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Colossians 1:1-2 · Providence Baptist Church - Sermons

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Well, last week we concluded our verse-by-verse exposition of Mark's Gospel account.
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! And this week we're going to begin our study of Paul's letter to the church at Colossae.
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! So if you will, please with me, turn to the book of Colossians.
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Know that I say this often, and I say it because I mean it, but also for the sake of
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those who haven't heard me say it before, I'm immensely thankful to be part of a church
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that values verse-by-verse exposition. It has value for a number of reasons.
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Firstly, we need to hear all that the Word of God has to say to us. It is His inspired,
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sufficient, authoritative Word, and none of it's unimportant. All of it is incredibly important.
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I think it's helpful in our study verse-by-verse to help you better learn how to study the Bible
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for yourself. Me and others that help here, taking week-by-week and helping you place in context
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various texts of Scripture. We hope in doing so that we're looking at in a broad sense what
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other parts of the Scripture have to say. So as we're going through a New Testament epistle,
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for example, to pull in the Old Testament references and speak of them well, I know it's good for me
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because it keeps me from having pet topics that I preach upon all the time or being able to skip
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over hard things in the Scriptures, which I so very much want to do some weeks, but yet the schedule
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is before me and the task is at hand. And so just to reiterate to you the value and importance of that,
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as we're about to begin another verse-by-verse exposition of a book of the Bible, in this case,
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Colossians. I want you to know that my singular goal in today's sermon is to get you excited
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about what God would have to say to us in our study of Paul's letter to the Colossian believers,
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that it has relevance and meaning bearing on our lives as we work through this in the coming months.
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Colossians, as part of God's holy writ, has a great deal of significance for us today.
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But in order for us to fully appreciate that significance, we must rightly understand the
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original intent. So we'll begin our study by asking a series of questions of the letter.
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Question number one. Who wrote Colossians?
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Now in the very salutation in verse one, we see that the letter was written by Paul. Paul,
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an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy, our brother. Some people say that
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Colossians was written by Paul and Timothy. It's possible that Timothy was the scribe, the one who
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was actually writing down a secretary, so to speak, as Paul spoke the words to him. But certainly,
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we see the use of plural pronouns, we, throughout the text. It is a proper assumption to think that
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Paul is referring to himself and Timothy when he says we, but also much use of the singular pronoun
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I. It was right to understand that Paul himself is the ultimate author of this text. Colossians 4.18,
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he says, I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. So potentially, the very closing of it, he
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himself wrote out to emphasize that it was, in fact, a letter from him. Now there are some arguments
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against Paul's authorship, but they're so very weak that they're not worth mentioning in this setting
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and at this time. You are welcome to study that. I have some books you can borrow on it if you would
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care to, but they're incredibly weak arguments. Church history, certainly contained within the text
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itself, is the name of Paul, the context in which he writes, the way that your scriptures actually are
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organized as has to do with who they believe wrote this letter. If you like with me, turn to your table
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of contents in your copy of God's Word. For those of you who don't know, your scripture is not arranged
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chronologically, but rather categorically. In the New Testament, it's hard to find that table of contents,
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isn't it? Probably a good sign. It means you know your Bible if you can't find your table of contents.
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If you look at your table of contents, we have in the New Testament, Matthew, Mark, Luke,
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John. These are the gospel accounts. They're historical accounts of the life, death, resurrection,
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ascension of Jesus Christ, and then the book of Acts, which is also, some people rightly call it the
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acts of Jesus Christ or the acts of the Holy Spirit, but also a historical narrative of the things that
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happened after Jesus' ascension and the sending of the Holy Spirit. You then can see Romans,
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down through 2nd Thessalonians. These are Pauline epistles, letters that Paul wrote to specific
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churches. The church at Corinth, the church at Galatia, Ephesus, Philippi, Colossae, Thessalonica.
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Then you have the pastoral epistles, also written by Paul, 1st and 2nd Timothy, letters written to
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Timothy, Titus, and Philemon. And then Hebrews, which is a letter written to Jewish believers, but we're not
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sure who in fact authored it. Some believe that Paul did, some do not, and no one can quite agree
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on this, and we're all okay with that. So we stick it there. It's kind of the dividing point after
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Paul's writing, the book of Hebrews. And then from there on you have other epistles by various apostles,
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and then finally the book of Revelation by John. So that's why it's organized in this fashion,
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and how Colossians finds itself in the midst of the Pauline epistles. And it's important for us to know,
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to rightly understand the book itself. Who wrote it? Paul wrote it. Clay said for us very well last
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week, so I won't get into all of the details of it, but when we believe that the Word of God is the
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inspired Word of God, that it was written by God Himself, that it's breathed out, that it's exhaled out
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by Him, that God did not circumnavigate the personalities and the context of the writer
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himself. So we've got to know who Paul is, and why he would have written in the particular way that he
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wrote as he was being carried along by the Spirit. So who wrote Colossians? Paul. Secondly, when and where
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was Colossians written? When and where? And you might wonder why I ask it in that way. When and where?
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The question of when is largely dependent on the answer to the question where. Colossians is a
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prison epistle. It was written from a prison cell, from a sentence that was given to Paul. Imprisonment is
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mentioned in chapter 4, verse 3, and chapter 4, verse 18, as well as some form of suffering, but we can
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rightly assume the suffering in a prison mentioned in chapter 1, verse 24. So the debate about when
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really has to do with which imprisonment. Paul was imprisoned a number of times, and we have to know
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which imprisonment it was to rightly set the field for when, in fact, it was written. The wide scholastic
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agreement, and again, there are some varying arguments, a little stronger than some of the
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arguments against Paul's authorship together, but there's some other arguments, but again, not worth
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getting into. The wide scholastic agreement is that it is most likely written during Paul's Roman
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imprisonment, which dates the letter at approximately 62 AD, which had been around the same time that the
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letter to the Ephesians and to Philemon were written, right? So AD 62, from Roman imprisonment some
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thousand miles away from Colossae. So when and where, written in Roman imprisonment around AD 62.
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Thirdly, to whom was Colossians written? A little easier off the top, we can answer fairly quickly the
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church at Colossae, chapter, or excuse me, verse 2, chapter 1 of the salutation, to the saints and
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faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae, but it's good and important for us to understand a few
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things about this city before we proceed in our study. Colossae was located in the Lycus River Valley
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of West Central Asia Minor, and if you want to later look at a map, this is in modern-day Turkey,
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approximately in the center of modern-day Turkey. It's important to know that Paul did not establish
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the church at Colossae, but it was likely the fruit of his three-year ministry in Ephesus,
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Ephesus being about 120 miles west of Colossae. The text tells us in chapter 1, verse 7, that Epaphras
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was the one who came and spoke the Word of God to the people of the Colossian church. So it's presumed
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that Epaphras traveled to Ephesus, became a convert to Jesus Christ while he was there, and then,
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as a proper disciple of Jesus Christ, went home and made disciples and founded a church back in his
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hometown of Colossae. Colossae, at one time, before Paul's time, was a very significant city. In fact,
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it had become famous for a particular high-quality dark red wool that was actually known as Colossian
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wool, and you can find references to that in other historical works. It was located at the crossroads
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of two major highways going through the region. But before Paul's time, the Romans moved the road
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to pass through Laodicea, which was 12 miles to the west of Colossae, and Heropolis, which was 15 miles
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to the northwest. They built a bypass, so to speak, and sort of left Colossae off the map, and so it had
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declined in its prominence. In fact, it was a rather insignificant city altogether in the days of Paul.
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J.B. Lightfoot, this rather famous commentary on Colossians, wrote,
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Colossae was the least important church to which any epistle of St. Paul was addressed.
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So, a rather insignificant church as regards the spread of the gospel, because the city itself was
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rather insignificant. Those of you who live in Dahlonega and Dawsonville, even though 400 rips right
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through the middle of Dawsonville, may be able to relate to this. Those of you who live in Gainesville
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have no idea what's being talked about, because it is the chicken capital of the world.
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Really, all fairly insignificant in the large scheme of things.
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And our little church can feel that way at times. Rather insignificant, hidden behind the hill on the
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side of Highway 60 South, with a deteriorating sign, which is going to be fixed very soon.
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Who are we that we should even have the Word of God put before us, that God might speak to us from this
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letter today. All the same, even though the church at Colossae seemed fairly insignificant,
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note Paul's care for them as a church, and for all the churches for that matter. Colossians 2,
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verse 1 and 2, he says,
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For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea,
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and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit
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together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge
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of God's mystery, which is Christ. He has a great struggle, a contest, or a battle, because he has
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great concern for any who claim the name of Jesus Christ. His suggestion by all of this is that there is
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no insignificant extension of God's redemptive work in the world, that if you are a body of Christ,
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then you are His, and therefore very significant. The city itself, because of the region in which
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Colossae was located, would have been primarily Gentile. And for those of you who don't know, this would
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just simply mean not Jewish. This area particularly would have been Greek. But there was also likely a
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significant Jewish population. Josephus, a Jewish historian in antiquities, said that Antichius the
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Great settled 2,000 Jewish families in the area in 213 BC. So a little over 200 years ago, a massive
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number of Jewish families were moved and settled in the area. So it was likely also a very Jewish
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populated region. So both a mix here of Jew and Gentile in the area. So that's who it was written
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to, the Colossians. Number four, why was Colossians written? Why was Colossians written? Now the letter
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itself makes no explicit claim about its purpose. However, the warnings contained within make it clear
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that it is intended to encourage the Colossians to resist some kind of erroneous teaching that's going
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on at the time. The actual teaching itself is not stated. We don't know for sure. And there's a lot
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of conjecture about that. There were a number of heresies floating around in that day. An example of
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one would be Gnosticism. Certainly there seems to be some Gnostic elements in the heresy, but we can't say
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for sure that it was the Gnostics that were teaching in the area. So there's this mix of
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heresy going on, and Paul seems to be writing to correct those things. Many people believe that,
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as we know, Epaphras is with Paul at the writing of this letter. You can see that in chapter 4,
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that Epaphras has actually traveled to see Paul in Rome, where he's in prison but in a house arrest
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kind of a situation. So he's able to go and see him, and Paul, hearing about the trouble that's
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happening in this church, writes them to help do away with some of these heresies. Due to the
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population of Colossi being made up of both Gentiles and Jews, it is no surprise, or it shouldn't be,
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that this heresy contains both Jewish and pagan elements. I'll tell you what I mean. Firstly,
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the pagan elements, the false philosophy of the Greeks. The Greeks loved knowledge. They worshipped
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knowledge. And they prided themselves in the sophistication of their philosophical systems.
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If you study philosophy, you're going to study the Greeks as college students. They actually believed
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that the Gospel was too simplistic. It was too easy. It wasn't worthy of believing in because it wasn't
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complex enough. Some evidence of that is in Paul's writing in 1 Corinthians 1, 22 and 23.
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For Jews demand signs, and Greeks seek wisdom. But we preach Christ crucified, right? The simple
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message of the Gospel. Christ crucified. A stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles. It was so
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simple that it was silly in their thinking. Colossians 2, verse 4. Paul says, I say this in order that no one
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may delude you with plausible arguments. And in chapter 2, verse 8, see to it that no one takes you
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captive by philosophy and empty deceit according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits
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of the world and not according to Christ. So you've got this false philosophy of the Greeks. You also have
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this Judaistic legalism happening as well. The Colossian heretics embraced elements of Jewish
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ceremonialism. They taught that circumcision was necessary for salvation. They also taught rigid
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self-denial and harsh treatment of the body. Things like keeping the Jewish dietary laws and observing
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holy days. Chapter 2, verse 16. Paul writes, therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food
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and drink or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. And verse 18, let no one disqualify
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you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in details about visions puffed up without
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reason by his sensuous mind. So both radical groups suggested that salvation necessitated Christ plus
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something else. And we'll get into the details of what those something else's were in our coming study
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together. But all of them were saying Jesus Christ crucified was not enough. You must have Christ
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plus something else. And this is what Paul seeks to set straight. So question five, what does Colossians
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teach? What does Colossians teach? What is the overarching theme of the letter? Because certainly it teaches
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many things. But thematically, what is Paul trying to communicate to the Colossian believers and us
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today? The sufficiency and supremacy of Jesus Christ.
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The sufficiency and supremacy of Jesus Christ. Says it in this way, this kind of perfectly sums it up.
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Christ is all. Christ is all and in all. Chapter 3, verse 11. He is God. Chapter 2, verse 9. He is the creator.
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Chapter 1, verse 16. Jesus is the savior. Chapter 1, verse 20 and 2, 13 through 14. He is the head of the church.
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Chapter 1, verse 18. And kind of wrapping it all up in chapter 1, verse 18. That in everything, Jesus Christ
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is supreme.
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Chapter 1 has much to do
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with the vision and mission statement
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of Christ's family church,
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desiring that in all things,
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Jesus Christ would be shown as supreme.
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So the sufficiency and the supremacy
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of Jesus Christ.
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That He is all and in all.
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That He is enough.
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So last question,
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how does Colossians pertain to us?
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We've got some background settings,
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some general broad understanding
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of the book itself and the writer,
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the people that were receiving it.
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So how does it then pertain to us?
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What is the relevance for us today?
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Because certainly we don't deal
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with the exact same heretical teachings.
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No one's coming into this congregation
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and suggesting that you must be circumcised
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to be a Christian.
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The heresies of our day
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are much different,
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but the doctrines taught in Colossians
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speak to all of our falsehoods as well.
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We live in a day
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when science seeks to explain away
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the very existence of God.
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A day when the deity of Jesus
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is widely questioned.
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When the truth of God
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is being laid aside
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for a false unity
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amongst the religions of the world.
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We live in a day
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when grace is peddled cheaply.
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We live in a day
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when followers of Jesus
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think they don't need the church
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or that it is acceptable
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to merely show up
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to a congregational meeting
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to consume a presentation
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rather than being a part of the life
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of the body of Christ.
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We live in a day
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when the definition or role
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of the family
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is being redefined
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and redistributed.
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And Colossians speaks
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to all of these things
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and some more.
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It's timely for us
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because it answers
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all of these
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with absolute authority
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as Paul's letter
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to the church at Colossians
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is Scripture
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and should be treated as such.
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This is the word
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of Almighty God
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for us.
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And with all of that in mind,
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I'm now going to read
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the entirety of the letter to you.
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Now,
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I know that some of you
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may be already going,
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oh my word.
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It only takes ten minutes.
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It's a rather short epistle.
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It contains within it
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some phenomenal truth
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for how short it is.
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It certainly has had
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more impact on the church
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for its length
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than probably any other
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of Paul's epistles.
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It is important
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that we publicly read
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the Scripture.
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After today,
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certainly no one can say
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that we don't read
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the Word of God
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in our meetings
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together.
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Remember that the way
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this would have been received
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would have been a letter
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on a piece of parchment
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and it would have been read
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to a congregation
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meeting much the way
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we are today.
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Many people
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would have been illiterate.
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They definitely wouldn't have
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had a copy of it
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in front of them.
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I'm going to read
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from the English Standard Version.
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If you have a copy
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and you'd like to follow along,
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feel free.
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If you don't,
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it might be better
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for you just to listen
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to what's being said.
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To imagine yourself
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in that day
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living in a time
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with much heresy
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running around
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and trying to hear
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what it is Paul has to say
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to set all of that
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straight.
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This would have always
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been taken together
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and sometimes
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we're so damaging
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to the Word of God
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because we piecemeal it up.
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Because we pull excerpts
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from here,
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we pull excerpts from there,
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and we ignore
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the greater context
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of what's happening.
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And so there's some value
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in us seeing it
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collectively together
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this morning.
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So here we go.
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I'll do my best
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to read it well to you
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so you can follow along.
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Colossians 1.1
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Paul,
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an apostle of Christ Jesus
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by the will of God
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and Timothy our brother
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to the saints
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and faithful brothers
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in Christ
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at Colossae,
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grace to you
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and peace
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from God our Father.
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We always thank God
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the Father of our Lord
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Jesus Christ
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when we pray for you
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since we heard of your faith
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in Christ Jesus
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and of the love that you have
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for all the saints
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because of the hope
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laid up for you in heaven.
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Of this you have heard before
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in the word of truth,
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the gospel,
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which has come to you
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as indeed in the whole world
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it is bearing fruit
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and growing
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as it also does among you
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since the day you heard it
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and understood the grace
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of God in truth
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just as you learned it
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from Epaphras,
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our beloved fellow servant.
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He is a faithful minister
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of Christ on your behalf
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and has made known to us
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your love in the Spirit.
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And so,
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from the day we heard,
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we have not ceased
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to pray for you
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asking that you may be filled
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with the knowledge
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of his will
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and all spiritual wisdom
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and understanding
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so as to walk
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in a manner
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worthy of the Lord,
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fully pleasing to him,
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bearing fruit
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in every good work
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and increasing
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in the knowledge of God.
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May you be strengthened
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with all power
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according to his glorious might
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for all endurance
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and patience with joy,
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giving thanks to the Father
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who has qualified you
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to share in the inheritance
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of the saints in light.
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He has delivered us
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from the domain of darkness
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and transferred us
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to the kingdom
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of his beloved Son
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in whom we have redemption,
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the forgiveness of sins.
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He is the image
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of the invisible God,
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the firstborn
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of all creation.
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For by him
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all things were created
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in heaven and on earth,
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visible and invisible,
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whether thrones
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or dominions
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or rulers or authorities,
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all things were created
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through him
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and for him.
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And he is before all things
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and in him
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all things hold together.
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And he is the head
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of the body,
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the church.
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He is the beginning,
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the firstborn from the dead,
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that in everything
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he might be preeminent.
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For in him
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all the fullness of God
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was pleased to dwell
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and through him
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to reconcile to himself
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all things,
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whether on earth
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or in heaven,
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making peace
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by the blood
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of his cross.
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And you,
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who once were alienated
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and hostile in mind,
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doing evil deeds,
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he is now reconciled
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in his body of flesh
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by his death
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in order to present you
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holy and blameless
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and above reproach
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before him,
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if indeed you continue
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in the faith,
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stable and steadfast,
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not shifting from the hope
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of the gospel
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that you heard,
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which has been proclaimed
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in all creation
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under heaven
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and of which I,
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Paul,
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became a minister.
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Now I rejoice
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in my sufferings
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for your sake
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and in my flesh
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I am filling up
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what is lacking
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in Christ's afflictions
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for the sake of his body,
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that is,
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the church,
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of which I became
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a minister
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according to the stewardship
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from God
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that was given to me
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for you
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to make the word of God
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fully known,
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the mystery hidden
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for ages and generations
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but now revealed
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to his saints.
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To them God chose
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to make known
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how great among you Gentiles
25:45
are the riches
25:45
of the glory
25:46
of this mystery,
25:47
which is Christ in you,
25:49
the hope of glory.
25:51
Him we proclaim,
25:52
warning everyone
25:53
and teaching everyone
25:54
with all wisdom
25:55
that we may present
25:56
everyone mature in Christ.
25:58
For this I toil,
26:00
struggling with all his energy
26:01
that he powerfully works
26:03
within me.
26:04
For I want you to know
26:05
how great a struggle
26:06
I have for you
26:07
and for those at Laodicea.
26:08
For all who have not seen me
26:10
face to face,
26:11
for their hearts
26:12
may be encouraged,
26:13
excuse me,
26:13
that their hearts
26:14
may be encouraged,
26:15
being knit together in love
26:16
to reach all the riches
26:17
of full assurance
26:18
of understanding
26:19
and the knowledge
26:20
of God's mystery,
26:21
which is Christ,
26:22
in whom are hidden
26:23
all the treasures
26:24
of wisdom and knowledge.
26:26
I say this in order
26:27
that no one may delude you
26:28
with plausible arguments,
26:30
for though I am absent
26:30
in body,
26:31
yet I am with you
26:32
in spirit,
26:33
rejoicing to see
26:34
your good order
26:35
and the firmness
26:35
of your faith in Christ.
26:38
Therefore,
26:39
as you receive Christ Jesus
26:40
the Lord,
26:41
so walk in Him,
26:43
rooted and built up in Him
26:44
and established in the faith,
26:45
just as you were taught,
26:46
abounding in thanksgiving.
26:49
See to it that no one
26:49
takes you captive
26:50
by philosophy
26:51
and empty deceit,
26:53
according to human tradition,
26:54
according to the elemental
26:55
spirits of the world,
26:56
and not according to Christ.
26:59
For in Him
27:00
the whole fullness
27:01
of deity dwells bodily,
27:02
and you have been filled
27:03
in Him
27:04
who is the head
27:04
of all rule
27:05
and authority.
27:07
In Him also
27:08
you were circumcised
27:09
with a circumcision
27:10
made without hands,
27:11
by putting off
27:12
the body of the flesh
27:13
by the circumcision
27:14
of Christ,
27:15
having been buried
27:16
with Him in baptism,
27:17
in which you were also
27:18
raised with Him
27:19
through faith
27:20
in the powerful working
27:21
of God
27:21
who raised Him
27:22
from the dead.
27:23
And you
27:24
who were dead
27:25
in your trespasses
27:26
and the uncircumcision
27:27
of your flesh,
27:28
God made alive
27:29
together with Him,
27:30
having forgiven us
27:31
all our trespasses
27:32
by canceling the record
27:34
of debt that stood
27:34
against us
27:35
with its legal demands.
27:36
This He set aside,
27:38
nailing it to the cross.
27:39
He disarmed the rulers
27:41
and authorities
27:42
and put them
27:42
to open shame
27:43
by triumphing
27:44
over them in Him.
27:47
Therefore,
27:47
let no one pass judgment
27:49
on you in questions
27:49
of food and drink
27:51
or with regard
27:52
to a festival
27:52
or a new moon
27:53
or a Sabbath.
27:55
These are a shadow
27:56
of the things to come,
27:57
but the substance
27:58
belongs to Christ.
28:00
Let no one disqualify you,
28:02
insisting on asceticism
28:03
and worship of angels,
28:04
going on in detail
28:05
about visions,
28:07
puffed up without reason
28:08
by His sensuous mind
28:09
and not holding fast
28:10
to the head
28:11
from whom the whole body,
28:13
nourished and knit together
28:14
through its joints
28:15
and ligaments,
28:16
grows with a growth
28:17
that is from God.
28:18
If with Christ you died
28:20
to the elemental spirits
28:21
of the world,
28:22
why,
28:23
as if you were still alive
28:24
in the world,
28:24
do you submit to regulations,
28:26
do not handle,
28:27
do not taste,
28:28
do not touch,
28:29
referring to things
28:30
that all perish
28:31
as they are used,
28:32
according to human precepts
28:33
and teachings?
28:35
These have indeed
28:36
an appearance of wisdom
28:37
in promoting self-made religion
28:38
and asceticism
28:39
and severity to the body,
28:41
but they are of no value
28:42
in stopping the indulgence
28:43
of the flesh.
28:45
If then you have been
28:46
raised with Christ,
28:47
seek the things
28:48
that are above,
28:49
where Christ is,
28:50
seated at the right hand
28:51
of God.
28:52
Set your minds
28:53
on things that are above,
28:54
not on things
28:55
that are on earth.
28:56
For you have died
28:56
and your life is hidden
28:58
with Christ in God.
28:59
When Christ,
29:00
who is your life,
29:01
appears,
29:01
then you also will appear
29:02
with Him in glory.
29:04
Put to death,
29:06
therefore,
29:06
what is earthly in you,
29:08
sexual immorality,
29:09
impurity,
29:10
passion,
29:11
evil desire,
29:11
and covetousness,
29:12
which is idolatry.
29:14
On account of these,
29:15
the wrath of God
29:16
is coming.
29:17
In these you too
29:18
once walked
29:19
when you were living
29:20
in them,
29:21
but now you must
29:21
put them all away,
29:22
anger,
29:23
wrath,
29:24
malice,
29:25
slander,
29:26
and obscene talk
29:27
from your mouth.
29:28
Do not lie to one another,
29:29
seeing that you have put off
29:30
the old self
29:31
with its practices,
29:32
and have put on
29:33
the new self
29:33
which is being renewed
29:34
in knowledge
29:35
after the image
29:35
of its creator.
29:37
Here there is not
29:37
Greek and Jew,
29:39
circumcised and uncircumcised,
29:40
barbarian,
29:41
Scythian,
29:42
slave,
29:43
free,
29:43
but Christ is all
29:45
and in all.
29:46
Put on then
29:47
as God's chosen ones,
29:48
holy and beloved,
29:50
compassionate hearts,
29:51
kindness,
29:52
humility,
29:53
meekness,
29:53
and patience,
29:55
bearing with one another,
29:56
and if one has a complaint
29:57
against another,
29:58
forgiving each other
29:59
as the Lord has forgiven you,
30:00
so you also must forgive.
30:03
And above all these,
30:04
put on love
30:05
which binds everything together
30:06
in perfect harmony.
30:08
And let the peace of Christ
30:10
rule in your hearts
30:11
to which indeed you were called
30:13
in one body,
30:14
and be thankful.
30:15
Let the word of Christ
30:16
dwell in you richly,
30:17
teaching and admonishing
30:18
one another in all wisdom,
30:20
singing psalms and hymns
30:22
and spiritual songs
30:23
with thankfulness
30:24
in your hearts to God.
30:26
And whatever you do,
30:27
in word or deed,
30:28
do everything in the name
30:29
of the Lord Jesus,
30:30
giving thanks to God the Father
30:31
through Him.
30:33
Wives,
30:34
submit to your husbands
30:35
as is fitting in the Lord.
30:38
Husbands,
30:39
love your wives
30:39
and do not be harsh with them.
30:42
Children,
30:42
obey your parents
30:43
in everything
30:44
for this pleases the Lord.
30:46
Fathers,
30:47
do not provoke your children
30:48
lest they become discouraged.
30:51
Slaves,
30:51
obey in everything
30:52
those who are
30:53
your earthly masters,
30:54
not by way of eye service
30:56
as people pleasers,
30:57
but with sincerity of heart,
30:59
fearing the Lord.
31:00
Whatever you do,
31:01
work heartily,
31:02
as for the Lord
31:03
and not for men,
31:04
knowing that from the Lord
31:05
you will receive the inheritance
31:06
as your reward.
31:08
You are serving the Lord Christ.
31:11
For the wrongdoer will be paid back
31:12
for the wrong he has done,
31:13
and there is no partiality.
31:15
Masters,
31:16
treat your slaves
31:17
justly and fairly,
31:18
knowing that you also
31:19
have a master in heaven.
31:22
Continue steadfastly in prayer,
31:23
being watchful in it
31:24
with thanksgiving.
31:25
At the same time,
31:26
pray also for us
31:27
that God may open to us
31:29
a door for the word
31:30
to declare the mystery of Christ,
31:32
on account of which
31:33
I am in prison,
31:34
that I may make it clear
31:35
which is how I ought to speak.
31:37
Walk in wisdom
31:38
toward outsiders,
31:40
making the best use
31:41
of the time.
31:42
Let your speech
31:42
always be gracious,
31:44
seasoned with salt,
31:45
so that you may know
31:45
how you ought to answer
31:46
each person.
31:49
Tychicus will tell you
31:50
about my activities.
31:51
He is a beloved brother
31:53
and faithful minister
31:54
and fellow servant
31:55
in the Lord.
31:56
I have sent him to you
31:57
for this very purpose,
31:58
that you may know
31:59
how we are
32:00
and that he may encourage
32:01
your hearts.
32:02
And with him,
32:03
Onesimus,
32:04
our faithful and beloved brother,
32:05
who is one of you,
32:07
they will tell you
32:08
of everything
32:09
that has taken place here.
32:11
Aristarchus,
32:11
my fellow prisoner,
32:12
greets you.
32:14
And Mark,
32:14
the cousin of Bartimus,
32:16
concerning whom
32:16
you have received instructions,
32:18
if he comes to you,
32:19
welcome him.
32:20
And Jesus,
32:21
who is called Justice,
32:23
these are the only men
32:23
of the circumcision
32:24
among my fellow workers
32:25
for the kingdom of God,
32:27
and they have been
32:27
a comfort for me.
32:29
Epaphras,
32:29
who is one of you,
32:30
a servant of Christ Jesus,
32:32
greets you,
32:33
always struggling
32:33
on your behalf
32:34
in his prayers,
32:35
that you may stand mature
32:36
and fully assured
32:37
in all the will of God.
32:39
For I bear him witness
32:40
that he has worked hard
32:41
for you
32:42
and for those in Laodicea
32:44
and in Heropolis.
32:45
Luke,
32:46
the beloved physician,
32:46
greets you,
32:47
as does Demas.
32:49
Give my greetings
32:49
to the brothers
32:50
at Laodicea
32:51
and to Nympha
32:52
and the church
32:52
in her house.
32:53
And when this letter
32:54
has been read among you,
32:55
have it also read
32:56
in the church at Laodicea
32:57
and see that you also
32:58
read the letter
32:59
from Laodicea.
33:01
And say to Archippus,
33:02
see that you fulfill
33:03
the ministry
33:03
that you have received
33:04
in the Lord.
33:06
I, Paul,
33:06
write this greeting
33:07
with my own hand.
33:09
Remember my chains.
33:11
Grace be with you.
33:12
So this is how
33:13
it would have been read
33:14
originally
33:15
to the church
33:17
at Colossae.
33:18
And this is God's
33:19
word to us
33:20
written for His glory
33:22
and our good.
33:24
We would all do well
33:24
to listen to it
33:25
in order to believe
33:27
its promises
33:27
and obey
33:29
its commands.
33:31
Let's look in conclusion
33:32
at the first two verses
33:33
in just a bit more detail
33:35
and then we'll close out
33:37
our time
33:37
together.
33:39
Let me read to you again
33:40
Colossians 1, 1, and 2.
33:42
Paul,
33:44
an apostle of Christ Jesus
33:45
by the will of God
33:46
and Timothy, our brother,
33:47
to the saints
33:48
and faithful brothers
33:49
in Christ at Colossae.
33:50
Grace to you
33:51
and peace
33:51
from God our Father.
33:54
A very familiar salutation.
33:56
Most of Paul's openings
33:58
were very similar
33:59
to this.
34:00
He establishes first off
34:02
that he is an apostle
34:03
of Christ Jesus
34:04
by the will of God.
34:07
And I believe he
34:08
intends to do two things here.
34:09
Firstly,
34:09
that this is an expression
34:11
of his entire
34:13
theological perspective
34:15
that all things happen
34:17
by the will of God.
34:21
You remember that
34:21
Paul was once Saul,
34:23
a very zealous persecutor
34:25
of the church of Jesus Christ.
34:27
That he had every intention
34:29
of imprisoning
34:30
all that he could
34:31
who claimed to follow Jesus.
34:35
He was on his way
34:35
to do this very thing
34:36
when Jesus encountered him
34:38
on the road to Damascus.
34:40
You can read about that
34:41
in Acts 9, 1-9.
34:43
Took hold of him.
34:45
Changed his very personhood
34:48
in these moments.
34:50
According to Paul,
34:51
God works all things
34:53
according to the counsel
34:54
of his will.
34:55
It's Ephesians 1, 11.
34:57
I believe he's trying to say
34:59
his entire theological perspective
35:00
that if things come to pass,
35:02
they come to pass
35:03
by God's will.
35:06
I would not be an apostle
35:07
of Jesus Christ.
35:08
I would not be a follower
35:09
of Jesus Christ
35:10
if it had not been
35:11
for God's intervention.
35:13
I would not stand before you
35:14
this morning
35:15
caring at all
35:16
about what Paul had to say
35:17
to the church at Colossae
35:18
if it were not
35:19
for God's intervention
35:21
in my life.
35:22
If God had not turned me
35:23
from an enemy
35:24
to a friend
35:25
by the will of God.
35:28
We are what we are.
35:32
Secondly,
35:33
he needed to make very clear
35:34
to the Colossians
35:36
and to us
35:38
their and our obligation
35:41
to listen to him.
35:43
He was an apostle.
35:46
Capital A Apostle.
35:47
A sent one.
35:48
Sent directly from Jesus Christ.
35:51
Had spent time with him.
35:53
Had been taught by him.
35:55
This is a special category
35:57
in church history.
35:59
There have not been apostles since.
36:01
Little A sent into the world,
36:03
but not capital A.
36:05
Falling in this lineage
36:07
of Jesus' apostles and Paul.
36:10
He was set apart
36:11
for missionary service
36:12
by the Holy Spirit.
36:13
Acts 13.2.
36:16
Commissioned with this calling.
36:18
He authored the vast majority
36:19
of the New Testament.
36:21
He has the authority
36:22
from God
36:24
to speak to us.
36:27
So Paul,
36:27
an apostle of Christ Jesus
36:28
by the will of God.
36:31
And then in verse 2,
36:33
he greets the saints
36:35
and faithful brothers.
36:37
And these are not
36:37
two distinct groups.
36:39
He's kind of piling up
36:40
description
36:41
of the people
36:42
at the church
36:43
at Colossae.
36:45
They're merely qualifiers
36:46
of the same group.
36:49
Saints,
36:49
the Greek word,
36:50
refers to separation.
36:52
These are people
36:53
who have been
36:53
set apart from sin
36:55
and set apart
36:56
to God.
36:58
These are people
36:59
who have been changed.
37:00
No longer sinners
37:01
in need of a Savior,
37:02
but people who have
37:03
received a Savior.
37:04
They are now
37:05
in a new category.
37:06
Saints.
37:08
And the fact that
37:08
they're faithful brothers
37:09
notes the source
37:11
of that separation,
37:13
which is saving faith.
37:15
They had believed
37:16
in the person
37:18
and work
37:19
of Jesus Christ.
37:20
This is the way
37:21
and the only way
37:22
in which God
37:24
saves mankind.
37:26
The great issue
37:26
with mankind
37:27
is that we're separated
37:28
from God
37:28
because of sin.
37:30
Our activity
37:31
says to Him
37:32
that we hate Him
37:33
and His ways.
37:34
And we must
37:35
have somebody
37:36
pay the price
37:37
for that sin
37:38
on our behalf.
37:38
That is the person
37:40
of Jesus Christ.
37:42
All of this
37:43
is also by
37:44
the will
37:44
of God.
37:47
Paul writes
37:47
in Ephesians 2
37:48
verses 8 and 9,
37:51
For by grace
37:51
you have been saved
37:53
through faith.
37:54
And this is not
37:55
your own doing.
37:56
It is the gift
37:56
of God,
37:57
not a result
37:58
of works,
37:59
so that no one
38:00
may boast.
38:02
We are saved
38:02
by grace alone,
38:03
through faith alone,
38:05
in Christ alone.
38:08
If you don't know
38:09
that to be true
38:10
of yourself this morning,
38:11
please heed
38:13
the warning.
38:14
You are being
38:15
swept downriver,
38:17
surely to be taken
38:18
over a large waterfall
38:19
that will crush you
38:20
at the bottom
38:21
if you were not
38:22
saved
38:23
saved by Jesus Christ.
38:26
Galatians 6.14,
38:28
Paul says,
38:29
But far be it
38:30
for me to boast
38:31
except in the cross
38:32
of our Lord Jesus Christ,
38:35
by which the world
38:36
has been crucified
38:36
to me
38:37
and I
38:38
to the world.
38:40
Paul,
38:41
saved by the will
38:42
of God,
38:42
set apart,
38:43
commissioned as an apostle,
38:45
wrote this book
38:46
to the Colossian believers,
38:47
and it has been canonized
38:49
now as an inspired work
38:51
of the Lord God Almighty
38:53
for us to receive
38:55
in these coming months.
38:57
So we have a background,
38:59
a summary,
39:01
and a theme
39:01
for Paul's letter
39:03
to the Colossian believers.
39:04
And we have
39:05
some bearing
39:06
on the salutation.
39:08
I hope that you
39:09
will join me
39:10
with your mind
39:11
and with your heart
39:13
in these coming months
39:14
by praying for our study,
39:16
praying for one another
39:17
as we receive
39:18
God's Word to us,
39:19
by attentively listening,
39:21
by being active listeners,
39:23
taking notes,
39:24
really applying your mind
39:26
to the text
39:27
that's before us,
39:28
and then taking that truth
39:30
and taking it
39:31
from this place
39:32
and living
39:33
by it
39:35
for the glory of God.
39:37
Let's pray together.
39:38
Amen.