporal into the reality that an eternal world lies ahead and we are being fitted for it through Jesus Christ. Paul wrote to the Corinthians that his anticipation of what was ahead motivated him to walk faithfully through whatever circumstances he faced in life: "while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen, for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens" (II Cor. 4:18-5:1). How did Paul endure the most grueling of times with a spirit of joy and patience? His life was rooted in hope of what was ahead through Jesus Christ. That is the Christian. He realizes that his eternal soul is more important than the temporal things of this life. He values the eternal more than the temporal. He understands that so much more of the glory and richness of the redemptive work of Christ lies ahead, so he presses on with confidence in the promises of God. A whole new attitude has begun to rule in his thoughts, not one bound by the world about him, but one that is conscious that he is living unto eternity by the grace of God.

II. An Affirmation of the Gospel of Salvation

Within the framework of affirming the faith of the Colossians, Paul also seeks to affirm the gospel which first came to them through the ministry of Epaphras. Perhaps they were being duped into thinking that somehow Epaphras had missed out on something when instructing them. Maybe he had neglected to tell them of some of the hidden mysteries of which their trouble-makers were speaking. So Paul qualifies the gospel message which had taken root in their hearts and changed them forever.

1. Description of the Gospel

How would you describe the gospel? In Romans, Paul calls it "the power of God unto salvation" (Rom. 1:16). To the Thessalonians he called it, "the word of God's message" (I Thes. 2:13). Here he calls it "the word of truth, the gospel." What is implied by such a phrase? The common term "word" points to something which is communicated. It must be stated and explained. It is not just any explanation which he commends, but that which is "of truth." So "truth" qualifies the content of the communication. The idea of truth draws parameters around what the gospel truly is. It is not imaginations nor opinions nor philosophies nor current thought. It is truth, truth which is unchanging, truth which crosses every cultural and linguistic barrier without being diminished, truth which cannot be altered by a new millennium, truth which is not subject to a pluralistic revisioning, truth which was "once for all delivered to the saints" (Jude 3).

This truth is delivered to us in doctrinal statements. It is a body of truth which has been passed down for two millennia. Here are non-negotiables for the church throughout the ages. As Martyn Lloyd-Jones stated, "If you do not believe in a body of truth, you have no method of deciding when a man's teaching is false. You cannot define heresy" [Love So Amazing, 62]. Paul was addressing heresy which had slithered into the Colossian church. He had no hesitancy to combat heresy with truth, the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

It is the truth of the gospel for which we and every other church should be known. It is the truth that "God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them." How did this happen? "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (II Cor. 5:19, 21). You can have a right view of election and still perish in your sin. You can understand eschatology and still face eternal judgment. You can have a proper understanding of the church, including expertise in its polity, yet burn where the fire is never quenched. Without the gospel of truth, delivered to your own heart and believed on by faith, you have no hope though you be an admirable churchman or capable theologian. It is the "word of truth, the gospel" which brings dead men to life and delivers those living in darkness into the kingdom of Christ.

This gospel is powerful! Notice that Paul says that "it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth." The participle, "constantly bearing fruit" is written in such fashion (Gk. middle voice) to imply that the gospel itself is doing the fruit bearing. It cannot be tamed! It will not lie dormant. The gospel rooted in a life will of itself naturally bear fruit. That is precisely what our Lord stated as he explained the word of the gospel taking root in the good soil of a prepared heart, bearing fruit as evidence that it has accomplished its saving work (Matthew 13, Mark 4).

The Colossians needed to hear this. The group of "insiders," as Dick Lucas calls them, who were trying to add to the gospel were telling them that the gospel was not enough. It needed a few embellishments, a mystery here and a secret there, for it to do its full work. Paul said, "No, just turn the gospel loose and it will produce fruit of itself!" What kind of fruit does the gospel produce? It is the fruit of a changed life, a new creature in Christ (II Cor. 5:17). It is the fruit of a new love for the gospel, a deep longing to be fed with the truth of Jesus Christ and Him crucified (Acts 16:13-14). It is the fruit of a new reality to life, that Christ lives in you, that you have a different relationship to sin, that Christ is your life (Col. 1:27; 3:3-4).

There is a wonderful encouragement for evangelism in this phrase as well. If you have been bearing the burden of trying to change someone's life, lay that burden down! The gospel alone can do this. Here is the encouragement. If we will talk of the gospel, wherever we might be, in varied situations, to all sorts of people, we have the assurance that the gospel "is constantly bearing fruit and increasing." The word "increasing" refers to its external spreading. It branches into new territories. It aggressively expands. We look at the massive population of the world and wonder how we can begin to reach even a tenth of it as Christians. Yet consider that the first century had only a handful of believers. Before Pentecost, we could have put the entire group of Christians into our church building and had room left over! What did they do? Develop marketing strategies for the gospel? No. Hire an agency to improve their image and give them a new ad campaign? No. Buy high-tech machinery to compensate for their paltry numbers? No. They just went forth sowing the seeds of the gospel. They had not been to seminary or even gone through a course on witnessing. They just sowed the seed. The gospel went to work, so that by the time it reached Thessalonica in ancient Greece, the city cried, "These men who have upset the world have come here also" (Acts 17:6).

How can the gospel do this? Because it is, as Paul put it, "the grace of God in truth." It is not the invention of men. It is not some scheme of the church to gain membership. It is the grace of God at work among sinful men. The gospel bears fruit and increases because it is God's gospel. It is the pleasure of a merciful God to deliver sinners from his judgment through the gospel. God was pleased to take on his own righteous judgment through his incarnate Son, Jesus Christ, whom he delivered over to sinful men to be crucified. Through that death God effected redemption for all who would believe. Thankfully, he is pleased to continue bearing fruit and increasing the number of the redeemed through the gospel.

2. Reception of the Gospel

The gospel, this "word of truth" or "grace of God in truth" which had come to Colossae through Epaphras was "heard" (vvs. 5-6). It was stated in propositional truths so that these unbelieving people might hear the good news of what God had done through Christ to save sinners. They did not catch Christianity by a feeling or by some sort of osmosis. They "heard in the word of truth, the gospel," which was able to save them as they believed.

Notice how Paul describes their reception of the gospel. It was "heard," it had "come to" them, and as they heard they "understood the grace of God in truth," having "learned it from Epaphras." It came to them, both geographically and personally. The gospel invaded the little city of Colossae with mighty power. Then it aimed its powerful arrow at individuals throughout this pagan area. Once they heard the gospel, the Holy Spirit worked so that they understood the message as being from God himself. They saw that the gospel alone had the power to deliver them from their sins and the judgment to come. The word "understood" implies an active, conscious recognition of something. It is an understanding that affects you deeply. In this case, it is understanding the truth of the gospel which is stressed. So it is not an issue of getting people into a certain mood so that they will believe or developing a certain feeling among an audience. It is the declaration of the gospel in clarity so that by the grace of God a sinner might understand and be saved.

To add to this, Paul uses the word "learned": "just as you learned it from Epaphras." The term means "to direct one's mind to something" or "to experience" [TDNT, IV, 391]. The word carries with it the idea that your intellectual processes are at work, in other words, your mind is engaged. But it is not merely academic. The gospel is experiential. But the experience never by-passes the mind or the reasoning faculties. It is truth concerning Jesus Christ which you come to know and understand, and which affects the whole of your life by the experience of faith.

Now let me pose to you a question. How has the gospel come to you? Do you know the gospel as the only truth which gives life? Have you understood the gospel so that its life-changing reality has affected you from the inside-out?

3. Proclamation of the Gospel

The gospel came to Colossae through a human instrument. "Just as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf." As Paul labored in the gospel while in Ephesus, Epaphras came to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Not satisfied to keep the gospel to himself, he made the 100 mile journey back to Colossae (and evidently to Laodicea and Hierapolis as well). God was pleased to use a faithful vessel like Epaphras to deliver his eternal truth on behalf of undeserving sinners. And the Lord is still pleased to do so today.

The Lord could have sent an angel to Colossae, but he did not. He could have written the message in the sky, but he did not. He chose to use Epaphras. In the same way, can he not use you and me in proclaiming the gospel throughout our dark world?

What qualified Epaphras to proclaim the gospel? First, he heard the gospel himself and experienced its power personally. He knew firsthand what it was to be brought out of darkness into light. Do you know this experience firsthand?

Second, he availed himself of the teaching of Paul while in Ephesus. Paul could call him "a beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf." The fire of the gospel burned in his mind. He was eager to learn its truth thoroughly. He regularly exercised his thoughts on the gospel. His understanding of the gospel was so firm Paul noted that he went to Colossae "on our behalf." Do you seek to increase in your understanding of the gospel?

Finally, he believed that apart from the gospel of grace in Christ, all men are lost. So he purposed by God's grace to carry the gospel to Colossae. From there it spread into Laodicea and Hierapolis. Do you believe that men are lost apart from faith in Christ and his gospel? Are there people whom you know that are still lost in sin?

Perhaps you are the "Epaphras" someone needs to tell them of the good news of Christ.

Conclusion

Has the gospel taken root in your life? Do you find those evidences of faith in Christ, love for the brethren, and a firmly rooted hope lying ahead?

As those who have received the gospel, do you see once again the power of the good news of Christ? Will you be an Epaphras, who experiences the gospel, studies the gospel, then carries it with him to people he loves?

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