Growing in Grace: Colossians 1.1-14

 

Psalm 84 is an image of people going to worship together and as they go it’s raining.  As they approach Jerusalem the rain reminds them of God’s strength.  May the rain remind us of God’s peace and strength today.

A couple of weeks ago I ordered lunch and it came.  Everything was in order but there were 2 milkshakes we didn’t order!  We didn’t pay for those.  We got more than we deserved.  That’s grace!  God has given us so much more than a couple of milkshakes.

In Colossians 1:1-14 Paul is writing from prison.  As he writes to the people of Colossae he reminds them of the grace and power of God. Paul was in prison for several years, quite a long time. God spoke to him and he wrote these letters.  If Paul wasn’t in prison we wouldn’t have these letters today.  In our imprisonments, in our times when we aren’t doing what we think we should be doing, God uses these times.

Growth begins when we embrace grace.

            Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, ⁶which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and growing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, 

This is our starting point.  At the end of verse 5, the last word is Gospel, the word of truth.  At the end of verse 6 Paul describes the grace of God in truth.  Paul writes to a people who are far away from Jerusalem. 

God loves you.  God sent His son for you.  Even in our disobedience, God came for us.  Jesus was raised from the dead.  If we trust Jesus, if we ask God for forgiveness, God restores us and we experience a spiritual rebirth.  The Gospel of grace is how we come into a relationship with God.  The word, “preaching” is used here as well.  There’s something I don’t understand about preaching.  God does something when the Word of God is preached that’s like nothing else.  The Word of God is alive!  What happens is there’s a spiritual work that takes place, something that we cannot explain.  The Gospel is a story we can tell to anyone in the world and something happens as God uses these words.  When we realize Jesus died for ME; God loves ME.  It’s a personal realization that God is gracious towards ME.  It’s applied to our hearts.  This is the foundation of our faith, the grace of God. 

A few days ago I watched a group of preschoolers playing.  They were all over the place.  Somehow they decided to play a game and have a race.  Someone drew a line in the sand and they all lined up.  They went from chaos to order when they all towed up to the line.  They knew the line was the place to start.  This passage is telling us this is the starting point.  God simply loves you.  God sent His son for you and offers forgiveness for you.  God promises us everything necessary.

We grow by knowing God’s will.

                    ⁹And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 

The word here is “being filled.”  We receive the knowledge of God.  We grow with more knowledge.  It seems weird to hear about a passive work in our lives in verse 9.  As Paul prays for them they started well as they gathered as a small church.  This was a small group that will eventually grow into a massive church.  You’ve started.  How will you move farther in?  As you think about knowing the will of God here’s three things:

1)     God’s will for you is that you be reconciled to Him.

2)     God wants you to be filled with the Holy Spirit.  This will produce fruit in your life.  Before we get to the 3^rd, if you’re trying to determine God’s will for your life you need to do step 1 and step 2 first.  If you haven’t done 1 and 2 you’re not ready to receive step 3.

3)     Step 3 is specifics like what job you should take, what you should study, what relationship you should have with your neighbor.  This will be a major part of what we’ll look at in Colossians: the knowledge of God and how we grow.  We all know what it’s like to learn.  We know how to give the right answers.  Where was Paul in prison?  We don’t know.  This is about more than just knowing knowledge. Paul prays that we know it in the depth of our being. We can read a book and have knowledge but we have to let God press it into our being.  We are capable of knowing the right answers without knowing God. 

Remember the song YMCA?  It has great motions and you’re probably hearing it in your head right now?  Has anyone ever stayed in a YMCA?  You can stay at a YMCA.  We can sing it’s fun to stay at the YMCA but most of us haven’t experienced a stay at a YMCA.  We can know the right things without knowing God.

We are learning how to walk.

This is the bulk of what Colossians is about: how to walk with God.

                    ¹⁰so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. 

Paul goes back and forth about being filled with the knowledge of God and as we walk in this manner we increase in knowledge.  There’s a relationship between serving and knowing God.  This is not just an academic exercise.  God told Abraham to “walk in these things.”  In the Old Testament God said you know these things, now walk in them.  You don’t really know something until you DO it.  When we do it we gain a fuller knowledge of God.  This year it’s more difficult to serve God.  We can use technology and do things virtually.  We are still figuring out how to gather together.  How do we serve right now? It’s been difficult.  Growing in Christ comes through serving as well.  The longer we go without being able to serve the more difficult it will become for us.  For example, think about how a child learns to ride a bike.  The parent gives a graceful push starting out.  The wind blows and the bike goes.  If you don’t start pedaling the bike will wobble and you crash.  Sometimes our faith feels like this.  As we grow in the knowledge of God, God prompts our hearts.  There’s a response from us: we become filled with gratitude.

We are thankful for grace.

                    ¹²giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 

“Qualify” is a key word here.  What’s it mean to be qualified?  We need the grace of God.  We need what God has done.  Jesus died for ME.  If you go to a ride at an amusement park all kids have that moment where you have to be a certain height to get on the ride.  They rise up to try and get their head to reach the line.  We do not reach the line!  We are not qualified!  God qualifies us for the Kingdom because we do not measure up.  This is what God does and this produces in us a deep sense of gratitude.  This word is only used a few times in Scripture.  2 Corinthians 3:6 says the Holy Spirit qualifies him to preach the Gospel.  We are qualified to be children of God.  You belong because of what God has done.  Have you embraced the grace of God?  We are qualified because of God, not because of anything we have done.  Have you embraced that grace?  Are you grateful for the cross and resurrection?  Is your heart filled with gratitude today?  A sign that you’re in Christ is that you’re thankful for what God has done.  Have you given your life to Christ?  Do you have a thankful heart?

Sermon Notes are taken, transcribed and posted by Jeni Martin Johnson.  Sermon is by Dr. Scotty Carpenter.