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Colossians 1:1-5
Turn to Colossians and to get started I want to read Colossians 2:2b-3.
Colossians 2:2b-3, in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Ten years ago 80 year old millionaire Forrest Fenn hid a treasure chest in the Rocky Mountains. The chest contained nearly two million dollars’ worth of gold nuggets, coins, and precious jewels. Mr. Fenn provided clues to its location in a poem in his book entitled “The Thrill of the Chase.” Over the last ten years tens of thousands of people tried to follow the clues to find the treasures. At least four people died in the hunt. Just a few months ago an Easterner who wishes to remain anonymous finally found the forty-pound chest of treasures. He confirmed his find with a photo. Mr. Fenn turned 90 this August.
Today we’re going to look into God’s treasure chest for us. This letter to the Colossians is full of the riches of Christ. As we just read in Colossians 2:3, “in Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Let’s glance through the book and see 15 of these riches of Christ.
Chapter One:
He’s our Redeemer – 1:14
Our Creator – 1:16
Our Head, our Preeminence (the theme of Colossians) – 1:18
Our Peacemaker, reconciling us to God – 1:20
Our Hope – 1:27
Our Power – 1:29
Chapter Two:
Our Completeness or Sufficiency – 2:10
He’s our Victory over demons, death, and hell – 2:15
Chapter Three:
Our Resurrection – 3:1
Our Life – 3:4
Our Identity, our all and in all – 3:11
Our Purpose – 3:17
Our Model for every relationship: marriage, family, work – 3:18-21
Chapter Four:
Our Message – 4:3
Our Master – 4:7
LET’S GET OUR BEARINGS
Colossae, along with Laodicea, was situated 100 miles east of Ephesus along the River Lycos in the area then called Asia, now called Turkey. It had been a large, wealthy, populated city with a huge wool industry, but by the first century it had become a small town. She was the least important town to which Paul wrote, and yet some say the most important letter Paul ever wrote.
Paul was under house arrest in Rome around AD 62. Epaphras had come from Colossae to inform Paul of false teachings that were threatening the church. So Paul wrote this letter to warn the believers in Colossae. He sets forth the true doctrine of the sufficiency and supremacy of Christ against what he calls the traditions of men. You can see Paul’s concern in Colossians 2:4, “Don’t be deluded with persuasive arguments.”
So what was the heresy? In a word, it’s complicated. Suffice it to say, it had to do with the belief that matter is evil, therefore the good God couldn’t create matter. That led to the belief that Jesus was not God, but an emanation from God. The belief that matter is evil concluded that Jesus wasn’t man, either, or He’d be evil. This resulted in thinking you definitely needed more than Jesus if you were going to get to God. That’s why in Colossians 2:10 Paul clarified that, “in Jesus you have been made complete.” There was a mix of Jewish rules, special days, angel worship, asceticism, and severe treatment of the body. The heresy added to the gospel message and attacked the sufficiency of Christ. Whenever you add anything to the gospel, whenever it’s Jesus plus something else for salvation–like Jesus plus baptism, Jesus plus legalistic works, Jesus plus mystical experiences–you’ve polluted and perverted the gospel. Christ is all you need. So Paul fired off this letter to the Colossians to help this little church struggling with all this false teaching.
WHO’S WRITING THIS LETTER?
Col 1:1, Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
Here’s the aged apostle Paul, writing about Christ’s riches from a Roman prison. How do we know he was in prison? Check out the last verse in the letter – “remember my imprisonment.” God had called him on that Damascus Road from a career of persecuting Christians to this ministry of apostleship. An apostle means he was sent by Christ as one of His personal representatives on earth. Christ met him on that Damascus Road and turned him right around. He was marching to Damascus to kill Christians and before you know it, he’s preaching Christ. He devoted the rest of his life to fulfilling God’s will of testifying solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God (Acts 20:24). His life ended in Rome when he was executed by decapitation. John MacArthur claims, “Paul was the most important and influential person in history since our Lord Jesus Christ.” That’s who wrote this letter.
Paul had his beloved Timothy with him in his house arrest. Timothy served with Paul like a child with his father. I love Paul’s description of Timothy in Philippians 2:20-22.
Philippians 2:20-22, For I have no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare. 21 For they all seek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus. 22 But you know of his proven worth, that he served with me in the furtherance of the gospel like a child serving his father.
WHO’S RECEIVING THIS LETTER?
Col 1:2, To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.
One of the greatest evidence of God and the power of the gospel is to see how the gospel came into these Gentile cities like Colossae. It was God who worked mightily in hearts that previously were far from Him, bringing them into the riches of Christ. They used to be pagans and idolaters. Now they are saints and faithful believers with a completely new identity of being “in Christ.” This is one of Paul’s favorite phrases to identify God’s people. You are a resident of Evansville, but that is temporary. Your real, permanent residence is God’s Kingdom because you are “in Christ.”
SAINTS AND BRETHREN
Here’s a really neat thought. If you are in Christ, you are a saint. You’re not going to become a saint; you are one. The word means “set apart.” God has taken you out of the world, set you apart from the world, and now you are a saint in Christ. You don’t have to wait to get to heaven to become a saint.
I did a Google search on how to become a saint. Here’s what I found. “The process to make someone a saint cannot normally start until at least five years after their death. This is to allow time for emotions following the death to calm down, and to ensure that the individual’s case can be evaluated objectively. Some have to wait a long time before they reach Catholic sainthood.” But what does Paul call these people at Colossae who are still living in this world? Saints! Now don’t get the big head and go around telling everyone to call you Saint Rob or Saint Thomas or Saint Cindy. But know that because you are in Christ, you are a saint. It’s all about Christ’s work in you.
Plus, instantly upon believing in Christ you are brought into the family of God. You are an adopted child of God with many brothers and sisters because you are joined to every other believer in Christ. If you have trusted in Christ, you are in His family. If you haven’t, you are welcome to the family, but you’re not in it!
GRACE AND PEACE
Then in verse two Paul gives his typical greeting, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father.” What is the source all grace and peace? It is God our heavenly Father. What a beautiful thought that God Almighty, the infinite, eternal, immutable, self-existing God is your Father. And flowing from Him right into your life and your heart is this grace, this undeserved blessing enabling you to live the Christian life. You are saved by the Father’s grace, and you live by the Father’s grace. Your heavenly Father wants you to know He has more than enough grace for your every need, every temptation, every trial, and every sin.
Along with grace is this peace from our Father that is both a fact and an experience. It is through Christ that we have peace with God. Romans 5:1 says, “Having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” The war is over. God’s wrath was satisfied or propitiated in Christ on that cross, and so we have peace with God. But there is also that inner peace Philippians 4:7 talks about as we cast our anxieties on Christ. As we live in this world filled with much chaos these days, God’s peace calms and soothes our hearts as we reflect on Him. Paul calls it a peace that passes understanding. Do I always experience this peace that the Father gives us? No I don’t. And I don’t want to heap guilt on anyone who is struggling with anxiety and not knowing this peace. But know this. Your heavenly Father has inner peace for you so keep throwing all your cares on Him, for He cares for you!
THANKING AND PRAYING
Col 1:3, We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,
Notice to whom does Paul give thanks? Is it to the Colossian believers? Did Paul say, “We give thanks to you, Colossians, for being smart enough to exercise your free will to receive our message?” No. It is God who works in every born-again believer in the church. We don’t make ourselves believers and we don’t make anyone else a believer. So we must always thank God for each other because we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus. We give thanks to our Father God for choosing us and calling us and regenerating us and giving us His Son. What an amazing gift! Thanks be to God! Our hearts should always overflow with thanksgiving. When you feel down, burdened, discouraged, or depressed, sit down and list fifty blessings from God in your life and thank Him for them.
And then Paul says he is always praying for them. I don’t know how God works through our prayers, but He does. Jesus prayed for Peter’s faith to be strengthened. Paul prayed for all the churches. And we should pray for one another as much as possible. Every day ask God to bless and grow and change us into the likeness of Christ. Pray for one another.
THE TRIAD OF SAVING GRACE
Col 1:4, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints;
Paul had never been to Colossae. I don’t think he ever got there. But he heard about their faith in Christ through Epaphras (1:8). He heard about their conversions, their turning from idolatry and the cultish philosophies like mysticism and asceticism and all the different flavors of the devil’s brew. So he reminds them of this triad of saving graces – faith, love, and hope. A triad means three things that are connected together. Faith, love, and hope are the marks of God’s grace in the life of every believer. They always go together – faith looking up, love looking around, and hope looking forward. If you are a believer, you too have a heart of faith, love, and hope.
We are saved by faith alone. But what does that mean? True faith always has these three aspects: understanding the truth of the gospel, agreeing with it, and submitting or trusting in Christ. You heard the gospel about Jesus. Then by the inner working of God’s Spirit you understood it enough to agree with it. You heard that Jesus was God incarnate, coming into this world to save sinners. You understood that you were a sinner, a rebel, and that you had missed the mark of God’s glory. You understood why Jesus died on that cross, bearing your sins and providing perfect righteousness for all who believe, and you submitted to it.
What happened then? You discovered a love for God’s Word and His HiHhpeople. You began to sense a kindred spirit with those other people who confessed Christ. You realize you are in the same family and you begin to love all the others who are saints. How beautiful that realization is. “I’m part of God’s family.” You may hardly know this other person, but the moment you realize he or she is a believer, there’s an instant connection.
I was in the mall the other day spending some time reading in the food court. Here comes a young guy spraying and wiping the tables. He came next to my table and said, “How you doing?” I said, “Great, how about you?” He said, “Great.” I’m thinking how I can inject at least God into the conversation. So I said, “God is good, isn’t He?” That’s all he needed to tell me about his faith in Jesus, his goals (one was to find a good Christian wife), and where he goes to church. It was a wonderful time.
Carolyn and I experienced this love between believers in Bolivia many years ago in the city of Cochabamba. We were new believers and found ourselves needing Christian fellowship. Through God’s good providence He brought two New Tribes couples into our lives. They were like God’s angels to us. They loved us and gently encouraged us just when we really needed it. Be on the lookout for people God brings into your life who need encouragement and the love of Christ.
Col 1:5, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel which has come to you.
Hope is laid up for you in heaven! Hope is a great word. Remember those hope chests? A woman would put a special dress and linens into this cedar lined large chest in hopes of one day being married and using them. When a person loses hope, they are in a dreadful condition. Life turns dark. I was so saddened a year or so ago when one of my friends I had spent some time with and often talked about the gospel, lost all hope and took his own life. We must look to Christ. He gives us “bright hope for tomorrow.”
Your hope is laid up for you like a trust fund, secure in heaven, just waiting for your arrival. How will you get there to enjoy this hope of being with Christ? Well, you may die first, but you die in hope. Paul said in 1Thessalonians 4:13, “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope.” We are different from unbelievers. We have hope. Maybe you won’t have to die. Christ may break through the blue sometime soon. Listen and be encouraged:
1 Thessalonians 4:16-18, For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.
That’s called the rapture or the blessed hope. It could happen at any time and we’re looking forward to. That’s our hope – to always be with the Lord. “What a day that will be, when our Jesus we will see, when we look upon His face, the One who saved us by His grace.” You’re not going to find this hope in a 40-pound chest of gold and jewels hidden in the Rockies. True hope comes out of God’s treasure chest in Christ. Listen to how Paul puts it right here in Colossians 1:5, “You previously heard about this hope in the word of truth, the gospel, the good news, that message about Jesus dying in the place of sinners and rising from the dead.” This is the only place of hope in this world. “No Christ, no hope.” But, “Know Christ, know hope.”