It's a Wrap!

 

It’s a Wrap!

 

Well, it’s a beautiful day in my neighborhood – the first day of autumn per my calendar – my favorite time of year. Changing colors, pumpkin spice everything, jackets and sweaters to cover up fat – I can’t think of anything wrong with it!

The end of one season and the beginning of another – it’s like a fresh start – for the world it’s the wrap up of the Summer of Stupid and the initiation of a Feisty Fall…

Colossians 4:2-6 is a wrapping up of sorts as well:

Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving;

Praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have been imprisoned;

That I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak.

Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity.

Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person (Colossians 4:2-6).

Paul wrote the beautiful letter to the Colossians when he heard that they were being infiltrated and harassed by false teachers. His purpose in ministry is stated in Colossians 1:28:

We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ.

Paul fulfilled his ministry. Reading and studying Colossians is one of the benefits he left us.

If you have trusted in Jesus as your Savior, like the believers in the church at Colossae, his words apply to you as well.

Here’s a summary:

Since coming to hear of Jesus and believe the gospel, it has worked in you and you are growing in the Lord and bearing fruit (Colossians 1:3-6).

This growth in the Lord involves increasing in wisdom and the knowledge of God, and walking worthily before Him (Colossians 1:9-11).

Because Jesus is God, through His work on the cross, He rescued you and you have redemption and the forgiveness of sins (Colossians 1:13-20). You are doubly His, He created you and He bought you.

Continue to let God do His work in you. Do not let yourself be deceived by worldly practices and beliefs (Colossians 2:6).

Jesus is enough – He alone saves. Your salvation is not established through worldly philosophy, legalism, or practices of self-love or self-hate (Colossians 2:9-10).

After reviewing basic gospel principles and doctrine, Paul moves on to practical application:

Your old man is dead – don’t feed him (Colossians 3:1-5).

Take off and lay aside, like dirty clothes, your old practices (Colossians 3:8-9).

Equality and peace only come through Jesus Christ – the inner man needs to be divinely changed (Colossians 3:11; Ephesians 2:13-14).

Put on the new clothes of the new you in Christ, this involves a new mind expressed by new behaviors (Colossians 3:12-13).

https://mylovelydwellingplace.blogspot.com/2020/04/privilegeand-responsibility-telling.html

You need to love your brothers and sisters in Christ (Colossians 3:14).

https://mylovelydwellingplace.blogspot.com/2020/04/no-fear-love.html

Jesus is your peace - not your feelings, not the culture – let Him rule your heart (Colossians 3:15).

https://mylovelydwellingplace.blogspot.com/2020/04/peace.html

Get in the Word and stay in it (Colossians 3:16).

https://mylovelydwellingplace.blogspot.com/2020/05/the-good-word.html

Let Jesus be your boundary in everything, screen every part of your life through His Word (Colossians 3:17).

https://mylovelydwellingplace.blogspot.com/2020/06/boundaries.html

Live the gospel at home (Colossians 3:18-21).

https://mylovelydwellingplace.blogspot.com/2020/09/family.html

Live the gospel at work (Colossians 3:22-4:1).

https://mylovelydwellingplace.blogspot.com/2020/09/the-gospel-comes-to-work.html

Paul covers a lot of ground. He explains what it is to be a Christian and what it looks like. What stands out in the last few verses of practical application is how a believer talks.

Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving

Devote means to be courageously persistent, to hold fast and not let go.

The term reminds me of the parable the Lord told about the widow who appealed to a wicked judge for justice. Although the judge didn’t care what God or people thought, he gave her what she wanted because she continually presented herself to him and kept asking. She drove him nuts (Luke 18:1-8).

Now our God is not like that – we won’t drive him nuts by being persistent in our prayers. He wants us to pray and not give up. He will answer our prayers – but are we faithfully bringing everything before Him?

This also reminds me of Jacob in the Old Testament. He had deceived his brother, his father, and his father-in-law. He had a rough time while away from home. On the journey home, he heard his brother was coming to meet him. He was afraid because his brother had wanted to kill him for his deception in the past, and there was no reason to think he had changed his mind. After doing all he could to prepare for the meeting, Jacob found himself alone and a man wrestled with him until daybreak (Genesis 32:24-32).

Yes, it sounds weird. But this was one of the pre-incarnate appearances of Jesus Christ. Jesus asked Jacob to let Him go, but Jacob responded, “I will not let you go until you bless me.”

Jesus injured his hip, blessed him, and changed his name to Israel saying, “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel; for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed.”

A change took place – Jacob means deceiver, whereas Israel means God’s fighter. Did you know that with all Jacob’s flaws not a negative word is spoken of him in the New Testament?

John MacArthur comments on this passage, “True prayer often involves struggling and grappling with God, proving to Him the deepest concern of one’s heart. Prayer is to be a persistent, courageous struggle from which the believer may come away limping.”

We may be praying for change somewhere, but it may be us that God wants to change.

The keeping alert part probably is just advising us to stay awake while praying, but it also can mean to be alert for the prayer needs around us.

Finally, our attitude in prayer is to be thankful. Frankly, our attitude in everything is to be thankful (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Then Paul asks for prayer:

Praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have been imprisoned;

Notice he asks for nothing personal – not freedom, not comfort, not vindication – He asks that God would use him and that he would be effective for Him.

To me, that is humbling. I am usually more concerned with my own needs than with the furthering of God’s will. How about you?

Do we pray for release or do we pray through?

Do we ask for His will even if His will is not our will?

Whatever we go through privately or with the rest of the world do we pray it ends and that we get relief or do we ask the Lord to teach us whatever He wants us to learn through it and for him to make us effective servants during it?

Finally, after covering how we speak to the Lord, Paul turns to how we speak with others.

Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.

It makes sense to be thoughtful in our speech and conduct especially when dealing with folks that don’t know the Lord. Paul has spent a lot of time explaining the difference knowing Jesus will make in our character, attitude, personal and work relationships. Naturally, our speech also gets redeemed.

Gracious speech can be described with Ephesians 4:29 – Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.

Salt is flavorful and preserves purity. Our speech needs to be that way too.

We need to be ready to represent Jesus with all we are, even what comes out of our mouths – But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence (1 Peter 3:15).

We have a high calling, don’t we?

Let’s press on…

Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do; forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:12-14).