Sermon Tone Analysis

Intro

A couple of weeks ago we looked at

The idea of that text was to be captive according to Christ rather than things of the world such as the love of knowledge, human traditions, or the elemental spirits, be they the literal elements or spirits.

The question that likely arises in our minds though is why.

Why does it matter that we not be taken captive by these things.

They me seem good.

They may give us pleasure.

The problem comes though in the fact that when we are taken captive by these things they are put at the forefront.

In that position they are contrary to God.

Wisdom in itself is not bad.

Human tradition in itself is not bad.

Not all of the elemental spirits in themselves are bad.

However when we are carried away by them, in contrast to God it is like oil and water.

Toothpaste and orange juice.

Has anyone tried to mix oil and water?

You get the picture, they don’t mix.

That is where Paul goes with our text for today.

He gives us a reason for why we should not be taken captive by these things.

Paul is answering the question for us; why does it matter that we are in Christ?

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The fullness of deity dwells bodily in Jesus.

v.9

How often do we have the thought or idea that God is far off?

It seems like, at times, that He is a far off distant being.

Perhaps we look up at the night sky on a clear dark night and we think to ourselves, you know, God is out there somewhere.

We yearn for closeness though.

We desire closeness in our relationships.

Closeness seems to fill a void that forms in side of us.

And we all have the desire built in to fill that void.

That is one of the reasons that many people go out seeking things to fill that void.

They seek knowledge, they follow traditions, they are enamored with ghost stories, they look to the world to give them meaning.

Paul is speaking out against the empty deceit that fills that void.

Paul begins this by saying that in Christ, the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.

Paul is describing here what we today call the hypostatic union.

Big word to say the Jesus is fully God and fully man.

The God-man relationship of Jesus cannot be expressed well in human language or thought for that matter.

To begin to understand this phrase we have to know the words that Paul is using.

the state of being god, divine character/nature, deity, divinity

a: the rank or essential nature of a god: DIVINITY

b capitalized: GOD 1, SUPREME BEING

2: a god or goddess 〈the deities of ancient Greece〉

3: one exalted or revered as supremely good or powerful

The fullness of deity was Paul’s way of stating that Jesus is every bit God.

The fullness refers to the completeness of the divine nature, but it does not mean that Christ is all there is of God.

In fact, the word for God chosen by Paul expresses deity, not divine nature.

Jesus is every bit God but does not exhaust the dimensions of deity.

Father and Spirit are equally divine.

This nature of being God.

Jesus exalted state dwells bodily.

by taking on human form in the person of Jesus from Nazareth, God, who is neither human nor limited by history, has become a human participant in world history.

Through the person of Jesus, God is able to disclose more perfectly and intelligibly the Creator’s kind intentions for all things.

He is both the author and a participant in history.

That is why it is so difficult for us to understand.

In Christ, and Christ alone is the fullness of God found.

It is in this truth that we are taken captive according to Christ rather than philosophy or the empty deceits of human tradition and elemental spirits of the world.

This is beginning to show us why it matters that we are in Christ.

In Christ one encounters the true, authentic fulness of God, over against which all other conceptions of God, speculations, and experiences are secondary.”

The implications are clear: “There is no need for men to spread their allegiance among a variety of manifestations of divine authority, since God’s nature and purpose are seen complete in Christ”

This is beginning to show us why it matters that we are in Christ.

Filled in Christ

Made full in Christ.

v.10

You have been given fullness in Christ.

This is another perfect verb.

The idea is of a past completed action, the filling, with present and ongoing results.

You remain filled.

Some versions read have been made complete.

I think this is a bit too strong of word for to use in this case because completion gives the impression of finality, like there is no more to be done.

In reality, if we look out our own lives there is plenty to be done in each and every one of us in our walks with Jesus.

This one of the things that Paul wrote to refute in .

The Corinthians were boasting in themselves and their spiritual arrival in Christ when Paul wrote

: 10-

So what is it then that we are being filled with?

The words in scripture were not chosen at random, they are there for a purpose.

There is a broad range of ideas that fullness encompasses.

All the “fullness” of the deity resides in Christ; believers, who are “in Christ,” are “filled”

tells us one part of this filling.

Jn. 1:

One idea that for the reason Paul was using the idea of fullness in Colossians was to refute the idea that others were saying “We offer you the means to attain real spiritual fullness, to move on form Christ to a deeper spiritual experience.”

This message is the same today for us.

There are so many things trying to coax us into a deeper spiritual experience.

Be it the experience of false joy, fleeting pleasures, things that simply do not last.

The only thing we can be filled with that lasts is Christ.

This talk of fulness rightly draws us to Jesus.

:7-

In Jesus is speaking to a woman.

Jn. 4:7-18

The Samaritan woman as we see from this story was chasing after things to fill her up.

She states in V. 15

She desires to be filled.

Jesus before continuing his discussion though speaks to the about her current situation.

Jn. 17-18

We don’t know the back story behind her 5 husbands but we know that the man she is currently with she is not married to.

Jesus responds

She is seeking after something to fill the void inside of herself.

Throughout time the enemy has used the lie that Christ is not needed or not enough.

Paul though in is proclaiming the exclusivity of Jesus.

In him, and in him alone, God has decisively and exhaustively revealed himself.

All that we can know or experience of God is therefore found in our relationship with him.

Albert Camus once wrote, “Truth, like light, blinds.

Falsehood, on the contrary, is a beautiful twilight that enhances every object.”

Paul warns about persuasive opponents who undermine Christian claims to truth with “twilight” delusions.