Colossians 1:1-6 ESV
“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.
“We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, 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.”
Saints, Faith and Faithful
Paul wrote this letter to the saints and to the faithful brethren (the Christians) at Colossae. And who are the saints in Christ Jesus? We are those who are set apart by and for God who are different (unlike) the world (the ungodly) because, by genuine God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ we are being conformed by God to the likeness of character of Jesus Christ.
And who are the faithful in Christ Jesus? We are those who are believing (active ongoing faith) in Christ Jesus, who are the faithful (loyal, devoted, trustworthy, committed) in Christ Jesus to our Lord, in practice. We are committed to dying to sin daily and to walking in obedience to our Lord in walks of holiness and righteousness, in the power of God, by God’s grace.
And what is faith? The Greek word is “pistis,” and it means “to be persuaded,” and in this case to be persuaded by God who is the author and the perfecter of our faith, who gifts faith to all who will receive it and who’ll apply it to our lives, a faith which is not of our own doing, which is not of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of the will of God for our lives.
[Hebrews 12:1-2; Ephesians 2:8-10; John 1:12-13; John 6:44]
So, since God/Christ is the author of this faith, from whom our faith comes, and since this faith is gifted to us by God, and it is not of our own doing, not of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, and since this faith is persuaded of God, then this faith is going to align with the character and will of God and with holiness and righteousness and obedience to our Lord.
And what is God going to persuade us about? He is going to persuade us as to his holiness and righteousness and of our sinfulness and of our need to repent (turn from) our sins to follow Jesus in obedience to his commands and to walk (in conduct, in practice) in holiness and in righteousness, and in obedience to our Lord, and not in sin (Romans 1:18-32; Acts 26:18).
Love, Hope, and Grace
And what is this love that we, as followers of Christ, are to have for one another? The Greek word is “agape,” and it centers in moral preference, and it means to prefer what God prefers, which is what is holy, righteous, godly, upright, morally pure, honest, faithful, and obedient to God and to his Word. So, for the believer, it means to prefer to walk in obedience to our Lord.
So, if we love one another with this kind of love, then we will do good to one another, as God defines good, which is all that is moral, upright, honest, and faithful, etc. And it means that we will not deliberately and habitually sin against those we are supposed to be loving with this love which comes from God. And it means, too, that we will speak truth and not lies to each other.
And what is this hope which is being laid up for us in heaven? Well, it is based off the gospel of our salvation. And the gospel that Jesus and his NT apostles taught is not like the one permeating the church in America today, and perhaps in much of the rest of the world. For it does not teach we can profess faith, have all sins forgiven, have heaven secured, end of story.
Jesus taught we must deny self, die daily to sin, and follow him in obedience. For if we hold on to our old lives of living in sin and for self, we will lose them for eternity. But if for Jesus’ sake we die with him to sin and we now live to him and to his righteousness, then we have the hope of salvation from sin and eternal life with God (see Luke 9:23-26; Romans 6:1-23).
And the NT apostles taught that we must walk no longer according to the flesh, but now according to the Spirit, and that we must no longer walk (in conduct, in practice) in sin, but in righteousness and holiness and in obedience to our Lord. For if sin is what we practice, and not obedience to our Lord, and not righteous living, we will not inherit eternal life with God.
[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]
And what is the grace of God, in truth? The grace of God, which is bringing us salvation, trains (instructs) us to renounce (say “No!” to) ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives. For Jesus gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.
[Titus 2:11-14; cf. Romans 6:1-23; Ephesians 2:10; Ephesians 4:17-24]
Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer
Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897
Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.
Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wandering sinner to find.
O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer others to save.
O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.
Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYhiK2nQBg
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