The reason for thanking God the Father (1)

[Colossians 1:1-8]

As we welcome the new year 2022, the goal of our Victory Presbyterian Church is to live a life that bears witness to Jesus even more.  The key Bible verse for our motto is Acts 1:8: "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."  Centered around this verse, during the New Year worship service on January 2nd, we received teachings under the title "You will be My Witness" with the following five lessons: (1) We must diligently know Jesus Christ (Hos .6:3; Phil. 3:8), (2) We must earnestly listen to the words of Jesus Christ (Rom. 10:17), (3) We must faithfully live a life worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:27), (4) We must proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ with our lips (Acts 16:10), (5) We should value sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ, the mission given to us by the Lord, more than our own lives, and in our daily lives, starting from our homes, extending to the church, and in our workplaces and society, we should love our neighbors and influence them positively as we love and join with them, guided by the Holy Spirit (20:24).

And on January 8th, during the Saturday morning prayer meeting, under the title "Witnesses of Jesus Christ Pleasing to the Heart of God," we received four teachings: (1) Witnesses of Jesus Christ pleasing to the heart of God proclaim forgiveness of sins to people through the power of Jesus (Acts 13:38-39), (2) Witnesses of Jesus Christ pleasing to the heart of God are always in the grace of God (v. 43), (3) Witnesses of Jesus Christ pleasing to the heart of God not only proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ but also strengthen the hearts of believers, encouraging them to live in faith at all times and saying, "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God" (14:21-22, Modern Korean Bible), (4) Witnesses of Jesus Christ pleasing to the heart of God accept and serve God's will, even unto death (13:36, Modern Korean Bible).

And on January 15th, during the Saturday morning prayer meeting, under the title "Witnesses of Jesus Christ Obedient to the Guidance of the Holy Spirit," we received two teachings: (1) We should work together with respected individuals and engage in team ministry among believers, and (2) We should obey the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  Initially, we had only considered one aspect of the second teaching, which is that "we need to obey the guidance of the Holy Spirit."  We had thought about two out of the four sub-lessons regarding how to obey the guidance of the Holy Spirit: (1) We should be filled with the Holy Spirit and have spiritual discernment.  In the mission of preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, when the Holy Spirit blocks or does not permit the path we want to take, what should we do?  We believe that when the Holy Spirit blocks our way, there is undoubtedly another path that He will open for us, but how can we distinguish between the blocking and leading of the Holy Spirit?  We need the fullness of the Holy Spirit and spiritual discernment to follow the right guidance of the Holy Spirit (Ref.: Acts 16:6-10, Modern Korean Bible).  (2) The Holy Spirit makes us aware of those who seek help.  The Holy Spirit not only prevented Paul and his companions from preaching the word in Asia but also did not allow them to go to Bithynia when they tried.  Therefore, they went down to Troas through Mysia.  On that night, Paul had a vision, and a Macedonian man stood and pleaded, "Come over to Macedonia and help us" (vv. 8-9, Modern Korean Bible).  After seeing this vision, Paul, with his companions and the wisdom and understanding given by God, acknowledged that "God has called us to preach the gospel to these people" and immediately set sail for Macedonia (v. 10).  In this way, although the Holy Spirit prevented Paul and his team from preaching the word in Asia, He guided them to Macedonia for European mission [The remaining two teachings are: (3) We should be cautious about the enthusiasm of missionary work that is not based on correct knowledge of the gospel, (4) Gospel proclaimers are praying individuals, and to those who pray, the Lord provides opportunities to proclaim the gospel].

Today, although I couldn't start meditating on the Scriptures, when reflecting on the New Year worship on January 2nd, where the Lord gave us the words "You will be My Witnesses" (Acts 1:8), the teaching from the Saturday morning prayer meeting on January 8th under the title "Witnesses of Jesus Christ Pleasing to the Heart of God" (1:8; 13:22), and the words given during the Saturday morning prayer meeting on January 15th under the title "Witnesses of Jesus Christ Obedient to the Guidance of the Holy Spirit" (16:1-34), the concluding lesson is that we should be witnesses of Jesus Christ (1:8) who, by obeying the guidance of the Holy Spirit (16:1-34), are pleasing to the heart of God.  I hope and pray that the Lord establishes us as witnesses of Jesus Christ who are pleasing to the heart of God by obeying the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

In today's passage, Colossians 1:1-2, the Bible says: "Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the holy and faithful brothers in Christ at Colosse: Grace and peace to you from God our Father."  Looking at Colossians 1:1, the Scripture identifies the author of this letter.  The author is none other than "Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God" (v. 1).  In this part of the Scripture, Apostle Paul introduces himself as having become an apostle of Jesus Christ "by the will of God."  While meditating on this passage, I recalled Acts 9, where the Lord transformed Saul (Paul) through a "conversion" experience and commissioned him with a "mission."  In Acts 9:15, the Lord said, "Go!  This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel."  The Lord not only converted Saul (Paul) but also gave him a mission to proclaim the gospel to Gentiles, kings, and the people of Israel.  Acts 9:15 (Modern Korean Bible) states: "But the Lord said to Ananias, 'Go!  This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.'"  Therefore, Paul stated in Galatians 2:8, "For God, who was at work in Peter as an apostle to the Jews, was also at work in me as an apostle to the Gentiles" (Gal. 2:8).  When Paul began writing a letter to the faithful saints in Colossae, he introduced himself as "Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God" (Col. 1:1) because the Colossian church was not a congregation Paul had founded, and the saints there may not have been familiar with him (unknown to the Colossians) (KJV Bible Commentary).  Therefore, Paul started the letter to the Colossians by introducing himself as "an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God," emphasizing that he became an apostle through encountering the resurrected Christ and that the Lord had chosen him as an apostle to the Gentiles equal to the other twelve apostles (1:1) (KJV Bible Commentary).