The reason for thanking God the Father (9)
[Colossians 1:1-8]
Second, Apostle Paul thanked God the Father for the love of the faithful saints in Colossae towards all the saints.
The Scripture Colossians 1:4b, says: “… and of the love you have for all the saints … .” How do our parents feel when they see their children loving each other? Don't they feel thankful and joyful when witnessing their children loving one another in the Lord? Similarly, in the context of the church, wouldn't it be a source of gratitude and joy for elders like yourself and me when we see the saints loving one another in the Lord? As we have already meditated on in 1 John, God's will is for us to love one another (1 Jn. 3:23-24). When we love one another according to God's will, we know that we have passed from death to life and possess eternal life (3:14, Modern Korean Bible). By God's grace, we have learned that as citizens of heaven, having believed in Jesus Christ, we should live as those who already possess eternal life (Phil. 3:20). Living as citizens of heaven means living according to the twofold commandment of Jesus, which is to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind and to love our neighbor as ourselves (Mt. 22:37-39). In particular, in 1 John, Apostle John teaches us three aspects of loving one another according to the Lord's commandment. Those who love one another (1) lay down their lives for their brothers (1 Jn. 3:16). (2) Share their possessions to help a brother in need (v. 17). (3) Love with actions and truth (v. 18). Love without actions is dead, just as faith without deeds is dead (Jam. 2:14, 17, 20, 26). Disobeying the Lord's command to love one another (1 Jn. 3:11) while claiming to love in words only (v. 18) is dead love. Faith without obedience is false faith, just as love without actions is false love.
Today, in Colossians 1:4b, Apostle Paul, while praying for the faithful saints in the Colossian church, is explaining the second reason for thanking God. The reason is that Paul heard about the Colossian church's love for all the saints. If we truly believe in Jesus like the saints in the Colossian church (v. 4), undoubtedly, we will be obeying the Lord's commandment and loving one another. Conversely, if we are disobedient to the Lord's commandment and not loving one another, it means we are not truly believing in Jesus. The reason is that love is evidence of faith (Love is the evidence of faith) (Jn. 13:35; 15:12; Gal. 5:6; Jam. 2:14-20, 1 Jn. 3:14) (KJV Bible Commentary). The second reason why Apostle Paul thanked God every time he prayed for the saints in the Colossian church is that he heard of their love for all the saints (Col. 1:4, Modern Korean Bible). Paul received this news through Epaphras: ‘You learned it from our dear fellow servant Epaphras, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf" (v. 7, Modern Korean Bible). Epaphras, mentioned by Paul, was someone who became a servant of God along with Paul and Timothy (v. 7). According to John MacArthur, the Colossian church was likely founded by Epaphras when Paul was doing ministry in Ephesus for three years (Acts 19). In Colossians 4:12, Paul spoke about Epaphras to the Colossian saints, saying, "Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured" (Modern Korean Bible). This shows that Epaphras, like Paul and Timothy (1:3), was earnestly praying for the saints in the Colossian church, and the content of his prayer was for the Colossian saints to be fully assured of God's will, standing firm in their faith, and living maturely (4:12, Modern Korean Bible). How important and precious is this prayer? How important are these three prayer topics for us: (1) Knowing and being fully assured of God's will, (2) Standing firm in faith, and (3) Living maturely in faith?
Apostle Paul mentions that this person named Epaphras came to Paul from the Colossian saints. From this fact, we can infer that Epaphras, as a servant of Jesus, conveyed the situation of the Colossian saints to Paul. One of the things he conveyed was that the Colossian saints were saying that they believe well in Christ Jesus and love all the saints (Col. 1:4). Apostle Paul heard through Epaphras that the Colossian saints were also delivering the news that they live in love within the Holy Spirit: (v. 8, Modern Korean Bible) "who also declared to us your love in the Spirit." Here in Colossians 1:8, Apostle Paul speaks of the news he heard through Epaphras that the Colossian saints live in love within the Holy Spirit. When we go to Colossians 2:2, Paul expresses the desire for them to be knit together in love: "that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love" (Modern Korean Bible). When contemplating this, I find a connection between the expressions "within the Holy Spirit" and "in love." My basis for this thought is found in Galatians 5:22a: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love." In my view, the faithful saints in the Colossian church, believing well in Jesus, were living in love within the Holy Spirit, which is why they were (well) united in love. Therefore, in Colossians 3:14, Apostle Paul may have written the letter as follows: "And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony" (Modern Korean Bible).
Last Tuesday, sinter in Christ Soo-eun Sim, who is battling cancer, shared a heartfelt message in a KakaoTalk group where people were praying for her through her big sister in Christ Sun-ae Kim. I would like to share a part of her message with you: ‘… As I still look at my helpless self, tears continue to flow. After crying for a while, the expected cancer treatment began, and without any reason or resistance, I am taking this potent medicine into my body. Here, in this situation, I want to run away from this pain. 'God~ I guess I'm exhausted now. I want to rest without pain, sadness, or loneliness. I want to rest comfortably in Your embrace. I pray that you, Lord, who provides us a comfortable refuge when we need rest, will be the warmest and most comfortable resting place for me now. May I be held in Your wide and warm embrace like never before. Please grant me strength so that, without getting tired or discouraged, locked in sadness, I can spend this time well, like a child, singing praises in Your arms and worshiping with joy and gratitude. …’ I felt a bit heavy and melancholic, not quite understanding why I felt this way. However, last Thursday morning, as I meditated on Ephesians 6, I felt the need to be fully armed with the shield of faith, one of God's weapons, to ward off the fiery arrows of the devil (Eph. 6:11, 16, Modern Korean Bible). The reason for this was that thinking about the pain of our loved ones suffering from illness made me ponder their death, which made my heart melancholic. However, during the Wednesday worship, through Pastor Chang Seh Kim's sermon on "The Seven Sayings from the Cross (6)" (Jn. 19:28-30), I was reminded that Jesus Christ, through His death, overcame the power of death, destroying the devil, who had held the power of death, and liberating everyone who, through fear of death, had been slaves to the lifelong bondage (Heb. 2:14-15). This truth, through the help of God, revived my melancholic heart, and I gained strength. Therefore, with faith alone, I want to live triumphantly in this spiritual battle. In the midst of this, tonight, I will be traveling to Korea by plane, following God's guidance. The reason is to worship with my beloved sister in Christ, Soo-eun Sim, her family and to meet my sister in Christ Jong-mi Lee, who is facing her fifth heart surgery on April 20. Additionally, I plan to handle internet ministry responsibilities. I intend to return after the coming Sunday and the Holy Week, just before Resurrection Sunday. Therefore, I will not be able to join you for Palm Sunday, Holy Week, and Good Friday prayer meetings, among others. However, especially when thinking about the Holy Week, I pray not only for those suffering during this time but also encourage you to reach out to those experiencing pain, as I have recommended in previous years. While our church does not have special early morning prayer meetings during the Holy Week, we only have Good Friday and Saturday early morning prayer meetings, but I pray that, through prayer, we can reach out to those in pain and empathize with them. Though we may not be able to act, if we can reach out to those in pain, we can experience meaningful Holy Week in the sight of the Lord. I hope that as we remember and commemorate Jesus Christ's suffering, death, and resurrection, we will love our neighbors with the love of the Lord, especially those in pain, so that worries and anxieties will dissipate, and we will experience the joy that the Lord provides. May the Lord's great love fill our hearts abundantly, so that, as we go out and shine His love, we can be filled with the peace and joy that the Lord gives.