Colossians Overview

Thank you.

J.B. Phillips, in his book, Your God is Too Small, writes this.

Many men and women today are living often with inner dissatisfaction without any faith

in God at all.

This is not because they are particularly wicked or selfish or, as the old-fashioned

would say, quote-unquote, godless, but because they have not found with their adult mind,

a god big enough to account for life, big enough to, quote, fit in with the new scientific

age, big enough to command their highest admiration and respect, and consequently, their willing

cooperation.

Phillips wrote this in 1952, but I think it speaks to our age today as well.

Certainly, discussion of God, and particularly the God of Christianity in public square, is

unfailingly characterized as a God whose weakness and insufficiency are on display in various

ways.

The hypocrisy of believers.

The growth of naturalistic materialism.

Increasing ignorance in what the Bible actually says about who God is.

The conflation of Christianity with social or political movements have all weakened our understanding

of who God truly is.

And have undermined the perception of God in the public square.

Maybe you're here this morning, and you feel this acutely.

You wonder about the God of Christianity.

Perhaps you're here exploring.

We're welcoming you.

We're glad you're here.

But, you know, I don't think this weakness is simply something that's outside of the church.

In fact, I think it's prevalent within the church just as much.

In our own hearts, we struggle.

We struggle to think, is God big enough for our modern world?

Is God big enough for the complexity that I face every day?

So often, we find ourselves excluding God and thinking He is too small in areas of modern

expertise like medicine or psychology or management.

We question God's ability to be big enough in the face of natural and human disasters.

We're in the face of personal pain and suffering.

In our modern world, our increasing sense of our own control makes us doubt whether God is

actually in control.

And as we face the ongoing and insistent gnawing of our soul that we were making

for something more in this life than what we're experiencing, yet we still doubt whether

God could be the answer, whether God could be the direction we could go to find the satisfaction

that our souls crave and long for.

And so, Phillips poses a question to us, our society and our church.

Is God actually big enough for the complexity of the lives that you face?

Is He big enough to command your highest admiration and respect?

Is He big enough to command your willing cooperation with Him in His plans for your life and for the world?

Is He big enough to command your life and for the world?

This brings us to our new preaching series for the fall.

We are preaching through the book of Colossians.

If you want to look there, you can turn there.

We're going to be dipping in and looking at a number of different passages rather than simply reading one.

So, I would recommend if you can pull one of those pew Bibles out, it's page 984.

And we're looking at the book of Colossians because in it, God speaks to us about this very question.

In it, God tells us who He is.

And in it, we are able to see the greatness of the God of the Bible and the God of Christianity.

As you're turning there, let me just give you a brief introduction to the book of Colossians.

It is a letter from the Apostle Paul.

It was probably written in about 72 AD, which would be near the end of his life.

It was written to a church that he had never been to.

Seemingly, what happened was there was a man named Epaphras, who you see in chapter 4, verse 12,

who had probably come to Ephesus where Paul had lived and ministered for a number of years

and had returned back to this town of Colossae and had proclaimed about the good news about Jesus

that he had heard from Paul.

So, Paul is in some ways the grandfather of this church.

But it seems, as we see clearly, he had never actually met them or been with them.

We see that in the beginning of chapter 2.

And so, this letter is a letter taken by two men, Tychicus and Philemon, to this church,

along with a couple of other letters, to be passed along to encourage the church and to remind them.

And it was written to encourage this new church about Christ.

Paul talks about his thankfulness, about the gospel work that he's heard about in them.

But he also writes with some concern.

Concerned that in the milieu of both Judaism and folk religion of the day,

that perhaps the Colossians were starting to think that Jesus was good, but not quite good enough.

That maybe Jesus was, as one commentator, Doug Moo says,

that Christ was most important, but most important among others who were pretty much like him.

In terms of spiritual options and in terms of their salvation.

Paul says, I want to remind you of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I want to remind you that Jesus is great and he is sufficient.

You don't need to turn to other rituals, other spiritual practices, other spiritual powers in your life.

For Christ actually is enough.

The hinge verse and the central exhortation is in chapter 2.

And if you want to turn there with me.

Chapter 2, verses 6 and 7 is the key exhortation that Paul is giving to this church.

He says,

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him.

Rooted and built up in him.

And established in the faith, just as you were taught.

Abounding in thanksgiving.

Paul's heart is that they would be encouraged.

And his means of doing so is he's going to lift up Jesus Christ before them.

And that's what we're going to talk about this morning.

Jesus Christ, the exalted one.

Jesus Christ in all of his greatness.

Jesus Christ who is sufficient for all of our needs.

So that's what we're going to look at this morning.

Let's pray before we dive in.

Lord, we thank you for this book and we thank you for this word.

Lord, we thank you that you have not left us to grope and to grasp about who you are.

But you have in fact made us able to know who you are by your word.

Lord, we thank you for this book and we pray that today and in the coming weeks and months,

as we preach through it, Lord, that you will bless us individually and as a community.

Lord, that we might see more clearly the greatness of the Savior that we have in Christ.

Lord, help us.

Lord, we confess our need to be instructed by you, to be reminded by you.

Lord, I pray for your help this morning that as we look at your word together,

that I might speak clearly and that my words would be useful in your hands, Lord,

so that we might all be encouraged to worship you.

We pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

If you're following along, my outline this morning will be very simple.

As we're looking at the book of Colossians and thinking about his greatness,

we are going to look at Christ the preeminent one and Christ the sufficient one.

Those two things, and we'll break those down.

And as we do this, we'll start the first one.

Turn with me to chapter 1, verse 15.

We're going to see that Christ is the preeminent one.

You see that word preeminent in verse 20.

In other translations, you might see it being supremacy or having the first place.

Preeminence isn't always a word that we talk about today,

but it means taking the highest and the most central place among a community,

in our own hearts, in our lives.

And part of what Paul says here to this early church is that there is a God,

and we can know him fully, completely, because of Jesus Christ.

So look with me in verse 15 of chapter 1.

He's talking about Jesus.

You can see that from verse 13.

He says, he, that is Jesus, is the image of the invisible God,

the firstborn of all creation.

And if you skip down to verse 19, it's helpful to see this too.

For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.

These are striking, staggering statements.

We could spend all day simply camping out on this one truth,

that Jesus himself is the image of God and the fullness of God.

And the reason why we need to be reminded of this is because in our humanness,

because Jesus Christ became a human being and took on human flesh,

we often think less of him.

We often think of him as simply a good moral teacher.

We think of one who commends to us a better ethic for our world.

We might think of him as one who is a revolutionary to bring social change.

But in doing all those things, we see him as merely a better human being,

a greater human being than others around us.

And Paul speaks to this and says, no, no, no.

Jesus Christ is the image of the invisible God.

And in him, the fullness, all of who God is, dwells.

And friends, what good news this is for us.

If we want to know God, we don't need to guess.

If we want to know God, we don't need to think,

well, what do I think he might be like?

God has come to us in Jesus Christ.

Christ and the very center and the very core of what Christianity is all about.

Of what the Bible is all about.

What the Bible is all about is that Jesus Christ is the one we can look to

to know everything we need to know about who God is.

Everything is in there.

So we need not look further.

Not only is Christ preeminent because he is the fullness of deity expressed in human form

so we can know what he's like, but he's also the preeminent one over all of the world.

Look with me in verses 16 and 17 of chapter 1 for a minute.

It says,

For by him, that is Christ, for by him all things were created in heaven and on earth,

visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities,

all things were created through him and for him,

and he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

For those of you who are English majors, these two verses are a cornucopia,

a banquet of prepositions about Jesus.

Did you see them all?

By him.

That is, he is the means by which everything was created in the whole world.

Not only by him was everything created,

but we see at the end of verse 16 that all things were created through him,

the instrument, and for him.

That is, he is the goal.

Everything in this world was made for Jesus Christ.

Not only that, but verse 17,

he is before all things,

which means that he was eternally present before the created,

and therefore distinct from the created world in which we live,

and in him all things hold together.

Jesus not only formed all this,

not only was he the one by whom it came into existence,

but today, every day,

he is the one who holds it together.

He is the one who holds the gravitational constant

so the world doesn't fall apart.

He is the one who makes molecules hold together.

I'm not a scientist.

I'm about to get way in over my head here.

But you keep going into the complexities of the physical and material world,

the biological world,

and you realize Jesus is the sustaining power

by which all of those things happen.

And it gives us as believers the joy to be a scientist,

those who explore the creative and sustaining work of God

in the physical world.

The 19th century theologian Abraham Kuyper,

well-known quote that you should know,

and it's one of the quotes that, by the way,

Tim Keller uses in the book,

Every Good Endeavor,

which is the basis of the Sunday School.

So this is a good sort of plug for that.

There is not a square inch in the whole domain of human existence

over which Christ, who is sovereign over all,

does not cry,

You ride to the bus,

you ride on the bus in the morning,

your days in the classroom,

on the playing fields and in the labs,

Christ says,

Mine.

In the lecture halls,

in the departmental offices,

in the seminar rooms,

Christ says,

Mine.

In your morning commute,

your office desk space,

your boardrooms,

Christ says,

Mine.

In your friendships,

your marriage,

your leisure,

and your bedroom,

Christ says,

Mine.

In your homes,

in your laundry piles,

your playrooms,

and minivans,

and preschools,

Christ says,

Mine.

In your apartments,

in your shelters,

your tent cities,

in your food kitchens,

in your hospitals,

Christ says,

Mine.

In our neighborhoods,

in our state,

in our city,

in the countries that span the globe,

Christ says,

Mine.

The political powers,

and the societal structures,

and the economic markets,

Christ says,

Mine.

There is nothing in this world

that was not made by Christ,

and sustained by Christ.

And will,

in the end,

show that it was made for Christ,

for His glory.

Every part of your existence,

Christ rules over.

He claims the place of preeminence,

first place in all of them.

But He doesn't just rule it over creation.

If you look further on,

in verses 18 through 20 of chapter 1,

He says,

And He is the head of the body,

the church.

He is the beginning,

the firstborn from the dead,

that in everything He might be preeminent.

For in Him,

all the fullness of God

was pleased to dwell,

and through Him,

to reconcile to Himself

all things,

whether on earth or in heaven,

making peace by the blood of His cross.

So not only is God,

is Jesus Christ,

claiming a place of preeminence

over all of creation,

but He's claiming preeminence

over all of His new creation work as well.

For we might wonder,

how is it that Christ could be preeminent

in this broken, fallen world

that is full of pain,

and sorrow,

sickness,

and evil?

Well, His preeminence is demonstrated

in this new creation work

that He has begun,

and that He has started.

And it is based on His work

of His life and death and resurrection.

And His goal is to redeem individual people

from the death of the world

into the life

that is being joined with Him.

But it is not only that.

Did you see the end of verse 20?

It is also to reconcile all things to Himself.

That is, everything will be brought in

and under His rule and His reign.

And one day the world again

will be remade in a new creation,

a new heavens and a new earth,

where everything will display His glory

and His goodness and His beauty

and His majesty and His power.

So Christ is redeeming people today,

and He is redeeming the world

for an eternity that is yet to come.

Again, for those of you who are linguists,

look at the number of time

that all and every was mentioned

in these verses.

As a matter of fact,

I want to encourage you,

read through the book of Colossians.

Commit to reading through it once a week

for the next three months

as we preach through it.

And one of the questions I want you to ask is,

look for how many times do you see

all and every in your translation?

Because this Christ that Paul has proclaimed,

this Christ that we are proclaiming to you today,

is a Christ over all.

Over all creation,

and in His saving, redeeming work,

He is over His people, the church.

Friends, one of the implications of this today

is that we must see

that Christ is not merely a tribal God.

He is not merely the God of the Christians

who can be compared

and honored in the same way

with all other gods of the world.

We have the privilege

of proclaiming a God who says,

this is all mine

and I am the Savior of all the world.

And this has a sharp edge to it

because the Christ of Colossians,

there is no room for other Saviors.

There are no other paths to know God.

There is no other way out of sin.

Christ alone can do that.

And yet it also gives us the ability

to interact with the whole world

with graciousness.

We may never hate people

because of their religion,

but we may point them

to the one who claims over all,

mine.

The central act of this, as we'll see,

the way that this work is being done,

the way that Christ is showing His preeminence,

is through the preaching

of the good news of Jesus Christ,

this message of the gospel.

This is what He's doing in the church.

This is what He's doing in the world.

Friends, is your Christ too small

to save the whole world

and to redeem it?

Is your gospel too small to save you

from the depths of your sin and brokenness?

Is your Savior big enough

to be able to save even this world?

Christ has come to redeem all things

so that all things He might be preeminent.

Friends, as we see that this is what Colossians

is telling us about who Jesus is,

J.B. Phillips' questions come back to us.

Is He worthy of our loyalty?

Do we give Him the esteem and honor

that He deserves?

Do we trust Him?

Do we give Him our affection and our love?

Jesus Christ is claiming

the gravitational center of your life

such that everything you do

and everything that you are

is meant to revolve around Him.

Him is the creator.

Him is the sustainer.

Him is the redeemer.

This is what it means to be rooted

and grounded in Christ.

This is what it means to know Christ.

Not only is Christ, however,

in Colossians,

lifted up as the preeminent one

who says to all of the world,

mine,

and who has worked His saving work

so that it might be so.

But it is also,

as we see the rest of the book unfold,

we see that Paul is encouraging

the Colossians

and encouraging us to recognize

that Christ is sufficient.

That is, He is enough

for us to know God

and to walk with Him

and to walk in Him.

There are three different ways

in which He is sufficient.

First, He is sufficient

for our salvation.

Turn with me in chapter 2

to verses 13 through 15.

Verse 13 of chapter 2 reads this,

And you who were dead

in your trespasses

and the uncircumcision of your flesh,

God made alive together with Him,

having forgiven us

all our trespasses

by canceling the record of debt

that stood against us

with its legal demands.

This He set aside,

nailing it to the cross.

He disarmed the rulers

and authorities

and put them to open shame

by triumphing over them

in Him.

Again, friends,

this is a passage

worthy of a whole sermon.

We'll get there.

That's why we're doing series

and we'll go through it

more slowly.

But to see that

what Paul is reminding

the Colossians about

is that when Christ died

on the cross,

He did all that was necessary

to take care of sin.

He doesn't spell it out here,

but He's putting the application

on the logic of the gospel,

which is that all of us,

all men and women,

have rejected God

and therefore are under sin.

And the wages of that sin,

the result of that rejection of God

is death itself,

physical and spiritual death,

separation from God,

and experiencing His judgment

upon our sin and our rebellion.

But that what Christ has now come

is that He has come

and in our place

died for us.

And in doing so,

He has paid the debt.

Did you see that language?

He has canceled

the record of debt

that stood against us.

We owed God our lives

for our sin.

Christ said,

I will pay that for you.

The sin that we bore,

Christ took it

and He nailed it to the cross

so that by the public display of it,

the world might see His triumph

over sin and death.

He has conquered

through sacrifice and suffering

and He has taken away

what would be ours,

that is condemnation and death.

And He has freed us

from what enslaves and controls us,

triumphed over the power of sin

and the spiritual powers

in the world

that align themselves

against God and His kingdom.

Friends, we often have a tendency

to slip into the desire

to think that we must atone

for our own sins.

But somehow it's up to us

to try to fix the problem

that we've created by our sin.

And I tell you that this is a lie.

We will never be able to do it.

No religious rites and rituals.

No spiritual calendars and holidays.

No moral improvement

and being a better person.

And no serving the world

and even sacrificially

trying to make the world

a better place.

No being a good boy

or a good girl.

No personal success.

Not even church involvement

and activities

have the power to save us

from our sin.

All of those things,

which may be good

in and of themselves,

find themselves unable

to bear the weight

of saving us from our sin.

And we love to turn to them

to save us

because when we can be in control

and we can measure them

and we can say,

look, I've done this.

I've jumped this high.

I've been this good.

Isn't that good enough?

And we avoid facing the fear

that in fact,

in the face of our sin,

we are completely unable

and helpless.

And we don't want to acknowledge

how enslaved we are

to sin

and how much we love it

rather than God.

But Christ comes

and Christ says,

I will do for you

what you can't do for yourself.

I will die in your place.

I will do all that is necessary

to nail that to the cross

so that you might be free

from its power,

so that you might know

the joy of salvation,

so that you might know

the power of being forgiven

of that sin

and welcomed

and accepted in love,

being fully known

and fully loved

by the God of the universe.

This is what Christ

has opened up for us

and He is sufficient

for all that is needed

for that.

And He calls us

to come and believe.

And that's really

what chapter 2

of Colossians is about,

is just unpacking

the sufficiency of Christ

and the insufficiency

of some of these

other patterns.

But it's not merely

that Christ is sufficient

for entering into

that life with God,

but it's that He is sufficient

for the ongoing growth

in and experience

of our life with God.

Look at chapter 3,

verses 9 through 11.

Basically what Paul does

at the end of chapter 2,

he warns them,

hey, don't believe

that there are other things

out there,

other philosophies,

other rituals,

other spiritual experiences

that you really need.

You don't need those things.

In chapter 3,

he basically says,

instead what you need

is Christ.

He says,

set your mind on Christ.

Seek the things above

where Christ is.

And then in this great description

of how to,

of what the Christian life

looks like,

it's not these other things.

it's putting off sin

and putting on Christ.

So verse 9 says,

do not lie to one another

seeing that you have put off

the old self with this practice

and have put on the new self

which is being renewed

in the knowledge

after the image

of its creator.

Here there is no Jew,

or no Greek and Jew,

circumcised and uncircumcised,

barbarian, Scythian,

slave, free,

but all.

Christ is all

and in all.

You see, friends,

we often live in a world

where just like

for our salvation,

we think we need to add something

to what Christ has done.

So in the church,

how easy is it

for us to think

that we need a Christ

plus something else

in order to live

a faithful life with God?

Right?

We need Christ

plus really good

spiritual disciplines

or really hardcore

ascetic practices

or social activism

and serving the poor

or serving in the church

and finding ourselves

busy in those things.

We need Christ

plus deeper theological understanding

and a knowledge

of the original languages

and a deep understanding

of systematic theology

and historical theology

and biblical theology

to really know.

As a church,

often we think

we need Christ

plus some good marketing,

some sleek leadership strategy

or better counseling techniques.

friends,

in all of these things,

we are prone to say

that Christ

is not enough.

And we often

deny what

chapter,

or verse 4

of chapter 3 says

that Christ

is our life

and we also

then pursue life

outside of Christ

as well as within Christ.

We think Christ,

life with Christ

is good

but we really need

more than that

and so we live

our lives

for the praise

of our peers,

our parents

or our professors.

We need Christ

plus good grades

or a successful career

or achievements.

We need Christ

plus a date,

a boyfriend

or girlfriend,

a happy marriage,

kids who grow up

and do well.

Christ plus

a lot of money

and some really sweet hobbies

to keep us going

in our later years.

Christ plus freedom

from poverty

or physical suffering.

And look friends,

there is nothing wrong

with any of those things.

They are all good things

if they flow from Christ

and are done in Christ

and are done for Christ.

But when we think

these things are going

to replace Christ

or somehow add on

to Christ Himself,

they get warped,

they get twisted,

they become idols

in our hearts.

And in taking them on

and giving them

that place

in our lives,

we deny that Christ

is sufficient,

that Christ

is all

for us.

friends,

pursue

many things

that God has called you

in this life,

but pursue Christ

first.

Believe that knowing

Christ first

is going to be

the one thing

that you can't give up,

the one thing

that you can't lose,

the one thing

without which

nothing else matters.

when we do this,

then we can live out

what he says

at the end of chapter 2,

verse 17,

when he talks about

doing all things

for the glory of Christ.

Friends,

we're prone

to hedge our bets,

to think Christ is good,

but maybe we need

these extra things too.

Paul tells us

in the book of Colossians,

no,

Christ is all,

Christ is enough,

Christ is everything.

Not only is sufficient

for our salvation,

not only is sufficient

for our life

with him

on this earth,

but he is sufficient

as well

for the purpose

of your life

and the purpose

of the church.

Chapter 4,

verses 2 through 6,

we see Paul

moving ahead,

thinking about

having proclaimed

these things.

He then,

he's sharing

out of his own life

a bit.

He says,

continue steadfastly

in prayer,

being watchful in it

and thankful.

In the same time,

pray for us,

pray also for us

that God may open

to us a door

for the word

to declare

the mystery of Christ

on account of which

I am in prison,

that I may make it clear

which is how I ought

to speak.

Walk in wisdom

towards outsiders,

making the best use

of time.

Let your speech

always be gracious,

seasoned with salt,

so that you may know

how you ought to answer

each person.

Friends,

as Paul holds up

the greatness of Christ

and he says,

as you,

as God's people,

are to be caught up

in him

and to see his greatness,

he then says,

people who know

the greatness of Christ

want others to know

how great he is as well.

People who know

the greatness of Christ

will proclaim

to the world

that they ought to turn

and come to him

to find him

to be preeminent

and sufficient

for them.

This is the mission

of the church.

This is why we are here,

to display the glory

of Christ

in our broken vessels,

in our feeble

little lives,

but to do so

so that the greatness

of who Christ is

can be seen

and not only be seen,

but that we might give

verbal testimony,

that we might talk about

how great Christ is,

that your prayers

would be for God

to open doors,

that your lives

would be salty,

that people would want

to know,

what is it about you

that I don't understand?

That I want to know

more about,

that your words

would be full

of Christ

and of his goodness,

that you would be ready

to speak boldly.

This is what Paul

then talks about

at the end of the…

for the rest of the chapter.

He talks about his friends

who are doing ministry

with him.

He's talking about

his partnership

in the gospel

with these other men

and women.

friends,

this is what God

has called us to.

This is God's plan

that Christ,

the preeminent one,

might be made known

through the weakness

and the frailty,

but the reality

of Christ being that

for us as church.

And this is Trinity's plan

as well,

to know Christ

and to make him known.

And we're not going

to do it through

super slick

marketing programs,

through great mass

outreaches.

There's nothing wrong

with that.

I just want you to know

if you're coming to Trinity,

this is the reality.

This is how we do it.

Through people

who know Christ

and live for Christ

in their everyday lives

and invite others

to come

and see the glory

of Christ

in our midst.

Christ.

This is what God

has called us to.

He's called us to do it

on Prospect Hill

and over in the Hill District,

from Southern Connecticut State

to Fairhaven Heights,

the suburbs

and the shoreline

and the inner city,

to the scholar

and to the tradesman,

to the gown

and to the town,

men and women,

boys and girls

from every tongue

and tribe

and nation

who come

within our purview

into our area.

We want to make

this Christ known

so that in all things

Christ might be preeminent.

Let me just say briefly,

as a pastor,

as we have seen God

grow our church

and as we're facing

potentially some new challenges,

thinking about our space,

thinking about our services,

thinking about changes

that may come

in the future.

It will be so easy

for us as a church

to get distracted

by those things,

so easy for those things

to become the things

that fill our conversations

after church

and our online discussions

and our emails.

And we may spend

far too much time

worrying,

fearing,

complaining,

griping,

exhorting,

encouraging.

Who knows?

I don't know how good

it's going to go,

but we're going to have

to wrestle through

these things.

But the reason why

we picked the book

of Colossians

to preach on

in the midst of this

is because this is

what Trinity

is really about.

The buildings

and the services

are merely means

for us to potentially,

by God's grace,

lift up Christ

so that He might be seen

as preeminent,

as glorious,

and that this nation,

this country,

this county,

this city,

this neighborhood

would see the greatness

of Christ

and would turn

and give Him

the honor

and the worship

that He is due.

Friends,

this is my hope

for our church,

is that we would

give Christ

such esteem,

such loyalty,

such faith,

that we would give Him

so much admiration

and willing cooperation

that through us

He might use us

to extend His kingdom,

to make us

a place where Christ

is known

and proclaimed

to His glory.

Let's pray.

Lord,

we ask this morning

that You would help us.

Lord,

help us to

face,

Lord,

the inadequacies

of our view

of who Christ is

and the fears

of our hearts

that He won't be sufficient,

that He's not trustworthy.

Lord,

we pray You would help us

to see how great Christ is

so that our God

might not be too small

for the complexities

of our world

and the realities

of our lives.

That as Christ claims

His preeminence

and says to the whole world,

mine,

Lord,

that we would say to Him,

yes,

we are Yours.

let Your will be done

on earth

as it is in heaven.

We pray these things

in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.