Colossians 1:7-8

Colossians 1:7-8    You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, and who also told us of your love in the Spirit. (NIV)

   After hearing countless sermons, taking theology classes, and reading many Christian books, I have never heard anyone talk about Epaphras.  Yet he was a faithful minister of Christ, and he is also mentioned in Colossians 4:12 and Philemon 23.  I raise the question: Why be a servant for Christ?  The answer is because of love.

   Different people have different motivations for serving.  Sometimes people serve other people only for money.  Yet if you truly love someone, serving is a way of expressing your love.  I have always been single, yet I have long had the dream of having a wife.  Being single for so many years, sometimes I think about things I want to do if I get married.  For example, I have considered how I would like to surprise a wife on some random day by serving her breakfast in bed.  Strawberries, blueberries, and some unique cereal would be a good menu, assuring I would not burn any of the food.  As a single guy who has had breakfast alone for forty something years, I always thought that would be romantic.  Yet the point is I would be serving my wife; expressing my love.

   In the 2014-2015 school year, I had the privilege of doing college ministry work with a small yet loving group of Christians at Ithaca College, a college where the Christian fellowship is small.  There is a student there, Kristin, who loves Jesus and who loves people.  I am honored to call her my sister-in-Christ and friend.  She has a gift for serving people which is one way she expresses love.  She was willing to serve on the Leadership Team, she would always promptly respond to my emails, she drove students without a car to her church on Sundays, she drove me home from our student worship frequently, and she did many other things.  Yet first and foremost, I saw her greatest service in her gift of listening.  When I would talk on and on with her, she would listen.  If someone in the group had a problem, she would listen.  I remember once when a student announced to the group his parents were divorcing, Kristin was flooded with sympathy.  She cared about that person.  She cares about people because she loves people.  She is one of the great servants for Christ I have met, and in an unlikely place.

   Paul calls Epaphras a faithful minister of Christ.  That student, Kristin, is a faithful minister of Christ.  She has never taken a theology class that I know of, yet she is a faithful minister of Christ who wants to learn more and more from His word.  She is a witness for Jesus.  And that group I served with is filled with loving people, just as there were a bunch of loving people at the church in Colossae.  The love of Jesus was there in Colossae almost two thousand years ago, and it is in our world today, in some unlikely places.

Hunter Irvine

Scripture Love Blog

Colossians 1:3-6

Colossians 1:3-6     “We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints—the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you.  All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God’s grace in all its truth.” (NIV)

   This letter starts out with terms galore such as faith, love, saints, heaven, grace, and gospel, yet they are all rooted in Jesus Christ.

   Regarding faith, Jesus is the object of their faith.  Many people who are not followers of Jesus have faith in all kinds of things.  The faith Paul is talking about is faith in Jesus.

   Regarding love, the reason they can love one another is because of Jesus.  Love is a word I heard much in the rock music I listened to during my youth.  The love Paul is referring to is the true love which comes from God in heaven.

   Regarding saints, they are believers in Jesus, the reason there were already a plethora of saints in only 60 A.D.

   Regarding heaven, that is the dominion of Jesus.

   Regarding grace, it is a gift of Jesus, a gift of love and life which came by the love, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

   Regarding the gospel specified here, it is not good tidings announced by a king or a sports broadcaster, rather it is good news Jesus made possible.

   I elaborate on this word gospel.  The hope of a follower of Jesus is rooted in the gospel.  What is the gospel?  The gospel is Jesus Christ died on a cross for the forgiveness of sins of anyone.  Paul is going to touch on this in Colossians 1:14 and Colossians 1:20.  Jesus was the substitutional atonement for the consequences of sins, which is spiritual death.  Jesus died in our place.  Then He was resurrected from the dead!  And Jesus ascended into heaven.  Because He shed His blood as the atoning sacrifice on the cross, salvation from sins and eternal life in heaven is available.  Why does Paul call this “gospel?”  Gospel means good news, and Paul’s application is specifically to the saving work of Jesus on the cross.  And the gospel is available to all people of all ethnic groups, as can be understood from 1 John 2:2.

   And even at that time around 60 A.D., Paul said the gospel was bearing fruit all over the world.  I find this to be evidence of the truth of Christianity, because all Jesus did was unprecedented in human history, and I would expect such truth to have an immediate impact in the world; it did.

   Do take this statement in context; for example Paul does not mean Christians were already in what is now the United States or Australia preaching the Gospel.  Yet in less than thirty years, because of the obedience of Christ’s early disciples, the Gospel was already being preached in distance places, and was changing lives, and that would continue!

   I close with a statement given by a Christian overseer in Caesarea at the end of the 200’s and in the early 300’s named Eusebius, who was the first Christian to attempt to write a comprehensive history of early Christianity.  His writing style is criticized by most, yet his historical information is valuable.  What Paul states in Colossians 1:6 is supported by a statement by Eusebius regarding the period of early Christianity: “Throughout every city and village, like a replenished barn floor, churches were rapidly found abounding and filled with members from every people.  Those who, in consequence of the delusions that had descended to them from their ancestors, had been fettered by the ancient disease of idolatrous superstition, were now liberated by the power of Christ through the teaching and miracles of his messengers.”(2)  Christianity was rapidly spreading all over the world!

Hunter Irvine

Scripture Love Blog

(1) Eusebius, Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History, trans. C.F. Cruse (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1998), 39.

Colossians 1:2

Colossians 1:2  “To the holy and faithful brothers in Christ at Colosse: Grace and peace to you from God our Father.” (NIV)

   Can you imagine if Paul the apostle were here today and he sent you a personal letter and addressed you by name and then called you a holy and faithful sister-in-Christ or brother-in-Christ?  Furthermore consider God knows right now whether you are a holy and faithful sister or brother.  This is my desire, and I know it requires me to rely on my Holy Father every single day.  Being holy and faithful is the call by God for every Christian, and our need is to submit to Jesus.

   This letter is addressed solely to Christians.  Note the city of Colosse is sometimes spelled Colossae.  What was once a prosperous city, which is now a “low hill in a field,” the city is not mentioned any other time in Scripture.(1)  Today the city of Colosse seems to be behind the scenes just like this book of the Bible, yet nearly 2000 years ago, it was a Christian mission field, and the souls of its people were of ultimate concern.

Hunter Irvine

Scripture Love Blog

(1) Clyde E. Fant and Mitchell G. Reddish, A Guide to Biblical Sites in Greece and Turkey (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003), 173.

Colossians 1:1

Colossians 1:1 “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother…” (NIV)

   How exciting for me to be writing a personal commentary on the book of Colossians!  May it be a blessing to you!!

   Zero is the number of sermons I have heard on any passage from the book of Colossians in my 26 years of following Jesus.  Yet we will carefully exam this inspired letter.

   An epistle is a word for a letter written to a group of people, not just a single individual.  This epistle is introduced by Paul, who announces authorship, along with Timothy.  And Paul is bold in stating he is an apostle of Jesus.

   Starting with the issue of Paul’s identification as an apostle, I note the word apostle means “sent out.”  It was embraced as the title for a special leadership position for a small number of believers there in the first generation of the Church.

   Twelve followers of Jesus were the original apostles.  Sometimes they are even identified simply as “the Twelve.”  For me it is natural to think of them as the sole apostles.  Yet as special as they were, there were a few other folks who were privileged to gain that title in that first generation of Christians.  Note they needed to be people who had seen Jesus, in order to testify as eyewitnesses of the risen Christ.

   Now Paul’s encounter with the risen Christ was quite unique, and there is no record of Paul having seen Jesus when He was incarnate, in the flesh.  Now Paul defends his apostleship in the beginning of I Corinthians 9, yet what is also needed is affirmation from one of “the Twelve.”  Sure enough, Peter affirmed the epistles of Paul as Scripture, as recorded in 2 Peter 3:15-16.  That supports the apostleship of Paul because all Scripture of the New Testament needed to be written by either an apostle, or a disciple with an apostolic connection.  Thus that single statement by Peter is a key affirmation of the authority of Paul.  I add that Scripture means sacred writings.

   Secondly, Timothy is stated to be a second author of this epistle.

   Timothy was a disciple of Jesus who did much.  In addition to his contribution to this letter, Timothy assisted in the writing of Philippians, I Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, and Philemon.  And Paul wrote both I Timothy and 2 Timothy to him to encourage Timothy’s fruitful ministry work.

   Timothy accompanied Paul on Paul’s second missionary journey, as is shown in Acts 16.  We clearly know of Paul’s admiration for Timothy: “For this reason I am sending to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord…” (I Corinthians 4:17 NIV).  Now Timothy was not a physical son of Paul, as we know from Acts 16 where it states Timothy’s father was Greek.  (Timothy’s mom was Jewish, a woman who had become a Christian.)  Yet Paul cared so much for Timothy he viewed Timothy as a son-in-Christ.  Ultimately Timothy was a brother-in-Christ to Paul and all believers.

   This letter was written from Rome about 60 A.D. when Paul was imprisoned there.

   Having discussed the apostleship of Paul and the co-authorship of Timothy, I now address two questions.

   First, some people think Paul went overboard.  Was Paul a little crazy?

   Many years ago I worked at a place in Virginia.  My special boss was a man who, at the time, was a nominal church attendee with little interest in the Bible.  He later had a life crisis.  Afterwards we talked in an underground parking lot and he told me he had committed to the Lord.  Going back to a time before his commitment, in the midst of a workday we were talking about the Bible, and my boss made the statement: “Paul was a nut.”  I got riled up about that.  The fact is Paul was not a nut, rather Paul was a disciple of Jesus who was willing to preach the Gospel at all cost.

   We students of the Bible need to carefully interpret what Paul was saying, yet Paul has been honored by Christians in each century since the birth of Christ for his devotion to Jesus.  Paul was willing to get beat up for the sake of the Gospel, and he even died for Christ, being murdered under the reign of the Roman Emperor Nero.  Paul was a preacher for Jesus at the beginning era of the New Covenant when many people were putting their faith in Jesus, even though they were totally going against religious and cultural norms.  We have Paul and Timothy to thank still for being witnesses during that turning point time in history.

   Second, speaking of Timothy, in my past Christian years, Paul had a ton of attention, yet I hardly ever heard anyone talk about Timothy.  Did Timothy really accomplishment much at all?

   Though a disciple often in the shadow of Paul in our modern churches, may we realize his ministry work had an eternal consequence.  Some disciples of Jesus do their work out of the spotlight!  Different disciples of Jesus have different personalities and different gifts.  Yet their loving work in the will of God is of equal goodness.

   Paul and Timothy were loving friends who served Jesus in the historic apostolic age, and they are loving buddies now in heaven.  May we be mindful there are only two things believers will carry over from this world into heaven and that is our own soul bonded with Jesus and our loving friends-in-Christ.  Since the time when this letter was written, throughout many generations, there have been countless loving brothers and sisters-in-Christ.  The true love of God shared by friends is meant to be cherished.  Cherish your loving friends.

Hunter Irvine

Scripture Love Blog

Encouragement - Hebrews 3:13

Hebrews 3:13   But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness (NIV).

   The 2016 summer Olympics are under way, and I watched several of the competitions today.  Back in 1996, I was living in northern Virginia, and the Olympics were in the United States that year.  The torch was run across the country to Atlanta, Georgia.  One day the local newspaper reported the people carrying the torch would come through our area the coming Saturday, and the paper included a map with the complete torch route and schedule.  I was excited to learn the torch would be brought right along the street where my apartment complex was.  At the time I rented an “efficiency” basement apartment which measured 22 feet by 13 feet, seriously.  It was efficient alright.
   Come that Saturday, about fifteen minutes before the projected time, I went outside to the street.  To my astonishment, up and down the street as far as I could see in both directions was a crowd of people.  I was amazed so many people lived in the block.  Day to day I would walk much, as I have for much of my life, and I would only see the average number of people here and there.  Yet it was as though all of Arlington had left their abodes to line the street.
   People around me were excited and friendly, and I talked with some nice folks next to me.  A few minutes later, I heard people cheering to the west, and it was obvious the torch was coming down Lee Highway.  Then the runner came within my sight.  He ran with upright posture holding the torch firmly before him, and he was smiling.  People cheered as he ran by!  I cheered!  It was cool.  Then it was over, and the crowd began to disperse.
   When athletes succeed in competition, people cheer.  Cheering for someone is one kind of encouragement.  Yet obviously there are more personal ways to encourage someone, and there are countless ways to encourage someone.  As I have gotten older, I realize the necessity of encouragement to live the Christian life.  As a follower of Jesus for 26 years, discouragement has been plenty and encouragement from people more sparse.  And spending time with God, reading the Bible, doing ministry work, and doing the will of God are activities which I sure do not get a ton of encouragement for from people.  Yet I can tell you the encouragement I have received from an array of brothers and sisters in Christ over all the years has been a treasure for me.  I needed it.  And I have worked to encourage others.
   I write all of this in the wake of a week where I received some rescuing encouragement.  Mounting stress as a result of being unemployed for a marathon time had reached a point last week where I could have had a meltdown.  Instead I received some totally unexpected encouragement which kept me from feeling despair.  From several different people last week, in a variety of manners, I was encouraged.  I am grateful to all those people, all of whom do not even know each other, for blessing me.  But what about those times when you are not getting encouragement from people.  First and foremost, we need to listen to God our Father to be encouraged.  He is always there.
   There is spiritual opposition for the person who does the will of Jesus.  Personally, I think especially since I have always been single and celibate, never having a loving wife, it sometimes feels like no one is cheering for me in lonely times.  Sometimes it is hard for me to recognize that in simply following Jesus, I have angels cheering for me in numbers greater than that Olympic torch bearer.  May you know that if you are following Jesus, you have the Creator and Sustainer of the universe not only cheering for you, yet also willing to give enabling help, and the reason is because He loves you. We followers of Jesus need to open ourselves to the encouragement of God. And we all need encouragement from brothers and sisters in Christ.  So may we rely on Christ to become enthusiastic about encouraging one another.  May each of us even encourage someone this week.
Hunter Irvine

Is anyone perfect? Matthew 5:48

   Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:48 NIV).
   In the fall of 1991, I started reading the Bible every afternoon on the subway on the way home from work at my job in Washington D.C.  As a new Christian, a minister had told me to start Bible reading with the book of John.  So starting there I proceeded to read the entire New Testament.  Then I went back and read Matthew, Mark, and Luke.  In reading Matthew, I got to this verse.  In the midst of a huge teaching by Jesus, He states, “Be perfect.”  The subway had gone out of the tunnel and was above ground.  I looked out the window and I thought to myself, “That’s impossible.”  As I continued to look out of the window of the subway, I pondered, “Yet why would Jesus instruct us to do something if it cannot be done?”  That moment was monumental in my early Christian life.
   Being open to that which seemed impossible, I would gradually learn God can do what is impossible for people.  Once a person truly believes in Jesus, he or she is forgiven of sins, justified because of Jesus’ atonement for sins on the cross.  I had been justified, and I would realize I had been indwelled with the Holy Spirit as a believer in Christ.  Then comes a life of being improved by the Holy Spirit, being changed to be more and more like Jesus Himself, who is One with the Father and the Holy Spirit.  The Biblical term is sanctification.  It is a life long process in this world.
   Last night I watched a movie which I saw at a movie theater near Bailey’s Crossroads in Virginia as a young teenager with my family back in the early 1980’s.  Then I saw the movie a second time in the late 1980’s when I was watching some videos during spring break of my junior year at Virginia Tech.  Both times I thought the movie was extremely funny and I laughed out loud.  Watching the movie last night, I laughed sometimes, but less and less as the movie continued, and ironically, I ended up not liking the movie.  I felt there was much hypocrisy between what the star character advocated and what he did.  I was hurt when the name of Jesus was said twice in a mode of anger, definitely not a mode of praise.  These points and additional stuff in the movie not only took the fun out of the movie, but it left me feeling sad.  This movie I thought was so funny in the 1980’s had gone completely sour for me.  What happened?  The bottom line is I am not the same person I was back in the 1980’s, because I have been changed by Jesus.  I still make mistakes.  God still has much work to do in my heart.  And I have learned from the Bible that I will not be made completely holy until I am with Jesus in full in heaven.  Yet one thing I can say for sure is my heart is so much better than it was in 1989.  I am a changed person.
   Written in my journals over the years has been the statement, “The perfection process is a painful process, yet the perfection process leads to goodness.”  As we depend on Jesus, we are made more loving.
   Jesus is perfect!  I praise Jesus for all He has done for me.
Hunter

Your calling

   After having been a Christian for only about three years, it was announced at my church a special man was speaking in a few weeks named John Stott.  People seemed excited, so I decided to attend.  Driving to the church that Tuesday evening back in 1993, I did not even know he was a renowned author and worldwide evangelist.  I would soon learn.  His talk turned out to be an incredible blessing to me, one of the most influential events in my early Christian years.
   During his talk, John Stott told a story.  He said in his early ministry days, he heard some Christians support a “pyramid model” of ministry.  At the top of the pyramid were the missionaries who served in a country where there was little Christian influence.  Then down the pyramid a smidgeon were the pastors in a country where there are plenty of Christians.  A tad down the pyramid were the teachers who are a light for Christ.  Then down some more were the housewives, the professional workers, and the blue collar workers who are witnesses for Christ in their various professions.  At the bottom of the pyramid were the politicians for Christ.  This last statement elicited a laugh from the audience at that church inside the Washington D.C. beltway.
   Yet then John Stott said this model is wrong.  He stated, “The truth is any person is completely carrying out the grand calling of God if he or she does whatever it is which God has called him or her to do.”
   If you are a follower of Jesus, you have been called to do ministry work.  Hardship will be involved, yet your calling is a privilege which will bring blessings and glory to God.  Whatever your occupation, there is the call for you to be a witness for Jesus.  A disciple of Jesus is called to proclaim to Gospel.  In giving the “Great Commission,” recorded in Matthew 28:19, Jesus gave no formula for carrying this out since people can do so in a variety of manners in a variety of circumstances.  Yet it all starts by loving God and loving people.
   Now everyone has a calling, yet all people have different gifts and different passions.  Jesus creatively uses the gifts and passions of His children.  Being a witness for Christ is way of life, which you carry out by relying of God.
   Your calling may involve different ministries in different seasons.  Your calling may involve a validation of your current career or a future career change.  Careful discernment is required.  If you do not know your calling, take some time to listen to God.  One suggestion is to take a personal “retreat” to a quiet place where you can spend several hours alone with God.  I personally start such a listening time by writing in my journal.  Journaling thoughts and prayers often leads to giving thanks to God, and giving thanks to God often leads to hearing the still small voice of God.
   In carrying out your calling, be mindful the foundation of your calling is Jesus Christ, the One who loves you and who died on a cross for the forgiveness of our sins.
“Jesus answered, ‘The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent’” (John 6:29 NIV).
Hunter Irvine