Gratitude, Colossians 2:6-8

I suppose they are called influencers.  You tube self help gurus that make millions telling us how we can get fit like them, or successful like they are, or financially independent, or whatever aspect of living that they purport to know better than we do.  I’ve watched a number of them that tell us how you should get up and get going in the morning.  A common theme seems to be walk outdoors barefoot so you can get grounded. Then sit facing the sun with your eyes wide open, no sunglasses on for about 10-15 minutes.  There are a lot of other things that they say you need to do to be like them, but another common theme is to have a time of gratitude. I’m not sure what or to whom you are to show gratitude.  I suppose you just have gratitude towards yourself for being such a cool hipster.

But while I think that type of gratitude is just a form self aggrandizing, I do think there is a Christian virtue of gratitude that we should be striving for in our daily lives. But our gratitude as a Christian is not directed inward, but towards God. Our gratitude towards God for what He has done for us should produce praise, thanksgiving, and a desire to please Him. And so I think in this passage we see Paul stressing that our walk with the Lord is effected by an attitude of gratitude.

He says in vs 6 “Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, [so] walk in Him, having been firmly rooted [and now] being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, [and] overflowing with gratitude.”

What I think Paul is referring to is an attitude of gratitude for our salvation.  Gratitude, or overflowing with gratitude, should be the appropriate response of our salvation.  “We love, because He first loved us.”  We respond in gratitude by serving the Lord, and being obedient to the Lord, because of His grace towards us, and because of the life which He gave us.

It’s obvious that our gratitude is to be towards God for our salvation by the context of verse 6, which precedes the admonition for thanksgiving, by saying, “Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, [so] walk in Him.”  Receiving Christ speaks of salvation.  As John 1:12 states; “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, [even] to those who believe in His name.” 

Notice that John equates receiving to believing.  And back in our text, actually in vs 5, Paul equates receiving as faith in Christ.  And we know that faith is the means of justification, and justification is the beginning of our salvation.  Ephesians 2:8,9; “For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast.”

We all know that verse so well, many of us by heart.  But it’s important to also know the next verse, Eph. 2:10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”  That echoes what Paul is saying here in Colossians 2:6. “Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him.”

The emphasis in both cases is that salvation is evidenced by your walk. In other words, justification produces a new birth, which results in a new life.  And this new life is spoken of as a walk. So that we walk by faith and not by sight.  We walk in newness of life.  We walk in the good works of God.

The point that Paul is emphasizing here is that justification is not the destination.  It’s the beginning, it’s new birth.  The destination of our salvation is glorification, when we are completed, perfected with a new body and a new spirit in the presence of God.  And the path which leads from justification to glorification is sanctification. Sanctification is our walk.

Another frequently used analogy of salvation is that of the word of God which is compared to a seed, which finds root in us - that’s the believing unto salvation part -then God causes it to grow, springing up into new life, and the life brings forth fruit.  But Jesus said in a parable of the fruit tree, in Matt. 7:19-20  "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits.”  So salvation is not just indicated by believing, but growing and bearing fruit.

That metaphor of a tree is one that Paul employs here in Colossians 2. He speaks of the need to be rooted in your faith.  Vs 7, “having been firmly rooted [and now] being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, [and] overflowing with gratitude.”

I’m not sure if Paul is mixing metaphors here or if the translators are, but there seems to be in my version at least a transition of metaphors from a tree to a house, “being firmly rooted and being built up and established.”  But if we were to look at it from the perspective of a tree, then it would indicate that there needs to be deep roots if the tree is going to grow up and become mature, to be able to stand, and then to bear fruit.

But if you looked at it from the perspective of a building, it would seem the emphasis is on a firm foundation, from which a temple is built, and established, from which emanates an overflowing of gratitude to God.  And that gratitude we have already indicated results in doing the works of God.

In either illustration, our faith then must be firmly rooted, grounded, a strong foundation from which to build, to grow, to bear fruit.  So what is this foundation of our faith comprised of? Well, the text makes it clear that it is knowing Christ.  In vs 2 it’s “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.”  Christ is the truth of God. He is the manifestation of God.  He is the salvation of God, the Savior of the world.  He is the Lord God.  Faith is believing in the gospel of Christ; in who He is and what He came to do,  what He accomplished, and what He has promised He will do.

Paul says in vs 5, he was “rejoicing to see your good discipline and the stability of your faith in Christ.”  There it is again, this emphasis on a stable foundation of who Christ is and what He has accomplished and what He will accomplish. Christ has accomplished our justification and He will one day accomplish our glorification when He comes again as the returning King to claim His kingdom. This knowledge, this faith in Christ is the foundation for our life.  This knowledge and faith in Christ is the root system that produces growth and maturity and fruit in our lives.

And notice that Paul brings all the fullness of the deity of Christ to bear in His name and titles given in vs6. “Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him.”  Christ is the Greek word for Messiah. So Christ as a title encompasses the full doctrine of the Messiah. The Messiah was foretold way back in the Garden of Eden, as the one who will come from the seed of the woman who will crush the head of the serpent. He was the One promised to be the seed of Abraham by whom all the nations of the earth would be blessed. He is the Anointed One promised by the prophets who would be a great light to the nations, and to whom all people would come.  The Messiah is the Savior of the world, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. I don’t have the time this morning to expound the doctrine of the Messiah in all it’s fullness.

But a summary of the Messiah is revealed in Isaiah 9:6-7 “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.  There will be no end to the increase of [His] government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.”

That prophecy includes another title which Paul gives us here in Col. 2vs 6, which is the Lord. Christ Jesus the Lord.  The Lord is a reference to His kingdom, to the Prince of Peace.  There will be no end to His government. He will sit on the throne of David and over His kingdom, to establish it and uphold it with justice  and righteousness from then on and forevermore.  The Lord Jesus is king over all the universe and it is an eternal kingdom that has no end.

Paul said in Romans 10:9, “that if you confess with your mouth, Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.”  Our salvation is not only faith in Jesus as our Savior, but confession of Jesus as our Lord. We bow to His authority over our lives.  He is our Government.  He is our King.  He is our Sovereign, and we bow our will to Him, we live our lives for Him, we serve Him as our King.  

Now that constitutes a firmly rooted faith, rooted “in true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”  This is the start of our salvation, the start of our new life.  Knowing Him.  Knowing Christ. That’s what it means to believe in Christ. We are justified by faith in Christ.

Notice something else that is important in vs 7.  “having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed. “ I want to emphasize that phrase “just as you were instructed.”  Just as you were taught.  The foundation of our faith, our walk in faith, and the produce of faith, all are contingent upon the instruction in our faith.  That’s why it’s so important to preach the gospel.  That’s why it’s so important to preach Christ.  Not to preach a social gospel, or a prosperity gospel, or a philosophical or psychological gospel.  But to preach the pure word of God, unmixed, unfiltered, not watered down. Because the deeper our roots go, the greater our fruit grows.

Some time ago I decided to dig a pond and I planned to make a little fountain and raise some koi fish. It will be easy, they said.  It will be fun, they said.  Little did I realize when I started digging that I had planned the pond too close to a large tree in my back yard.  I think I ended up cutting roots more than I dug dirt.

Sometime later I was explaining how difficult that whole process  was to a lady in the church, and she told me that the root system of a tree mirrored the scope of the branches in the tree.  So if I wanted to see how extensive the roots were, I only had to look up and see how expansive the branches were. I had never heard that before.  But I think that is sort of what Paul is indicating here.  As our roots go down deep in our faith, our branches grow up and out resulting in an abundant life of fruitfulness.

Notice that this instruction that we are given results in our faith being established.  Established means to make sure, to confirm.  It means to prove it’s truth.  Being established then indicates giving heed to instruction, which informs our faith, assures us of our faith, and confirms our faith.  Faith is not just wishful thinking.  Faith is not wanting something to be true and so you just imagine it is possible, and hold onto it, and somehow if you believe it enough it will come true.  No, faith is believing in the promises of God.  So when we preach, we preach not some fanciful imaginative thing that we want to believe will come true, but we preach the truth of God, the word of God, and very importantly, the promises of God.  Our faith is founded on the promises of God.  And so it’s important that we preach and teach the promises of God.  And as Peter said, the promises of God are written down for us that they may be a more sure word.

2Peter 1:19 “[So] we have the prophetic word [made] more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.”  Paul warns against unfounded promises in vs 18 which we will get to next week, but I reference now as a contrast to the sure promises of God. Vs 18 “Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on [visions] he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind.” 

So as a counterpoint to the sound instruction that informs and confirms our faith, Paul gives a necessary caution.  He cautions against false promises, empty promises, man made wisdom, which may have the appearance of spirituality, but it lacks substance because it is not founded on the truth of God’s word, but it’s founded on man’s philosophy and the devil’s lies.  If our lives depend upon our faith being true, then it’s paramount that we are discerning as to what is true, what is promised by God, and what is not true, or what is promised by man.

Imagine if you wanted to prepare for your retirement someday, and you were able to set aside a certain amount of money each week for that fund.  And so you asked around for a good investment advisor who could invest your money for you so that you would have enough money to retire someday.  How important do you think it should be for you to investigate that financial advisor thoroughly? How important would it be to make sure you had certain guarantees in writing, and know that the firm you were entrusting your future to were trustworthy? You would be a fool to just blindly trust some guy and hand over your money to someone you randomly found on the internet and not do your research.  And the same is true for your eternal security.  There are a lot of deceivers out there that promise you the moon, claim all sorts of spiritual blessings, and yet scripture does not validate what they say.

So Paul waves a yellow flag in vs 8 “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.”  

Jesus told a parable about wheat and tares which illustrate this principle. In Matt. 13:24-30, “Jesus said, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?' And he said to them, 'An enemy has done this!' The slaves said to him, 'Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?' But he said, 'No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them.  'Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.”'"

Now there is a lot in that parable which I cannot take the time to expound upon this morning, but one thing that should be clear is the importance of bearing fruit.  The wheat is the fruit of the good seed which was sown in the field.  Jesus said in another parable that the seed was the word of God, and I see no reason not to interpret that the same here as well.

But what I want you to notice is that He said the enemy came into the field and sowed takes among the wheat while his men were sleeping.  The tares looked like wheat.  His men were not able to discern the wheat from the tares until it came time to reap, which is when the fruit comes to it’s fullness. 

So if the good seed is the word of God, and the seed of the tares is sown by the enemy, then it stands to reason that the seed of the tares is what Paul refers to in Colossians 2 as man’s philosophy and empty deception.  Empty deception is another way of saying empty promises.

Notice that Paul warns about being taken captive by one who teaches this false doctrine.  Satan’s goal is to capture as many people as he can by his lies and deception.  Promising them freedom but they end up being captured and enslaved.  Peter speaks of this type of false teacher in 2Peter 2:18-19 “For speaking out arrogant [words] of vanity they entice by fleshly desires, by sensuality, those who barely escape from the ones who live in error, promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved.”  

So our fruitfulness can be hindered by false teaching if we succumb to it.  In fact, false teaching can even provide a false salvation. It looks like the real thing, just like the tares looked like wheat, but the evidence is in the fruit.  So a foundation must be founded on the truth, otherwise, it is a false foundation, and the entire structure is threatened with ruin. I’m not a builder, but from what I know of it if you are off on your foundation, then the whole house will be off, and in fact nothing will work as it should and the structure can end up being condemned.

I’m afraid that is the devil’s strategy in the church.  To mislead, deceive on the basis of empty deception, empty promises that do not give the freedom that they promised, but instead leave you enslaved to sin by a corrupted, false doctrine.

Notice Paul says their false doctrine is “according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.”  When I hear that phrase, “according to the tradition of men” I cannot help but think of the Roman Catholic church.  The Catholic church claims to teach  a lot of the same truth that we believe.  But they have added traditions of men in such a way that it overshadows the truth, it conceals the truth, and as a result many people in it may be sincere, they may be zealous, they may be very religious, and yet still be totally lost.  

And unfortunately it happens in evangelical churches as well. It’s possible to water down the gospel and add to the gospel a lot of things that sound good, and are what we want to hear, what we want to believe is true, and yet miss the mark of saving faith.  It’s important that as Paul says, our faith is according to Christ.  According to His word.  According to His gospel.

And the gospel of Christ is simply this; that every man and woman is a sinner, and condemned to eternal death as a result of their sin.  But Christ Jesus the Lord came to save sinners, to give them eternal life by offering Himself as our substitute in death, that by faith in HIs atoning work we might be justified and given the righteousness of Jesus Christ, who is King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, and who is coming again to take His people to be with Him forever in His Kingdom of righteousness.  

If you believe that gospel, if you receive that gospel, if you have believed in Jesus as your Savior, and confess Him as your Lord, your King, then so walk in Him, walk in His righteousness, walk in obedience to Him, walk in His teaching,  having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, from a heart overflowing with gratitude.  Walk in Him. Bear the fruit of righteousness in gratitude as your response for what He has done for you.  

Hebrews 12:28-29 says, “Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe;  for our God is a consuming fire.”   Let us close in prayer.

True Knowledge and wisdom, Colossians 2:1-5

Most Bible scholars agree that there was a dangerous heresy which had begun to surface in the Colossians church which had been reported by Epaphras to Paul, and was thus the reason for Paul writing this epistle.  Though Paul had not ever visited Colossae, yet as the apostle to the Gentiles he was nevertheless concerned about them, and no doubt felt a certain responsibility for them.

Last time, I used the term Gnostic Judaism to describe this heresy, which obviously tries to tie certain elements of Gnosticism with Judaism.  It would seem to include a blend of the worship of angels, a generous measure of philosophy, and a certain measure of asceticism which stemmed from certain Jewish requirements regarding the law.  

There is a term for the blending of such disparate elements together which is called synergism.  Synergism is two or more components blended or working together which produce a total that is greater than their individual parts.  That term seems to sum up the heresy of the Colossians. Simply stated, they thought that Christian doctrine alone was not sufficient.  They believed the gospel needed human philosophy and a measure of spiritualism added to it to make it more effective, and more fulfilling.

So at the root of this heresy was human philosophy. Philosophy refers to knowledge, or human wisdom. And in this sense, philosophy was closely related to the subjects of religion, reality, natural science, and existence.  Philosophia is the Greek term that means a love of wisdom. And the Greeks loved what they perceived to be the pursuit of wisdom.  But Paul warned in vs 8; “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.”  So philosophy was part of the dangerous heresy confronting the church.

As I’m sure you know, Greece is the birthplace for philosophy and it had become popular long before Christ came on the scene in Israel.  Socrates was the father of philosophy and Plato and Aristotle his disciples.  And so Colossae being a Greek city of some standing there was a great appetite for this higher knowledge that they thought helped to complete what was lacking in the gospel.  And so Paul is writing to refute this type of thinking and the dangerous teaching that was finding it’s way into the church.

Now this false teaching was not just a failing of the church at Colossae, but it has become prevalent in the church today.  The church at large doesn’t think that the gospel alone is sufficient and so they add to it a mix of science and human philosophy. Man’s wisdom, knowledge, psychology, and philosophy has so pervaded Christian teaching so that it has become virtually indistinguishable from the gospel.  The modern Christian accepts Christian doctrine as long as it is compatible with their philosophy.  And so he calls himself a Christian.  But in his thinking his philosophy is central and Christ’s gospel is manipulated to being in support of it.

Now if you look carefully at this epistle, you can’t help but notice the emphasis on this philosophy and false knowledge and worldly wisdom in Paul’s writing. In some cases, he is using a play on words, taking terms that were associated with their teaching and applying them to the gospel. Starting in chapter 1, vs 5 and 6, Paul speaks of the word of God as truth, which is the gospel.  And from that foundation of truth, they are to be “be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.”  Now in contrast to Gnosticism, which professed to achieve spiritualness apart from the body, Paul says this knowledge and wisdom from God produces fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.

Gnosticism, this false knowledge and wisdom,  promised that you could reach a spiritual state apart from the physical. It taught that you could attain knowledge and wisdom from spiritual beings apart from the word of God.  It taught that you could spiritually live in a plane above sin, and even though sin was alive in your body it did not affect you spiritually. But Paul is saying that real spirituality comes from true knowledge of God through Christ, and true knowledge produces godliness. 

You hear a lot today about people who claim to be spiritual, but have little regard for the church, and very little regard even for the word of God.  They may claim all sorts of spiritual revelation for some mysterious spiritual connection to God.  In a similar way, Gnosticism considered their false brand of spiritualism as a mystery, some sort of deeper knowledge gained through the intercession of angels, or spirits, and through the wisdom of philosophy. But Paul relates the true wisdom in vs 27 and 28 as being found in Christ through the preaching of the gospel.

Then at the end of chapter one Paul says he is laboring or striving for the purpose of being able to present the church to Christ as complete.  Not just enlightened spiritually, but complete in their salvation from the penalty of sin, the power of sin, and the presence of sin. To be complete in the sense that they were in practice what they claimed by profession.  Paul is saying that is the point of his labor, and he is striving mightily to accomplish that in the church. 

Now as we look at chapter 2, Paul takes this idea further of laboring or striving on their behalf and says he is wrestling, or struggling on the behalf of the Colossians. He uses a word there which can mean a fight or a contest, but it particularly was used in the context of the Greek games, as a contest in front of an arena of spectators.  

I think Paul is speaking of engaging in spiritual warfare, in the arena of the church and witnessed by heaven. I can’t help but think of his statement in Eph 6:12 which says, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places].”

So Paul was spiritually fighting for the faith among the church at Colossae, and also he says for the church at Laodicea.  Laodicea was a neighboring city about 10 miles away.  It would be comparable to the relationship between Bethany and Rehoboth.  And in vs 1, Paul indicates that he had not visited either town, nor probably even that region, and so no one had seen his face. They knew him by reputation, by position as an apostle, but not in person.

So how did Paul contend for the spiritual maturity of the churches there then if he had never visited them?  One way is that he fought for them in prayer.  You go back to Ephesians six which we just quoted from concerning spiritual warfare, and you will see that prayer is a primary means of conducting our warfare.  After listing the armor of God, Paul says in vs18 “With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,  and [pray] on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel.”

You know, we talked recently about the ministry of reconciliation which is assigned to all of us.  We talked about what your ministry should be as a member of Christ’s church.  We often look for ministry opportunities which we think are appropriate to our talents or our skill set.  And of course, we all think we have worthy talents that will really help God out and that he can magnify and use.  Have you seen the latest ministry that churches are advertising on their bulletins lately?  They call it a life coach. This is someone who obviously has it together, who is going to help you get it together.  They focus on heath, and finances, and making goals, and relationships.  All human wisdom and skill with an occasional dash of Christianity sprinkled in. How to have your best life now - take a life coaching class at your local church.

But the ministry of prayer is one that I suggest we have all been given, and yet for the most part we have sorely neglected. Perhaps because it is not a ministry that many people are going to see us do.  And also, because intercessory prayer is hard labor.  I think that is what Paul is referring to here.  Laboring, striving, wrestling, fighting in prayer for the Colossian church.  And it’s something that we should be doing as well. It is our ministry, our responsibility. It doesn’t take a lot of talent, just dedication.  It takes time, time spent on your knees in prayer for someone, laboring in prayer for them.  Wrestling with angelic principalities through prayer on the behalf of the church.

Now look at what Paul was praying for; vs 2, “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.”  

It’s amazing isn’t it, how Paul manages to rebuke their false knowledge in such a positive way. He doesn’t just flat out condemn them for their heresy, but he manages to state it in a positive way, while at the same time addressing what was in error.  Proverbs says, “as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.”  So Paul is concerned that their hearts are encouraged. The heart is the source of our will, our emotions and our intellect.  If the people at Colossae are going to live their lives in obedience to the truth then it’s important that it starts in the heart.  If their heart is right, then their behavior will be right.

Jesus said in Matt. 15:18-19 "But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.”  That’s why David cried out, “Create in me a clean heart O Lord, and renew a right spirit in me.” A clean heart produces a right spirit, which produces right behavior.  

Paul prays that their hearts may be encouraged.  But that word in the Greek means more than what we typically think of when we think of encouraged. It is also used for implore, to comfort, to strengthen, to teach. Perhaps you might say, that their hearts may be exhorted.  Exhortation has to do with the will of man. It’s a call to action.  It’s not just a theoretical or intellectual agreement only, but a call to action.  Exhortation is not just to produce intellectual assent, but to prod into action. 

And what is Paul calling them to action to do?  To love one another.  “Having been knit together in love.” Love is the tie that binds Christians together.  Christian love is the glue of the church. But as we have often discussed, Christian love does not refer to affection, or sentimentality.  But it refers to a sacrificial commitment to put another’s needs and benefit ahead of your own.

As I have said repeatedly, the church is not just a place to have your own needs met, or even just to be “fed”, as we often hear people claim.  But the church assembles to serve one another, to love one another, to encourage one another.  And let me tell you something. It doesn’t take much to encourage one another or to discourage one another.  Just showing up is an important means of encouraging others. When you come together as an assembly you identify with one another. When you see one another at church you recognize that you share in some way with them.  They feel connected with you because you are there.  And that’s an encouragement to them.  

I suppose it could be related to going to a football game.  When you attend something like that you identify with others who share your enthusiasm for your team.  You feel connected with them even if you don’t know the people attending. And the same is true in church.  And if you take it a step further and speak to someone and shake their hand or give them a hug, that can be an incredible encouragement to someone.  And we can do so much more than that. For instance, as I said earlier, we can begin to pray for one another.  To really labor in prayer for someone else can be the source of tremendous blessing not only for them, but also for you. But if we at least show up, assemble together as a church, that alone can be an immense encouragement to someone.

And then the other blessing that comes from assembling together as a church, provided you are being taught the word of God, is, as Paul says in vs 2, “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.”

The false knowledge and wisdom of the Gnostics led to spiritual bankruptcy.  But Paul says that the true knowledge and understanding, or wisdom, is like gaining wealth.  He is talking about spiritual riches.  Being filled, being complete. Wealth in an agrarian culture was correlated to your crops bearing fruit, or your cattle bearing offspring. And in human terms, bearing fruit 30 fold, or 60 fold, or 100 fold comes from understanding the true knowledge of God’s mystery.  Paul loves to use that word mystery.  It simply means something that was hidden that is now been revealed.  And he says the mystery of God is Christ himself.  The mystery of God was manifested in Christ.

The Gnostic Judaiser false teachers at Colossae were all about mysteries.  They professed to have secret knowledge of spiritual matters which they could teach you to understand if you conformed to their doctrines. Paul uses similar language in 1 Corinthians 13 and 14 to talk about speaking in tongues (secret languages) or word of knowledge which were gained through some spiritual experience.  That same emphasis is happening a  lot of charismatic churches today.  Having some sort of mysterious spiritual experience which supersedes knowing God through the truth of His word. Notice how Paul repeatedly takes this pet word of the Gnostics, mysteries, and uses it to describe the truth of God which is revealed in Christ.  Back in chapter one vs 27 Paul talked about the mystery, which he said is Christ in you, the hope of glory.  That salvation provides the indwelling of the Spirit of Christ in us now, who is the deposit of our future hope of glory, where we will one day see Him face to face in our glorification.

Now Paul elaborates on that mystery, saying it is Christ, “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”  In other words, knowledge and wisdom are not to be sought from philosophy or some spiritual experience, but it is understood as we come to know Christ.  I think that knowledge is different from wisdom in the sense that wisdom is knowledge applied.  Knowledge is the accumulation of facts, but wisdom is the application of those facts. And that again addresses the problem with Gnosticism.  They claimed heavenly knowledge, but it did them no earthly good. Because they did not apply it to godly living, but only cerebrally. 

But when we are conformed to the image of Christ, then we become complete in body, soul and spirit.  In 1Thess. 5:23 Paul ties sanctification to completeness.  Not just our spirit, but all three; spirit, soul and body.  He says, “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  Sanctification is a progressive state for the Christian.  It is daily dying to sin, growing in knowledge, growing in wisdom, growing in the word, growing in likeness to Christ.  It’s an essential part of our salvation. but a part that is sadly overlooked and under taught in most churches today.  

The grace of God in justification never fails to be taught in most churches, be they conservative or liberal.  And the hope of glorification in heaven never fails to be taught.  But sanctification is what we do and how we live in the middle stage between justification and glorification.  It’s how we live in the here and now.  And that is to be growing in conformity to Jesus Christ.  Growing in the likeness of Jesus Christ.  Letting Him live in me and through me, and dying to self.  And to do that, I must grow in knowledge of Him, and in wisdom apply that knowledge in practical living.

So on this subject of the so called spiritual quality of knowledge and mysteries that the Colossians were starting to pay attention to, Paul figuratively dumps a bucket of the water.  He says in vs 4 “I say this so that no one will delude you with persuasive argument.”  There is a reason that such arguments may be persuasive.  And that’s because we find them appealing to begin with.  They appeal to our baser instincts.  These false doctrines appeal to our flesh, to the lusts of the flesh.  All of us like things that appeal to our baser natures.  We like what makes us feel good, what makes us look good. 

And philosophy and deceptive spiritual doctrines play to those desires. They appeal to our baser nature.  It’s appealing because we want to believe we can have our cake and eat it too.  We want spirituality, we want some heavenly knowledge or spiritual experience to assure us of our eternal security, but we don’t want to have to sacrifice anything enjoyable on earth in order to have it. And any false teacher who can claim that you can have both will certainly be a popular teacher.

Paul reminds them of the truth of the gospel so that they would not be deceived.  So they would not be deluded by persuasive arguments. Paul said in 1Cor. 2:2 “For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.”  Our protection against such false teaching is to focus on Christ alone, and His crucifixion.  In that, we have all the wisdom that we need.

Then in vs 5, Paul alludes to the fact that even though he is not with them in person, yet he is able to contend for them in spirit, to protect them from false teaching which threatens to undermine the church.  He says “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.” Once again, Paul manages to couch correction in a positive tone.  He is confident His prayers will prevail for their benefit.  And of course, he adds to his prayers the writing of this epistle, which will be read as a sermon to the church, and which is the inspired word of God which is the only reliable source of wisdom and knowledge.

Paul says he rejoices to see their good discipline and stability of their faith in Christ.  One has to wonder if Paul isn’t using flattery as a means of inducing them to do what he wants them to do.  But he also just said that he was warning them so they wouldn’t be deluded by persuasive arguments.  And so we can assume that they had not swallowed the hook yet, but perhaps had just been tasting the lure.  

What is important from Paul’s perspective is that they have a firm foundation in their faith. That they are not tossed here and there by every wind of doctrine.  As he said to the Ephesian church in Eph 4:14-16 “As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;  but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all [aspects] into Him who is the head, [even] Christ,  from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.”

Growing up, that’s where the discipline part comes in. As part of our growing up, after our new birth, our heavenly Father disciplines us.  And we also discipline ourselves in holiness lest we become a castaway or become shipwrecked in our faith.  A great passage on discipline is found in Heb 12:6-14 FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES."  It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom [his] father does not discipline?  But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.  Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live?  For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He [disciplines us] for [our] good, so that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.  Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble,  and make straight paths for your feet, so that [the limb] which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.  Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.”

If we are children of God, then He will raise us to be like Christ, which is the process of sanctification.  And He will discipline us to correct us, and conform us.  But the goal is not to punish us, but to complete us.  So we can rejoice in discipline, because it assures us of our sonship and that God loves us, and it will complete in us what He has begun.  And we also need self discipline so that we don’t fall under the judgment of God.  As Paul said in 1Co 11:31 “But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged.”

I pray that you may be found complete in Christ, that all may see your good discipline and the stability of your faith as you apply the knowledge of God in all wisdom and understanding.