Praying with Paul, Part I

Colossians • Sermon • Submitted 5 years ago

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In Colossians 1:3-14, the apostle Paul gives two keys to faithfully praying for God's family: thanksgiving and interceding.

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Introduction

By way of introduction, open your Bibles to . In this passage, Paul is giving his final charge to the congregation, telling them to prepare for spiritual warfare by putting on the full armor of God. Read with me in verse 18.

Introduction

Ephesians 6:18 NASB95

With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 6

With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,

19and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel,

20for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 6

18With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 6

which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 6

18With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,

19and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel,

20for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

This verse is the capstone of the prior discourse on the armor of God. “At all times” we’re called to pray in the Spirit. Not just one time. Not just some times. But “at all time.” In order to be an effective Christian soldier, our prayer lives must be consistent and persistent.

Now look at the rest of verse 18: “with all perseverance and petition for all the saints...” Not just one saint. Not just some saints. But “all the saints.” In order to be an effective Christian soldier, our prayer lives must be consistent and persistent and others-centered.

But if we’re honest, our prayer lives don’t often match up to that standard, do they? Far too often, our prayer lives tend to be inconsistent, lack persistence, and self-centered. This is a problem that all of us face, and it’s because prayer is contradictory to our sinful nature. Prayer is a foreign concept to our prideful hearts.

A subset of that pride in our hearts is self-reliance. Self-reliance keeps us from prayer because it tells us that we can do life all by ourselves. Who needs God when you’re self-made? Even believers can struggle with this heart issue when they lose sight of how wicked they were before God saved them.

That

In addition to self-reliance, self-absorption is another heart issue that keeps us from prayer. Self-absorption says that nobody matters except me, myself, and I. Who can even think about serving others when you haven’t been served yourself? Believers too have to fight this heart issue when they lose sight of how selfish they were and are in comparison to how selfless Christ was and is.

In light of that, how exactly do we obey and pray in a manner that’s consistent, persistent, and most importantly, others-centered, when our tendency is to be the opposite way?

Well, the apostle Paul was well-aware of these sinful tendencies that come natural to our hearts. His prescription for our affliction in prayer was a simple one, but a profound one. In , Paul provides two keys to praying faithfully for the family of God: thanksgiving and interceding.

WHAT

Read in with me, from verse 3 to verse 14.

Colossians 1:3–14 NASB95

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 bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf, and he also informed us of your love in the Spirit. For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 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 the saints in Light. For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

...

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 1

3We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,

4since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints;

5because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel

6which 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;

7just as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf,

8and he also informed us of your love in the Spirit.

9For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

10so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;

11strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously

12giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.

13For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,

14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Let’s set the stage together before we dive in.

WHO / WHEN / WHERE

We know the apostle Paul wrote this letter to the Colossian church while on house arrest in Rome, sometime between 60-62 AD. We also know that Timothy, his protege, was right there with him as an assistant.

WHEN

WHERE

WHY

Also, Paul had never met this group of believers before. Last time, we looked at how Paul overcame that hurdle in his greeting from verses 1-2.

So, after connecting with them based on their commonality in the family of God in the introduction, Paul then wanted to let the Colossians know that they’ve actually been on his mind for quite some time. In fact, ever since the day he heard that their church existed. And, his response to hearing about them leaves us a wonderful example to follow today.

We know that every effective Christian soldier has a prayer life that is consistent, persistent, & others-centered. All of us want a prayer life like that. But how do we get there? What do we pray for? How do we pray for it?

Here in , Paul provides two keys to praying for the family of God faithfully: thanksgiving and interceding.

HOW

Thanksgiving / Εὐχαριστοῦμεν ()

The first key to faithfully praying for God’s family is thanksgiving… thanksgiving.

What is thanksgiving? Our first thought is probably about the holiday, isn’t it? Well, I think Paul and the Colossians were around a long time before the Pilgrims first ate turkey with the Indian tribes, so that’s out of the question. So what is thanksgiving? Thanksgiving is literally what it says - the act of giving thanks.

INTERPRETATION

The first key to faithfully praying for God’s family is thanksgiving… thanksgiving.

Look at verse 3 with me.

Colossians 1:3 NASB95

We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,

This word meaning “give thanks” can be understood as the act of giving, returning, or expressing thankfulness to someone or something.

In this context, Paul is using this word to describe what he expresses to God in prayer because of all God has done in the Colossians.

John 11:41 NASB95

So they removed the stone. Then Jesus raised His eyes, and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.

Romans 1:8 NASB95

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world.

:41Rom. 1:81 Thess. 5:18

Rom. 1:81 Thess. 5:18

1 Thessalonians 5:18 NASB95

in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Thess. 5:18

EXPLANATION

With this statement, Paul is informing the Colossians of his love and care for them. He may be on house arrest in Rome, some 1300 miles away, but that doesn’t stop him from ministering to them however he can. The Colossians would’ve been floored to learn that the famed apostle Paul himself was praying for them. And not just a one-time prayer, or a quick mention every once in a while among all of his other prayers, but rather he was “praying always” for them. What a thought!

To understand just how big of a deal this was, we have to think about the sheer size of Paul’s ministry. Paul went on at least 4 missionary journeys across the Roman Empire and through his ministry in Ephesus, the gospel reached all of Asia Minor, according to .

He planted countless churches across the Empire as well. In addition to praying consistently and persistently for each one of the ones he pastored, he also kept tabs on them frequently! So for Paul to say to the Colossians, a regular church in a regular city, “We give thanks to God… praying always for you”, that would’ve been a very big deal. The Colossians would have been powerfully encouraged by the reality that the apostle Paul recognized and commended their faith for its authenticity.

But the reality is this: although Paul was a ministry workhorse… Although he labored intensely in prayer… Although he studied the Scriptures thoroughly… None of those things made his ministry successful. They may have made him a more useful vessel for the Lord, but nothing he did or was made his ministry successful. God’s grace was the driving force behind his ministry. God’s grace is the driving force behind all ministry.

We can never forget that we ourselves are just messengers! All we do is repeat a message that’s already been communicated. All I do myself is explain what God has already said in His Word. At the end of the day, none of us can cause spiritual transformation. Only the grace of God can do that.

This reality should drive us to our knees in prayer. Why? Because God saves sinners. God sustains growth. And God grows His church. So, whenever we hear of any transforming work that God is doing, whether locally or globally, our natural response should be to rejoice, fall to our knees, and give thanks for what God has done.

So we have to ask ourselves: If the apostle Paul, on house arrest, responsible for hundreds of sheep in God’s flock across the Empire, was able to pray consistently, persistently, and with a focus on the spiritual well-being of God’s family, then what’s our excuse? A lot of times, it’s not that we don’t have the ability to pray like Paul, but we lack the desire and effort to do so.

So, we’ve seen that thankfulness to God is a key to faithfully praying for the family of God. But what drives us to that thankfulness anyway? Here, Paul’s thanksgiving is spurred by three motivators: divine faith, divine love, and divine hope.

We give thanks because of faith / πίστιν ()

The first motivator for Paul’s thanksgiving is divine faith… divine faith.

Read with me in verse 4.

Colossians 1:4 NASB95

since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints;

“since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus...” Paul is telling the Colossians that he started giving thanks to God as soon as the report came back to him about their budding faith in Christ.

INTERPRETATION

“Faith” here can be understood as strong confidence in and reliance upon someone or something.

In this context, Paul highlights the Colossians’ confidence in Christ as something to give thanks to God for.

Romans 4:4–5 NASB95

Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness,

...

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 4

Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due.

5But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness,

1 Corinthians 2:4–5 NASB95

and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.

Galatians 2:19–20 NASB95

“For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God. “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 2

4and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,

5so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 2

“For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God.

20“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

EXPLANATION

At first, it might seem confusing that Paul consistently and persistently gave thanks to God for the Colossians’ faith. Isn’t that redundant? Of course they have faith in Christ! Otherwise he wouldn’t be writing to them.

Well, Paul gave thanks for their faith for this reason: Faith is a product of God’s grace.

The dual nature of faith is highlighted by Paul here in verse 4. He says “your faith”, showing that the Colossians actively have to exercise faith in Christ. But, how did they get that faith? Look down at verse 6: “since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth”. God first gave them faith when they understood His grace in the gospel!

Last time, we looked what grace is: a unilateral action of salvation that is done by God alone. Once God’s grace acts in a sinner, they are granted faith in Christ, and once they have that faith in Christ, they exercise that faith in Christ on a daily basis.

This faith in Christ can be compared to a childlike dependence. This dependence is the complete opposite of the self-reliance that we talked about earlier. You wanna grow your faith? Then grow in your understanding of the sinfulness of your sin. Grow in your understanding of your inability to do good. Grow in your understanding of your need for a Savior.

So, Paul is highlighting an obvious reality: God doesn’t have to give grace! He isn’t obligated to grant faith to anyone. But we need it. And we need it badly. As a result, if anyone has faith in Christ, it is truly nothing short of a miracle. Why wouldn’t we give thanks to God for that? Who wouldn’t want to give thanks to God for that? Especially because they are now a new member of God’s family. Gaining a new sibling in the eternal family of God should cause us to rejoice! So: divine faith is always one of the main motivations for us to give thanks to God.

EXPLANATION

We give thanks because of love / ἀγάπην ()

We’ve seen that the first key to faithfully praying for God’s family is thanksgiving. We’ve also seen that there are three divine motivations to give thanks to God. The first was divine faith. The second motivation for giving thanks to God is divine love… divine love.

INTERPRETATION

This word for “love” can be understood as a strong, non-romantic affection and regard for another person and their good as understood by God’s moral character, and is especially characterized by a willing forfeit of rights or privileges on another’s behalf. This love is one of a few different words used to describe “love” in the NT, and it is the purest form of love there is, agape love.

In this context, Paul give thanks to God for the Colossians’ passionate and sacrificial love for the body of Christ that resembles the love of God Himself.

John 13:35 NASB95

“By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

John 15:15 NASB95

“No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 13

35“By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

...

Romans 5:8 NASB95

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 15

15“No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 5

8But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

EXPLANATION

Love can simply be defined as just that: While we hated Him, Christ died for us. Let that sink in for a moment. While we hated Him, Christ died for us.

The truths found here are absolutely profound. There is no love outside of God. God is love, says. Not in a cheesy way, like some churches talk about God’s love today, but in a spiritual way. In a real way. In a powerful way.

God’s grace always manifests sacrificial love in true believers. According to Paul here, we can know if we have divine love in us by the love we show to our brothers and sisters in God’s family.

The Colossians had this Christlike love. And anyone who was around them knew it. How? Look at again: “love which you have for all the saints”. Their divine love was evident by the sacrificial love they had shown to all of the body of Christ.

And if we’re honest with ourselves, can we really say that we’ve experienced any true love outside of Christ? I mean really. Because we’re made in God’s image, we intrinsically know what love is supposed to be like, but sadly, due to our sinful natures, we’re hopelessly unable to actually love the way God loves. So our love is marred. It’s not really love at all. More often than not, what we call “love” is really just an emotional affection for someone or something. But that “love” is conditional based on whether its reciprocated or if the object of our affections keeps feeding our desires.

God’s grace always manifests sacrificial love in true believers. According to Paul here, we can know if we have divine love in us by the love we show to our brothers and sisters in God’s family.

But the love Paul is talking about here? This love is unconditional. Agape love serves others when they don’t serve you back. Agape love moves towards others who move away from you. Agape love gives up their preferences to serve the preferences of others. Does our love look like that? Or is our love for others more “conditional” than “unconditional”?

IMPLICATION

We give thanks because of hope / ἐλπίδα ()

So… we’ve seen that the first key to praying for God’s family faithfully is thanksgiving. That thanksgiving to God is driven by three motivators. We looked at the first motivator, which was divine faith. The second motivator was divine love. The third motivator is this: divine hope.

This is where Paul camps out the most in this passage. Much to our shame, divine hope is a doctrine we don’t pay as much attention to as we should, because of how much we want to avoid fights over the end times. But divine hope is truly the one of the most powerful truths around for the Christian life.

INTERPRETATION

Look here at verses 5-8 with me.

Colossians 1:5–8 NASB95

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 bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf, and he also informed us of your love in the Spirit.

“Hope” here can be understood as someone or something on which expectations are centered.

Go back to the start of verse 5. “Hope” here can be understood as someone or something on which expectations are centered.

In this context, Paul gives thanks to God for the Colossians’ new expectation of being revealed in glory when Christ is revealed in glory Himself.

Romans 8:24–25 NASB95

For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.

Titus 1:1–2 NASB95

Paul, a bond-servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness, in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago,

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 8

24For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees?

25But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 1

1Paul, a bond-servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness,

2in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago,

EXPLANATION

Every believer in the room should be swelling with joy in their hearts because of this reality, and the Colossians would have felt the same way. That’s what this is all about! “The hope laid up for you in heaven.” In , Paul says that “if we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.” But, our hope isn’t in this life only, is it? No. Our hope is in hid with Christ on high. And He’s coming back for His people. And when He comes, He will reveal Himself, in all glory, and we will be revealed in glory with Him. Now that’s good news.

And speaking of “good news”, that’s where this hope in heaven comes from - “the word of truth, the gospel”! Look at Colossians 1:5-6 with me.

Colossians 1:5–6 NASB95

Col.

What is this gospel? The good news of salvation through Jesus Christ! God the Son came and dwelt among man; living a perfect, sinless life; dying the death of a criminal on a cross; bearing the weight of sinful man on that cross to purchase back His people; rising on the third day to conquer sin and death; sitting at the right hand of God the Father, interceding for His people as a Great High Priest; and now preparing for the day of His return, where He will come back for His people and establish His throne.

This gospel has immense power. How do we know? Continue in verse 6. “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...”

You and I can trust that the gospel will never return void. The gospel may harden hearts at FGCU, but many can tell you, it’s softening hearts in China. The gospel may harden hearts in Naples but I can tell you, it’s softening hearts in West Palm Beach. You and I can truly trust that the gospel will never return void.

In addition to working globally, it’s working in us! If you’re a true believer, the divine power of the gospel is evident in you! Look at your life - If you’re born again, you’re a new creation, and it’ll be obvious! Divine faith - divine love - divine hope - those should all be evident in you based on the pattern of your life!

The Colossians didn’t have to brag about themselves, either. Their pastor did for them. Look at verses 7-8. “Just as you learned it from Epaphras… and he informed us of your love in the Spirit.” says, “let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.” Let the Colossians example here be an example for all of us. Look at verse 7: “our beloved bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf...” Paul considered Epaphras, the founder of the Colossian church, one of his main brothers in ministry. Epaphras was the real deal. And this same Epaphras testified to the apostle Paul himself that the believers in Colossae were the real deal - they were bearing fruit and displaying child-like faith in Christ, sacrificial love for the saints, and abounding hope in glory. May our lives live up to that example.

Conclusion

Our time is running short, so we’re going to have to save the second key for next time.

Overall, we’ve seen that thanksgiving to God is the first key to praying for God’s family faithfully. We saw that thanksgiving to God is spurred by three motivators. The first motivator was divine faith. The second motivator we looked at was divine love. The third and final motivator was divine hope.

So what do we do with all of this? Here are a few parting thoughts before we close:

GOD’S GRACE ALWAYS PRODUCES THANKSGIVING.

But is that true in our lives? Do we see God’s grace for the miracle it is? Or are we too jaded to even notice God’s grace when it’s at work? A lot of times, we aren’t thankful because we forget what we were like before we were saved ourselves. Remember your testimony.

FAITH, HOPE & LOVE ARE ALWAYS EVIDENT IN THE TRUE BELIEVER.

But do we believe that? Do we hold to God’s standard for being in His family? Or do we try to dumb down the job requirements because we don’t meet them ourselves?

TRUE SALVATION IS MARKED BY FAITH IN CHRIST.

In light of this passage, we have to ask ourselves these questions:

Would the apostle Paul commend us for our faith in Christ? Or would he be ashamed that we profess Christ while still remaining lord of our own lives?

Would he be encouraged by our love for all the saints? Or would he be disappointed that our love for ourselves outweighs our love for our neighbor?

And would he be pleased with our hope in future glory? Or would he be disgusted at our apathy about the return of Christ?