Life in Christ

Richard Eng

In, But Not Of • Sermon • Submitted 4 months ago • Presented 4 months ago

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What if spiritual boredom isn’t a sign of needing something new—but of drifting from what’s already yours in Christ? This Sunday, we’ll explore how life in Christ offers depth, freedom, and victory that no worldly idea can match. Discover how staying rooted in Him transforms not just what you believe, but how you live.

Notes

Transcript

Handout

Intro

[Thank worship team]

Good morning Bethel Church, and good morning to our network of rural churches that are joining us live on YouTube. And if you are new here, I want to extend a special welcome to you. If you would, there are “i’m new” cards in the seat in front of you. If you would fill that out there or at the Welcome Center outside of the sanctuary. We even have a free gift for you if you are new to Bethel. We would love to get in touch with you and discuss how to get connected to our church family.

Announcements:

LOGAN

Today we will be continuing our study of In, But Not Of. If you are reading out of the Bibles in front of you, our passage can be found on page 983. If you do not have a Bible, please stop by the Welcome Center and take one. It is our gift to you.

TRANS: Pray

Opening Hook

[Story, question, setup]

Where We Left Off…

What is the cure to spiritual boredom?

TRANS: [text]

Colossians 2:1–7 ESV

1 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, 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. 4 I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. 5 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. 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.

Life In Christ

Christ is the basis of your salvation and your maturity.

Colossians 2:1-7

In mentioning his struggle, Paul again uses the noun agon from which we get agony. The word originally was derived from the place where the Greeks assembled for their Olympic games, a place where they agonized in wrestling and footraces, where they fought to win.3 Paul had been agonizing, fighting for the Colossians with everything he had.1

3 3. W. E. Vine, An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words (Old Tappan, NJ: Revell, 1966), p. 226.

1 R. Kent Hughes, Colossians and Philemon: The Supremacy of Christ, Preaching the Word (Westchester, IL: Crossway Books, 1989), 52.

“Paul wants to encourage their hearts”

This verb “encourage” (parakaleō) suggests more than consolation or comfort, for it acquires the sense of “strengthen,” much like one finds in 1 Thess 3:2–3 or Rom 1:11–12.576 Paul in fact expresses a related idea in 2:5, where he affirms his confidence in them with the noun stereōma (firmness, steadfastness).1

576 Barth and Blanke, 275–76. Pao, 136–37 presses the term into the comfort or consolation of Judah in its return from exile, thus discerning an eschatological dimension to the term here.

1 Scot McKnight, The Letter to the Colossians, ed. Ned B. Stonehouse et al., The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2018), 207–208.

Paul does not merely want the Colossians to “feel good,” he wants them to be strong in Christ. This strength comes from knowing Christ and walking with Christ. He is the basis of being forgiven of your sins, and of growing in your faith.

“As you received Christ Jesus the Lord, SO WALK IN HIM.”

There’s an ongoing process of growing in your faith that must be grounded in Christ. We do not “take it from here” after God forgives our sins. Your spiritual growth happens when we are, in Paul’s words, “Rooted and Built up in him and established in the faith.”

Rooted:

Practical Illustrations: Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians 9-299: Conditional Reconciliation (Reconcilitation)

Every member of a family was puzzled over the mystery of a fern that would not grow. Sulking, seemingly, the plant refused to put out new stems. That there might be no injury from transplanting, it had been taken up carefully, and sheltered until it should have been well rooted. Everything in the way of plant food had been provided, but there it stood, no larger than when brought to the house, an awkward, ugly thing, in a mockingly large flower pot.

Then arrived a guest who was a horticulturist. He forced a wire down into the earth about the fern’s roots, and diagnosed the trouble at once. The plant had been set in stiff clay, and this had become packed hard. Reset in loose soil, the fern grew luxuriously. Even the flower of God’s planting cannot find root in a heart choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life.110

Where are your roots? In a hard heart of clay? Or in a heart filled with fertile soil?

We must grow deep roots, we must be built up in Him. And it is driven by thanksgiving. Thanks be to God, that we do not have to manufacture growth, but the growth happens when we are rooted in Christ.

TRANS: Being rooted in Christ is critical for understanding Paul’s next point. If we do not have a solid foundation, we may fall prey to worldly schemes.

Colossians 2:8–10 ESV

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. 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.

Worldly deceit creates prisoners.

Colossians 2:8-10

Paul does not say that we must avoid “philosophy” as a whole. Philosophy is simply “the love of wisdom.” Yet some CHristians read this verse to think “ok well Paul says philosophy is bad.” No. He takes aim at a particular *kind* of philosophy, one that is according to “human tradition and to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.”

Any area of knowledge can become corrupted according to worldly things. For example, can the sciences be used to explore God’s creation? Yes. Can they also be used to attempt to explain the universe from a purely natural method and seek to disprove any supernatural explanation? Yes. But *Science* itself is not bad.

Paul has a very particular kind of philosophy in mind. One that is worldly… and there’s this other phrase, “according to the elemental spirits of the world.” What is this?

What is the Stoicheia?

The greek word for “spirits” in Colossians 2:8.

Three possible views according to McNight:

1. doctrinal: it refers to elemental doctrines, teachings, beliefs, or convictions—like law and flesh or basic Torah teachings (e.g., Heb 5:12; Xenophon, Memorabilia 2.1.1);51

2. cosmic, spiritual, and personal: it refers to elemental spirits or gods, manifested in cosmic bodies and in pagan worship (e.g., Col 2:18, 20);52 or, in a slightly less personal-being sense:

3. cosmological: it refers to elements of the universe like earth, air, water, and fire (e.g., 2 Pet 3:10, 12; Wis 7:17; 4 Macc 12:13).1

51 Lightfoot, 180; Moule, 90–92; Witherington, 154–55; Sumney (“elementary” and “unenlightened”), 131.

52 Lohse, 96–99; Turner, Insights, 133–34; Wright, 101–2; Hübner, 76–79; Bird, 76; Pao, 160–61; Arnold, The Colossian Syncretism, 158–94; Bevere, Sharing in the Inheritance, 90–115 (who helpfully ties Colossians to Galatians). See also Caird, New Testament Theology, 102–7, esp. 104. Barth and Blanke contend there is no evidence for this view (373–74; so also Thompson, 52–53; Sumney, 131; Witherington, 154–55). “The elements are inhabited, ruled, dominated by spiritual beings, but they are not the spiritual beings themselves” (Barth and Blanke, 374). Barth admits, though counters, the quasi-personal elements in the use of στοιχεῖα in Gal 3–4.

I think the best explanation for what Paul is talking about is that he is referring to fallen spiritual beings that seek to keep people captive by hollow and deceptive philosophy. Paul has clearly made reference to spiritual beings a few times already, and he will make more references in verse 15, 18, and 20 of this same chapter. I think he’s setting up a theme.

Paul is saying, “if you are not rooted in Christ, you may be deceived.” And this deception is not to be taken lightly. Deception creates captives. It creates prisoners.

Why Is False Teaching So Appealing?

False Teaching

Colossians 2:1–7

(POSB , note 3.)

What makes false teaching attractive to so many people? If it is so destructive, how can it be so appealing to people? Rick Green writes:

A former policeman … told me about being on duty during an ice storm. The ice was a half-inch thick on every tree in the area. He was called to a site where the ice and falling branches had caused a power line to come down; his duty was to keep people away from the area.

“There was a small tree near the fallen power line,” he said, “the kind with a short trunk and lots of long thin branches. While that fallen power line was crackling and popping with electricity, it was throwing out sparks through the branches of that small tree. The sparks would reflect off the ice-covered branches sending out a rainbow of glimmering colors. I stood there and watched, and wondered how anything so beautiful could be so deadly.”43

Like any other sin, false teaching can look good and sound good. But a mature, believer (one whose faith is grounded in God’s Word) is able to see beyond the outer appearance and discern the truth.1

POSB The Preacher’s Outline and Sermon Bible

43 Ibid., p.257.

1 Leadership Ministries Worldwide, Practical Illustrations: Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians (Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide, 2001), 59.

Lies are always dressed up. We must cling to Christ, who is the fullness of God. He is the authority, he is the Head.

TRANS: But this worldly and spiritual deception does not win. For Christ has made us alive.

Colossians 2:11–15 ESV

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, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. 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. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

Christ brings freedom and victory.

Colossians 2:11-15

Now there’s a lot going on here.

Infant Baptism?

Paul seems to ties this idea of circumcision to baptism. Some have argued that these two verses support infant baptism. Perhaps baptism is the new circumcision?

But we must pay attention.

There are a few reasons why this cannot be talking about infant baptism:

Paul is not talking about physical circumcision here. He’s discussing a kind of circumcision that is “made without hands….” the circumcision of Christ.”

If infant baptism is the new circumcision, we need to be honest. Circumcision was only done to boys. Should girls be included in this? The argument breaks down.

Circumcision was never something that saved. It was a sign of belonging to the nation of God, but there were plenty of circumcised people who acted “uncircumcised.” (See romans 2-3)

So what is Paul doing?

This kind of circumcision is one that is “made without hands.” So he is not talking about physical circumcision, he is talking about circumcision of the heart.

Deuteronomy 10:16 ESV

16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn.

Deuteronomy 30:6 ESV

6 And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.

Paul is using the common Jewish sign of being set apart to point inward: heart change. And how does heart-change occur? Not water baptism, but Spirit baptism.

It was not water that raised Jesus from the dead, it was the Holy Spirit. And your raising from spiritual death occurs from the Holy Spirit making you alive in Christ by faith.

He makes you alive by:

Forgiving your sins and

Canceling the record of debt that stood against you

And he did one more thing: he disarmed the powers.

“Disarming” of powers. The greek word means “to remove something.” He stripped them of their authority. Think back to the story of Jesus casting out the legion of demons in Matthew 8:29

Matthew 8:29 ESV

29 And behold, they cried out, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?”

“Before the time”? Demons know that judgement is coming, but they didn’t know the plan. Demons believed that they had claim over certain regions or peoples. This is why in this account in Matthew 8 the demons were surprised that Jesus was there. Why? Because they thought that Jesus was on “their turf.” But that was about to be over. Jesus was going to strip them of their authority over peoples or regions on the cross.

1 Corinthians 2:8 ESV

8 None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

The cross put them to shame, stripped them of their power, and was the beginning of the end for them.

The demons believed that if they killed God, they could stop him.

You. Cannot. Kill. God.

TRANS: Be rooted in Christ, do not be deceived, and walk in freedom and victory. This is the cure to spiritual boredom. But how do we do this? Both of these ways that we must live in the world and not of the world are ongoing, not one-time actions.

In, But Not Of

Grow in discernment.

If we are to avoid worldly philosophy, we must be grounded in truth.

Deception sounds truthful, otherwise it would not be effective.

Discernment is the ability to know the difference between “right” and “almost right.”

TRANS: [text]

Abide in the life of Christ.

9-279

Resurrection Power Needed to Live the Christian Life

Power

Colossians 2:11–12

(POSB , note 2, point 3.b.)

In a seminary missions class, Herbert Jackson told how, as a new missionary, he was assigned a car that would not start without a push.

After pondering his problem, he devised a plan. He went to the school near his home, got permission to take some children out of class, and had them push his car off. As he made his rounds, he would either park on a hill or leave his car running. He used this ingenious procedure for two years.

Ill health forced the Jackson family to leave, and a new missionary came to that station. When Jackson proudly began to explain his arrangement for getting the car started, the new man began looking under the hood. Before the explanation was complete, the new missionary interrupted, “Why Dr. Jackson, I believe the only trouble is this loose cable.” He gave the cable a twist, stepped into the car, pushed the switch, and to Jackson’s astonishment, the engine roared to life.

For two years needless trouble had become routine. The power was there all the time. Only a loose connection kept Jackson from putting the power to work.

J.B. Phillips paraphrases Ephes. 1:19–20, “How tremendous is the power available to us who believe in God.” When we make firm our connection with God, His life and power flow through us.97 1

POSB The Preacher’s Outline and Sermon Bible

97 Craig B. Larson, Editor. Illustrations for Preaching and Teaching, p.182.

1 Leadership Ministries Worldwide, Practical Illustrations: Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians (Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide, 2001), 107.

Perhaps you are spiritually bored because you are spiritually disconnected.

To abide means “to remain.” This is why the image of being “rooted” is so helpful. Plants do not thrive if they are only rooted haphazardly. They thrive when they remain in the ground, receive the proper nutrients, and give themselves the time it takes to grow.

Some of you plop yourself into spiritual soil a few times a week and don’t understand why you’re not growing. Because you must Abide, you must Remain, you must be Rooted.

Abide in prayer

Abide in scripture

Abide in the body of Christ

Abide in Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior

Conclusion : [text]

Pray