Let us pray. Father, we thank You for the Holy Scripture and we thank You for the letters of Paul and for their instruction to the churches of Christ. We pray as a church that You would fill us with all understanding, that You would give us that knowledge that Paul prays for and Paul calls churches to have, and give us forgiveness for all of our sin and for falling so short of Your glory. God, we thank You that there is mercy in You Thank You, God, that there is grace.
And thank You that there is the Holy Spirit who guides us and who leads us and who chastens us and who encourages us. And we pray for that ministry even now. And we ask through Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
Opening Prayer
Now, the battle for the heart is ultimately waged by words. Words are the means by which sound doctrine is imparted. But words are also the means by which heresy and false teaching and departures from sound doctrine are also imparted. And in this particular section, Paul now begins to address specifically a problem that was arising in the church in Colossae.
He says in verse 4 of chapter 2, Now this I say, lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words. We need to understand the power of words. We need to understand ideas have consequences. And what we give our attention to, what we give our mind to, what we give our study to, will affect us with reference to our God.
It will affect our standing before Him and it will affect our practice in terms of the Word of God.
Introduction
Now just to see something of the structure in this epistle up to this point. As I said, verses 1 to 5 are closely related to verses 24 to 29. They are an expansion or an explanation or an illustration of Paul's ministry on behalf of the Christians in Colossae. Notice in verse 29, he says, to this end I also labor.
And he says, striving according to his working which works in me mightily. That word striving is the word agonizing. Or we might say struggling. Well, in chapter 2 at verse 1, when he says, I want you to know what a great conflict.
He's saying the same thing. What a great struggle. What great agony I have. So this is a concrete illustration of Paul's striving ministry in terms of the audience that he is writing to.
In chapter 2, I'm sorry, in chapter 2, verses 1 to 5, we have, as it were, the close of the introductory section of the epistle. It's a long introduction, but nevertheless, that does all serve as introduction to the body. The body is from 2.6 on to 4.6. 2.6, there is a command given, so walk in Him. And that forms the basis of the letter.
There have been many commands that follow in chapter 2 and 3 up to verse 6 in chapter 4. So that's something of the structure. And if in chapter 1, 24 to 29 we saw Paul's sufferings, stewardship and preaching with reference to his ministry, here in this section we see his conflict and his concern for the disciples to whom he ministers. And that's how we'll take up our exposition this morning.
Paul's Conflict Over the Churches
First is Paul's conflict over them, verses 1 to 3. And secondly will be Paul's concern for them in verses 4 and 5. But we notice in Paul's conflict, the nature of it. Again, a concrete illustration, a concrete example.
We asked him, what do you mean, Paul, you strive according to His working which works in me mightily? Well, he answers by saying, I want you to know what a great striving or what a great struggle I have. And
Nature of the Conflict: Agonizing Prayer
primarily the struggle is one in prayer. Remember, he's in a prison. He's not present with them. In fact, He's going to say that's one of the reasons He's writing to them.
Though I am absent in the flesh, I am present with you in the Spirit. We need to understand the nature of His struggle is primarily one at the throne of grace. And I would ask you, before we even begin to look at Paul, do you know what it is to struggle in prayer? To have conflict in prayer?
To suffer agony in prayer? See, sound doctrine and the truth of Christ mattered so much to the Apostle Paul that when churches were in danger of falling prey to false teaching, Paul went to his knees, he went to his face, and he went before the throne of God and he struggled on behalf of those who were affected by false teaching. One lexicon says struggle. The picture is that of an athletic contest which is strenuous and demanding.
This is the kind of importunate prayer that Jesus spoke of in Luke 18. He gave a parable of a woman who was not content to let an unjust judge not render a verdict pleasing to her. So she was persistent. She kept on at it.
And Jesus says, learn a lesson here. If this unjust judge who doesn't fear God answers this widow, shall not God avenge His own elect who cry to Him day and night? As I was going through this passage, I couldn't escape a particular implication that the prevalence of bad theology in our day The prevalence of bad doctrine, the prevalence of heresy, and the prevalence of just so little knowledge of truth in the churches of Christ is probably owing to some degree that there is a lack of strugglers at the throne of grace. That when we go to pray, God's name, God's kingdom, and God's will is not the most important things to us. that when we go to pray, our name, our kingdom, and our will is most important to us.
If we genuinely took every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, if we genuinely desired the truth of God to permeate not only the world, but our churches that exhibit almost a biblical illiteracy, we would be struggling at the throne of grace on behalf of this situation. This man goes on to say, the struggle here is not the struggle against God, but the intense effort of the one praying as he struggles within himself and against those who oppose the gospel. You want to do something to oppose the Benny Hins of our day? Pray.
You want to do something to oppose those charlatans and those heretics that go up in the name of Jesus and lead multitudes astray? Go to pray! Agonize! Strive!
Struggle! Go to the throne of grace and let your requests be made known to God. F.F. Bruce says, the conflict is waged in the spiritual realm.
The opposition is the false teaching to which the churches of the Lycus Valley are exposed. Paul struggled. Paul had a great conflict. Not only did he suffer, not only did he have a stewardship, not only did he preach, but he had a conflict in his spiritual life because of the prevalence of error and heresy.
And I submit, if that prevalence of error and heresy threatening those churches in the Lycos Valley promoted some distress to the Apostle, certainly, certainly the internet and the Christian evangelical world and the charismatic movement and all of the various things that threaten biblical orthodoxy in our day will promote prayer on the part of His people. Sometimes it saddens me that we can't pray for 45 minutes as a church. We have to end a prayer meeting early. There's no reflection on the brethren that are there whatsoever.
We can't sustain 45 minutes for prayer? In our generation? When there's so many threats against biblical orthodoxy? When abortion numbers are off the charts?
The sodomites are getting civil rights, and divorce rates, and family, and all those things are under constant attack. We, as the Free Grace Baptist Church, can't sustain a 45 minute prayer meeting. We have forgotten Paul's admonition to Timothy. First of all, I exhort that prayers, supplications, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men.
Our church is going to advance solely by the grace of God and through the power of prayer. If we value our church, we will value those means that He has given to prosper this church. Paul's struggle The spiritual health of Christians in churches greatly affected the Apostle Paul. Heresy was such an affront to the Gospel that the Apostle met it and struggled against it in prayer.
Beneficiaries of the Conflict
Notice its beneficiaries, his conflict. We've seen its nature. We notice its beneficiaries. You, he says, verse 1.
I want you to know what a great conflict I have for you. Who's you? Well, it's the Colossian church. We know that from verse 2. of chapter 1, to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are in Colossae.
But it wasn't only the Colossians, but those in Laodicea. Remember the Lycus Valley? There was Colossae, there was Laodicea, there was Keropolis as well. Probably churches founded through the preaching of Epaphras, the man mentioned already in chapter 1.
Paul is at the school of Tyrannus when he is in Ephesus. He spends several months, a year or two years there, preaching the Word so that all Asia, Asia Minor, heard the Word of the Lord. Epaphras probably came to the school of Tyrannus. He gets converted.
He goes back to his home in the Lycus Valley. And through his effort, through his prayer, through his proclamation, through his faithful witness, we see these churches established. And Paul is concerned for that. So it's the church in Colossae, the church in Laodicea, and then he says, "...and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh." We need to understand the implication here.
Paul is agonizing in prayer for people he has never met in his life. That's amazing. Is that us? I sometimes feel like we live in the generation of the unholy trinity, when me, myself, and I is about all we think about.
Now, I'm not suggesting that it was much better at the time that Paul lived. There's nothing new under the sun. There's always been sin. Sinners have always been contending with God for supremacy.
But this is the me generation. I wonder how many of us pray for those who we've never met, we've never seen, and probably will never see. Well, that's what characterized Paul. Paul agonizes in prayer for those Christians who are personally unknown to him and yet spiritually dear to him.
Adopt some place on the map and start to learn about what they go through for the cause of Christ. and make it a part of your prayer life to bring them before the Lord God. A place like Gambia, a place like Maldives, big places like North Korea or Saudi Arabia, places that are very opposed to the Christian gospel. My encouragement to you is to find a place on the map, learn about that place, and start to pray for them as an expression of Pauline prayer. This is what characterized this particular brother.
Objectives of the Conflict
We notice thirdly, with reference to his conflict over them, its objectives. Why was he conflicted? Why was he agonizing? Why was he striving?
Because he had four things in mind. He had four objectives for them as the church.
Encouraged in Heart
The first is that they would be encouraged in heart. Verse 2, that their hearts may be encouraged. The old King James has comfort. The idea is not here that they needed some feel good.
They didn't just need the comfort of a big pillow. They needed strengthening. They needed encouraging so that they would not depart from biblical orthodoxy. So that they would not turn back from the truth of Jesus Christ.
Heart, biblically speaking, is not confined to emotions or feelings. Heart, very often in the Scripture, is used synonymously with the mind. Douglas Mook defines it this way, or says it this way, references to the heart in the Bible require English speakers to distance themselves from their own culture. For the strong tendency in modern English is to use heart with reference to the emotions.
Whereas in Scripture, heart designates the center of the personality, the source of willing and thinking in addition to feeling. Hence, it is a new heart that God promises in order to transform His people's basic orientation toward Himself. I will give them a new heart, He promises in Ezekiel 36. It is the inner man.
It is the seat of thinking, of willing, of emoting. The heart is comprehensive. It's not just that area of your feelings. Paul doesn't want them just to feel good.
Paul wants them strengthened. He wants them encouraged so that they're able to stand fast against the encroaching heresy that is affecting the Lycus Valley. You see what he is doing. He wants them to pull together and to be strong.
And that brings up the next point.
United in Love
He wants them to be united in love. What does that have to do with anything? He says that their hearts may be encouraged being knit together in love. While it is good in Sunday school to sing about Daniel and daring to stand alone, the Bible sees that we are to be in community.
Individualism is not God's norm. It's not God's means by which we grow and we are strong and we are helped along to heaven. Jesus died for sinners and brought them into churches, imperfect as they are. filled with blemishes and warts and character flaws as they are, Jesus has established churches for the safety of His people. You see, heretics are like predators.
Heretics are like the cheetah or the leopard who sees a herd of prey animals and waits till one strays from the flock. waits till the baby wanders away from its mother. Why? Because when that one is on its own, it is far more susceptible to attack. It's that way with the church.
I don't think we fully appreciate that. I don't think we fully understand how important my contribution to the church is. Not my, Jim Butler, but your contribution to the church is. There is safety and there is strength among the people of God.
Paul says, I want your hearts to be encouraged and strengthened. I want you to be united in love. I want you to stand together. I want you to be strong together.
The predators will seek the one and will affect them and will give them false teaching with the hope and the view of that one going back into the herd and then beginning to disseminate the heresy among the whole herd. That's generally the way it happens in the church. I love what John Gill said, As love is the bond of union between God and His people, Christ and His members, so between saints and saints. It is the cement that joins and keeps them together, and which edifies and builds them up, and whereby they increase with the increase of God.
It makes them to be of one heart and one soul. It renders their communion with one another comfortable and delightful. And strengthens them against the common enemy who is for dividing and so destroying. You see, one of the marks of heresy is confusion.
It's division. Paul says, I want you to be united in love. I want you to band together. I want you to join arm in arm.
I know what these false teachers are like. I know how they operate. I know how they seek to prey on the weak, on the isolated. You need to grab everyone and you need to hold on and you need to withstand because they're coming.
He mentions a third thing.
Full Assurance of Understanding
He says, I want you to have an assurance of understanding, attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding. Paul wants Christians, funny enough, growing in their understanding of truth. Boy, Paul, don't you know Christians today are busy? I want them to grow in their understanding.
Don't you know they have several demands on their time? I want them to carve out time to understand more of God. Don't you realize the kinds of things that happen? You need to grow in your understanding.
You need to have that full assurance of the understanding. You need to grow in theology. You need to appreciate truth. You need to take in more of Holy Scripture with a peculiar interest, fourthly, on the knowledge of God's mystery.
Paul wants Christians growing in their understanding of spiritual truth, and with a specific view to understanding the mystery. The mystery, again, is something that at one time was hidden, but has now been revealed. Paul defines that mystery for us in chapter 1, verses 26 and 27, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. So Paul says, I want you to understand the truth as it specifically hones in on the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I want you to give yourself to the study of God. He's already prayed that for them in chapter 1. Notice in chapter 1 at verse 9. 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.
Why? That you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God." Boy, Paul is stubborn, isn't he? He not only prays it, but He's going to actually say, this is one of the objectives for my gospel ministry, is that you churches in the Lycus Valley will grow in your understanding, will know more of the mystery of God. Why?
Because your soul is at stake. He's not just saying this. You know, there's some knowledge out there that's very helpful, very profitable. Kids, listen.
You should pay attention in school. You should learn about mathematics. You should learn about the sciences. You should learn English.
You should learn all those things, because there is promise of benefit. What's the promise of benefit? You graduate high school, you may go on to university, and you'll find yourself in a good career, a good job. You'll be able to make money, which isn't a sin, as long as you don't worship it. but you'll be able to make money and provide for your wife and have children and be able to carry on as a Christian man or woman in the world that God has placed you.
There is profit to that knowledge, but not like this knowledge. You see, what causes Paul agony What causes Paul's struggle, what causes Paul's striving, is that if Christians in the Lycus Valley, or Christians in Chilliwack, or the Fraser Valley, depart from the truth as it is in Jesus, it's not a matter of them not getting good jobs, it's a matter of them going to hell. It's a matter of them suffering the wrath and condemnation of God for all eternity. It's a matter of them bringing dishonor and shame to the name of Christ.
It is a matter of them, perhaps, pulling others down around them. You see, everything matters about this acquisition of knowledge, this growth in understanding, this understanding of the knowledge of God in Christ. Everything depends on this. That's why He agonizes.
It's nature, it's beneficiaries, it's objectives, and
The Remedy: Christ as All Wisdom
fourthly and finally, with reference to His conflict, it's remedy. Notice in verse 3, "...in whom," points us back to Christ at the end of verse 2, "...in whom, in Christ, are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Christ is the sum and substance of the mystery, and He is their source of strength and safety." You want to be safe? No Christ.
You want to be strong? No Christ. You want to be on guard against those who try to tell you persuasive words to take your soul to hell? No Christ.
The very passage presupposes the existence of those who will come with persuasive words trying to deceive you. I mean, what kind of a sick puppy does that? It's not enough for them to imbibe false doctrine and go off to hell on their own. They want to grab as many people as possible?
Paul says such sick puppies actually exist. They're not puppies. Puppies wouldn't do that. It's hard to compare men to animals because men sin willfully against God.
Animals don't. They do what they're supposed to do. Paul says in Galatians 1, there are some who want to distort the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul says to the Galatians, I marvel that you're so quickly turning from him who called you to another gospel, which is not another.
But there are those who want to distort, want to disturb, want to pervert that gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul says to have a full assurance of understanding and to know the mystery is to be consumed with Jesus Christ. Douglas Moo again with reference to this verse, verse 3, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. He says it does not match the hymn of chapter 1, verses 15 to 20 for exalted language in reference to Christ, but it expresses beautifully and compactly the cutting edge Christological point that is Paul's driving concern.
Christ is the one in whom is to be found all that one needs in order to understand spiritual reality and to lead a life pleasing to God. Isn't it something about us that we always want more? In many respects, we are like the leech in that regard. The Bible actually compares us to animals on occasion.
He says, the leech has two daughters. Give and give. It's never enough for the leech. They want more.
John Calvin said that at times Christians are not content with the simplicity of the gospel and aspire to higher things. I couldn't amen the Geneva Reformer more. We need to master one subject. It's Jesus.
We need to be consumed with the One in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Paul is saying a mouthful if you understand the Bible. Who is the source of wisdom and knowledge according to Hannah in 1 Samuel 2? The Lord God.
Who does the Psalter continually attribute all wisdom and knowledge to? But the Lord God. Who does the prophet Isaiah say that all knowledge and wisdom is in? The Lord God.
What is Paul saying to us in this verse? That Jesus is the Lord God. He is the One in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. So, you need to be about Christ.
You need to study Christ. You need to learn about Jesus. You need to read His Word. You need to pray.
You need to follow Him. You need to be so absorbed with Christ that you are then safe from the invaders. That you are safe from those who would attack you. That you are safe from those who would try to wreak havoc on your soul.
This is what Paul is saying. If the heretics in Colossae were teaching knowledge gained by means other than Christ, Paul's corrective is most powerful. There is not another road to gain this wisdom and knowledge. You know, some speculate that the heretics were teaching an early form of what's called Gnosticism.
And basically Gnosticism is a claim, sort of a direct line to God, where He tells you things, or where He's made you aware of certain truths that aren't available to everyone else. Paul says, hogwash, garbage. It's wrong. God, in His kindness and in His grace, has revealed Himself through the prophets. through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, through the apostles.
And our blessed privilege is to study His Word, to strengthen our hearts, to stand fast, to stand firm, to not give an inch. The language of that former Prime Minister, never give up, never give up, never give up. That's what Paul envisions for Christians. And the way that we do it is through our knowledge of Jesus Christ.
Paul's Concern Against Persuasive Words
And then notice by way of a second broad category, Paul's concern for them in verses 4 and 5. It's a bit of a transitional passage as Paul moves from setting Christ before them in all of his glory to talking about his own ministry on their behalf. Now he's going to address the issue head-on, which he will do in a sustained manner throughout chapter 2. He will caution them.
He will call them to beware. And here he says, I say this, or now this I say, lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words. He faces the threat of the Colossian heresy head on. He wants the believers to resist the temptation for something more.
I'm going to tell you, if you have Christ, you have it all. That's what Paul is going to tell you in verse 10. And you are complete in Him. Christ isn't like food today, where, you know, our diet is so woefully deficient, we take supplements, right?
Well, most of us probably don't eat enough fish, so they've got fish pills. That's an interesting procedure. I don't even like to mentally envision it. How they get fish oil into a fish pill is an amazing process in my mind.
I got this view that they're squeezing on a salmon and sort of funneling it down into these little capsules and putting them together and putting them in a bottle and selling this as a supplement because you're deficient in your omega-3 fatty acids. So you buy this bottle of pills in order to supplement your woefully deficient diet. Christianity is not a... it doesn't need supplementation. This was what was going on in the Lycus Valley.
You had guys coming along saying, Jesus is good, but in order to have so much more, take our pill. Swallow our capsule. Come to our conference. Listen to our doctrine.
Paul says, I'm scared. I'm agonizing. I don't want you people to fall for persuasive words. I don't want you to be led astray.
I don't want your ears to be tickled and you give in to it. If it isn't consistent with Holy Scripture, reject it. Don't play games with it. What you think is fish oil supplementing your diet could be arsenic, could be cyanide, could be something that is going to sink you into a coma.
Paul says, I'm concerned for you. Again, Doug Moon, I think he hits the nail on the head. He says, paying too much attention to fine-sounding arguments can deceive us about religious and spiritual truth. Oh, but you should hear him.
He's really good. Is he speaking the truth? How do we measure a man's ministry? By how it sounds?
Or by the sum and substance of the content? Is it biblical? Sixteen ounces to the pound exposition of Holy Writ. That's the mark of a man's ministry.
Not fine-sounding arguments. Do you know how many people have been led off the narrow path by fine-sounding arguments, by persuasive words, by competitors selling their wares, saying you could have so much more? You know what? God orchestrated a simple approach to salvation.
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. Join a church and grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. There's no razzmatazz here. There really isn't.
There's no sensationalism in the pages of Holy Scripture. The last letters of Paul are what's called the pastoral epistles, 1st and 2nd Timothy and Titus. You know what Paul's main emphasis throughout those epistles are? Sound doctrine.
In fact, Paul's swan song command is this, preach the word. Paul, what have you learned as you're about to die and go the way of all flesh and join your Savior in heaven? This one thing I've learned. Timothy, preach the Word.
Be ready in season and out of season. The way you are to preach the Word, Timothy, is this way. Convince, rebuke, exhort. And I want you to do it with all longsuffering because sometimes God's people Don't immediately respond.
Not only with all long-suffering, but with teaching. You see, biblical preaching is to instruct the hearers in the truth of God. And as one of the primary reasons, Timothy, why I'm leaving you this charge, because the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine. That passage baffles me even more than putting salmon oil into a capsule.
Paul's antidote to a church that does not want sound doctrine is the proclamation of sound doctrine. Did you get that? So if Timothy would have got on the phone or on the email, if it would have been available back then, he said, Paul, guess what? The church I'm ministering in, they don't want sound doctrine.
What do I do? Probably thinking, Paul would say, well, put Sound Doctrine on the back burner. Bring in some puppets. Bring in some ponies.
Have some trapeze artists, some high wire. You know, have all the jugglers. Have all the razzmatazz. And you know, for that season when they won't endure Sound Doctrine, maybe this will be another means to salve their consciences and to help them.
Paul writes back, preach Sound Doctrine. Oui. You're the apostle. Timothy goes back to church on Sunday, looks out at Ephesus.
They're not enduring sound doctrine. He says, open your Bibles because I'm going to preach to you sound doctrine. That encourages me. That helps me.
That helps me a lot. Paul does not want them to fall prey to persuasive words. Douglas Moos says, Paul has no doubt about the vital importance of spiritual truth, and he knows how perilously easy it is for believers to be led astray by high-flown rhetoric, or in our own day, by multimedia presentations. The antidote for such false teachings is the cogent proof of Christ's absolute supremacy and exclusivity.
Persuasive words can take on many appearances. High-sounding rhetoric can look good for a time. But as we learn in the prophet Isaiah, to the law and to the testimony. They don't speak according to this.
They are to be rejected. Paul says, I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in spirit. This is one of the reasons for his concern. You know if Paul was there, he'd be there.
He'd be preaching. He'd be ministering. He'd be loving on them. But he's in a prison cell in Rome, many, many miles away.
I'm absent from you in the flesh, but I'm present with you in the spirit. One man, Gordon Fee, says it should be a capital S slash small s spirit. Not just his personal spirit, like, you know, I feel for the struggles you're going with, you know, I'm with you in spirit. No, by virtue of the fact that he has been given this stewardship by God, that he is an apostle to the Gentiles, not only in his own personal spirit, but because he is in union with Christ, and they are in union with Christ, the Holy Spirit of God is at work binding them together.
Paul has authority based on who he is. And he is exercising it now, calling them to reject the persuasive words of those who don't care one bit for them. Because you know, when all is said and done, that's the reality. Paul suffered for them.
Paul counted himself a steward for them. Paul preached. Paul is concerned. Paul is conflicted.
Paul's teachers don't care. They don't care. They're looking to build themselves up. They're looking to get money.
They're looking to further their cause, whatever the case may be. Paul is the real deal, showing his concern, saying, I'm not with you physically, but that is not to imply I'm not there spiritually. I am there with you in the trenches. I am there with you in the battle.
I am there with you. And this is the instruction that I give. I want you to be encouraged and resist these things. But, you know, we need to understand the state of the church there wasn't a lost cause.
Don't you love that at the very end of verse 3? To see your good order and the steadfastness, or rejoicing to see your good order and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ. The church had started well. Colossians 1, 7 and 8.
The church is going well, so it's not the past and it's not the present that Paul is concerned about, it's the future. One man has well said, this letter to the Colossians is a vaccination against potential heresy. It's not an antibiotic for those who've already been plagued. You see, as the church was small and as it was growing in influence and in power, people were saying, hey, we can make money off of this.
People were saying, hey, we can infiltrate. These people are nice, they love, we can come in and we can lead them astray. Whether they were that brazen or not, at least their actions were. And so it was encroaching.
It was a problem on the horizon. Paul takes pen to paper in order to give them this vaccination so that they don't fall prey to the false teaching. that is prevalent in the Lycus Valley. The Colossian Christians have started well. They are continuing well.
It is the future that Paul is concerned about. Paul is a future-oriented minister of the Lord Jesus Christ, and he wants the church not only presently to fare well, but he wants them to fare well in the future as well. That's the thrust of the section. Verses 1 to 5 go along with the exposition of his ministry in verses 24 to 29 of chapter 1.
Application: The Goal of Gospel Ministry
And as we conclude our study, we learn a few lessons, and the first is the goal for gospel ministry. I don't think Paul wrote this saying, here's a picture of my gospel ministry so it would be a pattern for everyone else's, but it is. It really is. And based on chapter 1, 24, through chapter 2, verse 5, I believe we can summarize the goal of gospel ministry like this.
If it is patterned after the Apostle Paul, it will be a suffering stewardship marked by preaching Christ that is engaged in with struggling prayer, which manifests itself in concern for the people of God and is marked by a willingness to confront error by setting forth the supremacy of Jesus Christ in the Gospel. If it is patterned after the Apostle Paul, it will be a suffering stewardship marked by preaching Christ that is engaged with struggling prayer, which manifests itself in concern for the people of God and is marked by a willingness to confront error by setting forth the supremacy of Jesus Christ in the Gospel. Based on that proposition, which I think is an accurate encapsulation of verses 24 to chapter 2, verse 5, just about, in my estimation, every man standing in a pulpit right now ought to hand in his resignation. Because that is not the kind of ministry that is characteristic of our age.
It is not characteristic of my ministry. And I want to repent before God and manifest something of the Apostle's concern. It is so easy to get sidetracked on everything except the main thing, Christ and Him crucified. struggling and agonizing in prayer, suffering for the cause of Christ? Is this true of gospel ministry today?
Go on YouTube sometime and click in worship and watch what is going on in the name of so-called ministry. Shameful to look in your own heart and compare yourself to this man and say, man, fail, fail, fail, fail, and fail. That's tough. No self-esteem here this morning, baby.
You're not going to go out feeling, ooh, goody. Paul's the real deal. You know why Paul's the real deal? Because he understood the real issues.
It's not about what you want. It's not about what you crave. It's about what you need. And whether you believe it or not, you need more of Jesus.
You may read Robert Murray McShane's Bible calendar each year. You need more Jesus. You may go to the church prayer meeting. You need more Jesus.
You may be on your internet looking at gooddoctrine.com every single day. You need more Jesus. Because in Jesus are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. And there's a real devil out there who really roams about seeking whom he may devour.
He has people like the scribes and the Pharisees that were the holy ones leading sinners to hell. Isn't that what Jesus says in his condemnation of them? You search long and hard to make proselytes What happens? You make them and you make them twice the son of hell as you are yourself.
Paul understood the stakes. Paul understood that in Lycaeus Valley, the threat was not, well, you know, you won't be the most progressive church. The threat was, if you give in to persuasive words, you're going to go to hell for having rejected the glory of Jesus Christ the Lord. Paul sets the standard for gospel ministry.
Paul highlights the goal for the church. You know why we exist? We exist for the glory of God. You know how we're to function?
We're to be encouraged in heart. Strengthened, confirmed in heart. We need to be united in love. United.
That means together. We need to grow an understanding of biblical and theological truth. Please don't ever tell me, I don't like theology. That is a betrayal of a Christian profession.
Now, you may not like reading books written by theologians that you can't understand. Hey, fine. But to not like theology is to not like the study of God. Don't ever say that.
We need to have an increasing knowledge of the Gospel and the resultant conformity to it. We've already seen that. That you may be filled in all wisdom, or the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. Why?
That you may walk worthy of the Lord. If you're not filled, if you don't know, if you are ignorant of biblical truth, you will not walk worthy of the Lord. We need to have good order. That's one of the things Paul rejoiced in over the churches of the Lycaeus Valley.
He says in verse 5, "'Yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ.'" Good order in the church is in Lycaeus Valley. They're doing what they're supposed to. They're worshiping God. They're meeting together.
They're encouraging one another. Paul sees this as a cause of rejoicing. This makes him happy. When the church is not a place where everything goes except through worship.
Paul rejoiced to see good order. Paul rejoiced to see steadfastness of your faith in Christ. Perseverance. Endurance.
The longer I live as a Christian, the more I labor as a pastor, that's the bottom line. Steadfast. Persevere. You want to boil down the Christian life?
That's your word. Now, obviously, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ in order to be saved. But once you're saved, you know what your watchword is? Persevere.
Be steadfast. Don't turn away. Don't reject. Don't depart from the narrow way.
There's going to be a lot of competitors, a lot of solicitation, a lot of people saying, come with me. No, you just keep your head on the path ahead and you go forward. Don't stop. That's it.
That's the bottom line. Press on. And Paul says, when I see that in your churches, I am joyful. The persuasive words present today, very similar to what Paul's going to address in his own letter here.
Persuasive Words Confronting the Church Today
What are some persuasive words or rhetoric or powerful argumentation that is offered today to try to solicit us into departing from the living Christ? Well, humanistic philosophy. Paul's going to address that. Paul is not condemning philosophy.
When we get to that section, you have to know that. The word philosophy simply means the love of wisdom. Christians ought to be the most philosophers in the world. Because as we've seen in verse 3, all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are in Christ.
It's not philosophy of the love of wisdom that Paul condemns. Does Solomon condemn philosophy in the book of Proverbs? No, he doesn't. What a love wisdom.
What a buy wisdom. What a buy truth and sell it not. In fact, he mocks the man. Why is there in the hand of the fool the purchase price for wisdom, since he has no heart for it?
Do you love that? The guy goes to the store and he finds wisdom and he's looking at the price. Solomon says, why is he doing that? He doesn't have a heart for it.
Christians are to be true philosophers. Paul is not condemning philosophy. Paul is condemning humanistic philosophy. Philosophy that begins with man and ends with man.
Humanistic philosophy. He goes on to speak against legalism. Wow, isn't that a persuasive word that we hear today. Do this, do that in order to be saved.
It's good that you believe the gospel, but you also must come to our church. You must also do this. You must also go here. You must also engage in that.
Legalism. Not Christ plus, Christ alone for salvation. Paul goes on to condemn mysticism. Mysticism, that direct line to God.
Oh, well, that's not around today in our materialistic, mechanistic age. Oh, yes, it is. And it probably flourishes in the church. Just give me Jesus.
Well, what Jesus? It's not the Jesus of Holy Scripture. Oh, Bible study, Bible schmuddy. Oh, doctrine divides.
Oh, no, no. If you don't study doctrine, how can you be sure that Jesus, whom you serve, is Jesus Christ, who is the Lord of all? Asceticism. Asceticism basically means avoid this, avoid that, and everything will be fine.
Just don't do this, don't do this, don't touch that, don't go here, don't there. You'll be fine. Paul says that's a doctrine of demons, 1 Timothy 4. I don't know, any Roman Catholic could read 1 Timothy 4 and not be afraid.
Forbidding to marry and forbidding to eat certain foods that God created to be enjoyed with thankfulness? I mean, the text highlights that it's a doctrine of demons to forbid marriage. It's asceticism. It is to say that God's physical creation is bad. when God Himself has never said that.
The problem is not our nature, it's our sin. God is not at war with our creatureliness, He's at war with our sinfulness. And asceticism has the appearance of self-imposed humility, but it doesn't answer on the day of judgment. And then antinomianism.
Antinomianism simply says, you don't need to obey. Oh, come on. That's one of those old antiquated reformed concepts. You're just freeing Jesus to do whatever you want.
Garden variety antinomianism. Paul is going to speak in terms of do this, do this, do this, do this, do this. You have received Christ Jesus as Lord, so walk in Him. What does it mean, or what does it look like to walk in Him?
You're going to love each other. You're going to be kind to one another. You're not going to hold grudges. You're going to forgive one another.
A lot of do's in the Christian life. Those are some of the persuasive words that this very epistle is going to counter, and they're the same types of persuasive words that are present today that prey on our spiritual life. We need to beware. And brethren, we need to end with a fresh view of the glory of Jesus, the one in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Paul has said so many great things about Christ up to this point, and he'll continue to be sure. It doesn't just end there. But our Jesus is glorious. Do you see the Christ whom Paul has set before, the Colossians?
This One who is the image of the invisible God, this One who made all things, this One in whom all things consist, this One who is reconciling the world to Himself by His own blood-shedding, This Christ is the One in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. If you are here this morning and you don't know Christ, if when we get to verse 6 and it says, as you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, if you've not received Him, the way to do it is simple. Believe. Believe.
Believe the Gospel. Believe the truth. Believe that Jesus is who the Bible says He is. that Jesus lived a perfect and obedient life to His Father, that Jesus died as a substitute and as a sacrifice at Calvary, and that Jesus rose again. The Bible says, Believe on Him and you shall be saved.
There was a time when God was angry with Israel, and He sent a bunch of serpents to bite people. You say, that's kind of odd. Well, God is God, and He does things that are sometimes out of our understanding. He sends judgments.
He sends chastisements. And in that particular instance, these serpents are biting people. And there was instruction given to make a bronze serpent, to erect it in the wilderness, to put it up. And whoever would look to that serpent would be delivered.
That's God's way. By grace through faith. You looked and you lived. You looked and you lived.
Right here, right now, Chilliwack, 21st century, cold out, cold day. It's cold in your heart if you're not a believer. It's cold between you and heaven if you're not in Christ. You know where to bring warmth?
You know where to bring healing? It's by looking and living. Look to me and be ye saved. All the ends of the earth.
Not me, Jim Butler, quoting Isaiah 45. Look to me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God and there is no other. You believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. That's the promise of God's Gospel.
Closing Prayer
Well, let us pray. Our Father, we thank You so very much for Your grace and Your mercy as displayed in the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank You that in Him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, that He is the Creator and the Governor He is the ruler of the universe and He is the Redeemer of your elect. We just pray, Lord God in heaven, that each and every one of us here today would be looking to Christ with no everlasting life and that You would guard us against falling prey to persuasive words.
We thank You and we love You and we praise You for Your kindness. And may ministers today be like Paul. And may churches today be like what Paul says in this passage they ought to be. And we ask now that you would go with each one of us and we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.