Colossians 2:1-7 - Rejoicing in the Struggle Part 2
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Introduction:
Last week we went through the first three ways we can rejoice in the struggle:
We Can Rejoice in the Struggle By...
Focusing on the Ministry
Focusing on the Mystery
Focusing on Maturity
In these points we were shown that we can rejoice even in the midst of struggles by focusing on the Lord and others. As we focus on ministry to others, the mystery of salvation revealed to us through Christ, and growth in our relationship with Christ - we can see that there is always hope for our future.
Today we are going to continue discussing how Paul teaches us to rejoice in the struggle.
Join me as we read God’s Word:
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.
6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him,
7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
Let us pray.
Prayer
Today we are going to discuss three more ways Paul teaches us in regards to rejoicing in our struggles. The first is...
I. You Can Rejoice in the Struggle By... Focusing on Love (1-2)
I. You Can Rejoice in the Struggle By... Focusing on Love (1-2)
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,
Paul starts verse 1 off with the phrase “I want you to know.” This is a phrase that lets them know what he is about to say is important. As we will soon see - it is a personal part of his letter.
We then see him repeat this idea of struggle. He is struggling on behalf of the believers in Laodicea and the surrounding areas that had not seen him face to face. If we recall from last week - this word struggle means to agonize - or to strive or fight for. He cares for this group of believers on a deep level.
If you recall our first sermon on Colossians, we mentioned that there were two larger cities near Colossae. One was Hieropolis and the other was Laodicea. He mentions this entire area as there are many in the area that he had never seen before. As we discussed also in our first sermon in this series, Paul did not plant the church in Colossae. A convert of his named Epaphras likely planted this church. Yet Paul still had a love for these people who were like spiritual grandchildren to him. He still had a heart for them as they were a young and growing body of believers.
We see that there was some significant communication between the Colossians and those in Laodicea as Paul mentions the Laodicean church 4 times in this book (2:1; 4:13, 15, 16) - even at one point asking the church of Colossae to share the letter with the Laodiceans.
15 Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house. 16 And when this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea.
We see that Paul had also written a letter to the Laodiceans that they were to read also. It appears that this letter has been lost however and was never canonized into the Scriptures.
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,
Moving to verse 2 we see Paul’s hope for these believers in Colossae and the surrounding cities.
Paul’s Four Hopes for Believers in Colossae and the Surrounding Cities:
1. Have Encouraged Hearts
2. Be Knit Together in Love
3. Be Assured of Understanding
4. Have Knowledge of God’s Mystery (the Gospel)
Paul’s Four Hopes for Believers in Colossae and the Surrounding Cities:
1. Have Encouraged Hearts - The heart mentioned here is the innermost part of a person. It is the will and the mind. It the place where actions originate and refers to the inward spiritual life of a person. Paul wants to see their hearts encouraged. The word encourage here is parakaleō (par-a-ka-lay-oh) which literally means to call alongside. This word can have a variety of relevant meanings but in context it most accurately means to be strengthened. He wants this church to have a strong will when in the face of false teachings that are permeating the landscape of the church.
2. Be Knit Together in Love - The word knit together here means to unite or bring together. We have discussed how the body of Christ is one body and many parts before (Ephesians 4:16). The various parts of the body need to be working together for the advancement of the kingdom. The glue that knits believers together is none other than love.
Francis Shaffer, in his book called The Mark of the Christian, referred to the unity of the church as “the final apologetic.” He went on to say:
“We cannot expect the world to believe that the Father sent the Son, that Jesus’ claims are true, and that Christianity is true, unless the world sees some reality of the oneness of true Christians.”
Francis Shaffer (The Mark of the Christian)
Believers must be united in love. This love needs to be for Christ first and others second as we see found in the two greatest commandments (Matthew 22:37-39).
3. Be Assured of Understanding - Understanding refers to applying Biblical principles to life. We may have knowledge without understanding. Understanding is being able to apply God’s Word. That is one of the hallmarks of preaching. My job is to take the Word of God and help you apply it to your thinking and living. I am to help you comprehend what the Word says and encourage you to act upon the truth of the Word.
4. Have Knowledge of God’s Mystery (the Gospel) - Finally we get to the most important thing Paul hopes for in the Colossian church. He hopes that they have knowledge of God’s mystery. Last week we discussed that this mystery was revealed in Christ - namely the Gospel. We discussed how the coming of Christ and salvation and even eternal life was a mystery in the Old Testament. There were numerous clues that pointed to the coming Messiah and salvation and deliverance from sin and death. And this mystery has been revealed through the Person of Jesus Christ. Salvation is found in Jesus Christ and Him alone.
Paul’s greatest hope for the church of Colossae and the surrounding area is that they have love for their Savior and love for one another. We are able to rejoice in the struggle by focusing on love. Next we see that Paul states that...
Scripture References: Colossians 4:15-16, Ephesians 4:16, Matthew 22:37-39
II. You Can Rejoice in the Struggle By… Focusing on Learning (3-5)
II. You Can Rejoice in the Struggle By… Focusing on Learning (3-5)
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.
We are going to get into combating erroneous teaching a lot more next week, but this week we see Paul encouraging the church in Colossae to learn their foundations correctly so that they can stand securely.
Let me reiterate that again for us today:
We must learn our foundations correctly so that we can stand securely.
It is of utmost importance that we have a proper understanding and knowledge of the Word of God.
Truth and wisdom and knowledge are only found in one place - Jesus Christ. People continue to try to search for truth in other places. They seek truth through modern science, philosophy, other religions. Yet all of these are counterfeits in relation to Jesus Christ. All wisdom - the totality of wisdom and knowledge - is found in Christ alone.
In verse 3 we are given a word that is interesting and important for us to understand here.
3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
We come to the word hidden. Note that all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are not found in creation or in human ideas. They are found in Christ alone. This is important for us to understand. Unbelievers are blinded to the truth. They are unable to see the truth clearly because the Holy Spirit is Who illuminates the truth for the believer. See what Paul says in his first letter to Corinth:
14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
The truth of God’s Word is only illuminated by the Holy Spirit Who indwells believers. Unbelievers are unable to discern the truth of God’s Word. If you have ever wondered why you can read something in God’s Word that is so clear and understandable but someone who is not a believer just looks at you like it doesn’t make any sense - now you know why!
The natural person understands natural language - namely sin. The unbeliever approaches knowledge through a worldview of godlessness. They explain things through this worldview no matter how irrational they may be.
Take this for example: The earliest recorded history is around 3000 BC or so. That means we have around 5000 years of recorded history. This goes from the earliest of man’s writings until today. The Bible teaches that the earth was created somewhere around 4004 BC - or roughly 6000 years ago. This worldview is congruent with what we observe in the history of man.
Yet, unbelievers, and sadly even many believers today, get caught up into the theories of modern science who seek to explain this fact away with the theories of historical science. They are blinded from the truth because of the deception around them. We will get into some philosophies that deceive so many in the coming weeks - but this is certainly one that seems to be at the heart of our culture today.
I have listened to countless evangelism encounters with college students through the ministries of Todd Friel and Ray Comfort among others. One of the most commonly quoted reasons for not believing in the Bible as a factual and historical book is evolutionary theory. They quote these theories as facts that disprove the Bible’s accuracy and literality. They have been indoctrinated by our public schools and universities into thinking that truth can be found in the ideas of man instead of the Word of God.
As verse 4 states:
4 I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments.
They have been deluded with plausible arguments. This word delude means to deceive, to be fooled, or to be led astray. It means to talk into error. Sadly, even believers are being deluded today. Note that Paul is sending this letter to a church. He knows that even born-again believers can be led astray by plausible arguments. This word, plausible, refers to persuasive arguments. These are arguments given by convincing speech.
Brothers and sisters - if we do not have a strong and foundational view of the Word of God as inerrant then we will fall for man’s persuasive arguments.
Friends - The greatest threat to our churches today is a lack of belief in the sufficiency of the Word of God.
I was talking to a friend this past week about the sufficiency of Scripture. We discussed why so many people struggle to be in the Word of God. We discussed why so many people waste their lives on things that are going to pass away - social media, television, and other forms of entertainment - and yet don’t seem to open up the Bible even for a few moments each day.
I think that the real problem in our churches today is that we do not think the Word of God is sufficient for our lives. We do not think that it is relevant to what we are facing.
Parents - if I told you that I had a parenting book that would answer all of your questions about parenting and that would equip you to raise your children to follow the Lord - you would be all in.
Retirees - If I told you I had a book that would let you know what your purpose is and give you the fulfillment that you so desire - you would sign right up.
Children, young adults, and even adults - if I told you that I had a book that would help you find what career you were supposed to take, who you were supposed to marry, how you were supposed to spend, save, and invest your money - I’m sure you would want in on that!
Friends - this is what the Bible does! It does all of this and more. The Bible answers all of the questions that we face in life in either direct answers or in principle.
The problem is - we don’t really believe that in the modern church. We think our friends have better advice. We think our family has better advice. We think that some Christian author has better advice. Some of these people do give great advice as long as it is aligned with Scripture! But why are we not going to the Word of God first?
If I may be so bold - I really think many of us today don’t think the Bible is really that relevant to our lives and decisions. I think we try to read it because we are supposed to. But I don’t think many read it in order to truly learn what God’s will is for them. I don’t think many read it in order to be changed by it.
Michael Crawford, a church planter and leader, said that we need to make sure our relationship with God is transformational and not transactional. Some of us struggle with being transactional with Christ. I’ll read my Bible and I expect you to bless me for it. Instead we should approach the Scripture and our relationship with God as something that will transform us.
May we today repent of this and turn to God and His Word as the source of all truth. May we spend less time on social media, watching television, and wasting our lives away through meaningless activity and spend more time turning to Christ and His transforming Word.
If we want to move on to verse 5 we must be firm in our foundation in Christ and His Word.
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.
Paul lets us know that we can rejoice in the struggle by focusing on learning. Through our learning and reading of God’s Word - God will impart wisdom and knowledge to believers. You will become more discerning and your faith will be even more firm in Christ. You will be able to stand against the flaming arrows from the evil one (Ephesians 6:16).
Note that Paul uses two words that are oftentimes used in reference to military action. To be in good order and in the firmness of your faith. This reference to good order means that they are united together and disciplined in behavior. And they stand firm against false teaching.
This is how we are to be church. We are to be in good order and firm in Christ. And we can do this as we rejoice in the struggle by focusing on the Lord, focusing on learning, and finally, by focusing on...
Scripture References: 1 Corinthians 2:14, Ephesians 6:16
III. You Can Rejoice in the Struggle By… Focusing on the Lord (6-7)
III. You Can Rejoice in the Struggle By… Focusing on the Lord (6-7)
6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
We have spoken of a firm foundation already. Paul moves into these two verses by illustrating what this foundation and building on it looks like. In order to walk in Christ there needs to be a firm foundation in Christ.
He gives us three phases of Christian growth:
The Three Phases of Christian Growth:
Being Rooted
Being Built Up
Being Established
Let’s break these down one by one. The first is being rooted. This means to be firmly fixed. Think of a huge tree. The roots are so far down that you can’t imagine trying to uproot it. Many trees have a root system that is as deep as they are tall! Being rooted refers to being firmly planted in Christ. True believers are firmly planted in Christ. They actually can never be uprooted praise the Lord! They are sealed by the Holy Spirit and continue growing through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit in their lives. This Greek word for firmly rooted is actually more appropriately translated as “having been firmly rooted” (which is the perfect tense of the participle for the English majors out there). This is actually seen more clearly in the NASB as follows:
Colossians 2:7 (NASB95)
7 having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.
This word suggests something that has already happened and is true today and even tomorrow!
7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
Next we see that believers are then built up. After having a firm foundation in Christ, believers are built up through the work of Christ in their lives.
This is a continuous process that is done. Believers continue to be built up and strengthened in their faith and walk with Christ. It is through the process of a big theological word called sanctification that believers are built up.
There are two big theological words that we say often that need some attention today in this verse.
To be rooted in Christ is to be saved. This refers to justification.
Justification - being found not guilty and having your sins forgiven through Christ. One is considered righteous before God through Christ’s sacrificial atonement.
Sanctification - the continual process in the lives of saved believers of being set apart from sin.
It is becoming more like Christ and more holy through the Word of God, the Holy Spirit, and even other believers. It is done both directly and indirectly. Meaning that God works on you directly and also indirectly by using means of grace through other believers, trials, obedience, and abiding in Him. Sanctification does not save you. It is, instead, a mark that you are saved. Although God does use means of grace to aid in your sanctification - the primary force behind any change in your life is done by God. He is the One who changes hearts.
So we have seen both of these theological truths played out here in being rooted and built up.
Finally we come to established in the faith. Those who are firmly rooted in Christ are established by Christ. This word established here was often used in the guaranteeing of legal contracts. Those who have been firmly rooted in Christ and who have the mark of being a believer by being built up by Christ - can know that they are sealed and established in the faith. Some may balk at my inclusion of needing the mark of a believer as necessitating the guarantee of salvation here. Don’t misunderstand me - we are saved by grace through faith and not by works. We are justified by Christ. We are ultimately sanctified by Christ. We are established and sealed by Christ. Yet, those who are not being sanctified are most likely not justified according to Scripture.
I refuse to give people a pass after a one time decision walking down an aisle that they have eternal life when they have not continued in the faith. There are far too many warnings for me to do so with a clean conscience. Take just these two for example:
17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
This is not teaching salvation by faith plus works. In context - it is teaching that a true saving faith works! Works flow out of a believer through the Holy Spirit working through them.
9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God.
Coming to a verse that I taught months ago - we see that those who are saved do not live in habitual unrepentant sin. Yes we continue to sin. And yes, we may have certain sins we struggle with a lot more than others. Yet, true believers repent. That is a mark of sanctification and a mark that one has salvation.
Paul wants us to know that walking an aisle doesn’t save you and praying a certain prayer doesn’t save you - true salvation is a lifetime submission to Christ and resting in Christ. It is being born again.
My friends - I pray that you are assured of your faith in Christ. I pray that you see the marks of a believer in your life. As we discussed last week - I pray that the fruit of the Spirit is evident in your life. If your life is not marked by them, I want you to take a step back and be sure that your trust is truly in Christ and not yourself or someone else. It can be easy to make a head decision and think you are saved and still be lost in your sin. Jesus said:
13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
Friends - be sure you are entering through the narrow gate. Be sure your heart is right with our Lord and Savior.
Conclusion:
As we come to a close…May we remember that...
Only true believers can really rejoice in the struggle. And they can do this by:
We Can Rejoice in the Struggle By...
Focusing on the Ministry
Focusing on the Mystery
Focusing on Maturity
We Can Rejoice in the Struggle By...
Focusing on Love
Focusing on Learning
Focusing on the Lord
7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
When our lives are focused on the points we just mentioned, we can abound in thanksgiving as Paul mentions at the end of verse 7. I pray that all of us here are doing just that today.
Let us pray.
Prayer
If you would like to learn more about salvation through Jesus Christ or want to obey Jesus by obeying the first commandment of a believer in going through the waters of baptism - please let me know.
Have a blessed week.