Love unconditionally and Preach the Gospel

Colossians 1:7-8

“just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.”

v.7- Life App: Epaphras had founded the church at Colosse while Paul was living in Ephesus (Acts 19:10). Epaphras may have been converted in Ephesus, and then he returned to Colosse, his hometown. For some reason, he visited Rome and, while there, told Paul about the problem within the Colossian heresy. This prompted Paul to write this letter. Epaphras is also mentioned in Philemon 23 (the Colossian church met at Philemon’s house)

ESV: ‘you learned it from Epaphras’ makes it clear that Paul did not plant the church at Colosse. The people heard the gospel from Epaphras who is a fellow Colossian. The term “learned” is closely related to the term “disciple”. More than merely listening to a simple gospel presentation Paul makes it clear that the gospel involves systematic instruction in the faith and how to live as a Christian.

                ‘on your behalf’- The ESV Footnote indicates that some manuscripts read “on our behalf”. If this is the original reading, this would mean that Epaphras has been a faithful ambassador in place of Paul among the Colossians.

HRM: So in v.7 we finally get to find out how the church in Colosse got started. This makes me think about how God has given all of His children certain skills and abilities to reach certain groups of people with the Gospel. He’s also made us to be from certain areas so that we can relate to those people, share the gospel and disciple them. Just like how Epaphras has done in his hometown. I can apply this by reaching people of JoCo; Zebulon; NC; etc. And even the MC community as well.

v.8 Life App: Because of their love for one another, Christians can have an impact that goes far beyond their neighborhoods and communities. Christian love comes from the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22). The Bible speaks of it as an action, attitude, not just an emotion. Love is a by-product of our new life in Christ (Romans 5:5, 1 Corinthians 13). Christians have NO excuse for not loving, because Christian love is a decision to act in the best interest of others.

This past week has been a hard week. Loving those around me unconditionally like Christ has been so difficult. Cornhuskin’ is bringing trial after trial after trial. It’s getting ridiculous to be honest. This verse and explanation is good to me. It’s a good reminder that no matter how much someone pisses me off or screws me over, I’m called to love them; even if they don’t seem lovable at that point in time. ‘in the spirit’ my strength to love the unlovable comes from the Holy Spirit. I can’t do it on my own. Christ gives me the strength to do this.

The Gospel is Spreading!

Colossians 1:6

“…that has come to you. All over the world the 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.”

Life App: wherever Paul went, he preached the Gospel- to Gentile audiences, to hostile Jewish leaders, and even to his Roman guards. Whenever people believed in the message that Paul spoke, they were changed. God’s word is not just for our information but for our transformation! Becoming a Christian means beginning a whole new relationship with God, not just turning a new leaf or determining to do right. New believers have a changed purpose, direction, attitude and behavior. They are no longer seeking to serve themselves but are bearing fruit for God. How is the gospel reaching others through your life?

ESV: In the whole world, it has been roughly 30 years since Christ’s death and resurrection & Pentecost. The Gospel has indeed spread from Jerusalem into Syria, Asia Minor, Greece, Italy, and likely into Egypt, North Africa, and Persia as well.

This verse is so encouraging. Missions has been on my mind a lot this week and in the past as well. I find myself constantly looking at YWAM and other mission opportunities when I’m not facebooking, playing games or doing homework. The Gospel has consumed me. God has laid all age groups on my heart and even the entertainment industry. The desire to go to grad school is in me as well, but idk I’m just taking it day by day doing little and big things for the glory of God and the sake of the Gospel. Then sometimes I just want to stay in America, work a normal job and share the Gospel that way and go on mission trips when I can. Of course a lot of this will become more clear in God’s perfect timing. I refuse to waste my life by not living/sharing Jesus to people whether I’m here or abroad. Everywhere you go there are lost people so always be willing to share Christ, here, even if at times it could be awkward and not PC.

HOPE!

Colossians 1:5

“Because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of truth, the gospel.”

Life App: In his intro comments, therefore, Paul commended the Colossians for their faith, love and hope- 3 main emphases of Christianity. He deliberately omitted the word knowledge because of the ‘special knowledge’ aspect of heresy. It is not what we know that brings Salvation, but whom we know. Knowing Christ is knowing God. We can hope for what God has for us in heaven because we know that our future destination and salvation are sure (1 Peter 1:3-4). We are free to live for Christ and love others. When you find yourself doubting or wavering in your faith/love, remember your destination-heaven.

ESV: In this passage faith and love are based on hope, which is presented not as the action of hoping but as something objective-in the sense of “the thing hoped for”-that Christians can anticipate with confidence (Colossians 3:4). Because it is laid up for you in heaven no earthly ruler or demonic power can rob believers of the reality of this hope. The word of the truth this contrasts with the false teaching Paul later describes ‘empty deciet’ (2:8).

This verse goes along with the two previous verses that are also encouraging. We know that our faith in Christ, our love for Him and others is not in vain because of the promise of the hope we have that is waiting for us in Heaven. Christ is at the right hand of the Father preparing heaven for us because we are anxiously awaiting what our true home holds for us. We know about the hope we have because it is laid out plan and simple in the Gospel. Reading in “Jesus Freaks: Martyrs” you hear all about those who are dying for their faith in Christ. They die for Him because they love Him and have hope that they will see Him when they enter heaven. The hope is a promise from Christ that we’ll dwell with Him for Eternity and all pain and junk will be no more. That’s the hope we have in Christ that is promised to us in the Gospel. 

As Iron Sharpens Iron...

Colossians 1:3

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

What an encouragement huh? This makes me think of SWO and the body of believers that I was a part of there. It made me think about small group in the mornings when we would prayer for each other and the SWO missionaries. The past few days the SWO homesickness has started to creep its way in. But that’s not to say that God hasn’t been at work here at MC since yesterday afternoon. I’ve already had 3 convos with MCGs (all in my class) about their relationships with Christ. One is definitely seeking Christ and becoming more and more like Him, the other 2 I would say are half-way, not wholeheartedly seeking Christ. But still it’s been really encouraging. To me this one little verse shows the importance of working together as a body and encouraging and praying for each other. Edification in the body of Christ is key, very important so that the Great Commission can be fulfilled. What’s funny is that neither one of my study Bibles mentioned what the Holy Spirit was showing me. This is definitely God comforting me in this time of homesickness but eagerness for ministry at MC.

We need to EDIFY, ENCOURAGE, and PRAY for our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Colossians 1:4

“…because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints.”

Ok, so this is really a continuation of v.3. However, what I got out of v.3 was about us praying for one another as brothers and sisters in Christ. And something that has struck me here in v.4 is that we need to live a life that shows our relationship with Christ-- A life that is very evident of a daily pursuit of Him and intimacy with Him. Paul prayed for this group of believers because he had HEARD of their faith and of their love. We need to shine so bright that other believers not within our closest borders will know of us or the work that God is doing so that they can pray. And also that more lost people will see Christ in our lives and seek Him out so that they can come and known Him personally.

Faith and love are two out of the 3 main Christian virtues (according to my 2 study Bibles). Faith is very important b/c it is the basis of everything that we do. It is why we can love each other and have the hope that Christ gives.

Loving people can be hard, trust me. Excuse me, let me rephrase that… loving people on our own strength and based on our own standards can be hard. But if we love people the way Christ did, relying on His strength, we can love people unconditionally the way He did.

Now there are some Christians out there who believe that we should share Christ through our actions. To an extent that is correct. But we don’t just do that. We talk about Christ. A way to show our love to somebody is to have a lil cuppa coffee and chat about life and through the time of the chit-chat bring up the things that matter… the Eternal things. That’s a way to love somebody. Sharing Christ with them so that they have the opportunity to turn to Him and be saved from the bondage of sin and hell.

Now, here, in this verse it mentions saints. So it’s not referring to the lost, but I just felt that I should go on that little soap box for a minute. The work “saint” means “set apart” that is referring to Christians. God has set us apart to do His work, through us. Isn’t that cool? That God would choose somebody like me and you, ordinary people to do extraordinary things. An extraordinary thing that God wants us to do is to love the others that He has set apart. By loving each other and building community then we can continue to further the kingdom and increase the number of those who are set apart. 

Hello. My name is...

Intro to Colossians

Author(s): Paul and Timothy

Purpose: To combat errors in the church and to show that believers have everything they need in Christ. Paul writes this letter to respond to this situation (false teaching) and to encourage these believers in their growth toward Christian maturity. Paul takes this opportunity to encourage these believers to press on to maturity in Christ by continuing in their battle against sin, pursing holiness in Christ, and learning to live as distinctively Christian households.

Colossians 1:1-2: The Greeting

Paul starts off by introducing himself and Timothy as the writers of this letter. Paul wrote this letter while he was in prison in Rome. Paul mentions that he is an apostle by the will of God. I think it is interesting how he tells them just how important his message is. He states this b/c Paul was not one of the original 12 that walked with Christ during His time here on earth.

Apostle- chosen and sent by God as a missionary or ambassador

By the will of God- that he was appointed; this was not just a matter of his own personal aspirations.

Colossae was a trading center and was a crossroads for many ideas and religions. The church of Colossae was founded by Epaphras (one of Paul’s converts). Paul was writing to this church to refute heretical teachings about Christ that had been causing confusion among the Christians there. Many cults and other religions had gone through it which I think is the reason why the heresy was so prominent and b/c all of the believers were young in their faith and didn’t necessarily know what was what. This is why it is so important to study the Bible so that you do know what is what and can defend your faith and also grow as well. 

Sorry for the delay....

I have not been on here in a long time! But it's all good... I'm doing alright and excited for what I am going to be doing with this blog now! During winter break (which is still going on) God laid it on my heart to start  back on my blog and since my Colossians study is coming to a close to post the notes I took in my journals on here for more discipleship for whoever reads this. So I am working on chapter one and will start posting those soon!

Stay tuned! :)

One Love. One God. One Way.

Romans 3:21-31

                Verse 21: Paul spent the past 20 verses of chapter 3 discussing the sinfulness and nature of mankind. Now he is going to discuss how we can get out of a life of sin and live a righteous life through Christ. Paul is now letting us know that our righteousness does not come from ourselves or the things that we do. The righteousness that we get comes through faith in Christ. What Paul means when he says that the law and the prophets bear witness to the righteousness that was manifested outside of the law is that the OT prophets did prophesy about Christ and His coming and the salvation that He would bring. 

                Verse 22: Here Paul is letting us know that salvation only comes from Christ. And we get this by trusting and having complete faith in Christ and who He says He is. Paul also leads up the next verse with “there is no distinction,” what he means is that we are all equal and that whatever claim he is about to make in v.23 is true and everyone is dealing with the issue at hand.

                Verse 23: Major verse! This is one of the verses that most everyone uses when presenting the Gospel.  The issue at hand that I had previously mentioned is that we are all dealing with sin. It is evident in all of our lives and we battle it every day. However, until one becomes a believer they never truly battle with sin. They simply submit to it because the Holy Spirit does not dwell in them to tell them not to. Paul tells us straight up that we have sinned and no longer meet God’s standard of holiness anymore because we are no longer holy. No one can stake  a claim to this righteousness based on his/her own obedience, for all people have sinned and fall short of what God demands.

                Verse 24: in v.23 Paul tells us the bad news, but here in v.24 he brings out the good news which is that we are justified when we have faith in Christ and what He did on the cross. God loves everyone. And He wants to be in communion with everyone because our God is a very relational God. We were able to see that through the way Christ did His ministry here on earth. And so, that is why God has given mankind grace though Christ so that our relationship with God may be restored to the way it was before the fall. Redemption refers to Christ setting sinners free from slavery to sin. In OT times, a person’s debts could result in his being sold as a slave. The next of kin could redeem him, buy his freedom. Christ purchased our freedom and the cost was His life.

                Verse 25: when Jesus died He died for ALL sins, past, present and future. So Paul lets it be known here that even though those that died before Christ could still be saved and have their sins forgiven as long as they had trusted in the prophecy of Christ’s coming. Jesus’ blood was a “propitiation” or satisfaction to God’s wrath, meaning that when Jesus died, God’s wrath was made satisfied because the price of the sin of everybody has been paid for by one Man who never sinned.

                Verse 26: God is righteous, always has been and always will be. Paul repeats it in this verse because it is a very important concept to grasp. In the cross of Christ, God has showed Himself to be just but also the justifier and the Savior of all those that put their trust in Jesus. This is the heart of Christianity… for at the cross God’s justice & love meet. God did this so that it may be proven that He is the one in control and He is the only one worthy of being a judge over the sin of people.

                Verses 27-28: here is where Paul is beginning to discuss how good works will not get anyone into Heaven. Only faith and trust in Christ will be the key to getting through the gates. That is why Paul says here that all boasting in oneself is excluded because man has not done anything to save himself. It is all Christ and if there is any boasting it should be done in Him.

                Verses 29-30: Here Paul answers the question about who is God for. God is for everyone. Even those that are not Jews, He still, always has and always will love. Christ died for anyone no matter what heritage or background a person came from, He died for each and every one of us. This is also an important concept to grasp because many people do not think that a holy God would be able to love them past all of their sin and mistakes. But the truth is that God does love them and wants to be in an intimate relationship with them. However, this relationship with God can only be established through faith in Christ, NOT by works!

                Verse 31: Paul ends chapter 3 by letting us know that even though we are free from the law thanks to Christ, we still must abide by it because it will bring glory to God. Also by maintaining and following the law, it will prevent chaos from breaking out in society. Paul covers this topic more in depth later on in the book of Romans.