3 We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints; 5 because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, 6 which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth;
Colossians 1:3-6
3. Reasons for grateful thanks
a) For the powerful message of the gospel of God
b) For the fruit that it brings forth in lives that have been touched and blessed
c) For every life that has been delivered from sin and evil
HUMBLY PRAYING FOR SPIRITUAL GROWTH
9 For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;
10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
Colossians 1:9-10
1. Thank God for Faith
a) Genuine faith
b) Initial faith
2. Pray for spiritual growth
a) To be filled with the knowledge of God’s will
b) To have wisdom and spiritual understanding
3. To walk worthy of the Lord
a) Fully pleasing Him
b) Being fruitful in every good work
c) Increasing in the knowledge of God
GRATEFULLY DISCOVERING THE POWER OF GOD
11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy;
12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.
13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,
14 in whom we have redemption [d]through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.
Colossians 1:11-14
1. To find strength in all its might
a) According to God’s power given
b) Patience (perseverance)
c) Longsuffering with joy
2. To always be filled with thanksgiving
a) Remembering how God has qualified us to be partakers
Of the inheritance of the saints in the light
b) Remembering how He delivered us from the kingdom of darkness
c) Remembering how He brought us into His kingdom of light
GRATEFUL REVELATION: THE CONTEXT OF THE CHURCH
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.
17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.
18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.
Colossians1:15-18
1. The Lord Jesus is the “Image of the invisible God”
a) He is the firstborn over all creation
b) He is the Co-creator
2. The Lord Jesus as the head of the Church
a) He is the appointed head of the Church
b) He is the firstborn from the dead
c) He is to have the pre-eminence in all things and at all times
CONCLUSION
1. The Fatherhood of God is to be appreciated
a) As this doctrine is revealed
b) As this doctrine is made real and personal in our life
2. This doctrine is to be diligently and gratefully applied:
a) Let there always be grateful thanksgiving in our heart
b) Let there be a greater appreciation of the Church, the Body of the Lord