Sermon Tone Analysis
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Paul’s goal, his prayer, and his labor was for these saints to be mature believers in Christ.
He wanted them to be firm, steadfast, complete, grounded in Christ alone as a means for their sanctification.
Our sanctification is possible because of Christ.
Our sanctification is possible only through Christ.
Our sanctification is impossible apart from Christ.
This Paul’s point in this letter to the Colossians.
He (Christ ALONE) has reconciled you in the body of his flesh through his death on the cross, why? to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in His sight.
Christ in you, the hope of glory- whom we preach (that is Christ ALONE), warning and teaching, why? that we may present every man perfect (mature, complete) in Christ.
This is the goal (Christlike maturity) for which Paul labours, and strives, and works.
I want you to know how great is my conflict or struggle for you, why? that you might have full assurance and understanding of the mystery of God even the Father- which is Christ!
Paul’s message- you can only grow in your relationship with God, you can only become steadfast and mature in your faith, if you seek after the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ is: Central, Sufficient, Preeminent!
This great and awesome ministry of Christ on our behalf for our sanctification is contrasted with the utter failure and complete inability of false teachings to produce Christian growth.
Not holding to the Head (Christ), the critical error, fatal flaw in man-made false teaching and religion.
Not is any honour to the satisfying of the flesh- false teachings, man made religions are on no honor (no value) in satisfying (stopping the indulgence) of the flesh.
What is Paul saying?
A series of man made rules (touch not, taste not, handle not) are utterly useless in stopping the indulgences of your flesh.
They cannot produce Christlike maturity in your life.
Any attempt at sanctification where Christ is not central is not just useless but dangerous to our spiritual growth.
In our Living the Exchange class, the question was asked, “if we are dead to the power of sin why do we keep on sinning?”
That question has been swirling around in my mind lately, and I think part of the answer is found in Colossians.
I think that Satan is crafty and subtle and sneaky.
And I wonder if we as believers fall prey to the error warned against in Colossians.
I wonder if at least part and maybe a large part of our efforts toward sanctification are done without Christ at its center.
In other words, we develop our own man-made set of rules and practices, and depend on them instead of Christ to grow spiritually.
If I part my hair this way I will be more spiritual.
If I wear this kind of clothes, or if I don’t eat this kind of food, or if I don’t watch TV on a Sunday, or if I read only a certain version of the bible, then I will become more spiritual.
Now, I am not saying that these things are wrong in and of themselves.
But when we depend on them to become Christlike and mature Paul says, “They are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.”
The question I want to ask and answer this afternoon is why?
Why is man-made false teaching dangerous and a completely unable to produce Christlike maturity?
Again, I appreciate Paul’s approach to dealing with this false teaching.
He doesn’t come right out and “lam-blast” them with, “how dare you be foolish enough to follow false teaching.”
Instead in vv.
3-8 he thanks God for their faith in Christ and their love for the saints.
Now Paul prays to God.
He prays to God for these believer’s growth and maturity in Christ.
This is what Paul wants for them.
This is where Paul wants their faith in Christ to go.
Now, there is a tremendous amount we can learn about is terms of how we should pray from this passage.
A few months ago we did a series on Paul’s prayer life in which I covered a lot of this content.
And so I want to examine this text from a different angle this afternoon.
Because I believe in examining Paul’s prayer for these believers and understanding what Paul wants their faith to look like we see something that only God through Christ can produce in our lives.
And the flip side of that is we see what false teaching, what man made religion is completely unable to do- and thus we understand its dangers and its failures.
Why is man-made false teaching dangerous and a completely unable to produce Christlike maturity?
I.
It is contrary to the will of God
*9 Διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἡμεῖς,
And because of this we,
ἀφʼ ἧς ἡμέρας ἠκούσαμεν,
from the day we heard of it (faith in the Christ Jesus, love in the Spirit),
οὐ παυόμεθα ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν προσευχόμενοι ⸋καὶ αἰτούμενοι⸌,*
have not ceased concerning you praying and asking,
ἵνα πληρωθῆτε τὴν ἐπίγνωσιν τοῦ θελήματος αὐτοῦ
that you might be filled with the knowledge of his will
From eternity past, the will of God has been to redeem sinners and to reconcile them to Himself through the blood of Jesus on the cross in order to present us holy and blameless before Him.
God’s will is for you, Christian, to be holy and unblameable and unreproveable in His sight, not just in the future, but now through the working of Christ’s blood on the cross.
No where does God say that his will is for you to become Christlike and mature in your faith through man made rules and regulations.
Why is man-made false teaching dangerous and a completely unable to produce Christlike maturity?
II.
It lacks the ministry of the Holy Spirit
ἵνα πληρωθῆτε τὴν ἐπίγνωσιν τοῦ θελήματος αὐτοῦ
that you might be filled with the knowledge of his will
ἐν* πάσῃ σοφίᾳ καὶ συνέσει πνευματικῇ,*
in all (Spiritual) wisdom and Spiritual understanding,
The Greek is constructed in such a way that I believe the word “Spiritual” modifies both the words “wisdom” and “understanding.”
Paul’s prayer was for Spiritual wisdom and Spiritual understanding.
I also believe the word “Spiritual” should be capitalized.
In other words this wisdom and understanding comes from the Holy Spirit of God.
The word “filled” is the same word used in Eph 5.18
I think Paul is praying that these believers would understand the will of God in its fullest sense.
The only way that is possible is for the Spirit of God to fill them and give them wisdom and understanding.
Man-made false teaching is completely lacking the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
These false teachers were fully convinced that if they followed rules and regulations that they could achieve a level of spirituality that was above that of the normal Christian.
But their wisdom, their understanding was not in line with God’s will neither were they filled with the Holy Spirit.
Their wisdom and understanding was flawed, it was earthly, it was fleshly.
Why is man-made false teaching dangerous and a completely unable to produce Christlike maturity?
III.
It produces a walk that is unworthy and unpleasing to God
Paul says we are praying for you
that you might be filled with the will of God
that your wisdom and understanding might be the product of the fill of the Holy Spirit of God
So that you might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing.
Paul wants these believers to walk (to live their lives) in such a way that it is worthy of the Lord.
Paul qualifies that statement of walking worthy of God with this:
10 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing,
“To please the Lord in all respects” to be “fully pleasing to Him”
Stop and think about that for a second.
How do you live in such a way that it is WORTHY of ALMIGHTY GOD? How do you live in such a way that you PLEASE the Lord in all respects?
We are utterly unworthy apart from Christ.
We are utterly unpleasing apart from Christ.
It is Christ and his blood shed for us that makes us worthy.
That and only that.
It is the blood of Christ that makes us pleasing in God’s sight.
Any attempt on our part towards sanctification apart from Christ cannot produce a walk that is worthy and pleasing to God.
Why is man-made false teaching dangerous and a completely unable to produce Christlike maturity?
IV.
It bears no fruit and produces no growth
10 περιπατῆσαι ⸆ ἀξίως τοῦ κυρίου
to walk worthy of the Lord
εἰς πᾶσαν ἀρεσκείαν,
to please the Lord in all respects
ἐν παντὶ ἔργῳ ἀγαθῷ καρποφοροῦντες
bearing fruit in all kinds of good deeds
καὶ αὐξανόμενοι ⸂τῇ ἐπιγνώσει*⸃ τοῦ θεοῦ,*
and growing in the knowledge of God
Why is man-made false teaching dangerous and a completely unable to produce Christlike maturity?
V.
It lacks divine power
11 ἐν πάσῃ δυνάμει δυναμούμενοι
Being strengthened with all power
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