The book of Colossians was written by Apostle Paul to the church in Colossae. Colossae was an ancient city of Phrygia in Asia Minor, and one of the most celebrated cities of southern Anatolia, modern day Turkey.
Paul’s letters are a constant reminder of how we as believers in the body of Christ should always uphold each other in prayer and from what Paul writes, the Colossae church was a church of faith. “We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ and of the love you have for all God’s people.” It’s one thing to have faith in God, and it’s another thing to have love for all God’s people, for majority of us, we have the former, but the latter becomes an issue or a case of just loving ‘some’ people. Love is the greatest gift of all, love never fails, but where there are prophecies, they will cease, where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away 1Corinthians 13:8.
What is a life worthy of the Lord? what does it mean to live for God? Paul’s prayer to the church in Colossae, shows us that a worthy life is one that should come from God, “we ask God to fill us with the knowledge of His will through all the wisdom and understanding the Spirit gives.” There you have it, God is the one who fills us with the knowledge of His will through wisdom and understanding the Holy Spirit gives. “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: ‘He catches the wise in the craftiness’” 1Corinthians 3:19. God is the one who gives us the knowledge and wisdom, not only to understand things, but to know His will for our lives, why? “so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might, so that you may have great endurance and patience.”
After you’ve lived a worthy life what’s next? Always give thanks to God, because it is He that enables you through His Holy Spirit, therefore “give joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified to share in the inheritance of His holy people in the kingdom of light.” Peter reminds us in 2:10 “ once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” The Gentiles are not a cursed lot, God has always had good plans for us, “For He rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” Talk about love and mercy, thank you Lord.
So then, how powerful is the Son? scripture tells us, “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.” Jesus Christ who is the Son of the Living God, is the image we have of God and He’s the firstborn over all creation. “For in Him all things were created: things in Heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through Him and for Him.” Everything that we see and even that which we do not see, was created through Him and for Him. I look at world power and supremacy battles, each country trying to be greater than the other, and thinking that they can control the whole world. Everything that we see down here will eventually come to an end and the True King will come and reign, and of His Kingdom there shall be no end.
“He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” Jesus is the glue that holds us all together! He’s the great High Priest who has ascended into Heaven, Jesus the Son of God, therefore, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to feel sympathy for our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet He did not sin,” Hebrews 4:14-15. “He is the head of the body, the church,” (His church). It’s unfortunate how pastors have made the church to be a place where others don’t feel welcomed, simply because they run things, not according to how God wants, but according to how they want. Am very careful with my words when it comes to men and women of God, but fact of the matter is false prophets are on the rise and more and more people are being lured into their fake miracles. “Jesus is the beginning and the Firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything, He might have the supremacy,” why you might ask? because “God was pleased to have all His fullness (God’s fullness) dwell in Him (Christ), and through Him (Christ) to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in Heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross.” Let’s decipher this step by step, this is deep.
All that is in God, He’s full capacity, is in Christ, dwelling in Him, because not only was He pleased with Him, but because Jesus is pure and blameless and because God wanted to reconcile man to Himself after sin entered into the world, the Only perfect person found to be capable of handling it all, was His Son Jesus Christ. Through Jesus Christ, you and me have been reconciled back to God through the shedding blood that was shed on Calvary. Everything has been laid out, all you have to do, is accept Him as Lord and Saviour, in order to receive, all that God has laid out for you in Christ.
“Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behaviour.” God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all 1John 1:5, sin separates us from God, that is why whenever you do something bad, even if your not a believer, you feel guilty – this is conviction that comes from the Holy Spirit, therefore sin causes us to be enemies with God in our minds, because we are not thinking godly stuff, but worldly and evil stuff that doesn’t please Him. “But now He has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation.” Looking at the death of Christ on the cross through normal human eyes, and you’ll see an innocent man convicted of death, for no crime He committed. But when you look at what really took place at Calvary, then you will be grateful to God for sending His only Son to come and die. Our sentence was already set, and it was death, without hope, without eternity, but Jesus took our place, and became the ultimate sacrifice for all mankind. With His death, we have been reconciled so that we may be presented holy in the sight of God the Father, without blemish and free from all accusation – if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under Heaven and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.
Do you know this gospel? are you a servant of this gospel? if not, do reach out and have someone pray with you, or go to your local church, or even pray to God directly.
Paul laboured and suffered for the church, He became it’s servant by the commission God gave him to present to us the word of God in its fullness, why? “the mystery that had been kept hidden for ages and generations, is now disclosed to the Lord’s people.” What is this mystery? “God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
People thought that the Gentiles were not part of God’s plan, but He has now disclosed to us, the glorious riches of His mystery which is Christ in us, the Hope of Glory. Christ in me, Christ in you, and He is the hope of glory. He’s the hope that we cling to, He’s our prize, He’s our saviour, He’s the image of God. “He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ.”
Memory verse Colossians 1:13 “For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Blessings!!
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