Thank God for our brothers and sisters in Christ

(Colossians 1:1-8)

Today we begin looking at Paul’s letter to the Colossians church. There are some fascinating insights in this particular letter, and it is different in some ways to all of the others Paul wrote.

Looking at the first eight verses there are two points I would like to discuss in this introduction.

The first relates to the headline of this post, which I believe is particularly appropriate at this point in time when the world is in such turmoil, and the second is about the spreading of the gospel.

Thank God for our brothers and sisters in Christ

In this letter Paul opens by thanking God, and especially by thanking God for the church members at Colossae.

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 2 To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ at Colos’sae: 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 because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love which 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 growing–so among yourselves, from the day you heard and understood the grace of God in truth (Colossians 1:1-6)

He is thankful upon hearing of their faith in Jesus Christ and the spreading of the Gospel.

This letter dives deep into the essence and doctrines of the New Covenant. It provides teachings about what the Covenant is and how it works. It is a letter of encouragement also, designed to upbuild the Colossians church.

But Paul’s opening statements show how much he is encouraged and thankful for the church. He makes a point of showing his thanks for the love and faithfulness into which the Colossians church is growing.

He is thankful for the brothers and sisters in Christ because they are learning the ways of the Lord and finding His peace and salvation.

And Paul takes great encouragement from knowing these things.

This is an attitude we need to take today also.

Be thankful and encouraged by your brothers and sisters in Christ

Today, the world is in turmoil. We see disasters occurring on a daily basis with bushfires, floods, tsunamis, and earthquakes. Not to mention the man-made disasters: wars and economic collapse.

To top it all off we now have this pestilence of COVID-19 that is wreaking havoc across all parts of the world with no immediate end in sight.

The world is in panic driven by fear and desperation. And there is only one answer to overcome this situation. It is to seek the salvation of the Lord Jesus Christ.

This COVID-19 will run it’s course, as all pestilences have done in the past. But it will leave a shattered and fearful world behind when it does. There will be no peace in the minds of the people of the world for fear of what may happen next.

Add to this the economic disruption caused by governments pouring billions of dollars into the rescue attempt, and we will see economic woes for many years beyond the end of this pestilence.

However…

There is only one answer to overcome the emotional and psychological disaster that this pestilence is causing. That is to hold fast to our faith in Jesus Christ.

There is a song we sing in church called, “Christ is the answer.” And that is the truth for all situations, especially in this time. We need to set our hearts and minds on the Lord wholeheartedly and remember that all of these things are in His control.

All of the things happening in the world today have been allowed to happen. They were designated and foretold in prophecies in the bible several millennia ago. This should not come as a surprise to those who know the Lord and study His scriptures. These things were pre-ordained to happen and will continue to occur according to the plan of God.

But God has promised to keep His people. He will be with them so that they can get through these times until the time when the Lord returns. He has not left His people without hope, but has told us in advance what to expect.

And as Paul was encouraged by the church at Colossae, so too we need to be encouraged by our brothers and sisters in Christ. As we come into contact with Christians anywhere and everywhere we need to encourage, upbuild, uplift, and strengthen one another, knowing that the Lord has things in hand.

These things are not random. They are planned and will run their course. The Lord will strengthen His people and carry them through.

So be encouraged and encourage one another.

Spreading of the Gospel

Now as to the second point mentioned earlier in this post, it is more an observation than anything else.

The letter of Paul to the Colossians is different to all of the other letters he wrote. It is different because it appears that unlike all of the other letters, Paul did not initiate or establish this church.

We know from Paul’s travels described in the book of Acts that he did not travel to Colossae, or at least I could find no evidence of it in that book. And furthermore, we see by reading the introduction to Colossians that it was from Epaphras that the people in Colossae first learned the Gospel and were taught the ways of the Lord.

7 as you learned it from Ep’aphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf 8 and has made known to us your love in the Spirit. (Colossians 1:7-8)

From that perspective then, it appears that Paul’s letter was written to support the work of Epaphras and to offer guidance and understanding to the church. And as we read through the letter it is evident that this was the thrust of the words.

This is good for us because the letter provides a broad overview of the New Covenant and the gospel to help enlighten us today. This is something we will see more clearly as we continue the study of the words Paul wrote to the Colossians church.

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