Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. Welcome to Coffee and devotions is where every day you and I we get together. We have a little bit of hope here all the way over here, Bubba. We have a little bit of coffee we get into God's word and we've grown our love for the Lord together. And if you just got here, well, we we forgot her normal camera so you get a little bit of behind the scenes today. Normally the backdrop is lit up and it's all white and well, we're gonna make do but the computer is screaming at us. So if we drop frames and stuff, I'm sorry, but you can go and listen to the audio recording. Of this at sermon. audio.com If you'd like, Let's have some coffee. We'll pray and get into God's word. Let's go to Lord and pray. Father, we thank you so much for this day. Thank you for your word. Thank you for the blessing. It is to hear from you to listen to your word and we pray that Your Holy Spirit would teach us God we need your wisdom. Care for us, Lord, we pray in Jesus's name. Amen. We're at Colossians Colossians chapter two
verses one through 10. Although looking at this, I feel like we might have missed a section if we did, we'll go back tomorrow and we'll check it out. Colossians chapter two verses one through 10 you want to read read verses one through three. And I'll read four through 10 Okay, go ahead.
Well, I want you to know that a great
for I want you to know what
a great postulate I have for you in those videos
Laodicea Laodicea
and for as many as have not seen my face, flesh, that their hearts may not be
encoded, that their hearts may
be, could be knit together. In Love. To all witches all have the full shots under standing to the knowledge of mystery of God both in the Father and Christ. In wisdom and even
in whom,
oh, hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Now this I say lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words. For though I am about absent in the flesh. Yet I am with you in spirit rejoicing to see your good order and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ. As you therefore have received Christ, Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith as you have been taught abounding in it with thanksgiving. Beware, lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ, For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily and you are complete in Him who is the head of all principality and power? Well, we need to ask ourselves a what is this?
Be? What is the best
and see what are we good So first a What is this about? Well, in verses one through floor, he talks about a conflict. And who is the conflict about? Yeah, it's about them right people there and Kalasa and for people and Laodicea these these cities are pretty close to each other. Right and people in Laodicea have they seen him face to face? Nope, they haven't seen him face to face yet. And his conflict is that their hearts may be what inverse to yawns encouraged, right. He wants their hearts to be encouraged and not just encouraged, but he wants her them these saints these Christians in these areas. What does he want them to be? He wants them to so he wants them to be encouraged. He wants them to be knit together and love what else does he want them to? To have?
full assurance, understanding.
That's right. So he wants them to be encouraged. He wants them to be knit together in love. He wants them to have all the riches of full assurance of understanding. Do you know what that means? Assurance?
show something
you're sure of something good. Yeah. So you're certain about something you know it to be true. And so full assurance, of understanding, to the what?
To the knowledge of the mystery of dark.
Yeah. So the knowledge of the mystery of God of the Father and of Christ. Notice your God is described as the Father and of Christ. There's whole bunches of places where we learned about the persons in the Godhead, but here's one of them as well. And so this, this mystery of Christ, right, how it is that Christ is in us and we are in Christ and that the wall of division between Jew and Gentile has been torn down. He wants them to know this for certain the riches of God's inheritance in the saints. And so he says, In whom, who's the whom, who do you think the whom is? In verse three? And God and God are what? What's hidden in God?
treasures of wisdom.
That's right. Can you understand the knowledge of God apart from Christ? No. Could you understand the wisdom of God apart from Christ? No. You certainly can't. Now this I say, Oh, they're common. They're contagious. Man. You are Daniel. You start yarn and they don't go away. Verse four, right. So this first part, right he, he wants them to know these things. He wants them to be encouraged he wants them to. He wants them to have brotherly love for one another and he wants them to have wisdom and knowledge that comes from Christ with the fullness of the richness of the knowledge and and why does he want them to know these? Things? Verse four.
So that they won't be seen.
Yeah. Yeah, right. Do some people come and they got smooth tongues, they will talk really well. But are they leading them in the right direction? He says, Man, I want you to be encouraged. I want you to be knit together in brotherly love. I want you to know the richness, the fullness of God, the knowledge and the wisdom that comes with knowing Christ. So that way when smooth Tong people come, you're not going to be persuaded by them. But can Paul do this himself? Has he seen them face to face? No, he hasn't. Oh, yeah, he hasn't. Well, remember, it's a pathless. Who shared the gospel with them. Not Paul.
I was thinking we were still Philippians
Yeah. Yeah. No, no, this is Colossians. Right. It's Colossi know it's a Pafford who shared the gospel with them. And it's Laodicea that he's writing to but he hasn't seen them face to face as he's concerned about them. Right. This is the conflict he has he wishes to go and give them these things. But instead he's got to write it out. He doesn't want them be tricked by vain philosophy with smooth sounding words. That's something we have to be concerned about. Right. So for though I am absent in the flesh, verse five. Yeah, I am what he's absent. With them in the flesh yet I am with Yeah. And so as he is there with him in the Spirit, he hears about what's going on. He's getting reports about these things. He's praying for them. What is he say? In verse five? Oh, yawn number three. Okay, you're number four. Okay. So what is he rejoicing about
the second half of verse five good all users choices to see one they're good order. And what else? What's number two that he's rejoicing? What do you think he means by that? Why is he rejoicing at that? Yeah, they're being steadfast in Christ are holding to Jesus. Right and they're doing things in order to chaos and Colossi. It's not a chaos. It's in good order. Yeah, it's in good order is not chaos. And that's you. What do you think would make daddy as a pastor happy if things were in chaos or if things were running well? Yeah, this is Pastor balls saying, Man, I'm rejoicing. You guys are following in the path. You're doing things in order and you're holding to Jesus Christ. That's a good thing. So he's rejoicing in this. And as there as you therefore verse six have received who received Christ. What? Yeah, right. So here, he's going to give them an admonition, where they're holding steadfast to Christ. They know Jesus, they've heard of Jesus, a Pafford has shared the gospel with them. Now, this is an this is a command. Right? It's an encouraging command, but it's a command. Alright, let's go ahead and read verses six and seven. This is one that I remember memorizing when I was a boy can you read verses? Six and seven?
Jesus Lord, in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith as you have been taught abounding in it with thanksgiving.
Okay, so as you therefore have what? Steve received Christ Jesus the Lord, right, so you've received Him, you believe in Him, you hold to him, you're keeping steadfast to him. Now what do you do now that you have received Jesus? What does he say first? The very end of verse six.
Here to work with him,
not walk with Him walk. In, in him the prepositions are important right? Walk in him right? Do we walk according to the flusher by faith? My faith I'm going to move you over. We should let's move the microphone so that ways I just noticed it's not sounding too great for you. We walk in Christ by faith right? Were you so there's a doctrine you ready for the doctrine? Do you know what doctrine means?
Knowledge teaching, or there's
a there's a Christian teaching from the scriptures. It's called union with Christ. Okay, it means Christ is in us, and we are in Him, but somehow we're united to Christ. And Christ as United to us. And so the Spirit of Christ is in us. And so when we walk, we ought to walk according to our old nature or as we are actually in actually in Christ, right. This is why Paul in Galatians chapter two verse 20, said it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me. Right. And the life which I now live, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself up for me. Right so he, he sees his whole life as its Christ who is living in him, so he's encouraging them, he's commanding them to walk in Christ. Right, not according to the flesh, but in Christ. Okay, so, so we walk in Christ, we walk in him, and then verse seven, if we're to walk in him what needs to happen in verse seven?
Sure, to be rooted and built up in him.
That's right, rooted and built up in him. What did Jesus say in John chapter 15? I am the vine you are the abides in. bear good fruit. That's right. So we need to be rooted in who in Christ. We need to be established and who in Christ do you think that being in Jesus is a big deal? That's number five. Number five, okay, so we need to be rooted and established in Christ. We can never take our eyes off of Christ. This is why we're called What do you think? Somebody who believes in Jesus is called a Christian, right? This isn't this is why we're called Christians because we're in Christ, Christ is in us. We're rooted in Christ. We're establishing Christ. We want to tell others, other people about Christ.
When you were at the word Christians putting Christ
Yeah, that's right. Because we're Christ. Right. We're, we're in Christ, Christ is in us. We're built up in Christ. We're rooted in Christ. We have We and then we are established in our faith. Right But is this a faith we made up by ourselves? What does he say? Established in the faith? As you have been taught, who taught you the faith? That's right. And do we? Where do we get our faith from?
The Bible?
That's right, but primarily from the scriptures. Right? We go to the Word, we learn about what the person and teaching of Jesus is. And we bow down to him we listen to him. We walk in him. And so we have been rooted and established built up in our faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with Thanksgiving is a good thing to be rescued from sin. You think you thank God for that? Is it a good thing that God has brought Gentiles to himself? So something to be thankful about? This whole bunch of things to be thankful to God about isn't there? And so this last part, so he's commanded them, right, I would encourage you to memorize verses six and seven. But the last part is also a warning. It's a command and a warning. What does he say in verse eight and nine?
That's right. Cheatham with philosophy. Some days on you might go to college. I don't know what college you're gonna go to. Right. Maybe you'll go to college, maybe you'll get a job. I don't know. And when you go, do you know what could happen?
Might say data about real?
Well, they might do it not so bluntly. But they might they might be very erudite. They might use long, difficult words. They might have multiple letters behind their names, or they might be PhDs or they might be different types of philosophers. They might have you read all sorts of different books, and in their many different books, with their high philosophy. They might try to steal from you the hope that you have in Jesus Christ. So we he doesn't want them to you wants them to beware of this. Beware, this could happen. And it's not it's rarely going to be like boom, Jesus was lie. But it's going to be more subtle. It's going to be with smooth words, with good sounding logic. But it's not going to be according to the wisdom of God. And so he wants him to be on guard, right? Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to what? to Christ. Oh, no, according to the tradition of men. This is opposed to the tradition of God. Oh yeah, well, according to the basic principles of this world, and not according to Christ, right. So there's, there's commentators who will say this is one of two things, right? This is basic principles of this world meaning, the sensuality of this world, the basic philosophies of this world who only look at the material things of this world and the raw basic reason of man, or he might be talking about Judaizers people who are just saying, you know, do not handle do not taste and touch and you'll be holy. If you just abstain from unclean foods if you do the ceremonial law if you keep the sacrifices if you're circumcised, then you'll be holy. And so whichever one that says, I think both of them are or philosophies that he's saying. They're earthly, not heavenly, anything they're not according to not according to Christ. That's right. And so verse nine and 10 What is he finished us off with?
Him girls, all the force of the Godhead battle.
Whoa, who's that talking about? Christ. Sorry about Jesus. And what did it just say? For in what? Who's the him Jesus for in Jesus dwells? What?
Oh, the fullness of the Godhead.
So Jesus is only partly God really, but it says here for in Jesus dwells the fullness of the Godhead bodily. How could that be the case? Okay, so Jesus humbled himself, so he became a man. Right? Did he have flesh like you? Yeah, could his mom give him a kiss on the forehead? But yeah, he was fully God. Doesn't that seem very different than what this world's philosophy would teach? Yeah, but Jesus was fully God and fully man. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Now this shouldn't. Again, the book of Colossians is a very helpful book for people who deny the full Divinity of Jesus, or deny that Jesus is God at all.
History In the middle, and when they were trying to explain how Jesus could be God, man, and one of them was Bluejeans debt war, that Jesus was like a sponge nice soaked up
Yeah, somehow you soaked up the the Spirit of God right. That's, that's a heresy of adoption ism. Right? Yeah, well, we'll pass that over. Right. And you Oh, now this is interesting. Right? In Jesus was the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Oh. And so what does that mean for your life first in that way, you're not just that you're in him. You are
the head of all kinds of pellet.
Well, that's talking about Jesus. Right but you are, your complete and him. You will never be better than when you are in Jesus. I might be sinful. I might fail you as a dad. And I do failure as a dad sometimes don't I? But if we are in Jesus, do we lack anything in the eyes of God? No. Because Jesus is our head. And you are complete in Jesus who is the head of all principalities and powers. It's not about us. But it's about Jesus, who's the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Well, we've gone over a whole bunch of stuff, you get home, and your mom says Baba, you woke up early. you yawn five times on coffee and devotions. What in the world did you learn what was that passage about?
When we are actually in Christ, your fleet and we can't be perfect and mobile.
Huh? Did you learn anything about wisdom or philosophy?
Or is that we'll try to see in something else.
Yeah, but what should you do? How will you avoid that?
By staying steadfast in clothes?
That's right, being rooted and steadfast in Christ. Good. Good. What do you think so best first, that what would you underline your Bible?
I think I was able to learn six,
six through 10 A whole bunch of verses half the half the passage, okay, six or 10? Good. I would underline six through or six and seven. Maybe but that's the warning. I might just underline four and five. I know I know. It's so hard to do this as well. Let's let's talk about C calling. How do you take this home? And live it
that we should spend at some times to teach us something different that we should stay steadfast on costs.
Okay, so how do you do that? How do you stay steadfast in Jesus?
Not following region. Or you can try to build a fruit.
Well, how do you bear good fruit? You're buying Christ. How do you abide in Christ
you believe that crisis
okay. I'm gonna give you three ordinary means of grace to help you abide in Christ. You ready? One, the word as we read God's word. And we think about these are the words of Jesus. And they give us wisdom to know Him and to love Him. As we as we hear their teaching and follow them right. The word teaches us. So word. Next is the sacraments. When you take the Lord's Supper, or when you see people baptized, or you remember your own baptism, right, and we remember that we had been engaged to Jesus Christ, that were washed from our sin that we have been committed to Him. All right, that we are partakers of the covenant of grace. So and we remember Jesus's death and resurrection until we come. So when we take communion, and then lastly prayer, as we pray within for others, according to the Scriptures, when we, when we give God adoration, when we confess our sins, when we thank him for the things that we have, and when we have things to ask him when we have supplications to bring to him right. I would say those are three ordinary, three primary ways in which we abide in Jesus. You might throw the fourth one there, you ready for it? The fourth one, I think is actually in here. That they are knit together in love that as you do those things in a body, not just by yourself, but with other Christians. That's your number six, as you do these things with other Christians, loving others. You learned to love like Jesus loved. So you're ready to pray. We went over a lot. Lord, we thank you so much. For the day. And we thank You for Your Word. We pray that you would please bless us and you would care for us in Jesus's name, Amen. May Lord bless you and keep you may He watch over your soul and make you rejoice in him. stay steadfast and your faith established and abounding in love. We'll see you tomorrow. Bye.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai