THE GOSPEL TO THE COLOSSIANS

Col. 1:5-6

Morning Meditation 3/15/17

Verses 5-6 say, "For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel; Which is come 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."

There are several great truths that suggest themselves to us in these two verses with reference to the gospel. First, verse 6 suggests,

THE PROCLAMATION OF THE GOSPEL

Paul is speaking of the gospel when he says in verse 6, "Which is come unto you." We do not know who first brought the gospel to the Colossians.. It is believed by many to have been Epaphras (1:7; 4:12; Philemon 1:23). There is no salvation apart from the gospel. What is meant by the gospel? Notice five things about the gospel:

1. The gospel defined in Scripture; 1 Cor. 15:1-4. The gospel is not just a truthful Biblical message. It is the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ as God's answer for man's forgiveness and reconciliation.

2. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation to the believer; Rom.1:16.

3. Paul determined not to know anything but the gospel when speaking to an unsaved audience; 1 Cor. 2:1-5.

4. The gospel proclaimed and believed is the point where a lost sinner is regenerated and sealed with the Holy Spirit; Eph. 1:13.

5. Once a person is saved, the gospel (the cross) is the sole reason for glorying; Gal. 6:14.

A person will never be saved apart from the proclamation of the gospel. It may be proclaimed by a preacher, personal worker, through television or radio, or in a gospel tract. But it must be proclaimed. It had been proclaimed to the Colossians and to the glory of God they had believed that message. Then next we see,

THE SCOPE OF THE GOSPEL

Paul says in verse 6, "Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world." We need to remember that the gospel is worldwide in scope.

1. The great commission is to the Church and the scope is all the world; Matt. 28:18-20.

2. Our present text confirms that the early Church made a worldwide impact.

3. The Church in Rome had a worldwide missionary program; Rom. 1:8.

Paul emphasizes in our text to the Colossians that the scope of the gospel is worldwide. When a church is started, from the very day of its organization, missions should be one of the primary goals of that new church. For a person in a local church to argue against missions is to reveal his total ignorance of the primary reason for the church's existence. The Great Commission is to the church, and if one is a member of the church, he is either called to go out in missions himself or send those whom God has called.

It is not enough for the church to be involved in local ministries. That is missions at home. That is good and right. But Jesus said, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15). It is not right to do one and neglect another. For a church to wait until they are able, is to walk by financial figures instead of faith. It is the same principle as a believer saying he is going to wait until he is able to tithe. If you do, you won't. I could never be happy in a church that was not seriously involved in world missions. The scope of the gospel is worldwide. Then next,

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE GOSPEL

Paul says of the effect of the gospel on the Colossians, "and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you." When the gospel is proclaimed, it will bear fruit. It did with the Colossians. Two things about the gospel,

1. The gospel proclaimed is the seed sown.

2. The gospel believed is the fruit grown.

This is the way it happened. It was first preached. There may be many who heard that first message who did not receive it. However, the seed was sown and received immediately by some. Paul says, "and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, SINCE THE DAY YE HEARD OF IT" (Caps mine for emphasis). How many times does a person have to hear the gospel to be saved? I believe our text proves that one can be saved the first time he hears the gospel. There are those who reject the gospel over and over again and finally believe.. I praise the Lord that He is merciful and will save a person who has rejected Him many times. God allows us to change our minds about rejecting Him. As a young boy, I was unsaved and knew it. I spent some time rejecting the gospel because I wasn't ready. I remember thinking as a six and seven year old boy that if I was saved I would have to quit sin. I had been told that repentance was a necessary prerequisite to faith in Christ. I still believe that. I finally realized it was a mistake to put him off and came to Him for salvation. I praise the Lord He saved me.

There was another important factor in their conversion which was the fruit of the seed sown. Paul adds, "and knew the grace of God in truth." There was in that day as there is in our day a perversion of the truth of grace. Grace is the unmerited favor of God. Let me say some things about grace:

1. Salvation is not a mixture of works and grace; Rom. 11:6. It either has to be all one or all the other. The idea of works destroys the idea of grace and the idea of grace destroys the idea of works. Grace and works get along but not as a condition to salvation. Read the reference.

2. The grace of God is perverted when one mixes works with grace as a condition to salvation; Gal. 1:6-9.

3. Salvation is by grace alone totally apart from works; Eph. 2:8-9.

The words "and knew the grace of God in truth" suggest that there might be a grace that is not true. It was true in that day and it is true in ours. The word "knew" translates "epiginosko" and means, "to become thoroughly acquainted with, to know thoroughly." The tense of this verb is an aorist active indicative. The aorist tense speaks of a point of time. It is not referring to a process. It speaks of one dramatic event. The Colossians know now what they had thoroughly known in the past. You could ask believers in the church at Colosse to give you a definition of the grace of God, and they could do it. They had it down to the point where they would recognize if they heard someone who was not preaching the grace of God in truth. The best way to defend against error is to thoroughly know the truth. Next Paul identifies,

THE AIM OF THE GOSPEL

Paul identifies the aim of the gospel as personal, when he says, "as it doth also in YOU" (Caps mine for emphasis). The gospel confronts people personally. Three thousand souls were saved on the day of Pentecost ONE AT A TIME. You cannot trust the Lord for your children.. You can dedicate them to God in prayer and even go through a formal act of dedication, but unless that child is personally confronted with the gospel and makes a choice to receive Christ as a personal Saviour, he will not be saved. There is no such thing as sponsored salvation. Salvation is a personal matter.

The aim of the gospel is to personally confront every person in the world with the truth of the gospel and give them the opportunity to receive Christ as Saviour. God's aim should be our aim. Someone has said, "Should anyone hear the gospel twice until everyone has heard it once?" That is thought provoking. But personally I heard it many times, and I thank God for those who took me to church so I could. Next Paul speaks in verse 5 of,

THE HOPE OF THE GOSPEL

He speaks in verse 5 of "the hope which is laid up for you in heaven." Hope in the Bible is not a weak word. It is used synonymously with faith. This is brought out in Romans 8:24 where Paul says, "For we are saved by hope . . ." Hope is the joyful anticipation of a reality. Hope is used here as a synonym to what is hoped for. What does the gospel promise to those who believe it? It promises everlasting life where death will be unknown.

The words "is laid up" translate "apokeimai" and mean, "reserved for one, awaiting him." The verb is a present passive participle. The present tense means that what we hope for is there now awaiting us. The passive voice means that Jesus did it for us. What we hope for is what Jesus promised, and what He promised has already been provided and it awaits our coming. Hallelujah.

This is also brought out in 1 Pet. 1:3-5: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time."

The inheritance is the point I want to make for now. The word "inheritance" translates "kleronomia" and means, "an inheritance, property received (or to be received) by inheritance, what is given to one as a possession." Peter is saying that the inheritance is ours now, and what is ours now is being reserved for us. It is not kept by our faithfulness. It is kept by the power of God.

This is in accordance with our primary text that speaks of "the hope which is laid up for you in heaven." The hope is synonymous with the inheritance. I joyfully anticipate the reality (hope) of the inheritance that He has promised. What is in the future for me is mine right now, and I am allowed to rejoice in the anticipation of it. I couldn't do that if it were not secure. This is the reason Peter uses two words in his text. The word "reserved" which refers to the inheritance, and the words "kept by the power of God" which refers to the inheritor, i.e., the inheritance is reserved by God Himself, and the inheritor (the Christian) is kept by the power of God so that nothing can keep the two apart. Hallelujah to God and the Lamb forever!

May the Lord bless these words to our hearts.

In Christ,

Bro. Earl White