PAUL’S CONCERN FOR THE CHURCH AT COLOSSE
Col. 2:1-5
Morning Meditation 3/23/17
Verse 1-5 says, “For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh; That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgment of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words. For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ.”
Gnosticism was a real problem in the days of the early church. Paul knew the damage that this heresy could have on the young Christians in the churches. The Gnostics had a complicated and reasoned view of the origin of the universe and the way it came into being. One of Satan’s traps is the intellectual trap. It was in the Garden of Eden and it has been ever since. The Gnostics were an intellectually elite group who prided themselves in their views of how it all began. It did have a strong appeal to the flesh. Paul’s answer to the Gnostics has given us one of the greatest books in the New Testament on Christ as God. When you are declaring your faith against the backdrop of heresy, the truth you teach is more definitive. I believe we will discover that this is what Paul does in Colossians. First, lets look at,
THE INTERNAL CONFLICT HE HAD FOR THEM
Every preacher should have a godly jealousy for the people over whom the Holy Spirit has placed him to minister (Acts 20:28). Hebrews 13:17 says, “Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.” Preachers are to watch for people’s souls according to this verse of Scripture. Paul was a man who took seriously his call to the apostleship. He had never seen most of the people in Colosse but his heart was with them. He was concerned that they not allow their faith to be diluted with the Gnostic heresy.
May the Lord give us preachers in our day who will take their calling seriously and take the time go get into the Word and come out with messages that will strengthen the people to withstand the many heresies in this day of apostasy. There must be a concern deep enough to draw a commitment from us to give ourselves completely to His Word and the communication of it.
Paul said, “For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you . . .” The word “would” translates “thelo” and means, “desire.” It is a present tense verb and means that he is speaking of a continual desire. The word “conflict” translates “agon” and means, “any struggle or contest.” It was used to describe the actions of athletic contestants preparing for and competing in the games. It refers to rigorous activity. Goodspeed translates it, “What a fight I am putting up for you.” When Paul heard of the attempt of the Gnostics to pervert the faith of those in Colosse and Laodicea, he entered into a spiritual conflict with Satan. I believe, had we been there, we would have noticed the conflict that Paul was having. Out of that struggle came this Book, and out of the reading of this book in the Churches, Gnosticism suffered a defeat.
One of the things that would be evident to the Colossians is that Paul really cared for them. He loved them though he had never seen them. When you love someone, you want to protect them against the doctrines of demons (1 Tim. 4:1) and this love for God’s family reaches out into the christian community in general. When you see false doctrine making headway in general it motivates you to attack it to protect God’s people.
I believe that this has motivated ministries that have come into existence to combat false doctrine. I’m thinking of some preachers now as I write these lines who are giving themselves to fight the cults and expose error. I have often thought, “I couldn’t spend that much time researching false doctrine and exposing it.” But it seems that some have a burden to do this. And quite frankly, I am helped by the material they come up with. I believe they do us a great service. Paul had an internal conflict over the heresy of Gnosticism and out of that conflict we have the Book of Colossians. Amen!
Then next we see,
HIS EVALUATION OF THEIR NEED
Verse 2 says, “That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ.” Lets notice a few points that are evident in this verse:
1.Heresy divides a local church. Paul speaks of “hearts being knit together in love.” If another view is projected, there will be someone who will believe it. It is just that way. There will be others who won’t. You have a division at this point and it begins to affect the love of God in the body of Christ. Paul was concerned about this. We should guard against things that divide. Paul says in 1 Cor. 1:10, “Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.” Some christians are young in the faith and immature and they cannot handle false views without being affected by it.
When I was pastor, I had a problem with Sunday School classes that operated on the basis of open discussion. I pastored a church or two that had open discussions in the adult class. The teacher who was in charge invited discussions. I heard points discussed where heresy was taught by the person responding. And the teacher did not refute the heresy for fear of offending the person. It bothered me because God gave me the responsibility for what was taught in that local church (1 Peter 5:2). Any teacher in the local church shares the teaching responsibility with the pastor whom God holds responsible for what is taught. The Lord led me away from open discussion type classes at least for the adults. It is easier to not invite different views than to refute the views and offend those stating them. You might win that person to the truth if you don’t have to deal publicly with his wrong views and embarrass him. Now whether you agree with it or not, it is wrong to allow a heretical statement to stand unchallenged when it was made publicly before other people. If it does, then it becomes what that church or class teaches. I will never forget a public testimony meeting in a Sunday morning service where a man stood and was giving a testimony that taught heresy. I simply leaned over the pulpit and said SIR repeatedly until I got his attention and then told him to sit down and shut up! The news got out that I would not tolerate views to be taught in that church that differed from our beliefs and doctrinal statement. You say, “that is not nice.” You are right. But being nice is not our first responsibility. Being right IS. Being nice follows very close.
2.Having a correct understanding of Scripture is important. Paul speaks of a “full assurance of understanding.” Full assurance and proper understanding of what the Bible teaches is what Paul is talking about. There are some things we can know. I go to bed at night with the perfect assurance that if I don’t wake up in this life I will in the presence of God. That helps me go to sleep!!!
3.Being able to ACKNOWLEDGE the mystery that Paul teaches is important. The word “acknowledgment” translates “epignosis” and means, “a precise and correct knowledge.” In other words Paul is saying that a Christian should be able to pass a test on the truth of “Christ in you the hope of glory” and/or the truth of Galatians 2:20.
Then next,
HE SPEAKS OF CHRIST AS THE END
What I mean by this is that when you find Christ, you do not have to look further. There is no progress to be made past Christ. All that there is to be learned about anything is found in Him. And God has made it so.
The words, “In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” declare that Christ is the END. And Isn’t He called the End? Revelation 21:6 says, “And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. Revelation 22:13 says, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.” Note the following:
1.The place where these things are hidden: “In Whom.”
2.They are hidden. Even though they are in Christ and it is announced, one can go there looking and not find them until certain conditions are met. The Gnostics were very intellectual and they were trying to relate their heresy to the gospel message. But the truth was hidden from them. They must be born again before they will ever find the truths hidden in Christ. Another condition is to be led by the Spirit after one is saved (1 Cor. 2:14-15). Carnal Christians do not find what is hidden in Christ.
3.The Bible is a treasure house to the Spirit filled believer.. Paul uses the words “treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” The word “treasures” translates “thesauros” and means, “a treasury storehouse, a repository.” Have you ever heard a speaker that got up and taught the Word of God and as you listened you could find nothing wrong with what he said; he was academically and theologically correct, but something was missing? On the other hand, you have also heard another who got up and spoke and you realized as you listened that he had been into a treasure-house and had come out sharing these treasures with anyone who would listen? Paul said that Jesus is where these treasures are found.
Then next,
THE DANGER OF BEING LED ASTRAY
Most Christians think they cannot be led astray. They have the self confidence that they know what is right from what is wrong. It has been my experience as a pastor that this is not true. I have seen good people that I love led astray by one who was so obviously wrong. It is not ones self confidence that will keep him right. It is a thorough knowledge of the Word of God and that doesn’t happen overnight.
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10:12, “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.”
Then finally we see,
THE COMPLIMENT HE MADE ABOUT THEIR FAITH
He says in verse 5, “For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ.” Paul acknowledges that they are steadfast in their faith in Christ. He does not classify them as a bunch of dummies. He writes to them as brothers in Christ.
I will close with this thought. If Paul believed, and he did, that these Christians were steadfast in their faith in Christ, and he wrote this letter to them warning them against being led astray by the Gnostics, we have to believe that true Christians who really believe in Christ can be led astray. The way to secure the saints against heresy is to ground them in the “mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ.” Amen.
May the Lord bless these words to our hearts.
