Colossians 1:1-2
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will, and Timothy our brother: 2 To the saints in Christ at Colossae, who are faithful brothers and sisters. Grace to you and peace from God our Father.
The apostle Paul wrote the epistle to the church in Colossae around the year 62 AD when he was imprisoned in the city of Rome. This was during the same time period that he wrote the epistles to the churches in Philippi (where we get Philippians) and Ephesus (where we get Ephesians).
A little backstory—Paul didn’t start the church in Colossae, but he likely knew Epaphras (the person who did) from his extended time in Ephesus which was about a hundred miles east of Colossae. So while he didn’t know these Jesus followers personally, he does know what they are dealing with. As this letter progresses, there will be some issues Paul seems to be addressing head-on. More to come on that later. For now, let’s dive into Colossians 1:1-2…
Timothy, the recipient of 1 and 2 Timothy and future pastor to the Ephesian church is with the imprisoned apostle. Paul always seemed to have people around him. It would seem he knew the power and necessity of community.
“I’m just a sinner saved by grace.” We’ve all said it or heard someone else say it before, I’m sure. But what if sinner saved by grace wasn’t entirely a just statement? What if it were incomplete? Most times a Christian church is addressed in the New Testament, they are addressed as saints. But what is a saint? In a time when the word ‘saint’ has been largely used for “super Christians” in the Catholic Church, we tend to shy away from that title. But we don’t need to. Without it, we’re missing out on our true identity as the Church.
A saint, is a holy one, a set apart one, a sacred one. You. I. We are saints if we have been rescued by King Jesus. We are people who have been set apart for His possession. We are people who have been made holy by the power of God. We are not just sinners saved by grace, but we are God’s people set apart as His own. We are little holy ones. Not because of anything we have done, but because of God’s purposes and grace.
We may not feel like a saint, but that title, that identity marker is not dependent on our self-esteem, it is dependent on the sure sacrifice and victory of our Lord Jesus. So what if today, when we are doing whatever it is we’ll be doing, we began to look at ourselves and our fellow Christ followers as saints? What if we began to live into that new identity and saw ourselves as set apart for God’s possession? He set you apart, friend. Let’s be grateful.
Onward, saints.
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