Complete in Christ

March 23, 2009 in Bible - NT - Colossians, Meditations

8 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. 9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; 10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.
Colossians 2:6-10

For some weeks now we have considered the significance of this passage from Colossians for our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We have discovered that the Christian faith proclaims not the virtue of faith in general but the virtue of faith in a specific person, namely, the Lord Jesus Christ. Not only this, we have also found that it is not sufficient to profess faith in someone with the simple name “Jesus”; the Jesus whom we trust must be the Jesus revealed in the Word of God – for false Christs and false prophets have abounded and have sought to mislead the people of God with cleverly devised tales. Because Jesus is God Himself clothed in human flesh it is imperative that we listen as He speaks – for He speaks to us the very words of God and, therefore, His words have authority unlike the words of the Beatles, Hank Williams Jr., or Rush Limbaugh.

Today Paul declares to us that in Christ we are complete. What does Paul mean and what implication does his statement have for us? The word complete means to be filled to the full, saturated, needful of nothing else. When Paul was in physical want and the Philippians sent money to relieve his need, he wrote back to them saying that their gift had caused him to be filled to the full – needing nothing more than the gift that they themselves had provided. And now Paul uses this same word to describe us as the people of God – we are complete, filled up in Christ. We need nothing more.

What implications does this have for us? Note first of all that Paul is not urging his audience to be filled up in Christ. He is describing what they are in Christ not what they should be. The is an indicative not an imperative; a statement of fact not a command. You are complete in Christ. You are filled to overflowing. And so, Paul calls upon the Colossians in the next chapter, act out what you in fact are. You are complete in Christ – demonstrate it in your life.

If this is the case, if we really are complete in Christ, then why is it we so often seek out other activities or people to “make us complete.” Pop psychology, possessions, drugs, alcohol, sex, physical fitness, work. We wander around seeking someone or something else to fill us up. Why?

Might I suggest that one of the reasons we fail to appreciate our completeness in Christ is because we are so busy seeking what we do not have that we do not meditate sufficiently on what we do have. How often do we read the Word of God and ponder, “What wondrous things God has done for us! He has created us with life and breath. He has redeemed us from our sin and rebellion. He has granted us fellowship with Him by His Spirit.” Have we stopped to consider that “we are complete in Christ”? I fear not.

And so this morning as we enter into the presence of our Creator let us kneel together and confess that we have failed to perceive all that He has done for us in Christ.

Faith in Christ

March 9, 2009 in Bible - NT - Colossians, King Jesus, Meditations

8 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. 9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; 10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.
Colossians 2:6-10

Last week we remarked that one of the constant temptations which faces us as human beings and even as the people of God is to substitute our own religious ideas for the revelation of God. But all such substitutes Paul characterizes in no uncertain terms as vanity, emptiness, folly – teachings that are in accordance with the traditions of men but not according to Christ.

Paul informs us today that the reason these various unbelieving worldviews are vanity is because they are not connected to Christ in whom dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. The reason it is folly to reject Christ is because when He spoke, God spoke; when He acted, God acted; when He wept, God wept; when He thundered, God thundered. Our Lord Jesus Christ was the full embodiment of the deity and so we can know that the things he spoke, thought, and did were infallible revelations of God’s person and will. No clearer revelation was possible.

Note what folly it is, then, to mess with the Scripture’s presentation of Jesus as God Himself clothed in human flesh. If Jesus is not God then the things he revealed are no more solid and sure than the teachings of Plato. If Jesus is not God, then we are left with the mere opinions and traditions of men. No wonder then that Paul’s most stern denunciations fall on those who preach “false Christs” – for if our faith is in any Christ other than the one Paul preached then our faith is in vain.

But glory be to God, the Scriptures clearly declare, both here in Colossians and in other places, that Jesus is fully God and fully man. He is fully capable of revealing the Father to us and fully capable of identifying with us – because He bears in His one person the two natures – divine and human.

It is no coincidence that of all the differences between the non-Christian religions of the world and pseudo-Christian cults, the one thing they hold tenaciously in common is a rejection of the fully deity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Pseudo-Christian cults not infrequently accuse Christians of twisting the Scriptures to develop the so-called “monstrosity” of the Trinity. But Paul tells us quite plainly today – in Him all the fullness of the deity dwells in bodily form.

And so, knowing that our Lord Jesus Christ was indeed God Himself clothed in human flesh, let us confess before Him that rather than pay attention to His Word as we ought, we frequently resort to the opinions and traditions of men who can bring only vanity and emptiness. Let us kneel and confess our failure to listen to our Lord.

March 2, 2009 in Bible - NT - Colossians, Meditations

8 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. 9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; 10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. Colossians 2:6-10

The number of different religious beliefs in the world is truly staggering. Varieties of spiritual expression have existed from the earliest days of human history (witness the Tower of Babel) and have continued down to the present day.

As we consider these various religious movements, Paul warns us in our text today that we need to beware falling prey to these systems – these systems that have the appearance of wisdom in the traditions of men but which truly rob us of wisdom and knowledge when carefully considered. Paul characterizes all non-Christian worldviews as empty deceit or vanity – emptiness. False religions promise various things to lure unsuspecting men and women into their pale – peace with god, peace with your neighbor, enlightenment, reabsorption into the One, freedom from the body, indulgence of bodily lusts. And while these promises frequently look solid they are really empty and hollow. Why? Because all these philosophies are based on the traditions and speculations of men – men like you and me. Men who wet their beds when they’re little and start going senile when they’re old. Men who bow down and worship sticks and stones. Men who get sick and die. Men who have headaches and have a hard time thinking. Men who are prejudiced and make unwarranted assumptions. Men who are anything but omniscient and accurate describers of the world around them. Men who fall under the injunction of Solomon, Vanity of Vanities, all is vanity.

And so what makes Christianity different from all these systems? Aren’t Christians subject to the same limitations? Yes and were we dependent upon our ability to search out and discover the truth we too would be lost. But thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! The Father considered our lost estate and sent His only Son to become flesh and dwell among us that He might seek out and save us – revealing to us His person and paying the penalty for our folly that we might not be left in futility.

And so Paul warns us – beware lest anyone take you captive through such empty deceit – deceit which is based not on God’s revelation of Himself in His Word and in our Lord Jesus Christ but which is based rather on the opinions and traditions of men.

Reminded of our propensity as sinners to turn away from God’s revelation and substitute in its place our own fancies and imaginations, let us kneel before the Triune God and confess our sin to Him.

Abounding with Thanksgiving

February 23, 2009 in Bible - NT - Colossians, Meditations, Thankfulness

6 As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. Colossians 2:6-7

A couple weeks ago we learned that not only is our walk with Christ to be conducted by faith but it is to be conducted by faith in a specific person. Faith in itself is no virtue. For faith to be virtuous it must join one to Christ; for trust in any other is not virtue but idolatry.

Today we are reminded of the attitude which our link with Christ ought to engender in our lives. Understanding the grace of our Lord Jesus – that though He existed in the form of God, He did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men; that being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross; and that, what’s more, He has arisen from the dead so that we too might rise to newness of life – ought to cause us to “abound”, Paul tells us, in the faith with thanksgiving. Of all people, Paul insists, we should be the most thankful, the most joyful, the most riotously happy.

But instead of being known for exuberant bubbly thankfulness, we Christians are more often known for our restrictions, our uptightness, our angst. Paul calls us to something different – he calls us to thankfulness.

Thankfulness for what? There’s the rub. We of course find it easy to be thankful in prosperity, to be thankful for the blessings that come into our lives, to be thankful for the good news that God has forgiven us in Christ. But Paul calls us to be thankful in all things – and in so doing reminds us that nothing is not a blessing for us as the people of God.

Paul exhorts us in Ephesians to be “always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father.” He excludes no times – we are always to give thanks. When the car starts right away in the morning, when the car won’t start at all; when there’s six inches of snow on the ground, when it fails to snow at all; when we’re feeling robust and well, when we have the stomach flu; when work is going well, when we have trouble with employees; when our children obey, when they disobey. We are always to give thanks. Our demeanor should be one of grateful acknowledgment of the wisdom of our Father – not just when it appears wise to us but when it is in fact wise, namely, always.

But not only are we always to give thanks, we are also go give thanks for all things. All things, we ask? Surely Paul didn’t mean to say it quite that way. But I’m afraid he did. For all things that enter our lives come from the hand of our loving Father who has orchestrated them for our good and for His glory. Thanking Him – for the kind and the hard providences – is the key to glorifying him in the midst of both. And this, to some extent, explains why we are to give thanks “in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” – for he too gave thanks to God while suffering. So do we thank the Father for the hard providences, the failure of the crops, the loss of our job, the rebellion of a child, the loneliness of singleness, the frustration of working at a job we don’t enjoy? According to Paul we ought to. Why? Because God is the one who has brought this into our lives for a very good, distinct, and just reason. Therefore, we are to abound in thanksgiving.

And so, reminded that rather than abound in thanksgiving we frequently complain and grumble, let us kneel and confess that we are an unthankful people.

Why Confess the Creeds?

February 18, 2009 in Bible - NT - Colossians, Creeds, Meditations

6 As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. Colossians 2:6-7

Last week we considered Paul’s admonition to us in this text that we are to walk in Christ in the same way in which we received Him. Just as we received Him by faith – rejecting all attempts at self-deliverance or self-justification – so we are to walk by faith, looking to Him and to His promises to fulfill in us that which is good and pleasing in His sight.

Today Paul admonishes us to be rooted and built up in Christ and established in the faith which we have been taught. Paul calls us to be faithful to the faith as it was handed down in the churches, to (in his words to Titus) hold firmly to the traditions which we have been taught. Like Jude, Paul wants us to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. To rejoice in the goodness of God, who has delivered us from our sin and rebellion and restored us to a right relationship with Him through His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Word of God, who lives and reigns together with the Father and the Spirit for all eternity.

This injunction which Paul gives the Colossians is one of the reasons that we, each Lord’s Day, recite the Nicene Creed together. As this summary of Scriptural teaching rests in our bones and becomes part of us through corporate confession, we are being rooted and built up in Him. For each Lord’s Day we grow in our knowledge of Him – where did He come from? He was eternally begotten of the Father before all worlds. Who is He? God of God, light of light, very God of very God. Is he a creature? Begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father. What has he done? Through whom all things were made, who for us men and our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary and was made man; and was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, suffered and was buried, the third day He rose again from the dead and ascended to the right hand of the Father from whence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

This, brothers and sisters, is the Christ we worship. The very one who is worthy of all glory, laud, and honor. The very one who created all things and to whom it is right and fitting to give glory and dominion. And it is in this One that Paul tells us to be rooted and grounded and in whom we are to grow.

And so, coming into His presence, let us kneel and confess that we have failed to appreciate fully His glory and to honor His name accordingly.

Walking by Faith

February 2, 2009 in Bible - NT - Colossians, Faith, Meditations, Sanctification

6 As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. 8 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. 9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; 10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. Colossians 2:6-10

No sin is more common among those who have a passion for righteousness and purity than to imagine that these things are to be achieved by human striving rather than divine grace. The Pharisees fell into the trap, the Galatians fell into the trap, the Judaizers fell into the trap, Peter fell into the trap, and, according to our text today, the Colossians were in danger of falling into the trap. After all, nothing makes more sense than to say that if we want to pursue the righteousness of God, then we must earn it; we must strive for it; we must achieve it.

Today in our sermon we consider the weapons of our warfare – the tools that God has given us to fight against the enemy. It is imperative as we learn to utilize these weapons that we do so in the way that our Lord intends – that we not turn the muzzle the wrong way and end up shooting ourselves or our allies rather than our enemy. It is to alert us to this danger that we look at Paul’s exhortation in Colossians today.

Paul exhorts us to walk in Christ, to conduct our lives, according to the same principle that united us with Christ in the first place. And what was that principle? Faith. Faith united us with Christ, was the appointed means by which God credited to our account the righteousness of Christ, was the gift that enabled us to emerge from the shadow of darkness into the light of life.

Let us be absolutely clear that we understand what this means. Faith brings nothing of its own to the transaction; we did not receive Christ because we were wiser than our neighbor; we did not receive Christ because we were more intelligent than our neighbor; we did not receive Christ because of anything in us. For by nature we are all children of wrath, deserving of destruction, committed to waste and profligacy. What then does faith do? Looking to self and despairing of any self-deliverance, faith looks to Christ and rests upon Him for deliverance – save me O Lord, for I am helpless and needy; have mercy on me, for I am a sinner worthy of death.

And so Paul urges us to pursue our growth in grace with this same basic framework. Look, Paul exhorts us, not to your own worth, not to your own deserving, not to your own wisdom, but look instead to the grace of God, the mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who frees us from our self-absorption and enables us to pursue righteousness to the glory of God. God will not honor those who strive to achieve righteousness on their own strength. For the very message of the Gospel is that we cannot achieve such righteousness; and that to try to do so is to proclaim the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus worthless and to trample underfoot the blood of the covenant by which we were sanctified.

And so, reminded that God’s grace is the source of our strength and wisdom; that that which distinguishes us from our neighbor is not our commitment, not our determination, not anything of ours, but rather the completely free grace of God, let us kneel and confess that we often fall into the sin of imagining that having been justified by faith we are sanctified by our own works, that we are called to fight the battle in our own way.

Old Testament Faith

January 26, 2009 in Bible - OT - Psalms, Faith, Meditations, Old Testament

Psalm 69:29-33 (NKJV)29 But I am poor and sorrowful; Let Your salvation, O God, set me up on high. 30 I will praise the name of God with a song, And will magnify Him with thanksgiving. 31 This also shall please the Lord better than an ox or bull, Which has horns and hooves. 32 The humble shall see this and be glad; And you who seek God, your hearts shall live. 33 For the Lord hears the poor, And does not despise His prisoners.

Within the last two centuries much has been made of the supposed contrast between the faith of our fathers in the Old Testament and the faith of God’s people in the New Testament. It has been said that the Old Testament was an economy of works where our fathers were required to earn their salvation by their own merits whereas the New Testament is an economy of grace in which salvation is a free gift. Others have said that the Old Testament articulate an external religion, based wholly and entirely upon rituals and regulations whereas the New Testament is focused upon the heart and the inward attitude of the worshiper toward God. The Old Testament was focused upon the corporate deliverance of Israel whereas the New Testament focuses upon individual salvation.

What does David say to these supposed contrasts? Hog-wash. Well he doesn’t say it in quite those terms but notice what he does say – I am poor and sorrowful – me, individual me, not corporate Israel, but lonely old me – rescue me O Lord, set me on high. Was Israel poor and sorrowful as well? Yes. Did Israel too need to be set on high? Yes. Did this mean that David didn’t? No.

But notice that David goes on. “I will praise the name of God with a song, And will magnify Him with thanksgiving. This also shall please the LORD better than an ox or bull, Which has horns and hooves.”

Wait, David, you can’t say that. The Old Testament is all about ritual. How can you say that your songs of thanksgiving please God better than an ox or bull? I don’t remember reading that in Exodus! You must have missed the whole point of the law. O, but wait, the Holy Spirit inspired you to write this didn’t He? Hum. I guess you must be right. I guess I must have missed the whole point of Exodus. The Old Testament really is all about personal faith and trust in the Lord that manifests itself in godly worship.

Now don’t get things wrong. I’ve emphasized where the contrast between the Old and New Testaments does not lie. There is a contrast between the Old and New Testaments. But the contrast lies not in the God who is worshiped, not in the reverence He demands, not in the standards He maintains, not in the faith He expects, but in the fullness of the revelation now that the Christ has come. I have come, Jesus declares to us, to fulfill the law – to manifest the full extent of what My Father promised throughout the ages but has now manifested in My presence. He who has seen Me, he declares, has seen the Father, the very Father who redeemed Israel from Egypt, the very Father who spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, the very Father who overthrew the town of Jericho, the very Father who raised up Samson, Gideon, Deborah, and Jephthah to deliver our fathers from bondage, the very Father who inspired the prophet Elijah to contend with the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel, the very Father who raised up Nebuchadnezzar and then drove him mad – he who has seen Me, Jesus declares, has seen this Father.

And so whereas we once saw the Father dimly, through clouds and fire and vapors of smoke, we now have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the first born who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel.

And so having come into the presence of such an august company, let us kneel and confess our sins to God seeking His forgiveness for despising the first portion of our Bibles.

All the Earth Shall Worship You

January 20, 2009 in Bible - OT - Psalms, Meditations, Postmillennialism

1 Make a joyful shout to God, all the earth! 2 Sing out the honor of His name; make His praise glorious. 3 Say to God, “How awesome are Your works! Through the greatness of Your power Your enemies shall submit themselves to You. 4 All the earth shall worship You And sing praises to You; They shall sing praises to Your name.” Selah Psalm 66:1-4

When we look toward the future, what do we expect? And how does our expectation shape the decisions and investments which we are making with our time today?

For the last 100 years, the predominant Christian view of the future is what we might classify as pessimistic. It is believed that we are living in the last generation before Christ, that the world is destined to get worse and worse prior to His return, and that there is nothing Christians can, or even should, do to reverse this trend. Indeed, to attempt to reverse the trend would be to postpone the imminent return of our Lord, something no thinking believer should want to do.

The results of this particular vision of the future for the history of our nation have been deadly. Christians retreated from cultural involvement, downplayed the importance of future generations, and prepared for the rapture. The results of this retreat have been tragic. Violent crime has mushroomed, educational standards have plummeted as ignorance has spread, Christian kids have been abandoning the faith in droves, church buildings have been designed for utility as opposed to beauty. America has become, in many respects, an ugly place. And much of this is a result of the church’s view of the future.

How does this pessimistic view of the future mesh with David’s view in the psalm before us today? It is the exact opposite. Notice that David’s describes his anticipation for the future like this:

“Through the greatness of Your power God
Your enemies shall submit themselves to You.
All the earth shall worship You
And sing praises to You;
They shall sing praises to Your name.”

In light of the power of God, David sees the future full of the worship of God, full of the knowledge of God, full of the praise of God. All the earth shall worship, all shall sing praises, even the enemies of God shall submit themselves to Him. Why? Because God is Almighty.

How does this vision of the future shape David’s exhortations in this passage? Notice that David is issuing an exhortation to the nations – make a joyful sound to God, all the earth! David calls upon all creation to worship and serve the Lord; to join him as he praises God for His might and power. And this, friends, is what we do every Lord’s Day.

As we come into God’s presence and sing His praises, we are invoking the nations to come and to join us; smell the fragrant aroma, behold the goodness of God, come see the glory of our King and join us in praising Him. And this praise, which starts here each Lord’s Day, is to eek out of here and make its way into our lives during the week so that folks can’t help but declare – how good and how pleasant it must be to know the Lord.

This morning, then, as we enter the presence of the Lord to sing let us consider the exhortations that David gives us:
· We are to sing joyfully – Make a joyful shout to the Lord
· We are to sing loudly – Make a joyful shout
· We are to sing beautifully – make His praise glorious

And so let us fill this building with the praise of God – but let us begin by seeking His forgiveness for failing to live now in light of the glorious future that He has promised – let us kneel and confess our pessimism and doubt to Him.

Old Fashioned Good Manners

January 6, 2009 in Bible - NT - Colossians, Bible - OT - Proverbs, Meditations

Colossians 4:5-6 (NKJV)5 Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. 6 Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.

In closing his letter to the Colossians, Paul urges a number of common graces upon the believers in Colossae. Knowing that they would be tempted in the cosmopolitan and corrupt city of Colossae to retreat into a holy huddle and be cranky and uptight, Paul imparts to them, and to us, some closing words of counsel, directing both our actions and our speech.

In regard to our actions, Paul urges us to “walk in wisdom” and to “redeem the time.” In other words, Paul commands us to follow the exhortations to wisdom found in Proverbs and other books, particularly in light of the brevity of our lives and the time that the Lord has allotted to each of us on earth. We are to use the gifts and talents that the Lord has afforded us to the best of our ability and for the benefit of others.

This other oriented focus continues in Paul’s exhortation regarding our speech. “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.” Elsewhere he gives the same basic command urging us to speak in such a way that it “gives grace to those who hear.” Our speech, Paul tells us, is not primarily to serve ourselves but to serve others.

And so, what do these exhortations mean for us? First, they remind us that Paul saw no contrast between the Proverbs of Solomon and the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. So let us be diligent to have these proverbs dwell in our hearts and minds. Let us teach them to our children and grandchildren that they might learn what it means to walk in wisdom.

Second, in this passage Paul is endorsing the old-fashioned concept of good manners. Manners are simply patterns of behavior that attempt to put others at ease and consider their well-being as more important than our own. Opening the doors for ladies, saying hello and goodbye, saying thank you and you’re welcome – we should view all these trifles as attempts to incarnate Paul’s admonition to let our conduct be characterized by wisdom and our speech be seasoned with salt.

And so let me make sure that we understand the very practical implications of these good manners. Today we find ourselves in a new facility that, Lord willing, we will be able to enjoy for some time to come. As guests in this facility, we need to demonstrate good manners. And so, children, you shouldn’t be climbing on the furniture, intruding into office space, or playing on the stage or in the kitchen. Don’t touch things that aren’t yours and be careful to treat everything as though it were quite precious. We are being given the privilege of meeting here and need to exercise good manners in the way we use the facility.

And you, parents, take responsibility for your children. Watch over them with all diligence and teach them the importance of manifesting good manners in their treatment of our new home. But don’t do this in such a way that you too violate the stricture to have your speech seasoned with grace. Don’t yell and scream at your children because you have failed to train them in good manners. Instilling manners into our children is not done on Sunday morning – it must be happening all week so that Sunday morning is nothing new. And so the exhortation to you parents is – impart the grace of good manners to your children – don’t rob them. “He also who is slack in his work,” Solomon tells us, “Is brother to him who destroys.” Take the time to impart these courtesies to your kids.

Walk in wisdom, redeem the time, speak with grace – these are the reminders that Paul gives to the Colossians and to us. Reminded how we as a people have failed to fulfill these things, let us kneel and confess this to our Father seeking His forgiveness.