Fifty Two Weeks / Colossians 1

Faith and Love from Hope

I first became attracted to this chapter back in the mid 1970’s. There was a lot of hyper faith teaching going on then (I guess there still is) and it was not unusual to hear the word “hope” used in a derogatory manner. It was as if a Christian using the word “hope” had denied the faith. The implication was that hope was sort of an inferior brand of faith. This just didn’t sit well in my spirit. 

In fact, hope and faith are two different things. Not only is hope not an inferior form of faith it happens to be the prerequisite for faith. 

The writer of Hebrews tells us that faith is the substance of things hoped for. Obviously you can’t even have faith until you have hope. In this chapter Paul commends the church at Colossie for their faith and love which “spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven”. It is impossible to have a good healthy faith without a good healthy hope. When our hope is based on what is stored up for us in heaven then faith and love become a natural flow.

This truth first caught my attention, but there were even greater glories waiting just a few sentences later.

Christ Supreme

Verses 15-20 comprise a wonderful pean to the marvelous supremacy of Jesus Christ. He is:

• The very image of God.

• The Firstborn over all creation and the One through whom the universe, visible and invisible, was created.

• All creation was not only through Him but also for Him.

• He is the force that holds all things together.

• All of the fullness of God dwells in Him.

• Through Him all things are reconciled to God.

There are glories here richer than a clear night sky. There are mysteries here that cannot be explained from our frame of reference. There are beauties here beyond comprehension. One thing is clear: Christ is over all and we are justified in bringing everything into submission, not to man made church dogma, but to the true lordship of Christ.

Christ in You

As breathtaking as this marvelous description of Christ is we find it followed up by something even more incomprehensible, if that were possible - the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. This mystery is filled with glorious riches. In fact, “mystery” almost seems too feeble a word to describe this truth: Christ in you the hope of Glory. 

Now there is a hope on which to build a lasting faith.