The Life We Truly Long to Live - Colossians 1:24-2:5

Greetings from Colossians chapter 1, beginning at verse 24 and continuing on into chapter 2, up to verse 5.

Colossians 1 · chapter mention

And so that starts on page 1182 of the Red Church Bible.

So Colossians chapter 1.

Colossians 1 · chapter mention

Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his body which is the church.

I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness,

the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord's people.

To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ.

To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.

I want you to know how hard I am contending for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not met me personally.

My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding,

in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments.

For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how disciplined you are and how firm your faith in Christ is.

Thank you, Chris.

Let's pray, if we could, please.

Father, we thank you for your word.

We thank you for the truths that are contained within.

We thank you, Lord, that we have here in front of us the answer to the mysteries, that we have your full treasure trove.

We ask, Lord, that you would open our eyes, that we would see, open our ears, that we would hear.

Would the seeds of your truth be sown deeply in our hearts?

Would Christ be glorified?

Amen.

Amen.

Well, superheroes have taken over Hollywood.

Superheroes are invading planet Earth.

Superheroes are smashing box office records.

What if we could all be a superhero?

Why can't we all be superheroes?

These are the headlines from several magazines back in the States a few months ago,

as Marvel's Avengers Endgame literally broke global box office records, reaching $2.5 billion in revenue in 20 days.

To put that in perspective, the next closest or the previous record holder was Avatar, which was 72 days to reach the same amount of profit.

Superhero movies, in fact, over the last 10 to 15 years have gained such a following that even psychologists today have begun to weigh in on what is it that's going on?

How come superhero films in particular are reaching more than just comic fans?

How are they reaching people of all ages?

How are they reaching people from all different walks of life?

And they're starting to zoom in on some things which are unique but common to all of humanity.

They say that in superhero movies, we find a person who has a purpose.

And they're out to fulfill some sort of purpose.

And they realize at some point that they can't do it alone.

And so then they introduce a love interest or a partner.

Batman gets his Robin.

Or in the case of the Avengers, they get a whole team of superheroes.

They gather together and then they find this energy that is supernatural to them.

And that this energy through this community helps them to fulfill their purpose,

whether it's to overcome evil or save the world.

Once again, we've been saved so many times by the superheroes.

We owe them such a debt of gratitude.

And in the next movie, I bet you they save the world again.

But they fulfill this purpose through their community and this supernatural energy.

And psychologists are saying that that is connecting with humans

because we too have these same desires.

That we want to have a sense of purpose.

That we want to belong to a community.

And that we need the energy to overcome life's obstacles.

Last week, we looked at Colossians 1, 15-23.

And we saw that Jesus Christ, Paul says, is the Lord of all creation and new creation.

And that new creation is the church.

They are Christians, his people.

And this week, Paul is going to start to say, because of who Jesus Christ is, that's our main idea,

because of who Christ is, we can, as new creation, begin to live as we truly long to live.

Because of who Jesus Christ is, we can begin to live as we truly long to live.

Specifically, Paul is going to point out to these three things.

That we have a purpose, the purpose we desire, Paul is going to speak to.

He is going to speak about the community we crave.

And then the energy we need.

The purpose we desire, the community we crave, and the energy we need.

So first, Paul speaks to the purpose we desire.

In 2013 article in Psychology Today, they said that the need for purpose,

the need for purpose is one of the defining characteristics of human beings.

That human beings desperately desire purpose and suffer serious psychological difficulties when we don't have it.

That's part of why we connect with superhero movies, because they've got a sense of purpose.

And to be human means to desire to have some sort of purpose.

They say when you have a strong sense of purpose, life is less complicated.

It's less stressful.

You become monofocused.

You have a singular focus.

And like an arrow flying towards its target, you are taught and strong and aimed at an objective.

But often our purposes in this life, they become muddled.

They become confused.

They become disappointing or they are found to be without purpose when we're honest with ourselves.

So it's no wonder that in a recent survey, the Barna Group found that two-thirds of people who come to church,

they do so for the first time looking to find a sense of purpose.

If you're new here today, you're welcome.

We're glad that you're here.

Odds are that maybe you're looking for a sense of purpose.

And that even people who continue within the church, within the faith, we still struggle with what is my purpose.

It's because we desire to have a purpose in life.

Paul speaks to this purpose when he says here in Colossians that as new creation,

the purpose that we so desperately desire that God has put in front of us

is to be presented fully mature in Christ.

He says in Colossians 1.28,

Christ is the one that they proclaim,

admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom,

so that they may present everyone fully mature in Christ.

That is our purpose as new creation, to be conformed to the image of Jesus.

To be as conformed to the image of Jesus as is humanly possible to be presented fully mature in Christ.

In fact, there's several catechisms out there.

Many will say, what is the chief end or what is the purpose of mankind?

The answer will be to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

And we can ask, well, how is God most glorified?

And I would argue, God is most glorified in the person and work of His Son, Jesus Christ.

God is most glorified in the person and work of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Therefore, the more we are conformed to the image of Christ,

the more we are fully mature in Christ,

the more God is glorified in who we are.

And you say, well, what does that mean to be fully mature in Christ?

Do I need to look like the picture?

Do I need to have the long flowing hair?

Or should my baby have a halo over their head?

What does that mean to be fully mature in Christ?

Or to be conformed to the image of Christ?

Paul speaks to two specific things.

There's several, but two Paul speaks to here are

to enjoy God's presence in unashamed purity

and serve His will and gladness.

It's interesting.

Both are purposes which we were originally created for.

In Genesis 1 and 2, we see Adam and Eve naked and unashamed.

They're unashamed in God's presence in their purity.

And we see them working and keeping the garden.

They're serving the Lord.

Even before sin, they're serving the Lord.

Both are fractured by the fall.

And then both are spoken to by Paul here in Colossians

as being possible in this life, on this earth,

and then in their fullness in the world to come.

So enjoying God's presence in unashamed purity.

Originally, Adam and Eve do that.

But then in the fall, we see in Genesis 3, 8-10,

that man and his wife, they heard the sound of the Lord

coming in the cool of the day.

They had sinned, and they heard God coming,

and so they hit.

And the Lord calls out to him.

He says, where are you?

Adam says, I heard you coming, and I hid.

I was afraid.

He had lost his purity.

He was ashamed.

He was afraid.

And Paul says in Colossians 1, 22,

that God has reconciled us back to Christ's body through death

to present us wholly in his sight,

without blemish and free from accusation.

And then in Revelation 21,

in the new heaven and the new earth,

we read that from the throne,

they say, look, God is dwelling among his people.

He is with them.

They are his people, and God himself is with them

and is their God.

We return to the state of unashamed and pure in God's presence,

restored to the way we were supposed to be.

There's an interesting little book called

Practicing the Presence of God.

And in it, the author talks about a man named Brother Lawrence,

and he says, this guy, as he goes along his day,

any time, any time,

he thinks of a sin he's committed,

he just stops,

and he just prays and confesses that sin,

and then he thanks God for his forgiveness in Christ,

and he goes right back to whatever he was doing.

Because that's how simple it is for a believer.

That any time, no matter what you're doing,

when the enemy accuses you of something,

you can just stop and go,

yeah, that was wrong, I shouldn't have done that.

Please forgive me, Lord,

and thank you for the forgiveness I have in Christ,

and continue right about your business

in unashamed purity in the presence of God.

Paul also says that we are to serve God's will and gladness.

That's part of what it means to be fully mature in Christ.

Again, we see this in original creation.

As Adam and Eve, they work the garden.

And then in Genesis 3.17,

God curses the land because of sin.

And yet, somehow in the midst of that,

Paul's able to write in Colossians 1.24-25

that I rejoice in what I am suffering for you.

He says, I rejoice in what I am suffering for you.

Somehow, in gladness,

he is able to serve God

despite the fact that he is still in a fallen world.

And ultimately, in the world to come,

in Revelation 22.3,

it still says

that we will serve God.

It says,

no longer will there be any curse.

The throne of God and the Lamb

will be in the city,

and His servants will serve Him.

We will be fully mature in Christ,

serving God in gladness.

So what does it mean to have a purpose?

It means to be conformed to the image of Christ,

to be presented fully mature in Christ,

namely, to enjoy God's presence in unashamed purity,

and to serve His will in gladness.

This is the purpose we have as Christians.

And so let me just pause and ask you,

what is your purpose?

What is your purpose in life?

Here's the thing about Christianity that I love,

is you don't have to change

what you're doing or where God has you

to fulfill that purpose.

Whatever vocation you're in,

whatever your Monday through Saturday looks like,

and Sunday too, if you have to work Sunday,

wherever God's got you,

you can still do those things

and serve this purpose.

You can be fully matured in Christ

right where He has you.

But we do have to ask,

what is our purpose?

And oftentimes we have to continually come back to that

because we drift.

We drift.

I know I spent a lot of time this year

even just reflecting on that myself.

Sometimes one of the dangers in ministry

or in anything you do within the church

or within Christianity

or even in your workplace

and you're working

is you start to think,

I'm doing this for God.

And we forget about the greatest thing

that could ever be done,

which has been done in Jesus Christ.

When we get tricked into thinking,

I'm doing something for God

rather than,

you know what,

God is most glorified

in the person and work of Jesus Christ

and He's called me to be matured in Him,

to be conformed to His image.

And I want you to notice

some of the words Paul uses here,

striving, contending,

suffering towards this image.

It's not something that just happens overnight.

It takes time.

And I'm not talking about our legal standing.

I'm not talking about our justification before God.

I'm talking about our progressive sanctification,

our maturing in Christ.

And we naturally know

it takes time to mature.

You've probably seen my little one-year-old

starting to walk around.

He's just getting going.

And I find it interesting

that when he took his first couple steps

and fell,

nobody yelled at him.

We cheered for him

because he took a couple steps.

And then even now,

he'll take 7, 8, 9, 10

and you see it coming

and he's leaning and he's leaning

and you're like,

oh, Toby, Toby.

And boom, he falls over.

And we still,

ah, good job, Toby.

All right, if an adult,

if a 40-year-old came in here

and took eight steps and fell over,

we probably wouldn't cheer for that person.

But for someone who's young and maturing,

we would.

And we recognize that it's 8, 9, 10 steps today

and next week it might be 11, 12 steps.

It takes time.

And Cassie and I will hold his hand

while he's walking

because we recognize he's maturing.

He's just getting into this.

And it's the same in our faith.

Becoming fully matured in Christ

takes time

and also takes a community.

Like I said, Cassie and I

will hold his hands.

We don't say,

oh, you've got four steps down.

You go ahead.

What do we call it?

Sidewalk in America.

You guys call it pavement.

We don't say,

you just go right along the street there, Toby.

You got this now.

Four or five steps fell over.

Ooh, glad he didn't go in the road that time.

No, we grab his hands

and we guide him along

as a family,

as a community.

And that's what Paul speaks of next.

He speaks to the community we crave.

Notice,

everything in this passage

is in the plural.

Everything so far

has been in the plural.

Even the authorship of Colossians

is in the plural.

Paul and Timothy

working together.

And if you look to the end of Colossians,

if you look to chapter 4,

you'll see there's a whole bunch of dudes.

There's the California right there.

There's a whole bunch of dudes

at the end.

And they're all working together.

There's a bunch of people

in community

working together.

And then if you look back

in Colossians 1-2,

who's he writing to?

God's holy people,

plural,

the faithful brothers

and sisters in Christ,

plural.

So everywhere we're reading

where Paul says,

you,

we should interpret that to mean

as they say in Texas,

y'all.

That's who Paul's writing to.

Y'all.

I want to see you dudes

as we say in California.

Or y'all as they say in Texas.

We want to see,

how do you say the plural in Ireland?

Ye.

There we go.

We want to see ye fully matured

in Christ.

It's plural.

It's a community of people.

And it is the community

that we crave.

In Colossians 2-2,

Paul says this,

he says,

my goal is that they,

that's all Christians,

may be encouraged in heart

and united in love

so that they may have

the full riches

of complete understanding

in order that they

may know the mystery of God,

namely Christ,

in whom are hidden

all the treasures

of wisdom and knowledge.

Paul says that they,

that churches,

that Christians,

are to be encouraged in heart

while being knit together

in love.

And you'll notice

in 1-28,

he says that this is happening

as he's teaching

and admonishing

in all wisdom.

That's him

and the other apostles,

the leaders in the church.

And if you look at

Colossians 3-16,

he calls the church

in Colossians,

in Colossae,

to do the same.

To teach and admonish

in all wisdom.

So he says what,

what we,

the apostles,

are doing

is the same thing

that y'all,

the church,

ye,

the church should be doing.

You dudes are supposed

to do what the apostles do

because you're in community together.

That's the community we crave.

That's the community

that God has put

His people into

as they fulfill

His purpose in their life,

which is to be

matured in Christ.

And he says

the way we do this

is as a community,

we assure each other

through our growing

understanding of the gospel.

That's Paul's next point

about the community we crave

is that we assure each other,

we build each other up,

we help fight the doubts

that come at us

by helping each other grow

in our understanding

of the gospel.

So as doubts creep in,

as life circumstances get hard,

we continue to remind each other

who God is,

who we are,

and what He has accomplished

in Christ,

in whose image

we are being matured into.

That happens as a community.

And he says,

we continue then

to learn about

who Jesus is

and how redemptive history

has been carried out in Him.

Notice several times now

that in this letter,

Paul has gone out of his way

to point out

the urgent need

that the churches have

to be grounded

in who Jesus is

so that they will not be deceived

by false teachings.

And last week,

we looked at how Jesus

is the author of creation

and new creation.

And this week,

we see Jesus is the answer

to the mysteries of God.

And He's God's treasure trove

of wisdom and knowledge.

And we're going to,

over the next few weeks,

really dig into the answers

of the mysteries of God

and how Jesus is God's treasure trove.

But think about this.

If you were to literally ask God,

give me your greatest treasure, Lord.

If God were to just say,

what is it you desire?

And you would say,

God, give me your greatest treasure.

Give me the greatest thing you have.

He would and has given us Jesus.

He is the treasure

of all of God's wisdom and knowledge.

And in the community

that we crave,

that God has put us in,

we've been uniquely designed

so that we can encourage each other

while being knit together in love,

while pressing each other

deeply into the gospel,

as we see who Jesus is

and how all of redemptive history

has been accomplished in Him.

And I'll give you just a couple

practical tips,

because that can sound like a lot.

Here's a...

Ralph had this at his house,

so if this is heresy,

then that's on Ralph.

But this is just called

the Jesus Storybook Bible,

and it's not.

It's wonderful.

It's the Bible,

we can say for kids,

but it's okay.

Adults can read it.

And it takes all the stories

of the Bible,

the Old Testament stories,

and it takes you through them.

It's not the same as the Bible.

It's an interpretation,

but it's going to give you the story,

and it's going to tell you

how that story points to Jesus.

And sometimes,

as big people,

we forget that as Christians,

we start out as little people.

That a new Christian

is just like my little Toby

walking along,

and he needs someone

to come along

and grab his hand

and guide him

and just read stories to him.

And that's great.

It's fine.

It's beautiful.

But you can get this on Amazon.

If you need help getting it,

I'll be more than happy.

I would give you this,

but it's Ralph's.

Well, I'd still give you this.

So if you need one,

you just come see me.

We'll give you Ralph's.

We'll get him a new one.

But it's a great tool

for just starting to see

how Jesus is the answer

to all of God's mysteries,

how he truly is the treasure,

how all of Scripture is about him.

And then secondly,

as God's in his providence,

he's provided Dr. Wellham right here,

and he's doing that this week.

They didn't have to pay me

to give the advertisement this week.

It's just Dr. Wellham's here,

and he will help you from Hebrews

see Christ in all of Scripture.

It's a great opportunity.

Even if you only make one night,

I think it's in the evenings here

at the Youth Center,

or it's midday this week

in Middleton,

if I got that right.

Say again?

10 a.m. in Middleton.

Joy right here,

you can see her.

You can see Alex or Johnny.

We're happy to help you get there again.

Even if it's one day

or it's one evening,

you will pick up something new

about how to encourage

someone else in the Gospel.

You will pick up something new

about how Jesus is

the answer to all of God's mysteries.

Now, that's hard work.

What we've just said.

There's a reason that we like

to see superheroes do this.

Because maturing in Christ

and doing that with a bunch of sinners

is hard work.

If we're really honest,

and we started looking around this room

and don't do it,

it'll be awkward for people,

but if you start looking around,

you'll be like,

man,

that'd be hard to mature

with a whole bunch of sinners.

It'll be hard to propel each other forward.

It'll be hard to be a loving community.

It'll be hard to accomplish this task.

It's not an easy task.

It's not an uncontested task.

It's not even a task

being carried out in a stable world.

Paul uses the following words

to describe this work.

In verse 24 of Colossians 1,

he says he is suffering.

Suffering and filling up

what is lacking in Christ's afflictions.

And don't let that throw you off.

He's speaking namely to the fact

that Christ died once for all,

and now we as humans

are called to carry out that message

and go and make disciples of all nations.

And Paul says as he's doing that,

as he's proclaiming the gospel to all people,

he is suffering.

And he's not being dramatic.

In verse 25 he says he is a servant.

And the servant then,

in this way,

he's carrying a message to all people.

And if you read about Paul's life,

being the servant

and the way he's a servant

is also not an easy task.

There's no Uber in Paul's day.

He can't just hit the app

and have someone pick him up

and he goes to Galatia.

He gets in a ship.

He usually gets shipwrecked.

One time he's abandoned on an island,

has a poisonous snake bite him.

Occasionally people throw rocks at him

or beat him nearly to death.

When he says he's suffering as a servant,

he's not being dramatic.

He is suffering.

And then in Colossians 1.29 he says,

to this end I strenuously contend.

Which means I fight nobly.

And he's using the imagery of wrestling

or boxing or a soldier who fights.

There's the same language used in the first century

when a general calls his troops

to face the oncoming horde.

And he says,

strenuously contend against them.

He doesn't mean just give it a good try.

He means fight for your life.

Paul says,

fight as a community

to see each other fully matured in Christ.

The great thing is,

in verse 29 he says,

that this is done with all the energy

Christ Himself

so powerfully works in us.

And this is all a part of the Gospel.

That as a new creation,

God gives us the purpose we desire.

He places us within the community we crave.

And then while we within that community

strive to be conformed to the image of Christ,

it is accomplished by Christ's energy

which so powerfully works within us.

And that energy, as we saw last week,

that energy is what created everything.

That energy is what has fulfilled

all of redemptive history.

That energy is what enabled Paul

to suffer through all the trials

that he suffers through

to bring people the good news

of Jesus' resurrection

which was accomplished by that same energy.

Jesus got up out of the tomb

by the same energy

which Paul calls us to fight through.

That's the energy

that powerfully works in us,

His people.

And in closing,

I'll just give you two more

very practical ways

that we as a church

can mature in Christ

through His energy.

Paul shows us both right here.

The first is his primary weapon

that he fights in Christ's energy

and that's just through prayer.

It's interesting to note

in verse 1 of chapter 2,

Paul says

that he's never met

these Christians personally.

And in verse 5 though,

he says,

though he is absent in body,

he's present with them in spirit.

So we say,

well, how can he be present with them

if he's never even met them?

He says it's because he's

earnestly and continually

praying for the church in Colossae.

The words of Paul

and his associates

are doing the walking

and the working

that they cannot do.

Because while Paul's writing

this letter,

he's literally

in Rome in prison.

And he knows that

the best thing he can offer

the church in Colossae

is to pray for them

through the energy

that Christ works in him.

And then don't miss

that at the end of the letter,

Paul says,

Epaphras,

the one who planted the church,

he's right there

with Paul in Rome.

He says,

Epaphras,

he's always wrestling

in prayer for you

that you may stand firm

in the will of God,

mature,

and fully assured.

So even Epaphras,

the planter of this church

in Colossae,

that can't be there.

He says,

well, what can I do?

What can I do for the church?

He says,

I know I can wrestle.

I can wrestle for them

in prayer.

I can continuously,

I can fight for them

continuously in prayer.

We can contend

for each other in prayer.

I guarantee you,

if you ask someone today,

how can I pray for you this week,

you could get an answer.

I guarantee you.

And we don't ask it enough.

We start to think

of all the things

we could do

for someone else

within the body,

and I think Paul would say

the best thing you could do

is you could just say,

how can I pray for you this week?

I would love to go

with all of you

throughout your week

and do everything I could

to make your week better.

I can't.

But I can't pray for you.

Paul says he prays

for the church.

And he trusts

that that same energy

which created heavens and earth

and raised Christ from the dead,

that that energy

of the Holy Spirit of God

can work far more

than Paul ever could

in person.

And then ironically,

Paul says

one of the ways

in which

we can strenuously

contend

for our fellow believers

is through rest.

It sounds ironic,

doesn't it?

How could my

resting in something

help somebody else?

But don't miss the fact

that Paul has gone

out of his way

in this passage

to point out

that Jesus is the mystery

that has been kept hidden

for ages but now revealed.

Jesus is our hope of glory.

Jesus is the one

whom Paul proclaims.

Jesus is the one

whose image

we are being conformed into.

Jesus is the one

we are maturing in

and it's Jesus Christ's energy

which powerfully works

through us

so we can rest

in the gospel truth

that Jesus is doing

what he says he will do.

He is building his church.

He is working

through his people

to mature us in Christ.

We don't make good superheroes.

We really don't.

If everything is going bad,

I can't show up

and save the day.

We are not superheroes.

We are not the answer

to this world's problems.

But we know the answer,

don't we?

We can rest

in the answer.

We can tell people

about the answer.

and we can pray

for people

that they will

deeply come to know

the mysteries of God

which have been revealed

in Christ.

Jesus is the answer

to those mysteries.

Jesus is the treasure trove

of all knowledge

and wisdom of God.

He's the common bond

which holds his people together

in the community we crave.

Because of Jesus,

we can serve God's will

and gladness.

Because of Jesus,

we can enjoy God's presence

in unashamed purity.

He is the one

we are being fully matured into.

Let me say it again.

He is the one

we are being.

It is happening

for those who are in Christ.

We are being fully matured

into him.

He is the one

in whom the fullness of God

is pleased to dwell.

And because of who Jesus is,

we can live the lives

that we truly long to live.

Seeking to be matured in him

in the community

he's placed us in.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Father, we recognize that

like all people

we have this desire

to have a purpose.

And we desire

to fulfill that purpose

within a community.

That we don't want

to be lonely.

And yet we find ourselves

often completely

at our wit's end

about how to be

who you've called us to be

within the community

you've placed us in.

Father, would you help us

to rest assured

in the person

and work of Jesus Christ?

Would you release us

from this burden

of trying to be the Messiah

that you have already provided?

Would you spur us on

to pray for each other?

Would you spur us on

to point each other to Jesus?

Would you drive us

deeper into your word

through each other,

through reading your word,

through speaking about your word,

through hearing your word proclaimed?

Would you grow us

in our understanding

of the gospel?

Would you encourage us

through the scriptures

as you knit us together

in love?

God, we trust that you will

continue to fully mature us

in Jesus Christ.

We thank you

that we get glimpses

of that today.

That we get to see

each other take steps.

Lord, will we be

the kind of church

that when we see

a brother or sister

stumble,

cheers them on,

picks them up by the hand,

and continues

to strive with them.

Lord, we look forward

to the day

where we,

together as one

group of people,

your people,

stand,

kneel,

sing in your presence,

fully pure

and unashamed,

fully mature

in our Lord

and Savior,

Jesus Christ,

serving you

with gladness.

It's in Jesus' name

we pray

and it's through Jesus

that we worship.

Amen.

If you join me

in standing,

we'll sing another song.