Do You Cultivate The Fruits of the Spirit?

Colossians 1:1-14

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

2 To the saints and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ in Colossae:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

3 In our prayers for you we always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 4 for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, 5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. You have heard of this hope before in the word of the truth, the gospel 6 that has come to you. Just as it is bearing fruit and growing in the whole world, so it has been bearing fruit among yourselves from the day you heard it and truly comprehended the grace of God. 7 This you learned from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, 8 and he has made known to us your love in the Spirit.9 For this reason, since the day we heard it, we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God. 11 May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. 13 He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
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This letter, which claims Paul as an author, is written to the church in Colossae. We hear in this introduction that Paul and Timothy heard that the church here has become a faithful and love-filled community of believers, thanks to the work of Epaphras. Colossae was a haven for mystery cults at the time this letter was written, and the intent of the author is to stave off any wrong ideas about who Jesus was, is, and will be.The introduction of this letter focuses on three things: thankfulness, the importance of unceasing prayer, and the efficacy of the wisdom and strength of God in enabling believers to do good works and live worthy lives. It contains a beautiful prayer for the community at Colossae (vv 9 – 14) containing these themes. In this letter, prayer becomes a connection between the authors, the recipients, and the church as a whole, through God and the saints. It encourages gratitude as the posture of the Christian and reminds the readers of Jesus’ work of rescue and liberation for each of them.

• Concern about how communities of Christians understand Jesus comes up repeatedly in the New Testament writings. Who is Jesus to you?
• This passage links prayer, thankfulness, and good works. What do you see as the relationship between these things, in this reading and in your own life?