Colossians chapter one, and I'm
going to read the first 14 verses. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ
by the will of God, and Timotheus, our brother, to the saints and
faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colossae, grace be unto
you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We
give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying
always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus
and of the love which he have to all the saints, for the hope
which is laid up for you in heaven. whereof ye heard before in the
word of the truth of the gospel, which is come unto you, as it
is in all the world, and bringeth forth fruit as it doth also in
you, since the day ye heard of it and knew the grace of God
in truth. As ye also learn of Epaphras,
our dear fellow servant, who is for you a faithful minister
of Christ, who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit.
For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease
to pray for you and to desire that ye might be filled with
the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. that ye might walk worthy of
the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work,
and increasing in the knowledge of God, strengthened with all
might according to his glorious power, unto all patience and
longsuffering with joyfulness, giving thanks unto the Father
which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance
of the saints in light, who hath delivered us from the power of
darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear
Son, in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness
of sins. Amen. May God bless to us this
reading from his word. As I mentioned a little bit earlier,
the title of our sermon this evening is Praise Where Praise
Is Due. And I want us just to think about
the way in which the Lord God is uplifted and honoured here
by the Apostle in these opening remarks that he makes to the
church at Colossae. But just before I think about
that directly, I want to make reference to a verse that we
read in Luke chapter 10. It's in verse 21. And we read
there, the context was that it was just after the time when
the disciples, the 70 that had been sent forth, came back to
the Lord and reported about the things that they had seen and
heard when he had sent them out into the various towns and villages.
And they came back and reported, and the Lord said, in that hour,
Jesus rejoiced in spirit and said, I thank thee, O Father,
Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from
the wise and prudent and has revealed them unto babes. Even
so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight. Now that verse
struck me in the context of what we're going to speak about this
evening, and there's much that could be said about that verse,
of course, on its own. We could say many things about
it. We could say things like, It
is a fact according to that verse, according to the very words of
the Lord Jesus Christ himself. A fact that God hides things
from some people and he reveals it to others. He hides things
from some people and he reveals them to others. That's a fact
according to what the Lord Jesus Christ says in that verse. Similarly, it's a fact that it
is right and proper for God to do that. You see, it's not up
to us to make a comment about whether that's appropriate or
not, that God should hide things from some people and reveal them
to others because the word of God clearly tells us it is good
in his sight to do so and God is answerable to no man. God
does what is his will and he does that which is for his greater
glory. So it was right and good in his
sight that he should do such a thing and therefore it is unquestionable. Or we might think that this way
of dealing, this hiding from some and revealing to others,
was a fact that caused the heart of the man of sorrows to rejoice. The Lord Jesus Christ is called
the Man of Sorrows. We sing that as a hymn. Man of
Sorrows, what a name. This was the Lord Jesus Christ
and he is identified in Isaiah, of course, as being a man of
sorrows and acquainted with grief. But he rejoiced in his spirit.
that the Lord God hid these things, the gospel that was preached
in his day, from the wise and prudent and revealed them unto
babes. But here's what I really want
to draw your attention to in this verse. that the Lord Jesus
Christ gave thanks to his father. The Lord Jesus Christ thanked
his father for the work that had been done as these 70 had
gone forth. He thanked his father for what
God had effected in the hearts and lives of men and women. The Lord Jesus Christ traced
grace back to its source. He traced this great work that
had been accomplished back to the purpose of God. And that
is such an important principle that we dare not pass it by.
You know, we never thank a person for getting saved. We always
thank the Saviour. We never thank a person who is
liberated. We always thank the liberator. We never thank someone who has
been redeemed. We always thank the person who
redeemed that one. The gratitude goes to the deliverer. And it is a truth which is self-evident. that praise goes to where praise
is due. We thank and we praise and we
acknowledge that one who has effected the liberation, the
redemption, the deliverance, the salvation, and not the one
who has had these things done to them. And here in Colossians
we see that same principle repeated, and that's why I wanted to draw
your attention to it. As the Lord Jesus Christ gave
thanks to his Father for the work that had been done during
the Lord's own ministry, in the preaching of these 70 that were
sent forth. So here the Apostle Paul follows
that pattern and Paul thanks God for the Colossians, thanks
God for what had happened amongst the Colossians, thanked God for
the salvation that they had obtained. You know if the Apostle Paul
had been endeavouring to as it were, established churches in
the various towns and villages and cities of the Near East or
the area around the Mediterranean, that northern Turkey that we
find these churches were located in, whether it's in Israel or
in Turkey or into Italy or into Spain. If he had simply been
endeavouring to start a movement, then what he would write to the
Colossians was, thank you for joining us in this movement that
we are establishing. Had he been trying to raise an
army, he would have said to the Colossians, thank you for volunteering
to be part of this militant movement. If he had been making a collection
for the poor or doing some charitable work, he would have written to
them and he would have said, thank you for your contribution. If he had been fighting a battle,
he would have said, thank you for putting your lives on the
line. But that's not what he says.
That's not what is in his heart as he writes to these Colossians. He rather thanks God and he tells
the Colossians that he is so thankful to learn that these
men and women have been saved. He is so thankful to learn that
they have experienced grace. He is so thankful to learn that
they have been redeemed by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And who does he thank? Not the Colossians. but he thanks
the Saviour God. He thanks God, and he writes
that there in these opening verses. We give thanks to God and Christ. We give thanks to God and the
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. And this is the point that I
want to make. I trust I don't have to spell this out for you,
but I will anyway. If salvation is by man's free
will, then it is man who should be thanked and praised, not God. If God has only made salvation
possible then it is man who liberates himself. It is man who delivers
himself. It is man who saves himself. It is ultimately man who redeems
himself because it is man who brings that effectual act, that
work of power to his own salvation. And it is man who should be given
the glory. And yet to even say such a thing
is both ludicrous and abhorrent. And so we see that free will
ought to be discarded and rejected. Despite the fact that it is such
a popular theory, such a popular basis for preaching to men and
women today, it is ludicrous. And the very words of God, whether
it is the direct testimony of Scripture or the supporting context,
it all testifies to the fact that we must trace grace back
to its source. Not to the free will of the individual,
but to the God who effected salvation in the lives of men and women.
Paul says, we give thanks to God. And what does he give thanks
for? Well, we're told as we move down. through these opening verses,
verses 4 and 5 and 6, that he is giving thanks to God for the
faith of these Colossians, for the faith that they possess,
for the love that they have, and for the hope that is now
their portion. These things have come to them. These three great blessings have
come to the Colossians. And it's interesting that the
Apostle highlights exactly the same three qualities, the same
three attributes. in that verse which we are all
familiar with in 1 Corinthians chapter 13 and verse 13. Here in Colossians he speaks
about faith, love and hope. In 1 Corinthians 13, he talks
about faith, hope and love, or charity. He says,
and now abideth faith, hope and charity, these three, but the
greatest of these is charity. And these three beautiful descriptions
highlight the effect of God's grace in a sinner's life. This is what comes to the sinner
when grace comes to the sinner. This is what comes to those who
believe in the Lord Jesus Christ when salvation is received and
the possession of these three attributes, faith, love and hope,
is the essence of a man or a woman's conversion. This is what the
great change contains. This is what is exemplified,
which is manifested, which is to be seen in the conversion
of a sinner. where there once was no faith,
where there once was no love towards God, where there once
was no hope of eternal life, now these great principles exist
and the Apostle thanks God for it. Faith in God. Faith in the
purpose and the power of God to save our soul. That's what
we have here. We have a faith that has been
given to these Gentiles, these people who knew little about
God, whose understanding of God was based on idolatrous activity
and heathen traditions. And now Paul writes to them and
he says, you've got faith in God and I'm delighted to hear
it, I'm so happy to hear it and I thank God for it that you have
faith in God, that you've got faith in the efficacy of the
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ as that atoning sacrifice that
has been made for your souls. and faith that has been bestowed
by the Holy Spirit to the quickening of a dead soul, to the enlivening
of a spirit that we have been brought from the deadness of
a complete separation to God. into a living relationship by
the indwelling power of God the Holy Spirit. And Paul says, I
thank God that you have got that faith, that faith in God's power
to save, that faith in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, that
faith which God the Holy Spirit gives. And I thank God that you
have got love, that that principle, that new principle of grace that
is in your soul has generated that love towards God and an
experience of God's love to you. This is what the new relationship
that they possessed was built upon. They didn't have love towards
God. They love God now because God
first loved them. And upon this new principle of
love, this relationship between God and these Colossian heathen,
these Colossian Gentiles, is now built. and they have hope. They have hope where previously
they were hopeless. They have hope because they have
been turned from their wild and weird idolatry, where they worshipped
the astrological bodies, where they worshipped the animals of
the earth, where they worshipped the seasons and the world that
they saw around about them. to understand that there was
one true God, to have a glimpse of that eternal God, that great
Creator, that God who is above and beyond all comprehension,
but yet has revealed Himself to men and women, who had hidden
it from the wise and prudent, but revealed it. unto babes. And the Apostle Paul says, thank
you, God, for giving those babes this hope in everlasting life. This was their conversion, their
conversion from the old heathen ways of their heathen idolatry
and the fear which beset them to the gospel revelation and
truth that had been preached amongst them. And the Apostle
Paul says that he thanks God for this gospel which is come
unto you. You see, again, he's tracing
grace back to its source. He is showing that praise is
to be given where praise is due. Praise to whom praise is due. We thank God that this gospel
has come to you. The gospel has come. We come
to Christ because He comes to us. We love Christ because He
first loved us and He sent that gospel to us when we were careless,
when we were thoughtless, when we were out there in the world
going helter-skelter to a lost eternity. The Lord God, the Lord
Jesus Christ, God the Holy Spirit, sent his gospel to us. That's what Mr. Pace, Henry Pace,
wrote when he said, but oh, amazed, I see the hand that stopped me
in my wild career. A miracle of grace I stand. The Lord has taught my heart
to fear. You see, praise to whom praise
is due. This was God's work in the heart
of these Colossians to save them when they knew nothing of his
grace and his glory. The gospel had come to them. And Paul saw this evidenced in
the Colossians. He saw it evidenced there in
that city of Colossae. And he saw it evidenced everywhere
that the gospel went because he saw that to be the purpose
of God. He knew what God's purpose was. He knew that God was gathering
his elect. He knew that God was sending
his gospel out into the world so that it would come to those
elect that God had chosen in his eternal purpose and it would
convert them. It would bring them into faith,
it would bring them into the experience of the love of God
and it would give them hope in their hearts of eternal life. True it is that men are the means
of bringing the gospel to the world. The God of all grace in
his purpose has sent the gospel by the frail earthen vessels
of converted men. To take that message of grace
speaking about the beautiful feet of those who bring good
news, how beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.
And that gospel is brought by the means of a gospel preacher,
but they are but the means, they are but the vehicles, the carriers,
The work of the coming of the gospel of grace is a work of
divine glory in the hearts of men and women. And the Apostle
Paul knew that that was what was happening. And so he says
in verse six, which is come unto you, this truth of the gospel
is come unto you as it is in all the world. and bringeth forth
fruit, as it does also in you, since the day ye heard of it,
and knew the grace of God in truth. And I love the way that
the Apostle moves out of this thanking God for the conversion
of these Colossians, to think about this individual, Epaphras,
who had been the vehicle and the means of the preaching of
the Gospel of God amongst the Colossians. And I love the way
that Paul graciously commends this man, Epaphras, We really
don't hear of Epaphras very much. He's not like a Peter or a Luke
or a John or a Paul, one of these who appear large in the pages of
our New Testament. And yet the Apostle Paul speaks
so highly of Epaphras. He calls him his fellow servant. It's a beautiful thing to do
when the apostle humbles himself and stands shoulder to shoulder
with Epaphras. Paul could say that he was an
apostle. Paul could say that he was committed
to this task by the very person of Christ himself. But when it
comes to presenting and lifting up and pushing forward these
fellow servants, the Apostle Paul is second to none. He gives Epaphras this place
of respect as a fellow servant. Indeed, as he writes to Philemon,
remember we mentioned how The book of Philippians, Colossians,
and Philemon were written at the same time by Paul while he
was in prison. He calls Epaphras a fellow prisoner. And so if we're right in thinking
that perhaps Timothy was in prison also, it may well be, of course,
the timing might not be coincidental, but at least the three of these
individuals, Paul, Epaphras, and Timothy, were at one time
or another prisoners together. And so here Apaphris is called
a fellow prisoner who is always laboring fervently for the church
at Colossae. He prays fervently. He was on, the Colossian brothers
and sisters were on the heart of this fellow servant and the
apostle speaks highly of him. What was Epaphras' prayer for
the Colossians? That they might stand perfect
and complete in all the will of God. That's a beautiful prayer. And you can almost imagine there
in that house that Paul rented, there is Epaphras and Paul and
Timothy kneeling down together and praying to the Lord. that
the Colossians might stand perfect and complete. Perhaps they didn't
know if there was a preacher amongst them. Perhaps they didn't
know if there was a pastor there, if Epaphras was in Rome with
Paul and even in prison. Perhaps they were uncertain as
to who would be guiding them. But their prayer was to commit
them into the care and keeping of the Lord, that they might
stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. pause with
me and reflect, if you will, a little on these beautiful verses
that we have before us. And I want to draw your attention,
if I may, to the verses that we read towards the end of this
little passage. And I think that here we can
see something of this union that we have between Timothy and Paul
and Epaphras in this prayer that went up on behalf of these Colossians. And I don't know if there are
more extraordinary prayers in the New Testament than these
that are sent up to heaven on behalf of the Colossians. The
Apostle had previously said in his letter to the Romans, chapter
8, verse 26, we know not what to pray for as we ought. But look what Paul, Timothy,
and Epaphras ask for on behalf of the Colossians. I just want
to show you these things now towards the end of this passage. And we're going to be working
down through verse 9 to 14 in this little list of prayers and
requests that the apostle makes on behalf of the Colossians.
The first thing he asks for is that these Colossians might be
filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual
understanding. That the Colossians might be
filled with the knowledge of the will of God in all wisdom
and spiritual understanding. I think this is lovely to see
the way in which the Apostle Paul directs the Colossians into
this personal relationship with God and themselves. He is, as it were, calling upon
God, calling upon the Lord Jesus Christ, and calling upon God
the Holy Spirit to reveal himself to the hearts of these Colossians. And the Apostle doesn't. take them back to any rules or
regulations. He simply says, look at the gospel,
look at what you have heard. We might say today that we're
thinking here about scripture, but of course scripture wasn't
written as far as the New Testament was concerned at this time, although
the apostle was in the throes of writing it, they had the letters
that were going to them, but he's talking about the revealed
will of God, he's talking about the gospel, the gospel that was
written to them in this letter, the gospel that had been preached
amongst them by Epaphras. He's speaking about the knowledge
of Christ, an intimate relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, that
they would have that knowledge of Christ, that they would wisely
be able to discern the truth, that they would know that this
is true and what the false teachers were telling them were lies,
that they would be spiritually astute. He was praying for them. that they would not have a natural
wisdom, but that they might have a divine wisdom bestowed upon
them, the knowledge of the will of God in all wisdom and spiritual
understanding. So you see, the Apostle Paul
was showing the Colossians that if they were to have a knowledge
of the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ and the gospel, then it
must be God himself who gave that knowledge to them. And again,
he is tracking back to give praise to whom praise is due, recognising
that if the Lord's people have a knowledge of the wisdom of
God, the will of God, and a spiritual understanding, it must come from
God himself. The second thing he asks the
Lord God for on behalf of the Colossians is that they might
walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing. And he doesn't
mention the law at all. He is asking for a worthy walk,
but he doesn't take them back to the Ten Commandments to show
them what that walk must look like. How do we please God? Do you see what the Apostle is
saying here? It's not about the outward manifestations
of us towing the line. It's not about us taking a set
of rules and regulations and endeavouring to live by them.
How can a man or a woman possibly walk worthy of Christ? Which
is what the Apostle here is asking God for. That these Colossians
might walk worthy of the Lord Jesus unto all pleasing. How
might they walk worthy of Christ? How might they walk worthy of
His perfection and His glory and His holiness? our life, our
walk and our conversation to be worthy of God. must be by
faith, must be by looking to the Lord Jesus Christ, must be
by looking to the efficacy of His blood and His representation
of us before His Father. That is the only grounds upon
which we can walk worthy of the Lord and please God. If we are
in Christ, and God looks upon his beloved Son in whom he is
well pleased. And so the Apostle is teaching
these Colossians again to look away from themselves and to look
to Christ from whom all spiritual enabling comes, from whom their
worthiness before God is to be found. and he is tracing back
where grace finds its source in the person of Jesus Christ
and in the triune God. The third thing he asks that
these Colossians might receive from God's goodness and at God's
hand is that they are fruitful in every good work. Every good work. Every good work
is all that we do with an eye to Christ. All that we do trusting
in Christ. All that we do seeking the glory
of Christ. And every opportunity we have
to do a good work to the glory of Christ is a God-given opportunity. It is God who gives opportunity
for us to thank him in our service, for us to thank him in our sacrifice,
for us to thank him in our worship and our gratitude to him for
all that Christ has done for us and for his grace and mercy
towards us. That is what Paul says to the
Ephesians when he says, And so any good work that we have is
a good work in which we have an eye to Christ, walking in
Christ, walking in the benefits of the blessings of Christ towards
us. And what is fruitful? What is
it to be fruitful? What makes something fruitful? Do you remember the Lord as he
sat over against the temple treasury watching the rich men digging
deep into their cloaks and their pockets in order to put in their
money into the treasury? And he saw that little old lady,
that little widow, coming with her might and putting it into
the treasury. And the Lord knew where the true
good work lay. The Lord knew where true fruitfulness
lay, because he saw that what was vain and old and compromised
and half-baked in its efforts was not to be found as glorifying
to God, though it be ever so elaborate and ever so expensive. But what made a fruitful good
work was faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul prays, and he shows us to
whom our praise should go. The first thing that he asks
of the Lord for these people is that they might increase in
the knowledge of God. That they might increase in the
knowledge of God. He wanted them to grow in grace.
He wanted them to grow in their knowledge of the triune God.
These are Gentiles. These are heathen idolaters. They've been converted by the
preaching of the gospel. By this man it would appear epaphras. And now the apostle wanted them
to grow and deepen and rely in their soul more and more upon
God. You know, some churches have
their schemes and their systems and all of their elaborate teaching
courses for their congregation. We learn, we increase in the
knowledge of God by our dwelling and meditating upon the scripture. upon the preaching of the gospel
and upon the fellowship and personal communion that we have with the
Lord Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit. That's how we deepen
our spiritual understanding. That's how our soul reliance
on Christ is developed. And there's an irony here. The
apostle doesn't dwell upon this, but I believe there's an irony
here. And it is this, that the more we know of the Lord Jesus
Christ and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, the more we know
we don't know. And so we all have to be seeking
to increase our knowledge of God and to grow in grace. And knowing God involves proving
God. Knowing God involves learning
of Him in the trials that we face, in the tests that we are
called to in this world, in the troubles of our life. It is relying
upon Him when the trials and problems of our day has stripped
away our own ability to deal with those challenges. Oh sure,
there is a knowing God in theory, but do we know him by personal
experience? That is the beginning of true
knowledge. We've mentioned already about
our brother Don Fortner this evening. Don Fortner preached
the Lord Jesus Christ for decades, but he is only now really moving
into that knowledge of God. All the things that he had declared,
all the things that he preached, all the faithfulness that our
brother brought to his ministry. is now seen in the light of the
glory of God as he sees the Saviour face to face. How can any of
us know God? Only by what God the Holy Spirit
himself teaches us. through the preaching of the
gospel, through the fellowship of God himself in communion with
him and through the Holy Scriptures until that day when we know as
we are known and we see him face to face. The Apostle asks that
these Colossians, fifthly, might be strengthened with all might
according to his glorious power. That is the power of God. Unto
all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness. You know, religion
talks about successful Christian living. But the successful Christian
is the Christian who rests in a successful Christ. A successful
Christian is one who endures in Christ, who perseveres in
Christ, who prevails in Christ despite the overwhelming odds
that come against him in his own heart, in his own experience,
in his own flesh, in the world, in the devil, and in the devil's
temptations. It is the one who overcomes in
the face of the overwhelming odds of this world. The one who
stands as a trophy of God's grace and goodness. How do we do that? We do it through God's helping
us. through being strengthened with
divine might, supplied with a glorious power. And that teaches us to
be patient, and it teaches us to have long suffering. It shows us and enables us how
to be beaten, but not broken. How to be broken, but not dead. how to be still going on in the
faith despite every hurdle and trial and every deep pit into
which we fall, and to do so with joy, to do so rejoicing. How can we possibly do that?
Not with human strength the Apostle knows. This isn't an inspirational
talk that the Apostle is giving here. This is not an emotional
or a motivational discourse. This is the Apostle showing the
Colossians where they're Hope and their faith and their strength
and their love derives all of its energy and life. It is with the divine power and
enabling of God. And the Apostle Paul is showing
us, praise to whom praise is due. I thank God for you. The sixth point he makes is this,
I've got a couple more, but let's just touch on these lightly.
That they might be made meat. to be partakers of the inheritance
of the saints in light." Again, praise to him, praise his Jew.
He's not asking that these Colossians should live well, that they should
act well, that they should stand strong. He is saying that look
to the Lord Jesus Christ, look to God, for he will make us meet
to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. The inheritance
of the saints is the inheritance that we have with Christ and
it is God who makes us meet, who makes us suitably prepared
and acceptable in holiness. Hell is darkness. The devil is darkness. This world
is darkness. Jude calls it the blackness of
darkness forever. But Christ is light. Christ is
the light of the world. Heaven is light. And that is
where Christ dwells. There's no need of the sun in
heaven for Christ is the sun. Christ is light. They're in glory. Christ is there and his saints
in light will be made ready to enter that domain of light. Well might Paul say, thanks be
to God. Well might Paul say, praise to
whom praise is due. All we have of spiritual light,
all we have of understanding and preparedness is from above. It comes from the Father of lights. And to be a partaker is to be
a part-taker. There are parts, there are portions
laid up for the Lord's people as our inheritance, as the inheritance
of His people. We are the saints of God, the
set-apart ones, set-apart in eternal purpose, set-apart in
distinguishing grace and redemption, converted in time, to share Christ's
glory in eternity. Praise to whom praise is due. The Apostle asks, seventhly,
that they might have deliverance, that God has delivered us from
the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of his dear
Son. Once again, our deliverance is
by God in Christ, into light, out of darkness. What does Satan
do in this world? He snares, he entraps, he deceives
all who by nature are blind to grace. But God, having revealed
these things to his people, his little ones, shows them wherein
their true glory lies. we have been translated. That
word means to be carried away, to be carried away by the grace
of God, to be like that lost sheep that is found, laid upon
the shoulder of the Saviour, the brambles and the briars,
the darkness and the separatedness, the weakness of that dying sheep. the saviour reaches down and
he picks up and he carries home. That's what it is to be translated
into the kingdom of his dear son. It's a lovely phrase, the
dear son of God. This is my beloved son in whom
I am well pleased. The Lord God has given Christ
a kingdom. Christ is king in his kingdom. His church is his kingdom and
his church has been translated out of the kingdom of Satan,
out of Satan's grip and into Christ's church. Finally, he
says that he prays to God in whom we have redemption through
the blood of Christ. Through his blood, even the forgiveness
of sins. In Christ we have redemption.
We're not redeemed with corruptible things, says Peter, like silver
and gold, but we are bought by the precious blood of Jesus Christ,
the sin-cleansing blood. and the forgiveness of sins is
the gift of God's grace to us. The forgiveness of our sins. Oh, our sins are many, but what
a blessing to know that our sins are forgiven. What a blessing
to know that everything that separates us from God has been
taken away. What a wonderful privilege to
know that that sin which separates has been lifted off of our shoulders
and laid upon the shoulders of a substitute. That that substitute
has paid the price of that sin. and that we are clean, that he
has been made guilty, that he has been defiled, that he has
been to be the bearer of our transgressions and iniquities,
but that he has carried them all away. Let me say it again. We have redemption through the
blood of Jesus Christ. We have forgiveness of sins by
the blood of Jesus Christ. And that's all. That's all that
is needed. All that is needed has been supplied. We trace grace to its source. That's what Paul did here with
the Colossians. He's writing to these brethren
in Colossae, so many miles away. and he is showing them where
their gratitude has to be focused, where their thanksgiving has
to be placed, where their grace finds its source and its genesis. the divine accomplishment of
God in salvation, the divine satisfaction of the Lord Jesus
Christ upon the cross, and that great divine work of quickening
and enlivening by God the Holy Spirit. In the triune God, we
find divine mercy and we find a job well done. Praise to whom
praise is due, becomes every child of God. It behoves us to
humble ourselves before God's goodness, His grace, and His
generosity. Paul knew where the Colossian
blessedness originated, and he knew where it was to be discovered
and found, and so do all the saints of God. That is why this
evening, We give thanks with Paul to God and our Father, the
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. We give thanks with the Apostle
and with Timothy and with Epaphras for all that the Lord God has
done for us. We give thanks because we know
that everything that we need has been provided, that the forgiveness
of our sins and the redemption of our souls has been accomplished
by the Lord Jesus Christ upon the cross. And that is enough. And for that we say, thank you,
Lord. Amen. Let me read another hymn to you
and we will be done. Here's a man. This is Williams Gadsby. I've
mentioned William Gadsby a lot of times. Here he is. This is
an excellent painting, portrait of the man. William Gadsby was
born in 1773. He was a preacher. He was a particular
Baptist, which is pretty much what we are, and he was a church
planter. He was from Manchester in England. I know that we've got a Manchester
along the road there, between here and Great Falls, but it
was a different Manchester. He was born into poverty, this
man. He was pretty much unschooled. He had gone for a little while
to a school in Warwickshire, in Nuneaton in Warwickshire.
At the age of 13, he became a ribbon weaver. And we're told that by
the age of 17, he had forgotten how to read. At that same time
he became a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. The gospel came
to him and the Lord God converted him and brought him into a knowledge
of the truth and of Jesus Christ as his saviour. And from there
he learned the Lord and he learned to be a preacher and he became
a very fine and able preacher and church planter and a very
fine hymn writer also. So here is a hymn by William
Gadsby. Mercy speaks by Jesus' blood. Hear and sing, ye sons of God. Justice satisfied indeed, Christ
is full atonement made. Jesus' blood speaks loud and
sweet, here all deity can meet. And without a jarring voice,
welcome Zion to rejoice. Should the law against her roar,
Jesus' blood still speaks with power. All her debts were cast
on me, and she must and shall go free. Peace of conscience,
peace with God, we obtained through Jesus' blood. Jesus' blood speaks
solid rest. We believe and we are blessed. Well, thank you once again for
listening to our service this evening and being part of the
broadcast. It's been lovely to see you and
to be part of this worship of God together. Let me just read
this word as a little benediction and then we will be concluded. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain
to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honour
and glory and blessing. Blessing and honour and glory
and power be unto him that sitteth upon the throne and unto the
Lamb for ever and ever. Thank you very much, and good
to see you. I'm going to end the stream now,
but it has been a delight once again to see you. And I see there's
one or two others have come in. Hello, Teresa, and that's maybe
John Carpenter as well. And good to see you. I trust
that you've enjoyed our worship together this evening. Goodbye.