THE GRACE OF GOD IN TRUTH

Wednesday 20 November

since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints…

of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel…

since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth;

 For this reason we also, since the day we heard it…

Colossians 1:4, 5b, 6b, 9.

What is the significance of what these Apostles and saints heard in the church of Colosse? Why is it so important for us to understand? Let’s find out. What did the Apostles hear? They heard about the faith in the gospel of Christ Jesus that the saints of Colosse had and their sacrificial, unconditional love they were displaying to one another in their community of believers.

What does this tell us? Two amazing things. They had received the message of faith in Christ for salvation and the ‘love of God had been shed abroad in their hearts by the Holy Spirit’ (Romans 5:5). This is proof positive that they had received the gospel that Paul preached, the gospel of grace through faith in Christ and not another gospel.

In I Corinthians 15:1-2a we see Apostle Paul speaking of the gospel that he was preaching everywhere.

‘I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved…’

Question: what gospel? The gospel of grace that is reality. In John 1:17 Jesus who spoke in view of the New Testament makes this striking statement.

‘For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.’

This is the ‘word of the truth of the gospel’ that brother Paul was communicating.

So faith comes by hearing the word of God, which is the message of faith in Christ and this message of faith IS the word of the truth of the gospel.

Let’s quickly break down John 1:17 to see the connection between grace and truth. Firstly, it is not grace AND truth like apples and oranges that are different from each other. It’s not saying that at all. It should read ‘grace THAT IS truth came by Jesus Christ.’

Furthermore, Truth is ‘aletheia’ in the Greek which means reality. So let’s paraphrase it this way; For the law came by Moses but grace that is reality came by Jesus Christ.

‘Since you heard and knew the grace of God in truth’ means the grace of God in reality. So what is the grace of God in reality? Salvation. What is the love of God in reality? Sacrifice.

By grace are you saved through faith…

For God so loved, He gave…

What is the result of hearing and knowing the grace of God that is reality? Colossians 1:9-12 gives us the answer. Here is a concise summary.

You will be filled with the full and exact knowledge of His will. You will walk worthy of your calling in the Lord. You will please Him in every way. You will be fruitful and productive in every good work. You will increase your capacity to contain more of the full and exact knowledge of God. You will be strengthened with might which is miracle working ability. You will give thanks to the Father who has qualified you by His grace.

Remember, meditating on the Word of God and being continually filled with the Holy Spirit is the vehicle for this ‘reality’ to be set into full motion in our lives.

The ‘Word of His grace’ is the ‘Word of His reality’. Have you heard it and do you have full and exact knowledge of it? The good news is, you can!

APPLICATION

Be conscious daily of the fact that only the Word of His grace has the ability to build you up and deliver you into your inheritance in Christ.