Rooted in Christ or Captives?
Notes
Transcript
Rooted in Christ or Captives?
Rooted in Christ or Captives?
Focus on The Word
Focus on The Word
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
Prayer
Prayer
Dear God, help us this morning to as we come to your Word to let it dwell in us richly. Help us to put aside any distractions that might keep us from focusing on what you have for us today. Help us have hearts that are ready to receive your Word and respond to it. I pray you would do the work you intend to do in us by changing us to look more like you. Let us be the kind of people who passes the Word we receive to others by teaching and admonishing them in all wisdom. Through it all, I pray you would be glorified today by our worship. Amen.
Big Question:
Big Question:
How can you stay rooted in the faith and not taken captive by human tradition?
Big Idea:
Big Idea:
You can remain rooted in the faith by clinging to the wisdom found in christ.
Introduction:
Introduction:
Sermon Division 1: Walk in Christ (Verse 6,7)
Sermon Division 1: Walk in Christ (Verse 6,7)
6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him,
7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
As you received Christ Jesus the Lord
As you received Christ Jesus the Lord
Right off the bat we see the word “therefore”. This is a connecting word and should trigger in our minds too look back and see what it is connecting to. In several spots leading up to chapter 2 in verse 6 we see Paul address the Colossian church and how they have received Christ as their Lord. We see this in
3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,
4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints,
5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel,
6 which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth,
21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds,
22 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,
23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.
Paul also touches on this point later on in this chapter
13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,
14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.
So walk in Him
So walk in Him
This is the first imperative or command that Paul is giving the Colossians in this letter. This language is a word picture referring to how we ought to live our lives. This could be referring to a couple different ways we need to be walking or living in Christ. 1) We need to be walking or living as Christ would and 2) we can do this by walking and living as we see later in this verse, in faith. This idea of walking in Christ is not a new idea. Paul has already mentioned this idea in chapter one and he will use the same language in chapter 4 referring to how we are to interact with outsiders.
10 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;
5 Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time.
Paul does not just leave the Colossians and us with a command with no instruction on how to fulfill it. In this verse we see three ways or illustrations we can use to walk in Christ:
Rooted
This first picture is pointing to horticultural or botanical setting. It makes me think of a big Oak tree that has its roots down deep in the earth. In doing this the tree can weather any storm. We get this same idea in Psalm 1:1-3 which says:
1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 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 that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.
Built up
In this second word picture we see a construction illustration. Instead of sinking our roots down deep here we see we can build upward on a solid foundation. This word picture reminds me of what we see in Matthew 7:24-27 which says:
24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.
26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.
27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
Established in Faith
Lastly we see what the result of being rooted and built up in Christ is. The result is being established in the faith.
As you were Taught
As you were Taught
There are two reasons why the Colossians are able to walk in Christ. 1) They have recieved Christ Jesus as Lord, and 2) they were taught how to do this. We can see this clearly by looking back to chapter 1 and than again looking forward to chapter 4.
7 just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf
28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.
29 For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.
12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God.
Epaphras is a faithful servant of Christ to the church of Colossi. He taught and instructed them in the ways of the Lord in order to present them mature. Who is teaching and instructing you in the ways of the Lord?
Lastly through this all we need to be abounding in thanksgiving
Sermon Division 2: Don’t be taken captive (Verse 8)
Sermon Division 2: Don’t be taken captive (Verse 8)
8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.
See to it that no one takes you captive
See to it that no one takes you captive
As we turn the corner to verse 8 we come to the second imperative or command in this letter. Again this is a big theme in this chapter.
4 I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments.
16 Therefore let no one pass judgment on you
18 Let no one disqualify you,
By Philosophy and Empty Deceit
By Philosophy and Empty Deceit
Here we see how we can be taken captive. It is by philosophy and empty deceit. I don’t want you to think too big when we come to the word philosophy. that word can be overwhelming, confusing and mean many different things, but at its simplest form it just means the love of wisdom. That makes us ask the question is all wisdom bad? Is it all going to take us captive? Again in this book Paul mentions wisdom, knowledge, and understanding a total of 12 times. That is significant.
How wisdom is used positively in this letter.
9 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,
10 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;
28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.
2 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,
3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
5 Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time.
How wisdom is used in a negative sense this letter.
23 These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.
Philosophy is not bad in fact it is largely used in the positive sense. We see a very descriptive word that describes the kind of love of wisdom that leads to being taken captive and that is it is empty deceit. As we continue on in this verse we see that this philosophy and empty deceit are according to human tradition and elemental principles of the world and not according to Christ.
Philosophy According to (a different gospel, 2:11 inward change rather than outward appearance)
Philosophy According to (a different gospel, 2:11 inward change rather than outward appearance)
We can see what this human tradition and elemental principles of the world later in this chapter.
16 Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath.
18 Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind,
20 If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations—
21 “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch”
22 (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings?
23 These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.
Again we have seen 4 times that Paul is warning not to be deluded, taken captive, have judgment passed on us, and be disqualified. Like we just saw this is building up a self-made religion. Don’t buy into a different gospel like some how you can earn your way into a good standing with Christ. We see exactly what this is in verse 17 which says:
17 These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.
If we look to the Old Testament the Law was not give so we could have a way to earn our way to God but rather to point to the fact that we are in need of a savior. The substance belongs to Christ! Like we saw at the end of verse 23, the law has no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh. We can see this plainly with the example of Isreal. How many times did they walk away from God and the law to indulge the flesh. For us the law does not stop the indulgence of the flesh. Our law we make for our kids does not stop the indulgence of the flesh. The sacrifice of all those animals was never for the intent to bring about salvation but rather to point to the need of a final and complete sacrifice.
16 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.
God does not want an outward appearance of wisdom but an inward heart change. We again see this clearly show in Chapter 2:11 which says:
11 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ,
Here again we see God is not concerned about the outward appearance of human tradition but rather a heart change.
Sermon Division 3: Fullness in Christ (Verse 9,10)
Sermon Division 3: Fullness in Christ (Verse 9,10)
9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,
10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.
In Christ the Fullness of Deity Dwells Bodily
In Christ the Fullness of Deity Dwells Bodily
We saw that this wisdom was according to human and empty deceit was and not according to Christ. We just saw that this human tradition and elemental principles are merely only a showdown while the substance is Christ. In this verse we see more about Christ.
In him the fulness of deity dwells bodily. This verse is so significant because it is point out a stark differences from the the previous section. Instead of empty deceit we see in Christ fullness. We do not only see this fullness in Christ but also in us who are filled in Christ. Instead of human tradition we see in Christ deity in bodily form.
Again instead of Human tradition we see that Christ is the head of all human rule and authority! Rule and authority is another concept that is repeated throughout this letter.
Christ is the Head of all Rule and Authority
Christ is the Head of all Rule and Authority
16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.
Not only is Christ the head of all rule and authority, He is also their creator. But That is not all.
15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.
Christ has disarmed the rulers and authorities by putting them to open shame by triumphing over them!
Conclusion:
Conclusion:
Application:
Application:
