The reason for thanking God the Father (11)
[Colossians 1:1-8]
Fourth and last, the Apostle Paul, in Colossians, thanked God the Father for the faithful saints in Colossae. He expressed gratitude because, from the day they heard the gospel and truly understood God's grace, they had been bearing fruit and growing not only among them but also throughout the entire world.
Look at Colossians 1:6 - "which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth." As stated in the Modern Korean Bible, "The message has reached you and, just as it has among you, it is bringing forth fruit and spreading throughout the world." Are you dreaming of a particular household as you pray to God? I am praying and dreaming of a "Love-bearing household": sowing the seed of love, allowing the roots of love to grow deeply and widely beneath the unseen ground, and as the sprout of love gradually emerges above the ground, may the tree of love grow robustly, resulting in a Christ-centered household that bears the fruit of love. I hope and pray that our home becomes centered around the Lord and focused on producing the fruits of love. In particular, I am praying and dreaming of a Christ-centered home that obeys Jesus' twofold command, producing a twofold fruit. As believers in Jesus who have already obtained eternal life, when we love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and love our neighbor as ourselves (Mt. 22:37, 39), we fulfill the twofold command and bear twofold fruit: (1) Participating in the divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4), becoming more like Jesus through the sanctification of the Holy Spirit, and (2) Bearing the fruits of the Spirit – "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" (Gal. 5:22-23). Therefore, I am praying for a Christ-centered home where we grow to resemble Jesus, love one another with Jesus' love, and manifest the characteristics of Jesus. I am praying for a home that demonstrates the gospel of Jesus Christ, bearing the fruit of the gospel, and becoming a living example of the transformative power of the gospel. May our home be a place where the gospel is lived out, and may it bear the fruits that reflect the good news of Jesus Christ.
We have already reflected on the three reasons Apostle Paul thanked God the Father when praying for the saints of the Colossian church, based on Colossians 1:3-5. Those reasons, according to the Modern Korean Bible translation, were, firstly, their strong faith in Christ Jesus, secondly, their love for all the saints, and thirdly, their heavenly hope. In today's passage, Colossians 1:6, Apostle Paul provides the fourth and final reason why he expresses gratitude to God the Father when praying for the saints in the Colossian church. This reason stems from the fact that the faithful saints in Colossae, from the day they heard the gospel and truly understood God's grace, had been bearing fruit and growing not only among them but also throughout the entire world. The verse says, "which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth." I would like to consider three aspects regarding this:
- Reflection on the Gospel Heard by the Faithful Saints in the Colossian Church:
Apostle Paul referred to the gospel as the message of truth in Colossians 1:5. He used similar language in Ephesians 1:13, where he spoke of "the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation." These phrases emphasize that the gospel is the truth. When contemplating these two expressions together, the gospel heard by the saints in Colossae and the gospel we have heard can be understood as the message of truth. In this context, the term "gospel" is synonymous with the "message of truth," and both refer to the "good news" of our salvation. Therefore, the gospel heard by the Colossian saints and the gospel we have heard are both the message of truth concerning our salvation. I have considered "this gospel" (Col. 1:6) in relation to the teachings of Colossians, and here are four aspects that came to my mind:
- This "gospel of salvation" speaks of 'our spiritual resurrection in Christ, being buried with Christ through baptism, and being raised with Him by the power of God who raised Christ from the dead, all through faith.' [Ref.: (Col. 3:1a) "If then you have been raised with Christ..."].
Look at Colossians 2:12-13: "Having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him ...." Look at also Romans 6:3-4: "Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life."
- This "gospel of salvation" speaks of 'us obtaining redemption, namely the forgiveness of sins, in Jesus Christ, the Son of God.'
Look at Colossians 1:14: "In whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins" [Ref.: Eph.1:14: "who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession..."]. Here, "redemption" refers to the act of paying a price to buy back and liberate. The value paid by Jesus Christ to free us from the bondage of sin and Satan was His own life. In other words, through Jesus Christ's death on the cross, we receive forgiveness of sins and freedom from sin.
- This "gospel of salvation" speaks of 'God reconciling us to Himself through Christ's physical death and the shedding of His blood on the cross, thereby turning us from being enemies of God to being at peace with God.
Colossians 1:20-22 in the Modern Korean Bible states: "and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him" (v. 22). Look at also Romans 5:10 - "For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son...," and 2 Corinthians 5:18 - "All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ ...."
- The "gospel of salvation" mentioned in Colossians 1:13 of the Modern Korean Bible speaks of God rescuing us from the power of darkness and transferring us to the kingdom of His beloved Son.
Here, the "power of darkness" refers to the "power of Satan" (Acts 26:18), and the "kingdom of His beloved Son" refers to the "kingdom of the Lord" (Mt. 20:21; Heb.1:8) or the "kingdom of God" (Mt. 21:31; Lk. 18:17). Therefore, the gospel of salvation is about God rescuing us from the power of Satan and transferring us to the kingdom of the Lord. If we express this concept from the perspective of Apostle John, it aligns with 1 John 3:14, where God has moved us from "death" (spiritually dead and bound for eternal death) to life (eternal life). Additionally, John 5:24 states, "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment but has passed from death to life." In other words, from Apostle John's viewpoint, the gospel of salvation is about God rescuing us from death, bringing us into life, and transferring us from the realm of darkness to the kingdom of His beloved Son.
If we consolidate this perspective with the viewpoint of Apostle Paul regarding the gospel of salvation, it can be summarized as follows: 'The gospel of salvation is about God, through the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, spiritually rescuing us from eternal death and slavery to sin and Satan (redemption), reconciling us with God (atonement), and transferring us to the kingdom of God (life).