Four Reasons to be Thankful (Colossians 1:3-8)
“We always thank God, the Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your
faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because
of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the
word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in
the whole world it is bearing fruit and growing—as it also does among you,
since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, just
as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful
minister of Christ on your behalf and has made known to us your love
in the Spirit.” (Colossians 1:3-8, ESV)
Genuine gratitude is a rare commodity. It seems the saying of “thanks” is almost an
afterthought for most people (myself included).
However, God is fired up when his children show genuine thanks for what
he has done. You might ask, “How does
one show genuine thanks to God?” Praise
and thanksgiving! When thanksgiving
is in the heart, praise is on the lips.
In Colossians 1:3-8, Paul expresses four reasons for genuine
thankfulness.
1. Thankful for the Faith of Others (vv. 4-5a).
So what was it that got Paul all fired up? It was the Colossians’ faith in Jesus
Christ. Notice in v. 4 where Paul
mentions the Colossians’ faith in Christ and their love for all the
saints. These are things to be thankful
for. First of all, they had placed their
faith in the right object. Many people
profess to have faith, but faith in what?
How does the old saying go? “It
doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you’re sincere.” This is a faith that will condemn people to
hell! Faith is only as good as the
object of that faith. Ultimately, faith
in Jesus Christ as God’s payment for our sins is the only thing worthy of our
trust.
Secondly, not only did they have their faith in the correct
object, they also expressed a genuine love for all the saints. We’re not talking about some mushy, “I feel
your pain” kind of love. This is the
real thing—a love that says, “you before me;” a love that would sacrifice
oneself for others. It’s the kind of
love Jesus expressed toward his church (Ephesians
2. Thankful for the Power of the Gospel (vv. 5b-6).
Now regarding the hope mentioned in v. 5a, Paul says they first
heard about this hope in the gospel (v. 5b).
What is the gospel? In four
words, the gospel is Jesus In My Place.
In two words, the gospel is Substitutionary Atonement. Jesus Christ died to pay the penalty for all
of our sins—the righteous for the unrighteous—so that by placing our faith in
him, we can be guaranteed eternal life.
This message, or one similar, was preached to the Colossians, and they
turned from their sins and embraced Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Paul also refers to the gospel as the “word
of truth.” The gospel isn’t just true
it is truth. In John 17:17, Jesus
says that God’s word is truth. In
John 14:6, Jesus says that he is the way, the truth, and the life. The point being, to say that something is
true means that it conforms to some objective standard of truth. On the other hand, to say that something is
the truth is to say that it is the standard to which other things must
conform in order to be true.
Paul goes on about the gospel in v. 6. He says the gospel is advancing in the “whole
world.” The phrase, “whole world,” isn’t
meant to imply that the gospel had reached every corner of the world by the
time Paul wrote this letter. If you
understand the rapid growth of Christianity by 62 AD, you can see why Paul said
the “whole world.” Jesus told his
disciples that they were to take the gospel to the ends of the world (Acts
1:8). That was shortly after Christ’s
death in 30 AD. By 62 AD, there were
Christian communities all throughout the
3. Thankful for Faithful Ministers (vv. 7-8).
In order for the gospel to be heard and understood, people must be
sent out to preach. Paul spends these
next two verses expressing his thankfulness for Epaphras. He was the one who first brought the gospel
to Colosse. You may be wondering why God
uses the vehicle of preaching to spread the gospel? Preaching seems so inefficient and foolish
(cf. 1 Corinthians
Paul calls Epaphras his “fellow servant.” The Greek word literally means “bondservant”
or “slave.” This is in stark contrast to
false teachers who are into self-promotion.
Faithful ministers think of themselves as slaves for the Savior. The world needs more people like Epaphras who
selflessly preach the gospel out of love for the people. Not only was Epaphras a loyal preacher, he
enjoyed boasting about the faith of the people he was shepherding (v. 8).
4. Thankful for God the Father (v. 3).
I saved v. 3 for last because it is the reason for the whole
passage. The faith of the Colossians,
the gospel message, and Epaphras’ ministry was all the work of “God the Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ.” To him do we
owe our thanks and praise! When Paul
prays a prayer of thanksgiving, it is to God alone. Paul is not thankful to the Colossians
because of their faith, but God the cause of their faith. Paul is not thankful to Epaphras for his
ministry, but to God for using Epaphras in a mighty way. We can thankful to and for other people, but
our ultimate thanks ought to be toward God!
Application Time.
This passage is a great example of how the Christian life is to be
one of constant, thankful praise to God.
We ought to be thankful to God for other faithful believers, thankful to
God for the gospel, and thankful to God for committed ministers of God’s word.
Bottom Line.
“Give thanks in all circumstances;
for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians
Have a blessed day!