We have come to the third message of Colossians whose topic is "Faithful Brothers." Colossians 1:1-2 says, "Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, and Timothy the brother, to the saints in Colossae and faithful brothers in Christ: Grace to you and peace from God our Father." Paul wrote this epistle to the saints in Colossae. They are the saints in Colossae and also the faithful brothers in Christ. God's desire for us is that we all, His sons, would be faithful brothers. We have the all-inclusive Christ and we need to be faithful. He is our Head, therefore, we need to be faithful to Him.

The word faithful in Greek is pistos, which means faith. This word denotes a person in whom one can trust, a person who is trustworthy, and also someone who has faith. We are sons of God, the saints who are in the churches. We were saved, baptized and have become saints. We received the life of the Lord, which is typified by the water that flowed from His side on the cross (John 19:34). We are people who have been bought with the Lord's precious blood (1 Pet. 1:18-19). We are wholly for God. Therefore, God has a demand upon us. He wants us to be faithful. Only those who have the divine life and are in the Spirit are faithful. The main point in the book of Colossians is to describe the all-inclusive Christ. This wonderful Person is our Head. Hence, we need to be faithful to this Christ; we need to be faithful to the Head.

To be faithful also means to be absolute. It is to be like Priscilla and Aquila who risked their own necks for Paul's life (Rom. 16:4). They fully gave themselves for him. In the church life we need brothers who are absolute for the Lord. We should never seek our own interests and benefits, nor should we remain or fall into our mind. In everything we should only have Christ, Christ and more Christ.

As the first book in the New Testament, the Gospel of Matthew is the base for the entire New Testament. Many things that are spoken there are developed in other books of the New Testament. In Matthew 24, there is a section about the faithful slave. Verse 45 says, "Who then is the faithful and prudent slave, whom the master has set over his household to give them food at the proper time?" This slave is a steward who takes care of the provisions for all the members of the family and gives food to his fellow-slaves at the proper time. The master of the house knows that this slave is faithful, trustworthy, and he entrusts him with a great responsibility. The Lord today is seeking faithful and prudent slaves. All of us who are sons of God should serve God in His house.

Key Word:
Faithful

Your Key Word:

Question:
What does "faithful brothers" mean?