Unraveling Colossians: Dive into Part 3

Part 3 – Faith Not in Themselves

Faith, hope and love are the fundamental, enduring qualities of a Christian. Notice that Paul addresses his thanksgiving to God, recognizing that He is the one responsible for these traits. Their faith was in Jesus Christ – not in themselves, the church or their good works, but faith and trust in Christ who is the source as well as the object of our faith.

This faith “in” Christ showed itself by love for all fellow believers, not just their personal friends.

There are three types of love in Greek:

Eros
The passionate, lustful kind of love – the word erotic comes from that. This word is never used in the Bible.

Phileo
Friendship, brotherly kind of love – often used.

Agape
Genuine concern care consideration and compassion for another in spite of who or what they are. Desiring the best for them and being willing to help them achieve it.

In verse 4 it is agape love. If we don’t love fellow believers, how will we love God? If we don’t love God, how will we love fellow believers?

Need Help to Love Others?
If love is the fruit of faith and we define love is genuine concern, care, courtesy and consideration for others and it is the delight in and desire for the well being of the one loved, then let’s think, is there anyone that you have trouble liking, let alone loving?

How can we apply this passage in our life? What motivates the faith and the love of the Colossians verse 5? Hope. Faith is the soul looking upward to God; Love looks outward to others – the hope we have looks forward to the future.

In verse 5 the hope they have is not the nebulous hope that we sometimes think about, but it is the absolute assurance of the eternal life we are promised. Their faith and love are based on the foundation of this hope that was promised in the gospel they heard.

In verse 5, Paul affirms two things about the hope of the Colossians. Why can they be assured about their hope?

It is securely stored up for them in heaven, like a treasure. Their hope is there because Christ, the essence of this hope, is there. Without Christ’s ascension and His present intercession there on behalf of believers, they would have no hope.

 

“For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men” (l Corinthians 15:16-19).

The Colossians’ knowledge of hope came from hearing “the word of truth” which here is defined as the gospel that had come to them. Refers to the original proclamation of the gospel message that resulted in the Colossians’ conversion. 1 Corinthians 15:1-6 is the message Paul preached to everyone:

“Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the work I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to Scripture and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living….”

So the gospel is the fact that Christ died for our sins, was buried but rose again. Hearing and knowing this is what gave them the hope of eternal life.

What examples of faith, love and hope have you seen this week? Who in your circle of friends or people you meet could you encourage by telling them you thank God for demonstrating these qualities of faith, love and hope?

Let’s read through this passage once thinking about Paul writing to the Colossians and then you read through it again as though a spiritual encourager in your life had written it to you.

“For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will though all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way, bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:9-14).

Let’s read it also in the Living Version:

“So ever since we first heard about you we have kept on praying and asking God to help you understand what he wants you to do; asking him to make you wise about spiritual thing; and asking that the way you live will always please the Lord and honor him, so that you will always be doing good, kind things for others, while all the time you are learning to know God better and better. We are praying, too, that you will be filled with his mighty, glorious strength so that you can keep going no matter what happens – always thankful to the Father who has made us fit to share all the wonderful things that belong to those who live in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us out of the darkness and gloom of Satan’s kingdom and brought us into the kingdom of his dear Son, who bought our freedom with his blood and forgave us all our sins” (Colossians 1:9-14).