Pastor Marty Tuesday, August 12, 2025 at 1:34PM Colossians 2:1-5. This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on Sunday, August 10, 2025.
Here is the audio. We will have the article up later.
Pastor Marty Thursday, August 7, 2025 at 3:02PM Colossians 1:21-29. This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on Sunday, August 3, 2025.
After he has presented a powerful picture of just who Jesus is (the Lord of Creation and the Lord of the New Creation), Paul now turns to Christ’s work among them in Colossae.
This great work, of a God who is capable of such great things, is the same One who is working in little you! It is important for believers not to doubt that God’s greatness does not make us insignificant to Him. It is quite the opposite. As men become greater in their scope among others, their limited nature requires a level of leaving details to others who work for them. God does delegate, but He doesn’t do so because He is limited. Rather, He is in every minute detail of how our bodies are fearfully and wonderfully made, and how our spirits were made to glorify Hiim in these bodies and in this life. Don’t doubt His working in you.
Let’s look at our passage.
This New Creation is not something that is happening somewhere out there in the universe or on the earth far away. It was happening right there in Colossae.
Jesus is also right here in Everett, Washington doing his work. He is working in Abundant Life Christian Fellowship, the church we are at today. He is working in your house, your life, and inside of you.
Of course, this could make us feel uncomfortable. Yet, when we understand that our heavenly Father loves us more than we can imagine, so much that He sent His Son to pay the price for your sins, we can learn to rest in His work. Yes, He will correct us and scrutinize us, but it will be done in love and with all the help that He supplies through the Holy Spirit, the Word of God, and other believers.
In verse 21, Paul describes their condition prior to Christ’s new creation within them.
They were alienated from God. They had been made strangers to God, first by the rebellions of their forefathers, and second by their own thoughts and actions. This is more than proximity. It also has to do with our understanding of God. We are clueless to who He is and what He is like. We do not respond to Him like one who is in close relationship, but as one who does not know Him at all.
Not only were they alienated, they were also hostile in mind through evil deeds. These are actually connected together, rather than seen as two separate things. Actions begin in the heart and then process in the mind, until we do them. Why are our minds hostile to God and His purposes? We can blame it on our culture, and there is a level of truth to this. However, we all have a personal part in this rebellion, which is our own hostility towards God, acted out in sinful deeds.
What I mean is this. You may grow up in a sinful culture that is hostile to God. However, along the way, as that sin causes harm to you, you will question it. You will see that something is wrong in the ways that you are being enculturated. Yet, in many small ways, we choose paths that are not good, but sinful. They are hostile to the way God would have you be. It doesn’t matter that you may not know God’s ways because God is good. Thus, we choose ways that are not good, showing that we are hostile to God even before knowing Him. This hostility towards a God we do not know is revealed every time we justify our sinful actions to the people around us.
God knows the culture surrounding a person. They are not His enemy because of that, but because of their own choices and actions. This is how the Colossians were when the Gospel came to them. The Gospel showed them that they had been far away from God and unknowing enemies against Him. The Gospel teaches us to own up to our own sin. We cannot repent for our fathers and mothers. We cannot repent for our nation (or Republic, as the case may be). But, God gives each one of us the opportunity to repent for ourself.
Christians are those who have quit hiding behind everyone else’s sin as an excuse. We see this dynamic when we talk with someone who “doesn’t need Jesus and his religion.” You can challenge them with this question. “So, you are perfect and don’t need to repent of anything?” They will often respond that it would be unfair for God to expect absolute perfection from them. “No one is perfect!”
Yet, the underlying dynamics are not about what you think God should accept. That is like a kid in front of a judge believing that the judge should not hold them accountable for anything they have done. Such a delusion will not serve you well in the courtroom. No, this is about who God is and what He is doing.
God won’t settle for imperfection. Yet, He knows that you cannot be perfect in and of yourself. Instead of lowering the bar, which would have Him forever dwelling with sinful beings and pretending that they are okay, He lowers Himself in such a way as to make us perfect. The Gospel is the good news that God the Father has created a way for us to be made perfect so that we can dwell in His presence, His goodness, forever. He is not willing that any should perish, but He will not force anyone to choose Him.
This brings us to their present condition in verse 22. Their situation has changed.
Christ has reconciled them. Their life was full of errors compared to the goodness of God. They could not “fit in” with God’s purposes in their prior state. Thus, through Jesus the Christ, God has brought them into a state of harmony, or peace, with God.
Notice that Paul emphasizes that this was done in Christ’s “fleshly body.” There is an emphasis here that is intended to block, even to rebuke, the tendency within the Greek mindset. They could not fathom the fullness of God dwelling in frail human flesh. Of course, they believed Zeus could come down and bed a fair maiden. But, the idea that a God could be killed, not just by a mortal, but as a mortal.
This is part of the source of many philosophers and teachers that continually tried to use Christian teachings as a vehicle for their own ideas. They felt that they were making it better, but in truth, they were not.
Those who put their faith in Jesus have been reconciled to God by what he did in frail, weak, mortal flesh. The humiliation of the devil is found in this irony. Jesus defeated him not as an immortal, but as a weak human. Further irony is found in the devil’s stubborn grasp on his pride while Jesus humbles himself to the lowest place. This idea is not just contrary to the devil’s mindset. It is contrary to the mindset that fills this world, even our hearts.
Of course, the Eternal Son is not weak and frail anymore. However, he is still humble, waiting for the time when the Father sends Him to take up the Kingdom from the powers of this earth.
Jesus had reconciled them in order to present them: “holy, blameless and beyond reproach.” There is a purpose in making peace between us and God.
The idea of presenting them can also be translated as to be set or established before him. It can be contemplated as a future thing that is after our resurrection, which is the easiest to see. In that day, we will stand before God the Father with holiness and without blame.
However, it can also be contemplated as already present. To be holy is to be cleaned and set apart for God’s purposes. This is a present reality for the believer. The death and resurrection of Jesus has cleansed us and given us a mission for the purpose of God, both by what we are (His possession) and by what we do (His work). In this sense, we can never be more holy.
Jesus has also removed the guilt of our sins from us so that we are blameless and beyond reproach right now. Yes, we are often missing the mark of God’s perfect righteousness. However, Jesus has paid the price for my sin. This would be like the University trying to take me to court for bills that my Father in heaven has already paid. They can protest that it wasn’t my money, but in the end, they have no case. The price has been paid. Their true problem is not that they were harmed, i.e., weren’t paid, but is in their own vindictiveness that cannot bear to see such a worm as me to get a break.
Thus, the devil can make every accusation against those who have been reconciled by Christ, but he has no standing and no case, at least not now. The prime argument of Satan is that we have sinned and therefore must die. In Christ, this argument is neutralized.
Of course, the believer ought to live in this life in such a way that there is no reason to “take us to court,” whether in the courts of men or heaven. We ought to respond to the legal holiness and blamelessness supplied by Christ by letting the Holy Spirit teach us and enable us to live out the righteousness of Christ.
In the practical sense, we can become holier and less blameworthy. This is a powerful part of the good news. Our failings in this life will be fully healed in death and resurrection.
Verse 23 inserts a condition, “if.” The “if” here recognizes that the believer must continue trusting Christ. He must remain “in the faith.” This is not about staying in a particular church or denomination. Rather, we can remain in a place of perfect standing before God through our continual trust in Jesus.
Yet, believers can be “moved away” from the hope found in Jesus. Their standing is only effective as they stay “grounded, steadfast, not moved away.” He goes on to describe that this is the Gospel that has been preached everywhere, and is the same Gospel that Paul was made to serve.
It isn’t spoken yet, but Paul is aware of some people who are trying to disturb the Colossian Christians and draw them into a different Gospel. There will be more on that in the next chapter.
Think about it. The devil does not want you to keep trusting Jesus and serving him. He will use anything in his power to coax or to bully you away from the work of Christ in you. Yet, you have been enabled to resist him by the power of Christ that is working within you! I am not strong enough in myself, but I can trust Christ and be strengthened by the Spirit.
Some may protest that if a believer does anything, then they are saving themselves. They try to remove this idea that we can walk away from Christ, thus dissolving the condition in which we are reconciled to be holy and blameless before Christ. However, this is an erroneous argument.
We are not talking about making sure your faith is strong enough to save yourself, as if our “capacity to believe” is extremely effective. It is about responding to the grace of God that has been put before us. There would be nothing to believe, if Jesus had not brought it close to us and put it before us. We are only saved by His grace, but through our faith in Jesus. Our faith didn’t make anything happen. It was all the gift of God. However, I still need to reach out and take hold of the gift. The same Spirit that helps us to see the Gospel, also helps us to remain in the faith, if we are willing.
Like moving food from a plate that God has placed before us, the believer’s faith becomes a channel of God’s grace. Were you “fed” by your own works? Of course, you were not. No amount of making the motions of feeding ourselves can feed us, if God has not put a plate of food in front of us. To protest that you are “feeding yourself” in this example, a person is focusing on the lower mechanics of the food moving to our mouth, and yet ignoring the higher mechanics of making the food possible. It is God who has fed us and even now continues to feed us. It is His work alone in making it possible, but His greater work is comingled with the lesser work of countless humans to help us to actually eat, including ourselves.
God’s sovereignty is not hurt by our ability to believe in Christ because this was His choice from the beginning. It is actually His sovereignty that chooses to give us a real choice. Those who protest against this are actually limiting the sovereignty of God to choose to do so.
As we move forward, I want to deal with what some may call an error. Paul speaks of the Gospel “which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven…” It comes across as an absolute statement that would include North and South America, along with every creature (really? All the snails too?). This protest is actually an obstinate attempt to avoid the point. The Gospel was destined to go everywhere and be preached to all people. By this time, the whole Roman empire had been filled with the Gospel of Jesus, and was even moving forward from their. Paul is giving a backhanded argument about why they (we) shouldn’t move away from Jesus. There is no other Gospel out there to find. There is no other savior as if God has created multiple paths to salvation. This is the way that has been preached everywhere and to everyone.
As Paul has mentioned his post as a minister of the Gospel, he then speaks about the way that Christ is working through him to help them. In fact, this letter is exhibit number one to that fact.
It may seem odd that he begins by mentioning his own suffering. Paul was currently in Rome under house-arrest. He had endured all kinds of hostility from his fellow Jews and from hostile Gentiles. He endured these hardships because that is what it took to take the Gospel to places like Colossae.
Why can he say that he rejoices in these sufferings? He can say it because this is what the Lord was asking of him. Who will pay the price to take my good news to those who are still my enemies? Paul is pleasing his Savior and Lord, Jesus.
He can also remember the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:11-12. “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Do you believe that God takes note of all the hardship you endure, whether to take the Gospel to people or even to live for Him? Do you believe that He will reward you for anything you suffer on behalf of serving Him? Paul saw that he was in good company with all the prophets and saints who had gone on before. We all love a good story of courage under fire, but it is another thing when we are under fire.
Paul is not just identifying with Jesus and the prophets before him. He sees himself as laboring with the Lord Himself in these things. The Lord is not untouched with our sufferings. He is even now suffering with us.
We can become accusatory towards God. “It is so hard down here! When will you come down and do something about it?” However, it is the other way around. God has suffered over the sin of humanity from eternity past. Even as He laid the foundations of the earth, it was with tears. It is only in Jesus that we begin to catch a glimpse of the suffering of God. No matter how horrendous the suffering of Christ was, it was only an analog to the reality of God’s suffering. The irony is that, as we accusingly shout at His indifference, He is even now suffering over our refusal to repent and trust Him, i.e., our indifference to His grand overtures of love.
The second part of verse 24 is somewhat cumbersome in English. Paul talks about “filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions.” The word for afflictions is typically translated as tribulations or persecutions. It is a term that has the idea of intense pressure between a rock and a hard place, and it is becoming tighter.
Paul is not talking about the suffering that Christ did on the cross to make peace between us and God. There is no lack in that. Jesus once and for all died for our sins (Hebrews 7:27). Rather, Paul is talking about the afflictions that are necessary to bring the Gospel to people and helping them to endure. We are the “body” of Christ, and as such, we are to give ourselves to the desire of the Head of the Church, Jesus. This was prophesied long ago that the followers of Messiah would volunteer to join him in this ministry of suffering, being afflicted, for the sake of bringing salvation to others.
Thus, Christ is pictured as still working, being afflicted, in His Church, in order to minister to the lost world-wide. We all have a portion, a part, in this. Some have a portion of greater affliction than others. Paul was doing his part.
The question is now this. Will I do my part? We can be discouraged by thinking we are not doing any good. Don’t do that. Instead, lay your concerns before God in prayer. “God, I feel like I am falling short in my service for you. But, I ask you to fill me, empower me, enable me, and lead me to be useful for your purposes. I recognize my inability to fathom the depths of what you are doing through me, and I ask you to strengthen my faith for what I am facing right now.”
In verse 25, Paul talks about how he was made to be a minister for their benefit and for others. He had a stewardship, a post of management within God’s people for which he would give account one day. He sees himself as proclaiming the full Truth of God and as fulfilling all that the Word of God said would be and tells us to do. Some versions only bring out one side of this, but both are intended.
Paul then digresses to emphasize the Gospel further. It had been a mystery through the ages, but now had been revealed to the saints (v. 26). The Gospel is manifest in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, but also in the teachings he gave to his apostles.
The Gospel mystery is all about Jesus. How could God redeem Israel and the Gentiles, while taking them out of the hands of the devil? The good news is that Jesus is the answer.
We might ask why it was kept a mystery. I can see at least two reasons. First, God values faith over a thin veneer of service. Thus, He acts in such a way as to prove that He is trustworthy, but doesn’t reveal all that is ahead so that we can demonstrate that we do trust Him.
The second reason has to do with our enemy the devil and his evil cohorts. 1 Corinthians 2:8 says, “[God’s] wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” This can include human rulers, but clearly references the spiritual powers that truly ruled the nations. The salvation of humanity hinged upon the crucifixion of Jesus. If the devil had understood this, he would have kept Jesus from being killed. Instead, God used his desperation and pride against him in order to save us. Satan wields the blow that loses the battle for him and wins it on our behalf. Yes, Jesus is our champion, but he took out our enemy in a way that calls all to repentance.
Of course, after the cross, it was now God’s will that this revealed mystery be made known among the Gentiles so they could have its riches. He doesn’t flesh this out, but uses the word “glory.” Some of the riches are found in the glory that comes from walking the path of Jesus behind him and by his power. Yet, there is another part of the riches, the glory we will have as we stand in glorified bodies next to our champion, Jesus!
This mystery can be summed up in the short phrase, “Christ in [us], the hope of glory!” This is not a hope as the world hopes. This is a hope that God has set in front of us. He has revealed it to us, promised it for us, and even now, it is reserved for us in the heavens where no devil of hell can touch it. I am not just struggling alone hoping to reach it someday. The Spirit of Christ is even now inside of me, working to bring me to it.
In verse 28, Paul mentions three verbal phrases regarding what He is doing. He is proclaiming Christ to them. He is admonishing them, i.e., warning them of dangers. And, he is teaching them with all wisdom that he has received from Christ.
He is doing these three things in order to “present every man complete in Christ.” This idea of presenting them is the same that we mentioned back in verse 22. There Christ is the one doing the presenting. Here, Paul works alongside Christ in order to set them, to establish them, as complete in Christ.
This too can be contemplated as a present reality and a future one. On the day of resurrection, the people of God will stand in ranks with the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul’s goal is that they will be found there on that day. We will all be complete, or finished, perfected on that day.
Yet, even now, we have everything we need for life and godliness. Through Jesus, God is supplying all that we need. In this sense, we are complete, perfect. As long as we keep our trust in Christ, He will bring us all to that hope. The enemy cannot stop us. Our hope is sure. This is a vast difference from where I was before Jesus. I wasn’t even a trouble for the devil.
Paul then testifies that his labor was a labor that was empowered by Christ in him. Literally he says, “according to his working in me in divine power working!” That’s a lot of working help from Christ! It is not our job to be strong enough. It is our job to present ourselves to the work of Christ everyday. We can’t conjure up divine power, but we can be present and let God’s Spirit empower us to do His work.
Of course, how that divine power manifests is up to God. You may want God to do some spectacular thing that makes you look powerful. The power of God was even then being demonstrated in Paul by working through him in writing letters. It is not generally how we want it to happen, but as God determines.
So, we get up and faithfully give ourselves to the work that he has given us, but not in our own power. Do you have kids or grandkids? Then, get up and give yourself to them for the purposes of God. Whatever the relationship that God has given you, serve His purposes in them.
You are the one planting the seeds. You are the one watering those seeds that have been planted. You are the one who may even get to harvest some of those seeds that have come to fruit. However, never forget that it is God who gives the increase.
We are still here because there are still strongholds of the devil that need pulled down. In fact, our faith is possible because of the faith of someone in the past that dared to pull down the devil’s stronghold in you. This is the work of Christ, not just through Paul, but through any of us who will join Him in this mission!
Email Article | Print Article | Share Article | tagged Faith, Gospel, Joy, Ministry, Mystery, New Creation, Perseverance, Power, Reconciliation, Suffering Pastor Marty Monday, July 28, 2025 at 9:22PM Colossians 1:15-20. This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on Sunday, July 27, 2025.
After declaring that God the Father has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints, rescued us from the dominion of darkness, and transferred us into the Kingdom of the Son of His love, Paul then takes some time to describe all that the Son of His love is, has done, and is doing even now.
Of course, there is no confusion about who this Son of His love is. It is Jesus. He has been identified three times in the verses before this.
Let’s get into our passage.
This section is poetic and has a clear structure to it that is helpful to recognize. Here is a representation of how the stanzas relate to one another.
“He is:
The Image of the Invisible God
The Firstborn of all Creation
For by Him all things were created
Both in the heavens and on the earth
Visible and Invisible
Whether thrones or dominions
Or rulers or authorities
All things have been created through Him and for Him
He is:
Before all things, and
In Him all things hold together”
These verses contemplate who Jesus is in relation to God the Father and the creation. It involves several things that we could call Titles. However, these titles are descriptive of some very important understandings about Jesus.
The Image of the Invisible God. There are different reasons for Paul to emphasize this about Jesus, whether for Greeks or even Jews. This connection between the man Jesus and God the Father is incredibly important for the Colossians to understand. The Image of God language comes from Genesis chapter 1. Adam and Eve were made in the Image of God. Yet, they and we have not imaged God very well. Not only did Adam fail, but the world failed to image God up to the flood when God rebooted the earth with Noah. Noah failed to image God well as did Abraham, the patriarchs, Israel as a nation, David, the kings of Judah, and all the others.
However, Jesus is not just another imager of God. He is the perfect imager and is thus The Image of God. The emphasis on God’s invisibility contrasted with the word image highlights the incarnation of Jesus, but this does not limit his imaging to the incarnation. He didn’t have to take on the nature of a man in order to image God. He was already imaging God to the creation before the incarnation. No matter the state (pre-incarnate, incarnate, and glorified), He is the perfect image, imager, of God. He is the one who allows us to see the Father for who He really is. This is why Jesus told his disciples that to see him is to see the Father.
Yet, Hebrews 1:1-3 makes this even more explicit. Jesus is the radiance of God’s glory, i.e., that which proceeds out from Him into the creation. He is also the express image of the Father’s nature. He is no shadow or lesser picture of the Father.
Now, Greeks don’t have a problem with God’s coming down and manifesting upon the earth. However, it would be impossible for them to be killed by mortals, or to truly die at the hands of a mortal. Paul is making sure that these Colossians understand the extraordinary claims being made about Jesus. This very same man who died on a cross for our sins is the Image of God.
The Firstborn of all Creation. We now see the connection between Jesus and the creation. He is the firstborn of all creation. But, what does this mean? The firstborn is mentioned in several other places in the New Testament. In Romans 8:29, Christians are conformed to his image so that he will be the firstborn of many sons. In Hebrews 1:6, “When God brings the firstborn into the world, He says, ‘Let all the angels of God worship him. This is quoting from Psalm 97:7.
The idea of firstborn has led some to speculate that it refers to Jesus being a created being. They would not see him as eternal, but is this what Paul (and Scripture) is trying to get across? I don’t believe so.
Psalm 89:27, a prophecy is written in which God states: “I shall make him My firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.” The prophecy is a long one and deals with the failure of the sons of David to live up to the prophecies that God has given about David and Messiah. Notice above that God is going to make this one His firstborn. This is not about birth order or even actual birth. The firstborn was more a status than it ever was a statement of who came into being first. This status term declares his right to have the first place among all others. He is the heir to the Father’s business and the Father’s holdings are for him. So, when it comes to all created things, Jesus has the primary place over it all. It is his inheritance. How and why becomes clearer as we go forward.
All things created by him. He has this firstborn status because everything was created by him. The word can also have the sense of in him. The Son was pre-existent to all created things. We then get a series of pairs that are intended to make clear that we are talking about every created thing, whether in the heavens or on the earth. Things you can see and the things you can’t see. No matter how powerful something is, it owes its place to him (excepting the Father, of course). This is expressed in the thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.
It was common for emperors to use son terminology of the kings who had pledged allegiance to them, even a firstborn as a status of preeminence above the others, not a description of which of them was born first. This section makes it clear that all things which fit into the category of created things were created by him, i.e., he is not a created being. If a person feels that it stretches the words in this passage to state that, John 1:3 makes this even more explicit. “All things came into being through him, and apart from him nothing came into being that has come into being.” Jesus cannot have “come into being” by making himself. It is clear that John is shutting down the idea that Jesus was a created being. Yet, he is the firstborn of creation.
Paul then gives some prepositional phrases to help us contemplate this creator position of Jesus. All things are created “through him.” Jesus was the active agent or means of creation. This essentially says the same thing as by him, but it has a sense of the Father’s involvement in the creative process.
The next preposition is that all things were created for him, the firstborn. They are for him in the sense that they belong to him, but also in the sense of their purpose being for him and his purposes.
By him, through him, and for him seem to contemplate the Son as the beginning of all things, the progress of all things and the end, or purpose of all things.
Paul then tells us that the Son is before all things. This preposition involves time. To be before all creation would place him before time itself. Yet, he is also before all things in the sense of being in front of all things; he has first place, primacy, over all things. Even before creation is brought into being, John chapter one interprets Genesis one as saying that Jesus is He who comes forth from the Father to create. “Let there be light!” The Son was the first light that came forth from the Father to create all things.
All things hold together in him. The final statement in this section adds another concept to the first preposition, “in him.” Things not only have their existence in him (by him), but their place in relation to one another are held together in him. Without him nothing would hold together in every way that we can conceive. He holds the molecules together, but also ask yourself this. What keeps this world from falling completely apart and destroying everything? What keeps this world going forward? Do we have a guarantee that, even with what we see, it can survive? Jesus is what holds all creation together, even with heavenly and earthly forces bent on rebellion against the Creator.
Though it is not stated above, there is a problem in the creation, both in the heavens and on the earth. The rebellion of spirit beings have defiled the heavens and led humanity into that rebellion as well. Though God made everything “very good,” it has been messed up by humans and fallen spirit beings.
This section moves to contemplating Jesus in regard to the Church and the New Creation, i.e., the fixing of the old creation.
Just as the Word, the Firstborn of Creation, came forth and created all things in the first place, so he has come forth in the man Jesus to make all things new. The Son of God’s love began that work and is still in the process of making all things new.
The Head of the Body, the Church. This first identity statement matches the style of the first identity statement in the last section (the image of the invisible God). However, towards the Church, Jesus is the head, and we are the ones who are supposed to image him. Calling Jesus the Head is a way of referencing his supremacy, but also his directive power. The Church is designed to respond to the directives of the Head of the Church, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Of course, this brings up a problem between the commands of Christ and the execution by His Body. Jesus has told us to “love one another,” and even “Love your enemies.” Groups of Christians can find themselves doing things that are adverse to the commands of Christ. There is generally some rationalization in which we give lip service to such obvious commands, and then, go on to neutralize them with our ideas. In fact, this is the threat in Revelation 2:5. There, Jesus warns the Ephesians that he will remove their candlestick if they don’t repent. Christ is the judge of his Church. He may allow things to go on for a while. Churches may flaunt his commands while giving lip-service to them. However, Jesus will eventually deal with them.
Just as Ezekiel saw the Glory of God leave the temple in Israel due to their lack of covenant faithfulness, so too, the Glory of God’s Spirit leaves churches to themselves. They are no longer doing his will, and his Spirit is no longer working in them as a group. Eventually, it will come to a head and the group will go out of existence in its present configuration.
Some people like to add the concept (or even replace) of the head being a source (similar to the headwaters of a river). He definitely is that, whether this word is intended to give that sense or not. Like a vine, Jesus is the source of spiritual life to all who have a living faith in him.
He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead. Jesus is the beginning of the Church, or renewed (redeemed) humanity. The word translated “beginning” here can refer to the beginning of something in an abstract way, but it often refers to a leader who is the beginning of a new Kingdom, dynasty. Jesus is the powerful leader whose actions have given birth, place, to this new group of people called the Church.
This is connected to the phrase, “firstborn from the dead,” and it connects to the earlier firstborn of all creation. The dead is used as a group and even has the sense of the place in which the dead are kept, Hades, She’ol, the grave. It is his reappearance from out of the realm of the dead that gives him first place among the renewed humanity.
Of course, this is in relation to his humanity. The eternal Son was not in need of being recreated, but he took on human flesh in order to blaze a trail through death, the grave, and into a glorified existence. When a believer in Jesus dies, they follow the path of the firstborn. They die and are enabled to avoid being stuck in the grave. Instead, we are allowed to ascend to the right hand of the Father and wait with the Son at his side. We follow him through this spiritually. We are not physically resurrected at our deaths. It is later that all the righteous will follow the firstborn physically into the completion of our renewed humanity.
The old creation was messed up by our rebellion and sin. It led to humans being stuck in the grave, the dead, and no mechanism for ever getting out. Yet, Jesus has paid the price for our sins so that we can follow him out of the grave and into the immortal, indestructible bodies that the Father has planned for us.
Thus, the firstborn in this situation is parallel to his firstborn status among creation. In both cases, he has first place and inherits it all.
So that he himself would have first place over all things. His unique resurrection establishes the path forward for the rest of us. This gives him first place over humanity as a human, not just as God. As the eternal Son who created all things, he always had first place. Yet, now, he must act in such a way as to receive the first place among the new creation.
Think about it. In Jesus, a human is now the supreme authority over all things in the heavens and the earth.
Because it pleased [God] to have all the fullness dwell in him. This phrase is literally, “because he was pleased to have all the fullness dwell in him.” Since we are talking about the Son, it seems most likely that the first pronoun “he” is referring to God the Father, whereas the second one refers to the Son of His love. It is His plan. The Father desired the eternal Son to take on human flesh in such a way that the fullness of His Spirit dwelt in him.
Think of the Old Testament. We often see the Spirit of God coming upon individuals with a certain measure and for a certain event. It was always understood that a human being could only handle so much of the power of God, the Spirit of God, without dying. Yet, in Jesus, the fullness of God’s Spirit dwelled in him. He was somehow fully God, and yet also fully human.
It appears that humans were not just designed to be a dwelling place in which the Spirit of God could enter and empower. Even more, we were designed in such a way to make the incarnation of the eternal Son possible. It made it possible for Jesus to do a work that no fallen angel could have ever forseen.
Notice that it “pleased” Him to have it so. The incarnation of Jesus is God’s good pleasure. It is His artistic flair in fixing all things, and we would do well to pay attention to this.
And through him to reconcile to Himself all things. Paul speaks of God’s intention “to reconcile all things to Himself.” This seems to be part of the pleasure of God the Father. It was the fullness of God in Jesus that allows him to reconcile all things back to the Father.
Reconcile is a word that involves something that is out of harmony, not as it is supposed to be, an error, etc. To reconcile can take on various ideas, depending upon what is wrong. God’s main intention is to reconcile humanity by making it possible for us to be released from the dead and to follow Jesus into the New Humanity. This is a humanity that perfectly images God the Father and is in harmony with His purposes.
However, “all things” is about more than humanity. What does it mean to reconcile the heavens? This is where some project the idea called universalism. It posits that God must save all, even the devil himself. However, this is not what we see in the New Testament. Yes, in relationships, we generally think of reconciliation as the two parties coming together and being in harmony. Of course, this is the reconciliation that God desires. However, reconciliation is also about making all things right. Thus, sometimes reconciliation requires the removal of that which refuses to conform to the “very good” that God intends all things to be. Thus, Romans 8:22 has all of creation groaning. It awaits the manifestation of the Sons of God, i.e., redeemed and glorified humans. Yet, at the same time, there is a warning of a day of removal of the wicked into the Lake of Fire.
Making peace by the blood of his cross…whether things on earth or in the heavens. It was the shedding of his life-blood at the cross that makes peace with God the Father possible. This is another way of talking about the reconciliation. In Jesus, we who have been enemies can be transformed into not just those who have a peace treaty, but are still hostile. Rather, it is peace with God in every way. We are no longer enemies, and the hostility between us has been resolved. Romans 5:1 says it this way, “We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Do you have peace with God? You can only have peace with Him by putting your faith in Jesus and following him. Peace with God also brings peace within us. Our hearts and minds are susceptible to moments of turbulence because we live in this world. However, the grace of Jesus enables us to see those storms settle down; “Peace, be still!”
May God help us to see the glorious nature of who Jesus is and what he has done for us. And, may we firmly embrace the One who went to the cross for us, went into the grave for us, and has been resurrected to sit at the right hand of God the Father for us!
Pastor Marty Monday, July 21, 2025 at 9:02PM Colossians 1:9-14. This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on Sunday, July 20, 2025.
We are continuing in Paul’s letter to the church in Colossae. Last week, we looked at Paul’s prayer of thanksgiving for their faith, their love, and their hope in God.
In these verses, he moves into a prayer of petition on their behalf.
Let’s look at our passage.
Just as prayers of thanksgiving are a kind of prayer, so we have prayers of petition, where we ask God for things. The idea of petition may seem strange to connect to prayer. However, think about how we use petitions in our society. At its root, a petition is going before some authority and asking them for something. Yet, due to the political nature of most authorities, we get as many people as possible to “sign” our petition, basically saying that they are asking for this also. Thankfully, our prayers to God are not generally dependent upon getting enough people to agree with us.
We should recognize that there are different categories of things in our petitions to God. Some things like food, money for bills, or healing from a sickness, if they are answered by God, will no longer be in our prayers of petition. They will be a part of our prayers of thanksgiving, but we will no longer be asking God to heal someone who is already healed.
The things that Paul asks for them are not the kind of things that can be answered tomorrow and be done. They are the kind of things that are being answered throughout our life and are completed through death and resurrection.
This brings up a side issue. It is common for people to compare their petitions to those of others. When we are praying for someone that has stage-4 cancer, it is common for people who are battling a cold to feel like their healing is too small to bother God. We can find ourselves in a strange place of not praying because we are convinced God is too big to be bothered with us. The problem here is this. We don’t realize how we are diminishing God in thinking that He is too big to be bothered. What we are really saying is that He is not quite big enough to be able to deal with the big and small things of life. Your petitions are important to God because they are part of the way that He is working to make you like Jesus.
Before we get into what Paul is asking for them, he mentions that he has “not ceased to pray for” them (vs. 9). To pray without ceasing is not so much about praying every second. It is a prayer that is always in his heart for them. He loves them, and he desires things that can’t be answered in a moment in time. Thus, he continually prays that God will do these things in their lives. He said the same thing to the Thessalonians and other churches. Paul’s prayer for one is his prayer for all.
These are not prayers of empty (vain) repetitions. Jesus didn’t say, “When you pray, do not repeat your prayers.” Rather, he said, “When you pray, do not use vain repetitions.” There is a repetition that has meaning. It is when we are praying for things that take a life-time to complete, and we are doing so out of love. However, empty repetitions happen when we think that we can get what we want by God through some mantra or mechanism of prayer. People can build rituals of prayers and activities as a means of acquiring whatever they prayer. This puts us in the driver seat and makes an answer to prayer all about our ability. Prayer at its root needs to be a child coming to their father. There is no way we can force our Father in heaven to give us what we ask. But, we can seek His wisdom as we ask.
In our flesh, we can grow weary of praying for the same thing over and over. However, the Spirit of God can stir in us a love for our family (biological or spiritual) to the point that we won’t give up praying, asking, these things for them.
Paul asks God to fill them with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.
The word for knowledge here has a prefix that gives the added sense of a precise and correct knowledge. How can we have a precise and correct knowledge of the God’s Will? In fact, think of all the ways in which we are surrounded by imprecise and incorrect knowledge of God and His will. The only way we can get this is if God reveals Himself to us, which He has been faithful to do.
Can you imagine this prayer being “answered” completely in this life? I mean to the point where you never have to pray for it again. This is the kind of thing that you will be asking God over and over again, not because He isn’t answering, but because the knowledge of God’s will has an incomprehensively large range. It goes from the micro such as decisions for our individual life: jobs, marriage, kids, etc. However, it stretches out to the macro, such as the response of our Republic and this world to the Gospel, to the point in time in which the saints will inherit the Kingdom of God.
God answers such a prayer as we live life and wrestle with it before Him in prayer.
Paul adds the modifiers of “spiritual wisdom” and “understanding.” He calls it spiritual to highlight the source of the wisdom and understanding. However, we know that Paul doesn’t mean just any spiritual source. The devil is a spiritual source of false wisdom that many in the world embrace and call wisdom. Paul clearly is pointing to a wisdom whose source is the Spirit of God.
This is what James speaks of in James 3:15. He warns to have a wisdom from God, “from above,” versus a wisdom that is earthly, from the earth. He uses two more words to describe a worthless wisdom. The second is that it is sensual, that is, from our senses and flesh. Lastly, James speaks of a wisdom that is demonic. We can treat earthly, sensual, and demonic as three different kinds of wisdom, but they are tied together. The devil uses our flesh and the world around us to manipulate us like he did to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. The wisdom of this world and the wisdom of our flesh simply becomes a proxy for the wisdom of the devil because he leads us by the nose through them.
What is the difference between understanding and wisdom? Well, understanding is an aspect. It is the moments when we gain insight into what God wants and why He wants it. However, wisdom flows out of understanding and answers the question, “So, what should we do?” The source of wisdom is critical because it will direct the things we do and don’t do.
How does God fill us with the knowledge of His will? He does so through the written Word, through mature believers, and through the help of the Holy Spirit. This means we must be a people who are reading the Word of God (seeking His wisdom), interacting and talking with mature believers, and seeking the leading of the Holy Spirit through prayer.
Paul also asks God that they walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, pleasing Him in all respects. There is a lot of water under the bridge in this area within the Church. There is a whole range of how people respond to a verse like this. On one side of the range is a group that sees absolute obedience without failing as the meaning of this. It is a legalistic perfectionism that typically has a group of elders who are the judges of how well you are doing. On the other side of the range is a group that promotes Jesus as such a covering for our sins that we don’t even have to quit sinning. They will even dissuade the desire to obey God because you are trying to save yourself. This is the easy grace crowd that demands next to nothing for those who are in their group.
Let me be clear. Jesus is worthy of absolute perfection, but Paul is not calling for this. He is referencing the reality that we represent our Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus to a world that doesn’t know them. Part of the understanding of His will that we need is to see how God works through the way we live our lives in order to draw others to Him. A manner “worthy of the Lord” is a focused life that seeks to please Him in everything. Anyone who does this will find themselves failing in many things, not on purpose, but simply out of falling short of Jesus. Yet, what do we do when we fall short? God’s word tells us to heed the Holy Spirit, repent, and pray for His help. We shouldn’t do this out of fear, but out of a desire to please our Lord and help his purposes.
In this area, it is important to distinguish between salvation issues and discipleship issues. I will come back to this in a moment, but this is critical here. This “worthy manner” phrase is not about obtaining or keeping our salvation. It is about our discipleship in Jesus.
Paul also prays that they would bear fruit in every good work, increasing in the knowledge of God. There is a theme that begins in Genesis 1 and flows throughout the Bible. God made humanity to be fruitful like He is. Yet, he connects it to “every good work.” God is the one who defines both what is fruitful and what is a good work. He is the source of every good thing, and it is He who puts good things in front of us to do, whatever that be. He is the teacher of both what is good and how to do it.
Some people can be picky and choosey about what they want to do or not to do. This calls for yielding our fleshly desires and surrendering to His heavenly desires.
When we do the work that God gives us to do well, then it bears good fruit. This involves pruning things that are not good out of our life. It also involves pruning things that are fine in and of themselves. However, there is too much crowded into our life, demanding our time. It can squelch and inhibit good fruit. Thus, a perfectly good branch can be cut off to give more sunlight and oxygen to the other branches around it.
A person led by the Spirit of God will have the very life of God springing up within their life and flowing out into the lives of others. This fruitfulness has the by-product of increasing our knowledge of God.
This brings us back to the tension between salvation and discipleship. How can we do good works? I thought all our works were as filthy rags? The apostle Paul was not contradicting himself. Rather, we need to distinguish between salvation and discipleship. None of our works and worthy walking can save us. In and of themselves they fall short of the absolute righteousness needed to save a person. When it comes to salvation, it is the work and walk of Jesus that can save. He creates a place within him that we can step into by faith. It is a faith in him. He is the One who performed the work of saving me. However, now that we are in that saved and cleaned place, he wants us to learn of him, become like him, discipleship. In that saved place of trusting Jesus, we can do good works and walk worthy. Our works are no longer filthy rags because they are done by faith in Jesus, and they are stirred up by the Spirit of God. The works that are done in Christ and by the leading of the Holy Spirit are cleansed by Jesus, and we now do them for the right reasons, to glorify God for Jesus as opposed to trying to impress Him with us.
Paul also asks that they be strengthened with all power for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience. We can get excited about the idea of having power. Visions of creating worlds and vanquishing the armies of Pharaoh may dance in our heads. Yet, Paul speaks of a power that is “according to His glorious might.” This is the power displayed by Jesus when he went to the cross. It is in contrast to the power that the Corinthian Christians desired. There desire was all about a power that would distinguish them above each other. The power of Christ is distinguished by it penchant to place ourselves beneath others in order to lift them up. It is the strength to die to what our flesh wants. This is at the root of any good work that we may do for Christ.
Paul sees a connection between the exercise of spiritual strength and something that it produces in us. It will make us steadfast and patient. These two words are really about patience, but it is patience looked at from a different facet. Steadfastness pictures patience as the ability to remain under a heavy load, rather than quitting. It is perseverance, endurance. The second word translated patience is the picture of not easily losing your temper and blowing your top.
Only the power of God’s Holy Spirit can help us to persevere and not lose our cool, whether this is with others or towards God. Yet, we will need to die to the cries of our flesh to quit and get angry. We will have to picture Jesus on the cross and choose to join Him there.
Some translations connect the phrase “with joy” to patience, i.e., having patience with joy. Others connect it to the next verse, “joyously giving thanks…” It is one of those strange cases where the grammar can actually allow for both interpretations. Whether we can determine which of these Paul intended, I think the difficulty is moot in the end. Think about it. Is there ever a time when we shouldn’t be patient with joy? Or is it okay for our thanksgiving to be without joy? Regardless of which of these you think is most likely, we should do all things with joy.
We should see this as the last thing that he is praying for them. Just as He gave thanks for them, he desires that they too become a people giving thanks to the Father, and with joy. We should notice how all of these things tie together. Our growing in spiritual wisdom and understanding helps us to know the Lord and be joyful for all that He does in our lives, even just for our lives.
Yet, Paul is transitioning out of what he prays for them and into a treatise about God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus, verses 12 through 14 describe what the Father has done for us. When we understand what He has done for us, we will joyfully give thanks to Him even in difficult times.
He points out that our Heavenly Father has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints of light. This could also be translated as, “qualified us for a share [a portion, a lot] in the inheritance.” What is this inheritance of the saints? It is the promise throughout the Old Testament that God will give the Kingdoms of the world to His representative and the saints. This is most clearly described in Daniel 7. Verses 13 to 14 focus on the Son of Man (aka the Messiah) who receives full dominion over the kingdoms of the world and a Kingdom that will never end. However, later in verse 22, it explicitly states that the saints will take possession of the Kingdom. Thus, this singular person, the Lord Jesus Christ, is the One through whom the saints can participate in the Dominion of Messiah.
By ourselves, we were (are) not worthy to receive this kingdom. At the tower of Babel, God casts off the nations and creates a nation for Himself out of Abraham. The nations failed to qualify. However, we have a similar dynamic at the cross of Jesus. Israel is cast out of the land because it has disqualified itself as a recipient of the Kingdom. Christ then takes a remnant of Israel and uses them to be a light to the Gentile nations. The key to this is that Jesus was the only one, Gentile or Jew, who qualified to receive the Kingdom from the Father. Yet, the good news is that we can participate in his qualification.
There is a present aspect to the portion that we are qualified to obtain, and there is a future aspect to it, but more on that in a moment.
Why does he use the phrase, “the saints of light?” Saints is a reference to the fact that we are set apart for God’s purpose. This makes us holy, holy ones, and that is what the word “saints” means. Light here is used to refer to the God of all Light. It is symbolic of the way that truth helps us to see the realities that exist around us. Jesus is the light of the world. Yet, he in turn tells us that we are the light of the world. How is that? When we put our faith in Jesus, and his Holy Spirit takes up residence within us, the light of Jesus shines through us like a clay lamp. In and of ourselves, we are just a clay lamp. However, with the oil and flame of God within us, we can be used of God to shine the light, the truth, of Christ to the world.
Part of what qualifies us is that the Father has rescued us from the domain of darkness. This is external imagery that takes on a military feel. His people have been stuck in a kingdom of darkness and need to be rescued, like Israel in Egypt. However, this is not a rescue from a geographical place or a particular government.
A child born into this world starts out innocent of any evil. Yet, the darkness of this world presses in upon them. It seeks entrance by any means. By the time we become adults, the darkness of this world has made us a part of its dominion. In the end, each of our hearts is where the domain of darkness reigns.
It is the Father who sent the Son to take on the nature of a man in order to rescue us from the grip of the devil. These people in Colossae were under the dominion of the Beast Kingdom of Rome, but now they have been rescued and are no longer at the mercy of that darkness.
Finally, the Father has transferred us to the Kingdom of the Son of His love. God hasn’t just rescued us. He has put us in the Kingdom of Jesus. Of course, they are still in Colossae and must deal with the Roman governance. This is due to the “now but not yet fully” nature of the Kingdom of Jesus.
This kingdom will never end, but it will go through phases. We are in the phase where he is offering terms of peace to his enemies. “Join me! Why will you die? Take my hand!”
He is called the Beloved Son, or Son of His Love, because it is tying into the prophecies about the ultimate son of David. God promised a forever kingdom ruled by one who would be a son to God and God would be a Father to him. These prophecies of an Anointed King are fulfilled in Jesus. He is the One who has a perfect relationship of love with the Father. It is God’s love for Jesus that is the bedrock of our hope. If I was alone, then I could fear that He would deny me. However, when I am with Jesus, God will not deny Himself!
Paul ends by stating that in Jesus we have redemption and forgiveness of sins. These are also things that the Father has done, through the work of Jesus. These are the foundation of our qualifying to inherit the Kingdom of God.
Those who are in Christ have forgiveness of their sins. However, this is not so that we can go out and sin more, but so that we not lose heart and give up when we fail. Jesus cleanses us from our sins. Yet, our cleansed state is only as we stand in Jesus. Yes, I can be cleansed, but I am also standing within a cleansed place, the Lord Jesus.
How can we be sure that we have been redeemed and forgiven? It is not because you have never failed, that is for sure. We can be sure because we are obeying what the word says: put your faith in Jesus, turn from your sin, and follow him by the help of the Holy Spirit.
I pray that you have been rescued from the kingdom of darkness and are firmly in the Kingdom of the Beloved Son, Jesus. Yes, your geography hasn’t changed, but your soul has changed!
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