Outline
I. Series Introduction
a. Background: Who, What, When, Where, Why – v.1-2.
II. Introduction
III. Transition
a. Paul found his identity in Christ. He presses the church and us to likewise find our identity in Christ, as highlighted in the text.
IV. CIT/CIS: Finding Identity in Christ produces thanksgiving and prayer.
V. Exposition
a. Thanksgiving: Those who find identity in Christ are thankful. (v.3-8)
i. Paul was thankful because of the church’s faith in Christ.
ii. Paul was thankful because of the church’s love for saints.
iii. Paul was thankful because the church was filled with:
1. Faith, love, hope. (v.5)
2. Because of the Gospel, the word of truth. (v.5)
iv. The Gospel bears fruit wherever it goes. (v.6)
v. The Gospel bears witness to the fullness of God’s grace. (v.6)
vi. The Gospel bears believers when proclaimed. (v.7)
b. Prayer: Those who find identity in Christ never cease praying. (v.9-14)
i. Paul prayed for the church to find knowledge and wisdom.
1. Knowledge & wisdom are not synonymous. (I Cor. 1:20)
2. Natural wisdom is not enough. (II Cor. 1:12)
3. Our identity is supernatural. (John 3:3)
4. Wisdom is the supernatural gift of God. (II Chro. 1:11-13)
ii. Identifying with Christ is the basis for a fruitful life. (v.10-11)
iii. Believers are rescued from darkness to the kingdom. (v.13-14)
VI. Conclusion
“Thanksgiving and Prayer,” Colossians 1:1-14
Colossians: Our Identity in Christ, Part-1
Series Introduction
Background: The book of Colossians was written by the Apostle Paul from Rome during his first imprisonment there to the believers at Colossae. At about the same time Paul wrote Ephesians and Philemon (60-62). Colosse was in the Lycus Valley, about 100 miles east of Ephesus in Asia Minor. Its name is possibly derived from Colossus, a large statue, which in turn may have been named for the unusual shape of stony deposits there. Colossae is about 12 miles from Hierapolis and Laodicea, the lukewarm church mentioned in revelation.
Three purposes seem to have been in Paul’s mind as he wrote Colossians. First, he sought to show the deity and supremacy of Christ in the face of the Colossian heresy (Col_1:18; Col_2:9). Apparently at least some of the believers had fallen into one of the heresies of the early church – likely a Gnostic heresy which took many forms in the early church, often denying the divinity of Jesus. Second, he wanted to lead believers into spiritual maturity (Col_1:28; Col_2:6-7). Third, he wanted to inform them about his state of affairs and elicited their prayers on his behalf (Col_4:2-8).
As we move forward in this sermon series our emphasis will be upon Paul’s emphasis of the divine nature of Christ and our finding our identity in Him.
Introduction
In much of the south, a common sight is trees completely covered with kudzu vines. Often these lush-green leafy vines completely hide the tree and even small houses. Although imported to be a ground cover to combat erosion, these vines are now a curse. Covering acres and acres of excellent timber and farmland, they slowly destroy other vegetation. And the kudzu begins as a little seed but is almost impossible to eliminate, once it sets its woody roots.
Spiritual and moral kudzu vines choke our world and hide our true identity. They begin as insignificant seeds of thought and grow into massive systems of destructive thinking, completely distorting and hiding our real nature, even from ourselves.
In the parable of the sower Jesus warned about weeds that choke the true plant and keep it from bearing fruit. The kudzu vine is not really the tree whose exterior it covers. It is a foreign element so attached to the tree that one could easily mistake it for the tree itself.
Transition
If we are to bear fruit and become increasingly spiritually mature, able to withstand the attacks of the enemy; able to stand firm for Christ; we have to learn to find our only source of perfect strength – identity in Christ. Paul found his identity in Christ. He presses the church and us to likewise find our identity in Christ, as highlighted in the text. Spiritual maturity is a question of identity.
CIT / CIS: Finding Identity in Christ produces thanksgiving and prayer.
Exposition
Thanksgiving: Those who find identity in Christ are thankful. (v.3-8) Today we live in a culture with a veritable epidemic of thanklessness. Just look around. Everywhere we turn we find abundantly blessed people complaining about what they don’t have. People with good health mock the suffering of others with complaints about crow’s feet or their need for cosmetic plastic surgery.
Rather than being thankful for what we have we complain about what we don’t have. In children that trait is called immaturity. What about when it’s in adults?
Folks with nice homes in safe neighborhoods who run down their home and only want more of what they don’t have. We have a real dilemma of thanklessness in our culture. Sadly, this is equally true in the churches today. We look at what the church down the street is doing and wonder why God isn’t blessing us that way?
We should always be working to make things better. As Jerry Falwell used to say, “If it’s Christian it should be better.” However, our drive and desire to do more for God, for our families, and ourselves is most noteworthy when it is born of thankfulness for all that God has done for us.
A Christian heart devoid of thankfulness proves a lack of humility. Pride chokes praise. Worldliness kills worship. Thankfulness is requisite to identity in Christ.
Paul was thankful because of the church’s faith in Christ. My friend, do you revel in the beauty of the Church? The Apostle Paul did. Do you have an abiding thankfulness and love for the Body of Christ. The Church is the repository of faith.
Are you thankful for the faith that is found among the saints? Is the faith of the believers which fuels your faith a treasure to you? I wrote an article in the most recent edition of the Hampton Roads Church Guide based on Hebrews 12:1 reminding and encouraging believers that we are not the first to traverse the difficult crags and crooks of these mountains that we climb.
There it is written, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, we must get rid of every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and run with endurance the race set out for us.” (Hebrews 12:1 NET)
We are not alone. From saints of old to the believers today we have the great gift not only of faith but of the faithful, faith filled, family of faith – the Church.
Paul was thankful because of the church’s love for saints. Who are the saints? I like what Ruth Bell Graham says about saints. “A saint is one who makes it easy to believe in Jesus.” It is easy to believe in Jesus when He is present in the individual lives as represented in the community of believers.
Paul was thankful because the church was filled with (v.5): (1) Faith: The Church is above all things a repository of faith. When did it become acceptable to gloss over matters of the necessity of faith in the Christian life but promote political viewpoints? When did a focus on prayer take a backseat to building programs?
We have agenda’s, mission statements, anti-gay marriage position papers but we don’t have… Love (2). Believers should know about what the Bible says about gay marriage and we sometimes need to renovate or build facilities, but we are called to be first and foremost a people who are so thankful for the love of God in us that we share it with one another and it drips from us to the world.
When are busy being disciples of Jesus all of those things that are out on the periphery, loosely connected to the life of faith, or sort of implicit to how we live it out in the real world, fall into place in ways that make sense in kingdom terms.
(3) Hope. We live in a desperate world; a world looking for, wanting for, and in need for hope. Look at the last presidential campaign. Regardless of one’s feelings and inclinations of the political views of our current president, there is a fascinating social component to the nature of his first campaign that is very telling of the general state of people with regard to their lack of hope. The president’s platform did have some specifics to be sure but the thing that got him elected, which is evident to any open eyed pundit or casual observer, was his message of hope. His rhetoric was encouraging and hope filled. People today are so starved for hope that they will believe an easy lie or any hard truth. Look at the most popular preachers in America. The more they smile and promise that God is about to deliver your best life now, the more followers they gather to their message, which is only loosely biblical and non-reflective of the pure Gospel.
Hope that lasts, hope that has substance and can be trusted is the gift of God and it should abound in the Church and in the lives of Christians. It is the gift of God’s grace, who alone is the donor of it. Christians should expect good to come but not in a flattering kind of way. Rather, Christian hope grows out of a life of faith and it is evidenced by the love found among the brethren!
Because God has saved us and filled us with faith we should expect that all which is possible, future, and hard, God will do. The evidence of the validity of our hope for us and for the world around us is the supernatural love common to believers.
Not only should we be united but our understanding of ourselves and the life of faith is coherent which it is biblical, full of faith, evidence by love; rich in hope.
Paul was thankful because of the Gospel, the word of truth. (v.5) Paul says that The Gospel bears fruit wherever it goes. (v.6) The Gospel bears witness to the fullness of God’s grace. (v.6) The Gospel bears believers when proclaimed. (v.7)
When the Gospel is both proclaimed and lived it bears witness to the truth of God and it produces, bears, gives birth to new believers; even as it buttresses old believers in their faith, evidenced by love, abounding in hope.
Prayer: The final section of the text is about prayer. Those who find identity in Christ never cease praying. (v.9-14) Prayer is the product of faith and its requisite.
Specifically, Paul prayed for the church to find knowledge and wisdom. Here is a memorable way to pray for and consider the wisdom that we need from God:
• Knowledge & wisdom are not synonymous. (I Cor. 1:20)
• Natural wisdom is not enough. (II Cor. 1:12)
• Our identity is supernatural. (John 3:3)
• Wisdom is the supernatural gift of God. (II Chro. 1:11-13)
Identifying with Christ is the basis for a fruitful life. (v.10-11) Do you desire to be a person whose life is characterized by faith, love, hope, thanksgiving and prayer?
Learn to learn who you are. One of the hardest parts for children who grow up without a father, I believe, from my observation of others, from study on the subject, and from my own life, is the common ailment of growing up without a deep sense of knowing one’s identity. Mothers can do a lot here but it seems inherent in our makeup, in our design by God, to learn about our identity from our fathers. Even our names come from the father. When I was a child growing up I would wrestle with using my given last name or the last name of my step-father. I didn’t know who I was. I regularly tell my sons and daughter things like “You are my son. You do as I do. We don’t do it that way. We don’t treat people like that. This is how we act. This is who you are.”
Conclusion
An American tourist in Paris who purchased an inexpensive amber necklace in a trinket shop was shocked when he had to pay quite a high duty on it to clear customs in New York. This aroused his curiosity, so he had it appraised.
After looking at the object under a powerful magnifying glass, the jeweler said, "I’ll give you $25,000 for it." Greatly surprised, the man decided to have another expert examine it. When he did, he was offered $10,000 more!
"What do you see that’s so valuable about this old necklace," asked the astonished man. "Look through this glass," replied the jeweler. There before his eyes was an inscription: "From Napoleon Bonaparte to Josephine." The value of the necklace came from its identification with a famous person.
As Christians, we are in union with one who is far more important than any human being. It is from this union that the Christian finds his true identity and worth. So in an age when man is searching for his past and discovering his potentials, the Christian can rejoice that his true worth comes from God and his identity is found in Jesus Christ.
My friend, God has given us identity as sons and daughters in Christ. He is the first born of many brethren and (the key verse for the book of Colossians) “You died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3:3 NIV84)
Believers are rescued from darkness to the kingdom. (v.13-14) Our whole identity is found in Jesus Christ. The fruit of our walk with Him, the life of thanksgiving and prayer that we desire, grows out life abandoned to our new identity. Amen.
