stephen R Harrison

Day 1 – “Grace and Peace” – Colossians 1:1-2

“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to God’s holy people in Colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ. Grace and peace to you from God our Father.” -Colossians 1:1-2

In four chapters (95 verses), the book of Colossians gives the church both doctrinal and practical instruction, all based on a correct view of Jesus. As a common rule, our orthodoxy (belief) must shape and match our orthopraxy (practice). When I played basketball, the coaches explained “the fundamentals” on chalkboards (dating myself) before games and corrected/affirmed them on VHS tapes (oh my) after games. What we learned on paper had to be put into practice on the court. The apostle Paul (and Timothy) wrote this book to address the fundamental theological truth that is to inspire the church’s spiritual growth. We need Christ to not only save, but sanctify us. Christ is supreme (1:15-20) and his gospel is transformitive (1:6). For the believer, how we see Christ shapes everything we do, all we think, what we say – our entire lives. The bedrocks of the supremacy and sufficiency of Christ and his gospel instruct “God’s chosen, holy, and dearly loved people” how to live with other believers (3:12-13) and among those outside the faith (4:5-6). The church must learn how to defeat heretical teaching, but also live it out in a way that is marked with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, wisdom, and grace, seasoned with salt.

Paul began this letter with an authoritative title of a messenger. He’s an apostle of Christ Jesus. God has spoken his will through him, inspiring this letter to instruct the beliefs and practices of the church at Colossae as a reminder because they are His holy people and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ in need of his powerful grace and peace. If the church of Colossae was to be a beacon of light in a dark city filled with the falsities of Jewish-Gnosticism, angel worship, asceticism, Greek philosophy, and more, they would need the all-surpassing truth from preeminent Jesus and his transformational gospel. The church today also needs these timeless and trusted truths.

Paul’s authority wasn’t from his own importance or achievement – he was commissioned and empowered by Christ. He didn’t come with his own message for the church. He was a herald of God’s truth and will. If we are to be God’s holy people – faithful brothers and sisters in Christ, we, too, require only what God can supply. We cannot supply our own truth to inform our own righteousness. We need His instructions for belief and action to accurately display his church to the world around us. We must live out this grace and peace in the church and in the world. Those far from Christ need to see how he has transformed us by his gospel truth so they will have his hope and receive his change. Jesus, let us be faithful to you and your gospel. We are your messengers to a lost world in need of hopeful truth.

Questions

1. What does it mean to be “God’s holy people”?
2. Would someone else consider you to be a faithful brother and sister in Christ?
3. How important is the grace and peace of God to your life? Be specific.

Prayer

Jesus, you are supreme and sufficient. Help us be authentic examples as your church. We desire to be holy and faithful. We believe your Word is truth and your gospel transforms. Thank you for saving us. Have your way and sanctify our lives.