Paul s Agony for the Church Colossians 2:1-6 (NKJV) The church of Colossae was not a work that Paul had directly started; it was started by a man named Epaphroditus; who is mentioned in the first chapter of verse seven. He potentially came to Christ through Paul s ministry. After coming to Christ, he would then bring Christ to his hometown, which eventually turned into the church of Colossae. And now that the church was birthed, Paul had taken an interest in it because they were being hit with some false teaching. They were presenting an inferior Jesus, that He was a created being and not eternal. And of course with that would come all kinds of problems, if He is not who He says He is, then Houston we have a problem. So, Paul was writing them to clean up this conflict. Let s read verse one through six and then make our way back through it. Vs. 1 For I want you to know what a great conflict I have for you and those in Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh Paul s great conflict could be translated, his great agony. The word Conflict has in its root the word agonize, but the implication here is a fight, or a contest. Like a boxer in the ring who is fighting, or a runner in a race who puts forth all his strength to win the race. Paul was agonizing, fighting for the church of Colossae and Laodicea. Fighting to keep them grounded when it came to their understanding of who Jesus is; contesting with those who would want to present to the church a different Jesus than who He really is. It s what takes place in our hearts for our kids. If we see them believing something that we know is not healthy for them, or listening to someone who is pointing them in the wrong direction of life, it brings agony. It moves us, it stirs us to educate them, and we are in a sense, fighting for them. That s why he said what he did in verse eight Copyright 2015 Chris Fraley 1
Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. Colossians 2:8 (NKJV) There was a group that had made their way into the church that were promoting a different Jesus; that He was just another created being, an exalted angel, not God in the flesh, not The Creator of all things. Its roots were worldly, and not according to Christ. So, Paul wrote wanting to correct any false teaching that would get them off the path of understanding. Notice Paul s hope for them in reading this letter Vs. 2 that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all the riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the father and of Christ That your hearts would be encouraged and knit together in love. The word encouraged can be translated; comforted, or consoled. Paul knew false teaching; it was not grounded in truth, and had a way of stealing joy, causing depression, and discouragement. Because it s not rooted in the one who gives us joy, Jesus. And when we are discouraged or downcast the enemy starts picking us off. I have seen it in my family, when one of my kids is down and discouraged it can move us into a downwards spiral. Their head is down, there smile is gone, and each step they make is heavy. Discouragement is that way, you don t want to get out of bed, you don t want to go to work, you don t want to talk to anyone, and you would rather stay home and pull up the covers and play sad music. Then the enemy starts playing out the worst scenarios in our heads, we start thinking the worse. And in extreme cases, it leads to suicidal thoughts; I just end my life. That s when we as believers have to step up and start speaking truth in into their lives; because truth will result in faith and faith will result in hope. One of the most important ministries in the church, is encouragement, and if you have that gift, put it to use. We need more encouragement in the church today; you have a way of speaking life into the church. Copyright 2015 Chris Fraley 2
Paul went on and reminded them; not only did he want them to be encouraged, energized and built up; but he wanted their hearts to be knit together in love. The word s knit together can be translated; to drive together, and to unite. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity! Psalm 133:1 (NKJV) The church unified is a beautiful church, a powerful church. The church encouraged, energized, and unified in love is an unstoppable church. A couple of weeks ago the Supreme Court made a decision that marriage between same sex couples was all good. People have asked me what I think about that; it grieves me, but it s not a surprise to me. Not sure why we keep hoping that non believers will make believing decisions? But, for you and I, and the church, nothing has really changed. We still keep preaching the cure for the sinful heart, the gospel. What s the old saying; love the sinner, hate the sin, that s what we do when they make their way here to Wildwood. We love them to the cross, and we love them to Christ. Listen to what Paul said as he lived in a difficult day For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. Romans 1:16 (NKJV) The gospel is the cure for every heart, and every sin of the heart. And the closer we get to getting out of here, the more sin will abound, and when sin abounds, grace abounds. We are to be the ambassadors of that grace. I was reading Pastor Chuck s, Wisdom for Today devotional, and this is what I read on July, 14th A day of reckoning approaches, and nothing in the world s arsenal can save us. Education won t save us. Neither will science. The government won t. The United Nations won t. Not even Green Peace can save our planet. The only sure hope for the future is the return of Jesus Christ. He alone has the power to save and deliver. As we see the deteriorating conditions of the world around us, we shouldn t get discouraged. Instead, we should be motivated. We need Copyright 2015 Chris Fraley 3
to rise to the challenge and live lives that are Godly, Righteous, and Holy, as we wait the return of our Lord. Pastor Chuck Smith Good word. Wildwood, let s not forget our mission, the great commission. Let s continue, notice verse two Vs. 2 " and attaining to all the riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both the father and of Christ... The phrase full assurance means; to have total confidence in something. He wanted the church to be encouraged, to be unified in love, but also to walk in confidence of the truth. That s where the real riches would come from, being fully assured about the truth of Jesus Christ. Something that was a mystery that has been revealed was treasure that is hidden to the natural eye, but has been revealed to the spiritual eye. Notice, in verse three Vs. 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Paul has refuted the idea that was floating around Colossae or Laodicea; that there was some special wisdom, or some greater spiritual knowledge outside of Jesus Christ. The false teachers would say, sure seek Jesus, but don t stop; there is more wisdom and knowledge to be found outside of Jesus. Make the pursuit of knowledge the main thing, instead of seeking Jesus who holds all knowledge and wisdom. When my car breaks down, I don t go to my doctor and ask him to write a prescription. When I get sick, I don t go to my mechanic and ask him to run a diagnostic test, or change my oil. No, I go to the mechanic for my car, and for my health, I go to the doctor. In the same way, when it comes to the things of the soul, when it comes to all things spiritual in my life, I go to the one who created my soul, Jesus. I don t need to clean out my chakra, or arrange my furniture fung shway, when it comes to the soul, I go to the one who created the soul, the soul man; Jesus Christ. Copyright 2015 Chris Fraley 4
Notice the warning here Vs. 4 Now this I say lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words. They may sound cool with their persuasive words, or it might be the trend to listen to these gurus s, but be careful, they will ultimately deceive you. There is so much information going out in the name of Christ today, it can be tough to know what is true and what is not. Often when I am reading something, or maybe I heard someone preaching that brought a check to my spirit; when that happens, I know I will go back to the word of God to test it, and to see if it s true. That s what the Bereans were known for in the New Testament. These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. Act 17:11 (NKJV) Notice, they took it all back to the scriptures, the Word of God was the authority for all things spoken. It is what John said we must do Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world. You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 1 John 4:1-4 (NKJV) How do we test the Spirit? By the word of God; is it lining up with the written word; that is the authority in the church, as a community, and in our lives individually. Notice Paul s reminder here Vs. 5 For though I am absent in the flesh yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ. Copyright 2015 Chris Fraley 5
In other words, I may not be able to be with you physically, but I am with you in spirit. How could Paul be there in spirit? He tells us chapter one verse nine For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding Colossians 1:9 (NKJV) How can you and I stay connected with the body of Christ even though we are not physically with them throughout the day? Prayer I have family that lives in Florida; I don t see them but maybe once a year, if that. I can connect a bit through email, phone calls, and instagram, but it s not until I start interceding for them that I find a greater connection. I pray for their marriage, for their kids, all my nieces and nephews. Once in a while my brother will send a text asking to pray about certain ventures in their life, and something happens when praying for them that are different than even when we talked, I am inviting the Lord into our relationship. I am seeking the Lord on their behalf. I am laying down burdens, asking for wisdom, seeking the power of God, the will of God, to take place in their life. And the next time I talk to them, I can t wait to hear how did that business venture work out? It goes to another level, a greater level than even that of the physical, because now it is spiritual. One of the greatest and deepest ways for us the body of Christ to stay connected is to pray for one another. Paul through prayer could see their good order and steadfastness in the faith and reminded them Vs. 6 As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him Just as you surrendered your life to Christ when you came to Christ, keep walking in that surrender. This idea of walking in the Lord is all throughout scripture. "And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul Deuteronomy 10:12 (NKJV) Copyright 2015 Chris Fraley 6
He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8 (NKJV) Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. Romans 13:13 (NKJV) For we walk by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7 (NKJV) I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. Galatians 5:16 (NKJV) For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10 (NKJV) The idea of walking is all throughout scripture. And when it comes to walking, we all do it a bit differently, don t we? I was in the mall the other day with my daughter. We hit a few stores, and passed up a few others, and then hit another mall. She said, Wow dad, you re not like mom, we are in and out so quickly. I told her when I was growing up we lived in Riverside, and on the weekends we would hit the Tyler mall. My mom could be there for a whole weekend. My dad and the four boys, we would hit two or three stores, purchase the items we wanted, finish up with an orange Julius, and hit the arcade to wrap it up. Not mom, she walked at a different pace in the mall, slow, turtle speed, she would still be in the first store, touching everything but buying nothing. All that to say, we all walk at different paces, but at the end of the day we all need to keep walking. Just as you received Christ, walk in Him, and we will all end up at the same destination, Heaven. Copyright 2015 Chris Fraley 7