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15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. - Colossians 1:15-19

Having thanked God for the church at Colassae and the Christian traits they exhibit, and having prayed for for further knowledge and power, Paul now turns to a passionate description of God the Son.  He gives us an example of what Christ means in his life, for Christ is no mere historical character or abstract category.  Paul mentioned Christ in his prayer for knowledge and power and it is as if, once he mentioned Him, he could not contain His enthusiasm for His Lord.

He praises Christ as God, the Creator of “heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them (Psalm 146:6)”.  The Psalmist seems to imply the heavens of the sky, filled with birds.  But in referring to the invisible, Paul is describing heaven where God dwells, surrounded by cherubim and seraphim, also created by Christ.  We might consider what an insult it is to this Almighty Creator to attribute his deliberate and marvelous work to random chance or natural laws on auto-pilot.  Rather than attempt to dethrone Him with naturalistic explanations about origins, we should be quick to praise Him in His work of Creation.

[This is the first installment in a new series in which we will be blogging through Paul's epistle to the Colossians]

³ We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, ⁴ since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, ⁵ because of the hope laid up for you in heaven (Colossians 1:3-5).

In his introduction to his letter to the Colossians, the Apostle Paul thanks God for their faith, their love, and their hope. Paul has not met these saints, as we can tell from verses seven through nine. But he has heard good things about them. And he knows what it means to be a Christian. So we can assume that he expects faith, love and hope to be part of the life of every believer.

The faith Paul mentions is faith in Christ Jesus, the means by which righteousness from God graciously becomes ours. As Paul says elsewhere, “in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last (Romans 1:17).”

The love the Colossians have demonstrated is for all the saints. In the early Christian church, the world did not marvel initially at the Christians’ teaching, but in the way they loved each other. In Philippians, Paul urges the believers there to be in unity, to be humble and to love one another because we have comfort from the love of Christ, Himself.

The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
 the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

(Number 6:24-2

God is everywhere. So we are, literally, always in His presence. The thought alone ought to humble us and cause us to tremble for our lack of holiness. But in His mercy, the Lord veils His presence, so that we are not destroyed by the sheer magnitude of His glory.

But at certain times in Scripture, the Lord made His presence known. He spoke to Abraham several times and appeared to Jacob at Bethel and at Penuel. He appeared to Moses at the burning bush, and again on Mount Sinai. But the Lord told Moses on the mountain that He would show him His goodness. “But you cannot see my face,” He said, “for man shall not see me and live (Exodus 33:20).” So Moses, whom the Lord spoke to, “as a friend (Exodus 33:11),” whose own face shone after being in God’s presence, was unworthy to see God’s full glory.

“The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises
    and faithful in all he does (Psalm 145:13).”

The spirit of our age is all about desire. Our desires determine our goals and dreams. For many, desire even determines right and wrong because, if we desire something strongly enough, it must be legitimate. Nothing should stand in the way of our desires, and if our wishes are not met, we have a right to be upset. And our frustration becomes further proof of the legitimacy of our wants.

God speaks His word even into this age, but we must hear Him with the ears of disciples, and not as the world. The Lord makes promises, and as the Psalmist says, He is faithful to those promises. But He doesn’t promise us whatever we want. He promises what is good for us, and what will bring Him glory. The world can sometimes even agree to that, until we get to the details. But for His followers Christ also promises trials and persecutions. At that point the world turns to run the other way. But Simon Peter answered Christ, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life (John 6:68).”

Even believers, influenced as we are by the world in which we live, are frustrated when we don’t get what we want. We can even blame God. Why would He not grant our wishes? Satan takes advantage of this disposition as he did with Eve in the garden and provokes us to ask, “Is God really powerful? Does He really have my best interests in mind? Is He really good? Can He really be trusted?”