Giving Thanks to God for the Church at Colossae
Christians manifest the virtues of the Apostle Paul’s familiar triad: faith; love; and hope (Col 1:3). Although in different epistles he moves the order around, the point is that receiving the truth of the Gospel comes with these essential blessings.
God gives His saints the faith to believe in Christ Jesus (Phil 1:29; 2 Pet 1:1). Faith is a gift of God granted to the born again at the time of one’s conversion (Eph 2:8–9). It is closely tied to repentance, which is also a grace from God granted to those He has made spiritually alive (Acts 5:31; 11:18; Eph 2:5; 1 Pet 1:3). A person believes in Christ because he or she belongs to Christ (Jn 10:26), having been bought for a price, a redemption from enslavement to sin (Rom 3:24; 6:6; 1 Cor 1:30; 6:20; 7:23).
We not only give thanks to God for the faith granted to the saints, but there is also the love of God manifested in us when God pours out His love in our hearts (Rom 5:5). The Holy Spirit is given to the elect, redeemed as a token or pledge of God’s everlasting love for His beloved (2 Cor 1:22; 5:5), who are given the right to call God “our Father” (1 Jn 3:1).
This vertical love also has a horizontal dimension. Christians love one another in the manner God loved us in Christ (Jn 13:34–35; 15:12). It is a sacrificial love that gives itself away for the benefit of others (1 Jn 3:16–17). It is not restricted to members of Christ’s body of believers, however. It is kind and generous to neighbors without distinction (Lev 19:81; Mt 5:43), some of whom may actually be enemies of one kind or another (Mt 5:44; Lk 6:27, 35). All four forms of love in the Bible are potent, requiring wisdom for proper use (1 Cor 13).
Hope has a future focus. Christians are people of the future. We have a hope and a future promised to us by God (Jer 29:11), whose intentions are good toward those who are predestined to eternal glory (Rom 8:30). The living Word, Jesus Christ, is our only hope (1 Tim 1:1), and His promised return for His bride on the last day is called “our blessed hope” (Titus 2:13).
Just as faith comes to one who hears the Word, so hope also hears the Word of truth, the Gospel (Col 1:15). The Word of truth is inspired by the Spirit of truth, who sends proclaimers of truth. These Spirit-filled men of God preach a message of hope for the saints to appropriate. This is happening all over the world wherever faithful brethren gather in fellowship.
Our union with Christ is also a union with His body, His church. Here, faith, hope, and love abound albeit imperfectly. We are still occupying these bodies of sin and death in an evil world. This world awaits its judgment by fire (2 Pet 3:7–12). It has no hope because it cannot receive the Holy Spirit, who by His very presence convicts the world of sin (Jn 16:8). Thus, there is no love for God in those of the world who are not recipients of God’s preemptive love (Jn 5:42; 1 Jn 4:19). The world has no hope apart from repentance to Christ (Jn 15:5; Eph 2:12).
The truth of God is learned by God’s gracious imparting of the knowledge of Jesus Christ (Jn 8:32; 2 Pet 3:18). Recipients of Christ are to grow up in Him on the path to spiritual maturity. The end goal is conformity to the image of Christ Jesus our Lord, the perfect God-man (Rom 8:29). All that God does for the benefit of His beloved saints is grace upon grace.
Grace abounds as we learn more of Christ (2 Pet 3:18). This is the increase of the knowledge of the truth, which bears fruit (Col 1:6). It is God’s will for His adopted children, repositioned into the kingdom of God’s beloved Son (Col 1:13), to taste and see that God’s Word is good (Ps 34:8). The Word of God imparts understanding of the grace of God, which is how we know the sovereignty of God in executing His will as He pleases (Ps 115:3; 135:6). God is always willing and doing His good pleasure for the benefit of His saints in light (Phil 2:13).
Epaphras learned Christ from Paul, Timothy, and possibly others at Ephesus. He, too, was sent as a missionary back to Colossae to plant the church there some 120 miles east of Ephesus. As titles teach us characteristics of certain people, Epaphras is beloved by those who taught him at Ephesus. He is identified as a fellow slave of Christ, which is noteworthy because it is the Apostle Paul who is writing. Colossians comes with a letter of commendation for Epaphras.
Finally, we observe another title in Colossians 1:7. Epaphras is a faithful slave of Christ. The implication is that he is a fellow worker in the stewardship of the Gospel. The fruit of his labor are the saints and faithful brethren at Colossae. God was pleased to give His Spirit to more and more people as the faithful ministers of the good news preached Christ (1 Cor 1:18, 23; 2:2; 2 Tim 4:2).
The report to Paul and others at Ephesus regarding the development of the church at Colossae was favorable. They were informed that love was abounding in the Spirit among the church members (Col 1:8). Today, we celebrate faithful ministers of the Gospel of grace, who are teaching sound doctrine, that is, the faith handed down to us through the preaching of God’s Word (1 Tim 4:6; Titus 1:9; 2:1; Jude 3).
For every born again soul, there is an unbroken chain of faithful Gospel witnesses dating back to the disciples of Jesus and the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2). We should give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for being faithful and true to His Word of promise given to us, prompting our gratitude and our prayers for those who will prove to be faithful in our generation.
Grace and peace have given God’s people joy in knowing God’s Word and in knowing that it is indeed God’s Word. To Him be the glory and also our thanks forever and ever. Amen.
David Norczyk
Spokane Valley, Washington
November 12, 2023
Colossians 1:3–8
