our sufficiency in christ sufficient control fuzzy cloud “christ is sufficient… …for character...
TRANSCRIPT
Our Sufficiency In Christ
Sufficient Control
Sufficient Control
Sufficient Control
Fuzzy Cloud
“Christ is sufficient…
…for character growth.”
What Exactly Happens
Here?
Our Sufficiency In Christ
Week 1: Sufficient HopeWeek 2: Sufficient WisdomWeek 3: Sufficient ControlWeek 4: Sufficient AcceptanceWeek 5: Sufficient Power
Sufficient Control
Sufficient Control
“Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions. He has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.”
- Colossians 2:18-19
Sufficient Control
Sufficient Control“Since you died to the basic principles of this world, why as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: 'Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!' These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.”
– Colossians 2:20-23
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Short-cut?
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Message of Colossians:
A call to live the Christian life in light of Christ’s sufficiency.
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Order of Colossians:
•Chapter 1: The Sufficiency of Christ for Character Growth
•Chapter 2: The Inadequacy of Other Means for Character Growth
•Chapters 3 & 4: A Call for Character Growth
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Christ in Control of Creation (v. 15-17)
Christ in Control of Church (v.18-20)
He is He is
Firstborn Firstborn
Everything Everything
In Him In Him
Through Him Through Him
For Him For Him
Sufficient Control
Christ in Control of Creation (v. 15-17)
Christ in Control of Church (v.18-20)
He is He is
Firstborn Firstborn
Everything Everything
In Him In Him
Through Him Through Him
For Him For Him
Deity: “the image of the invisible God.” (v. 15)
Deity: “…all His fullness dwell in Him.” (v. 19)
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“Firstborn” =
1) First Child
“While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” - Luke 2:6-7
Sufficient Control
“Firstborn” =
1) First Child2) Being First
in Time3) Status
Sufficient Control
“Firstborn” =
1) First Child2) Being First
in Time3) Status4) Control
“I will also appoint him my firstborn, the most exalted of the kings of the earth.”
- Psalm 89:27
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15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him 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 him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
Christ’s Control over Creation:
Sufficient Control
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him 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 him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
Christ’s Control over Creation:
Sufficient Control
Promotions & Demotions in America:
God
Angels
Humans
Animals
Gods
Angels
Humans
?
Before After
Sufficient Control
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him 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 him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
Christ’s Control over Creation:
Sufficient Control
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him 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 him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
Christ’s Control over Creation:
Sufficient Control
18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
Christ’s Control over the Church:
Sufficient Control
18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
Christ’s Control over the Church:
Sufficient Control
1:15 “He is the image of the invisible God.”
1:19 “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him.”
2:9 : "For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form."
Christ’s Deity:
Sufficient Control
Assessing Our Own Short-Cuts:
Total Dead Ends:
Distorted Means of Grace:
Sufficient Control
“As sinners, we have a natural bent to turn away from the Creator to serve the creation. We turn away from hope in a Person to hope in systems, ideas, people, or possessions. Real Hope stares us in the face, but we do not see him. Instead, we dig into the mound of human ideas to extract a tiny shard of insight. We tell ourselves that we have finally found the key, the thing that will make a difference.”
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“We act on the insight and embrace the delusion of lasting personal change. But before long, disappointment returns. The change was temporary and cosmetic, failing to penetrate the heart of the problem. So, we go back to the mound again, determined this time to dig in the right place. Eureka! We find another shard of insight, seemingly more profound than before.”
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“We take it home, study it, and put it into practice. But we always end up in the same place. The good news confronts us with the reality that heart-changing help will never be found in the mound. It will only be found in the Man, Christ Jesus. We must not offer people a system of redemption, a set of insights and principles. We offer people a Redeemer.”
Our Sufficiency In Christ
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