Exalt Christ Through Gratitude

A husband gave his wife a beautiful skunk coat beside a Christmas tree. When his wife opened it up she said, “I can’t see how such a nice coat can come from such a foul smelling little beast.” The husband said, “Look, I don’t ask for thanks, but I do demand respect.”

Gene Perrett says that there are eight things to be grateful for:

Be grateful…

·        for automatic dishwashers. They make it possible to get out of the kitchen before the family come in for their after-dinner snacks.

·        for husbands who attack small repair jobs around the house. They usually make them big enough to call in professionals.

·        for the bathtub — the one place the family allows Mom some time to herself.

·        for children who put away their things and clean up after themselves. They’re such a joy you hate to see them go home to their own parents.

·        that we can still have a good heart-to-heart talk with our youngsters. They need a good nap now and then.

·        for gardening. It’s a relief to deal with dirt outside the house for a change.

·        for teenagers. They give parents an opportunity to learn a second language.

·        for smoke alarms. They let you know when the turkey’s done.

Gratitude–what does it mean to show gratitude? The dictionary says that gratitude is to have a feeling of thankful appreciation for favors received. For what things in your life do you show gratitude? For what things do you have a feeling of thankful appreciation for favors received?

Paul shows us at the beginning of his letter to the Colossians that we need to exalt Christ through gratitude. And there are several different areas in which we can do that. Let’s find out what they are: 

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the holy and faithful brothers in Christ at Colosse: Grace and peace to you from God our Father. We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints– the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God’s grace in all its truth. You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, and who also told us of your love in the Spirit. - Colossians 1:1-8

WE SHOW GRATITUDE WHEN WE THANK GOD FOR GOD

After Paul’s standard introduction in vv. 1-2, he begins v. 3 by saying, “We always thank God…” and he goes on to say that they thank God for the Colossians’ faith, love, and hope. Now, you would think Paul would thank the Colossians for these qualities but he doesn’t–he gives gratitude to God for these virtues in the Colossians’ lives. Someone once said “Thank God for God”–and I believe that is what Paul is saying here. Thank God that He is God; Thank God that He is willing to give us these qualities. Thank God that He is willing to work in our lives.

Why should we thank God for God?–Paul has given us three reasons here in our text.

1. Thank God for God Because He Has Given Us Faith

1 Corinthians 12:9 includes faith as a spiritual gift from God. Ephesians 2:8 informs us that faith along with grace are a gift from God. Paul thanked God for the Colossians faith. He realized, and we need to realize, that if it were not for God we would not have faith. Who do we have faith in? – God. Who gives us that faith? – God.

Now we have a choice as to whether we want to receive faith or not, that is free-will, but it is God who gives us faith. We thank God and exalt the name of Christ because He has given us faith to believe in Him and the work He has done on our behalf. We cannot take credit for our faith because we simply have believed what God has revealed to us. God has taken the initiative in our salvation and we simply are willing participants.  

2. Thank God for God Because He Has Given Us Love

John states that, “We love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Again we see that God has taken the initiative. We, in and by ourselves, do not know how to love. God had to love us first so that we would understand and could love Him back. Who does Paul thank for the love the Colossians were showing to all the saints? It wasn’t the Colossians. It was thanksgiving to God for He is the agent of love. The Colossians were simply returning the love God had first shown to them. Napoleon thought he could be great because he founded a kingdom on force. Perhaps it’s worth listening to his words of warning at the end of his life.

Napoleon said, “Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and myself founded empires. But on what did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ alone founded his empire upon love. And at this hour millions of men would die for him.”

Our love for each other is in relation to, and a reaction to, the love God has shown us through Jesus Christ.

Third, thank God for God because He has given us hope. Paul says in vs.5 that the faith and love that Christians have “spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven”. Our faith and love are the expressions of the hope that is within us. Where does this hope come from? Paul says it is “stored up for us in heaven”. In other words: It comes from God. In Colossians 1:27 he tells us that this hope is “Christ in you, the hope of glory”. The hope that God has given us in not an uncertain hope–it is based upon our relationship with Jesus Christ. If we have given our lives to Christ than we have a certain hope that we will be with Him in glory–and from this hope springs out the qualities of love and faith in our lives. Thank God for God: He has given us faith; love; and a certain future.

WE SHOW GRATITUDE WHEN WE THANK GOD FOR GROWTH

High in the Alps is a monument raised in honor of a faithful guide who perished while ascending a peak to rescue a stranded tourist. Inscribed on that memorial stone are these words: HE DIED CLIMBING.

A maturing, growing Christian should have the same kind of attitude, right up to the end of life. We want to die climbing–that is we always want to be growing in Christ The growth that we experience comes from the same sources we have just mentioned–faith, love, and hope. As Christians we should never reach a state of satisfaction in any of these areas. As we grow in Christ we grow in faith. As we grow in Christ we grow in love. As we grow in Christ we grow in hope. And as a result of growing in these areas we also grow in number.

Let’s consider these areas individually:

Growing in faith.

Paul says of the Colossians in vs.4 “we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus”. Having faith in Jesus Christ is not something that happens only one time. When we give an invitation for someone to come to faith in Christ, of course we want them to acknowledge Him as Lord and Savior. They are coming to faith for the first time, believing He is who He claimed to be. But real faith doesn’t stop at a response to the invitation. It is a state of being for the Christian that must continue and grow throughout his/her Christian life. We do not come to Christ in faith and say “that’s enough, I’ve fulfilled my duty.” We continue on in faith–and the longer we are in Christ the stronger that faith should be.

Growing in love. 

The same can be said about love. We are to be constantly growing in love. Paul had not only heard of these people’s faith–he also commended them for the love they had for their fellow believers. Some churches are filled with people who do not love their fellow believers. The people go home and complain about what so-and-so did or said or didn’t do or said–and the longer they’re in the church the more they find to complain about. But that is contrary to God’s plan.

The longer we are with each other–the more our love should grow for one another. The secret to loving the saints is not based on our perfection, but on our commonality. We share Christ; we share the same purpose; we share the same goals. As Christians we can come together–all different shapes, sizes, colors, personalities, and we love one another because we are in love with Jesus Christ.

Many years ago someone rightly said: “Love does not consist in gazing at each other but in looking outward together in the same direction.” And the longer we are looking outward together in the same direction the more our love for one another and for Christ will grow.

Growing in hope.

We also are to be growing in hope. Paul says that faith and love spring from hope. The hope that we have is that Christ Jesus loves us, and He wants us to be with Him forever. The longer I am a Christian the more assured I should be of my salvation in Christ. The longer I walk with Him the more intimate our relationship becomes, and the more sure I am that He will keep His promise to me of eternal life.

Again, when the New Testament talks about hope it is not talking “pie in the sky”–it is talking of the surety we have in our relationship with Christ. As I grow in assurance I naturally find myself growing in faith and love. Growth in faith, love, and hope result in numerical growth. In verse 6 Paul wrote, “All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God’s grace in all its truth.”

The Christian who is growing is one who will see tangible results of his growth. Paul says that the gospel was bearing fruit among the Colossians. They were winning people to the Lord. So we see that these areas of growth build upon one another: As my hope (or assurance) in Christ grows, my faith and love spring out of that; and the result of these things is numerical growth in the church of God. Thank God for growth in these areas.  

WE SHOW GRATITUDE WHEN WE THANK GOD FOR GRACE 

The word grace has been defined in several ways, including,  “unmerited favor;” and “God’s Righteousness At Christ’s Expense.” The idea is that God has given us everything in Jesus Christ freely–we have done nothing to earn or deserve His love.

Here in our text we find two aspects of God’s grace that we must show gratitude for. First, the Grace of the Gospel. When we say “Gospel” different people think of different things: Some think of the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Some think of Gospel music groups or Gospel Preachers. When the Bible speaks of “the Gospel” it is speaking of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. All of these acts of Christ were done on our behalf.

This is where grace comes in. I have done nothing in and of myself that merits the gift of the gospel coming into my life. You have done nothing in and of yourself that merits this divine favor from God. God in His mercy sent His Son to die for you and me; and to rise for you and me; even though we have never done and can never do anything to deserve it. When Paul talks in verse 5-6 about “the gospel that has come to you” and about “this gospel” that is “bearing fruit”, he is talking about God’s grace displayed on the cross It seems awkward sometimes to thank God for dying; but when I realize that He did it for me, so that I would not have to die eternally–it all starts to make sense. And I must show gratitude to God for what He has done. There are no words I can say to thank God adequately for the grace of the Gospel. But still, I must praise Him for this glorious act on my behalf.

Next we must thank God for the Grace of the Truth. We know what it means to speak the truth, or to be honest: An elderly countess was very happy with her own chauffeur. He was courteous, prompt and efficient. The only complaint she had concerned his personal appearance. One day she said to him diplomatically, “Randall, how frequently do you think one should shave in order to look neat and proper?” “Well, madam,” said Randall, also trying to be diplomatic, “with a light beard like yours, I’d say every three or four days would be enough.”

Pilate asked Jesus, “What is truth?” (John 18:38). That is a question that many in the past have asked and many are asking today. Paul in verse 6 says that the Colossians had come to understand “God’s grace in all its truth.” The greatest truth that we will ever know is simply that “God is.” The greatest truth about grace is that “God loves us.” Thank God today that He has chosen to reveal Himself to us, and that He has revealed Himself to us as a God of grace.

At the beginning of this article I told you that the dictionary says that gratitude is to have a feeling of thankful appreciation for favors received. For what favors do we need to show thankful appreciation to God today? We must thank God for God; We must thank God for Growth; And we must thank God for Grace.

In Christ,

Barry