Knit Together
Notes
Transcript
Faces of Choice
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.
Knit Together
It is said men and women, in their conversations, are like spaghetti. Men have conversations that are like spaghetti before it is cooked, still in the box. Women have conversations that are like spaghetti after it is cooked, in the bowl. There is a point of reference for us in this description as we understand the idea of ‘Knit Together’.
Crayons in a box, new and never used? 64? Order.
One of the cross-referenced verses, I think in the NASB, sends us to v.19 of this chapter so we can see the idea of being held together by the joints and tendons and ligaments. Describing the structure of a physical body so we can grasp how we relate to one another in the spiritual body.
The physical body has such a specific, intricate design. Each part in its place for the good of the whole. Each functioning so as to keep the whole body well. And when one part hurts or stops functioning correctly, the rest of the body knows it. We are knit together!
The spiritual body should be the same...
Each of us has been placed here to make up some part of the body of Christ. He is head and we are the parts. is the great reference for this. And it even gives the why:
16 From Him the whole body, fitted and knit together by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth of the body for building up itself in love by the proper working of each individual part.
Why? for the building up of itself. For the proper working of each individual part. When my dad was recovering from a surgery the Dr told him to exercise the other leg and it would keep the recovering leg from atrophying so badly. It's amazing how the body works to protect and promote its own well being. Fingernail.
Lest we think of any part of the body as less Important than another, here's little expirement to do when you get home today: Take an ice pick and jab it through your fingernail. As you go about your business this week you’ll
We can’t cover being knit together without going to For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
When a baby is growing inside the womb, one fertilized egg begins to split. Then two cells become 4. Over and over it happens, each time the cells lining up in just the right order so they can perform the task becoming a living, breathing, eating, crying, pooping little version of their mom and dad! The point is those cells are being put in place on purpose. God’s plan is knitting them to become His. Already being known by Him and being made to come to know Him.
Before we move on from this part of our text, one more thing about being knit together:
Do any of you actually knit? Do you know what to do with the needles and the yarn. How to loop it over and run the needle through each stitch and make something useful? Can you knit a pattern into what you are making? How? Is it on purpose? Is there a specific set of instructions to follow for the outcome you want?
That is what it’s like to be knit together! This stitch or color of thread placed carefully next to that one, on purpose, so they can compliment each other and make their part of the whole design. Wow. And that’s what God is doing in the church. You are here because God’d design says you are supposed to be here.
There is one great point to today. It is tied to last week but very different.
Last week we saw the truth of there being struggle in life. Sometimes life is a struggle because we are knit together.
Not because we are too close. “Familiarity breeds contempt”.
Not because we are at odds. Although our preferences and personalities will clash.
But because we love each other. And when we love each other with an empathetic, heart-felt, sacrificial love, we feel what each other feels. We live through the struggle. We strive through the struggle. We suffer through the struggle with each other. We dont just see someone else going through difficulty, we go through it with them. We struggle because they struggle. There is a burden-bearing, burden-sharing faith here.
Sometimes life is a struggle because we are knit together. What a great comforting idea this is! I am knit together with you. When I struggle, you help bear the burden.
Knit together in Christ, we know more of Him. We have a better understanding and knowledge of Him. Our Christ-given wisdom is more complete when we are in the fellowship of the local body.
Paul talks about his desire for the Colossian church to ‘not be deceived with persuasive arguments’. He was concerned that some false teachers, spouting half-truths, would de-rail some in that church. The exhortation he gives is good. This is an encouraging warning to be careful of the mindsets they let themselves have.
I need to tell you: in my prayer life I feel as though the Holy Spirit is ready to confront us with some half-truths and errant mindsets we have allowed ourselves to construct. If you actually heard that last statement, you want me to be more specific but that’s not for today. For today I am to tell you to self assess. To go to your prayer closet and ask the Lord to correct any misunderstanding you might have about the church and your role in it.
Paul’s point was to build the church up so they wouldnt be deluded by plausible arguments or deceived by persuasive arguments. That they would be able to stand against any enemy of the gospel. To recognize the spirit of the enemy of the gospel as anything that would keep them from the fullness of faith in Christ. Believing Him in everything. This is how I am praying for us. For you. And I’ll continue to do that right now.