Colossians 1:9-14
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
We had been looking at answering the question: What (or who) is the church? Who are we and why do we do what we do?
From there we have moved on to the Letter of Paul to the Colossians (with a break for Father’s day).
We want to ask the question: Why did Paul write this letter to the church in Colossae?
Epaphras (who is Epaphras?) had come to find Paul when he was in prison because something was going on in his home church that he needed guidance on.
People in his church were emphasizing certain “spiritual experience” like visions and asceticism, and they were taking away from the sufficiency of Christ. They were detracting from the gospel message.
They might have been saying, “It’s good that you believe in Jesus and called on him as your saviour. But there are higher levels of spirituality that you should be moving towards.”
They were moving beyond and outside the teaching of the Apostles. Outside God’s word. Taking the focus off of Jesus.
If we’re asking ourselves, who is the church and what does God want from us? I think we’ll find an answer this morning in what Paul prays for us in this letter.
Pray...
The Text
The Text
v9. ESV “And so” KJV “For this cause” CSB “For this reason”
For what reason? (Pointing back to the previous verses)
Because of the Colossian church’s reaction to the gospel message they heard from Epaphras
The faith they have placed in Jesus
The love that they have for one another
Because of the hope they have laid up for them in heaven
The fruit-bearing in them and in the world around them
Because they have heard the gospel - and “understood the grace of God in truth”
Now that you know and have accepted the gospel, what comes next?
“we have not ceased to pray for you”
See how Paul prays for the church
Might this be how we pray for one another - pray this for me!
“that you may be filled with the knowledge of his [God’s] will in all...”
Think of God’s will in two ways
Secret will & revealed will
Secret will (decreed will)- his divine plan: What he wills will come to pass. “God’s sovereign plan that determines everything that comes to pass and cannot be opposed or thwarted”
remember the former things of old;
for I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me,
declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
and I will accomplish all my purpose,’
God did not set things into motion and wait to see what happened
Ex. Jesus crucifixion
Planned from before time
this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.
Do we think that someone or something would stand in God’s way to accomplish His plan that He set forward before the heavens and the earth were created?
There is no cosmic battle going on that we’re wondering what the outcome is - God won a game he was never going to loose - Jesus defeated death, just as God knew he would.
Revealed will - what he expects from His creation - what he expects from His church.
What does God want us to do? God’s moral expectation
God is good - always good - and He defines what is good. What he considers good, we should consider good.
His desired behaviour for us
We can and do refuse to obey His revealed will, but cannot prevent His secret will, or what God has decreed.
God desires that I love my neighbour as I love myself - Do I do that perfectly? No - because of my sin, I do not meet the expectations of God’s revealed or moral will.
He knows that - that’s why Christ died for me. The question is, do we know that?
Paul prays unceasingly that we would fully understand what God wants from us.
Why?
v.10 “so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord...”
Behave in a manner “Worthy of the Lord”
You have been bought and paid for by Christ’s blood on the cross
Your life is His now, and it reflects the new life He has given you
Does your life reflect that? Does your life glorify God?
Imagine you have become a doctor (gone through school) and you were hired as a doctor. What would the hospital expect of you?
A teacher should be respected and behave in a respectable manner
How much more so that you have been purchased by the blood of your saviour?
God is not looking for perfection - but a heart that has been transformed and is willing to submit to His will - for our good!
If there’s one thing I can convince you of, it’s that God’s desire for you, His moral will for you, is for your good - for your joy - for your benefit
What is the chief end of man? Glorify God and enjoy Him forever
That joy comes at a cost to you: You must die to yourself in order to be made alive in Christ.
We’re “bearing fruit in every good work” People will look at you and see something new!
A grape vine grows grapes not strawberries
Jesus is the vine and we bear the fruit of being in Him
We begin to look like Him! Act like Him!
We reflect God in our lives by acting like him - “walking in a manner worthy of the Lord”
Do you love Christ for what he did for you?
If I told my wife that I loved her more than anything and went our and bought her some scuba diving equipment for our anniversary, even though she’s never expressed any interest in it and would rather sit in a boat in the sun fishing...
Or what if, for our anniversary I made her liver and onions for dinner?
Worse yet, what if I took some other woman out for dinner on our anniversary?
She might say, “How can you say you love me if you don’t even know me, and your actions don’t follow your words?”
If I truly love my wife, I’d be committed to our marriage and you would see that commitment reflected in my life. People should say, “now there’s a man committed to his wife!”
Do you love Jesus? He loves you - and He calls you His bride.
Do you know what he gave up for you?
If you do. If you love Jesus, then seek to understand how he wants you to live.
“I love you Jesus, I would give anything up for you. I would do anything for you. Show me in your Word what you would have me do!”
It’s not a secret. Read God’s word and be filled with it. Not just a basic understanding.
“Be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding”
Spiritual wisdom is the wisdom that comes from God. Not man’s wisdom. Not worldly wisdom. Once you became a Christian, God has placed His spirit in you.
Ask yourself, “What does God desire for my life? Does God desire evil for me or good for me?” God always desires good for you. God is good and his ways are good. It’s our sinful nature that pulls us away. Our mind might say we want to do what is good, but our sinful nature tells us sin is better.
Paul says:
For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.
Practical Application
Practical Application
Three ways we might be “filled with the knowledge of his will”
First, Pray
Ask God to help you understand. Ask for spiritual wisdom and understanding.
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;
2nd, Read your Bibles
Pour over God’s word seeking to understand, increasing in the knowledge of God. You won’t find it elsewhere. The Bible is not a mystery. It’s not full of secrets that only the super spiritual understand. Find an appropriate version that suites you.
3rd, Seek to be discipled
Go, therefore and make disciples begins with “being” a disciple.
All disciple makers should be being discipled by someone themselves. Attend a Bible study, meet with a Christian who is more mature than you. (There is no room for pride in the Christian walk.) Come talk to me anytime - I love when people ask me questions.
This is how God designed that we should grow in our walk (walking in a manner worthy of the Lord). People discipling people. Christians discipling Christians.
Closing
Closing
If we “[understand] the grace of God in truth” (v.6) we should love God and desire to submit to His will because we know and understand that His will for us is so much better than our own will. That is why we are called to - and desire to - die to ourselves.
The new heart that God has given us desires to submit to God. The new heart of flesh that has replaced the one of stone - this new heart seeks after the things of God. It seeks out what God desires. And the more we are “filled” with this “knowledge” the more that we will look like sons and daughters of God - we will look more like Jesus - and we will “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him.”
