14th Sunday after Pentecost: Colossians 2:1-7
Last week we considered the nature and purpose of Paul’s ministry in Christ: his suffering to proclaim the mystery of the gospel and laboring to present every Christian mature in Christ. This week we begin to see how that purpose takes shape in Colossae as Paul agonizes over the maturity of the Colossians that they would come to a settled and active faith in Christ. This intense concern of Paul is of course one which every godly pastor shares, but it is also one that every godly parents shares for their children. And I would encourage those of you with children to be thinking along those lines as we proceed.
Paul begins chapter two by stating his desire that they “know” the conflict he has for all the churches that do not know him personally. Paul’s “conflict” for them is his mission to present the Gentiles as an offering to God made acceptable by the Spirit. This mission required him, as it does all ministers of the gospel, to labor, literally here to agonize in the contest of the faith. So Paul pictures the mission of the church (and elsewhere the Christian life) as a competition, an athletic contest in which strives towards a goal.
So for what goal did Paul labor? Verse two provides us with an answer and in providing this answer, sets before us another description of maturity. And there are three elements to this description that are each related to the other. Paul says he labors that their hearts may encouraged, or better strengthened. The word translated “encouraged” is the word used to refer to the Holy Spirit, as our Helper/Comforter in the Gospel of John. You know from you own experience of His presence with you that this word conveys a sense of empowerment. And this empowerment, this strengthening, comes to the “heart,” the seat of the mind, will, and emotions, the center of your being.
In what way will you receive empowerment that will affect your thinking, your desires, and your feelings? Well, Paul says this happens as the church is “knit together in love.” What we have here is another reference to the Church as a “body.” Paul will use this same term “knit” down in verse 19 to describe how our union with Christ the “head” results in our being knit together by joints and ligaments unto growth that is from God. Paul is saying that our mutual interdependence, the ways that our lives are intertwined, interconnected, can serve to empower and encourage us to mature in Christ. But it is only as our life together is animated by sacrificial love that we will receive this encouragement of heart. As one of the commentators put it, it is only as the love of God Himself penetrates your heart and wells up within your heart that the church can be sustained. For there are so many things for us to divide over, to take offense to, to grumble about, but love covers a multitude of sins, it suffers long and is not provoked. So beloved, you must endeavor to love one another, practically, tangibly, in your thoughts, words, and deeds. Life together is hard. We all get on each other’s nerves and do stupid things that upset one another. Sometimes your personalities simply conflict with one another. But you are part of one body and the Spirit is at work among you, forming you, knitting you together by your words and deeds of love.
And as you are knit together in this way you not only receive strength and encouragement of heart, but Paul says you attain “to all the riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, namely, Christ.” And thus you see again how our conduct, the way we live in community together, affects our understanding. Here, Paul piles up adjectives to describe the understanding that he wants the church to attain as a result of their shared life. This understanding is said to be “rich” and “full”. And the term translated “full assurance” is a term describing a settled conviction. Paul has already prayed that God would fill them with spiritual understanding, that is a Holy Spirit wrought insight into God’s saving plans. Now he is wanting them to grasp further the riches, or value, of this insight and to become settled in this understanding. And note how the church is integral to reaching this settled conviction concerning God’s plan to redeem the world. The very existence of the church in Colossae, and their participation therein, bore witness God’s salvation in Christ. And the existence of our small parish here in Greer, SC likewise bears witness to the gospel of God’s saving grace. And as you experience God’s grace here and have come to understanding of the salvation that is ours in Christ and as you look around and see God doing that in other people, you should be coming to a settled conviction as to the truth of the gospel, what he refers to here again as the mystery of God.
This mystery, Paul says, is Christ. The grammar there is a little awkward, but the sense of it is that Christ is the mystery of God. And Paul goes on to describe Christ as the one “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Christ, having been revealed in the flesh in his incarnation and now sitting at the Father’s right hand is said to possess these treasures of wisdom and knowledge. We saw last week that wisdom and knowledge are the possession of kings, the necessary prerequisites to exercise their rule in the wise ordering God’s creation. They were what Adam was supposed to receive from God in obedience to his Word, but which he seized in the tree in violation of God’s Word. And Christ as the Second Adam, the Kings of kings, is said to possess these treasures in all their fullness. This means that you, as those who have been made priests and kings unto God, must look to Christ for the knowledge (to discern between right and wrong) and wisdom (to apply this knowledge to the varied circumstances of life) that you need in the wise reordering of God’s creation.
So if you husbands want the knowledge and wisdom to rule your house well, you must seek that knowledge and wisdom “in Christ.” Wives if you are in need of the wisdom and knowledge to love your husbands and children and labor in your homes for the advancement of the kingdom, you must seek that k/w “in Christ.” If you’re single, and you need wisdom and knowledge to figure out the Lord’s plans for you, seek that in Christ. And for you younger folks as you are actively studying the world and trying figure out your place in it, the wisdom and knowledge you most desperately need are found in Christ alone. But you see this is where we get tripped up. That wisdom and knowledge are found in a person, particularly in the person of Christ. For us knowledge is information, it is something to be manipulated and consumed. And we’re so accustomed to the consumption and accumulation of knowledge that we are liable to miss this. Knowledge in Scripture is rooted in a relationship with the subject. Adam knew Eve, his wife and she conceived. And in the same way this k/w only comes in relationship to the one in whom they are hidden. This defines our posture and attitude in receiving these treasures. Proverbs 1:7 instructs us that the fear of the LORD is beginning of knowledge because He alone gives wisdom and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. Christ Himself is the Word from His mouth and has become for us wisdom from God.
Paul urges us all to recognize that the kingly treasures of wisdom and knowledge are found in Christ alone and are bestowed in a relationship of union and communion with Him. And thus he says we must all learn the lesson of Adam. Recall how Adam was deceived by the persuasive words of the Serpent into believing that the knowledge he needed could be gained in violation of God Word. Well in the same way Paul says he’s told them all this “lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words.” They were inundated by a culture that told them true wisdom and knowledge were found anywhere, but in Christ. The false teachers told them it was found in the Law (for they stumbled over the cross) and the pagans would have told them it was found in the gods of the empire (for they regarded the cross as foolish). Likewise in our culture we hear a cacophony of voices urges us to find wisdom and knowledge apart from Christ, whether in the sciences or technology, or in more blatantly unbiblical practices. But by the encouragement and strength of heart and assured understanding that you have received as a result of your life together, you must stand firm against whatever would deceive you. The note of urgency to Paul’s writing arises from his absent from them, but he assures them of his presence in the Spirit (v.5) and says he rejoices to see their good order and the steadfastness of their faith. So it seems that the Colossians are were fairing well thus far. Their community life was well-ordered and their faith in Christ was firm. But how were they, and how are we, to stand against those who try to deceive us as to the source of wisdom and knowledge? How were they, and how are we, to attain maturity in Christ?
Well, in verses 6-7, Paul transitions from his statement of purpose to begin expounding on growth to maturity in Christ. These verses really sum up the teaching of the rest of chapter 2, 3, and the beginning of chapter 4. Paul tells us that the way to maturity and thus be safeguarded from deception, is in the same you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so you are to walk in Him. And each name or title here ascribed to Jesus is important. They have received the long promised Christ, or Messiah, who has redeemed his people from their sins. They have received the incarnate Son, Jesus, the image of invisible God, who not only created all things, but has reconciled all things to himself. And they have received the Lord, the one exalted to the right hand of the Father and who possesses all wisdom and knowledge as the King of kings and Lord of lords. But what does Paul mean when refers to their “receiving” this Jesus. In our context “receiving” Jesus as one’s Savior may mean praying the “Sinner’s prayer,” walking the aisle, throwing a pine cone in the fire, raising one’s hand, or any other number of variations. But in the NT the word “received” has a pretty technical meaning growing out the Judaism of the 1st century referring to the idea of a body of teaching/tradition being transmitted from person, or generation, to another. Thus in 1 Cor. 15 Paul says that he is delivering the gospel that he himself received and then he proceeds to detail the content of this gospel he received. Here in v.6 “Christ Jesus the Lord” is shorthand for the creedal confession that they would have made at baptism, which Paul will refer to in a few verses. This reception of Christ Jesus the Lord, then, was a formal and binding covenant entered into by faith alone, in renunciation of the world, and in utter dependence upon the person and work of Jesus Christ. And it focused upon their confession of his Lordship. In submitting to baptism they were swearing allegiance to Christ alone. And with this same sense of solemn obligation, Paul commands them walk in Christ. This is the same verb we considered in 1:10 when Paul prayed that they would walk in a manner worthy of the Lord. Here he commands them to walk, that is, live the whole of their lives in union with Christ with the same faith and obligation that characterized their conversion and baptism. Thus, Paul is telling us that growth to maturity has it’s beginning, progress, and it end, “in Christ.” All that you have and need is found in him.
He drives the point home, as he did in chapter 1, by explaining this “walk” with four participles that provide us with different metaphors for understanding growth to maturity. Each of these first two participles is said to take place “in Him.” First, growth to maturity is likened to a tree firmly rooted. In contrast to the other participles that are all in the present tense, this one is in the perfect tense and thus refers to a settled foundation or root system, established at a point of time in the past. Growth to maturity is rooted and sustained by an established connection to the soil of Jesus Christ, to his death and resurrection in particular. Second, growth is likened to a solidly built house. Thus we learn that whatever growth takes place only takes place as we remain connected to the foundation, to the root system. Abide in me, and I in thee, for apart from me you can do nothing. Third, growth is likened to the confirmation of a legal document. Our growth to maturity involves a certain confirmation in the faith that we have been taught. And fourth, growth is likened to an overflowing jug of wine. As you grow to maturity in Christ, thanksgiving to God for his grace, should well up within your hearts and spill out into your lives. This is a prominent theme throughout Colossians and helps us to see that thanksgiving is as one has said, “the main characteristic of God’s people, ‘a sign that they are indeed living in the new age.’”
So then we’ve considered how Paul agonizes over the maturity of the Colossians because he longs for them to come to a settled and deepening faith and understanding that they might stand firm in the faith. You’ve seen that there are a few things that are integral to this process. You must give yourselves to the communion of the saints, demonstrating your love for another, and thus being knit together, formed as one body. You must recognize that all the riches of w/k that you need to fulfill your calling as priests and kings unto God is found in Jesus Christ. And the way to access these riches is found in a relationship with Him, rooted in worship and obedience. You must endeavor to live your life in Christ with the same resolute faith and repentance that marked your reception of Christ as Lord. The sure sign that you are doing the above is that your lives should be overflowing with thanksgiving to God for the riches of his grace.
Paul begins chapter two by stating his desire that they “know” the conflict he has for all the churches that do not know him personally. Paul’s “conflict” for them is his mission to present the Gentiles as an offering to God made acceptable by the Spirit. This mission required him, as it does all ministers of the gospel, to labor, literally here to agonize in the contest of the faith. So Paul pictures the mission of the church (and elsewhere the Christian life) as a competition, an athletic contest in which strives towards a goal.
So for what goal did Paul labor? Verse two provides us with an answer and in providing this answer, sets before us another description of maturity. And there are three elements to this description that are each related to the other. Paul says he labors that their hearts may encouraged, or better strengthened. The word translated “encouraged” is the word used to refer to the Holy Spirit, as our Helper/Comforter in the Gospel of John. You know from you own experience of His presence with you that this word conveys a sense of empowerment. And this empowerment, this strengthening, comes to the “heart,” the seat of the mind, will, and emotions, the center of your being.
In what way will you receive empowerment that will affect your thinking, your desires, and your feelings? Well, Paul says this happens as the church is “knit together in love.” What we have here is another reference to the Church as a “body.” Paul will use this same term “knit” down in verse 19 to describe how our union with Christ the “head” results in our being knit together by joints and ligaments unto growth that is from God. Paul is saying that our mutual interdependence, the ways that our lives are intertwined, interconnected, can serve to empower and encourage us to mature in Christ. But it is only as our life together is animated by sacrificial love that we will receive this encouragement of heart. As one of the commentators put it, it is only as the love of God Himself penetrates your heart and wells up within your heart that the church can be sustained. For there are so many things for us to divide over, to take offense to, to grumble about, but love covers a multitude of sins, it suffers long and is not provoked. So beloved, you must endeavor to love one another, practically, tangibly, in your thoughts, words, and deeds. Life together is hard. We all get on each other’s nerves and do stupid things that upset one another. Sometimes your personalities simply conflict with one another. But you are part of one body and the Spirit is at work among you, forming you, knitting you together by your words and deeds of love.
And as you are knit together in this way you not only receive strength and encouragement of heart, but Paul says you attain “to all the riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, namely, Christ.” And thus you see again how our conduct, the way we live in community together, affects our understanding. Here, Paul piles up adjectives to describe the understanding that he wants the church to attain as a result of their shared life. This understanding is said to be “rich” and “full”. And the term translated “full assurance” is a term describing a settled conviction. Paul has already prayed that God would fill them with spiritual understanding, that is a Holy Spirit wrought insight into God’s saving plans. Now he is wanting them to grasp further the riches, or value, of this insight and to become settled in this understanding. And note how the church is integral to reaching this settled conviction concerning God’s plan to redeem the world. The very existence of the church in Colossae, and their participation therein, bore witness God’s salvation in Christ. And the existence of our small parish here in Greer, SC likewise bears witness to the gospel of God’s saving grace. And as you experience God’s grace here and have come to understanding of the salvation that is ours in Christ and as you look around and see God doing that in other people, you should be coming to a settled conviction as to the truth of the gospel, what he refers to here again as the mystery of God.
This mystery, Paul says, is Christ. The grammar there is a little awkward, but the sense of it is that Christ is the mystery of God. And Paul goes on to describe Christ as the one “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Christ, having been revealed in the flesh in his incarnation and now sitting at the Father’s right hand is said to possess these treasures of wisdom and knowledge. We saw last week that wisdom and knowledge are the possession of kings, the necessary prerequisites to exercise their rule in the wise ordering God’s creation. They were what Adam was supposed to receive from God in obedience to his Word, but which he seized in the tree in violation of God’s Word. And Christ as the Second Adam, the Kings of kings, is said to possess these treasures in all their fullness. This means that you, as those who have been made priests and kings unto God, must look to Christ for the knowledge (to discern between right and wrong) and wisdom (to apply this knowledge to the varied circumstances of life) that you need in the wise reordering of God’s creation.
So if you husbands want the knowledge and wisdom to rule your house well, you must seek that knowledge and wisdom “in Christ.” Wives if you are in need of the wisdom and knowledge to love your husbands and children and labor in your homes for the advancement of the kingdom, you must seek that k/w “in Christ.” If you’re single, and you need wisdom and knowledge to figure out the Lord’s plans for you, seek that in Christ. And for you younger folks as you are actively studying the world and trying figure out your place in it, the wisdom and knowledge you most desperately need are found in Christ alone. But you see this is where we get tripped up. That wisdom and knowledge are found in a person, particularly in the person of Christ. For us knowledge is information, it is something to be manipulated and consumed. And we’re so accustomed to the consumption and accumulation of knowledge that we are liable to miss this. Knowledge in Scripture is rooted in a relationship with the subject. Adam knew Eve, his wife and she conceived. And in the same way this k/w only comes in relationship to the one in whom they are hidden. This defines our posture and attitude in receiving these treasures. Proverbs 1:7 instructs us that the fear of the LORD is beginning of knowledge because He alone gives wisdom and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. Christ Himself is the Word from His mouth and has become for us wisdom from God.
Paul urges us all to recognize that the kingly treasures of wisdom and knowledge are found in Christ alone and are bestowed in a relationship of union and communion with Him. And thus he says we must all learn the lesson of Adam. Recall how Adam was deceived by the persuasive words of the Serpent into believing that the knowledge he needed could be gained in violation of God Word. Well in the same way Paul says he’s told them all this “lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words.” They were inundated by a culture that told them true wisdom and knowledge were found anywhere, but in Christ. The false teachers told them it was found in the Law (for they stumbled over the cross) and the pagans would have told them it was found in the gods of the empire (for they regarded the cross as foolish). Likewise in our culture we hear a cacophony of voices urges us to find wisdom and knowledge apart from Christ, whether in the sciences or technology, or in more blatantly unbiblical practices. But by the encouragement and strength of heart and assured understanding that you have received as a result of your life together, you must stand firm against whatever would deceive you. The note of urgency to Paul’s writing arises from his absent from them, but he assures them of his presence in the Spirit (v.5) and says he rejoices to see their good order and the steadfastness of their faith. So it seems that the Colossians are were fairing well thus far. Their community life was well-ordered and their faith in Christ was firm. But how were they, and how are we, to stand against those who try to deceive us as to the source of wisdom and knowledge? How were they, and how are we, to attain maturity in Christ?
Well, in verses 6-7, Paul transitions from his statement of purpose to begin expounding on growth to maturity in Christ. These verses really sum up the teaching of the rest of chapter 2, 3, and the beginning of chapter 4. Paul tells us that the way to maturity and thus be safeguarded from deception, is in the same you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so you are to walk in Him. And each name or title here ascribed to Jesus is important. They have received the long promised Christ, or Messiah, who has redeemed his people from their sins. They have received the incarnate Son, Jesus, the image of invisible God, who not only created all things, but has reconciled all things to himself. And they have received the Lord, the one exalted to the right hand of the Father and who possesses all wisdom and knowledge as the King of kings and Lord of lords. But what does Paul mean when refers to their “receiving” this Jesus. In our context “receiving” Jesus as one’s Savior may mean praying the “Sinner’s prayer,” walking the aisle, throwing a pine cone in the fire, raising one’s hand, or any other number of variations. But in the NT the word “received” has a pretty technical meaning growing out the Judaism of the 1st century referring to the idea of a body of teaching/tradition being transmitted from person, or generation, to another. Thus in 1 Cor. 15 Paul says that he is delivering the gospel that he himself received and then he proceeds to detail the content of this gospel he received. Here in v.6 “Christ Jesus the Lord” is shorthand for the creedal confession that they would have made at baptism, which Paul will refer to in a few verses. This reception of Christ Jesus the Lord, then, was a formal and binding covenant entered into by faith alone, in renunciation of the world, and in utter dependence upon the person and work of Jesus Christ. And it focused upon their confession of his Lordship. In submitting to baptism they were swearing allegiance to Christ alone. And with this same sense of solemn obligation, Paul commands them walk in Christ. This is the same verb we considered in 1:10 when Paul prayed that they would walk in a manner worthy of the Lord. Here he commands them to walk, that is, live the whole of their lives in union with Christ with the same faith and obligation that characterized their conversion and baptism. Thus, Paul is telling us that growth to maturity has it’s beginning, progress, and it end, “in Christ.” All that you have and need is found in him.
He drives the point home, as he did in chapter 1, by explaining this “walk” with four participles that provide us with different metaphors for understanding growth to maturity. Each of these first two participles is said to take place “in Him.” First, growth to maturity is likened to a tree firmly rooted. In contrast to the other participles that are all in the present tense, this one is in the perfect tense and thus refers to a settled foundation or root system, established at a point of time in the past. Growth to maturity is rooted and sustained by an established connection to the soil of Jesus Christ, to his death and resurrection in particular. Second, growth is likened to a solidly built house. Thus we learn that whatever growth takes place only takes place as we remain connected to the foundation, to the root system. Abide in me, and I in thee, for apart from me you can do nothing. Third, growth is likened to the confirmation of a legal document. Our growth to maturity involves a certain confirmation in the faith that we have been taught. And fourth, growth is likened to an overflowing jug of wine. As you grow to maturity in Christ, thanksgiving to God for his grace, should well up within your hearts and spill out into your lives. This is a prominent theme throughout Colossians and helps us to see that thanksgiving is as one has said, “the main characteristic of God’s people, ‘a sign that they are indeed living in the new age.’”
So then we’ve considered how Paul agonizes over the maturity of the Colossians because he longs for them to come to a settled and deepening faith and understanding that they might stand firm in the faith. You’ve seen that there are a few things that are integral to this process. You must give yourselves to the communion of the saints, demonstrating your love for another, and thus being knit together, formed as one body. You must recognize that all the riches of w/k that you need to fulfill your calling as priests and kings unto God is found in Jesus Christ. And the way to access these riches is found in a relationship with Him, rooted in worship and obedience. You must endeavor to live your life in Christ with the same resolute faith and repentance that marked your reception of Christ as Lord. The sure sign that you are doing the above is that your lives should be overflowing with thanksgiving to God for the riches of his grace.
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