Do Not be Shaken by the Hope of the Gospel! (3)
[Colossians 1:15-23]
Second, we must not be shaken from the hope of the gospel.
Apostle Paul desired that the saints of the Colossian church would stand firm in their faith and not be shaken. Understanding the backdrop of false philosophies (Col. 2:8) at the time, denying both the physical incarnation of Jesus and the salvation through His redemption, it becomes clear why Paul urged the Colossian saints to remain unshaken in their faith. Paul wanted the Colossian believers, who had truly grasped God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ (1:6), to stand firm in their faith, especially against the false doctrines that denied Jesus Christ's incarnation and salvation through His redemptive work. The Colossian saints, once alienated from God due to their evil deeds (1:21), had now been reconciled to God through Christ's physical death (1:22). Formerly spiritually dead due to sin and uncircumcised desires, God had made them alive with Christ, forgiving all their sins (2:13). They had died with Christ and their life was hidden with Christ in God (3:3). They had become a new creation, continually being renewed in true knowledge (3:10). Now, they were chosen, holy, and beloved by God (1:22). The purpose was to present them holy, blameless, and above reproach before God (v. 22). Therefore, the hope given to the Colossian saints was that when Christ, their life, appears, they also will appear with Him in glory (3:4). This aligns with the "hope laid up in heaven" mentioned in Colossians 1:5 and the "hope of eternal life" in Titus 3:7.
We, too, have this hope of the gospel, the hope laid up in heaven, and the hope of glory. We must firmly stand in faith with the assurance of this hope. God will indeed present us holy and blameless before Him (Col. 1:22). He will establish us as a glorious church without spot or wrinkle, holy and without blemish (Eph. 5:27). God will make us stand joyfully without any flaws, bringing us into His glorious presence (Jude 1:24).
During the Mission Sunday in 2021, focusing on Matthew 9:35-38 under the theme "Harvest Workers," our church received three teachings from the Lord: (1) Jesus acknowledges that the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few (v. 37). Here, "harvest" refers to spiritual harvest in the context of soul salvation (MacArthur). The phrase "harvest workers" implies those who gather the fruit leading to eternal life. We need to be aware that there is much spiritual harvest but few laborers. (2) Jesus instructs to ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest (v. 38). The "harvest workers" are those who actively engage in spiritual harvest, proclaiming the gospel and working for the salvation of souls. We should pray that God, the Lord of the harvest, sends out these workers. (3) Like Jesus, we must have compassion on the scattered and distressed people, sharing the gospel of the kingdom with a compassionate heart (vv. 35-36). We need to emulate the heart of Jesus, feeling compassion for spiritually perishing souls due to unbelief and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom to them.
In October 2022, after the first mission conference held in September, we proclaimed God's Word under the title "Mission Triumphs through the Gospel," focusing on 1 Thessalonians 3:1-8. Reflecting on the mission trip during the flight back to the United States, I shared five lessons, remembering the grace and love God bestowed: (1) The abundant grace and love from God were manifested through the 17 brothers and sisters who, as workers in the Lord during the mission conference, praised God with all their hearts, sincerity, and effort. (2) The mission conference confirmed that God's Word and prayer are essential foundations for silently and faithfully carrying out victorious mission work through the gospel . (3) We learned the lesson of showing sincerity and humility to our local missionary partners, who are generously supported by Victory Presbyterian Church and Gospel Mission Church members. (4) The conference reaffirmed the value of genuine fellowship and heart-to-heart sharing of love within the body of Christ. (5) A renewed commitment to invest more effort in the fellowship of believers.
Third and last, we are workers of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
This is the second half of Colossians 1:23: "... this gospel that has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant." In Colossians 1:6, Apostle Paul had already spoken to the faithful saints of the Colossian church, saying, "In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God's grace." In other words, from the day they heard and truly understood the gospel of salvation, especially through the preaching of Epaphras (v. 7), who shared with them the gospel of truth (5th verse), these faithful saints of the Colossian church were bearing fruit, not only among them but also throughout the whole world. Aware of this, Apostle Paul, in Colossians 1:23, after urging the faithful saints of the Colossian church to "stand firm in the faith and not be moved from the hope held out in the gospel," emphasizes that this gospel is not only bearing fruit among them but is also being proclaimed "to every creature under heaven." The phrase "to every creature under heaven" signifies that, in the eyes of Paul, the fruit of the Word or the fruit of the gospel, empowered by the complete grace of God, was not only growing among the faithful saints of the Colossian church but also flourishing throughout the whole world (v. 6), meaning "to every creature under heaven" (v. 23). Afterward, Paul declares himself as a worker of this gospel (v. 23), stating that, like the faithful saints of the Colossian church, he has become a servant of this gospel. Ephesians 3:7 echoes this sentiment: "I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God's grace given me through the working of his power."
We are also workers of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are workers of the gospel of salvation. As recipients of the gift of salvation, a grace bestowed upon us by God, we have already become workers of the gospel of Jesus Christ, empowered by the working of God's power within us. The command given to us by the Lord is clear: "... go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation" (Mk. 16:15). Therefore, just like the faithful saints of the Colossian church, from the day we heard and truly understood God's grace of salvation through the gospel of Jesus Christ (Col. 1:6), we are to go into all the world and proclaim the gospel of salvation to every person under heaven, empowered by the grace of God. Why do we need to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth, to every person under heaven? The reason is that the gospel of Jesus Christ must be proclaimed throughout the whole world so that the end will come, and Jesus Christ will return: "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come" (Mt. 24:14).