Colossians 1:9-14
Notes
Transcript
Intro:
Intro:
9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
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Last week we introduced Colossians and looked at the first 8 verses of this letter and learned a few things.
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First off… Paul had never visited this church. We don’t know how it was started… but it represents a common phenomenon in this world..
… where, after Acts 2.. people became believers on the day of Pentecost… and took their new found faith with them back into their homeland.
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The church at Colosse could have, very well, been started by someone who was there in Jerusalem on the day that Peter preached that sermon…
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Secondly… we know that a leader in this church named Epaphras had brought a report to Paul. He was there with Paul, ministering to him in prison, and receiving counsel concerning some issues back home in Colosse.
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Thirdly… we know that this church was facing some problems. We looked ahead into the letter to discover the context of Paul’s exhortation.
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These believers were facing two threats… Both of these threats opposed the simple Gospel that they were called to embrace:
THREAT NUMBER ONE
- Abandon the simplicity of the Gospel message that is maintained through Grace… for a system that requires rules, and laws, and observances...
THREAT NUMBER TWO
- Abandon the supremacy of Jesus, for something that is more culturally and academically appealing.
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One challenge came from Jewish influence… and one challenge came from the secular Greco-Roman influence..
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This is so applicable today…
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These are the challenges the church faces… to either embrace a legalistic mindset of laws, rules, rituals and tradition in exchange for the simplicity of the Gospel..
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OR… to embrace the ideas of our secular culture… that force our scriptures to bend towards the social agendas that constantly harangue us…
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Legalism… or theological liberalism. - These are our threats… and these are the threats that faced the church at Colosse.
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But I love how Paul addressed these threats. it wasn’t like the letter to the Galatians… or the Corinthians… where he wasted no time attacking their heresies. ..
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In this letter… his approach is gentle. Before Paul tells them what is wrong with the treats in their midst… he tells them what is right, about their identity in Christ.
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He starts with them… reminding them immediately, that they are ‘saints’… a word that they would interpreted as meaning ‘holy ones’..
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And this would have reminded them… that they are bound to be part of something amazing with God… they will not only worship before Him...
… but they will rule and reign with Him…
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THEY WILL… SAINTS WILL… -as Paul reminded the Corinthians in 1 Cor 6:2-3… - JUDGE THE WORLD… THEY WILL JUDGE ANGELS…
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This is the message they received when Paul called them ‘saints’… -
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Paul let them them know that their faith, and their actions of love… had a reputation that reached out, beyond their city..
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Paul let them know, that the Gospel which changed them… was working powerfully in the whole known world.
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In today’s passage, we learn a little bit more about their identity in Christ...
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Not only are they saints with an incredible reputation… but now… we learn JUST WHAT Paul and his team are praying for… concerning them.
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Paul… this respected leader in the church… this man who was called by Jesus personally, and tasked with a mission to bring the Gospel to the Gentile world…
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Paul had some very distinct ideas about the believers in Colosse… -AND HE PRAYED FOR THIS CHURCH… accordingly.
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Let’s stop and think about this for a moment. - What does it mean… when Paul prays that these believers would be filled with knowledge… and walk in a manner that is worthy o the Lord… and that they would bear fruit… or that they they would have strength and endurance?
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Are these just the opinions of crazy uncle Paul who got thrown into prison for being a bit too radical? Or, are these the beliefs of a man who was acting under the influence of the Holy Spirit?
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I don’t think that Paul was a crazy uncle. I think that Paul was writing the heart and the intent of God… in this letter… for all believers who would read it.
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So… the content of his prayers, is important for us to consider… especially since his prayers are incorporated in the scriptures we look to as being.. ‘THE WORD OF GOD’.
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so… TODAY… THIS IS OUR GOAL… We are going to figure out what Paul wanted the believers in Colosse to experience…
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And we are going to make it personal. For what good is a study of the Bible… if we don’t make it personal.
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yes… think of this, as Paul’s hope for the Colossian believers… BUT THINK OF THIS ALSO… as the Holy Spirit’s message for us.
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What did Paul pray for them? I believe we can look at this this and say, “This too, is the Holy Spirit’s intention for us.”
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9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
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This is the first thing, after a prayer of thanks… that Paul is asking concerning the believers in Colosse..
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That they would be filled with the knowledge of God’s will… but there’s a qualifier here… - Paul doesn’t want them to just have the information. Paul wants them to have the ability to properly compute that information…
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Yes… HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD’S WILL… But have it, in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.
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How do we gain the knowledge of God’s will? - Well, we go to the source. We go to the place where He has revealed it to us clearly. And that… is of course the Bible.
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But… ever since there have been scriptures, there have been people who interpret them wrongly. And sometimes, when people seem to understand what it is saying, they get the application wrong.
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So… the Bible is our source for knowing God’s will… and yet, humans do not have a good record at understanding what the Bible says or means.
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But I think this verse gives us a little help in this area.
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The Bible is full of information… but this information is no good, if we are not applying it with wisdom or understanding.
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20 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
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In this passage, it is the God of peace who equips us to do His will.
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This description of God is important. It reminds us… that His will is commissioned in peace.
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There are many in this world, who raise their weapons against others, and carry out acts of violence while proclaiming an endorsement from Yahweh.
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I say this as a person who carries a weapon. I carry a weapon in the rare and dreadful case that I might have to protect innocent and helpless people from an evil and violent attack.
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But history has been vandalized by people, who raise weapons in warfare and conquest… and declare… that it is their god who has commissioned them.
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No… those who do the will of God… a work that is pleasing to God… do it as servants who are commissioned by the God of peace.
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15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.
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The knowledge of God’s will, carried out in your life… can silence the ignorant and the foolish.
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How? By doing good.
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Not by shouting… not by pontificating… not with speeches and debates… not with great arguments…
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It is now that season where our philosophical divides are more clearly seen. - And here’s something that becomes abundantly clear. - No matter how many times we oppose the opposite party with our logic and reason… - it falls flat, like 99% of the time.
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I talk politics with my brother in law every week… and I’m right on all points. - And no matter how many times I proceed to show him how he’s wrong… his beliefs are unmoving.
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Peter did not prescribe this as the method for silencing ignorance and foolishness.
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Our pundant rants and revelations… are only for our team. They are the entertainment of a preacher speaking to the choir.
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But Peter describes the action of doing God’s will differently… - Not by arguing people into submission… - but rather… by DOING GOOD.
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You want to show someone what your faith is all about?
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They might oppose you and have some judgmental ideas about your faith… but you can silence their opposition… not with brilliant arguments… - but BY DOING GOOD.
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PETER GOES ON TO SAY IN THAT SAME LETTER:
2 so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.
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Living out the will of God… is contrary to human passion.
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What does human passion lead you to do? What is the Lust of the flesh, the eyes and pride of life calling you to? Your feelings? Your sympathies? Your social loyalties?
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Those are all human passion things…
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To to the will of God… to do good… is to act in a way that is contrary to our human passions.
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Paul prayed that the Colossian believers would be filled with the knowledge of God’s will…
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But, to truly act on that will… you need wisdom and understanding.
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James reminds us what wisdom looks like.
17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.
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Knowledge of God’s will… that is, knowledge of the Bible.. can be wielded like a club. People can be oppressed with the Word of God. People can be manipulated with the Word of God. People can be ripped off with the Word of God.
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But… knowledge of God’s will… which is qualified with wisdom and understanding… -
-is commissioned in peace
-is effective through good works...
-is contrary to human passions..
-and here in James… we are given an extensive list.
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it is pure, peaceable, gentle, OPEN TO REASON, full of mercy and good fruits.... IMPARTIAL AND sincere.
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You know… a lot of people go to Bible Schools… and they get degrees… and they amass information…
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But the school never taught them how to do the good works… or how to carry out that knowledge with purity, peace, gentleness or reason…
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The schools don’t teach mercy, impartiality, or sincerity..
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knowledge is the easy part… - but knowledge with spiritual wisdom and understanding… that’s a challenge.
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But that is Paul’s prayer for the church in Colosse… and I believe… that’s the Holy Spirit’s intent for us.
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10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
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Verse 9 and 10 are sandwiched by knowledge.
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We start out being filled with the knowledge of His will… and vs. 10 ends with the call to increase in the knowledge of God…
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There’s always more to learn… but I believe all of these other elements are vital to the learning process…
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Verse 10 seems to focus on those things that are pleasing to God… - things that are done with the intention of pleasing God.
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The first thing in this verse that we do, is to walk worthily of the Lord.
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This is one of those things that Paul likes to say. He said it also in Eph 4:1, Phil 1:27, and 1 Thes 2:12
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When the NT talks to us about our ‘walk’… it speaks of the manner in which we live our lives… - So… we could also say, for vs. 10 - ‘to live your life in a manner that is worthy… of the Lord.
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And I’m going to be honest with you… - even though Paul likes to say this… I don’t fully get it. -This is a call… a challenge… that I don’t think we are a capable of.
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To do something in a ‘worthy manner’… it means we are bringing our manner of life to a degree of comparable merit with the Lord.
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In fact… the next phrase is equally impossible. - to live our life in a manner that is FULLY pleasing to HIM? - Again… these are calls to action that are beyond our reach.
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Who amongst us could say… that our life is lived … with a quality that is on par with the person of God? Who amongst us could say… that their life is lived in a manner that is FULLY pleasing to the Lord?
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I confess… that the quality of my behavior… my actions… my thoughts… my motives… are not on par with my holy God…
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So what in the world is Paul saying here? What is Paul really calling us to?
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Maybe you know that answer… but we’re going to read the next couple verses… and I believe it will become evident.
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Hold on to this mystery for just a moment.
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11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.
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Here, we see a call to gain supernatural strength… from a supernatural source… for supernatural activity.
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to be strengthened with ALL power..
again… something that is out of my reach...
… but it goes on to indicate a supernatural source… - calling it ‘His glorious might’..
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To what purpose are we to seek this supernatural strength?
.... for endurance and patience with joy.
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there’s the hard part.
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Not only is it difficult to attain… but it’s not what we want to do when we have it. If we are given supernatural strength from a supernatural source… WE WANT TO DO BIG, POWERFUL, IMPRESSIVE THINGS…
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But, that’s not the supernatural strength and power is for.
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It’s for the impossible task of having both endurance, and patience… WITH JOY.
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NOW… vs. 12 is important. For in it… we are given an important answer to our question…
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How can I live in a worthy manner?
How can I be fully pleasing?
How can I be someone that God will give supernatural strength to?
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How? - By freely receiving His gift of qualification. Our God qualifies us… to live in a worthy manner… our God qualifies us.. to be fully pleasing… our God qualifies us… to receive supernatural strength…
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We would never gain such a qualification in our own strength…
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This is… “the grace of God” … kind of stuff.
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This is verse 14 kind of stuff… I’m skipping ahead… but we’ll end our study with verse 13… - verse 14 ties into this right now..
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What has God done to qualify us?
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look at vs. 14… He has redeemed us… and forgiven us.
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The idea behind the word redemption… is completeness… fullness. - If something is partially redeemed… it does not meed the definition of this word.
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IN THIS CULTURE…the word was used when a slave was set free with a payment… or a prisoner of war was bought back with a ransom.
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No strings attached… - you were once a slave… but now, you are completely free… no trial period… no probation… - 100% free.
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That’s what we are in Christ… 100% free.
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100% qualified by God… 100% worthy of Him… 100% pleasing to Him…
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Not by our strength… not by our will… not by determination… not by our accomplishments… not by our impressive might...
… - We did not pay the price to buy us out of captivity… Jesus paid it.
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Look now at vs. 13...
13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,
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Don’t pass over that word ‘domain’… - It’s a reminder of who we were, and where we were… before God qualified us… by buying us back 100% from slavery…
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A domain… is a jurisdiction of authority. -This verse uses the general term ‘darkness’ to tell us who held that authority.
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Darkness had the dominion… darkness had the legal claim and the authority over us, before we were bought back, 100%… from our slavery.
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We were residents of a different kingdom. We were the claim… the property… the dominion… of corrupt, wicked… evil… powers and principalities…
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But notice the transition in vs. 13… - Because God qualified us… because God bought us back 100%… we were transferred.
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Our membership was transferred… from the oppressive dominion of darkness… to the kingdom of God’s beloved son.
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This sets the stage… for the hymn that follows… next week we will begin at vs 15… and consider this song of Jesus…
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In this song… this hymn that follows… it speak of Jesus… the King of our new kingdom…
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And, if we didn’t already know… we will see in these following verses… that our King is pretty impressive.
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CONCLUSION...
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Before we wrap this up… let me remind you. There are problems facing the church in Colosse… - But Paul hasn’t bothered to address them yet…
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Paul is first… reminding them… of who they are in Jesus…
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Holy Ones… who will judge the world… who will judge angels… - Saints… with a reputation for faith and love...
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Recipients… and participants in the world changing Gospel…
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A people… who by grace alone… were qualified by God… bought back 100% from a slavery under the dominion and authority of darkness…
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A people… who, in spite of their own inability to do so… can now live, in worthy and pleasing manner… before God.
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A people… who have access to spiritual strength… - Because… living in this world is not easy… and as spiritual believers… we are in conflict with this world… so we need supernatural strength… to be patient… and to endure… and to do both of these things… - WITH JOY.
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WHEN YOU REALIZE WHO YOU REALLY ARE… And you realize the enormous value of the Gospel that made it all possible…
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Why would you be tempted… to abandon the simplicity of the Gospel… for legalism… or theological liberalism.
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If you realize how rich your life is in Christ… why would you abandon it… for some cheap man-made idea that was propagated back in the old domain of darkness.
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This is where things go south for the believer… -Thinking wrongly about God… and thinking wrongly about who you are, because of God.
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PAUL WILL ADDRESS THE PROBLEMS… but he is first, putting these believers in a state of mind… that will make them fully receptive of the warnings… and the corrections…
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Let me end by saying this one thing...
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I hope… that you here today… are realizing what the first readers of this letter realized… - That YOU are incredibly blessed, beyond reason… -
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And may the knowledge of that today… change you for all the tomorrows.