For those of us who are in Christ Jesus, the older we get, the wiser we get, we come to recognize we don't know as much as we think we do. We're not as wise as we once thought that we were. We can't do as much as we thought we could. And the more we age, we become ever more dependent. And as believers, the marker of maturity for Christians is not independence away from the Lord, is greater dependence upon the Lord.
And how is that dependence often evidenced in our lives? by our prayer lives. This is the Thursday edition of Renewing Your Mind as we continue Joel Kim's new study in the book of Colossians titled Everything in Christ. As we heard yesterday, Jesus Christ is Lord. And because he is Lord, We can trust him.
and we are to depend on him in prayer.
So what can we learn from the Apostle Paul's prayer life and the content of his prayers? Here's Reverend Kim. I'm blessed to be born into a believing family. and also into a pastor's. Family.
And so I'm what they call a PK, a pastor's kid. And one of the characteristics of my parents, even to this day, is that they pray. they pray. And when I hear words like this from D. A.
Carson, when he talks about the introduction to Paul's letters, where prayer is included in the introductions, this is what he says about his parents. In the ranks of ecclesiastical hierarchies, My father is not a great man. He has never served a large church. Never written a book. Never discharge the duties of high denominational office.
Doubtless, his praying, too, embraces idioms and stylistic idiosyncrasies that should not be copied. but with great gratitude to God, I testify that my parents were not hypocrites. That is the worst possible heritage to leave with children. high spiritual pretensions and low performance. My parents were the opposite.
few pretensions, and disciplined performance. And sometimes when I look at my own children, I wonder if, should the Lord give us another 30 years, they will remember their father as a man of prayer? or think of him as someone distant who was away from home rather a lot, and who wrote a number of obscure books. That quiet reflection often helps me to order my days. This is a reminder of not only what I saw growing up in my parents who prayed.
Also, a reminder to me as I think about my two children, Anna and Simeon. what they see in their dad. and their parents in particular. Prayer, we know, is such an important part of who we are and what we ought to do in life, but often one of the more difficult elements. of our own Christian walk in life as well.
Well, in this introduction, Paul is not only content to remind us That ultimately that his question throughout the book of Colossians is about how we who belong to Christ Jesus live on this side of glory wherever the Lord has placed us. He does so by reminding us of the importance of prayer in four parts. Constancy. Characteristic? Content and confidence.
Constancy characteristic content and confidence. Here, Paul reminds us that he does, and he reminds us to also pray unceasingly. As you see in Colossians chapter 1, verse 3, we always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you. The translation here is a bit flexible as we recognize that always can be attached to thanking God, always thanking God, or attached to we pray for you, we always pray for you. Either way, it indicates the constancy with which he actually does pray.
He always prays and he prays with thankfulness. And in fact, he says this again in verse 9 in chapter 1 when he says, and so, From the day we heard, We have not ceased to pray for you. Paul says to the Colossians. This doesn't mean that prayer for Paul was an incessant mystical experience, nor is this an example of a hyperbolic and exaggerated language to actually make a point. Rather, what Paul is trying to point out is that he daily maintains a spirit of prayer as he pursued his normal activities.
His mind was on the Lord. And his mind was prayerful. As he pursued his daily activities, we know that prayer is on his mind. And the reason we know that is that there is a bit of an enveloping effect in the book of Colossians. As he begins with prayer in chapter four, the last chapter of the book of Colossians, he ends with prayer.
You know how this always is. The last thing you say is some of the more memorable things you want to leave behind. As we sent off our first daughter off to college last year, even as we're dropping her off as parents, we're giving her all kinds of instructions. But these last-minute instructions are not unimportant ones. They may be the most important ones, as we tell her: eat always.
Don't skip a meal, we might tell her. And we come to recognize that Paul not only begins with a prayer, he ends with prayer when he says in chapter 4, verse 2, continue steadfastly in prayer. Notice his theme. He says he always prays. He has never ceased to pray for them.
And he ends the book by simply saying, continue steadfastly in prayer. This seems to be a consistent theme throughout the writings of Paul. Consistency in prayer. As he says in 1 Thessalonians 5, verse 17, a verse that you and I know well. Pray.
unceasingly. He says. We recognize that the pressures are upon us always, where the world tells us that a marker of maturity is when we become more and more independent. For those of us who raise children, we recognize when he is able to walk on his own, when she is able to tie her own shoes, when he is able to play outside without fear, when she is able to ride her bike, when he drives, she goes off to college, he gets married, buys a home. These are all the milestones we look forward to seeing someone grow up.
and these are seen by the world as independence markers of maturity. But for those of us who are in Christ Jesus, The older we get, The wiser we get, The more knowledge we gain, we come to recognize we don't know as much as we think we do. We're not as wise as we once thought that we were. We can't do as much as we thought we could and the more we age, we become ever more dependent. And as believers, the marker of maturity for Christians is not independence away from the Lord, is greater dependence upon the Lord.
And Paul displays this for us not only by telling us to pray. He shows it to us by showing his life of prayer. to us. He always prays. For the Colossians, he says.
But it's not only about the constancy of prayer, it's about the characteristic of prayer. We mentioned at the end of the last lesson that thankfulness seems to be an important part of Paul's life. And in fact, a reminder to all of us to be thankful. Colossians chapter 1, verse 3 begins with, We always thank God. And in fact, he ends this paragraph in verse 12 with the words, Giving thanks.
Thanks, he says. He says this in Romans chapter 1, verse 8. I thank my God through Christ Jesus for all of you. 1 Corinthians 1:4, I give thanks to my God always for you. Philippians 1:3, I thank my God in all my remembrances of you.
2 Thessalonians 1:3, I thank God whom I serve. He says, I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. Note the pattern here. I thank God. I thank God.
I thank God, he says. What is he thankful for exactly? If you look in the introduction to the book of Colossians, he tells us what he's thankful for. We often, that is, your prayers and my prayers, I don't mean to accuse you of anything, at least my prayers. We often thank God for material things, things that we can touch.
things that we have received for our food, For our new job, for safety on a long journey. For our children. To excel. The truth is that what we most frequently give thanks for betrays what we most highly value. If a large percentage of our thanksgiving is for material prosperity, it is because we value material prosperity disproportionately in our minds.
That's what's covering up what we're thinking and what we're doing. But notice what Paul is thankful for. Paul is thankful for signs of grace among the Colossians. Look at what he says in chapter 1, verses 4 and 5. Since we heard of your thanks, Faith in Christ Jesus.
And of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope. Laid up for you in heaven. Did you notice the emphatic words that I try to highlight for us as we think about it? Faith. Love.
And hope Have you seen that triad before? My guess is that you have. There is this triad of Christian virtue. for which Paul is thankful. Paul gives thanks for their faith, not only that they have faith, but that their faith is growing and increasing among them.
This has translated into their love for one another in a church where rich and poor. Learned and unlearned. Practical and impractical, sophisticated and unsophisticated, extroverts and introverts, perhaps a mixture of diversity of backgrounds, and all others mingle. The only thing that unites these people together. happens to be Christ Jesus.
and the love that they have for one another because of Jesus Christ. The barriers have been broken down by Christ Jesus. We reach across the aisles and recognize that these are not different people. These are not people who are foreign to us. These are our brothers and sisters simply because we share the bloodline of Christ Jesus our Lord.
Because of our faith, it leads to our love, and all this is based on hope. If you read Corinthians, it seems like the final of the triad is love, which is why 1 Corinthians 13 is used a lot in our wedding sermons. But in this, Paul rotates that triangle. quite a bit. To point out the reason why we have faith.
And the reason for our love for one another is because of hope, not a desire or wishful thinking, but unchanging knowledge of the reality. that we belong where Christ is now seated. And what he's grateful for is that this gospel work is taking place among the Colossians. Look at what he says in chapter 1, verse 5 and following. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth.
What is the word of the truth? The gospel. The gospel which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and growing, as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, just as you learned it from Epophras. He says This gospel came to the Colossians. They learned it.
Heard it, understood this gospel that was accomplished in Christ Jesus, and this gospel truth. The grace of God, in truth, we're told in chapter 1, verse 6, which was received rather than acquired, bought, or grabbed, has transformed them. Leading them to faith in Christ Jesus, the love for all the saints. But what is amazing is that this gospel could Continues to be at work, not because of our faithfulness or giftedness. but because of its own power.
Notice that the subject that is at work is the gospel itself. The action is taking place where the gospel has come to you. The gospel is bearing fruit. and it continues to grow. I wonder how this sounds.
to our smallish city Christians. In a struggling place, a church that was never founded by a famous person. The church in Colossi was not founded by Paul. In fact, Paul had never visited them before, and that's one thing that he wants to do ultimately at the end. But here, seemingly insignificant group of people sitting and receiving this letter, From Paul.
They're separated from the rest of the world and believers, to be honest. They had no TVs or internets or emails for them to actually take a look at to find out whether they belong to a greater group of people or not. But yet, the greatest apostle writes to them and reminds them: this same gospel I proclaimed elsewhere. has come to you. You believed it.
You received it. And its power is seen in you. As your faith in Christ Jesus grows, As you love one another, And you rest in your hope. that you have in Christ Jesus our Lord. There is a global nature to the gospel being proclaimed.
and Colossians are getting a taste of it. Perhaps such a global perspective does not seem significant to us who live at a time when words like globalization is a fairly common one. But when many at the time of the first century born, raised, and lived and died in the same town or city in which you were born, to be connected to a greater body was a huge blessing for them to actually recognize. To these people, Paul provides a perspective of the gospel that goes beyond the walls of their particular church and town. The same gospel that came to them is spreading in the whole world.
Spreading in the whole world, and the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the land. My guess is that you and I are here because of the gospel at work. We come to recognize that the gospel came to South Korea than just simply Korea. A little over a century ago, I don't know if you know this, one of the first seminaries that was established in Korea was in a town or a city called Pyongyang. which is now known to be the capital city of the communist North Korea.
Yet there the gospel flourished so well That in a newsletter that was written to the States, the Pyongyang, the city, was referred to as the Jerusalem of the East. The seminary being established, the first Presbyterian denomination was established there, and many scattered during the war. but their seeds sown often in blood really produce the product that is the church in South Korea now. Where my father was educated at one of the Presbyterian seminaries in South Korea. I grew up in a home.
where the gospel was taught and proclaimed not only by my father, but many who surrounded us. Gospel songs sung daily as we lifted up praises to the Lord and we recognize how the gospel beyond us. Certainly, these are decades and even centuries after when the seeds were initially sown. But we see and witness the gospel in action, and you and I are the products of God at work in it. This is what Paul wants to remind the Colossian church.
that indeed the gospel is at work and he gives thanks. Because the gospel is at work among the Colossians. and the gospel continues to bear fruit. and is strengthened throughout the world around.
So if you understand that there is a constancy to Paul's prayer, And there is the content of thankfulness in terms of the characteristic of thankfulness in how he prays. Here, we also come to recognize that there is a particular content he has in mind. We've been alluding to this throughout our talk here, but he is focused on praying. Four others. Notice what he does here.
Where one of the most remarkable characteristics of Paul's prayers is the large proportion of space devoted to praying for other people. This sometimes is a reminder, isn't it? because oftentimes diagnosing our prayer indicates our heart condition. How much of our prayers is about me. myself and I.
I think instinctively, because we know the Bible, we would say focusing on ourselves ought not to be the characteristic of believers. But at the same time, oftentimes in practice of our faith, We come to recognize how much myself And I take up the space in our minds and our hearts.
Nowhere else is this seen more clearly than in our prayers. It might be worth noting that Paul has never met the Colossians.
So he's even praying for his spiritual grandchildren that he's never met. Yet that's where the focus seems to be falling. for Paul. And as he's praying for others, there is a particular direction. That he focuses on.
And it's about their growth and maturity. You see this in chapter 1, verses 9 through 12. And so, From the day we heard we have not ceased to pray for you. About what? Asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.
May you be strengthened with all power according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy. giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you. To share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. He's praying for others, but there is a particular direction to his prayer. that he prays that they grow in maturity in Christ Jesus our Lord.
That the Colossians may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding. To what end, we might ask?
So that they may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord. Fully pleasing. to him. This is where we can pause again to ask. How do they live a life fully pleasing to the Lord?
Here, Paul gives us indications here. This is not an exhaustive thing. But for us to consider these things when he simply says, Bearing fruit? Increasing Strengthening And then finally, giving thanks. Do you note that these participles reflect what he said the gospel naturally does earlier in verse 6?
He's praying that the gospel works in their hearts in such a way. As it does throughout the world, he prays that this is effectively taking place in your hearts. That as he prays for the Colossians, he prays that they continue to bear fruit because of the work of Christ Jesus in our hearts, that they continue to increase in their faith because of the gospel at work in their minds, that they continue to be strengthened in their faith, that they may not waver back and forth, standing firm, rooted in Christ Jesus, and give thanks. For all these things come from the Lord.
So here he always prays He prays with thankfulness for the gospel at work, And then he prays for others. that the Gospel will work in their hearts and minds. And then We see his confidence. As he prays, He knows that as he talks to the Lord, this is not simply wishful thinking. What he says in chapter 1 verses 13 through 20.
may not be about Prayer as a theological idea, but one thing we recognize is that He, by praying, is showing us that we ought to pray and how we ought to pray. And the impression that Paul leaves for us is that he is able to pray like this because the confidence that the Lord will listen to him. He recognizes that he belongs to Christ Jesus, and Christ Jesus, who is the possessor of all wisdom and power, the Creator of heavens and the earth. the one who redeemed and saved all his people. We'll hear him.
As we recognize the new identity we have in Him, as verses 13 and 14 remind us, He has delivered us. From the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son. We belong to His Son, Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness. of sins. Since we have our new identity in Christ Jesus, who is our Lord, He hears our prayer.
Our God, who is the Creator and Redeemer, in whom all things hold together, it's to whom And it's through whom We lift up our prayer. Thus pause confidence. That as he teaches, as he proclaims, and as he prays, For growing maturity. he does so with confidence. Perhaps as we reflect upon the prayers of Paul.
We can end actually with words of John Calvin the Reformer, who talked about prayer and who prayed for prayer. As he says, Grant Almighty God, That as you not only invite us continually by the voice of your gospel to seek you. but also offer to us your Son as our mediator, through whom an access to you is open. that we may find you a propitious father. O grant that relying on your kind invitation, we may through life exercise ourselves in prayer.
And as so many evils disturb us on all sides, and so many wants distress and oppress us, may we be led more earnestly to call on you. And in the meanwhile, be never wearied. in this exercise of prayer. May we never be wearied. a prey unseasonably.
that the gospel of God's grace may work in us. That was Joel Kim on this Thursday edition of Renewing Your Mind from his brand new series in Colossians, Everything in Christ. Thank you for joining us today, and I hope you've been encouraged as you've heard this week's guest teacher and the gospel truths found in this short four-chapter letter. Mm-hmm. Reverend Kim takes us through this letter section by section.
and I'd love for you to have access to this new study. We will unlock all the messages and the study guide in the free Ligonier app When you donate today at renewingyourmind.org, or when you call us at eight hundred four three five four three four three. Perhaps request this series so that you can use it in the new year with your small group. The study guide is designed to help facilitate those group discussions. Give your gift at renewingyourmind.org or by using the link in the podcast show notes, and you can keep listening to the entire series.
Watch the messages in the app. or listen to them as you commute to work or take your children to school. And as always, if you live outside of the US and Canada, You can show your support of Renewing Your Mind and gain access to this series and study guide when you respond at renewingyourmind.org/slash global. Thank you for helping take the message of Colossians to the nations. We'll continue our study in Colossians tomorrow.
Here's a preview. At this point, I think Paul cannot help himself. As he talks about the redemption that we have in Christ Jesus. He pauses to To sing a song. about Christ Jesus.
So I do hope you'll join us Friday here on Renewing Your Mind.
