[Read Colossians 1:1-8]
The people that have had the biggest and most impact on my faith, the way I live the Christian life, and my calling as a pastor were not ordained pastors. Of course the people who had the greatest impact on my faith were my parents. However, there was another man who mentored me and discipled me for a long time who was not a pastor. For most of the time I knew him, he worked at Walmart. Yet, was a faithful, godly man who prayed regularly, who read and studied God’s Word regularly, and took every opportunity he had to share the gospel. When I was entering seminary, I knew I needed someone to walk alongside me and support me and guide me, so I asked him to mentor me because I believed he was more biblically and theologically knowledgeable than my pastor—which was true—and he mentored me throughout my time in seminary. I had the privilege of having him preach in this church at my ordination service.
I wanted to begin this way because when many people hear the phrase “faithful minister” they immediately think of a full-time pastor. Yet, for many people—most people?—the person who has impacted their faith was not a full-time, ordained pastor. It was simply the people around them—parents, aunts and uncles, cousins, friends, etc. These people have never gone through seminary or been ordained in the church. They are simply faithful Christians doing what faithful Christians do, having a tremendous impact on the lives of the people around them. I’m sure that each of you have names and faces popping into your mind as I say these things—which is good. I want you to remember those faithful ministers who’ve shaped and invested in your life. However, this morning I’m wanting you to consider something else: Who are you being a faithful minister to? Or Which people has God placed in your life, who you could faithfully minister to if you were just a little bit more intentional? Then, underneath those questions is another question: What types of things do you need to start doing in your life that will equip you and enable you to be a faithful minister in the lives of the people around you—bible reading, church attendance, prayer, study, etc.?
In this morning’s passage we hear about a faithful minister named Epaphras. We don’t know a lot about Epaphras for sure, but based on what we know about him, we can make some educated guesses. His name comes up three times in the Bible—twice in Colossians and once in Philemon, who lived on Colossae. So, Epaphras was definitely connected to the church in Colossae and the Apostle Paul says this about him: “just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf” (Colossians 1:7, ESV). This church learned some things from Epaphras who is a fellow servant with Paul and is considered a faithful minister. Based on these things, many have made the educated guess that Epaphras planted the church in Colossae.
However, most likely, he was involved beyond the church in Colossae. Colossae is closely located to two other cities in what is called the Lycus River Valley—Hierapolis and Laodicea. If you look at this map, you can see how close they are to one another. Yet, maps don’t always help you recognize how close these cities were, so I wanted to show you a couple of pictures from when I visited the Lycus River Valley. Colossae is a pretty uninteresting visit at the moment, because they haven’t excavated it yet. You can see in this picture that it’s just a mound of dirt at this point but it’s up in the hills on one side of the valley. Laodicea is on a hill right in the middle of the valley. I wish I could take the time to show you all of the pictures from there, but we don’t have the time this morning. I wanted to show you this picture of a theater because if you look closely in the top left of the image, you can see a white cliff. That’s Hierapolis. If you look way off to the right of the image on the hills, that’s about where Colossae would be. So, you can see how these three cities would be connected. Here’s a picture from Hierapolis that not only shows you those white cliffs, but also helps you get a view of the valley a little bit. Because of the geography, and the close proximity of these churches, many assume that Epaphras was a traveling pastor who oversaw the ministry of all three of these churches.
Now, I realize the most likely Epaphras was a full-time or part-time pastor, which would seem to undermine the way I started this sermon. However, as I read through the description of Epaphras and his work—which is the description of a faithful minister—I couldn’t help but think to myself, “You don’t have to be a pastor to do any of these things.”
Look at the ways he is described. First, we read this: “Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you…” (Colossians 1:5–6, ESV). How did the word of truth—the gospel—come to the people in Colossae? It came to them through Epaphras. He brought it to them. He was willing to get up and go somewhere to bring the gospel to them. You don’t have to be a pastor to do that. You just have to do it.
Then, when he came to them with the gospel he talked to them about it. They heard the gospel from Epaphras. There’s a couple things I could point out in that statement, but I’ll simply point out that Epaphras didn’t follow the saying, “Preach the gospel, use words if necessary.” I understand, and even appreciate, the sentiment of that statement, however it can easily undermine the importance of actually using words to share the gospel with people. Of course, you can be a witness through the way you live your life—and that’s essential—however, scripture is also very clear that: “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17, ESV). So, if we want people to put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ, they will eventually have to hear the gospel from us. That’s part of being a faithful minister and you don’t have to be a pastor to do that.
Another aspect of Epaphras’ ministry was teaching. We read this: “…the grace of God in truth, just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf” (Colossians 1:6–7, ESV). In order for someone to learn something, they need someone to teach them. They need someone to answer their questions and to show them the things they don’t even know they don’t know. Now, of course, one of the primary roles of a pastor is teaching, however, you don’t have to be a pastor to teach someone. On some level, all you need to be is further down the road than they are. Someone who has been a Christian for a year or two, can easily teach someone who has been a Christian for a week or two. Some would even say they have an advantage because they can remember what it’s like to be a new Christian better than someone who has been a Christian for 30 years. However, I would even take this to another level and say that all you need in order to teach someone is different experiences in your life. If you have had to wrestle with your faith in different circumstances and situations, you have learned some things that other people haven’t learned, which means you can teach people a few things. So, you have something to offer and you don’t have to be a pastor to do that.
The other aspect of this that I really appreciated is this little line in the middle—one that can easily be missed or ignored—“Of this you have heard before…” (Colossians 1:5, ESV). They heard all of this before—it wasn’t the first time. It points out the fact that people don’t believe or understand anything the first time they hear it. Often, it takes a lot of repetition and reminder for us to finally grasp something, and especially for us to embrace and believe something. So, a faithful minister repeats themself often and continues to remind people who God is and who they are over and over again. So, this means it takes diligence and perseverance to keep going to people, talking to people, and teaching them about the gospel. That’s what it means to be a faithful minister—you don’t have to be a pastor to do that.
The beautiful thing is that when we do these things in the lives of the people around us, we begin to see fruit and eventually we see people understand and believe. That’s what we see in this passage, as a result of Epaphras’ faithful ministry in Colossae we read, “since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus…Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you…since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth…” (Colossians 1:4–6, ESV). Their faith came from hearing the gospel from the mouth of Epaphras over a period of time, which slowly they understood, and then eventually embraced and believed.
I want to make sure to emphasize this a bit by looking at the Heidelberg Catechism. It asks an important—vital—question: “What is true faith?” and it gives us this answer, “True faith is not only a sure knowledge by which I hold as true all that God has revealed to us in Scripture; it is also a wholehearted trust, which the Holy Spirit creates in me by the gospel, that God has freely granted, not only to others but to me also, forgiveness of sins, eternal righteousness, and salvation. These are gifts of sheer grace, granted solely by Christ's merit.” (Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A21). The point I want to emphasize this morning is that true faith requires some knowledge—you have to know something about yourself and God. We cannot have faith in something we know nothing about. Or, as this morning’s passage points out, you have to be taught and understand some things before you truly believe. Then, as you begin to see and understand your own sinfulness more and more, and the beauty and glory and forgiveness of God more and more, then you begin to give your life to Him more and more.
It’s also important to notice another little phrase that comes at the beginning of this passage in the introduction—a phrase that could easily be missed. It’s this little phrase “To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae” (Colossians 1:2, ESV). That phrase “in Christ” is extremely important and will become increasingly important as we go through the rest of this book. It’s explaining our relationship to Jesus Christ after we put our faith and trust in Him. When we do that we are united to him. Now, there are entire books written on our union with Christ, but let me give you the overarching concept of it. Being united with Christ means that we are united to everything he has accomplished and united to his present exalted state at the right hand of the Father. In him, we have both died to sin and been raised to new life, seated with him in the heavenly places even as we remain on earth—we share in his heavenly life, reign, and ongoing intercession.
There are a lot of practical applications to that reality, but let me show you one of them directly from this morning's passage. We read this, “Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you…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…” (Colossians 1:5–6, ESV). Notice that he says the gospel has been bearing fruit and increasing in their lives since the day they heard it and understood it. That means that from the moment the Colossians put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins, something began to change in them—their hearts and minds and souls and lives began to change. The fruit of the gospel is the process of sanctification—being made holy, being made more like Jesus Christ. That began to happen the moment they put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ and has been increasing—growing in their life—from that moment on.
To connect that to what I was saying earlier, this MUST happen because we’ve been united to Jesus Christ. This is the point that the Apostle Paul repeatedly makes. Here’s one example: “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.” (Romans 6:5–6, ESV). Since we have been united to Jesus who died to sin and rose to new life, that process HAS to be happening in us. It is a necessary result of true faith in Jesus Christ that we will be continually dying to sin and rising to new life, every single day. That’s the necessary fruit of the gospel.
Our passage even helps us by showing us some examples of what this fruit looks like. It actually gives us three words for the fruit of our salvation that many people will be familiar with: Faith, Hope, and Love. Although, I’m going to present them in the slightly different order of Faith, Love, and Hope.
You might think that I’ve already been talking about faith being the entrance into our salvation and the process by which we’re united to Jesus Christ. How can I also talk about it as a fruit? I always like to make sure people understand that putting our faith and trust in Jesus Christ is not a one-time deal. It’s not that you do this one time and then you never have to do it again. That’s actually not a true faith. True faith is actually trusting God with all of your life—which means that you will continue to live and walk by faith every single moment of every single day. That means one aspect of the increasing fruit in your life will be our faith. The longer you follow Christ, the deeper and stronger and richer your faith will become.
We’re also shown this fruit of our union with Christ: “since we heard…of the love that you have for all the saints,” (Colossians 1:4, ESV). Another fruit of a true faith—or fruit of being united with Christ—is a true love for God’s people. Some of you know that there are different Greek words that can be used for the word love, and this is the word agape—which is an active, self-giving, self-denying love. Again, this is the fruit of a true faith, that must be increasing and deepening in your life when you’re united with Christ.
And we’re told that faith and love are rooted in a hope laid up for them in heaven. We read, “We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven.” (Colossians 1:3–5, ESV). This answers the why questions. Why do they continue to grow in their faith and trust in Jesus Christ? Because their hope is laid up in heaven, where Christ is. That’s why they trust him. Why do they love God’s people with a self-denying love? Because their hope is laid up for them in heaven, where Christ is, along with everyone else who is united to him. John Calvin says, “For the hope of eternal life will never be inactive in us, so as not to produce love in us. For it is of necessity, that the man who is fully persuaded that a treasure of life is laid up for him in heaven will aspire there, looking down upon this world. Meditation, however, upon the heavenly life stirs up our affections both to the worship of God, and to exercises of love.”(Calvin, 138-139). The hope that is laid up for us in heaven is what stirs us daily to faith and love.
Then notice something powerful that comes up in this passage. I’ve been emphasizing the fact that the gospel necessarily bears fruit and increases in the life of those who believe, but this passage says more than that. It says, “Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing…” (Colossians 1:5–6, ESV). The gospel is not only bearing fruit and increasing in the lives of those who believe, but it is bearing fruit and increasing throughout the whole world. The fruit of the gospel never remains contained. It always spreads like leaven through a batch of dough. This is why I always remind us that the gospel changes hearts, which then changes lives, which changes families, and changes churches and communities and states and nations and the world.
I’ve spent a lot of time studying the expansion of the gospel in the early church. Think about it. It started off with such a small group of people, then exploded a little bit to a few thousand after Pentecost, which eventually took over the world. I mean, look at this map. The purple is where the prevailing belief of that country is Christianity—and for those that are not purple, I can pretty much guarantee you there are Christians there. How did it happen? How in the world did the gospel bear so much fruit and increase in such a way? Was it because the church had such a great marketing plan? No, they were being killed and many of the nations were trying to stamp them out. Was it because the church was really good at creating and hosting outreach events? No, that wasn’t a thing. So, how in the world did the gospel spread so quickly and effectively throughout the world? One writer said, “We cannot hesitate to believe that the great mission of Christianity was in reality accomplished by means of informal missionaries.” (Harnack in Green, Evangelism in the Early Church). Another way of saying that is that the great mission of Christianity was not carried out by pastors, but by faithful ministers who followed Christ in their everyday lives—who lived by faith, loved God and his people, and kept their eyes on the hope laid up for them in heaven. Faithful ministers who work at Walmart or drive a truck or care for their family. Faithful ministers who did their work and shared the gospel where they went. Another writer says, “They did most of their evangelism on what we would call secular ground. You find them in the laundries, at the street corners and in the wine bars talking about Jesus to all who would listen.” (Green, Evangelism in the Early Church).
This is such an important reminder as we long to see people come to know Jesus Christ. If we want to see that happen more and more—if we want to see the gospel bear fruit and increase throughout Beaver Dam—we don’t need to come up with a marketing plan or come up with a creative outreach event. Step one is to pray that the gospel would bear fruit and increase in our own lives. Then, as that happens, we live as faithful ministers in the world, bringing the gospel with us wherever we go, spreading it generously in the world, trusting that God will give the growth and provide a harvest.