THE GOSPEL’S POWER – The power of the gospel frees us from sin and Satan’s control.

COLOSSIANS 1:9-23

MEMORY VERSE: COLOSSIANS 1: 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,

John Mitchell and Philip Weigel were sentenced to hang for treason. President George Washington twice stayed their executions before granting them a full pardon on November 2, 1795. Though guilty, Mitchell and Weigel were freed. That is the power of a pardon. The gospel also pardons us from our guilt. Through faith in Jesus Christ, we gain eternal forgiveness for all our sins, being released from our sentence of eternal separation from God.

THE CONTEXT (COLOSSIANS 1:1-23)

In Colossians, Jesus Christ’s supreme importance is the main theme. At this time, a group of heretics in the area of Colossi were active and mixing angel worship, Jewish mysticism, strict denial, and Greek mythology. These people were polluting and distorting the gospel. Paul’s letter to the Colossians was a response to refute their distortions. Paul talks about the fullness of Christ and the sufficiency of Christ in creation, redemption, and the Church. Christ is the visible form of the invisible God.

In Jesus Christ, the universe was created. He is before the universe, in Him the universe holds together and exists. He is the head of the church and the firstborn from among the dead. He is above all the angels, including Satan. Through Jesus Christ’s blood shed at the cross, he reconciled all things unto himself in earth and in heaven.

Paul assured the Colossians of his faithfulness in praying for them. Then he expressed his prayerful desire for their continued spiritual strengthening before reminding them of their spiritual position as a result of Christ’s redemption and forgiveness (1:9-14). Paul continued by reminding them that Jesus Christ is the supreme Creator of all things and is head of the church. He emphasized that Christ pleased the Father by dying on the cross, thereby securing salvation from sin and reconciliation with God through shedding His blood (1:15-20).

Paul challenged the Colossians to remain faithful to the hope of the gospel, which was his privilege of proclaiming as one of Christ’s servants (1:21-23).

SET FREE (COL. 1:9-14)

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,

In verse 8, Epaphras had told Paul about the Colossians’ love and Paul had not stopped praying for them. Paul envisioned a very practical outcome in believers who possess wisdom and spiritual understanding, namely, that they maintain a walk worthy of the Lord. Rather than leave it to interpretation, Paul spelled out three aspects of a life that measures up to the Lord’s expectations.

First, a life lived in a manner worthy of the Lord is one that is fully pleasing to him. Second, a worthy walk is one that is bearing fruit in every good work. The continuous sense of the verb points to a life of continuing fruitfulness, not just one of a seasonal harvest. The third aspect of such a walk is one that is continuous in gaining more understanding of Christ and the Heavenly Father. We should always be going forward to better understand God’s purposes and provisions.

11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully

12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.

Paul continues wanting believers to remember that they are up against the triad of powerful opponents – the world, the flesh, and the devil. Nothing short of God’s powerful presence and enablement can bring victory.

God’s power is not measured by our need, as great as that need might be. Rather, it is available according to His glorious provision, which has no limits. The creator of the universe has no problem dealing bountifully with our needs. We just forget sometimes that our wants are not necessarily needs. God’s ways and thoughts are above mankind’s (Isa 55:8-12).

Finally, Paul’s desire and prayer was that the resultant outcome would lead to the twin blessings of endurance and patience. Endurance speaks of the capacity to see a matter through to completion without caving in or giving up. Patience speaks of evenness of temperament that is steady and without retaliation or response in like kind to whatever has occurred. In fact, the residue that God’s power, in our times of need, seeks to leave in us an inward joy. This joy is the doorway into the next verse.

Paul prayed that all he desired for the Colossians in their times of need would occur joyfully along with thanksgiving to God. Undergirding the call for joyous thanksgiving was the prospect of God’s enablement to make them share in the saints’ inheritance in the light. Among the chief blessings of being the people of God is His equipping us to participate in the heritage that belongs to all believers. We are His children, He is our Father, and we are to fellowship with His family.

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.

Christians have been set free from the dark domain of unforgiven sin and the rule of Satan, the prince of darkness. God has transferred His children into the kingdom of the Son he loves. Gods’ son, Jesus Christ, is our all-sufficient savior for the past, present, and future.

We have our redemption in Jesus Christ. God forgives our sins and sees Jesus Christ’s pardon for every believer. It is in a spiritual union with God’s Son that believers know the complete forgiveness of sins and enjoy being in God’s family now and through the eternal ages.

BY CHRIST (COL. 1:15-20)

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.

These verses are packed with theological truth about Christ, speaking of His relation to God the Father, to the created order, and to the church. Together, these truths point to Jesus Christ’s supreme significance.

In relation to God the Father, this declaration is that Christ is the image of the invisible God. God is a spiritual being (John 4:24). Jesus Christ is the physical person who made the invisible God visible for human beings. He enabled mortal beings to have a clearer understanding of God’s person and purposes.

In relation to the created universe, the declaration about Christ as the image of the invisible God goes further to assert that He is firstborn over all creation. As firstborn, Christ had priority in time, being in existence from eternity past and before all creation. Christ also possesses superiority in rank. A firstborn child has a certain honored position in the family. Thus Christ is over the created order in both position and dignity.

Christ’s superior relation to the created order is given a sweeping explanation in the declaration that everything was created by Him. In this fact, we have the basis for His dominion over creation. The term “everything” occurs three times in this paragraph (vs. 16, 18, 20), while the phrase “all things” occurs three times in verses 16 and 17. These references are all-inclusive. This includes thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. They reach beyond the human and earthly and point to the hierarchy of angelic beings. Whatever supernatural powers exist, Christ was their Creator and Ruler. The summation is that all things have been created through Him and for Him. Even though human eyes cannot see the full extent of everything on earth, much less what is in heaven, divine revelation in Holy Scripture informs us that Christ was integral to its creation. He was the divine mediating agent and will be the ultimate heir and judge of it all. His final installation as King of Kings and Lord of Lords will one day be recognized by all.

17 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 and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.

Our exalted Savior not only addresses humanity’s need for a Redeemer, Jesus is at the same time the personal sustainer or divine cohesive of all creation. Just think, we know through science that our universe is made up of matter and energy. We think of the electrons, protons, and neutrons at the atomic level. Also present is the energy involved. Jesus is the glue that holds it all together and makes it function. If he released His hold on it, our universe would fly apart with an atomic explosion (2 Peter 3:10 -13).

The underlying truth is that Christ stands behind these laws as the personal explanation for the regularity of the cosmos and thereby prevents it from becoming chaos. To be the head of something is to be its sovereign ruler. He has never relinquished this position to a human being regardless of what exalted title the church might bestow on any mortal. Jesus Christ is the head of His church. His church is a vibrant, living entity composed of members who are joined together in a saving relationship with Jesus. His Holy Spirit empowers His church to function.

Jesus was the first to return from the dead in possession of resurrection life and never again be subject to death. This truth is captured in the words of 1 Corinthians 15:20, “Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” In everything Christ is supreme!

19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,

20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

Jesus, in His incarnate body, was not a lesser or diminished expression of God. In His first coming, Jesus came to serve and save that which was lost. He purposely was obedient to His Heavenly Father, restricted His power, and went to death on the cross. Some cultures at that time taught that physical matter is evil and that God would not restrict Himself in a physical body. That trend distorted Jesus as less than God. This developing heresy would show a lesser than God existence. The apostle insisted that the fullness of God’s nature belonged to the incarnate Christ (Col. 2:9).

THROUGH HIS DEATH (COL. 1:21-23)

21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.

22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation--

23 if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.

The source of evil actions is what is in a person’s heart. Jesus declared: “For from the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false testimonies, slander. These are the things that defile a person”(Matt. 15:19-20a). Evil actions are but the outward reflections of one’s inward condition.

“But now” is the divine hinge upon which a person’s relationship with God turns from condemnation to reconciliation. Christ’s redeeming work is the fact that sinners are reconciled to God. Reconciliation speaks of enemies becoming friends. The enmity that separates unforgiven sinners from a Holy God was removed when Christ took upon Himself the consequences of their sins.

The amazing fact about Christ’s redemption is the presenting of guilty believing sinners as holy, faultless, and blameless in the sight of God. Reconciled sinners are freed from accusation or condemnation.

Paul urges the Colossians to beware of the dangers of false prophecies. The danger of heresies then and now is that they tend toward including other requirements in addition to faith in Jesus Christ. It is the Holy Spirit activated in believing Christians who empowers and assures their inheritance in Heaven (Eph. 1:13,14).