“Giving Thanks”

Feature 4 – November 2021 – Grace & Truth Magazine

“Giving Thanks”

Abounding in it with thanksgiving. — Colossians 2:7 NKJV

During his third missionary journey the apostle Paul worked for about three years in the renowned port city of Ephesus, probably in the years 56–58 AD. He ministered for three months in the synagogue about the kingdom of God but, because of opposition, withdrew and started teaching the new believers in a college (Acts 19:9-10). This continued for about two years, probably during the hours when people would take an afternoon rest. The preaching was sometimes accompanied by miracles God worked by the hands of Paul (v.11). As a result, this ministry impacted the whole area of the Roman province Asia − in present day Turkey − both Jews and Greeks (v.10).

Epaphras was among those touched by God’s grace and he became one of Paul’s coworkers (Col. 1:7). He brought the gospel to Colossae, perhaps together with others who were living in the region. Among the new converts in Colossae were a business owner named Philemon, his wife Apphia and their son Archippus. A few years later, Philemon’s slave, Onesimus, joined the company of believers after he had been saved when visiting Paul in Rome (see Paul’s letter to Philemon). The apostle had not yet been in Colossae but he may have gone there once he was released from his first Roman captivity (Phile. 1:22). While Paul was still in prison in Rome, Epaphras traveled all the way from Colossae to visit him and share with him his concerns, while earnestly praying for the believers (Col. 4:12). What an example of brotherly care!

Paul shared those concerns. Deeply exercised, he wrote to the assembly that he was toiling and combating in prayer for them, while the Lord was working in him (1:29). The apostle wrote that he also wrestled for the believers in Laodicea (2:1) and Hierapolis (4:13), which were not far from Colossae.

They had been affected by the enemy’s subtle attacks, trying to rob from them their confidence in Christ. It seems that the enemy used a mixture of Jewish legalism, Greek philosophy and speculations, together with Oriental mysticism, to create havoc among those believers. They were influenced by a combination of dietary laws and asceticism, as they wrongly considered the body to be inferior to the spirit and inherently evil. Some there were even affected by magic (see Col. 2, toward the end).

In contrast, Paul was led by God’s Spirit to present the uniqueness, supremacy and all-sufficiency of Christ − God and Man in one person. He is Creator, Redeemer and Head of the Church, and He does work in those capacities. Furthermore, Paul was a real object lesson to these believers, even in his own difficult circumstances. He was thankful and giving thanks despite trying circumstances in his Roman prison. Also, Satan’s attacks on the new believers caused Paul to be distressed. But he was not complaining; he gave thanks. “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” (Col. 1:3-4 ESV). Paul’s prayer for them (1:9-11) is a topic for further study, but for now we focus on Paul’s giving thanks and teaching the believers to give thanks. What an example!

Giving Thanks To The Father
Giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. — Colossians 1:12 NKJV

This phrase concluded Paul’s prayer for the believers in Colossae and the area. His was a unique way of addressing God the Father, very close to how John wrote about the intimate relationship we have with our God and Father through His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul continued to write about Christ’s excellencies and the ministry the glorified Lord Jesus had committed to him, which was under attack by the enemy.

This led the apostle, together with Epaphras, to fervently pray for the new believers. “For I want you to know what a great conflict I have for you and those in Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh” (2:1). He described the purpose of his prayer as: “To the end that their hearts may be encouraged, being united together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the full knowledge of the mystery of God; in which are hid all the treasures of wisdom and of knowledge” (2:2-3 jnd). How wonderful: our God and Father shares with all true believers the secrets of His heart’s desires in relation to the Son of His love, in whom these treasures are hidden yet made known to us!

This is what causes the enemy to attack us. He tries to hinder us from enjoying these blessings because he knows that if we appreciate them we will bring worship to God. Therefore, while and as long as we are in this world and on enemy territory, Satan will seek to hinder this kind of enjoyment to keep us from being true worshipers. He will attempt to corrupt our minds and hearts, that our affections for the Lord in the glory will be replaced by counterfeits or idolatry (Gal. 5:20; Col. 3:5; 1 Pet. 4:3).

He succeeded with Israel many times as well as during the history of the Church, but the Lord always had overcomers (read 1 Jn. 2:15-17) who stood firm against the enemy’s efforts. The challenge for us is not to allow ourselves to be influenced by his tactics. Related to this, we understand why Epaphras and Paul kept praying: because the Father is seeking true worshipers. As the Lord told the woman at the well, “The hour is coming and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth; for also the Father seeks such as His worshipers” (Jn. 4:23).

Abounding With Thanksgiving
As … ye have received the Christ, Jesus the Lord, walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him, and assured in the faith, even as ye have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. — Colossians 2:7

God’s “mystery” is a living person (2:2-3), in contrast to the “mystery religions” with which the false teachers bothered the new believers at Colossae. The new Christians had received, as we have, the greatest Gift one possibly can receive, for “in [Christ] are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (2:3 ESV). From the day of Pentecost until the rapture, all true born-again believers − through the Holy Spirit and faith − have received God’s anointed One. He is the only One God could and did anoint, since no one else qualified.

After John the Baptist baptized the Lord Jesus in the Jordan River, the Holy Spirit descended on Him through the opened heavens, while God the Father said, “This is My beloved Son in Whom I have found My delight” (JND) or “with Whom I am well pleased” (Mt. 3:16-17 esv). God anointed Him as the Holy Spirit came to remain on Him (Acts 10:38; Jn. 1:31-34) − the first Human ever to be thus anointed.

After Jesus was crucified, had died and was buried, He rose from among the dead on the third day. Then after 40 days He ascended into the heavens (Lk. 24:51; Acts 1:9), passed through them (Heb. 4:14) and reached the highest point (Eph. 1:20-22, 4:10). Tremendous victory for the Lord Jesus: the Man exalted in heaven for the glory of God! In great contrast is Lucifer – Satan – who tried to exalt himself (Isa. 14:12-14; Ezek. 28:13-19).

In heaven Jesus was anointed a second time. God made Him both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:33-36). Never had a man entered the heavens, but now this had happened, and God was satisfied. As His Anointed One, God appointed Him as Lord over all things. Previously, God had been satisfied with Christ and His work on earth, and now He was satisfied to have Him as “His Man” at His right hand.1

The Greek term “Christ” is the same as the Hebrew term “Messiah.” Both mean “anointed” and indicate that He is God’s “special Man.” Never had God found anyone on earth2 with whom He could be fully satisfied (consider Ps. 1), but now He had! To His joy God received Him in heaven and anointed Him. It was on the day of Pentecost that God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit in heaven, above His companions (Heb. 1:9).

This anointing came down to this earth, onto the company of believers − “His companions” − as the Holy Spirit descended on them (Acts 2:1-3). He came on the company of believers associated with the glorified Christ and found a resting place on them, just as this had occurred when He came on the Lord Jesus after His baptism. The statement “you received Christ Jesus the Lord” (Col. 2:6) implies that God shares His Anointed with us, for when we received Him we were also anointed (2 Cor. 1:21). Jesus is the anointed God-Man − blessed and unfathomable Mystery, Jehovah-Jesus – whom we have received. What a Gift! God’s Treasure is now also our Treasure. Praise God, who enabled us to abound with thanksgiving, now and forever!

The just mentioned anointing cannot be separated from submission to Jesus as Lord. The apostle wrote that we received Christ Jesus “the Lord” − through faith on our side and through a work of the Holy Spirit. Thus we acknowledge Jesus as “Lord,” who has all authority, as Peter indicated in his message during Pentecost (Acts 2:36). Soon the whole universe will bow before Him (Phil. 2:10).

The enemy tries to hinder us from bringing honor to the Lord Jesus, who rightfully owns the whole universe. Nevertheless, we are privileged to honor Him already now, abounding with thanksgiving, as we have received Him by faith and through the Holy Spirit. Soon He will publicly exercise these rights that we already acknowledge, realizing that He is Lord of all and of all we have. If we do not confess Him as Lord and give Him that place in all details of our lives, then He is not Lord at all.

At the fall (Gen. 3), Satan usurped God’s rights and ever since is jealous to have all honor for himself. However, all rights belong not to Satan but to the Lord Jesus, because He is the Creator and the Redeemer. Through redemption He has obtained all the rights He already had as Creator. Thus He owns all because He created all things, and as Redeemer He has purchased everything and everyone (Heb. 1:2-3) – even those who reject His claims and will be forever in the lake of fire under God’s judgment (2 Pet. 2:1; Rev. 20:15).

As believers we honor Him in both relationships, as His creatures and as His redeemed ones (see Rev. 4–5). The challenge for the believers is to give Him His rightful place here and now in every way and situation, because He is Lord and we are to honor Him, abounding with thanksgiving.

Paul continued his teaching in Colossians by saying we should “walk in Him” (2:6). This implies fellowship with and submission to Him, in a walk dependent on Him as Enoch and Noah did before the flood. Today we may do so in the measure we are rooted in Him, as a tree has its roots going ever deeper for stability as part of an ongoing process (Ps. 1:3; Jer. 17:7-8). Simultaneously, a process is taking place of being built up and edified in Him.

The Church as the Body needs this ongoing process of being built up (Eph. 4:12,16) and so does the Church as the House, albeit in a different context (2:20). Each individual believer needs to be built up as well (Jude 1:20). This building up presupposes a solid foundation and an actual process in our hearts and souls. It is always in the context of God’s company − the true Church, all genuine believers − through a work of the Holy Spirit and in the measure we rely on the Lord and make ourselves available to Him.

We now understand why Paul kept praying, because the enemy is clever, powerful and totally set against our abounding in thanksgiving. However, if we follow Paul’s teaching we will be sustained to do this, “assured in the faith” (Col. 2:7 jnd). God has not made us like robots, only doing that for which they are programmed. We are His creatures, His adopted sons (Eph. 1:5) in whom He delights and with whom He seeks fellowship. Here is where personal faith comes in, for it is God’s desire that we be exercised about these things and work them out through personal faith. This is done in dependence on Him, in communion with Him, and for His glory. It is personal, individual faith linked with the revealed truth as has been committed to faith (Jude 1:3). Both go together: truth committed to us as “the faith,” and our own faith that accepts God’s truth and works it out. Then we can abound with thanksgiving!

Finally, Paul wrote about firmness of faith in Christ (Col. 2:5) and the need of being established or confirmed in the faith “even as ye have been taught” (v.7). This is quite important because many people seem to have faith but not necessarily according to the teaching of God’s Word. Right teaching results in thanksgiving and praise, but mere orthodoxy does not satisfy God’s heart. Our thanksgiving shows that the teaching has had an impact, and God receives a response. This outflow of praise is like a stream flowing back to God. It reminds us of what the Lord told the woman at the well: “The hour is coming and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth” (Jn. 4:23). God has shed abroad His love into our hearts by the Spirit He has given us (Rom. 5:5) and we may respond, abounding in thanksgiving, in a stream going back to the Source. We can see why the enemy tries to stop this, but if we are true overcomers, the Holy Spirit will help us to keep going with thanksgiving.

Giving Thanks To God The Father
Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. — Colossians 3:17 NKJV

Enjoyment of the relationship with our glorified Lord is the key to putting Paul’s instructions into practice (3:1-17). Earlier we saw that truth well learned will result in thanksgiving. Similarly, this portion of Colossians has many practical instructions that imply a real transformation of the believers. All references about thanksgiving − the verb “to give thanks” (Greek: eucharistéo) together with the related noun “thanksgiving” (Greek: eucharist) − occur 36 times in Paul’s epistles, of which six are in Colossians. There are 17 more in the rest of the New Testament. Abounding with thanksgiving is only possible if we are “holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God” (2:19 ESV).

Clearly all our resources are in Christ, but the enemy tries hard to distract the believers through persuasive speech (v.4), whether by philosophy and vain deceit (v.8), ritualism and legalism (v.16), or mysticism and related things (v.18). If we allow him, the result will be that we no longer hold fast to the Head who cherishes, nourishes, directs, instructs, guides and protects. Instead of drawing everything from Christ (v.17), the Adversary wants the believers to rely on themselves (v.18) and satisfy the flesh (v.23).

However, Christ is in us, the Hope of glory (1:27), the mystery of God (2:2), who is also the mystery3 of Christ (4:3). In Him are hidden all the treasures of God’s wisdom and knowledge (2:2-3). The more we revel in these treasures and live them out in our daily lives, the more we will abound with thanksgiving.

At the close of this epistle, the apostle encouraged the Colossian believers to “persevere in prayer, watching in it with thanksgiving” (Col. 4:2 JND). How appropriate, even for you and me today.

ENDNOTES
1. This implies that Jesus is God, blessed over all. When a king would invite someone to sit at his side, this meant that the invited one was also a king. The Lord Jesus now sits at God’s right hand because He is God (blessed and eternal mystery).
2. We can add nor in heaven. No one else, besides the Lamb of God, was found to be anointed or qualified to judge (Rev. 5:5).
3. The term “mystery” means something hidden, but which now has been revealed to the Christian while it remains hidden for the unbeliever. The New Testament uses it 28 times, of which 21 (3x7 times) are in Paul’s writings (Rom. 11:25, 16:25; 1 Cor. 2:1,7, 4:1, 13:2, 14:2, 15:51; Eph. 1:9, 3:3-4,9, 5:32, 6:19; Col. 1:26-27, 2:2, 4:3; 2 Th. 2:7; 1 Tim. 3:9,16).

By Alfred Bouter