Heritage Reformed Baptist Mission
COLOSSIANS
A small letter with a large meaning
Sermon 5
Christ, the Revealed Mystery of God
Colossians 2:1-7
People, by nature, are religious. They are particularly interested in the supernatural, the mysterious. No doubt this was one of the things in the false teachings being propagated in their city which caught the attention of the people of Colosse. It was only a step from the mythological pagan gods which they worshiped to angels and other emanations which supposedly would give them a more complete knowledge of and higher spiritual standing in spiritual things. Having turned to God from their pagan gods, and being relatively young in the faith of Christ, the Colossian believers were in danger of being tempted by the world, the flesh and the devil to embrace these false teachings.
Too, there were religious Jews who taught that Christ was not enough. The Law of Moses, especially circumcision and the ceremonies, must also be observed. This, along with the mysterious, was a grave danger to the faith of the believers in and around Colosse. Their faith needed strengthening. They needed encouragement to stand fast against these temptations. They needed to know beyond the shadow of a doubt the truth of the Gospel which they had heard and received.
The real mystery was not that which the false teachers preached and taught. It was Jesus Christ, the One whom they had trusted, the One to whom they had turned from their idols. But the mystery of Christ, which had been hidden in past ages, was no longer a mystery. He had been revealed, first to the Jews and now to the Gentiles. That’s the basic message recorded in our text for this sermon.
At the close of Colossians 1, Paul informed the believers his labor in the Gospel involved “striving”, earnestly seeking the spiritual perfection of those to whom he preached. That labor was a “conflict”, a contest, a struggle, a battle. It was spiritual warfare against Satan and his hosts, the authors, aiders and abetters of the false teachers and their teachings. Not only did Paul strive for those to whom he preached, but also even for those who had never seen him, to whom he had never personally preached. He was concerned for all believers, whoever and wherever they were. A fit example, not only for preachers of the Gospel, but for every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul’s striving for them was in order “that their hearts might be comforted” amidst the trials and tribulations they would encounter; and especially amidst the attacks of Satan which they were now experiencing in the form of the false teachings around them. His goal in the comforting was that their hearts be “knit together in love,” the tie that binds all believers together in the body of Christ. Further, he desired them to have “the riches of the full assurance of understanding” of the “mystery of God.” Nothing provides assurance of salvation and eternal life like a full understanding of what God has done in Christ for His people. The false teachings which were assaulting them contained unrevealed and unknown mysteries. But, though it had been hidden in ages past, the mystery of God concerning Christ was now an open book. Everything God wanted men to know for their complete salvation from sin and the gift of eternal life, even spiritual perfection, was revealed in His only begotten Son. They must not only hear it, but fully confess the fact of it and fully submit to it.
The pursuit of wisdom and knowledge has been man’s quest from the time Eve determined the forbidden fruit was “desired to make one wise” (Genesis 3:6). But the pursuit, apart from the intervention of God, has always been in the wrong direction. The Colossian believers had been involved in that pursuit, as all are. But God had intervened in their lives. He had sent them the Gospel of Christ, “in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Everything they needed, everything anyone needs is in Christ. It is still hidden from unbelievers, but is revealed to those who trust Christ. It accompanies salvation and the gift of eternal life. The wisdom pursued by natural man is “earthly, sensual, devilish” (James 3:25) and ends in eternal damnation.
Everything thus far written in the letter about Christ, the Gospel, the revealed mystery, the wisdom and knowledge, all of that is the truth of God as opposed to the false teaching of those who claimed to have deeper understanding. Paul wrote it all for the purpose of strengthening them (and us) against the deceitful, artful, well-thought-out words of the false teachers. Much of what they taught (and teach) sounds very believable, even supernatural and mysterious. But it is design to catch the unwary and gullible, and lead them away from the truth of God. (See Isaiah 8:19-20)
The fact Paul had never seen the Colossian Christians teaches us that we don’t have to be physically with or even personally know others in order to rejoice with them concerning their faith in Christ and their faithfulness to Christ. Believers, whoever and wherever they are, are of one spirit together in the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus prayed to that end in John 17:20-23 and it is unthinkable that His prayer would not be answered. Further, Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 12: 13, “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
The Colossians had received “Christ” (God’s one and only promised Messiah) “Jesus” (the Savior of His people from their sins) “the Lord (God in the flesh) by faith. Professing to have received Him, though, is not proof He has really been received. That proof is seen in a consistent way of life, godly behavior lived by the same faith through which Christ was received, continuing to trust Christ Jesus the Lord and Him alone.
A plant draws moisture and minerals from the soil which sustains both its life and its growth. Just so the believer draws life from Christ Jesus the Lord, who is the Source of life. Outside of Him, there is no life, only existence. A building rises to completion from a foundation block-by-block, brick-by-brick, plank-by-plank. The believer, whose foundation is Christ Jesus the Lord (see 1 Corinthians 3:11) rises to spiritual maturity step-by-step, a process which continues until physical death or the return of Christ, whichever occurs first.
“Christ crucified” (1 Corinthians 1:23) is the subject of the Gospel and must be, as He was with Paul, the subject of all Christian preaching, whether in proclaiming Him for salvation or for sanctification. He is the whole counsel of God.
Believers are “established in the faith” with unwavering stability by continuous trust in Christ Jesus the Lord. Such trust makes them unmovable by deceitful teachers and teachings. They will not, they cannot be deceived to the point of apostasy.
There is nothing in this world for which believers should be more thankful and for which they should express thanks to God than the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is that Gospel which reveals Him who is the mystery of God. It is He who takes away the spiritual darkness and shines the light of glory into the lives of His people. It is He who forgives sin and gives the gift of eternal life. He is all!!!