AN OPEN DOOR FOR OUR MESSAGE
`
Colossians 4:2-18 Lesson 7
Key Verse: 4:3 Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF 9/2/09
"And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains."
For Paul and for us, too, one of the most important tasks of our Christian lives is that of proclaiming the gospel to people mired in a world full of sin and darkness. To do this we must devote ourselves to prayer. We must be alert to see God's answers and be thankful as we proclaim the gospel message clearly. Then we can go through these open doors and make the most of the opportunities God has given. In this lesson, Paul emphasizes a life of prayer and thanksgiving. Paul mentions many names stressing the importance of building up co-working relationships with other believers. Let us learn from this passage and go through the open doors that God is opening for us in DeKalb and on the campus of NIU.
Part l: Prayer And Wisdom (2-6)
Paul encourages the new believers in matters of the heart. Verse 2 reads, "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful." First, these new believers needed to devote themselves to prayer. Devote means to “set apart for a special purpose...to dedicate.” (The new Mirriam Webster dictionary c. 1974) Prayer is fundamental to our spiritual life, like breathing is to our physical life. Prayer requires a certain discipline, making time pray. It requires heart. We need to put our hearts into prayer and not just go through the motions. Prayer is privilege. We should thank God that we could stand before the throne of God to pray. Prayer is conversation with God where we meet with God personally. We need to have frequent conversations with God. In regards to prayer, you need to find out what works for you. I pray when I walk the dog. I pray when I drive to work. I pray in my bedroom. When you find the place of prayer that is right for you then prayer will come more naturally.
Second, we must be watchful. Satan tries to attack us in every way. Satan is always prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). We must be watchful or we will be pounced on and devoured. If you are overconfident in yourself and in your own strength then you will surely fall. (1 Cor 10:12) A person who is watchful can not be overcome by Satan nor the power of sin.
Third, thankfulness is an important factor in prayer. Verse 2b reads, “… being watchful and thankful.” Paul exhorts these Christians to be thankful in all circumstances. 1 Thess 5:17-19 reads,“pray continually; 18give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.” Some may say,“Why be thankful? Does God want me to wear a plastic smile?” Look at it this way…It seems that everything wants to impede our prayer life. It is because the devil knows that pray is the most potent weapon in the spiritual battle. When we are full of complaints then we can not pray. But when we are full of thanksgiving to God then prayer can flow out from our hearts. We think that prayer is only to pray about problems. But prayer is also a chance to praise God and renew God’s grace, personally, so that we can be thankful. During prayer, try to remember God’s grace and everything will look different and prayer will flow naturally.
Paul had many important prayer requests. Look at verses 3-4, "And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. 4Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should." His prayer was that God may open a door opportunity for the Gospel to be proclaimed clearly. It has been said that 50% of Roman prisoners died while in custody, but it is interesting to note that Paul did not pray to be released, but for the door for effectual gospel work to be open. He did not fall into the trap of focusing exclusively on his own situation. He was concerned that the Gospel go everywhere.
When we pray and are watchful we can begin to see open doors. The door for effective Gospel work was closed in Winnipeg. But our missionaries did not give up. They prayed and asked God to reveal an open door in order to raise disciples among Canadian students. They prayed and God revealed to them that planting churches in the Toronto and Montreal were open doors. They decided to enter through that door. The missionaries and Canadian shepherds moved 2,000 miles away. That was in 1989. Since then God has been blessing their ministries and so many disciples are being raised up among students. This year they held a Canadian Summer Bible Conference where about 350 people attended. They started their own Canadian UBF staff Conferences. There is great work of God sprouting in Western Canada. Praise the Lord! We need to pray for God to open our eyes so that we can see open doors for effective Gospel ministry here at NIU and enter in through those doors. Pray…look for an open door…and go through it by faith!
Let’s think a little more about Paul not praying to be released. Paul accepted his prison as his cross and as God’s will. He knew that his chains would advance the gospel. He was like Jesus who prayed not for the cup of suffering to be taken from him, but for strength to drink that cup to the end. (Lk 22:42) There are times when persecution is a better environment for advancing the gospel than security and comfort is. It is said that there are over 90 million house churches in China. They have grown under persecution. North Korea is growing a powerful underground church, even in the midst of extreme oppression. Actually there is more work of God in persecution than in security, peace, and comfort.
Paul wanted to proclaim the Gospel message clearly. Proclaim means to reveal. Paul knew that making people believe was God’s business, but one thing he could do is make the gospel clear and pray that people may understand it. The mystery that needs to be proclaimed clearly is that, in Jesus, God has opened the way for all people to receive salvation and eternal life. (Ephesians 3:6). It was a mystery because it was hidden. It must be revealed clearly. Even though we have the Bible and the gospel has been preached for over 2,000 years, we need to repeat it clearly to the new generation of our young people.
Nowadays post modern young people assume that the gospel has nothing to say, that there is no wisdom in the gospel, that there is no absolute truth to be discovered. They think that there are no answers to all their “big” questions of life. They are so wrong! There is wealth of wisdom and knowledge in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Like Paul, we need to present the gospel clearly in a way that young people will understand. (1Cor 14:7-9) There are so many things that makes the gospel blurry. Our own desires, our own fixed ideas, our sins and our life styles make the gospel unclear to others. Being stuck in our own generational or cultural quarks, arguing about peripheral issues, all make the gospel unclear. It has been said that it is difficult to see Jesus because of the Christians. We need to get out of the way so others may see Christ.
We try to make the message clear in three ways, through writing, speaking and living. In UBF we try not to just speak off the cuff. We need to train ourselves to be clear. 1 Peter 13:15, “15But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” (also 2 Tim 2:5) Paul prayed for clarity. He trained himself to be clear. Let us discipline ourselves spiritually. Take the things out of your life that blind others to the gospel of Jesus and speak the God’s message clearly.
In the Roman world, each city was like a new culture. Paul needed to make the Gospel clear for each one of them. That means he needed to flexible, dynamic and elastic. He needed to study each culture and be culturally sensitive to each city that that he entered. We too need to be culturally sensitive to the people we are trying to reveal the gospel clearly to. Though we all live in America there are so many subcultures in this vast melting pot. For me, I have to be sensitive to the NIU campus culture, the hospital culture and the suburban, middle class family culture. Each subculture has its own unique challenges. But I must adapt to them if I am going to make the gospel clear.
Paul was always alert, looking for every opportunity to reveal Jesus. Look at verses 5-6, "5Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone." We can help others to understand and accept the gospel by being wise in our actions and in our conversation, especially around non believers. Part of being wise is being careful and graceful in our conversation. Wisdom also has to do with making relationships with other people. Not many are wise, but we can all get wisdom. Wisdom comes from the fear of God, for “the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” (Proverbs 9:10) Jesus is a Wonderful Counselor. Obtain wisdom from Jesus and become a wonderful counselor like Jesus! Live sincere life of faith. Have graceful speech. Speak the truth. Then go to an unbelieving world with the clear message of salvation. They will be glad you did.
Part ll: Messengers and Fellow Workers (7-18)
In verses 7-9 Paul reveals some of his fellow gospel workers to the church, "Tychicus will tell you all the news about me. He is a dear brother, a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. 8I am sending him to you for the express purpose that you may know about our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts. 9He is coming with Onesimus, our faithful and dear brother, who is one of you. They will tell you everything that is happening here." These people have weird names. Who are they? Tychicus and Onesimus delivered Paul's letters. Tychicus had been Paul's representative on several occasions (Eph 6:21). Concerning Onesimus, Paul says in Philemon 14-16, “Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back for good— 16no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a man and as a brother in the Lord.” Onesimus escaped to Rome. There he heard the gospel, repented of his sins and met Jesus, and now was returning to Philemon in Colossae as a dear brother in the Lord (Phm 16). He co-worked with Paul while he was prison. Onesimus’ changed life bore witness to the transforming power of the gospel.
There were more co-workers with Paul. Look at verses 10-11, “My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. (You have received instructions about him; if he comes to you, welcome him.) 11Jesus, who is called Justus, also sends greetings. These are the only Jews among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have proved a comfort to me.” These people were an encouragement because they were Jewish converts actually co-working closely with him. Paul was persecuted by his own countrymen. Some tried to kill him. But these people came along side Paul and worked with him, even at the cost of being rejected by their own people. They had faith. They were comforting. Aristarchus had been with Paul in some very trying times (Ac 19:29; 20:4; 27:2), and now he was with him in prison. Mark, who had once abandoned Paul in the mission field, was helped by Barnabas and Peter, later came back and grown into a useful servant of God (Ac 15:36-39). Mark had changed. Paul now said many graceful things about him.
There were more faithful, Gentile co-workers. Look at verses 12-14, “Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured. 13I vouch for him that he is working hard for you and for those at Laodicea and Hierapolis. 14Our dear friend Luke, the doctor, and Demas send greetings. 15Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house.” Epaphras, was a preacher who went to his people as a servant of the Lord and was later arrested. (Phl 1:23) He was a fellow prisoner with Paul. He was a “hidden” prayer servant. Every church needs such, “behind the scenes” people for the church to grow strong. Luke the historian and evangelist was Paul's personal physician. He accompanied Paul on his journeys and recorded early church history. Demas was dear friend and co-worked, but later abandoned Paul (2 Tim 4:10). I’m sure Paul was thankful for the time spent with Demas. Nympha offered her home to be used as a house church, forfeiting much privacy and adopting many cleaning and serving responsibilities. Paul recognized her offering. Verse 17 refers to Archippus. He was a fellow “Christian soldier” with Paul. His message to Archippus is to complete the work he had received in the Lord.
Paul had such a beautiful relationship with his coworkers. Paul described them as faithful and dear brothers, fellow workers. Paul prayed for key leaders to be raised up. He honored them. He mentioned them by name. He was building up relationships Where can we find such a beautiful group of people? Only in Christ as we serve Jesus together! Jesus once prayed for all believers in 17:23, “I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” Such unity is a sign that the work of God was going on among his people and is the way that non-believers will know that Jesus is the Christ. I personally tasted such unity in Winnipeg UBF, Triton UBF and now here at NIU UBF. May we continue to build up such a vessel of love and cop-working among us so that Jesus may be revealed.
Some added points…Paul wanted his coworkers to be world mission minded. Look at verse 16, “After this letter has been read to you, see that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans and that you in turn read the letter from Laodicea.” Laodicea was a nearby city and more populated. A church had been planted there. The Loadicians were “luke warm” in their faith. (Rev 3:14-22) In mentioning Laodicea, Paul was encouraging Colossians to reach out to the Laodiceans and encourage them spiritually.
Verse 18 reveals Paul’s final greetings, "I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you." Most people think that persecution would hinder people from coming to Jesus, but Paul’s chains were not a source of discouragement. On the contrary, they inspired people to give their lives to Jesus. Paul’s was continually working hard to expand the territory of the Kingdom of God, encouraging others to share in Christ’s sufferings and reminding people of the grace of God.
.
In this passage we learn that we must be prayerful, watchful and thankful. We need to look for open doors to do the work of God and go through them. We need to get ourselves out of the way so that Jesus and his gospel may be proclaimed clearly to those whom we are called to reveal it. Finally, let us honor our fellow workers and build each one up spiritually so that we can be a team who can glorify Christ. God bless you.
Showing posts with label Colossians. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Colossians. Show all posts
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Colossians 3:18-4:1 Message
Christ In The Family And At Work
(A Jesus Centered House Church)
Colossians 3:18-4:1 Lesson 6
Key Verse: 3:23 Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF
" Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men,"
In any society there must be spiritual order in our relationships. The New Testament includes many instructions concerning relationships. Unless you are a hermit, you are constantly interacting with people. This summer I was interacting with thousands of fellow Dekalbers at the Corn Fest. It felt good to be around my peeps. Cornfest is one thing, but where else do we interact the most if not within our families, schools and jobs? In this passage Paul gives Christians instructions on how they can relate to others who are the closest in their lives. Paul gives rules for three sets of household relationships, husbands and wives, parents and children, and masters and slaves. In each case there is mutual responsibility to submit, love, to obey and encourage, to work hard and be fair. It is a difficult passage to study, because we all have not been perfect fathers, or children or wives or husbands or coworkers. It is difficult to talk about and discuss certain issues. But we need to admit that we all need to grow in these areas and face the word of God with courage and let it change us. Most people read these instructions for the other person and ignore the ones that apply to themselves. We must seek to find the appropriate verse(s) for ourselves and not think about the other person. Through this passage may we examine our family, school and work relationships and find out how we can relate to one another as God intended.
Part l: Christian Wives And Husbands (3:18-19)
After addressing the Christian community Paul’s next focus is on the family? (What is a Christian family if not a Jesus-centered house church?) Look at verses 18-19. " Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.” The family is created and ordained by God. He created us to be united and be fruitful. Nowadays the definition of family is changing. For many it is not the atomic family of the biological mother and father. It could be mixed family with step brothers and sisters. It can be a family led by a single parent. It could be a group of people who come together because they are committed to one another, like students sharing a common life together. But there is one definition of family that I like. It is from a plaque that I have in my home that says, “Family…where each lives for the other and all live for God.” This is the best definition of family.
The family is meant to reflect the very heart of God. Actually, God forms a family with us. He is our heavenly Father. We have the privilege of becoming part of his family when we receive Jesus and believe in his name. (John 1:12) The family is a place to reflect the love of God and commune in that love. The family is the crux of God’s work. It is the unit that the church is built on. We need healthy, godly families to build healthy, godly churches. When people come in contact with such families they begin to have hope for themselves. They can have a sense of family. This leaves a lasting impression on Bible students. We can see that when we hosted Janice and her family. Zoe and Shyanna stayed for 8 months. Jamie stayed for a year and Janice for two years. Prior to that time their lives were in turmoil. But they could be exposed to our family. Though we are not perfect, God used us to give them all a glimpse on what a Christ centered family could be and they will always remember us. Indeed godly families are the foundation of any work of God.
The first relationship that Paul deals with is the husband and wife relationship. Wives are ultra important in God’s ministry. Wife, in Chinese, means “Sun in the house.” If there is no sun in the house then the children become very cold. Paul gives some very controversial direction to Christian wives? Look at verse 18, “Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.” Submit, means to “yield; surrender” (The Mirriam-Webster Dictionary c. 1974) Submitting to another person is an often misunderstood concept. Submitting does not mean that women are slaves to their husbands. It does not mean becoming a doormat. In a Christian marriage relationship, both husband and wife are called to submit, subordinating their personal desires for the good of the other, while all the while submitting themselves to Jesus as Lord. For the wife, this means willingly supporting her husband’s leadership in Christ. We can not get around this. According to the Bible, the man is the spiritual head of the family. Ephesians 5:22-24 reads, “Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything." Why is submitting so emphasized? Let’s think about this.
But nowadays this is a very touchy subject. Most women do not agree that they should submit to their husbands. Most feel that marriage should be a life of perfect partnership where leadership is determined by the melding of two minds and wills, the husband’s and the wife’s, in perfect harmony. Maybe this is possible in the Garden of Eden, in the presence of the Lord himself. It might be possible when two completely rational people come together and pray prior to each decision to be made. It might be possible when two people are completely united in hope, and vision and mission. This would be the perfect scenario. But we are not living in the perfect world. People are not that rational and couples are not that united. People just don’t agree with each other and in their disagreements, they loose respect for each other. These could be contributing factors for the high divorce rate. When Christian spouses can not agree, even after praying to God, consulting their Bible and Christian friends and talking to their pastor, then what should they do? Call it quits? No way! The secret to overcoming is submission…yielding.
There are several reasons why submission is important. First, an attitude of submission creates a good environment in the home. When you analyze fights, most fight happen because nobody wants to yield. God’s work can not go on and his glory can not be revealed when there is strife. I know of Bible colleges that will not award a degree to people whose families are not in order. Even to those who have completed all of the course requirements. And rightly so. A house can be peaceful when people yield to one another.
Second, being able to submit is a sign of maturity as a person. Children will not submit to each other. From childhood girls are known to be more mature than boys. Maybe God knows that women have a greater capacity to yield than men do.
Third, submission is a reflection of the character of God. Think about it. What does God do when we are headstrong and insist on our own ways? Does he not yield and submit and step back and let us go our own way for a time? In this way God allows us to grow and mature without feeling belittled and crushed. Christ – at whose name “every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth” (Php 2:10)- submitted his will to the Father. We honor Christ when we reflect this same attitude of submission in our own lives.
Fourth, submission helps Christian husbands to grow spiritually. All women want a husband who is handsome, funny, spontaneous, adventurous, faithful and who can love them and provide for their families. They also want to have a spiritual man, who is sensitive to their spiritual needs. It would be nice if we could find such a person who has all of these qualities right away so that we spend all of married days in wedded bliss. But this is a fantasy. When we get married we are faced with each others’ quirks, weaknesses and sins and we easily become disappointed. God brings us together to grow and mature together. There is a saying, “Behind every great man is a great women.” If a women wants a spiritual husband, they need to help their “man” grow spiritually. When a woman respects her husband’s leadership, then the husband can grow to be a great man, even if his arms are like two wet noodles. Wives need to pray, plant God’s word, love, bare and respect, as well as submit. Then, when their “man” starts to blossom spiritually, becoming the “Hall Mark” man they always wanted. They will discover that God’s direction to submit was the best direction after all.
Submission is rarely a problem in homes were both partners have a strong relationship with Christ and where each is concerned for the happiness of the other. But there are some wives who cringe because their husbands are not believers and they are convinced that their husbands are taking the family in the wrong direction. Most times, women are more mature, more wise, more able and sometimes make more money, than their spouses. Some wives say, “Why should I submit to you?” This may be the case. But God still wants wives to wisely and prayerfully submit. 1 Peter 3:1 reads, “Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives,” I say wisely and prayerfully, because there are ways that a godly woman can steer the family and still practice the Bible’s mandate to submit to her husband. Think of Isaac and Rebekah.
If all of these reasons don’t convince you that submitting to your husband is the right things to do then the bottom line is that it is a matter or obedience to God. Submitting to their husbands is like submitting to God’s sovereignty. It is an expression of faith in God.
We talked a lot about Christian wives, but what about Christian husbands? Let’s read verse 19, "Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them." Paul might have brought this up because Christian men, influenced by Roman custom, were not used to treating their wives with respect and love. But Christian men must be different than your typical Roman man. How should a man love his wife? “Love” here, does not mean physical love “eros”. Physical love is limited. Paul means “agape” love, which is God’s love for people. Think about Jesus’ love for us. A husband must love his wife as Christ loved the church. Listen to what Paul says in Ephesians 5:25-28, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.” Jesus loved us unconditionally. Husbands need to reflect this love with their wives. Jesus’ love is also a love that takes the initiative. When there is a spat between a husband and a wife, someone has to take the initiative to restore the relationship. God is also evangelical in his love. God’s love is unconditional and sacrificial. With this in mind, we can determine to reveal Jesus to our wives. The best way is to have sincere concern for her spiritual life. Mostly Jesus gave up his life to save us. Husbands should commit their lives to loving their wives. If there is still confusion, then husbands should think about how much they love their own bodies. Then they will know how to love their wives.
The love of God is like heavenly sunshine. Love is like living water to a thirsty soul. A woman is like a beautiful flower that can blossom into fullness with heavenly sunshine. Just as men need a wife’s respect to grow as a man, a woman needs a husband’s love and care to blossom and grow. Then they continue to be more and more beautiful and spiritual. When children see and hear their parents loving and respecting each other, they can be very secure and happy. Indeed the best gift that a father can give their kids is to love their mother. And when the husband loves their spouse like this, then their wives are willing to submit to them. No wife needs to fear submitting to a man who loves her with the love of Jesus.
Paul tells Christian husbands not to be harsh with their wives in verse 19b. A husband should never be harsh. As we already established, women are like flowers. Men are rough and can easily crush flowers. Men try to protect their pride. They want respect. If a husband does not feel respected then some men react by being harsh. A man’s harsh treatment of his wife can come from a lack of understanding about humanity, thoughtlessness and selfishness. It could come from a lack of experience with the grace of God themselves. It could be a very bad habit. A husband should never be harsh. When a person is harsh it generally means that they are loosing their means of control. Harshness is a last desperate attempt to stay in control. There are other ways than to resort to harshness. What about praying for and serving each other instead? Ultimately, we need to realize our weaknesses and ask for God’s help.
Part ll: Children And Parents (20- 21)
In a house church, children have an obligation to their parents? Look at verse 20, "Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord." Children should not have selective hearing when it comes to obeying their parents. Nor should they be “home blind” to their parents’ commands. Children are called to obey their parents in everything. Obeying their parents has its roots in love and respect and honoring their parents. If there is no respect of love then nobody can obey anybody. Paul says in Ephesians 6:2-3, "2"Honor your father and mother"—which is the first commandment with a promise— 3"that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth." There a lot of advantages to obeying their parents. What about college tuition?
For their children to obey, parents need to have a team concept. We are all part of a team, Jesus’ team. If you are sincerely serving God, alongside your kids, and they know that you love them and love God, then they will obey you. You can’t be a disconnected parent with a “do as I say and not as I do attitude.”
Children need to obey. Ultimately they need to obey their parents because it pleases the Lord. And think about…if child can not obey their parents who they see, will they ever obey God. Children should practice obeying God, by obeying their parents. This type of relationship will become manifest if both parents and children put the interests of others above their own – that is, if they submit to one another. But there are limits to this obedience. Ephesians 6:1 reads, " Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right." Children are not commanded to disobey God in obeying their parents.
But parents need to be very careful in raising their kids. Verse 21, “:21, "Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged." Embitter: “To arouse bitter feelings…marked by intensity of severity; distress or hatred.” (Merriam Webster Dictionary c. 1974) Children must be handled with care. Don’t alienate them by nagging, or destroying their self-respect. Never make them loose heart. Paul urges fathers to not make their kids angry, but rather plant the hope of God in their young hearts. How can they do this? It is simple, spend time with them, maintain communication, respect them, give them freedom and respect their choices, be a good influence. Have regular 1:1 Bible study with them. This is the best way to plant the hope of God in their young hearts.
Part lll: Christian Work Ethics (3:22-4:1)
Master and slaves were another important part of the society and Paul addresses this too. Look at verses 22-23, "Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. 23Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men," Slaves played an important an important part in Paul’s world. There were several million of them in the Roman Empire. Some cites were 2/3 slaves. Because many slaves and owners had become Christians, the early church had to deal with the question of master/slave relations.
First, Christian slaves. Basically, Paul urges them that they must be slaves of Christ and do their best to work for the benefit of their master. Though they may be slaves humanly, they are not slaves in the sight of God. They are servants of God. They are called to lead their master’s household and fellow slaves to Christ.
Living in this world there are many bosses and many slaves. All of our political systems have, in some ways, produced a master class and a slave class. Some days we all feel that we are slaves to our bosses, our jobs, and our text books. Some of us are visa slaves. So what should we do? Slaves are told to work hard as though their master were Christ himself (3:22-25). Simply apply this principle to whatever situation you find yourself in. For example Christian employees should do their jobs as if Jesus Christ were their supervisor. Students should study as if Jesus was their professor. Your work can be an act of worship. When you have this attitude you can be happy because you know you are serving Jesus and will get a heavenly reward. Verse 24 reads, "24since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving."
What should masters do for their slaves? Colossians 4:1, "Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven." Masters were to provide what was just and fair. They should pay them, provide health care, give them some leisure time, provide food and shelter, educate them. Most importantly they should provide a means for their slaves to worship Jesus. Today, those who find themselves in boss or supervisor positions should respect their employees. Leaders should take care of their volunteers. If you have responsibility over others, make sure you do what is right and fair, knowing that you are accountable to your Master in heaven. (4:1)
In this passage we learn that we should have God honoring relationships with people around us. Wives must learn the wisdom of submitting to their husbands. (and husbands must learn this too.) Husbands must learn to love their wives with a godly love. Children must learn to obey their parents in the Lord and parents need to set the example for their children. Christian workers and students must work hard as if they are serving Jesus himself and Christian supervisors must respect and provide for those under their care. When Christ is the center of all of our relationships then Jesus can be glorified among us and the kingdom of God can grow through us.
(A Jesus Centered House Church)
Colossians 3:18-4:1 Lesson 6
Key Verse: 3:23 Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF
" Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men,"
In any society there must be spiritual order in our relationships. The New Testament includes many instructions concerning relationships. Unless you are a hermit, you are constantly interacting with people. This summer I was interacting with thousands of fellow Dekalbers at the Corn Fest. It felt good to be around my peeps. Cornfest is one thing, but where else do we interact the most if not within our families, schools and jobs? In this passage Paul gives Christians instructions on how they can relate to others who are the closest in their lives. Paul gives rules for three sets of household relationships, husbands and wives, parents and children, and masters and slaves. In each case there is mutual responsibility to submit, love, to obey and encourage, to work hard and be fair. It is a difficult passage to study, because we all have not been perfect fathers, or children or wives or husbands or coworkers. It is difficult to talk about and discuss certain issues. But we need to admit that we all need to grow in these areas and face the word of God with courage and let it change us. Most people read these instructions for the other person and ignore the ones that apply to themselves. We must seek to find the appropriate verse(s) for ourselves and not think about the other person. Through this passage may we examine our family, school and work relationships and find out how we can relate to one another as God intended.
Part l: Christian Wives And Husbands (3:18-19)
After addressing the Christian community Paul’s next focus is on the family? (What is a Christian family if not a Jesus-centered house church?) Look at verses 18-19. " Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.” The family is created and ordained by God. He created us to be united and be fruitful. Nowadays the definition of family is changing. For many it is not the atomic family of the biological mother and father. It could be mixed family with step brothers and sisters. It can be a family led by a single parent. It could be a group of people who come together because they are committed to one another, like students sharing a common life together. But there is one definition of family that I like. It is from a plaque that I have in my home that says, “Family…where each lives for the other and all live for God.” This is the best definition of family.
The family is meant to reflect the very heart of God. Actually, God forms a family with us. He is our heavenly Father. We have the privilege of becoming part of his family when we receive Jesus and believe in his name. (John 1:12) The family is a place to reflect the love of God and commune in that love. The family is the crux of God’s work. It is the unit that the church is built on. We need healthy, godly families to build healthy, godly churches. When people come in contact with such families they begin to have hope for themselves. They can have a sense of family. This leaves a lasting impression on Bible students. We can see that when we hosted Janice and her family. Zoe and Shyanna stayed for 8 months. Jamie stayed for a year and Janice for two years. Prior to that time their lives were in turmoil. But they could be exposed to our family. Though we are not perfect, God used us to give them all a glimpse on what a Christ centered family could be and they will always remember us. Indeed godly families are the foundation of any work of God.
The first relationship that Paul deals with is the husband and wife relationship. Wives are ultra important in God’s ministry. Wife, in Chinese, means “Sun in the house.” If there is no sun in the house then the children become very cold. Paul gives some very controversial direction to Christian wives? Look at verse 18, “Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.” Submit, means to “yield; surrender” (The Mirriam-Webster Dictionary c. 1974) Submitting to another person is an often misunderstood concept. Submitting does not mean that women are slaves to their husbands. It does not mean becoming a doormat. In a Christian marriage relationship, both husband and wife are called to submit, subordinating their personal desires for the good of the other, while all the while submitting themselves to Jesus as Lord. For the wife, this means willingly supporting her husband’s leadership in Christ. We can not get around this. According to the Bible, the man is the spiritual head of the family. Ephesians 5:22-24 reads, “Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything." Why is submitting so emphasized? Let’s think about this.
But nowadays this is a very touchy subject. Most women do not agree that they should submit to their husbands. Most feel that marriage should be a life of perfect partnership where leadership is determined by the melding of two minds and wills, the husband’s and the wife’s, in perfect harmony. Maybe this is possible in the Garden of Eden, in the presence of the Lord himself. It might be possible when two completely rational people come together and pray prior to each decision to be made. It might be possible when two people are completely united in hope, and vision and mission. This would be the perfect scenario. But we are not living in the perfect world. People are not that rational and couples are not that united. People just don’t agree with each other and in their disagreements, they loose respect for each other. These could be contributing factors for the high divorce rate. When Christian spouses can not agree, even after praying to God, consulting their Bible and Christian friends and talking to their pastor, then what should they do? Call it quits? No way! The secret to overcoming is submission…yielding.
There are several reasons why submission is important. First, an attitude of submission creates a good environment in the home. When you analyze fights, most fight happen because nobody wants to yield. God’s work can not go on and his glory can not be revealed when there is strife. I know of Bible colleges that will not award a degree to people whose families are not in order. Even to those who have completed all of the course requirements. And rightly so. A house can be peaceful when people yield to one another.
Second, being able to submit is a sign of maturity as a person. Children will not submit to each other. From childhood girls are known to be more mature than boys. Maybe God knows that women have a greater capacity to yield than men do.
Third, submission is a reflection of the character of God. Think about it. What does God do when we are headstrong and insist on our own ways? Does he not yield and submit and step back and let us go our own way for a time? In this way God allows us to grow and mature without feeling belittled and crushed. Christ – at whose name “every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth” (Php 2:10)- submitted his will to the Father. We honor Christ when we reflect this same attitude of submission in our own lives.
Fourth, submission helps Christian husbands to grow spiritually. All women want a husband who is handsome, funny, spontaneous, adventurous, faithful and who can love them and provide for their families. They also want to have a spiritual man, who is sensitive to their spiritual needs. It would be nice if we could find such a person who has all of these qualities right away so that we spend all of married days in wedded bliss. But this is a fantasy. When we get married we are faced with each others’ quirks, weaknesses and sins and we easily become disappointed. God brings us together to grow and mature together. There is a saying, “Behind every great man is a great women.” If a women wants a spiritual husband, they need to help their “man” grow spiritually. When a woman respects her husband’s leadership, then the husband can grow to be a great man, even if his arms are like two wet noodles. Wives need to pray, plant God’s word, love, bare and respect, as well as submit. Then, when their “man” starts to blossom spiritually, becoming the “Hall Mark” man they always wanted. They will discover that God’s direction to submit was the best direction after all.
Submission is rarely a problem in homes were both partners have a strong relationship with Christ and where each is concerned for the happiness of the other. But there are some wives who cringe because their husbands are not believers and they are convinced that their husbands are taking the family in the wrong direction. Most times, women are more mature, more wise, more able and sometimes make more money, than their spouses. Some wives say, “Why should I submit to you?” This may be the case. But God still wants wives to wisely and prayerfully submit. 1 Peter 3:1 reads, “Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives,” I say wisely and prayerfully, because there are ways that a godly woman can steer the family and still practice the Bible’s mandate to submit to her husband. Think of Isaac and Rebekah.
If all of these reasons don’t convince you that submitting to your husband is the right things to do then the bottom line is that it is a matter or obedience to God. Submitting to their husbands is like submitting to God’s sovereignty. It is an expression of faith in God.
We talked a lot about Christian wives, but what about Christian husbands? Let’s read verse 19, "Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them." Paul might have brought this up because Christian men, influenced by Roman custom, were not used to treating their wives with respect and love. But Christian men must be different than your typical Roman man. How should a man love his wife? “Love” here, does not mean physical love “eros”. Physical love is limited. Paul means “agape” love, which is God’s love for people. Think about Jesus’ love for us. A husband must love his wife as Christ loved the church. Listen to what Paul says in Ephesians 5:25-28, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.” Jesus loved us unconditionally. Husbands need to reflect this love with their wives. Jesus’ love is also a love that takes the initiative. When there is a spat between a husband and a wife, someone has to take the initiative to restore the relationship. God is also evangelical in his love. God’s love is unconditional and sacrificial. With this in mind, we can determine to reveal Jesus to our wives. The best way is to have sincere concern for her spiritual life. Mostly Jesus gave up his life to save us. Husbands should commit their lives to loving their wives. If there is still confusion, then husbands should think about how much they love their own bodies. Then they will know how to love their wives.
The love of God is like heavenly sunshine. Love is like living water to a thirsty soul. A woman is like a beautiful flower that can blossom into fullness with heavenly sunshine. Just as men need a wife’s respect to grow as a man, a woman needs a husband’s love and care to blossom and grow. Then they continue to be more and more beautiful and spiritual. When children see and hear their parents loving and respecting each other, they can be very secure and happy. Indeed the best gift that a father can give their kids is to love their mother. And when the husband loves their spouse like this, then their wives are willing to submit to them. No wife needs to fear submitting to a man who loves her with the love of Jesus.
Paul tells Christian husbands not to be harsh with their wives in verse 19b. A husband should never be harsh. As we already established, women are like flowers. Men are rough and can easily crush flowers. Men try to protect their pride. They want respect. If a husband does not feel respected then some men react by being harsh. A man’s harsh treatment of his wife can come from a lack of understanding about humanity, thoughtlessness and selfishness. It could come from a lack of experience with the grace of God themselves. It could be a very bad habit. A husband should never be harsh. When a person is harsh it generally means that they are loosing their means of control. Harshness is a last desperate attempt to stay in control. There are other ways than to resort to harshness. What about praying for and serving each other instead? Ultimately, we need to realize our weaknesses and ask for God’s help.
Part ll: Children And Parents (20- 21)
In a house church, children have an obligation to their parents? Look at verse 20, "Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord." Children should not have selective hearing when it comes to obeying their parents. Nor should they be “home blind” to their parents’ commands. Children are called to obey their parents in everything. Obeying their parents has its roots in love and respect and honoring their parents. If there is no respect of love then nobody can obey anybody. Paul says in Ephesians 6:2-3, "2"Honor your father and mother"—which is the first commandment with a promise— 3"that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth." There a lot of advantages to obeying their parents. What about college tuition?
For their children to obey, parents need to have a team concept. We are all part of a team, Jesus’ team. If you are sincerely serving God, alongside your kids, and they know that you love them and love God, then they will obey you. You can’t be a disconnected parent with a “do as I say and not as I do attitude.”
Children need to obey. Ultimately they need to obey their parents because it pleases the Lord. And think about…if child can not obey their parents who they see, will they ever obey God. Children should practice obeying God, by obeying their parents. This type of relationship will become manifest if both parents and children put the interests of others above their own – that is, if they submit to one another. But there are limits to this obedience. Ephesians 6:1 reads, " Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right." Children are not commanded to disobey God in obeying their parents.
But parents need to be very careful in raising their kids. Verse 21, “:21, "Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged." Embitter: “To arouse bitter feelings…marked by intensity of severity; distress or hatred.” (Merriam Webster Dictionary c. 1974) Children must be handled with care. Don’t alienate them by nagging, or destroying their self-respect. Never make them loose heart. Paul urges fathers to not make their kids angry, but rather plant the hope of God in their young hearts. How can they do this? It is simple, spend time with them, maintain communication, respect them, give them freedom and respect their choices, be a good influence. Have regular 1:1 Bible study with them. This is the best way to plant the hope of God in their young hearts.
Part lll: Christian Work Ethics (3:22-4:1)
Master and slaves were another important part of the society and Paul addresses this too. Look at verses 22-23, "Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. 23Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men," Slaves played an important an important part in Paul’s world. There were several million of them in the Roman Empire. Some cites were 2/3 slaves. Because many slaves and owners had become Christians, the early church had to deal with the question of master/slave relations.
First, Christian slaves. Basically, Paul urges them that they must be slaves of Christ and do their best to work for the benefit of their master. Though they may be slaves humanly, they are not slaves in the sight of God. They are servants of God. They are called to lead their master’s household and fellow slaves to Christ.
Living in this world there are many bosses and many slaves. All of our political systems have, in some ways, produced a master class and a slave class. Some days we all feel that we are slaves to our bosses, our jobs, and our text books. Some of us are visa slaves. So what should we do? Slaves are told to work hard as though their master were Christ himself (3:22-25). Simply apply this principle to whatever situation you find yourself in. For example Christian employees should do their jobs as if Jesus Christ were their supervisor. Students should study as if Jesus was their professor. Your work can be an act of worship. When you have this attitude you can be happy because you know you are serving Jesus and will get a heavenly reward. Verse 24 reads, "24since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving."
What should masters do for their slaves? Colossians 4:1, "Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven." Masters were to provide what was just and fair. They should pay them, provide health care, give them some leisure time, provide food and shelter, educate them. Most importantly they should provide a means for their slaves to worship Jesus. Today, those who find themselves in boss or supervisor positions should respect their employees. Leaders should take care of their volunteers. If you have responsibility over others, make sure you do what is right and fair, knowing that you are accountable to your Master in heaven. (4:1)
In this passage we learn that we should have God honoring relationships with people around us. Wives must learn the wisdom of submitting to their husbands. (and husbands must learn this too.) Husbands must learn to love their wives with a godly love. Children must learn to obey their parents in the Lord and parents need to set the example for their children. Christian workers and students must work hard as if they are serving Jesus himself and Christian supervisors must respect and provide for those under their care. When Christ is the center of all of our relationships then Jesus can be glorified among us and the kingdom of God can grow through us.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Colossians 3:1-17
SET YOUR HEARTS ON THINGS ABOVE
Colossians 3:1-17 Lesson 5
Key Verse: 3:1 Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF 8-9-09
" Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God."
In our last passage we learn that life in Christ is more than just being an arm chair theologian. It is more than just living by the rules and traditions of men. It is more than subjecting our bodies to harsh treatment. It is all about receiving Christ Jesus as Lord and continuing to live in him as a lifestyle. It is all about being rooted in Jesus and built up in him, strengthened in the faith and overflowing with thankfulness. Through repentance and faith we can put deep roots down into the grace and truth of God. Then we can be built up in Jesus, as individuals and as a church. Many of us decided to be overflowing with thanksgiving, to search for true life only in Jesus and to lead others to true life in him. Maybe you were one of those people?
Up to this point, chapters 1 and 2 were all about doctrine. Now, in chapters 3 & 4 Paul talks more about the practical life of believers, concentrating on the new person we have become and the new life we have been called to live. As God's children, we must cast off the old self and put on the new, and then God will continue to work in us to mold us into Jesus' image. Through this study, may God strengthen and inspire you to live a new life.
Part l: New Life In Christ (1-4)
Let’s dive into this passage. Verses 1 says, “you have been raised with Christ .” This is kind of hard to understand, especially for the young ones among us, but I trust the Holy Spirit to guide and to teach young hearts. “Raised with Christ” simply means that we have been united with Christ in his death and in his resurrection. Our old self has died and in Christ we have risen to become a new person, not superficially, but through and through. Our lives are hidden with Christ in God. Our hope is in him, for he will surely return to reign in glory, and we will rise to be with him forever.
But we are still waiting for Jesus to come again and as we do we have to live by faith in a fallen world polluted by sin. In such an environment we all know that Christian life does not come automatically, nor does it permeate our heart through osmosis. The “whip of life” can make our hearts very difficult and hard. We easily become discouraged when we discover that all that we set our hearts on is only spoiling, perishing and fading away. But in Christ, there is a solution. Verse 1a reads, "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above,…" The only way to overcome this world is to set our hearts on Christ, and on things above.
“Set” and “seek” have similar meanings in Greek. To “set” implies that we don’t just think about it, but seek it with our whole body and mind. It implies action…a very positive thing. In order to make some positive action, we need some spiritual discipline on our lives. Then there will surely be and some positive growth and movement. When it comes to spiritual things and the kingdom of God, we must never be passive, but take hold of the things of God with our whole hearts. (Matt 11:12)
Despite of this world’s difficulties and our own weaknesses, our new lives are held safe and secure in Jesus. Verses 3 & 4 read, "For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory." We have been united in Christ. The new life we now have is with Christ. It is sheltered and a protected. To be certain, we will appear in heavenly glory with Jesus. We can live in Christ with perfect security and peace. So many students have no hope and assurance in this world. To them nothing seems certain, except death and taxes. They despair and live in fear. They need to enter into new life in Jesus and be found hidden in Christ.
Part ll: Put To Death The Earthly Nature (5-11)
We can not be passive about getting rid of old lives of sin either. Look at verse 5. "Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature:” Our earthly nature is our sinful nature. Some of the elements of the sinful nature are found in verse 5b, "….sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.” (Gal 5:17-21) If there is some confusion as to what sexual immorality is, Jesus spells is out very clearly. To Jesus even looking at someone lustfully is adultery. (Matt 5:28) Impurity implies that something is not holy…something tainted by sin. Anything that is not of faith is sin. Lust is lust, plain and simple and has no room in a Christian’s heart. Evil desires are desires that are not for the glory of God, for whatever we do, whether we eat or drink, we must do it all for the glory of God. (1Cor 10:31) When we are greedy, it means that we have let something capture our hearts. It makes us want to serve created things. Greed is like a fire, always desiring more. Anything that captures our hearts is idolatry. There are many reasons that a Christian must not live like this. But verse 6 makes it clear… “Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.” Paul gets right to the point. It displeases God. It damages us and damages others. These things rob the Holy Spirit of its rightful dwelling place…our hearts. The wrath of God is surely coming. We must take them under control with the gospel of Jesus. This is the heart of the matter.
People like to caudal their sin and slowly and gently put it to death. Maybe they think it will disappear painlessly. Some allow sin to reign in their mortal bodies for decades sometimes. I always remember the words of Michael Card in his song, “I Have Decided.” A portion of the song says, “There's a wealth of things that I professed and said that I believed. But deep inside I never changed. I guess I've been deceived. And a voice inside kept telling me that I changed by and by. But the Spirit made it clear to me that kind of life's a lie.” When it comes to our sinful nature Jesus commands that we put it to death, “"Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature:” “Put to death” are extreme words. It means literally to kill something so that it may not rise again. It has no response. In the Bible there is nothing gentle about dealing with sinful elements that invade our hearts. Hebrews 12:4 reads, “In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.” But when we try to put our sinful nature to death, it might raise its ugly head again and again, but keep “killing it” through repentance and faith and it will loose its power over you and you will be able to throw it off and walk victoriously in Christ.
In our repentance we must not just simply trying to “not” do things, like “do not swear” or “do not get angry.” Repentance breathes new life into our weary bones, when go beyond the “don’ts” and hold fast to the full meaning of repentance. Romans 6:13 reads, “Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.” We need to be positive in our repentance, replacing sin with positive things for the glory of God. Instead of swearing, praise the name of Jesus. Instead of being angry with someone forgive them and pray for them. Serve them a peanut butter sandwich. Be very positive in your repentance.
We can see the fruit of repentance in the lives of the Colossian Christians. Look at verse 7, “You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.” (Also see 1 Cor 6:9-11) Paul seems to remind people of what they were before they came to saving faith in Jesus. He wanted these new converts to be firmly grounded in the grace of God. And when the grace of Jesus was very clear, they needed to get their lives in line with the grace that was poured out on them. Let’s read verses 8-9. “But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices.” In light of the grace of God we need to rid ourselves of many things. Anger is like murder in Jesus’ eyes. Rage is extreme anger..anger over expressed. I have to repent of letting rage come into my heart from time to time. Malice is intending something bad to happen to someone. Slander, is dragging someone’s good name through the dirt, publically. People can be sued for slandering. Filthy language is filthy language, plain and simple. It includes perverse talk, coarse jokes, swearing, taking the Lord’s name in vain. Lies can be subtle. Not telling the whole truth and being vague on purpose is like lying. It misleads people. But God can not be mocked. All lies will be exposed. Sometimes we think that such things are not all that bad. We get angry, we lie, we take God’s name in vain, and think nothing about it. We are sort of desensitized about it. But it is part of our old selves and must be taken off and replaced with the image of Jesus.
The image of Jesus is part of our new identity as believers in Jesus. Let’s read verse 10, “and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.” Thank God that we don’t have to bear our old identity as lost sinners. I don’t have to bear my old, old image of a destructive, hedonist or my recently old image of an angry father. We all have a new identity in God, that is, those who bear the image of Jesus. Our young people need find a new identity in God. Pray that God may raise up 12 disciples this summer who can put on their new self in the image of their Creator, Jesus Christ.
When we put on our new selves, then something beautiful happens in our fellowship. Look at verse 11. “Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.” In the world there are so many barriers and prejudices. There are all kinds of divisions. But in Jesus every human barrier comes down. The closer we get to Jesus the closer we get to each other. Young and old, men and women, all ethnic groups, all social barriers, racial barriers, and all prejudices are removed. In Jesus we have unity. In the cross we are all brothers and sisters in Christ. A healthy church should have all different kinds of people worshipping together as one.
Part lll: Christian Virtue (12-17)
A person who has put on the new self is one of God’s chosen people. Verse 12 reads, “ Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” God’s chosen people are holy before the eyes of God. They are made holy through their faith in the blood of Jesus. They are dearly loved by God and by many, (but not all) people. (12) As a chosen people part of the new self is to be clothed with virtues such as “…compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” (12b) These, and other virtues, God wants to blossom in our hearts, as we remain in Christ. Verses 13 and 14 read, “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” Jesus really wants his disciples, of all ages to have unity with God and with one another. In John 17:11 Jesus prays for his disciples. “I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name—the name you gave me—so that they may be one as we are one.” There is only one way to achieve this type of unity. It is to bear and forgive one another. When we clothe ourselves with these virtues then we can grow in perfect unity with God and with one another.
How hard it to achieve unity! Henry Ford once said, “Coming together is a beginning. Staying together is progress. Working together is success.” But among disciples of Jesus there are many problems with each other that keep this from being a reality. But when disciples of Jesus are clothed with these virtues they can make things work out.
Forgiveness is the key to working things out. It is hard to forgive. People take advantage of us or cross us and we think that we have some right to never forgive. I know a person who has held a grudge for 45 years. One person I know has held a grudge against me for 7 years. We demand that others forgive us, but can we forgive others? It does not make sense to say, “I love God, but I hate you.” or “God can forgive me, but I will never forgive you.” The key is to always remember how Christ forgave us. 1 John 4:19, “We love because he first loved us.” And 1 John 3:16, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.” When we remember this then what little grievances we may have with another disappears. We can maintain unity with Jesus and one another and put on the greatest of every virtue, love, which binds us all together in perfect unity. (14)
Another by-product of practicing Christian virtues is peace. Let’s read verse15, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.” Instead of anger and criticism, peace should rule the hearts of anyone in the body of Christ. Jesus gives us peace. God is glorified when there is peace among his people. People are attracted to Jesus when his people live in peace with one another and with God. Young people really want peace. Too often they can not find it at home. They surely can’t find it on their i-pod and at the movie theater. They can’t find it in their relationships. They will find it in Jesus and we need show it by living in peace among ourselves.
How is this peace achieved? Let’s read verse 16, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly…” “Let the word dwell in you” implies that God is trying to do something through his word. Do not hinder his word with our unbelief or our business. Let God do what he is trying to do. Let the word of God dwell in your heart richly through deep and personal and quiet Bible study. Then we will see the peace of God descend upon our hearts like a refreshing morning mist.
The peace of God can grow among us in other ways too. Let’s read verse 16b, “…as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.” Christ gave us wisdom. What should we do with it? We are given wisdom to teach and encourage others. We can also influence others in the way of peace by singing spiritual songs and hymns. When we do, we can be joyful, peaceful Christians. I try to sing with all my Bible students. Most of the time it is me doing a solo in front of them. But eventually they try to follow and their hearts become open to the word of God. One of my Bible students, Cornell loves to sing hymns.
We can also promote peace by maintaining an “attitude of gratitude” in our hearts to God. An unthankful heart is the root of all sin. A complaining heart is like a snowball that is tumbling down a hill. It gets bigger and it picks up momentum. Eventually anyone stepping in front of it, to try to stop it, is going to get hurt by it. Satan cannot manipulate a heart that is thankful to God. Being thankful to God means being thankful for all that he has done in your life, all that he is doing and all that he will do. Thankfulness glorifies God.
Living for the glory of God promotes peace among God’s people. Verse 17a reads, “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus,…” This is linked to 1 Cor 10:31, which reads, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” God does not want his people living for their own glory and honor, trying to make a name for themselves, or trying to use the church to build up their own personal lives. How much peace and unity can a group of people have when they are all looking out for “number one”? The peace of God can come upon us, and among us, when we stop living for our own glory and live exclusively for the glory of God. When we live for the glory of God, all together then we can have unity and peace and attract a non believing world to Christ.
In this passage we learned that after receiving our new life in Christ, we must set our hearts on things above. This means to seek heavenly things, especially Jesus sitting on his throne. This is not just an idea or a once in life time event, it is a life style. We must put off our sinful nature and put on the new image of our Creator, Jesus Christ. We must put our old “self” to death and develop godly virtues in our lives. Then we can be one with Jesus and grow in oneness with one another as God wants us to be. We can maintain the love of God and the peace of God among us and attracting many young people to a new life in Christ. May God bless you.
Colossians 3:1-17 Lesson 5
Key Verse: 3:1 Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF 8-9-09
" Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God."
In our last passage we learn that life in Christ is more than just being an arm chair theologian. It is more than just living by the rules and traditions of men. It is more than subjecting our bodies to harsh treatment. It is all about receiving Christ Jesus as Lord and continuing to live in him as a lifestyle. It is all about being rooted in Jesus and built up in him, strengthened in the faith and overflowing with thankfulness. Through repentance and faith we can put deep roots down into the grace and truth of God. Then we can be built up in Jesus, as individuals and as a church. Many of us decided to be overflowing with thanksgiving, to search for true life only in Jesus and to lead others to true life in him. Maybe you were one of those people?
Up to this point, chapters 1 and 2 were all about doctrine. Now, in chapters 3 & 4 Paul talks more about the practical life of believers, concentrating on the new person we have become and the new life we have been called to live. As God's children, we must cast off the old self and put on the new, and then God will continue to work in us to mold us into Jesus' image. Through this study, may God strengthen and inspire you to live a new life.
Part l: New Life In Christ (1-4)
Let’s dive into this passage. Verses 1 says, “you have been raised with Christ .” This is kind of hard to understand, especially for the young ones among us, but I trust the Holy Spirit to guide and to teach young hearts. “Raised with Christ” simply means that we have been united with Christ in his death and in his resurrection. Our old self has died and in Christ we have risen to become a new person, not superficially, but through and through. Our lives are hidden with Christ in God. Our hope is in him, for he will surely return to reign in glory, and we will rise to be with him forever.
But we are still waiting for Jesus to come again and as we do we have to live by faith in a fallen world polluted by sin. In such an environment we all know that Christian life does not come automatically, nor does it permeate our heart through osmosis. The “whip of life” can make our hearts very difficult and hard. We easily become discouraged when we discover that all that we set our hearts on is only spoiling, perishing and fading away. But in Christ, there is a solution. Verse 1a reads, "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above,…" The only way to overcome this world is to set our hearts on Christ, and on things above.
“Set” and “seek” have similar meanings in Greek. To “set” implies that we don’t just think about it, but seek it with our whole body and mind. It implies action…a very positive thing. In order to make some positive action, we need some spiritual discipline on our lives. Then there will surely be and some positive growth and movement. When it comes to spiritual things and the kingdom of God, we must never be passive, but take hold of the things of God with our whole hearts. (Matt 11:12)
Despite of this world’s difficulties and our own weaknesses, our new lives are held safe and secure in Jesus. Verses 3 & 4 read, "For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory." We have been united in Christ. The new life we now have is with Christ. It is sheltered and a protected. To be certain, we will appear in heavenly glory with Jesus. We can live in Christ with perfect security and peace. So many students have no hope and assurance in this world. To them nothing seems certain, except death and taxes. They despair and live in fear. They need to enter into new life in Jesus and be found hidden in Christ.
Part ll: Put To Death The Earthly Nature (5-11)
We can not be passive about getting rid of old lives of sin either. Look at verse 5. "Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature:” Our earthly nature is our sinful nature. Some of the elements of the sinful nature are found in verse 5b, "….sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.” (Gal 5:17-21) If there is some confusion as to what sexual immorality is, Jesus spells is out very clearly. To Jesus even looking at someone lustfully is adultery. (Matt 5:28) Impurity implies that something is not holy…something tainted by sin. Anything that is not of faith is sin. Lust is lust, plain and simple and has no room in a Christian’s heart. Evil desires are desires that are not for the glory of God, for whatever we do, whether we eat or drink, we must do it all for the glory of God. (1Cor 10:31) When we are greedy, it means that we have let something capture our hearts. It makes us want to serve created things. Greed is like a fire, always desiring more. Anything that captures our hearts is idolatry. There are many reasons that a Christian must not live like this. But verse 6 makes it clear… “Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.” Paul gets right to the point. It displeases God. It damages us and damages others. These things rob the Holy Spirit of its rightful dwelling place…our hearts. The wrath of God is surely coming. We must take them under control with the gospel of Jesus. This is the heart of the matter.
People like to caudal their sin and slowly and gently put it to death. Maybe they think it will disappear painlessly. Some allow sin to reign in their mortal bodies for decades sometimes. I always remember the words of Michael Card in his song, “I Have Decided.” A portion of the song says, “There's a wealth of things that I professed and said that I believed. But deep inside I never changed. I guess I've been deceived. And a voice inside kept telling me that I changed by and by. But the Spirit made it clear to me that kind of life's a lie.” When it comes to our sinful nature Jesus commands that we put it to death, “"Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature:” “Put to death” are extreme words. It means literally to kill something so that it may not rise again. It has no response. In the Bible there is nothing gentle about dealing with sinful elements that invade our hearts. Hebrews 12:4 reads, “In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.” But when we try to put our sinful nature to death, it might raise its ugly head again and again, but keep “killing it” through repentance and faith and it will loose its power over you and you will be able to throw it off and walk victoriously in Christ.
In our repentance we must not just simply trying to “not” do things, like “do not swear” or “do not get angry.” Repentance breathes new life into our weary bones, when go beyond the “don’ts” and hold fast to the full meaning of repentance. Romans 6:13 reads, “Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.” We need to be positive in our repentance, replacing sin with positive things for the glory of God. Instead of swearing, praise the name of Jesus. Instead of being angry with someone forgive them and pray for them. Serve them a peanut butter sandwich. Be very positive in your repentance.
We can see the fruit of repentance in the lives of the Colossian Christians. Look at verse 7, “You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.” (Also see 1 Cor 6:9-11) Paul seems to remind people of what they were before they came to saving faith in Jesus. He wanted these new converts to be firmly grounded in the grace of God. And when the grace of Jesus was very clear, they needed to get their lives in line with the grace that was poured out on them. Let’s read verses 8-9. “But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices.” In light of the grace of God we need to rid ourselves of many things. Anger is like murder in Jesus’ eyes. Rage is extreme anger..anger over expressed. I have to repent of letting rage come into my heart from time to time. Malice is intending something bad to happen to someone. Slander, is dragging someone’s good name through the dirt, publically. People can be sued for slandering. Filthy language is filthy language, plain and simple. It includes perverse talk, coarse jokes, swearing, taking the Lord’s name in vain. Lies can be subtle. Not telling the whole truth and being vague on purpose is like lying. It misleads people. But God can not be mocked. All lies will be exposed. Sometimes we think that such things are not all that bad. We get angry, we lie, we take God’s name in vain, and think nothing about it. We are sort of desensitized about it. But it is part of our old selves and must be taken off and replaced with the image of Jesus.
The image of Jesus is part of our new identity as believers in Jesus. Let’s read verse 10, “and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.” Thank God that we don’t have to bear our old identity as lost sinners. I don’t have to bear my old, old image of a destructive, hedonist or my recently old image of an angry father. We all have a new identity in God, that is, those who bear the image of Jesus. Our young people need find a new identity in God. Pray that God may raise up 12 disciples this summer who can put on their new self in the image of their Creator, Jesus Christ.
When we put on our new selves, then something beautiful happens in our fellowship. Look at verse 11. “Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.” In the world there are so many barriers and prejudices. There are all kinds of divisions. But in Jesus every human barrier comes down. The closer we get to Jesus the closer we get to each other. Young and old, men and women, all ethnic groups, all social barriers, racial barriers, and all prejudices are removed. In Jesus we have unity. In the cross we are all brothers and sisters in Christ. A healthy church should have all different kinds of people worshipping together as one.
Part lll: Christian Virtue (12-17)
A person who has put on the new self is one of God’s chosen people. Verse 12 reads, “ Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” God’s chosen people are holy before the eyes of God. They are made holy through their faith in the blood of Jesus. They are dearly loved by God and by many, (but not all) people. (12) As a chosen people part of the new self is to be clothed with virtues such as “…compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” (12b) These, and other virtues, God wants to blossom in our hearts, as we remain in Christ. Verses 13 and 14 read, “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” Jesus really wants his disciples, of all ages to have unity with God and with one another. In John 17:11 Jesus prays for his disciples. “I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name—the name you gave me—so that they may be one as we are one.” There is only one way to achieve this type of unity. It is to bear and forgive one another. When we clothe ourselves with these virtues then we can grow in perfect unity with God and with one another.
How hard it to achieve unity! Henry Ford once said, “Coming together is a beginning. Staying together is progress. Working together is success.” But among disciples of Jesus there are many problems with each other that keep this from being a reality. But when disciples of Jesus are clothed with these virtues they can make things work out.
Forgiveness is the key to working things out. It is hard to forgive. People take advantage of us or cross us and we think that we have some right to never forgive. I know a person who has held a grudge for 45 years. One person I know has held a grudge against me for 7 years. We demand that others forgive us, but can we forgive others? It does not make sense to say, “I love God, but I hate you.” or “God can forgive me, but I will never forgive you.” The key is to always remember how Christ forgave us. 1 John 4:19, “We love because he first loved us.” And 1 John 3:16, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.” When we remember this then what little grievances we may have with another disappears. We can maintain unity with Jesus and one another and put on the greatest of every virtue, love, which binds us all together in perfect unity. (14)
Another by-product of practicing Christian virtues is peace. Let’s read verse15, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.” Instead of anger and criticism, peace should rule the hearts of anyone in the body of Christ. Jesus gives us peace. God is glorified when there is peace among his people. People are attracted to Jesus when his people live in peace with one another and with God. Young people really want peace. Too often they can not find it at home. They surely can’t find it on their i-pod and at the movie theater. They can’t find it in their relationships. They will find it in Jesus and we need show it by living in peace among ourselves.
How is this peace achieved? Let’s read verse 16, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly…” “Let the word dwell in you” implies that God is trying to do something through his word. Do not hinder his word with our unbelief or our business. Let God do what he is trying to do. Let the word of God dwell in your heart richly through deep and personal and quiet Bible study. Then we will see the peace of God descend upon our hearts like a refreshing morning mist.
The peace of God can grow among us in other ways too. Let’s read verse 16b, “…as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.” Christ gave us wisdom. What should we do with it? We are given wisdom to teach and encourage others. We can also influence others in the way of peace by singing spiritual songs and hymns. When we do, we can be joyful, peaceful Christians. I try to sing with all my Bible students. Most of the time it is me doing a solo in front of them. But eventually they try to follow and their hearts become open to the word of God. One of my Bible students, Cornell loves to sing hymns.
We can also promote peace by maintaining an “attitude of gratitude” in our hearts to God. An unthankful heart is the root of all sin. A complaining heart is like a snowball that is tumbling down a hill. It gets bigger and it picks up momentum. Eventually anyone stepping in front of it, to try to stop it, is going to get hurt by it. Satan cannot manipulate a heart that is thankful to God. Being thankful to God means being thankful for all that he has done in your life, all that he is doing and all that he will do. Thankfulness glorifies God.
Living for the glory of God promotes peace among God’s people. Verse 17a reads, “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus,…” This is linked to 1 Cor 10:31, which reads, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” God does not want his people living for their own glory and honor, trying to make a name for themselves, or trying to use the church to build up their own personal lives. How much peace and unity can a group of people have when they are all looking out for “number one”? The peace of God can come upon us, and among us, when we stop living for our own glory and live exclusively for the glory of God. When we live for the glory of God, all together then we can have unity and peace and attract a non believing world to Christ.
In this passage we learned that after receiving our new life in Christ, we must set our hearts on things above. This means to seek heavenly things, especially Jesus sitting on his throne. This is not just an idea or a once in life time event, it is a life style. We must put off our sinful nature and put on the new image of our Creator, Jesus Christ. We must put our old “self” to death and develop godly virtues in our lives. Then we can be one with Jesus and grow in oneness with one another as God wants us to be. We can maintain the love of God and the peace of God among us and attracting many young people to a new life in Christ. May God bless you.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Colossians 2:6-23
CONTINUE TO LIVE IN CHRIST
Colossians 2:6-23 Lesson 5
Key Verses: 2:6,7 Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF 8-2-09
"So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, 7rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness."
In the last passage, Paul reveals the mystery of God. The mystery of God is Christ himself. The mystery is that when Christ dwells in our hearts, we are encouraged in heart and united in love. In him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. The other part of the mystery is that God wants to save all people, even the Gentiles. When Gentiles accept the gospel, then they, too, are indwelt by Christ. They have the same hope to reign with Christ in the heavenly kingdom. To reveal this mystery was the purpose of Paul’s hard work and his suffering. But he rejoiced to participate in the remaining suffering of Christ to make this mystery known to a lost world. In lesson we will discover some of the practical responses to accepting the mystery of God. Paul also gives warns concerning what to avoid as they embark on their life of faith.
Part l: Full Life In Christ (6-15)
Paul leads us to some practical conclusions that stem from discovering the mystery of God. Look at verses 6-7, "So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, 7rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness." The Colossians had responded well to the Gospel message. In fact, it was a great response. Most seem to be unresponsive. But there are places where people respond well the message of the Gospel of Jesus. Recently, Dr Ben Toh, of West Loop UBF, went to the Philippines. There he led the people in a week long series of group Bible studies. There were about 40 attendants each day. They were excited about learning about the Word of God. Their response was fantastic. At the recent NIU-DuPage Summer conference many people responded well to the message of the Gospel. Payton, a middle school student, stated that before the conference she was an ardent atheist, but after the conference her defensive coat began to crack. She confessed that she was a questioning atheist. Jake, Augustine’s friend, stated, “I believe in God! I’m a Christian because of you Augi.” All attendants came nearer to Jesus through a good response to the mystery of God.
Part of responding well to the Gospel is receiving Jesus as Lord. Romans 10:9 reads, “That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” In America it is hard to understand what is means that Jesus is Lord. The closest thing to Lord, is our parents or our bosses or our teachers. But in the past, there were kings and lords of the land. To make it simple, to receive Jesus Christ as Lord, means that you see him for who he is, the King of kings, and Lord of lords…the Lord of heaven and earth. There was one Indian convert who accepted Jesus as his 102nd Lord. But Jesus is the Only Master and Lord. People who accept Jesus as their Savior, must accept him as their Lord. You cannot separate the two. He is worthy to be made the center of our lives. Paul is an example of one who accepted Jesus as Lord. He says in Romans 1:5 reads, “Through him and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.” To accept Jesus as Lord is imperative and a matter of life and death. Why? If we don’t accept Jesus as Lord, then something else will be our Lord and lead us to destruction, and most likely it will be your sinful nature, goaded on by the devil.
We received Christ Jesus by faith, and we must continue to live in him by faith. Look at verse 6b, “…continue to live in him.” The word “live” in Greek means to walk. The KJV says “To walk in him.” The RSV reads, “To continue in him.” When we receive Jesus as Savior and Lord, we begin a new life. We must take root in Christ and grow. It is a lifestyle. This is not a “one time event.” It is not just a matter of only thinking about Jesus and the Gospel. We must make it very practical and keep growing.
Verse 7 reveals more about continuing in Jesus; “rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness." These are four ways to continue to live in him.1. being rooted 2. built up 3. strengthened in the faith and 4. thankful.
First rooted. A tree has roots and a person who accepts Jesus as Lord is like a tree, but with spiritual roots. Psalm 1:2-3 reads, "But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.” Where do the roots of a tree grow? They grow down and outward, searching for the source of water. A tree may be getting it’s water from 50 feet away or more! One tree near the Bible house searches for water in the sewer pipes. Jesus is living water. (John 4:10) All we have to do is let our roots go down, searching out this living water. We can not ignore our roots, focusing only on our leaves, for the whole growth of the tree depends on the roots. We need to spread out roots, spend time mediating on God’s grace and studying his word. It is very simple.
Second, “Built up in him.” We learned a little about building the houses of our lives through Hannah Kim’s message at the 2009 DuPage/NIU SBC. She led us to Matthew 7:24-25, which reads, "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock." In this passage Jesus urges us to build the foundation of our lives and ministries on the word of God. To be built up in Jesus, literally means to hear God’s word and put it into practice. Jesus is building us up. When we are rooted in his word, he builds us up both individually and as a church. (Ephesians 2:19-20)
Third, “strengthened in the faith.” We need to be strengthened in Jesus. We need to be strong, spiritually to be good coworkers and glorify God. How does anyone get strengthened? Strength comes from exercising. Faith is like a muscle. It is not just being an armchair theologian. Faith is strengthened by putting our faith into practice. It means to practice what we have learned. The good news is that Jesus is more than willing to strengthen us when our hearts are in the right place. Without Jesus’ strength then we can do nothing at all.
Fourth, “overflowing with thankfulness.” Verse 7c reads, "…. and overflowing with thankfulness." God’s will for all Christians is to be thankful in al circumstances. (1 Thess 5:18) We have to be thankful, even for the hard tasks. Some may say, “Easier said than done.” Thankfulness is not a forced issue. It comes naturally when we are rooted in God’s grace. It is not just a theory. It is very practical. The only way to be thankful is to recognize God’s sovereignty in our lives. We need to confess, “Lord, you are the best. What is going on may be hurting me…it may be very difficult to endure, but I trust you.” Indeed, Jesus is working out his good purpose through all events.
Jesus wants us to be “overflowing” with thankfulness. This means that we should have enough thanksgiving to share with others. Are you overflowing with thanksgiving? Do you have enough to share? We could see this at the conference through the testimony of Msn Rebecca Yoon. She struggled so hard against boys in her life, competing with them, envying their privileged status, and fighting them with rocks. Her son was born with a cleft palate and her mission field was the very difficult, Lagos Nigeria, where electricity and water service are irregular and corruption was rife. She stated that she was trained by “boys and the whip of life.” But she could find God’s good purpose in her life and she was able to thank God for all his Fatherly training. She is overflowing with thanksgiving, even to us in America, and wants to return to her mission field, Yabatec University, in Lagos Nigeria, where they are renovating an 18 room former maternity ward. From within those walls, thanksgiving to God will be overflow to countless young Nigerian students who are born again by the word of God.
Part ll: Stay Away From Hollow Philosophies.
Paul gives believers of all time a warning. Look at verse 8, " See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.”
Hollow and deceptive philosophies are philosophies that are empty and lead us away from repentance and faith in Jesus. They depend on the principles of the world. They promise us fulfillment when, really, there is nothing there, only disappointment. When peoples’ hearts are taken captive by such as these, then they are deprived of faith. People are so “taken captive” that they are not willing to give Jesus a chance. So many of our youth become prisoners of fatalism, captured by their own sinful desires when the deceptive philosophies, they listen to, teach them to indulge their sinful natures and follow their natural feelings.
There are other philosophies that people live with, “The Yin and the Yang”, which says that you always take the way of moderation. “Live and let live”, which means that you don’t bother anyone. “Akuna matt Atta”, which is a problem free philosophy, “Don’t worry, be happy!” Educational philosophy operates under the premise is that human nature is good. If we provide a good environment then students will grow good. But this is not true. We have the best school environments in the USA. But they do not always produce “super” students. (In some third world countries, students are poor and study in bombed out hulks of buildings. Many become scholars.) This philosophy ignores the reality of the sinful nature in people. It is a hollow and deceptive philosophy. All other philosophies, other than the gospel, lead us to emptiness and meaninglessness and death. Only Jesus and his Gospel leads us to meaning, purpose and life eternal.
There is an obvious alternative to the hollow and deceptive philosophies of our culture. Look at verses 9-12, “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. 11In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature,[a] not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, 12having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead." Jesus is not hollow and deceptive, for all the fullness of God lives in him and he dwells in us. Christ is all we need for salvation and life now and forever. He delivers the true life that he promises to deliver. (John 1:4) Before meeting Jesus, we were dead in sin and held prisoners by Satan. But God made us alive with Christ. He circumcised our hearts by cutting away our sinful nature. He did this by his death and resurrection, using the tools of repentance and faith. In our baptism we are buried with Jesus when we repent, and, by faith in God who raised Jesus from the dead, we are united with him in life. We should never loose the confidence that all we need is in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Is Jesus enough for you? Lets think a little more about verse 9… “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form” Some may accept Jesus but they are still hopeless. Their children are still fatherless. They are depressed. They are still lonely. So many of us feel that Jesus is not enough. But Jesus is entirely enough. The fullness of God is in Christ. He is the way, and the truth and the life. (John 14:6) Come to Jesus and seek first his kingdom and his righteousness (Mtt 6:33) and discover that Jesus is indeed enough for each one of you.
So many people have discovered this. Their lives bear witness to the all sufficient, saving grace of Jesus. Look at verse 13, "When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature,[b] God made you[c] alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins,” (refer to Ephesians 2:1-3) Before meeting Jesus we were all dead in our sins. There is no growth in death, only decay. We did not respond to Christ’s loving prodding. We were lifeless. But when we received Jesus’ forgiveness and his truth, the sinful nature was cut away from our hearts. We were made alive in Christ. We responded to the grace of God. Now we have joy and hope and life. We have strength to get up and walk spiritually. We can grow and grow in Christ.
Jesus gives us complete victory in our lives. Verses 14-15 read, “having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. 15And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.[d]" Triumph means complete victory! Making a public spectacle of them harkens back to ancient Rome, where triumphant Roman Generals paraded defeated generals and their armies through the streets to show their complete victory over their enemies. God sets us free from the power of death by disarming our enemies. Our enemy Satan uses the law to condemn us and make us despair. God forgives our sins. Jesus made the law obsolete by his death on the cross. Christ is like a triumphant general who won a great battle and parades his captives, disarmed and helpless, through the streets. I don’t know about you, but I want to live a victorious life of faith. I want to have complete victory over my sinful nature and walk with Jesus with my head held high. Sure we will fall into our weaknesses and our sins. But these do not hammer us down or defeat us. We triumph over them through the faith and the cross.
Part lll: Empty Heresies (16-23)
For all believers there is always a temptation to abandon Jesus for some empty heresy. First it is easier to get caught up in religious practice rather than living by faith in Christ. Look at verses 16-17. “Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 17These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.” It is good to celebrate certain days, like Easter and Christmas and go to church on Sunday. But here people were gauging their spirituality on celebrating certain holy days and judging others who were not, thinking themselves more spiritual. Some of us may even try to find God through all kinds of rituals, keeping certain festivals and rituals, forgetting that these are mere shadows, the reality of which is found in Christ. Paul was telling the new believers to stand their ground and not be pushed back into a “religious” mindset by Jewish converts who still held onto certain aspects of Judaism. Why is it always easier to be “religious” rather than practitioners of Gospel faith?
Another heresy that they had to guard their hearts against was the worship of angels. Look at verse 18. “Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions.” People tend to get all excited about angels and seeing all kinds of supernatural appearances of spiritual beings. People gather in the thousands at the mere rumor of such sightings. For some people it seems that it is easier to be “angel” focused that “Jesus centered”? Why? It is because one can acquire a false sense of spirituality without repentance. When we face the Jesus of the Bible we are forced to make some decisions and repent of our sins. But not so when we think about angels. Worship of these distract us from Jesus. They comfort us without challenging us.
What is wrong with all of this? Look at verse 19. Paul says that such a person has “…has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow." As Christians, we need to be Christ centered. But when we get proud by holding onto a false sense of spirituality, we loose connection with the head, Jesus. We immediately loose all the life that God has so graciously bestowed upon us. But we can only grow and bear good fruit when we maintain a strong and healthy connection with Christ, the Head.
There is a temptation to become like ascetics. Verse 23 reads, "Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence." Ascetics are those who punish their bodies, thinking that they are performing some penance and in this way pleasing God. But they are following their own ideas. They are not following Biblical teachings. Such actions can make people proud, thinking that they are very spiritual. But in reality these harsh treatments do nothing to stop sensual desires that wage war in our hearts. They are essentially trying to control their sinful feelings without coming to Jesus. Sure, we repent and struggle spiritually, but we are not punishing ourselves. The truth is that life in Jesus is joyful. Life in Christ is life giving. Jesus died to make us holy. Jesus died to save us from sin. He rose to give us power to stop sinning and live a holy life. We are free to love God, to obey him and to do what pleases him. We can never make our lives holy.
In this passage we learn that life in Christ is more than just being an arm chair theologian. It is more than just living by the rules and traditions of men. It is more than subjecting our bodies to harsh treatment. It is even more than avoiding heresies. It is all about Jesus and knowing him and making him known. “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, 7rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness." (6,7) Let us come to Jesus with repentance and faith and put deep roots down into the grace and truth of God. Let us be built up in Jesus, as individuals and as a church. Let us be overflowing with thanksgiving to those around us. Let us find true life in Christ and lead others to true life in him.
Colossians 2:6-23 Lesson 5
Key Verses: 2:6,7 Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF 8-2-09
"So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, 7rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness."
In the last passage, Paul reveals the mystery of God. The mystery of God is Christ himself. The mystery is that when Christ dwells in our hearts, we are encouraged in heart and united in love. In him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. The other part of the mystery is that God wants to save all people, even the Gentiles. When Gentiles accept the gospel, then they, too, are indwelt by Christ. They have the same hope to reign with Christ in the heavenly kingdom. To reveal this mystery was the purpose of Paul’s hard work and his suffering. But he rejoiced to participate in the remaining suffering of Christ to make this mystery known to a lost world. In lesson we will discover some of the practical responses to accepting the mystery of God. Paul also gives warns concerning what to avoid as they embark on their life of faith.
Part l: Full Life In Christ (6-15)
Paul leads us to some practical conclusions that stem from discovering the mystery of God. Look at verses 6-7, "So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, 7rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness." The Colossians had responded well to the Gospel message. In fact, it was a great response. Most seem to be unresponsive. But there are places where people respond well the message of the Gospel of Jesus. Recently, Dr Ben Toh, of West Loop UBF, went to the Philippines. There he led the people in a week long series of group Bible studies. There were about 40 attendants each day. They were excited about learning about the Word of God. Their response was fantastic. At the recent NIU-DuPage Summer conference many people responded well to the message of the Gospel. Payton, a middle school student, stated that before the conference she was an ardent atheist, but after the conference her defensive coat began to crack. She confessed that she was a questioning atheist. Jake, Augustine’s friend, stated, “I believe in God! I’m a Christian because of you Augi.” All attendants came nearer to Jesus through a good response to the mystery of God.
Part of responding well to the Gospel is receiving Jesus as Lord. Romans 10:9 reads, “That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” In America it is hard to understand what is means that Jesus is Lord. The closest thing to Lord, is our parents or our bosses or our teachers. But in the past, there were kings and lords of the land. To make it simple, to receive Jesus Christ as Lord, means that you see him for who he is, the King of kings, and Lord of lords…the Lord of heaven and earth. There was one Indian convert who accepted Jesus as his 102nd Lord. But Jesus is the Only Master and Lord. People who accept Jesus as their Savior, must accept him as their Lord. You cannot separate the two. He is worthy to be made the center of our lives. Paul is an example of one who accepted Jesus as Lord. He says in Romans 1:5 reads, “Through him and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.” To accept Jesus as Lord is imperative and a matter of life and death. Why? If we don’t accept Jesus as Lord, then something else will be our Lord and lead us to destruction, and most likely it will be your sinful nature, goaded on by the devil.
We received Christ Jesus by faith, and we must continue to live in him by faith. Look at verse 6b, “…continue to live in him.” The word “live” in Greek means to walk. The KJV says “To walk in him.” The RSV reads, “To continue in him.” When we receive Jesus as Savior and Lord, we begin a new life. We must take root in Christ and grow. It is a lifestyle. This is not a “one time event.” It is not just a matter of only thinking about Jesus and the Gospel. We must make it very practical and keep growing.
Verse 7 reveals more about continuing in Jesus; “rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness." These are four ways to continue to live in him.1. being rooted 2. built up 3. strengthened in the faith and 4. thankful.
First rooted. A tree has roots and a person who accepts Jesus as Lord is like a tree, but with spiritual roots. Psalm 1:2-3 reads, "But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.” Where do the roots of a tree grow? They grow down and outward, searching for the source of water. A tree may be getting it’s water from 50 feet away or more! One tree near the Bible house searches for water in the sewer pipes. Jesus is living water. (John 4:10) All we have to do is let our roots go down, searching out this living water. We can not ignore our roots, focusing only on our leaves, for the whole growth of the tree depends on the roots. We need to spread out roots, spend time mediating on God’s grace and studying his word. It is very simple.
Second, “Built up in him.” We learned a little about building the houses of our lives through Hannah Kim’s message at the 2009 DuPage/NIU SBC. She led us to Matthew 7:24-25, which reads, "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock." In this passage Jesus urges us to build the foundation of our lives and ministries on the word of God. To be built up in Jesus, literally means to hear God’s word and put it into practice. Jesus is building us up. When we are rooted in his word, he builds us up both individually and as a church. (Ephesians 2:19-20)
Third, “strengthened in the faith.” We need to be strengthened in Jesus. We need to be strong, spiritually to be good coworkers and glorify God. How does anyone get strengthened? Strength comes from exercising. Faith is like a muscle. It is not just being an armchair theologian. Faith is strengthened by putting our faith into practice. It means to practice what we have learned. The good news is that Jesus is more than willing to strengthen us when our hearts are in the right place. Without Jesus’ strength then we can do nothing at all.
Fourth, “overflowing with thankfulness.” Verse 7c reads, "…. and overflowing with thankfulness." God’s will for all Christians is to be thankful in al circumstances. (1 Thess 5:18) We have to be thankful, even for the hard tasks. Some may say, “Easier said than done.” Thankfulness is not a forced issue. It comes naturally when we are rooted in God’s grace. It is not just a theory. It is very practical. The only way to be thankful is to recognize God’s sovereignty in our lives. We need to confess, “Lord, you are the best. What is going on may be hurting me…it may be very difficult to endure, but I trust you.” Indeed, Jesus is working out his good purpose through all events.
Jesus wants us to be “overflowing” with thankfulness. This means that we should have enough thanksgiving to share with others. Are you overflowing with thanksgiving? Do you have enough to share? We could see this at the conference through the testimony of Msn Rebecca Yoon. She struggled so hard against boys in her life, competing with them, envying their privileged status, and fighting them with rocks. Her son was born with a cleft palate and her mission field was the very difficult, Lagos Nigeria, where electricity and water service are irregular and corruption was rife. She stated that she was trained by “boys and the whip of life.” But she could find God’s good purpose in her life and she was able to thank God for all his Fatherly training. She is overflowing with thanksgiving, even to us in America, and wants to return to her mission field, Yabatec University, in Lagos Nigeria, where they are renovating an 18 room former maternity ward. From within those walls, thanksgiving to God will be overflow to countless young Nigerian students who are born again by the word of God.
Part ll: Stay Away From Hollow Philosophies.
Paul gives believers of all time a warning. Look at verse 8, " See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.”
Hollow and deceptive philosophies are philosophies that are empty and lead us away from repentance and faith in Jesus. They depend on the principles of the world. They promise us fulfillment when, really, there is nothing there, only disappointment. When peoples’ hearts are taken captive by such as these, then they are deprived of faith. People are so “taken captive” that they are not willing to give Jesus a chance. So many of our youth become prisoners of fatalism, captured by their own sinful desires when the deceptive philosophies, they listen to, teach them to indulge their sinful natures and follow their natural feelings.
There are other philosophies that people live with, “The Yin and the Yang”, which says that you always take the way of moderation. “Live and let live”, which means that you don’t bother anyone. “Akuna matt Atta”, which is a problem free philosophy, “Don’t worry, be happy!” Educational philosophy operates under the premise is that human nature is good. If we provide a good environment then students will grow good. But this is not true. We have the best school environments in the USA. But they do not always produce “super” students. (In some third world countries, students are poor and study in bombed out hulks of buildings. Many become scholars.) This philosophy ignores the reality of the sinful nature in people. It is a hollow and deceptive philosophy. All other philosophies, other than the gospel, lead us to emptiness and meaninglessness and death. Only Jesus and his Gospel leads us to meaning, purpose and life eternal.
There is an obvious alternative to the hollow and deceptive philosophies of our culture. Look at verses 9-12, “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. 11In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature,[a] not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, 12having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead." Jesus is not hollow and deceptive, for all the fullness of God lives in him and he dwells in us. Christ is all we need for salvation and life now and forever. He delivers the true life that he promises to deliver. (John 1:4) Before meeting Jesus, we were dead in sin and held prisoners by Satan. But God made us alive with Christ. He circumcised our hearts by cutting away our sinful nature. He did this by his death and resurrection, using the tools of repentance and faith. In our baptism we are buried with Jesus when we repent, and, by faith in God who raised Jesus from the dead, we are united with him in life. We should never loose the confidence that all we need is in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Is Jesus enough for you? Lets think a little more about verse 9… “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form” Some may accept Jesus but they are still hopeless. Their children are still fatherless. They are depressed. They are still lonely. So many of us feel that Jesus is not enough. But Jesus is entirely enough. The fullness of God is in Christ. He is the way, and the truth and the life. (John 14:6) Come to Jesus and seek first his kingdom and his righteousness (Mtt 6:33) and discover that Jesus is indeed enough for each one of you.
So many people have discovered this. Their lives bear witness to the all sufficient, saving grace of Jesus. Look at verse 13, "When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature,[b] God made you[c] alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins,” (refer to Ephesians 2:1-3) Before meeting Jesus we were all dead in our sins. There is no growth in death, only decay. We did not respond to Christ’s loving prodding. We were lifeless. But when we received Jesus’ forgiveness and his truth, the sinful nature was cut away from our hearts. We were made alive in Christ. We responded to the grace of God. Now we have joy and hope and life. We have strength to get up and walk spiritually. We can grow and grow in Christ.
Jesus gives us complete victory in our lives. Verses 14-15 read, “having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. 15And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.[d]" Triumph means complete victory! Making a public spectacle of them harkens back to ancient Rome, where triumphant Roman Generals paraded defeated generals and their armies through the streets to show their complete victory over their enemies. God sets us free from the power of death by disarming our enemies. Our enemy Satan uses the law to condemn us and make us despair. God forgives our sins. Jesus made the law obsolete by his death on the cross. Christ is like a triumphant general who won a great battle and parades his captives, disarmed and helpless, through the streets. I don’t know about you, but I want to live a victorious life of faith. I want to have complete victory over my sinful nature and walk with Jesus with my head held high. Sure we will fall into our weaknesses and our sins. But these do not hammer us down or defeat us. We triumph over them through the faith and the cross.
Part lll: Empty Heresies (16-23)
For all believers there is always a temptation to abandon Jesus for some empty heresy. First it is easier to get caught up in religious practice rather than living by faith in Christ. Look at verses 16-17. “Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 17These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.” It is good to celebrate certain days, like Easter and Christmas and go to church on Sunday. But here people were gauging their spirituality on celebrating certain holy days and judging others who were not, thinking themselves more spiritual. Some of us may even try to find God through all kinds of rituals, keeping certain festivals and rituals, forgetting that these are mere shadows, the reality of which is found in Christ. Paul was telling the new believers to stand their ground and not be pushed back into a “religious” mindset by Jewish converts who still held onto certain aspects of Judaism. Why is it always easier to be “religious” rather than practitioners of Gospel faith?
Another heresy that they had to guard their hearts against was the worship of angels. Look at verse 18. “Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions.” People tend to get all excited about angels and seeing all kinds of supernatural appearances of spiritual beings. People gather in the thousands at the mere rumor of such sightings. For some people it seems that it is easier to be “angel” focused that “Jesus centered”? Why? It is because one can acquire a false sense of spirituality without repentance. When we face the Jesus of the Bible we are forced to make some decisions and repent of our sins. But not so when we think about angels. Worship of these distract us from Jesus. They comfort us without challenging us.
What is wrong with all of this? Look at verse 19. Paul says that such a person has “…has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow." As Christians, we need to be Christ centered. But when we get proud by holding onto a false sense of spirituality, we loose connection with the head, Jesus. We immediately loose all the life that God has so graciously bestowed upon us. But we can only grow and bear good fruit when we maintain a strong and healthy connection with Christ, the Head.
There is a temptation to become like ascetics. Verse 23 reads, "Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence." Ascetics are those who punish their bodies, thinking that they are performing some penance and in this way pleasing God. But they are following their own ideas. They are not following Biblical teachings. Such actions can make people proud, thinking that they are very spiritual. But in reality these harsh treatments do nothing to stop sensual desires that wage war in our hearts. They are essentially trying to control their sinful feelings without coming to Jesus. Sure, we repent and struggle spiritually, but we are not punishing ourselves. The truth is that life in Jesus is joyful. Life in Christ is life giving. Jesus died to make us holy. Jesus died to save us from sin. He rose to give us power to stop sinning and live a holy life. We are free to love God, to obey him and to do what pleases him. We can never make our lives holy.
In this passage we learn that life in Christ is more than just being an arm chair theologian. It is more than just living by the rules and traditions of men. It is more than subjecting our bodies to harsh treatment. It is even more than avoiding heresies. It is all about Jesus and knowing him and making him known. “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, 7rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness." (6,7) Let us come to Jesus with repentance and faith and put deep roots down into the grace and truth of God. Let us be built up in Jesus, as individuals and as a church. Let us be overflowing with thanksgiving to those around us. Let us find true life in Christ and lead others to true life in him.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Colorrians 1:24-2:5 Message
THAT THEY MAY KNOW THE MYSTERY OF GOD
Colossians 1:24–2:5 Lesson 4
Key Verse: 2:2 Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF 7-12-09
"My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ."
Everyone loves a mystery. People are intrigued by mysteries. They want to solve a mystery before anyone. Thomas Jefferson’s friend and mathematician, Robert Patterson, encrypted a message over 200 years ago. People have been trying decode his text since then and finally someone has. It turns out that the mystery text is actually the Declaration Of Independence. Robert Patterson was a genius to make an encryption that would stymie our best minds for two hundred years.
But there is mystery that God has given, that could never be solved by even the most clever of people. It is mystery that no person could even have conceived, even if they were told. (Acts 13:41) It is mystery that must be revealed to us by God himself. And this mystery that was hidden from ancient times, has now been revealed. The mystery of God is Christ himself…Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Col 1:27) In him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. When Christ dwells in our hearts, we are encouraged in heart and united in love. The other part of the mystery is that God is not just the God of the Jews. God wants to save all people, even the Gentiles. When Gentiles accept the gospel, then they, too, are indwelt by Christ. They have the same hope to reign with Christ in the heavenly kingdom. You may think that this obvious. But to millions upon millions of people, these facts are still a mystery and many aspects of this mystery may be still mysterious to you. To reveal this mystery to a world living in darkness was Paul's prayer topic. This is the purpose of his hard work and his suffering. May this mystery be revealed, in its fullness, to your own hearts today.
Part l: Rejoice When Participating In The Suffering Of Christ (24-25)
Paul was in a Roman prison and yet he rejoiced. Look at verse 24a, "Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you,…" How is this possible? “What was suffered for you” is in reference to Christ’s suffering for the church. It also refers to others’ suffering that was endured to establish the church. Many servants of God, including Paul suffered daily. How did he suffer for them? He preached, he prayed, he visited, he traveled, he raised disciples, he had physical, spiritual, emotional and mental anguish. At that time he was suffering in the jail. He didn’t have to be there. He could have kept quiet and never tried to preach the gospel and raise disciples. Then he would have never been bothered by the enemies of the gospel. But he chose to engage in the gospel ministry that brought him into direct conflict with the Romans and his own countrymen.
Paul's suffering brought him great joy. This is a mystery that doesn’t seem to make sense. How can suffering bring us great joy? But the truth is that the more we suffer for Jesus' name's sake, the more joy comes to us, especially when we see our Bible students standing up as people of God and seeing fruit being born in our lives. Worldly suffering brings despair, fatalism and regrets, but suffering in Christ, brings great rejoicing in our soul, because we are winning a victory, we are bearing fruit, we are storing up treasures in heaven, we are expanding the territory of the kingdom of God. (1 Peter 4:1,2, 12-19) Knowing this brings great joy to our souls. Do you want to rejoice? Then decide to share in the suffering of Christ to expand the territory of the kingdom of God.
Paul knew the point of all his sufferings. Look at verse 24b , "…and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church." Simply speaking, Paul carried his own cross of mission knowing the final goal. Let’s make one thing very clear, there is nothing lacking in the suffering Jesus endured for us on the cross. His death and resurrection accomplished God’s purpose in world salvation. Hebrews 10:14, "because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy." But when we look around we see that Jesus has yet to return. We see billions of people not knowing Jesus. “Still lacking” refers to the remaining suffering needed to expand the Gospel work. Until the church is presented to Jesus as a perfect bride, until the exact number of Gentiles is let into the kingdom of God, (Ro 11:26) then there is still some remaining suffering that servants of God must embrace as we serve Jesus.
There is great fellowship among those who choose to participate in the remaining suffering of Christ. Php 3:10, "I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his suffering." Fellowship, here, is a group with similar interests. (Merriam Webster Dictionary. c. 1974) Paul is experiencing companionship with Jesus. He is in fellowship with other Christians who are also participating in the remaining suffering of Jesus. A Christian’s interest is to be interested in what Jesus is interested in and want to share in it. Then there can be fellowship. Those who don’t want any part of this can never experience the joy of serving Jesus with other believers. There can be no lasting fellowship. They will always have trouble and conflicts in their hearts. We need to change our mindset and our attitude relating to suffering for the gospel.
Paul was commissioned to be a servant of the Gospel. Let’s read verse 25, "I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness—" Commission means: “A warrant granting certain powers and imposing certain duties, Authority to act as agent for another.” In saying this, Paul is remembering his first encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus. This moment of his commissioning is revealed in Paul’s speech to king Agrippa. In Acts 26:16-19, Christ appeared to Paul and said, “'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,' the Lord replied. 16'Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you. 17I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 18to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'” He had a commission from Jesus, to present the word of God in it's fullness. His commission was unique. His commission came from God. It was up to him to accept this commission with his whole heart. And that is exactly what he did. We need to renew our calling as servants of God and accept God’s commission to reveal the mystery of God the students of NIU and DeKalb.
Part ll: The Mystery Of God (26-27a)
The Gospel is an ancient mystery that begs to be solved. Look at verse 26, "the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints." What is a mystery? If we knew than it wouldn’t be a mystery now, would it? Definition of mystery: “A religious truth known by revelation alone. 2. something not understood or beyond understanding.” (Merriam- Webster Dictionary c. 1974) The mystery was meant to be revealed to those who have the right relationship with God. The Gospel has been largely hidden to the vast majority of people for thousands of years. In the Old Testament only a few saw what the Christ of God would accomplish. Abraham was one of them. King David was another. The Old Testament prophets where others. God reveled this to them. Most could not even conceive what God was about to do. But when Jesus came, this mystery was revealed very clearly, to all who put their hope and trust in Jesus. Well..what is this mystery? My wife would bring up intriguing news of a recent event saying, “Do you know what happened?” and then say, “I’ll tell you later”. But I am not going to do that to you. God's secret plan is… "Christ in you, the hope of glory" – God planned to have his Son, Jesus Christ, live in the hearts of all who believe in him – even Gentiles like the Colossians. To many students, the Gospel is still a mystery. Only when God gives them the Holy Spirit can they understand. Our job is to make an environment where they can believe.
Knowing the mystery of the Gospel, and the commission to preach it, is a great privilege Look at verse 26 again, “"the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints." This mystery is revealed to God’s saints. Are you a saint? "Hagios" means the Holy Ones. Saints have been forgiven of all their sins. Saints know Jesus personally and have the Holy Spirit. They have been sanctified by Jesus' sacrifice. If you repented of your sins and placed all of your hope and trust in Jesus who died and rose for you, then, yes, you are a saint of God. You have experienced the mystery of God personally in their lives. Knowing this mystery is really a privilege and make you part of an exclusive club. It also brings responsibility.
There is a proper response to God revealing this mystery to you. Let’s read verse 27, "To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." Part of the mystery is that God loves the Gentiles. Paul knew this and wanted to participate in God’s mission. Knowing this mystery is really a privilege. It is also something that begs to be shared. Tens of thousands of students have no idea of this mystery. God wants us to assist him in revealing it to them. Why else did God disclose it to you? To keep it to yourselves? No way!
Part ll: The Details Of This Mystery (27- )
Let’s look at the components of this mystery in verse 27, "To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." First, “Christ in you”. Essentially, "Christ in you" is the mystery. The Jews felt that God was mostly present in the Temple. Idol worshippers also felt that their gods inhabited temples. But when Jesus died on the cross, the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. (Matt 27:51) Christ is not restricted to the temple. God is spirit. He is everywhere. John 1:14 reads, "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only who came from the Father full of grace and truth." He dwells among his people and He is in the heart of every believer. He is "God in us" coming to dwell among his people. We think this is obvious. But it is actually revolutionary. No Jew would have ever thought that God could dwell in the hearts of “unclean” Gentiles. When we know the mystery, God fills our hearts full of new hope for ourselves and new vision for our campus’ and the world.
Second, the hope of glory. This world is full of dead hopes, for everything in this world eventually spoils, perishes and fades away. Dead, worldly hopes disappoint us. Without Jesus there is no hope. People are living in hopelessness and despair. The Gentiles had no hope to share God’s glory. But now, through Jesus, the Gentiles have this great hope. We should be very happy about this because we are all Gentiles. Jesus is your only hope of glory. Can you think of any other way of getting to the kingdom of God? The best way that people can conjure up is being a good person. But the fact is the Bible says that no one is good…only God. (Mark 10:18) When you think about it, can you seriously get to heaven on your own goodness? I doubt it. Praise Jesus for giving us the hope of glory!
Paul kept a clear focus in his ministry. Let’s read verses 28 and 29, "We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. 29To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me" Paul’s main focus was proclaiming “him”. Jesus was the focus of his ministry. He proclaimed what Jesus had accomplished for all of us. We can do a lot of things but let's keep the focus the focus of our ministry by proclaiming, “Him” to the students of NIU and DeKalb.
Paul engaged in a discipleship ministry. Look at verses 28-29 again. To admonish means to warn gently, to reprove with a warning, to chide, rebuke, reproach, reprimand. Teaching means to not only teach the word of God, but to set the example through our own lives. One of the goals of discipleship raising is to present everyone perfect on Christ. The word “perfect” means mature or complete. Paul wanted to see each believer mature spiritually. To do this we first need to realize that only the blood of Jesus can make anyone perfect before the eyes of God. But there is something that we can do as we serve our mission. First, we can help others to stop and think about the grace of God and make environment where they can take hold of that grace. Second, we can engage in a discipleship training, helping others to function as servants of God. Through our message preparation and music prep, Tim and Jenn can mature in their preaching and music skills and in their knowledge of Christ. Thirdly, we must not lower our standards. We have to keep the goal in our sights, to present all of our members perfect in Jesus through repentance and faith, beginning with ourselves. These are things that every church should be doing.
Paul helped others to know the mystery of the Gospel with his whole heart. Look at verse 29 again, "To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me" It was not by human efforts that Paul could serve the Gospel. Paul pioneered 40 cities. In the book of Acts Paul was stoned and left for dead. (Acts 14:19) But he got up and went back into Jerusalem to continue to preach. He endured unimaginable sufferings. Most people would have died many times over. But God gave Paul strength to serve his mission well. God calls us to do the same. We need to love God with all our heart, soul and strength. Some people say, “Why do you work so hard? Why do strive so much? God will do what he wants to do. Are you trying to be be saved by your works?” But they are wrong. We need to have Jesus’ attitude and even Paul’s attitude who wrote, “I labor, struggling with all his energy.” Not because we are trying to save ourselves, but because we love God and want to make him known. “His” energy means that God is ready and willing to work through you if you let him.
Part lV: Paul Was Struggling For Them (2:1-5)
Paul wanted them to know how much he was struggling for them. Let’s read verses 2:1-5 together, "I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. 2My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, 3in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. 5For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how orderly you are and how firm your faith in Christ is."
Laodicea was located a few miles northwest of Colossae. Paul’s disciples had probably pioneered these churches. Paul was really concerned about the churches in that area. False teachers had probably infiltrated their ranks too. Though he had never been there personally, Paul loved them and want them to know how he was struggling on their behalf. He was saying, “I love you. Look at how much have been suffering to build you up in Christ.” He was like a father, separated from his kids for years, but writing letters to let them know how much he loves them. Paul also wanted them all to be encouraged in heart and united in love. He wanted to bring the churches together to stand against the heresy and to encourage one another to remain true to Jesus.
We need to grow in “complete understanding” of Christ. Look at verse 2, “2My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ” Blaise Pascal once said, "Apart from Jesus Christ, we cannot know the meaning of life, of death, of God, or of ourselves." People stop with a shallow understanding of Jesus. They need to delve deeper. When we seek after the treasure of the Gospel, we get a complete understanding of Jesus and his salvation plan. This will come when you seek Jesus and his words as a most precious treasure.
People spend millions of dollars to seek treasure in sunken ships. But they only have to go as far as their own Bible to find true, lasting treasures. Look at verse 3, “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” In Jesus there are treasures of wisdom and knowledge. The Bible is a treasure of truth, like an ocean. In Jesus we have a satisfied heart, we have eternal life. There are benefits when seek Jesus as a treasure. One of them can be found in verse 4, “4I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments.”…. we can be saved from all deceptive heresies and stand firm on the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Through this passage we have been reminded of a great mystery. Jesus, and his precious Gospel is the mystery of God. It speaks of God’s grace to dwell among his people to save them from sin and lead them to the hope of glory. Jesus' Gospel is not of human origin. It is God's mystery. It is completely different from what the world can conjure up. Only God can let us know the mystery and he is more than willing to reveal it to you. Paul wants all people to know the mystery of God and to participate in God's work with him. When we believe it, we will be satisfied. If we believe it, we will preach it. Then we will be blessed and be a blessing.
Colossians 1:24–2:5 Lesson 4
Key Verse: 2:2 Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF 7-12-09
"My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ."
Everyone loves a mystery. People are intrigued by mysteries. They want to solve a mystery before anyone. Thomas Jefferson’s friend and mathematician, Robert Patterson, encrypted a message over 200 years ago. People have been trying decode his text since then and finally someone has. It turns out that the mystery text is actually the Declaration Of Independence. Robert Patterson was a genius to make an encryption that would stymie our best minds for two hundred years.
But there is mystery that God has given, that could never be solved by even the most clever of people. It is mystery that no person could even have conceived, even if they were told. (Acts 13:41) It is mystery that must be revealed to us by God himself. And this mystery that was hidden from ancient times, has now been revealed. The mystery of God is Christ himself…Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Col 1:27) In him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. When Christ dwells in our hearts, we are encouraged in heart and united in love. The other part of the mystery is that God is not just the God of the Jews. God wants to save all people, even the Gentiles. When Gentiles accept the gospel, then they, too, are indwelt by Christ. They have the same hope to reign with Christ in the heavenly kingdom. You may think that this obvious. But to millions upon millions of people, these facts are still a mystery and many aspects of this mystery may be still mysterious to you. To reveal this mystery to a world living in darkness was Paul's prayer topic. This is the purpose of his hard work and his suffering. May this mystery be revealed, in its fullness, to your own hearts today.
Part l: Rejoice When Participating In The Suffering Of Christ (24-25)
Paul was in a Roman prison and yet he rejoiced. Look at verse 24a, "Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you,…" How is this possible? “What was suffered for you” is in reference to Christ’s suffering for the church. It also refers to others’ suffering that was endured to establish the church. Many servants of God, including Paul suffered daily. How did he suffer for them? He preached, he prayed, he visited, he traveled, he raised disciples, he had physical, spiritual, emotional and mental anguish. At that time he was suffering in the jail. He didn’t have to be there. He could have kept quiet and never tried to preach the gospel and raise disciples. Then he would have never been bothered by the enemies of the gospel. But he chose to engage in the gospel ministry that brought him into direct conflict with the Romans and his own countrymen.
Paul's suffering brought him great joy. This is a mystery that doesn’t seem to make sense. How can suffering bring us great joy? But the truth is that the more we suffer for Jesus' name's sake, the more joy comes to us, especially when we see our Bible students standing up as people of God and seeing fruit being born in our lives. Worldly suffering brings despair, fatalism and regrets, but suffering in Christ, brings great rejoicing in our soul, because we are winning a victory, we are bearing fruit, we are storing up treasures in heaven, we are expanding the territory of the kingdom of God. (1 Peter 4:1,2, 12-19) Knowing this brings great joy to our souls. Do you want to rejoice? Then decide to share in the suffering of Christ to expand the territory of the kingdom of God.
Paul knew the point of all his sufferings. Look at verse 24b , "…and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church." Simply speaking, Paul carried his own cross of mission knowing the final goal. Let’s make one thing very clear, there is nothing lacking in the suffering Jesus endured for us on the cross. His death and resurrection accomplished God’s purpose in world salvation. Hebrews 10:14, "because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy." But when we look around we see that Jesus has yet to return. We see billions of people not knowing Jesus. “Still lacking” refers to the remaining suffering needed to expand the Gospel work. Until the church is presented to Jesus as a perfect bride, until the exact number of Gentiles is let into the kingdom of God, (Ro 11:26) then there is still some remaining suffering that servants of God must embrace as we serve Jesus.
There is great fellowship among those who choose to participate in the remaining suffering of Christ. Php 3:10, "I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his suffering." Fellowship, here, is a group with similar interests. (Merriam Webster Dictionary. c. 1974) Paul is experiencing companionship with Jesus. He is in fellowship with other Christians who are also participating in the remaining suffering of Jesus. A Christian’s interest is to be interested in what Jesus is interested in and want to share in it. Then there can be fellowship. Those who don’t want any part of this can never experience the joy of serving Jesus with other believers. There can be no lasting fellowship. They will always have trouble and conflicts in their hearts. We need to change our mindset and our attitude relating to suffering for the gospel.
Paul was commissioned to be a servant of the Gospel. Let’s read verse 25, "I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness—" Commission means: “A warrant granting certain powers and imposing certain duties, Authority to act as agent for another.” In saying this, Paul is remembering his first encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus. This moment of his commissioning is revealed in Paul’s speech to king Agrippa. In Acts 26:16-19, Christ appeared to Paul and said, “'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,' the Lord replied. 16'Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you. 17I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 18to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'” He had a commission from Jesus, to present the word of God in it's fullness. His commission was unique. His commission came from God. It was up to him to accept this commission with his whole heart. And that is exactly what he did. We need to renew our calling as servants of God and accept God’s commission to reveal the mystery of God the students of NIU and DeKalb.
Part ll: The Mystery Of God (26-27a)
The Gospel is an ancient mystery that begs to be solved. Look at verse 26, "the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints." What is a mystery? If we knew than it wouldn’t be a mystery now, would it? Definition of mystery: “A religious truth known by revelation alone. 2. something not understood or beyond understanding.” (Merriam- Webster Dictionary c. 1974) The mystery was meant to be revealed to those who have the right relationship with God. The Gospel has been largely hidden to the vast majority of people for thousands of years. In the Old Testament only a few saw what the Christ of God would accomplish. Abraham was one of them. King David was another. The Old Testament prophets where others. God reveled this to them. Most could not even conceive what God was about to do. But when Jesus came, this mystery was revealed very clearly, to all who put their hope and trust in Jesus. Well..what is this mystery? My wife would bring up intriguing news of a recent event saying, “Do you know what happened?” and then say, “I’ll tell you later”. But I am not going to do that to you. God's secret plan is… "Christ in you, the hope of glory" – God planned to have his Son, Jesus Christ, live in the hearts of all who believe in him – even Gentiles like the Colossians. To many students, the Gospel is still a mystery. Only when God gives them the Holy Spirit can they understand. Our job is to make an environment where they can believe.
Knowing the mystery of the Gospel, and the commission to preach it, is a great privilege Look at verse 26 again, “"the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints." This mystery is revealed to God’s saints. Are you a saint? "Hagios" means the Holy Ones. Saints have been forgiven of all their sins. Saints know Jesus personally and have the Holy Spirit. They have been sanctified by Jesus' sacrifice. If you repented of your sins and placed all of your hope and trust in Jesus who died and rose for you, then, yes, you are a saint of God. You have experienced the mystery of God personally in their lives. Knowing this mystery is really a privilege and make you part of an exclusive club. It also brings responsibility.
There is a proper response to God revealing this mystery to you. Let’s read verse 27, "To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." Part of the mystery is that God loves the Gentiles. Paul knew this and wanted to participate in God’s mission. Knowing this mystery is really a privilege. It is also something that begs to be shared. Tens of thousands of students have no idea of this mystery. God wants us to assist him in revealing it to them. Why else did God disclose it to you? To keep it to yourselves? No way!
Part ll: The Details Of This Mystery (27- )
Let’s look at the components of this mystery in verse 27, "To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." First, “Christ in you”. Essentially, "Christ in you" is the mystery. The Jews felt that God was mostly present in the Temple. Idol worshippers also felt that their gods inhabited temples. But when Jesus died on the cross, the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. (Matt 27:51) Christ is not restricted to the temple. God is spirit. He is everywhere. John 1:14 reads, "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only who came from the Father full of grace and truth." He dwells among his people and He is in the heart of every believer. He is "God in us" coming to dwell among his people. We think this is obvious. But it is actually revolutionary. No Jew would have ever thought that God could dwell in the hearts of “unclean” Gentiles. When we know the mystery, God fills our hearts full of new hope for ourselves and new vision for our campus’ and the world.
Second, the hope of glory. This world is full of dead hopes, for everything in this world eventually spoils, perishes and fades away. Dead, worldly hopes disappoint us. Without Jesus there is no hope. People are living in hopelessness and despair. The Gentiles had no hope to share God’s glory. But now, through Jesus, the Gentiles have this great hope. We should be very happy about this because we are all Gentiles. Jesus is your only hope of glory. Can you think of any other way of getting to the kingdom of God? The best way that people can conjure up is being a good person. But the fact is the Bible says that no one is good…only God. (Mark 10:18) When you think about it, can you seriously get to heaven on your own goodness? I doubt it. Praise Jesus for giving us the hope of glory!
Paul kept a clear focus in his ministry. Let’s read verses 28 and 29, "We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. 29To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me" Paul’s main focus was proclaiming “him”. Jesus was the focus of his ministry. He proclaimed what Jesus had accomplished for all of us. We can do a lot of things but let's keep the focus the focus of our ministry by proclaiming, “Him” to the students of NIU and DeKalb.
Paul engaged in a discipleship ministry. Look at verses 28-29 again. To admonish means to warn gently, to reprove with a warning, to chide, rebuke, reproach, reprimand. Teaching means to not only teach the word of God, but to set the example through our own lives. One of the goals of discipleship raising is to present everyone perfect on Christ. The word “perfect” means mature or complete. Paul wanted to see each believer mature spiritually. To do this we first need to realize that only the blood of Jesus can make anyone perfect before the eyes of God. But there is something that we can do as we serve our mission. First, we can help others to stop and think about the grace of God and make environment where they can take hold of that grace. Second, we can engage in a discipleship training, helping others to function as servants of God. Through our message preparation and music prep, Tim and Jenn can mature in their preaching and music skills and in their knowledge of Christ. Thirdly, we must not lower our standards. We have to keep the goal in our sights, to present all of our members perfect in Jesus through repentance and faith, beginning with ourselves. These are things that every church should be doing.
Paul helped others to know the mystery of the Gospel with his whole heart. Look at verse 29 again, "To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me" It was not by human efforts that Paul could serve the Gospel. Paul pioneered 40 cities. In the book of Acts Paul was stoned and left for dead. (Acts 14:19) But he got up and went back into Jerusalem to continue to preach. He endured unimaginable sufferings. Most people would have died many times over. But God gave Paul strength to serve his mission well. God calls us to do the same. We need to love God with all our heart, soul and strength. Some people say, “Why do you work so hard? Why do strive so much? God will do what he wants to do. Are you trying to be be saved by your works?” But they are wrong. We need to have Jesus’ attitude and even Paul’s attitude who wrote, “I labor, struggling with all his energy.” Not because we are trying to save ourselves, but because we love God and want to make him known. “His” energy means that God is ready and willing to work through you if you let him.
Part lV: Paul Was Struggling For Them (2:1-5)
Paul wanted them to know how much he was struggling for them. Let’s read verses 2:1-5 together, "I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. 2My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, 3in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. 5For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how orderly you are and how firm your faith in Christ is."
Laodicea was located a few miles northwest of Colossae. Paul’s disciples had probably pioneered these churches. Paul was really concerned about the churches in that area. False teachers had probably infiltrated their ranks too. Though he had never been there personally, Paul loved them and want them to know how he was struggling on their behalf. He was saying, “I love you. Look at how much have been suffering to build you up in Christ.” He was like a father, separated from his kids for years, but writing letters to let them know how much he loves them. Paul also wanted them all to be encouraged in heart and united in love. He wanted to bring the churches together to stand against the heresy and to encourage one another to remain true to Jesus.
We need to grow in “complete understanding” of Christ. Look at verse 2, “2My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ” Blaise Pascal once said, "Apart from Jesus Christ, we cannot know the meaning of life, of death, of God, or of ourselves." People stop with a shallow understanding of Jesus. They need to delve deeper. When we seek after the treasure of the Gospel, we get a complete understanding of Jesus and his salvation plan. This will come when you seek Jesus and his words as a most precious treasure.
People spend millions of dollars to seek treasure in sunken ships. But they only have to go as far as their own Bible to find true, lasting treasures. Look at verse 3, “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” In Jesus there are treasures of wisdom and knowledge. The Bible is a treasure of truth, like an ocean. In Jesus we have a satisfied heart, we have eternal life. There are benefits when seek Jesus as a treasure. One of them can be found in verse 4, “4I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments.”…. we can be saved from all deceptive heresies and stand firm on the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Through this passage we have been reminded of a great mystery. Jesus, and his precious Gospel is the mystery of God. It speaks of God’s grace to dwell among his people to save them from sin and lead them to the hope of glory. Jesus' Gospel is not of human origin. It is God's mystery. It is completely different from what the world can conjure up. Only God can let us know the mystery and he is more than willing to reveal it to you. Paul wants all people to know the mystery of God and to participate in God's work with him. When we believe it, we will be satisfied. If we believe it, we will preach it. Then we will be blessed and be a blessing.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Colossians 1:15-23
THE SUPREMACY OF JESUS CHRIST
Colossians 1:15–23 Lesson 3
Key Verse: 1:18 Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF 6-21-09
"And he is the head of the church; he is the beginning and the first born from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy."
There were three blind men who were asked to describe an elephant that was standing before them. One grasped a hairy, dry leg and said, “An elephant is like a huge tree.” Another grasped his tail and said, “An elephant is like a rope.” Another grabbed its trunk and said, “an elephant is like a fire hose.” All of them were right in some way, but the description is not complete. Their understanding of the elephant is limited. But if you put them all together, and if they communicated together, then you get a better picture. The same principle goes when sinners, lost in the darkness, attempt to describe who Jesus is. Everyone clings to their own impression and fails to see the complete picture. In this passage, Paul was writing to Gentile believers who were influenced heavily by Greek culture and philosophy. In the Colossian church there were several misconceptions about Christ and his gospel. They were in danger of eternally having the wrong concept of Jesus. That is why Paul wanted to teach them clearly about who Jesus is. Paul continued to bring the argument back to Christ. May you focus on Christ and have the correct image of Jesus in your heart.
Part l: Jesus, The Creator Of All Things (15–17)
Who is Jesus? This is a very hard question to answer. In the Colossian church there were so many misconceptions about Jesus. Believing that matter is evil, false teachers argued that God would not have come to earth as a true human being in bodily form; they believed that God did not create the world because he would not have created evil; they said that Christ was not the unique Son of God, but rather one of many intermediaries between God and his people; they refused to see Christ as the source of salvation, insisting that people could find God only through special and secret knowledge. Speeding through time, to the present day, there is still much confusion as the identity of Christ. There is poster with about 300 names of Jesus. One person said that trying to know Jesus is like looking into a diamond. A diamond is full of light, it glistens and it changes in countless ways as you look at from different directions. Jesus is like a diamond. How can we even begin to describe Jesus? Some think that it is impossible to do so and think that we should not even try. But Paul thought it was very important to attempt to describe Jesus. It was because there were so many false ideas floating around, proclaiming quite boldly whom they thought Jesus was. Paul wanted the new Christians to understand who Jesus is, for having the right concept of God is crucial to how we relate to God and how we live out our lives. To know Jesus correctly is tantamount to having eternal life. (Jn 17:3)
Let’s see how Paul’s describes Jesus. We’ll call this, “Jesus 101”.
First, look at verse 1: 15a, “He is the image of the invisible God…”, According to Paul, Jesus is the image of the invisible God. Our immortal God is invisible. (1 Tim 1:17) He is spirit. (Jn 4:24) He is very real and very alive, but he is also very invisible. We can see glimpses of God in nature. (Romans 1:20) We can see him in answered prayer. We can feel him in our hearts, dwelling in us through his spirit and his word. We can see him though the loving acts of his people and the truth of his words. We can see him the noble deeds of his people. But we can not actually see him. If we did see God, in all of his glory I doubt if we could stand it, for he lives in unapproachable light. (1 Tim 6:16)
But God did not leave us groping in the darkness with no way to see his glorious image. He sent Jesus into this world. Jesus is not merely a prophet or a good teacher. He is the image of the invisible God, that is, he is the exact representation of God, not only reflecting God, but he reveals God completely to us. (Heb 1:3) John 1:18 reads, "No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known." Once, after following Jesus for three years, Philip was still confused about Jesus’ true identity. He asked Jesus to show them the Father and that would be enough for them. "Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? (Jn 14:9) When we see Jesus was see the exact image of our Father in heaven…nothing more, nothing less. Most people do not know who God is. But they are searching for God. They want to know God. They must look to Jesus. Verse 15a, says again, “He is the image of the invisible God…”, To know his image is essentially to know who God is. Where do we start? The Bible is the best place to start. Let’s commit ourselves to deep Bible study with the intention to see the image of God in Jesus.
Second, Jesus is the "… the firstborn over all creation." (1:15b) This is referring to Jesus in relation to creation. Jesus is not a created being, created by God, like the angels and all of us are. If Jesus was created then we are denying the deity of Jesus. John 1:1-2 reads, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning." Jesus is God and he existed before creation. The “First born” means that he was born before the creation of the heavens and the earth. Jesus is the eternal God. The “first born” also refers to the head. Jesus is the firstborn among many brothers. (Ro 8:29) God established Jesus’ authority over all who are born again into God’s family. In everything Jesus must have the supremacy over all creation.
Being the firstborn over all creation, also refers to the act that Jesus is the creator and the source of all things. In Colossae, there were angel worshippers who said that created angels were even superior to Christ. There are angel worshippers even today. At the U of Manitoba there was an angel workshop for $80 teaching you how to exploit angels. Angel worship was one of the different ideas that caused doubt that Jesus is the Supreme Creator God. But John 1:3 reads, “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” Jesus has supreme eminence over all creation, even angels, because he is the creator God.
Why did God create everything in the first place? When I study Genesis chapter 1 with students, I give them this simple formula, “This world was created for us and we were created for God.” But Colossians 1:16 teaches me something a little different, "For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.” We like to think that God does everything for us, even creating the universe for us. We become so “me” focused, that we fail to be God focused. This makes “me” more important than God. But we learn here that God loves us for Jesus’ sake. God saved us for Jesus’ sake. It is all about Jesus and not all about us. In heaven it will not be about us, but about Him. Our center of life must be Jesus. If you can’t accept this now, you probably won’t enjoy heaven.
The living Jesus is continually involved in his creation, sustaining it. Look at verse 17 again. "He is before all things, and in him all things hold together." God is not only the Creator of the world, but he is also its Sustainer. He can be the Sustainer because he has the power to create. In Jesus, everything is held together, protected, and preserved from disintegrating into chaos. Jesus holds things all together. The weather works patterns work together to bring forth life. Gravity keeps us from flying off the plant the atmosphere from dissipating into space. God keeps our nation from falling into chaos. God keeps our families and fellowship together. He helps us to grow spiritually instead of stagnating and falling apart spiritually. You are held together because of the grace of Jesus. Because Christ is the Sustainer of all life, none of us is independent from him. We are dependent on Jesus. We are all his servants who must daily trust him and depend on him for protecting us, caring for us, and holding all things together for us.
Part ll: Jesus, The Head Of The Church (18,19)
Now that we have established Jesus’ true identity as the Creator God and the exact image of the Father, let us discover Jesus’ relation to the church? Let’s read verse 18 together. “And he is the head of the body, the church;” To understand this more fully, let’s read Ephesians 1:22-23, "And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way." Paul says that Jesus is the head of the church, the body. Let’s think of this anatomically. We really need our heads. We can not live without our heads. We can say that our head and body are inseparable. The head is the center of life and the center of the will. With the head, decisions are made. In that way also, Jesus is the head. Jesus and the church are inseparable. Jesus and the church have a life giving relationship. The body is the church. The church is not just a building. In fact, a church may not have a building. The church is group of people who are born again and redeemed by the blood of Jesus. There are members of the body of Christ in every congregation. There are members of the body of Christ in no congregation. Together they make up the body of Christ. If you accept Jesus as you Lord and Savior and have given your life over to him, by faith, then you are part of the body of Christ. The head of this NIU UBF body of Christ is not Kevin Jesmer. I have been appointed a servant of God’s word. Jesus is the head this church and every Christian church. Jesus paid a very high price in order to be the head of the church. It happened through his death and resurrection.
Let’s think more about the resurrected Jesus. Paul states, in verse 18 that Jesus is the “beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.” Jesus was raised from death, and his resurrection proves his lordship over all creation. Because of Christ's death on the cross, he has been exalted and elevated to the status that was rightly his. (see Php 2:5-11). Because Christ is spiritually supreme in the universe, surely we should give his first place in our thoughts and activities. This world is a full of dead heroes. But our supreme ruler is a living hero because he conquered the power of death and lives forever as our Lord and King.
There is more. Look at verse 18 again. “…the firstborn from among the dead ..” This refers to the fact that Jesus’ resurrection is the guarantee of our own resurrection. (Eph 1) All who trust in Christ will also defeat death and rise again to live eternally with Jesus. (1 Cor 15:20; 1 Thess 4:14). He is the first fruit and we are the second fruit. This frees us from the fear of death and fills our hearts with resurrection faith and victory.
The Father was very pleased to reveal his glory, power and majesty in Jesus. Colossians 1:19 reads, “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,” Jesus contains all of God’s fullness. In Jesus, we have all that we need, physically, spiritually… educationally, intellectually, emotionally. We have true and complete life in Jesus. People are all searching for a full and complete life. They want fulfillment. Most are looking in the wrong place and never taste that fulfillment. They try and try and then their short lives are over. With the things of this world, we feel that there is always something missing. But John 1:4 says, “In him was life and that life was the life of men.” Jesus is indeed enough. John 4 reveals that in Jesus we will never thirst. John 6 reveals that in Jesus we have the Bread of Life. Jesus is sufficient for us to discover God and know him and enter into a life giving relationship with God. If we are looking for fulfillment we need to begin our search in Jesus and not in the things of this world.
Part lll: Jesus, Our Reconciler (20–23)
God has accomplished great things through this Jesus. Colossians 1:20 reads “and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” Reconciling means to secure forgiveness. It means making peace through forgiveness. It means making friends. It means bringing back together to who have been torn apart. Nowadays people are knowing less and less what it means to be reconciled. People would rather remain in their bitterness and unforgiveness than to be reconciled to anyone, let alone God. If you try to reconcile to some people you had better be ready to dodge a few punches. It is because they do not know Jesus and the lengths that he took for us to be reconciled to himself. When we know that grace then we can forgive others.
Paul writes in verse 21, “Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of[a] your evil behavior.” " Because we were alienated from God, we were living as "enemies" of God. The sin that mostly dwelt in our minds, through our thoughts and emotions and desires, spilling over to our behavior, had completely ruined our relationship with God. We were outside of Christ, with no hope in this world. We were like orphans and with no home and cut off from the family of God. It was not God’s fault. It was our fault because of the sin that we allowed to grow in our minds. We suffered a lot because of our broken relationship with God. But God had mercy on us.
It required a very heavy price for Jesus to be a reconciler. Look at verse 20b. “…by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” Everything is restored in Jesus Christ our Lord and through his shed blood on the cross. Christ's death provided a way for all people to come to God. It cleared away the sin that keeps us from having a right relationship with our Creator. We can have peace with God and be reconciled to him by accepting Christ, who died in our place. If there a distance between you and Jesus, be reconciled to God today. Come to him through Christ.
What did God do? Look at verse 22, “ But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— Paul explained that Jesus' physical body actually died. (this counteracted some of the claims of the false teacher that claimed Jesus was only spirit.) Jesus suffered death fully as a man, so that we could be assured that he died in our place. Jesus faced death, as God, so we can be assured that his sacrifice was complete and that he truly removed all of our sin. No one is good enough to save himself or herself. The only way to be free from sin is to trust in Jesus Christ to take it away. Think of it this way, when a judge, in a court of law, declares the defendant not guilty, the person has been acquitted of all the accusations or charges. Legally, it is as if he or she had never been accused. When God forgives our sins, our record is wiped clean. From his perspective, it is as though we had never sinned. God's solution is available to you right now. No matter what you have done or what you have been like, God's forgiveness is for you. If we want to live eternally with Christ, we must depend totally on God's grace. Let us come and accept the free gift.
Once you accept that free gift, we must realize that this is not the end but only the beginning of a new life in Christ. Look at verse 23, “if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.” We must remain "established and firm" in the truth of the gospel, putting our confidence in Jesus alone to forgive our sins, to make us right with God, and to empower us to live the way he desires. This requires more than an accumulation of some secret knowledge, as some of the mystery religions purported. It takes a life commitment with obedience to Christ’s commands. This is the only way to be established and firm.
Part lV: Conclusion
I hope, that through this passage, you can see more clearly who Jesus is. Paul continued to bring the argument back to Christ. Who is Jesus Christ? Christ is the image of – the exact likeness of – God. He is God himself and yet he died on the cross as a human being. Paul proclaimed that Jesus is Christ is the Creator of both heaven and the earth. Paul explained that Christ existed before anything else and is the firstborn of those to be resurrected. Paul proclaimed the way of salvation to be through Christ alone. Jesus is sufficient. He is the fullness of God, that is he is everything to everyone, even to you and to me. We don't need anything else. We must continue in gospel faith and hold on to this hope. May God grant you deep insight into the person of Jesus and grow in your personal relationship with him. Then you will taste his goodness and enter into eternal life.
Colossians 1:15–23 Lesson 3
Key Verse: 1:18 Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF 6-21-09
"And he is the head of the church; he is the beginning and the first born from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy."
There were three blind men who were asked to describe an elephant that was standing before them. One grasped a hairy, dry leg and said, “An elephant is like a huge tree.” Another grasped his tail and said, “An elephant is like a rope.” Another grabbed its trunk and said, “an elephant is like a fire hose.” All of them were right in some way, but the description is not complete. Their understanding of the elephant is limited. But if you put them all together, and if they communicated together, then you get a better picture. The same principle goes when sinners, lost in the darkness, attempt to describe who Jesus is. Everyone clings to their own impression and fails to see the complete picture. In this passage, Paul was writing to Gentile believers who were influenced heavily by Greek culture and philosophy. In the Colossian church there were several misconceptions about Christ and his gospel. They were in danger of eternally having the wrong concept of Jesus. That is why Paul wanted to teach them clearly about who Jesus is. Paul continued to bring the argument back to Christ. May you focus on Christ and have the correct image of Jesus in your heart.
Part l: Jesus, The Creator Of All Things (15–17)
Who is Jesus? This is a very hard question to answer. In the Colossian church there were so many misconceptions about Jesus. Believing that matter is evil, false teachers argued that God would not have come to earth as a true human being in bodily form; they believed that God did not create the world because he would not have created evil; they said that Christ was not the unique Son of God, but rather one of many intermediaries between God and his people; they refused to see Christ as the source of salvation, insisting that people could find God only through special and secret knowledge. Speeding through time, to the present day, there is still much confusion as the identity of Christ. There is poster with about 300 names of Jesus. One person said that trying to know Jesus is like looking into a diamond. A diamond is full of light, it glistens and it changes in countless ways as you look at from different directions. Jesus is like a diamond. How can we even begin to describe Jesus? Some think that it is impossible to do so and think that we should not even try. But Paul thought it was very important to attempt to describe Jesus. It was because there were so many false ideas floating around, proclaiming quite boldly whom they thought Jesus was. Paul wanted the new Christians to understand who Jesus is, for having the right concept of God is crucial to how we relate to God and how we live out our lives. To know Jesus correctly is tantamount to having eternal life. (Jn 17:3)
Let’s see how Paul’s describes Jesus. We’ll call this, “Jesus 101”.
First, look at verse 1: 15a, “He is the image of the invisible God…”, According to Paul, Jesus is the image of the invisible God. Our immortal God is invisible. (1 Tim 1:17) He is spirit. (Jn 4:24) He is very real and very alive, but he is also very invisible. We can see glimpses of God in nature. (Romans 1:20) We can see him in answered prayer. We can feel him in our hearts, dwelling in us through his spirit and his word. We can see him though the loving acts of his people and the truth of his words. We can see him the noble deeds of his people. But we can not actually see him. If we did see God, in all of his glory I doubt if we could stand it, for he lives in unapproachable light. (1 Tim 6:16)
But God did not leave us groping in the darkness with no way to see his glorious image. He sent Jesus into this world. Jesus is not merely a prophet or a good teacher. He is the image of the invisible God, that is, he is the exact representation of God, not only reflecting God, but he reveals God completely to us. (Heb 1:3) John 1:18 reads, "No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known." Once, after following Jesus for three years, Philip was still confused about Jesus’ true identity. He asked Jesus to show them the Father and that would be enough for them. "Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? (Jn 14:9) When we see Jesus was see the exact image of our Father in heaven…nothing more, nothing less. Most people do not know who God is. But they are searching for God. They want to know God. They must look to Jesus. Verse 15a, says again, “He is the image of the invisible God…”, To know his image is essentially to know who God is. Where do we start? The Bible is the best place to start. Let’s commit ourselves to deep Bible study with the intention to see the image of God in Jesus.
Second, Jesus is the "… the firstborn over all creation." (1:15b) This is referring to Jesus in relation to creation. Jesus is not a created being, created by God, like the angels and all of us are. If Jesus was created then we are denying the deity of Jesus. John 1:1-2 reads, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning." Jesus is God and he existed before creation. The “First born” means that he was born before the creation of the heavens and the earth. Jesus is the eternal God. The “first born” also refers to the head. Jesus is the firstborn among many brothers. (Ro 8:29) God established Jesus’ authority over all who are born again into God’s family. In everything Jesus must have the supremacy over all creation.
Being the firstborn over all creation, also refers to the act that Jesus is the creator and the source of all things. In Colossae, there were angel worshippers who said that created angels were even superior to Christ. There are angel worshippers even today. At the U of Manitoba there was an angel workshop for $80 teaching you how to exploit angels. Angel worship was one of the different ideas that caused doubt that Jesus is the Supreme Creator God. But John 1:3 reads, “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” Jesus has supreme eminence over all creation, even angels, because he is the creator God.
Why did God create everything in the first place? When I study Genesis chapter 1 with students, I give them this simple formula, “This world was created for us and we were created for God.” But Colossians 1:16 teaches me something a little different, "For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.” We like to think that God does everything for us, even creating the universe for us. We become so “me” focused, that we fail to be God focused. This makes “me” more important than God. But we learn here that God loves us for Jesus’ sake. God saved us for Jesus’ sake. It is all about Jesus and not all about us. In heaven it will not be about us, but about Him. Our center of life must be Jesus. If you can’t accept this now, you probably won’t enjoy heaven.
The living Jesus is continually involved in his creation, sustaining it. Look at verse 17 again. "He is before all things, and in him all things hold together." God is not only the Creator of the world, but he is also its Sustainer. He can be the Sustainer because he has the power to create. In Jesus, everything is held together, protected, and preserved from disintegrating into chaos. Jesus holds things all together. The weather works patterns work together to bring forth life. Gravity keeps us from flying off the plant the atmosphere from dissipating into space. God keeps our nation from falling into chaos. God keeps our families and fellowship together. He helps us to grow spiritually instead of stagnating and falling apart spiritually. You are held together because of the grace of Jesus. Because Christ is the Sustainer of all life, none of us is independent from him. We are dependent on Jesus. We are all his servants who must daily trust him and depend on him for protecting us, caring for us, and holding all things together for us.
Part ll: Jesus, The Head Of The Church (18,19)
Now that we have established Jesus’ true identity as the Creator God and the exact image of the Father, let us discover Jesus’ relation to the church? Let’s read verse 18 together. “And he is the head of the body, the church;” To understand this more fully, let’s read Ephesians 1:22-23, "And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way." Paul says that Jesus is the head of the church, the body. Let’s think of this anatomically. We really need our heads. We can not live without our heads. We can say that our head and body are inseparable. The head is the center of life and the center of the will. With the head, decisions are made. In that way also, Jesus is the head. Jesus and the church are inseparable. Jesus and the church have a life giving relationship. The body is the church. The church is not just a building. In fact, a church may not have a building. The church is group of people who are born again and redeemed by the blood of Jesus. There are members of the body of Christ in every congregation. There are members of the body of Christ in no congregation. Together they make up the body of Christ. If you accept Jesus as you Lord and Savior and have given your life over to him, by faith, then you are part of the body of Christ. The head of this NIU UBF body of Christ is not Kevin Jesmer. I have been appointed a servant of God’s word. Jesus is the head this church and every Christian church. Jesus paid a very high price in order to be the head of the church. It happened through his death and resurrection.
Let’s think more about the resurrected Jesus. Paul states, in verse 18 that Jesus is the “beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.” Jesus was raised from death, and his resurrection proves his lordship over all creation. Because of Christ's death on the cross, he has been exalted and elevated to the status that was rightly his. (see Php 2:5-11). Because Christ is spiritually supreme in the universe, surely we should give his first place in our thoughts and activities. This world is a full of dead heroes. But our supreme ruler is a living hero because he conquered the power of death and lives forever as our Lord and King.
There is more. Look at verse 18 again. “…the firstborn from among the dead ..” This refers to the fact that Jesus’ resurrection is the guarantee of our own resurrection. (Eph 1) All who trust in Christ will also defeat death and rise again to live eternally with Jesus. (1 Cor 15:20; 1 Thess 4:14). He is the first fruit and we are the second fruit. This frees us from the fear of death and fills our hearts with resurrection faith and victory.
The Father was very pleased to reveal his glory, power and majesty in Jesus. Colossians 1:19 reads, “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,” Jesus contains all of God’s fullness. In Jesus, we have all that we need, physically, spiritually… educationally, intellectually, emotionally. We have true and complete life in Jesus. People are all searching for a full and complete life. They want fulfillment. Most are looking in the wrong place and never taste that fulfillment. They try and try and then their short lives are over. With the things of this world, we feel that there is always something missing. But John 1:4 says, “In him was life and that life was the life of men.” Jesus is indeed enough. John 4 reveals that in Jesus we will never thirst. John 6 reveals that in Jesus we have the Bread of Life. Jesus is sufficient for us to discover God and know him and enter into a life giving relationship with God. If we are looking for fulfillment we need to begin our search in Jesus and not in the things of this world.
Part lll: Jesus, Our Reconciler (20–23)
God has accomplished great things through this Jesus. Colossians 1:20 reads “and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” Reconciling means to secure forgiveness. It means making peace through forgiveness. It means making friends. It means bringing back together to who have been torn apart. Nowadays people are knowing less and less what it means to be reconciled. People would rather remain in their bitterness and unforgiveness than to be reconciled to anyone, let alone God. If you try to reconcile to some people you had better be ready to dodge a few punches. It is because they do not know Jesus and the lengths that he took for us to be reconciled to himself. When we know that grace then we can forgive others.
Paul writes in verse 21, “Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of[a] your evil behavior.” " Because we were alienated from God, we were living as "enemies" of God. The sin that mostly dwelt in our minds, through our thoughts and emotions and desires, spilling over to our behavior, had completely ruined our relationship with God. We were outside of Christ, with no hope in this world. We were like orphans and with no home and cut off from the family of God. It was not God’s fault. It was our fault because of the sin that we allowed to grow in our minds. We suffered a lot because of our broken relationship with God. But God had mercy on us.
It required a very heavy price for Jesus to be a reconciler. Look at verse 20b. “…by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” Everything is restored in Jesus Christ our Lord and through his shed blood on the cross. Christ's death provided a way for all people to come to God. It cleared away the sin that keeps us from having a right relationship with our Creator. We can have peace with God and be reconciled to him by accepting Christ, who died in our place. If there a distance between you and Jesus, be reconciled to God today. Come to him through Christ.
What did God do? Look at verse 22, “ But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— Paul explained that Jesus' physical body actually died. (this counteracted some of the claims of the false teacher that claimed Jesus was only spirit.) Jesus suffered death fully as a man, so that we could be assured that he died in our place. Jesus faced death, as God, so we can be assured that his sacrifice was complete and that he truly removed all of our sin. No one is good enough to save himself or herself. The only way to be free from sin is to trust in Jesus Christ to take it away. Think of it this way, when a judge, in a court of law, declares the defendant not guilty, the person has been acquitted of all the accusations or charges. Legally, it is as if he or she had never been accused. When God forgives our sins, our record is wiped clean. From his perspective, it is as though we had never sinned. God's solution is available to you right now. No matter what you have done or what you have been like, God's forgiveness is for you. If we want to live eternally with Christ, we must depend totally on God's grace. Let us come and accept the free gift.
Once you accept that free gift, we must realize that this is not the end but only the beginning of a new life in Christ. Look at verse 23, “if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.” We must remain "established and firm" in the truth of the gospel, putting our confidence in Jesus alone to forgive our sins, to make us right with God, and to empower us to live the way he desires. This requires more than an accumulation of some secret knowledge, as some of the mystery religions purported. It takes a life commitment with obedience to Christ’s commands. This is the only way to be established and firm.
Part lV: Conclusion
I hope, that through this passage, you can see more clearly who Jesus is. Paul continued to bring the argument back to Christ. Who is Jesus Christ? Christ is the image of – the exact likeness of – God. He is God himself and yet he died on the cross as a human being. Paul proclaimed that Jesus is Christ is the Creator of both heaven and the earth. Paul explained that Christ existed before anything else and is the firstborn of those to be resurrected. Paul proclaimed the way of salvation to be through Christ alone. Jesus is sufficient. He is the fullness of God, that is he is everything to everyone, even to you and to me. We don't need anything else. We must continue in gospel faith and hold on to this hope. May God grant you deep insight into the person of Jesus and grow in your personal relationship with him. Then you will taste his goodness and enter into eternal life.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)