Col 1:9-14

Opening

Read Colossians 1:1-23

Background

The Apsotal Paul wrote this letter. It is unic because he never visted the church of Colossians. It seems that a man name Epaphras planted the church. While Paul did not have a hand in the planing of the church he most likely helped lead Epaphras to the Lord.

We know this becasue Paul in Ephesus in preached dayly in a meeting hall for almost two years so that all the residents of Asia. It was through this time Epaphras became a beliver and God started to use him to plant a church in his home town.

As time went on Epaphras was sent to Paul by the church in Colsia. And this is the letter that was produced from that meeting.

What is important to remeber is that this local church was in some ways a very healthy. We see this in the verse before our passage in verse 3-8. They were showing some real spiritual fruit! They had good leadership, the gosple was being shared and gosple centered love was being to the family of God and the community. God was being worshipped. Yet, the church was not without issues.

There where those who were trying to spread a false teaching.

We do not know exatly what these teachers where teaching. But the basic tentents can be found later in Colossians in chapter 2:16-23. They basiclly taught

That if you were going to be a christian you HAD to observe certain jewish holidays.

You HAD to partake in some form ascentism where the focus is on the selfcentered intepreations of supernatual things that are not based on God’s Word.

Also, that you follow a whole list of rules made by humans to make themselves holy.

If you boil all of these teachings down you come to one fact that they believed. Jesus is not enough for salvation and the christian life.

Listen, every fasle “christian” group at its core believes this! Christ is not enough.

Oh you what to be a child of God you need to now live by these rules. You got to make yourself better. You got to come to the church again and again for some kind of approval some kind of extra grace you got to get so you can be really saved.

But if there is one thing that Paul wants this church here to know and brothers and sisters if there is one thing I want you to know and remember… is that Christ is enough. Listen when Christ came to this earth and live and died his payment for our sins was payed in full.

Paul desprently wanted the colossians church to know that Paul and Epaphras wanted them understand Christ is all we need for salvationa and life.

That is the main point that I want us to see in our texts today. Christ is all we need for salvationa and life.

In the opening part of Colossias in verse 9-14 Paul does this by praying for two THINGS for them and reminding them of one centeral fact. The gosple. So our three points for our message today are

The Point: Christ is all we need for salvationa and life

1.Prayer for Spiritaul fullness

2. Prayer for Holy living

3. The Gosple

Again, since Christ is all we need for salvationa and life Paul

1.Prayer for Spiritaul fullness

2. Prayer for Worthy living

3. The Gosple

Prayer for Spiritaul Fullness

There is on very important observation we must see before we can understand what Paul is praying for.

Paul prays with confidents.. Now how often in our prayers do we lack confidnets? The reason Paul did not is because he focused on God. Listen if you like me struggle at times to pray with confnet boldness look to what Paul’s mindset in 3:1-4. Paul set his mind on Christ! Listen we all know the way to recka realtionship of any kind is to focus on all of its problems. But if focus on what is right, what is good, that is love. Then you can confently love that other person. Its the same way with prayer. When you focus on God and not all the other stuff around you, you will grow in confedients.

Since Paul was focus on Christ he could see clearly that God ( this is important) had already saved and change the believers in the Colossians. Listen, when God starts something he will finish it. Paul hear of their love for each other and the fruit they were bearing and was like, “That is a work I can see God in!” So as he prayed he could do it in faith knowing that God would work.

Look down at the passage and see what Paul is praying for. (Read the passage)

Paul ask that the knoweldge of God dawn on the beilvers in Colossina more and more. You see the foundation of true worship is based on knoweldge of God. And that is what Paul is praying for.

Now it is tempting when we read this verse to think that Paul is talking about some direction God has for our life when he says to know the will of God. But that is not what it means to know God’s will Sure God desire things to happen in our life but what this kind of will or desire here is the revelation of Christ.

look over at 2:2-3 (ALL IS CHRIST) (HELP)

and look we are not merely to know but to be filled with the knoweldge of Christ More than in any other time in human history we are tempted and prond to be completely consumed by other thoughts. A tweet here, a phone call, the new, this picture, that video, it’s like we are proechally trying to keep a couple dozen plates spining and then were like I don’t why I feel so spiritaully dead.

Maybe you struggle with anxity daily and you wonder why. While there certainly deep rooted reasons for our anxities but it does not helped that we running around and filling our minds with a thousdan things at once.

That is why Paul says he that he prays that they would be filled with the knoweldge of God’s will. The word filled is like when you cast a net in the ocean and comes back full of fish.

If we are going to live in light of Christ saving work on the cross we need to be filled with the knowledge of Christ.

We are not merely to know about the truths of Christ. There is a quilifier here. look at the verse 9 The ability to understand the insight and to apply it. read 2:10-15.

You see the true knoweldge of Christ applied to our lives changes us! And that is the second thing Paul prays for.

2. Prayer for Holy living

So as

Walk

Worth and pleasing how can this be?

How can this be? How can we frail and sinnful peole live our lives in sucha manner as to please a perfect and all knowing God?

7 The priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord. 8 And when Jeremiah had finished speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people, then the priests and the prophets and all the people laid hold of him, saying, “You shall die! OLD TESTAMNET examples

Let just take a minute and thnk about this. I mean I am always feeling like I am failing in one way or another. Singles, kids, Parents, looking back at life. I am often growing cold and never staying hot. How can it be that people like us please God? OT they got the Law and failed

Jerehiam 26, 4 You shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord: If you will not listen to me, to walk in my law that I have set before you, 5 and to listen to the words of my servants the prophets whom I send to you urgently, though you have not listened, 6 then I will make this house like Shiloh, and I will make this city a curse for all the nations of the earth… then the priests and the prophets and all the people laid hold of him, saying, “You shall die!

1  Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 2  Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

whose sin is covered.

2  Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity,

and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

Christ rightouesness Phil 3

This walking in worthy manner is descibed by Paul in 4 ways

Bearing fruit (Again this is not something that is normal.)

Being patinet, it shows how God is patient with us!

(NEEDS TO BE AN EXAMPLE)

Look down in the text 10. Increasing in the knowledge God

Be strengthing (Who here feels weak?)

giving thanks

At this point you may have noticed something. The first thing Paul prayed for was knowledge. so walking gets that. You see its like postive feedback loop.

Knowing Christ -> Walking in a worthy manner -> Bearing good fruit -> As we bear fruit we grow in knowldge of God. -> We are strengthen to lives -> this then leads to thankfulness!

Now notice what kind of thankfulness this. its alasting joy.

We all intudtively know that when you are trying to do something good for someone who we are trying to gain their approval is never really joy producing.

Now you just don’t give thanks to God for randomness. You see the relvation of Christ leads us to this full circal that we are his. look down in verse 12

What are we thinkful for?

Its like a child always trying to please un happy parents. Why can they never find joy in what they are doing. Because they are afriad that it is not enough.

Brothers and sisters we don’t have a father who is like that. Our heavenly father gave everything he had for us. He payed our way. He sent his Son Jesus Christ to wash us clean. When we had nothing to offer him we he offered everything to us.

So then beloved of God when you are living in a worthy manner no that you can do it with joy becasue wew are not doing it to gain favor with God. Christ has gain all the favor with God on the cross.

That is why we can give thanks with all joy and suffer through hardship. Becuase Christ has done it for us. And when we feel that we cannot please God because of our sins and look up to him for forgiveness we see a a smiling face of a father who is please with us already.

This is all possible becaue of the gosple!

. Here is how we can know Christ is enough for life and salvaiton right here.

3. The Gosple

read verse 13-14

This is the gosple. It is like when the children of Israel was inslaved in Egpyt Being transfered from darkness to light is like the release from slavery .

We were dead in in our sins. Listen outside of Christ we are hopeless.

Being transfered from darkness to light is like the release from slavery

we were not only vile but we were his enemies. We were born hating God. But he washed our sins away! He nailed our sins to the cross!

as we come to know this truth more and more we are changed by it and it leads to singing of thanksgiving.

And that is how we can know that Christ is all we need for life and salvation. No work of man can add to what Christ has done.

No humble dress, no fervent prayer, No lifted hands, no tearful song, No recitation of the truth Can justify a single wrong. My righteousness is Jesus’ life, m My debt was paid by Jesus’ death, My weary load was borne by Him And He alone can give me rest.

Closing and application

As Meredith and I leave Crawford I have been able to gain some perspective