St Theodore's Wattle Park |
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Sermon of the Week | ||
15/11/98 |
Christ Alone is Sufficient |
Col 1:15-23 |
1. Introduction | |
Our Bible passage for today is Colossians chapter 1 verses 15 to 23. Please turn to the passage which can be found on pages 191 and 192 of the pew Bible. | |
I've entitled my sermon "Christ alone is sufficient" for reasons which I trust will soon become apparent. This passage is one of the high points in Paul's letter to the Colossians and one of the great descriptions of Christ to be found in the Bible. | |
A careful reading of the passage will enable us to gain a full understanding of who Christ actually is, that Christ is: | |
* the embodiment of all truth and power; | |
* the creator of the world and focus of all creation; | |
* the Head of the Church; and | |
* the one who overcame death so that we might be reconciled to God. | |
By gaining a deeper understanding of who Christ actually is, we will be better able to faithfully serve God and encouraged to share our beliefs with others with greater confidence. | |
But to understand this passage we need to know something about the background and Paul's purposes in writing this letter and this passage in particular. | |
2. Background | |
Colossae was a small town which was somewhat overshadowed by neighbouring cities such as Laodicea - a community which could be easily influenced by others. | |
We heard in Chris's sermon last week that the church at Colossae comprised of a small group of faithful Christians who were young in the faith. The Church had grown out of the ministry of Paul to the Ephesians. At Paul's instigation, Epaphras first brought the gospel to the Colossians. But like many Christians who are young in faith, there was a risk that the Colossians would fall into error in their beliefs through the influence of others. | |
3. The Colossian Heresy | |
It is this concern which prompted Paul to write this letter to the Colossians. Paul had become aware of what we now refer to as the "Colossian heresy". The Colossians were slipping into error in their beliefs through the influence of certain new teachers. | |
These new teachers were promoting such things as: | |
* the need for a special form of spiritual knowledge and faith which they alone could impart and share with others; | |
* the importance of observing various forms of personal abstinence, such as prolonged fasting, designed to achieve personal perfection; and | |
* the need to invoke the assistance of angelic beings and other mediators to communicate with God. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? | |
4. Paul's Objectives | |
Prompted by this concern, Paul writes this letter to the faithful Christians at Colossae with a view to: | |
* reassuring them as to their proper standing as Christians; | |
* confirming the accuracy of the Christian message which they had first received; and | |
* encouraging the Colossians to increase in their knowledge and love of Christ. | |
It is not that they are in danger of rejecting their faith. Far from it, we saw last week in chapter one that the Colossian were known for their faith, their love and their hope in Jesus Christ. It is just that they are in danger of falling into error under the influence of the new teachers and need to be put on the right track. | |
Question: How many of us need reassurance about our own standing as Christians? Can't we all relate to those moments of doubt when perhaps we think we are a phoney? How easy it is to begin to doubt our faith in the face of the persistent challenges from our secular world. We need to be assured that the Christian faith is the only truth worth living for. | |
Question: How many of us, too, need to be confirmed in the accuracy of the Christian message we first received? To be reminded that there is nothing which needs to be added to or taken away from the message? And we all need encouragement don't we to increase our knowledge and love of Christ. | |
So how is Paul going to do all that? How can he best encourage us in our knowledge and love of Christ? He does it by reminding us of the deity of Christ; of the supremacy of Christ as creator and as head of the Church; and by his conquest over sin and death. | |
Let's look at what Paul has to say. | |
5. Christ: "The Image of the Invisible God" | |
He begins with the statement in verse 15 that Christ is "the image of the invisible God" (repeat). | |
The reference to "image" reminds us of the account in Genesis of our own creation, that we too are made in God's image. We are imperfect, but Jesus is the perfect revelation of God. He is God in all his sinless perfection revealed to us in human form. As the perfect revelation of God in human form, Christ is the full embodiment of all truth. God is an awesome God, an invisible God whom no-one has seen, yet Jesus reveals Him to us in all His glory. | |
Why does Paul begin here with his message? Well, it is because if Christ were anything less, then there might be a need to pursue some other kind of knowledge or truth, the sort of extra knowledge the new teachers in Colossae were promoting and claiming that they possessed. | |
Like the Colossians, it is so easy for us to say "yes, I believe in Christ" but deep down wonder if there isn't more to life than Christ - perhaps some other truth to be discovered about life - some other source from which to draw meaning and purpose in life. Perhaps we seek it in our jobs, our families, our friends or in our hobbies. | |
But Paul is reminding us that Christ is the living embodiment of all truth - the one and only person who can give real meaning, purpose and perspective to every aspect of our lives if we will only allow him to. | |
Illustration: This is a truth which is so clearly demonstrated in our own society today. We have witnessed such enormous scientific and technological advances in the last 20 years all designed to make our lives easier, more comfortable and more efficient. And yet fundamental human needs still remain unfulfilled - the need for meaning and purpose in life, for identity and direction, the need for lasting and fulfilling personal relationships, is still as strong as ever. The graphic pictures of domestic violence and child abuse that we are confronted with each day, speak volumes of what has been described as that "emptiness inside" so many people's lives. Only our creator can fill that emptiness inside and answer the great questions of life. | |
6. Christ: "The Firstborn of Creation" | |
If Jesus then is the image of the invisible God, he is also the "firstborn of creation" so we are told in verse 15. That is: | |
* He existed before all creation; | |
* by Him all things were created both on heaven and on earth; | |
* all things were created for Him; and | |
* in Him all things in creation hold together. | |
Now these are some pretty amazing claims. Let's just think about them for a moment. "Firstborn of creation" doesn't mean that Jesus is part of creation, for we are told that he existed before creation. He was present at the very beginning, so he can't be part of that creation. | |
Some of us may have grown up with a simplistic understanding that: | |
* first there was God, the Father and Creator; and | |
* later came God the Son sent to us in human form by the Father in order that we might be saved; and | |
* later still, following the conclusion of Jesus' ministry, his death and resurrection, there was God the Holy Spirit to carry on Jesus' ministry. | |
But, this isn't a scriptural understanding at all. Christ was present at the very beginning before Creation. | |
Paul states plainly in all this that the living Christ who died to redeem us, is the creator and sustainer of the universe. He is the central focus of the universe, the reason for its existence and the unifying principle of its life which holds all creation together. | |
But I wonder do we really believe this? Is it really true? If it is, then it makes sense that such a person would have the answers to the difficult questions of life - difficult questions about the meaning and purpose of life. | |
And we are told too that what is true of the physical world is true also for the spiritual world as well. Christ is the creator and sustainer of both worlds - heaven and earth. | |
But, again, why is Paul saying all of this to the Colossians? He is saying it because they are being told to look to angels as mediators rather than Christ. Yet Christ is the one who made even angels and is therefore greater than them. We don't need angels as mediators because in Christ we have the ability to face and to attain victory over all experiences of life and all opposition which we encounter. We don't need to fear anything at all, for all powers are subject to Christ himself. | |
Isn't this a wonderfully liberating thought. It allows us to face the future with great confidence and assurance because all thrones, dominions, rulers and authorities are created by Christ and subject to him. | |
The new teachers of the Colossian church were preaching a rather different message, that there was a further spiritual experience and power needed to experience life to the full which was beyond that of receiving Christ - beyond that of the conversion experience - that they needed angels to intercede for them, but here Paul has shown us why this cannot be so. | |
Today we're constantly being told that so many things matter in life - money, possessions, career, whatever it might be. Everything but the person who really matters. | |
National Mutual will tell you that the most important person in your life is "you". MLC will tell you that "money matters". | |
But Paul is saying that Christ is at the centre of all things and in him all things hold together - both physical and spiritual. That means that we can't fully make sense of life, unless we put Christ first at the centre of our lives, for this is the fundamental truth of creation. We cannot pigeonhole our faith to particular areas of our life, much as we might like to. | |
7. Christ: "The Head of the Church" | |
Well, we've heard how Christ is "the image of the invisible God" and "the first born of creation". | |
Next, we are told in verse 18 that Christ is the "head of the Church". | |
Christ is not only supreme over the physical world, but over the Church as well. This is consistent with the earlier reference to Christ having created and having power over all created things "both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible". | |
This is not a new idea for us. We are used to thinking of ourselves as part of the body of Christ and Christ as the head. But why is Paul wanting to tell the Colossians this? It seems to me that there are at least two good reasons: | |
* firstly, Paul is reminding the Colossians that Christ's authority is primary. The new teachers at Colossae were a little too inclined to accumulate authority to themselves. But Paul is reminding them that such authority rests with Christ alone. This is always a valuable reminder to our Church leaders today; and | |
* secondly, he is reminding the Colossians of the importance of loyalty to Christ's teachings. | |
I'm sure the Colossians were probably scarcely aware that their loyalty was in question, so subtle were the influences of the new teachers. | |
But this issue of loyalty to Christ's teaching is an important question for us today, both individually and as a church. Do we recognise Christ's authority over our lives or do we act at times as if we have put someone else in Christ's place? Perhaps we give first place to our own authority or the authority of another in place of that of Christ in our lives? Are we really loyal to Christ's teaching, or do we give his teaching our own gloss according to what suits us? We need to examine ourselves and our own decision-making to see if we are really submitting to Christ's authority in our own lives - in what we do with our time, our talents and our resources. | |
And what is true for us is true for the Church as well. Is the Church today loyal to Christ's authority and teaching, or is man-made religion and tradition in danger of comprising that loyalty and that submission to Christ's teaching? | |
8. Christ: "The Firstborn from the Dead" | |
Finally, we are told in verse 18 that Christ is the "firstborn from the dead". | |
Before we were told that he was the "firstborn of creation". Now we are told he is "the firstborn from the dead". | |
This is a clear reference to the Cross, to his death and resurrection. Christ is the first and only one to have victory over death and over all those forces of evil that have held us in bondage. He died so that we can have life and have it abundantly. | |
We have moved from Christ the Creator to Christ the Redeemer, the one who reconciles us to our Father. | |
We are told in verse 21 and in the following verses that we were "once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds" but "Christ has reconciled us in his fleshly body through death, so as to present us holy and blameless and irreproachable before him". | |
Conversion is a decisive once and for all act which Paul doesn't want us to underestimate. Whether we have had an experience like Paul on the Damascus Road or not, our conversion is the turning point in our own life - the one event that we should never forget, but use as a constant reference point for the future course of our lives. | |
That turning point is achieved by reconciliation to God through Jesus' bodily death. The emphasis upon Jesus' physical bodily death is an important corrective to the Colossian heresy which placed undue emphasis upon the spiritual. The new teachers had been saying to the Colossians that what happened in the body wasn't as important as what happened at the spiritual level, but the true gospel message centres around Christ's bodily death and resurrection. | |
The other corrective, of course, is that Christ as the great reconciler of people to God is the one and only mediator to God. "No one comes to the Father but by the Son". There is no need for any other mediator, be it an angel as promoted amongst the Colossians or any other form of modern mediator. | |
In the Alpha course that we did recently, we were told a story about the American Civil War. As a result of a family tragedy, a soldier was granted permission to go and see the American President at the White House. The purpose of the soldier's visit was to request exemption from military service. When the soldier got to the front door of the White House, he was turned away. The soldier despondently left the front steps of the White House and sat down on a park bench close by feeling quite depressed and reflecting upon his situation. While sitting there a young man appeared and started to talk to the soldier. Before he knew it, the soldier found himself pouring out his troubles to this young man. Suddenly, the young man said "follow me". The soldier got up and followed the young man around the back of the White House and into the back door. The soldier was amazed that the guards and the White House staff allowed them to walk straight inside. The young man walked right up to the door of the Presidential office and without knocking walked straight in with the soldier in tow. There they were standing before the President Abraham Lincoln who was talking with the Secretary of State. The President turned and said "What can I do for you Todd?" and the boy replied, "Dad, this soldier needs your help!". The soldier had access to the President through his son. | |
In much the same way, we have a mediator with unique qualifications for speaking to God now on our behalf. We have a personal and direct relationship with the Father through Christ the Son. We don't need any other means of coming to God. | |
9. Continue in Your Faith | |
Knowing all this about Christ, we are encouraged in verse 23 to "continue securely, established and steadfast in the faith". | |
Our conversion experience, decisive as it is, needs to be followed up by a life characterised by steadfast faith and perseverance. | |
I have just finished reading the biography of Robert Hudson Taylor, a Yorkshireman born in 1832 who committed his whole life to bringing the gospel into the most remote parts of inland China. He was to become the founder of the China Inland Mission which eventually sent thousands of missionaries into inland China with the message of the gospel. | |
But this incredible missionary enterprise began with one man travelling to Shanghai on his own at 22 years of age. Robert Hudson Taylor dedicated himself to learning the Chinese language and culture. Having lived for a time in the expatriate missionary community of Shanghai, he decided to leave the security of that community, to adopt Chinese dress, which was unheard of at that time and to live amongst the Chinese in regions where no westerner had lived before. Such were the humble beginnings of the China Inland Mission. Never once for the life of that organisation did Hudson Taylor publicly appeal for the substantial funds needed to support what became a missionary enterprise involving hundreds of missionary, but the mission was based wholly upon faith and prayer. Clearly Hudson Taylor knew what it was to be steadfast in faith and to persevere. | |
Paul's preoccupation with the need for such a faith, suggests that perhaps the initial enthusiasm of the Colossians was being dimmed and that they were in danger of compromising their faith. I wonder if we in danger of doing this? | |
Just like the Colossians, we are encouraged not to be complacent or slack about our faith, but to hold fast to the hope that is in the gospel. We must remain steadfast in faith and persevere in our faith. Those who attain the goal of eternal salvation will be those who have held fast to the hope of the gospel and remained steadfast in faith. | |
At the final evening of our Alpha course this year, this very issue was the subject of much discussion, perhaps the most hotly contended issue of the Alpha course. We need not just to receive Christ at our conversion and to believe in his name, but to persevere in our faith right throughout our lives. | |
Let's make sure that we do just that. | |
10. Conclusion | |
In conclusion, Paul is reminding the Colossians and the same time reminding us, that there are a number of reasons why a belief in Christ alone is sufficient: | |
* because he is the "image of the invisible God" who perfectly embodies all truth, both physical and spiritual, and all power; | |
* because he is the "firstborn of creation" - the creator, sustainer and focus of creation, the one person who could make sense of the world in which we live; | |
* because he is the "head of the Church" whose authority we can respect and to whom we can give allegiance with absolute confidence; and | |
* because he is the "firstborn from the dead", the one who overcame death so that we could be reconciled to God through him. | |
And for all these reasons, we are encouraged to continue in the faith with steadfastness and perseverance. |
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