Colossians 1:24 - 2:5

Introduction

Good morning church family.

I would like to ask a question of all you mum’s out there. What is the one thing you are looking out for the most in your new born baby over the first 6 weeks? The first smile, right? Maturity of facial muscles.

What is the next thing you look for in the first 6 months of life? Teeth? Perhaps! What about sleeping through the night? Maturity in sleep wake cycles maybe.

What about the first 9-12 months? The first word maybe? Dada or mum? What is going to be first? Maturity of speech - actually that does not come till they are about 30 years of age, sorry to disappoint you!

What about potty training somewhere between 2 and 5 years of age for most kids, but upto age 12-15 years for others? Maturity of bladder function.

And then there is speaking, and reading and relationship - all to be developed and matured.

Today is not a sermon about the developmental stages of the young human. I want to address the question of what it means to be mature in Christ.

Maturity in Christ

What does that mean? What does it look like? I imagine that just like parents eagerly await the development of a whole variety of skills and abilities in their, children, so too our Heavenly Father, is looking forward to our development spiritually into the likeness of Christ - because that is part of what this term means. We will explore only some of what this means from our passage today from from Colossians 1:24-2:5

Colossians 1:24–2:5 ESV

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me. For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.

Prayer

If you are joining us for the first time, we are continuing our series in the book of Colossians. So welcome and I hope you enjoy this part of our study in Colossians.

Today’s section sees us finally coming to the end of Paul’s very lengthy introduction! Yes, just the introduction.

Paul’s Aim

Paul now outlines his overall purpose in life. His job description is simply this:

He wants to make the word of God fully known (v. 25).

His desire is to proclaim Christ (v. 28).

He wants everyone to become fully mature in Christ (v. 28)

This last aspect of his life’s aim is what we are going to focus on today. He does this with an immense amount of energy and toil (v.29), and is even prepared to suffer for the sake of this task (v.24).

Just pause with me for a moment to reflect on this remarkable man Paul. Paul a prisoner, so committed to the gospel, so committed to Jesus Christ, so committed to pouring out his life as a sacrifice that others may benefit - firstly and primarily by coming to faith and secondly by learning and benefiting and growing into all that is precious and valuable by being in Christ Jesus.

Okay, so Paul wanted everyone to be fully mature in Christ. What does this mean?

Well, firstly maturity has to have a beginning. The beginning is when you become a Christian, when you are born again. Paul has already talked about this earlier in Chapter 1. In Col 1:21-22 he says

Colossians 1:21–22 ESV

And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,

Paul reminds the believers at Colossae that they too were once alienated from God and hostile to him - but NOW they are reconciled. They have been born again. They are now alive to God. This is one definition of a Christian. This is the starting point of a Christian’s life. The Christian life starts with being reconciled to Jesus Christ and to God.

But Paul reminds the Colossian believers that Jesus is no ordinary man, but that he is the image of the invisible God, he is the creator God, he is the head of all creation, he is the head of the church and it is to him that everything has to be reconciled. And now here is the mystery that Paul announces. When you are born again, he indwells you. In Col 1:26-27

Colossians 1:26–27 ESV

the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Paul describes this as a mystery that is now revealed. It is “Christ in you”. This had special meaning for the Gentile believers at Colossae, because it would have been quite natural in those days to think that it was just the Jews that would have this special privelege, being God’s chosen people down through earlier centuries. Secondly it is possible that the Gentile believers at Colossae were being hassled in some way by people trying to insist that they needed to follow some sort of ritual or another. But no, the benefits of belonging in God’s family apply to Gentiles as well, and the deep riches of the truth of the gospel and the indwelling Christ and the shared hope of glory is theirs, and they can be confident about it also.

The word mature has the idea of somehow growing up, perhaps the idea of reaching full development. Paul now explains further what he has in mind for the church at Colossae and at Laodicea nearby and in fact for anyone else who had not personally met Paul but had come to faith through the teaching of the word of God. We find this in Col 2:1-2 that “I want you to know how great a struggle (has the idea of a fight, or a contest with a prize in view) I have for you” and he wants now...

Colossians 2:2 ESV

that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ,

Knit together in Love

Firstly Paul wants the believers to be knit together in love. Why? Well love is one of the hallmarks of the Christian. It has to be. Jesus said in John 13:34-35

John 13:34–35 ESV

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

This is no mere sentimental type of love. No, this is sacrificial, unconditional love. Love that Jesus himself had for his disciples. It is servant attitude kind of love. It is the opposite of selfish, self serving and self preserving actions.

Knit together in Love

The word “knit” in non biblical literature has the idea of “to cause to stride together”. I can’t help but think of people running a 3 legged race. In order to stride together there has to be some kind of unified action and by synchronised minds. Here the emphasis is that people are held together, and in unity with their head, who is Christ. This kind of unity amongst a diverse group of people does not happen automatically. People think differently, react differently, speak differently with different emphases in our lives. We even hold different view points on a variety of Doctrines. Some of you may even have voted National… or Greens! We are all wired differently. It does not mean that we are the same. We are not.

So how do we handle it when we do disagree? What does it mean to be knit together in love in this context? Do we all agree on everything? Not at all! But I believe that mature Christians will always be thinking about the good of the other person, the good of the community that they are in and the reputation of Jesus Christ. This does not mean that they will always compromise on their stance. Not at all. But they will be wise on what they stand their ground on and they will do so with great grace and humility, recognising that we are all sinners responsible primarily to God for what we say or do. They will be very careful about disrupting the unity of believers.

I think in this letter to the Colossians, Paul has very clearly presented a very high view of Jesus Christ. I think there are some common themes here that as a community of believers we cannot budge on. This has to do with the nature of who Jesus is, and the facts of his redemptive purpose in creation.

The Spirit of God has to do his work in our lives, in our hearts and minds before this type of Christian maturity is developed. The basis of this type of unity is based on Christian love. Love for one another, and love for God, and love for wanting to do God’s will and for God’s character and mind to be displayed in us and through us. Its a big task.

You might think that well this kind of love is also present in other groupings, such as a rugby club , or a Mother’s group, or tramping club - and in some ways you are right and we should not put down the selfless actions of many other people and groups. But there is a profound point of difference in the love that should exist in a Christian community. It is this. Firstly all believers are indwelt by Christ. This should give us all a tremendous sense of gratitude and privilege that God wishes to be so intimately connected to his followers. Secondly we clearly need to have a profound respect and love for others who are likewise indwelt by the living God. I must be careful to look after my fellow believer who after all forms part of the body of Christ. Thirdly, believers have a profound and sacred duty as given by Jesus himself in Matt 28:18-20

Matthew 28:18–20 ESV

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Jesus has tasked us with making disciples of all nations. You see being knit together in love is not just about the love we are to have for fellow Christians. Our love is for God himself - in fact that is part of the supreme command to love God with all your heart and mind and strength. But we are also to love other people - not necessarily just those who are believers. Together as a body of believers we are to join with each other and encourage each other in our love for God, our love for each other and our love for our fallen and hurting world. We are to reach out to our world, indeed we are tasked to do this. And this we will do by God’s grace and by his strength. In some ways this knitting together in love is not just something to aspire to, but is also the context in which the next aspect of maturity is to be developed.

The next aspect of maturity to mention is again in v. 2: “to reach the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery”

Full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery

What does this mean?

Assurance to me implies confidence. Confidence in what? Confidence firstly and primarily in God. It is confidence and assurance in who God is and in what he has done. In some ways, it is the knowledge of God himself. God has revealed himself supremely in Jesus Christ - and so my confidence and assurance rests in Jesus, and in what Jesus has accomplished.

So secondly it is a confidence in our salvation. We can have confidence in the complete sufficiency of Christ himself. His death burial and resurrection is absoultely sufficient in rescuing us from a lost and hostile position to now being reconciled to God.

I can be completely assured of my salvation in Christ. There is simply no need to fear. This is not arrogance. It is simply a restatement of what God himself has promised to everyone to places their faith and trust in Jesus. To know Jesus is to know God.

Thirdly it is a confidence in the word of God that had been proclaimed by Paul about Christ. That word had come to others and that same word had also been received through Epaphras and others by the Colossian church. They had responded to the gospel, they had come to faith in Jesus Christ and now Paul wants them to be assured that this word of God that they had heard was true and reliable.

But fourthly Paul wants them to be confident of God’s indwelling by his Spirit. He wants them to know that Jesus Christ who indwells them by his Spirit (we would need to read John 14-16 here to find out more about this), is the source of the wisdom and knowledge that they needed for spiritual maturity. They can be really confident that Jesus is sufficient for this. The Spirit works within us both to teach us and convict us and remind us of the God’s place in our lives.

Knowledge does imply use of the mind, and active learning and this takes some effort that we have to put in. Wisdom implies a practical understanding of how that knowledge applies in daily life. There is huge benefit in life in immersing yourself in the wisdom and knowledge of Jesus Christ. Paul talks about it as riches. It is a treasure not to be missed. This knowledge and wisdom is hidden in Christ. It is not hidden in the sense that you are fighting a losing battle in trying to find it. The point is that it is found. It is found in Jesus Christ - but the effort you have to put in is that of seeking after Christ. It means making an effort to grow your mind in the knowledge of God and his Word, and grow your wisdom by constantly learning about Jesus and his will for you in this life.

What was the point of all of this emphasis on wisdom and knowledge and the sufficiency of Christ? It is simply that Paul did not want the Colossian believers to be deluded with plausible arguments to the contrary.

Standing Firm in the Faith

So one of the signs of maturity in Christ is firmness of faith. It is being confident about what you believe, but not arrogant. It is being able to discern truth from untruth. It is also being able to resist the seductive nature of plausible arguments that would lead you away from your faith in Jesus Christ. This is incredibly important for our day today. There are so many voices in the world, often speaking some element of truth but then swerving way off beam from what has been revealed in scripture.

Part of maturity in Christ is simply hanging in there when things are tough. And that leads me to offer some thoughts on v.24 which may be difficult to understand.

Ready to suffer

One of the remarkable facets of Paul’s ministry was his willingness to suffer for the sake of the gospel, for others. He had never met the Colossian believers but they were on his heart and mind in a big way. He rejoiced in their faith, but he also was working incredibly hard on their behalf (v.29) and also chapter 2 v.1 So what does it mean that he was filling up what was lacking in Christ’s afflictions?

We need to understand very clearly that Paul was not at all suggesting that Christ’s work on the cross was in any way deficient. He has been at pains to explain that Jesus is totally sufficient for our salvation. Here I think the meaning is that to some extent there is a suffering that Christians may expect to experience simply by being associated with Jesus. Scripture would seem to indicate that the suffering of the church, or the suffering endured by Christ’s body if you like, has a finite known limit, known only to God. In Revelation 6:10-11 the martyred saints cry out wondering how long before God’s judgement will occur. The answer is that they still had some time to wait until there was a completion of those that were to be martyred.

So one of the ways we could think about this is simply that Paul was playing his part in the overall suffering that the body of Christ has to yet endure - and in part also recognising that this had immense benefit for the Colossian believers.

The last aspect of maturity that I want to briefly mention today is found in chapter 1:29 where Paul says: “I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me”.

Energised by Christ

This is one of the mysteries of the Christian life. We are asked to participate in what Jesus wants to do in and through us. Part of Christian maturity is I believe becoming more conscious of what it means to walk with God. The redemption that we have received in Jesus has freed us indeed from the penalty of sin. That is a given/now aspect of redemption. But there is a yet distant/not yet aspect of redemption to come when we will be completely free from the very presence of sin. In the now, we have to toil and struggle - and yet in the now we also have the Divine Presence of the indwelling Christ who energises us and works in and through us. In the not yet, we will be rid of the toil and struggle also.

But for now, in what way is Jesus working in you and through you? In what way are you striving to do his will? In what way are you walking with him?

Paul had this very desire for the Colossian believers as we have already read back in Col 1:9-10

Colossians 1:9–10 ESV

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;

One of the delights of Paul, and something that he rejoiced in was that the Colossian believers were firm in their faith and seemed to have a deep desire to walk with God. One of hallmarks of a mature Christian is their deep joy in the Lord - a delight in a knowledge of their Saviour, a real assurance and conviction in God’s salvation in Jesus, a contentment in life, a deep joy despite suffering, and a deep love for God’s people and for those that are still to come to know Him.

This at least in part is to be mature in Christ - and there is a lot more to say and learn and talk about on this topic, but I hope that today’s talk has prompted you to think about your own walk with God.

Next week will see us carrying on in the book of Colossians and learning some more about what it means to walk with God in Christ Jesus.