As Paul the apostle extended
his opening words to the church located in Colosse, he gave thanks to
“God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” and was
“praying always” for them because he heard of their “faith
in Christ Jesus” and their “love to all the saints”.
In chapter one and verse five Paul recognizes the “hope”
which the church exemplified as well. We read:
For the hope which is
laid up for you in heaven,
whereof you heard
before in the word of the truth of the gospel;
The
verse begins, “For
the hope which is laid up for you in heaven,...” Paul
employs the word “For”
which means “through, on account of, or by reason of” “the
hope” or
“expectation of good, and in a Christian sense, the expectation of
eternal salvation” “which
is laid up”
which means “laid away, reserved or awaiting” “for
you in heaven”
or “the region above the sidereal heavens, the seat
of order of things eternal and consummately perfect where God dwells
and other heavenly beings”. Because of their faith in Jesus and
their love of the brethren, these church members were promised the
“hope” which was reserved in heaven for them.
The
verse goes on to say, “...whereof
you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel;” Paul
notes the timing of their hearing of the “hope...laid
up”
for them. They “heard
before”
or “hoped for salvation before its realization” “in
the word of the truth” which means “a word, uttered by a
living voice, embodies a conception or idea of what is true in things
appertaining to God and the duties of man, moral and religious
truth”, and this “truth” was “of the gospel”
or “the glad tidings of salvation through Christ”. Because the
church members heard the truth of the gospel, they enjoyed the hope
which was laid up for them in heaven.
Paul is setting the
groundwork in his opening statements to the church in Colosse for
contending with the false teaching which has arisen among them. The
Gnostics did not believe in the deity of Jesus Christ, and Paul noted
their “faith in Jesus Christ”. The “Judaizers”
promoted the idea that a person must also follow the law for
salvation, and Paul wrote of the “hope” which was laid up
in heaven for them because of the “gospel” which declares
that the work of salvation is done. As we ponder Paul's words,
perhaps we should think about “the hope which is laid up...in
heaven” for us, and we should remember when “the word of
the truth of the gospel” was shared with us as well. Aligning
ourselves with these two ideas and noting others who do should have
all of us praying and thanking God the Father for the His wonderful
“gospel” that gives us “hope” to be with Him in heaven
some day.
Next
time Paul will share the benefit of the hope laid up in heaven,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the
Mount” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ;
www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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