i love how Paul has identity down. in the first sentence he clearly states who he is. "Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God..." i had to pause for just a second on that. mostly b/c i do not embrace my identity like that. by the will of God....if you know anything about Paul's life, you know he lived controlled by the holy spirit. surrendering his will over and over again. in fact in one place he says, (paraphrasing) if this isnt the real deal, then i am the biggest fool there is! he was wreck-less in the way he followed the will of God.
Then, he is clear on the identity of those he is writing to in the church at Colosse...to the holy and faithful brothers in Christ. Paul had identities down. sometimes we don't. we beat ourselves up for the "sins" we commit. we live in a drunken state of guilt and shame, or apathy, or where ever it is you live. holy and faithful brothers in Christ.... i love this b/c Paul goes on to tell us how to identify ourselves properly.
in v. 6 he mentions the gospel is growing and bearing fruit all over the place, just as it is among you since the day you heard it AND understood God's grace in ALL its truth. they heard the gospel, they understood God's grace in all its truth. if you just read that and blow right by it, you probably dont understand the ramifications of grace. if your head spins when you read that the holy and faithful brothers in Christ understood God's grace...you are starting to get, Grace. there is a completeness that Paul writes about in colossians...it's as if he is trying to let the people of Colosse know that they only got part of the story. he uses the word ALL quite a bit through out the letter. i wonder if that is why i like this book so much?
Paul is praying for the people. specifically for God to fill them with the knowledge of God's will through spiritual wisdom and understanding. why? so that they would live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way! how?
- by bearing fruit
- growing in knowledge
- being strengthened for endurance
- joyfully giving thanks
that would be a pretty good picture of a life of a person following Christ. and if you ever get hung up and need a memory jolt as to why you would want to live this way...Paul gives us one in verse 13... for he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
not only did he rescue us, but he brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves!
Grace....
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