Let's start off today by imagining a friend that gives you the gift of a new road bike. You always dreamed of taking a bike out on the road and you're now equipped and outfitted to hit the road. But what if you never used that bicycle? The gift by itself doesn't take you places and owning athletic equipment doesn't automatically get you in shape. The opportunity is there, but effort has to accompany it.
Now let's use that analogy and look at Christ's gift of salvation. The gift is free, but we sometimes fail to understand that we have to put forth some effort into our discipleship. To grow in Christ means that we have to engage in the process ourselves.
The gift is there. But are your efforts there as well? Let's take a little time today to talk about growing in Christ. We will be using Paul's letter to the Colossians chapter one. Prayer
A few weeks ago, we began talking about being an authentic church and what are the characteristics of an authentic church. We said that an authentic church needed to be grounded in Christ. Christ needs to be the foundation for all church endeavors. Then, as the church is grounded in Christ, we are called to share Christ whenever the opportunity arises. In this process of being grounded in and sharing Christ, we should be growing in Christ. For a church to survive, for a Christian to remain strong in their conviction, each of us needs to be growing in Christ.
My children's sermon to the Pakistan children this week concerns being aware of the false teachers that can lead us astray. When Paul wrote to the Colossian church, he so badly wanted to visit with them. But in it all he experienced opposition. Still their situation needed his attention by way of this letter. This strong church was having trouble from false teachers within. To grow in Christ, they needed to rid themselves of these false teachers and the false doctrines and commit to helping each other grow in Christ.
Do you realize that it is part of our responsibility as a Christian to help others grow in Christ? Let's see what Paul says.
Colossians 1:9-10 – “For this reason also, since the day we heard this, we haven’t stopped praying for you. We are asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, 10 so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God,’
When we surrender to God's call on our life, He fills us with the knowledge of what He wants us to do. He reveals His will to us. A lot of times Christians feel discouraged by the lack of spiritual progress in their lives. Growing in Christ is not easy. It takes some effort. Even though God does the heavy lifting, we're required to do a significant amount of work as well. That's precisely why we have to pray to be strengthened with all the power that God will give us. Are you praying about your spiritual growth? I wonder how many of us have even thought about that.
Paul kept praying for the Colossian believers so that they would be filled with the knowledge of God's will. The more we know what God's will is, the more likely we'll be able to obey it.
That's why prayer is so important. We don't want our spiritual growth to be limited to what our efforts can accomplish. We want the change in our lives that only God can bring. Am I right? Praying for God's will says that we're trying to align our lives with God's direction. And we don't need to doubt that God will answer those prayers.
In addition to what might be on our prayer list, we need to also pray for God's will. If you're not really sure what God's direction is, then realize that God doesn't want to keep it a secret. Of course, God wants you to do His will more than you want to do His will. So, God is waiting for us to ask. Be sure of what you ask for.
How do we apply this to our lives? Set aside some time to be with God. In prayer, ask Him to make His will clear to us and to fill us with all we need to grow in Him. Then be still and listen for what God wants to reveal to you. You might be asking, "How will I know that God is revealing His will for me?" You will know in the same way you knew God was calling you to step out and make a public profession of your faith by accepting Jesus as your Savior." You just know.
Colossians 1:11-14 – “being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, so that you may have great endurance and patience, joyfully 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the saints’ inheritance in the light. 13 He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son he loves. 14 In him we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
Life is challenging enough even with God in our lives. It's hard to imagine navigating this world without Him. To endure the suffering of this life, we need to pray for God to give us the strength required to persevere.
In Paul's prayer for the Colossian Christians, he told us that we should pray to be strengthened with God's glorious power. We don't need some of Him. We need all of Him. Our personal efforts and strength won't suffice. If you had to choose between the 2, who do you trust more, God? Or yourself? See what I mean?
We pray and God strengthens. There's going to be suffering in our lives that we can't remove. We'll experience situations that we can't change. We all know that too well. Troubles will still come. But God provides the endurance that is required to make it through difficult times and challenging situations. God also gives us the patience we need to remember that our present struggles won't last forever. We might see our circumstances change for the better in this life. But even if we don't, we have eternity to experience the complete cleansing from what this world has thrown at us.
Paul is stressing that it is the gospel that transforms us from darkness into saints standing in the light. We don't typically think of anything joyful while we're enduring suffering and waiting with patience. But that was Paul's experience. He says in verse 11 that as we pray, we endure joyfully.
Colossians 1:21-23 – “Once you were alienated and hostile in your minds as expressed in your evil actions. 22 But now he has reconciled you by his physical body through his death, to present you holy, faultless, and blameless before him— 23 if indeed you remain grounded and steadfast in the faith and are not shifted away from the hope of the gospel that you heard. This gospel has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and I, Paul, have become a servant of it.”
So where is our hope? Our hope is in Jesus. To find true peace, we need to realize that our past doesn't define our present. Last week Paul told us that when we become Christians, our old self passes away and our new self comes. The cross of Jesus can genuinely let what was in the past stay in the past.
We might remember nostalgic family traditions, childhood activities or just some memorable moments. As we look back over those times, they bring a sense of nostalgia and gratitude. But not all things in the past bring up warm fuzzies.
When I reflect on my past, I have a lot to be thankful for but I also have some regrets. You might be the same way. Maybe you remember who you were before Jesus or who you continue to struggle to be after meeting Him. In that case, you can likely identify with the painful memories of poor decisions you made in the past.
But, again, that was the past. You may have done some things you regret. That doesn't have to define who you are now. More than once I have been told by some that I wouldn't have liked the person that they used to be. But as Paul tells us in verse 22, Jesus brings reconciliation. Since we couldn't be holy or blameless on our own, Jesus was that on our behalf.
The gospel message hasn't changed. You need to realize that if Jesus has cleansed you, you're still clean. Paul says in verse 23 that you are still clean "if indeed, you remain grounded and steadfast in the faith and are not shifted away from the hope of the gospel that you heard." And that is how we maintain our faith. If our spiritual condition now was based on our past choices or our present faithfulness, we would be sunk. But our hope isn't in ourselves. It's in Jesus Christ.
Colossians 1:24-27 – “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I am completing in my flesh what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for his body, that is, the church. 25 I have become its servant, according to God’s commission that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. 27 God wanted to make known among the Gentiles the glorious wealth of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
We can endure suffering if we know that it is there for a purpose. If we think of it in terms of our perseverance through trials and encouraging others going through similar situations, we find the hope that's needed to move forward.
Paul wrote this letter to the Colossians during his imprisonment in Rome. I would think if you're suffering in prison it's probably hard to consider anyone other than yourself. It's a challenge to think of others if you're unfairly convicted for doing the work of Jesus. And yet these were Paul's circumstances. He actually deserved a medal of honor and appreciation from the masses but received an unjust prison sentence instead.
Did Paul gripe? Did he complain? Did his prayers consist of asking God why? Not at all. He rejoiced in his sufferings on behalf of these other believers. It's hard for us to picture an imprisoned missionary being grateful for the opportunity to suffer there.
Did Paul think that Jesus's sufferings were insufficient? Was he in some way realizing what Christ couldn't? Take a look at the different words used in this verse. In verse 24, Paul transitions from rejoicing in his sufferings to completing Christ's afflictions. In this, Paul was referring to completing the next steps that followed Jesus's sacrifice.
Jesus died to address our sin. He commissioned us to take the gospel to the nations. Suffering in Jesus’ name is unavoidable. He died on the cross. So, we're going to be afflicted as we speak to others about Him. But any afflictions we might experience are nothing compared to what Jesus went through for us.
Colossians 1:28-29 – “We proclaim him, warning and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ. 29 I labor for this, striving with his strength that works powerfully in me.”
Achieving spiritual maturity is not a one-time thing. We can only fully mature in Christ by acknowledging the work that still needs to be done. As each of us looks at our own spiritual condition, we will probably find some rough edges. We can work with Christ's power though to see progress in the most critical areas of our lives. That is what is meant by growing in Christ.
As we grow in Christ, we're going to find that there's both hope and frustration in this growing process. The hope comes from the fact that God does work in us. The frustration comes from how long it takes or how often we take steps backwards. The goal is that one day every believer will be presented before God as fully mature in Christ.
At that moment, we won't have any spiritual frailties or behavioral flaws. We will finally be like Him in every way. Our side of this work is called discipleship.
God's side is called sanctification. As we grow in Christ, God is making us holy.
We are doing our part to grow in God-like behavior and also removing sinful habits.
So what else do we need to do to be classified as mature Christians? If we're honest, we should all realize we have a long way to go. We might be experiencing success now in our spiritual growth, but we can't be sure what challenges lie ahead. That's why spiritual maturity is a lifelong pursuit. Whenever we discover areas where we're lacking, we work on them.
Here is how the spiritual growing in Christ works. First, we proclaim Christ as the hope of glory. We warn others against trouble areas of sin. We pray for the work only God can accomplish. These categories help provide a process for spiritual growth.
Let's face it, as we grow in Christ, suffering is unavoidable. If we're not careful, suffering can slow down our spiritual growth. Our mission should be to present everyone as mature in Christ. How do we do that?
We warn one another about the sinful dangers that could drag us away from Christ. We teach the complete wisdom of God that's contained in the Scripture. As we work diligently with the power God gives us, we gradually mature in Christ.
Where do we start? Start by dedicating yourself to the reading of God’s Word. Read some every day. Commit yourself to pray every day. Pray for something. Pray for someone. Just promise God to pray. Talk to God regularly. Then be silent for a while and allow God to talk to you. In all this, you will be growing in Christ.
As we grow in Christ, hopefully others will see Jesus in us. Let's challenge ourselves to grow a little bit each day in Jesus. Hopefully, as others see us growing in Christ, they will grow also. And then on the day of Jesus's return, we can be presented as mature in Christ.
Let's face it, we will never know all there is to know about Jesus while living here. We should never say we know all we need to know. There's always more we can learn. Theres always room for growth.
Let's commit ourselves to growing in Him. Why not promise all this to God right now, as we pray?
