God and Us

Colossians 1:1-14. Campaigner Lesson.

One of the first things that stands out to me that Paul calls himself an apostle by the will of God. It wasn't by his will or by a majority vote. Paul became God's ambassador to the Gentiles by the commissioning and sending of the LORD. That really puts into perspective what Paul has to say. Some may call him arrogant. Fine. But irregardless, he met Christ on the road to Damascus. I believe God is truly sovereign. Therefore, whatever is written is to be taken as divine revelation, not some trivial novel to be bruised and beaten for his tact or lack thereof. If God declares Paul an apostle, I think it's crucial that we scrutinize what he wrote, not for the purpose of declaring him inadequate or denying his authorship, but for the desire to abide in every last bit of Truth God speaks (intentionally present tense) through him.

One of the other things that struck me was the way Paul speaks about the Christian lifestyle. "And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light" (1:9-12).

Here, he states that he prays the we "be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding." Who's doing the filling? Certainly not us are it is spiritual wisdom and understanding by which we come to know God's will. We were dead inside till given life through Christ. Faith, this life, is a gift only from God. This is God's role in our lives to fill us with this spiritual knowledge and understanding. However, Paul continues on to say that this filling will allow us "to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord." This is our role. Now that we have been awakened and filled, we are to use this to walk in a manner pleasing to the Lord. How is this done? Love God with all our entire being, yielding ourselves as a sacrifice, and loving our neighbors as ourselves. James also has a nice quote about religion that is undefiled in his first chapter. What is the purpose of walking in a manner pleasing to God? It is to bear fruit. Do we produce this fruit. No. It is shown in our lives only because we are connected to the true Vine and abide in him. We have been grafted onto him so that he is in us and we in him. Tricky. A branch apart from the vine is dead, but when grafted on to the source of Life, it begins to produce fruit as it was intended to do. This is the life that is pleasing to God, fulfilling our intended purpose of glorifying the LORD.

Then verse 11 starts out by wishing the we would be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might. What better to be strengthened with than with all power? Makes sense to me. However, I look at myself and notice I am weak and fallible. Heck, I barely crack triple digits when trying to bench while others do it without any trouble at all. Weak indeed. Fallible? I really don't even need to expound on this. If this is the case, then all power does not come from me but outside of my control.

When we look at Exodus, we gain insight as to the source of this all power. During a showdown with Pharaoh during the seventh chapter, Aaron throws down his staff and it becomes a serpent. Not to be outdone, Pharaoh's magicians imitate this miracle by their own "secret arts." At best, the score is even right now. However, Aaron's staff, in the hands of God, swallows up the other snakes. This displays God's ultimate sovereignty over any and all powers of the world. in the Egyptian mind, swallowing your opponent represented total superiority. Pharaoh's magicians were the best in the world. Their secret arts were dominated by God. The snake represented the most powerful god in the Egyptian mindset. This, too, was swallowed up. Pharaoh, his magicians, and their secret arts represented sin and death. This was swallowed up by Christ in victory through his resurrection. Clearly, the power of God is greater than anything this world has to offer.

According to his glorious might could mean several things. First, it could be in line with or in accordance with. This would mean that we are strengthened to do exactly what he wills for us to do. A second interpretation holds that "according to" would be synonymous with "assigned by." Either this all power is controlled by God, meaning God is fully sovereign.

Paul continues on to state the purpose of being strengthened by God's might. We are not to sit around boast. Instead, it is so that we might endure and be patient with joy, "giving thanks to the Father." The word endure implies some sort of pain or suffering. We are to remain steadfast through this pain. As well we are to be patient. This simply means we have to wait. If we're waiting, then we're on the terms on someone or something else. Is that a god of this world or the LORD who has proven his superiority over sin and death? Either way, we're a servant. As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD. However, the key to this section, I think, is the prepositional phrase "with joy." Many people in this world are so self-consumed that they cannot endure suffering or be patient. Others look outside themselves enough to exhibit qualities or endurance and patience but they are not focused on God so their suffering and waiting is pointless and fruitless. Too much suffering and waiting will eventually break them because all humans have a breaking point. But for the one who is focused on God, it is possible to suffer, endure, and wait with joy, even giving thanks to God.

How is this possible? There are two responses to this query. First, we have been strengthened by God according to his glorious might. Therefore, it is no longer through our strength that we endure, but his. As God is infinite, he has no breaking point. The world cannot break God as he is completely superior, demonstrated by his victory in Exodus 7 and Christ. Second, our suffering has a purpose. As seen only a few verses earlier, we are to be bearing fruit and glorifying God. That is the purpose of our lives. The end result makes it possible to endure and be patient with joy. Not only that, but we give thanks to the Father. When a carnal person is suffering, its wisdom directs it to end the suffering and seek the easy path. When a spiritual person is suffering, we endure and be patient with joy and give thanks because we know God will be glorified through it. This reasoning is folly to the natural person because it is through God's might that we understand (1 Corinthians 2:14). Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world (1 Corinthians 1:20)?

So if we are to give thanks in suffering, shouldn't we be considered masochists? To borrow from Paul, by no means! We give thanks because what we gained through Christ is greater than anything we could suffer in this world. When I was younger, I loved amusement parks. One day, my dad told me we were going to Hershey Park. The car ride there was excruciating. It seemed as if it'd never end. However, it was worth it because in the end I got to enjoy the roller coasters and other rides. During the ride, although it was difficult for me and something I had to endure, I was filled with great joy and thanking my dad for taking me. For us, Paul writes our reasoning for giving thanks much clearer than I ever could so I will let him explain. We can give thanks to God in the midst of suffering because he "has qualified [us] to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered 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." That grace, undeserved favor, is certainly worth giving thanks for in the midst of any suffering or excitement. It is the roller coaster at the end of the car trip. But again, we give thanks because it was given to us, not because we earned it.

In Colossians 1:9-10 and 11-14, we see Paul following the same pattern to illustrate the proper course of a life in Christ. It begins and ends with God. In the middle, God has allowed us to act and be a part of his perfect will. This, once again, is simply another example of the undeserved grace that we have received.