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COLOSSIANS - Christ in you, the hope of glory!
Studies in the Letter of Paul to the Colossians
Part 1 - The Foundations of Christian Faith (Colossians 1:1-29)
2. The prayer of thanksgiving of Paul and his co-workers for the church in Colosse (Colossians 1:3-8)
Colossians 1:3-8
3 We give thanks to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 4 having heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which you have toward all the saints, 5 because of the hope which is laid up for you in the heavens, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the Good News, 6 which has come to you; even as it is in all the world and is bearing fruit and growing, as it does in you also, since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth; 7 even as you learned of Epaphras our beloved fellow servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf, 8 who also declared to us your love in the Spirit.
We
After laying down the cornerstones of the Christian faith, in the introduction to his letter, which included an assertion of the fullness of our salvation, Paul turned to the special situation of the church in Colosse. He testified in the we-form that not only he, but also Timothy, Epaphras and other brothers in the faith were continually praying for the new churches. These prayers constituted the hidden key to their spiritual success (Matt. 18:19-20; 28:20). In so doing, they did not begin by concentrating on the concrete needs and problems of the church, but, primarily, with the true reasons for their offering of thanks.
Give thanks to the God and Father
In truth, they were not just thanking some unknown God, but the Father of Jesus Christ, for the existence and spiritual growth of the church in Colosse. Every true church is a miracle of the grace of the triune God, since Jesus, in harmony with His Father, called out, cleansed, quickened and sanctified those who were spiritually dead in their sin. That constitutes a breaking-in of heaven into the realm of Satan, a victory of Jesus Christ over the powers of darkness, as well as a fruit of His Holy Spirit. The prayer fellowship in the prison in Rome prayed not only once for the new church in Anatolia, but incessantly, every time they met for prayer. They solemnly testified to the recipients of the letter of their faithfulness in prayer, wherein they were to recognize that they were not alone and abandoned in their spiritual battle. Blessed is the church in which faithful prayer warriors maintain prayer lists, where thanksgiving is offered for members of their own church body, and where intercession is regularly practiced for those standing on the front-lines of Christian service.
Prayer: Our Father in heaven, we thank You for all the churches in the world that are today coming into existence through the name of Jesus. We rejoice at the miracle of heaven´s intrusion into our distorted and darkened world. Help us not to forget the daily giving of thanks, for You are doing much more than we know or recognize!
Question 12: What was it the apostle and his team prayed for again and again in regard to the church in Colosse?