Introduction.

I am indebted to William Barclay for clarifying this passage and for exploring the meaning of some of the Greek terms in the original

(1) How Paul prays.

I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not met me personally.

The key word in this sentence is, 'struggling'. In the original Greek it is 'agon' from which our word, 'agony', is derived. Paul is saying that he brought to his prayers something of the competing athlete's intense effort - effort to the point of pain! The apostle prayed with intensity. Is that how we pray?

I have to confess that there is a big difference to how I pray in public to how I pray in private. I do at least show some passion in my public prayers. The only time I pray in private with real intensity is when I ask God to help my persecuted brothers and sisters.

(2) What Paul prays for.

Paul prayed that the church at Colosse might be:

(a) Resourceful and resolute. This is probably what the phrase, 'encouraged in heart', means.

The church needs men and women like Mr Greatheart in part 2 of Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. He accompanied Christiana, Christian's wife, and their children as they journeyed to the Celestial City. Eventually Mr Greatheart had to leave Christiana and this is what she said: "Oh, Sir, I know not how to be willing you should leave our pilgrimage; you have been so faithful and loving to us, you have fought so stoutly for us, you have been so hearty in counselling us, that we shall never forgt your favour towards us."

If a church is to thrive it needs its Mr Greathearts - men and women, with the resources to cope with difficulty and resolute in facing the foe. Two characters in the Old Testament spring to mind who were both resourceful and resolute.

Nehemiah rose to the challenge and overcame every difficulty to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. He was not deterred by the enemies of the Jews, Sanballet and Tobiah. Nehemiah rallied the builders with these words: "Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes." Ne4v14.

Esther interceded for her people, the Jews, whom Haman the Agagite, king Xerxes' chief official, plotted to destroy. Esther made full use of all her assets to outwit Haman. She employed her beauty, her charm, her tact, her privileged position and her organisational ability to arouse king Xerxe's wrath against Haman. She ensured that Haman's dastardly plot came to nothing and the Jewish people were preserved.

(b) United in love.

In the original it is, knit together in love. A lovely Scottish tartan is made by inter-weaving different coloured threads. If the red threads wanted no contact with the blue or green threads the tartan would end up an unholy mess.

Paul wanted the Colossian Christians to worship and work together in loving co-operation. For this to be achieved each member had to be valued and their contribution to the well being of the church recognised.

The well being of the body depends on the well being of each individual part. If you have gout in your big toe it is no consolation that your eyelids are in wonderful shape.

(c) Astute.

Some of the Christians at Colosse were inclining towards Gnosticism with its emphasis on special and mysterious insights. So Paul makes it clear - Jesus was the ultimate treasure trove of wisdom and knowledge. What was once kept secret - God's plan for mankind's redemption - has finally been revealed in Christ.

Knowledge is the apprehension of truth. We get it! As we read about Jesus in the gospels we grasp the truth of who he is and what he says.

Wisdom is somewhat different. It is the ability to take Christ's truths and apply them in actual situations.

I will illustrate the difference with reference to Jesus' teaching on being ultra critical. He said, "Why do you worry about the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye when you have great big plank in your own eye?" We read this - and get it. We need to be aware our own imperfections before criticising someone else for theirs. That's knowledge.

We show wisdom when we think about the various distorting planks we could have in our eyes: the planks of ignorance, bias, prejudice, and self-love. We will be aware that it is easy to judge someone unfairly out of ignorance. Maybe someone is a bit miserable and down in the dumps. There is the temptation to say things like: "She just needs to pull herself together. She's got nothing to be unhappy about." We should beware of speaking in ignorance of the devastating effects of clinical depression.

Jesus is a wonderful treasure trove of riches. He Is the way, the truth and the the life. If we have Jesus we need nothing more in order to please God.

(3) What Paul hopes for.

Paul hopes for a healthy church in Colosse and neighbouring towns. He lists some characteristics of such a church. It will be:

(a) Able to resist impressive but erroneous teaching.

Sadly the Christian church is riddled with error. There is error over something as straight forward as believer's baptism. Some Presbyterians justify infant baptism as the New Testament equivalent of circumcision. If that is the case, why baptise baby girls?

I belong to an Association of Churches that has as one of its articles of faith, the following:

God before the foundation of the world, and for his own glory elected to eternal life a number of persons which no one can count, as an act of free and sovereign Grace. This election was in no way dependent upon his foresight of human faith, decision, works or merit.

This means that God chooses some unconditionally for salvation and some unconditionally for damnation. God adopts no criteria known to man to discriminate drastically between one group and the other. So God's grace is arbitrary and salvation is a lottery. If your name is not drawn out of the cosmic hat, you are lost.

Unconditional election is a terrible doctrine because it easily leads to fatalism and hopelessness. Many have said through the years, "If God hasn't chosen me there is nothing I can do about it." When the Philippian jailer, frightened out of his wits b the earthquake, cried out to Paul and Silas, "Sirs what must I do to be saved?" Paul and Silas didn't answer, "Nothing old chap .... nothing at all. If God has chosen you - you will be saved. And if he hasn't , hard luck!"

NO, Paul and Silas had positive advice for the jailer: "BELIEVE in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved - you and your household."

God chooses of his sovereign purpose and will to SAVE those who believe in Jesus. John writes in his wonderful gospel: Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him. Jn4v35.

Belief is our responsibility. It does not do away with grace. No one could be saved without Jesus' sacrifice to atone for sin and God's willingness to accept the price his Son paid.

Of course God's choice is not unconditional. Salvation depends, for example, on men and women hearing the gospel. Paul wrote to the Romans: Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how an they believe on the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them. And how can they preach unless they are sent. Rom10v13to15.

At the very least God's election is conditional on people HEARING about Jesus the Lord.

(b) Well disciplined.

Paul is able to write to the Colossian Christians, I ... was delighted to see how orderly you are and how firm your faith is. The Greek word translated, 'orderly', is 'taxis', a word used to describe the orderly arrangement of troops on parade or marching rank upon rank to war.

The church should not be like a children's playground where youngsters do their own thing, running here and there, indulging in their favourite games. The 'messy church' concept should not apply to the church as a whole. Church members should not be undisciplined and free to do just as they like. I know some Christians who stop away from their church when there is a speaker they don't like and only attend when their favourite is in the pulpit.

The Greek word, 'stereoma', translated, 'firm', referred to a solid, unmoveable wall of troops able to withstand the enemies charge. Today, the crack troops of churches in hostile territory need to close ranks to withstand the common enemy. They need to stand together to resist discrimination and persecution

(c) Characterised by a Christ centred life.

A life centred on Jesus will be:

• Lived in him. If you live with someone you find out more and more about them. You get to know them well. Perhaps you learn to rely on them or to assist them. That's how it should be with us and Jesus.

• Rooted in him. The roots of a tree serve two purposes. The roots anchor the tree to the ground - keeping it secure and stable. The roots also take in water and nutrients to maintain the life of the tree.

  Our security must be in Christ. If we retain our faith in him we shall be kept safe to the end. We sing of this security in the hymn, 'Will your anchor hold':

  Will your anchor hold in the storms of life?
  When the clouds unfold their wings of strife,
  When the strong tides lift and the cables strain,
  Will your anchor drift or firm remain?

  We have an anchor that keeps the soul
  Steafast and sure while the billows roll
  Fastened to the Rock which cannot move,
  Grounded firm and deep in the Saviour's love!

  A tree's roots are its anchor!

  There is nothing that refreshes the Christian more than to feast upon the living bread and drink at the fountain head. In the words of the well loved hymn:

  O Christ, in Thee my soul has found,
  And found in Thee alone,
  The peace, the joy, I sought so long,
  The bliss till now unknown.

  Now none but Christ can satisfy,
  None other name for me;
  There's love and life and lasting joy,
  Lord Jesus found in Thee!

• Built up in him. The church should be built up to the architect's plan so that it becomes a useful building. It should be home for all Christ's brothers and sisters. It should be a safe place for Christians - a refuge from the world. It should be a bright, cheerful, welcoming place; a place that raises the spirits and refreshes the soul.

Our understanding as Christians may develop through time. Some of our views might change - for example, abut what happens when we die. I used to think Christians went to heaven when they died. I could picture them with those already there .... and so on!

Jesus tended to liken death to falling asleep. Just before he died, Jesus dismissed his spirit. God took care of it. We are not told how. After his body had lain three days in the tomb Jesus was resurrected. His spirit was returned to a new body. Jesus told Mary that there was no need to cling onto him quite so strongly as he wasn't returning to God just yet. Eventually Jesus did go bodily to heaven to be with his Father.

Jesus is the first fruit of them that sleep. What happened to Jesus at death will happen to us. We cannot really understand what it means for our spirits to be preserved in God. But the great and essential truth we must hold on to is this: A day is coming, as it did for Jesus, when we shall be resurrected from the dead. Our spirits, purged by God, will inhabit new resurrection bodies. We shall see Jesus and be like him. We will be forever with the Lord.

The resurrection is one of those great truths of the Christian Faith a church MUST hold on to. If earlier you wondered why I remain a member of a Calvinistic church, holding the strong views I do, it is because the churches of the Association my church belongs to hold firmly to the key elements of the Faith - elements partly summed up in the Nicene Creed. See Article on the Afterlife.

(e) Overflowing with thankfulness.

The church has much to be thankful for. We can express our gratitude to God in hymns, prayers, meditations and conversation. The psalmists knew how to praise God. I love the sentiments of Ps65v9to13.

Paul sets us an example of thankfulness in his epistles to the Corinthians:

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the Law BUT thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1Cor15v57.

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. 2Cor2v14.

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift. 2Cor9v15.

It is good to end on a high. We all know who God's indescribable gift is.

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