The Sword Room

We give thanks to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always concerning all of you, having heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints, because of the hope set aside for you in the heavens (Colossians 1:3-4).

First Ephesians, then Philippians, now Colossians–my Bible reading itinerary over the past two weeks. Just started Colossians this morning and was reminded by the above verses of Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 13 that of the three greatest Christian virtues–faith, hope, and love–love is to be the most sought after. It would seem that the context there qualifies Paul’s meaning to the effect that these three virtues are the greatest in terms of our effectiveness in bringing edification to the body of Christ. After all, the great love chapter is sandwiched between two chapters on the use of spiritual gifts in the corporate assembly.

In this Colossians passage Paul thanks God, having heard of the presence of faith, hope, and love in the lives of the believers there. Faith is simple trust alone in the person and work of Christ alone. Love is a self-giving commitment to unconditionally seek what is best for your brother in Christ through concrete actions of service–after the example of the Savior Himself. Hope has a forward look toward those treasures in heaven which await the believer. After many years of life and ministry I have come to see hope as a great motivator. When a person sees light at the end of the tunnel he will take action to move toward that light. Sometimes, in the absence of immediate hope, all we have to go on is the hope we know is laid aside for us on high. Read Hebrews 11 and you will see the close connection between faith and hope.

In verse six Paul says that the good news of Jesus is bearing fruit and increasing among the Colossians and across the Roman Empire. My first inclination is to conclude that Paul is referring to the verbal proclamation of the gospel; and of course he must obviously have this in mind, since faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ (Rom. 10:17). But I can’t help but think that when the gospel proclamation is backed up by the testimony of lives characterized by genuine faith, hope, and love, the effect is really powerful.

My prayer for me and you is that we will grow in our trust for Christ and Spirit-filled love for God’s children, and that we will place our hope where it rightly belongs–in the hope God by His sovereign hand reserves for us in heaven, where moth and rust cannot reach, and thieves cannot break in and plunder. May we live the gospel today and demonstrate these virtues in our lives to where the unbelievers and believers around us see a genuine difference in us. And as the good news grows and increases in us may His grace spill over and touch the lives of many.

Stay tuned for more out of Colossians over the next few days.

As a postscript I wish to dedicate today’s post to a man named Eldon. Eldon was/is a pastor I knew a few years back (1984-86). What I remember most about him was his faith in Christ and commitment to the Word of God. He was a loving husband, father, and shepherd of God’s people. I was honored to sit on his ordination council, and I can remember to this day how he shed tears of gratitude to Christ as he shared the testimony of what Jesus had done in his life. What a joy to know that after these years he is still trusting and serving the Lord. Eldon, if you shoud be reading my words, this one’s for you, brother. Keep you hand to the plow.

First and foremost, without the resurrection we cannot be saved. If Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! (1 Cor. 15:17) Not only does our salvation hang on the objective and historic reality of the resurrection of Christ: subjectively we must believe and confess it as true to be saved. That if you will confess with you mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved (Rom. 10:9). Just as you cannot be saved without belief in the deity of Christ (John 8:24), whatever else you might be you are not a Christian if you do not believe in the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ, as presented in the Word of God.

The resurrection of Christ also assures us that our future hope is secure. God has caused us to be born again to a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1 Peter 1:3). As Christians we rest assured that the living Christ will come again to receive us to Himself, either at the point of physical death or at His return. Were Christ not risen and reigning in heaven right now, we would have nothing to look forward to beyond this life: If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable (1 Cor. 15:19). Read the eleventh chapter of Hebrews and you will see that it was hope in a future salvation beyond this life that fueled the faith of the biblical heroes. Without a resurrected Christ theirs was an empty hope.

Finally, the resurrection power of Christ is what enables us to live and function spiritually in the ongoing process of sanctification. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you (Rom. 8:11). If you read the context of this verse you will see Paul is not talking pie in the sky here: he is talking about the Spirit supplying resurrection power for Christian living now! Before you were saved you were spiritually dead in trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1). As such you were utterly and completely devoid of all ability to repent and believe, or for that matter to comprehend the gravity of your spiritual condition. God made you alive and imparted the free gift of saving faith to you (Eph. 2:8-9). Now that you are regenerated, the indwelling Spirit supplies power for the mortifying of sin and practicing of positive righteousness. But if the Spirit was unable to raise Christ from the dead, what can He possibly offer you and me in terms of life and power now?

When our daughter Josie was around ten years old, one day she asked, “Dad, how do you know it’s all true?” She was referring to my faith in Christ and belief in the Word of God. I told her that the knowledge necessary for believing in Jesus and the Bible comes to us when God reveals it to us in our hearts. We cannot come to know it scientifically or rationally. We are not born again of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God (John 1:13). Once we are saved we cannot brag that we studied it and figured it all out, and that once we wised up we did God a favor by trusting in His Son. No. We do not save ourselves. We do not even cooperate in God saving us. God saves sinners. True, we do come to a saving knowledge and believe–but only because God makes alive and freely bestows upon us the necessary faith and knowledge.

So if you, like Josie, wonder how you can believe in the living Christ–bow before Him and ask Him to open your heart. Simple, but the only way. He is alive, and He will hear your sincere request.