Colossians Series, Part 2

| Posted by Ben Cotten on Aug 20, 2007 • (Comments)

We continued on with our series on the book of Colossians. Last week we stopped with what I think is the centerpiece of the book, verses 15-18. This week we stepped through Col. 1:19-23 [+/-] where we discover the great mystery of this supreme Jesus, coming to us, dying for us, choosing us and thus conveying us from being slaves to sin, to slaves to Christ.

Here are the highlights…

One of the reasons I’m doing this study is that I never want to assume everyone in the room knows how to study the Bible. While it’s true that we don’t need an intermediary to read and get fed by the Word, knowing some basic principles of study are very helpful. I also know that the best way to teach is to demonstrate and teach along the way. Often preachers who claim to preach “scripture by scripture” aren’t really doing it. They take each scripture and use it as jumping off point for whatever they want to preach about. They take a scripture verse and force it, like a square peg into a round hole, to make their point. Many times the point they are making is scriptural, but it just isn’t in the scripture they are reading! Not only does this make it too easy to teach something that is not scriptural, but it teaches the congregation the wrong way to study.

Hopefully by the time we are done, all of us will be better at this.

Col. 1:19 [+/-] is packed with goodies. The word “fullness” there is the greek “Pleroma”. It’s really interesting that Paul uses this word. Remember that Paul was writing this letter to help Epaphras combat heresy in his church and city. The heresy was a blending of Christianity and Gnosticism that attacked the supremacy of Christ. Pleroma was (and still is) a key concept in Gnosticism and a word that they used quite often. Without giving you a boring dissertation of Gnosticism, pleroma is the place where the supreme deity resides separate from earthly (and therefore evil) things. It cannot come in contact with us except through intermediate beings that are neither divine or earthly. But it’s more than a physical place, it also refers to the totallity of this divine power that all men long to access through “special knowledge”.

Paul steals their word, redefines it and explains to them that this pleroma is in Christ. Paul is telling them that the totality of the Godhead is all in Christ. He says ALL fullness. So Jesus doesn’t share part of the divinity with pleroma, but rather all of it.

Also, I think Paul’s use of their word in his argument shows that he understands their position and is finding ways to connect with them. So often we neglect this approach ourselves. We stop listening to people and trying to understand what their real questions are. So we end up giving them the wrong answers. Paul recognizes that these misguided people are searching for the right thing, but are looking in the wrong place. So instead of attacking this idea of pleroma (which he could have), he uses it to correct their course towards Christ.

Verse 20 then shows us that Jesus reconciles us to Himself and makes peace with us. He makes peace with us, we don’t make peace with Him. He chose us, we didn’t choose Him. It was only by the grace of God enabling me to see my sin and His ability to save me that I could even receive Him.

This idea follows through verses 21-23 where Paul says we were “alienated” from God. Alienated here means more than just being on the outside looking in or neglected. It means “transferred to a different owner”. We were owned by our sin. In the enemies camp. Jesus died for us and moved us into His kingdom, taking ownership Himself. He made us holy (clean), blameless (not guilty) and above reproach (not able to be justly accused).

The gospel is so much bigger than a narrow escape from Hell. It’s so much more!

Technorati Tags: sermon, colossians, bible, study, devotional, Christian, God, Jesus, supremacy, Christ