Rev. David Holwick M (short sermon)
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
April 21, 2002
Colossians 2:1-7
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I. Paul's concern.
A. Where do you struggle?
1) We have inner struggles with our "demons."
2) We struggle for our families.
3) Do you ever struggle over people you've never met?
B. Paul struggled for others.
1) The early churches were small and vulnerable.
2) He had never met the Colossians, just heard about them.
3) But he cared deeply for them.
a) (contrasts with his image of being cold and severe.)
C. His struggle must have been in the area of prayer.
1) He was imprisoned and could not move beyond the walls of
his "rented house" and was continuously held by the
chain linking him to a Roman soldier.
2) Even under these circumstances he could engage in the
combat of prayer.
a) "Struggle" is the word "exertion" which was used of
the arena.
b) Paul saw himself as a wrestler or gladiator fighting
for them in prayer, like Jesus at Gethsemane.
c) He was absent in the body, but present in the Spirit.
D. He was concerned they would be duped. 2:5
1) "Fine-sounding arguments" - language used of lawyers who
got their clients off the hook. 2:4
2) Situation in Colossae - Paul suspected there were false
teachers slithering in to mess up the church.
a) Probably Gnostics - they had a secret path to Jesus. 2:3
b) Barclay: "The truth of Christians is not a secret
which is hidden but a secret that is revealed."
II. Paul's goal - that they would be a faithful church.
A. Encouraged in heart.
1) Encouraged = comfort, exhort - has idea of enabling a
person to meet some difficult situation with confidence.
2) Through Jesus we can cope with anything.
B. United in love.
1) Unity is an ultimate goal of the church.
a) False teachers are threatening their unity.
2) Unity must go beyond doctrine to lovingkindness.
a) Caring for one another as Paul cares for them.
b) Do you care for others in this church?
3) When a church stops loving, it starts dying.
C. Committed to Christ.
1) Complete understanding of him, which results from their
encouraged hearts and uniting love.
2) The mystery can be known.
a) Ancient world loved mysteries.
b) Pompeii - house of the Mysteries.
1> Walls have paintings of initiation rites into
mystery religion.
2> Everything is symbols and code.
c) Our mystery is simply Jesus.
1> We don't need any more than him.
2> We should not accept any less than him.
D. Orderly and firm. 2:5
1) Military terminology.
a) ORDERED arrangement of troops, with everyone in their
appointed place.
b) We are a FIRM bulwark, an immovable phalanx which
breaks the enemy's charge.
2) Sometimes we don't seem that orderly.
a) Becky Pruitt got a planning calendar to straighten
things out.
3) We must be firm in Christ.
a) Settled convictions.
b) Look out for one another.
E. Rooted and built up.
1) First they received Christ. 2:6
a) A personal relationship with him is essential.
b) It is a continual living commitment.
1> Don't rely on past spirituality. What about now?
2) Rooted.
a) For most plants, the roots go deeper than the tops
go high.
1> (I have some sumac that must go down 30 feet.)
b) Our church has roots that go back over 100 years.
1> It would be better to say they go back 2000 years.
2> Roots hold us in a storm.
3) Built up.
a) Nourishment of roots is good, but it should produce
something.
b) Emphasis on growth.
F. Strong in the faith.
1) Language is of accepting the Christian religion.
2) Jesus is unchanging.
G. Overflowing with thankfulness.
1) "Thanksgiving is the constant and characteristic note
of the Christian life."
2) Overflow in it.
III. God is faithful - will we be?
A. Church is under great pressures.
B. Christians are under greater pressures.
C. We survive and overcome by hanging together.
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Commentary summary
William Barclay, Marks of the Faithful Church
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I. A church of courageous hearts.
A. Encouraged - comfort, exhort - has idea of enabling a person
to meet some difficult situation with confidence and with
gallantry. Through Jesus we can cope with anything.
II. A church knit together in love.
A. When love dies, church dies.
III. Equipped with every kind of wisdom.
A. Three words for wisdom.
1) sunesis - critical knowledge. (RSV: understanding)
a) Ability to assess any situation and decide what
practical course of action is necessary to take.
2) gnosis is power to grasp the truth when we see it.
3) sophia is power to confirm and commend the truth with
wise and intelligent argument once it has been grasped.
B. Hidden in Christ.
1) Aimed at Gnostics. They hid their knowledge from all,
Christ can reveal it to all people.
2) "The truth of Christians is not a secret which is hidden
but a secret that is revealed."
IV. Power to resist seductive teaching.
A. Enticing words - cunning lawyer gets client off the hook.
V. Soldier's discipline - orderly and firm.
A. Military terms. Ordered arrangement of troops, with everyone
in their appointed place.
B. We are a firm bulwark, an immovable phalanx which breaks the
enemy's charge.
VI. Life must be in Christ.
A. Members must walk in Christ, live in his conscious presence.
B. Rooted - tree with roots deep in soil.
C. Built - house erected on a firm foundation.
VII. Hold fast to the faith which it has received.
A. Not a frozen orthodoxy.
B. Truth about Jesus is unchanging and unchangeable.
VIII. Abounding and overflowing gratitude.
A. "Thanksgiving is the constant and characteristic note of the
Christian life."
Copyright © 2024 by Rev. David Holwick
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