Being built up in Christ

Col 2:1-3 “For I want you to know how great a struggle I have on your behalf and for those who are at Laodicea, and for all those who have not personally seen my face, that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

1. INTRODUCTION

2. BODY

a. Struggling together (2:1)

i. Paul starts up the new chapter where he alludes to suffering or struggle on their behalf. This goes back to 1:24 where Paul speaks about rejoicing in suffering and suffering for their sake. Here he writes to emphasize how he is struggling on their behalf. Paul’s purpose here is to tell the new Christians at Colossae though they have never met Paul, how he is working on their behalf. The word here struggling speaks of the athletic metaphor that he uses in 1:29 where he is striving and laboring. He is pushing forward with the energy that God provides but it is draining him which is why God needs to energize him.

ii. One of the points we have to take in 2:1 is to lay emphasis on the fact that Paul is struggling on their behalf. This is the mark of true biblical Christianity. Why? We have to recognize that the church is the body of believers. If the church is the body of believers, then we are tied together by Christ. This means, because we are tied together in Christ, we are dealing with each other. Whatever that might be good, or bad, it is something we must do together.

iii. This is what Paul is making clear here. But when we think about the context, what is Paul referring to when he says that he is struggling on their behalf? We know that Paul has been talking about who Jesus is and what He has done. Most likely false teachers have been trying to convince the young believers in Colossae a different Christ or even teaching different things regarding Christ.

iv. We see that Paul mentions here Laodicea which means that he was struggling on not only Colossae but the believers in Laodicea. Why is this significant? 4:13-16 tells us that he has a deep concern for those who are in Laodicea and Hierapolis. Interestingly enough he doesn’t mention Hierapolis here but he does later in chapter 4. The reason most likely is because Hierapolis was not infected to the same degree as Colossae and Laodicea. This is why he mentions only the two here.

v. This tells us that the church here in Colossae was in critical condition. It was a church who was struggling to understand who Christ was and not only that, what He did. This is why he has been mentioning over and over in 1:24 onward who this Christ was and what He did. This is why he speaks in 2:8 to tell people not to be taken captive, taken as slaves through philosophy and empty deception according to the traditions of men.

vi. This idea of traditions of men is important because it’s been used elsewhere. Jesus actually used the same phrase. In Mark 7:8, Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees regarding the washing of hands before they eat. In verse 5, the pharisees ask Jesus “why do your disciples not walk according to the traditions of the elders and eat with impure hands? Then Jesus responds by saying you hypocrites, and quotes Isaiah 29:13 by stating that you worship me with your lips but your heart is far from me. Then concludes in verse 8, that you neglect the commandment of God. What is the commandment of God? What did the Jews know? It’s Deuteronomy 6:5. It is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind. It wasn’t to wash their hands or to keep the Law. Jesus rebukes them for keeping to the tradition of men instead of the commandment of God.

vii. I think this is important for us to understand. Sometimes we are more fascinated in the things of men then doing what God has called us to do. At times, we follow our emotions rather than doing what God has called us to do. Or in Paul’s context, instead of knowing the fullness of God’s love for us through the person and work of Christ, we turn to vanity.

viii. Often it’s our view of the Word of God. We read our Bibles thinking that we can know the infinite knowledge of God and we judge the Word of God. We claim that there are inaccuracy here and there and we say we don’t believe in it because we found error. This is how the Colossae Church fell into great deception. They tried to logically reason the person and work of Christ and landed at a different Christ. This is why Paul was reasoning to them the correct person and work of Christ. Not only is He the God of all physical creation, but He is the sovereign Lord of all spiritual creations. He is the author and sustainer of salvation. There is no salvation in any other name than the Lord Jesus Christ.

ix. But just as the church at Colossae fell to this, we fall susceptible to this as well. We read our Bibles seeing inconsistencies and say this can’t be true. How can I believe this? We read the Bible with arrogance. That is the tradition of men. This is why Paul struggled for the church at Colossae and he struggled for us as well. Because we don’t believe the person and work of Christ the way we should. Every struggle, we should go to Him. Every pain, we should look to the cross. That is how we are to rejoice in our suffering. It is to be found in Christ. The tradition of men tells us what? It tells us to run from Christ, figure it out yourself. Only you can figure it out. But the Gospel does the direct opposite. It tells us of the good news of what Christ has accomplished on your behalf. It is not about what you have to do, but it is about what Christ has done. This is why we must struggle with each other to remind each other who this Christ is and what He has done. That is the only way we can truly find joy in this world.

b. Encouraging one another (2:2)

i. Paul starts verse 2 by saying he struggles on their behalf for a purpose. We see that Paul’s struggle here is three fold. Firstly, It is so that their hearts may be encouraged. Why? Because the true knowledge and tradition of God is to love God from the heart (Deut 6:5). Paul here is urging to be comforted. Comforted where? Comforted in the heart. In Scripture “heart” designates the center of the personality, the source of willing and thinking in addition to feeling. This is why when we are saved, what do we receive? We receive a new heart. “Encouraged in heart” or “to have hearts encouraged” is therefore a way of referring to an encouragement that touches the deepest part of our being and that affects every aspect of our persons.

ii. Secondly, Paul struggles on their behalf that they would be united in love. Literally tied together by a thread of love. It seems strange here that Paul is talking about being knit in love when there seems to be no lack of unity here. It seems more like people are drifting from the Gospel. But we can understand that when our hearts are encouraged, we are not alone. We are encouraged when we see people with the same conviction fighting alongside one another. We are encouraged when we see people in our own body come alongside us and help us through our struggles. We are encouraged when other people are involved in our lives. That’s what Paul is telling us. When our hearts are encouraged, it is because we are knit together in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, no true bond can form apart from Christ. It is through Christ and the love of God that we are joined together. So when Paul speaks of being knit together in love, he is speaking of what we receive when unity is achieved.

iii. This is why Paul follows by stating and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding. This is the last purpose of Paul’s struggle. He says that he struggles for the church at Colossae so that they would have all the wealth that comes from full assurance of understanding. Understanding what? Understanding the true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is Christ himself. Notice that. The full assurance of understanding we receive is to know the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is only through Christ and Christ alone which is the source of every spiritual knowledge worth having.

iv. If we know anything about the Greeks, we know that they were intelligent men and they were able to reason. This is why in Acts 17:18 the Epicureans and Stoic philosophers were reasoning with him. Epicureans and Stoics were men who just sat around and talked about philosophy all day. This is what they did. This is why in 17:22, Paul stands up and says that he observes that these men were very religious in all respects. What he is saying is, you guys are really smart and you know your religion. You know your philosophy. But just as he proclaims the person and work of Christ in Acts 17, he gives us the same thing here in Colossians 2:2. True knowledge of God is through the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. If you want to know anything about who God is, look to the person of Christ. It is only in Christ that you will find any spiritual knowledge worth having.

v. But how is this causing our hearts to be encouraged Paul? Paul concludes in verse 3 by telling us the most compact and beautiful expression of who Jesus Christ is. He says in verse 3, it is in Christ, the hidden mystery of God is revealed. It is in Christ that all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are found.

vi. What is wisdom and knowledge? Wisdom,” of course, refers to practical knowledge, the ability to understand reality from God’s perspective and to act on that understanding. “Knowledge,” on the other hand, has a more intellectual focus. It seems that Paul is saying wisdom and knowledge are two separate things, but they are not distant. Knowledge is to know things so that when we know things, wisdom allows us to utilize that knowledge.

vii. Why is this important? Because only true knowledge of God, the person and work of Christ, only through knowing Him, can we have the wisdom to apply the very knowledge we learn regarding Him. You see, the more we know about Christ and what He has done, the wisdom of God through the work of the Holy Spirit enables us to follow and practice the things that He did. You see, Christ likeness, and holiness are the results of knowledge and wisdom. The more we learn about God, if we are wise, we will apply how He lived. But we must continue to grow in knowledge, so that we can grow in wisdom.

viii. Paul is telling us, that this wisdom and knowledge is truly only found in Christ. But what is beautiful about this phrase? It is the fact that this mystery of God, is hidden. They are “hidden” in Christ in the sense that they are “treasures” that have been deposited in him and are now stored up in him. The only person who can find this treasure is the one who comes to know Christ by faith can draw from his store all the wisdom and knowledge that exists.

ix. The encouragement here is that this mystery has now been revealed. In the words of 1:26, it has now been manifest to His saints. It is hidden from the world but revealed to His saints. What an encouragement. Help each other recall of this great privilege. It was hidden and yet now is revealed to His saints. May we find joy and hope in knowing the fullness of God’s mystery through the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

3. CONCLUSION