All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth. Colossians1:6
Paul has been talking about the hope of heaven that has given the Colossians their faith and love. He notes that the hope came through the gospel they received.
The word "gospel" means "the message that was preached" and "good news." The gospel is the message of:
- A God who loved
- A Saviour who came
- A cross where sin was paid for
- A tomb that is empty
- An ascended Messiah at the right hand of God who sends His Spirit into our hearts and is coming again
Paul notes that this gospel "bears fruit" and is "growing."
It was happening all over the world and Paul had a ringside seat to this as he preached and travelled. But it was also happening in the Colossian church.
In Acts 16 we read about Barnabas visiting the newly founded church in Antioch. When he gets there he finds "evidence of the Grace of God." I always translate it as "he found God's fingerprints on the people's lives" - one could see that God had touched them.
When one considers the wonder of the message of the gospel as I summarised it above, is there any doubt that we can be transformed by the power, love and forgiveness of Christ?
If we claim to have received the gospel, but it isn't transforming and growing us, then we need to go back to the basic truths and contemplate them until we are once again awe-struck and gob-smacked at the awesome love of God and the incredible things that Christ has done for us!
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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
