WEBVTT - Skip Heitzig - Oct 22 - 7:30 am 0:00:01.240 --> 0:00:04.240 Welcome to Connect with Skip Heitzig. We're so glad you've 0:00:04.260 --> 0:00:07.160 tuned in today. Our mission is to help people know 0:00:07.220 --> 0:00:11.120 God more deeply through clear, verse-by-verse Bible teaching that brings 0:00:11.140 --> 0:00:14.910 biblical truth into everyday life. One of the best ways 0:00:14.970 --> 0:00:17.570 to stay connected is by signing up for Pastor Skip's 0:00:17.710 --> 0:00:22.750 free weekly devotional. You'll receive biblical encouragement, ministry updates, and 0:00:22.810 --> 0:00:27.720 exclusive ministry content delivered straight to your inbox. It's completely 0:00:27.820 --> 0:00:30.770 free and only takes a moment to sign up. Visit 0:00:30.790 --> 0:00:36.880 connectwithskiff.com today. That's connectwithskiff.com. Now, stay tuned to hear about 0:00:36.900 --> 0:00:40.230 a brand new resource that's coming next month and how 0:00:40.270 --> 0:00:42.050 you can pre-order your copy today. 0:00:42.740 --> 0:00:45.760 Many Christians want to spend more time in God's Word, 0:00:45.940 --> 0:00:48.699 but they're not always sure where to start. That's why 0:00:48.780 --> 0:00:52.450 Pastor Skip Heitzig wrote Soaring Above It All, a one-year 0:00:52.490 --> 0:00:55.710 devotional that helps you understand the big picture of the 0:00:55.770 --> 0:01:00.470 Bible from Genesis to Revelation through clear, engaging daily readings. 0:01:00.850 --> 0:01:03.810 Whether you're new to Scripture or have studied it for years, 0:01:04.110 --> 0:01:07.910 this devotional will help deepen your understanding of God's Word. 0:01:08.230 --> 0:01:11.170 Pre-order your copy today, wherever books are sold. 0:01:11.980 --> 0:01:15.320 Now, here's today's message from Pastor Skip Heitzig. 0:01:16.140 --> 0:01:20.440 As Paul put it, I have no one like-minded who 0:01:20.470 --> 0:01:24.810 will naturally care for your state like Timothy. So he's 0:01:24.850 --> 0:01:27.350 our brother, but he's also my son in the faith. Now, 0:01:27.390 --> 0:01:30.510 why is he mentioned here? Well, no doubt he is 0:01:30.590 --> 0:01:36.560 with Paul in Rome as an associate for a period 0:01:36.580 --> 0:01:39.340 of time. Paul would send him out to various places. 0:01:40.120 --> 0:01:44.580 But for the time being, he's with Paul. Now, it 0:01:44.660 --> 0:01:51.090 could be that Paul, including Timothy in the introduction, indicates 0:01:51.750 --> 0:01:58.530 that Timothy was the amanuensis of Paul. Amanuensis is somebody 0:01:58.570 --> 0:02:02.890 who actually writes the letter. Paul would often dictate the 0:02:02.940 --> 0:02:06.300 letter to somebody. Maybe he would sign a few sentences 0:02:06.320 --> 0:02:08.760 at the end and then his name. But he would 0:02:08.800 --> 0:02:11.340 dictate a letter. And to dictate a letter, you need 0:02:11.360 --> 0:02:15.839 somebody to take dictation, called an amanuensis, a scribe. So 0:02:15.880 --> 0:02:19.760 it could have been that Timothy was the scribe, the amanuensis, 0:02:19.800 --> 0:02:22.580 the guy who took down the thoughts of Paul as 0:02:22.620 --> 0:02:26.530 he dictated them in this letter. You should also know that, 0:02:27.090 --> 0:02:31.150 and I've told you this before, but just for repetition, 0:02:31.530 --> 0:02:36.110 because you may have forgotten, Paul wrote four letters at 0:02:36.150 --> 0:02:45.350 this imprisonment in Rome. Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon. All four 0:02:45.410 --> 0:02:47.589 letters were penned by Paul when he was in that 0:02:47.650 --> 0:02:53.750 two-year house arrest in Rome. It is believed, since Ephesus 0:02:53.830 --> 0:02:57.530 is only 80 to 100 miles away, that the letters 0:02:57.650 --> 0:03:01.970 to the Ephesians and the Colossians were carried by the 0:03:02.150 --> 0:03:07.900 same group of people at the same time. And that's 0:03:07.960 --> 0:03:12.640 probably true. Around 60 to 62 AD, when the letter 0:03:12.680 --> 0:03:15.770 was written and then sent. So Paul, an apostle of 0:03:15.830 --> 0:03:19.530 Jesus Christ, by the will of God, and Timothy, our brother, 0:03:20.290 --> 0:03:24.369 to the saints. Now, if you have a Catholic background 0:03:24.410 --> 0:03:28.079 like I have, when you read that, you go, to 0:03:28.100 --> 0:03:31.100 the saints? Is he writing to people who are dead 0:03:32.160 --> 0:03:35.580 and in heaven and who have been officially canonized by 0:03:35.620 --> 0:03:40.680 the Roman church? because that is how I believed saints 0:03:41.020 --> 0:03:44.900 to be. I was taught that nobody can attain to 0:03:45.100 --> 0:03:49.090 sainthood unless they've done special miracles or they have had 0:03:49.160 --> 0:03:52.510 special blessing conferred upon them over a period of time. 0:03:52.850 --> 0:03:55.510 Their history has been examined. Their life has been examined. 0:03:55.850 --> 0:03:59.210 And after that examination, the church officially canonizes them as 0:03:59.250 --> 0:04:02.130 a saint. So to me, a saint was a dead 0:04:02.210 --> 0:04:06.350 holy person. But Paul is writing to saints. He's obviously 0:04:06.390 --> 0:04:10.250 not writing to dead people, is he? He's writing to 0:04:10.290 --> 0:04:15.290 people who are alive. Hagios is the word for holy 0:04:15.690 --> 0:04:20.740 or saint or set apart ones. A saint is simply 0:04:20.880 --> 0:04:24.320 a believer in Christ set apart by God for his purpose. 0:04:25.320 --> 0:04:31.710 You are a saint. We are his saints. So, um, 0:04:32.300 --> 0:04:34.740 Tell your wife that. Honey, I'd like you to just 0:04:34.800 --> 0:04:37.480 call me by my, you know, call me Saint Skip. 0:04:39.520 --> 0:04:41.950 I don't know if it'll go over well. She probably 0:04:41.990 --> 0:04:45.050 won't fall for it, but it would be true for 0:04:45.450 --> 0:04:48.890 that to happen. So y'all are saints. To the saints 0:04:49.670 --> 0:04:53.850 and faithful brethren. Now notice this. Notice that he does 0:04:53.870 --> 0:04:58.750 this a lot. There are two addresses. The Colossians have 0:04:58.850 --> 0:05:07.490 two addresses. Spiritual address, in Christ. Physical address, in Colossae. 0:05:08.770 --> 0:05:13.100 You have two addresses. You are in Christ, you are 0:05:13.140 --> 0:05:17.000 in Albuquerque. Or if you're watching online, you are wherever 0:05:17.040 --> 0:05:21.440 you are in. But you have two addresses. Now, I 0:05:21.460 --> 0:05:25.240 would even say you have three addresses. You have a 0:05:25.580 --> 0:05:30.640 physical address, a spiritual address, and an eventual address. Because 0:05:30.720 --> 0:05:35.340 Paul said to the Philippians, our citizenship is in heaven. 0:05:37.160 --> 0:05:40.560 Our citizenship is in heaven. Your name's already there. Place 0:05:40.620 --> 0:05:44.910 is already there. It's been prepared for you already. You're 0:05:44.930 --> 0:05:47.170 going to check it out one day. So you have 0:05:47.210 --> 0:05:50.410 a physical, a spiritual, and an eventual address. Here he 0:05:50.450 --> 0:05:57.850 mentions these two. You are in Colossae. You are in Christ. 0:05:59.410 --> 0:06:04.460 Now this This is very Pauline. This is very much 0:06:04.600 --> 0:06:09.980 the personality of Paul. Paul uses the term in Christ, 0:06:10.100 --> 0:06:17.200 like he uses here, 87 times in the New Testament. 0:06:17.279 --> 0:06:22.060 It's one of his favorite descriptions of a Christian. You 0:06:22.100 --> 0:06:25.520 are in Christ. What does he mean when he says 0:06:25.540 --> 0:06:28.320 you are in Christ? It means that you are sharing, 0:06:28.360 --> 0:06:37.000 you are united with Christ sharing relationship, sonship, adoption, resources. 0:06:38.190 --> 0:06:42.650 God sees you as his own special people. Now, this 0:06:42.750 --> 0:06:47.850 is unique to Christianity. Paul refers 87 times to Christians 0:06:47.930 --> 0:06:55.130 being as saints in Christ. Other religions never use this term. 0:06:56.890 --> 0:07:00.330 You never, ever read a Buddhist saying, I'm in Buddha. 0:07:02.560 --> 0:07:04.500 I have never met a Muslim who says, I am 0:07:04.740 --> 0:07:10.160 in Muhammad or in Allah. Or I've never met a 0:07:10.180 --> 0:07:15.230 Mormon who would say, I'm in Joseph Smith. But if 0:07:15.250 --> 0:07:18.170 you're a Christian, you are in Christ. You are in 0:07:18.230 --> 0:07:23.730 the world, but you are in Christ. And because we 0:07:23.770 --> 0:07:26.710 have two addresses, this is always the tension we live with. 0:07:27.970 --> 0:07:34.230 We always struggle with how do I live responsibly in 0:07:34.330 --> 0:07:39.950 this kingdom, my temporary address in Albuquerque, in America as 0:07:40.070 --> 0:07:43.680 a citizen, and how do I live responsibly as a 0:07:43.710 --> 0:07:47.320 believer in Christ? And it seems that we are always 0:07:48.540 --> 0:07:53.120 dealing with that tension, trying to balance our responsibility of 0:07:53.160 --> 0:07:56.470 being a good representative of Jesus Christ and a citizen 0:07:56.490 --> 0:08:01.870 of heaven and maintain relationship and devotion to him And 0:08:01.900 --> 0:08:07.550 at the same time, living responsibly as citizens of earth, 0:08:07.830 --> 0:08:12.530 of this city, of our state, getting involved in the 0:08:12.590 --> 0:08:18.950 things that matter politically, morally, etc. It's a tension you 0:08:18.970 --> 0:08:23.680 probably feel, and if you do, good. It means you're thinking. 0:08:24.860 --> 0:08:27.820 You should feel that tension and you should work to 0:08:28.200 --> 0:08:34.710 get that balance just so. So, He says, grace to 0:08:34.750 --> 0:08:37.320 you and peace from God our Father and the Lord 0:08:37.360 --> 0:08:39.819 Jesus Christ. Now, really quickly before we jump in, I 0:08:39.980 --> 0:08:44.179 know I'm going slow, but I mentioned that Colossae, you 0:08:44.220 --> 0:08:46.719 never would have heard of Colossae, right? Unless Paul wrote 0:08:46.760 --> 0:08:50.040 a letter. It's because it was sort of a nothing town. 0:08:51.540 --> 0:08:55.939 And it was overshadowed. It had once been a notable town, 0:08:56.000 --> 0:08:59.240 but by the time of Paul, it had become so 0:08:59.380 --> 0:09:04.400 diminished in its importance. because it was overshadowed by two 0:09:04.860 --> 0:09:10.440 neighboring towns, Laodicea and Hierapolis. Those were the big dogs. 0:09:10.500 --> 0:09:13.060 Those were the ones that commanded the attention also on 0:09:13.100 --> 0:09:17.660 those trade routes. But Colossae was still there, and a 0:09:18.830 --> 0:09:22.890 church had developed. And so, because a church, a group 0:09:22.910 --> 0:09:28.450 of saints were there, we know about it. So verse 3, 0:09:28.450 --> 0:09:33.230 we give thanks to God. and the Father of our 0:09:33.330 --> 0:09:40.010 Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you. Paul did this 0:09:40.050 --> 0:09:43.790 in every letter, didn't he? Just about. He mentions that 0:09:43.840 --> 0:09:46.130 he prays for them. He even mentions what he prays 0:09:46.200 --> 0:09:49.360 for them about. But Paul was a man of prayer, 0:09:49.460 --> 0:09:53.300 and he prayed for people he knew and met, and 0:09:54.500 --> 0:09:58.600 people he never met. He had never met these people. 0:09:58.620 --> 0:10:03.160 He had never been to this city before. But so 0:10:03.200 --> 0:10:05.199 he says, we give thanks to God, the Father of 0:10:05.260 --> 0:10:08.270 our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you since we 0:10:08.350 --> 0:10:13.510 heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your 0:10:13.610 --> 0:10:17.550 love for all the saints because of the hope which 0:10:17.650 --> 0:10:20.640 is laid up for you in heaven. of which you 0:10:20.679 --> 0:10:23.719 have heard before in the word of the truth of 0:10:23.760 --> 0:10:33.460 the gospel. Notice those three characteristics. Faith, hope, love. Or faith, love, 0:10:33.500 --> 0:10:36.850 and hope, as it's placed here. Remember when Paul wrote 0:10:36.890 --> 0:10:39.709 to the Corinthians and he said, now abide these three, faith, hope, 0:10:39.730 --> 0:10:42.150 and love. The greatest of these is love. I think 0:10:42.190 --> 0:10:45.189 this is a good balance for any believer and a 0:10:45.210 --> 0:10:48.690 good balance for any church. Faith, I have faith in 0:10:48.750 --> 0:10:51.709 Jesus Christ. That's what makes me a child of God. 0:10:52.809 --> 0:10:56.570 I live with the hope of heaven. But in the meantime, 0:10:56.690 --> 0:11:00.110 I have love for all of God's people. And by 0:11:00.170 --> 0:11:02.510 this shall all men know that you are my disciples 0:11:02.580 --> 0:11:05.140 by the love that you have one for another. So 0:11:05.179 --> 0:11:09.900 he mentions these three characteristics here, faith and then love 0:11:10.100 --> 0:11:15.280 and then hope, which is laid up for you in heaven. Now, 0:11:15.300 --> 0:11:20.280 I want you to notice something. In verse 4, since 0:11:20.320 --> 0:11:23.059 we heard of your faith, now what is their faith in? 0:11:24.140 --> 0:11:27.950 Faith in Christ Jesus. I just want you to mark that. 0:11:27.970 --> 0:11:32.929 And the reason I'm slowing down and having you mark 0:11:32.990 --> 0:11:39.750 that is because there is no value intrinsically in faith. 0:11:41.090 --> 0:11:46.000 None at all. Faith is only as good as its object. 0:11:46.730 --> 0:11:50.310 This is Connect with Skip Heitzig. Your support helps reach 0:11:50.350 --> 0:11:54.210 people every day with biblical truth that brings hope, encouragement, 0:11:54.390 --> 0:11:57.720 and direction for real life. If you've ever wondered how 0:11:57.760 --> 0:12:00.920 to stay grounded when our culture is constantly pulling you 0:12:00.960 --> 0:12:05.040 in different directions, Pastor Skip's study through Colossians is for you. 0:12:05.740 --> 0:12:09.469 In Expound Colossians, you'll gain a deeper understanding of who 0:12:09.520 --> 0:12:13.550 Jesus is, why He is completely sufficient for every season 0:12:13.590 --> 0:12:16.870 of life, and how God's truth gives you confidence to 0:12:16.910 --> 0:12:20.710 stand firm in your faith. Your generosity helps extend the 0:12:20.770 --> 0:12:23.929 reach of Connect with Skip Heitzig, connecting more people around 0:12:23.970 --> 0:12:27.870 the world to God's Word. Request Expound Colossians when you 0:12:27.910 --> 0:12:32.510 give $ 50 or more at connectwithskip.com slash offer or by 0:12:32.580 --> 0:12:38.439 calling 800-922-1888. Now, here's more from Pastor Skip. 0:12:39.200 --> 0:12:40.960 I bring that up because so many people say, you 0:12:40.980 --> 0:12:44.290 just got to have faith. You just got to keep 0:12:44.330 --> 0:12:46.170 the faith. You just got to believe. I hear this 0:12:46.230 --> 0:12:50.050 all the time in a very generic way. People who 0:12:50.090 --> 0:12:51.670 don't believe in God, just got to keep the faith. 0:12:52.010 --> 0:12:55.590 I want to say, what faith? Faith in what? Faith 0:12:55.650 --> 0:13:00.050 in the universe? The universe is speaking to me, man. 0:13:01.480 --> 0:13:09.140 Faith in fate? No, there is no intrinsic value in faith. 0:13:09.160 --> 0:13:12.960 A lot of people have faith in faith. That's useless. 0:13:13.920 --> 0:13:17.420 faith is only as good as its object. Faith is 0:13:17.520 --> 0:13:19.900 only as good as your faith in Christ. He's the 0:13:19.960 --> 0:13:23.339 only one that can fix your mess. So it's very 0:13:23.400 --> 0:13:26.020 important to note that it's faith and the object is 0:13:26.120 --> 0:13:29.870 faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all 0:13:29.910 --> 0:13:31.650 the saints because of the hope laid up for you 0:13:31.690 --> 0:13:33.630 in heaven, of which you heard before in the word 0:13:33.670 --> 0:13:37.410 of the truth of the gospel, which has come to 0:13:37.490 --> 0:13:44.420 you as it has also in all the world. and 0:13:44.480 --> 0:13:49.320 is bringing forth fruit as it is also among you 0:13:49.500 --> 0:13:54.700 since the day you heard and knew the grace of 0:13:54.800 --> 0:14:00.849 God in truth. Now you remember that Jesus gave a 0:14:00.950 --> 0:14:07.670 commission to his 12 apostles. He said to them before 0:14:07.690 --> 0:14:14.699 he ascended, go into all the world and preach this gospel. 0:14:16.740 --> 0:14:20.850 That was 30 years before this letter is written. And 0:14:21.950 --> 0:14:26.570 perhaps he's speaking hyperbolically. Perhaps he's speaking very literally. Maybe 0:14:26.590 --> 0:14:29.090 he's just seeing what is happening in terms of the movement. 0:14:29.470 --> 0:14:34.110 But don't you find it interesting that he says, which 0:14:34.150 --> 0:14:38.220 has come to you as it has also in all 0:14:38.360 --> 0:14:43.580 the world and is bringing forth fruit? Now, we have 0:14:43.620 --> 0:14:45.580 in the New Testament the record of Paul, right? The 0:14:45.620 --> 0:14:49.920 missionary journeys that Paul took. But while Paul was bringing 0:14:49.960 --> 0:14:53.060 the gospel to Asia Minor, Galatia, Phrygia, all the way 0:14:53.100 --> 0:14:57.360 to Rome, Thomas was taking it all the way to India. 0:14:59.300 --> 0:15:02.540 I've been to the place where Thomas's ship landed in India. 0:15:03.480 --> 0:15:06.750 And there's a church that still exists where he started 0:15:06.770 --> 0:15:10.070 a church called Mar Tomas, the Church of Thomas. That 0:15:10.130 --> 0:15:13.850 is the whole denomination in India that hails back to 0:15:13.970 --> 0:15:18.830 Thomas the Apostle bringing the gospel to their shore. Andrew, 0:15:18.850 --> 0:15:23.960 it is believed, went to the steppes of Russia. And 0:15:24.180 --> 0:15:26.820 you can look at so many of the apostles, while 0:15:26.880 --> 0:15:29.360 Paul was doing this, and we have the record in 0:15:29.380 --> 0:15:32.800 the New Testament, other apostles were going in different places, 0:15:32.990 --> 0:15:35.410 all the way, some say, to Spain and England and 0:15:36.530 --> 0:15:41.650 Egypt and down in Africa, etc. So this movement is, 0:15:42.170 --> 0:15:47.570 after 30 years, gaining great ground. It's in all the world. 0:15:48.030 --> 0:15:50.870 It's bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you, 0:15:50.910 --> 0:15:52.490 since the day you heard about it and knew the 0:15:52.530 --> 0:15:58.610 grace of God in truth. Verse seven, as you also 0:15:58.730 --> 0:16:05.610 learned from, here's his name, Pastor Epaphras. As you also 0:16:05.670 --> 0:16:08.630 learned from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who's a faithful 0:16:08.690 --> 0:16:12.000 minister of Christ on your behalf, who also declared to 0:16:12.240 --> 0:16:16.660 us your love in the spirit. Now here's what you 0:16:16.680 --> 0:16:20.040 need to understand about this church. Paul didn't start this church. 0:16:21.740 --> 0:16:25.739 Paul had never been to Colossae. And there's no evidence 0:16:25.770 --> 0:16:30.700 that he ever went to Colossae. So how did a 0:16:30.920 --> 0:16:35.590 church get started in Colossae if Paul didn't start it? 0:16:37.120 --> 0:16:42.340 It's an easy answer. Somebody else started it. I know, 0:16:42.380 --> 0:16:45.810 it's pretty obvious. Somebody else did start it. His name 0:16:45.830 --> 0:16:52.010 was Epaphras. While Paul was in Ephesus, he spent three years. 0:16:52.030 --> 0:16:53.950 Do you remember that in the book of Acts? Three years. 0:16:54.700 --> 0:16:59.180 teaching and preaching every day in the household or in 0:16:59.240 --> 0:17:03.120 the lecture hall of Tyrannus. And it was a very 0:17:03.240 --> 0:17:06.280 fruitful ministry. It says in the book of Acts chapter 19, 0:17:06.280 --> 0:17:11.619 so all those who were in Asia, both Jew and Greek, 0:17:11.920 --> 0:17:17.230 heard the word of the gospel. No doubt, Epaphras heard 0:17:17.290 --> 0:17:20.230 there are rumblings going on in Ephesus, so he took 0:17:20.310 --> 0:17:24.889 the 80 to 100 mile journey inland or to the 0:17:24.950 --> 0:17:28.210 coast where Ephesus was, where Paul was, heard Paul preaching, 0:17:28.550 --> 0:17:33.609 received Christ, Paul discipled him. And he said, go back home, 0:17:33.730 --> 0:17:36.800 go back and start something. Went back and started a fellowship, 0:17:36.840 --> 0:17:40.639 started a Bible study that became this church at Colossae. 0:17:40.720 --> 0:17:44.879 So Paul didn't start it. Epaphras started it. Paul only 0:17:45.100 --> 0:17:49.080 heard what was going on there. As he says in 0:17:49.100 --> 0:17:52.230 verse four, since the day we heard of your faith 0:17:52.330 --> 0:17:55.720 in Christ. Notice in verse 9, for this reason, we also, 0:17:55.800 --> 0:17:59.480 since the day we heard it, go to chapter 2 0:17:59.480 --> 0:18:03.450 for just a moment. Verse 1, I want you to 0:18:03.490 --> 0:18:06.149 know what great conflict I have for you and those 0:18:06.390 --> 0:18:10.689 in Laodicea. That's that bigger sister city. And for as 0:18:10.830 --> 0:18:15.690 many as have not seen my face in the flesh. 0:18:15.790 --> 0:18:17.879 I've never met you guys. I've never been to your town. 0:18:17.960 --> 0:18:21.040 I didn't start that church. Epaphras did. I've never seen 0:18:21.080 --> 0:18:24.100 your face. but I have something for you in my heart. 0:18:26.140 --> 0:18:29.020 So he's writing a letter to a church that he 0:18:29.040 --> 0:18:31.670 didn't start, that Epaphras started, but he has heard about 0:18:31.710 --> 0:18:37.450 from Epaphras, which takes us to verse 9. For this reason, 0:18:38.590 --> 0:18:41.540 And this is typical Paul in his letters. For this reason, 0:18:41.970 --> 0:18:45.360 we also, since the day we heard it, do not 0:18:45.480 --> 0:18:48.520 cease to pray for you and to ask that you 0:18:48.560 --> 0:18:51.260 may be filled with the knowledge of his will in 0:18:51.320 --> 0:18:54.399 all wisdom and spiritual understanding, that you may have a 0:18:54.480 --> 0:18:58.250 walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing him, being fruitful 0:18:58.470 --> 0:19:02.450 in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. 0:19:03.100 --> 0:19:07.290 strengthened with all might according to his glorious power for 0:19:07.380 --> 0:19:12.889 all patience and long-suffering with joy, giving thanks to the 0:19:12.930 --> 0:19:15.730 Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the 0:19:15.790 --> 0:19:20.090 inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered 0:19:20.190 --> 0:19:25.270 us from the power of darkness and translated us into 0:19:25.310 --> 0:19:29.370 the kingdom of the Son of his love, in whom 0:19:29.450 --> 0:19:34.379 we have redemption through his blood The forgiveness of sins. 0:19:35.510 --> 0:19:40.210 Typical Paul in many of his letters says, I'm praying 0:19:40.250 --> 0:19:42.620 for you guys. And then he says, this is what 0:19:42.650 --> 0:19:47.720 I'm praying for you guys. So he says, verse 3, 0:19:47.720 --> 0:19:51.000 we pray always for you. Now, when somebody tells me 0:19:51.020 --> 0:19:52.899 they're praying for me, I always want to know what 0:19:52.940 --> 0:19:57.540 they're praying for me for. I've been praying for really what? 0:19:58.760 --> 0:20:02.640 And so to appease their curiosity, but more than that, 0:20:02.720 --> 0:20:08.880 to really inform them specifically what he's praying for. Verse 9, 0:20:08.880 --> 0:20:11.699 all the way down to 14, is Paul's prayer. For 0:20:11.720 --> 0:20:14.320 this reason, we also, verse 9, since the day we heard, 0:20:14.359 --> 0:20:17.200 do not cease to pray for you and ask that 0:20:17.220 --> 0:20:20.679 you may be filled with the knowledge of his will 0:20:20.920 --> 0:20:28.090 in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. Okay, I want you 0:20:28.130 --> 0:20:31.990 to notice these terms because they're intentional. Look at the 0:20:32.030 --> 0:20:37.100 word knowledge in verse 9, the word wisdom also in 0:20:37.140 --> 0:20:41.550 verse 9, and then also the two words spiritual understanding. 0:20:42.550 --> 0:20:46.170 Remember I told you about the Colossian heresy and that 0:20:46.230 --> 0:20:49.690 kind of mixture of Jewish legalism and asceticism and mysticism, 0:20:49.850 --> 0:20:55.010 which would become known as Gnosticism? These were key words 0:20:55.170 --> 0:20:58.990 in their vocabulary. These were buzzwords. If you want real 0:20:59.070 --> 0:21:03.649 knowledge and true wisdom and real spiritual understanding, you have 0:21:03.670 --> 0:21:08.879 to follow this stuff. That was the Colossian heresies. It 0:21:08.920 --> 0:21:14.440 became formalized by about the 2nd century AD called Gnosticism. 0:21:14.460 --> 0:21:16.070 And there were two branches of that. I'm not going 0:21:16.090 --> 0:21:18.070 to bore you with information you don't need to know 0:21:18.650 --> 0:21:22.370 about the different branches of it. But it became known 0:21:22.450 --> 0:21:26.150 as Gnosticism. Now Gnostic or Gnosis is the Greek word 0:21:26.190 --> 0:21:31.450 for knowledge. You've heard of the word agnostic. My brother 0:21:31.530 --> 0:21:35.980 claimed to be an agnostic. He was raised in faith. 0:21:36.600 --> 0:21:38.520 But then he declared to the family one day, I 0:21:38.590 --> 0:21:43.730 am an agnostic. An agnostic is simply mean I don't know. 0:21:44.030 --> 0:21:45.930 There may be a God. There may not be a God. 0:21:46.090 --> 0:21:49.929 I'm not sure. I'm uncertain. An atheist says there is 0:21:49.990 --> 0:21:53.159 no God. An agnostic says maybe, may not be. I'm 0:21:53.180 --> 0:21:56.639 going to live my life doing my deal. I'm agnostic. 0:21:57.560 --> 0:22:00.200 I don't know. I don't have the knowledge for sure. 0:22:00.220 --> 0:22:06.119 A gnostic is the exact opposite of an agnostic. A 0:22:06.180 --> 0:22:10.920 Gnostic says, I know. And if you want to really 0:22:10.980 --> 0:22:15.300 know God, you have to practice this Jewish legalism and 0:22:15.660 --> 0:22:20.149 Greek mysticism and radical asceticism, all these things that I 0:22:20.170 --> 0:22:23.090 talked about of the Colossian heresy. They use these terms 0:22:23.530 --> 0:22:28.050 a lot. True spiritual knowledge will give you the true 0:22:28.190 --> 0:22:32.210 path to God. Jesus is a good start, but he's 0:22:32.260 --> 0:22:37.620 not all you need. You need more. That's why Paul 0:22:37.660 --> 0:22:39.960 wrote the letter, because they were saying, you need more. 0:22:40.160 --> 0:22:42.020 So this is what they believed. This is what they said. Now, 0:22:42.040 --> 0:22:49.969 let me tell you, Gnosticism began with a legitimate philosophical question. Okay? 0:22:50.250 --> 0:22:53.330 Listen to the question, and you'll say, well, it's legitimate, 0:22:53.350 --> 0:22:56.890 because that's what people ask today. Here's the question. How 0:22:56.930 --> 0:23:01.500 can a world so filled with evil have been created 0:23:01.600 --> 0:23:05.560 by a good God? How can a world that is 0:23:05.680 --> 0:23:10.180 evil be created by a good God? And so this 0:23:10.660 --> 0:23:16.429 belief system came into view, which said the material world 0:23:16.609 --> 0:23:20.570 is evil, and because the material world is evil, it 0:23:20.609 --> 0:23:24.350 could not have been created by God. So what happened 0:23:25.109 --> 0:23:30.630 is an emanation, a spiritual entity or being went out 0:23:31.640 --> 0:23:36.260 from God the true good God, and then another emanation 0:23:36.320 --> 0:23:40.370 and another emanation, thousands of them, and eventually it was 0:23:40.440 --> 0:23:46.210 so far from that original good, powerful God that it 0:23:46.270 --> 0:23:51.510 was evil. And that entity created the evil universe. That's 0:23:51.550 --> 0:23:57.730 all part of this Gnosticism. Moreover, they said Jesus was 0:23:57.840 --> 0:24:02.639 one of those emanations. He's not God. He's just an emanation. 0:24:03.420 --> 0:24:06.100 He's a good start. He's a stepping stone to get 0:24:06.119 --> 0:24:10.880 to have true knowledge and spiritual understanding and true wisdom. 0:24:13.160 --> 0:24:17.130 So that became known as Gnosticism. That is what Epaphras 0:24:17.710 --> 0:24:21.310 is bothered about. So he uses their terminology. I'm praying 0:24:21.350 --> 0:24:23.889 for you that you'll be filled with the knowledge of 0:24:24.270 --> 0:24:26.870 his will. You'll know what God's will is for your life. 0:24:28.070 --> 0:24:31.060 It's amazing how many people People have gone to church 0:24:31.140 --> 0:24:34.760 their whole life, and they have no idea what God's 0:24:34.820 --> 0:24:38.480 will is for their life. Paul says, I want you 0:24:38.520 --> 0:24:41.119 to discover that. Now, the way you discover it is 0:24:41.160 --> 0:24:44.000 you seek it. You pursue it. You make that your pursuit. 0:24:44.040 --> 0:24:46.600 I want to find out what God has me here 0:24:47.000 --> 0:24:47.940 on earth to do. 0:24:49.900 --> 0:24:52.120 We're so glad you joined us today on Connect with 0:24:52.140 --> 0:24:55.740 Skip Heitzig. Before you go, remember that when you give 0:24:55.740 --> 0:24:59.770 $ 50 or more this month, we'll send you expound Colossians 0:24:59.910 --> 0:25:04.070 as our thanks. This encouraging verse-by-verse study will help you 0:25:04.109 --> 0:25:07.230 discover why Christ is enough, how to stand firm in 0:25:07.290 --> 0:25:10.489 God's truth, and how to live each day with confidence 0:25:10.630 --> 0:25:14.560 in Him. Your support helps keep this Bible teaching ministry 0:25:14.630 --> 0:25:18.020 reaching people around the world with the life-changing truth of 0:25:18.080 --> 0:25:23.480 God's Word. Give today at connectwithskiff.com slash offer or call 800-922-1888. 0:25:26.910 --> 0:25:31.830 See you next time. 0:25:31.910 --> 0:25:33.750 Make a connection. 0:25:49.760 --> 0:25:53.760 Connect with Skip Heitzig is a presentation of Connection Communications, 0:25:54.010 --> 0:25:58.130 connecting you to God's never-changing truth in ever-changing times.