The Gifts of the Holy Spirit- 4

1 Corinthians 14:20-33. This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on Sunday, June 28, 2026.

Today, we come to the end of our look at how the Holy Spirit empowers believers with spiritual gifts. 

Paul has been correcting the Corinthians over their over-fascination with speaking in tongues in their worship assemblies.  They had carried pagan understandings of spirituality into Christianity which caused them to be at odds with the work of the Holy Spirit.

Let’s look at the rest of chapter 14.

Application for the sake of unbelievers (v. 20-25)

Up to this point, Paul has been explaining how to apply his teaching for the sake of other believers.  He challenged them that tongues were good because through them a person edifies themselves (builds themselves up to be more like Jesus).  However, in the assembly of believers, the desire should be for gifts that are understandable.  If a person speaks in tongues, and it is not interpreted, then no one else will be edified.  This is good in your private devotions, but not within an assembly. 

A person may ask why it wouldn’t be fine for everyone to gather and edify themselves.  However, edifying yourself through the Holy Spirit is best on your own.  In Christian gatherings, it is the will of the Holy Spirit to work through us to minister to others and to work through others to minister to us.  This is God’s way, but we can also see how it keeps us from becoming myopic and insular.

Now, Paul deals with the situation from the standpoint that unbelievers may also be in the meeting.  What is the effect on unbelievers of everyone speaking in tongues without interpretation?

Paul first brings up the issue of spiritual immaturity.  He mentioned this back in chapter 13.  “When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.”  Verse 20 challenges them to stop being children spiritually and start being spiritually mature in this matter.  He continues the maturity language, “in evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature.”

This is similar to Paul’s statement in Romans 16:19, “Be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil.”  Their wisdom was driving them to practices that were not good and were even evil.  Their actions were evil because they were at odds with the Holy Spirit’s good purpose, and it was causing harm to the gospel and people.

This is a thread throughout this first letter to the Corinthians.  Their wisdom led them to lift up one leader above others.  It led some of them to try and have “spiritual marriages” by refraining from sexual intercourse with one another.  This may sound spiritual, but Paul saw that the devil would use it to destroy them.  The Holy Spirit was not given to cause us to cease from having sex.  That will be our condition following the resurrection, but not now.  Their wisdom led them to these problems with the spiritual gifts as well.  All of this is childish thinking in regard to the legitimate spiritual gifts.

Paul then traces this issue of unknown languages back into the Scriptures (Old Testament).  He quotes from Isaiah 28:11-12.  Several things will become clear if we go back to that chapter and read it.

First of all, right before this section, God rebukes Israel for not listening to His instructions through the prophets (in a language they understand even).  Can God teach the children when the adults won’t listen (verse 9)?  Because they were not listening to His words through the prophets in their own language, He would now speak to them in a language they don’t understand by foreigners (especially Assyria and Babylon).

God is not presenting the foreign tongues as a solution to their lack of listening to His prophets.  As they hear the foreign tongues, they might “that they may go and stumble backward, be broken, snared and taken captive (verse 13).”

The foreign tongues are connected to being cast out of the land due to sin.  It is connected to being far from God and His place of dwelling.  Yet, this connection goes back further than Isaiah.

Strange tongues originated at the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11.  Nimrod had led the people into a rebellion against God’s command to fill the earth and be fruitful.  They build a tower at Babel in order to connect to the fallen Elohim from before the flood.  God’s judgment upon the tower project was to confuse the language of the people.  This became the origin of nations.  They could not understand one another.  We are told that God then handed them over to the powers of the heavens and determined the boundaries of their dwelling places (Deut 4:19; Deut 32:8-9; Romans 1:23-24). Genesis 10 pictured around seventy different nations.  Again, the strange tongues surrounding you, i.e., not understanding the language of those speaking around you, is a sign of God’s judgment upon the nations.  They are being cast out as the humans who will dwell in His presence with a special relationship.  Instead, God then turns to call Abraham in order to make a new nation (Israel) who can serve Him.

The ministry of Jesus set off a cascade of events.  God was calling Israel to embrace Messiah and become a light to the nations.  However, as a nation, they refused.  Yet, a remnant believed.  Thus, we have an event where some who are unbelieving are under the judgment of God, but others who are believing are not under the judgment of God.  All of this is within Israel.  Outside of Israel, the nations who have been under the judgment of God for millennia are entering a new era of grace.  God’s intention is now to speak to them in a language they understand in order to call them to faith in Messiah Jesus.  Of course, they too have a choice to make in which some will not believe and a remnant will believe.

All of this is the backdrop to what Paul is trying to cause the Corinthians to understand.

All of this is important for Paul because he is building a case, or argument, for why we would want unbelievers to understand what the Spirit is saying.

He states in verse 22 that tongues are a sign to unbelievers (not to believers).  He does not mean they would be a sign that they could read and understand.  He means it in the sense we have described in Isaiah and Genesis.  God speaking in a language you do not understand has always been a sign of judgment.  You are not God’s target audience.  This has changed since Jesus.  God is now targeting all humanity with His message concerning Messiah Jesus.

Before you jump to the conclusion that tongues should never happen, let Paul’s argument sink in.  God’s purpose is for unbelievers to hear the Gospel.  If they come into a church service and only hear foreign tongues, then they will continue in unbelief because they haven’t heard the good news.  At least, they haven’t truly received an opportunity to believe.

All of this is in the context of a gathering of people.  Paul earlier made it clear that he spoke in tongues more than any of the Corinthians (vs. 18).  Yet, in a gathering, he would rather speak 5 words in an intelligible language than 10,000 words in a language people don’t understand.  Thus, it is clearly implied that he mainly spoke in tongues during private devotional times.  Paul’s argument against uninterpreted messages in tongues in Church gatherings cannot be used to disqualify uninterpreted tongues in private prayers.  There is no hint of a problem in the private devotional life of the Corinthians.

If you are perplexed as to what good praying in tongues would have for a believer, i.e., how does it edify me (vs. 4), I have spoken to this before now.  So, I will give a few points.  First, speaking in tongues is instigated by the Holy Spirit within us.  To recognize that and yield yourself to trust the Holy Spirit builds our faith in Him.  It isn’t important for you to understand all that the Spirit is praying through you because the fact that you are working with the Holy Spirit to speak to God in ways He can understand strengthens our confidence in His work in us.  Second, if I am used to speaking things that I don’t understand in languages I don’t understand, then it will be easier for me to speak the things I do understand in a language others will understand.  This strengthens our obedience to the Holy Spirit in real time.  In fact, when the Holy Spirit compels us to speak certain things in particular situations, we don’t always understand the wisdom and purpose behind them, even though we perfectly understand the words.  Trust in God is something we need to become better at doing.

If you are wondering about the speaking in languages at Pentecost, we can say that the messages were interpreted by the people outside of the group who understood what was being said.  However, Pentecost is a unique event (no other event like it).  The way that tongues happened on that day should not be turned into a pattern anymore than we should expect tongues of fire on our head or the sound of a mighty wind in our meetings.

In short, God is reversing the judgment of Babel through the work of Jesus Christ and His Church.  We need to seek for unbelievers to hear the message of the Spirit in a language they understand.

On the other hand, Paul tells us that prophecy is a sign to believers that God is still working with us and through us (vs. 22).  It is meant to spur us on in becoming like Jesus. 

Verse 23 introduces a hypothetical situation of a gathered church all speaking in tongues only.  There are two categories of people mentioned: “ungifted or unbelievers.”  There is no question what “unbelievers” means.  It is referring to those who have not put their faith in Jesus.  They may be open or hostile.  Regardless, they are not a part of the church yet.  The “ungifted” as the NASB translates is not as straightforward.  There are a variety of translations which all involve trying to interpret what Paul means.  The word essentially has the meaning of an unlearned or untaught person.  But, in what way is this meant?  “Ungifted” is interpreting it to mean those who don’t have a spiritual gift in order to interpret the tongue.   However, they may only be unlearned about what spiritual gifts are.  It is also possible that they are a category between believer and unbeliever.  They are not opposed to believing.  They are simply uninformed regarding the gospel.  Regardless of how we translate this term, we are still dealing with the same dynamics.  People who are not believers and not learned in the things of the Gospel will hear everyone speaking in tongues only.  They will then conclude that everyone is crazy.  The Corinthians will essentially put them in a “judged of God” position in which they don’t understand what is happening and continue down a path of being lost.

The problem with all of this is that God is no longer excluding the nations, unbelievers, the uninformed.  He is calling all men everywhere to hear the truth, repent of sin, and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.  Their actions were actually contradicting God’s purpose.

Speaking in tongues alone will not save the lost.  It will only push them away further.  However, Paul states that prophecy (speaking in a language they understand) can convict them and lead them to repentance.  Of course, they can reject it and remain unbelievers.  However, they will no longer be uninformed regarding the message of Christ to them.

Ordering spiritual gifts in the assembly of believers (v. 26-33)

Starting in verse 26, Paul lays down some rules that will bring proper, godly order to their worship gatherings.  The first point is that the assembly of believers is for the purpose of ministering to one another with the spiritual gifts that the Holy Spirit distributes.  Paul then states that all things in the service should be done for edification.  We could insert after edification, “for everyone.”

This is a point that many churches should take to heart.  Church is not about everyone gathering to get something from a couple of leaders.  Rather, Paul pictures everyone gathering with something to share with all the rest.  This doesn’t mean that everyone has vocal gifts.  However, every gift will be exercised in order to edify the rest of the group.  The average Christian in the West does not come to church with some way to minister to everyone else.

In fact, we must be careful that the way we do church doesn’t squelch God’s work and opportunities to do so through His people.  We can have an attitude that the leadership has the Holy Spirit, so nothing is needed from the lowly “receiving class.”  A tightly controlled service can quench the Spirit.  However, the Corinthians had the opposite problem.  Their lack of control was quenching the work that the Spirit was endeavoring to do.  We must find a balance between strong leadership that protects us from abuse and a leadership that is so lax that anything goes, i.e., the only thing that matters is that we look spiritual.

Paul gives us a good example of a leader who is calling the church back to cooperation with the Holy Spirit.

We should note that Paul’s conclusion is not that there should be no messages in tongues in the assembly, but that there should be a limit, two or three at the most.  Each of these messages in tongues should be done one at a time, and they should be interpreted.  He is not getting rid of tongues in the assembly.  His concern is not that an unbeliever would hear a message in tongues, only that it should be interpreted.

In all of this, let’s keep in mind that Paul is correcting a particular error in Corinth.  He did not teach them these things from the beginning because He believed they would exercise the spiritual gifts properly.  Is Paul saying that all churches in all generations should follow these same rules?  No, he is not.  However, all churches need to process the truths that Paul lays out.  We all need to work for the overall vision that Paul has for the use of spiritual gifts in our assemblies.  It is possible for a church to have more than three messages, if they are not making the error that the Corinthians did.

We should also notice that Paul does not refer to times within the worship service where people are praying, worshipping, in a private way.  It is often the case that people pray and even speak in tongues but to themselves.  They are not lifting their voices above the group so as to call attention to what they are saying. Yes, their neighbor could stop praying and listen in on their prayer.  Is it possible that praying in tongues, with your spirit, in such a way does not breach the issues Paul raises?  I think so.

Paul makes it clear that if you believe you have a message in tongues for the group, but you also know that there is no one there with the gift of interpretation, then you should not give the message.  You should keep it to yourself.  You should keep silent in the assembly (silent in relation to giving the message in tongues).  Instead, you should speak to himself and God.  I do not believe Paul is setting up an environment where we are all keeping an eye (an ear) on one another so that no one speaks in tongues in church at all.  Rather, we are ensuring that everything that is publicly addressed to the whole body conforms to Paul’s rule of intelligibility.  When tongues are interpreted, they fit this bill.

He then gives similar rules to prophecy, two or three at the most.  They should be done one at a time, and others should judge the prophecies whether they are from God or not.  He even challenges the prophets to work together.  If one prophet has been speaking for a while and God moves upon another prophet, the first prophet should stop and allow the second to speak.  In other words, jumping up first does not give you the public floor for the rest of the day.  Work together.

It is easy with such rules to protest.  “When the Spirit moves upon me, I have to move.  I must speak what the Spirit is stirring in me!”  Yet, Paul reminds them in verse 32 that the spirits of the prophets are “subject to the prophets.”  His point is that the Spirit does not take control of our body.  Rather, all spiritual gifts are a cooperation between the Spirit of God and the spirit of a person.  God moves upon us, but then we wisely and righteously minister that to others (unless He is only speaking to you).  Paul is not denying the source of their urge to prophesy and speak in tongues.  Rather, he challenges them to work with the overall purpose of the Holy Spirit when feeling the urge to use the vocal, spiritual gifts in the assembly.

The Holy Spirit can be strong and powerful, but you are still in control of yourself and expected to remember all that the Spirit has revealed in Scripture.  God doesn’t want to control you.  He wants you to speak out in faith as He works by His Spirit within you.  Yet, He wants you to respond wisely and in the knowledge of His ways.

You are not squelching the Holy Spirit to refrain from giving a message in tongues when no interpreters are present.  You simply understand that there is a proper timing.  You are waiting on the Lord for the proper timing and place.

The Corinthian problem is not our problem.  We are often afraid of things getting out of control.  We are tempted to make our services “safe” from the work of the Holy Spirit, even though we would never say that.  In truth, we are more likely to offend the Holy Spirit in order to avoid offending people.

Paul ends this instruction in verse 33 with a statement that God is not the author of confusion, but of peace.  Chaotic environments are not His doing.  They are the work of our enemy, and people who wittingly or unwittingly do his bidding.  People following their flesh can think that they are quite spiritual, whether they are in the error of a Corinthian style or they are in error by shutting down all spiritual gifts.

The Holy Spirit is here working to use us within the church.  We need to listen to Him in order to bring peace to such chaotic environments.  This starts first in each one’s own heart.  When peace rules in my heart, I can then minister the peace of God into my family, and then my church, and then my Republic or nation.

The spiritual gifts are a work of the Holy Spirit for today.  However, we must exercise them in keeping with His overall purpose of people being drawn to put their faith in Jesus.  May we be filled with the Holy Spirit and His mighty power in all that we do.

Gifts of the Spirit 4 audio

Letter to the Colossian Church- 14

Subtitle: Final Instructions

Colossians 4:2-6.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on Sunday, October 26, 2025.

As we near the end of this letter, Paul returns to general instructions that all Christians need to follow.  In our relationships, the distinctions of this world do not matter, male with female, wife with husband, parent with child, and slave with master.  However, we grow up in a world that inundates us with the idea that they are very important.  So, what does matter? 

We find this answer particularly in Galatians 5:6 and 6:15. The only thing that matters is “faith expressing itself through love,” and “being a new creation [i.e., like Christ].”  These are two ways of saying the same thing.  God is love; Christ is love.  When we take on his image by faith, His love flows through us.  This is an expression of God’s new creative work within us.  We are part of His new creation.

The devil and the world know that these differences bother people.  These differences are often the leverage they need to manipulate us for their ends, for political capital, etc.  This divide-and-conquer method is the most effective way to subjugate us. 

It is easy to think that this modern age is the apex of wisdom.  We are far too sophisticated to fall for such tactics.  However, the truth is this.  Humans have not changed over the last 2,000 years.  The United States of America is not the apex of wisdom; Jesus is!  If we do not listen to him and the apostles that he sent, we are only walking the same foolish path of others before us, no matter how great we are.

Thus, the Lord is telling us through the apostles that our rights and our experience are not the most important things in life.  We are not to focus on what our rights are, but rather on how we can use our abilities for the purposes of Christ.

As the Son of God, Jesus had rights and privileges, but he laid them down in order to serve God the Father, and in so doing, serve us.

Let’s look at our passage.

Be a person who prays (v. 2-4)

At the beginning of this letter, Paul described how he and his fellow workers had been praying for them. In Colossians 1:3, he says that they were “praying always for you…,” and in verse 9 of that chapter, he says, “we have not ceased to pray for you…”

So, here in chapter 4 verse 2, he is not instructing them to pray, as if they were not doing this, but rather, he is calling them to follow his example, which is ultimately to follow the example of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

We cannot follow Christ without prayer.  Yes, prayer for ourselves, but also prayer for one another.  This is fundamental to what it means to be a Christian.  If you haven’t been a person of prayer, then this is something that He is calling to do.  Prayer is not a mechanism for getting what we want.  It is a growing relationship with our Heavenly Father.

Paul uses the word “devote.”  This word has the idea of persevering in an endeavor, in this case prayer.  Devoting yourself to something involves time, energy, and desire.  It is not so much about desiring to do a religious work, but about desiring to talk with God about our life.

This is why we hear people in the Church talking about devotions or doing your devotions.  It generally means setting aside an amount of time each day to read the Word, pray, and worship God.  Of course, we do not want this to become a religious exercise alone.  We should want quality as much as quantity.  The best course is to make sure that you are doing some amount of time while also praying that God would help you to grow in a quality of devotion.  If you have been barely praying, don’t try to pray 2 hours a day.  This will not endure because there is no relational foundation to it.  The Bible doesn’t give us a number of minutes or hour.  Rather, it calls us to prayer.

Many people who begin reading the Word and praying will only go so long and then they quit.  Why do they quit?  Sometimes it is because it doesn’t feel like God is listening.  Of course, how would we know if God was listening or not?  Our feelings are just that, our feelings.  Sometimes people come to this conclusion because they prayed for God to do something that never happened.  Of course, we forget quickly that our earthly parents often didn’t do what we wanted them to do.

Our desire in prayer must be much deeper than trying to get something out of God.  Rather, we need to be giving Him our intimate self.  He is our source of wisdom, strength, and direction.  Without Him, we will be unfruitful in making an eternal effect upon this world. So, hear the Holy Spirit calling you to pray.  Devote yourself to it. 

Paul then speaks of being watchful in your prayers.  Keeping alert, being watchful, comes from the same word that Jesus used in the garden of Gethsemane when he asked his disciples to “watch and pray” with him.

In some respects, we are watching over our own soul when we pray.  We share with God what we are seeing in our heart and mind, while asking Him to help us to see more and better.  We pray about the things that threaten to make us stumble.  We pay attention to how the enemy is attacking us now but also praying for wisdom regarding his plans ahead.  We seek to hear from the Holy Spirit regarding those things in our life that need to be removed (sin) or added (like prayer).

In all of this, we should be watchful for what is happening to the other believers connected to us.  We are to be brothers and sisters spiritually watching one another’s back.

It is amazing how many things will come to you while you pray.  The act of praying over our life opens the door for the Holy Spirit to lead us further.  This is connected to the sense of being a vigilant watchman.  The enemy will continue to attack, but those who pray will be alerted to the threats and will alert others.

Paul then emphasizes that we should do this with an attitude of thanksgiving.  Prayer can easily wear a person down, especially when they are only focused on getting something from God.  Prayer is even more about God receiving what He deserves.  When we serve Him and enter into a real relationship with Him, it makes a fruitfulness in our life that is greater than any “bad” experiences we may have.

Don’t focus on what you are not getting or on what is not happening.  Instead, you should have an atmosphere of thanksgiving in all of your prayers.  I try to thank God every time I ask Him for something.  “God, please give me wisdom in this situation.  I thank you for all the wisdom that you have poured into my life through the Word, through mature believers, and by Your Holy Spirit.  So, I ask knowing that you know what I need to know.”  Pray in such a way that you are grateful to even be able to ask in prayer.

The person who isn’t thankful will say that it is because they don’t have anything, or much, for which to be thankful.  However, the person who stops and gives thanks for even the smallest of things will come to discover just how many ways God has blessed them.

In verse three, Paul then asks them to pray for him and his missionary associates.  Of course, Paul is currently under house arrest in Rome.  But that doesn’t have to stop the spreading of the Gospel.  This letter exemplifies God’s desire that we all be praying for one another, rather than each one for himself.  If we all pray for one another, then we go from only having one person pray for us (me) to having a bunch of people praying for us. Such prayer should flow from a heart of love, but in the end, it will increase our love for others.  This is cyclical but can be jumpstarted by simply being faithful in prayer.  Just make your first prayer about asking God for a heart of love.  “O God, help me to love as You love.”

Let’s take note of the kinds of things that Paul asks them to pray.

Pray that God will open a door for the Word.  Sometimes people and places are unwilling to give the Gospel of Jesus a hearing.  The idea of a door that God has opened is picturing those moments of opportunity that arise in life.  We saw this in the Book of Acts when Paul and his group kept hearing the Holy Spirit telling them not to go into certain areas.  It is God who should lead us.  Our work should dovetail with His prior and current work of preparing hearts.  In fact, “our” work should be infused with His Spirit and His Help.  Thus, our work is really His work too. 

Sometimes God will tell us in prayer that a door is opened or closed for sharing the Gospel.  This is an internal mechanism.  However, other times, the closed door presents itself rather forcefully, and yet, simultaneously other doors spring open to our surprise.  A praying person can trust God to lead them in both ways as He chooses.  While Paul was in prison, he could have given up, but he is praying for open doors instead of getting out of prison.  He wants to share Christ wherever God makes that possible.

We should also pray that we will be able to speak the Mystery of Christ to others.  This mystery is now only mysterious to those who haven’t had it explained to them.  The amazing person of the Messiah was not just to save Israel, but also all of the Gentiles who would respond to the offer of salvation through him.

Sometimes open doors look like going to prison.  They don’t make sense to us, but God uses them for His greater purpose.

This request for prayer is the backdrop to the description of Paul’s imprisonment in Acts 28. Paul was allowed to have visitors, even large numbers.  For two years, he was able to encourage the Christians of Rome, preach to the Jews who didn’t know Jesus and also to Gentiles who didn’t know the plan of God to save the world.  All of this was done in the city that was the seat of the devil’s beast kingdom.  I would say their prayers were being answered.

Finally, Paul asks them to pray that he would have the ability to make the Gospel clear (as he ought to do).  We should never take it for granted that we are being clear.  People come from very diverse backgrounds.  We really do need the help of the Holy Spirit to lead us in clarifying the Gospel.  Clarity isn’t the only obstacle to the Gospel, but at least if we are clear, their choice will be clear.

Be careful how you live towards unbelievers (v. 5-6)

Paul now moves from their prayers, whether personal or for others, to how they live among the believers of Colossae.  We need to take care how we are living around everyone.  However, we need to take special care around unbelievers because God wants them to come to know Him.

He uses a term that is best translated as “outsiders.”  It is a term that is used often to refer to something being outside of another thing.  Several times Paul uses it of those who are not Christians (1 Corinthians 5:12f, 1 Thessalonians 4:12).  They are not just outside of a local church.  They are outside of Christ.  They are not believers in Him.

This concept of believing in Christ and then being in him has been emphasized in this letter.  Chapter 2 verse 6 reminds them, “as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him.”  The phrase “in Him” is given again in verses 7, 10, and 11.  The outsiders are those who have not put their faith in Jesus and joined the community of believers.  They are outside of the grace of God.

People can be outsiders for very different reasons.  Most are outsiders because they are ignorant of the truth of God and His Messiah.  However, it can also be a willful rejection of the Gospel.  It may be a mixture of both.  The main point is that God is in the business of making outsiders to be insiders.  No one was made to be outside of His grace and love.  However, He will force no one to be in His grace and love.

We are then told to walk in wisdom towards these outsiders.  “Walk” here is a metaphor for how we live our life.  It also pictures intentionality as we walk towards them.  God wants our lives to intersect with outsiders.  If we let His wisdom lead us, we can be a good witness to them.  Part of the wisdom is simply knowing that God wants your life to speak to them of Christ.  Yet, we should pray for specific wisdom regarding specific people.

Of course, we fall short of displaying and living out the wisdom of Christ.  We must be honest when we fall short.  Jesus is saving sinners, and that includes us.

The flip side of this is for Christians to live foolishly around outsiders.  This would involve not obeying Christ, saying one thing and doing another, or trying to be like the outsiders.  Wisdom would tell us that they need saving, and yet, we can also be drawn away from Christ by them.  We must be wise in our conduct.

Paul then tells them to make the most of every opportunity.  Some versions say, “redeem the time.”  It can simply mean to make the most of every opportunity that God gives us with others.  Yet, it literally says, “redeeming the season.”  Time is contemplated here in regard to the season we are in rather than pure chronology or amount of time.  Now is the season for harvest.  It is a season of God offering grace to His enemies.  It is the season of the righteous laying their lives down so that others may hear the Gospel and be saved. 

We should also recognize that, within this great season of grace, various areas have a season, as well as individuals.

We are not just making the most of a particular opportunity, though that is important.  Until Jesus comes back, we have the great opportunity of working with the Holy Spirit in order to bring people into the Kingdom of the Son of God’s love.  Eventually the night will come, and there will be no more time to shine the light of Christ to them.  Intentionality towards the things of God is what helps us make the most of the time that God has given to us.

Paul then tells us to always speak with grace.  Of course, he doesn’t say to speak with grace if they are gracious to you first.  No, our life is to be marked by the grace of Jesus.

Grace here is not so much a theological topic that we are sharing, but rather, a way in which we speak with others.  We are to speak graciously.  The idea behind grace is that of a gift that should bring joy to the receiver.  The Gospel really is good news.  We should share it with grace, or with a gracious spirit.  We see this in the life of Jesus.  Of course, there were times of sparks when his grace was thrown back into his face by those who should have known better.  But even then, Jesus did not let these offenses embitter his spirit.  He was the grace of God to them.

Paul pictures this as seasoning a meal with salt.  Sharing the Gospel is like sharing a meal.  We can do so in a bland, flavorless way.  Jesus spoke of this in Matthew 5:13. “You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its flavor, how can it be made salty again?”  He then speaks of it being thrown outside and trampled under the feet of men.  It takes the help of the Holy Spirit to speak with grace.  This gives people the greatest chance possible to embrace Jesus.

Paul may also be thinking of the Old Testament sacrifices.  All sacrifices in the Old Testament were to be salted.  As we sacrifice our lives for God’s purposes, we need salt, flavor, a zest for them, which comes across when we are gracious to others.

Earlier, Paul had asked them to pray for him to be clear as he ought.  Here, he turns that to them.  If they walk wisely towards outsiders, speaking with grace towards them, then the Holy Spirit will help them to know how to speak.  Even more, He will help them to know what to speak.

We can feel impotent in reaching others for Christ.  Yet, the answer is not in shrinking back from the duty.  “I’m no good; I might as well sit down and let others do it.”  The answer lies in exercising wisdom.  Through prayer, we go back to God who has called us.  We ought to take care of how we live and what we say.  “Does it honor Christ and His purposes?”  We should also have the right attitude.  It is God’s desire to draw people to Christ through us.

We should not take things personally and react from the flesh.  God is even working through the offenses that people make towards us.  Jesus is worthy of anything we may need to suffer because He has suffered for us all, even the outsider.

When the enemy stirs someone up to be an enemy towards us, we need to remind ourselves that God saw this coming.  Perhaps, He has them right where He wants them, just as He has you right where He wants you.  Don’t let anger and a desire for justice turn off the grace of God in the lives of those who are lost.

Final Instructions

Our Prayer Life and Personal Witness

Colossians 4:2-6.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on August 12, 2018.

Our world today has convinced itself that there is no eternity for us to face.  And so, people live lives that are focused on the fleeting thoughts and wants of this life, going here and there.  Today we need to hear Christ calling us to lift our eyes and see that there is a harvest all around us.  It is a harvest of people who have been made hungry for the Gospel because they haven’t found something that can satisfy their soul.

In our passage today, Paul is drawing near to the end of his letter to the Colossians, and encourages believers to be active in two different areas of life.  The first part is centered on our internal life and the second is focused on our external life.  When believers recognize the value that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has for us and the people around us, we give prayer and witnessing the proper vigilance that eternal matters deserve.

In our passage today, Paul turns from the relationship between slaves and their masters, and speaks to the group of believers as a whole.

Continue earnestly in prayer

If I were to summarize the book of Colossians I would say this.  Paul is concerned that believers understand the mystery of the Gospel of Christ enough in order to avoid deceptions and to be transformed into the image of Jesus.  It takes prayer to withstand spiritual deception, and it takes prayer to put off the old man and to put on the new man.  Thus in verse 2 Paul uses a verb that has the idea of continuing with strength.  Prayer is not just a passionless duty.  It is not enough to pray when you first get saved and then quit.  It is not enough to pray only in times of disaster and great need.  Believers must also continue strongly in prayer during all the times in between.

Paul emphasizes being “watchful” in prayer.  What are we watching?  We are being watchful of our lives, both external deceptions and our own internal deceptions.  We are watchful for those temptations that would seek to take us by surprise and by storm.  We are also to be watchful over one another, as spiritual brothers and sisters.  Jesus himself used the world “watch” in his last hours with his disciples.  He asked Peter, James, and John to watch with Him as He prayed.  Later, when He found them sleeping, He warned them to “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation.  The spirit is indeed willing, but the flesh is weak.”  Matthew 26:41 (NKJV).  They were going through a time of severe testing and strong temptation.  It was Jesus who not only made them aware of it, but also told them that they would only overcome those temptations through prayer.  Satan is often successful because we are not paying attention to spiritual matters.  When our flesh is strong then we are prone to take the bait that he is using for us.

Of course it is easy to let ourselves fall into a dire, and even hopeless, attitude.  Yet, Paul tells them to pray with thanksgiving.  If we only treat prayer as a Christmas list that we take to God, then we can get discouraged pretty quick.  God is not in the business of spoiling His children and turning us into entitled brats.  We would be no good to anybody, even ourselves, at that point.  However, when we learn to pray with other kinds of prayer, we become stronger spiritually.  In Scripture we not only see prayers of petition, in which we ask for things for ourselves, but also prayers of Adoration.  This is where we praise God for who He is.  We should also give up prayers of thanksgiving in which we thank God for what He has done and how He has blessed us.  There are also prayers of confession in which we repent before God concerning any areas of sin in our life.

Prayer may have a novelty feel to it at first.  In fact, we can do different things to try and maintain a feeling of novelty (turn down lights, play instrumental music, light candles, etc.).    However, none of these things will ever be able to overcome the reality that our flesh will quickly grow tired of prayer.  When our flesh realizes that God is not going to satisfy our every whim and desire, it either falls asleep or walks away.  So take time to be thankful in your prayers, but not just for the things He has given you.  Also be thankful for who He is and His character, His faithfulness and grace.  We are on the winning side.  So we need not be dire and glum, though the world around us is given over to darkness.  Rather we can pray with joy and thanksgiving in our heart.

Paul also asks that they would pray for him and his companions, especially that they would have an open door to share the Gospel.  Just as they needed doors, so we too need the Lord to open doors for us to share the Gospel.  We should not take it for granted, but labor for it in prayer.  Paul also asks that they would pray that he would have clarity in explaining the Gospel to others.  Many people have a superficial understanding of Jesus, if anything at all.  They need a clear presentation of the Gospel.  So wouldn’t God just open doors for us, why should we pray?  It is true that if you do not pray, God will still be busy working.  And, God will use others.  However, those others cannot take the place that God has given to me and you.  Without prayer, I will miss those opportunities and those opportunities will be missing in the lives of those I was supposed to impact.  Prayer puts us in the harness with the Holy Spirit to do the work that needs done to prepare people’s hearts, plant the seed of truth, water it, and harvest at the appropriate time.  Even though he was in chains, under house arrest, Paul knew that prayer could open up opportunities to share the Gospel.

Walk wisely around unbelievers

In verse 5 Paul reminds them to walk wisely among “the outsiders.”  This phrase is a reference to people who are outside the Church because they are not believers in Jesus.  Have you ever thought about how your actions can affect unbelievers?  We can be unwise and act foolishly around unbelievers and negatively impact how they view Christ.

Paul also connects to this the phrase “redeeming the time.”  This was a phrase that was used of a person who purchases an item at the perfect time, whether to get a deal in the marketplace, or to take possession of a desired item.  If we walk foolishly then we will lose time in drawing others to Christ.  That can be done by neglecting to look like Christ enough to be attractive to them or even neglecting to share when they are open.  But even worse, we can be offensive to them and drive them away from Christ.  Now, it is true that Christ is offensive to our flesh because He is spiritual.  However, we cannot walk foolishly, AKA unspiritually, and then say they weren’t ready.  We should always have our eyes open and be praying for opportune moments in the lives of people.  Wisdom understands what is important in life and takes care of eternal matters at the expense of the temporal ones.  However, folly takes care of temporal matters at the expense of the eternal.  We redeem the time when we walk in harmony with what God is trying to do in the lives of people around us.

Paul also instructs believers to always speak with grace.  In that sense grace means to speak in a way that is favorable to those who listen to us.  How easy it is to let our speech rush on leaving grace behind.  Even worse, we may pick up unfavorable companions such as: anger, pride, greed, etc.  Part of wisdom is to temper our speech, so as not to offend unnecessarily.  We must remove the obstacles of our flesh as much as we can.  Yes, none of us are perfect, and people can always find some reason to reject us.  But that is between them and God.  My focus needs to be on me.  Lord, help me to walk wisely before those who do not know you.  This connects to the last chapter’s focus on putting off the old man and putting on the new.

Paul also uses a phrase, “seasoned with salt.”  It is a reference to the fact that food is made tastier when it is salted.  Our speech can be plain food without any spice, or we can speak with creative flavor of a life lived in relationship with God.  In fact, Christ uses salt as a reference to believers.  He says that we are the salt of the earth.  Thus our speech should be such that it causes people to want to hear it, at least until they make a decision to either embrace Christ or not.

The combination of prayer, walking wisely, and speaking with grace, will put us in the proper place that we will learn how to answer each person we come in contact with (vs. 6)k  We must truly have a relationship with Jesus before we will learn how to answer those who ask us why we believe in Him.

May God help us to take time this week to pray.  May we pray for the wisdom to redeem the time in the lives of unbelievers.  The “New Man” takes time to pray and to share the good news of Jesus Christ with the lost around them.  May God help us to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, by the help of His Holy Spirit.

Prayer Life Audio