Colossians 2:1-15 Complete confidence

Colossians 2:1-15

Last week we spoke about Paul’s willingness to suffer for the gospel, and why. And we were challenged to see that suffering is a fundamental part of being a Christian. In fact, if you are not willing to suffer for the sake of Christ then you are not a Christian! We are called to follow our Master on the road to Calvary. At the base level, suffering is simply the daily denying ourselves – saying no to our sinful nature, and saying yes to Christ. And that is hard!

At most, we may be called to give up our lives for Christ, like many church martyrs through the ages, like many today. Ordinary men and women who are being beaten tortured, have acid thrown in their faces, are maimed, bombed, shot, hung, their property is confiscated, they are spat upon in the streets, they are thrown out of their homes, they are forced to leave their villages, their churches are burned. That is the cost of following Christ. And when you speak to these Christians, our brothers and sisters, they say “I count it as pure joy”. A American missionary was interviewing a group of women believers in India who had been horrifically abused because of their faith. When she expressed her dismay at their suffering their response was remarkable. They said that they pray for us in the West, because “how do you know that you belong to Christ if you do not suffer for Him?”

Paul is willing to suffer for the gospel. Now we see the direction of his suffering. What is his goal?

1. Together we stand in Christ

Paul suffers to tell them the gospel, that the riches and glory of Christ are for Gentiles too. And this is the mystery: Christ in you, the assurance of glory.

And he agonises, presumably in prayer, probably also in writing this letter – he feels deeply for them to be bound by love, and to have confidence in Christ.

I want you to know how much I have agonized for you and for the church at Laodicea, and for many other believers who have never met me personally. 2 I want them to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ himself. 3 In him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Did you notice the repeated pattern:
V1 I want – you to know my agony for you
V2 I want – you to be bound by love
V2 I want – you to have complete confidence in CHRIST

And why does Paul want these things? So that you are not deceived

4 I am telling you this so no one will deceive you with well-crafted arguments

How do we defeat such well-crafted arguments (and note they are well-crafted – we can be deceived by them)? By v2 being knit together with love in the gospel, confident that we have all we need in Christ.
Again we see the importance of our church family. We need each other. We need Sunday morning sermons, explaining the truth, pointing us to Christ, driving us to lift our eyes to him. When else in your life do you get the riches of the Bible served up to you? The sermon expounds God’s Word, cutting through our culture, our sins, our excuses and laying us bear – and then comforting us, meeting us in our needs, exactly where we are, giving us encouragement to endure for one more week.
And Wednesday night Bible studies where you get trained to unpack the Bible for yourself. That’s the main goal – teaching you to read and understand the Bible.
And then we put into practice what we have heard the Spirit say to us. And His words are not just words, great knowledge - but they are also Power. As we obey, as we step out in faith – at the moment we step out in faith, trusting God – then the power comes, the ability to do what we have been called to do. But not before. Obedience first, trust first – then power.
We lean on each other, we love each other, we put each other first. We accept each other, we are quick to forgive, we are honest with each other (there’s nothing worse than Christian fakery, fake smiles, fake politeness – let us never let that creep in here. Let us deal with issues quickly, honestly, gently, openly. Sin breeds in darkness).

In the Greek these verses are all run together so reads more like this “I want you to have joined together hearts in assurance of knowledge of mystery of God: Christ, who is the treasure of all wisdom and knowledge”

The word joined together or knit together is the word symbibasthentes which is linked to our English word symbiosis: two different organisms living together as one unit, one creature.
The church is like a solid tree with intertwined trunks, firmly planted on Christ. As Ecclesiastes 4:12 says A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken

Together we will not be held captive

2. Don’t be deceived

Together we will not be held captive.

The following verses unpack that concept of staying bound together in love, with deep confidence in Christ.

He says

Don’t be deceived: be rooted in Christ

Don’t be deceived: philosophies are empty and from spiritual powers and human wisdom, and therefore ultimately nonsense.

Don’t be deceived: you are complete in Christ (he lacks nothing)

Don’t be deceived: Christ is above all other powers

6 And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. 7 Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. 8 Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. 9 For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. 10 So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.

A tree is only a strong as its roots. Ever been up in the forest and seen a tree with shallow roots because of rocks? What happens to it? Bang! A church is only as strong as its grip on Christ. If we are not rooted in Christ, it doesn’t matter how united we are – we will fall. We may fall together, and have a great time on the way down, patting ourselves on the back with how “united” we are… but we will crash in disaster if we lose our grip on Christ. How many churches around us are doing or having done exactly that? The Episcopal church in America, the Methodist church, parts of the Anglican church in England, the State church here in Norway – united in opposition to the word of God. It is appalling. So Paul reminds us don’t be deceived – but be rooted in Christ.

Unity is not what is required. Unity IN CHRIST is what we are called to. So feel free to oppose anything in this church which takes us away from Christ, away from his powerful word, away from the simple message of repent and believe. Do not allow us to be united in rebellion against God, because that unity is the unity of the tower of Babel – and we all know how that went! 6 just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. 7 Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him.

And one of the marks of being rooted in Christ is a strong faith and deep thankfulness: 7 Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.
The corollary is, of course, that if you’re full of bitterness and grumbling, if being a Christian is a chore, a bore, another wretched thing to do – perhaps you have forgotten Christ, perhaps you have forgotten the glorious good news of the gospel: that you, a sinner, have been declared righteous in the sight of God Almighty, by pure grace; or perhaps you have never known it, never been rooted in Christ and for the first time need to repent and accept that you cannot save yourself, and let Christ save you.
Are you gripped by Christ? Is he your treasure? Your all-in-all? Are you so rooted in him, so united to him, that wherever he goes you will follow, even if that costs you great suffering, even your very life? 6 just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. 7 Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him.

Don’t be deceived: be rooted in Christ. Build your lives on him.

Why? Because everything else is ultimately empty deception.

Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. 9 For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body.

Why are they “empty philosophies” high-sounding nonsense”? Well, because they misdiagnose the problem – and with the wrong diagnosis comes the wrong solution. God’s diagnosis is that the problem is sin, the solution is Christ.

It’s like going to the doctor with pneumonia – and he diagnoses a broken foot, and sets your foot in plaster. Now your foot’s in plaster and you’ve still got pneumonia, which will eventually kill you.

These empty philosophies are based on human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world (that is, the devil). Now these are all around, all the voices around us claiming to be the truth and two of the loudest, two which hit closest to home are: feminism and consumerism.

Now there’s some danger in this, because criticising these philosophies so ingrained as “truth” in our society can often overpower the sermon and we forget the point: that Christ is our wisdom and truth, that he has rescued us, that we belong to him, that we were dead because of our sins and now he has made us alive in Christ. That’s what we must remember from this.

But it’s also worth spending some time deconstructing the high-sounding nonsense around us.

So, first feminism.

Remember that all philosophies are attempting to solve the problem of human sin and alienation from God, but blaming something other than sin as the problem, and therefore coming up with the wrong solution.

Feminism identifies men as the problem – not the sin within men, but just men generally. Men are the problem, and so the solution is to get rid of men – oops, that sounds too extreme – get rid of any power men might have over women. So women need to be completely independent of men.

They need to be financially independent, and relationally independent.

So women must now work, because otherwise you are dependent on a man. The feminists paint a picture of women in Important Jobs, changing the world. Of course, as men have known for centuries, there are very few such jobs – most work is a hard slog! And the work women most commonly do is jobs that involve cleaning, organising, packing shelves and cashing up, and looking after other people’s children while they are at work – basically being a housewife but for other people, outside the home. Wow, feminism has really “freed” women hasn’t it? No longer can she work in the home, working for love, working for her own family - but now must work for money, outside the home, neglecting her own family.

Women must also avoid having children, because having children takes up too much time, and makes it impossible to work. Of course, asking women to never have children is a step too far against our biology, so that has been modified to women can have children only if they want them – which has lead to the horrific slaughter of hundreds of thousands of unwanted babies in the womb. As Phillip Jensen, a well-known Australian preacher put it: “any philosophy or worldview which ends up in the systematic slaughter of babies, and majority girl babies, is fundamentally flawed”.
Not to mention the evil of classifying people as either “human beings” or “lump of cells” depending on whether they are WANTED or not.

The impact of feminism over the last 50 to 60 years has been catastrophic. Very few children have grown up in a stable home. Most have experienced multiple break-ups with their parents and their “partners”. Most live in two homes, swapping each week. Would you like that?
Sexual diseases have rapidly increased. Young women are under increasing pressure to prove that they are “sexually liberated” just like men (which is a lie anyway), and are therefore having sexual intercourse much earlier, much more often, and with many more partners. Feminists ranted against the “sex-bargain” of marriage (as they called it): I give you sex, you give me protection and shelter and food. But now women are giving sex and getting…. nothing in return.
Women now experience the curse of men (cursed is the ground because of you – basically, work will suck) AND the curse of women (you will crave your husband’s position, and he will rule over you). And the effect is angry, bitter, overweight, exhausted, divorced women, trying to “have it all”, and then wondering if there is something wrong with them because they can’t squeeze a career, children, husband, friends, family responsibilities, healthy eating, excerecise, a great sex life, and enough sleep into 24 short hours.

Let me tell you something: no-one can. It is impossible. It is a feminist lie to tell you that you can have it all. You must sacrifice something. Something has to give. And it’s normally the children. And then your husband. And then your health, particularly mental health. And your happiness.

I hate feminism, because I love women. Feminism is not about empowering women or setting them free. Feminism is about forcing women to conform to a political idea of how they must be. Just listen to our politicians haranguing women for daring to work, and calling them lazy for staying at home with their young children. Feminism is an abusive ideology, and according to v8, from the pit of hell.

Men are not the problem. Sin is the problem. Sinful men and sinful women. Abusive men should be dealt with, yes – but feminism makes this harder because their solution is always “empower the woman” and so the abuser just says “well, she should have stood up to me. She should have resisted me”. It puts the onus of change on her rather than him, on the victim instead of the abuser. And that’s wrong. Men, what are we doing to stand up against abusive men in our community? What are we doing to encourage men to honour women, to protect them and provide for them?
Let us honour and respect the roles of mother and wife. These are infinitely valuable roles. No-one but you can be a wife to your husband. No-one but you can be a mother to your kids. You are irreplaceable. Anybody can pack fruit at Kiwi. Or process building permits. Or look after other people’s children at SFO.

Husbands, are you honouring your wife in her role as mother, as wife? Are you giving her the space to be a woman? Are you providing and looking after and leading sacrificially – or are you pressuring her to provide for herself and stop being so needy? Have you looked at your budget – is there stuff you can cut so that your wife can be with the kids? It is far more valuable for your kids to have their mom home after school than to have a trip to Disneyland. You cannot pay people to LOVE someone else’s child.

Now for many women the option to stay home does not exist. Many are victim to the ravages of feminism which has destroyed any concept of men providing for women and has left many women alone with the children (because they love their kids), and have to work, often long hours, to provide. As a church, how can we support these women?

8 Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. 9 For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body.

Consumerism is the other ideology I’d like to examine, more briefly this time. Consumerism is, basically, the idea that if I buy this thing, then I will be happy. It is a materialistic philosophy and the root of our trade and industry, marketing and advertising. Watch the adverts. What do they promise? Happiness. Success. Your life sucks now, but buy our product and your life will change. You are a loser, but spray this deodorant on your armpits and you will be successful and surrounded by beautiful people and have a yacht and a fast car- It’s ludicrous, and we fall for it every time.

Whereas feminism identified men as the problem, and freedom from men as the solution, consumerism identifies “lack of stuff” as the problem and “buying stuff” as the solution. It’s that stupid. But who of us doesn’t get a thrill from getting a new phone. Or a new car. Or a new dress, or so my wife tells me. How often do we sit around thinking “I wish I had that thing. My life would be so much better if I only had that thing”. How long does the thrill last?

It is fleeting, and then something else catches our eye and we are off chasing after the next thing. Consumerism hooks into our sins of discontentment and greed. Consumerism attaches a price tag to everyone and everything, a cost/benefit analysis to everything. Children cost too much, so let’s not have children. An abortion’s much cheaper than a child. And never mind disabled children – those things are expensive! You can never buy what you want if you get stuck with one of those! And so our society quietly eradicates them – almost nine out of ten pregnancies with Down’s in Norway ends in abortion.

It is the reason we are sending more and more asylum seekers home – even if that means sending them to their deaths. It is the reason our formerly wonderful, compassionate country has banned begging. Don’t bother us with your problems, we says, you’re getting in the way of us having more stuff. You cost us too much. One article in VG described Norway as the world’s Bortskjemt drittunge (spoiled brat). We have abandoned Christ and therefore abandoned what made us great.

Consumerism leads to seeing people as either building blocks to getting the stuff we want, or obstacles to getting the stuff we want. It also leaves us open to the debt trap (like credit card debt) and ironically leaves us desperately unhappy and under pressure as the bills mount up and the stuff we have accumulated becomes like a noose around our neck. It’s like the story Jesus told of the rich man who tore down his barns to build bigger barns – to hold all his accumulated wealth. How does that story end? But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’ (Luke 12:20)

It is a fundamentally stupid philosophy – how could more stuff, exactly like the stuff we’ve already got, but a bit shinier, satisfy our deepest longings and cravings and bring happiness and wealth. So stupid, and because we’re greedy, we fall for it every time.

So, how can we start to fight the influence of consumerism over us? One of the Bible’s antidotes is to give away your money (or more correctly, God’s money which he has given to you to use wisely). Giving to gospel work really helps to break the hold that consumerism has over us.
Another is the practice thankfulness, which leads to contentment. Consumerism only thrives in the soil of discontentment. Wanting more. Wanting better. If you are continually thanking and praising God for what he has given you: a warm house, food on the table, a phone that works, socks without holes, whatever – it’s hard for greed to grow.
And stay away from temptation. Don’t go to the shops just to see if you “need something”.
Call your “needs” what they really are: “WANTS”. Challenge yourself with every purchase: do I really need this? Is this greed?
Be generous and hospitable, not “when I have a little bit more, then I can…” but now. If you want to know how to do that – ask my parents. I have watched them live generously my whole life. Learn from them.

So, don’t be deceived by these empty philosophies, but embrace the fullness of Christ

3. The fullness of Christ

So let us now turn from the pale lies of the spiritual powers and lift up our gaze to Christ in all his fullness. Why settle for anything less than him? Why listen to a two-year old explain relativity instead of Einstein? Or why rush over to meet the mayor when the King is in the room?

9 For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. 10 So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.

Christ is supreme. Why settle for second best? We often do, though, don’t we, because it makes us feel in control, important. These empty philosophies are very good at hooking into our sinful desries: our desire to be superior, to have power, to be in control, our greed, our jealousy.

And coming to Christ destroys that. We cannot feel in control, because we are not. We are helpless, we are dependant, and our illusion of being God is destroyed. And oh how we hate that. But it is the truth.

We are helpless to solve the real problem, and that is found in v13 You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away

Diagnosis is death because of sinful nature.

And the cure is spiritual circumcision. And that is something that feminism cannot do, the consumerism cannot do, that chauvinism, capitalism, communism, Nietzsche’s nihilism, or any other –ism cannot do. It cannot solve the problem at the centre of our hearts: that we are spiritually dead, alienated from God and from each other. And that is where all our problems come from.

And only Christ – ONLY Christ – can solve that problem.

11 When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your sinful nature. 12 For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead. 13 You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. 14 He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. 15 In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.

Why is Christ supreme? Better? Because he dealt with the PROBLEM. Not just plasters on sores, but surgery to cut away dead flesh and graft on new skin.

Our problem is not men, or lack of stuff, but SIN. And only Christ can cut away our sin – circumcise our sin.

We were dead and he has raised us to new life. Let’s celebrate that now as we take communion. Let’s use the time to examine our own lives, our won thinking – let’s confess where we have built our lives on empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense rather than Christ, and let us turn from them and embrace Christ in all his fullness.

Colossians 1:23-2:6 True Christianity

Colossians 1:23-2:6

Picture a small room with stone walls and a small window. The room is quite sparsely furnished: there is a bed, a bookshelf with many scrolls on it a chair, and a small desk. The window has bars in it, like a prison cell. There is a man sitting on the chair, speaking to a scribe, seated on the floor. He is dictating a letter, which the scribe is writing down.
There is a third person in the room: a Roman solider. He is holding the end of a chain, a chain which links up to the hands and feet of the man who is speaking. He is a prisoner, under guard 24 hours a day.
And this is what the man is saying “I am glad when I suffer for you in my body, for I am participating in the sufferings of Christ that continue for his body, the church”

What does it mean to be a Christian?

What does it mean to say “I follow Christ”?

That is what we will be thinking about today.

We’ve had a magnificent opening chapter, focussing us on Christ. He is supreme over everything. He is our head, our master, our leader and our guide. He holds all things together. He gives us every breath. He is our destiny, our wisdom, our all in all, our very life. He is Lord of all, God Almighty, the physical visible image of the invisible God.
And by his grace he looked down on us and had mercy on us. He became fully human, the first true man (since Adam messed that one up!), and in his own body reconciled us to God. By his blood on the cross we who were far away from God are now drawn near.

This is what we have been given by God, and our response is to love God’s people, living changed lives, bearing fruit everywhere. We know and understand the gospel, and in knowing and understanding our lives change: we are filled with love for each other, and for the lost. We have endurance and patience. We are filled with joy and thanksgiving. That’s chapter 1.

Today we will see that we are willing to suffer anything for the sake of the gospel, because of the glory we share with we share with Christ. And that suffering for Christ is easy, because he lives in us.

1. Suffering for Christ

This is a strange passage. Paul suddenly starts talking about his suffering – probably as a contrast to the false teachers with their “secret knowledge” who didn’t really care about the Colossians and would never suffer for them – their goal was comfort (just like many “Apostles” and “Pastors” today, particularly on TV). But it’s also a challenging passage, because it strikes right at that false religion we can so easily take on – we can so easily play the part of a Christian without ever being one. A Christian is one who follows Christ to death - and Paul’s example exposes us.

23 But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News. The Good News has been preached all over the world, and I, Paul, have been appointed as God’s servant to proclaim it. 24 I am glad when I suffer for you in my body, for I am participating in the sufferings of Christ that continue for his body, the church. 25 God has given me the responsibility of serving his church by proclaiming his entire message to you.

Paul is in jail, in chains, for nothing other than preaching the gospel. He has been beaten, shipwrecked, jailed, flogged, and stoned to death (but then he got up again and went into the city to keep preaching!) – this guy will let nothing stop him from proclaiming the message of Jesus. Paul is like the Terminator of preachers. Unstoppable!

And about all this suffering he says: “I am glad”. The word is chairo (khah-ee-ro) and means “to rejoice, be glad. to rejoice exceedingly. to be well, thrive”

Is Paul crazy?

Well, we think so. Our culture cannot stand suffering. In Tim Keller’s latest book “Walking with God through pain and suffering” he makes the point that many others have made: throughout history, our materialistic western society is the worst at dealing with suffering. Only our culture is so negative towards suffering. How can this possibly be good, we say?

How about developing character? How about the nobility of sacrifice? How about the discipline of patience? How about the legacy we leave, how people will speak of us after we are gone? How about the spiritual treasures we store up as we suffer in this world? Those are some of the many positive ways other cultures value suffering. But not ours. Ours sees suffering as only negative.

Why? Because our culture is driven by materialism, by enjoying the here and now, defeated by a short-term view that this life is all there is. If this is all we’ve got, then it better be good. If this is all we’ve got, then what’s the point in investing in character development, or in delaying getting what we want? Give to me now!
I want it all, I want it all, I want it all, and I want it NOW! (Queen)

That is why suffering destroys us, defeats us. That is why so many turn from the gospel because they know they will be called to give up the things they want, to set aside their own desires. They are afraid of the potential suffering – and so they turn aside in fear.

But listen to Paul: “29 That’s why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me. 2:1 I want you to know how much I have agonized for you and for the church at Laodicea, and for many other believers who have never met me personally.”

He is glad to suffer. He works and struggles beyond his own ability, needing the power of Christ to sustain him. He agonizes over the church. Have you ever wrestled in prayer to the point of pain?

Now, if you’ve been paying attention in Bible study, you might be saying “well, that’s Paul. You know, Jesus said to him that he would suffer much for the sake of His name, and he did: Acts 9:15–16 [T]he Lord said, “[Paul] is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel. And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake.”

And you know what, you’re right. We’re not Paul. And this passage doesn’t say “be like Paul”. Our job is not to gladly suffer for the church – that’s Paul’s job. His responsibility, as it says in v25. Our job is to not drift away from the truth (v23), and 2:6 , just as we accepted Christ Jesus as our Lord, we must continue to follow him.

Shoo, dodged that one!

But have we?

Paul certainly was called to a special mission. None of us has met the risen Jesus and been specially commissioned as an Apostle to the Gentiles! But, we are all called to follow Christ. And what was it that he said to us about following him? Remember what he said back in Mark 8:34–35 Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. 35 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.

Take up your cross. Give up your life. This is the language of suffering. And this isn’t advanced super-apostle Christianity. This is basic Christianity. If any of you wants to be my follower.
This is the bare minimum.

That’s why the people we know who are trying to dodge Christianity, ducking and diving and trying to avoid you when you invite them to church, or talk about Jesus, or just are their friends – they’re right. They know the cost. And the cost is everything.

What was it we read about in chapter 1 was the effect of the gospel? 1:6 changed lives.
Our lives are not our own. We have been purchased. We are under new ownership. We have a new master. His dreams are now our dreams. His goals are our goals. His life is now our life. Christ is our life.

That is why Paul says “I am glad when I suffer for you” because he is pleasing his Master, Christ. He is following in the footsteps of the suffering servant, our Servant King. And he does not care about the cost, because he has his eyes fixed on the prize, the glory that awaits him in the new creation

I find this immensely challenging. I have struggled with preparing this sermon, because any preacher must first preach to himself – and I can feel myself resisting. I am still resisting. I can hear all sorts of excuses bubbling up within me. I need to hear this message again and again. Because to say no to suffering is to say no to following Christ. If I am not willing to suffer for Christ – then Jesus says that I am not a Christian. If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me.

Now suffering doesn’t mean throwing ourselves into a bed of nails, or walking through fire, or whipping ourselves. It is the daily suffering of putting to death our sinful nature and obeying the word of Christ. It is caring about the lost instead of closing ourselves off into a not-so-holy huddle. It is speaking about our love for Jesus where we will get laughed at or shunned. It is risking our reputation by standing for the truth. It is inviting people to read the Uncover with us. It is loving our wives and children instead of hiding in our work. It is treasuring and honouring our parents. It is working hard when we are at work instead of slacking off and putting in a minimal effort. It is being good citizens, good neighbours. It is treasuring our church family, praying for each other, serving each other, encouraging each other by coming on Sundays and Wednesdays, inviting each other around for meals, phoning up and saying “keep following the Lord, keep your eyes on him”. In short, it is living for the glory of God, in everything we do and say. It is loving God, and loving others.

Paul unpacks this in chapter 3, how we are supposed to be living. Put to death the sinful life, and live the new life you have been given.

And there again you see this language of suffering “put to death”. If anyone told you the Christian life was easy, they were lying. It is a battle to the death against your sin. Every day, we pick up our cross and walk towards Golgotha, the place where Christ was crucified, and say I die to myself, I live for Christ. He is my life, my everything. It is the picture of the bloodied soldier standing firm. And so we can with gritted teeth and manly determination we can echo Paul and say “I am glad when I suffer for the sake of Christ”

We must suffer for Christ.

2. The Christian life is easy

Haha. But you know what: it’s true. It is true. The Christian life is hard, a battle to the death. But the Christian life is easy, because that battle has already been fought and won. 2:25 [Christ] disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.

We see this paradox in v29: That’s why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me

My brother in law, Grant, always says “Work your guts out, and God will do it all”. And it’s true, isn’t it. We struggle and strive and battle – and when we look back we see how God carried us.

This church is a great example. At one level we’re battling along, putting in the hours of preparation, wrestling with the Scriptures, battling in prayer, talking, encouraging, evangelising, counselling – and all along the Holy Spirit is at work amongst us, walking us to new life, carrying us in his strength, forging this church out of nothing, It is is a miracle We are a miracle. And so through all the effort the overwhelming feeling I have of this church is of a spectator – an audience member watching the film of God’s grace at work in your lives and my life. That’s why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me

Just look at the “great mystery” of the gospel: 26 This message was kept secret for centuries and generations past, but now it has been revealed to God’s people. 27 For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.

The ESV puts it like this: this mystery.. is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

It is that inward, subjective experience of knowing Christ. It is a personal relationship with the living God. That is the mystery, that he should indwell us (live in us). How bizarre. But how true.

That is why Colossians is so full of language like 2:7 let your roots go down into him and let your lives be built on him, 2:17 Christ is the reality of our religious experience, 3:4 when Christ, who is your life, appears, 3:10 put on your new nature (we are changed, new people, little Christ-ones running about) and that we are his body (1:18, 2:19, 3:15).

Christ in you, the hope of glory.

In the parallel passage in Ephesians 1, Paul puts it like this: 3 And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. 14 The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.

It is the Spirit of Christ, God’s Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity: he is the one who so powerfully works in us so that we can live changed lives in glory and honour to God, and can gladly suffer anything because we have assurance of the glory that lies before us, and because we are sharing in the sufferings of our Saviour.

He is so bound to us and we so bound to Him that Paul can say 24 I am glad when I suffer for you in my body, for I am participating in the sufferings of Christ that continue for his body, the church. As we suffer for the spread of the gospel, as we battle our sin, as we proclaim the Good News of Christ crucified and victoriously risen from the dead – we follow in his footsteps, we follow his pain and his victory on the Cross, continuing his work in the world. He is in us, continuing his work. We’ve seen that in the book of Acts, how the Holy Spirit is at work building his church, we’ve experienced in this church, how he is changing us, binding us together, saving us; and we’ve experienced him in our lives as He has 1:13–14 rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, 14 who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.

He is in us. His power is at work in us. And so living the Christian life is…easy. Oh battling sin seems so hard doesn’t it. We’re called to give up something we hold so dear, or not do or say something we so want to do and aaargh it’s so hard – but the moment we let go, the moment we obey, oh what bliss, what joy, what freedom. Why did I ever want that? What a nothing compared to the joy of Christ!

And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory. 28 So we tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ. 29 That’s why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me.

The Christian life is easy, because He is at work in us. So let us tell others about Christ, warning and teaching with his wisdom. Let’s get out there and do it! Amen?

We are called to follow Christ, no matter the cost. And we cannot say no to suffering, because to say no to suffering is to say no to the gospel. It’s saying no to character development, to legacy, to endurance, to patience, to spiritual treasures. But worst of all, saying no to suffering is saying no to gospel, saying no to Christ.

And we are all tempted, because our western materialistic society is so negative towards suffering – “suffering is only, always, evil”, it says – and so we are tempted to lay aside the cross, turn our back on Golgotha, turn away from our Saviour, and take the easy road to Hell.

Brothers and sisters, let us turn back to Christ, pick up the cross, and follow him. And as we do that we will find the steps are easy, the burden is light, the road is pure joy for the glory laid before us – for Christ is in you, the assurance of glory. He is before us, Let us follow him.

Colossians 1:15-24 Christ is supreme

Colossians 1:15-24

Colossians. What a book! Christ is supreme. What a joy to be focussed on him, our Creator, our head, our saviour, our joy, our life.

So far in chapter 1 we’ve been reminded that the gospel is a GIFT from God, and our lives are lived in gratitude. 6 This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives, just as it changed your lives from the day you first heard and understood the truth about GOD’s wonderful grace.

Our lives change as we hear and understand the truth. V9 and 10 make the same point: We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. 10 Then the way you live will always honour and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit.

So, you want live a life pleasing to God, producing good fruit? You need to KNOW and UNDERSTAND the truth. If this is new to you, grab the MP3 of the sermon online!

Last week we saw how Paul launches into his hymn of praise about our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. 15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God… 18… He is first in everything. 19 For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ,

We were reminded of the truths that Christ is our all in all, because he is God; and Christ is our all in all, because he is human.

Jesus is the visible image of God, and indeed the fullness of God.
And therefore we need nothing else. In Christ we become who we are born to be. He is the image of God, like we are meant to be – and in Him we too can reflect the glory of God.

Christ is our all in all, because he is God; and Christ is our all in all, because he is human. Again, if you missed last week – well, you missed out! Download the talk, listen to it, and spend time as we did in adoration and admiration of our Saviour!

Now on to this week. More fuel for our adoration! We’ll spend some time thinking about how Christ is our Creator (v15-16), Christ is our destiny (we are made to glorify Christ) (v16-17), Christ is our head, and we are his body (v18-19), Christ has made peace (v20-22), and, finally, our response is to not be moved from Christ (v23).

1. Christ is our Creator (V15-16)

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, 16 for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth.

Christ is God, and part of being God is being the Creator.

Christ is not part of creation. God did not create him first, then everything else. v15 says “he existed before anything as created” and v17 says again, for those who are a bit slow: He existed before anything else. If he is pre-existent then he must be God for only God existed before anything else was created.

Everything is created through him, including angels, demons and all other things in the heavens and upon the earth. Many false teachers claim Jesus is just an angel – another spiritual being. Even the Pharisees in their desperation accused Jesus of being the devil. But what does the Bible say? 16 He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see— such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.

Christ is as superior to the spirit world of angels and demons as a painter is to his painting. That is why 2:18–19 says Don’t let anyone condemn you by insisting on pious self-denial or the worship of angels, saying they have had visions about these things. Their sinful minds have made them proud, 19 and they are not connected to Christ, the head of the body.

Why worship angels instead of the one who made the angels? That’s like trying to talking to this book instead of my Dad. The book is far inferior to knowing the author! Why would you worship what is made (the book) rather than the Maker (my Dad)?

What does this mean for us? Only Christ is worthy of our worship. All other things are idols – mere things made by God. Even great things, powerful things, even angels – these are made by Christ, and he is therefore superior to them. Do not be tempted to worship them, to follow them. Fallen angels, demons, the Devil: they may promise easy power, or a form of religion where you are in control, or a more tame “God” to worship, or a pick-your-own morality. Don’t fall for the lie. Next to Christ they are nothing, a clanging gong, an empty ringing bell, without rhyme or reason. He is the symphony of our soul, the rumbling glorious song of praise throughout the universe.

He is our Creator.

He is our Creator, and he made us for his good pleasure.

2. Christ is our destiny (I am here to glorify Christ)

Ever ask the question “why am I here?” “What is my purpose in life?” “Why was I born?”

My sister did. She asked my Dad: “Daddy, why am I me?”
“Ummm. Well, you see, um, when a man loves a woman, um. Er.... ”
“Daddy, if I wasn’t me, would I be somebody else?”
“Errr. Well, um. You see”
Now he always ends this story by saying “go and ask your mother” – but I think that’s for laughs rather than what he said!
But it’s a good question, isn’t it? “Why am I me?”

And the answer is at the end of v16. See it there? Everything was created through him and...for him.

You were made for Christ. You were made for his good pleasure. You were made to be part of his body, the church over which he is head. You were made to be blameless and holy, without fault, standing in his own presence without a single fault. 2:7 Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. In fact, in chapter 3 Paul goes so far as to say that Christ is our life. Look at 3:2-4  Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. 3 For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.

We were made for him. We are his body. Our lives are built on him. Indeed he is our real life. We live for Christ, and him alone.

And he is the one who holds all things together. Look at v17 He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.
Every breath we take is a gift from him. We are totally dependent on him. We remind ourselves of that every time we pray. That’s why prayer is so important – it is a declaration of dependence on Him who holds all things together. We are his.

How often do we forget that? We pursue our own goals, our own desires, our own pleasures, without ever stopping to think: is this what Christ wants? We need to live intentionally – that is, live thinking about how we are living. We do not just let life happen to us, but we challenge ourselves, bringing our lives under the lordship of Christ. How am I serving Christ in my work? How am I serving Christ with my wife? With my kids? How am I serving Christ in my free time, in my holidays, with my friends, in my church?

A little example from my work: why did I think that a job as a Chartered Accountant was more or less secure than, say, starting a church? Why am I tempted to trust in my own abilities rather than the grace of God? As if he does not know what I need, and is unable to provide it. He provides each breath, and I worry and fret about my salary? Foolish boy!

Why am I me? I am me to give glory to Christ.

We were made for him. And one of the ways we show this, is through church. How we care for each other, relate to each other, and reach the lost, reveals what we truly think about Christ. For

3. Christ is our head, and we are his body (v18-19)

Look at v18 Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything. He is the head of the church. He is supreme over all who rise from the dead – that’s us by the way! Those who rise from the dead. We have been called to life by Christ.

The word translated supreme is the word “firstborn”. This both means first (as in supreme) but also has the idea of the firstborn son in mind: the one who will inherit the family fortune. Christ is not only supreme in the church, but also the inheritor, the owner, of all those raised to life. We belong to him.

He is our Head, our Leader, our Master.

Church is, therefore, not primarily about us, about meeting our needs (even our spiritual needs). Church is about Christ. We are here to honour him, to praise him, to obey him – together.

He is our head, and we are his body. We are joined to each other. There are not many heads, but one head, and every Christian is joined together in one worldwide, universal body. And we here are a reflection of that. We are joined together, united, one body, under one head: Christ. And we are incomplete without each other. Just like a hand cannot be by itself – it must be joined to the rest of the body – so we cannot survive without our Christian brothers and sisters. The church is our lifeline, our connection to each other and to our head.

Further, because we are his body, we are the way Christ works in the world. He works through the church.

It’s not surprising then that the next verse then says: For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him reconcile everything to himself. That is our job as his body: to reveal the fullness of God that is found in Christ, and to proclaim to the world the reconciliation achieved by Christ. As it says in 3:16 Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. 17 And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.

Let this rich message about Christ fill our lives, so whatever we do, we do it as representatives of Christ. That is our job, that is who we are.

Because he, Christ, is our head. We are twice his: we are his because he created us, and we are his because he has called us to new life. Creation and salvation. We are his.

How foolish we are when we talk about “my life” “my job” “my family” “my house” “my car” – all that am is Christ’s. All that I have he has given me. How does that change the way that I live?
I need to see all things, all relationships, as coming from his hands.

We will live forever. This life will be gone in a moment. He is our head. He is our Creator. He is our destiny (we are made for him). Let us live like it.

4. Christ has made peace (v20-22)

Now by this stage some of us might be getting frustrated. It’s been very much about “theology” and about attitudes and ways of thinking. Where’s the “ten steps to a better life” or “How to get God to do what you want” sorry, I mean “5 Power-packed principles to unleash God’s blessing”.
But seriously, these verses are frustrating, though, aren’t they? They are Christ-focussed almost to the exclusion of everything else. They are not about us, but about him. The glory goes to him, not to us. Him, him him. First in everything. First in creation. First in the church.

And we think: but what about me?

Ugh. What an ego we have. What delusions of grandeur that we should share the stage with He who called light into being in the darkness, He who placed the stars in the sky, He who says to the waves “no further” – He who rules all things, sustains all things. And we want to push ourselves forward in front of Him and say “me, meeee, meeeeeeee!”.

20 through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. 21 This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions.

Evil thoughts and actions. Selfishness. Self-obsession. Wanting our own glory. My life. My decisions. All that. Because theology IS important. It uncovers our motivations, uncovers our heart. Why do we do the things we do? It’s quite possible to go to church, be a nice person, even lead people to Christ – without knowing Christ. All done to our praise and glory.

Oh, how I hate that part of me! The self-obsessed ego, purring over his own performance, influence, power. It infects everything, from my relationship with my wife and children, to my view of God. Festering, rotten, self-obsession. Praise God, then, for v22 Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault

Oh, what relief! He knows my ego. He knows my hatred of him. He knows that I am far from him with my evil thoughts and actions. He knows I want to take his place, take the glory that it is. He knows I keep forgetting that my life belongs to him. And yet he does not simply wipe me out with a word. Instead, He has reconciled me to himself. This is his action, not mine. He has declared me holy, blameless, without a single fault. And if you are his, He has declared you holy, blameless, without a single fault.

Christ has made peace. Praise him!

5. Do not move from Christ (v23)

This then is what we must do. This is our performance, our response: 23 But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News.

Grasp hold of Christ like a drowning man on to the lifeguard and DON’T LET GO! Only a fool dives off the rescue boat to get some trinket – but that’s what we are like when we are tempted to abandon Christ for ANYTHING ELSE, however shiny and attractive it may seem.

Christ is our Creator (v15-16), Christ is our destiny (we are made for him, to glorify him) (v16-17), Christ is our head, and we are his body (v18-19) – and if after that we are filled with shame because our lives do not ring out “I belong to Christ!” in every moment – praise him, for Christ has made peace (v20-22), and our response is to grasp hold of that peace, our Saviour’s outstretched hand, and hang on for dear live. Brothers, sisters, do not be moved from Christ (v23).

Colossians 1:15-23 Christ, our all in all

Colossians 1:15-23

What is the most important thing in the world to you?
What is it, or who is it, that you cannot live without. That the thought of losing that person, that part of your life, that thing, fills you with dread. Perhaps it’s your husband or wife, your children, or parents? Maybe it’s your house or car. Or your health, your mind, your special skill or ability which defines you.

What’s the most important thing in the world to you?

Take a moment to think about that. Write down the answer, if you can.

Now look at your answer (or think about it). If your answer to “what is the most important thing in the world to you” was anything other than our Lord Jesus Christ…. Well, then we have some work to do on our hearts, on our attitudes, on the deep places of our souls. For this passage calls us to adoration, adulation, praise and worship of our great Lord and Saviour, our Christ, our Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth the Son of God. This morning we are to fill our minds with him, to let our hearts overflow with thanksgiving, with praise, with joy at knowing him. Let us rejoice! For he is our all in all. This morning as we are gathered together let us raise Christ up in our hearts to his rightful place. He is not just our Lord, our Saviour, our rescuer, our Brother, our guide to life, our Redeemer – he is more than that. He is our very life. Everything we are is found in him. We are expressed most fully in him. We are alive only truly in him.

Christ is supreme.

He is our life.

Now this passage is so tightly packed with awesome truth that we won’t be able to gets to grips with everything today. V15-22 are basically saying that Christ is supreme in everything. Short and to the point v23-24 then call us to respond: Believe it!

Today we’re going to focus in on just v15-17, and two aspects of Jesus:

1. Christ is our all in all, because he is God.

2. Christ is our all in all, because he is human

We’re going to spend time working through each verse basically because there is so much to absorb in each verse! We need to spend a bit of time chewing over each statement, understanding it, making it part of our thinking, our worldview, before we move on.

1. Christ is our all in all, because he is God.

So let’s get started, and what better place to start than our opening verse, v15: Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, 16 for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see— such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. 17 He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.

It seems that Paul in vv15-20 is quoting a creed or a hymn used in the early church. There’s some indication of this in the original Greek texts, and that’s why our Bibles have shown this by formatting it in a sort of “poetic” way. This is what they believed – those who knew Jesus, who were eyewitnesses to his resurrection. It’s good to know, because there’s many people wandering about calling themselves Christians but denying the supremacy of Christ – they either say he was not fully human, and therefore lacking in some way as our representative, or, that he is not God, and therefore unworthy of our worship.

The first problem of whether Jesus was fully human was a problem the early church faced, particularly with the rise of Gnosticism (“secret knowledge”) and their ideas that physical matter was evil, but the spirit was good. The second denial: that Jesus isn’t really God, was a later problem, starting with Arius around 300AD. Arianism accepts Jesus as a god-type figure, but not God himself. It states that he was created by God the Father, and is not equal with him. With the rise of materialism in the last 200-300 years, Jesus has been reduced to a mere charismatic human teacher, not divine in any way. This modern lie, is particularly found in the theological faculty at most secular universities, among many Western “ministers” today who deny the Virgin birth (Jesus was just a man) and even deny the resurrection – why are you a minister then??
Many “Christian” groups turned back to the Arian heresy under the influence of Materialism: groups like the Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Way International, Mormons, and the Church of Christ (Iglesia ni Cristo) – all who started within the last two hundred years and yet claim to hold to the original teachings of the early church. So for over 1800 years the church was in error? Big claims. Let’s see what the Bible says.

V15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.

He is the visible image of God. To see Christ is to see God. They are one and the same. v19 confirms this For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ. The very nature and character of God have been perfectly revealed in him; in him the invisible has become visible. Arius was wrong. The secular theologians are wrong. Jesus is the very representation of God. He is God. V15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God

He is the “invisible God”: Both Old and New Testaments make it clear that “no one has ever seen God.”. For example John 1:18: No one has ever seen God. But it doesn’t stop there. It continues But the unique One [Jesus], who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.
In 1 Cor 4:4,6 it says understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God… God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.
In Heb 1:3 we read that The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God.

That utterly knocks on its head the lie that Jesus is not God. He is not only God, he is the visible image of God, and indeed the fullness of God.
And therefore we need nothing else.

The reason for these groups wanting to diminish Christ in some way is so that they can put something else in between God. Felix Manalo claimed to be the Final Prophet and was the final authority in all things for the Church of Christ. Jehovah’s Witnesses obey everything the Watchtower organisation tells them to do. In many churches the minister has become a “Prophet” or “Apostle” or “Priest” – and demands that people look to him for spiritual wisdom, or guidance, or healing, or blessing, or forgiveness of sins. No, look to Christ. There is nothing lacking in him, for he IS the fullness of Christ. 2:3 In [Christ] lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

There is nothing lacking in Christ. We’re not missing out if we are consumed with him, and only him. Many will come claiming secret knowledge, a new experience, a deeper understanding. Do not be moved from Christ, for to know him is to know the Father (John 14:9). He is our all in all.
2:8 Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. 9 For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body.

We never move beyond Christ. Christian maturity is going deeper into Christ, not moving on from him, as if he is the starting point, and then our good works are the end goal. No, he is the end goal – as it says at the end of v16 Everything was created through him and for him. He is our Alpha and Omega, our beginning and end, the ultimate goal and end point of our lives.

This is why the Holy Spirit, through Paul, is giving us this amazing song of praise to Jesus Christ, the Son. It is not just head knowledge, not just so we can sit back and nod our heads and stroke our beards and go, hmmm. No, this is why: 2:6 And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. 7 Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.

He is our all in all. We are to be consumed with him. He is our delight and our joy.

My Dad told us a few weeks ago how he has to smack his tomatoes. In order to make them strong and healthy plants, you need to smack them! Because when you do, they go deeper in to the soil, putting down roots, strong secure. That is what we must do. Let us “smack our tomatoes” so that we are rooted and fixed in Christ.

Where have you been tempted to look to something or someone other than Christ? Perhaps you’ve been trusting in your own good works, a form of your own righteousness – how am I living, how am I performing, will God still love me if I mess up. Guilt or pride are the marks of that kind of living. Repent and embrace the forgiveness of Christ. We are reconciled to him, declared holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault (v22).

Perhaps you’ve been tempted to try to get your significance and security from your relationships: particularly your husband, or maybe your friends. Repent. Christ is your all in all. Be satisfied in him. Draw your significance from him, and then you will be able to be the wife and friend you should be. Same for you husbands – delight in the Lord, draw your joy and strength from him that you may love your wives as Christ loved the Church and gave up his life for her.

Or perhaps it’s your job – that defines you. No, it is Christ who defines you. He is your life. He is first in everything: first in your heart, first in your passions, first in your desires, first in your dreams for the future, first in your family, in your time, first in your monthly spending. He is first. Our all in all.

Christ is our all in all, because he is God.
Christ is our all in all, because he is our God.

2. Christ is our all in all, because he is human

Now we need to go back to v15 and spend a bit longer on it. Because it addresses not only the lie that Jesus is not God, but also the lie that he is not human. For as 1:15 says Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He is the image-bearer of God – which is what we are. Or at least, were created to be.

Remember Gen 1:26-27 Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.” So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

We were created to reflect the glory of God. But we exchanged the glory of God for a lie, and chose to become utter fools. (Rom 1:21) Christ, then, is the second Adam, the true image-bearer, the true Human Being, the firstborn among many brothers. (Rom 5 and 8:29) In Col 2:9 For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. Fully God, fully man. That is our Lord Jesus. He is the first, the only, true human. The rest of us turned from that path long ago.

That is why we become who we are born to be only in him. In Christ we discover our humanity. In Christ we give up our lives – only to gain them. It is not like Eastern philosophies where you are absorbed into some Consciousness like the Force. No, you become you, only brighter, more intense - you, fully realised.
Become who you were born to be. Embrace Christ in all his fullness. Abandon yourself to him – and you will find yourself.

A bit of a silly example, and I think a little embarrassing, but, oh well: when I was 19 I really wanted to be the type of person that people could share their secrets with. Not because I was particularly interested in their secrets – I’m an introvert! - but because that was a character trait I wanted. I wanted to be seen as trustworthy, reliable, safe. An honourable man.
But no-one did share their secrets with me.
Until Christ got hold of me and I gave up my life to him. And all of a sudden people left right and centre were committing to me their deep thoughts and secrets. I gave up my life, only to gain it.

A silly story, but there’s a kernel of truth in it. In Christ we become who we are born to be. He is the image of God, like we are meant to be – and in Him we too can reflect the glory of God.

Christ is our all in all, because he is human. He is the first to rise from the dead – the first of the new man, raised imperishable, eternal. And he is supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything (v18).

I’m going to end by telling you a story, a story of a man who was consumed by Christ. Christ was his life. He was his all in all.

In Piccadilly Circus in London there is a famous statue commonly known as Eros (although it’s actually called the Angel of Christian Charity). It was erected in honour of Lord Shaftesbury. He was led to faith in Christ by his maid as a child, and his adult life was described like this by one of his biographers, Georgina Battiscombe: "No man has in fact ever done more to lessen the extent of human misery or to add to the sum total of human happiness".

For example, his works in Parliament: He pioneered the Lunacy Act, which provided that the mentally disabled be treated like human beings instead of being made to sleep naked on hay in cages and fed food not fit for human consumption; the Ten hour working day act, which prohibited children under the age of nine from being made to work in the factory, and under eighteens to work more than ten hours. He pioneered Ragged Schools and the Education bill for all children in Britain, so that even the poor could learn to read and write. The Colliery bill which removed women and children from the mines; the Chimney Sweeps Act which stopped young boys being used as chimney sweeps (they were sent into the chimney pipes and developed all sorts of health problems as a result); and much, much more. All things we take for granted now – but all things Lord Shaftesbury had to fight for because he was convinced of the inherent dignity of people made in God’s image.

What would Britain, and indeed Norway and the rest of the world, look like today without that man’s influence? It is staggering.

His private life matched his public life. He is described as having an “abnormally happy” marriage, and had 10 children.

At his funeral the streets were packed with poor people, costermongers, flower-girls, boot-blacks, crossing-sweepers, factory-hands and similar workers who waited for hours to see Shaftesbury's coffin as it passed by. Shaftesbury was known as the "Poor Man's Earl".

He also founded multiple charities, children’s homes, the Church Pastoral Aid society, and on and on it goes.
Why did he live like this? Well, these are his words “I do not think that in the last 40 years I have lived one conscious hour that was not influenced by our Lord’s return.”

His life was a life given up to Christ. He was consumed with Christ – he was his all in all – and his life reflected that. May we follow in the footsteps of men like Lord Shaftesbury.

19 For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, 20 and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. 21 This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. 22 Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault. 23 But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it.

Col 1:1-14 The gifts of GOD and our life in gratitude

Col 1:1-14

Intro:

Have you ever met a Christian who makes you think, what is different about this person?

To answer my own question: I have.

Like my friend Robert we’ve been friends for as long as I can remember. There is really something in the way he speak and behave towards others: That really reflect the Gospel in his life. I see it in the way he treat and loves his wife and children. It’s something about the way he root himself, in the word of GOD. It makes me think, that this man, he is something special, he even looks like Jesus, with his long hair and unruly beard.

So the question becomes:

“Is it something about Christ that makes Robert special, or is it something about Robert that makes Christ special”?

If Robert knew that I had asked that question, he would been quite offended. He makes it clear that he lives a live reflecting what he believes. So if he didn’t believe the Gospel, his life wouldn’t reflect it.

We’re going to have a look at the generous gifts GOD has given us in verses 1 to 14. In the same text we’re also going to have a look at how our lives reflect our beliefs. We’re going to do this through to points. The first one I’ve called The gifts of GOD, the second point I’ve called Our life in gratitude.

The gifts of GOD

1.State the point:

Reading todays passage we see that; GOD gives us everything we need. Everything from ministers of His word, to salvation from our sins! Just have a look at verses 3-5.

2.Show it in the text:

³ We always pray for you, and we give thanks to GOD, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁴ For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all of GOD’s people, ⁵ which come from your confident hope of what GOD has reserved for you in heaven. You have had this expectation ever since you first heard the truth of the Good News.

3.Explain the point:

If Paul’s letter stopped a verse 4, it could be understood as the Colossians were justified through their fantastic works in v.4. This is exactly why we go through books of the bible and why we read things in context. Because when we continue in verse 5 we see the reason for the Colossians faith in Jesus and their love for all GOD’s people. It is the confident hope of what GOD has reserved for them in Heaven. Basically they look forward to Heaven.

Where did this hope come from? It came from the truth of the Good News, the Gospel. So looking at verses 3-5 we see that GOD is the provider of the faith, the love and the hope. What was it the Colossians did that made them special? Nothing, at best they “accepted” GOD’s generous gifts.

As we continue to reading through the verses from 1-14 we see that GOD doesn’t even stop there: He is the giver of faith, love, hope and the Gospel. Through the fruits of the Gospel our lives are changed, from the day we hear and understand it.

Who is responsible for us hearing the Gospel? Have a look at verse 1, GOD chose Paul as an apostle of Christ. Why did GOD do that, because He wanted to. GOD gives us ministers of His word. Their job is to teach the word of GOD. By sharing the Gospel through the preaching of the word, bible studies, and praying that hearts and mind may be opened to His word.

GOD is responsible for sharing the Gospel, and giving us the complete knowledge of His will, spiritual wisdom and understanding.

In all things, GOD provides for us. He gives us all the strength, patience and endurance we need. He wanted us to be saved, so He transferred us from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of His son Jesus. Jesus loved us so much that He purchased our freedom and forgave our sins, through His death on the cross.

What did we do to deserve this? Nothing! Jesus wilfully died for our sins, beaten, whipped, and crucified. He paid the ultimate price for our freedom and forgiveness. GOD knew that no other sacrifice would heal the wedge between man and Him. In all His wisdom and love for mankind, GOD sacrificed His only Son. So that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. All the blessings GOD has given in verses 1-14, are gifts we have done nothing to deserve.

So what I see in Robert, and everything you see in other Christians that are makes you think, what is it about these people that make the special. Well it Is GOD, they are simply working out the gift GOD has already worked into them.

4.Illustrate the point:

If a rich man decided that he felt like giving you 10 million kroner. Polite as you are you accepted this generous gift, and became a millionaire. The rich man gave you 10 million of his hard-earned money, whilst you said thank you and danced all the way to your bank.

5.Apply the point:

GOD gives you these gifts because He loves you, Jesus died for you because He loves you, He gave you His Spirit, The Holy Spirit because He loves you.

So no there’s nothing we can do to deserve God’s gifts and love. When a Christian does something well it’s because of what GOD gave them. Not because they’re brilliant.s

There are no super-Christians, but there are people GOD works stronger through than others. Not because they deserve it but, because the way they live their lives, allow the fruits of the Gospel to grow, and be made more obvious. GOD’s gifts never stop being just that, gift!

So or all we can do is to gracefully receive His generous gift and live a life in gratitude, where we let the fruits of the Gospel be made obvious in our lives. Where we create as good a soil as possible for His gifts to grow. This brings us to my second point that I’ve called Our life of gratitude.

Our life of gratitude

1.State the point:

Do you think that there a link between the Gospel and behaviour?

Yes there is, because a faith is living and a faith without good fruit is not a real faith

2.Show it in the text:

Let’s have a look at verses 6 – 8.

“This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives, just as it changed your lives from the day you first heard and understood the truth about GOD’s wonderful grace. You learned about the Good News from Epaphras, our beloved co-worker. He is Christ’s faithful servant, and he is helping us on your behalf.”

3.Explain the point:

In these verses, we really see the power of GOD’s Word; If we start by having a look at verse 6

“This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives, just as it changed your lives from the day you first heard and understood the truth about GOD’s wonderful grace”

Those of you coming to our bible study might remember that to start with the Gospel was shared only in the town of Jerusalem. When the persecution of the Christians started. It went from Jerusalem, to Judea, to Samaria and then to the ends of the earth. The Gospel spread all over the world. Not only was the gospel shared all over the world. People all over the world received the Gospel and believed it. Just look at the Word of GOD. It has been translated into 518 languages. The result of this is that a lot of people have, heard, was taught and understood the Gospel.

There’s a lot of great examples of how hearing and understanding GOD’s word changes lives.

One is the Methodist minister William Booth and his wife Catherine. Who wanted to share the, Gospel with those who were living on the outside the acceptable Christian lifestyle. They preached the Gospel, to prostitutes, drunks, the poor and the homeless. They took care of their physical needs, such as food, clothes, somewhere warm and safe to stay as well as the preaching of GOD’s word. Doing this they lived and shared the Gospel. The founded the Salvation Army.

Do you want to honour and please GOD with your life? Do you want to live a life so close to the Lord, that people will see you’ve been with Jesus?

The only way for us to honour and please GOD with our lives, is to be filled with knowledge of His will, spiritual wisdom, and understanding. To do that we have to hear, learn and understand the Gospel.

The best way I know of to do that is: To make a conscious decision every week to go to church, to go to bible study, to read the bible daily, and to pray daily.

I am not telling you to go to church so that I can tell you how to live your life. I’m saying just like Jack and Robert told me. Come to church so that you can; hear, learn and understand the gospel, and grow in Christ. That is the reason you should go to bible study, read the bible and pray daily, the source of godliness is rooted in the bible.

How do I know that I understand the Gospel, you might ask? Have a look at verse 6. When we understand the Gospel our lives will be changed and some of the signs of a changed life is: v.4 faith in Jesus, love for all GOD’s people, v.6 fruit of changed lives, v.8 love for others, v.10 every kind of good fruit.

in Galatians 5:22-23: Paul writes that the fruits of The Spirit is: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-controll. For anything to bear fruit it must be alive.

What is the most common reason for a tree not bearing fruit? To put it bluntly, it’s more than likely dead. Then what do you think is the most common reason for faith not bearing fruit? A faith without fruit is a dead faith. A faith bearing fruit is not something you can muster up yourself, so dare to ask yourself:

Am I bearing fruit, Am I growing in Christ, have I heard and understood the Gospel?

A faith without actions is not a faith, neither would actions without faith be faith, it would be a statement.

Saying I am a Christian without leading a Christian life, is like saying me saying that I am the world’s tallest man. I can say it, you can hear it, but it wont make it so.

But when my friend Robert tells me that he is a Christian, I don’t doubt it for a second. Why? Because I’ve seen how he treats his wife and Children. I’ve seen and heard how he can talk to complete strangers about Jesus. I’ve seen how faithful, and gentle and self-controlled he is. Robert’s witness is that he say’s that he is a Christian, and he act’s like someone who is in Christ.

Living a life in close fellowship with GOD, will do something to you! When He is the one who feed and nourish you. He enables you to grow closer to Him in faith, and to bear much fruit. When you spend time in His word and with Him it will do something to you. As it did to Robert, and not just him.

4.Illustrate the point:

Look at Nelson Mandela - he spent 27 years in prison on Robben Island, and in those 27 years never missed one church service or one Bible study. Week in, week out for 27 years the bible made an impression on him. Now we don’t know if he actually bowed the knee to Jesus, that’s between him and GOD - but the impact that Jesus had on him was seen in his remarkable transformation from the terrorist/freedom fighter founder of umkonto we sizwe (ANC military wing) to the man who said “we need to forgive, we need to reconcile” and lived it. The man who stepped down from power, the man who was humble and gracious. GOD’s Word affects us.

5.Apply the point:

Just like the church in Colossae, we need to live a life that reflects our living faith. Showing our faith in Jesus, our love for all GOD’s people bearing fruit everywhere. Even if we’ve done all this, and live in that way, we can’t rest on our laurels. We need to commit to spending time in GOD’s word, , study the bible, pray, listen and obey GOD, and humble before Him. That will smack our tomatoes so that we’ll be deeply rooted in Him.

I don’t think anyone will disagree that my second point today, about how we live our lives has been especially challenging and offensive. I’m preaching it, and let me tell you, I feel judged. While reading and preparing this I thought,

“ oh boy I’m in trouble” And I have a feeling I’m not the only one reacting like that. Why because I am not drowning in fruit, but to rest of you who feel the way I do I want to say this: Sanctification the process of becoming more like Christ, growing in Him, and for the fruits of the Spirit to take hold. It is a life long process, and for most of us, It doesn’t happen over night. As long as you see that something is happening in your that is a good sign.

If you don’t feel that you are growing, come talk to us one of the Elders in the church. We will pray for you, and help you as best we can. Sometimes there’s little adjustments you can do in your life, and other times there’s more complex situations that has to be dealt with. The best advice I can give you is simply, think for second. Who has given you all the gifts I’ve been talking about today? Yes it is GOD, so turn to Him, come to Him in Jesus’ name, and ask Him to help you. He will. Remember Jesus died for your sins back when you were an unforgiven sinner.

Conclusion:

GOD is incredibly generous, He keeps giving, and He gives us everything we need. Everything; Ministers of His word, Faith, Hope, the Gospel, understanding of His word. Therefore lets live a life in gratitude close to Him so that we stay deeply rooted in His word, reading the bible, going to bible study, hearing His word preached, praying to Him. All this will create Good soil where all good fruit will grow. Our Faith will grow, our love for Jesus, for all GOD’s people will be made visible.