We live in a time where people have many questions. Our current culture has a tendency to lean towards science as proof that there can be no God, and yet still so many are searching for meaning.
Many people reject out hand the notion of there being a divine creator of the universe, while happily accepting advice through astrology.
In an age where humans are considered to be enlightened and more aware of how we all got here, the questions that often get asked about why we are here can often feel very current and contemporary, and yet the very same questions were being asked at the time when Paul wrote his letter to the Colossians.
Colossae was one of three cities not far from Ephesus, the others being Laodecia and Hierapolis. While in the past Colossae had been a successful place, it gradually became a smaller town, and yet the church there managed to attract Paul’s attention.
It was a place where many varied philosophies were bandied around, much like Mars Hill where Paul visited in Athens where they even had an altar to “an unknown God”, which he was able to use as a way to introduce the Athenians to Jesus.
While Colossae had a strong Jewish community, there was also a strong wave of new ideas and philosophies which were coming in from the East, which was allowing for confusion and even heresies to build up in the church.
We don’t hear about Colossae in the book of Acts, because Paul never visited - he had heard of their faith, but had not met them face to face.
Imagine what an honour it must have been for these people to receive this letter, to be commended on your faith and to be sent this encouragement.
The Colossian church was a result of Paul’s ministry in Ephesus, which had seen such success that the nearby towns and cities were all reached by the witness of the Ephesian church.
In Philemon we can see that there were two men who came to faith who were from Colossae - Philemon himself, and Epaphras, who it appears was one of the founding members of the church in Colossae, and also had ministries in the surrounding towns.
From what we are able to know of these individuals, it offers us a good reminder that God is very capable of using all kinds of people for his purposes. When he calls someone into ministry, it doesn’t have to be “full time Christian work”. He simply takes us with whatever we have, and makes use of us.
Similarly, He doesn’t wait until a flashy building has been built, or until we have fully established an organisation with a trendy logo and stationery.
The challenge for larger, established churches and organisations is to look outwards, to be a resource and a support to the smaller places further afield. to
At the time when this letter was written, the Colossian church was probably about five years old, and mostly Gentile in its membership. Paul was writing because the ministry of the church was facing a crisis.
There were new doctrines being taught, and this was causing distraction and confusion in the church, with many problems being created. Paul was writing to set the record straight, to highlight the heretical teachings that were going around, and to reestablish the truth of the gospel and the centrality of Christ in their faith.
Paul was not only an effective preacher, but also an excellent encourager, and the opening statement in his letter to the Colossians is a great example of his ability to encourage by saying how thankful he is for them. If we bear in mind the fact that Paul was writing this while in prison, it is all the more remarkable that he is able to find such joy and thanksgiving despite his own circumstances.
Just as Paul was grateful for what God was doing in the lives of others, so we can follow his example, as we are all members of one body. If one church experiences the benefits of revival, then that becomes an encouragement to all the churches.
The gospel had to be brought to Colossae, through the ministry of Epaphras, who most likely came to faith through Paul’s ministry in Ephesus and then brought the good news back to his home town.
The Colossian church had begun to be influenced by Eastern philosophy, while at the same time there was a tendency for a heavy handed religious legalism. While the gospel is good news, sometimes the focus can be more on sin and judgement which can make the good news seem more like bad news of condemnation.
Paul carefully goes back over the good news, reminding the Colossians of the key characteristics of the gospel message.
First of all, the gospel centers around a person, the person of Jesus Christ. There was some false teaching going around which was attempting to remove Jesus from his rightful place as central, and as Lord. The gospel message doesn’t center around a philosophy, or any kind of religious system. These are all things that we build ourselves. It centers around Jesus, and Jesus alone.
The gospel is also the word of truth, meaning that it comes from God, that it is trustworthy. There are all kinds of things that we can say that are true, but God alone is truth. When we put our trust in God, we find fullness and the opportunity to live according to his truth.
We all have to put our faith in something. When we go over a bridge we put our faith in the engineers that built it. When we eat food in a restaurant we put our faith in the chef and hope we don’t get food poisoning.
But faith is only as good as the thing we choose to trust, and God alone is the ultimately faithful one, and unfailingly so.
A member of a distant tribe might worship a totem, while busy city dwellers might worship money or possessions, but these things cannot support or satisfy. The faith of the Christian believer has faith in truth, and in truth that saves where nothing else can.
The gospel is also the message of God’s grace. So often we confuse the words grace and mercy. In his grace, God gives us what we don’t deserve, and yet in his mercy he does not give us what we do deserve. This is the reason why the gospel is such good news - it’s because of his grace. God is both willing and able to save those who will put their trust in him. The gospel of grace is on the one hand so straightforward and simple, and yet on the other it is profoundly mysterious, entirely unfathomable.
For all our studying and talking, we will always find ourselves back at that point of God’s grace offered to all.
In the 17th century, when the historian John Selden was dying, he said “I have surveyed most of the learning that is among the songs of men, and my study is filled with books and manuscripts on various subjects. But at present, I cannot recollect any passage out of all of my books and papers whereon I can rest my soul, save this from the sacred scriptures: ‘The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men.’”
The gospel is also for the whole world. Not all gifts are good gifts - a book is no use for someone who cannot read, cash is no use if it is the wrong currency. The only gift that is good and suitable for all people is the gospel. It is suitable for the whole world.
Paul said that the gospel was bearing fruit throughout the whole world. It is a seed that can be planted anywhere are it will bear fruit. This is not the case for false teachers - they don’t take their message all over the world but hold it close to their chest to take advantage of others, going where the gospel has already reached in an attempt to distort it and lead believers astray.
But salvation comes from hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ, and for others to hear that message, those of us who are saved are called to do our part and carry the message with us wherever we go.
The Colossian church, for all the troubles that they were facing with people bringing in new and distracting ideas, were a committed group of believers who Paul points out had some defining factors. They believed, they were discipled, and they were faithful.
The believed in Jesus Christ, which is important because it’s perfectly possible to hear something and not beleive it. Many people have heard the good news but chosen not to accept it. We are not saved by faith in faith, but by faith in Christ.
The Colossians were also discipled. We can throw around all kinds of ideas about what we think discipleship is or what it means, but in its most basic form it is about responding to the call of Jesus which is “follow me”.
We never graduate from being disciples, because following Jesus is a lifelong call that we will be taking part in for every day of our Christian lives.
At the time when Paul was writing his letter, a disciple was understood to be someone who didn’t simply listen to a teacher, but they went everywhere with them, watching and observing their lives.
I wonder what that would look like for us today, if we spent our time looking for Christ in our midst throughout our day. When we disciple others, we don’t make our own disciples but we point others to Jesus.
And the Colossians were faithful, holding firm to the gospel despite the false teaching that was prevalent around them and threatening to draw people away.
Faithfulness in Christ isn’t always easy, but the good news is that we have a God who is the ultimate faithful one.
Where we are weak and struggle, he gives us strength. Sometimes we might feel discouraged that we aren’t seeing breakthrough or revival, but the truth is that God really is at work in his church.
Sometimes we miss the little things that he is doing because we are too busy looking out for the big things, but it’s through faithfulness, through believing that Jesus is sufficient, and by being those disciples who follow him, that we will see him move in power in us and through us.
The question is, are we ready for what he has in store for us when it comes?
The thread that runs through the opening to Paul’s letter to the Colossians is one of gratefulness. His desire is that those who are coming to faith in Christ will be able to learn how to be truly thankful. For Paul, gratitude is a sign of a healthy Christian who is growing in faith and becoming mature in Christ.
Just as false gods and human ideologies cannot bring satisfaction, the false teaching that was threatening the Colossian church couldn’t compare with the truth of the gospel of Christ, and the thankfulness that rises up in a believer.
So today, just as the early church kept their focus, may we fix our eyes on the one true God, and keep our attention on Jesus so that we may not be distracted away from his truth.
1