CHARACTERISTICS OF A CHRISTIAN

(Col 1: 3-5)

Paul was praying for a group of Christians he had in all probability never met. It is believed that Epaphras was the one God used to bring about this local church at Colosse, and together with Philemon he had told Paul all about them. This is often the situation we are faced with - praying for Christians who we may never have met, for example, those working on the Mission field. And note what it says that Paul did - he prayed always, it was not a one-off exercise, but a regular activity. He particularly thanked God for what he had heard about their faith, their love to all the saints, and the hope they had. "Faith / love/ hope" is a familiar triad in the scriptures. Paul writing to the Corinthians refers to "faith, hope, love, these three" in 1 Cor 13:13, and to the Thessalonians he refers to their "work of faith, labour of love, and patience of hope" (1 Thess 1:3). "Love" is clearly in the point in 1 Cor 13, "hope" is emphasised in 1 Thess , and "faith" has the prime place in Colossians. This familiar grouping is the evidence of a work of God in a person; they are not natural characteristics, nor capable of being developed by an individual. Paul in writing about their "faith, love, hope" is not describing a natural man but a spiritual one.

God worked faith in their lives; they were willing to risk their future by their faith in Christ. He was not referring to some specific act of faith but an attitude of faith. They lived by faith in the Son of God who loved them and gave Himself for them (Gal 2:20). Note that "faith" comes first in this group of three. It is not a mere feeling; what makes it special is the object of the faith - "in Christ". We are not a Christian because we have faith, but rather because we have faith in Christ. The object of the faith is what matters.

And then they have "love to all the saints". How this showed itself in practice is not stated. We are to love all, particularly those of the "household of faith" (Gal 6:10). True faith produces love. It will be easy to love saints who have gone to heaven because they don't have a sin capacity, but the difficult part of loving saints on earth is that they sin. But we must love them, sinful nature, warts and all. This is evidence that we belong to the Lord; it's what binds people from different backgrounds into a fellowship. "Love" then is the greatest characteristic of the Christian faith (1 Cor 13:13), and it's the greatest commandment of the Christian faith (John 13:35), and it is also the greatest constraint or control in the Christian faith - "the love of Christ constrains me" (2 Cor 5:14). For believers in the Lord Jesus, the most powerful motivation is the love of Christ, a compelling force which gives direction to every aspect of our lives.

They have this faith and love on account of the hope that is laid up for them in heaven. Note the order. "Hope" is not the result of faith and love, but the reverse. We must not think of "hope" as "wishful thinking", such as saying "I hope so", or "I hope it will not rain today". That's not "hope" in the Biblical sense, but wishful thinking - there are no guarantees with that expression of hope. "Hope" in the Biblical sense is something certain because it does not depend on us but depends upon the work and the word of Christ. The future is as bright as the promises of God. We have a future - we look for the blessed hope (Tit 2:13). The more we fix our "hope" on eternal values, the more faith and love we will have.

This "hope" is said to be "laid up for you in heaven"; it means it's secure, it's preserved, it's stored like treasure. Peter writes that we have been "begotten to a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance, incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fades not away, reserved in heaven for you Who are kept by the power of God through faith" (1 Pet 1:3-5). God guarantees our salvation; we might get our lives all wrong down here, but we will never lose it, because we never did anything to gain it in the first place. "Hope" then is an anchor for the soul (Heb 6:19). Sometimes even as Christians we make a mess of our lives, and God seems a long way off, but how well the hymn "Rock of ages" captures what our response should be:

When darkness veils His lovely face,

I rest on His unchanging grace;

When all around my soul gives way,

He then is all my hope and stay.