Fellow Servants of Christ

Read Colossians 4:10-18

Paul's letter to the Colossians concludes with a portrait gallery of pen-pictures of his circle of friends and helpers. They live again for us in these verses.




First: three Jewish Christians (v.11). Aristarchus, who shared Paul's imprisonment, possibly voluntarily in order to serve Paul. Mark, who had failed so badly once that Paul would not have him as a companion; he is now back in his place on the team and is fully accepted. (Do we ever harbor grudges and keep people down by reminding them of their failures?) And Jesus, called Justus. Some commentators have wondered whether he changed his name in order to avoid using the same name as his Savior.




Second: five Gentile Christians (non Jews), all very different. Epaphras, the man of prayer, who is "working hard" (v.13), which demonstrates that prayer and hard work are not mutually exclusive, and that prayer is not a way of avoiding work! Luke, a dear friend and a doctor, which was God's way of providing a personal health service for Paul. Demas, who later yielded to the pressures of the world and walked away from his responsibilities. Nympha, who opened her house for the Christians to meet in - a risky thing to do in those days. And Archippus, a leader in Colossae, who needed to be encouraged to keep going and not to give up.

Have you ever wondered how your Christian service would be summed up in one sentence?

Prayer: Lord God, so work in my life that I may, in the end, hear Your commendation, "Well done, good and faithful servant." To you alone be the glory. Amen.

Devoted to Prayer

Read Colossians 4:2-9

1. Dealing with God (v.2-4). There are four factors in prayer to consider here: two concerned with our attitude in prayer ("devoted" and "watchful"); and two concerned with the content of our prayer ("thankful", "pray for us, too"). "Watchful" suggests the sentry, on alert. Alert for what? Could it be for the voice of God answering our prayer? Do we make time to listen? "Pray for us," says Paul, reminding us not to be self-centered in our prayer.

2. Dealing with Non-Believers (v.5,6). "Be wise" suggests careful thought about our relationships with non-Christians; we have to remember that though they may not read or value the Bible, they are "reading" us. We may be the only bible they ever read. "Seasoned with salt" suggests deliberately including in our conversation comments which draw attention to God's plan for the great scheme of things.

3. Dealing with One Another (v.7-9). Paul doesn't stop at asking for their prayers, he takes care to supply them with information to help them to pray (v.8). "Onesimus, our faithful and dear brother" (v.9), was in fact a slave who had run away from Colossae and had come under Paul's influence in Rome. He is "one of you"; this means he is to be accepted back as if nothing had happened.

Prayer: Lord, I confess that I have stopped bothering to pray about... Draw me back to You. Give me a heart for those in need. Through Christ my Lord. Amen.

Yielding to Christ

Read Colossians 3:18-4:1

1. Where Problems Start. Most of our lives are lived in some sort of relationship with other people - at home with our families, where each member has to learn to make some sacrifices for the sake of the family as a whole; at leisure with our friends, when we get together to enjoy common activities; or at work, where employer and employee, manager and apprentice are all involved in a network of relationships. We were made to live like this, but we quickly discover that this is where most of our problems begin. Our relationships can bring us great joy, but they can also result in quarrels, misunderstandings, jealousies, and so on.

2. Where Answers Begin. The key phrases are "in the Lord" (v.18), "pleases the Lord" (v.20), "reverence for the Lord" (v.22), "serving/working for the Lord" (vs.23, 24), and, most explicitly of all, "you also have a Master" (4:1). In other words, we do not rest content with training to be better managers, studying domestic relationships, etc. We are to see all these relationships as coming under the control of Christ. We are to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ (Ephesians 5:21). If this principle was really put into practice it would solve many of our problems, for what too frequently becomes a collision of wills would become a common concern to know and to do the will of God.

Prayer: Lord God, You have involved so many people in the story of my life, and I am grateful; help me, in all of my relationships, to seek to do Your good and perfect will. For Jesus' sake. Amen.

Put on Love

Read Colossians 3:12-17

Here, we are called upon to do two different things - First "Put on" or "clothe" (v.12, 14); second, "Let..." (v.15,16). In the first case we have to take positive steps to do something; in the second we have a more passive part to play - we allow something to influence us. Both have their place in Christian discipleship.

1. "Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience" (v.12). Here are five qualities which, as Christians, we are to cultivate. Paul does not mean that we have to pretend to have them, putting them on like an actor's make-up. He means to cultivate them as a gardener might cultivate flowers. We are also to "put on love" (v.14). This is like the string on which the pearls are threaded; without love the Christian virtues can be an untidy, unseemly mess; with love, they are orderly, winsome, and attractive.

2. "Let the peace of Christ rule..." (v.15). We cannot in any sense contribute to this; but we can open ourselves to Jesus Christ, in prayer and in trust, so that He controls us in thought, word and deed. His peace flows from absolute confidence in God. It is not affected by changes in our circumstances or in the world round about us. Then, Paul adds, "let the word of Christ dwell..." (v.16). Again, this is a case of keeping our minds and hearts open, remembering His Word, meditating on His commands. Results are sure to follow.

Prayer: Lord God, I need Your peace in my life to enable me to live at peace with others; so give me Your love, also, for I cannot be at war with those I truly love. In the name of Christ. Amen.

Therefore...

Read Colossians 3:1-11

1. The Root of Christian Behavior. The apostle turns from matters of Christian doctrine and the special problems of the church at Colossae; now he deals with down-to-earth problems, specifically, with the question of behavior. These are not really separate subjects; they are closely linked, as verse 1 proves: "raised with Christ" means sharing all of the benefits of His death and resurrection - forgiveness, peace with God, salvation, the promise of eternal life, and so on. "(S)eek the things above" means "aim for those things which will please and honor God." To put it rather bluntly, a corpse has no appetite for the food which once nourished it - and Christians have "died" to their old, sinful way of life.
2. The Fruits of Christian Belief. So, we reach the great "therefore" of verse 5. We are to deal sternly with all kinds of evil - immorality (v.5), anger (v.8), lies (v.9) etc. Then, suddenly, Paul changes the metaphor. Instead of using the illustration of dying and rising again, he speaks instead of "putting off" the old way of life, like taking off an old suit. He then continues by urging the Colossians to "put on" the Christian life, like a new set of clothes.

Finally (v.11), Paul shows one outstanding consequence of this new life: it breaks down barriers - racial (Gentile and Jew), religious (circumcised and uncircumcised), cultural (barbarian and Scythian), and social (slave and free). Christ makes us one, whatever the accident of our birth.

Prayer: Lord God, You have given Jesus to be my Savior and my living Lord; I can do no less than to give my full allegiance to You. In the name of Christ. Amen.

A Full and Perfect Sacrifice

Read Colossians 2:16-23

The teachers of error at Colossae were saying that the the cross of Christ was not the only, complete, and final way to be forgiven and accepted by God. That argument has recurred throughout the history of the church. Whenever this argument is voiced it is generally accompanied by an insistence that various rules or laws have to be obeyed in order to gain acceptance. The argument seems to be that, if Jesus Christ did not pay the toll fee in full, then those who want to cross the bridge to reconciliation with God must pay in part themselves. In Colossae, this led to rules about what could and could not be done on the Sabbath (Sunday for the early Church), rules about what could be eaten, and when, and so on. This was, in effect, a throw-back to how the Jews had understood religion before the time of Christ. It is, essentially, a religion based on merit. It confuses actions necessary for our salvation with actions that are appropriate because of our salvation. It mistakes the fruit of faith for its root.

Merit-based religion is still very popular. It can be detected easily. Those who practice merit-based religion are very fond of doing what verse 16 forbids. Some of the taboos are listed in verse 21. They contradict the plain teaching of Jesus in Mark 7:14-23. Notice how Paul restates the point in Colossians 2:23 - keeping strict rules and regulations may appear to be a very faithful way of living the Christian life, but in fact it is without merit in terms of salvation. "I came here to escape the temptations of the flesh," said the man in the monastery. "And did you succeed?" he was asked. ""No," the man replied, "for I find that I brought myself with me when I came...".

The underlying point to get clear is that if we distort the doctrine of Christ's full, perfect and sufficient sacrifice for our sin, by either adding to it or taking something away, then we are bound to get our Christianity wrong in almost every other respect.

Prayer: O Lord, Your death was really a triumph; may something of its power be revealed in me today. Amen.

The Fullness of Christ

Read Colossians 2:8-15

Again, Paul warns about the teachers of error; their "hollow and deceptive philosophy" (v.8) came from to sources - human tradition and spiritual agencies. Ephesians 6:12 is worth looking at on this matter. There is plenty of this kind of thing about today.

The answer, once again, is the fact that Jesus Christ is absolute and supreme. In Him there is:

1. "The Fullness of the Deity" (v.9). This means that He was and is truly and fully God, even as He was truly and fully man. This is hard to explain, but it is what gives verse 14 its authority - the "bridge" rests firmly on both sides of the chasm of sin, on God and Man, and because of this, many may cross it and be saved.


2. "Fullness in Christ" (v.10). This is the other side of the coin. The same Lord Jesus Christ who is fully God is able to fill us; that is, He renews, in us, the life of God, so that we become what we were always meant to be - those who know, love, and obey our Maker. So, there is no room and no need for any other bridge between God and humanity; Jesus Christ meets every need. He can carry all of the traffic that there ever could be between sinful man and a holy God. And the toll for the crossing? Verses 12 and 14 tell us how this was paid.

Prayer: Lord, I seek the fullness of Christ in me. May I know more and more of Your life in mine. For Your glory. Amen.

Christ the Key

Read Colossians 2:1-7

1. The key to God's treasure. Paul writes, here, about those false teachers who were leading the Colossians astray (v.4). They seem to have been saying that, between man and God, there exists a series of angelic beings, and that Jesus was only one of these. But Paul is firm in his opposition. Today's English Version translates verse 3 in this way: "He is the key that opens all the hidden treasures of God's wisdom and knowledge." In other words, there may be many treasures, but there is only one key. God's treasures - love, mercy, truth, and so on - are not scattered around carelessly. Remember how Jesus warned His disciples not to "cast pearls before swine"? But these same treasures are available to anyone who uses the key.

2. The secret of God's life. Then the word-pictures change. Instead of the Christian being seen as a person with the key, opening up the storehouse of God's bounty, the Christian is seen as a living plant or a sturdy house, "rooted and established" in Jesus Christ (v.7). These two pictures appear to contradict one another, but Paul is simply using different metaphors. Mixing metaphors never bothered Paul. He simply wants to emphasize one thing , that Christians have only one source of life, that they rest on only one basis, and that is Jesus Christ Himself. When we first come to Christ we do so with simple trust and confidence; we must keep that confidence and trust as we grow in Him (v.6).

Prayer: Help me, Lord, to abound in thanksgiving as I live my life in Your strength and build my life on Your truth. Amen.

Christ in You

Read Colossians 1:24-29

Reading this passage is a little like peeling an onion. As each layer is removed another is revealed until the very heart of the text is laid bare before us. Paul leads us from one level to the next.

First Layer: Paul is suffering as a prisoner, but he knows how to rejoice (v.24).

Second Layer: in some mysterious way, Paul's suffering is part of the total of Christ's suffering for His people (v.24).

Third Layer: Christ's people are so closely related to Him tht they can be described as His "Body" (v.24).

Fourth Layer: Paul had been set apart to serve that Body (v.24).

Fifth Layer: The way Paul serves the Body of Christ is by proclaiming the Word of God (v.25).

Sixth Layer: That Word concerned something that had only recently been made known (v.26).

Seventh Layer: this new development, recently revealed, was that the Gentiles (the non-Jews) had been brought into the circle of God's grace (v.27).

Eighth Layer: the very heart of the matter - this, Word of God, was all about "Christ in you..." (v.27); not simply about Jesus as some far-off or theoretical person, but "Christ in you," that is, the tremendous truth that the Savior actually lives in every person who truly believes and trusts in Him.

This was Paul's message. It involved "warning", teaching", "toil", and "striving" (vs. 28, 29), so it wasn't likely to make Paul very popular, neither did it describe an easy life for those who accepted Jesus Christ as Lord. But, what a gift, to have Him living within you! That alone makes it possible for us to live as Christ's disciples.

Prayer: "Christ in you, the hope of glory." Lord Jesus, make Yourself so real to me today that the light of hope may shine out through all I do or say. Amen.

The Image of the Invisible God

Read Colossians 1:15-23

1. "He..." (vs.15-20). Jesus Christ is the true "image" of God (vs.15, 19); that is one reason for taking our Bible reading very seriously, since it is in the Bible that we meet Jesus. But Christ is not just some kind of carved and painted figure, like an idol or icon. See how many different things He is described as being and doing in verses 16 to 18. The most important is put last, for emphasis (v.20). It mattered more to Jesus, and it cost Him more, to "make peace" between you and God than it did to fling the stars into space and to build the universe.

2. "And you..." (vs.21-23). Christian doctrine has to do with real people in real-life situations - "you" in Colossae, in London, in New York, in Lake Jackson. The paragraph has two parts: (a) What Christ has done (vs.21,22). Again, try to pick out the highlights. There is no one else like Jesus. To be the Church is to proclaim the fulness of the Godhead in Christ. No less will do. (b) What we have to do (v.23). Our part is straight-forward - holding on to what we have been given. "Every creature under heaven" - this is obviously a figure of speech. Paul means "far and wide across the Roman Empire." The Gospel has been proclaimed far and wide. It is beginning to bear rich fruit. That is a process that continues to this day. What kind of fruit are you bearing?







Prayer: For all that Jesus is and for all that He has done, I thank You, heavenly Father. Amen.

Help for Today

Read Colossians 1:9-14

Paul had not visited Colossae - but he was often there, in his prayers. Note what Paul prays for: he outlines a program for Christian living.

1. Knowledge of God's will (v.9). Note that this is not just head-knowledge or human wisdom, it is "spiritual"; that is, it is given by God's Spirit to receptive Christians.

2. Living in God's way (v.10). This is made up of several parts: obedience, which pleases Him; good works, which are the "fruit" of His presence; and, a growing understanding of what God is like, which brings us nearer to Him.

3. Made strong with God's power (v.11). The purpose of this is not to help us to perform spectacular miracles, it is to help us to endure and to be patient. We don't usually think so much about this kind of virtue, but it's a sign of strength when we can suffer patiently, and "with joy."

4. Acknowledging God's favor (v.12). Usually, when we talk about people being qualified we are referring to their ability and their achievements; but see how, in this text, it is God who qualifies us. How? See verses 13, 14.

Prayer: Your will, Your way, Your power, Your favor, O God; let these dominate my life today. For Christ's sake. Amen.

At Colossae

Read Colossians 1:1-8

1. "At Colossae..." "Faithful brethren..." This passage gives us insight into the daily surroundings and the human relationships of the Christians in Colossae. They were under immense pressure to conform to the way of life of the vast majority of people in a city noted for its idolatry, its paganism, and its loose morality. Followers of Jesus went about their daily tasks worried about making a living, but also facing the hostility of their idol-woshipping neighbors. They also had to endure the suspicions of those who did not believe it possible both to acknowledge Jesus as Lord and to be loyal to Caesar. As "brethren" they had to take special care of one another. The Roman world could be very harsh on outsiders; there was no safety net, no Social Security. The Christians had to learn to depend upon one another.

2. "In Christ..." "saints..." The passage also emphasizes the unseen world in which they also lived. Although they lived and worked in one world, they also inhabited another. In fact, they were to take that other world with them into their everyday experience. Even as they dealt with the pressures of the day, they were to draw on the strength and grace of Jesus Christ. They were "saints," which means that they were "set apart for the purposes of God."













To what extent are we citizens of another country? As we go about the business of our lives, do we remember that we are also citizens of the Kingdom of God?


Prayer: Lord God, thank You for Jesus, and for the peace that He can bring, even in a troubled world. May I live in hope and learn to cast all of my cares upon Him. Amen.