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Okay, Colossians 1, I'll just 
begin reading in verse 1. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, 
by the will of God, and Timothy, our brother, to the saints and 
faithful brethren in Christ who are in Colossae, grace to you 
and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We 
give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying 
always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus 
and of your love for all the saints, because of the hope which 
is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in 
the word of the truth of the gospel. which has come to you, 
as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, 
as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the 
grace of God in truth. As you also learned from Epaphras, 
our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ 
on your behalf, who also declared to us your love in the Spirit, 
For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease 
to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge 
of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, that 
you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful 
in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God, strengthened 
with all might according to His glorious power, for all patience 
and longsuffering with joy. giving thanks to the Father, 
who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints 
and the light. He has delivered us from the 
power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son 
of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, 
the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible 
God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created 
that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, 
whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. 
All things were created through him and for him. And he is before 
all things, and in him all things consist. And he is the head of 
the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn 
from the dead, that in all things he may have the preeminence. 
For it pleased the Father that in him all the fullness should 
dwell, and by him to reconcile all things to himself, by him 
whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace 
through the blood of his cross. And you, who once were alienated 
and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now he has reconciled 
in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and 
blameless and above reproach in his sight. If indeed you continue 
in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the 
hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to 
every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister. 
I now rejoice in my sufferings for you and fill up in my flesh 
what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ for the sake of his 
body, which is the church, of which I became a minister according 
to the stewardship from God, which was given to me for you 
to fulfill the word of God, the mystery which has been hidden 
from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to 
his saints. To them God willed to make known 
what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, 
which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we preach, warning 
every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may 
present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. To this end I also 
labor, striving according to his working, which works in me 
mightily. Amen. Well, there's a lot going 
on, obviously, in this particular chapter. As I mentioned, I want 
to look specifically at Paul's prayer for the Colossians. Notice in verses 3 to 8, this 
is Paul's thanksgiving for the Colossians. He says, we give 
thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying 
always for you. And then in verse 9, he gives 
the specific content of his intercession on behalf of the Colossians. 
Intercession simply means going to the throne of grace on behalf 
of others. Intercession is what, God willing, 
we attempt to do when we come here to pray. We mention some 
names, we mention some particular persons or people. We mention 
the persecuted church and we intercede on their behalf. Well, the Apostle sets the example 
on intercession. And there, here specifically, 
he provides some things that ought to make their way into 
our own prayer closets and into our own church prayer meetings 
when we consider brethren, when we consider churches, when we 
consider various people. Now as I said, we're going to 
focus primarily on verses 10 to 14, but notice just by way 
of introduction in verse 9, He commences or He speaks of their 
commencement of the prayer on their behalf. For this reason 
we also, since the day we heard of it, heard it, the reality 
that the saints or that the people of God in Colossae had been walking 
consistently with the Lord. Since we heard of your coming 
to the Lord Jesus, since we heard of your gathering together as 
a local church, he says, we do not cease to pray for you. The 
frequency of prayer is marked there. We know of you, we consider 
you, and as a result, we pray for you. The specific petition 
is found in verse 9b. We do not cease to pray for you 
and to ask, what? that you may be filled with the 
knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding." 
And then specifically, that you have this knowledge, that you 
understand His will, that you have this spiritual understanding, 
so that, according to verse 10a, that you may walk worthy of the 
Lord, fully pleasing Him. It's good for us to pray for 
the temporal needs of our brethren. It's good to pray for the various 
situations that the saints of Christ find themselves in. We 
ought to also remember the spiritual element. Paul says, we pray that 
you be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and 
spiritual understanding. And the reason that we pray that 
you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and 
spiritual understanding is so that, verse 10a, you may walk 
worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him. That ought to be the desire 
and the goal of every saint of Christ is that we walk worthy 
of the Lord and that we are fully pleasing Him. Certainly it is 
helpful when there are people praying that on our behalf as 
men we ought to pray for our wives that they be walking worthy 
of the Lord, fully pleasing Him. As ladies who are married to 
men, pray that God would bless your man in such a way that he 
would walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him. These are 
good petitions to express at the throne of grace on behalf 
of the people of God. We have a high calling. We are 
to let our conduct be worthy of the Christian gospel. As Paul 
says here, he wants the saints of Christ in Colossae to walk 
worthy of the Lord, to fully please the Lord. That is a high 
calling that we have as Christian people. We're not just those 
who are delivered for our own benefit and so that we can just 
enjoy the salvation that we have, but rather we've been saved so 
that we may walk in a manner that is consistent with God's 
will on this earth and that we may please Him. Remember the 
Lord Jesus says that when men see your good works, they give 
glory to God. That ought to be the desire in 
our hearts that we live in such a way as to bring honor to the 
Lord, fully pleasing Him. Now, when we ask the question, 
what does a life look like that fully pleases God, Paul fleshes 
that out for us. And this is where we're going 
to spend the bulk of our time this evening. So he commences 
prayer. He prays constantly for them. The petition is that they would 
be filled with the knowledge of God's will and all wisdom 
and spiritual understanding, and that having been filled, 
that they would walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him. 
If we were to say, well, what does it look like to walk worthy 
of the Lord? What does it look like to fully 
please God? Paul fleshes that out by means 
of four participles. And those follow in the statement 
after fully pleasing Him. And the first one is being fruitful 
in every good work. being fruitful in every good 
work. If we ask the question, what 
does it look like to walk worthy of the Lord and to fully please 
Him, the first answer, at least out of Colossians chapter 1 and 
verse 10, is that we are fruitful in every good work. Remember 
that the apostle says in Ephesians 2, in fact, you can turn there. 
In Ephesians chapter 2, a passage that Calvinists or Reformed people 
often go to to highlight the reality that faith is a gift 
given by God, that we are saved by grace alone, through faith 
alone in Christ alone, we ought not to neglect verses 9 and 10. 
We are saved by grace for a specific purpose. And in verses 8 and 
following, Paul says, For by grace you have been saved through 
faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of 
works, lest anyone should boast. No one can argue with Paul. We're 
not saved because of our good works. We're not saved as a result 
of our good works, but we are saved rather for good works. Notice in verse 10, for we are 
His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works. This is why, one of the reasons 
why God saves us. He creates, or He has created 
us in Jesus four good works which God prepared beforehand that 
we should walk in them." It's a recent book by Pastor Mark 
Jones. He's the pastor at the Faith 
Presbyterian Church in Vancouver. It's a book called Antinomianism, 
Reformed Theology's Unwanted Guest. Antinomianism is the view 
that once we're saved, we have no dealings whatsoever with the 
law. And along the way in this treatment 
of antinomianism, Brother Jones deals with the statement, I think 
it was Luther who said, God doesn't need our good works, your neighbor 
does. Now in the context, Luther's 
right. God doesn't need our good works. Our neighbor needs our good works. 
But Jones points out, and I think rightly so, how that doesn't 
do full justice to the doctrine of good works. God doesn't need 
our good works. but our good works bring glory 
and honor and praise to our God. In other words, when we do good 
works and men see that, what do they then do but give glory 
unto God? So in one sense, God does need 
them, and I qualify in a nuanced need there, in the sense that 
He has predestined, foreordained, created us in Christ Jesus for 
these good works, which He prepared beforehand that we should walk 
in them, as a means by which He will receive glory and honor 
and praise and adoration. Good works are crucial in the 
Christian life. Again, not so that we'll be saved, 
but because we've been saved, we've been saved for good works. This would be a contrast to the 
Colossians former way of life. Notice in Colossians 121, and 
you who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked 
works, yet now he is reconciled in the body of his flesh through 
death. So this characterized, this typified, 
this identified you prior to your coming to Christ. You engaged 
in wicked works, but now that you're in Christ, you have the 
ability to do good works. Again, I made the citation recently 
to the Book of Revelation in chapters 2 and 3. The Lord Jesus 
Christ condemns the bad works of those seven churches in Asia 
Minor, but he commends the good works. He says, I know your works, 
I see your works, and he commends them for those particular works. We need to get this in our minds 
that as Christians in Christ Jesus, We are capable by the 
grace of God of doing those things which are pleasing to God and 
bring glory and honor to Him and an approbation from Him upon 
His children. What does Jesus say to those 
men who enter in? He says, well done, good and 
faithful servant. Now there is a sense ultimately 
where it's because we're in Christ, but there is that sense where 
the Lord Jesus Christ commends those works that are done in 
the body and he condemns those deeds that are done in the body 
that are evil. Colossians chapter 3. Colossians 
3, verse 7, the apostle highlights again what they were prior to 
their coming to Christ, in which you yourselves once walked when 
you lived in them. Talking about the wickedness 
of the flesh, specifically carnality, and sexual sin. So when he says 
that we pray that you would walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing 
Him, the first thing we ought to take notice of is that a worthy 
walk with the Lord, or a walk worthy of the Lord, that fully 
pleases the Lord is a life that is fruitful in every good work. And oftentimes we think that 
good works are only religious works, don't we? In other words, 
if I'm engaged in almsgiving or I'm engaged in fasting or 
something like that. It's an interesting scenario. 
In the book of Philippians, when the apostle is commending the 
church in Philippi for the gift that they sent via Epaphroditus, 
The Apostle says that this was worship. This was an act of worship. When they sent temporal, tangible 
goods, probably food and clothing, they put it in Epaphroditus' 
hands or they put it on his knapsack and they sent him to Rome to 
visit the Apostle Paul, and they told Epaphroditus, when you get 
there, give him this stuff. The Apostle says that this is 
an act of worship. To alleviate the suffering of 
a brother in Christ who's in a prison cell is an act of worship 
unto our great and our glorious God. Colossians chapter 3. 22 and 23, bondservants, obey 
in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eye service 
as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God. And whatever 
you do, do it heartily as to the Lord and not to men, knowing 
that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance, 
for you serve the Lord Christ. So good works aren't specifically 
or only those religious activities that you and I engage in, but 
they're good works. They're things done in the name 
and for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ that help our fellow 
man. Calvin says, what is here said 
to the Colossians, let all believers take as said to themselves and 
draw from this a common exhortation that we must always make progress 
in the doctrine of piety until death. They are to be fruitful 
in every good work. That's what the apostle says, 
marks a walk that is worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him. Secondly, he says, there is to 
be growth in the knowledge of God. And as we look at these 
four things, it's a package deal. It's a combo play. Personally, 
I like being told to increase in the knowledge of God, because 
I like to read my Bible, and I like my books. I mean, we joked 
about it. I like to go sit in there and 
just look at them. There's something attractive to me about increasing 
in the knowledge of God. And I know there's a whole lot 
of texts in the Bible that say I'm supposed to do that. But 
I can't pick and choose what is a walk worthy of the Lord 
that is fully pleasing Him. I can't say, well, you know, 
I have a bent toward theology, so I'm going to really focus 
on that, to the neglect of everything else. No, there must be a fruitfulness 
in every good work, and then notice, and increasing in the 
knowledge of God. But it cuts both ways. You see, 
there are people out there that look at doing good things and 
don't spend any time in their Bibles or in good theology. It's a package deal. It's a combo 
plate. You want to do good works, but 
you need to be increasing in the knowledge of God. It's not 
a pick-and-choose thing. This is not a buffet. The Bible 
isn't something where I like this, so I'm going to do this. 
I don't care for that, so I'm not going to do that. No, if 
we want a walk that is worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, 
these four participles come to play. The first, being fruitful. The second, growth in the knowledge 
of God. Paul started here Verse 9, for 
this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease 
to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge 
of His will. How are we filled with the knowledge 
of His will? Is it magic? Do we go to bed 
and say, Lord, fill me with the knowledge of Your will? We certainly 
pray before we go to bed, but we read the Word. The knowledge 
of God's will comes in the pages of Holy Scripture. So he starts 
there, and now he emphasizes this again. We pray for you, 
church and Colossae, that you will increase in the knowledge 
of God, that you'll pay attention to preaching, that you'll read 
your Bibles, that you'll study John Owen, that you'll look at 
these sorts of things, and that you'll start to put together 
the doctrines of the faith. You'll start to track, you'll 
start to understand, you'll start to see about God and about Christ 
and about man and about salvation and all these things. Increasing 
in the knowledge of God is most helpful for you in your Christian 
life. When Jesus comes to pray in the 
High Priestly prayer, for our sanctification. He says, sanctify 
them by thy truth. Thy word is truth. You see, we 
put the emphasis on actions, and actions follow theory. We need to get the doctrine, 
we need to get the mindset, and then put those things into practice 
in our Christian living. We are not to be static, we are 
to be growing in the grace and in the knowledge of the Lord 
Jesus Christ. It's interesting, Paul uses the 
similar turn of phrase in verse 6. If you look at verse 6, He 
says, "...which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, 
and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since 
the day you heard and knew the grace of God and truth." The 
Gospel itself is bringing forth fruit. It is increasing. It is going forward. You, as 
one of the recipients, must likewise increase in knowledge. You likewise 
must increase in fruitfulness in terms of your understanding 
of the truth. In other words, the more we learn, 
the more we know, the more we understand, the more faithful 
we ought to be in our practice in terms of Christian living. 
So fruitfulness, growth, thirdly, strength for endurance. Notice 
verse 11, strengthened with all might. In other words, Paul says, 
we want you to be filled with the knowledge of His will and 
all wisdom and spiritual understanding, because as a result of that, 
you will walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him. And a characteristic 
of this is strength. It is fortitude. It is perseverance. It is endurance. This is what 
is going to keep you through your Christian life. Remember, 
the Christian life isn't just about come to the Lord Jesus 
Christ and then drop dead. The Christian life is come to 
the Lord Jesus Christ and then 45 years through wilderness and 
war if you happen to be Caleb. 80 years through whatever it 
is that the Lord God has for you. You need strength for the 
long haul. You need endurance. And this 
is what the Apostle prays. We want you to be strengthened 
with all might according to His glorious power for all patience 
and long-suffering with joy. There is divine provision and 
resources for our needs in this worthy walk. God supplies what 
He demands. God calls us to walk a particular 
way, but He does not leave us to ourselves. In this act of 
striving, in this knowledge of His will, in all of these things, 
the Lord is garrisoning our hearts, He is fortifying our souls, and 
He is increasing for us this patience and long-suffering. 
And notice the last two words of verse 11. I don't know how 
the other translations have it, but I think the New King James 
is right. The with joy goes with what precedes. for all patience 
and long-suffering with joy." Some take the joy going with 
giving thanks, giving thanks with joy. Now that's certainly 
a present concept. You don't give thanks without 
joy. But I think the with joy there 
goes with the patience and the long-suffering. In other words, 
when we are patient and long-suffering and enduring as Christians, we 
are happy about it. We're not persevering and slugging 
it out like some prize fighter that's got to get to the 14th 
round when his face is all bloody and he wouldn't smile if you 
paid him a million bucks. As Christians persevering in 
the long haul that is set before us, we are to dispositionally 
be joy-filled. We are to be a people that manifests 
the joy of the Lord as our strength. Patience is resolute endurance 
under difficult circumstances. The long-suffering is patient 
endurance that does not retaliate against others. The Apostle knows 
that in this world you will have tribulation. As a result of that, 
this walk that is worthy of the Lord, this fully pleasing Him, 
requires this strengthening with all might according to His glorious 
power for all patience and long-suffering with joy." And isn't that a beautiful 
statement there? I want you to be strengthened 
according to His glorious power. It's not a wish. It's not just 
a dream. It's not just a hope. It's not 
just a throw a penny in the fountain and pretend that you're going 
to get what you ask for. The God to whom the Apostle prays, 
the God to whom the Apostle intercedes has glorious power and is able 
to pour that out upon the saints that the Apostle is interceding 
on behalf of. It's truly a beautiful picture. And then notice, fourthly, Fourthly, 
this fully pleasing hymn is marked by thankfulness. Notice in verse 
12, giving thanks to the Father. A walk worthy of the Lord will 
be marked by thankfulness to God. Look at verse 3 in Colossians 
1. We give thanks to the God and 
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. We see it here in verse 12. Notice 
in chapter 2, verse 7. Rooted and built up in Him and 
established in the faith as you have been taught, abounding in 
it with thanksgiving. Chapter 3 and verse 15, conduct, 
corporate conduct that is pleasing to the Lord. 315, let the peace 
of God rule in your hearts to which also you were called in 
one body and be thankful. Verse 17, and whatever you do 
in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving 
thanks to God the Father through Him. Chapter 4, verse 2, continuing 
earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it, with thanksgiving. You see a theme with the apostle 
here. When you go to the throne of grace, you ought to be thankful 
to the Lord God. So Paul says, when we pray for 
you, we pray these things. And while we're praying these 
things for you, we are giving thanks to the Father on your 
behalf. Thankfulness is constantly necessary 
in the Christian life, at least for this reason, because thankfulness 
always recognizes the grace character of God's dealings with us. Thankfulness 
evidences the reality that we acknowledge that God has given 
us things. Right? It's not deserved, it's 
not earned, it's not merited. If I deserve something, if I 
earn something, if I merit it, I don't have to say thanks for 
it. If I rake the leaves out of your front yard and you hand 
me a can of pop, I mean, I probably will say thanks, but I don't 
really have to because I just rake the leaves out of your yard. 
But if I just happen to be wandering down the street and it's a hot 
day and you say, here, let me give you this can of pop, thankfulness 
is a legitimate expression because it's a gracious gift. And when 
we are thankful to the Lord God, we are constantly recognizing 
and acknowledging and demonstrating a recognition of the graciousness 
of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Probably not accidental 
that the catechism, the Heidelberg, goes from guilt, grace, to gratitude. That is man's response to what 
the Lord God has done. The Lord finds us guilty, the 
Lord graciously saves us, and our response to him is one, marked 
by thankfulness to the Lord God Most High. Now the apostle, as 
he is wont to do, is going to transition from this statement 
of intercessory prayer to the glory of Jesus Christ and his 
redemptive work. And by way of transition, he 
masterfully gives us a few things we ought to be thankful for when 
it comes to expressing this idea of gratitude to our Lord. This 
then provides the segue into the next section, where he deals 
with the redemptive reality of our Lord Jesus Christ. for us. But it's still the context of 
intercessory prayer. Notice in verse 12, giving thanks 
to the Father, first of all, because the Father has qualified 
us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. You 
see that in verse 12b. Giving thanks to the Father who 
has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints 
in the light. How could we not thank God when 
He's done that? How could we not praise our Father 
when He's done that? I mean, look at what the Apostle 
says. This is one of the interesting things about Paul's prayers. Sometimes I don't think I could 
even scratch the surface in really knowing what he's talking about, 
but it's amazing. The Lord has qualified us, and 
that by grace, to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints 
in the light. Turn to Ephesians for just a 
moment, another place where Paul at prayer says some amazing things. He lets us in to his closet and 
he lets us hear what he offers up in terms of prayer for the 
saints in Ephesus. Notice in Ephesians 3.14, for 
this reason, I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named. 
Now here comes the very specific petitions. It's already said, 
I bow my knees to the Father. And then verse 16, that. When you're reading your Bible 
and you see that, more often than not, it's a purpose clause, 
it's a reason, it's a specific thing that you ought to pay attention 
to. This is what Paul is praying. 
I pray that, first of all, he would grant you, according to 
the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might through 
his spirit in the inner man. You see the way Paul prays? This 
is huge language, and this is what I'm saying. I don't know 
that I fully understand every jot and tittle of what he's speaking 
about here, except to say this. Paul knows that God is big. Paul knows that we need help, 
and so Paul goes to this big God on our behalf. The second 
petition in verse 17, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through 
faith that you, I think this is subordinate to that same idea, 
that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith that you, 
being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend 
with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and 
height. Isn't that amazing? To know the 
love of Christ which passes knowledge. Paul wants us there not to know 
how much we love Jesus, but to try and get our minds wrapped 
around how much Jesus loves us. That's huge. I mean, that's something 
we ought to pray for people. People struggling with assurance, 
I want you to know how much Jesus loves you. I want this person 
who's struggling, who's got a sensitive conscience, who's having some 
trials in this area, go to the throne of grace on their behalf 
and say, Lord, I want them to know the presence of Christ. 
I want them to be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the 
width and length and depth and height to know the love of Christ 
which passes knowledge. And then look at Paul's third 
petition there, that you may be filled with all the fullness 
of God. Huge petitions from the Apostle. Go back to Colossians. This is 
what I mean. When we look at these statements, 
we oftentimes gloss over them. We say, oh, isn't that interesting, 
the Apostle Paul prays for people. Stop and think about what he's 
praying for, giving thanks to the Father who has qualified 
us, and that by grace. We're not qualified because we're 
worthy. We're not qualified because we're 
fit. We're not qualified because we did certain things. We're 
not qualified because we paid the fee. We're qualified by the 
grace of God to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints 
and the light. In other words, those things 
which are upon the saints and the light, those are our blessings. Secondly, we give thanks to God 
because he has delivered us from the power of darkness. Notice 
in verse 13a. He has delivered us from the 
power of darkness. That is a glorious statement 
concerning the kindness and the mercy of our God. We share in 
the inheritance of the saints in the light. because God has 
delivered us from the power of darkness. God has, to use Petrine 
language, called us out of darkness into marvelous light. And as 
a result of that, we ought to be very thankful. Praise God 
you're not still bumping around, groping for things in the dark. 
sinful things and wickedness and rebellion against the Lord. 
Rather we ought to praise God and be thankful to the Lord because 
He has delivered us from the power of darkness. He has freed 
us from what at one time kept us in bondage and kept us in 
slavery. Remember the Lord Jesus speaks 
of this in John chapter 8. Whoever commits sin is what? 
They're slaves of sin. They are bondservants of sin, 
things that we love to do according to our Master's will. God has 
delivered us from the power of darkness. Notice thirdly, why 
should we thank God? Because He has transferred us 
into the kingdom of the Son of His love. He's not only delivered 
us from the power of darkness, he doesn't just sort of leave 
us there in that limbo state, but now he's conveyed us into 
the kingdom of the son of his love. He has transferred us into 
that place. Edi says, plainly, that kingdom 
which has Christ for its head and founder, which is partially 
developed on earth and shall be finally perfected in heaven. We are partakers of this. He 
already has broken in on the not yet. We are possessors of 
the kingdom of God Most High. I love that statement of our 
Lord Jesus in Luke's Gospel when He says, Fear not, little flock, 
for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 
Truly amazing what the Lord God has done with miserable, wretched, 
hell-deserving sinners. And Paul sees each and every 
step of the way those things, and he gives thanks to God as 
a result of that. It really kind of puts me to 
shame when I say, you know, thank you, Lord, that I managed to 
drive back and forth today and didn't get whacked by a truck. 
Thank you for that lunch that I had today, or thank you. I 
mean, we ought to be thankful for those things as well. But 
consider these cosmic realities that the Apostle is trafficking 
in. Consider that he's giving thanks to the Father, who has 
qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints, 
and most of us don't even think this way. let alone pray this 
way, but this is what we're benefactors of. He says he has delivered 
us from the power of darkness. That would be, you know, we could 
probably spend hours in prayer for that. I don't know about 
hours, we're not, you know, some of these holy brethren, but we 
could at least spend some time, thank you God that I'm not what 
I was. I love that statement of Newton. You know, I know I'm not what 
I ought to be, but I know that I'm not what I once was. And 
I know that I'm going to be something else in the future, something 
to that effect. I'm not what I ought to be, but I'm not what 
I once was, and I know I'm not what I'm going to be. We ought 
to praise God for His grace, and that's what the Apostle does. 
Murray Harris says, the imagery of verses 12 and 13 suggests 
that believers have been rescued from the gloomy domain and tyrannical 
rule of Satan by being transplanted as free colonists into the kingdom 
and peaceable sovereignty of Christ to become citizens in 
the realm of light. That's an apt description there 
of verses 12 and 13 in terms of what God the Lord has done 
on our behalf. And then the fourth thing the 
apostle mentions in terms of thankfulness to God, verse 14, 
in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of 
sins. Now generally on the first and 
the third Wednesdays of the month I go to the Cascade, and today 
I went and I shared with them Revelation 12. I think they thought 
that was a bit of an interesting place to turn to in terms of 
sort of an incarnational theme message. But when I pointed out 
verse 11, if you remember the exposition from the other day, 
and right around 4 and 5 there the Apostle John says how Satan 
was poised to capture the son and devour the male child as 
soon as he was born. The son is born, he's ruling 
the nations with a rod of iron, and then he's caught up to the 
throne of God. There's that sort of telescopic life of Jesus. It goes from incarnation to ascension. But I mentioned to them, the 
cross is not bypassed. John's going to deal with the 
cross. We drop down to verse 10 where that declaration is 
made concerning the kingdom, the power, the sovereignty, the 
strength of our Lord, the dominion of Christ is established. And 
then verse 11 highlights that they overcame Him because of 
the blood of the Lamb. And dear old Dahl said, Amen. 
I love it when these dear old dolls rejoice over the blood, 
because that tells me they understand something of their own sin and 
their own need for redemption. You look at a 95-year-old blue-haired 
woman and you think, what sin does she have? She's got 95 years 
of it, and it's refreshing to see them understand that and 
rejoice in the Savior that you and I rejoice in. And so this 
is what the Apostle says in verse 14. I understand there's a variant 
there. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness 
of sins. For the Apostle, this is a reason 
to give thanks to the Lord our God. We have redemption through 
Christ. The idea of redemption is very 
simple. it presupposes bondage. We are in bondage to that which 
is sinful. We are in bondage to the devil. 
We are in bondage to our own flesh and lusts and wickedness 
and evil and everything vile and bad. And so when we are redeemed, 
we are bought out. It is payment with a price. Remember 
the idea of redemption isn't just an exercise of power. God 
doesn't just redeem us. Not that that would be bad. But 
what is intrinsic to the word redemption in the New Testament 
is a purchase price. And that's what's spelled out 
in the remainder of verse 14. In whom we have redemption. How? What was the price? What was 
paid? What was proffered? Through His 
blood. It was nothing less than the 
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ that brought us redemption. That 
brought us the forgiveness of sins. This is all the more amazing 
because of what Paul now does concerning this one who has shed 
his blood on our behalf. He speaks of Christ in verses 
15 to 20 in three powerful ways. He speaks of him as creator, 
as sustainer, and as redeemer. And probably the idea here is 
that he was active in the creation of all things. But he's active 
in the creation that is the new creation. This is what Paul speaks 
of when he says he is the head of the body, verse 18, the church, 
who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things 
he may have the preeminence. So this one who shed his blood 
for us is one who is glorious. The language of 15 to 20 spells 
out in very vivid detail just who this Christ is, just what 
this Redeemer was on our behalf. Verse 15, He is the image of 
the invisible God. the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created 
that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, 
whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. 
All things were created through Him and for Him." Isn't that 
amazing? We have redemption through His 
blood? We have redemption through this one? And don't forget the 
connection. Verses 12 to 14 transition, leading 
us to this statement of the glory of Christ in verses 15 to 20. 
But don't forget what that's connected to, to the tangible 
activities of our God bringing us out of darkness, making us 
partakers of this inheritance, conveying us into the kingdom 
of the Son of His love, the one in whom we have redemption, through 
his blood the forgiveness of sins. Now Paul tells us what 
this one looks like in verses 15 to 20. So he speaks of Jesus 
as Creator in verses 15 and 16. Notice Jesus the sustainer, sovereign 
in providence in verse 17. And He is before all things and 
in Him all things consist. There was no Christ. Not that 
we can even talk that way. There'd be nothing. In Him all 
things consist. He is the cosmic glue that sustains 
everything. In Hebrews chapter 1, which is 
parallel, and in John chapter 1, which is parallel, we see 
that He upholds all things by the word of His power. And it's 
through His blood that we have redemption. Verse 18, and He 
is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, 
the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have 
the preeminence. We might as well keep going here. 
Notice, for it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness 
should dwell. Now, in 2.9, he is speaking of 
the fullness of the Godhead dwelling in Jesus bodily. In other words, 
when you saw, when you see Jesus, all the fullness of deity dwells 
in Him bodily. Is that what Paul means in verse 
19? It pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should 
dwell. Certainly that could be involved. Some commentators take 
it, though, all the fullness, in terms of everything that a 
sinner needs, dwells in Him. In other words, every spiritual 
blessing is connected to and is found in and through Him. 
For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness, all 
mediatorial blessings should dwell, and by Him, Christ, to 
reconcile all things to himself by him, whether things on earth 
or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of his 
cross." So you see he's back to or he connects with what he 
says in verse 14, in whom we have redemption, through His 
blood, the forgiveness of sins, and oh, by the way, this is who 
He is. He created all things, He sustains 
all things, and He has recreated. He is the Lord of the new creation, 
which is the church. And He has reconciled all things 
to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross. 
One of my favorite Gordon Clark quotes is on this verse. He says, 
When we pause to consider, this is staggering. The preceding 
verses, he's talking about verse 20, having made peace through 
the blood of his cross. When we pause to consider, this 
is staggering. The preceding verses have described 
Christ in transcendent terms. Transcendent means he's removed, 
he creates, in him all things consist. He goes on to say, he 
was the creator in whom all the fullness dwells, the heir of 
the universe for whom it was created. Now, when the creator 
of heaven and earth, the creator himself, voluntarily suffered 
on the cross for our sins, he says, we can only stand in awe 
and worship. There should be no hate for Gordon 
Clark. The brother got it absolutely right. on that verse. So brethren, 
going back, Paul's prayer is that the saints in Colossae and 
by extension is His sentiment applies to us, saints in Chilliwack, 
the Free Grace Baptist Church, that we be filled with the knowledge 
of God's will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, so that 
we may walk worthy of the Lord, so that we may be fully pleasing 
to Him, so that we will be fruitful in every good work. We won't 
just talk the talk, but we'll actually walk the walk. We'll 
not just have it in our heart, but it will flesh itself out 
through our hand, through our mouths. We will be fruitful in 
every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. There 
should be growth, there should be understanding, there should 
be maturation in the Christian faith. that we should be strengthened 
with all might. That ought to be the goal and 
the hope and the intention for all of us is that we would be 
strong believers running the race with endurance that the 
Lord God has set before us so that we may be a means of encouragement 
to others. Oftentimes in the Christian race 
there will be those who perhaps aren't as strong, those who perhaps 
aren't as mighty, and they need brethren to come alongside of 
them at times and to help them along. I've been greatly encouraged 
at times when I've been down, when a brother has called or 
texted or emailed and said, hey, I'm praying for you. I look at 
that as a brother coming alongside, help picking me up, and dragging 
me a few more steps. This is something I learned in 
the military. They taught you teamwork. If somebody lagged 
behind, the whole flight got in trouble. And you could either 
get mad at the guy, or you could help the guy to fall into step 
and carry him if you had to, so that the flight as a whole 
can make it to where they're going. That's how I see the church. We're not supposed to just look 
at people who fall by the wayside, but pick them up and help take 
them to the finish line. As we are strengthened with all 
might, according to his glorious power, for all patience and long-suffering 
with joy, And then verse 12 and following, we ought to be a very 
thankful people for redemptive blessing, for redemptive privilege, 
for what God has done for us in Christ Jesus. If you ever 
meet a Christian who says, I don't really know what to thank God 
for, tell him to go to Colossians 1. I mean, you may not have all 
the worldly goods, you may not have all the earthly possessions, 
you may not have what some other people have, but if you are a 
believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, you are a rich man or a rich 
woman, and you ought to be giving thanks to the Father who has 
given us these things through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, 
in whom we have redemption, even through His blood, the forgiveness 
of sins. Well, let us pray. Our Father, 
we thank You for Your Word and we thank You for the prayers 
of the Apostle Paul and the various spiritual lessons that they teach 
us. We pray that You would help us, God, to take these things 
seriously. Help us, God, to put them into 
practice. Help us to walk worthy of the 
Lord, fully pleasing You. being fruitful in every good 
work, increasing in knowledge, being strengthened, and giving 
thanks to you, Lord God Almighty. Help us to put off sin, to put 
off that laziness, to put off those things which would affect 
us in a bad way, and give us grace to run with endurance the 
race set before us. Go with us now. Bring us together 
again on the Lord's Day. Help us to worship you in spirit 
and in truth. And we ask through Jesus Christ 
our Lord. Amen.