Here Paul really opens up his heart to the Colossians and also the believers in Laodicea, to whom his letter would be read as seen in Colossians 4:16, saying, “And when this epistle has been read before you, [see] that it is read also in assembly (the Church) of the Laodiceans, and also [see] that you yourselves in turn read the [letter that comes to you] from Laodicea.” He speaks of his great concern for them and that same concern is for us –a concern that grew, no doubt, when he heard the news brought to him by Epaphras that a serious error was circulating among them just as so many serious errors are in circulation to in our society, the reason why people should not play with this message. The apostle longs that they may ‘be encouraged in heart and united in love and belief in our Lord Jesus Christ’ gospel and teaching.’ The Amplified Bible uses these words: ‘that their hearts may be encouraged as they are knit together in love’. How encouraging it is for believers when their hearts are united in love. However, the opposite is also true: discouragement is the consequence of believers realizing their hearts are not united in love. But love is not enough. Paul is aware that lasting unity depends on truth as well as love. The believers at Colossae need to be of one mind as well as one heart; hence his concern that they may have ‘the full riches of complete understanding’ in order to know the mystery of God, namely Lord Jesus Christ Himself coming into their heart. The false teachers in Colossae believed that revelation could be received outside of the Saviour Jesus Christ, but here Paul lays down the thought that all essential truth is found only in Christ, and they need not look any further than Him Lord Jesus Christ for spiritual understanding and divine guidance. It is the lack of this, that has kept the whole world in the deep ignorance and darkness that prevails today! A situation that requires serious divine spiritual attention in other to remake the world just as someone rightly sang it in a song. Is on Christ that can remake the world through His indwelling of people and that exercise and processes is ongoing even though the world and her people are trying to resist the divine spiritual moves, but who can battle with the Lord? Just as in the New Testament times, so likewise today error creeps into the Church if/once men and women claim to have insight and revelation or teaching beyond that which Scripture and the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ unfolds. The unity of believers is at risk whenever the people of God are not of one mind/heart on the things that are essential according to the Scripture and the Gospel. A common mind/heart about the truths of the Bible and the Supremacy of Christ is the only possible basis for Christian unity and love. If there is not one mind there cannot be one heart and one love! This is the truth.

Now let us read Colossians 2:1-10; For I want you to know how great is my solicitude for you [how severe an inward struggle I am engaged in for you] and for those [believers] at Laodicea, and for all who [[a]like yourselves] have never seen my face and known me personally. 2 [For my concern is] that their hearts may be [b]braced (comforted, cheered, and encouraged) as they are knit together in love, that they may come to have all the abounding wealth and blessings of assured conviction of understanding, and that they may become progressively [c]more intimately acquainted with and may know more definitely and accurately and thoroughly that mystic secret of God, [which is] Christ (the Anointed One). 3 In Him all the treasures of [divine] wisdom ([d]comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes of God) and [all the riches of spiritual] knowledge and enlightenment are stored up and lie hidden. 4 I say this in order that no one may mislead and delude you by plausible and persuasive and attractive arguments and beguiling speech. 5 For though I am away from you in body, yet I am with you in spirit, delighted at the sight of your [standing shoulder to shoulder in such] orderly array and the firmness and the solid front and steadfastness of your faith in Christ [that [e]leaning of the entire human personality on Him in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness]. 6 As you have therefore received Christ, [even] Jesus the Lord, [so] walk (regulate your lives and conduct yourselves) in union with and conformity to Him. 7 Have the roots [of your being] firmly and deeply planted [in Him, fixed and founded in Him], being continually built up in Him, becoming increasingly more confirmed and established in the faith, just as you were taught, and abounding and overflowing in it with thanksgiving. 8 See to it that no one carries you off as spoil or makes you yourselves captive by his so-called philosophy and intellectualism and vain deceit (idle fancies and plain nonsense), following human tradition (men’s ideas of the material rather than the spiritual world), just crude notions following the rudimentary and elemental teachings of the universe and disregarding [the teachings of] Christ (the Messiah). 9 For in Him the whole fullness of Deity (the Godhead) continues to dwell in bodily form [giving complete expression of the divine nature]. 10 And you [f]are in Him, made full and having come to fullness of life [in Christ you too are filled with the Godhead—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—and reach full spiritual stature]. And He is the Head of all rule and authority [of every angelic principality and power].

Welcome back in our series looking at being rooted in Christ and moving on to chapter 2 of the letter written by Paul to the Colossians. I’m wondering if you set any new year’s resolutions. It is said that 43% of people who make them fail within the month – so I’m guessing that some of us here are at the end of year feeling a little despondent and possibly struggling to move forward not understanding the way things are moving and unfolding. Whatever your situation today you may feel far from God and disappointed at failed resolutions – lets get together today and get to know a little more of our heavenly Father through His word. I would like for us to be encouraged by what the book of Colossians tells us and allow God’s word to take deep root in our heart, mind and lives. Recap: That we are introduced to the book of Colossians and told that Paul is writing to a Church he hadn’t met before (like us) – the words themselves are simple but putting them into practice can be hard – so it’s good for us to be together and encourage each other. The theme of the series is called ‘rooted’ with the image of a tree – as Paul says being rooted in Christ and how this bears fruit in us as individuals and as a Church, Reverend Okorie encourages us with Paul’s message that if we have Christ we have everything, making it a serious duty of the need that we all must work hard and put up a serious effort to retain/maintain the purity of Christ in us. We looked at Chapter 1 v19 –Paul expresses his thankfulness that the Christians in Colossae are rooted and growing in faith hope and love and thus advices us to take a footing from them. Key verse: Ch 1v6 ‘the gospel is bearing fruit and growing through the whole world’. We looked at Ch 1 v9-23 and directed us to who is at the root and foundation of everything with the key verse being v15 ‘He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation’. We looked at Ch 1 v 24-29 and Paul’s personal example of what life looks like when our roots are in Christ. Key verse Ch 1 v27 ‘To them God has chosen to make them known among the Gentiles the Glorious riches of the mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory’. This brings us up to Chapter 2 of Colossians: and looking at Chapter 2 v 1-10 as seen above. When preparing for a bible sermon I raid bookshelves to see what material I may have in relation to the sermon. When looking this time around, I found a Colossians study guide ‘The compete Christian’ – GREAT! I thought – then when I looked inside, I was baffled because it started with Chapter 2 – now I don’t know about you, but this disturbed my way of thinking. You must start at the very beginning, so why start from chapter two I questioned. The reason they gave makes sense: there are 2 verses which are almost in the middle of the letter which virtually summarizes the whole letter: and it can be Read in v 6-7. These 2 verses are the hinge around which the letter turns. They summarize all that comes before and outline what is to follow. Overview of Chapter 2:1-10: Chapter 2 starts with Paul informing the Church of his struggle or great conflict which is happening inside of him Paul – he has heartfelt care for the Colossians. He then goes on to expose his desire for them to be encouraged in heart and united in love so to increase their understanding and knowledge of Christ. He warns them about not being deceived by fine sounding arguments. Paul then reminds the Church that as they received Christ, they have to continue to live in Him deep-rooted and built up in Him overflowing with thankfulness – then Paul gave them another warning so to see to it that they are not taken captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy based on tradition rather than Christ. Paul then reminds the Church that they have been given fullness in Christ. So far we have teaching on the following: 1. Expression of love and desire for encouragement and unity (v1-3) 2. Warning (v4-5) 3. Grounding and rooting (v6-7) 4. Warning (v8) 5. Reminder of being given fullness in Christ (v9-10) Now taking a closer look at Colossians 2 v1-10: V1-3, In the opening words of Chapter 2 Paul opens his heart and shares with them his internal heart struggle for them. He felt agony for these believers. Paul loved the whole entirety of the Church this shows from his other letters as seen in 2 Corinthians 11 v 28 says, ‘28 And besides those things that are without, there is the daily [inescapable pressure] of my care and anxiety for all the churches!” Remember that at this point Paul could not go to Colossae because he was under house arrest chained to a soldier. You can imagine his desire to be with them in body – its like a family member who is struggling, there is a desire for us to be with them physically. Paul’s inward struggle is ‘that their hearts may be encouraged having been united together (or other versions say knitted together) in love’. Encouragement and unity trip off the tongue so easily that they can quickly become clichés. So, Paul wrestles in prayer for them – neither encouragement nor unity come easily. Mark Meynell (Colossians for you pg.79) quotes C.S Lewis “Everyone thinks forgiveness is a lovely idea until he has something to forgive” (Mere Christianity pg. 115). Mark then goes on to say – “something similar should be said for unity – it’s a lovely idea until we find something to divide over’’. By telling the Church of his suffering and struggles for them he hopes that they will feel drawn to him and each other with threads of love – it feels like Paul is trying to create a quilt by sewing the hearts of individuals together with threads of love. When love knits hearts together into a beautiful quilt of unity the result is not just stronger affection but also understanding. To gain understanding about the mystery of God, namely Lord Jesus Christ the treasure chest of wisdom, is to have your hearts knit together in love with other believers. We need each other to dig for the treasure. The Church is under constant threat of distraction even our relationships with other believers can be a distraction – we are all sinners and life can get messy when we are distracted from Christ. Without Christ in our heart we easily fall out with each other, we bear grudges, we turn in on ourselves and suddenly we’ve lost sight of the treasure that is Christ. We need each other to dig for this treasure. V4 Shows us what is behind this concern Paul had to encourage believers. Paul is guarding them against being mislead; this is our 1st warning and the 2nd is in v8 – we will come back to this. V5 Paul wants them to stand firm in their faith and acknowledges that that is what they are doing. He feels he is with them in spirit and here again we see his desire to be with them physically. He delights to see how orderly they are and how firm their faith in Christ is. V6-7 So here we have arrived at the 2 verses which are described as ‘the hinge round which the letter turns’: ‘6 As you have therefore received Christ, [even] Jesus the Lord, [so] walk (regulate your lives and conduct yourselves) in union with and conformity to Him. 7 Have the roots [of your being] firmly and deeply planted [in Him, fixed and founded in Him], being continually built up in Him, becoming increasingly more confirmed and established in the faith, just as you were taught, and abounding and overflowing in it with thanksgiving.” “So then” – The opening 2 words of these verses prepare the readers for some sort of conclusion. “OK”, says Paul “Given what I have just been saying, this is what I want you to do.” What has Paul just been saying? He is just reminding the Colossians of his ministry to the Gentiles, of which they are part of as seen in Ch1 v24- Ch2–v5. He has been the servant of the gospel that they have received and has labored and struggled (with Gods strength) to proclaim Christ with the final aim of presenting “everyone perfect in Christ” as seen in Ch1 v 28. Even though he has not met the Colossians personally as seen in Ch 2 v1 he is struggling for them too. His purpose is that they may know Christ better, and he is delighted to hear that their faith is orderly and firm. Hence Paul said “Just as you have received” meaning– So then, says Paul in light of all that I have been saying, I want you to continue (some versions ‘to walk’) in Christ, just as you received Him. We read in John 1 v 12, “12 But to as many as did receive and welcome Him, He gave the authority (power, privilege, right) to become the children of God, that is, to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) His name—“. Now if I may ask, what was your experience of first coming to Christ like? What was the situation? Do you remember the joy? The experience that you had should mirror how we walk with Him all the days of our lives. Lord Jesus says in Revelation Ch 2 v4, “4 But I have this [one charge to make] against you: that you have left (abandoned) the love that you had at first [you have deserted Me, your first love].” If you are able to remember vividly, you will know that ‘You have lost your first love’. We may have come here today with a distant memory of our first love – when we received Christ first. Ask yourself the question: Am I as in love with Lord Jesus as the first day I met Him? Paul isn’t talking about accepting Christ – accepting and receiving are two different things e.g. I’ve got a car; it runs well and it’s only a couple of years old so I would like to give it to you. You say to me: that sounds wonderful thanks and you walk away and never ask about it again. You have accepted that I want to give you a car but until you take the keys, put them into the ignition and drive off you haven’t received, have you? Do you see the difference? Yes, we accept Lord Jesus – we invite Him into our lives, but do we receive Him? Do we take in all that He is? When we were born again, we received Christ Jesus. We accepted Him to be Lord over all our lives. He is first in everything. The Colossians had received Him as Christ ‘The Anointed One’ or ‘Messiah’ ‘Prophet’ ‘Priest’ ‘King’. Paul says, now ‘you know Him you’ve received Him’ now walk in Him’. Is this how we feel now? Or has life become heavy e.g. loss, grief, broken relationships, ill-health, financial worries, loss of job. Or is it that we have become self-sufficient – good income, healthy and life is good, so Lord Jesus is an add on. Have we lost our first love? Do you still take Lord Jesus as serious as before? Or have you become lukewarm? Not caring as you originally started! V7 Paul goes on to instruct the Colossians how to Walk with Lord Jesus. They have to be ‘Rooted and Built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness’. Paul gives several illustrations or words for us to grab on to – first being rooted which is a permanent thing. We were not called to be tumble weeds (a plant that has let its roots go down a little way, it doesn’t need much water and then grow big. When the dry weather hits, it dries out quick and because it has very little root all it takes is one good wind its tumbling down the road). We are not called to have this magnificent of greenery that eventually dies out and rolls away with very little root. God would rather us have deep roots and a small plant. Be rooted in Him – not blown around. Take a deep root so we are not shallow rooted. We are not to be transplanted. When Paul says be rooted in Him, he doesn’t mean you can just go from one soil to another. The roots draw nourishment to gain stability. Psalm 1 v3 tells us ‘He is like a tree planted by streams of water which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers’. A tree planted by a river with no concern about water or rain for that matter. A tree planted in a dry place is concerned about rain whereas the river tree probably has a tap root far enough down to reach through the ground to the river where it will constantly sit in the ever-flowing life-giving water. That’s the kind of tree we are called to be. We are also being built up in Him. Another great picture, a sure foundation – there is nothing better to stand on than something solid. So, we need to be rooted and built up (Refer to) an oak tree with strong roots- I have learnt that storms make oaks take deeper roots. For me to imagine being built up I found the one world trade centre building a helpful example it is the tallest building in the western hemisphere it has to resist powerful winds, of course but what’s really tough about the building is the fortress like use of reinforced concrete. It sits atop a 185-foot-tall windowless concrete base that’s designed to withstand blasts and other ground level attacks. As Christians our foundation rests on and in Christ. ‘As you have been taught’ the Colossians had been well taught in the foundational truth, back to the basics and grounded in God’s word so not to be pulled away from the truth. When we know our bible and dig into it, we see Christ letting it become part of our lives so when Satan comes along with his deceptions/attacks, we instantly recognize it for what it is. It’s like being trained to recognize counterfeit money. They don’t show counterfeit money they show the real thing repeatedly over and over – then they slip in a counterfeit note which they instantly recognize because they are familiar with the real notes. Can you be able to recognize counterfeits in Christianity? Paul describes healthy believers who are firmly rooted as a tree, built up as a building, increasingly stable in their faith, and constantly producing fruit of thankfulness. As followers of Lord Jesus Christ we are firmly rooted and continue to produce the evidence of regeneration. The believer ‘having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed and overflowing with thankfulness’. This is a characteristic of Christian maturity with a thankful attitude. You cannot grumble and be thankful. You cannot complain and be full of thankfulness. You cannot criticize and be overflowing with thankfulness. Now that Paul has reminded us of being rooted and built up it follows on from V4 and leads us to v8 where both give warnings: V8 ‘8 See to it that no one carries you off as spoil or makes you yourselves captive by his so-called philosophy and intellectualism and vain deceit (idle fancies and plain nonsense), following human tradition (men’s ideas of the material rather than the spiritual world), just crude notions following the rudimentary and elemental teachings of the universe and disregarding [the teachings of] Christ (the Messiah)” and back to V4 I tell you this so that no one will deceive you by fine sounding arguments’. Here are our 2 warnings – the word captive literally means to be kidnapped or taken hostage. Paul is warning the Church about men presenting themselves and offering ‘something more than Christ’ not necessarily educated men but men offering philosophies and special knowledge or creating rules for living which then robs the Church of its freedom in Christ. I wonder how that may look today? I’m thinking of some of the TV evangelists who offer Christianity as some way of ‘making life better’ – by that I mean wealthiness, wellness, unbroken relationships, having what you want when you want it; not bordering if that is what God wants for you. What about us as women? I can so easily be taken up by a book which makes me feel good about myself be it a Christian or secular book. We should not be held responsible to any teaching that does not have at its source the teachings of Christ. Then who should be held responsible? V9-10 gives us 4 reasons why we should not ascribe to any other teachings than Christ. This helps us focus on what Lord Jesus might mean to us.

1. Lord Jesus is divine ‘For in Him all the fullness of Deity lives in bodily form’ v9 – 9 For in Him the whole fullness of Deity (the Godhead) continues to dwell in bodily form [giving complete expression of the divine nature]. 2. We have fullness in Christ ‘and you have been given fullness in Christ’ V10a – 10 And you [f]are in Him, made full and having come to fullness of life [in Christ you too are filled with the Godhead—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—and reach full spiritual stature]. And He is the Head of all rule and authority [of every angelic principality and power]. By connection to and indwelling in Christ we have access to all that divinity offers. What does divinity offer? Revelation, wisdom, salvation, blessing, eternal life. We have no need of additional teaching or saving. We have everything we need spiritually in Christ. But the problem is are we in Christ, is He in us? 3. Lord Jesus is ruler of all ‘…. Who is the head over every power and authority’ v2 10b. He is not just the head of the Church but ‘over every power and authority’. Lord Jesus is Lord of lords. King of kings and sovereign over everything. Lord Jesus is the Head. He is the One and Only God! 4. Lord Jesus is Savior The most important reason. He is our rescuer. The judaizers were claiming that their laws made them holier than their gentile counterparts who simply followed Christ. Do you now see the problem, how the law became a problem making people not to be Christ conscious.