Day 26
Today we begin the book of Colossians another letter from the Apostle Paul. As always the Apostle begins his letter with an introductory blessing and then begins to reprove, rebuke, and exhort. I hope you are enjoying reading these daily posts. The Bible says to study and show ourselves approved. God is please when we read and understand His Word and we are stronger in our walk of faith. It is a great treat to me to learn more and more about the character of our heavenly Father.
Colossians 1:1-14 NIV
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 2 To the holy and faithful brothers in Christ at Colosse: Grace and peace to you from God our Father. 3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,4 because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints–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 gospel6 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.7 You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, 8 and who also told us of your love in the Spirit. 9 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 through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.10 And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
A Gospel that Bears Fruit:
Paul begins this letter with a great compliment of the faithfulness of these believers. He says that he has heard of their faith in Christ and love that brings hope. Paul then continues with "all over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since that day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth." Obviously the message of hope was growing and thriving among the churches and Paul was hearing about the fruit of the gospel. The gospel always has an affect when preached in love and truth. We are told to speak the truth in love and apparently that is what was happening in these days. There was more to the Apostle's success than just power and miraculous works. While I fervently believe in the gifts of the Spirit and enjoy operating in them I have found that the fruit that remains is that of love. The fruit of the Spirit needs to be evident in a believers life.
Galatians 5:22-25 NIV
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,23 gentleness and self‑control. Against such things there is no law.24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
So not only should the gospel bear fruit but also those who have heard and received the gospel should bear the fruit of the Spirit. These are the things that set believers and non-believers apart. The bible proclaims that we are a peculiar people, foreigners and aliens. In other words we are different because we have receive the grace of God and His love has been shed abroad in our hearts. Paul says that these believers not only heard of God's grace but they understood it in all its truth. It is nearly impossible for us to truly understand the depth and magnitude of God's grace and it is often even more difficult to extend that love and grace to others. Apparently these people were truly walking in love and because of these fruit bearing believers the gospel was changing their world. This poses a challenging question to us today's believer are we seeing the fruit of the gospel we are preaching? If not we must ask has the gospel message lost its power? Or have we lost our ability to comprehend and extend the grace of God? Are we walking in love, joy, peace, etc... Do we show enough of the love and peace of God that others long to know Him also? We need power and certainly we should ask for gifts but God says the greatest of all the gifts is that of love. Since God hasn't changed then surely the message hasn't changed. We have a promise that if we bear fruit our gospel message will also bear fruit. It is love that drives us to talk to God in prayer about them rather than our neighbors in gossip. It is love that compels us to help others who need us rather than point them to some other organization that offers them help. It is love that challenges us to live godly lives and show the hope to others that are not just listening to our talk but also watching our walk.
Paul ends this section with we are praying that "you may live a life worthy of the Lord and my 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 great endurance and patience". Paul here spells out the benefits and necessity of bearing fruit and knowing God. The power comes when we walk faithfully and bear fruit. Are you bearing fruit? Do you exhibit the fruit of the Spirit in daily life. It's a challenging word that is making me take inventory of myself.
Blessings,
Pastor Larry
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