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Today, we are continuing on in a series that we started on Easter titled “Christ Centered Freedom.” In this series we are breaking down Paul’s letter to the new Christian Church in the City of Colossae. As we discussed last week the city of Colossae was a lot like that of the United States. It consisted of a melting pot of worldviews and religions. The church was surrounded by a bunch of Greek cults that worshiped little gods; gods of the cosmos and the elements. There was also a huge Jewish population within this city.

Paul got word that the church in Colossae was being impacted by these religions that were surrounding the church. So Paul writes them a letter to encourage the church to stay the course in their growth of becoming more like Christ and to not get distracted by those rituals, practices and religions around them.

In the past two weeks we have learned that Paul has laid a foundation for this letter in two ways. He first reminds the church of who they are… people that have been bought and brought out of the dominion of darkness and into the light because of Christ’s work on the cross. Secondly, as we learned last week, Paul reminds the church of who Christ is. He tells the church that this Jesus is God. That he is the creator of the cosmos and the elements that those Greek cults worship. Jesus is the one who reigns supreme not just over creation but he is the one who reigns supreme over the affects and consequences of that creation…. over death and sin. He is the head of that church and he is the gospel, he is the good news the one that has reconciled you back to God so that you can spend eternity in heaven. The result of Jesus being all of these things mean he has freed us from a works based faith, he has freed us from an eternal death… Jesus is the center of our freedom. Therefore Church, Christ is better than all of those false little Gods and practices and rituals that surround you so don’t get distracted.

After Paul finishes laying out his foundation for this letter of encouragement, Paul now transitions the letter into a brief introduction as to who he is. We need to remember that the church is Colossae has actually never met Paul. It was one of Paul’s followers who actually founded the church. It only makes sense for Paul to transition the letter now into a brief introduction of himself.

The transition from Paul’s praise in Christ to his personal introduction is found at the end of v.23. Paul has just finished reminding the church of who Christ is by listing out all of these attributes and then he writes, “This is the gospel that you’ve heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have

Sermon Series: Christ Centered FreedomColossians 1:15-23 “A Christ Centered Life”Pastor Sam Parsons : May 4th, 2014Big Idea: A Christ Centered life allows you to experience Christ Centered Freedom

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become a servant.” (NIV v.23b) I think there is something very important that we need to highlight in this transition that being:

The supernatural response to a Christ centered freedom is a Christ centered life. The natural… better yet supernatural response to the gospel: which is Christ centered freedom is a life that is centered on Christ. Here you see Paul claiming that Jesus is the one that has reconciled those who have been alienated from God. This Jesus is the one who has paid our penalty of sin and therefore friends the only proper response to what Christ has done is to become his servant. It is to live a life that revolves around and is centered on Christ.

I have met and have encountered many Christians who have prayed the prayer, signed the card, raised the hand and they continue to live their life just as they did before they met Jesus. They continue to serve their own needs rather than Jesus. I sometimes am perplexed by this response. If we truly believe… I mean truly believe that this Jesus suffered on our behalf, tortured on our behalf, nailed to a cross on our behalf, taken on the wrath of GOD on our behalf, if we truly believe that this Jesus has saved us from an eternity in Hell because of his Love for you and Me than shouldn’t our lives be flipped upside down. Shouldn’t the only natural response to this generous gracious act be to live a life that is dedicated to and serves Christ? Shouldn’t our response be to live a life that is centered on him?

Well for many of us that is our desire… that is the response we want to have which is to live a live centered on Christ. But Sam what does that look like? As we look into Paul’s introduction of himself to the church in Colossae I believe we get a brief picture as to what a Christ centered life looks like.

A Christ Centered life suffers for Christ. (v.24-25)Now this passage of scripture is one of the most exegetically discussed passages of scripture. The discussion really revolves around how you translate v.24. When you begin to read this verse your initial response or question is, “what does Paul mean lacking in Christ afflictions?” I thought Christ sufferings and afflictions where sufficient that there was nothing lacking. Therefore, in order to answer this question we need to know how to translate “That which is lacking in the afflictions of Christ.” Like we discussed last week in the Greek we see “afflictions of Christ” is in the genitive form. Now there are 4 ways that one can interpret this genitive clause.

• #1: That which is lacking in Christ’s own afflictions (possessive genitive). • #2: That which is lacking in the affliction for Christ (objective genitive). • #3: That which is lacking in the affliction in regard to Christ (genitive of

reference). • #4: That which is lacking in the messianic affliction (attributive genitive).

Now given the sentence structure and the vowel endings of the nouns along with the context of the passage the only two interpretations that possibly fit are #1 (possessive genitive) “That which is lacking in Christ’s own afflictions.” Or #4 (attributive genitive)

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“That which is lacking in the messianic affliction.” I personally lean more towards the attributive genitive “messianic affliction.” However both seem to be adequate translations, therefore I will give you the arguments for both sides and leave it up to you as to which one you favor.

Now if you choose to interpret this verse with the possessive genitive “that which is lacking in Christ’s own afflictions.” It is important that you connect “in my flesh” with what immediately precedes. Therefore, a more accurate translation would be “I complete what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ in my flesh.” So here what you see is that it is not Christ’s sufferings, which are being completed, but Christ’s sufferings in Paul. The exegetical commentary put it this way “Paul is not contemplating lies not in the afflictions of Christ as such, but rather in the afflictions of Christ as they are reflected and reproduced in the life and behavior of Paul, his Apostle.” (Exegetical Commentary, pg 125). All throughout Paul’s letters you see Paul stating that fact that as believers we share in Christ sufferings and the dying and rising of Christ.

Colossians 2:12-13 “having been buried with ihim in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised in from the dead.”Rom 8:17 “Now if we are heirs of God and co heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.”2 Cor 1:5 “For just as the suffering of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.”

If you take this approach Paul is not highlighting that anything is lacking in Christ’s own afflictions but that Christ’s afflictions have yet to be completed in Paul.

The second approach and the one that I tend to favor is the attributive genitive “That which is lacking in the messianic affliction.” This approach is more eschatologically minded. Paul is referencing the fact that before Christ’s second coming Christians will encounter suffering. And this is a truth that Paul understood as a Jew because all throughout the Old Testament you see the truth that followers of Christ will encounter suffering before Christ returns in all his glory. For instance Dan 7:21-27: 12:1 “All highlight the truth that the church and all of the saints will undergo stress and suffering before Christ’s return.” The new testament backs this claim as well in Mark 13 where Jesus is giving his disciples the signs of his second coming he talks about the suffering his followers will encounter. Rev 12:13-17 where John describes the truth that the enemy will attack those who follow him. Further, I favor this position because Paul never used the word “affliction for Christ’s own atoning suffering and secondly the definite article before afflictions point to this precise kind of eschatological suffering”(Exegetical Commentary, pg130) Again in this view Paul is not stating that something was lacking within the afflictions of Christ on the cross but what is lacking in the future sufferings of his church before his second coming.

Obviously we can discuss this more and have major debates but the point I want to make is not that one approach is better than the other but that both approaches have one common theme. As followers of Christ and people who pursue Jesus and live a

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life that is centered on him, that life will most likely involve suffering. A Christ centered life suffers for Christ.

A life centered on Christ doesn’t just contain suffering though friends, it contains Christ. A Christ Centered life contains Christ (v. 26-27) So Paul begins his introduction by stating the fact that he has, and is, suffering in the fulfillment of doing what Christ has called him to do. In these next verses we get to see what it is that Paul is suffering for lets read that:

Christ is suffering for the mystery. What is the mystery? In the Old Testament you see prophets making claims that God will dwell among them. We need to remember that for YEARS God dwelled in the holy of holies in the temple, but the prophets in Leviticus 26:12, Jeremiah 32:38, Ezekial 37:27 you see them claiming that Jesus will dwell among the people. How will God dwell among the people? That is the mystery and Paul answers in these verses. God will dwell among us by dwelling in us. As a Christian your body is the temple in which Christ’s spirit dwells. Think about this truth friends… all of those characteristics about Christ that we discussed last week… the same God’s spirit that created this universe that reigns supreme, that is the head of this church and the sustainer of all things. That same spirit of Christ dwells in you. When you claim Jesus as your lord and savior his Spirit takes up residence in you. What an amazing act of grace friends.

What is even more amazing is that the “you” in this sentence is gentile believers. One commentator says this about the Jewish belief towards Jews. “Gentiles were separate from Christ, excluded from the citizenship in Israel and foreigners for the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.” (NIV app 126) Yes Jesus places His Spirit in YOU… in everyone… Jew Gentile doesn’t matter… pretty amazing. A Christ centered life contains Christ.

A Christ centered life reflects Christ. (v.28-29)So far in Paul’s introduction we have seen that he has suffered in answering God’s call of making known the mystery. In the next couple verses we see why… for what purpose. Paul teaches and admonishes so that not “I” but “We” (alluding to the fact that Christ is in him) may present everyone, complete, perfect, mature in Christ.” What does that look like? A complete life in Christ is a life that reflects Christ. I think Paul is alluding to sanctification here. A Christ centered life pursues sanctification. Sanctification is just that process of becoming more like Christ. And we do this through two avenues. First, through teaching and admonishing as Paul states but we do it by submitting to the spirit.

Through Paul’s introduction of himself we have been given a brief glimpse as to what a Christian life looks like. In the next 5 verses of Chapter 2 we get to see what type of fruit of that a Christ centered life produces.

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Fruit of Encouragement (v.1-2)A Christ centered life produces encouragement. After introducing himself as someone who is suffering to make known the mystery so that everyone will be presented perfect in Christ. Paul now tells them why he introduces himself in this way. First, so that he can make himself known but secondly to encourage the heart of those believers in Colossae. Some translations state, “So that their hearts may be comforted.” Paul is telling this church that through his struggle they should be comforted. In fact in 2 Cor 1:6 it states, “If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort.”

When I read stories about the Christian Martyrs I actually find comfort in those stories. Why? Because if these guys where willing to live a life that is centered on Christ to the point that they are willing to lay down their own life that speaks to the validity in what they believe. People are not likely to suffer and die for something they believe is not true. So to see Paul suffer on their behalf brings comfort to the believer because it helps cement their faith.

Fruit of Unity (v.2b)A Christ centered life produces unity. Isn’t it funny how suffering can bring unity? I know for our Honduras mission’s team this truth resonates. The one thing that we all had in common was our love for Christ. And it was this love for Christ that made us able to trust God for our safety, health strength and encouragement. For 10 days we worked, suffered for Christ. And let me tell you this, we became unified as a team through that experience. That mission’s trip deepened relationship and brought unity within the team. A life that is centered on Christ breeds unity.

Fruit of Wisdom & Knowledge (v.2-3)The third implication of a Christ centered life is wisdom and knowledge. Look at what Paul says.

“Paul affirms that in Christ ‘are hidden all… treasures.’”… Paul believes that humans cannot know God or God’s purposes apart from Christ. In Christ, however, we have access to unlimited stores of truth, which are by their nature “secret,” not the public property of the human race, but belonging to the deep things of God. “But God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.” (Exegetic Commentary) Friends one of the coolest things about living a Christ centered life… a life that contains Christ ... means that you have a life that contains the knowledge and wisdom of Christ. This knowledge and wisdom from Christ will help you stay the course and not get distracted from these false religions that surround you.

How do you tap into this treasure… into this source of knowledge and wisdom? First take time to listen to the spirit. When you are in an argument with your wife or kids take time to pray with them and ask the spirit to give you wisdom. Second, listen to others who are living a Christ centered life for the spirit can speak through them.

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So here is what we learned so far. A Christ Centered freedom requires a Christ Centered life. Thankfully, Paul has given us a glimpse into what a Christ centered life looks like along with its fruit. A Christ centered life suffers for Christ. So friends if you are following Christ and are experiencing suffering REJOICE and know that your suffering is encouraging others and bringing unity to the body. Secondly, a Christ centered life contains Christ so tap into that resource. Christ strength, power, knowledge and wisdom resides in you so use. And when you do that you will be living a life that reflects Christ. Living a Christ centered life allows you to experience Christ Centered Freedom.

© Church of the Foothills 2014