Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father. (Colossians 1:1-2)
“To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae. Grace to you and peace from God our Father“ is our focus in this reflection. There are some important insights we can glean from this verse.
As he writes to the church in Colossae, Paul is also writing to the body of Christ today. Here are a couple of highlights from the verse as follows.
He directs his letter specifically to the saints at Colossae. One may ask, who is a Saint? Unlike in Roman Catholicism, where sainthood is conferred on dead people after a review of their lives, the New Testament description of a saint is someone who has experienced regeneration and expressed faith in Christ Jesus as His Savior. The point here is to examine yourself and to be sure it’s so with you. If not, then there is the need to cry out to God, so He can come into your life to experience the new birth in Christ Jesus. Paul seeks to remind us of who we are as saints by God’s divine choosing.
Secondly, he writes to faithful brothers (and sisters) in Christ at Colossae. What a wonderful description of the saints at Colossae, to be considered faithful in Christ! The Church at Colossae is an example of how every church of Christ should be. They had members who were faithful to Christ Jesus and each other in their Christian walk. Can this be said of us? Are we faithful in God’s house? Are we faithful to ourselves as members of the body of Christ? Are we faithful at home to our wives and children? Are we faithful at work? Above all, does Jesus see us as faithful?
“In Christ“ reminds us that we are because of our Union withChrist and not because of anything in or out of ourselves. It is Christ Jesus that makes us saints. The walk of faith, which is progressive sanctification, requires our commitment to Christ and a reliance on His grace to be faithful. Are you committed to Jesus as He is to you?
We all desire and pray to have faithful churches in Ghana, but it takes saints and faithful brothers (and sisters) in ChristJesus to make a faithful church. Is your church faithful? If it is, praise God! If not, we should examine why this is not the case. The issue is not with the church but with you and me, who make up the church.
Our prayers should be
God bless you.
