Amazed

 

Introduction

So far, in this series on the Gospel of Mark, we learned about the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Mark explained Jesus is the Son of God and set forth to show this truth by His actions and words. Mark explained by retelling Peter’s teaching and preaching. He made people know about Jesus’ power and authority because He is the Son of God. This Jesus, Mark said, is the fulfillment of the prophecies of Isaiah and Malachi. Mark explained the messenger, who was to come before the Messiah to prepare the way of the Lord, had come and that man was John the Baptist.

With this introduction of John the Baptist, Mark taught about him. He was the cousin of Jesus. John the Baptist preached baptism for repentance and pointed to Jesus as the Son of God. John baptized Jesus in the Jordan River and, from then, as he said, his ministry decreased while Jesus’ increased. Mark told more about John the Baptist to introduce him to his readers/hearers. At Jesus’ baptism, the people surrounding the river heard the Father’s voice. They saw the Spirit descend upon Jesus like a dove. Both confirmed Jesus as the Son of God, as did Jesus’ opening heaven for the dove to descend upon Himself. This opening of the heavens was the first time it had ever happened. It will not occur again until Jesus returns from heaven in the last days.

Immediately after Jesus’ baptism, the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness. While there, Satan tempted Him three times during His forty days stay in the wilderness. Jesus prevailed over Satan by not sinning. He proved He had power greater than the prince of darkness. This power He gives to each person who believes in Him. When His time was complete in the wilderness, Jesus traveled to Galilee. The time of His arrival in Galilee was after Herod imprisoned John the Baptist for speaking against his marriage to his brother’s wife and divorcing his own wife to do it. While in Galilee, Jesus walked around the sea and called four fishermen to come and follow Him. He told them He would make them fishers of people.

In each part of Mark 1:1-20, God’s hand was clear in the circumstances. He had said when the time was right, He would send a Savior. The right time came, and Jesus entered humanity’s timeline. He came to earth to live as a man, be tempted, stay sinless, and die a sinner’s death. He was the perfect sacrifice for humanity when they trusted in Him as their Savior. When they believed, they would receive salvation from their sins and from eternal separation from God. In God’s timing, all things are manifested and done. Jesus fulfilled the plan God made from before the world’s foundation. With His entrance as a man, He brought God’s gospel (good news) that the Savior had come. Jesus fulfilled the prophecies then and would fulfill them completely/perfectly when He returns to earth the second time. This “now and not yet” scenario of salvation occurs many times in the Bible. Let’s continue our study to see even more how Jesus is God’s Son through His authority and power.

Amazed

They went into Capernaum; and immediately, on the Sabbath, Jesus entered the synagogue and began to teach. And they were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Mark 1:21-22 [NASB]

Teaching

When Jesus returned to Galilee after His wilderness experience, He began His ministry. He did this in two ways. The first part of His ministry began with calling men to follow Him. Mark said Jesus and the four fishermen then walked to Capernaum. Added to His authority to call men to be His disciples, Jesus would show His divine authority to more people.

Mark 1:21 tells the readers/hearers, Jesus immediately entered the synagogue on the Sabbath. When the Sabbath began, He walked to the synagogue as all devout Jews would. Notice Mark used one of His favorite adverbs again. With no delay, Jesus walked to where most Jews would be. He hastily trod to the synagogue to tell them the prophecies are fulfilled. Mark said this when he wrote Jesus began to teach.

Why was it important for Jesus to go to Capernaum? Let’s understand what Capernaum was. It was a town/village on the northwestern side of the Sea of Galilee. Capernaum had good soil for agriculture and the large sea for fishing. That made them economically secure. A well-traveled highway connected Damascus and Galilee. Because of this, many cultures influenced the people of Capernaum. A lot of Gentiles lived within the town/village. Capernaum housed the Roman client-king, Herod, and the customs house. Several scholars believe it contained a Roman garrison for the soldiers. Capernaum became a second home for Jesus, his home-away-from-home. Within this town/village, people worshiped various gods/idols. This influenced the Jews to appease idols instead of Yahweh.

To these Jews, Jesus immediately traveled to tell them the prophecies foretold about the Messiah are fulfilled. He told them the good news of God’s gift of salvation given through the Messiah. Did Jesus wait for the scribes of that synagogue to nod to Him to tell Him it was His turn to speak? Did they even know Jesus? Only the people at the time know. Mark did not record this. What he recorded was “Jesus began to teach.” This sentence is past continuous tense, a past action that has no definite ending. That exactly illustrates the “now and not yet” scenario. Jesus came then but did not die. He still lives and still fulfills the prophecies about Him, providing salvation for all people who believe in Him. The necessity for salvation remains until God sets up the new heaven, new earth, and new Jerusalem after Jesus resurrects His believers. Jesus taught, and the people responded.

Mark wrote that the people “were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes” (vs. 22). The Greek word Mark used we translate as amazed means to be astonished, dumbfounded, and gladly amazed with wonder. Jesus’ teaching, coming from one who had not been trained in religious laws and traditions beyond what every male Jew received, came with clarity and power. He did not teach as the scribes did, who copied the books of Moses, the traditions, and laws repeatedly. These same scribes also taught the people in the synagogues what rabbis had taught. Their knowledge came from a man. These scribes merely passed down tradition. Jesus, on the other hand, spoke with power, authority, and conviction because He is the Son of God. At this, the people in the synagogue were amazed. Jesus, a Nazarene from a carpenter’s family, told them profound things about and from God. Their spirits quickened when they recognized this man to whom they were listening and caused them to act upon what He said. From His divine being, He gave power to the Scriptures. His teaching differed from the rabbis and scribes. His teaching did not depend on any other teaching. He taught them with authority-power and influence.

Casting out Demons

Just then, there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, saying, “what business do you have with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who You are: the Holy One of God!” Mark 1:23-24 (NASB)

Notice Mark began this next section with “just then.” He used another phrase that meant “immediately.” After Jesus taught with authority and power, a man in the synagogue confronted Him. An unclean spirit, a demon, cried out (screamed) from this man. It recognized Jesus as everyone else did, Jesus of Nazareth. With greater understanding and acknowledgement, the demon proclaimed about Jesus. It confirmed Jesus is the Son of God. Even spirits know who Jesus is and this one proclaimed it aloud. This voice crying out to Jesus from the man spoke for many demons living in him. Mark used a second person plural tense pronoun in his sentence, “Have you come to destroy us?” These demons recognized Jesus as coming from Nazareth; He was a man. They recognized Jesus is the Holy One of God, too. These evil spirits disclosed Jesus as more than a carpenter’s son. They acknowledged and proclaimed He is the One God promised. They were the second to tell people about the Son of God. Recognizing Jesus is divine, the demons asked Him why He was disturbing them. The demons felt threatened, though Jesus had not spoken to them first. Light threatens and casts out darkness. The demons feared they must find another home. Yet, He came to release the captives. This man was captive to these demons. Jesus came to release all people from captivity—to sins, to evil beings, etc. These demons realized what would happen.

And Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of Him!” After throwing him into convulsions and crying out with a loud voice, the unclean spirit came out of him. And they were all amazed, so they debated among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.” Immediately the news about Him spread everywhere into all the surrounding region of Galilee. Mark 1:25-28 (NASB)

What was Jesus’ reaction to the demons? As he continued recording, Mark wrote Jesus rebuked them. Jesus commanded them, “Be quiet and come out of him!” These demons feared Jesus and recognized His authority and power. Jesus exhorted them not to speak about Him to people. Remember, God had said in the right time He would send a Savior (Isaiah 49:8 & Romans 5:6). Jesus said in the synagogue, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand” (Mark 1:15). He had not yet announced He is the Son of God. In the right time (at just the right time), Jesus would tell He is God’s Son, the One who came to save humanity from their sins. That time was not then in the synagogue.

Next, Jesus commanded the demons, “Come out of him!” The demons recognized who He was addressing. With no surprise, they expected this to happen. Did the demons remove themselves peacefully from the man? Would you obey Jesus’ commands without an excuse for not doing as He says? These demons threw the man down on the ground in convulsions and shrieked loudly. People realized this man was demon-possessed before this day. They had not yet experienced the control and power these demons exerted over him. When Jesus commanded them to leave the man, they loudly and visually left. They recognized, if they did not leave, Jesus would use His great power to expel them. These demons recognized without being told how powerful Jesus is. Jesus did not have to expel them by force. The demons recognized Jesus’ authority and vacated, but they exited like a child’s tantrum.

The demons recognized Jesus’ authority and power. People heard Jesus teach and recognized His authority and power. With the demons’ expulsion, Mark recorded the people “were all amazed.” The people wondered who Jesus was since He could expel demons and teach with authority and power. Questioningly, the people asked among themselves, “Who is this? A new teacher with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits to obey Him” (vs. 27). Jesus captured the people’s attention. The people who took note of Him were Jews-rabbis and scribes. How would you react if you saw someone cast out a demon? This occurrence was spectacular. People took note, but no one recognized Jesus as the Son of God. The time was not right. But it soon would be.

In verse twenty-eight, Mark wrote, “Immediately the news about Him (Jesus) spread everywhere into all the surrounding region of Galilee.” Amazed and astonished, the people immediately began telling others about Jesus. Jesus’ fame spread from there. Soon He would fill houses and mountainsides with people.

Application and Conclusion

The four men were commanded to come and follow Jesus. Amazing in itself. To the people, Jesus was known as a carpenter’s son. But they heard Him teach with authority in the synagogue on the Sabbath. They knew Jesus had not been trained to be a priest. He did not tell what another person taught. Jesus knew what God said and meant for Himself because He is part of the Triune Godhead of Father, Son, and Spirit. The demons recognized Jesus and His power and authority. In three ways, Jesus showed His authority — calling disciples, teaching, and casting out demons.

Mark does not tell of immediate believers in Jesus as the Son of God. As Jesus ministers, people followed Jesus. One day, though, Peter declared He is the Christ, the Son of the living God (Matthew 16:16.) People did eventually believe. Even Jewish leaders like Nicodemus trusted in Jesus. The disciples believed in Jesus. With great trust, both the blind man, who received his sight, and the Roman centurion, whose daughter laid deathly ill, believed in Jesus because He healed. him and the Roman’s daughter. Many people trusted in Jesus for their salvation. Many millions did not and have not believed in Him, too.

What will it take to convince you of Jesus’ authority? Would you recognize Him if He commanded you to come and follow Him? What if you saw Jesus casting out a demon? What would it take for you to be amazed at Jesus and believe in Him as your Savior? What would you do to follow Jesus? Would you leave everything? Would you help the leper or blind man? Would you feed the beggar or let him bathe at your home? Once we trust in Jesus as the Son of God and as our Savior, our faith must grow and cause a change in our lives. Being a disciple of Jesus costs. Mark wrote about this in his gospel, too. Are you willing to pay the cost to be Jesus’ disciple? Jesus gives us that example. He gave up everything to be born as a human and die on the cross. His death separated Him from the Father momentarily, but it provided a way for believers to be cleansed from their sins and have victory over death.

Will you continue to turn away from Jesus?

He gave His all for us. 

Accept His gift of salvation and be willing to give your all for Him. The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus, our Lord. (Romans 6:23, [NASB])

For by grace, you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8 [NASB])

Love with a Pure Heart

“Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart.” (1 Peter 1:22 [NASB])

Peter, when he wrote his letter to the Christians of Asia Minor, which is Turkey today, did not, with the beginning clause, say they could love fervently in their own strength. He understood the sin nature of each person. Peter knew no person was holy, but all are sinners. This means each person could love no other person with the fervency and purity of God without being changed by faith in Jesus Christ. A person loves oneself more than other people. Still, Peter did not say it was impossible to love with a pure heart. Instead, Peter reminded these Christians how they could understand they could love fervently from their hearts.

Peter, in this chapter, appears to give many commands on how to be a Christian and assurances to realize one is a Christian. Yet, if we carefully read the complex sentences of this chapter, we will understand how we can know we have a pure heart with which to love other believers. Going backwards up the verses in the chapter, Peter said believers have their hope, conduct, and faith in God.

How can people realize their hope is in God? From verses twenty to twenty-one, Peter listed ways a person can recognize this in themselves. He said if a person believes in Jesus Christ as the Savior sent from God as planned from the foundation of the world, and that God raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, then you can know your faith and hope are in God. Because this believing person is in a faith relationship with God because of Jesus, the person is being made more into the likeness of Jesus and has the love of God living in him or her.

Notice, within verses seventeen through nineteen, Peter wrote about a second attribute of Christians. Peter said believers conduct themselves in reverent fear of God while on earth because Jesus purified them with something more precious than gold or silver. Christians act and think right because of the reverent fear/awe they have for God, because He is righteous and judges fairly. Jesus purified them with His own blood by dying for their sins. His great love gave the greatest sacrifice. Christian lives should copy Jesus’ love. They can show His love through the power of the indwelling Spirit of Christ. A Christian conducts his or her life in a way that reflects Jesus, His love and sacrifice for God and other believers.

Peter said people can be holy because Jesus, their Savior, is holy (vs. 16). Verses thirteen through sixteen remind the Christians in Asia Minor of the holiness, purification, Jesus gives each person who believes in Him. Believers can, with the Spirit’s help, prepare their minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix their hope completely on the grace Jesus gave to them at His revelation, and conform themselves into the image of Christ. By Jesus, they will be holy in their behavior. Holy behavior is living as Christ lived, in love and service to people. People who live like Jesus, act upon the faith God gave them to believe in Jesus Christ for their salvation and have His Spirit in them to transform them into His image and exuding His attributes. Holy living expresses itself in pure and fervent love.

Peter explained this hope, reverent conduct, and holiness given by belief in Jesus Christ enable believers to love each other. These attitudes and actions come from Jesus’ attributes. Since these Christians to whom Peter wrote obeyed the truth and had their souls purified by faith in Jesus, they had available within them the capacity to love brethren sincerely. Pure (holy) and fervent love from their heart occurred because they were born again through Jesus. John reiterated this in 1 John 4:7-14 when he wrote Jesus enables believers to love each other because love comes from God.

John, in 1 John 4:9-10, leads us to understand more about God’s love. He said because of God’s love, He sent His Son into the world “that we might live through Him.” God loves people before they love Him. He showed it by sending His love to all people through Christ. Jesus’ love is not just for believers. His love is for all people. Jesus died for all people. John stated this in John 3:16 when he said, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” [NASB] Jesus loves all people. As His disciples, Christians have this same attribute of love from Jesus. Believers are to love all people. Just as Jesus’ love is pure and fervent, the love each Christian has from God to love other people is pure and fervent.

As children of God, Christians are to love fervently, passionately, and purely. They can do this because their faith in Jesus purified them, made them holy (1 Peter 1:13-16). Just as He is holy, He makes believers holy. Christians live in reverent awe of God, the one who redeemed them with His Son’s own blood as the sacrifice for their sins. Because of this great love of Jesus, they can love others with the love that flows from Him to them through His indwelling Holy Spirit. Christians can love all people because of their hope in God. Because they know God loves them, which they will see when Jesus returns to take them to His kingdom, they can show this unending love they received from Christ to all people. Peter explained each of these three points in 1 Peter 1:22-23.

“Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart, for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is through the living and enduring word of God.” (1 Peter 1:22-23 [NASB])

Jesus came to the world to save all who would believe in Him. John 3:16 explains that. Jesus’ standard of love is the standard for each person who lives. This love is sincere and fervent and based on holiness, faith, and hope. It comes from the source of love, God. Love is one of God’s attributes. What should the extent of our love be? Jesus’ life and death modeled the answer to that question. He taught His disciples about it. Jesus said in John 15:12-13, “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.” [NASB] Should anyone read John 15:13 to mean Jesus said to love Christians only, Matthew 22:37-39 records Jesus’ deeper understanding of love. He said in these verses, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Jesus loved and still loves fervently. Nothing can separate people from His love. Jesus loves purely. He is holy and no evil taints His love. Jesus loves completely, to the giving of His life so others can live. He gives each Christian, through His Spirit who dwells in him or her, His superabundant love so they can live out His love by loving each person they meet. Jesus does not restrict His love to certain people because of their skin color, politics, accent, physical attributes, income, health, education, or any human-defining category. God makes each person in His image. Jesus came to love and redeem all of us.

Jesus’ love is fervent, holy, and unending.

Our love for all people should be the same.

Jesus makes it possible for people to love as He loves by their becoming His disciples. Will you accept the redemption for your sins He offers to you? Today is your time to think about how you live life. Do you love all people equally without prejudice and stereotypes? Jesus does. He died for every person who has lived to give unending love and salvation to them. Jesus loves you and died for you. What will you say to Him today?

Thanksgiving in Colossians

In the second Bible study in this series on the Letter to the Colossians, titled Identification, we studied Paul’s introduction of himself and Timothy and his greeting to the church at Colossae. This greeting of Paul’s identified him as an apostle, a sent out one, of Christ by the will of God. Paul identified himself as a Christian and one who goes out to proclaim the Gospel. By this, the church of Colossae could recognize he was one to whom they should listen. Paul had credentials. Next in the greeting, Paul called Timothy “our brother.” With these two words, he identified to the Colossian believers that Timothy, too, was a believer and one who traveled with and learned daily from Paul. He was one they should consider highly, too. The people of Asia Minor, which included Colossae, knew of Timothy as one of their own since he grew up in their part of the world. The Colossians identified with Timothy as a man of Asia Minor. Paul, being from Tarsus, of Asia Minor, identified as one of their own, too. Between Paul and Timothy, their backgrounds covered people from Asia Minor who had Greek and/or Jewish backgrounds, just as the Colossian church comprised people from Greek and Jewish backgrounds. With the words of Paul’s introduction and greeting, he led the people to identify with him and Timothy and prepared them to listen and heed what he wrote to them in this letter.

With verses three through eight, Paul prayed about the Colossian brethren. This prayer was a thanksgiving to God for the faith of the Colossian Christians, love toward their brethren, and hope for their final reward. Notice, this prayer speaks of a multidimensional Christianity-upward to God, outward to other believers, and forward to eternity - shown by three words, faith, love, and hope.

Thanksgiving

To God

“We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, always praying for you…” (Colossians 1:3 [NASB])

Paul, as Jesus’ sent out one, who identified with Christ and the Colossian Christians, offered a prayer of thanks to God. The word “thanks” comes from the same Greek work from which eucharist comes. The Greek word is eucharisteo. It means to give thanks acknowledging God’s grace works well for our eternal gain and His glory. For God’s grace, Paul thanked Him. Each time a Christian partakes of communion/eucharist/Lord’s Supper, he or she gives thanks for the grace God gave him or her through Jesus Christ. The Lord’s Supper is a time of remembrance of what Jesus did for believers and thanks for His grace He gave through it. Paul said the same thing in this opening of his prayer. He remembered with and for the Colossae Christians what Jesus did for them with His life, death, and resurrection, and he thanked God for the grace He gave them, which they accepted as His gift of love.

With the phrase “to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,” Paul began reminding them of who Jesus is. He alluded to the theme of this letter - Jesus, the Son of God, fully divine. Paul prayed to God, the Father of Jesus Christ, the Son who died and rose from death to give grace, mercy, and salvation. To this One, the One in whom Paul, Timothy, and the Colossian church had faith, he interacted. In this prayer, Paul pointed anew to the supreme deity of God. Because of God’s grace works in and for the Colossian saints, Paul thanked Him. He acknowledged grace and faith come only from God. Paul prayed in faith, praying in the way the Father desires, according to the Father’s heart, that the Colossian church would be persuaded completely and be full of faith in Him. He said he prayed always for the Colossian Christians. Paul prayed according to God’s will continually and in the way He moved him to pray for them. He was connected intimately with God and, through Him, intimately connected with the Colossian believers. He identified with God as His saved and sent out one. Paul identified with the Colossian Christians, too, as one who was a sinner saved by God’s grace through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.

Faith and Love

“…since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love, which you have for all the saints…” (Col. 1:4 [NASB])

Paul had heard of the faith and love of the Christians in Colossae. He would have heard it from the man he discipled who was from their region, Epaphras. Because Paul spent lengthy periods of time in Asia Minor on his second and third missionary journeys, he could have learned about the believers in Colossae at those times or from the people who wrote to him. What Paul heard is for what Paul thanked God. He noted their faith, pistis, in Jesus Christ. Notice, this belief is not in one’s self to do things, such as good works, or be things. This belief is in Jesus, the One who saves people from their sins and makes them righteous. Pistis means belief and true faith in Jesus as a gift from God. This faith gift from God is what persuaded them of the truth of Jesus Christ. As they acted on this faith, it produced more faith, so they grew in their relationship with God and in their service to Him. As any believer applies what they know, hear, and receive from God, more faith grows in them. They mature and bear fruit.

This faith and its growth in a believer leads to agape love. Agape love can only come from being identified with Jesus Christ. People cannot manufacture it. This love that is true and devoted; it is pure. Nothing changes it. This love is not hot one day and cold another. Agape love is the pure love from Jesus Christ. Each characteristic of God - Father, Son, and Spirit - comes from this pure love. The agape love Paul said the Colossians showed was love “for all the saints.” These saints of which Paul wrote were other people whom Jesus made holy through the redemption He gives. The Colossian believers enacted their faith in Jesus with pure love for other believers in Jesus Christ. They showed the love of God to other Christians. This shows the Colossian believers’ identification with God. Their faith in Christ led to love of Christ pouring out from them towards the saints. They identified with Jesus and with other believers. These Colossian Christians grew in their faith and showed Christ’s love to others. They had a vertical relationship with God and a horizontal relationship with people that was Christlike, from agape love. For their faith acted upon as agape love lived out among other saints, Paul thanked God.

Hope

“…because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel…” (Col. 1:5 [NASB])

Paul began this next section talking of the third aspect of believers, hope. The first two were faith and love. Paul said in verse five, “...because of the hope…” Hope motivated the believers in Colossae. Hope without substance isn’t hope. Without substance, this describes just possibility. Hope that has a basis, a foundation, such as the Christian hope in Jesus that leads to an eternal reward, is something onto which they could be sure. The Colossian believers could trust and put their confidence in this reward, not because people told them about heaven, but because they believed unto faith in Jesus Christ and received salvation by His grace given because of His shed blood. That truth is the basis for Christian hope. Jesus never fails or lies. He is victorious over sin and death as the fully divine Son of God. The believers in Colossae held onto this hope laid up for them in heaven, which they gained when they heard and trusted in the truth, the Gospel. They lived out their faith with God’s agape love toward other believers because of the hope they had in Christ. The Colossian Christians’ faith, as God gave to them, was genuine as acknowledged by their actions of faith and because they looked toward the future of their completed salvation and acted in the present.

 

Word of Truth’s Sufficiency

“…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 since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth…” (Col. 1:6 [NASB])

Paul is famous for his unending and complicated sentence structure. This phrase begins with the last words in verse five. It speaks of the Gospel. The word “Gospel” comes from the Greek word euaggelion, meaning the truth of the good news of the Messiah. Paul stated the Colossians faith, love, and hope came from the Gospel, the good news of the Messiah. This Gospel that came to them and which they heeded was the word of truth. Remember, God is the definition of truth, the source of truth. His character is truth. So, if something comes from Him, it is the absolute truth. Understanding this was important for the Colossian believers because they lived in a city and region bombarded by Greco-Roman gods, Babylonian gods, Greek philosophical thought, and Jewish legalism. This combination of influences with bits and pieces of ideas taken from Christianity led to the beginnings of Gnosticism. The truth from God of the good news, the Gospel, is absolute. Paul inferred no other philosophical thought or faith system is truth if it differs from God’s truth.

Paul continued explaining how they could know for sure this word of truth they received is the truth. He said a faith in the word of truth constantly bears fruit and increases. He said this word of truth is the same as what had been and was being presented in the entire world. The increase is the number of people from different tribes, nations, and tongues who believed in the truth of God. Know by its increase, its fruit. Just as it bore fruit in the Lycus River valley with actions of godly character and conduct, it was effective beyond there and bore fruit elsewhere, too. This fruit of the Gospel in believers’ lives didn’t just bud then die away, but word came of its growth and maturity. It increased and spread. So, too, did the faith of the Colossians grow richer and deeper. It matured in them. God’s truth didn’t need supplementation by other thoughts or religions. People need nothing else for the Gospel to save them when they believed in Jesus Christ. This word of truth, the Gospel, as the believers in Colossae listened to and understood it from Epaphras, is the grace of God. The Gospel preached to them, which they believed with the faith God gave them and the faith that grew and matured, is God’s truth and is sufficient for salvation from sins and receipt of eternal life with Him. Paul said no person needs to add anything to what they received from God’s sent ones to give them salvation and eternal life. Writing this in his thanksgiving to God foreshadowed what Paul's purpose was for this letter. Jesus’ sacrifice was sufficient.

Faithful to Christ

“…just as you learned it from Epaphras, our bellowed fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf…” (Col. 1:7 [NASB])

Paul identified he knew from whom the believers in Colossae heard the Gospel. The verb Paul used is a prolonged verb. What they learned began at a point in time and they kept learning, so it became a part of their lifestyle, continuing to learn from experience as they walked with Christ each day. Paul acknowledged the believers in Colossae not only believed, but they kept on believing and grew in their faith. They matured and increased, as he said in verse six. They learned and kept on learning by living with Jesus every day. Paul mentioned Epaphras because he trusted what he taught and preached to them since he personally discipled him. He knew Epaphras taught the truth of God. Additionally, by mentioning Epaphras, Paul reminded the believers of Colossae to remember and hold on to the truth Epaphras told them. Don’t let anyone water it down with other philosophical thoughts or faith systems.

Paul called Epaphras a “beloved fellow bond-servant.” This phrasing meant Epaphras was one of them; they followed Christ together. Both Paul and Epaphras identified with Christ. He called him a bond-servant. A bond-servant is someone who voluntarily submits to another person. It doesn’t occur by force, authority, or monetary debt. Epaphras, like Paul and Timothy, accepted the truth of the word, the Gospel, and voluntarily submitted to Christ as His Lord and Savior. Wherever God told Him to go and to whoever God told him to speak, Epaphras would obey. God controlled his life because he gave it to Him. By this, Epaphras was a bond-servant of Christ. Besides being a beloved, fellow bond-servant, Paul said Epaphras was faithful. This word comes from the same root word as the word “faith” in verse four, pistos. Epaphras did not begrudgingly obey God. He did not say, “I’ll do anything, except not that, God.” He was a faithful servant. Epaphras, fully persuaded of the truth of the Gospel about Jesus Christ, lived a life of growing and maturing faith upon which he obeyed God. Inspired by Jesus, he carried out His plans for each person to hear the Gospel. Epaphras lived and breathed to tell the Gospel. He became a teacher of the Christian faith as a beloved and faithful bond-servant of Christ. Epaphras’ cause, his purpose for telling others about Jesus, was three-fold. He acted because of the call Christ had on his life. Epaphras identified with Christ. He, too, acted with other men and women to make sure each person heard the Gospel. Epaphras identified with other sent out ones. Finally, he acted out of agape love for other people. He did not want any person to die without knowing the grace, salvation, and eternal life that faith in Jesus gives. He identified with unsaved people because he had been an unbeliever. Because of Epaphras’ faithfulness to Christ, the Colossian Christians could trust completely in the truth Epaphras taught them. They didn’t need new teachers or to add other things to what Epaphras taught them. Epaphras’ faithfulness to God and to the people of Colossae shows pure love, agape love. Epaphras’ and Paul’s faith, hope, and love, resulted in proclaiming the word of truth and being faithful to Christ.

By the Spirit

“…and he also informed us of your love in the Spirit.” (Col. 1:8 [NASB])

In verse three, Paul said he and Timothy had heard of the faith in Christ of the Colossian believers. He did not state from whom he gained that information. In verse eight, Paul wrote that Epaphras told them of Colossians’ faith. A young pastor reported to his mentor/discipler what was happening in the church he planted in Colossae. He wanted Paul to know what was happening in the Lycus River valley. Epaphras excitedly told what was happening in Colossae and the growth he saw in the believers. The first sign of belief in Jesus in a Christian’s life is the love that flows in and through him or her, outward to people and upward to God. Epaphras told Paul of their love. He didn’t tell them of philia love, deep friendship, but of agape love, a love for everyone that has its source in God. The Colossian believers, according to Epaphras, identified with Christ and identified with other believers. He said they did it in the Spirit. Identification with Christ and other believers is not recognizing them, but more than that. Identification is recognizing and loving them without considering their worth. Just as God loves each person. The Colossian Christians’ identification with Jesus and other believers came from love. The Colossian Christians did not love from their own capacity, but with the capacity and unselfish love of God. Epaphras told Paul of the Colossian believers’ maturing faith, Paul wrote.

Thoughts to Consider

Have you understood everything Paul said in this six-verse passage of Scripture? Paul was very precise in what he said. He packed much into his sentences with many dependent clauses. Paul, like any good teachers and mentors, began this letter and his thanksgiving to God for the Colossae church with the good news of the growth of these children of God in love, faith, and hope, the three aspects, or as R.E. O. White says, “the dimensions,” of Christian experience. He thanked God for the people of Colossae who had become Christians because of their faith, which manifested itself through the love and hope that comes from God. Paul recognized these co-heirs in Christ identified with God and with other believers. Paul briefly reminded these believers that Jesus is fully divine, and His sacrifice is sufficient for salvation. They did not need to add another philosophical thought or faith system to Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection to receive salvation and an eternal inheritance in heaven. Paul encouraged the Colossian believers further by telling them what they had heard from Epaphras came from a fellow beloved bond-servant of Christ, just as he himself is an apostle of Jesus Christ by God’s will.

Consider these questions as you process today’s Bible study.

• Has your faith in Jesus shown in love for other believers?
• Have you lived out your faith by telling someone the word of truth?
• Do you look with expectation to receive the hope God laid up for you in heaven?
• Does your faith keep you strong and steadfast in your faith in Christ?
• Have you mixed anything else into your belief in Christ because it seemed like the right thing to do, things like ancestor worship, idol worship, sacrificing animals when you sin?
• When people look at you, do they see a faith in Christ that bears fruit and mature constantly by your heart, words, and actions?
• Are you continuing to learn and grow in your faith and relationship with Jesus?
•  If you are not a believer in Jesus Christ, what keeps you from believing in Him as your Savior?

Paul wrote to the Colossian Christians to do more than boost their morale with his thanksgiving to God. He foreshadowed of the theme for this letter in his prayer we studied today. Jesus is fully divine, and His sacrifice is sufficient for the salvation of every person who repents and believes in Him as the Son of God. As always, Paul’s love for other people caused him to teach and correct them so Satan’s deceptions would not lead them astray.

Paul would later pray for these believers to have the knowledge of God’s will with spiritual wisdom and understanding, to live a life worthy of God, bearing fruit, increasing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with God’s might and power, ensuring and being patient with joy, and giving thanks to God, the One who qualified them to share in the inheritance of the saints. (Colossians 1:9-12)

For us today, we must ask ourselves if we are persuaded fully of the truth of the Gospel about Jesus Christ. Does it impel us to live a life of growing and maturing faith shown by obeying God? We should ask ourselves if we live a life worthy of God. Paul, Epaphras, and Timothy did. Where do you stand with Jesus now?

For next week, re-read Colossians 1:9-12.

If you want to talk about this Bible study or want to know about Jesus so you can receive the salvation from sins He offers, contact me through the contact form on my website. I will write back to you.

“[I] am giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.” (Colossians 1:12 [NASB])