Lesson 410 - Junior
Memory Verse
"Thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee" (Jeremiah 32:17).
Notes
A Faithful Minister
On the slopes of the valley of the Lycus river in Asia Minor, lived a group of Christians in the prosperous city of Colosse. Their faithful minister was Epaphras, who prayed earnestly and faithfully for them that they might be perfect and complete in all the will of God.
False religions had appeared in Colosse, and when Epaphras saw that these Christians were in danger of being moved away from simple faith in Christ, he was very much concerned. When Epaphras made the long journey by sea to visit Paul in Rome, he laid the needs of the Colossian church before Paul.
Service for God
Paul was in custody as a prisoner, chained to a soldier to watch him, but his spirit was not imprisoned. He enjoyed freedom in the Lord, and God had made it possible for Paul to live in his own hired house where he taught all who came to him to learn about Jesus. It was perhaps in that very house that Paul wrote some of the letters, which have been an encouragement and help to Christians everywhere.
Let us consider Paul's life of service to God when we are tempted to say we are not able to do this or that in the Gospel work. Though we may not be strong in our body, we may not be rich, we may not have many talents, yet we are encouraged when we think of Paul. He had a bodily affliction, and he had no money except that which he earned by working as a tent-maker and what his friends supplied. At one time he had been a sinner, and he had become able to do God's work only because he had yielded his life to the Lord Jesus. And we, by God's help, can do as much.
The Knowledge of God
Epaphras told Paul of the faith the Colossians had in Christ Jesus, the love they had for one another, and the lively hope they had of Heaven. When Paul heard this good report of their love and faith, he prayed for them. He wrote to encou-rage them to pray to Jesus for help.
Paul's first concern was that these Christians at Colosse might know God's will and have the wisdom of God as revealed in the Bible. He prayed that they might understand spiritual things. To know God's will and do it would enable them to walk, or conduct themselves, as worthy Christians, and be an honour and blessing to the Gospel. It is the same today: To know God's will and do it will enable you boys and girls who are Christians to live pleasing unto the Lord in every way.
Eternal Life
Paul prayed that the Colossians would be fruitful in every good work, meaning that they would take advantage of every opportunity to do something for the Lord. He prayed that they would increase in the knowledge of God, and learn more about Him. Do you know what great reward the knowledge of God brings? It brings eternal life, for Jesus Himself said in His prayer to the Father: "This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent" [JHN:17:3]).
We know about God when we are very small children. Then the day comes when God convicts us of wrongdoing. If we tell a lie, if we become angry and strike our brother, God makes us know we are guilty. He wants us to pray and ask Him to forgive and save us. When we are old enough to read and understand the words of the Bible, we read that God loves us and gave His only beloved Son to die for us. We read that God is kind; He is a good God and cares tenderly for each of us. Then we learn of God's goodness by experience. When we are in trouble we pray and God helps us.
By these means: by conviction of sin, by salvation, by reading and studying the Bible, by experience, our knowledge of God grows.
Long-Suffering with Joy
Paul prayed they would be strong in patience and long-suffering. From one of Jesus' teachings, "In your patience possess ye your souls" [LUK:21:19]), we learn that patience is very important in the Christian life. We are to be patient with things and circumstances; we are to be long-suffering with friends and associates.
When your work does not go smoothly, when you boys are building birdhouses and the hammer slips and hits your thumb or the nails drive crooked, if Paul's prayer is fulfilled in your life you will be calm and sweet. When friends do not want to help, and schoolmates tell lies about you, you pray for them. And all the time these things are going wrong, you do not feel sorry for yourself; you are joyful and thank God that your life can be an honour to Him and to the Gospel.
Our Saviour
Jesus is the beginning and the end of our salvation. He is the beginning when He forgives and covers our sins with His precious Blood. He is the end or finish of our salvation when he comes in the air to take us to be with Him forever.
Jesus is the image of God the Father whom we do not see. Jesus appeared in person in the manger of Bethlehem [HEB:1:6]). He lived and walked in the land of Palestine, died on the Cross, rose again from the dead, and ascended into Heaven. We know what Jesus is like because those with whom He lived while he was on earth wrote about Him, and we read it in the Bible. God is exactly the same as Jesus is -" kind, compassionate, loving [HEB:1:3]).
The Creator
Jesus is the first-born of every creature. That is, He was in existence before any human being was created. Jesus always was. It is a mystery. We cannot understand it, but we believe it because the Bible says it is so. Jesus was with God in the creation, and with God he created all things [HEB:1:10]; [JHN:1:3]). He created all things that are in Heaven above and in earth below -" the sun and moon and stars; the grass, the trees and flowers; the animals and all living creatures. He also created the invisible things -" authorities and governments, or nations. We cannot see an authority or a government, but we know they exist. All these things were created by Jesus Himself and for His pleasure [REV:4:11]), and by His power all these things continue and are held together. There are man-made theories of the origin of the earth that are contrary to the Bible, but regardless of what the textbooks say, we know the Bible is true [ROM:3:4]).
The Head of All
Jesus is the Head of the Church, too. That Church is not the building in which we worship. It is an invisible Church made up of people who are saved. It is the Church of the Firstborn, whose names are written in Heaven [HEB:12:23]). Why, do you think, did it please God to make Jesus the pre-eminent One, the most important One, the Head of all? Because Jesus was willing to die and shed His Blood on the Cross to fulfil God's plan of salvation. God's desire is that all people and all things, including the vegetation and animals, should be brought back into harmony with His plan for all the world as it was in the Garden of Eden. Jesus made it possible when he died for our sins.
Presented Faultless
The people of Colosse, who were at one time wicked sinners, were brought into sweet friendship with God through Jesus' death on the Cross. When the time would come for them to give an account of their life, Jesus would present them without fault before God if they continued in the Gospel. He will do the same for us if we keep saved and stay in the Gospel of Jesus. In another place the Bible says to the Christian that Jesus "is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy" (Jude 24).
The Hope of the Gospel
Paul taught the people that they should be grounded and settled in the faith and not be moved away from the hope of the Gospel. What is the hope of the Gospel? It is the hope that someday we will be in Heaven to share the glory that Jesus has with the Father. Paul said that the fact that Jesus lives in His saved people is a mystery. We surely cannot understand how Jesus can live in our heart, but we know He does because we feel His presence. If we keep our heart open so Jesus can live there always, someday we shall be in Heaven with Him.
False Doctrines
Paul's letter warned the Colossians to beware of those who tried to turn them away from a simple trust in Christ, and tried to influence them to depend upon philosophies or reasonings of men -" the customs and beliefs that men made up for the salvation of the soul. Most people do not want to humble themselves to take God's way of salvation, the way "that shineth more and more unto the perfect day" [PRO:4:18]); so they make a way of their own, but it leads into darkness and confusion.
Christians are warned specifically against those who say we must keep the forms and ceremonies of the Law of Moses, whereas the Bible says that, "by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight" [ROM:3:20]). We are warned against those who deny that Jesus is the Son of God who came to earth to die and rise again to save us from sin, whereas the Bible says, "Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God" ([1JN:4:15]). We are warned against those who say there is no sin and the devil is only an evil influence, whereas the Bible says, "All unrighteousness is sin" ([1JN:5:17]), and, "Your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour" [1PE:5:8]). We are warned, too, against those who believe that fasting, or eating certain foods, or exercise of the body, or meditation will bring a reward, whereas the Bible says: "The kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost" [ROM:14:17]); and "bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come" [1TM:4:8]). And finally we are warned against those who do not hold Christ as "the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God."
Questions
1. What did Paul pray that the Christians of Colosse should be filled with?
2. What two things did he pray that they should be strengthened unto?
3. Of whom is Jesus the image?
4. With whom was Jesus Christ at the time of the Creation?
5. Why did God the Father make Jesus the pre-eminent or Head One?
6. What is the mystery of the Gospel?
7. Of whom did Paul tell the Colossians to beware?
8. What is the meaning of philosophy? What is a tradition?
9. Who is the Head of the body of Christian believers?