The Text

Colossians 1:13-20

“He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.”

Introduction

What do we do when we feel weak? What is our response to a sense of powerlessness? You might have heard the phrase by German Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, that quote, “everything is the will to power.” Nietzsche is saying that everything humans do stems from the desire or will to attain power. This begs the question, what is power? The merriam-webster dictionary defines it as “the ability to act or produce an effect.” You most likely do not want to live an ineffectual life, and the idea is that almost every human behavior results from a desire to produce a certain effect in the world. Everything is included, from asking your boss for a promotion (financial power),  posting to social media (influential power), saving money in the bank (security), reading the news (knowledge/informational power), lifting (physical power), correcting people or withholding information, mysteriousness, or openness, or transparency, the list goes on.

Has anyone ever heard that 80s song, “Everybody wants to rule the world” by Tears for Fears? 

Don’t worry I won’t sing it for you… The “seasoned” believers here are shaking their heads. “What do you know about that youngin?” 

Remember those lyrics:

One headline, why believe it?
Everybody wants to rule the world
All for freedom and for pleasure
Nothing ever lasts forever
Everybody wants to rule the world.

Now as we grapple with this idea that all people are on the quest for a sense of completeness, authority, importance, or power, we must ask, how do we see the pursuit of it in the world? We’ve already seen some examples, but more specifically, what is the Christian response to the pursuit of it, or the apparent lack of it? We’ll briefly do this by looking back to the beginning of creation. Genesis 1:28 says this , “God blessed them [that is, Adam and Eve, male and female]; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” We see that God intended from the beginning for human beings to have power over creation, stewarding it with rule and authority as God’s image bearers on earth. This would tell us, that power is not a bad thing in of itself, but since the rebellion of our first parents, man’s pursuit and use of power has been twisted, and the result is people seeking power apart from God by the least effective methods, like money, appearance, social status, things that don’t last and are like flowers that bloom and eventually fade. Now it is inevitable that people experience a sense of lack. We have an innate desire for the more and the better, which is why consumerism is successful. As Christians, our response to a perceived powerlessness makes all the difference, and the Apostle Paul addresses this sense of lack in the book of Colossians, which brings us to our passage today. 

Colossae

The apostle Paul, although he has never met this congregation face to face, shows love and concern for the Colossian church upon hearing about their faith in Jesus. The city of Colossae, in Rome’s province of Asia, now modern day Turkey, was a wealthy and bustling city prior to New Testament times. Being on a major trade route, Colossae was famous for its thriving wool industry and manufacture of valuable goods. To the dismay of many, this cash flowing trade route was relocated to nearby Laodicea, causing the city to decline. The people who lived there became disgruntled, and Paul understood this. He was speaking to people who had a sense of neediness and decline looming over them. On top of that, they were a new church, and in the ancient world it was a dangerous thing to become a Christian, because doing so was disloyalty to the local gods the community worshiped. The Colossian believers felt powerless, and because of this many were tempted by false teachers to adopt beliefs and practices different from what they had learned. Two primary religious practices of this Jewish and Gentile city were Judaism and Pagan Gnosticism, and this worries Paul. His intention for writing this letter is to remind the Church of Christ’s power, and the power believers have in Him. Verse 13, For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” “Brothers and sisters,” he says, “you are slaves no longer.” Romans 8:15, “For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” This grasping for solid ground that took place before you knew Christ, is no longer necessary, because you’ve been removed, snatched up, and Jesus says in John 10:28, “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.” Paul means to say that if we have Christ and are in Him, we ultimately have all we need. We have the greatest treasure. In Christ we have been made complete, as Paul says in chapter 2 verse 10. We have died to our old self, and our lives are now hidden with Christ in God. (v3:3) 

Paul’s Message

Paul understands that meditation upon who Christ is acts as a shield, protecting our minds from being carried away by destructive heresies, philosophies, and man-made religion. Now the Colossian church was under a specific temptation, and that was to believe the enemy’s lie, that there was something that they needed, something that they were lacking, that Jesus Christ is not equipped to deal with. This is the same temptation that the serpent used in the garden of Eden. His intention was to make Eve doubt her completeness in God, and convince her that the power she needed was something she would have to attain for herself. This same temptation was later presented in the form of prevalent false teachers in New Testament times, who persuaded Christians to adopt legalistic practices and gnosticism. This sense of lack some of the Colossians had regarding spirituality, wisdom, and knowledge, even within the Church, made them susceptible to false teachers who taught gnosticism, this idea that there is a higher “Christian” experience only attainable through religious practices like worship of angels, contemplation, and visions. This prevalent Philosophy of their day held the idea that the spiritual world is more important or “purer” than the physical one, and in order to achieve true spirituality, one must severely restrict the physical body to better focus on pure spiritual things. Yet Paul is reminding the Colossian Church not to let go of Christ, in whom He says “all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are found.” (v2:3) He addresses this error in Chapter 2 verse 18, “Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions,  puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, and not holding fast to the Head (that is Christ)…”. Jesus Christ is sufficient for your soul, Paul says. Stop chasing experiences or ideas that are packaged with the label “higher knowledge.” The Colossian church was not only tempted towards gnosticism. They were also tempted to embrace Jewish legalism, which Paul addresses in chapter 2 verse 20, “If you have died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations – “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch (referring to things that all perish as they are used)- according to human precepts and teachings? These have indeed the appearance of wisdom in promoting self made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.” Paul here speaks against man-made religion. What may appear as religious devotion is actually of no value against sin. 

Pietism

We see this same temptation among us today, even among Christians, in a more subtle form, called pietism. The word piety is good, meaning one who has religious reverence, but pietism is “a practice that is designed to lead to an experience that grants you an elite or special status compared to ordinary Christians.” Self-made religion. Brothers and sisters, in times when we forget the power of God in the gospel, there is a tendency to seek power or Christian effectiveness through religiosity. Let me give you some examples. “I missed my Bible reading today, so I’m not right with God.” “If I start doing better, God will love me more.” Refusing movies, music, or clothing, not because they are sinful, but to appear extra devout. Another one might be, relating emotional highs to your spiritual growth as a believer. Pietism. Adding to God’s word. Bob DeWaay, Pastor of Twin City Fellowship in Minneapolis, Minnesota says this about pietism. “The idea that some humanly discovered and implemented method can lead to the achievement of a better Christian life than through the ordinary means of grace is pietism.”

I was speaking with someone recently, let’s call her Sue. Sue said she was driving down the road listening to the Q99.7, and a  song came on that simply wasn’t her style, so she changed the channel to a secular radio station. Less than a minute had gone by before another car had come very close to colliding with hers. The accident was avoided, but it was a very close call. Now Sue said she had a thought after that. “Perhaps this near accident was God warning me about flipping to a secular radio station.” God forbid!

Children of God, the Lord has made you sons and daughters. He is not against you. When it comes to legalism or pietism there is almost this idea that even as a born again Christian, God is watching us closely, with squinted eyes and with crossed arms, suspiciously watching and waiting for us to do something wrong, so that he can swiftly punish us with some unfortunate event or calamity. This is not so. In Christ we have been reconciled to God. We are God’s children. 1 John 3:1 says, “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.”

Now what we’ve seen, is that as believers in God, we wrestle with a certain tendency to seek completeness, importance, or power through means other than Jesus Christ. Our natural desire to be effectual people in the world can lead us to consider putting our trust in superficial religious practices that God does not require of us. We must not become bored with the gospel, and move on to something else. Now I am not saying that we should reject the lesser forms of power if God grants them to us, for they are from God, and He gives as He pleases. Steward the talents and abilities you’ve been given, to the glory of God. What I’m saying is not to trust in them ultimately. The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Proverbs 11:28, “He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like the green leaf.” Some members of the Colossian church either did not fully grasp the power of Christ or they began to forget about Him and look towards legalism and piety to fulfill their sense of need. Paul writes to them about Christ, calling them to remember who He is. Let us do the same.  

Christ is Sufficient

In verses 13-14 Paul is calling the Colossian church to remember what Christ had done for them. He has delivered them from slavery to sin. He has rescued them from the oppressive kingdom of darkness. He has led them into His glorious kingdom. But they must now meditate upon who this deliverer, this rescuer, this leader, truly is. This brings us to the rest of our passage. Verse 15, “For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities- all things have been created through Him and for Him.” Isn’t it interesting that Paul starts by saying everything was created by Jesus, and then uses words like thrones, dominions, rulers, and authorities? Paul could have used any other category to describe creation, but he chose to use structures of power. Remember what we said earlier, that Paul is addressing this congregation’s perceived lack of power. They were discouraged. Some members of the church began to embrace false teachings that promised them power and completeness, a “higher” Christianity that they thought they needed. Scripture says no, this is who’s kingdom you’re in. Jesus Christ is sufficient. This man Jesus, the lamb who was slain for the sin of the world, has all authority and power. He is far above the pinnacle of all powers, whether in heaven or on earth. They only exist because he has allowed them to. Jesus Christ is preeminent. Verse 17, “He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also the head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He himself will come to have first place in everything.” Jesus himself taught us something about the nature of true power. While the world’s method is self promotion, Jesus showed us that true power comes by self sacrifice, and it initially takes on the appearance of weakness. We see this in the gospel, that a bleeding, naked, suffocating man on the cross, was “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” (Romans 1:16). Remember when Paul asked God to remove a certain ailment that he perceived as weakness. What did Jesus say to Him in 2 Corinthians 12:9? “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” This is why Paul is able to say in verse 24, “I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake.” He knows in whom he has believed, and trusted.

Brothers and sisters, our response to the appearance of powerlessness in our own lives is to meditate on the glory and majesty of the person of Jesus Christ, because we now live in and through Him, by the power of His Spirit. Remember who Jesus is, and you will remember who you are. Religiosity, including forms of it that adamantly claim to discard “religion” in favor of “relationship” cannot produce the culture changing effect we want to see. By virtue of our adoption, we have more power than we know what to do with, for we overcome by the “blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony.” Verse 19, “For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him I say whether things on earth or things in Heaven.” God is for you. You are in Him. His power is working for us, helping us to persevere, and we will reach the finish line. 

Paul says to the Colossian church, “In Christ, you are complete. You’ve been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. The Lord’s death, burial, resurrection, and coronation is sufficient for your walk as effectual Christians. All power structures are under the authority of Christ, and we are seated with him in Heaven. To seek any other practice or belief apart from what is revealed in scripture through the gospel is to settle for less. Jesus Christ is sufficient for you.

Matthew 28:18 “And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Let’s pray.