Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

When was the last time you physically wrote a handwritten letter?

Epistle - Letter

Paul and Timothy are named as authors.

The letter was written for a purpose.

There was a “philosophy” that was threatening the Colossian congregation to the point that the concern had reached Paul.

Paul thought it valuable to write to the church.

What exactly this “philosophy” was that was disturbing the church has been on Bible scholars radars for a significant time and yet they cannot agree what exactly it was.

Some of the best evidence though points to the “philosophy” coming from the influence of Jewish synagogues in the area.

The Jews could argue from the same scriptures as the Christians were using.

This would be very intimidating for the people of the church.

This makes all the more sense as to why Paul would be brought into this situation considering his background.

This makes me think of today and how this applies to us.

There are other cults and sects that use the Bible to argue their own points of view.

How intimidating is this for us?

They use the same verses.

They use much of the same terminology.

They however mean different things with some of what they say and that is where the difference is.

Ex.

Mormon theology on Trinity or atonement.

This is why it is all the more important for us to be in God’s word.

We don’t have to be pastors to be theologians.

We must be students and servants of Christ.

Background

Although Colossians was written almost 2000 years ago it still speaks relevantly to us today.

It gives witness “to the finality, adequacy and all-sufficiency of the cosmic Christ—by whom and for whom all things were made, in whom they cohere, and with whom in God the life of the Christian and of the Church is hidden.”

That truth will never go out of date.

But the situation facing the Colossians is also similar to ours today.

They faced opponents who challenged and belittled the sufficiency of Christ and their hope.

We as Christians today live in a secular society that scoffs at our faith.

Many Christians today have become increasingly uncertain of their faith and hold it uncertainly.

Criticism has eaten away at the foundations of already weak faith.

Going to church is not the cultural thing it used to be.

That is no longer a drive that keeps people in church.

Some abandon their faith or trade it in the latest craze.

This brings to mind for me a conversation that I had with my mother.

In the mid 90’s my family housed a foreign exchange student from France named Julian.

I don’t remember much of that time as I was so young but my mom recounted for me a conversation they had with him regarding faith.

Julian said at that time, most of the churches in France had become nothing more than museums.

Many in France had given up faith in God for faith in science.

I think this is no less true in our country today.

Many churches have become just that, memorials to a forgotten time and a forgotten God.

When Christians do not understand their faith, they are likely to water down the gospel and accommodate it to cultural expectations.

Paul However wrote to help others grasp more firmly who Christ is and all that God has done in Him.

When Christians have little confidence in their faith, they will be overly tentative in their claims and easily shaken by challenges.

Yet Paul wrote to fortify the believers assurance of the hope they had in Christ.

The fact that God has a divine purpose in His creation and this purpose is fulfilled in Christ.

Paul writes to affirm the greatness of Christ and the fullness of God as our Creator and Redeemer.

When Christians do not live with a deep sense of gratitude for what God has done for them in Christ, they will become engulfed in anxieties and will be tempted to look for security in something other than Christ.

Paul urges Christians to be thankful for the victory that has already been won on their behalf through Jesus death and resurrection.

Paul is reminding believers that they do not need something more.

Paul was pushing back against the “philosophy” that was being thrust upon the believers, the ideas that they had to do more to be saved that were being placed upon them by those religious people outside the church.

Paul’s purpose in writing

He is therefore writing to curb the insidious influence of a false “philosophy” and to confirm the Colossians’ faith (2:4–5).

They are to take care that no one preys on them and lures them into deceit (2:8).

The warning against questions of food and drink, festivals, and worship of angels and visions assumes that they are not doing these things (2:16, 18), since it prompts the opponents’ condemnation.

Paul’s response is therefore a warning shot across the bow; but, more importantly, it is a booster shot designed to inject greater assurance.

This warning shot is to get their attention and remind them that they are different from the world around them.

Jesus has bought them with a price.

Colossians show for us the importance of being solidly grounded in our faith.

It also shows us the importance of building our relationship with Jesus.

When we become more like Him, our lives will look different to the world.

It is only through a relationship with Jesus that we can grow into spiritually mature believers who are discerning, grateful, confident, and loving.

Paul’s standard greeting (1-2)

Although I say this is a standard greeting that does not mean that it is not important.

The greeting of the letter gives us some important information.

Paul is not writing to the church as a private party or of His own accord.

Paul is writing as an apostle of Christ.

As an apostle he has authority.

His authority extends to more than the churches that he specifically founded as it is understood that Paul at not been to the church in Colosse.

His authority though is not meant to belittle those he wrote to but to show that he has been called by God.

He is writing to them under the conviction that Christ empowered him to carry out the task of taking the gospel to the gentiles.

It seems that Paul understood himself to be assigned a task, not a status.

Paul also includes Timothy as a co-sender of the letter.

Paul, although he was set apart for his mission, was not working alone.

He was raising men up alongside him to also do the work of spreading the gospel.

Paul is also identifying the audience for his letter.

Paul is writing to the ἁγίοις, the holy ones, the saints.

He is writing to his faithful brothers, fellow members, his compatriots.

There is some important word order here as well.

The fact that they are in Colosse is a side not to the fact that they are in Christ.

This is the important factor for Paul.

The people Paul is writing to are genuinely faithful brothers and sister who love the Lord.

To be in Christ means to be incorporated in him so that he encompasses the entire life of the believer.

The recipients may be Colossians, but the only identity that matters to God is that they are Christians.

Paul ends this section with grace and peace.

Paul intends the letter to be a means of God’s gracious love to those who read it.

He also desires that they have the peace that can only come from God the Father.

That peace only comes in God’s salvation.

Paul’s thanks for the Colossians growth.

(3-8)

Paul’s Prayer

Paul begins with a prayer of thanksgiving.

Even though he did not plant the church, the Colossians are still in his prayers and the prayers of other leaders.

They prayed for all those who they heard placed their faith in Christ, not only their inner circle, not only those who were close to them.

This began when they heard their faith and their love.

This love that Paul is describing is more than a brotherly love.

Agape

In Greek there are a few different words that we translate to love.

Paul uses the word agape.

This is a word used to describe great affection for one another.