The Sufficiency of Christ
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
If there’s anything that I would desire to do as your pastor, it is to draw us all closer to Christ: to know Him better, to see Him more clearly, and worship Him in spirit and truth.
But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
We all get distracted - the busy - ness of life, jobs, school, relationship issues, health issues, money problems - These things might pull us away from what we should hold central. (Idealy, they would draw us closer) That’s why going to church is so important. It recharges us - refocuses our minds and our hearts. Coming to church once a week isn’t typically enough.
Preach the gospel yourself every morning.
Every breath is a moment of grace that I’m not entitled to
Read your Bibles every day
Pray often
Abide in Him
There are also things within the church that might pull us away from what is central. A church can do many things that will steer itself off the rails if it’s not careful to keep Christ central. It might even appear like it’s doing good things. They may even appear spiritual.
The letter of Colossians is written to a church just like that. One of the elders from the church saw that things were going wrong and he went to visit the Apostle Paul and told him about what was happening. Some people in the church were leading others astray - and this is Paul’s response.
Different from 1 John
False teachers / antichrists
Deny Jesus was the Christ
Denied his deity / humanity
They had left the church - John said, “They were never with us.”
The problems in the Colossian church were different.
Look together and see what this might mean for us on a personal level as well as a church.
Before I begin this introduction to Colossians,
Let’s pray…
Context
Context
Who wrote it? Who did he write it to? Why did he write it?
Colossae - Who did he write it to?
Colossae - Who did he write it to?
Tri-city area
Changes meaning depending on where you live
Ontario: Kitchener, Cambridge, and Waterloo
LA County: Burbank, Glendale, and Pasadena
Lycus Valley: Colossae, Laodicea (Rev 3), and Hierapolis
Asia Minor - Turkey - Anatolia
Colossae: 120 Miles east of the port city, Ephesus
At the time of writing, “Colossae was the least important church to which any epistle of St. Paul was addresses.”
2 - 300 years earlier it was the most important city
Textiles industry - “Colossian wool”
At the crossroads of two well-travelled highways
One of the main roads going through Colossae was moved to go through Laodicea to the west, and the city was in decline
A very diverse population having been on a major route
Both Gentiles and Jews had settled there
Therefore it was diverse in philosophical viewpoints
Paul in prison - Who wrote it?
Paul in prison - Who wrote it?
Prison Letters
Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon
Pastoral Letters: 1 & 2 Tim, Titus
Paul had been in prison many times
Paul was always getting himself into trouble
Twice noted in the NT: Caesarea and then in Rome
Maybe in Ephesus
How do we know?
At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison—
I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.
Epaphras - Why did Paul write it?
Epaphras - Why did Paul write it?
A convert of Paul’s, perhaps in Ephesus
Paul calls him a “faithful minister in Christ.”
Returned to his home town, Colossae to share the gospel and plant a church
Goes to see Paul in person because of the “dangerous yet slippery variations on the Christian gospel” (Moo) that had come to the church
Danger in all churches - ours too
People come and go and bring new ideas.
What is our source of truth?
Bible is the source of truth
Why we pour over it so
Epaphras becomes imprisoned with Paul (Phlm 23)
Paul sends his letter to Colossae with Tychicus and Onesimus
Tychicus: Probably from the region but not Colossae, often sent to and from churches to deliver letters or news
Onesimus: from Colossae (“who is one of you”)
Slave of Philemon (sent back to be “no longer a bondservant… as a beloved brother.”
False Teaching
False Teaching
Distracting people from the true gospel and from the sufficiency of Christ
Him (Christ) we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.
I say (these things) in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments.
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.
Paul gets more specific:
Some in the church passing judgment on others for what they ate or drank or what special holidays they celebrated
Super-spiritual practices like ascetism
self-denial or self-discipline
renouncing worldly pleasures, such as abstaining from food, sleep, comfortable clothing, or sexual relationships, and sometimes even inflicting physical pain on oneself
Worship of angles
“puffing themselves up” speaking about visions they had
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.
The body of Christ was losing touch with the head
Epaphras was worried about his church in Colossae and those in Laodicea, and Hierapolis
Paul’s Response - The letter to the Colossians
Paul’s Response - The letter to the Colossians
Indicative & imperative
“This is a pulpit.” vs “Go stand at the pulpit.”
Format to the letter
Ephesians / Romans
Indicative
This is who Christ is / what he’s done for you
This is who you are in Christ
Imperative
This is how you are to live now that you are made alive in Christ
This is how we respond
The Text - Col 1:1-8
The Text - Col 1:1-8
[1:1-3]
Paul’s not sending an angry letter: “What’s going on over there!”
Paul’s more subdued - gently corrects the path - steers them in the right direction
Paul points to the gospel that they had heard from Epaphras (v.7)
[1:4-5]
Anatomy of a saint (hagioi - holy ones v.2) “Faith and Love”
Your “Faith in Christ Jesus”
As Christians, we don’t place our faith in ourselves or anyone or anything else
The true Christ is where we place our faith / trust
We call Jesus Lord of our life, ruler of our heart
“love that you have for all the saints”
We are the body of Christ and we love and care for one another
This is the result of our faith
Changed hearts that seek to be obedient in Christ
“Because of the hope laid up in heaven” ??
Our faith and love “springs up” from our hope that exists now
eyes on the prize - hope is directed at the future - Christ’s return, raised with him
The “word of truth, the gospel” (v.5)
“The grace of God in truth” (v.6)
The Gospel
The Gospel
The gospel - the good news - is the grace of God revealed to us in the person of Jesus Christ. That is where we have placed our trust and our hope.
Grace - unmerited favour. What Christ has done for us he did out of love for us, not because there was anything loveable within us, but because he is gracious.
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,
If you call Christ your Lord, you are no longer under judgement from God because of what Christ has done for you.
Paul begins his letter immediately pointing to Jesus and what He has done for us.
[1:6] Bearing Fruit
And this gospel is “bearing fruit and increasing” - God’s purpose
The vine is supplying the branches and it is “bearing fruit”
If a branch is dead (alienated, hostile in mind), does it bear fruit?
Filthy Rags
We have all become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.
We all fade like a leaf,
and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
The gospel is bearing fruit in the whole world
The vine is spreading! Is that what it is doing here?
and also in you
Conclusion
Conclusion
Paul’s first response to the issues within the church at Colossae is to point to the gospel
Doesn’t chastise or correct them immediately
Realigns their vision
Christ / Gospel
Christ is sufficient - don’t look away
Straight line, never wavering
Gospel call
