Colossians 1:5-6 “The
hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the
word of the truth of the gospel, which has come to you, as it
has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also
among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth.”
I read that heresies differ
from one another in the precise errors that they teach, but they are always
grounded in the same kind of assumptions basic to all false teaching. For instance,
Islam’s insistence that Jesus is only a prophet and Mormonism’s contention that
He is a man who has achieved the exalted status of godhood are plainly
different in content. Yet both of these falsehoods are based on the assumption
that Jesus is not who the New Testament says He is — the gospel truth that
Christ is the only God, who became incarnate to redeem sinners.
The article stated that another
basic assumption in which all heresies are rooted is the belief that because the
Bible is an “insufficient revelation”, we need more from God to know Him and
His plans truly. Sometimes this “extra” revelation exists in written form, like
the Qur’an of Islam. On other occasions, it is a secret knowledge known only to
a select group of elites. The teachings that plagued the Colossians when Paul wrote
to them resemble this kind of elitism, which is why the apostle takes care to
assert that the true gospel had come to Colossae in the past, before the
arrival of the false teachers, and that Epaphras, the man who brought it to the
city, was a faithful servant of the truth as it has been revealed in Christ
Jesus.
It is historically accurate
that we know little about Epaphras except that he was a co-laborer of Paul’s
who was willing to suffer with the apostle in prison if need be. He was likely
from the region in which Colossae was located, but even if he was not, he had a
fruitful evangelistic mission there and in nearby cities like Laodicea. That
Epaphras’ presentation of the gospel was true, Paul indicates, is seen not only
in the fact that there is a self-evident truth to the content of the gospel
(the gospel is called the “word of truth”,
but also to the transformative effects of its preaching among the Colossians
and the whole world. Paul’s point seems to be that God’s people recognize the
gospel’s veracity as it is preached accurately and effects change among its
hearers. As the New Testament scholar Douglas J. Moo explains, “The gospel is authenticated
not by its truth only nor by its power in people’s lives only but by both working
in tandem. May the truth of the gospel continue to transform us.
The
commentary concludes that if there is no change from smug self-righteousness to
humble, and a selfless repentance in those who profess the gospel, then the
church should consider whether it is in fact preaching the gospel and its
application to all of life. Of course, the Spirit sometimes works longer than
we might like to bring change through the gospel, so a lack of apparent
transformation does not automatically mean the gospel is being compromise. Man
looks at the fruit; God looks at the heart. Recognize the grace of God. Know
the way, the truth and the life. Bring forth good fruit.
Gospel
blessings
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