Examples of faithfulness to God through Jesus Christ in the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Colossians 1:1-14

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“Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are in Colosse: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Colossians 1:1-2

Paul constantly extends the grace and peace of God to members within the family of Christ. How wonderful it would be for all of us to extend grace and peace to one another instead of judgment and conflict. Paul acknowledged that he was made an Apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, not by any college degrees or human efforts. Let our born-again experience be our credentials in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, after all, our born-again experience is the Gospel of Christ written on our heart.

The letters that Paul wrote to the Churches are written to us as well, and we can read his letters as is, without lots of commentaries etc. For example,

As followers of Christ, we should give thanks to God and father of Jesus Christ as we have prayers within the recesses of our inner being for fellow Christians, “We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you…” Colossians 1:3

Prayers of thanksgiving should flood our soul to hear of people’s faith in Jesus Christ and love for Christians, “…since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints…” Colossians 1:4

We should rejoice in the hope we have within the body of Christ of eternal life in the New Jerusalem, which we heard about from the Gospel of Christ, “…because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel…” Colossians 1:5

We should realize that our born-again experience is available to anyone in this world by believing in God through Jesus Christ in the presence of the Holy Spirit, “…which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth…” Colossians 1:6

Epaphras is known as the founder of the Colossian Church and a citizen of Colosse, and Paul praised the members of the Colossian Church for learning from Epaphras. Epaphras shined with love in the Spirit and was a faithful minister of our Lord Jesus Christ. We should be willing to learn from those who shine with the fruit of the Spirit and are faithful to Christ, “…as you also learned from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, who also declared to us your love in the Spirit.” Colossians 1:7-8

As Christians, we should have a prayer in the quietness of our soul for those willing to learn from Spirit filled people devoted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We want others to be filled with the knowledge of what God wants for each other through Jesus, in wisdom and spiritual understanding. “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus” 1 Timothy 2:3-5 “For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding…” Colossians 1:9

We should desire to “… walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God…” Colossians 1:10

We should desire for ourselves and others to be strengthened with patience and spiritual joy [not fleshly joy] in a world where love has gone cold and joy seems elusive. Joy is much better than frustration and depression that could lead to destructive behaviors. We pray for the body of Christ to be “…strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy…” Colossians 1:11

We should realize and give thanks to God our Father who has made us to share in the eternal inheritance with everyone who lives in the light of Jesus Christ, “…giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.” Colossians 1:12

We should acknowledge and realize that “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” Colossians 1:13-14

Every one of us who have experienced being born-again through the Gospel of Christ know the darkness we were living in and how we came to live in the light by the forgiveness of sins. That born-again experience is exactly why our Lord Jesus died on the Cross and His blood shed. He has redeemed our spirit, mind, and soul and gives us eternal life in the New Jerusalem.

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“….to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets,“
‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.’”
“I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.”
Revelation 2:24-25, 3:1