Aug. 16, 1953 Christ Above All or Preeminent Col. 1:3-6, 9-20 Pointers on the Lesson
S U N D A Y S C H O O L
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Christ is an object of creation. He is the Creator Himself. (4) He is also pre eminent in preservation, v. 17. From the atom to the universe, all things are held together by the omnipotent Son of God. Surely this is a fact worth pondering. (5) He is preeminent in the church, v. 18. As its head it is His right and responsibility to control every member of His body. Does He control you? (6) He is preeminent in His resurrection, v. 18. (7) Finally, He is preeminent in the matter of reconciliation, v. 20. A prac tical question may well confront us here, Is Christ preeminent in our lives? Many years ago the great missionary, Paul, wrote a loving letter to some Chris tians in the town of Colosse whom he had never seen. He had heard of their love for the Lord Jesus Christ and of their love for other Christians. Paul wanted these new Christians to grow more like their Saviour. He said, “ Since the day we heard it [that' you were Christians], [we] do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will. . . That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowl edge of God” (Col. 1:9, 10). It is not enough for men and women and boys and girls to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour; they must learn more about Him and want to please Him in every part of their lives. They must walk (live) in a manner that will cause others to desire to know Him too. They must have a real love for those who do not know their Saviour. Recause God loved us enough to send His Son for us, we must love others enough to share the good news of salvation with them. Have you grown any in your Chris tian life this past week? If not, hide some of God’s Word in your heart to day and talk to Him about your prob lem and you will grow to be a boy or girl well-pleasing in His sight. Aug. 23, 1953 The Christian's Prayer Life 1 Tim. 2:1 -8 ; Rom. 8:26-28 Pointers on the Lesson The privilege of audience with the God of heaven is indeed a great privilege, one of the greatest that belong to the children of God. Men will do most any thing to get into the presence of earthly potentates. And yet Christians have the privilege of access into the presence of the King of kings at any time they desire to come, and yet too often the privilege is disregarded or neglected. The precious ness of it is not realized. An Exhortation to Prayer 1 Tim. 2 :1 , 2 In this exhortation the Apostle Paul recognizes the importance of the minis try of prayer by saying, “ I exhort there fore, that, first of all” prayer in its var ious forms should be offered. In public THE KING'S BUSINESS Helps for the Children Sharing the Story of Jesus Col. 1:1-20; 2:1-3 Memory Verse: "God loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins" (1 John 4:10).
in the conflict. Following is (4) the shield of faith (v. 16). The Roman soldier used the shield to deflect all sorts of missiles and fiery darts that were hurled at him. So the Christian needs the shield of a strong faith in God and His Word to resist the thrusts of the evil one. Then there is (5) the hel met of salvation (v. 17a). The helmet protected the principal part of the Roman soldier’s body and it was made of stem stuff. The Christian needs to have his thinking protected. With all the “ isms” abroad in the world today, the believer surely needs protection for his head that he may think aright. In First Thessa- lonians 5:8 reference again is made to the helmet and the context shows that Paul is speaking about the second coming of Christ. There is no doctrine that will help the believer more to keep steady in his thinking than a proper conception of the blessed hope of the coming of the Lord. Second, the offensive armour is presented. There are only two parts to it, the sword o f the Spirit (v. 17b) and the spear of prayer (w . 18-20). With this “ whole” armour upon him (note that there is no armour for the back). The Christian should not retreat. The Christian is sure to win the battlel Helps for the Children Playing According to the Rules 1 Cor. 9:24-27; Eph. 6:10-20 Memory Verse: " , . . [an athlete] is not crowned except, he strive lawfully [com petes according to the rules]" (2 Tim. 2:5 R.V.). Have you ever seen a race or a con test? Refore the race or the contest be gan, each person who planned to take part was told the rules which he must follow. At the end of the race the win ner did not receive the prize if he had disobeyed any of the rules. Paul com pared the life of the Christian to a race. He said: “ So run that ye may obtain [w in].” If others are willing to obey rules to win an earthly contest, God’s people should be willing to obey His rules to be a real testimony for Him! Another time Paul compared the Christian life to a battle. Each one who knows the Lord Jesus as personal Saviour is a soldier. He is to wear the armour which God provides so that he may conquer the enemy, Satan. Carefully read the pieces of the armour which God tells His chil dren to wear in Ephesians 6:13-18. Are you Christian boys and girls daily wear ing each piece of this armour? Are you daily using the shield of faith to keep you true to your Lord in word and deed? Are you daily hiding the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, in your heart to use when Satan tempts you? Are you praying much that you will be a faith ful soldier for your Lord? No Christian is so strong that he does not need to keep each piece of his armour in place con stantly. Even Paul asked the Christians in Ephesus to pray that he would boldly witness for the Saviour (Eph. 6:20). Have you been following God’s rules for the soldier’s life of a Christian? Check your armour today and ask your Lord to give to you any piece that has been missing. 44
In the epistle to the Colossians we have presented The G lory of Christ as Head of the Church." “ Crown Him Lord of A ll” is a refrain that seems to run through the epistle in one form or an other. The prayer that breathes in every chapter is “ that in all things he might have the preeminence” (1:18). The title of this week’s lesson is taken from this passage. In Paul’s mind as he writes there is the constant thought of the wonderful person who is the eternal Son of God. Being a Christian Makes One Thankful 1:3-6 Gratitude is one of the sure marks of the new birth. Note how often in Paul’s writings he gives expression to the grati tude of his heart (e.g. 1 Cor. 15:57; 2 Cor. 9:15). So in the passage before us we find both Paul and Timothy (1:1) ex pressing thanks to God for the Colossian believers and the prospect before them. And note that their gratitude is in rela tion to prayer for them (v. 3). Thanks- . giving and prayer go together. As Rishop Nicholson says, they are “ twins of one divine birth.” What were the reasons for this thankful spirit? They were thankful for (1) the Colossians’ “ faith in Christ Jesus” (v. 4 ), (2) their “love to all the saints” (v. 4), and (3) for “ the hope which is laid up for you in heaven” (v. 5). These men of God were thankful that the gospel was experiencing triumph in the lives of Colossian believers. It is always a source of real gratitdde when believers are able to witness spiritual victories in fellow believers. Being a Christian Makes One Prayerful 1:9-13 As Paul and Timothy think of these believers at Colosse, they are constrained to pray for them. They were faced with insidious enemies who if given a chance would destroy their testimony. There was one group, called the Gnostics, the “ know- it-alls” of their day who were going about at that time as wolves in sheep’s clothing, seeking to bring Christ down from His rightful position as the eternal Son of God. There were other enemies in those pioneer days of the church. The believers at Colosse needed the prayers of those like Paul and Timothy who knew how to pray. The prayer before us contains a seven fold petition. Note the several parts one by one, and see how they need to be ap plied to our lives today. Being a Christian Leads to Christ Exaltation 1:14-20 As the prayer progresses its authors come quickly to an exaltation of Christ. In seven respects He is shown to be the Preeminent One: (1) preeminent in re demption, v. 14; (2) preeminent as the revealer of God, v. 15. The invisible God has been made visible through the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. See John 1:18. (3) He is preeminent in creation, v. 16. This refutes the idea of the Jehovah’s Witnesses and others that
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