Today we are beginning a series on Paul’s letter to the Colossians. We have done  a lot of OT on a Thursday and gone through 2 gospels but it’s a while since we went through an epistle, or letter, from the NT. So from now till end of April we will be going through this book.  So lets see what we know about it.

 

1) Where was it sent to? The church in a town called Colosse on the Lycus river in present day Turkey. And it was the least significant place Paul ever wrote to. In the 1^st Century AD when Paul was writing , it has been described as ‘a second-rate market town’. Even Barnsley wouldnt be described like that. But just as Barnsley can feel overshadowed by our larger neighbours Leeds and Sheffield, so Colosse was overshadowed by its much more important neighbours Laodicea and Hieropolis.

 

2) Then where was it sent from? It was probably written by Paul from prison in Rome around 60AD, about the same time he wrote Philippians, Ephesians and Philemon.

 

3) Why was it written? Well Paul had probably never been to Colosse, though he had spent some time in neighbouring Ephesus, and it is likely that Colosse had been evangelised by some who became Christians at Ephesus during Paul’s mission there. And the leading evangelist seems to have been Epaphras, who had now apparently visited Paul in Rome with news which led him to write this letter. He had discovered that the church there was facing severe pressure from various heretical teachings which produced confusion and  stopped the forward momentum of the church. Ie  they werent sure what to believe any more, or what direction they should be heading in. So Paul writes to them remindng them of the supremacy of Christ- its all about the real Jesus.

 

4) Now you need to know that some scholars, indeed many scholars who would not call themselves evangelical, doubt that Paul wrote this letter. Indeed some doubt that he even wrote Ephesians. The most well known of such scholars today is an American professor called Bart Ehrman who used to be a conservative evangelical Christian and is now an atheist. And he has written several popular books recently pointing out various problems about the NT. And several prominent evangelical NT scholars have written in response showing how those problems can be resolved. The 2 main reasons why Ehrman and others dont think Paul wrote Colossians is firstly that they think the heretical teaching referred to here was 2^nd century Gnosticism, and secondly that the language used here is different from how Paul writes in other letters.

Now in fact Paul writes very differently in his different letters depending on who he is writing to and what he is writing about, and the teaching he was opposing in Colosse  seems to be a bit of a mish mash of legalistic Judaism and  an early form of Gnosticism.

So as far as I am concerned, there is no reason to doubt that Paul wrote this letter to this second rate market town in Turkey while in a Roman prison around 60AD.

 

And because of the false teaching that was becoming very prominent in Colosse at that time I want to call this series Living for Christ in a hostile world. Living for Christ in a hostile world. And that is increasingly the situation we face now in the UK. Things have changed so much in western society in the last 50 years. Our Christian heritage has been ignored, criticised, rejected and as a result forgotten by many people.

Many young people today have not the slightest clue about Jesus and the Christian roots of our society. And so as Christians we are in many ways called to Live for Christ  in a hostile world.  We face all around us anti- Christian heresies in the modern form of Islam and Atheism. And there is the challenge of the older religion of Hinduism, now affecting many spiritual seekers in the West with its talk of meditation, reincarnation, & discovering the divine spark within you.

Then there is the resurgence of ancient paganism and magic which claims to be the ‘old religion’ of Britain. And then we have the cults which have broken away from Christianity, like Jehovah’s Witnesses , Mormons and Moonies. And they are all here in Britain and in Barnsley- and it can be very confusing.

 

So lets see what we can learn from this letter to help us Live for Christ  in this new hostile and indifferent world, and to do it well in the coming months and years.

Colo 1:1  Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Colo 1:1  Pau'lo" ajpovstolo" Cristou'  jIhsou' diaV qelhvmato" qeou' kaiV Timovqeo" oJ ajdelfoV"

Paul doesnt seem to know the church at Colosse so he introduces himself as an apostle. But not a self appointed apostle; not someone who had decided to start his own church or religion. Not an apostle of the Holy Abundant Miracle Centre International, appointed by archbishop Simon Peter from Jerusalem. No.  He was an apostle not of an organisation, but of Jesus Christ. And he was appointed not by men, but by God- although of course he was recognised by the other apostles in Jerusalem. But also he has a partner- Timothy. Timothy was a young man who Paul took with him on several of his missionary journeys and who then seems to have been with him in prison in Rome and involved in some way in the writing of several of Paul’s letters. So this is not just a one man show. Maybe Paul is saying, ‘what I am writing is not just my ideas- I am under the authority of God and Jesus Christ and Timothy can vouch for what I am writing.’

2  To the holy and faithful brothers in Christ at Colosse:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father. 

2  toi'" ejn Kolossai'" aJgivoi" kaiV pistoi'" ajdelfoi'" ejn Cristw'/, cavri" uJmi'n kaiV eijrhvnh ajpoV qeou' patroV" hJmw'n.

Interesting how he describes these Christians- holy and faithful brothers in Christ. Now what does that mean? What would it mean if he called us holy and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ in Barnsley?

Reading an article this week by Jeff Lucas, famous preacher, who said that on his first day at Bible College the professor said ‘10 years from now, many of you wont be following Jesus.’ Apparently the students were stunned- but the prophecy proved true- many of those Bible students did fall away from their faith. And it happens all over the place- not just in Barnsley. People who start off enthusiastic for Jesus , end up on a spiritual scrap heap. Maybe that is why Paul talks about being holy and faithful. What does being holy mean? ......  Gk word is hagios  - sometimes translated a saint; being set apart for God; living different lives from those around us; choosing not to get involved in certain sinful practices that other people get up to; choosing to live by God’s standards.  And what does faithful mean?.....  Gk word is pistos- means having faith or being the kind of person others have faith in; think about it in a marriage context..... means being someone your partner can rely on to always be there for them; never to be tempted and led astray; determined to remain faithful to their marriage vows as long as they both shall live.And that is how we are to live as Christians. Determined to remain faithful to Christ, whatever the cost, however much we get hurt by other people, no matter what suffering we may go through, or how many doubts may fill our minds......we have decided to follow Jesus. We have decided to be faithful to our promises in Baptism and confirmation. And in order to do that we work at our relationship with Jesus day by day so we are not tempted to drift way. We spend time with those we are committed to- esp Jesus.

Are you living as a holy and faithful brother or sister in Christ?

Well grace and peace to you.

 

And note how, as so often, Paul begins this letter with a prayer of thanksgiving

3  We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,

3  Eujcaristou'men tw'/ qew'/ patriV tou' kurivou hJmw'n  jIhsou' Cristou' pavntote periV uJmw'n proseucovmenoi,

Do we do that? Its a great thing to do. Rather than just praying about someone’s problem or illness- if we start by thanking God for them, we see them as whole people not just a person with a particular problem. Try it- it could make a lot of difference to your prayers and how you see certain people.

4  because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints--

4  ajkouvsante" thVn pivstin uJmw'n ejn Cristw'/  jIhsou' kaiV thVn ajgavphn h}n e[cete eij" pavnta" touV" aJgivou"

Again 2 basic qualities of Christian people. Faith in Jesus and love for all the saints. So what does that mean? Gk word pistis means faith or trust or belief. We are to faithfully hold onto our faith in Jesus and learn to trust in Him day by day. And we are to love each other as brothers and sisters- however difficult we can be- however much they hurt us or we hurt them (usually unintentionally)- we are to forgive them and love them.

Faith and love -the 2 basic qualities of the Christian life- without those 2 you cant be a Christian- right?

But note how in this case Paul says that these 2 great qualities are actually dependent on a 3^rd quality- hope. And in the NT hope is not wishful thinking- its knowing for sure that something is going to happen- because God has promised it.

I’m sure you remember how in 1 Cor 13 Paul says ‘these 3 remain faith, hope and love; but the greatest is love.’  Well here he is saying that faith and love actually spring from hope.

 5  the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel

5  diaV thVn ejlpivda thVn ajpokeimevnhn uJmi'n ejn toi'" oujranoi'", h}n prohkouvsate ejn tw'/ lovgw/ th'" ajlhqeiva" tou' eujaggelivou

What does he mean? Well he seems to mean that the message of the gospel, the good news which was preached to them was all about the hope of eternal life. In a world where there was no clear idea of what might happen when you die, where people at the most hoped for a rest from their labours in some shadowy underworld, and maybe some kind of paradise if they were lucky, but maybe some horrible torture if they werent lucky, the Christian message of the assurance of  eternal life hit home like a glorious bombshell. We cant really imagine the impact that message would have had. These pagan Colossians were just trying to get through the weary trials of life, with no apparent meaning or purpose behind it all, before they entered a totally unknown territory after death. And then they heard the message that God, the creator of the universe, loved the human race including them, so much that he sent his son to become man, to show them how to live and to reveal to them what God was really like; and then to die on a cross as a sacrifice for the sins of every human being, before rising from the dead and then ascending to heaven. And if they put their trust in Him, they would also go to heaven with Jesus when they died and would rise with him in a new resurrected body when He came back to earth. So this was the sure hope that they had latched onto when they first heard the gospel. For this wonderful message they were willing to suffer and even to die- because what they had to look forward to was far greater than what they were leaving behind.

And because of this firm hope they were able to keep on trusting in Jesus day by day and loving difficult people day by day, because they knew they would be spending eternity with them.

And Paul emphasises this again when he talks about the word of truth, the gospel.

The gospel of Jesus is actually true. Many people today claim it is a lie or a delusion. Richard Dawkins says we are all suffering from a God delusion. Others claim that the Bible is mistaken and that Christianity is finished. And some will be convinced by their claims and even give up their faith in Jesus. But its all true. Its true. Its the atheists who are deluded- because they cant see what is blindingly obvious to us.

They refuse to accept anything spiritual or deep – they claim everything can be reduced to matter and energy and chance. But they leave out the most important things in life- love, reason, morality, beauty and worship- none of which can be explained by atheism.

We have a firm hope of eternal life based on strong evidence and true facts.

6  that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth.

6  tou' parovnto" eij" uJma'", kaqwV" kaiV ejn pantiV tw'/ kovsmw/ ejstiVn karpoforouvmenon kaiV aujxanovmenon kaqwV" kaiV ejn uJmi'n, ajf= h|" hJmevra" hjkouvsate kaiV ejpevgnwte thVn cavrin tou' qeou' ejn ajlhqeiva/:

In the first 300 years after Jesus’ resurrection the church grew dramatically – all over the world.

It penetrated every corner of the |Roman Empire and got as far east as Syria, Persia & India (and  a bit later China) and as far south as Egypt and Ethiopia. And it grew without any political power behind it, with no armies to enforce it, no money to buy converts, no ruler to cosy up to. It grew amidst firm and often brutal persecution, with the political authorities usually disapproving if not actually banning its practices.It grew by ordinary, often poor, men and women who were gripped by the truth of its message and the power of its love and were willing to give their own lives to pass on that message of hope and love and truth. By 300AD possibly 20% of the Roman Empire’s 50 million population were Christians.

And what about today? Worldwide the church today is growing like wild fire. In Africa, South America and Asia, millions are coming to Christ as lay preachers and evangelists pass on the message of Christ from village to village and city to city. Today there are over 1 billion Roman Catholics and over 1 billion other Christians out of a world population of 7 billion. And despite recurring pronouncements in the West over the past 150 years about the demise of Christianity- it is still growing strong- as in Paul’s day.

Why is is growing? Because in the gospel of Christ men and women find the grace of God in truth. They find a life changing experience allied to established facts of history and  a world view which makes sense of all of life. As John wrote in John 1

John 1:17  For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

 

7 You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our  behalf,

7  kaqwV" ejmavqete ajpoV  jEpafra' tou' ajgaphtou' sundouvlou hJmw'n, o{" ejstin pistoV" uJpeVr uJmw'n diavkono" tou' Cristou',

So Epaphras it seems had heard Paul preaching in Ephesus, given his life to Christ, stayed on in Ephesus to learn all he could from Paul and then gone back to his home town of Colosse. There he started sharing the message of Christ, and in time planted a church which was now able to do without him. He had not stayed to become its senior pastor or long term vicar- he had trained up leaders there and then moved on to other ministry. And that is what |I would like to do over the next 5 years or so before I retire.

 

And notice how Paul calls him a beloved fellow servant and a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf. Paul saw Epaphras as somehow representing him and the wider church to the Colossian church. But he didnt say he was lesser in rank than him. There is no trace of hierarchy here. These are brothers in Christ, fellow servants of Christ, faithful ministers of Christ.- so what do you notice? Its all about Christ! Its all about being in his family and serving him and following him.

Lets never get to caught up in church matters that we forget that its all about Jesus. That is Pauls clear message in this letter- its all about Jesus.

8  and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.

8  oJ kaiV dhlwvsa" hJmi'n thVn uJmw'n ajgavphn ejn pneuvmati.

Before telling Paul about all the problems this church wa s having with false teaching, Epaphras  firstly told him about their love in the spirit. Isnt that great?

 And I think thats what visitors to this church find when they come- a people practicing love- but not just a human love, a love springing from the Holy Spirit.

 

A love which can bring prophecy or tongues or pray for healing, but which also welcomes the visitor and comforts the sad, and puts an arm around the lonely. And lets continue to seek to be the kind of church that people can say about us ‘they practice love in the Holy Spirit.’

So in conclusion we see in these opening verses a call to holiness and faithfulness, a reminder of the sure hope of eternal life we have in the gospel, an encouragement to keep on loving- and at the heart of it all- its all about Jesus.