Words of Life

I’d like to tell you a story
this morning. This is a story that begins with
a fiery zealot named Saul, who was dramatically converted, as
you know, while he was busy persecuting Christians. After the Lord took
this man aside and trained and seasoned him, he set him about
to proclaim salvation by faith in Christ, and to plant churches
across the then populated world. He was a tremendously gifted
and greatly used apostle who gave his life by evangelizing
cities and regions and countries. Except for the Lord Jesus Christ,
no other person in the world has had such an impactful life
for the proclamation of God’s redemption in Christ. But while
this story begins with the Apostle Paul, it is not about him. Nor is it a story about Paul’s
very outgoing acquaintance, an individual named Epaphras. He
must have been among those who were touched by the message that
Paul had preached. He was originally from the hill
country to the east of Ephesus, and it’s most likely that Paul
and Epaphras’ paths providentially crossed while Paul was laboring
for Christ in Ephesus. From what we gather, it seems
probable that Epaphras must have become a Christian during Paul’s
ministry there, and then in time, he ventured back to his homeland
in Colossae, and he went bearing the message of good news. After
all, he was one of them. So there’s no better suggestion
than that Epaphras was the planter of the church in Colossae. He
may well have been a planter of other churches nearby, Laodicea
and Hierapolis, but this story is not about Epaphras, nor is
it a story about the Colossian people, the people who eagerly
received the good news that Epaphras and Paul were preaching, Even
from what we gathered in our initial reading of this letter,
we see this little church as solid and faithful. And in this particular passage
that we’ve begun to study, verses 3 through 8, Paul speaks of the
Colossians again and again. Nine times he references them
in these opening verses. Allow me to just show you this
briefly. If you’re in the book of Colossians,
just glance down, and I just want to show you how often he
uses that personal pronoun in the plural, you. If you’re in chapter one, verse
three, look at the end there of verse three, praying always
for you. He singles out the Colossians. Verse four, he explains why,
since we heard of your faith. There in the middle of verse
four, the love which you have. And then in verse five, because
of the hope laid up for you. Later on in verse five, of which
you previously heard. And then, in verse 6, near the
end there, well at the beginning he says that this gospel has
come to you, and then at the end he says that this gospel
has been at work in you also since the day that you heard
of it. Then one additional time in verse
7, just as you learned it from Epaphras. And yet, Even though
nine times Paul references this church and speaks to them and
of them, this church is not the story. Even though this church
was small and obscure, she would catch the apostle Paul’s attention. She was this quiet little church
who just took God at his word. Although she maintained a low
profile, Her eventual impact through this letter that Paul
wrote them was tremendous, even down to our day. And this is
so much like God, isn’t it? We think immediately of King
David, compared with Saul, the little shepherd David, where God explained man looks
at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart. Colossae was a church that was
insignificant in the world’s eyes, but precious in God’s. But the story Paul wants to tell
isn’t about even the faithful little church of Colossae, nor
is this story about all three of those entities combined. Paul, Epaphras, and the Colossian
church, it sounds like a fantastic story, It is a fantastic story. According to God’s plan, these
three had become connected in, of all places, Rome, Italy. Paul
was under house arrest there. Epaphras makes this long journey,
arduous journey, to come and visit Paul on behalf of the Colossian
church. And for all concerned, this had
to be a thrilling moment. Just think of it. It must have
been thrilling for Paul to learn of the unstoppable spread of
the gospel that God had used his fellow worker in the ministry
to establish a church in his own hometown. It must have been
thrilling for Epaphras to come before the great apostle with
the joyous story of success and to have access to his counsel.
And it must have been thrilling for the Colossian church. Think
of this. Even though they are not present,
just to have their name brought before the great apostle, let
alone to have him graciously affirm them, and then to enter
into their concerns, and above all, to have Paul take the time
to communicate his thoughts to them in a letter. Must have been
a thrilling. experience for them. But no,
the story that we need to hear this morning isn’t about Paul
or Epaphras or the Colossian church or even all three. The
story that Paul wants to tell us this morning is about the
gospel and its incredible work in the lives of those it touches. This is a story of the gospel. if God’s people would once again
glance down, if your Bibles are open, to Colossians chapter one,
to this amazing letter to the Colossians. We’ve begun our study
in this epistle, engaging with that opening section briefly,
and we resume this section, verses three through eight, this morning,
the latter half. If you would, just read along
with me. 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,
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 increasing. even as it has been doing in
you also since the day you heard of it and understood the grace
of God in truth. Just as you learned it from Epaphras,
our beloved fellow bondservant, who is a faithful servant of
Christ on our behalf, and he has also informed us of your
love in the Spirit. So following his greeting, as
Paul almost always does, he expresses his gratitude to God for the
blessings bestowed. In this letter, in verses three
through eight, he expresses his gratefulness for God’s grace
poured out upon the Colossian people. This is one long running
sentence, and it focuses entirely on the theme of God’s grace in
saving the people of Colossae. And we acknowledged that even
though the word salvation is never used in this section, that
is Paul’s subject. In verse four, he tells them
that he’s heard of their faith in Christ Jesus, They supernaturally
love all the saints. Their settled hope is in heaven. And then at the end of verse
five, Paul makes clear that this was only possible because they
had heard the word of truth, the gospel. No doubt about it,
Paul is acknowledging the grace of God in their salvation. This is what prompts Paul’s expression
of thanksgiving. God had done the work of salvation
in the people of this little mountain town in Colossae, and
he did it by means of the gospel. Well, so as we will see, this
story that Paul is telling is not about himself. It’s not about
Paul. It’s not about Epaphras. It’s
not even about the Colossian believers. It’s a story about
the gospel and its work in them all. The Colossians, its work
in Epaphras, and its work in Paul himself. The latter half
of this section, verses five through eight, Paul will articulate
four magnificent features of the gospel. Let’s begin in the
first of those, where the first of the four magnificent aspects
of this wonderful message is the inherent trustworthiness
of the gospel. The inherent trustworthiness
of the gospel. And you see it where Paul says
there in verse five, of which you previously heard in the word
of truth, the gospel. Paul begins with this very precise
and tremendously clarifying statement. Here, in the latter half of verse
5, when he utilizes this pronoun, which, of which you previously
heard, he’s tying back into something that he’s just said. And the
specific reference that he ties back into is the hope that was
laid up for them as believers, the hope in heaven, the hope
of eternal life. And as we were reminded last
week, these three graces, faith, love, and hope, are so intertwined
that we cannot enjoy one without also enjoying the others. And
so, They had not only previously heard of hope, the hope of eternal life, they’d
also previously heard of the foundational necessity of faith. They had previously heard of
the natural affection of love which they were to have for their
fellow believers. And they heard about all of these
things through the gospel message that was proclaimed to them.
Paul wasn’t writing the Colossians to proclaim the gospel. He’s
not evangelizing the Colossian people, because as he acknowledges
here, they have already learned and embraced the good news of
salvation. They had previously heard of
faith, love, and hope through the message of the gospel. The
people to whom he’s writing were already comfortably in Christ. They were believers. For a man
to be given, for a man who had been given, the awesome task
of proclaiming the gospel, this had to be a very humble approach. And it was quite affirming to
his fellow worker, Epaphras. Paul didn’t want to take credit
for the Colossians’ salvation. That credit was due largely to
the work of Epaphras. Epaphras had been obedient to
his own call and had long since disseminated the gospel in the
familiar territory of his own region. Souls had been saved. We reviewed and we were reminded
what the gospel is last Sunday. It’s good news about Jesus, who
had died for sinners, which promises salvation to those who embrace
him in faith. Simply put, that’s the gospel.
Now let’s consider how Paul characterizes the good news. He refers to the
gospel as the word of truth. and quite plainly by the word,
Paul is referring to the spoken word, the preached word, the
verbal message shared with the Colossian people. And when he
says, he says it this way, the word of truth, comma, the gospel,
he isn’t referring to two different things. He’s characterizing the
gospel as truth itself. He says it the same way in the
opening chapter of Ephesians. He calls the message of truth
the gospel of our salvation. This is the message that Epaphras
brought to the Colossians. Having received it himself by
the mouth of Paul, he brought the full and genuine message
of God. He brought the truth, the gospel. Other so-called preachers would
bring many strange and religious messages. Empty, disturbing, useless falsehoods. Epaphras brought the truth. When Paul refers to the gospel
here as the word of truth, he champions the inherent trustworthiness
of the gospel message. It’s divine truth. There’s another
magnificent feature of the gospel that Paul begins to tell us about
in verse six. And for this, I’m gonna ask for
a large measure of grace and patience. Because when I say
that Paul begins to tell us about it, it’s only because in mid-sentence
he breaks off to introduce another point. This is the way I see
it. If Paul does this, so should
I. So, I’ll introduce point two
as Paul does, then I’ll move quickly to the third point, and
then we’ll double back to Paul’s second point. Please bear with
me. I’ll keep you close, like little
babies. If I haven’t already completely
lost you, let me show you what I mean. Let me show you here
what Paul does and why I’m going to follow in his footsteps. If
you please glance at verse 6, there he ties his new thought
to the gospel, which he’s only just mentioned at the end of
verse 5, the gospel which has come to you. That’s how Paul
begins his second magnificent feature of the gospel. And his
second magnificent feature is the individual impact of the
gospel. The individual impact of the
gospel. It not only touches, but it miraculously
changes sinners’ lives. But, like a good and typical
pastor, he doesn’t finish his thought before he is off to discuss
and introduce another magnificent feature of the gospel. Point
three. Look at verse six, if you would, where he says, the
gospel which has come to you, and then he says, just as in
all the world it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing,
What Paul tells us about in this third magnificent feature is
the common effect of the gospel. And we find that feature right
there in the heart of verse six. Paul says it this way, it is
in the world also. Whatever particular impact the
gospel was having in the individual lives of the Colossians was the
same thing that was taking place in all the world. This effect
that the gospel produces, he says, is common. It is that regular,
universal, to-be-expected feature of gospel influence. Paul certainly
couldn’t be surprised by this miraculous action, and neither
should the Colossians. It is the common effect produced
wherever the gospel is received. Now remember, he hasn’t even
really completed his second point yet before he fully articulates
his third point, but what he does tell us is up front, Whatever
is true of the individual impact of the gospel is because it is
the common effect of the gospel. In other words, if it happens
to an individual, it’s only because it always happens. If you’d please
glance at that middle section of verse six, Paul connects these
two points with those transitional words, just as. just as you personally
have experienced these things, so also everyone touched by the
gospel has experienced these things. The result is to be expected. Paul wants to broaden the grasp
of the Colossians’ perspective on God’s work in the world. You
see, this gospel effect isn’t just a Colossian experience. Listen to the way that Paul says
it here, just as in all the world. Their unique was wonderful, marvelous,
incredible, but it wasn’t unique. When Paul says in all the world,
he’s obviously using hyperbole here, understandable exaggeration. That’s how I would put it. At
that time, Paul could not possibly mean every square inch of the
globe. In the opening chapter of Romans,
he makes the same basic statement. Your faith is being proclaimed
throughout the whole world. The gospel had gone forth across
lands and regions and seas and countries. And everywhere it
was established, it had the same effect. For the Colossians, what
a thrilling reality this was. that the gospel was having the
same effect everywhere else just as it was in and among them.
It’d be nothing short of confusing and destabilizing if the gospel
produced one result in one place and something else in another. That would produce chaos and
almost immediately pride. But from Jerusalem, to Antioch,
to Ephesus, to Corinth, even to Little Colossae, the gospel’s
effect was the same. Haven’t we, haven’t you had that
same wonderful experience meeting a new Christian for the first
time, a Christian from another area or another country even? And within minutes of conversing
We feel a certain oneness with them, don’t they? Don’t we? A
fellowship with them? We have the same experience.
Sinners who have found the incredible grace of God for salvation. This
is the proof of the gospel’s genuineness. The seed of the
gospel produces the same effect wherever it lands. What Paul
means is that the gospel experience is the same no matter our nationality. Wherever the gospel takes root,
the result is the same. It has the same inevitable effect. Just exactly what is that effect?
Glance again at the verse where Paul says that the gospel does
at least these two things. It is constantly bearing fruit
and it is increasing. Paul says that anywhere in the
world where the gospel takes root, it is going to do two things
at least. First, when he says that the
gospel is constantly bearing fruit, he’s drawing on Christ’s
own parable of the soils, almost certainly. Both of these words
that Paul uses, bearing fruit and increasing, they’re both
used by the synoptic writers telling the story of the parable
of the soils. We just considered that parable
last Lord’s Day in Sunday school. The bottom line of that parable
is that there’s nothing wrong with the seed A seasoned gardener knows very well not to buy cheap
discount seed. Most seeds have a shelf life
of about two years. They expire. But not this seed,
because this seed represents the gospel. The seed in the parable
of the sower is the gospel. It’s the good news. Nothing wrong
with the seed. Jesus’ parable is here. There’s
nothing wrong with the seed. And as for the sower, the one
scattering the seed, wherever he sows the good seed of the
gospel, some of that seed is going to find good soil and germinate
and grow and eventually bear fruit. It changes lives by saving
and sanctifying sinners. And Paul adds here that not only
does the good seed of the gospel bear fruit, it does it constantly. There’s a constant season of
growth for the believer. It never ends. It never stops
where a church has been planted. Just as in the botanical world,
a seed sprouts and becomes a plant, the plant eventually bears other
seed, and the process continues indefinitely. Paul says that
the gospel was bearing fruit and it was increasing. People
were being saved. They were growing in the Lord.
The church was growing and spreading. This truth is echoed in the progress
reports that are really peppered throughout the book of Acts.
Just listen, Acts 6-7. The word of God kept on spreading.
The number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem. And a great many of the priests
were becoming obedient to the faith. Acts 1224, the word of
the Lord continue to grow and be multiplied. Acts 19-20, so
the word of the Lord was growing mightily and prevailing. The gospel was increasing. It
was pressing into new territories and cities and new people groups
were being introduced to the gospel. More individuals were
being saved. This alone would have been a
great encouragement to Colossae. They were largely isolated from
the rest of the world. This Christianity into which
they had fallen, they must have held with a measure of exclusivity,
that it’s only us. They now realized that they were
part of a worldwide movement energized by God himself. God
was doing the same thing in the whole world. And now, if we might,
following Paul’s footsteps, let’s go back and take hold of Paul’s
second point. The individual impact of the
gospel, which he completes at the end of verse six. We have
so far, in these magnificent, aspects of the wonderful message
of the gospel. We have the inherent trustworthiness
of the gospel. We have the common, point three,
the common effect of the gospel. But look at the second promise,
the individual impact of the gospel. This is the point that
he’s making, and he starts it at the beginning of verse six,
which has come to you even as it has been doing in you also.
since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God
in truth. As I’ve mentioned, Paul initiates
this point at the beginning of verse six, that the gospel had
indeed come to the Colossians, and then he interjects his point
three, just as we just considered, and then he comes back around
to complete his second point at the end of verse six. Everybody
with me? He began his second point about
the gospel by reminding the Colossians of a point that we as believers
are often prone to forget. Speaking of the gospel, his last
words of verse five, he begins verse six by adding, it had come
to them. The gospel has come to you, he
says. This would have immediately reminded
the Colossian believers of the love and sovereignty of God. Many of you know that one of
my favorite stories, because it’s my story, is the story of
John chapter 9, where The Lord not only initiates his contact
with the blind man, but he seeks him out a second time to cure
not his physical blindness, but his spiritual blindness. That’s
God. God found you. You didn’t go looking for God
because you were as blind as the blind man. The gospel had
come even to the Colossians, a small out-of-the-way place. It had permeated. Paul has already
echoed this point by saying that it has done the same thing throughout
the world. This gospel, the good news of justification and forgiveness
of sins by faith in Jesus Christ, it is not an isolated, frenzied
fad. the latest flash-in-the-pan religious
idea to run through the land, and Colossae had many of them.
This is God’s wonderful plan of redemption, coursing through
the world, even to an out-of-the-way town like Colossae. But Paul says, Not only had the
gospel come to them, but it was also having the same exact effect
that it had on everyone everywhere else. Glance, please, down near
the end of verse six when he adds there, even as it has been
doing in you also. He’s tying back into what he
has just said in the middle of verse six, where he spoke of
the common effect of the gospel in all the world, The effect
that the gospel was having in Colossae was no different. Whenever
it was received, anywhere in the world, it was having this
same effect. And so it was in Colossae, even
as it has been doing in you also, Paul says, since the day you
heard of it. There was not only an initial
reception, but a sure and steady growth in the gospel influence. Just as it had done in Ephesus,
in Thessalonica, in Corinth, in Rome, the gospel was constantly
bearing fruit and increasing, and it was doing the same thing
in Colossae. And in a statement that would have immediately elicited
fond memories for the Colossian people, Paul says that this was
not just his opinion or conjecture. The Colossians could draw upon
their memories, their experience, because Paul says, since the
day you heard of the gospel. Many of you can remember the
first time that someone shared the gospel. It was a strange
experience for you, wasn’t it? You didn’t know what to make
of this message. It sounded too good to be true. It still does.
Paul paints a beautiful picture of their conversion here. Not
only did they hear the good news proclaimed by God’s grace and
his spirit, they understood the grace of God in truth. It was
a miraculous thing, like a lightning bolt. The Colossians heard, they
thought about what they had heard, and they received the gospel
in faith. They took it in. This reminds
us very much of the reception of the gospel by the Thessalonians,
doesn’t it? Paul characterizes it there.
They accepted it, not as the word of men, But for what it
really is, the Word of God, which performs its work in you who
believe. This was a supernatural event,
as all conversions are. Epaphras’ message, just like
Paul’s, was a message of grace, a declaration of salvation by
God’s grace. We could even rightly think of
the grace of God as a synonym for the gospel. This message
of grace stood solidly against humanity’s constant attempt to
devise a method of reaching out to God in order to please Him
by our deeds. This gospel stood completely
in contrast to that. When Paul met with the Ephesian
elders in Acts 20, he said that his only desire was to finish
his course, the ministry which he had received from the Lord
Jesus Christ, get this, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the
grace of God. The grace of God is a synonym
for the gospel. The message of the gospel is
a message of God’s grace. And so when Paul saw others fulfilling
the same mission like Epaphras was doing on his behalf, he was
quick to commend him. Epaphras was preaching the gospel,
the same gospel that Paul likely had preached to him. Well, as
promised, there’s a fourth magnificent feature of the gospel. And we
find it in verses seven and eight. We have the inherent trustworthiness
of the gospel. Secondly, we have the individual
impact of the gospel. Thirdly, we have the common effect
of the gospel. And fourthly, we have the personal
communication of the gospel. Would you look at verses seven
and eight, just as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved
fellow servant, who is our faithful servant of Christ on our behalf,
and he also informed us of your love in the Spirit. This is a
point that we’ve established in our initial review of this
passage, that Epaphras was the faithful bond servant from whom
the Colossians had learned the gospel Paul underscores that
right here. When he says, just as, here in
the beginning of verse seven again, he now points back to
his statement at the end of verse six. They had indeed heard and
understood the grace of God in truth. It was the genuine gospel
that they had welcomed into their hearts. The gospel, the word
of truth, as Paul calls it in verse five, the grace of God
in truth, They had, it had been faithfully preached among them. Divine truth had come to them. This statement serves as Paul’s affirmation
of this Epaphras, that not only did Epaphras come, but he was
faithful and he preached the true gospel. What confidence
this would give to these believers. Epaphras had preached, the Colossians
had received the very true and genuine gospel of God. No wonder Paul calls him a beloved
fellow servant, a faithful servant of Christ. A bond servant, a
household slave in Paul’s day. He wasn’t just a grunt. He wasn’t
just out digging a ditch, doing all the difficult chores of the
household. He was a trusted friend, and
he had specific responsibilities. That’s what a bond servant was. Epaphras had attended to his
duties with great devotion and thoroughness. He had served the
Colossian people with faithfulness by telling of the one true gospel. He held nothing back. He added
nothing. Paul adds that he was a faithful
servant of Christ. He was a servant of Christ, not
Paul. The Lord Jesus was his master.
and his master was the one that ultimately found him to be faithful. Paul has said here that the Colossians
had heard the word of the truth, the gospel, it had come to them,
and that was directly because of Epaphras’ faithfulness in
doing so. God didn’t send a message independent
of human means. Epaphras went, sent by God, infused
by God, indwelled by the Spirit of God, with the Word of God,
the message of God’s redemption, and he proclaimed God’s truth. Do we realize that God doesn’t
need us for this amazing process of communicating the gospel?
God doesn’t need us. In an instant, by the Holy Spirit,
God could impart the saving knowledge of the gospel to everyone on
the face of the planet, instantly. God doesn’t need us, but in his
grace and kindness, he has chosen to include us in this happy privilege
of involving us in spreading the good news of God’s redemption. through Christ. Epaphras was
a two-way messenger. He preached on behalf of Christ
and Paul. He brought Paul the good news
of the Colossians. And one of the wonderful things
he shared about this church was that the Holy Spirit was producing
in them an indisputable work of God’s Spirit, brotherly love. What a remarkable story. Story
not about Paul, not about Epaphras, not about the Colossians, and
not even about all three. It’s the story of the gospel.
Would you humble yourself as we rejoice?