Good morning. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I come before you and I ask for strength. Father, I ask for your spirit to be able to communicate these truths. Father, it's only by your spirit that any of us are able to discern and to learn and to apply these things to our life. Help us to realize our complete and utter reliance upon you for obedience. to love one another, to honor one another. This is by your power, through your spirit. So Father, help us to lean on you and to rely on you and to come humbly before you and to pray daily and hour by hour that you would work through us, Father. remove all personal striving and struggling, even though we're commanded to do these things, Father, but help us to know that the source of obedience is Christ and your spirit, in Jesus' name, amen. So today we're gonna continue our series of the epistles written by the Apostle Paul. Again, we're doing a high level overview of these letters with a few momentary dives into some depth. Today we're going to spend a bulk of the time in the Christ hymn, which is verses 15 through 20 of chapter one. So we'll remain exclusively today in Colossians. So if you want to go ahead and open up your Bibles to Colossians, And what I'd ask is that as I read the text, you read along with me, because I'm going to be adding commentaries throughout as I'm reading. And I want you to be able to differentiate between what scripture is saying in my commentary or my expounding on one of these words. And so I'm going to give you some words that, that are similar or like, or, or a better translation or a different, you know, a different understanding of the word that you're reading there and not necessarily different, but just expound and expand the meaning of those words to help us get a better grip on what the apostle Paul is asking us here. And my desire is that when we finish today, that you'll have an understanding of the themes, uh, found in Colossians, And the Apostle Paul in his epistles will present doctrine, will present sound theology. And then he'll say, okay, and now because therefore, like in Romans 12, one, therefore, because everything I just said, now go and live this way. And so he will give us, he presents these sound theological truths that should make our soul rejoice. And then he says, okay, now this is how you apply it. This is how you go and live this way. During the survey, we'll proceed through the epistle and apply these truths as we confront them. This could be a lot of information, so we're gonna move quickly. First, a brief historical introduction. This letter to the Colossians is one of three written by the Apostle Paul while he was imprisoned in Rome, along with Ephesians and Philemon. Colossae was in the Lycus Valley, about 100 miles east of Ephesus. in Asia Minor. The name Colossae was most likely derived from a giant statue called the Colossus. The other two cities found in this valley, the Lycus Valley, were Hierapolis and Laodicea. These were three cities that were 10 to 12 miles away from each other. And so the heresies that were addressed by Paul, and we're gonna go through some of the polemical arguments that he has against heresies in the first century, had spread from Colossae to the nearby towns, Hierapolis and Laodicea. And so this is why you'll see that at the end, the Apostle Paul says, hey, once you've read this letter, make sure that you read it in Laodicea. And the letter that I wrote to them, read that too as well. So the Apostle Paul here is addressing, and these are churches that he's never been to. We'll see that in the text. One of the main circumstances which probably prompted or did prompt the Apostle Paul to write this letter was to defend the absolute deity of Christ and the absolute humanity of Christ. As we'll see in this survey, in the first century, heresies had already begun to attack the fundamental basics of the gospel. These were already being introduced. And these heresies plagued the early church just like they plague the churches of today. As you'll note in the bulletin, there's a basic outline there of the epistles. And for the sake of time, I'm not gonna comment on every single verse, but I will be grouping them into complete thoughts, just as they were written. The outline there is in the bulletin. But first, doctrinal. It's a deep, a deeper life in Christ. Then Paul goes into a polemical argument, correcting heresies. And then he goes into a spiritual exhortation. And then he says, okay, because of all this, now go live this way. He talks about practical outworking of obedience to the exhortation that he just gave. And then he ends with, in this case, a very long salutation, a very long goodbye, but we're going to explore some of the, the neat things in that, what you might just glaze over and read quickly as a, okay guys, you know, see you later. So-and-so says hi. You know, we're gonna see some of Paul's maturity and some of his love and deep concern for his brothers. Okay, the greeting, verses one and two. Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God and Timothy, our brother, to the saints and faithful brothers in Christ and Colossae, grace to you and peace from God our Father. Other than in his earliest epistles, 1st and 2nd Thessalonians and Philippians, Paul begins this epistle by saying he is an apostle. The literal meaning of the Greek word apostle is one who is sent out. Paul didn't consider himself to be one of the 12 original apostles who had been with Christ since the beginning of his ministry. However, he did possess miraculous powers given to the apostles to authenticate their ministries. Our Lord Jesus Christ, when he did miracles, he was to authenticate that he was the Messiah. So there are three biblical requirements to be an apostle. Apostle, capital A. Any one of us, like I leave Tuesday for El Salvador, you could call me an apostle. I am one who's being sent out, okay? But make sure you put a, Lowercase a there. One, you had to be taught directly by Christ. Two, you had to be an eyewitness of the risen Christ. And three, you had to have been called specifically by Christ. Christ's disciples met these requirements. And the apostle Paul as to one untimely born, first Corinthians also met these requirements. He saw the Lord Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus risen. He was taught by the Lord Jesus Christ for three years, and he was called specifically by the Lord Jesus Christ. We can see that in Acts, where he says, I will show this man how much he has to suffer for my sake. Anyone who proclaims himself to be an apostle today, there, lost my pleasure, doesn't understand the scripture, And they're naming themselves an apostle either out of ignorance and or arrogance. To be clear, there are no present day apostles, capital A. Additionally, in this greeting, we saw like an Ephesians where the apostle Paul referred to the readers as saints and the faithful in Christ Jesus. Here he refers to them as saints and faithful brothers. Let's continue in verse three, Thanksgiving. We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints. Why? Because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel, which has come to you just as in all the world. Also, it is constantly bearing fruit and multiplying, just as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard and understood the grace of God in truth. Just as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow slave, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf, who also, informed us of your love in the spirit. In these last five verses, the apostle Paul gives thanks specifically for the Colossians faith, hope, and love for the brethren. The apostle Paul had heard from Epaphras, who was a Colossian, about their faith in Jesus Christ and their love for the saints. Now notice here that their faith and love for one another spring forth from the hope. laid up for them in heaven. It's a natural outpouring of that hope is faith and love. And these next five verses, we hear Paul's petition. What is Paul praying for? We should model our prayers after this. Do you ever wonder how to pray rightly? Here's a great model. Let's look at what the apostle Paul prayed for these Colossian believers. For this reason also, since the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you and ask, what? That you may be filled with the knowledge of his will. How? In all spiritual wisdom understanding. Why? So that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord to please him in all respects. How do we please the Lord and walk in a manner worthy? Bearing fruit in every good work and multiplying in the full knowledge of God. being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience, joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of saints in light, who rescued us from the authority of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the son of his love, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Notice in verse 11, that Paul attributes our being able to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord and to please him is only possible with the strength and with the power that he provides according to his glorious might. Any goodness coming from a believer, any good works, good works are only accomplished by the power and the strength provided through our triune God. These are the good works that he prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. In verses 12 through 14, Paul explains why he's joyously giving thanks to the Father. Why? And why we should joyously give thanks to the Father. Number one, because he has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. Because he has rescued us from the authority and dominion of darkness. Because he has transferred us to the kingdom of the son of his love. Because he has redeemed us through Christ. And because he has forgiven our sins, laying them upon his son, on the cross. Now let's move on to the next section. I'm gonna start my timer here, so. If you think, if you had to think of one major theme or topic for the, if you had to summarize the Book of Colossians in one phrase, it would be the exaltation and supremacy of Christ. And then in these next five verses, the apostle does just that. He exalts the majesty, the supremacy of Christ. In this Christ hymn, this is what is commonly called the Christ hymn, the apostle Paul reveals seven unique characteristics of our Lord Jesus Christ. These seven characteristics qualify him to have absolute supremacy. First, Christ is the image of God. Second, Christ is the firstborn over all creation. Third, Christ is the creator and sustainer of the universe. Fourthly, Christ is the head of the church. Fifth, Christ is the firstborn from the dead. Sixth, Christ is the fullness of God. And seventh, Christ is the reconciler of all things. Now let's read this Christ hymn. Do you need encouragement? Do you need boldness? This is who we serve. Why should we fear or worry? If we could focus when we're in fear or anxiety or anything, if we can focus on the supremacy and the majesty of Christ, those things will fade to gray. Christ, verse 15, Christ, okay? Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation? The word image here, or icon, implies representation or manifestation. It's like having a coin with the picture of Caesar on it. So you have a picture of the head of the sovereign is on that coin, that is the expressed image. Christ is the exact representation of the Father's being. In the Gospel of John, he says, if you've seen me, you've seen the Father. Many of the cults love to twist the phrase firstborn of all creation. This doesn't mean that Christ was born, that he was a created being, that he was born at the dawn of creation, but in context, the phrase firstborn of all creation serves to show Christ's preeminence, his supremacy and his superiority over all things. The word firstborn here rightly understood means that Christ preceded the whole of creation and that he is the sovereign over all of creation. Verse 16, for in him, all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible where the thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, all things have been created through him and for him. And he is before all things. And in him, all things hold together. The third characteristic of Christ taught here is that Christ is the creator of the universe. He's not only the one through whom all things came to be, but he is the one through whom all things hold together and continue to exist. Paul makes it clear here that Christ created all things, seen and unseen, past, present, and future, and he is the supreme sovereign over all of it. John 1 and Hebrews 1 make it clear that Christ is the one through whom all things were created. Verse 18, and he is the head of the body of the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he himself will come to have first place in everything. Along with being the creator of the entire universe, Christ is the head of the church. Christ was not the first person to be raised from the dead, but he was the first person to be raised to an immortal body, a glorified body, and he continues to live Hebrews 7, 16, according to the power having an indestructible life. Verse 19, for in him, all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell. And just a few verses in Colossians 2, 9, we're gonna read, for in him, all the fullness of deity dwells bodily, and in him you have been filled, who is the head over all rule and authority. This is one of, when we get there to 2, 9, this is one of the most powerful verses in scripture that describes the deity of Christ. So in Christ, the fullness or completeness of God was pleased to dwell or to permanently abide. Verse 20, and through him to reconcile all things to himself, having made peace through the blood of his cross, through him, whether things on earth or things in heaven. Notice the things reconciled to God in Christ are things on earth or things in heaven, not things under the earth. He reconciles the elect and the elect angels, but no one else is reconciled or has peace with God. For the sake of time, we're going to move quickly through the rest of it. Now we move to the topic of reconciliation through Christ. Verse 21, and although you were formerly alienated and enemies in mind and evil deeds before regeneration, But now he reconciled you, how? In the body of his flesh through death. And why? In order to present you before him holy and blameless and beyond reproach. If indeed you continue in the faith, Paul here's not doubting that they would continue in the faith. If indeed you continue in the faith, firmly grounded, steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which you have heard, which is proclaimed in all creation under heaven. and of which I, Paul, was made a minister. The next section is about the revelation of the mystery of Christ. Verse 24. Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and I fill up what is lacking of Christ's afflictions in my flesh on behalf of his body, which is the church. Now here, Paul is not saying that Christ's suffering on the cross was insufficient. He's making a statement about the believer's privilege. to suffer for Christ's sake. The word affliction here in the Greek is never used about Christ's death, but it does mean distress, pressure, trouble, which Paul had had and would have a lot of. Verse 25. of which I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God given to me for you so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God. That is the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to his saints to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. This mystery is not like an Ephesians where It's the mystery that the Gentiles were now going to be grafted in, and that the gospel had gone to the Gentiles. And this is not some mystery like a higher knowledge that the Gnostics were famous for teaching. But this mystery is Christ, who was concealed, but now had been revealed. Verse 28, being perfected in Christ, being complete in Christ. Him we proclaim, Christ, Him we proclaim. How? Admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom. Why? To what end? So that we may present every man complete in Christ. And for this purpose, I also labor, striving according to his working, which he works in me in power. Paul labors and strives, but God is the one who works in him. in power. Chapter two, verse one, wisdom in Christ. This, this next section here, for, I want you to understand how great a struggle I have on your behalf. And for those who are in Laodicea and for all those who have not seen my face in the flesh. Again, here's this reference to the Lycus Valley. Epaphras had been one of the main evangelists that had shared the gospel and that had seen the Lord provide fruit in this Lycus Valley. But Paul says here, you have not seen my face. So Paul is struggling here against the heresies, which we'll explore in a moment, that had made their way into Laodicea and most likely Hierapolis. This is how these heresies work. They spread like a cancer. This is why in chapter four, he tells them to read this letter to the Laodiceans and to read their letter. Now, why does Paul struggle? so that their hearts may be encouraged, having been held together in love, even unto all the wealth of the full assurance of understanding, unto the full knowledge of God's mystery, that is Christ himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this, he just said that understanding and full knowledge of God and wisdom of God's mystery is found in Christ himself. so that no one will delude you with persuasive arguments. This was Gnosticism. For even though I'm absent in body, nevertheless, I'm with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the stability of your faith in Christ. Now Paul moves on to exhort the Colossian believers. Therefore, verses six and seven, therefore, as you receive Christ Jesus, the Lord, so walk in him. having been firmly rooted and being built up in him and having been established in your faith, just as you were instructed and abounding with thanksgiving." In verse six to seven, Paul exhorts them and encourages them by reminding them to walk in Christ and that they've been firmly rooted and are being built up into Christ. And this is the message that they heard from Epaphras. Now from 2.8 to 2.23, Paul, starts a polemical argument. A polemical argument is a speech or something written that expresses strong, a strong critical attack against false teaching or against a contrary opinion. In this case, Paul is writing a strong polemical argument against heresies that had crept into the Colossian church. Verse eight, Gnosticism is heresy. Christ is deity. Again, this is Paul's focus throughout this whole epistle is the deity of Christ. See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world and not according to Christ. For in him, all the fullness of deity dwells. And in him, you have been filled who is the head over all rule and authority. Here, Paul doesn't warn them about philosophies. He warns them about false philosophies, true Christian philosophy, says that you take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. Again, Paul repeats, all the fullness of deity dwells bodily in Christ, completely contradicting the teaching of the Gnostics that Christ was merely spirit and not fully man. For a true believer, fullness is in Christ alone. You see the Gnostics taught that there was this other fullness, this higher life, this higher gnosis, knowledge that you can only experience through some special revelation or through joining some special group. Depending on which Gnostic teacher you listen to, Christ was either only spirit or only human, only flesh, but he could not be both. That's one of the keys to the Gnostic belief. They taught that the flesh was inherently corrupt and the spirit was good. So for Christ to be perfect, there's no way that he had any flesh because the flesh is evil. The spirit is good. They also taught that Christ could not have been corrupted by human flesh. So let's move on again. But the apostle Paul here, even in the first century is, is coming against heresies. The next heresy that Paul confronts in this epistle is legalism. It's true what they say, there's nothing new under the sun. Legalism is heresy. Justification and reality exist in Christ alone. There is no other way to be justified. If you're familiar with Galatians and many of the epistles, you will be familiar with the word Judaizers. These were people that had made and weaseled their way into the early church and said, that's great that you're a Christian, a Gentile Christian, praise the Lord. But to be a true believer, you first have to be circumcised. You have to observe the dietary laws. You've got to celebrate these Jewish festivals. And so they tried to add, anytime anyone adds, Salvation by grace alone, by faith alone in Christ alone. Anytime they say, and, they've gone astray. And they're there to be, they are not Orthodox. They are not brothers and sisters in Christ. So they push these people, they laid a burden on them to observe the Jewish festivals. to be circumcised and to eat the dietary law, to fulfill the dietary laws. So let's read this section again. This section is not only a great gospel presentation, but it's a polemic against legalism. Verse 11, in whom you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands. So he's saying it's not about physical circumcision. Your heart, you have already been circumcised by circumcision made without hands in the removal of the body of flesh. So now we're talking about a removal of a piece of flesh. He goes, when you were born, the removal of the flesh has taken place in the circumcision of what? Of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism in which you were also raised up with him through faith in the working of God. Faith, even the faith that we have is the work of God, who raised him from the dead and you being dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, he made you alive with him, having graciously forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt, consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us. He has also taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross, having disarmed the rulers and authorities. He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them, That's a great gospel presentation. We were dead in our transgressions. We've been made alive with Christ. Our transgressions are forgiven. The certificate of debt that we had has been canceled. Verse 16, therefore, no one is to judge you in food and drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day. Things which are only a shadow of what is to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. Christians are delivered from the evil powers which inspire legalistic rules, such as what to eat, which festivals to observe. False teachers here were trying to place the Colossians believers under bondage, under the law. These false teachers didn't understand the freedom there is in Christ. When he talks about what was foreshadowed in the Old Testament, he's saying this was fulfilled by Christ. Okay, verse 18. Christ is the head, not angels. Let no one keep defrauding you. Let no one disqualify you or rob you of your prize, but delighting in self-abasement or false humility. and the worship of angels going into details about visions he has seen being puffed up for nothing by his fleshly mind. We see this rampant today among charismatic churches. And what's the root cause of these errors? Not holding fast to the head, which is Christ. from whom the entire body being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments grows with a growth that is from God. Verses 20 through 23. Asceticism is heresy. Freedom and fullness is only found in Christ. If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why is if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, do not handle, do not taste, do not touch, which deal with everything destined to perish with use, which are in accordance with the commands and teachings of men, which are matters having to be sure a word of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are no value against fleshly indulgence. Asceticism was a pseudo-spiritual teaching that took great pride in physical self-denial. Not unlike Catholics, asceticism is harsh treatment of the body. And the root cause is guilt. The root cause is guilt. As believers, we no longer have to obey our former master, the flesh. But for someone who doesn't have Christ, who's trying to earn their way to heaven, asceticism in Latin America, There are people that pay hundreds of dollars to dress up in a robe and on Dia de los Muertos or in one of the holy days, carry a two or 300 pound, six or seven or eight guys gather around with poles and carry these big statues for miles. And you have to pay money to be one of these pallbearers. And it's hard and they sweat and they hurt, but this is them because of their guilt, trying to pay, they're basically buying off their own conscience because there is no salvation, there is no forgiveness in anything that you might do or consider doing to your body. Lent, not biblical. Ash Wednesday and Lent, not biblical. I'm gonna stop watching my favorite TV show for Lent. I'm going to stop chewing gum. I'm going to say no karma. I'm going to do something to deprive myself. This stems from a guilty conscience that cannot be satisfied and cannot be assuaged because the righteousness they're trying to get comes from themselves. Whereas the righteousness that we have comes from an external source. It's not our own righteousness. Um, as believers, we no longer have to obey our former master, our fleshly lust. We have died to sin. We're alive to Christ and live by the power of the spirit through our union with Christ. Now, Paul starts another spiritual exhortation, seek things of spiritual and eternal value. If you had to summarize this section, seek things of spiritual and eternal value. Therefore, this is three chapter three, verse one, Therefore, if you have been raised up with Christ, because you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking, keep dwelling on, keep meditating on the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. Concentrate your thoughts on eternal things, not temporal things. for you died and your life has been hidden, concealed, it's safe, it's secure with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life is manifested, when Christ returns for his church, then you also will be manifested with him in glory. We will be glorified, made exactly like Christ in an instant. Now Paul uses, moves from this kind of death and life moves to the metaphor of clothing, putting on, putting off. Another way of saying is clothe yourself, take off and put on. Verse five, therefore consider, reckon the members of your earthly body as dead to sexual immorality. This is the word pornea, fornication, impurity, which is a general, it's a wider perversion. It covers a lot of things. Passion, lust, Evil desire. This is illicit. Anything, any desire that is amiss from the glory of God. And greed, covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these things, the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience. Now we know from scripture that there is the coming wrath, judgment day, but that the wrath of God abides even now on those who practice these things. and that they're storing up wrath in heaven. Verse seven, and in them, in these impurities, passions, fornication, immorality, evil desires, in these, you also once walked when you were living in them, but now you also Lay them all aside. Rid yourself of these things. Get rid of them. Toss them up. Wrath, which rage. Anger, this is chronic, smoldering hatred. Malice, this is the smoldering root that lies behind wrath and anger. slander, speaking false evil of others, abusive speech, filthy language from your mouth. Do not lie to one another since you put off the old man with its evil practices and have put on the new man who is being renewed to a full knowledge according to the image of the one who created him. That's Christ. A renewal, meaning a full knowledge of, in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jews, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free man, but Christ is all and in all. There are no longer any barriers between brothers and sisters in Christ because Christ destroyed those barriers. I wish the woke church of today would spend five minutes reading this text. Now, Paul moves on from saying, put off, remove, rid yourself of, and tells us what we need to put on. Tells us we need to put on the new man. Why? Because you're a new creation. He says, act like one. Again, this is where he's saying, because of who you are, because you are unleavened, get the leaven out. Because you are a new creation, act like one. Verse 12, so as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on, clothe yourself with a heart of compassion, tender sympathy, kindness, humility, this is a lowly attitude towards God, gentleness, this is a meekness or a lowly attitude towards others, and patience, this is self-restraint or responding properly when provoked. Bearing with one another, put up with each other, practice the character traits that he just mentioned and graciously forgiving each other. Whoever has a complaint here, I'm going to say something here. The person doesn't have to say, I'm sorry, or apologize in order for you to forgive. You are commanded to forgive. It doesn't matter what they did to you, or if they ever even know or recognize or admit they did anything wrong to you. A true believer keeps no lists. You see, mercy, grace is giving something to somebody that they don't deserve. Mercy is not making somebody pay for what they did. We have received grace and mercy. How can we not? Also extend that to brothers and sisters in Christ. And graciously forgiving each other. Whoever has a complaint against you, just as the Lord graciously forgave you, so also should you. There's no room for keeping accounts or holding grudges among believers. Absolutely no room. Above all these things, put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. Paul says, the greatest of these is love. True Christian love covers all the aforementioned character traits that Paul is telling them to put on. Verse 15, and let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts. If you have unforgiveness, if you're holding a grudge, You can't have the peace of Christ in your heart. To which indeed you were called in one body and be thankful. The closer you are to Christ, the closer you will be to your brothers and sisters in Christ. Let the word of Christ, the scriptures dwell, abide, remain in you richly, meaning fully and completely. with all wisdom, teaching and admonishing. In other words, here's counseling one another with Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with gratefulness in your hearts. 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. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. That should give you pause. before you say a harsh word, before you react in anger, before you do something you shouldn't. Everything we do in word and deed must be done in the name of the Lord Jesus. If we would just stop and think that before we act or before we call somebody back or before we fire off an email, Now, the Apostle Paul moves here, chapter three, verses 18 through 46. He talks about the practical. Again, this is the practical outworking. How do we apply everything that he's talked about? The supremacy of Christ, that we're forgiven, that we've been, we're inheritors with the saints and light. I mean, all of these, these deep theological truths that should make our heart just leap with joy. But you've got to take these truths and now say, okay, Now what? And the apostle says, okay, let me tell you. Now that you've absorbed, that you've reckoned, that you've considered all of these truths to be true about Christ and about you and who you are and him having died, you're a new creation. How do we live it out? So he tells us how to implement these truths on a daily basis. First off, verse 18 and 19, let's see. Well, we're going to, we're going to go through. So first of all, how to conduct yourselves in a private, in your private daily life. Wives be subject to, or willingly submit to your husbands as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands love your wives. As we see in other epistles, how? As Christ loved the church and do not be embittered against them. Don't be harsh with them. Children, Obey your parents in all things, for this is pleasing to the Lord. The Old Testament akins disobedience to parents as rebellion against God. Fathers and mothers, do not exasperate, do not provoke or intentionally irritate your children so that they will not lose heart, so they will not be discouraged in doing good, in obedience. Slaves, in the modern day setting, this could be employees. In fact, it absolutely directly applies to employees. Slaves, employees, in all things, not some things, not when you like what they say, in all things, obey those who are your masters, your bosses, your employers, according to the flesh. Not with eye service as man pleasers. Don't be fake. Don't just perform when the boss is looking. but with integrity of heart. Why? And how? Fearing the Lord. Don't fear your boss, don't fear your employer, fear the Lord. Whatever you do, do your work heartily, joyfully, completely, fully, as for the Lord, rather than for men. You're not working for a paycheck, you're not working to please your boss, you're working for the Lord. He has not called everyone to pastor. He has not called everyone to be an evangelist or a missionary. God has put you in the arena that you were in, accountant, lawyer, doctor, whatever it is. God has placed you there. And you are to be salt and light where he's placed you. And you are to work with integrity of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, do your work heartily as the Lord, rather than for men, knowing what that from the Lord, you will receive the reward of the inheritance, serve the Lord Christ for he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong, which he has done. And that without partiality, the apostle Paul here addresses proper motives, proper attitudes, and appropriate conduct of a Christian in the workplace. First chapter four, verse one, He doesn't just talk to employees, to slaves. He talks to the bosses, talks to the man. Masters, show to your slaves what is right and fair, knowing that you too have a master in heaven, just as the slave is to work or the employees to work as it to the Lord, the masters to be fair and just in their treatment of those who are under their watch care. Chapter four, verse two. How to perfect your prayer life and prayer requests. Devote yourselves to prayer. Devote, devotion. How do we devote? Devote, meaning you make it an intentional part of your day. You are devoted. That's why they call it devotions, right? Every morning I get them, do my devotions. Devoted means you're committed to. You're in 100%, devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful in it. Praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word so that we may speak the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been bound, that I may make it manifest in the way I ought to speak. This is the Apostle Paul. If you all ever wonder what to pray for me before and during a trip, this is it. This is it. How to conduct yourself in public life. So we talked about how to conduct yourself in private life, in the workplace and at home. Now in public life, he addresses this. Walk in wisdom towards outsiders, redeeming the time. We're to be wise in our dealings with those outside the church. And we're to make the most of our opportunity. In this case, it has the inference of if you've got seeds and you've got time, go and sow. Meaning use your time wisely. Don't fritter away your time. Let your words always be with grace, seasoned with salt, so that you will know how to answer each person. We should be ready in season and out to give an answer to anyone and everyone who asks for the reason of our hope. First Peter. Now the Apostle Paul here goes into a lengthy, see y'all later, a salutation. But he gives a ministerial update, final request, and encouragement. As we read this final section, please pay close attention to Paul's genuine love, his Christian maturity, and his caring attitude towards those who labored with him in the gospel. So easy to get to the end of an epistle, and it's like, you know, hi, Paul, you know, Timothy says hi, and you just like zip through it. But let's look at how the Apostle Paul is in his writing to say goodbye to the, you know, to dismiss himself from this letter. He is pointing attention to his brothers in Christ and encouraging the Colossians and the Laodiceans and those of Hierapolis, Hieropolans, how to behave towards these men. Tychicus, verse seven. Tychicus, our beloved brother and faithful servant and fellow slave in the Lord, will make known to you all my affairs, whom I have sent to you for this very purpose, that you may know about our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts. And with him, Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will inform you about our whole situation here. Paul's envoy, his messengers, Tychicus and Onesimus, if you want to read about Onesimus, read the book of Philemon. He was a runaway slave. who had come to know the Lord. And the apostle Paul beseeches and tells Philemon, he was useless to you. He was a runaway slave, but now he is useful to you and he's been useful to me. And Paul encourages him to receive him as a brother. So he says that Tychicus and Onesimus will be delivering this letter and they would be giving a report to the churches in the Lycus Valley about Paul's circumstances. Verse 10. Aristarchus of the Thessalonians, this is who accompanied Paul on his first missionary journey. My fellow prisoners send you his greetings and also Mark, the cousin of Barnabas, about whom you received instructions. If he comes to you, welcome him. This is the Mark that abandoned Paul on his first missionary journey. Can you imagine how quick the, I mean, you know, in small town, Texas, you know, you cross your eyes the wrong way and everybody's going to hear about it. The Christian, the churches, it was not millions of people. And if you failed at something, the word got around. So here's Mark, who had abandoned Paul in his first missionary journey. And we can only assume that all of these churches had heard about Mark. Paul lovingly wanted to make sure that the Colossians and anyone reading this letter knew that Mark had been restored forgiven and was to be received graciously. That just shows the Apostle Paul's love. Mark was a young man. He blew it, but he was restored and the Apostle Paul not only forgave him, but then he commenced them, commenced him to these churches. Verse 11, and also Jesus, who is called Justice. These are the only fellow workers for the kingdom of God who are from the circumcision, meaning the Jewish believers, and they have proved to be a comfort to me. Epaphras, like Onesimus, was one of your number, who is one of your number, meaning he was a Colossian, a slave of Christ Jesus, send you his greetings, always striving for you in his prayers that you may stand complete and fully assured in all the will of God. For I testify for him that he has a deep concern for you and for those who are in Laodicea and Hierapolis. Luke, the beloved physician, send you his greetings and also Demas. Greet the brothers who are in Laodicea and also Nympha and the church that is in her house. And when this letter is read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans. And you, for your part, read my letter that is coming from Laodicea and say to Archippus, take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord that you may fulfill it. This greeting is in my own hand. Paul, remember my chains, grace. So this epistle, not exposes, but proclaims the majesty, the uniqueness, and the supremacy of Christ. It's also a call to discernment. It's a call to being wary. Not only taking every thought captive, but examining what anybody who comes in the name of God and says in the name of God is actually saying what scripture says. A lot of people say, well, I'll just, you know, yeah, he's got to said some dumb things. I'll just chew up the meat and spit out the bones. Pastor has said this before that you need to find people, pastors, teachers that are consistently accurate in their handling of the texts. If I had a glass of water here, and I don't know who used this originally, pure water. I put one drop of poison in it. I said, here, there's only one drop of poison. That one drop of poison makes that complete glass undrinkable. So look for teachers who are consistently accurate in handling the scripture. Read your Bibles. I'm not for vaccinations, but that is the only vaccination to prevent you getting sick by a false teacher is to know your Bibles and read your Bibles. Remember who you are in Christ. Put off the old man. Put on the new man. And these are not the do-do-do's and the don't-don't-don't's. This is you realizing that you can do none of that except for complete and utter reliance upon Christ and the Holy Spirit. And who's the author of scripture? The Holy Spirit. So you want to know how you should act, what you should put off, what you should put on? Read the word. Meditate on the word. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for these epistles. We thank you that we can see the Apostle Paul's heart from a man who was breathing out murders and persecuting the church and persecuting you, to this man who suffered much and was humbled, but who had a pastoral heart, who had a heart of concern and care that he even said that he struggled on behalf of these churches that he had never even seen because he had heard about the false teachings that were coming in. So Father, help us to have a heart like that for one another. We thank you for our pastor. Thank you for Philip's love for your word and his commitment to proclaiming it rightly Father, we're so grateful that we don't have a pastor who plays fast and loose with the word. Father, use us to share this glorious gospel with others as we go throughout our day so that you will receive the glory and the honor due your name. Thank you for all these things in Jesus' name.