Colossians
“A Worthy Walk”
Introduction: 1:1-8
Vs. 1-2 Greetings
Vs. 3-8 Thanksgiving
Statement of Purpose: 1:9-12 “A Worthy Walk”
Main Teaching: 1:13-4:6
1:13-2:3 Walking in the Work of Christ
1:13-20 Through creation
1:21-23 Through the curse
1:24-2:3 Through the church
2:4-23 Walking in the Word of Christ
2:4-7 In faith
2:8-10 In fullness
2:11-17 In forgiveness
2:18-23 In freedom
3:1-4:6 Walk in the Wisdom of Christ
3:1-4 Position in Christ
3:5-11 Practice in Christ
3:12-17 Peace of Christ
3:18-21 Pleasing in Christ
3:22-4:6 Presence of Christ
Closing 4:7-18
Colossians
“A Worthy Walk”
Introduction: 1:1-8
1:1-8 “Food for sawdust”
Vs. 1-2 God made people
3-8 Four stages of the Christian life
Intro.
In a recent book by John S. Dickerson titled “The Great Evangelical Recession” the author offers a wake-up call for every born again believer in America. He cites “The Barna Research Group” that proclaims that American evangelicalism will continue to erode over the next few decades. Currently Evangelicalism is losing 2.6 million per decade which places the actual percentage of true evangelical Christians in the United States somewhere around 10%. At this rate the evangelical church is not winning enough new believers to keep up with the population growth.
Extensive research by the American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) shows the significant decline of religion and the rise of secularism in America. USA Today states, “The percentage of people who call themselves in some way Christian has dropped more than 11% in a generation … .everywhere, more people are exploring spiritual frontiers – or falling off the faith map completely.” The Washington Post recently commented that, “The only group that grew in every U.S. state since the 2001 survey, was people saying they had ‘no’ religion.”
Another study revealed that the “Biblical Worldview” of Americans finding that among “born-again Christians” only 19% had such an outlook on life and those from the ages of 18 to 23 is, “less than one-half of one percent.” The obvious question is: “What do we do about this?” I believe that Paul’s letter to the Colossians offers the answer as Paul addresses the secular influence of the world among this church. His antidote is to offer this church the superiority of Jesus.
The story is told of a Roman colony in Northern Africa that was going through a severe famine during the reign of Caesar Nero. The starving people looked out upon the Mediterranean Sea and saw Roman ships on the horizon and rejoiced saying, “Caesar has sent us ships.” When the ships made it to port instead of grain they were full of sawdust to lie on the floor of the circuses. The people were longing for food and got sawdust; they craved substance and got a circus! That is what Paul faced in the church at Colossi as the folks longed for the Bread of life and had been only receiving the sawdust of false teaching, they craved the substance of Christ but the church had become a circus!
Vs. 1-2 God made people
Vs. 1 Right at the introduction by Paul we gain an important Christian principle: “A person’s worth and value is not what they have made of themselves, but what God has made of them.” Furthermore Christian authority and office is also completely different from what the world has as Paul uses a familial term to distinguish a person’s position, “brother” as that is what he calls Timothy! Timothy was not described by what he did but by the way he related to others. Family is what comes before talents and giving a truth the modern church would do well to remember!
Vs.2 The letter is addressed to the “brethren in Christ in Colossi”; Colossi being the location geographically in Christ being their location spiritually. Every Christian is a citizen of two worlds: The earthly location and the heavenly location and the question is which one is going to influence the other. In this life we may move from one earthly location to another but God forbid that we ever move from our heavenly location of being “in Christ”. The church was probably about five years old when Paul wrote this letter and was located in what we now call Turkey, in the Roman province of Asia Minor, about one hundred miles south and east of Ephesus.
Near the city of Colossae were two other cities, Laodicea and Hierapolis, located about ten miles apart on the Lycus River. The church at Colossae was the smallest and the least important. But this church at Colossae became the founder of other churches which started up in the nearby cities. This letter also is connected closely with the letter to Philemon, who was a businessman friend of Paul and a citizen of Laodicea.
It seems as though Epaphras was the person responsible for bringing Jesus to this little town and based upon chapter 4 verses 12 may have been a native of this community. He also brought the gospel to neighboring larger cities of Hierapolis and the more familiar Laodicea, all a part of the Lycus Valley. Epaphras is believed to have been a part of the group that heard the gospel during the 3 years Paul was in Ephesus as Paul taught daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus as all of Asia heard the Word of the Lord.
To Paul, “Every person who is in Christ is a Saint but not every one of those may be a faithful.” To these believers Paul offers the common greeting of grace and peace but places the common greeting in the ample supply of “God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” People everywhere are in need of grace and peace but the problem is that most are looking for grace and peace outside of the only supplier God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!
Vs. 3-8 Four stages of the Christian life
Vs. 3-5 There are three words that are crucial here: faith, hope, and love. Love is what the world needs but according to this love comes from faith. These words mark what we could well call the qualities of authentic Christians. The important thing to notice is that hope produces faith, and faith in turn grows into love. Hope is the root, faith is the plant, and love is the fruit. What the Greek text actually says is, “hope is available to you in the heavens”—plural.
This term is a reference not to heaven after death, but to the invisible spiritual kingdom that surrounds us on all sides right now. Paul also calls this gospel “the word of truth.” Dorothy Sayers, the Christian philosopher, said, “The test of any religion is not whether it pleases us or is comfortable, but whether it is true.” Does it do what it says it will do? That is the test. Paul traces the four stages of the Colossians:
- Vs. 5-7 Listeners: We are told that these Colossians “heard” the word of truth of the gospel. Apparently Epaphras couldn’t wait to go back home and tell his family and friends about Jesus. Furthermore Paul outlines four things that the Colossians heard about the message:
- Vs. 4 It centered upon a person – Jesus Christ: The message wasn’t a philosophy, or religion. The message was on the person and works of Jesus the Son of God! You can’t remove Jesus from Church and still have Christianity, as the message is all about a relationship with Jesus!
- Vs. 5 It was the “Word of truth”: The message they heard was “truth” that came from God and therefore could be trusted. No amount of lies can ever take away the truth. Everybody has faith in something but your faith is only as solid as the object it trusts. If your faith is in your education, money, religion it is only as good as that. But if it is in Jesus and the Word of truth that it is upon the Rock who calmed the storms, spoke and creation sprang into existence.
- Vs. 6a It was for the whole world: It is the one message that is suitable to every person, everywhere. The gospel can bear fruit in any climate, upon any soil, any time of season. Sometimes it will only plant one plant, other times a forest but it can produce fruit in any heart that will believe.
- Vs. 6b It was the message of grace: The word they heard was God’s favor shown to those who didn’t deserve it and could never earn it or repay it. God is willing and able to save all who trust in Him.
- Vs. 4 Believers: It is possible to hear and not believe as many hear the truth but not all believe. But those believed did so not by having faith in their faith but rather by having faith in Christ. Just believing has never saved anyone but just believing Jesus has saved everyone!
- Vs. 7 Learners: The word translated learned is the Greek word “disciple” and it reveals that believing in Jesus is only the beginning. We must never forget that even after we have trusted in Jesus that we need to continue to learn from Him day by day. The great commission isn’t just about decisions for Christ, it’s about making disciples for Christ. Epaphras was faithful inasmuch that he didn’t just win them for Christ he continued to teach them about Christ. The word disciple is found 260 times in the Gospels and Acts and in this time meant more than just listening; it meant who lived with the teacher and learned by listening, looking and living! The closest we have to this today would be an apprenticeship.
- Vs. 8 Doers: Finally Paul declares that many of these Colossians had become doers of the Word as Epaphras had told Paul about their love. That is the cycle of life as we go from a hearer to a doer, from being sown to a sower.
At Colossi a small community of people experienced hope and that caught the attention of others who shared the reason for their new found hope. That’s God’s favorite way of evangelism. God chooses to use people who have been impacted by Christ to touch the lives of those who are in need of that same impact. That is how the gospel spread throughout the Roman province of Asia, and hundreds of churches came into being and that is how God will reach the Bitterroot Valley and make it the Better Root Valley!
Colossians
“A Worthy Walk”
Statement of Purpose: 1:9-14
1:9-10 “Show them what they won when they won”
Vs. 9 One thing needed
Vs. 10 Discovering the will of God
Intro.
We now move to the reason for Paul’s writing this letter which is housed in his continual prayer for this church. Reading this section is extremely insightful as it is a prayer for maturity of the believer. But Paul doesn’t write to them telling them they need to “Put on their big boy pants” neither does he say, “Time to grow up and get busy!” Instead these 6 verses are not telling these believers to do anything instead they are completely devoted to explaining to them what Christ has done for them. Based upon this observation I can see two very important truths as it relates to spiritual immaturity:
- The weakness of the church is to be found in far too many remaining baby Christians: Don’t get me wrong I like babies but they aren’t always pleasant to be around. In fact most parents look forward to the day when their little one can feed themselves, go to the bathroom on their own and get dressed. They Are ok with the baby stage for a while but not for 10 to 20 years. Someone once said of babies that they are “A digestive apparatus with a loud noise at one end and no responsibility at the other!” Babies are notoriously selfish and self-centered. Their whole world is centered on themselves and you meeting their needs. That is all they think about, all they know. I think that description can fit prolonged immature Christians as well.
- Maturity happens when we emphasize what Christ has done for us and not emphasize what we can do for Jesus: What immature believer’s need isn’t a list of things to do and work on. No, what they need is to realize what is already theirs in Christ. Paul spends these 4 chapters telling these Colossian believers what they have won when they won!
Vs. 9 One thing needed
Vs. 9 Paul in his opening introduction spoke of the three fold Christian characteristics of faith, hope and love. These new Christians had experienced these truths in their lives but hadn’t continued to grow in those same characteristics. What threatened their maturity was false teaching, a mixture of works, mysticism and pride as the false teachers were saying that they had special insight that only a few had. Paul had been told of their condition by Epaphras and while chained between two guards in a room a thousand miles away he wrote this letter. But notice that before he wrote this letter he committed to continual prayer on their behalf. Here is a man who had very little personal connection to this church, he didn’t know them personally, had never been to Colossae yet he writes: “For this reason we also, since the day we heard of it, do not cease to pray for you.” The “IT” that Paul speaks of is their faith in Christ.
Every time the Holy Spirit brought these believers to Paul as he was chained between guards and 12 hour shifts he prayed. It is obvious by this that prayer for Paul was not bound to bending his knees and grasping his hands together. It was the kind of prayer that was just a thought in his head where he placed them into the Lord’s hands. And what follows in this section is the specifics of this prayer for their maturity and interestingly enough he asks for only one thing, though he will explain it many ways. In making the prayer about one thing Paul is saying that the primary problem with the Church was that they had forgotten who they were in Christ!
Vs. 9 (Cont.) Paul asks God that they be: “…filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.” That is the content of his prayer; everything else in the passage flows out of that. The one thing he asks for is that the Colossians might come to understand God’s will. It is clear that this is the important thing to Paul. He knows that if they begin to understand the will of God, everything good that he desires for them will follow. Thus, the chief aim of a believer’s life ought to be to know God’s will.
Many Christians think that the will of God is some sort of spiritual itinerary whereby God instructs us on where to go and what to do. But by the context Paul is not speaking about “direction” he is speaking about “position”! Paul’s making a very profound truth: “Who we are in Christ determines where we go in life!” That means when you and I get lost, lose our direction, the way back is not trying to find our path, it’s about the rediscovery of our identity in Christ! There is a spiritual truth to that old hippie saying: “I’ve got to go and find myself!” But you will only find your true self in Christ! 2 Cor. 5:17 tells us that “…if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” No wonder we feel a bit lost in our new relationship in Christ. God has made us into something different than what we once were. The more we understand who we are now, and what God has done to make us that way, the more our behavior will automatically change.
Having told the Colossian believers that they needed to know their position in Christ, Paul now tells them in his prayer where to look for this. There are two things that enable us to discover the will of God.
- The first is “wisdom”: Paul is speaking of divine insights into human life: “How we are to understand ourselves and how the world functions” These are divine insights because apart from God the natural man knows nothing about them. As believers, we Christians need to discover what God thinks about us and life. All of us are on this spiritual quest of personal discovery but the discovery of who we truly are is only found in discovering who Jesus truly is.
- The second is “spiritual understanding”: This is the application of the wisdom of above. The first thing we need to understand is who God is and how he sees us and we will find that in his word. Once we do that we will see a clearer picture of what needs to be done, what steps we need to take or not to take. These are not natural abilities they are given by the Holy Spirit.
Vs. 10 Discovering the will of God
Vs. 10 Look at what Paul says in this prayer that will follow the Holy Spirit giving us insight into who God is and who we are as we read in verse 10: “You may have a walk worthy of the Lord…” The outcome of those two discoveries is that our direction, our spiritual itinerary will be heading in the right direction. What follows in this passage is five things that indicate we are going the right direction: The first three are activities that we have a choice in:
- Worthy walk
- Fully pleasing Him
- Being fruitful in every good work
The last two are results that will grow out of those three:
- Increasing in the knowledge of God
- Strengthened with all might according to His glorious power
This prayer of Paul makes two great requests:
- It asks for the discernment of God’s will
- It asks for the power to perform the will: D.L. Moody often said, “Every Bible should be bound in shoe-leather.”
Colossians
“A Worthy Walk”
Statement of Purpose: 1:9-14
1:11-14 “A Worthy Walk”
Vs. 10-12 Five things that indicate that we are growing up
Vs. 13-14 Three things we can always be thankful for
Intro.
As Paul sat down and dictated this letter I’m convinced that he wasn’t thinking of the larger question of why people do awful things. But right here in verse 13 Paul speaks of the work of Jesus in conveying us from the power of darkness into the kingdom of the Son of His love. Admittedly most of the time we humans aren’t confronted with the face of evil like we have been over the last few weeks; and because of this we come up with some pretty strange views about evil. We tend to analyze what is wrong by thinking in selective categories when delving into the question of “What is wrong with the world”.
- We tend to answer this in the political realm
- Or the Sociological realm
- Sometimes we place it in the environmental realm
The atheist and evolutionary view is that people are “Good” and it is religion that has made a few of them make life horrible for the rest of us. The problem with that few is that it ignores the facts of history as most evil has been committed by atheists. Every now and then you will find an honest atheist who will say as Jung said, “We need more understanding of human nature because the only real danger that exists is man himself…His psyche should be studied because we are the origin of all coming evil.” Though I don’t agree with Carl Jung’s view that we humans are the “origin of all coming evil” I would say that if you want to know evil look into the mirror and if you want to know LOVE look in the Bible at Jesus!
Vs. 10-12 Five things that indicate that we are growing up
Vs. 10-12 Look at what Paul says in this prayer that will follow the Holy Spirit giving us insight into who God is and who we are as we read in verse 10: “You may have a walk worthy of the Lord…” The outcome of those two discoveries is that our direction, our spiritual itinerary will be heading in the right direction. What follows in this passage is five things that indicate we are going the right direction: The first three are activities that we have a choice in:
- Worthy walk
- Fully pleasing Him
- Being fruitful in every good work
The last two are results that will grow out of those three:
- Increasing in the knowledge of God
- Strengthened with all might according to His glorious power
- Vs. 10 Worthy walk: When we understand what God has made us to be, though we don’t deserve it, we will be changed in our direction in life: We are God’s children, adored by him! He has taken our guilt and sin and dealt with it. He is our loving Father who guides and guards us. And because we are so loved, what others think of us isn’t important when compared to what our Father thinks of us. A walk worthy of the Lord will reflect those truths. Our impact upon others is in direct correlation of God’s continual impact upon us. So if our impact upon others is negative or non-existent, what needs to happen is that we need to go back and look with fresh eyes upon how God sees us, that’s a continual choice we need to make.
- Vs. 10 (Cont.) Fully pleasing Him: The chief aim of every believer is to please our Father, to live in a way that God delights in. But what is the WAY that is pleasing to our Heavenly Father? We don’t have to guess or make a list as Hebrews 11:6 tells us the quality of life that is pleasing to God as we read, “without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Our Lord always commends people for trusting Him and acting on what he says. When we make a choice not to conform to the customs of the world and swim against the stream of life we are trusting him and doing that which pleases God.
- Vs. 10 (Cont.) Being fruitful in every good work: In Galatians 4:22 we are told what the “FRUIT” is as Paul says it is LOVE described in 8 characteristics of: joy, and peace, in our relationships. Patience in our actions with regard to others; kindness, goodness, and faithfulness in times of others stresses. Gentleness and self-control as we bring God’s word of peace into a troubled, hostile world. That’s a choice we can make in being fruitful in every good work.
As we make these three choices two results will follow.
- Vs. 10 (Cont) Increasing in the knowledge of God: Paul’s prayer was that the Colossians would come to know God’s will and now he says that as they put these things into practice they will know God better than ever before. Knowing God is the secret of excitement and vitality in a life. Thus if you are bored, as a Christian, it is because you don’t adequately know your God. When we are in God’s presence it is impossible to think of anything else. He is the most exciting, captivating Being, filled with fresh ideas, concepts and possibilities there will ever be. That is why being around people who know God are exciting to be with.
- Vs. 11 Strengthened with all might according to His glorious power: Another result of those three choices is we will have true spiritual power which is characterized by three things:
- Patient: The word means endurance when circumstances are difficult. It is said if we don’t first have “patience” it is doubtful we will ever have anything else! Patience isn’t complacency, it’s endurance in action! It’s the runner on the race track, refusing to stop because he wants to win the race. It is always too soon to quit! Spurgeon once said, “By perseverance the snail reached the ark.”
- Longsuffering: Here the word is different from patience as the word means “self-restraint” and deals with people and not circumstances. Because God has dealt with us in long suffering we find that it is a garment of grace that we ought to wear as we deal with others.
- Joy: The last strength of God’s power is a joy filled heart when both circumstances and people are difficult. It isn’t enough to just endure if we aren’t also enjoying ourselves! If our happiness is dependent upon happenings we will never find lasting joy. Joy isn’t in the happenings, it is in the Holy Spirit! There are far too many Christians that miss spell G-l-o-r-y spelling is G-R-O-W-L!
Vs. 12-14 Three things we can always be thankful for
Vs. 12-14 The closing paragraph states three things that we can always be grateful for. We can always come back to these three things for they are continually true of every believer. The more we think about them, the more an attitude of gratitude will control our life.
- Vs. 12 Privileges we don’t deserve: We have been qualified by God “to share in the inheritance of the saints” which is in the resources available to all Christians. These are:
- The Father’s love
- Jesus’ continual presence
- The Holy Spirit’s resources
- A family to support us
- The certainty of glory
If we remember these we can rejoice in the midst of whatever comes. These are privileges we don’t deserve for which we have been qualified by God.
- Vs. 13 Perils from which we have been delivered: “He has delivered us from the power of darkness.” Think of the things that might have happened to us if we had never become believers. Where would we be if Jesus hadn’t intervened in our lives? The Lord Jesus has rescued us from the increasing uncertainties of life.
- Vs. 13 (Coont.) -14 Pressures from which we have been freed: Finally Jesus has “brought us into the kingdom of the Son that he loves.” We have been freed from the feeling of being unwanted. The feeling that nobody cares, nobody wants us, nobody loves us. That is forever rendered untrue by the work of Jesus. He has brought us into his kingdom and, with him, we share the love of the Father.
Colossians
“A Worthy Walk”
Main Teaching: 1:15-4:6
1: 13-2:3 Walking in the Work of Christ
1:15-20 Through creation
“He’s got the whole world in His hands” 1:15-17
Vs. 15 Jesus: What God looks like and what man was meant to look like
Vs. 16 Jesus: The Plan, Power and Purpose of creation
Vs. 17 Jesus: Holding everythin
Intro.
Charles Wesley wrote a wonderful Hymn that gets played only at Christmas called: “Hark, The Herald Angels Sing”, in it is a line that comes right from this letter as Wesley wrote of Jesus: “Veiled in flesh the Godhead see; Hail the Incarnate Deity.” These words capture the central truth of our Christian faith and every other doctrine flows out of that great truth. I believe that there are two reasons that caused Paul to make this truth to the Colossian believers.
- Paul is concerned that these new Christians grow up: Because of false teaching the Colossian believers were losing their clear vision of Christ. A person can’t “Imitate Christ” if they couldn’t see Him clearly? (1 Corin. 11:1) To some in the Church today Jesus has lost His visibility. The Church has been what most focus on and because of this Jesus isn’t seen as active in their lives here and now. Jesus has become to some like the British monarch, stripped of power, just a figurehead to be treated with respect and reverence, but to not expect anything from. Paul’s letter places Jesus clearly in view so they couldn’t miss who He is!
- Paul can’t help himself: As a young man known as Saul of Tarsus he believed that Jesus of Nazareth was a deliberate blasphemer who got what was coming to Him. Paul considered it an honor and mission in life to go after and take out anyone who believed what he believed were Jesus’ lies. But that all came to a screeching halt as he was on his way to Damascus, there 20 plus years earlier he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” In amazement Paul cried out, “Who are you, Lord?” and here Paul states the answer he found to his own question 20 years earlier, “Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the Creator of all things.” Paul goes on to point out three truths about Jesus and two ways He demonstrated those truths in verses 15-17:
Vs. 15 Jesus: What God looks like and what man was meant to look like; Christ’s nature as God:
What does Paul mean that Jesus is “the image of the invisible God?” Is it like the little boy who was drawing pictures one day when his mother asked him, “What are you drawing?” And the boy replied, “I’m drawing a picture of God.” Hearing this, his mom said, “Honey no one knows what God looks like.” The boy never looked up and instead just said, “They will when I get through!” There are a lot of people who are drawing god as they think he is but that’s not what Paul is doing. Paul says if you look at Jesus you will see two things: He will be the exact photograph of God and He will show us what mankind was meant to look like!
Jesus Himself told Philip in John 14:9 when He said, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” The word “image” here means “an exact representation and revelation” and combined with the word “firstborn” would bring the meaning of the word firstborn not to mean “time” but rather to “status or place”. It is only in Jesus that the invisible God is revealed perfectly.
Vs. 15 (Cont.) Christ’s work as Creator:
Next Paul says that Jesus is “The firstborn of all creation.” The Jehovah’s Witnesses say that this phrase proves that Jesus was a created being and not God. The word “firstborn” in the Greek is a word that doesn’t speak of chronologically but rather of priority. In Exodus 4:22 Jacob is called the firstborn and in Jeremiah 31:9 Ephraim (Joseph’s youngest son) is also called the firstborn. In both cases they had older brothers chronologically but were first in order of priority. Paul isn’t saying that Jesus was the first created being and therefore not eternal in nature.
He is saying that Jesus was first in priority as He created! That’s what John said in his gospel in John 1:1-3 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.”
Vs. 16 Jesus: The Plan, Power and Purpose of creation
Vs. 16 This is again affirmed as Paul says Jesus created all things and therefore could not be created Himself. No wonder the wind and seas obeyed Him, and death and diseases fled from Him, they had no choice! Saints the truth is everything exists IN, FOR, and THROUGH Jesus.
- He is the Sphere in which they exist
- He is the Agent through which they came into being
- He is the One for whom they were made
For centuries, the Greek philosophers had taught that everything needed three things:
A primary cause: Or A plan
An instrumental cause: Or the power
And a final cause: Or the purpose
But when it comes to Creation Jesus Christ is:
The primary cause (He planned it)
The instrumental cause (He produced it)
The final cause (He did it for His own pleasure)
This verse reveals that Jesus cannot be part of God’s creation, for all created things were created by him. Jesus is the originator of all life including what Paul describes here in verse 16 as “thrones and rulers and powers and authorities” all of these were created by him. The Colossians were being influenced by Greek teachers that the universe consisted of a “hierarchy of divine beings” like Hermes, Poseidon, Apollo and Zeus etc. and they had a kind of eastern concept of reincarnation.
It’s strange how folks will reject Christianity with all the historical and archaeological evidence and then receive false concepts of reincarnation, horoscopes and astrology as influencing and governing their lives. Others go after Transcendental Meditation as the means of getting in touch with invisible beings that are to them Astral Teachers and Divine Masters to impart knowledge.
Over time people have progressed and evolved into a complete state of ignorance of God and are lost to the gods of their own making. To all of this Paul proclaims that Jesus is above all creation in heaven or on earth, visible or invisible, thrones or dominions, principalities or powers. As “ALL THINGS WERE CREATED THROUGH HIM AND FOR HIM.” Christian we are forever freed from the bondage to our horoscopes, tarot cards and any of these attempts to have direction and favor in this life.
Vs. 17 Jesus: Holding everything together
Vs. 17 This verse declares, two ways of how Jesus controls the creation: Time and Space or history:
-
- Vs. 17 Time: “And He is before all things”: My little grandson has a favorite word “MINE” but there is only one person that can truly claim that upon everything He sees, Jesus. There is a mystery to me in men like Carl Sagan who worked in the field of astronomy, knowing the great secrets of the universe, breathed the air, ate the food, and relied upon the moment by moment heartbeat all of which God has supplied, yet still insisted in telling everyone that only man mattered! Jesus controls time because He has always been and therefore before time.
- Vs. 17 (Cont) Space: “And in Him all things consist”: Jesus has the power to sustain and to prevent breakdown. The scientists, who work on the linear accelerator at Stanford University smashing the atom apart, know that it takes incredible power to do so, but what holds them together. Well the answer to that isn’t a “What” but rather a “WHO” as the atom isn’t held together by something it’s a Someone!
There is a law of science known as Coulomb’s Law of Physics which describes the electrostatic interaction between electrically charged particles and is essential to the development of the theory of electromagnetism. The law can easily be tested with two magnets as two positive ends will repel each other where the opposite ends attract. But therein lies the mystery as the nucleus of an atom is packed full of only positive charged particles.
Since all of creation is made up of atoms, what is keeping it together instead of them doing what they naturally want to do, REPEL? You can study Quantum Physics and hear lots of theories but the truth is no one in Science knows what the Atomic Glue is that holds the atom together with such force that to split causes a very big bang! I believe that 2 Peter 3:10 holds the answer as Peter wrote, “the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.” You see the answer is that Jesus is holding the atom together and one day Peter says He will just let go and things will get very hot and there will be a very big bang! The things of creation are temporary and Jesus is holding everything together so the next time everything’s coming apart in your life just give everything to Him as He is very good at keeping things together.
Colossians
“A Worthy Walk”
Main Teaching: 1:15-4:6
1: 13-2:3 Walking in the Work of Christ
1:15-20 Through creation
1:18-20 “Priceless Treasures from Worthless Junk”
Vs. 18 Christ and His Church
Vs. 19 The Great I AM
Vs. 20 One Way
Intro.
- The incredible description of Jesus that Paul writes of in verses 15-20 have caused some to speculate that Paul was quoting from an early Christian hymn now lost except for what we have here. What we do know is that these words describe Jesus work in creation from two views:
- Vs. 15-17 Describe Jesus’ work material creation: In heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.
- Vs. 18-20 Describe Jesus’ work in recreating mankind: Here we are taken to an even more amazing work that reveals Jesus’ creative ability making people a new creation in Him, a new humanity.
I’m impressed with Jesus’ work in creating but I’m even more amazed at His ability to recreate what mankind completely ruined. There is a song I used to sing when I was a baby Christian with the chorus that said:
Heartaches, broken pieces
Ruined lives are why You died on Calvary
Your touch is what I long for
You have given life to me
Vs. 18 Christ and His Church
Vs. 18 The Church is not an organization it is an organism, something that is eternally new and never before seen. Every time a person becomes a New Creation the Church adds something never before seen as that person is a one of a kind masterpiece. I’m afraid that the majesty of Jesus’ re-creative work isn’t always what people see when they look at the church as they are apt to say the church is a:
- Religious Country Club: A group of folks that sole existence is for the enjoyment and benefit of its members.
- Religious Cult: A collection of emotional misfits who can’t wait for the first bus off the planet.
- Religious Kooks: A bunch of self-righteous, money hungry, hypocritical thugs who act like they are better than everybody else.
But that is not what Jesus looks like and it’s not what His recreation of humanity is supposed to look like. If that is what folks see then the Church has made the mistake of taking up the paint and brushing themselves! The first thing Paul does is tell us what the Church ought to look like as he says, “And He (JESUS) is the head of the body, the Church…” This description by Paul is very helpful as it has to do with likeness and proportion.
- Likeness: No matter how you try to photoshop a person’s head onto an animal it just doesn’t look right. So when folks look at the body they should see a likeness to the head and if they don’t they will have a misconception of what Jesus the head looks like.
- Proportion: Since Paul is using this human analogy it is easy to understand how the Church ought to function as humans function. The Church, (like humans) have a head on top of our bodies which is the control center for the body. It is the head that runs the body and not the body that runs the head. I think some Churches have forgotten that they have a HEAD as they either look out of proportion, having a tiny little head, or have become altogether headless. No wonder folks look at the church weird!
Whether you are looking at a local church or the Western Evangelical Church as a whole this description by Paul of Jesus’ connection as head to us, His body provides a visible depiction of health. If the church (the body) is spastic, lifeless, and partially dead then we know that part of it is out of touch with its head, Jesus. When we started this letter I shared the obvious that: “We don’t go to Church, we ARE the church, body of Christ.” Each individual needs to be directly connected to the Head, (Jesus) and not just on Sunday’s but each and every day as we expect Jesus to guide us and direct every aspect of our lives. Where that takes place daily the (the body receiving everything from its head, Jesus) His body the church starts impacting society on every level. Paul also in verse 18 tells two more things:
- Who is the beginning: Jesus is the beginning of the Church! He is the one we get our life, power, joy, love, and truth from. Because of Jesus the Church (you and I) are part of a new humanity that God has rebirthed upon this earth. In Matthew 13:45-46 Jesus spoke about the “Pearl of Great Price” and a lot of folks misinterpret this parable saying that the Lord is the “pearl of great price” and the unbeliever is to seek Jesus out and purchase Him so that they might possess Him.
But the right interpretation is not of the sinner seeking Jesus, but rather of Jesus seeking the sinner. A pearl starts out as an irritated oyster! A grain of sand gets under the oyster’s shell. It covers the irritating grain of sand with a beautiful nacre that hardens into a lustrous and gorgeous pearl. That is how the church was born. It emerges from the wounded side of Jesus. He covers over our sin and heals it, making it into a beautiful pearl of great value.
- The firstborn from the dead: The word “firstborn” is the same word as we saw in verse 15 which dealt not chronologically but in priority. So what Paul is saying is that Jesus ALONE possesses the resurrection life and He gives this life to each person who trusts in Him. That is what John said in 1 John 5:11 where we read “And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.” There is a sentence added here by Paul that gives understanding to why Jesus is the sole possessor of the resurrection as he adds “that in all things, He may have preeminence.” You see Jesus is the creator of the old and He is the creator of the new that means that there is nothing outside of His control and that means because He has granted us resurrection power over the old life. Because of Jesus we are overcomers, overcoming our former life that continually wants to drag us back into bondage and death.
Vs. 19 The Great I AM
Vs. 19 Having given Jesus’ re-creative work in humanity Paul is quick to again point out the reason for His ability to work, He’s God the Son! The word “fullness” in the Greek means “The sum total of all the divine power and attributes” and Paul will use this word 8 times in this short letter to describe Jesus. The word “dwell” means “to be at home permanently”. Noted Greek scholar Kenneth Wuest in his word studies on this passage says, “this fullness was not something added to His Being that was not natural to Him, but it was part of His essential Being,… it was permanently part of His constitution.”
I can’t state it more plainly than what one writer said: “If Jesus is not God, then I do not have a Savior.” It is Jesus’ exclusive claim of Deity that separates Him from every other religion. If you could have asked:
- Buddha…. “Are you the Son of Brahma?” He would have said, “You are still under a veil of illusion.”
- Socrates… “Are you Zeus?” He would have, “Laughed at you!”
- Mohammed… “Are you Allah?” He would have, “Cut your head off!”
- Moses… “Are you God?” He would have said, “No, there is one greater than Me who is God the Son.”
But when they asked Jesus He said plainly and repeatedly I AM! He alone is “Immanuel” God with us!
Vs. 20 One Way
Vs. 20 It is because Jesus is both God and man that he alone is able to “reconcile all things to Himself.” In verse 21 we understand what He has reconciled to Himself as we are told “you, who once were alienated and enemies in your own mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled…” The word “reconcile” in the Greek means more than just salvation it means “To remove all impediments to peace.” That’s why Paul says in verse 20 “whether things on earth or things in heaven..” Jesus will one day remove the hostility evil has against the rightness of God, it hasn’t happened yet but it will. One day evil will forever be subdued and will be forced to cease its rebellion against the goodness of God. God will no longer allow evil, injustice and suffering at this time they are allowed by God and although it is a mystery they are serving God’s ultimate plan.
Dear ones, a time will soon come where every hurt and heartache will be resolved, every tear will be wiped away, every pain will be relieved and all will live in peace. Isaiah the prophet describes this time in chapter 11 where he writes “The wolf also shall dwell the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.” It will be a time when “every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.”
Friend that is where all of history is headed, we have nothing to fear Jesus is coming back! What has happened that will cause history to culminate into such bliss? Jesus “has made peace through the blood of His cross.” It was His sacrifice on the cross that will put everything right. Out of His death on that dirty, bloody, horrible means of death, His life flowed out onto all of creation that has caused the re-creation! Saints “Good news” just keeps getting better!
Colossians
” A Worthy Walk”
Main Teaching: 1:15-4:6
1: 13-2:3 Walking in the Work of Christ
1:21-23 Through the curse
1:21-23
“Blessed and nothing less”
Vs. 21 The way we were
Vs. 22 The way we ar
Vs. 23a The way we stay that way
Intro.
From verses 15-20 Paul’s focus was on Jesus as creator, first through the physical and material realm. Then Paul spoke of Jesus’ ability to recreate humanity thus His ability to create in the spiritual realm. But where does a person go to prove Jesus’ ability to recreate? In verses 21-23 Paul suggests the mirror! Pete Heron was a man who I met years ago. He had been an outlaw biker, heroin user and dealer, an ex-con from San Quentin. When I met Pete he was living in a rundown bedroom of an abandoned house. Pete started coming to church and never left, with his West Virginia accent and a heart for those like himself he started a drug and alcohol ministry in the church I pastored, then he led worship.
His driving record was so bad that it took 5 years for him to get a driver’s license and when he did he used the transportation to go to school and after 4 years he got his master degree in counseling. This wonderful reconciliation project of the Lord had a great line that he would use every time someone would ask him, “Pete how are you doing?” He would always answer no matter what was going on in his life, “Blessed and nothing less!” Pete, like the rest of us, was proof of transformation and the re-creative power of Jesus Christ.
Vs. 21 The way we were
Paul is speaking of the power of Christ to do three amazing things to broken people:
- Vs. 21a Arrested decay: “Once were alienated”
- Vs. 21b Restored damage: “He has reconciled”
- Vs. 22b Presented perfection: “To present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight.”
I suppose looking out into fallen humanity with its rising crime rates and moral decay most would just settle for the “arrest of decay”, some may dream of restoration for the damage but I’m certain that very few would ever go so far as to believe that anything or anyone could ever take someone, who had been damaged to a place of perfection far beyond their best days.
Yet that is the three fold claim of Paul with regards to Jesus! In fact Paul is making what is in practical purpose a “guarantee”. Looking at verse 23 it does come with an exemption clause to make sure that folks understand what Jesus can do is limited to a person actually being in a relationship with Christ. In other words no one can expect to see the results of Jesus’ work in their life if Jesus isn’t in their life! This process of transformation requires the Lord to take us through three stages:
- Vs. 21-23a Attaining a new attitude
- Vs.23b-25a Realizing the reality
- Vs. 26-29 Mastering the Mystery
Vs. 21 Notice the change in tone as Paul writes “and you” making this section personal not theoretical. At one time their attitude about God was reflected in the way they lived their life by “wicked works”. Yet even in the face of bitter rebellion and hatred Jesus still went through with the work of reconciliation. He took the initiative and didn’t wait for mankind to meet Him ½ way.
Griffith Thomas sees five stages of mankind that the work of Christ continues to work in: Alienation, Reconciliation, Presentation, Continuation and Evangelization and I suppose he’s right.
Paul says that we were once “alienated” from God. Apart from a relationship we had no use for God and we didn’t even think about Him unless it was to complain or blame Him for something that didn’t meet our expectation. We didn’t want His involvement in our lives unless it was to fix something that was broken; then once it was fixed we wanted Him back into His bottle until we needed Him again. We started each day without a thought of Him and we went about our plans living life for ourselves doing whatever we thought was best for us.
There was little or no thought or thankfulness for the gift of life and His bountiful blessings that went well beyond our sustenance. As we got older we really didn’t want Him involved in our lives as He would be the unwanted guest at our party whose presence would kill our fun. That’s why Paul says in verse 21 that we were “enemies in our mind by wicked works.” The Greek wording of this statement is very important as it means that our alienation and estrangement from God is what caused our hostility towards Him and that caused our sinful behavior to increase.
“Yet now He has reconciled”, all that has changed, Paul says. We had shoved God out of our lives, broken off any knowledge of Him let alone a relationship yet He without any cause or reason forgave our estrangement and hurt and still chose to love us. It was that love demonstrated by His death upon a cross that changed our attitude towards Him. As John said in His letter it is because of His unconditional love towards us that our attitude towards Him changed from hatred to love. No longer was God a killjoy judge, he was a loving Father. Saints, don’t you see that if we are going to be transformed that the first and most difficult thing to change is going to be our attitude?
Our wealth must no longer be seen in the created instead they must be seen in the Creator! God is into transformation and there can’t be any better news than that for fallen humanity.
Vs. 22 The way we are
Vs. 22 The means to this reconciliation was in the body of Christ, through his death. The gulf between fallen mankind and God is impassable by man but God sent His only Son who has become the bridge by which we can come home! Yet the bridge of Christ is so effective that it not only takes us home it transforms us by presenting us as a “New Creation” whole, blameless and above reproach. I don’t know about you but upon my completed transformation I’m going to really enjoy finally being “whole, blameless and above reproach”. We were never saved to be refugees, 2nd class citizens living in a ghetto.
“Blameless” means “without blemish.” The word was applied to the temple sacrifices which had to be without blemish. It is amazing that God looks at His children and sees no blemish on them! “Above reproach” means “free from accusation” and once we have been reconciled to God, no charges can be brought against us. Dear ones as I’ve said before this transformation starts with our attitude but according to verse 22b it is headed to a certain goal which Paul says (and I’m paraphrasing) to “present you whole, well balanced in spirit, soul and body in His sight.” And we know according to Paul’s letter to the Philippians that “He who has begun a good work will see to it until He completes it.”
Vs. 23a The way we stay that way
Vs. 23Paul used an architectural image in this verse—a house, firmly set on the foundation. The town of Colossae was located in a region known for earthquakes, and the word translated “moved away” can mean “earthquake stricken.” Paul was saying, “If you are truly saved, and built on the solid foundation, Jesus Christ, then you will continue in the faith and nothing will move you.” In other words, we are not saved by continuing in the faith. But by continuing in the faith we prove that we are saved. Someone has said, “If your faith fizzles before you finish, it is because it was faulty from the first!” That doesn’t mean that our faith may not wobble at times, or even grow so dim that it is barely visible for long periods of time but deep down there are still signs of new life and a changed attitude. Jesus’ work in humanity isn’t limited to just a “get out of hell free card” it is a pass and collect the jackpot! Jesus died so that He may live in us, be available to us every moment of the day! Jesus had to be who He is and do what He did in order that we might have what He alone has, a VICTORIOUS LIFE! This is why Paul preached Jesus, Christ in you:
- The hope of glory
- Presenting every man perfect in Christ Jesus
Colossians
“A Worthy Walk”
Main Teaching: 1:15-4:6
1: 13-2:3 Walking in the Work of Christ
1:24-2:3 Through the church
1:24-29 “The Master’s Mystery Tour”
Vs. 23b-25 Realizing the reality
Vs. 26-29 Mastering the mystery
Intro.
Think of the mystery of that promise in Isaiah chapter 40 where we read, “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” That promise wasn’t dealing with heaven as we won’t need renewed strength, we will have it forever. No, that promise is to live life today, right now in this body as we wait upon the Lord. In fact Paul says in verse 29, “to this end I labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.” Thus Paul was operating in this life by Jesus’ working which was working in him mightily. Saints, that’s what Paul is going to share with us this morning just how this work came into being.
Vs. 23 (cont.)-Vs. 25 Realizing the reality
Vs. 23 The 2nd part of this transformation happens as we start realizing the new reality of our transformation. That new reality started with hope in the “good news”. Paul would write to the Church in Rome that “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the world of God.” The truth about Jesus’ work may have been heard long before a person ever responded to it and it may have been heard multiple times but at some point in time it became a reality in your life. It never ceases to amaze me that God in His infinite wisdom would choose to use such a faulty delivery method as people to deliver such life altering and saving medicine as Jesus Christ. I can come to only two conclusions when I think of this:
- The medicine of Jesus must be incredibly 100% successful that it can still work despite the obviously flawed way in which He is distributed.
- The flawed human syringe must be part of the truth that all are in a continual need of the antidote which is Jesus.
Some wonder about Paul’s assertion that the “gospel is preached to every creature under heaven” when as yet in this generation this still has yet to have been accomplished. In Romans 10 Paul quotes Psalm 19 about the truth that the “Heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech and night unto night reveals knowledge.” God’s creation is His first preacher so that all are without excuses.
There has never been a single person who has heard creations message and received it, that God will not bring them into the knowledge of the Savior. Oftentimes it is the first preacher that leads us to a human preacher. As Paul describes three characteristics of those that have been given the privilege to proclaim the truth about Jesus:
- Vs. 23 Servant: This is what the word “minister” means. I believe that you should always be able to tell if a person is a true minister of Jesus as you will be able to see they are a humble servant. Jesus is the only one that should receive credit for the message and the transformation. I recall the story of Billy Graham that was interrupted by a drunk on a plane flight who loudly proclaimed that he was one of Billy’s converts to which Billy calmly said, “You must be because you clearly aren’t one of Jesus’.”
- Vs. 24 Sacrifice: Paul talks about what it cost him to be the syringe that places the Word about Jesus into lives and in saying this he isn’t saying that something is lacking in the atoning work of Jesus, that something more needs to be added to deal with sin. The word affliction is never used to describe the death of Jesus as Jesus is able to save all of His finished work upon the cross. The sacrifice that Paul writes here is not Christ’s but the sacrifice that Jesus has for Paul in his own life. A fact that was brought to Ananias at Paul’s conversion when he was told that Paul would “suffer much for Jesus’ sake.” Saints, someone always has to pay the price in order that others come to Christ. The gospel is always FREE but it is never CHEAP! Just as every parent knows of sleepless nights, tears and broken hearts that they have gone through for their children so to those who have had the blessed privilege of spreading the gospel. Our bibles are red with the blood of those who have died for the blessings of sharing this truth to the world.
- Vs. 25 Stewardship: The word rendered “stewardship” is an old Greek word that means a “house manager”. This was a person who was in charge of their Masters household. The steward was responsible to manage the resources of their master to the betterment of the master so that the master would receive all the glory of the steward’s labor. As such this deals not just with the message but the way in which the message is delivered. Paul didn’t ask “What do I get out of this?” instead he asked “How much will God let me put into this?”
Vs. 26-29 Mastering the mystery
Reading through this “mystery” which Paul records in verses 26-29 it is clear that it covers two things:
- Christ in you the hope of glory: Now most folks are familiar with this mystery as it deals with their salvation and future glorification.
- Every man is perfect in Christ Jesus: This 2nd part of the mystery is something that very few understand and this deals with our sanctification by which Jesus’ resurrection power is available in our life today, to overcome temptation, power over doubt and fear, making us champions over this world and life in it.
Vs. 26-27 The word “mystery” in the Bible doesn’t mean something that cannot be known but something that was previously incomprehensible but now is understandable! A “sacred secret” hidden in the past and now revealed by the Holy Spirit.
Vs. 28 I notice in this verse four things about the message that Paul was privileged to proclaim:
- Him we preach: The essential aspect of Paul’s message was the person and work of Jesus.
- False teachers, teach themselves and their achievements
- Educator’s, teach teaching and philosophy
- Entertainers, present a program worthy of applause
Paul didn’t teach Jesus, he presented Jesus, introduced Jesus and let the Holy Spirit communicate His goodness and truth.
- Warning every man: Paul didn’t stop at proclaiming Jesus he warned people as well. Like any parent would their child Paul saw that the message needed to have application to guide and protect children.
- Teaching every man: The message must be instructive for in Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, (Col. 2:3) There is no “new teaching” as all we need to know is related to Jesus. Wisdom is the right use of knowledge and all wisdom will lead a person to humility and brokenness!
- Presenting every man perfect in Christ Jesus: Paul’s message has an end which is to present every believer “complete and mature” in Christ. It described an apprentice who was no longer a novice but was now a journeyman. The goal of preaching, warning and teaching is maturity!
Vs. 29 The message of the gospel had four elements to it but it also according to Paul has a balance of power as he describes three ways in which he delivered the message:
- Preparation, “To this end I also labored”: Labored is the word “toils” in the Greek and describes a person who works to the point of exhaustion but keeps on going. There are some who think teaching the Bible takes little or no time and I’m afraid with some that I’ve heard it shows. I remember talking to one fellow who had taught a few times who believed that for the message to be “anointed” you should do no preparation and just allow the Holy Spirit to teach.
My response was that the Holy Spirit required a human to teach and I was very confident that He would do His best work through a vessel that “labored” at his study. Every week I’m blessed to spend 20 plus hours in preparation in which I share about ¼th of what He gave me. Paul wrote to his young protégé in 2 Timothy 2:15 “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
- Perspiration, “Striving according to His working”: Here Paul uses a word in the Greek where we get our English word “agony” from. The word describes a wrestling match and most often the word is used in conjunction with prayer. I believe that prayer is under-utilized by most in the pulpit in all three aspects: Before the study, during the study and during the delivery!
- Inspiration, “Which He works in me mightily”: The word “works” is the Greek word translated “energy” in English and “mightily” in the Greek is where we get our English word “dynamite”. As such this describes teaching that has been hard work, bathed in prayer now electrified and dynamite because of the Holy Spirit.
Saints, let me apologize for the multiple times that the teaching of the Word of God has not been energizing and explosive to you because the fault lies with me in my feeble preparation and perspiration and not in His Inspiration. And I might add if the Word of God has got you to move or blown apart something that needs to be removed
in your life that this was a direct result of the Holy Spirit as only He could use one as weak and needy as myself!