MPC, 7th January 2001.Colossians 1 - Complete Christianity
Andrew Richardson MPC, 7th January 2001.
I want you to imagine... you're about to sit for an exam. A maths exam. You've studied hard, you're confident that you've got a good grasp of the subject. You think you've completely covered all the topics in the course. Just before the exam's about to start and one of your friends comes up to you. And she says 'So have you studied those complex numbers?'
Now you didn't know complex numbers were part of the course so you say 'no... complex numbers were'nt part of this subject were they.'
And your friend gets a knowing look on her face and says 'My brother did the course last year and he says if you don't know complex numbers you won't be able to do half the exam....'
That would be a shocker of a conversation to have before an exam You were confident that you'd studied everything but now maybe you've missed the most important part of the course. If your friend is right you don't stand a chance... without complex numbers there's no way you'll pass.... You'd get that terrible feeling that you'd missed something important. You thought you knew everything but you maybe you didn't .
In Colossians, Paul is writing to Christians who're wondering if they've missed something important. They're worried they might not know enough or have done enough to be full Christians They're wondering if they're really complete Christians. Sure, they've heard the Gospel and trusted in Jesus, but is that enough? Some new teachers have arrived and they're saying things like
'Trusting in Jesus is important, but if you really want to be a complete Christian you need to set aside some special days for worship.'
or 'believing the Gospel is a good start but you're not a complete Christian if you don't have visions of angels.'
or 'I've found not eating meat makes me much more complete as a Christian.'
You can see it if you look at Chapter 2 v 4... There's the issue. He says I'm telling you this stuff so that no one deceives you. And v 16. Don't let anyone JUDGE you. v 18 Don't let anyone DISQUALIFY you from the PRIZE.
Have you ever been made to feel like that? have you ever felt as if you're missing something important in your Christian faith? When I was in Yr 9, some things happened at my boarding school Chapel that seemed very exciting. There were people claiming to speak in tongues, to have words from God, to see visions. Praise and worship times at Chapel started to go for three hours every Sunday. It seemed as if everyone had found the thing that had been missing from their faith. It seemed like their Christianity was now complete. My problem was, I didn't speak in tongues, I didn't prophesy and I didn't see visions. I even got sore legs standing up for 3 hour praise and worship sessions. It felt like I was missing out on something important. Why weren't all the amazing things that were happening to everyone else happening to me? I felt like I wasn't a complete Christian. If only I could speak in tongues, or prophesy, or even just feel spiritual during the praise and worship times - then I'd stop missing out, then I'd be complete.
If you have ever felt like you're missing out as a Christian, if you have ever wondered if you're a complete Christian then you need to hear what Paul has to say to the Colossians.
The first thing Paul tells the them is that he's confident that they're not missing anything.
He's not worried about them at all. He's 100 percent sure that they're the genuine article.
Paul is so confident, that when he prays for them he always thanks God for them. He thanks God that they've got everything they need to be complete Christians. And what is it they've got? The Colossians have got the big three. They've got Faith, They've got Love and they've got Hope. They've got Faith in Jesus, love for each other and hope for heaven. As far as Paul is concerned if they've got faith love and hope it is clear evidence that they're genuine Christians. It's a reason for him to always thank to God for them. Look at what Paul says in Col 1.3
3 We always thank God the father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints- 5 the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven...
Faith, love and hope... They don't sound too fancy do they? They're just normal things that all Christians have. And that's great news for you and me. It means we don't need any special gifts, we don't need to have spiritual feelings or way out experiences. If we're normal Christians who have faith in Jesus, who love each another and who hope in heaven then we've got what we need....the apostle Paul would always be thanking God for us as well. If we have faith, love and hope, we're the real thing, we're complete Christians.
But Paul has another reason for the Colossian's to feel confident they're not missing anything important. He wants them to remember that they didn't make themselves right with God, God sent Jesus to make them right with God. Their new relationship with God isn't up to them, it's up to Jesus. They don't have to do any more to be full or genuine Christians, God has already done everything for them... through Jesus death on the cross.
look with me at v 13
13 For (God) has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and (he's) brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, ...14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
The Colossians are in Jesus Kingdom, they're forgiven... they're Complete Christians and its not because of them, it's all because of Jesus.
So the Colossians have no reason to think they're not genuine, full, Complete Christians. They're relationship with God doesn't depend on them it depends on Jesus... and Jesus is big enough to trust, Jesus has the power to make them complete Christians. Jesus is the most powerful person in the universe and they can be completely confident because he's on their side.
It's a bit like a little kid who pokes his tongue out at the school bully because he knows his big brother's standing behind him. The little kid knows he can't stand up to the bully, but he's completely confident his brother's big enough to beat up the bully if he tries anything.
The Colossians can be confident in Jesus because he's big enough to save them. Paul paints a huge picture of how powerful Jesus is. He made everything, Jesus is the one who keeps it all going, Jesus is the head of the church, in fact, Jesus is just like God. look at v 15
v 15 Jesus is the image of the invisible God, He's the firstborn over all creation. 16 by Jesus all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Jesus and for Jesus. 17 He is before all things and in him all things hold together. 18 He is the head of the body the church; he is the beginning and the firsborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fulness dwell in Jesus.
And it's this Jesus who died in your place on the cross. Isn't that enough?
Do you get the picture? Paul is saying to the Colossians 'Jesus is big'. He's in control. He's God's man. You can totally rely on him. Jesus is in control of the whole universe - and more than that he died for you, of course he can make the Colossians complete Christians
If you sometimes worry that you're missing out on something important as a Christian, maybe you're too focused on your own performance. You've forgotton that being a genuine true blue Christian isn't about what you do, it's about what Jesus has done for you. Being a christian isn't like an exam where you have to make sure you've studied everything, being a christian is about trusting someone else to sit your exam for you. You need to remember You're a complete Christian because the biggest, most powerful person in the universe has made you one. He's not going to let you miss out on anything.
We need to think more about how Pauls encouragement to the Colossians applies to us. But first, lets briefly remember what we've looked at so far. We've seen that the Colossians are worried because people are saying they're not genuine or complete Christians. We've seen that Paul is writing to reassure them they're doing fine. He starts by telling them that he's confident they're genuine Christians because they have faith love and hope. Then he reminds them that they didn't make themselves Christians, Jesus made them Christians. And he's big enough to trust.
Well, what about you. Are you worried that you are not a complete Christian? Do you think you might be missing out on something in your Christian life? Perhaps you've got friends who tell you that your church isn't happening enough. They say that at their church God does all kinds of amazing things - people speak in tongues, people are healed, people bark like dogs. Maybe that makes you wonder if you're missing out on something. Or perhaps in your own life you feel incomplete as a Christian? You feel like some sin is holding you back from being a genuine Christian. You think 'if I can just conquer that one sin in my life - then I'll have made it.'
I can certainly sympathise with you if you're worried about missing out. When I was in yr 12 I used to go to a very tradional Presbyterian Church. It was so traditional that they hadn't even discovered the Scripture in Song music books in 1990, and they started being published in the 1960's so they weren't exactly radical. Anyway, I felt like this church wasn't giving me the complete Christian experience, and I decided that if only we used the Scripture in Song books, then things would change. I felt so strongly about it that I actually went out to Koorong and bought a set of the books for the Church to use. Well, looking back now, I wish I'd understood the book of Colossians better. Then I would have realised that it wasn't the songs we sang at church that determined whether I was a complete Christian. It doesn't matter whether you sing Scripture in Song, or the Old blue hymbook. Neither of them is going to make you a genuine Christian...It's not how well we do our quiet times either. Reading the Bible is a great thing to do, but it doesn't make you a complete Christian any more than singing Scripture in Song. You might be fighting hard against some particular sin in your life. Keep fighting, but never think that a particular sin stops you from being a full and complete Christian. Being a complete Christian comes from knowing Jesus. It is Jesus who transfers you out of the kingdom of Darkness and into the Kingdom of Light. It is Jesus who brings you forgiveness ... even for that sin and he makes you friends with God. Your fullness as a Christian doesn't depend on you, it depends on Christ, and he is absolutely trustworthy. He is the biggest and most powerful person who has ever walked the face of this earth. So trust in him. Rest in what he's done for you. Your completeness as a Christian comes from nothing else except knowing and trusting the complete Jesus Christ.