The favorite word trilogy of Paul

We're beginning Colossians, and Roger got us going last week. So I think what we're going to do is read the first eight verses. My task today is verses three through five. So I'll just take the liberty and go ahead and read that for us. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy, our brother. To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are at Colossae, grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

3. 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 of the love which he hath for all the saints, for the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which he heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, which is from unto you as it is in all the world, and bringeth forth fruit as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it and knew the grace of God in truth. As you've also learned of Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ, who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit.

We'll come back to that in terms of Epaphras. He has something to do with our text here today. So, let's begin with verse 3 then. We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you. So, was that your first thought this morning? How many people when they got up this morning thanked the Lord for another day?

I mean, sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. I forget to do that. Anyway, I think it's something to remind ourselves, giving thanks always. We're going to have to return to the word always, because it shows up here, and we're going to talk about what's always. Is it ultimately our prayer, or is it giving thanks, or is it some of both? Alright, who's we?

We began at verse 1 today for a reason. Note that in verse 2, we have the only instance in the opening benediction of an epistle where the name of Jesus Christ is not joined with God our Father. But I think Paul makes up for it in verse 3. So for whatever reason, you know, and I think that's something that RWP, that's one of the commentators I look at. And I like RWP, they offer some interesting things. So anyway, so let's look at this a little bit further. So I think we need to notice first of all to whom thanks is being delivered.

Who's it being delivered to? And I should say that Ann probably is not in the original translation. So it's really God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. And Ann is not really part of most of the translations. So back to the question. To whom the thanks get delivered. Who's it being delivered to? Okay, right. Alright. And do we pray to our Lord Jesus Christ or to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ? We're in Christ already, so it's kind of silly. How many times have you heard people pray to Jesus?

And I don't know, that kind of runs, you know, kind of unsettling kind of vibrations to my soul. I've heard people do it with their children. which may not be the best for the young children, let's say, which I don't have a whole problem with. So why would children that be applicable do you think? They just don't have sound theology.

Margaret and I were downtown at the symphony last night and we heard some old Broadway stuff and some of it was from Jesus Christ Superstar. We were having a long conversation about Jesus Christ Superstar and I'm not sure we're on the same page but anyway all that aside. You know, to a child, Jesus is an earthly person, right?

It's someone they can relate to, all the stories they hear. And so I wouldn't call that necessarily falling short of God's glory. To have a child understand that they pray to Jesus because they could see a person at least picturalized in many publications that relate to Jesus' time on earth.

We pray to the Father, and I think Tom said it right, we're in Christ. So that prayer is in Christ. That's identification. If we pray in Christ, we're praying in His name sounds kind of, but in a sense that we're not praying in His name, we're praying in Him, where our position is entirely in Christ. We don't pray to Jesus.

I'm just thinking that's why the veil was rent, so that God could come out I guess my question to the class is, is this Theology 101 or is this a graduate school course? Roy, is this a graduate school course, or is this Theology 101? I think an awful lot of people coming in here might think this is a graduate course.

Well, we're giving no credit, so you're auditing this course, okay? We had some visitors last week, two ladies that came, and they basically said that. They said that they saw what we taught here as being going to school. you know, going to seminary, I mean they thought, wow, is that a good thing? I think it's a good thing, but some people may not, some people may think, kind of standoffish, but people that enjoy understanding the scriptures in depth, I just want to tell you they are not here but they are in that class. So they went from this class, was it your teaching? If they were here maybe they would find a third class that doesn't exist.

Just getting back to praying to the Father. I think that as we grow in the Lord our Heavenly Father makes Jesus so important to us that I find myself talking to all three of the persons of the Godhead in different ways at different times. Like when I'm reading the scriptures, thank you for showing me Jesus to the spirit. Thank you father for sending your son for my sins and for reminding me of your great work and your great love. All of those things I think come with just a daily thought pattern like he says, praying always.

This is a communion of intimacy. Well, I don't fault that. I kind of look at it this way. This is kind of a rabbit trail here, but I think it has its purpose to discuss this a little bit further. What's the purpose of the Holy Spirit? To show us grace. Okay, so back to Tom.

We're in Christ, so we approach the Father in that identification truth, and the Spirit's what leads us to that. I think the way you've formulated your thought process about this is perfectly fine. I'm not critical of that, but you kind of think of this, that really creates the triune God, doesn't it? That we're in Christ approaching the throne and the Spirit's what leads us. I mean in a sense that ties all three into the process. Other thoughts about this?

The other thing I was thinking of if you read the Gospel of John and how our Lord emphasizes that if you love me we will make our... He says the Father will love you and will come and live in you and I will live in you too. I mean that was very personal to the disciples. And the disciples at that point didn't have a clue about the Holy Spirit and His role, but Christ was trying to reveal that to them at the time. And the Spirit's job is to reveal Christ within us. Good, good discussion. Thank you. Alright, let's go ahead here.

What does Paul mean when he says he's praying always for you? What do you think, everyone? That's, from an earthly perspective, ridiculous, isn't it? That we would pray always. Tom? I would suspect there's an ongoing, desperate need for clarification, and that's the whole object of this letter. Okay. Let's go to the Greek word. It kind of is pretty solidly and convincingly showing it means at all times. ever, always. There's no equivocation here. Yes?

What's interesting is we see this along with praying always. We see a lot of times in relation to prayer and from an earthly perspective we say well that's not possible because if I do that then I wouldn't be able to do other functions in life and we have to feed our families and do whatever it is. But how about every opportunity?

I mean if you think of the ultimate of identification truth, we're positioned at the right hand of God. I don't know about all of you, I'm communicating constantly. I'm thinking about the earthly responsibilities, my job, my family, my wife, all that.

We have paths around the house. But praying always is that kind of open door that's a constant communication. And the veil being read really is a perfect example of that. We have open access. And so always, I think we think about it too much in an earthly perspective. Boy, isn't it neat to have that door fully, widely open that we communicate and have the opportunity to ever be communicating with God. Tom? And on a lighter note, you could actually say, because that veil was rent, Rippity-doo-dah! We're united again. Did Bullwinkle say that? I don't think that one was Shakespeare. No, I mean, are people identifying with this? Yes.

Is there any meaning in the word that instead of praying always, it means like all times or ongoing, not just in the minute, close time. But always like in the future, ongoing? Well the best I could do is turn to the Greek. I really am not overly simplifying what Thayer said. Those are the, you know, how to interpret it. So I guess at all times would mean future, couldn't it?

I mean, yeah Wayne? Well when Paul says walk in the spirit, isn't that kind of the same thing? It's kind of an ongoing thing? But there are times that we're not. There are consequences to that. Okay, so walking in the Spirit, how would you equate that to praying always? Well, it's set your mind on things above and not on things of this earth.

So I think that's just kind of a mode that we should be in. Isn't that just sort of who we are? We're in Christ. That's where our mind is. Wayne points out that we're in the spirit. That's who we are. That doesn't take away who we are on earth. But that's who we are positionally. And that's where our mind should be. Anything that comes to mind that we feel we need to pray about, it would come to mind. I think the verse says pray always but a few commentators seem to think it means giving thanks always but in my opinion they're all one and the same aren't they?

Well Bob I like your comment which I find the same kind of situation. You can be hammering a nail and say, Lord, this nail's pretty hard. I'd like to, you know, a little more oomph with my nails. And then you hit your thumb and you say something else, right? Typically, you get the words involved in the task you're doing and you're communicating with them as you do every task in life. You don't do that in a rote sense. You just do it because that's the relationship. It's just wonderful to be able to, you know, to have that relationship.

Well I suspect the elders had in mind to study Colossians after Ephesians kind of reflects on this theme of identification and I sense that the three in one that Roy alludes to really is all part of that identification truth where God is the Father, we're identified in Christ, we approach God because we're in Christ and the Spirit leads us in that relationship. I think it's kind of the triads all wrapped into one.

Gail? It seems to me that as I've grown in Christ that I've come to understand that being in this attitude of praying all the time, constantly, is a state of being. It's either, as you say, in Christ, rather than a posture or going into a closet, sitting aside at a time which seems to be where I was when I was a young believer. And I think maybe that's true of everyone. I really like what you said.

It's not like going into some big cathedral and finding God there, right? I mean, it's this constant communication, I think, and that's really the rent veil. I think it's well conceptualized. Even when you said going into some big cathedral, that's like zipping up that rent veil again, isn't it? Well, it's a sense.

What's God in that? And I can't tell you, we've had the privilege of going in many big cathedrals, particularly in Europe and South America, and we've said, do we need to go in another one of these places, right? They're beautifully from an architectural perspective, right? They just look at them as museums. There's no spiritual.

But see, the world system thinks there's something about that. And what's that all about? I mean, it's kind of like what we were talking about Jesus Christ Superstar in the car coming down this morning. Margaret said we ought to look at the film again. I've never seen the film. I think it's sacrilegious.

But she points out the world system looks at Jesus Christ Superstar as his earthly existence only, right? And so that's what the world system thinks about when they go into St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome or something, you know. Man controlling God. Exactly, and putting God on their own platform, right? Or in their own box. Other thoughts about this? So praying always, I don't think you need to have, you're checking that off each evening before, was I praying? No, I only prayed 33% of the time today. This is identification, and it's identification played out in our day-to-day existence.

And a similar statement, by the way there are statements in 1 Thessalonians and other places, I just cited one here in Philippians 4-6. Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be known unto God. And that's not only praying, but it's also thanksgiving, isn't it? Wrapped up in the same verse in Philippians. Neat.

This isn't just a one verse kind of ultimately doctrine that we need to apply. It occurs throughout the New Testament scripture and mostly Pauline based. Alright, another example of Paul's love for and a devotion to the brethren. Ephesians 1, 15 and 16, Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you making mention of you So here's this idea of giving thanks to God and here also praying for the brethren going forward.

Other thoughts on verse 3? Alright, let's go ahead then. Roger gave me three verses this week. We're going to take Colossians one verse at a time. Tom? It does imply the Holy Spirit operating in us when He is saying on verse three, including God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, the prayer of the Spirit. There it is. It's all coordinated. Alright, no further thoughts, let's look at verse 4 then. Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints.

You know, isn't it interesting, this is something I didn't think about until right now. Paul never calls him Jesus. It's either the Lord Jesus Christ or Christ Jesus. And again, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with talking to Jesus or calling him, but there's something about the identification we have as the Lord Jesus Christ or Christ Jesus. It takes on a meaning that goes beyond simply the earthly existence. Anyway, that's a side bullet.

Don't you think it's also because Paul never knew Christ on the earth. He only knew him in the glorified body, whereas other people the disciples and all that, they knew him as an earthly man. And so I think that's a whole different mindset. I mean, Paul had no other view but that.

And if you look in Acts, the first few verses, Peter, his emphasis is Jesus of Nazareth, and he refers to him to identify with the human earth. That's good. And I don't recall, Roy, maybe others in the class do recall, in the epistle of 1 and 2 Peter, do we see that kind of relationship again? I don't recall it being there, but in the epistles. He talks about him seeing Christ glorified, And he contrasts that with, yet we have a more sure testimony of the scriptures. So even there he is saying, don't trust your eyes, don't trust this personal testimony of eyewitness testimony, trust the scriptures.

They are more sure. Okay, good, good point. So I don't know, maybe he wrote Peter A long ways from Acts, right? He did, right. And do you recall, Roger, when Peter, whether he referred to him as Jesus, the person Jesus? In 1 Peter where he says, but growing great in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Beautiful. Okay, so that returns to the theme that I just mentioned here.

Alright, so, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints, does that make verse 3 conditional? Look at verse 3 and now look at verse 2, I mean verse 4 going forward. So why am I asking this seemingly ridiculous question? Well, the idea, what's something conditional? means it requires something to be present that make this verse applicable.

There was evidence there, directly or indirectly not mentioned, because obviously they were asking for more. They wanted to know more. So what I'm trying to get across here, maybe a little bit again, talk about a rabbit trail, this is a cow trail or something, but never mind.

So the idea is that he said he's praying for them always, always praying for them, and oh by the way, I'm only praying for you since we heard your faith in Christ Jesus. I mean, go ahead Roger. Well I kind of found he actually never visited the Colossians.

We're coming to that, yeah good. I think that's kind of like when you hear about, wow, these people, I could hear these ladies return from last week. That's exciting. So you thank you Lord and hence that would kind of back up verse 3 there. And I think it's not conditional because in fact they're praying always for what they knew. But then by the way, once we heard of your love and faith, I mean, and that expands their prayer and maybe has the prayer more directed. I don't know. I think it can be both because it's because of our position that we can have faith in Jesus Christ. And positional truth is part of that condition that we're in. I hope so.

We are part of the new creation so we're not just fixed up I'll never forget when I was a new faculty member here, one of my first fellows, a lovely man who is quite Jewish but nevertheless neither here nor there. We were writing papers together and I would use the term sense.

He would always correct me. What would he substitute for sense? there's another term that he felt grammatically was absolutely trumping sense as a word. Because. And so he wouldn't let me write sound. I'm training him. His English grammar, I must admit, was probably far superior to mine.

But anyway, because we've heard of your effect. No, I mean, I was thinking about here yesterday would be because be a better and more accurate interpretation. Since is a little weaker, but because we heard of your faith. I think I can see the application here, can't you? But since is a term we use commonly, don't we?

Yes, Karen. Although if you, I mean in my mind, if I substitute because, that makes it more conditional. Conditional, yeah. So it's conditional. Since can be a couple different ways, but if we're praying for you because we heard of your faith, then if we didn't, then...

Okay, I see your point. Anyway, let's get off the couch for a minute. Alright, notice the order here, hearing of their faith in Christ Jesus and then their love for all the saints. Notice the order. Is that order important, you think? And by the way, where did they hear from this?

Well, the sources of Paphos, and that's stated clearly in verses 7 and 8. Roger, are you teaching next week? do you remember that one time when I get this message like five in the afternoon and we're somewhere in Europe Bob, you're not here, are you teaching this morning? do you have a Skype system set up? Oh boy, are we having fun here this morning? Alright, so yeah, Paphos is the source, and so Andrew is teaching next week, so I'll have to look at that on tape, or on line when we get back.

Okay, Paul had only heard, he's not been seen by the body of believers at Colossae, in fact in Colossians 2.1, For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you. He's burdened for this church. and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh." We have no evidence he ever got to Colossae, right? So Paul is running from a distance, he's heard about them, he's heard about their faith and their love, and he's now communicating about that.

We says the preposition used here is en, or on, a preposition of rest. Now I would never have thought that. On, a preposition of rest. Having placed our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, it now rests in him. Now I don't disagree with that statement, but Roy T., would you interpret on as a rest, in as a restful term? We're in Christ. We're in Christ, and there's a rest there.

Anyway, I put Roy on the spot back there. It's because in, it's used two ways. It's used for a position of being inside, and it's also used by means of, if it's one of the functions in Greek. It can be either one of those. I don't think I've seen it on the position of rest. I didn't drill down on that statement of Buista, just kind of listed it there for you.

Whatever, it's clear that the faith and love that's being reported here was something very special and reflected, I think, good doctrine. So that takes me on. You know, and we looked at this in Ephesians. I don't know how many of you were here for that, but how faith and love are bonded is noted there too. the link between faith and love. Remember we had the discussion about where truth falls in relationship to faith and love, and faith and love are often linked by Paul in his epistles, and here we see it again. So, you know, he heard of their faith and their love for the brethren.

Notice that the direction of the love is to all saints, but not to the world. And why not to the world? Galatians 6.10 says, as we have therefore opportunity Let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith." So, interpret that for me. Is doing good, agathos, the same as agape love?

So, do we love the world system? Do we love the unbeliever? Silence. So how do we deal with the unsaved world that surrounds us? Is this agape love? Well, the Lord would have everyone to be saved, so he wants us to reach out to the unsaved world, but he has a different standard for the way we love believers. He often has just given us a different commandment, so to speak, on how we interact with We interact as their family.

That's right. You interact differently with your family than you do with a stranger on the street. You have to be careful about that person. Maybe he's in need, but you're feeling for your family, and we are family in Christ. Okay, let me take that on to a different level.

The cross is agape love for each and every one of us in this room, right, who are saved. So wasn't that agape love also poured out for the world system? Yes, right. Absolutely. I think that this reflects his, that for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh, everyone, because he was the apostle to the Gentiles, to the Ethnos. I think that that was his vision.

When he prayed, he prayed for all men to be saved and for access to be speaking boldly as he ought to. Why do you think in Galatians Paul uses the term agathos rather than agape? And this may be my scriptural ignorance but I'm not recalling a time where in fact agape is used for the unsaved.

Well it is in John 3.18. They love darkness. Yeah, well that for sure. And we're called to that, right?

The agape for the world system for the believer is a term that's used in the Greek. I think that the level of prayer and concern for the body is a level that is above that for the world system. Now that doesn't mean the agape love that Christ went to the cross for all of us isn't the same thing we view the unsaved person. But doing good unto all men, especially those of the household of faith.

So there's kind of this separation here a little bit. Roger? Christ made some hard statements, like he said, you'll always have the poor of the world. We see all these great things, we're going to cure all the hunger of the world, we're going to help all the poor people of the world. Well, Christ by his declaration says there will always be poor people, so that's part of the fallen world.

We may be the only Bible people ever read and that's really the Christ love that's portrayed through us, which is a copy love. But I'm sensing that maybe the relationship we have with the body in terms of the responsibilities is a little different than it is for the world. We've all prayed for family and friends to be saved.

I mean that's natural. Other thoughts or comments on this? It seems to me there's a passage that our Lord used when he was teaching the disciples that all men will know that you are my disciples if you love one another as I have loved you. So that's agape love, right? That's the only kind of love he has. Okay, good. Let's go ahead.

And this love for our brothers and sisters in the Lord does not go unnoticed. And just a reference for that, and it's not like we're collecting rewards here. But for God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love, which ye have shown towards his name, and that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister. So this love for the body is something that the Lord knows.

And I think if we remember what happens when we get to this in the next verse, what happens when we're in heavenly places. Rewards aren't red, white, and blue ribbons. I think those things done in the Spirit that reflect God's glory only are the things that ultimately deserve his attention upstairs and those are things that relate I think in part to the love for the brethren and nobody's measuring this with a yardstick. This is a life lived out day in and day out that we're called to.

You know Paul was not loved by the Asian churches in his latter days. They accused him of all kinds of things and he mentions that in Timothy. they turned aside from it, even though he ministered to them. They didn't notice that as ministry. Do you follow what I'm saying there? I'm following what you're saying, but I'm not sure I can... Believers do not recognize God's ministry through a man. They just don't. They, for whatever reason, put up like making us an enemy even in the process of ministry. It's a lonely business being a minister. Quite often. I'm not trying to be negative, but it does the facts of life. It just happens. Happened to Paul. It happens to a number of men. They're not accepted in their lifetime as a minister. Christ was rejected from the earth.

So that's part of the reason. And Paul warned the Egyptians that there's going to be wolves among you that would raise up false doctrine. Right, and we'll return to that in a second, Roy, in terms of the next verse. Is that the point here, though? Is that something that we are looking at? Well, I guess you've raised kind of a I'm making this a kangaroo trail now. We've been on a rabbit trail, cow trail, now we're on a kangaroo trail.

The idea of within the body of Christ, if a minister is not doing his or under certain circumstances her job, ultimately what's the issue there? I mean, God's glory is only based on the truth of his word being portrayed to the body and beyond. So is he or she at fault or is in fact the interpretation of their ministry? I mean, the issue, what's in the flesh and what's in the spirit? I mean, you know, only the Lord knows that for sure.

But as you look at our missionaries, Ed Nairam Judson was misunderstood in his ministry to India. When he began his ministry in China to the people and took himself into their clothing and dress style to reach them. He was rejected by his fellow missionaries. They thought he was crazy. Yeah, but that was what God led him to do.

I'm just thinking of those two examples. There's probably others. Okay, well again, when you think of big bodies, I mean, we have a small body of believers here. We have two elders. I mean, the issue is, it's fairly simple here in terms of our congregation and our body. But think of a church with 3,000 members who are there five and seven pastors.

I mean, you know, and the flesh shows up under those circumstances at times. And who knows what the real truth is? Only our Heavenly Father really is in a position to know. And hopefully as the Spirit leads through members of the elder board, etc., in a complex situation like that, ultimately the truth is going to prevail. Anyway, let's leave the kangaroo hopping in Australia at this point.

So now, verse 5, good discussion though. Because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of what you've heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel. The problem with these verses I'm saying, they also have a comma or a semicolon at the end. The theme of the verse continues and we're going to let Andrew deal with that next week. So Macaulay suggests that verses 3-5 reflect different phases and time periods of our spiritual development. So verse 4, faith, is past. Now, I don't know about you, but my faith is today, and that's about things future, but the idea is you came to the Lord by faith. That's our salvation. The gospel has reached you, and you've accepted the gospel and the truth there.

Colossians 1.4, the later part of the verse, love, which is present, we're loving one another, and the godly love being manifested with the body and presumably beyond. And now hope, which is the future aspect of our spirit of development. Now, you know, I always liked the simplification of this in terms of the verb form. I was saved, I'm being saved, and I will be saved. So I was saved July 14, 1978. I'm being saved today by the power of him working in through the Spirit in this new life I have in Christ and I will be saved with the hope that I have that's laid up for me in heaven.

So, in a sense, that's kind of what Macaulay is saying here, although he didn't say it quite that way. And he also states that the following, this is I'm quoting Macaulay, in English, this is I think pretty profound and I think it's so true. In English, hope implies doubt. But in the New Testament, hope indicates certainty. Heaven is our hope, not because it is in doubt, but because it is future. Hope is the part of our salvation that has been promised, but has not yet been dispensed. Hope, a fact.

Now again, we know that this is the source of all truth, is it not? So, if we believe God by faith that Christ died for our sins, was buried unto death and resurrected from the dead, and that also gives us new life in Christ, can we doubt that he says he's laid up a place for us in heaven? You know, isn't it funny, Margaret and I kind of chuckle about this all the time. We go to these funerals or whatever of people who have died who are, as far as we know, not saved people. Nobody knows for sure. I was reminded of that at my brother's funeral.

But all that aside, but everybody's in a better place. All the services say that Sylvia or George is in a better place. We don't see the dirty side. By the way, Wendy, if you're part of my side, never mind. Let's maintain that theme, if you would. Maybe I'll talk to Bonnie about this. So it's laid up as present tense. I mean, you know, it's laid up. It's interesting in present tense, therefore a current fact, but our hope is to experience this when his time, interestingly enough, when his time is ours.

You know, none of us know. My late wife Sharon was, you know, she knew she was dying and remembered like it was yesterday. And she said, you know, I don't, I know I'm going to be with the Lord and I have that trust, but she said, I just don't know how I'm going to get out of here." We're all asking that same question, aren't we? Answer to prayer, though, she was in a coma the last 48 hours, and so she didn't feel death and pain. She just kind of went and spaced out before she died and went to be with the Lord. But anyway, all of us kind of worry about, you know, how are we going to get out of here?

We all have this hope. You know I must admit when I was hospitalized a month ago I for a short time was thinking hmm is your time mine? Anyway but thankfully it was and I'm not ready to leave. Jay Vernon McGee who I listen to on the way to work every morning Margaret's got me these CDs I listen to it every morning he always talks about you know I sure I know my hope but I want to stay here right now and I think we all want to stay here right now.

I was thinking of Steven, he probably wasn't even thinking about that rock up and down. He was seeing the glory of God. And look at the consequences. Are we paying that kind of price today for the gospel? Hardly. Alright, so remember, our citizenship's in heaven.

Philippians 3.20. I love the verse because it's a constant reminder. And just this is something personal, but when things seem tough and are astray, that's a reminder that often puts us back and gives us 20-20 vision of what the Lord has us going through. It's not future, that's right now. Our citizenship is in heaven, it's now. And we have promises there.

1 Peter 1.4, an inheritance that's incorruptible and undefiled and doesn't fade away. It's really reserved in heaven for each and every one of us. Pretty special, huh? An inheritance that's incorruptible and undefiled. My goodness.

Describe heaven to me. The Lord has given us so little information about heavenly places. Why? Why has the Lord not given us more information? Duh. We don't need it. Because Christ is there and that's all we need to know. You know, I'm going to be very transparent, but you know the idea of just worshipping Christ day in and day out just seems kind of, isn't there more to do? I mean, you know, in other words, we're so earthly in our view of what heavenly places are all about. And we really can't put in reality the perspective of what we're going to have in His presence one day. Tom?

I get the feeling when it's talked about in Revelation about when people are going to the enemy their good works go with them and it will be probably not just rewarded but somehow you get the feeling that they will be recalling and how it magnified the Lord. And you can go in that because you can see it for the whole thing that it is instead of this primitive beautiful earth. And all the wood, hay and stubble will not be there, right?

Okay. All right, you know, Mike Doyle often says, at least he said previously, I'm not sure he still can remember this, not obviously, is that, you know, we all will be with the Lord Jesus Christ and as well as we know Him here, we'll be as well as we know Him there. I'm not, you know, I'm not sure how scriptural that is, but it's kind of an interesting concept. Right.

He says he's going to prepare a place for us. Isn't that neat that there's going to be a place that he's made? perfect for each one of us to be. I mean, that's heaven seeing hell. So Gail's place could be a little different than yours, as Bonnie's will be from Rogers, etc. But it's all going to be fine and good, right?

It's all going to be holy and glorious, undefiled. I love the term undefiled. Incorruptible. and in harmony with each other. I think that in terms of a home, and in a home you're comfortable. So even though I can't imagine what it's going to be like, and that's kind of freaky to think, well I'm going to this place where I don't know a thing about it, but it's going to be home. I'm going to be safe, I'm comfortable, and happy.

And that helps us recall our citizenship. We're there. We're now really, even though we might be citizens of the United States if we're in Southeast Asia, we're still citizens of the United States. We need to think of heavenly places as that. That's really home for us. Good. Good comments from everybody. So, what's your view of heaven and its context? It's just not the sky above. Actually, the Greek term relates to all kinds of heavens, and there are various kinds of heavenly places. One is the atmosphere above.

That's not what we're talking about here. We're talking about that eternal place which is incorruptible and undefiled. So, of which you'd heard before in the Word of the Truth of the Gospel. So, heard, aorist, active, indicative. This is fact. They've heard about this. So, the question is, where do they hear about this? What's your thought here? When had they heard about this? I mean, Paul had never been to Colossae. Now, who's this other guy we've been talking about here a little bit?

This is likely from Epaphras and what he shared distinguished the true from the false gospel of the more recent teachers. You know, we're going to learn about the fact that, you know, and Roy I think alluded to that before, there was false teaching going on all over the place. And so Epaphras is really sharing them the truth of the true gospel.

Is this their second buzzer? So ultimately I think that's where they heard from it. They heard before the gospel. So that's Epaphras' responsibility presumably. Not clear but likely. I wonder if he's the one that told Paul about them. Well, I think so. We commented on that a little bit earlier. And likely an extended part of the gospel beyond our first step of faith. So what am I indicating here? What are my thoughts here?

I mean, we're talking about milk and meat. What's milk, scripturally? It's the basic gospel that we all hear initially, but we haven't grown into what that really means, the extent of what Okay, 1 Corinthians 15, right? That's the basic gospel. Okay? And that's milk, and as Peter alludes to, many people are drinking milk for a long time here. And we're called the meat. And what's meat?

It seems like, you know, actually, I kind of said that in Galatians, you know, you can look at the core gospel, but then you begin to see that almost all of Paul's writings is what is the larger gospel. All the good news about who we are in Christ. All is good news about who we are and what we have.

What percentage of New Testament believers, the body of Christ that we have today, what percentage understand more than their sins being forgiven? that they actually were co-crucified with Christ and buried with him in baptism unto death and risen with him in newness of life. I mean the sin nature of being crucified is what Paul's all about and I think that's what I'm postulating but I think that Paraphrase is likely leading them beyond milk of what the gospel is all about here.

Because that becomes the issue in Galatians and also in Colossians. After they became believers, then people would come along and say, oh, you forgot, brother, you've got to follow the Ten Commandments and you've got to have certainty. So they bring in the old teaching, if it was the Jewish community...

Prayerless and beyond. One, as Mike has taught, and I think he taught this section, another gospel, right? This other gospel of having legal principles applied to the rest we have in Christ Jesus and the spirit-led life that follows. And what to take to enter into that more extended truth of the gospel?

I think it takes a hungry heart. You've got to come to the end of yourself. And that's when these other truths start to manifest themselves. And that's what Paul's all about. And you know, I've said this before, but as the light gets brighter of who we are in Christ, the flesh and sin nature becomes uglier and more revealed for what it really is. We don't want to study that. It's just that that's growth and grace, and to God be the glory.

Final verse, Ephesians 1.13, you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, right back to the triune God." Of course, Ephesians 1 is the longest verse in scripture, I'm not sure that's true. So we're going to conclude today and that's the text. The text is relating to the expanded introduction that Roger gave us last week now in terms of giving thanks constantly, praying constantly, looking to the faith and love as manifested by the believer and then ultimately realizing that we've got a promissory note in terms of having our heavenly existence one day. be laid up as an incorruptible and undefiled entity to follow.

Additional thoughts or wisdom? Tom, would you close us in prayer please? As you point out, the world reflects in the depth of each of our lives as evil, and the new ongoing relationship that you have day by day, ever new to each one of us, a new act in putting away the old, a new nature in putting away the old, by the Holy Spirit working in us. Amen.