Colossians 1:19-23 - Continue in the Faith
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Intro:
Intro:
Good morning.
This morning we continue our series on the book of Colossians, looking at chapter 1, verses 19-23.
Our title for this section is “Continue in the Faith.”
That title hinges itself on verse 23, which says:
Col. 1:23
if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.
Have you ever started something and not continued it?
I can think of a lot of potential examples:
Maybe its some sort of project in the back yard that sounded really great when you conceptualized it, but then you never got around to actually building it — It started the process of dreaming it up in your mind, but then when it came time to actually put in the work, you said, “Nevermind.”
Our family loves to play board games together — Have you ever started a game of Monopoly, or Risk, and it just dragged on and on and seemed like it was never going to end so you just quit?
Maybe you started out on trying to make 6 laps around the track for a run, and you got halfway done and said, “Three laps will be good for now.”
We’re familiar with the concept of starting something and not finishing it!
But when it comes to our Christianity, which is the most important endeavor we could ever embark on, it’s important that we don’t start it to only give up and quit!
We’ve stated so far in this study of Colossians that this book is just jam-packed with a lot of really good information!
It is a theological treasure-trove, really!
And so as we look at this idea of “Continue in the Faith,” this morning, this short section of verses is really going to have a lot of great information ABOUT the faith that we must continue in!
So let’s get to it!
The Text:
The Text:
For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.
The first thing we want to notice in verse 19 is “It pleased the Father that in Him (in Jesus) all the fullness should dwell.”
Colossians 2:9 says it this way: “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.”
Colossians 1:15 we saw last Sunday night said: “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.”
That coincides perfectly with Hebrews 1:3 which says of Jesus: “who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.”
John 1:1–3 says of Jesus: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.”
And John 1:14 says: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”
All of this speaks to the fact that the 2nd Person of the Godhead, Jesus Christ, was God in the flesh.
So is Jesus Deity? Is Jesus God? Absolutely! He is God the Son.
Within the Godhead (which is always difficult for me to totally wrap my mind around) you have God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit (See Matthew 28:18-19).
Jesus speaks to the fact of His deity in many passages, including:
John 10:38 Jesus said “that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.”
John 5:18 says that Jesus said “that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.” (And this made the Jews want to kill Him!)
John 8:58 Jesus said plainly, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” (Thus, He claimed that He was the eternal God!)
So right off the bat in our study this morning, we find a critically important theological concept - The Deity of Jesus Christ!
Notice now verse 20 - “And by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, BY HIM (He repeats that critical prepositional phrase, in case we missed it) — “Whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made PEACE through the blood of His cross.”
We talked about the importance of the blood of Jesus Christ last Sunday night when we also read from Hebrews chapter 9.
Revelation 1:5 says in the introduction of Revelation: “And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood.”
You cannot be saved unless your sins are washed in Jesus’ blood!
And thus, although some songbooks of certain denominational groups have taken songs out that mention the blood (such as “Are You Washed in the Blood of the Lamb,” and “There’s Power in the Blood,” and “Nothing But the Blood”), may we never do so, because the blood is of utmost importance!
Notice also that God RECONCILES all things to Himself (whether in heaven or on earth) BY the sacrifice of Jesus Christ!
There is a word and a concept that describes our status as sinful creatures before that reconciliation took place, and the word is called “ENMITY!”
Sounds very similar to ENEMY, doesn’t it?
And that’s essentially what it means — When we were at ENMITY with God that means that because of our sins we were ENEMIES of God; we were at ODDS with God!
Ephesians 2:15–16 teaches of Jesus: “having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.”
The Old Testament Law convicted us all of sin — It established what sin is!
The New Testament Law of Christ made a way for us to be SET FREE from sin — namely, through Jesus Christ!
And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight—
Again, enmity — enemies! And verse 21 here says as much!
What about this word “alienated?”
Another way of saying that would be the word “estranged.”
We often hear of various families where the son or daughter is “estranged” from the parents — That means that the relationship was strained to the point that they no longer desire to be around each other. (It’s a heartbreaking reality in many families).
Well, this idea of being “estranged” or “alienated” means that because of sin, we were separated from God to the point that we didn’t have a RELATIONSHIP with Him — We were not in FELLOWSHIP with Him!
But through Jesus Christ, we have that relationship with the Father once again!
Perhaps the most beautiful description of that might be one of my favorite parables of Jesus Christ — That of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32).
Notice that God — now that we have been reconciled through Jesus Christ — presents us “holy, blameless, and above reproach in His sight!”
That is our Christian duty — To maintain that being holy, blameless, and above reproach, as best we can — in APPRECIATION for what Christ has done for us!
In short, to walk WORTHY of Jesus Christ, FULLY PLEASING Him, like we talked about last Sunday night!
Well, finally we come to our main verse for this morning …
if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.
This whole verse is a conditional modifier of what we just read in the second half of verse 22 - “To present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight” — “IF indeed you continue.”
If you’re playing Monopoly, and you own Park Place and Boardwalk, you can reap the benefits of owning those two most lucrative properties in the game … as long as you continue the game!
But let’s say that you are in a fierce competition with one or two other players who also own a lot of the other properties and you go on for hours with no clear winner to the point that everybody agrees to call it a draw and quit playing — What does Park Place and Boardwalk mean to you then? (Nothing! You quit the game!)
To use our illustration from the beginning about dreaming up some building project for the back yard - Maybe it’s a nice gazebo with a seating area, or a new pool, or a fountain — you name it …
But you stop at the conceptualizing stage and don’t actually build it, what good does it do for you?
If you start running laps around a track, and your goal is 6 laps but you only do 3, are you going to grow in your endurance as much as you had hoped?
And if you start the CHRISTIAN RACE but don’t finish it — All of that time and energy and effort you spent living for Jesus — (if you give up shortly before the finish line) — will be for nought!
“IF indeed you continue in the faith, GROUNDED and STEADFAST, and are not MOVED AWAY from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister!”
If and only then can you continue to be presented holy and blameless and above reproach in God’s sight!
So, incidentally, what does that say about the idea of “Once Saved, Always Saved?”
It says that that false doctrine could not be further from the truth … and it has given countless people a false sense of security as they live out their lives with no intent of actually living for Jesus, the One Who shed His blood on their behalf … :(
We must continue in the faith!
Conclusion:
Conclusion:
A few parallel passages as we bring this to a close this morning:
Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.
Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
Will you continue in the faith?
Will you finish the race?
Or will you give up, and will you quit?
As we come to our invitation this morning, there may be some here who have not yet STARTED the race that is the Christian race?
If that’s you, I pray that you would do so before it’s eternally too late.