Quote for the Day
“…you heard it and truly understood God’s grace.”
Today's Prayer
Thank you, Father, for sending your Son to not just die for me but to love me and live in me. Allow your Spirit to work in, with, and through me today.
Colossians 1:3-8
Colossians 1:3-8 (NIV)3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people— 5 the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel 6 that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace. 7 You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, 8 and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.
Message
Paul continues the message of grace as he begins to pray for the Colossians. The prayer is a prayer of thankfulness, thanking the Father for what He has done. And what has the Father done? “…we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus.”The Father is the author and creator of our faith in Him!What a great love we have from the Father. In fact, the passage goes on to say, “…the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven…” Our faith is not of ourselves; it is produced and stored in heaven by the Father Himself.The next amazing thing we see is the description of Jesus, “…the true message of the gospel that has come to you…” Throughout the New Testament we have heard over and over about Jesus being “The Word,” and about Him being “The Way, The Truth and The Life.” What is amazing here is it is so plainly spelled out that JESUS is the gospel, He is the good news, He did not come bearing it… He is it! Read verse 6 carefully; “…the gospel is bearing fruit and growing…” Here we see the foundation Paul will explain over and over again in Colossians. Christ is Supreme; Christ through the Holy Spirit is the Fruit of the Spirit. It is His Spirit dwelling in us that is at work. We do not need to struggle and work to please God or execute His will, HE is in us executing it each and every moment we allow Him control our lives. What an exciting life when Christ is our life.
