Transformed! -- Colossians 1:1-14

Transformed! – Colossians 1:1-14
By Pastor Lee Hemen
March 16, 2008 AM

A man who is in jail for robbery has been stealing since boyhood. He says he cannot stop and he knows he will be in trouble again. Liars say they cannot stop lying. Alcoholics say they cannot stop their addiction. Some psychiatrists relate that telling someone to repent is “like telling a person to change the color of his skin.” The prophet Jeremiah would agree that it is sometimes impossible for people to change their conduct -- but for a different reason. It is not because they cannot change; it is because they do not want to change. “Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Neither can you do good who are accustomed to doing evil,’” God related to Jeremiah (Jeremiah 13:23). However, there is good news! The Bible relates that people can be transformed!

Paul wrote his fellow believers in Colossae around 60-62 AD, while he was imprisoned in Rome. One purpose was to correct the heresy of Gnosticism, a form of mysticism, that had sprung up within the church and was affecting new Christians. These false teachers were urging people to blend other cultic religious ideas with Christianity. Though Paul did not know these believers personally, he was still concerned for their spiritual welfare. He knew that their lives were transformed by the power of God and they did not need to get mixed up in ungodly and false doctrines that would confuse them. The same is true for us in our day and age. Many want to rewrite what the Bible teaches about God’s transforming power through Jesus Christ. These are but false doctrines and we need to get back to what it means to be and live transformed lives in Christ. Let’s discover what this means for our lives today...

READ: Colossians 1:1-14

Paul knew that the power of the gospel to transform lives is evident when people hear and understand the truth of God’s grace, put their faith in Jesus Christ, and display love toward God’s people. Therefore spiritual...

I. Transformation begins in a believer with Jesus Christ (vv. 1-8)!

1. Change comes through Christ! Paul’s and Timothy’s prayers of thanksgiving for the Colossians were prompted by the fact that they had heard several things about them. First, they had heard of their faith in Christ Jesus. Until there is that personal acceptance of Jesus Christ in faith, there can be no salvation for the individual. Their faith was also displayed by “the love [they had] for all the saints.” Their old way of living had changed so much that they now cared for others. Such love is the proper outgrowth of an individual’s salvation experience. When a person becomes properly related to Jesus Christ by faith, a love for others will always follow. Faith and love are described as dependent on hope (v. 5), the goal of the Christian’s expectation. Observe the use of the triad of faith, hope, and love as in 1 Corinthians 13:13. Hope is one of the great words in the vocabulary of the New Testament! The true gospel message of hope had been proclaimed to the Colossians when they placed their faith in Christ. As a result growth and fruit-bearing had been occurring among them since the day they accepted the true gospel message (v. 6)! And in fact they had “learned it from Epaphras” a fellow believer! A Christian’s transformation begins with Jesus and is displayed to the world around them in Christlike love. So much so that others can learn from your example. What a wonderful thing to learn that spiritual transformation begins in the believer with Jesus Christ!

EXAMPLE: Mart De Haan writes that “For a long time the old church sat empty and abandoned in a Detroit neighborhood. The decaying building blended naturally into the whole area. Storefronts were boarded up. An old school building was padlocked. Party stores flourished, but little else. Grim, unswept, forgotten—that's how it all looked.
Then one night things changed. The old church sparkled with light. Parked cars lined the streets. The sound of music filled the air. What had been dead and abandoned had come to life.
I've seen people like that. For years they were dark and empty like that old church. There was little inside except anger, selfishness, and pride. Then one day all was changed. Suddenly the darkness was gone. It was as if someone had turned on the lights.
And that Someone is God. He forgives those who come to Him through faith in His Son Jesus Christ. He specializes in giving new life to those who seem to be beyond hope—those who are dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1).
If all this sounds unfamiliar, it may be because we've lost sight of the transforming power of Jesus Christ.” What a wonderful thing to learn that spiritual transformation begins in the believer with Jesus Christ!

Paul also understood that people who have experienced the gospel’s transforming power in their lives through salvation need to move toward maturity by learning more about God’s will. We learn that...

II. Transformation will grow through Spiritual maturity (v. 9)!

1. Spiritual maturity develops wisdom that comes from Godly knowledge! Paul continued to reveal the content of his and Timothy’s prayer for the Colossian Christians. Since Epaphras had reported to Paul in Rome about the situation of the church in Colossae, Paul’s and Timothy’s prayers had been fervent and constant. They were concerned. Although Paul expressed great joy regarding the Colossians’ faith, he recognized the dangers in the theological heresy that was threatening the church. Paul’s prayer clearly reflects his concern about this church’s future. The apostle desired that the Colossians should continue moving toward maturity in their Christian experience. When people have experienced the gospel’s transforming power in their lives through salvation, they need to move toward maturity by learning more about God’s will. Such growth is precisely what Paul wanted for the Colossians, and he was praying to that end. He prayed consistently that the Colossians’ lives would be transformed further through the gospel, and he specifically prayed for them to have complete knowledge of God’s will. The Greek word Paul used for knowledge sometimes is translated “full knowledge” or “full discernment.” This is not some Gnostic mystical knowledge, but one that was full and complete. Spiritual understanding for the Christian includes biblical wisdom: acquiring godly knowledge and applying that knowledge to specific situations in our lives. Jesus said that “the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” (John 14:26) Our transformation will grow through Spiritual maturity!

EXAMPLE: Herbert Vander Lugt writes: “How difficult it is for some highly intelligent people to admit that in their own wisdom they can't answer life's ultimate questions.
The well-known astrophysicist Fred Hoyle said: "A common-sense interpretation of the facts suggests that a superintellect has monkeyed with physics, as well as with chemistry and biology, and that there are no blind forces worth speaking about in nature." Yet he remains an unbeliever.
The late Carl Sagan spoke of "some kind of force or power" that enabled the universe to create itself. But he was "opposed to any kind of revealed religion."
The majority of us as Christians may feel unqualified to debate such intellectual giants. But it's not God's purpose to refute human wisdom with intellectual arguments. Instead, He confounds human wisdom and power by displaying His greater wisdom and power. He does this by saving ordinary people like you and me through the "message of the cross" (1 Corinthians 1:18). The truth that Jesus died for our sins and rose again is viewed as foolishness by the world.
God's best evidence to refute worldly wisdom is a transformed life. What a privilege to bear this message! What a challenge to live it!”

Paul realized that those whose lives have been transformed through the power of the gospel are to live by God’s will, thus pleasing Him and giving evidence of further changes. He knew that...

III. Transformation continues as the believer lives for Jesus (vv. 10-14)!

1. Spiritual strength comes through exercising our faith muscles! Paul continued his petition for the Colossians. The term translated “live a life,” when used in such contexts as here, regularly refers to a person’s walk with God. Paul prayed that the Colossians would conduct their lives in a manner worthy of the Lord. Paul described what he meant by walking worthy of the Lord. Bearing fruit is not an option for the believer. It is that which accompanies the faith relationship with Jesus Christ. The verb construction here indicates that this activity was to be an ongoing process. Jesus said, “This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.... You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit--fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.” (John 15:8, 16) In other words, it was to be a continuous activity as they grew “in the knowledge of God.” As Paul’s petition progressed, he asked that they would be “strengthened with all power” so that they might have “great endurance and patience,” with joyful thanks to God the Father! Paul related that God’s attitude and actions toward us are characterized by grace, and our response to Him should be characterized by gratitude. Christians should be “giving thanks” to God! Why? Because “He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (vv. 13-14) The believer’s life has been transformed and is being transformed. We need to exercise our spiritual muscles! Transformation continues as the believer lives for Jesus!

EXAMPLE: Vernon C. Grounds relates that “One night a woman dreamed that she was having a conversation with God. She was angry about all the suffering and evil she saw around her, so she complained to the Lord, ‘Why don't You do something about all this?’ God gently replied, ‘I did. I created you.’
God could send another flood, as He did in Noah's day, to cleanse away the wickedness of the world. He could, but He won't. He has promised never to do that again (Genesis 9:11). Instead, He chooses to work through human beings like us, changing them, then enabling them to function as His agents of change.
He changed Paul from a persecutor of the church to "His witness to all men" (Acts 22:15). Paul's life and letters taught, inspired, and comforted the church in its early days, and they still do today. It was the power of God that changed Paul, then used him to change the world around him.
What about you? Have you been transformed by the power of Jesus Christ? Are you now obediently serving Him to change the lives of people around you?” We need to exercise our spiritual muscles! Transformation continues as the believer lives for Jesus!

Conclusion:
Transformation begins in a believer with Jesus Christ! Transformation will grow through Spiritual maturity! Transformation continues as the believer lives for Jesus! Have you been transformed? You can be.
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NOTE: This article is copyrighted by Pastor Lee Hemen © 2008 and the property of Pastor Lee Hemen. You are welcome to copy it, email it, or use it but please if you copy it, email it, or use it you must do so in its entirety.