The Power of the Gospel: Around the World and In Our Lives

Main Theme: The and of Jesus
He is and he is

Colossians 1, ESV
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
² To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

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. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, ⁶ which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, ⁷ just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf ⁸ and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.

• The gospel is meant for the .
  
  • Am I ?
  • Am I ?
  • Am I sharing/ ?

⁹ And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, ¹⁰ 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;

• The gospel should be bearing fruit in our .
• Three uses of “the will of God”:
  • Will of decree (hidden will)
  • Will of command (revealed will)
  • Will of direction

¹¹ being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy;

• God us to live fruit-bearing lives.

¹² giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. ¹³ He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

• Fruit is the of our salvation, not the cause of it.