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Home > Resources > Sermons > Colossians

Are you burdened for the church? Let me be more specific. Are you burdened for our own church? It is of note to us that Paul had not physically been part of the church at Colossae. He had never been in the city as far as we know. Yet he stated that he had "a great struggle" on behalf of this church and the others in the Lycus Valley. Here is something which struck me about this. If Paul could have such a struggle for a church he had never been physically a part of, how much more should we have concern for our own church with whom we enjoy all the benefits of Christ's body?

 

The word for struggle pictures an athletic contest in which a person strains with his whole being, facing the demands of the contest with it taking a toll on his body. Paul's struggle is not physical but spiritual. It brought him to prayer and action through exhortation. Why? Because the church is more than an organization, it is the body of Christ, indwelled by the Holy Spirit, purchased by the blood of Christ, and representative of Christ in the world. Should we not also join the apostle in struggling for the church of Jesus Christ? Our desire should be to see the church stable and strong to the glory of God.

 

Our day witnesses a carelessness about church membership. While multitudes are dying in other countries because they have professed faith in Christ and united with little churches, the prevalent attitude in our part of the world toward the church is almost non-chalant. Many are unconcerned about what it means to be part of the church. They give no thought to the spiritual condition of the church as long as there are plenty of social and recreational activities. Many take their covenant vows of membership lightly. They discredit their baptism which first identified them with Christ's body. They mock the Lord' Supper where they partake of Christ's body and blood as fellow-members of Christ's body. It is demonstrated over and over in the lack of concern about faithfulness, participation, and responsibility in the local church.

 

None of us are apostles. But I do believe we need to join the Apostle in struggling for the stability, purity, and life of the local church. We cannot be presumptuous about the church as though it will do just fine on an invisible automatic-pilot. In a fresh way, we need to think again about what it means to be a Christian and a member of a local body of believers, the church.

 

I. The varied potential for the church

 

Our church is a dozen years old. We are thankful for what the Lord has done during this time, having carried us through a few trials and difficult times to grant to us a warm fellowship of believers. We can presume that the spiritual condition of our church will always be like it is today. But things can quickly change in any church when we take for granted the dynamics of church life and the regular assaults upon stability in the church.   

 

We can find countless examples of all sorts of churches in our day which have changed considerably over the years. Some have grown spiritually and experienced a wonderful sense of God's Spirit at work. Others have drifted into sterile orthodoxy; big on truth but short on any kind of life. Some have fallen into liberalism, denying central issues of the faith. Some have carried a name for believing the Bible while ironically they give little attention to the Bible in their methods or services. Others have embraced worldly ideologies rather than holding to the Scripture.   

 

Paul knew that anything could happen in the church at Colossae. So he struggled over them both in prayer and action. Our text calls for us to carry on this same struggle for our church and others about us.

 

Though he could have painted a number of different scenes, Paul gives us two potential scenarios for the church. One was true of the church at Colossae. The other could become true if they neglected their responsibilities as a church.

 

1. Something to rejoice over

 

The first scene is a good one. We find it in the fifth verse as Paul expresses that from what he had learned of the church, he could rejoice over them. "For even though I am absent in body, nevertheless I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good discipline and the stability of your faith in Christ." What was it that gave him cause for rejoicing over the Colossians?

 

First, he saw their "good discipline." The word was used in military circles and referred to "order." It might be the condition of troops in the field being found in proper order for the battle before them. The translation helps us to grasp what Paul meant by this. We might paraphrase it, "you are living the way you are supposed to be living as Christians." They were giving attention to their spiritual lives and the graces which are necessary for spiritual maintenance.   

 

We might summarize some of these things in the opening greeting Paul gives in Colossians 1:3-8. These believers had a faith anchored in Jesus Christ alone; a vibrant love for their fellow-believers; a lively hope in Christ; fruitfulness in their grasp and application of the Word; consistency in growth; a teachable spirit; and a love orchestrated by the Holy Spirit. But they had not arrived spiritually! There was room to increase. And there was certainly concern to maintain their spiritual maturity.

 

Second, he refers to "the stability of your faith in Christ." Again, Paul uses a military term which points to "a solid front." It pictures a people who were anchored in the truth of Christ and Him crucified. Though they were surrounded by false teachers trying to delude them, their ranks were unbroken. They still trusted in Christ without retreating to some claim of personal merits.

 

We are reminded that passivity does not build faithful churches. The effort on the part of all the membership in exercising spiritual disciplines to increase spiritual growth is not a luxury but a necessity. Stability through a lively faith in Christ is ongoing, not merely decisional. I think it is no accident that Paul uses military terminology at this point. Effective military units do not just happen. They work hard at their discipline and attitude to be prepared for whatever kind of battle they may face. The church must have this same posture. When it does, it is certainly something to rejoice over!

 

2. Something to guard against

 

The other picture is quite different. "I say this so that no one will delude you with persuasive argument." I do not believe the situation had already happened. But unless the Colossians took action, they would move away from their "good discipline and the stability of...faith in Christ," into a deluded church. This verse really explains the reason for the epistle. Paul wanted to make sure that they did not take for granted their spiritual advancement and thus, gradually slip into grievous error. It had not happened, but it could happen. Though the church was closely related to the Apostle through the ministry of Epaphras, it was subject to delusion.

 

How could this happen? The word "delude" refers to someone using what seems to be good, rational, and even reasonable arguments to draw the Colossians into wrong conclusions. We would suppose that the arguments might have some sense of proof-texting in Scripture or at least they would appear to have some Scriptural backing. Does this happen often? I believe we can see plenty of examples. For instance, in the last century, a former Baptist, Alexander Campbell, began to take passages on baptism out of their biblical context and delude scores of people into thinking that baptism is necessary for regeneration. His legacy continues in our day. Again, in the last century, a Presbyterian minister, Edward Irving, began to teach on a re-instituting of the apostolic gifts of healing, tongues, and prophecy. His teaching spread into our century with the explosion of Pentecostalism and the Charismatic movement. His deluded use of Scripture continues today. One of my former professors, Peter Wagner, has taken liberty with the Scripture to promote movements of church growth through power displays, as well as, prayer-mapping and warfare with territorial spirits. The influence of Wagner has penetrated deeply into our own denomination, with frankly, a delusion away from the purity of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

Added to the delusion through seemingly-rational presentations, Paul also adds the concern of "persuasive argument." Basically, it means the ability to talk someone into something even though it is based on wrong conclusions. This is where many believe something just because it is spoken in church or spoken by a certain public figure. It shows a failure to weigh matters biblically. It neglects thinking through on the consequence of not heeding the Word of God.

 

The answer to all of this is be biblical in your thoughts and actions. Saturate yourselves in the truths of God's Word. Check out what you hear against the immovable Rock of Scripture. Delusions would come to a grinding halt if churches did this. I do not mean ministers alone. But the members of the church have the responsibility to immerse themselves in Scripture so that they might effectively discern the presence of delusions.

 

One minister told me of preaching consecutively in a church that would give loud "Amens" to what he said. The only problem was that they did not pay any attention to what they were affirming. They simply followed the cadence of the minister's voice as the right time to insert an "Amen." Tired of such mindlessness toward the preaching of the Word, this minister took one sermon and abused his text, making statements which were clearly unbiblical. As always, the church loudly offered their "Amens" whenever he verbally punctuated a statement. When he was finished, he told them what he had done, and that to their shame, they had agreed with false teaching. And why had they done so? They did not know the Scriptures. The record of Hosea was right, "My people perish from lack of knowledge!"

 

II. The picture of a stable church

 

A major portion of Paul's "struggle" for the believers of the Lycus Valley was in prayer. He continually interceded for these believers and others, that their spiritual lives might press on into a genuine maturity. You do not find any generic prayers recorded in the Epistles. Instead, they focus upon specific needs of particular churches. We find plenty of examples to encourage us to do the same (e.g., Col. 1:9-12; Phil. 1:9-11; Eph. 1:15-23; 3:14-21). What did the Colossian church need? I believe we find that their needs might parallel our own.

 

1. Encouragement through relationships

 

Paul's first longing for the Colossians was "that their hearts may be encouraged." They were living in difficult times and in a spiritually unfriendly area. They needed encouragement. They faced opposition and rejection. They were continually faced with raw paganism of every form. They may have seen fewer converts than they desired; or made less progress than they anticipated. They needed encouragement.   

 

What does this word imply? It literally means 'to call alongside'. We could vividly picture it by someone trying to move a heavy object alone when he calls for help and another comes to aid him in the process. The one 'called alongside to help' is welcomed to ease the strain faced by the one who at first felt alone. Encouragement carries the idea of giving comfort or being instructed in the Scriptures. It is within the arena of relationships that encouragement is given in this context. Paul wanted the Colossians to learn to encourage one another. This is precisely what he told the Thessalonians, "Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing" (I Thess. 5:11).  The use of the passive voice implies that the encouragement comes from outside of them through someone else.

 

He explains how this encouragement is to take place, "having been knit together in love." That is such a picturesque way of showing how important it is to be part of the body of Christ! My brethren, let us be honest about this. We live in a day in which individualism is admired. That is the American spirit, charting your own course, doing your own thing, not needing anyone else. But that is not the Christian way! Paul explains that the encouragement needed by the Colossians was going to come through their relationships with one another in the church. The foundation of it was that they had been knit together in love.

 

The phrase, "having been knit together," is the translation of a word that has the basic meaning of "to instruct" or "to teach." It is not referring to passivity in the church but to some kind of ongoing relationship to each other involving the Scriptures. Curtis Vaughan says this phrase "suggests that God's revelation in Christ cannot be properly understood in isolation from the fellowship of other Christians" [A Study Guide Commentary, 65]. The context of what was happening may help us to understand this better. The intruders at Colossae who were trying "to delude you with persuasive argument," were probably trying to isolate a person here and another there in order to pump them full of their slick presentation. The intruders knew that if they tried to confront the entire church with their erroneous teaching, they would be quickly squelched! So the answer was to quietly slip among their ranks and isolate one person after another, convincing them of their animistic or Gnostic views. In the process, they would divide one Christian from another, driving a wedge in their relationships.

 

So how is the church to prevent such deception in her ranks? Truth is not best learned in isolation. It is in the crucible of relationships and the ongoing fellowship with each other, that we have truth affirmed for us and solidified in our lives. The professing believer who says that he does not need the church to learn about the Lord has fallen prey to precisely what Paul warns against. Let me put it plainly. When a person distances himself from faithfully sitting under the teaching and preaching of God's Word and the ongoing fellowship with believers, he will inevitably slip into weirdness if not heresy in his beliefs. He will develop a coldness and sterility in his Christianity that neither encourages other Christians nor offers a clear witness to unbelievers.

 

2. Richness of assurance

 

Paul wanted the church at Colossae to be wealthy! Not in the imperishable wealth of this world, mind you, but in the eternal wealth which comes through a true knowledge of Jesus Christ: "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."

 

The wealth is "the full assurance of understanding." To have this full assurance brings about "true knowledge of...Christ." We might keep in mind Paul's great passion, "That I may know Him" (Phil. 3:10a). The growth of the Christian is best measured by how he is growing in his intimate knowledge of Jesus Christ. Here he speaks of an assurance which leads to not just better mental apprehension of facts concerning Christ, but a richer, fuller experience of relationship to Jesus Christ.   

 

"Understanding" refers to putting together the given facts and truths in such a way that assuring conclusions can be drawn. He is talking about understanding your relationship to Jesus Christ and being able to put this together so that you have a confidence that you are a believer. In the face of the threats and intimidations of the Colossian's intruders, full assurance was vital. What are we to put together for assurance?

 

First it involves a grasp of the gospel. Do we know what it means to be at enmity with God and to have God in Christ removing that enmity through his own death? Have we given thought to the enormous price of our redemption and the necessity of the bloody death of Jesus Christ on our behalf? Have we given thought to how we can offer no merit before God sufficient for our salvation and that only the sacrifice of Jesus Christ is sufficient for justifying us before God? If you are struggling with assurance, then I can offer no better advice than to immerse yourself in the gospel. Study it. Look at it. Think upon it. Feed your soul upon the gospel of Jesus Christ. For in doing so, you will begin to grasp in a new way the sufficiency of Jesus' work for you.

 

Second, the gospel is not only factually stated premises, but truth that is experienced. This is where we must see if we have had a vital, personal experience of faith in Jesus Christ and his finished work. And how do we know this? First we must ask, 'to whom or what am I looking for my salvation?' Am I relying upon Jesus Christ alone? In light of this, then we must ask, 'are there evidences that I have been born again?' A thorough reading of First John might be helpful at this point, for it states one truth after another that will be evident experientially in those who know Christ savingly. Then we must ask, 'do I have the witness of the Holy Spirit within, confirming that I am a child of God?' I would commend a study of Romans 8 to help in thinking through upon this reality.

 

Paul explains that this "full assurance of understanding" results "in a true knowledge of God's mystery, that is, Christ Himself." The Apostle could think of nothing grander than knowing Jesus Christ! With the intruders trying to suggest that there was a secret knowledge awaiting those who would be initiated into their mysteries, Paul tells them, 'I want you to be fully assured of your relationship to Christ, for that will result in the real knowledge of Christ flooding your mind and heart'.

 

Some would rather not discuss assurance, thinking that if they don't think about it, they will not have to deal with it. But I would point out that the struggle for assurance is not wasted time. For some, it is the road to a true salvation after putting their faith in the wrong place for many years. For others, it is the liberty of knowing that you have truly been born of God and all of the promises of God are yours in Christ. For a church, it means that our goal is to help every member to think through biblically on his or her relationship to Jesus Christ. For it is only as we are united in "full assurance of understanding" that we have our most joyous times together and most effective ministry as a church.

 

3. Satisfaction in Christ alone

 

Where does out growth in grace lead? When a church is collectively fully assured of salvation, what takes place? Is it at this point that we have bigger buildings and a greater name among other churches? I would point out to you that the least of our concern in light of assurance is being bigger and better. Instead, a deep assurance leads to an overwhelming satisfaction in Jesus Christ. It moves us from a fixation upon the things of the world as our desire, to the magnificence of knowing Jesus Christ. As Paul tells us, when we are fully assured it will result in "a true knowledge of God's mystery, that is Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge."

 

The Colossian invaders were trying to make these believers think that there was something better than knowing Christ; some mysterious knowledge awaiting them apart from the gospel. Paul tells them, "all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" are in relationship to Jesus Christ. There is nothing better. There is nothing more satisfying. There is nothing richer than the wondrous delight of knowing Jesus Christ! Do you believe this? Do you know this reality experientially?

 

This is the direction in which we must aim as a church. It is not that we might receive the applause of the denomination nor of our fellow-churches. It is not that we might look good in our own eyes. It is that we, corporately, might immerse ourselves into the riches of knowing Jesus Christ. We cannot do this apart from corporately receiving the admonition and teaching of Scripture. We cannot do this apart from corporately seeking the face of God. We cannot do this apart from corporately growing in relationship of love to one another.

 

Conclusion

 

Let us struggle together in prayer, in labor, in love, in service, in witness, in exhortation to see our church fully satisfied with Jesus Christ alone.

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