WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.860 Our scripture reading is from the New Testament, from Paul's epistle, his letter to the Colossians, chapter 1, the first eight verses. 00:00:09.140 --> 00:00:15.140 And so if you'd like to turn there in a Bible, and this is God's holy word. 00:00:16.140 --> 00:00:27.080 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy, our brother, to the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae, grace to you and peace from God our Father. 00:00:27.079 --> 00:00:40.099 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. 00:00:41.439 --> 00:00:53.259 Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing, as it also does among you. 00:00:53.259 --> 00:01:01.479 Since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, just as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant. 00:01:02.199 --> 00:01:08.700 He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf and has made known to us your love in the Spirit. 00:01:09.420 --> 00:01:10.719 This is the word of the Lord. 00:01:11.939 --> 00:01:18.560 Well, as Corey intimated, we're beginning a new series in our evening services. 00:01:18.560 --> 00:01:27.159 We're looking at Paul's letter to the Colossians, and so if you have a Bible, you may like to open it at that passage. 00:01:28.060 --> 00:01:40.020 In the summer of 1933, a young German theologian by the name of Dietrich Bonhoeffer gave a series of lectures at the University of Berlin. 00:01:40.019 --> 00:01:50.939 Adolf Hitler had just become chancellor and a time of great social, political upheaval loomed ahead for Germany and indeed for the world. 00:01:51.939 --> 00:01:59.060 Bonhoeffer's lectures on that occasion were on the subject of the person and work of Jesus Christ, Christology. 00:02:00.759 --> 00:02:06.000 Bonhoeffer was executed in April 1945. 00:02:06.000 --> 00:02:20.460 The original manuscript of those lectures was lost, but years later, it was partially reconstructed and published from some of the notes of his students. 00:02:21.460 --> 00:02:26.319 It was given the title, Christ the Center. 00:02:27.319 --> 00:02:32.780 And that's the name we've given to this evening series on Paul's letter to the Colossians. 00:02:32.780 --> 00:02:36.860 For here is an epistle rich in Christology. 00:02:37.500 --> 00:02:47.120 Here is a letter that's very much focused on the centrality, the supremacy, and the sufficiency of Jesus Christ. 00:02:47.900 --> 00:02:53.800 And our plan over these next weeks is to move through the text fairly briskly, 00:02:54.360 --> 00:02:58.479 hopefully covering the letter, I think, in around 13 sermons. 00:02:59.379 --> 00:03:02.360 Hopefully taking us to the end of November. 00:03:02.780 --> 00:03:10.699 But before we dive into the opening verses, it might be helpful to highlight one or two things by way of introduction. 00:03:11.819 --> 00:03:21.120 The Colossian church to whom this letter was written was, interestingly, not one that Paul himself had planted or even likely visited. 00:03:22.139 --> 00:03:28.860 Its origin most probably lay in the ministry of Epaphras, who's mentioned here in these opening verses. 00:03:28.860 --> 00:03:40.720 And it's believed that he carried the gospel from Ephesus down through the Lycus Valley, places like Leodicea, Herapolis, and Colossae. 00:03:41.680 --> 00:03:49.400 Some commentators suggest that may have taken place during the years when Paul himself was based in Ephesus. 00:03:50.060 --> 00:03:55.140 These are towns located in what we would now know as modern-day Turkey. 00:03:55.139 --> 00:04:01.699 Colossae itself lay around 100 miles east of this great city of Ephesus. 00:04:02.819 --> 00:04:10.519 And you'll notice here in the opening two verses, Paul introduces himself, his co-worker Timothy, in very characteristic fashion. 00:04:10.520 --> 00:04:20.240 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, Timothy, our brother, to the saints and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ at Colossae. 00:04:20.379 --> 00:04:24.220 Grace to you and peace from God our Father. 00:04:24.220 --> 00:04:32.960 So, Paul describes the recipients as saints, faithful brothers and sisters in Christ living in this city of Colossae. 00:04:33.540 --> 00:04:42.460 And he writes the letter because he desires that they would continue to be faithful servants of Jesus Christ in that town. 00:04:42.459 --> 00:04:55.500 It appears that Paul most likely had received worrying reports of problematic teaching that had begun to influence and shape the life and witness of the congregation. 00:04:55.819 --> 00:04:58.740 It's most likely he heard that from Epaphras himself. 00:04:58.740 --> 00:05:11.439 And that particular brand of false teaching that occasioning the letter is often referred to by scholars simply as the Decolossian heresy. 00:05:13.060 --> 00:05:19.560 Now, we're not entirely sure what this teaching was. 00:05:19.720 --> 00:05:21.860 Many different theories abound. 00:05:21.860 --> 00:05:27.360 It used to be believed it was some form of Gnostic thought. 00:05:28.860 --> 00:05:31.280 Suggestions of pagan mystery cult. 00:05:32.160 --> 00:05:34.740 Jewish mystical asceticism. 00:05:35.199 --> 00:05:37.900 A syncretism of Jewish and pagan philosophy. 00:05:38.580 --> 00:05:41.560 That's just a few of the different theories. 00:05:42.139 --> 00:05:49.100 And I think there have been almost 50 different views propounded over the last hundred years or so. 00:05:49.100 --> 00:05:53.500 And you'll be glad to know we're not going to investigate them all. 00:05:54.540 --> 00:05:57.340 The interesting thing for me is this. 00:05:57.760 --> 00:06:01.120 Not really so much the nature of the Colossian heresy. 00:06:01.200 --> 00:06:06.520 And we'll begin to find out a little bit about that as we work our way through the book. 00:06:07.900 --> 00:06:10.240 But rather, it's Paul's response. 00:06:11.700 --> 00:06:17.280 The danger it presented was in effect, I think, the danger of all false teaching. 00:06:17.279 --> 00:06:19.099 Whatever we find it. 00:06:19.859 --> 00:06:26.299 And that is to lead us away from the absolute supremacy and sufficiency of Jesus Christ. 00:06:27.619 --> 00:06:36.319 These teachers offered its belief what they claimed was a more fuller, a more complete, a kind of upgraded Christianity. 00:06:36.319 --> 00:06:48.480 And by implication, they suggested that the gospel of Christ that the Colossians had received was in some way deficient or lacking. 00:06:49.459 --> 00:07:01.120 And so, Paul's antidote to the problems and difficulties that this church was beginning to face was quite simply to give them a fresh vision of the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:07:01.120 --> 00:07:12.879 Here in Colossians, Paul seeks a spiritual renewal in their lives that is rooted in the centrality of the person and work of Jesus Christ. 00:07:13.840 --> 00:07:19.340 In other words, he wanted them to keep Jesus firmly at the center. 00:07:19.759 --> 00:07:22.060 Because Jesus is all-sufficient. 00:07:22.439 --> 00:07:25.379 He is all that His people need. 00:07:25.379 --> 00:07:26.659 He is enough. 00:07:27.939 --> 00:07:37.420 Because the great temptation, and whether that is in first century Asia Minor, 21st century Scotland, is that we look away from Jesus. 00:07:37.639 --> 00:07:40.300 We drift away from the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:07:40.519 --> 00:07:46.519 And we start looking elsewhere for meaning and purpose and satisfaction and life. 00:07:46.519 --> 00:07:52.479 Now, today we may not face anything like the so-called Colossian heresy. 00:07:53.019 --> 00:08:02.079 But we do face all manner of different views and teachings and ideas and philosophies that will lead us away from Jesus Christ. 00:08:03.199 --> 00:08:10.019 But if we lose sight of Him, we lose sight of what is most important. 00:08:10.919 --> 00:08:15.659 That was the great danger in Colossae, and I think it's a great danger still. 00:08:16.519 --> 00:08:25.819 Because, if I can put it this way, the jewel in the crown of Christianity is not an idea, a system, a philosophy, a program, or a thing. 00:08:27.159 --> 00:08:29.319 It is Jesus Christ. 00:08:29.959 --> 00:08:34.419 And if we lose sight of Him, we lose sight of everything that's important. 00:08:34.419 --> 00:08:48.459 If you're tonight and you're not a Christian believer, and you want to understand the Christian faith, then you must look at Jesus Christ and who He is and what He's done. 00:08:49.759 --> 00:09:00.439 Many years ago, the Anglican theologian, W.H. Griffith Thomas, wrote a little small book, an introduction to Christianity, and he entitled it, 00:09:00.440 --> 00:09:03.860 Christianity is Christ. 00:09:05.420 --> 00:09:10.760 T.H.L. Parker has a short biographical portrait of John Calvin. 00:09:10.760 --> 00:09:19.220 And in it, he says this, that keeping Christ in clear view was John Calvin's theological program. 00:09:19.220 --> 00:09:25.220 And he cites a passage from Calvin's commentary on Colossians. 00:09:26.139 --> 00:09:29.180 And I'm going to read just a little excerpt of that. 00:09:29.620 --> 00:09:31.680 This is what he says, Calvin. 00:09:31.800 --> 00:09:36.340 For how comes it that we are carried about with so many strange doctrines? 00:09:36.899 --> 00:09:41.600 But because the excellence of Christ is not perceived by us. 00:09:41.600 --> 00:09:46.740 For Christ alone makes all other things suddenly vanish. 00:09:47.920 --> 00:09:55.560 Hence, there is nothing that Satan so much endeavors to accomplish as to bring on mists with the view of obscuring Christ. 00:09:55.820 --> 00:10:01.519 Because he knows that by this means, the way is opened up for every kind of falsehood. 00:10:01.519 --> 00:10:08.240 This, therefore, is the only means of retaining as well as restoring pure doctrine. 00:10:08.579 --> 00:10:19.620 To place Christ before the view, such as he is with all his blessings, that his excellence may be truly perceived. 00:10:20.960 --> 00:10:29.240 You see, the great antidote that Paul lays out before us in Colossians is none other than Jesus himself. 00:10:29.240 --> 00:10:36.539 In this letter, Paul spreads out before his readers something of the glory and the splendor of Jesus Christ. 00:10:36.879 --> 00:10:40.200 He wants them to see who Jesus really is. 00:10:40.440 --> 00:10:42.879 He wants their faith to be rooted in Jesus. 00:10:43.200 --> 00:10:45.960 He wants their minds to be taken up with Jesus. 00:10:46.419 --> 00:10:52.419 He wants them to remember that Christ is the center of all things. 00:10:52.419 --> 00:11:00.120 His great claim, really, is that Christ is the center, not just of the Christian faith, that he's the center of all reality. 00:11:00.120 --> 00:11:11.240 Now, as Paul writes this letter, I think we do well to remember that he actually writes as someone who is a prisoner and in chains. 00:11:11.340 --> 00:11:13.820 He references that in chapter 4. 00:11:14.639 --> 00:11:22.399 It may well be that he was under house arrest in Rome on the occasion we read about back in Acts chapter 28. 00:11:22.779 --> 00:11:25.139 Sometime probably around AD 62. 00:11:25.139 --> 00:11:32.100 And yet, his opening words, you'll notice here, are words full of thanksgiving to God. 00:11:32.919 --> 00:11:38.559 Verses 3 through 8 are, in fact, I think just one long sentence in the original language. 00:11:39.419 --> 00:11:43.679 And it's the characteristic way in which Paul opens so many of his letters. 00:11:44.439 --> 00:11:51.960 He begins by giving thanks for the church and for all that God is and has been doing amongst his people. 00:11:51.960 --> 00:11:59.720 Despite the church's many faults and flaws and failures, he does not omit thanksgiving. 00:12:00.980 --> 00:12:07.980 When it came to the church, Paul had a mindset of gratitude towards God. 00:12:09.519 --> 00:12:13.080 And it's something that we would do well to emulate. 00:12:13.379 --> 00:12:19.300 Far too many of us are quick to criticize, to be negative. 00:12:19.299 --> 00:12:24.419 And yes, there's much sometimes in our churches that we can criticize. 00:12:25.620 --> 00:12:31.259 But are we giving thanks to God for his work amongst his people? 00:12:32.579 --> 00:12:37.099 And so, as Paul begins this letter, he's clearly excited and animated. 00:12:37.639 --> 00:12:40.740 Despite the dangers that have begun to emerge in Colossae, 00:12:40.740 --> 00:12:45.559 his heart is full of thanksgiving for what God has done in the lives of these believers. 00:12:45.559 --> 00:12:52.919 And what I want to do this evening briefly is to try and unpack these opening words a little. 00:12:53.339 --> 00:12:58.959 And I want to highlight three things that we see Paul being thankful for here. 00:12:59.679 --> 00:13:06.259 And the first is, I think, we see thankfulness for what we'll call the work of the gospel. 00:13:07.099 --> 00:13:12.319 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you. 00:13:12.320 --> 00:13:17.420 Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, the love that you have for all the saints, 00:13:17.820 --> 00:13:21.240 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. 00:13:22.720 --> 00:13:28.800 Paul wants them to know that he is giving thanks to God for what has happened to them. 00:13:29.580 --> 00:13:36.120 Their reception of the gospel is cause for celebration and praise. 00:13:36.120 --> 00:13:42.679 He's giving thanks for the fruit that has already been made evident in their lives. 00:13:42.779 --> 00:13:50.379 And in verses 4 and 5, you'll notice he mentions that well-known, well-loved trinity triad of Christian graces. 00:13:51.000 --> 00:13:52.820 Faith, love, and hope. 00:13:53.039 --> 00:13:57.279 And if we're at all familiar with Paul's writings in the New Testament, 00:13:57.460 --> 00:13:59.320 we will not be surprised at this. 00:13:59.360 --> 00:14:00.240 It's very, very common. 00:14:01.240 --> 00:14:04.120 What are the hallmarks of authentic Christianity? 00:14:04.580 --> 00:14:05.659 What are we to look for? 00:14:05.659 --> 00:14:08.539 We're to look for faith and love and hope. 00:14:08.539 --> 00:14:15.519 These qualities are the product of the Holy Spirit's living presence amongst his people. 00:14:16.759 --> 00:14:21.299 Where the gospel of Christ makes an impact in people's lives, 00:14:21.480 --> 00:14:24.579 these three things are always to be witnessed. 00:14:24.939 --> 00:14:27.360 If faith and hope and love are not to be seen, 00:14:27.740 --> 00:14:30.659 then whatever it might be, it's not Christianity. 00:14:31.299 --> 00:14:34.459 Maybe something moral or religious. 00:14:34.460 --> 00:14:36.820 Maybe something full of ceremony and ritual. 00:14:37.440 --> 00:14:41.060 But without faith, hope, and love, it's not authentically Christian. 00:14:42.800 --> 00:14:46.720 Notice that these three virtues do not exist in isolation. 00:14:46.960 --> 00:14:49.340 They are inextricably linked together. 00:14:49.340 --> 00:14:56.139 Through the gospel and by the Holy Spirit, God brings men and women to faith. 00:14:57.200 --> 00:15:04.000 That is, into a living relationship of trust and dependence upon the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:15:04.000 --> 00:15:10.159 And this faith in Christ Jesus is not something purely of the mind. 00:15:10.159 --> 00:15:12.120 It's not something purely intellectual. 00:15:12.500 --> 00:15:19.120 It's something that involves our whole selves being cast upon the Lord Jesus. 00:15:19.980 --> 00:15:23.200 Because in the New Testament, faith is always directional. 00:15:23.600 --> 00:15:24.320 It's faith in. 00:15:24.460 --> 00:15:25.279 It's faith into. 00:15:25.480 --> 00:15:26.759 It's faith towards. 00:15:27.080 --> 00:15:29.799 It's faith upon the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:15:29.799 --> 00:15:36.859 And a right standing, a right relationship with God comes to us only through the vehicle of faith. 00:15:37.000 --> 00:15:39.099 We were hearing about that this morning. 00:15:39.819 --> 00:15:41.000 Not by works. 00:15:41.159 --> 00:15:42.179 Not by a good life. 00:15:42.519 --> 00:15:43.819 Not by moral achievements. 00:15:44.059 --> 00:15:45.019 Not by sacraments. 00:15:45.240 --> 00:15:46.579 Not by religious activities. 00:15:46.939 --> 00:15:48.939 But by faith alone. 00:15:50.319 --> 00:15:52.759 It's not enough for us to hear the gospel. 00:15:52.759 --> 00:15:55.580 Or listen to the gospel. 00:15:55.580 --> 00:15:56.960 Or admire the gospel. 00:15:56.960 --> 00:15:58.500 Or even read the gospel. 00:15:58.879 --> 00:16:01.600 Not enough to analyze it or study it. 00:16:02.179 --> 00:16:04.019 We must believe it. 00:16:04.539 --> 00:16:07.299 It's not enough for us to admire Jesus Christ. 00:16:07.580 --> 00:16:10.220 We must put our faith into Him. 00:16:10.620 --> 00:16:12.299 We must lean on Him. 00:16:12.500 --> 00:16:16.059 And this is what these Colossian Christians had done. 00:16:16.059 --> 00:16:23.539 And accompanying this faith and trust in the Lord Jesus, there was also this love for all the saints. 00:16:24.519 --> 00:16:29.379 One follows the other as night follows day. 00:16:30.099 --> 00:16:36.179 Faith in Jesus Christ goes hand in hand with a love for Christ's people. 00:16:36.859 --> 00:16:45.599 Faith in Jesus brings with it a connection to and a care for His church. 00:16:46.059 --> 00:16:47.059 Faith in Jesus. 00:16:47.059 --> 00:16:47.659 Faith in Jesus. 00:16:47.659 --> 00:16:54.319 Followers of Jesus are bound together in a community of Christian love and affection. 00:16:55.179 --> 00:16:58.259 Church is not simply a place that we go. 00:16:58.699 --> 00:17:02.419 It is a community to which we belong. 00:17:03.179 --> 00:17:12.659 The New Testament knows nothing of that kind of rabid individualism that is all too common among some Christians today. 00:17:12.660 --> 00:17:20.440 To be a Christian involves us being connected to God's people. 00:17:20.440 --> 00:17:24.220 And you'll notice here what Paul says. 00:17:24.279 --> 00:17:27.580 It's a love for all the saints. 00:17:27.759 --> 00:17:28.240 Interesting. 00:17:28.519 --> 00:17:30.140 Not just for some of them. 00:17:31.240 --> 00:17:33.279 Well, we need to be realistic about this. 00:17:33.360 --> 00:17:34.660 Perhaps not idealistic. 00:17:35.340 --> 00:17:40.160 The saints are not always the most likable or lovable of people. 00:17:40.900 --> 00:17:44.320 Sometimes, I know this will come as a shock to many of you, 00:17:44.440 --> 00:17:47.180 Christians can be quite hard and difficult. 00:17:47.180 --> 00:17:56.360 After 37 years in pastoral ministry, I could regale you with many stories of, quite frankly, objectionable Christians. 00:17:56.720 --> 00:18:01.279 And to be fair, at times, I can be quite objectionable myself. 00:18:02.039 --> 00:18:03.580 Just ask Allison. 00:18:05.160 --> 00:18:09.080 Nonetheless, as believers, we're called to have a love for all the saints. 00:18:09.299 --> 00:18:12.519 That's a key mark of genuine Christianity. 00:18:12.519 --> 00:18:14.700 Like faith, love is to be seen. 00:18:15.139 --> 00:18:16.099 It's not a hidden thing. 00:18:16.160 --> 00:18:17.720 It's not just about feelings and emotions. 00:18:18.160 --> 00:18:19.059 It's about service. 00:18:19.200 --> 00:18:20.079 It's about servanthood. 00:18:20.619 --> 00:18:21.740 About caring for others. 00:18:22.039 --> 00:18:22.859 Putting them first. 00:18:23.440 --> 00:18:25.740 Not just looking after ourselves. 00:18:27.619 --> 00:18:35.819 And according to Paul, what drives this faith and love is the hope that is set aside for us in heaven. 00:18:35.819 --> 00:18:43.359 Without this hope, faith and love would not survive for long. 00:18:44.099 --> 00:18:44.919 Hope is key. 00:18:45.759 --> 00:18:52.259 And in the New Testament, hope doesn't refer to some vague possibility that might lie in the future. 00:18:52.399 --> 00:18:54.899 It's not just kind of optimism. 00:18:55.859 --> 00:18:58.559 It's not something uncertain and unsure. 00:18:59.059 --> 00:19:02.259 It refers to something that will certainly take place. 00:19:02.259 --> 00:19:08.579 Now, of course, the time of hope's realization may well be uncertain. 00:19:09.480 --> 00:19:12.740 But the content is absolutely sure. 00:19:13.579 --> 00:19:19.460 And that certainty arises out of the fact that this hope is centered on the Lord Jesus. 00:19:20.460 --> 00:19:22.819 He is our hope. 00:19:23.420 --> 00:19:28.400 Our hope is tied to the person and work of Jesus Christ. 00:19:28.400 --> 00:19:31.880 And so, it's utterly safe and secure. 00:19:32.580 --> 00:19:35.140 Can't be snatched away from us. 00:19:35.440 --> 00:19:36.380 Can't be ruined. 00:19:36.580 --> 00:19:37.280 Can't be stolen. 00:19:37.519 --> 00:19:38.420 Can't be destroyed. 00:19:39.019 --> 00:19:41.340 It's laid up for us in heaven. 00:19:44.180 --> 00:19:48.500 Remember Jesus' words in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6? 00:19:48.840 --> 00:19:51.300 Do not lay up for yourselves treasure on earth. 00:19:51.759 --> 00:19:53.240 Where moth and rust destroy. 00:19:53.380 --> 00:19:54.780 Where thieves break in and steal. 00:19:55.200 --> 00:19:57.620 Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven. 00:19:57.619 --> 00:20:00.359 Where neither moth nor rust destroys. 00:20:00.879 --> 00:20:02.979 Where thieves do not break in and steal. 00:20:03.799 --> 00:20:09.059 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 00:20:10.279 --> 00:20:13.299 Where is our treasure this evening? 00:20:14.219 --> 00:20:15.599 Where is your hope? 00:20:16.519 --> 00:20:18.359 Is it laid up for you in heaven? 00:20:19.359 --> 00:20:21.000 Do you ever think about that? 00:20:21.000 --> 00:20:33.500 You see, the certainty and security of our hope sets us free to believe, to live in faith, and to live with love. 00:20:33.500 --> 00:20:37.920 It frees us up to do God's will. 00:20:38.680 --> 00:20:42.480 And even to endure hardships and trials. 00:20:43.720 --> 00:20:51.259 In one of his books, Dale Ralph Davis tells the story of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. 00:20:51.599 --> 00:20:55.019 Constructed, I think, way back in the 1930s. 00:20:55.019 --> 00:20:57.980 It took around four years to build. 00:20:58.759 --> 00:21:06.940 But tragically, a number of workers died after falling from the bridge into the waters below. 00:21:07.759 --> 00:21:11.619 So dangerous was it that they created safety nets. 00:21:12.379 --> 00:21:15.460 At that time, at a huge cost, I think $100,000. 00:21:15.460 --> 00:21:21.200 And these nets were placed directly below where the men were working. 00:21:22.759 --> 00:21:27.500 And one of the interesting consequences of constructing these safety nets 00:21:27.500 --> 00:21:32.620 was not just that the lives of a good number of men were saved, 00:21:33.460 --> 00:21:39.759 but also that more work was accomplished by the men on the bridge. 00:21:40.460 --> 00:21:43.620 Once the nets were in place, the men worked much faster. 00:21:43.619 --> 00:21:45.879 They accomplished so much more. 00:21:46.739 --> 00:21:50.000 They calculated about 25 percent more work was done 00:21:50.000 --> 00:21:53.259 because of the presence of these great safety nets. 00:21:54.519 --> 00:21:58.379 In other words, because there was a greater sense of safety and security, 00:21:58.799 --> 00:22:01.699 the men had the confidence to work harder. 00:22:02.099 --> 00:22:03.539 Their safety was assured. 00:22:04.759 --> 00:22:07.000 They were encouraged to get on with their work 00:22:07.000 --> 00:22:10.879 because of the security and peace created by these nets. 00:22:11.039 --> 00:22:12.000 They weren't so anxious. 00:22:12.159 --> 00:22:12.979 They weren't so fearful. 00:22:12.980 --> 00:22:14.120 They weren't so afraid. 00:22:15.460 --> 00:22:16.740 They weren't so nervous. 00:22:18.400 --> 00:22:23.039 Friends, as Christians, we have a hope that is steadfast and certain, 00:22:23.599 --> 00:22:25.559 a hope laid up for us in heaven. 00:22:26.539 --> 00:22:30.440 And so we can live our lives in the here and now 00:22:30.440 --> 00:22:33.279 with confidence and assurance. 00:22:34.640 --> 00:22:38.620 Be thankful for the work of the gospel, 00:22:38.619 --> 00:22:42.219 for faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, 00:22:42.379 --> 00:22:44.419 for love for all the saints, 00:22:44.419 --> 00:22:49.819 and for that hope that has been laid up for us in heaven by our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:22:51.039 --> 00:22:53.099 So that's the first thing I want you to notice here. 00:22:53.239 --> 00:22:55.479 Thankfulness for the work of the gospel. 00:22:55.679 --> 00:22:59.339 Secondly, what I've called thankfulness for the power of the gospel. 00:22:59.339 --> 00:23:01.759 Of this you have heard. 00:23:01.759 --> 00:23:02.720 Verse 5, 00:23:02.819 --> 00:23:06.299 Before in the word of truth, the gospel which has come to you, 00:23:06.480 --> 00:23:09.159 as indeed in the whole world it's bearing fruit and increasing, 00:23:09.480 --> 00:23:12.799 as it also does among you since the day you heard it 00:23:12.799 --> 00:23:16.119 and understood the grace of God in truth. 00:23:16.119 --> 00:23:19.879 Paul's second note of thanksgiving here, I think, 00:23:19.979 --> 00:23:23.239 is for the way in which the gospel, the word of truth, 00:23:23.299 --> 00:23:26.099 was growing, increasing, and bearing fruit, 00:23:26.339 --> 00:23:30.319 not only in their own lives, but across the world. 00:23:31.259 --> 00:23:33.879 And Paul mentions here two elements of the gospel 00:23:33.879 --> 00:23:36.679 that I think are essential to its power. 00:23:36.819 --> 00:23:39.559 He speaks here of grace and truth. 00:23:39.799 --> 00:23:44.239 The Colossians had heard and understood the grace of God in truth. 00:23:44.240 --> 00:23:48.279 And just as grace and truth were characteristic of the Lord Jesus, 00:23:48.579 --> 00:23:53.000 so they are equally characteristic of the good news preached about Him. 00:23:53.799 --> 00:23:56.400 Everything in the Christian life is rooted here 00:23:56.400 --> 00:23:58.180 in the grace and truth of the gospel. 00:23:58.880 --> 00:24:00.700 That's how the Colossians became Christians. 00:24:01.000 --> 00:24:02.859 They came to have their eyes opened 00:24:02.859 --> 00:24:07.259 and to understand something of the grace and the mercy of God towards them. 00:24:07.380 --> 00:24:08.779 In all its wonderful truth, 00:24:08.819 --> 00:24:11.920 they had their eyes opened to a God of grace. 00:24:11.920 --> 00:24:15.660 And as we will see through this letter, 00:24:16.539 --> 00:24:19.620 this is how they are to continue in the Christian life, 00:24:19.960 --> 00:24:25.240 by growing in their understanding of God's grace towards them. 00:24:26.300 --> 00:24:31.080 And these Colossian believers were not alone in their understanding 00:24:31.080 --> 00:24:33.980 and of this fruit that was being produced. 00:24:34.259 --> 00:24:37.640 Paul reminds them they were part of something far bigger and far greater, 00:24:37.640 --> 00:24:42.580 as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and growing or increasing. 00:24:44.740 --> 00:24:47.640 Imagine how those words must have made them feel. 00:24:50.940 --> 00:24:52.759 They were part of something much bigger, 00:24:54.060 --> 00:24:56.740 something great, something wonderful, something global. 00:24:56.740 --> 00:25:01.720 For this gospel was spreading all over the known world. 00:25:02.779 --> 00:25:05.400 And friends, that is as true today as it was then. 00:25:06.099 --> 00:25:07.839 And we do well to remember it. 00:25:08.539 --> 00:25:12.920 All over the world, the gospel is bearing fruit. 00:25:14.200 --> 00:25:19.039 Sometimes here in the West, we are apt to forget that. 00:25:19.039 --> 00:25:22.279 When things get tough and are difficult, 00:25:22.559 --> 00:25:24.680 our perspective gets skewed. 00:25:25.440 --> 00:25:27.220 Our horizons become limited. 00:25:29.639 --> 00:25:32.819 Patrick Johnson's book a number of years ago was, 00:25:33.779 --> 00:25:37.019 The Church is Bigger Than You Think. 00:25:38.299 --> 00:25:39.960 Friends, today the gospel is growing. 00:25:40.839 --> 00:25:43.339 It's growing in the same way as it did in Colossae. 00:25:43.339 --> 00:25:47.619 It's being preached and it's being taught to others. 00:25:48.939 --> 00:25:51.839 The gospel works this way in every age and generation 00:25:51.839 --> 00:25:53.359 and in every part of the world. 00:25:53.919 --> 00:25:55.879 It is an unstoppable message. 00:25:56.679 --> 00:25:59.859 It's been bearing fruit and growing for some 2,000 years. 00:26:01.740 --> 00:26:06.279 If you think of the last words of Luke's account 00:26:06.279 --> 00:26:07.799 in the Acts of the Apostles, 00:26:07.799 --> 00:26:15.519 and in Acts 28, he closes his book there 00:26:15.519 --> 00:26:17.839 with Paul's imprisonment in Rome. 00:26:17.899 --> 00:26:20.960 And he says this in verse 30 and 31 of Paul, 00:26:21.099 --> 00:26:23.740 He lived there to hold years at his own expense 00:26:23.740 --> 00:26:25.859 and welcomed all who came to him, 00:26:26.279 --> 00:26:27.639 proclaiming the kingdom of God 00:26:27.639 --> 00:26:29.960 and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ 00:26:29.960 --> 00:26:34.599 with all boldness and without hindrance. 00:26:35.220 --> 00:26:37.539 Literally, unhinderedly. 00:26:37.799 --> 00:26:41.639 Though Paul may have been imprisoned, 00:26:42.000 --> 00:26:44.119 though he may have been under house arrest, 00:26:44.519 --> 00:26:46.200 though he may have been chained up, 00:26:46.460 --> 00:26:48.599 the message of the gospel wasn't. 00:26:49.519 --> 00:26:51.799 And Luke tells us there in Acts 28 00:26:51.799 --> 00:26:54.859 that the victorious word of the gospel 00:26:54.859 --> 00:26:56.319 could not be silenced, 00:26:56.759 --> 00:26:57.779 couldn't be stopped, 00:26:58.740 --> 00:27:01.200 bearing fruit even at the very center 00:27:01.200 --> 00:27:02.319 of the Roman Empire. 00:27:02.319 --> 00:27:06.899 The gospel of Jesus Christ 00:27:06.899 --> 00:27:10.200 oozes its way into all sorts of places. 00:27:11.200 --> 00:27:13.200 It cannot be kept out. 00:27:14.159 --> 00:27:15.919 It keeps on bearing fruit. 00:27:17.279 --> 00:27:20.480 Think of those sometimes received letters 00:27:20.480 --> 00:27:23.639 from a brother in the Lord, Adam, 00:27:24.039 --> 00:27:26.859 that tells of the fruit of the gospel 00:27:26.859 --> 00:27:28.980 in a land in which the Christian faith 00:27:28.980 --> 00:27:30.039 is all but outlawed. 00:27:31.039 --> 00:27:32.940 And yet some of the stories are amazing 00:27:32.940 --> 00:27:35.920 in such a harsh and hostile environment. 00:27:36.860 --> 00:27:39.539 Yet even so, men and women are coming to faith 00:27:39.539 --> 00:27:41.059 in the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:27:41.279 --> 00:27:42.880 The gospel is bearing fruit. 00:27:44.240 --> 00:27:46.160 And that should be an encouragement to us today. 00:27:46.259 --> 00:27:47.500 It should be an encouragement to us 00:27:47.500 --> 00:27:50.460 as a church here at the top of the Royal Mile 00:27:50.460 --> 00:27:52.460 in this great city of Edinburgh. 00:27:54.059 --> 00:27:56.299 Maybe we have loved ones or family members 00:27:56.299 --> 00:27:57.579 who are unconverted, 00:27:58.779 --> 00:28:00.640 caught up in the thinking of this world, 00:28:00.920 --> 00:28:03.579 living their lives with really no thought of God. 00:28:04.779 --> 00:28:06.819 What do we make of their indifference 00:28:06.819 --> 00:28:08.380 or even their hostility? 00:28:10.019 --> 00:28:11.819 Perhaps they won't listen to us. 00:28:12.600 --> 00:28:14.779 Maybe they get quite angry or annoyed 00:28:14.779 --> 00:28:17.200 if we bring up the subject of the gospel. 00:28:17.519 --> 00:28:18.500 What's going on there? 00:28:18.500 --> 00:28:23.039 Sometimes I think it's because they're afraid. 00:28:24.960 --> 00:28:28.440 Because if the gospel can so change our lives, 00:28:29.740 --> 00:28:32.619 might it not also do the same in theirs? 00:28:34.380 --> 00:28:37.980 I mean, who is safe from the power of Jesus Christ? 00:28:39.640 --> 00:28:43.519 So there is hope for some that we pray for. 00:28:44.460 --> 00:28:48.420 And that hope is in the power of the gospel. 00:28:48.500 --> 00:28:52.640 Well, thankfulness for the work of the gospel. 00:28:52.839 --> 00:28:54.579 Thankfulness for the power of the gospel. 00:28:55.359 --> 00:28:56.279 Time is disappearing. 00:28:56.559 --> 00:28:59.579 Thankfulness, thirdly, for the servants of the gospel. 00:29:00.339 --> 00:29:02.799 Just as you learned it from Epaphras, 00:29:03.319 --> 00:29:04.759 our beloved fellow servant, 00:29:05.859 --> 00:29:08.660 he is a faithful minister of Christ in your behalf 00:29:08.660 --> 00:29:12.400 and has made known to us your love in the Spirit. 00:29:13.759 --> 00:29:17.519 So in these verses, Paul speaks of his fellow servant, Epaphras. 00:29:17.660 --> 00:29:22.160 There's no hint here of envy or jealousy or rivalry from the apostle. 00:29:22.680 --> 00:29:25.040 He's happy to celebrate and give thanks 00:29:25.040 --> 00:29:27.640 for his colleague's fruitful ministry in the city. 00:29:28.519 --> 00:29:31.100 Paul is concerned for the events of the gospel, you see, 00:29:31.099 --> 00:29:33.459 not for his own name or his own status. 00:29:34.639 --> 00:29:36.339 By way of aside, I would simply say, 00:29:36.439 --> 00:29:39.839 beware those who are always decrying other believers 00:29:39.839 --> 00:29:41.699 or putting down other ministries. 00:29:42.219 --> 00:29:46.779 It's often the sign of an impoverished and insecure faith. 00:29:48.379 --> 00:29:51.719 So yes, the power of the gospel was being felt across the world, 00:29:51.719 --> 00:29:56.399 but it was also being made known in Colossae because of this man, Epaphras. 00:29:56.400 --> 00:29:58.420 It's likely, as I mentioned earlier, 00:29:58.560 --> 00:30:01.120 that Epaphras took the gospel from Ephesus, 00:30:01.400 --> 00:30:04.560 where he'd heard that message and he himself had come to faith. 00:30:05.040 --> 00:30:09.820 He then returned to Colossae to share the good news with the folks back home. 00:30:10.320 --> 00:30:14.000 He no doubt spoke to his family, his friends, his neighbors of the Lord Jesus. 00:30:14.840 --> 00:30:17.380 He didn't keep the message to himself. 00:30:17.759 --> 00:30:19.000 He taught it to others. 00:30:19.780 --> 00:30:21.780 And friends, that is how the gospel grows. 00:30:22.340 --> 00:30:23.500 That's how the church grows. 00:30:23.500 --> 00:30:26.280 It grows as the message is passed on. 00:30:26.759 --> 00:30:29.340 It grows as the good news is shared with others. 00:30:31.680 --> 00:30:33.900 Some of you know this illustration. 00:30:34.220 --> 00:30:37.340 The River Jordan has along its course two seas, 00:30:37.480 --> 00:30:40.340 or to be more precise, two landlocked lakes. 00:30:40.800 --> 00:30:43.620 We know them as the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. 00:30:44.759 --> 00:30:49.460 And there are significant dissimilarities between these two. 00:30:49.680 --> 00:30:51.680 They are not at all alike, very different. 00:30:52.040 --> 00:30:55.340 Sea of Galilee has an inlet and an outlet. 00:30:55.339 --> 00:30:58.539 It's a comma on the long neck of the River Jordan. 00:30:58.740 --> 00:31:02.519 The water flowing in pauses as it continues south. 00:31:02.519 --> 00:31:05.339 The water flows through it. 00:31:06.539 --> 00:31:09.460 As a result, the Sea of Galilee teems with marine life. 00:31:09.619 --> 00:31:11.900 It's a living, vibrant ecosystem. 00:31:11.900 --> 00:31:16.000 On the other hand, the Dead Sea is only an inlet. 00:31:17.000 --> 00:31:18.880 It's the full stop in the Jordan River. 00:31:19.500 --> 00:31:21.960 None of the water ever finds its way into the ocean. 00:31:22.540 --> 00:31:26.259 And the result is that the Dead Sea is just that, dead, lifeless. 00:31:26.980 --> 00:31:32.000 Such is the high concentration of dissolved minerals that the water there is not even fit to drink. 00:31:32.000 --> 00:31:39.180 And what is true of those two expanses of water on the Jordan River is also true of us in the church. 00:31:40.240 --> 00:31:48.920 A Christianity that is only in pipes is designed, destined rather, to become stale and stagnant and lifeless and dead. 00:31:49.099 --> 00:31:50.920 It doesn't matter how good the teaching is. 00:31:51.319 --> 00:31:52.240 How great the preaching. 00:31:52.640 --> 00:31:56.339 It doesn't matter how sound the theological literature we read is. 00:31:56.339 --> 00:31:59.000 It doesn't matter how warm the fellowship is. 00:31:59.419 --> 00:32:03.639 If it doesn't flow out in Christian witness to the world around, 00:32:03.959 --> 00:32:08.199 then all it's going to do is make us sterile and stagnant and lifeless and dead. 00:32:10.539 --> 00:32:14.179 Friends, this is what it means to be a faithful servant and God and minister of Christ. 00:32:14.259 --> 00:32:17.399 It means that we pass on the gospel to others. 00:32:17.939 --> 00:32:22.879 We let it flow through our lives to touch the lives of other people. 00:32:23.439 --> 00:32:25.019 We share the love of the Spirit. 00:32:25.019 --> 00:32:26.799 That's what Epaphras did. 00:32:27.519 --> 00:32:32.960 He was that vital link in the chain of events that brought these Colossians to faith in Jesus Christ. 00:32:34.980 --> 00:32:39.799 I wonder who has been your Epaphras. 00:32:41.379 --> 00:32:47.660 Perhaps a Christian friend, associate at work, fellow student, father, mother, grandparent. 00:32:48.720 --> 00:32:52.359 Servants of Christ that brought the gospel to us. 00:32:52.359 --> 00:32:55.879 Maybe they are unknown, unheralded. 00:32:56.539 --> 00:33:01.019 But they were a vital link in bringing us to faith in Jesus. 00:33:02.139 --> 00:33:08.519 Their love and friendship and willingness to share the gospel made all the difference in the world. 00:33:10.479 --> 00:33:12.639 And now if someone has been an Epaphras to you, 00:33:13.479 --> 00:33:14.679 let me ask you, 00:33:14.680 --> 00:33:18.779 who are you being an Epaphras to today? 00:33:20.060 --> 00:33:24.740 Remember years ago hearing the testimony of a Japanese student come to faith. 00:33:25.680 --> 00:33:26.480 She said this, 00:33:27.259 --> 00:33:31.519 My English friend built a bridge of friendship into my heart. 00:33:32.080 --> 00:33:35.460 And over that bridge walked Jesus. 00:33:35.460 --> 00:33:39.579 Are we building bridges with others? 00:33:40.980 --> 00:33:44.440 We need to be praying that God would make us a link to someone else, 00:33:44.519 --> 00:33:50.420 so that this gospel would continue to grow and bear fruit in our own day and generation. 00:33:50.420 --> 00:33:57.920 The opening question and answer of the famous Heidelberg Catechism is this, 00:33:58.640 --> 00:34:00.700 What is your only comfort in life and death? 00:34:01.259 --> 00:34:04.400 That I, with body and soul, both in life and in death, 00:34:04.460 --> 00:34:08.900 am not my own, but belong to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ. 00:34:10.119 --> 00:34:13.519 The second question is perhaps less well known. 00:34:13.519 --> 00:34:21.039 How many things are necessary for you to know that in this comfort you may live and die happily? 00:34:21.300 --> 00:34:22.079 Three things. 00:34:22.820 --> 00:34:25.139 First, the greatness of my sin and misery. 00:34:30.019 --> 00:34:34.539 Second, how I am redeemed from all my sins and misery. 00:34:35.699 --> 00:34:36.780 And then third, 00:34:37.639 --> 00:34:43.139 how I am to be thankful to God for such a redemption. 00:34:43.519 --> 00:34:49.119 Thankfulness is, as we will see, one of the great themes of Colossians. 00:34:49.759 --> 00:34:53.659 It's a fundamental characteristic of the Christian life. 00:34:54.440 --> 00:34:56.059 A mark of Christian maturity. 00:34:57.460 --> 00:35:01.280 A feature of those whose lives are centered on Jesus. 00:35:02.699 --> 00:35:05.780 Is that where your life is centered this evening? 00:35:07.380 --> 00:35:10.960 So what do we see here in these opening verses of Colossians? 00:35:10.960 --> 00:35:13.780 We see thankfulness for the work of the gospel. 00:35:15.039 --> 00:35:17.380 Thankfulness for the power of the gospel. 00:35:18.380 --> 00:35:20.519 Thankfulness for the servants of the gospel. 00:35:21.800 --> 00:35:24.940 May God grant us all thankful hearts 00:35:24.940 --> 00:35:27.800 that together we would be a people 00:35:27.800 --> 00:35:32.720 with our lives truly centered on the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:35:32.719 --> 00:35:34.539 Let's pray together. 00:35:40.319 --> 00:35:44.299 Lord, make us, by your Holy Spirit, 00:35:45.159 --> 00:35:46.639 a thankful people. 00:35:48.159 --> 00:35:50.039 Thankful for Jesus Christ. 00:35:51.500 --> 00:35:54.359 Thankful for your grace. 00:35:55.879 --> 00:35:57.859 Thankful for your gospel. 00:35:57.860 --> 00:36:01.460 And we pray this in Jesus' name. 00:36:02.000 --> 00:36:02.400 Amen.