PRAYING FOR WISDOM
Paul begins the letter to the Colossians with two beautiful prayers, one of thanksgiving for the demonstrated belief of the Colossian community, and one of supplication for the fulfillment of what God has started amongst them. It is this prayer of supplication that we will pray 3xs. 1x for your GC, 1x for our faith family, and 1x for another faith family you know of whether here in Dallas or around the globe…
Father, will you fill ________ with the knowledge of your will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that women and men of ________ might walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Jesus, bearing fruit in every one of their good works and increasing in the knowledge of you, Father. May _______ be strengthened with all power, according to your glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, always giving thanks to your Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. Thank your Father for delivering the men and women of ________ from the domain of darkness and transferring us into the kingdom of your beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of our sins. Amen.
GETTING INTO COLOSSIANS
Watch The Bible Project’s video overview of Paul’s letter to the Colossians, which you can find here.
Now read Colossians 1:1-14 then work through the section below.
REFLECTING ON TRUTH
There are many things that stand out as we read Paul’s introductory words to the Christ followers in Colossae, like the testimony of their demonstrable response to Jesus in the faith, hope and love in which they abide, as well as the graciousness and centrality of the Father in the qualifying and transferring of these respondents into a new and discernable world. Yet for me, the word that standouts most plainly is “saint”.
Perhaps the term conjures up medieval images of haloed persons or brings to mind the remarkable and extraordinary sacrifices of those like Mother Teressa; in either case, a saint in our imagination is most often someone not much like me. Yet Paul uses the descriptive title three times in his brief exchange, each utterance expanding the scope of who falls under this special honor.
Paul first calls the Colossians “saints” in verse 2, a family of faith in relation to one another through their relation to Christ. The next time he uses the label it is to recognize how the Jesus followers of Colossae had demonstrated affection for others called “saints” in verse 4, recognizing that they were caught up in an ever-expanding proliferation of something amazing and alive. And, finally, Paul includes these Christ committed, along with himself, in the “saints” that share in the inheritance of the Father, the cosmos encompassing kingdom of the beloved Son in verse 12. It appears that the label of saint is the designated title for those caught up in something God is doing, a specific faith family, a world-wide movement, a universal reality.
So, why saint? Why does Paul use that word, of all the other words he could use to describe believers in Jesus, why keep employing and expanding the scope of this singular title?
Well, the word saint has a special meaning, in fact, it means special. The term saint has to do with being set apart with some intent, special because of both relationship as well as usefulness in the creation, attaining, or bringing about of something particular. Specifically, a saint in the New Testament language is one who is defined by who God is and what God is doing. It is not a title earned, but given by association, via relationship. A term describing someone so connected to God that he or she cannot be understood or comprehended apart from God’s “intents and persistent attention” in his or her life.
And what is God’s intent to which he gives persistent attention? Why nothing less then the triumph of his Kingdom over the domains of darkness through the transformed and transformative lives of his children, those brothers and sisters that call one another saints.
Saint was the most common term for a follower of Jesus in first century. The term “Christian” was actually a title given from those in opposition to this growing group, and won’t become the preferred descriptor until believers gained legal standing. Before then, those following the way of Jesus described themselves as a part of something special, unique, and their lives (as individuals and together) demonstrated their self-perception.
USE THESE QUESTIONS TO HELP YOU PRAYERFULLY REFLECT INDIVIDUALLY AND/OR DISCUSS AS A DNA GROUP.
Re-read the definition of saint embolden above. What about this identity stands out to you and why?
Would the term “saint” be an accurate descriptor for your lived identity? What about your Gospel Community’s and Christ City Church’s?
What things in your/our life demonstrate that we are a part of something special, different, unique?
What about your/our life fails to live up to our God-given identity?
How would your / our life look different this week if we were to embrace in action and attitude, affection and affirmation our identity in Jesus as “saint(s)”?
BE ZEALOUS & REPENT
Repenting is one of the most ordinary and extraordinary practices of our faith heritage. The stories and letters that ground our faith are replete with exhortation to and examples of repentance. In a nutshell, repentance is the turning away from one thing and grabbing hold of something different. It is not merely the ceasing of action or attitude, but the replacement of what is let go with something completely other than what is released.
In Revelation 3, Jesus exhorts the faith family of Laodicea to “be zealous and repent”. He encourages this church to turn from away from those ways of thinking and living that take them in a direction away from him, and with desperation and awe, cling to him and go his way.
The things we let go, we repent of, could be our attitudes and ideas of God that differ from who he reveals himself to be in Jesus; or, they could be actions we take towards others, or even habits our culture normalizes but which fail to form us into the new creatures Christ has made us to be. From attitudes, to actions, to ideas; there are a host of things we hold whether we recognize our grip or not. So, prayerfully ask, answer, and share…
What is the Spirit, the scriptures, and your faith family encouraging you to turn from or release today?
And what are you being compelled to grab hold of instead?