Colossians 1a: Faithful Servants of Christ by the will of God.

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
² To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.
³ We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, ⁴ since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, ⁵ because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, ⁶ which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, ⁷ just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf ⁸ and has made known to us your love in the Spirit. ⁹ And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, ¹⁰ so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; ¹¹ being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; ¹² giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. ¹³ He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.  He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. ¹⁶ For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. ¹⁷ And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. ¹⁸ And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. ¹⁹ For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, ²⁰ and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

²¹ And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, ²² he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, ²³ if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

Written from Prison: Providence.

Paul wrote to the Church at Colossae while he was a prisoner in Rome.
At the end of the letter he wrote “Remember my chains”. He was being held waiting to be heard by Caesar, after having been accused of various false crimes by the Jews.  It’s most likely he was in house arrest, because he would have been set free rather than being taken in chains to Rome, if he hadn’t appealed to be seen by Caesar, as mentioned in Acts 26:32, His chains were part of God’s plan as Jesus said in Acts 9:15 “This man is My chosen instrument to carry My name before the Gentiles and their kings, and before the people of Israel.”. Then In Acts 28, Luke wrote of Paul’s chains, and of him personally renting accommodation, and of him welcoming all who came to him.
Epaphras who had founded the church at Colossae about 3.5 years earlier, visited Paul and told him of a variety of problems in the Church, including heretical influences such as Ascetism and Gnosticism, and of the presence of fleshly activity. Paul wrote to the Saints instructing them to continue in the gospel they had first received, not being moved from the truth.

Considering the term Saints:

Paul addressed the letter to the “saints and faithful brethren“, You may know that Saint means “most holy one”: When we’re aware of the will of the flesh in us, we might not always think of ourselves as being Saints, Paul wrote of His own experience in Romans 7:22, “For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.“, but despite the ever present will of the flesh, God works in us to will and to do what is pleasing to Him as faithful Saints through Christ. Christians are certainly not Saints by their own works, We’re told in verse 12 to give “thanks to the Father, who has qualified” us “to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light.”, we’ve been “rescued” by God “from the dominion of darkness and” He’s “brought us into the kingdom of His beloved Son,”.

Saints have the mind of Christ, which should govern our relationships.

We’re told in Philippians 2:3-5

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,

When we govern our relationships by the mind of Christ, seeing each other as fellow Saints, we have peace and fellowship, and grow in spiritual maturity. But although that all sounds nice, it’s not always an easy road. Applying the mind of Christ often requires turning the other cheek, walking an extra kilometre or more, giving without expecting to receive, covering a multitude of sins, forgiving 70 times 7, speaking the truth in love, and sometimes refraining from speaking. That’s what we’re called and empowered to do by the will of God.

Epaphras’ relationship to the church is given in v7, reading from v5

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, 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. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.

Epaphras, Paul and Timothy, were working together in the interest of their brethren, working to build them up in Christ.

It seems to me that Epaphras had been receiving quite a challenge to his ministry, because although he’d been serving the Colossian Saints since commencement of the Church, we’re told in verse 28, that Paul’s authority was called on to “warn and teach everyone in all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.”.

A primary goal of the ministry was to “present everyone mature in Christ”, Paul reiterates this goal which is first put into action through prayer, as he wrote in chapter 4v12 while commending Epaphras to the Saints.

Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God.

Notice that Epaphras wasn’t seen as greater than his brethren in Christ, Paul wrote of him as “who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus,“, this is how we’re to view each other. Some of us have responsibilities that make us more visible, but none of us are greater than any other, we’re all servants of Christ working in unity with each other for the common good, to the glory of God, and although our prayers for each other have specific purpose, just as Epaphras’ did, they also express our love for each other.

And Paul knew he wasn’t greater than the Saints when he used the phrase “by the will of God“, this was simply stating the basis of his responsibilities, and this is again the basis of every Saints responsibility to work in and for Christ by the will of God, as verse 12 says:
“that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God“.

But there is One who Paul did exalt throughout, and more personally at length from verses 14-22, which were considered in our opening reading, he exalted Christ, God’s beloved Son:

The first responsibility that all saints have is to exalt and glorify God through Christ His son, that’s essentially what we’re created for as  v16 said “all things have been created through Him and for Him.“. It’s through our works of service and prayer for each other both within this congregation and further away, that visible unity is developed and maintained, and it’s partially through this unity that the world will see the love of God and His glory through Christ.

So in this way, Paul, Epaphras and Timothy were working together with the Saints who he referred to as faithful brethren, to develop spiritual maturity, so that they would govern and participate in the Church with the mind of Christ, and reject the mind of the natural man and the evil influences which were attempting to govern the Church.

In Colossians 1:23, Paul exhorted the Saints to “continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.“

So here we have Paul’s commission by the will of God, to proclaim Christ, the hope of the gospel.

“By the will of God”

Paul was apprehended and made an apostle, in service to the One he had previously been persecuting. He was commissioned to deliver and maintain the teaching of the gospel of Christ. And he was strengthened to suffer for Christ, and the gospel, with all it’s related responsibilities, through Christ, by the will of God. This point was also mentioned earlier in the introduction from Luke’s writing in Acts 9:15 when Jesus told Ananias: “This man is My chosen instrument to carry My name before the Gentiles and their kings, and before the people of Israel.”

About 810 years before Paul, the prophet Amos also stated his God ordained authority when He prophesied against Israel. During the time of Amos delivering God’s Word. Amaziah the priest, who had been ordained by men, told him to go prophesy somewhere else. But Amos, who was a prophet ordained by God, rejected the instruction: Amos 7:14

Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, “I was no prophet, nor a prophet’s son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs. ¹⁵ But the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’ ¹⁶ So now listen to what the Lord says.“.

Paul only opened 9 of his 13 letters with reference to his authority by God’s will, but it was always with purpose, just as with Amos in his time, who like many other prophets of God were often treated like unqualified messengers or nuisances. As when King Ahab called Elijah “you troubler of Israel”. And as we know, Jesus was also ridiculed during His ministry, the Pharisees blasphemed Him and Holy Spirit, when they said that Jesus cast out demons by the prince of demons. So also when Paul was alive, he was ridiculed, and is still spoken of in defamatory terms today, by people with the desire to teach contrary to God’s will. Some say: “that’s only what Paul thought”, or “he was a male chauvinist”, or “he was a misogynist”. But when people speak against the members of the church, including Paul, and any of the Saints, they’re speaking against Christ.

In 1 Corinthians 14:37, Paul wrote to the saints, I think in expectation of some rejecting, or arguing against the doctrine he’d just delivered regarding some aspects of women‘s contributions in the mixed congregation, he said:

If anyone thinks that he is a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge that the things I am writing to you are a command of the Lord.

But if we hypothetically take the perspective that Pauls 13 epistles are not Holy scripture, because it’s believed he was a corrupt teacher, then we’d likely also remove Luke, Acts and 3 letters from Peter (18 books out of 26), because in Acts 9:10-16, Luke also acknowledged and endorsed, that Paul’s authority was by the will of God.

Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” ¹¹ And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, ¹² and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” ¹³ But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. ¹⁴ And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.” ¹⁵ But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. ¹⁶ For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”

And Peter endorsed Paul in 2 Peter 3:15-16

Consider also that our Lord’s patience brings salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom God gave him.
He writes this way in all his letters, speaking in them about such matters. Some parts of his letters are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.

In Galatians 1:11-12, Paul tells us of the source of his spiritual knowledge and wisdom being from God and not from man.

For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

In Colossians 1:24-29 Paul tells of the purpose of his responsibilities by God’s will.

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints.
To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.
For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.

We’ve been considering Paul’s and Epaphras’ services to the Church, and their example to us, and in this, it’s vital that we also consider their Godly custom of prayer: In v3. we read “We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,” Then in verses 9-12:

For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have full endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 

The content of prayer is of course subject to need, and there are many needs within the Church to be recognised in prayer, personally and at times corporately.
But there are some needs within the Church that are ongoing, as Paul mentioned in these verses of 9-12: To be filled with spiritual wisdom, knowledge, and understanding, because the result of these prayers is bearing fruit in every good work, having full endurance and patience, being strengthened according to His glorious might. This makes the Church a city situated on a hill, a light in the world, ready and prepared to give an account of the hope we have in Christ.

But there’s a primary point to remember in all our prayers and it’s one I’m sure we’re all aware of, as mentioned in v12, “joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light“. He wants us to be growing in fellowship with Him, praising Him, as all creation should, and one day will.

We’re told in Revelation 5:8, that the prayers of the Saints, are like golden bowls full of incense before His throne.

Love & Hope

Then in verse 4 Paul writes of “the love you have for all God’s people.“.
When our individual relationship with God is in order, our love for all God’s people will be in order, and we’ll be at peace with all men as far as depends on ourselves. It’s through this condition that Paul observed and wrote that the “the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world“.

In Paul’s opening greeting, he mentions his unity in service with “Timothy our brother“:
God wants us to be engaged in service to each other, and with each other. Godly service doesn’t elevate the servant, it elevates Christ by following His example, for the building up of each other in love, bearing each other’s burdens and sharing in each other’s joys of the knowledge of God, while preserving each other’s integrity, and sustaining God’s ordained natural earthly boundaries of relationships, as we’re taught in Matthew 20:25-28

But Jesus called them to him and said, 
“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.
It shall not be so among you.
But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve,
and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

and Colossians 3:12-15

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and,
if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other;
as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.
And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body.
And be thankful.

In summary:

• Christians are saints by God’s will.
• Saints have the Mind and Word of Christ to maintain truth and unity in love, through Holy Spirit.
• Unity in Christ delivers the gospel of Christ to the world, separating light from darkness.

Closing Prayer (adapted from Col 1:9-12)

Dear Heavenly Father, please fill us with the knowledge of Your will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
so that we may walk in a manner worthy of the Yourself
and may please You in every way:
bearing fruit in every good work,
growing in the knowledge of Yourself,
being strengthened with all power according to Your glorious might
so that we may have full endurance and patience,
we joyfully give thanks to You dear Heavenly Father,
You who have qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light,

We pray the Lord bless us and keep us;
the Lord make his face to shine upon us and be gracious to us;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon us and give us peace.
In Jesus name, amen.

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