Welcome back, my friends. Today we will read the book of Colossians.
I have always been an exceptional student. Not because I am smarter than anyone else or work harder, but because I was always in class, and if I hear something, I remember it. I would attend class, listen to the teacher, and then I would achieve near-perfect scores on quizzes and tests, earning an “A” in the course.
Then it happened. During the seventh grade, I took algebra. I always loved math and never had trouble getting perfect scores. But in Junior High I discovered the girls looked a lot different from in elementary school. I suddenly found myself too distracted to hear the teacher while sitting in class. Therefore, the letter on the report card surprised me.
F.
How could I get an F? Of all subjects to get it in—math! But there it was. I could not deny it, hide it, or explain it. I had failed a class.
As I read Colossians, I see not a failing church but a church with struggles—struggles in faith, fullness, freedom, and fairness. Interestingly, these were the same struggles I was having in seventh grade.
What Is Faith? (Colossians 1:2, 1:4–5)
This seems like a simple question, but it isn’t. Many modern churches imply that “faith” is the same as faithfulness—that faith is an action. But this is not how the New Testament primarily uses the word. (1)
The Greek word pistis, used 243 times in the New Testament, means trust—reliance upon God—not merely intellectual belief or behavioral loyalty. (2) It is relational. It is not just believing in God, but trusting God Himself—His character, His sovereignty, and His care.
And with this kind of faith, we can obey 1 Peter 5:7: “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.”
We can trust 1 John 4:4: “Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.”
Emptying, Filling, and the Battle With Sin (Philippians 2:5–8; Colossians 3:5–10)
We had spoken in Philippians about how Christ “emptied Himself” (Phil 2:7). Because of this, we must empty ourselves as well. Not to become hollow shells—but to make room for God’s fullness.
Just as light and darkness cannot occupy the same space (cf. John 1:5), God does not dwell with unrepentant sin. Therefore, we must “put to death” the earthly nature:
- “sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry” (Col 3:5)
- along with “anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language” (Col 3:8)
This emptying leaves us exposed and longing to be filled with something. The world is full of hollow and deceptive philosophies (Col 2:8). But in Christ, the Holy Spirit fills us (Col 1:9), so that we may “walk in Him” (Col 2:6), united with other believers and strengthened in faith.
Only then can we truly experience the fullness of Christ (Col 2:10).
Faith That Leads to Freedom (Colossians 2:9–15)
This fullness brings freedom—not the freedom to sin but freedom from sin.
Sin is an elemental spiritual force (Col 2:20) that enslaves us. Because we sin, we stand condemned (John 3:18). Knowing the penalty, we panic and look for a way out. The world twists the message of the Cross, offering alternatives that cannot save.
But “there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
In Christ’s fullness, we can know and trust—have faith—that we have truly been saved, and sin has lost the power to manipulate us.
Facing an “F”: A Lesson in Fairness (Colossians 3:25; 4:1)
When I saw that F on my report card, I knew two things:
First, I deserved it. I had not been focused. When I should have been answering questions on a quiz, I was daydreaming about Gayla, or Susan, or Kim.
Second, when I showed my mother, I would suffer the worst punishment of all—her disappointment. I hated to disappoint my mother. She gave so much to us and deserved better. It wasn’t fair to her, but it was fair to me.
Likewise, God is just (Deut 32:4). He must deal with sin. If He showed favoritism, He would violate His character (Rom 2:11). The Law required blood for a sin offering (Lev 17:11). Because sin contaminated our blood, God couldn’t accept it for a sin offering.
Therefore, Christ died for us (Rom 5:8).
He became our offering.
We were already condemned—He sacrificed Himself so we could be redeemed (Col 2:13–14).
He “canceled the charge of legal indebtedness … nailing it to the cross” (Col 2:14).
Because He gave His life for us, we should live our lives for Him (Col 3:17).
Tomorrow, we will read 1 Thessalonians 1-5.
Footnotes
- Timothy R. Broyles, “Confident and Complete: A Practical Exposition of Colossians 2:6–15,” Liberty University Faculty Publications, 2003, accessed [insert date accessed], https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1010&context=sod_fac_pubs.
- Walter Bauer, Frederick W. Danker, William F. Arndt, and F. Wilbur Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), s.v. “πίστις”; and Thomas R. Schreiner, New Testament Theology (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2008), 528–30.