St. Paul's Letter to the Colossians 3:4-11 BRETHREN, when Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience. In these you once walked, when you lived in them. But now put them all away; anger, wrath, malice, slander, and foul talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old nature with its practices and have put on the new nature, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free man, but Christ is all, and in all.

No one makes a prey of you by philosophy and empty deceit

St. Paul's Letter to the Colossians 2:8-12

BRETHREN, see to it that no one makes a prey of you by philosophy and empty
deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits
of the universe, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole
fulness of deity dwells bodily, and you have come to fulness of life in
him, who is the head of all rule and authority. In him also you were
circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body
of flesh in the circumcision of Christ; and you were buried with him
in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in
the working of God, who raised him from the dead.

"So walk ye in him." - Colossians 2:6

If we have received Christ himself in our inmost hearts, our new life will manifest its intimate acquaintance with him by a walk of faith in him. Walking implies action. Our religion is not to be confined to our closet; we must carry out into practical effect that which we believe. If a man walks in Christ, then he so acts as Christ would act; for Christ being in him, his hope, his love, his joy, his life, he is the reflex of the image of Jesus; and men say of that man, "He is like his Master; he lives like Jesus Christ." Walking signifies progress. "So walk ye in him"; proceed from grace to grace, run forward until you reach the uttermost degree of knowledge that a man can attain concerning our Beloved. Walking implies continuance. There must be a perpetual abiding in Christ. How many Christians think that in the morning and evening they ought to come into the company of Jesus, and may then give their hearts to the world all the day: but this is poor living; we should always be with him, treading in his steps and doing his will. Walking also implies habit. When we speak of a man's walk and conversation, we mean his habits, the constant tenor of his life. Now, if we sometimes enjoy Christ, and then forget him; sometimes call him ours, and anon lose our hold, that is not a habit; we do not walk in him. We must keep to him, cling to him, never let him go, but live and have our being in him. "As ye have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him"; persevere in the same way in which ye have begun, and, as at the first Christ Jesus was the trust of your faith, the source of your life, the principle of your action, and the joy of your spirit, so let him be the same till life's end; the same when you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, and enter into the joy and the rest which remain for the people of God. O Holy Spirit, enable us to obey this heavenly precept.

"As ye have received Christ Jesus the Lord." - Colossians 2:6

The life of faith is represented as receiving--an act which implies the very opposite of anything like merit. It is simply the acceptance of a gift. As the earth drinks in the rain, as the sea receives the streams, as night accepts light from the stars, so we, giving nothing, partake freely of the grace of God. The saints are not, by nature, wells, or streams, they are but cisterns into which the living water flows; they are empty vessels into which God pours his salvation. The idea of receiving implies a sense of realization, making the matter a reality. One cannot very well receive a shadow; we receive that which is substantial: so is it in the life of faith, Christ becomes real to us. While we are without faith, Jesus is a mere name to us--a person who lived a long while ago, so long ago that his life is only a history to us now! By an act of faith Jesus becomes a real person in the consciousness of our heart. But receiving also means grasping or getting possession of. The thing which I receive becomes my own: I appropriate to myself that which is given. When I receive Jesus, he becomes my Saviour, so mine that neither life nor death shall be able to rob me of him. All this is to receive Christ--to take him as God's free gift; to realize him in my heart, and to appropriate him as mine.

Salvation may be described as the blind receiving sight, the deaf receiving hearing, the dead receiving life; but we have not only received these blessings, we have received Christ Jesus himself. It is true that he gave us life from the dead. He gave us pardon of sin; he gave us imputed righteousness. These are all precious things, but we are not content with them; we have received Christ himself. The Son of God has been poured into us, and we have received him, and appropriated him. What a heartful Jesus must be, for heaven itself cannot contain him!

Letter to the Colossians 4:10-18

BRETHREN, Aristarchos my fellow prisoner greets you, and Mark the cousin of
Barnabas (concerning whom you have received instructions-if he comes to
you, receive him), and Jesus who is called Justos. These are the only
men of the circumcision among my fellow workers for the kingdom of
God, and they have been a comfort to me. Epaphras, who is one of
yourselves, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always remembering you
earnestly in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in
all the will of God. For I bear him witness that he has worked hard
for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis. Luke the beloved
physician and Demas greet you. Give my greetings to the brethren at
Laodicea, and Nympha and the church in her house. And when this letter has
been read among you, have it read also in the church of the
Laodiceans; and see that you read also the letter from Laodicea. And say to
Archippos, "See that you fulfill the ministry which you have received in the
Lord." I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my
fetters. Grace be with you. Amen.

Colossians 3:17-25; 4:1

BRETHREN, whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of
the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Wives,
be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands,
love your wives, and do not be harsh with them. Children, obey your
parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke
your children, lest they become discouraged. Slaves, obey in
everything those who are your earthly masters, not with eyeservice, as
men-pleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever your task,
work heartily, as serving the Lord and not men, knowing that from the
Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward; you are serving
the Lord Christ. For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he
has done, and there is no partiality. Masters, treat your slaves
justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.

Colossians 4:5-11, 14-18

BRETHREN, conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders, making the most of
the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so
that you may know how you ought to answer every one. Tychicos will
tell you all about my affairs; he is a beloved brother and faithful
minister and fellow servant in the Lord. I have sent him to you for this
very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage
your hearts, and with him Onesimos, the faithful and beloved brother,
who is one of yourselves. They will tell you of everything that has
taken place. Aristarchos my fellow prisoner greets you, and Mark the
cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you have received instructions if he
comes to you, receive him), and Jesus who is called Justos. These are
the only men of the circumcision among my fellow workers for the
kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me. Luke the beloved
physician and Demas greet you. Give my greetings to the brethren at
Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house. And when this letter
has been read among you, have it read also in the church of the
Laodiceans; and see that you read also the letter from Laodicea. And say to
Archippos, "See that you fulfill the ministry which you have received in the
Lord." I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my
fetters. Grace be with you. Amen.

Colossians 2:1-7

BRETHREN, I want you to know how greatly I strive for you, and for those at
Laodicea, and for all who have not seen my face, that their hearts may be
encouraged as they are knit together in love, to have all the riches of
assured understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, of Christ, in
whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this in
order that no one may delude you with beguiling speech. For though I am
absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good
order and the firmness of your faith in Christ. As therefore you
received Christ Jesus the Lord, so live in him, rooted and built up in him
and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in
thanksgiving.

"The hope which is laid up for you in heaven." - Colossians 1:5

Our hope in Christ for the future is the mainspring and the mainstay of our joy here. It will animate our hearts to think often of heaven, for all that we can desire is promised there. Here we are weary and toilworn, but yonder is the land of rest where the sweat of labour shall no more bedew the worker's brow, and fatigue shall be forever banished. To those who are weary and spent, the word "rest" is full of heaven. We are always in the field of battle; we are so tempted within, and so molested by foes without, that we have little or no peace; but in heaven we shall enjoy the victory, when the banner shall be waved aloft in triumph, and the sword shall be sheathed, and we shall hear our Captain say, "Well done, good and faithful servant." We have suffered bereavement after bereavement, but we are going to the land of the immortal where graves are unknown things. Here sin is a constant grief to us, but there we shall be perfectly holy, for there shall by no means enter into that kingdom anything which defileth. Hemlock springs not up in the furrows of celestial fields. Oh! is it not joy, that you are not to be in banishment forever, that you are not to dwell eternally in this wilderness, but shall soon inherit Canaan? Nevertheless let it never be said of us, that we are dreaming about the future and forgetting the present, let the future sanctify the present to highest uses. Through the Spirit of God the hope of heaven is the most potent force for the product of virtue; it is a fountain of joyous effort, it is the corner stone of cheerful holiness. The man who has this hope in him goes about his work with vigour, for the joy of the Lord is his strength. He fights against temptation with ardour, for the hope of the next world repels the fiery darts of the adversary. He can labour without present reward, for he looks for a reward in the world to come.

Colossians 1:24-29

BRETHREN, now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I
complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body,
that is, the church, of which I became a minister according to the
divine office which was given to me for you, to make the word of God
fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now made
manifest to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among
the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is
Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we proclaim, warning every man and
teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man mature in
Christ. For this I toil, striving with all the energy which he mightily
inspires within me. For I want you to know how greatly I strive for you.

Colossians 1:18-23

BRETHREN, Christ is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning,
the first-born from the dead, that in everything he might be
preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and
through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in
heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And you, who once were
estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in
his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and
blameless and irreproachable before him, provided that you continue in the
fight, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel
which you heard, which has been preached to every creature under
heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

Colossians 1:1-3; 7-11

PAUL, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God and Timothy our
brother, to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ at Colossai: Grace
to you and peace from God our Father and Lord Jesus Christ. We thank
God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ from the day you heard and
understood the grace of God in truth, as you learned it from Epaphras our
beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf
and has made known to us your love in the Spirit. And so, from the
day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you asking that
you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual
wisdom and understanding, to lead a life worthy of the Lord, fully
pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the
knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to his
glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy.