Heavenly Father, your word is in fact living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword. We pray that you would use your word to penetrate our self-delusion, our self-justification, in order that we might depend solely upon Christ for our peace and our security. May we delight in him all the more. We pray this in his name, amen. Our Old Testament reading is in the Psalms, Psalm 133. Hear now, excuse me, hear now the word of the Lord. Behold how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity. It is like precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes. It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion, for there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forevermore. In our New Testament reading in Ephesians, Chapter 4, beginning in verse 25. Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. Be angry and do not sin. Do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave you. And finally, our sermon text. The first five verses of Colossians chapter two. or I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those in Laodicea, and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of fullness of assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ. The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. I don't know if anybody picked up on George's pitch change when he said the first five verses You're welcome. Yeah, it is. We will cover verses 1 all the way through 5 this morning, here in the opening portion of Colossians 2. But of course, as we then come into chapter two, sometimes we can lose sight, whether we go from chapter two to chapter three, or we go from verse 14 to 15, whatever the paragraph breaks in the English text are, and we can think, okay, we're starting something new. So I just wish to not long labor, but just let us remember, and consider just for a moment where we are contextually as we then move into chapter 2. Again, it's not a whole new orientation, but contextually continuing the conversation that he is already about in Colossians 1, heading in now to Colossians 2, prior to addressing his concern to them, which we will get to this morning. the concern that Paul has. And you remember, how is Paul understanding or having knowledge of the concern of what's going on in Colossae? It was Epaphras, you recall. So just remember your time and your study in Colossians. Paul is writing to them, speaking directly to the concerns that what we can understand is that Epaphras has told Paul what is going on in the church. So again, prior to now addressing the challenge on the ground, contextually, what has Paul been doing? But he laid the foundation from very beginning of chapter one for who the church at Colossae is by identity and mystical union with Christ. He has then preceded who they are to, again, what God in Christ has done for them in reconciliation and who they are to continue in it. That is, he spoke to them, pressing in upon them, not only who they are and yet what God has done for them, but how they are to remain stable in it. This is his concern. that they, that you, that me, being Christian, united to Christ by faith, spirit wrought union, that you, me, remain stable, that we remain in this pilgrim's progress as pilgrims on the way, that we remain steadfast. And then if we were thinking, oh, what does it mean to remain stable and steadfast? He then adds, as he was speaking to them, you know, not shifting. That would be to remain stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope that we possess in the gospel. One writer reflecting upon the contents of chapter one, summarizing it, states it this way. So I commend this to you as you think, I've spent a handful of months now studying every Lord's day, Paul's letter to the church at Colossae. And I know that you don't memorize it. I mean, if I were to go back over sermons over the last almost six months, I probably wouldn't remember some of the things I've said. So I know you don't. But if we were to step back and say, but I get the idea and I understand something of the substance. I have grown through Colossians chapter one. I know that I have, I faithfully attended. And by one degree, even if it's not perceivable, it's like as you grow in height, I'm not growing in height anymore. Most of you are not either. Some of us are. And it's imperceivable. We don't notice, like, I'm an inch taller today than I was yesterday. It just doesn't work like that. But you know, undoubtedly, you're growing. You're growing. And you're sleeping, you're eating, and that's contributing to your growing. And over time, then you step back and say, whoa, that kid has really gotten tall. So it is in sanctifying graces. And you might not feel different tomorrow, or that I've really grown in Christ last night, but in union to Christ by spirit nourishment, you are being conformed to His image one degree at a time. So then you say, and what was a contributing factor to that in my diet? Your time spent each Lord's Day in Colossians 1. So what have I learned? If I were to summarize just briefly what it is that I've considered for a handful of months now each and every Lord's Day, again, I submit this to you as a good summary of what is looking back on chapter one as we flow into chapter two, what would we consider a good faithful summary of chapter one? I would submit this to you, the foundations of the whole apostolic discussion. that is at the beginning of the church, particular bodies now being established, elders being established, false teachers mingling and mixing in, what is going on in Colossians 1, but the foundations of the whole apostolic discussion are therein laid down. That's what I'm learning. The titles of Christ explained. You remember, he is the firstborn of all creation. Explanation. He is the firstborn from the dead. I considered that in resurrection. And it is by virtue of that that I learned, as Paul expressed to me as a member of his church, that there is no other head of this body but Christ, who is the head of the church, preeminent. in all things. I learned that. I considered it. I laid it to conscience and I've grown through it." He finishes the summary of chapter 1 by saying, and the doctrine of our redemption is settled and established. That's what you learn. And now, again, Paul makes clear in verse 28, we mentioned just last week, the center, the center of the Christian experience, the center of the public ministry, the center of the Lord's Day services, the center of the table. There is but one center, verse 28, for Paul's entire ministry, so also for the church of all time. There is but one center. You see it in verse 28, hymn. Him, Christ. Christ is the center. He is the center of the ministry. He is the center of its worship. He is the center of the minister's call. I have been set apart or I've been called to the ministry, unto the ministry of what or whom? To the ministry of Christ. And then you notice as he says in verse 28, Him, And then it takes action formed, Christ is the center. And then you see, notice, He, that is Him, we do what? We proclaim Him. That is the preaching, that is the proclamation, it's about Him. And yet we note again, not merely proclaiming as in Lord's Day services, but we warn everyone in their relation to what? To Him. And then he says, thirdly, it is him that we teach. So as you think of what you're learning through Colossians 1, it's largely what you already had embraced and believed, but herein been re-fortified. Christ is the center of all Christian content. It makes sense, Christian, Christ. Christ is the center of all Christian content, whether it be under a different category of doctrine, or if we consider and we separate it some and we say, here's doctrine and here is practice. Either way, whatever is of Christian content has Christ at the center. That is why it is Him we proclaim, it is Him we warn, it is Him that we teach. And then as we progress into chapter two, so much so is Paul in earnest for the church. that the church at Colossae that Christ prays may be retained. That is that we may be who he called us to be, steadfast, stable. So earnest is Paul for the church that it be retained and confirmed in true and right doctrine that he says, I toil for this. I toil for it. and I struggle for it, even to the point of exhaustion. That's where he concludes verse 29. I'll draw your attention to it just briefly. As I read it, you see his goal in 28 to present everyone through the proclaiming, the warning and the teaching, mature in Christ. And then again, in earnestness, verse 29, for this very thing, this, the referent to present men, mature in Christ, for this very thing I toil. How hard. Oh, I struggle with all his energy that he powerfully works within me to this end. Now then, as we flow into chapter two, you'll notice as he speaks in verse one, how he addresses struggling on behalf of the church, similar or similarly to how he addressed his suffering on their behalf. Notice verse 24 of chapter one. Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake. Now look at chapter two, verse one, for I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you. I think it's noteworthy here as you think of Paul, and then you apply that directly to you in your web of relationships now. Notice that Paul doesn't want to hide his affections. or hide behind a veneer how he truly feels about the church and fellow Christians. He is not ashamed, and I want to impress this upon you as you think about husband and wife, as you think of father to children, mother to children, as you think about solid and good friendships, that are valuable to you. Again, I just commend you to consider this text of the way Paul presents his care for the church and think of it in terms of how you present your care to others. Again, I note for you in verse one, I want you to know. You see what I'm getting at is Paul is not ashamed or embarrassed of his personal anguish for fellow believers. It's not a point of personal embarrassment. He's not concerned that if he tells them how he feels or he reveals how he is emotional on their behalf about them in consideration for their good, he somehow loses the power dynamic in the relationship. You see, sometimes we might not want to express our feelings because then at that point in time, maybe we lose ground in the relationship. Paul's not hedging. And I don't think we ought to take that approach in our own relations either. I press it to you. I want you to know how I feel. Again, it's not a point of personal embarrassment or a sign of relational weakness. Paul loves this body, and he wants them to know it appropriately and pastorally. that he is emotionally worried for them. I won't keep beating a dead horse, but I do wish you to think about it. I wish my own heart to think about it. How to communicate effectively to others the way you actually feel about them. And not feeling like you'll lose ground in the power dynamics if they knew how you truly felt about them. but sincerely loving others means communicating that to them. Paul leads by example here. I'll note for you just one historical example, and I won't draw a lot of attention to it, but I will say you're welcome to Google it and look it up yourselves or take some biographical books off the shelves, and you'll think of a reformer who led the way probably in this direction emotionally. John Knox. It's well noted that John Knox was an otherwise very emotional man. But when you consider it in his ministry, he was emotional but yet fitting. He loved the church and wanted her to know it. So also with Paul. Consider also then in his opening, I want you to know how he speaks, not only here. for the church and his love for her. But I do want to note two other texts for you. They're probably familiar to you, but I will turn to both of them if you wish to join me, or just jot it down, two more places where Paul speaks so honestly to the church, as I commend it to you to consider your own emotional estate and how you would speak to those that you truly love, that we would learn ways to truly be vulnerable enough to say, I want you to know. I note for you Galatians, if you're there, you can just flip over. Galatians, a text, again, you know well. Chapter 4, verse 19. as Paul speaks to the church of Galatia. Again, it's not just that he speaks this way to Colossians or to the people at Colossae, but also to the Galatians. And it makes sense when the church is being planted and the church is in its infancy state, there is a lot going on there. And Paul loves and cares for each body that's being established. So he leaves us an apostolic example of how to care for the church to which we are wed. Paul speaks in Galatians 4, verse 19, pastorally, and you'll note, as he uses the language here, it's similar to John, who is often called the disciple of love. And you go to 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, as he uses this language, so also Paul, as he considers his love in relation to the church. Verse 19, my little children. And then again, note how he speaks. For whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you. The same pastoral care of Colossians. What was his aim or his goal with them? To present each one of them a tour in Christ. It's the same language and love that he commits to those at Galatia in anguish of childbirth until when Christ is formed in you. I wish I could be present with you. I wish I could be present now and change my tone, for I am perplexed about you. I know for you one other text, 2 Corinthians, another place Paul commits his affections to the church, not hedging, not holding back, not worried of how it would be received, but committing his own emotional care unto them for their good. 2 Corinthians 2, verse four, I'll simply read it for you. For I wrote to you out of much affliction, And again, the power dynamics of the relationship. Will I lose currency in this relationship or capital in this relationship if this person knows how I really feel about them? Do I somehow minimize myself by communicating how much I effectively love them? Paul leads the way. He had no such concern. 2 Corinthians 2, verse 4, for I wrote to you out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain, but here it is again, to let you know the abundant love I have for you. You see, there are many more texts many more commendations to read of which we do well to learn from, where Paul's anguish is not evidence of relational insecurity. He's not looking at it just so they'll reciprocate something positive back to him. I love you. I love you too. That was my goal. Paul sincerely is in anguish, and it is not evidence of emotional insecurity, but it is fruitful evidence of sincere and Christ-like love for others. One author adds this particular note, I submit it to you to consider in the hearing of it. He says such, quote, Paul had a towering intellect. And we all know this to be true, any Pauline study we've ever done, or just simply read any of his letters. You recall Peter even saying, well, we all know that some of the things that Paul writes are hard for all of us to understand. Paul had a towering intellect, but he was a man equally possessed of emotional maturity. You see, we might think the vulnerability is immaturity. I want you to know how much I've cried for you. Well, I'm not going to share something like that. It's embarrassing. Equally possessed of emotional maturity, willing to reveal the depth and tenderness and intensity of his emotions on behalf of others. Think about that, men, particularly our own constitutions as men. I know I have to. Again, we should let such love for the church, as demonstrated by the Apostle, to be inspirational. And I share it to you so that it is inspiring. It is heartwarming, because you're seeing someone truly loved sincerely, and that should draw all of us. I mean, even when you see it in entertainment. You know, there's something about a love story, a meaningfully emotional, well-connected story that is inspirational to the viewer. It warms. But not only let it be to you an inspiration of what we see here in the apostle book, can I encourage you to let it be aspirational? That is not simply watching someone else do it well. but aspiring in what I see to grow in Christ to do the same. That we, brothers and sisters in Christ, would truly love one another. Now, in relationship to his struggle, you see there in verse one what he wants them to know. For I want you to know, what do you want us to know? What are you about to share to us or speak to us about? How great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea. And note well, I may mention it in just a few moments, but in case I don't, I'll say it now. Notice very clearly. Paul's never even met these people. You think, man, he loves them, he toils, he struggles, he's in anguish for them, and he's never even met them, but they're Christians. If we were to say names and faces of people we do know, And then we measure and just calibrate what is our love like for them? And how have we communicated and spoken of that effectively unto them? Let alone the folks we don't even know. Again, I see you see it in the text and for all who have not seen Again, how great a struggle I have for you, though I haven't even met how great a struggle. So, in relationship to the struggle that Paul has for the church at Colossae, there are two questions we need to ask and answer. What is the cause of the struggle for them? When he says, I want you to know how great I have a struggle for you. I want you to know it. I want to disclose it to you. And then it would be appropriate as a good reader to ask, well, you have a struggle for them and you want them to know it. And then the question that would be, what is the cause of the struggle? Why do you possess a struggle unto anguish on their behalf? I think there's some indicators if you look in chapter two a little bit later, verse 16. What would be one of the reasons why Paul has consternation, struggle, and toil for this church of whom he has never met? Again, Epaphras has come to him, disclosed the challenges, Epaphras had planted the church, and now he's describing to Paul what's going on in it. Paul then hears that and now he says, I want you to know that I struggle for you. Well, why are you toiling and struggling? What is the challenge? I think there's some indication in verse 16. If you look at verse 16, what is some of the challenge on the ground? We can kind of infer from verse 16, therefore let no one pass judgment on you. That word to them, what are we to infer from that? Someone's passing judgment on them. Paul says, let no one do it. Verse 18 continues and gives us a window into the struggle that Paul has for them. Verse 18, let no one disqualify you. How is the church responding to what's going on in it? there's some measure of meaningful discouragement to them. People of some measure of authority are passing judgment on them, and they are feeling, as Paul would direct the words, disqualified. Let no one disqualify you. Finally, I draw your attention to verse 20. If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, here's the prompted question. This is a context for Paul's struggle. Why? Why? As if you were still alive in the world, why do you submit to regulations? Again, someone's passing judgment, they are feeling disqualified, and Paul is saying, do not submit to regulations being imposed. This is some window into the nature of Paul's struggle for them. Again, why is it hard? As he hears the criticisms that are being leveled against the Church of Jesus Christ at Colossae, remember Paul's aim for them is to present every single one of you mature in Christ. And at this particular moment of his writing, it seems, if we were to look at chapter two later, as we just did, that presenting the mature in Christ is here at risk. Why? Why is it at risk? Why wouldn't, why would they allow someone to pass judgment on them? Why would they feel disqualified? And as Paul then prompts him, why would you submit to regulations? Like, why is this happening? Well, if you look down at verse four of chapter two, I say this in order that no one may dilute you. With what? Plausible arguments. You see, at the moment, as Paul is writing to the church at Colossae, presenting every man-woman in Christ matured is at risk, since gifted false teachers are presenting plausible arguments for a counterfeit gospel. I wish to commend to you, some of you more than others, as you live online. False teaching doesn't come out, as you know, and I don't mean to be hokey, but it doesn't come out and say, hello everybody, I'm gonna present to you false teaching. You know that, I know that. It's not how it works. It wouldn't be, as they started here in the first century, plausible. It couldn't unhitch me from truth if it just came out and said, I'm about to tell you something false. So also here, as Paul notes, there are gifted men of persuasive speech who are presenting to you at first blush plausible arguments. I would caution you online Anybody with thumbs and the internet is an expert. I just wish you to consider that. I could be a meteorologist on the internet and I'm not. The next guy could be the theologian of the century because he has thumbs and the internet. The next person, whether you exercise or health, have you ever seen conflicting testimonies from gurus? It's not like they're kind of sorta, they're opposed, but they both beg you to listen to only them. I just, this is, so be careful of what seems to be on surface in your life in the Lord, plausible arguments. I wish you to know well, this is consistently, as Paul addresses it here in Colossians 2.4, this is consistently to this very moment in time, how false teaching works. Let me describe it to you this way as a good listener. I hope to contribute to equipping you as our many arguments That's what we're very good at is arguing and screaming. As a good listener, false teaching deceives by way of false reasoning. On the surface, the claims are attractive. Something that you agree to, a commonality, common ground, is where you'll kind of be sensitive and you will attach yourself relatively to the idea. But watch its reasoning principles. On the surface, the claims seem attractive, but they are altogether, when probed, unsound and untrue. And yet, in their falsity, they possess the power to dilute your strength in the truth. This is what's happening in Colossae, and they're able to pass judgment on you. I wouldn't allow it. I'm in union to Christ. I've been reconciled to God by the blood of his cross. They have plausible, it seems on the surface, plausible arguments. Why would you submit to these regulations? Well, did you hear how they explained them? Paul says, I want you to know how much I struggle for you. One writer makes a mention this way, I'll simply conclude and we'll move to point two. And that is, he states it this way, Satan is spending 99% of his time falsifying Christianity. Falsifying the truth is essential to his operation. That is clearly what's going on here in Colossians 1, and Paul is in great travail and anguish for the church. Number one, what is the cause of the struggle for them? Again, it seems to be that false teachers with plausible arguments are destabilizing the church, making her second guess, her assurance. making her feel disqualified, making her feel judged because they're not doing what the false teachers seem to be saying, and then they're submitting to regulations that are foreign to them, but they're finding themselves doing it. Why? It seems plausible. And a spirit of discouragement has come upon the congregation. I want you to know how much I struggle for you. I want to present each and every one of you mature in Christ, and that is at risk. This is what we're hearing in Colossians 2. Number two, though, about his struggle, number two, what characterizes his struggle? What is the nature of it? When he says that he struggles, you may ask yourself as a good reader, well, what are you doing in terms of struggling? What is the struggle? I want you to know how much I struggle for you. And you say, what is the struggle? What is the nature of it? When you say this is struggling for the church, what is it? I think by evidence of the text itself, the answer, beloved, is prayerfulness. That is the nature of his struggle. How does Paul struggle for the church? How does he toil in anguish for her as evidenced from the text itself? I submit to you, it is through prayerfulness. That is how he struggles and strives and toils to exhaustion for her. How so? Well, if you look at the text, what would be the evidence in the text that the nature of his struggle is primarily prayer? Well, if we look at the text itself, it seems to yield that answer, because you remember, if you're in chapter one, verse five, at the end of verse five, he says, of this you have heard before, and the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you as indeed in the whole world, it is bearing fruit and growing. Now jump down to verse nine. And so from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you. asking that you be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And then the prayer that we have covered for months now on these Lord's days began right there in verse nine. We have not ceased to pray for you. And it ends in verse 23. You see, the prayer of Paul for the church was from verse nine to verse 23. Oh, I want you to know how I toil and struggle and strive with all of His energy He supplies me for you. How do you do it for me? Prayerfully. I have not ceased to pray for you since I heard of your reception in the gospel. That is the nature of Paul's love and striving and struggling for the church. With that, with that, I don't want you to move it into ambiguity now, to say the struggle and the striving is a bit ambiguous. It's prayer. I want to pointedly ask you, as I would ask myself, because it's probing, But I ask you right now to think with me just for a moment, would you please? As you think of this text of the apostle's heart being revealed, again, I've already pressed you upon the need to communicate your feelings to others. I want you to know the need to be vulnerable because you truly love this person or these people. With that in mind, Paul's anguishing love for others, those he has not even met, I ask you right now, will you ask yourself with me, do you right now have anyone in your life moving the idea of Paul praying for other people out of its ambiguity and into something measurable. Do I, Adam Thomas, have anybody on a prayer list in a meaningful relationship that I can actually say in meaningful faithfulness, I struggle for them? Can I, in a clear conscience as a Christian, say I strive for them, interceding for them that they may know Christ and be found in Him? Do you? Do I? Remember, Paul has never met them, and yet he strives for them to be found in Christ. Do you have someone right now that you do know and that you can be encouraged in the Lord to now pray strivingly for them? Meaning, I'm going to set some sort of schedule that I'm going to pray for this person. And I'm going to commit to doing so for X amount of weeks. I don't know, something in your conscience that is measurable to effectively pray and love another person. I think there's fruit here for you and for me to consider, not just analyzing Paul's love, but how I also am to love. in striving and struggling for others in Christ. Now, finally, as we kind of conclude our time here, you're looking at Colossians 2. Paul expresses three aims, three points of aim for his struggle. And I just, as we read it, just think of Christ's prayers. If we're to grow and be a church that we all love, and a church that matures rightly, and is a place where we want to be, and it expands as a community that others also want to be in, what will those marks look like biblically? We could write a lot of things. We could put it on a whiteboard and be like, what is this vision? What is that vision? What is this idea? What is already? Let me just give you these from this text. What would it look like to belong to a loving body that nourishes and grows and nourishes others as they grow with us? What would it look like? These are the three aims that Paul has for his struggle and strive for the church at Colossae, but for all of us in Christ's church, notice them in verse two, that their hearts, this is what I struggle for in prayer for you, that your hearts may be encouraged. that they may be knit together in love, and that you may reach all the riches of full assurance, of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ. Again, I note for you, as you consider those foundational elements of the church, a body of Christians, and if it be here at Christ's press, as we ought to aspire to be this body, to nourish this body, a body that understands its union with Christ, is a body encouraged. to know oneself and to know oneself in Christ is to be one who's encouraged. A body that understands its union with Christ is a body encouraged, is a body knit together, and is, as Paul outlines here, is a body assured. I conclude with you just briefly in one moment, would you consider for just a moment its opposite? If we were to say a body that understands its union to Christ is a body encouraged, a body knit together, and a body assured in Christ, what would its opposites be if we failed to grow in our union to Christ? We would be a body unaware of our great union with Christ and we would thereby necessarily be a body discouraged, a body fragmented, given over to dissension. We would be a body chronically insecure. What you see here in Colossians 2, 1-5 is a call to the church through prayer for a life of peace. Peace in Christ by shifting our focus away from ourselves, freeing us from the tyranny of self-concern, being enlivened, by focusing our attention, even our affections on others through Christ. This, Paul says, makes a body encouraged, united, and properly assured. Let us pray. Father, help us as we pray at the concluding of each sermon. We just looked at your holy word, that it contains no errors, neither can it by its own nature lead us into falsity. Yet, Lord, as we consider it thoughtfully and by conscience through your Spirit, it is a heavy word to each of us who are so fleshly. Give us the grace to not only hear it, but as James remind us, to be doers of it. Help the men in our congregation and the women also help us to not be embarrassed to be kind, to be appropriate in our affections, and to encourage each other by communicating them. Help us by your grace that when in vulnerability, we would be a body knit together and a body fully assured. We pray all this in name of Christ, amen.