Christ in You, the Hope of Glory

Transcript

Anyway, look, tonight I wanted to talk about something very positive. It's in Paul's letter to Colossae, and basically we're going to be led in on a secret. It's a good one. It's a good secret that was kept a long time, and I want to start off by giving you a little bit of background about the letter to the Colossians. So, the city of Colossae, here's a map if you've got it, let's see, you've got Corinth there in Greece and you have Asia Minor there with Ephesus and about 100 miles inland, just west

of Laodicea was the town of Colossae. Now, we don't know a whole lot about the founding of the Colossian Ecclesia.

It seems from chapter 2 verse 1 that Paul had never met these believers. He says in chapter 2 verse 1, I haven't seen you face to face, but he's heard of their faith, and he's writing now from a Roman prison, and he's sending this letter along with the letter to Philemon and to a letter to the Laodicean Ecclesia, and he says he's heard of the Ecclesia by its reputation. He says in chapter 1 that he's heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love which you have toward all the saints. The Ecclesia had apparently been taught by a man named Epaphras, and we don't know much about him either, except that he was with Paul in Rome when Paul wrote Philemon. Paul describes Epaphras as our beloved fellow servant and a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf. And in chapter 4 verses 12 and 13 of Colossians, Paul describes Epaphras as always laboring fervently for you in prayers. The ESV says he's always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God. Paul says I bear him witness that he's worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and Hierapolis. So the letter we're going to be looking at, and I encourage you if you have your Bible to open up to Colossians, we're going to spend all our time there. It's closely linked to the letter to Philemon.

Chapter 4 verses 7 to 9 of Colossians says that the letter was sent with Tychicus and Anesimus, and it seems likely that Colossians and Philemon were composed simultaneously while Paul was in prison in Rome. Both include greetings from Mark and Luke and Demas and Aristarchus and Epaphras. And the letter to Colossi was carried to Colossi by Tychicus and Anesimus. Now when you think of how Paul writes his letters, think for example of the letter to It sort of has a characteristic arrangement of Paul's writings. Romans starts off with 11 chapters of what might be considered sort of doctrinal matters, salvation by faith, the grace of God. And then in chapter 12 and what follows, he talks about the practical implications arising in consequence of the doctrine we believe. And so it is with Colossians as well.

Chapter 1 speaks of the preeminence of Christ. Chapter 2 speaks of us as alive in Christ. And chapters 3 and 4 speak of a new identity and a new way of life. Now we're going to break into the context of chapter 1 at verse 14, but with the promise to go back and look at the earlier verses. For the context, verse 13 says that we have been translated, King James Version says that, conveyed, the New King James Version says, transferred, ESV says, to the kingdom of God's

And then it says this in verses 15 to 20, starting back to verse 14, says, 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, where thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, all things were created through him and for him. And he's 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. I think often when we read a passage like this, we're seeing a series of problems to be explained away. We say maybe unconsciously, we say, oh great, here's a passage that the Trinitarians use to assert that Jesus was the creator. It says, by him all things were created. All things were created through him. He's before all things, so he's always existed. In him all the fullness of Godhead dwells, and we know how folks will read these things. In our Bible study, there's a need for balancing two things. And this is a great thing about a good Bible class like y 'all have in Stoughton, and we have in Baltimore as well. We don't want to over-intellectualize. We don't want to think that having all our facts and figures straight is what matters to the neglect of matters of character. In fact, I sometimes worry that in over-intellectualizing things, we get drawn into fanciful exposition, speculating about things that are really questionable. That's one of my concerns for where the Brotherhood is these days. But on the other hand, there's no doubt that having our doctrines straight really matters.

Knowing Jesus requires knowing that he was just like us, that he was tempted in all points like as we are, genuinely tempted, that he was genuinely afraid of the agony of the cross, that he had a will distinct from his father's so that he could say, my father, if it's possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will. But armed with that knowledge of doctrine, we can draw near to the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need, because we know that our High Priest is able to sympathize with our weaknesses, having been in every respect tempted as we are, yet without sin. So having our doctrines straight matters. We need an answer to the verses we're considering here in Colossians chapter one. But often enough, I think we go to that point we're going to afford further. This passage and its continued context demands that we go further. So I'd like to start off with what I think is our typical explanation of this passage. The explanation we most commonly offer hinges on the description of Jesus in verse 18, as the firstborn from the dead. And so we connect that with Romans chapter eight, verse 29, where it refers to Jesus as the first born among many brothers. We might connect it as well with first Corinthians 15, where Christ is referred to as the first fruits. And then we go back and reread the section of Colossians as speaking about the new creation. Christ is the first of the new creation. And there's a sense in which he can be credited as the creator of this new creation. And of course, there are plenty of scriptures which speak of this new creation. Second Corinthians five, verse 17 says, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away, behold, the new has come. Ephesians four, verse 24 says that we're to put on the new man, which after Christ, sorry, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. It's a new man, a new creation that we are. Colossians three, verses nine to 10, we're exhorted, let's not lie to one another, saying that we've put off the old man with his deeds and put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him. And so that's our usual explanation of Colossians one, that it's speaking of a new creation in Christ. And I don't mean to set that explanation aside, but I do want to suggest that there's a sense in which the appeal to a new creation isn't really necessary. We can, Colossians chapter one, as speaking of the literal creation in a way that makes perfect sense. Now here's how Colossians one, 15 to 19 reads in the English standard version. And you'll notice I've highlighted the phrase by him in verse 16 and in him in verse 17 and 19. The English standard, the ESV and the new King James and the King James translate this as by him were all things created. I believe that this can and I believe should be translated as it is by the revised version, the American standard version and the revised standards version to say in him, all things were created. Just for those of you who like Greek, I've done a little concordance work and I've highlighted the Greek phrase that's used in verse 16, 17 and 19 here of Colossians chapter one. And you'll see the blue, en alto, it is in Greek, it is the exact same. For some reason, some translations of the Bible chose to translate this as by him, where everywhere else they translate it as in him. The phrase is identical. And sometimes when we start talking about this kind of thing, we have to think about whether there's textual differences between the many variants of the New Testament text. But in this case, there's no textual ambiguity at all. The choice to translate as by him, suggesting that Jesus was the agent of creation is purely an expositional criterion in translation. For consistency, we really should read it as in him. And that's, in fact, how the revised standard version reads for this passage. You'll notice in verse 16, it says in him, all things were created. I want to focus on this phrase, in him. It says in him, all things were created. He's before all things and in him, all things hold together. And look at verse 19, in him, in Christ, all the fullness of God was pleased as well. Noticeably, if we wanted to be consistent, use the ESV's translation of the first one as by him, it wouldn't make any sense at all in verse 19. And while we're at it, saying that the fullness of God dwells in Christ, in verse 19, shouldn't confuse us with Trinitarian ideas either. For Paul uses the same words in Ephesians 3.19 in his prayer that we might be filled with all the fullness of God. That's us, brothers and sisters, filled with all the fullness of God. So we have, in him, all things created. In him, in Christ, all things hold together, verse 17. In him was all the fullness of God. These might not be the ways we would typically use the phrase in him, but as we go on in Colossians, there's several more examples of the exact same phrase. So let me show you some. Chapter 2, verses 6 and 7. As therefore you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so live in him, rooted and built up in him, and established in the fame. I think this is easier for us to understand. We have a sense of what life in Christ means.

When Paul speaks about us living in him and being rooted and built up in him, we understand these as describing a life dedicated, focused, concentrated on Christ. We are to live in him and not in the world. He's the focal point of our life.

And so carrying on, in chapter 2, in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, verse 9, and you've been filled in him who is the head of all rule and authority. In him, verse 11, also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands by putting off the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ. And finally, let's carry on down to verse 15. It says in verse 12 that we were buried with him in baptism. We had been dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of our flesh, but God's made us alive together with him. Jesus set aside the condemnation, it's ours, nailing it to the cross, and says in verse 15, he disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame by triumphing over them in him. It was God's victory in Christ. Isn't that wonderful? You know, when we think of how Christ triumphed over the vicious high priest and over Pilate, what a victory it was. They couldn't prevail over his spirit. It wasn't only a victory for Jesus, but for God in him. And so all of these passages within him are drawn together by the notion of Jesus as the focal point of things done in relation to him. And so with this sense of the phrase in him, in our minds, let's read again from chapter 1, verses 14 to 19. And you notice in verse 14, we've got an in whom, which in all is the same as in him. The same preposition, same phrase, in whom we have redemption, in him all things were created. Let's clear away the Trinitarian clutter and simply read what's said. What a powerful exalted picture the passage presents. Jesus Christ is the focus of God's of the creation of everything. He's by no means an incidental. He's not just another prophet. He's not just another teaching. Not only God's son, he's the focus of God's work. Verse 18 says, preeminent in everything, the whole of creation. And you notice these things in verses 17. He is not that he was before all things. He is before all things. Christ is the focus of all things. He is the head of the body. He is the beginning. So I promised you a secret at the beginning. Chapter 1, verses 25 to 27, Paul describes himself as a minister with the role of revealing a mystery, a secret hidden for ages and generations, but now revealed to the saints. And we know in the New Testament that mystery means a secret. And then all but one case, it's always a revealed mystery. The disciples, it says, Jesus said to them, it's given to you to know the mystery of the kingdom of God. All the mysteries that have been revealed. Here's the great mystery, the great secret that Paul's going to share with us. The great secret is this, Christ in you, the hope of glory. It's the same little preposition in that we've been following along in Colossians. We've thought about Christ's supremacy, how all of God's purpose is focused in him, everything, the whole of creation on earth and in heaven. And the secret is that God's purpose focused on Christ, in Christ, so Christ is involved with us and in us. By the way, Christ in you, I think is best translated by the New Southern translation, Christ in y'all, because the U is plural. It's Christ in us. It's a glorious thing, isn't it? It means our lives have purpose, real purpose, that we're connected to eternal things, things in heaven and on earth, things way beyond our experience, things beyond our mundane problems. And that's why Paul can add the hope of glory. You remember that Jesus prayed on his way to Gethsemane about dwelling in us. He said, I did not ask for these only, for these twelve only, but also for those who believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, I in you, that they also may be one in us. The glory that you've given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are, I in them, and you in me, that they may become perfectly one. And we recall Jesus teaching in John chapter 14 and 15 when he talks about the vine and he talks about abiding. Abiding is such a John word. I mean, it's like more than half the times in the New Testament that the word abide occurs. It's something that John wrote. He talks about us abiding in him. He says, in my father's house are many dwelling places. That's you and me, dwelling places and habitation of God through the Spirit. Think of God's wonderful work in Christ. We who once were alienated and hostile in mind doing evil deeds, He has now reconciled in His body of flesh by His death in order to present us and blameless and above approach before Him. Powerful things. We might not think enough about Christ dwelling in us, about our relation to eternal things. And when we do think about these passages, we might think, that applies to the apostle Paul, but not to me. I'm not good enough. There's a sense of guilty unworthiness, but these things do apply to us. And not because of our worthiness, but despite our unworthiness. Think of the powerful exhortations contained in these words. In Colossians 1 verses 11 to 14, Paul prays that we may be strengthened with all power according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints of light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and

transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son in whom we have redemption and forgiveness of sins. We haven't qualified ourselves. We haven't delivered ourselves. We haven't transferred ourselves. These things are the work of God in Christ. Our responsibility is given in chapter 1 verse 23 that we are to continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you've heard. Indeed, this is the apostle Paul's prayer for the ecclesia in Colossae and ours for one another. From the day we heard, we've not ceased to pray for you, asking you that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will and all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. Paul's letter is addressed to the saints and faithful brethren at Colossae. He's not talking about two groups of people, but two roles. We are saints, sanctified to God. We are faithful brethren, dedicated to one another. So let us contemplate the love and high calling of our Lord. Let's examine our motivations, our goals, the way we spend our time to see whether we can do better in walking in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him. Let's more fully embrace our high calling, which is Christ in us, the hope of life. Thanks.