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Colossians 1
1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
2 To the saints and faithful brothers1 in Christ at Colossae:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father.
3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, 5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, 6 which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, 7 just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant.2 He is a faithful minister of Christ on your3 behalf 8 and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.
9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; 12 giving thanks4 to the Father, who has qualified you5 to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by6 him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation7 under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.
24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, 25 of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. 27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. 29 For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.
[1] 1:2
[2] 1:7
[3] 1:7
[4] 1:12
[5] 1:12
[6] 1:16
[7] 1:23
(ESV)
Redeemer exists to celebrate and declare the gospel of God as we grow in knowing and following Jesus Christ.
Hey, everybody.
Connor Coskery:Hey, Jeff.
Collin Hansen:Hey. How's it going? If you would, go ahead and and open up your bibles to, Colossians chapter 1. That's where we're going to be, spending our time in God's word tonight. Thank you, Young Bin, for sharing.
Collin Hansen:So, if you've been paying attention to the news this past week, the Supreme Court had a ruling on Obamacare Health Affordability Act 20, 1011, 12, Romney Care, whatever you want to call it. There was a ruling that came down and and it came out at 10 o'clock in the morning. And at 10 o'clock in the morning, the ruling came down from the Supreme Court and at 10:0:8, the news stations had read a 59 page document and had the breaking news story that it was stripped down. Obviously, it wasn't. We knew at 10:20, after they, you know, read the document that that actually, it was it was upheld.
Collin Hansen:But for those minutes, 59 pages, 59 pages. So like 8 seconds a page, they're flipping through this and they get this summary idea and they think that, you know, everything should just be a one liner, breaking news story. And so they decide, this is reading very much as if it was struck down. And so that's what we're going with. And what I love is that it was CNN and Fox.
Collin Hansen:It was both of them at the same time saying, if struck down. And then they're like, well, we're gonna pull back a little bit. Might have been struck down and then upheld. And they didn't even apologize for it, really. They were just like, we were just giving them the news as it came.
Collin Hansen:Right. Exactly. But for for those minutes, there was just so much confusion that went out. I mean, one side is is so excited that it was struck down and then another side is they feel so defeated and then they, then they reverse. And then if you were anywhere near Facebook or Twitter, then everyone had their wonderful Everyone's a constitutional, professor and an expert and they start giving all of their opinions and they're so valid and thorough and thoughtful.
Collin Hansen:And a 140 characters at that. And so everyone's kind of giving their opinions to this rapid fire. And the opinions are just as as quick and well thought out as that, you know, the first breaking news headline. And and everyone has these opinions and and some of it's based on fact and it's but some of it's not based on fact. And some of it's just a a guess as to what might happen.
Collin Hansen:And then some people are just so angry and this is the the worst thing that's ever happened in America. And and then another thing, it's the best thing. This is the the the bright and shining day in American history. And so you have these different sides and all these in between and so much confusion. And then some people say, that they were moving to Canada, which, was definitely gonna help that whole socialized medicine thing.
Collin Hansen:So good luck with that. But but there's just so much confusion that was happening. And we live in times that are very confusing, where where people have these dominant voices all around us. And and they're supposed to be credible. Some of them because they're on TV or because it's on the Internet.
Collin Hansen:And and we're we we process through all of this information. And and it's really hard to know what's what and what's credible and what's honest and what's earnest. There's a lot of confusion. And this is just a small, tiny example of of how quickly confusion just comes into the public sphere. And there's a there's a small church in Paul's time, in this small city of Colossae.
Collin Hansen:This Colossian church, there was a guy who was in Ephesus and heard Paul. He heard him preaching while he was living there. As we looked at, a couple months back when Paul was living in in Ephesus. And so he was he was doing gospel ministry there and a man heard the gospel, responded to the gospel, and then took that message back to his hometown and starts a church. Now, what's happened is confusion has come in to that church.
Collin Hansen:Confusion has come in and there are people that are preaching and teaching things that are contrary to the gospel. Contrary to what Paul told this man, what this man was leading and and teaching with this with these people. And so this confusion has set in. And they're wondering what's what. And so there there are new rules that they're having to follow and these new expectations of how you have a relationship with God.
Collin Hansen:And and all these expectations are just kind of swirling around these Christians. And just like I would imagine many of you, when you're reading the news or, or you're filtering through things, even about the faith, you're striving for something true. Nobody just wants lies, except for, you know, when it comes to, you know, a new outfit that they've purchased or something like that. Or a new haircut, you know? Like that's the only time we really want a lie.
Collin Hansen:But outside of that, we want the truth. We want something we can hang our hat on. Something that we can really put our weight into and and trust. And so, here is this small church in this small city, and Paul has decided that he's going to write to them. He's never met them before, but he's going to write them a letter.
Collin Hansen:And he begins with how he's been praying for them. And so if you would look with me in Colossians chapter 1. We're gonna begin with verse 9 and read through 14. Colossians chapter 19 through 14. Let us listen very carefully, for this is god's word.
Collin Hansen:And so from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you would be filled with the knowledge of his will and all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy. Giving thanks to the father who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Pray with me.
Collin Hansen:God, in our confusion, we need your clarity. We need your truth set before us. So spirit, we ask that you would lead us to that truth. That you would lead us, that you would stir our hearts to trust you, that we might grow in our understanding, and our knowledge of God. You give us hearts that worship you and know you.
Collin Hansen:So bless this time, Lord, please. We're desperate to hear from you. We pray this in the name of Christ. Amen. So, there's this confusion, right?
Collin Hansen:This confusion happening in this church. And Paul decides to write this letter and to say these words and he begins this, this is actually a run on sentence, a very lengthy Greek run on sentence, where he's just saying all of these, all these things he's been praying for them. So what I'd like for us to do tonight is to, is to walk through what he's saying to them. Because I believe that that god and his providence not only was utilizing Paul and and Paul's words to speak to that church, the Colossian church, but also to speak to us tonight. And so let's let's let's work our way through what Paul is praying for the Colossian church.
Collin Hansen:1st, he says this, and so from the day we heard, meaning the day that he heard that they had responded to the gospel and believed in faith, we have not ceased to pray for you. He begins by just saying, we I I pray for you. I I hear about what's going on with you, and you are a burden for me. I am earnestly caring about what's going on in your church. And out of that love and concern, I'm praying for you.
Collin Hansen:And this is a really important starting place here, that he's beginning with prayer. He's now beginning with instruction. Hey guys, do this better. Sometimes that's what we want. We we come to God's word and we just say, okay, tell me what I need to do.
Collin Hansen:And then I'll measure the success of that doing and then I'll either feel really good about myself or terrible. But he's beginning by saying, I'm I'm going to god. I'm I'm going to the lord in prayer for you because I know that there are issues and and concerns that you are dealing with. And because I care, my first action is to pray for you. That that should tell us a lot.
Collin Hansen:Not only about how Paul was viewing how he could best care for this church but also should instruct us in in really how we should be approaching our own confusion, our own understanding. So from that first day, we have not ceased to pray for you. So what has he prayed for? Look on in verse 9. Praying for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.
Collin Hansen:He prays that they would be filled. Not that they would achieve or obtain, that they would somehow work hard enough to gain this knowledge of god's will. Not that they would just study hard enough and somehow get to it, dig down Because truth is something that we are supposed to be seeking after. What's god's will for your life? You know, you're you have your magnifying glass and you're with Dora the Explorer and you're looking for this, this God's will for your life.
Collin Hansen:You know, you've got this big map and where does he want me to go? And who does he want me to marry? And what job am I supposed to take? And we have this, this big map and we're trying to figure out our way, when really he's saying, I pray that God would fill you with this knowledge of his will. And the will that he's talking about here is, is not this particular will of your, day in day out choices and options that are set out before you.
Collin Hansen:The will that he's talking about is the will of god to make you his sons and daughters. So, he's praying that that the first thing that they would have, that they would be filled up with is knowledge of the will of god. Now, knowledge is a tricky and complicated thing. It's complicated. Now, you you might remember back in 2002 when, Donald Rumsfeld, Defense Secretary, he was he was in a press conference and was asked a question about, terrorists in Baghdad.
Collin Hansen:And he he said, well, there are you might recall this. There are known knowns. There are things that we know that we know. There are known unknowns. There are things that we know that we don't know.
Collin Hansen:And there are unknown unknowns. There are things that we don't know that we don't know. And, of course, the room kind of filled with laughter and, like, he's he's he's lost it. Like, he's gone crazy. But, really, what he's talking about is really quite brilliant, and it's something that, actually has a long history in philosophy.
Collin Hansen:And and he's making a really significant point. Knowledge and understanding is actually really complicated. There's so many different levels to knowing, And Paul is actually acknowledging that too. Now, Aristotle, he had a way of talking about this complicated knowledge and they were called the intellectual virtues. And there are a number of them, but 3 3 of them that, kind of a crude distillation of that would be, that there is Sophia, there's wisdom, which is the the theory, these this maybe the what of things.
Collin Hansen:And then there is sinesis, which is an understanding. You know, that you could comprehend something. And then there's phronesis, which would be that command to action. So there's the theory. There's this idea.
Collin Hansen:And then it moves to an understanding. You comprehend that idea. And then that idea into a command of action would be phronesis. And and Paul plays off of this as he's praying, but he qualifies it in a very special way. Look again at verse 9.
Collin Hansen:That they would be filled in the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding. A wisdom and an understanding that comes from God. An act of God that he would fill them up with this. And it would be wisdom. That they would understand the what.
Collin Hansen:That there is this god, this god that we have sinned against, that he reaches past our sin when we were enemies with him, when we were children of wrath, all of those things that he would that he would reach past that and redeem us. He says that you would know what and you would know why, that this would be this understanding that this is his will that's for his glory. That you have been redeemed not just for your good pleasure, though it is, but for the good pleasure of his glory. But where's that phronesis? Where's that command to action?
Collin Hansen:Because that that's where we as Christians really get tripped up. Where's that time where you tell me what to do? Okay. So, you loved me when I was your enemy. You died for me.
Collin Hansen:You did all these things. Okay. Now, what do I do? Because because I know this has to be a contract somehow. So, Paul, Paul's being very cautious here But look what he says in verse 10.
Collin Hansen:He's praying that they would be filled up with these things so as to, which gives the why. Why why does he desire that they would be filled up with these things? This knowledge from god about god, it's that we would walk in a manner worthy of the lord. It does move into that action. But Paul is not, 1st and foremost, calling them into action.
Collin Hansen:It's not action first. It's not this behavior modification first. It's a call first to the glorious wisdom that comes from God about what a glorious and great and gracious God he is. And when we see how gracious and how great this god is, and all that he has done to love us through our sin and our rebellion. Then through that grace, we are called so as to walk in a way that is worthy of the lord.
Collin Hansen:He doesn't leave us with, he doesn't lead with the, with the action, but it's not action alone. And it's not wisdom alone. It's not just the theory, which we could maybe otherwise say is theology or doctrine. It's not just this these ideas about god because agreeing with something doesn't mean that you live it. Right?
Collin Hansen:I mean, I I I know that in my own life. Agreeing with Jesus and following Jesus are different things. Now I do need to agree with Jesus. And by his grace, we are we are brought into that agreement with the will of God. But just my cognitive agreement, my cognitive agreement with the gospel doesn't mean that I'm following Jesus.
Collin Hansen:And so we are called into that so as to walk. And if we neglect that, then ultimately, we are neglecting what he calls the knowledge of god. So, Paul says first, I pray that you would be filled with the knowledge of god because knowledge of god transforms you. Knowledge of god, it motivates you and it's manifested in obedience to Jesus, following him and walking in a manner worthy of the Lord. That can be a really hard thing to hear.
Collin Hansen:It's hard for me to hear. Because it there's a tension there, a tension between it's not about how you're living and it's it's about how you're living. Because it plays out in those places. At some point, what we believe has to come out. Right?
Collin Hansen:It has to. And I I I am afraid for our generation and for our culture and our society, of Christian society. I'm I'm afraid that because we feel that tension, we opt out. We feel that tension between you are called to this glorious grace who has redeemed you not because of your works, not because of anything that you could do, not because of the way that you are walking, because the way that you were walking was the way of death. You were walking in the way of the wrath of god.
Collin Hansen:But it's about what you're walking in. It's about walking with Christ himself. Walking by the spirit in a manner that is worthy of the lord. And that tension is hard. And we don't like it.
Collin Hansen:And often, we tune out. But Paul is saying, this is how we live headlong into the knowledge of god. So then the question of, well, how how in the world do we have the strength to do this? Verse 11. May you be strengthened with all power.
Collin Hansen:Really, it, it says there, may you be powered with all power, according to his glorious might. Not your own strength. You're not strengthened by your own strength but may you be filled, again, filled by god with god. So that god would strengthen you with his own strength, his own glorious strength for all endurance and patience with joy. Some of the older translations, use a a really great word there, For endurance and long suffering.
Collin Hansen:You see, because Paul is not promising this church that's facing all this tension and confusion, he's not telling them, hold tight. Everything's going to get better. Instead, he is saying, I pray that god would fill you with his wisdom and his understanding and a knowledge of himself and that he would give you the strength to endure what's coming. That you would be set up for that long suffering. And not just long suffering with sad eyes, So, as he's clarifying these things, really he's praying about 2 things.
Collin Hansen:If we wanted to summarize the so far. He's praying that they would be filled with the knowledge of god and filled with the strength of god. And then he moves into the clarifying. And I love it when Paul clarifies because it it really is just you see him kind of pacing as Timothy is furiously trying to write all of this stuff down. And he's pacing and he's saying all of this.
Collin Hansen:And he says that they would have this knowledge and that they would have this strength. And then he moves on in verse 12. He clarifies. Because remember, there's confusion as to who God is and what he has done and how we are to live in light of that, who we are in light of that. And so, so Paul brings this clarification.
Collin Hansen:Verse 12, giving thanks to the father, Giving thanks to the father who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. If you are are living and existing in this tension that that I'm confessing to you that I live in, and and if you feel like you're facing some of this confusion that that I face, that these Colossians face when it comes to what is it that god wants and and and who he is, this is an amazing verse to camp out in. Because look at all that's happening here. Giving thanks to the father who has qualified you, qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints of light. He has entitled you.
Collin Hansen:He has entitled you to share in the share. That actually tells us, 2 things in in him qualifying us. And they're really important. The first one, without him doing this, you are not qualified. That's the first thing.
Collin Hansen:Without his work of qualifying you, the father qualifying you, you are not qualified. And the second thing, you are not qualifying. See, he he has a completed action here. He, the father, has qualified you. That's the statement that Paul is saying.
Collin Hansen:The implications are enormous and they act as guardrails that keep us from despair and pride. Okay? He's saying that on your own, you do not have a share in the inheritance. And the inheritance of the saints in light is is really saying the the the covenant promises, this covenant language here, the share of eternal life, reconciliation with the father, all of these things. He's saying that on your own, you do not have qualifications for this inheritance.
Collin Hansen:So you are unqualified, but he's also saying over here, you're not qualifying either. You're not doing this work. You're not walking in that manner that I mentioned earlier so as to qualify yourself. So, don't don't get tripped up in that kind of lie. He has done this.
Collin Hansen:He has accomplished this and how did he accomplish it? Well, go back to this glorious strength and power that Paul just prayed about. He did it with his glorious might. His glorious might has qualified you. And so, you can acknowledge freely that apart from that work, you are completely unqualified.
Collin Hansen:But also, you are not spinning your wheels somehow trying to elevate yourself up into being qualified for this inheritance. This is the decisive, effective work of the father. Completed action. The father has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. And then he clarifies that, verse 13.
Collin Hansen:So what does this qualification look like? He has delivered us. He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved son. An old church father said this, Chrysostom said this, is a great thing to be delivered from darkness. An even greater thing to be transferred into the kingdom.
Collin Hansen:You see what's happening there? Because it's not it's not just that he has pulled us out of the darkness and then said, alright, now work your way into the kingdom. Here's an instruction manual. Good luck. But why is it that we treat it like that so often?
Collin Hansen:Okay. He he rescued me from hell, and then he fires the starting gun of me trying to work my way into the kingdom. Or that this deliverance from the kingdom, that's him putting the down payment, and I've got to keep the mortgage until I die. I've got to make the monthly payments or he's going to repossess this kingdom. Is there foreclosure on the kingdom?
Collin Hansen:No. He's saying that I I have delivered you and I have transferred you to to more completed actions. I've rescued you from the darkness. And really, he's doing this parallel language here, that the father has rescued you from the kingdom of darkness and transferred you into the kingdom of the son. And then some amazing language there.
Collin Hansen:It's the kingdom of his beloved son. We haven't really seen language like that since in the gospels at Jesus' baptism. This is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased. So if you need a if you need some qualifications, if you need some clarity as to who god is and what he has done, Paul's walking through it. The father has done this with his beloved son.
Collin Hansen:He has transferred you. He's delivered you and rescued you out of that darkness, transferred you into the kingdom. And not just any kingdom, not just some heavenly realm, some vague notion of eternal life. He has rescued you and transferred you into the kingdom of his beloved son. And this is really straight out of Paul's testimony.
Collin Hansen:We we saw it in Acts 26. When he's saying, he's recounting that story of when he met Jesus and Jesus met him. And he says this, and I'll read it. You don't have to turn there right now. I said, who are you, Lord?
Collin Hansen:And the Lord said to me, I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand upon your feet. For I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and those in which I appear to you, delivering you from your people and from the gentiles. And here's the line. To whom I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to the power of God.
Collin Hansen:I mean, that's really the snapshot that he's trying to convey to the church in Colossae. As he's saying, God has delivered you and he has transferred you out of that darkness, out of the power of Satan and into the power of god, into the kingdom of his beloved son. And then he clarifies one more thing. Verse 13. Talking about the son in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Collin Hansen:So this run on sentence, Paul is taking us to the heart of the gospel. Because if there's any hope for this church, with all this confusion and all this tension, it's to hold fast to the truth of the gospel. And it's not just about their strength in holding on to god, but he's highlighting the great might and power of god holding on to them. If you're frustrated with your own weakness, it's okay. If you're frustrated with your own ignorance, that's okay.
Collin Hansen:So am I. He's saying that he's praying that god would do these things, that he would fill them with these things because they don't have them. Right? That that's one of the things. If if I said, well, I, you know, I really I really pray that you get that job.
Collin Hansen:Well, that's because we're talking about how you don't have that job right now. So when he says, I pray that you would have this knowledge, that you would be filled up with this knowledge, and that you would be filled up with this strength, There's a little bit of that backhanded compliment saying, you don't have this understanding. You're not full of it yet. You might have some of it, but you're not filled up with it. And you might have some of this strength, but I pray that you would be filled with it.
Collin Hansen:You would be at capacity with this knowledge of god and his glorious might. That you would be able to face the confusion. That you would be able to face your weaknesses. And that you would hold fast to the gospel as God is holding fast to you. I don't always feel qualified.
Collin Hansen:I don't always feel like I've been transferred into the kingdom of the beloved son, and I'll tell you when I feel like that the most, when I neglect prayer. Because the spirit is this foretaste of the kingdom. This foretaste of this, this completed and redeemed relationship with God. And I neglect that when I neglect prayer. And when I do that, that confusion, the vertigo sets in.
Collin Hansen:All these things that are spinning out of orbit. All these lies. All these tempting things where I say, culture looks like this and scripture just kind of seems antiquated in these things. And I just, I'm just going to kind of lean some direction. Whether that's leaning to the left or to the right or to the front or to the back.
Collin Hansen:I lean away from the solid truth of God's word. And it's when I'm neglecting god himself in prayer that I wind up in those positions most frequently. And so what Paul is is really getting at here is he's he's expressing to them how he's praying for them and also how they should pray for one another. And we're actually going to take time tonight to pray for one another because Paul is setting a a really important example for us here. He's he's doing that speaking truth in love where he's able to say the hard things.
Collin Hansen:He's able to say the things that rub us the wrong way. That create a tension in us that we don't really know how to take away, except for maybe to check out. And he's he's calling us to that tension and to to really bask in this light. This light, this inheritance of the sons of light, where we can know that we have been qualified, this completed action of the father, and that we can trust, that we can trust him, and we can go to him in prayer and ask these things. Because if he has done these things, if he has if he has delivered us, and he have is if he has transferred us, if these things are true, if these things have happened, then doesn't he have the power to fill us with these things?
Collin Hansen:And if we don't ask in some way, are we neglecting his great power to do so? These are hard questions to ask and to seek answers to. But but I tell you that as I've tried to answer them, I haven't always liked my answers. I I haven't always liked how I've neglected these things because really my neglect to to pray has a lot to do with my trust that he has the power to do this. And so what we're gonna do with with this, remaining time is to, to get into some small groups.
Collin Hansen:And if you don't know the people around you, ask ask names, introduce yourself, all that fun, and in no way awkward. But but we're gonna we're gonna circle up and we're gonna pray. Because at the end of this, this is not a challenge. Yeah. Sometimes, sometimes sermons end with a challenge.
Collin Hansen:Go do. Alright? But but this isn't a challenge. This this is where we we turn our attention to the lord in all that he has done, and all that he has completed and accomplished. And we turn to his strength.
Collin Hansen:We turn to his knowledge, and we pray. And so we're gonna take time to do that.