Colossians - Bible Study Week 7 "Who Likes to Suffer?"

Colossians 1:24–29 (NKJV)

“I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church, ²⁵ of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God, ²⁶ the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. ²⁷ To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. ²⁸ Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. ²⁹ To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily. “

How can anyone rejoice in their sufferings? Who gets happy when they suffer especially if someone else is the beneficiary? I mean if I am suffering shouldn’t I at least get something out of it? That is how the majority of us think, but Paul was asking “How much more can I put into it?”

Paul suffered greatly by spreading the Gospel. Just read the Book of Acts some time (chapters 21-28 especially) to see just what he went through for the cause of Christ.  Paul shared the same feelings as Peter and the other apostle as stated in Acts 5:41 when they said they were “counted worthy to suffer the shame for His name.”

When he says that he fills up in his flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, he is telling them (and us) that he knows that there is much more suffering that he and others must endure to fully follow Christ.

 The next point he makes in these verses is the “mystery” that was hidden for ages and now disclosed. This mystery is the salvation of the Gentiles which he explains in the subsequent verses and is further explained in Romans 16:25–27:

“Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began ²⁶ but now made manifest, and by the prophetic Scriptures made known to all nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith”

You can also read his full explanation in his letter to the Ephesians starting in chapter 3. The gist of it is that God told Abraham in Gen 22:18 that “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed” and as Paul would have said, before his conversion and along with the other Jews, is that the only way the Gentiles could be saved was through conversion to Judaism (called proselytes). The good news of salvation came to the Jews first then came to the Gentiles second. We are the wild branch that has been grafted in as explained in Romans chapter 11. This salvation of the Gentiles through Jesus Christ without having to be circumcised and without strict adherence to the ceremonial and sacrificial laws is the mystery that Paul is referring to.

I want to take a minute to explain that last statement. When Jesus said in Matthew 5:17 that he did not come to “destroy the law but to fulfill” He was referring to the ceremonial and sacrificial laws that were fulfilled by His sinless life and sacrificial death on the cross. The moral law is still in effect and is upheld in the New Testament. As a gentile, we are still obligated to uphold the moral laws as defined in the Ten Commandments.

Paul then gives us why he (and other teachers) preach Jesus. It is so every person can be presented before Christ in perfection. This won’t happen until we are glorified in His presence but being taught God’s Word and living by it is part of the sanctification (being set apart) process that will continue until the day of Christ Jesus. (See Phil 1:6)

It is interesting that Paul uses the words ‘warning’ and ‘teaching.’ Both words in the Greek mean “to instruct” but the word for ‘warning’ means ‘to admonish (caution or advise)’ whereas the word for ‘teaching’ means to “instruct by communication of information or skills.” What Paul is saying is that God’s Word contains information for both our sanctification (being set apart for holiness) and our edification (being built up in Christ).

So what is our application in all this?

Ask yourself these questions and you will find the application of this teaching:

1.     What am I doing for the cause of Christ? How am I suffering for Jesus and others?

2.     What is my attitude toward the Jewish people? Since they are the root that I am grafted into, how can I show them love and share the Messiah, Jesus with them?

3.     Am I allowing God to set me apart for holiness or am I still continuing to engage in sinful activities that is preventing my sanctification?

4.     Am I being edified by the Word of God by regularly attending a good Bible teaching church, attending a Bible study and studying God’s Word on my own?

I pray that you will be blessed and encourage by this weeks study!

In Christ,

Mike

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Colossians - Bible Study Week 6

Colossians 1:19-23

“For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, ²⁰ and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.

²¹ And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled ²² in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight— ²³ if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.”

The first thing we see in verse 19 is that it “pleased the Father.” The word here in the original language means “to seem good to one” and “to do willingly” and the word for “fullness” is used to describe a ship manned with all things like sailors, rowers and soldiers, etc) and was used by the gnostic false teachers to describe the sum of all divinely attributes. Since Paul was refuting these teachers, it is significant that he was using this word.

So we can read this as follows: “It seemed good to God that His Son should contain the fullness of God and all things needed to reconcile man back to Him such that He was willing to send His Son to the cross and offer up His blood to make peace.”

The most important thing we have to realize as sinners is that we need to be reconciled to God. Sin separates us from God and we were born with a dead spirit that inhibits us to have a relationship with Him.

We can’t work for our salvation because the Bible does not tell us how many good things to do and I, for one, do not want to see God with a scale comparing my good deeds and bad deeds. We are saved by faith through grace (Eph 2:8) and now we have peace with God as exemplified in the following verses:

Romans 5:1

“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”

Eph 2:14

“For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation”

And another thing to note is that it is not just man who is reconciled, it is the entire universe (“things on earth or things in heaven”) and we see this in Revelation Chapter 5 when no one is worthy to open the seven sealed scroll except for “a Lamb as though it had been slain…” This lamb is Jesus Christ and the scroll is the title deed to creation. It was lost by Adam in the Fall and will be regained by Jesus Christ.

Verses 21-22 points out that we were “alienated” (means “to be shut out from one’s fellowship and intimacy”) and “enemies” (means “one who is hateful, despises God, the hostile one) to God but we have been reconciled through the death of Christ. Our ledger of bad deeds has been wiped clean.

I don’t think we can fully grasp the goodness of God’s love demonstrated to us while we were hateful, spiteful and enemies towards God.

Romans 5:8

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Verse 23 hints at losing your salvation and can be confusing if read superficially and not in context. The word “reconciled” in verse 21 is in the past tense and in the indicative mood. This means that it is a simple statement of fact that we have been reconciled. It is a past event that has occurred. Warren Wiersbe explains this pretty well so I wanted to include his comments on this:

“Paul used an architectural image in this verse—a house, firmly set on the foundation. The town of Colossae was located in a region known for earthquakes, and the word translated “moved away” can mean “earthquake stricken.” Paul was saying, “If you are truly saved, and built on the solid foundation, Jesus Christ, then you will continue in the faith and nothing will move you. You have heard the Gospel and trusted Jesus Christ, and He has saved you.”

In other words, we are not saved by continuing in the faith. But we continue in the faith and thus prove that we are saved. It behooves each professing Christian to test his own faith and examine his own heart to be sure he is a child of God” (Warren Wiersbe – The Bible Exposition Commentary)

The things we need to take away from these verses is that we have been reconciled through Christ and if we have truly been reconciled then our lives will show it. I close with the words of Jesus in John 15:5

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”