Christ In Us: The Hope of Glory

Colossians 1:27 ESV

To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Introduction

Everything that was going on in the seven church in Revelation is going on in the church of Colosse

Believers were working hard & battling false teaching

Look at Colossians 1:24 “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church,”

See the word afflictions?

the word for “affliction” (thlipsis) is never used to describe the atonement, but it can describe the eschatological ordeal of the future age

It is the same would tribulation used Revelation

Paul understands his suffering as a reflection of Christ’s suffering

The need was for the truth of the gospel to be heard and embraced

But was this message just a Jewish thing?

Were the promises and the hope for the gospel only to certain people?

Look at Colossians 1:3-6 “We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth,”

The Gospel is spreading to the whole world

This text raises some questions:

What does it mean that God the Son can be in us? (Jews or Gentiles)

What does that mean?

How does it happen?

What does it matter?

The foundation and meaning of Christmas answer those questions with two words:

The incarnation!

Jesus does not offer salvation apart from offering Himself and we cannot experience salvation apart from experiencing Christ.

The gospel is not a system, hierarchy, or set of regulations

It is the person and work of Jesus, which is, indeed, the message.

It is the message of God with us!

Heres the main idea...

Main Idea: Jesus joined himself to our humanity so that we might be joined to His.

We Have Hope Because Jesus Joined Himself To Our Humanity

Joined to dwell with us

look at Colossians 1:15-17 “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

Colossians 1:18 “And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.”

We Just celebrated Christmas and many of you already are getting the Christmas blues

Christmas, unfortunately, has a way of draining us:

All the family parties, the shopping, etc..

And New Years is right around the corner

New Years sometimes has a way of energizing us:

We have new dreams, new plans, and the annual resolutions to diet, exercise, get out of debt, and try new things or get better at something

Have you ever stopped to consider how backwards that all sounds?

Paul begins with a foundational theological truth:

Look at Colossians 1:15 “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

Christ is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation v.17

Paul acknowledges God as the creator of all things, the maker of heaven and earth

Have you ever watched the sun rise at the beach? How beautiful is that? God created it!

Have you heard a baby's cry

a teenager's moan

and an adult's grief in the shadows of death.

God created each person and placed value on them as persons under the eye of the "Son of his love."

Turn to Psalm 8 “To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith. A Psalm of David. O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger. When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas. O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!”

Colossians 1:13-17 possesses key thoughts of God's creative work in our lives. God delivered us out of darkness

He is the Eternal and only God

He is the Creator of all things

He is over all things

He is glorified in all things

He is preeminent!

He Came to dwell with us

He introduced us to the Son who loves us

He provided a way in Christ so that we can join God's kingdom

His kingdom is more than earthly realms and dominions and authoritative powers

It is a kingdom of life, transformation, joy, forgiveness, and God's ongoing creative work

Loom at Luke 1:26-35 “In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born…”

Turn to John 1:14 “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Not only did He join with us, He...

Joined to die for us

turn to Colossians 1:19-20 “For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.”

Look at Ephesians 1:7-10 “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.”

Joined to live in us

Colossians 1:27 ESV

To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

You and I will have a lot of Christmas’s together, which means we have time to unpack all the truth in this passage

What I don’t want us to do this morning is over think this passage

I want us to grab one principal this morning , and I want to help us see this principal clear because if we don’t understand this truth, we don’t understand what Christ has done for us

Brayden, Brysen, Lila, and Lani are my children, they are in me (apart of me)

Let’s say I’m in a counseling session and my doors closed

My children have the right to kick that door open and have a conversation with me, why?

because I am their father and they are my children

they have direct access to me all the time

not ever body has the privilege (birthright)

Meet with a good friend this week, and listening to him tell me about his family it made this principal even clearer

Him and his wife went to the Congo to adopt two kids

They experienced many obstacles, they would’ve got their children back to the United Stated no matter the cost, why?

Because they were their Children, apart of their family

Even now many people when introducing their family, will say these are their adopted children

He gets made, because they are not just his adopted children

they are his children

they belong to the family and have full access to him

v.27a Those to whom God desired to make known the glorious riches of this mystery among the Gentiles

Paul stresses that the inclusion of the Gentiles into God’s elect ones is not a historical accident

instead, it is within the predetermined plan of a God who is actively working in history

“The glorious riches”

literally reads “the riches of the glory.”

The “riches” refers to the amazing plan of God that includes both Jews and Gentiles

Paul goes on to note explicitly that the object of God’s act of revelation is “the Gentiles.” In Eph 1:18 which says; “having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,”

Paul also use the phrase “the glorious riches,”

Paul makes it clear that he has the “inheritance in his holy people” in mind

that is, the sharing of the inheritance among the Jews and Gentiles, both of which are now to be considered as God’s chosen ones

Look at Colossians 1:21-22 “And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,”

What’s the secret/mystery?

That God has chosen to include the Gentiles/Nations in the blessings of salvation

Turn to Ephesians 3:1-6 “For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.”

You gentiles who were outside the covenant now have the “Spirit of God” in you!

Paul is saying you like me have only one hope, the person and work of Jesus Christ

“For Paul, this “mystery” is one aspect of the gospel, but it draws from its center as it points to the powerful work of God in the death of Christ that breaks down ethnic and cosmic barriers in the creation of the one people.”

You want to get Christmas this year, ponder why it is that your saved!

This is our hope

This hope is “the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ”

Turn to Titus 2:13 “waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,”

You see for the Jews their hope and glory was the Torah.

They looked forward to a day when the glory of the torah would be restored.

To identify Christ as “the hope of glory” is to identify Christ as the fulfillment of the Law.

This is the purpose of Col. 2:3 - Christ is where we find our treasure and our Wisdom

Colossians 2:2-3 “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, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

Therefore all people, no matter background or eth.nicity,

whether free or slave, homeless, Drug addict, prostitute or wealthy  business owner can come

and must come humbly to the cross, repent and place their hope and trust in Christ and be saved.

They can stand with all the redeemed and say with confidence Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Jesus Joins Us To Himself

Calvin declares, “We must not contemplate Christ outside ourselves from afar.”

What does Calvin mean?

The incarnation is not merely a doctrine to study in a classroom

It is your story about Christ bringing you into His family

and that truth is our present hope and our future glory

Joined by the Holy Spirit (to the Lord)

Turn to 1 John 4:13 “By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.”

Look at 1 Corinthians 6:17 “But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.”

Look at vv.19-20 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”

Joined by our spiritual adoption

Go to Galatians 4:4-7 “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.”

Joined for communion

What is communion?

To have communion is to share something in common. (8)

What do believers share in common?

Everything that matters

By their salvation

By its benefits

By shared spiritual gifts

Eph. 4:3-6 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all

Common body, common Spirit, Common calling, common glory, common calling, common faith, common baptism, common God

Sin disrupts the communion of the Saints

The pride of individualism disrupts the communion of the saints

Ask many Americans, should we be involved in a living church:

They rely on Christian radio, worship online, or simply treat church like leasing a vehicle, trading one for another every couple years.

Saints are disrupted by class, ethnic and gender

For years we have lived together but we never beheld each other.

We often meeting together yet we are often alone

There is no communion of the saints apart from union with Christ

Jesus does not offer salvation apart from offering Himself and we cannot experience salvation apart from experiencing Christ.

The incarnation brings two realities into our lives as believers:

Our union to each other is created through our union with Christ

1 Corinthians 12:12-13 “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.”

Our union with Christ creates a union with each other

1 Corinthians 12:21-26 “The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.”

Colossians 1:27 “To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

Colossians 2:2 “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,”

The reason Paul desired the church to grab hold of the mystery that Christ came to us in order to unite us to him is so the church might be built up and matured in love.

Our communion with Christ leads to communion with each other and our communion with each other spurs on our communion with Christ.

And none of this would be possible if God did not come to us

and take on our humanity so that we might be joined to His

So That

So that We might Live in hope

Colossians 2:6 “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him,”

Colossians 3:1-10 “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.”

Walk in Christ - How ? v.6 received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him

Set your mind on Christ- How? If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth

Seek Christ with all your might

Put away that which doesn’t reflect Him: V.9 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry

Put on that which does reflect Christ: v.10 On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

So that we might experience Christ

Don’t let Christmas turn into New Years without enjoying Christ as the one who came to earth and united himself to you so that you might know Him and enjoy Him.

The Lord is worthy of our worship but loves to be enjoyed in the worship

communion is the means of us becoming more like Christ in our actual lives

Ephesians 2:10 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”