Sermon Tone Analysis

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:

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)

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.

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.

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)

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.

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:

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.