We can turn in your Bibles to the book of Colossians, Colossians chapter one. As we continue the theme we began this morning with reference to thankfulness to God. The apostle in his prayer expresses the need to express thankfulness to God. So we'll read chapter one, and then our focus will be specifically on verses 10 to 14.
So beginning in chapter one, verse one, 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 learn 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 long suffering with joy. giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in 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, let us pray.
Opening Prayer
Our Father, we thank you again for the written word of the living and the true God. We know it's profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness. And God, as we consider your word tonight, may your Holy Spirit guide us and lead us and direct us into all truth. May we see the glory of Jesus Christ in the gospel of our salvation, the blessedness of God the Father, the power of the Holy Spirit.
May our hearts be thrilled at what the triune God has done for us, and may we respond with gratitude, with thankfulness, knowing that your goodness is so profuse. We ask again for the forgiveness of all of our sin, and we pray now through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Scripture Reading: Colossians 1
Well, when you read the epistles of the Apostle Paul,
Introduction
you'll notice at times that he shares what he prays for with reference to the churches that he writes to. And that can be very instructive for us as the people of God. Sometimes people say, I'm not really sure how I ought to pray. Well, take up Scripture and follow the Apostle's example.
Take up Scripture and see how Paul prays and what things Paul prays for. And I think we have a specimen sample here in the passage before us, specifically in verses 9 to 14. We notice in the first place, just by way of an overview, the occasion of his prayer in verse 9a. Notice, for this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you.
In other words, since he had heard of their reception of the gospel, since he had known of their walking in faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, they made it onto his prayer list. In other words, he saw that work of God in the church here in Colossae, and as a result, he goes to God on their behalf. And again, notice the emphasis. We do not cease to pray for you.
So he commences when he hears of the Colossians, and then he engages in this frequently. He doesn't cease. Notice then the content of his prayer, and we see that in verses 9b to 14. So after saying, we do not cease to pray for you, he goes on to say, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.
In other words, we want you to have that reception of the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit. We want you to have that knowledge of His will. We want you to have all wisdom and we want you to have all spiritual understanding so that you're fit and equipped and ready and able to live the Christian life in a manner that is consistent with the God who called you out of darkness into marvelous light. We have seen this emphasis in our study through Ephesians.
The Apostle Paul tells us to let our conduct be worthy of the gospel. Walk in such a way as is fitting to him who called you to himself by grace through faith. And then notice specifically what he says in verse 10, that you may walk worthy of the Lord. Now remember, brethren, we are not saved because of our worthy walk.
We engage in a worthy walk because we have been saved. This isn't the cause of our salvation. It is rather the consequence or the effect of our salvation. We are justified freely by God's grace through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ so that we may now walk in a manner that is consistent with His calling. so that you may walk worthy of the Lord." Then he goes on to say in verse 10, fully pleasing Him.
Now the substance of the sermon is on what follows here in verses 10b to 14. I think that what Paul does in verses 10b to 14 is explain for us or flesh out for us what this walk looks like. What does it look like that you may walk worthy of the Lord? What does it look like that you may fully please Him?
Again, he doesn't leave us to wonder. He doesn't leave us to sort of figure it out. He doesn't leave us to try and understand what the mind and the will of God is apart from special revelation. No, the apostle fleshes it out by means of four participles.
Four sort of action nouns that function as verbs. And he does that in four ways. Notice he speaks concerning the place of good works in verse 10b. Second, the knowledge of God in verse 10c.
The provision of God's strength or strength in verse 11. And then finally, the importance of thankfulness in verses 12 to 14.
First: Fruitfulness in Good Works
So let's look first at the place of good work. So that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him. Then notice, being fruitful in every good work. Being fruitful in every good work.
Again, we're justified by faith alone. We're not justified by a mixture of our faith plus works. We're not Roman Catholics. We're not New Perspective on Paul.
We're not Federal Vision. We don't collapse the distinction of justification and sanctification. We're justified freely by God's grace through faith in Christ Jesus. Now, once that obtains, by God's grace, we then enter into the life of sanctification.
And in this life of sanctification, we engage in good works, or at least we seek to engage in good works. 2nd London Confession, chapter 11, paragraph 2, says, faith thus receiving and resting on Christ and His righteousness is the alone instrument of justification. Yet it is not alone in the person justified, but is ever accompanied with all other saving graces, and is no dead faith, but worketh by love. So that emphasis that we find in the Bible, we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. So we're not saved by works, but we are saved unto works.
Look at one other passage. Notice in Ephesians 1. Ephesians 1, specifically at verse 4. It says, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame.
He didn't choose us because we were holy and without blame, but He chose us in order that we may become holy and without blame. So the apostle highlights or underscores justification by faith alone, but on the heels of that, or in connection with that, there is good works. And so this is a contrast with their former conduct. This is a contrast with their former ways.
Drop down to verse 21. Notice, "...and you who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works." So he's dealing with a people that understood all too well bad works. They understood all too well wickedness and evil and godlessness. So now that they're justified freely by God's grace, now that he has called upon or called upon God in terms of prayer, that they may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, it goes on to say, being fruitful in every good work.
And again, notice in chapter 3 at verse 7, what they had been and what they, by God's grace, are now. We'll look at 3.5, Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth, fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them. So they had this former conduct, and Paul now calls upon them to engage in a present conduct, one that is consistent with their calling in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Second: Increase in the Knowledge of God
Now notice, secondly, he wants them to increase in the knowledge of God. He wants them to grow in their understanding of the Christian system of truth. He wants them to understand justification by faith alone, but in the life of sanctification, He wants them to achieve more knowledge. He wants them to have more understanding.
The Apostle knows that it's the knowledge of God that steadies the saint. It's the knowledge of God that encourages the saint. It's the knowledge of God that comforts the saint. If you are in the doldrums, or you are down and depressed and melancholic, or you've got many challenges, what is it that lifts you out of the pit?
Is it a view of yourself? Is it a view of how good you are? No, it's a view of how good Christ is, and what a gracious God is. And when you start to conduct yourself the way David does in Psalm 103, bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name.
When you talk to yourself about the goodness of God, and you increase in the knowledge of God, that's what Paul says is involved in that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him. In other words, God wants you, in the language of 2 Peter 3.18, to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He wants you to experience what Jesus says in John 17 3, and this is eternal life, that they may know thee the only true God in Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. When you look at the Old Testament prophets, oftentimes they were upbraided because they were stagnant, because they didn't increase. because they didn't know God, or they had some sort of an external confession of God, there was no experiential enjoyment of Him.
By experiential enjoyment, I'm not suggesting apart from the Word. I'm not suggesting apart from Revelation. I'm not suggesting we tune out and tune in with God. No, it's through Scripture study.
It's through meditation and contemplation upon the Word. It's through increasing in the knowledge of God that we walk pleasing to the Lord. In other words, it's love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Our minds are to be engaged in the pursuit of theology, and Paul commends that in this particular area.
Third: Strengthened with Divine Power
Now notice thirdly, he wants us to be strengthened. So again, this is prayer, that you may walk worthy of the Lord. fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God. And then notice in verse 11, strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy. Before we proceed, does Paul's prayers look like our prayers?
Or better yet, do our prayers look like Paul's prayers? Is this the kind of stuff that you and I are praying for relative to our children, relative to our spouses? Yeah, bless them with good health. That's a perfectly good petition.
But it's a perfectly good petition that they would indeed increase in the knowledge of God, that they would increase in the production of good works. that they would have the strength of God Almighty to enable them to deal with the various afflictions and hardships and trials that prevail upon us in this world. In other words, are we praying for one another in such a way that we sound like the Apostle Paul? Have we ever prayed for another church in this particular manner? It's a good thing for us to follow these examples and to pray relative to the Apostle's methodology here.
But notice this provision of strength. He says, strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy. So this is the divine provision. He's not praying, you know, I just want you guys to get stronger.
No, I want God to strengthen you. I want God, who has this power, this exceeding great power, to meet it out to you. I want Him to fill you. I want Him to enable you.
I want Him to help you in terms of compliance. Notice the specific focus with reference to this power. According to His glorious power for all patience and long-suffering, Huh, we need power in order to be patient and long-suffering? Try to be patient and long-suffering without divine aid.
How does that work? Brethren, we need God's aid. We need His assistance. We need His provision in order to live in a manner that is consistent with this worthy walk, pleasing Him.
If we don't have divine power, if we don't have that strength, if we don't have that ability, we're not gonna be patient with one another. We're not going to have long-suffering, and it's certainly not going to be attended by joy. We're going to be short-fused. We're going to be irritated and irritable.
And notice, the specific strength and view is to aid in the twin graces of patience and long-suffering.
Patience and Longsuffering Distinguished
What's the difference here? I think one has well explained it. Patience is resolute endurance under difficult circumstances. Resolute endurance under difficult circumstances.
In other words, don't necessarily pray for the removal of the burden. Pray that God would strengthen your shoulders so that you can carry the burden. I think that's the patience that is in view. Resolute endurance under difficult circumstances.
I think this is God word. There are things that happen in the believer's life. There are trials that come to the people of God. There are afflictions associated with life in a present evil age.
So what do we need in terms of that? We need the patience that doesn't call God into question, the patience that doesn't murmur against Him, the patience that doesn't grumble against Him, the patience that is content with His divine government and that strength that He affords to us as we traverse this lower world. But then the long-suffering is patient endurance that does not retaliate against others. So in other words, this is the man-word effect.
God-word, we have patience, we don't murmur or grumble under His government. But in terms of this long-suffering, we're gracious in the context of the Church. We don't have that spirit of vengeance. We don't have that spirit of intolerance.
We don't have that spirit of trying to get back at everybody. So the apostle knows that these things are not native to the hearts of people. They're not even native to the hearts of God's people post-regeneration. So he prays specifically that they would have this strength from on high, that they would be able to engage in life with all patience and long-suffering, and to do so with joy. to do so with joy.
Psalm attached the with joy to the thanksgiving mentioned in verse 12. I think that the with joy goes with the strength and should characterize the patience and longsuffering that strength is to aid with. In other words, this patience and long-suffering isn't just a grin and bear it. It's not just a stoic approach to things, but there's a joy involved.
Run with endurance the race that is set before you in a joyful manner. You're not supposed to just do it, but you're supposed to do it as the blood-bought children of God, with joy and with happiness and with a contentedness. And again, brethren, these aren't lessons learned in one sermon or in one brief read over Colossians chapter 1. We need, by God's grace, to cultivate these things, to be able to deal with the various hardships that we face, and to do so in a manner that is consistent with this calling upon us.
Remember, Paul is praying for the Colossians that they would achieve a degree of what he is specifying here. Verse 10, that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing him. And what does that look like? Being fruitful in every good work.
What does that look like? Increasing in the knowledge of God. What does that look like? Strengthened with all might according to his glorious power for all patients and long suffering with joy.
And what does that look like?
Fourth: Giving Thanks to the Father
Fourthly, giving thanks to the Father. giving thanks to the Father. So you see, joy will be expressed in a thankful attitude. Joy will be expressed in this attitude of gratitude that expresses its delight in the God of heaven and earth. And when Paul gives us this particular emphasis, again, this is not something that is unique to Colossians 1, verse 12.
Look back at Colossians 1, verse 3. We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you. Paul thanked God for the Colossian church. Here, verse 12, but then notice in chapter 2 at verse 7.
Well, verse 6, as you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith as you have been taught, abounding in it with Thanksgiving. Notice in chapter 3, specifically at verse 15. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body, and be thankful. Notice, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
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. Notice chapter 4, verse 2, continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving. Go back to Ephesians chapter 5, you'll see that emphasis in verse 20. We'll just back up for a moment.
Notice in verse 17, this is the passage we're coming to in our studies in Ephesians. The parallel in Colossians says, let the word of Christ dwell richly in you. What does it mean to have the word of Christ dwelling richly in you? Well, it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
What does it mean to be filled with the Holy Spirit? It means to let the Word of Christ dwell in you. Because in both instances, when they're filled with the Holy Spirit, according to Ephesians 5, and when they let the Word of Christ dwell in their hearts, according to Colossians 3, what then takes place? teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs." In other words, the filling of the Spirit is the understanding of Christ's Word. The understanding of Christ's Word is to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
And the response is speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God. So Paul does a similar thing in chapter 5 of Ephesians. What does it look like to be filled with the Spirit? It looks like this.
You'll speak to one another this way, you'll sing and make melody in your hearts this way, you'll give thanks to God this way, and you'll submit to one another in the fear of the Lord. In other words, you can quantify the various things that the apostle is saying. We ought to appreciate that in terms of the Bible. God doesn't say, I want you to just figure out sanctification.
I just want you to, you know, do it the best you know. Do the best you can. No, He specifies for us what these worthy walks look like. He specifies for us what engagement in terms of growth in grace looks like.
Now, back to Philippians. If we were to ask the question, what are we thankful for? I hope we don't have to ask that question, but let's just assume for the sake of argument that we did or we had to. Paul doesn't leave us wondering.
Three Grounds for Thankfulness
Paul specifies specifically what he wants us to be thankful for in verses 12b to 14. In the first place,
Qualified for the Heavenly Inheritance
he wants us to be thankful that God the Father has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. Why do you think he says, in the light? Because we've been called out of darkness. The Psalm that we read tonight, it says, those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, bound in affliction and irons, because they rebelled against the words of God and despised the counsel of the Most High.
Therefore He brought down their heart with labor. They fell down. There was none to help. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses.
He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death and broke their chains in pieces. Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness and for His wonderful works to the children of men, for He has broken the gates of bronze and cut the bars of iron in two. Paul picks up on an old motif as he communicates these truths to the people of God. He wants us to be thankful to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light.
You know what that means? Briefly, it means we're going to heaven. He has qualified us by His grace so that when this veil of tears gives way, we enter into Emmanuel's land. He has qualified us for this inheritance.
We didn't qualify ourselves. We didn't put us in that place of inheritor. It is God's grace that did this. It is God's grace in adoption, bringing us into the family of God.
And as adoptees, as those blessed, as those joint or co-heirs with the Lord Jesus Christ, we receive what He has received. He received exaltation in the right hand of God. We're not going to get that in terms of the right hand of God and that position of majesty and prestige, but we go to be in heaven where our blessed God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are. That's what Paul says we ought to be thankful for.
I wonder, and I'm not indicting you, I know for me, I don't always think about heaven. I think I should think about heaven more. If I'm at least a little bit representative of the people of God, do we think about heaven a lot? Do we think about this qualification for this inheritance, that one day we're gonna enter into Emmanuel's land, that one day there will be no more sorrow, no more pain, no more death, no more hunger, no more thirst, no more bad things that affect us in this lower world.
Brethren, we have a glorious future in our future. We have a glorious being or belonging with God the Lord. We are to be thankful for the qualification by God's grace for this inheritance. But then
Delivered from the Kingdom of Darkness
notice secondly, he says, we are to be thankful for the deliverance by God's grace from the kingdom of darkness. And this language again is suggestive of bondage. Go back to the book of Exodus, specifically Exodus chapter six, where I think we see some background to Paul's language here. Notice in Exodus chapter six, specifically at verse six, Therefore say to the children of Israel, I am the Lord.
I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. I will rescue you from their bondage and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. I will take you as my people and I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the Lord, your God, who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
And I will bring you into the land, which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And I will give it to you as a heritage. I am the Lord. He qualified the children of Israel to be inheritance for this inheritance in the promised land.
How does he make good on that? He brings them out of bondage. He brings them out of darkness. He brings them out of that which enslaved them.
And the apostle picks up the same theme here. We give thanks to the father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints and the light, not earthly Canaan. Not earthly promised land, but the New Jerusalem. That's our inheritance.
So how does God make good on this? Well, He does it according to verse 13. He has delivered us from the power of darkness. What we once were entrenched in, what we once were in bondage in.
He broke the back of the captor. He broke the back of our bondage. He brought us out of that darkness. Turn to the book of Acts, Acts chapter 26.
Acts 26, Paul has this language owing to our blessed Savior. Notice specifically Acts 26 at verse 11, I'm sorry, verse 17, I will deliver you from the Jewish people as well as from the Gentiles to whom I now send you to open their eyes in order to turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in me. These two things go hand in hand where we're brought out of darkness, we're now qualified for this inheritance by God's grace, by God's kindness, by God's mercy.
Transferred into the Kingdom of the Son
And then thirdly, because that's not the only part of the story, We're qualified for the inheritance, we are, because God delivered us from the power of darkness, but the rest of the story goes on in verse 13. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us, or transferred us, into the kingdom of the Son of His love. This is how we're qualified for the inheritance. He's brought us out of darkness.
He has put us in the kingdom of the son of his love. He has delivered us in such a way that what we once loved, we no longer love. What we once hated, we now love. There is this breach with sin.
There is this breach in terms of the power of sin. There is this breach with reference to what has been our desire. God, in saving us from our sins, transfers us from one state to another. And in this transfer into the state of the kingdom of the Son of His love, We have blessedness, and we have cause for thankfulness.
Remember, this is the context. You're to be thankful for the inheritance. You're to be thankful for the deliverance. You're to be thankful for this conveyance into the kingdom of the Son of God's love.
John Eady makes the observation plainly, that kingdom which has Christ for its head and founder, which is partially developed on earth and shall be finally perfected in heaven. It's already done. We're out of darkness into the kingdom of the son of his love. but it isn't fully yet what it's going to be. Theologians talk about the already and the not yet.
We've already received great blessing, but we've not yet entered into the fullness of that inheritance. We already have tasted the powers of the age to come, but we haven't fully entered into that glorious state. So there's that tension in the Christian life. We know where we're going, We know where we've been, and in all of this, we are to be thankful and express that gratitude to our blessed God that He does this through His power, through His grace, through the work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Edie goes on to say, the word used here by Paul was often used to signify deportation of a body of men or the removal of them to form a colony. You've been conveyed into the kingdom of the Son of His love. Our citizenship, Paul will say in Philippians chapter 3, is in heaven, right? We are passing through this lower world.
We are sojourners. Now, on the one hand, we're citizens of Canada and we should be responsible citizens and all that sort of thing, but in terms of our actual blessed citizenship, it's in heaven. Another man 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. We need to be thankful for this.
We need to be thankful that He has transferred us. He has taken us from the kingdom of darkness and put us into the kingdom of the Son of His love. And again, notice the emphasis. We didn't do this.
We didn't one day stumble onto the fact, well, we've been in this kingdom of darkness. I'm gonna choose for this kingdom of light. I'm gonna choose for this kingdom of the Son of His love. We don't do that.
It's God. It is God's grace. It is God's will. It is God's purpose in our lives and in our hearts to convey us into this present possession.
And then
Redemption Through Christ's Blood
notice finally, this is all predicated upon the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice, "...after having said, 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." This comes as a result of the Son of God. This comes as a result of the Word of God who became flesh and dwelt among us. The Word of God who lived a life of perfect obedience.
The Word of God who died a sacrificial death as our substitute on Calvary. The Word of God who was raised again the third day. It is the reality that what Christ has accomplished secures for us this inheritance. secures for us this having been delivered from the power of darkness, secures for us this conveyance into the Kingdom, the Son of God's love. It is all predicated upon the glorious work of the Savior, and in that, the Apostle says, give thanks.
When you ponder this, when you contemplate this, when you consider this, the right response is gratitude. The right response is, bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits. Go to Psalm 103 and rehearse the benefits of God.
Go to Colossians 1, verses 12 to 14, and rehearse the benefits of God. And then this last statement in verse 14 is somewhat of a transition statement. He moves from prayer to theology or Christology. He moves from prayer to an explanation of the glory of the God-man who lived and died and raised again.
Notice verse 15, he is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. Firstborn there does not mean creature. Firstborn there means preeminent. Firstborn there means the regal, the royal, the glorious one.
But notice, for by Him, by this Christ, 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.
So for Paul, prayer lends itself to this theology, this theology of who Jesus is and what he's accomplished on behalf of his people. And the high point, or rather the sort of main point, is there in verse 14, in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins. Brethren, there is matter here for constant praise and adoration and thankfulness and gratitude. May God most high move our hearts in such a way that it's not one Monday in the calendar year that we take time to thank God.
Hopefully our prayer closets hear us. If we could talk to the walls. What do you hear? Well, I hear this brother.
I don't know that they'd call us brother, but I hear him thanking God. I hear thanking God. That's a good pattern for the believer. Psalm 103 and David's emphasis on blessing the Lord.
Colossians 1 and Paul's emphasis on giving thanks. This is what it looks like to walk in a pleasing manner to the Lord Most High. We're not supposed to be grumbling. and murmuring and whining and complaining all the time. That's not supposed to characterize the children of God.
We were in darkness. We now belong in the kingdom of the son of his love. Whatever may come our way, whatever hardship we may face, whatever affliction this world may throw at us, We have an inheritance with the saints in the light. We have heaven in our future.
May that encourage us to walk in a manner that is consistent with our high calling in the Lord God most high. Well, brethren, hopefully this will stir us up to a gratitude and a thankfulness to the Lord, and may He indeed bless us and help us to be a faithful people that look something like what Paul prayed for in terms of the churches in his day.
Closing Prayer
Well, let us pray. Our gracious God and Holy Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you for the clarity here in Colossians 1 and what we find the apostle praying for the saints in Colossae. God, I pray that you would help us as the church or as a church here in Chilliwack to manifest such characteristics.
Help us, Lord God, to be fruitful in good works. Help us to be increasing in the knowledge of our blessed God. Help us to be strengthened with might for patience and long-suffering with joy. And God, may it be the case that we are characterized by a thankful heart, a thankful disposition, a disposition filled with gratitude as you have been gracious to us.
We pray that you would be glorified in our lives as individuals, as families, and as the Church of Jesus Christ. And may it be the case all over this world, may it be that the people of God manifest that thankfulness to God. And we rejoice that you have qualified us for this inheritance. We rejoice that in the future we will be where Jesus Christ is.
These eyes will lay hold of that blessed one who loved us and who gave himself for us. And we pray in his most wonderful name, amen. Well, you can turn with me to Matthew chapter 26. Matthew chapter 26, as we transition into the Lord's Supper, I just want to remind us of a few things