Intro to Colossians 2:1-7

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/21/2017 10:33 PM

My Worship Time                                                                         Focus:  Intro to Colossians 2:1-7

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Colossians 2:1-7

            Message of the verses:  “1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have on your behalf and for those who are at Laodicea, and for all those who have not personally seen my face, 2 that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.  4 I say this so that no one will delude you with persuasive argument. 5 For even though I am absent in body, nevertheless I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good discipline and the stability of your faith in Christ. 6 Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.”

            John MacArthur entitles this chapter that covers these verses “Paul’s Love for the Church.”  As for a reminder we know that Paul had never visited the Colossians church, as when Paul stayed a long time in Ephesus the Word of God spread throughout the region of which Colossae was a part of that region along with Laodicea which he mentions in this section of verses. 

            Think about this question:  If you were asked what is the most important quality that a Pastor should have you may come up with several different answers.  Perhaps you would think that the most important quality would be having a good education, being intelligent, boldness, leadership quality, holiness or being able to speak in order that commands attention.  Well John MacArthur believes, and I tend to agree with him that the most important quality of a minister of the gospel is to have a great love for the church.  He writes “No one can truly serve God in the church without that motivation.”  I have been in two different churches since I became a believer in 1974 and have been under four Pastors of which I can say that three of the four have had this quality of loving the church while one did not and so we left after being in that church for 32 years, it was that important to us.

            We know the great love that Jesus had for the church as He died for it and now is interceding for believers in heaven.  Paul also had a great love for the church as in the end he too died because of his ministry to the churches.  Now I am not saying that Paul died for the sins of those in the church like Jesus did, but Paul did die for the cause of Christ.

            Why did Paul, and for that matter for the three Pastors that I referred to love the Church?  Well the answer is that in order to love the church you have to love the Lord Jesus Christ, and Paul truly loved the Lord Jesus Christ right after He saved him on the road to Damascus as seen in Acts chapter nine.

            MacArthur writes “Paul’s love for the church caused him to write this letter to the churches of the Lycus Valley (cf.4:15-16).  He wanted them to know of the great struggle he had on their behalf and their sister church in Laodicea, even though they had not all personally seen his face.  Paul’s love was not selective; he loved the whole church, not just those personally known by or close to him.  That kind of unselfish love should characterize every spiritual leader.  ‘Struggle’ translates agon, from which we get our English word agony.  It is a different form of the same word he used in 1:29 to speak of his striving in the ministry.  Paul’s deep love even for those he had never met reflects his love for Christ, the Head of the church.

            “Just as loving parents have goals for their children, so Paul had goals for the church.  He lists five of them for which he had struggled.  He desired the Colossians to be strong in heart, united in love, settled in understanding, walking in Christ, and overflowing with gratitude.”

            We begin with “Strong in Heart” in our next SD.

2/21/2017 10:55 PM