Twice in this passage we see a form of the word reconcile.  Reconcile, or reconciled, is one of those Christian words that we hear so often in the church in regards to salvation and yet perhaps we really aren’t exactly sure what it means.  However, it’s a word that you may have also heard outside of the church. It’s used for instance, in divorce proceedings.  There usually is some sort of effort to reconcile both parties, the husband and wife.  And what that means is that they come to an agreement, they make up, they resolve their differences that had driven them apart, so that they can come back together.

In fact that is how it is used in 1Cor. 7:11 which says,  “(but if she does leave, she must remain unmarried, or else be reconciled to her husband), and that the husband should not divorce his wife.”

But it also has a financial meaning, which is often used in relation to balancing your checkbook.  To reconcile, means to make one account consistent to another.  The bank sends out your statement, and you take your checkbook and compare it in light of the bank statement (which is always the correct one, of course). And so you make whatever corrections are necessary to make your check book correlate to the bank.

Now both of those variations on the meaning of reconcile should help us to get a grasp on it’s theological implications.  To be reconciled to God speaks of a man being made right with God, his account with God being corrected in light of what God’s justice requires.

When Paul speaks though to the Colossians about reconciliation with God, notice that he first shows us the standard of righteousness which is in Christ Jesus.  In vs 19, Paul says that in Christ all the fullness of deity dwells.  He has just given in the preceding verses a liturgy of Christology, all the attributes of Christ which make up HIs deity.  And so he says in vs19 that in Christ is all the fullness of deity.  So Christ is the righteous standard of God in every respect.  And if we are going to be made right with God, then Christ is the standard by which we are reconciled.  He is the statement, so to speak, that we balance our checkbook against.

And so Paul says in vs20 that God is pleased that “through Him (that is Christ) to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross.”  God reconciles all things to Himself through Christ.  So not only is Christ God, as we saw in vs 15-19, but He is able to save in vs20-23. He is able to reconcile men to God by paying our debt through His death on the cross.

Salvation, or being saved, is another of those Christian words that we use very often, but perhaps not always understood. Because when the Bible speaks of salvation, there are at least 6 terms that are often used  to speak of salvation. Let me review them with you for a moment.  Five terms used in salvation; and the first one is justification.  In justification the sinner stands before God as a guilty sinner and is declared righteous.  Abraham was justified by faith, and so are we.

The second term used to describe salvation is redemption. In redemption, the sinner stands before God as a captive slave and is granted freedom by a ransom, or a payment.  That’s redemption.  The third term that is used to describe our salvation is forgiveness. In forgiveness, the sinner stands before God as a debtor, and the debt, having been paid, is forgiven, wiped clean. 

Fourth is the term we are looking at today; reconciliation. In reconciliation, the sinner stands before God as an enemy and through the peace offering of Christ becomes a friend of God. Fifth is the term adoption,  which also describes our salvation. In adoption the sinner stands before God as a stranger and is made His child.That’s adoption. And sixth, regeneration.  That which was dead has been given new life. So to summarize our salvation; We stood before God as the guilty sinner, and He declared us righteous. We stood before God as a captive slave, and He granted us freedom. We stood before God as a debtor, and He forgave us. We stood before God as an enemy, and He made us a friend. We stood before God as a stranger, and He called us His child.  We stood before God as dead in our sins, and we were given newness of life.

Now all of those speak of different aspects of our salvation, but today we are going to focus on reconciliation because that’s what Paul is addressing in this passage. And there are four aspects of reconciliation that Paul gives us here in these verses. The four aspects of reconciliation are the plan of reconciliation, the means of reconciliation, the purpose of reconciliation, and the evidence of reconciliation. 

First, let’s consider the plan of reconciliation. Vs 20 “and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, [I say,] whether things on earth or things in heaven.”

Now the key phrase there is “through Him to reconcile all things to himself.” So God reconciles all things to Himself through Christ.  All things can be taken to mean all of creation. And there is a sense in which as a result of Christ’s atonement all of creation will be restored to rightness with God.  All of creation is under the curse of sin. We live in a fallen world.  But the apex  of creation is man. When Adam sinned all of creation bore the curse of that sin.  And in like manner, when man is reconciled to God through Jesus Christ then the rest of creation will be reconciled as well. As Romans 8:19 says, “For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.”  And then in vs 21 it explains, “that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.  For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.”

All of creation is waiting for the reconciliation of God with man. Sin corrupted the universe. It destroyed the peace between one creature and the other, between all creatures and God. But the plan of God is that through Christ, the universe is going to be reconciled. It’s going to be restored to a right relationship to God. So that as Peter says in 2 Peter 3:13 “But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.”

Now when Paul says that all things will be reconciled that does not mean that everyone will be saved, and  that even fallen angels will be restored.  But what it means is that at the final reckoning sin will be done away with, those who have chosen to live in sin will be sentenced to eternal punishment banished forever from the presence of God, and those angels who have fallen will be cast into the Lake of Fire, no longer to tempt or deceive or bind men.  But it also means that those creatures, and every creature on earth and in heaven will bow the knee, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.  And sin and death will be done away with, and only righteousness will dwell in the new heavens and new earth.

In vs21 he specifies who is reconciled; “And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach.”  The Bible makes it clear that in our natural, sinful state we were enemies of God.  It says in Rom. 8:7 that we were hostile, that means to be at war with God.   It says “because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able [to do so,]”

And James uses a variation on that term, hostile, to designate the world as an enemy of God. James 4:4  “You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” But through reconciliation, Paul says, you who were enemies of God have been made the friends of God.  God made peace through our Lord Jesus Christ by His death on the cross.

Eph. 2:12 says, “remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace.”  This was the plan of God from before creation, to create a people for Himself, who are like Him, for fellowship and communion with Him, and who will enjoy Him forever.

So that is the plan of reconciliation.  Now that brings us to the means of reconciliation.  Paul says how it was accomplished in vs 20; “And having made peace through the blood of His cross.” How did Christ reconcile man to God, who were His enemies, and make peace? He made peace between God and man through the blood of His cross.  He is speaking of a peace offering, a sacrifice. Now when the scripture speaks of the blood it is not referencing some sort of mystical power in the actual blood of Jesus Christ. We should not view the actual blood of Christ in some superstitious manner.  But what Paul means when he speaks of the blood of Christ or the blood of the cross is simply the death of Jesus Christ. Blood refers to the violent manner in which someone dies, not in some mystical power of the actual element.

We see the parallel between the blood of the cross and and death for instance, in Rom 5:10 which says, “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”  So we were reconciled through the death of Christ.  Not by some mystical element of the blood, but blood speaking of the sacrificial death of Christ.

In verse 22; it says it another way, “In the body of His flesh through death.” The death of the substitutional  Lamb of God was the way that God dealt with our sin, so that we might be reconciled to Him. The justice of God had to account for sin, and we had to pay the debt of sin, the penalty for sin.  But Christ offered Himself as a substitute for us, and by dying on the cross, shedding His blood,  He satisfied that debt.

So the means of reconciliation was to offer Christ as as sacrifice and a substitute for our sin, so that our sins are forgiven, and we receive the righteousness of Jesus Christ.  By faith in the death of Christ on our behalf we are reconciled to God.

Then Paul addresses the goal, or the purpose of our reconciliation. And we see the goal of our reconciliation in the second part of vs 22, “yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach.” In order to have complete reconciliation with God, there are three areas in which God has to make right.  We must be holy, blameless and beyond reproach.

To some extent these might look like synonyms.  But perhaps there are some aspects of each that have a particular meaning which might be instructive for us.  Holy refers to our relationship with God.  Blameless has to do with ourselves.  And beyond reproach refers to our relationship with others.  There has to be a holiness between us and God. There has to be a faultlessness within our own selves. And we have to be above reproach in our relationship to others.

Now when we are justified by faith in what Jesus accomplished for us on the cross, then we are made holy, blameless and beyond reproach.  But Paul adds an important little phrase, “before Him.”  In other words, we are holy, blameless and above reproach in HIs sight.  God sees us in Christ.  God sees the righteousness of Christ in us.  It’s like the line from  the hymn the Solid Rock that we often sing:  “Dressed in His righteousness alone, faultless to stand before the throne.”

An important verse in this regard is found in 2 Cor. 5:21.  It says, “(God) made (Jesus), who knew no sin, to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.”  In salvation, God transfers our sin upon Jesus, and transfers Christ’s righteousness to us.  So that when God looks at us, He sees Christ’s righteousness.  He sees us as Christ is; holy, blameless, and above reproach.  That’s why Paul can say in Romans 8: 1 that now there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.  

Now that phrase “In Him” also indicates our position before God.  In daily practice we may not always be holy in all we do, or blameless, or above reproach.  But positionally, we are in Christ.  And so God sees us as dressed in Christ’s righteousness.

Paul says in Ephesians 5 that we are  the bride of Christ, which will be presented without spot and without blemish.  And on that day, when the bridegroom appears, when sin will be done away with, when all things become new, when creation is reborn without corruption,  when we will be given a new, glorified sinless body, then we will become in practice what we are now in position.  Holy, blameless, and without reproach.

Now let’s look at the last point, which is the evidence of our reconciliation. Vs.23, “if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister.”

Notice that Paul says if you continue.  That’s the evidence of someone who has been reconciled to God.  If you continue in the faith.  If you continue to walk by faith and not by sight. If you continue in the faith firmly established.  That means you haven’t deserted the faith.  You haven’t believed some higher level of intellectualism which denies the truth of the gospel.  Steadfast, means to tie your ship firmly to the anchor  so that you are not tossed here and there by every wind of doctrine.  This was really the danger in the church at Colossae.  It was in danger of being shipwrecked by false doctrines that denied the deity of Jesus Christ. 

In Luke 8:13, is the parable of the sower.  And as Jesus explains the parable, He says ““Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away.”  What does to fall away indicate?  It means they were never saved. True Christians will continue. In John 8:30 it says, “Many believed on His name. But Jesus said, ‘If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of mine.’” The evidence of  a true Christian is he continues in the faith.

Listen to 1 John 2:19, “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us. But they went out from us, that it might be made manifest that they all are not of us.” And then in verse 24, “As for you, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life.” Who has eternal life? Those who continue.  And one more, John 6:66. “As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore.” True Christians continue.

But please understand that Paul isn’t saying that a true believer who falls away, or who backslides, can lose their salvation. What he is talking about is the sanctification of the believer, who continues to walk in faith, who continues to obey, and the goal is to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach. See, salvation is made up of three parts, justification, which can also be called reconciliation, then sanctification, and then finally glorification.  So to continue in the faith is the process of sanctification, and to be presented to God as holy and blameless is glorification.

And notice what they are to continue in; “not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister.” The gospel is the message of Christ, the gospel of salvation. The gospel which Paul was preaching. They were to continue in the faith and hope of the gospel.  The gospel is what we are preaching.  In 1Cor. 1:21 it says, “For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.” There is a lack of gospel preaching today in the modern church.  People don’t want to hear about sin, about salvation, about sanctification. So the modern church teaches about relationships, about finances, about social justice, about how to live your best life now.  But God’s message is the message of Christ crucified.  It’s the message of the cross, the gospel of reconciliation.

Now, in closing, I would like for you to look at a summary of the gospel of reconciliation which is found in 2 Cor. 5.  This passage parallels and summarizes this gospel of reconciliation for us.  It’s like a series of bullet points, and I’m not going to expound on them at this time, but just set them out as principles of the gospel of reconciliation. 

Number one, the gospel of reconciliation transforms men. Verse 17, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” The gospel transforms people into a new creation.

Number two; it appeases God’s wrath. Verse 21, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” Christ bore our sins, so God could give us His righteousness. It satisfies the wrath of God.

Number three; it comes through Christ.  Verse 18, “Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.”

Fourth, it is our ministry.  End of vs 18, “He gave us the ministry of reconciliation.” And the end of vs 19, “He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.”  This is our ministry.  To tell the world that Christ has died to reconcile us to God, that we might become the children of God, and inherit eternal life in Christ. 

Fifth, it is God’s invitation; Vs. 20, “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” 

 From time to time I hear Christians ask what kind of ministry opportunity can I get involved in at your church?  I want to participate in some sort of ministry.  And usually they are thinking of something along the lines of a homeless ministry, or a children’s ministry, or maybe a music ministry.  But God has already given you a ministry.  That being the ministry of reconciliation, where we act as ambassadors for God, representing Christ to a world that is at enmity with God, and giving them the word of reconciliation; that God has sent Jesus to die as our sacrifice and substitute so that we might be made right with God and receive the righteousness of God.  Our ministry is to go to the lost, the unsaved, those that have not yet trusted Jesus Christ by faith and believed in the work that He did on the cross to pay our penalty, so that they might be given the righteousness of Jesus Christ and be reconciled to God.

That is our ministry.  That is our responsibility.  I pray that you accept your commission as an ambassador of the kingdom of God, and carry out that office, pleading with those that are at enmity with God to accept the peace of Christ, so that they might be reconciled to God.

Today we are continuing in our study of Colossians, and are picking it up in vs 13. Last week we looked at the previous section which was Paul’s prayer for the church.  Today we might title this section Christ the Head of the Church. As I was studying this book, I was really taken with this particular passage in chapter one vs 13-20, and it’s theme of Jesus, the head of the church. 

We should all understand by now that to become a member of Christ’s church we do not sign a paper, or submit to a vote by the congregation, or be baptized or any manner of various means by which people typically join a church, but if you are to be a member of Christ’s church you must be born into it.  Jesus said to Nicodemus that you must be born again to enter the kingdom of God, and He explained that means you are born of the Spirit. 

How you are born again is spelled out in Romans 10:9 and 10 which says, “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus [as] Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;  for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”

The key to salvation then is believing, confessing Jesus as Lord.  And I would like to emphasize the gravity of that statement for a moment.  Jesus Christ is Lord is the confession of a Christian.  In Paul’s day, many Christians were arrested and charged with treason against the emperor.  They were given the option of preserving  their life by making the confession “Caesar is Lord.”  Caesar demanded to be worshiped as a god.  And of course, Christians were unable to make that confession and so many of them lost their life.

So to confess Jesus as Lord is to confess that He is God, that He is your Sovereign, and that He is to be worshipped. In chapter two, Paul says in vs9 “For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority.”  So to Him belongs all power and all authority over your life. From Him is life and peace. If Jesus is Lord, ie Sovereign, Master, Lord of all, then all we have belongs to Him – our life, our possessions, our will, our destiny.  Christ is Lord of all. And we must submit to that.

Christ is Sovereign Lord.  A sovereign speaks of a kingdom.  Lord is a title given to a ruler. And so as Paul says in ch. 1 vs 13, through salvation God has made us members of Christ’s kingdom.  Vs 13 “For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,  in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

What that verse teaches is that all the world belonged to another kingdom.  2 Timothy 2:25 tells us that we once were held captive by Satan’s kingdom, to do his will.  Paul speaking of those who are in opposition to God, saying “…if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth,  and they may come to their senses [and escape] from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.” So we were held captive by the domain of darkness, or the realm of darkness, the dominion of darkness.  All of which are other ways of saying the kingdom of darkness.  Satan is referred to in scripture as the prince of this world, the prince of the power of the air.  And so Satan is the prince of this kingdom of darkness. 

We that have believed were once held captive in the dominion of Satan. But through salvation we have been delivered, rescued and made part of the kingdom of Christ.  And I say to you that the kingdom of Christ is no less than the church of Christ. They are one and the same.  They are synonymous.   Jesus said in John 18:36 “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.”  The kingdom of Christ is the called out ones, from the Greek eklesia, translated the church of Christ, the assembly of believers, the saints of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We see this echoed in Eph. 1:19-23 “These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might  which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly [places,] far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church,  which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”

Notice back in our text that Paul says we were transferred to the kingdom of His Son. The word that is translated as “transferred” had a special significance in the world at that time.  When one kingdom conquered another, the custom was to take the population of the defeated empire and transfer it completely to the conqueror’s kingdom.  I believe that is what Paul referred to in Ephesians 4:8 when he said that when Jesus rose from the dead, he took captivity captive.  We that were held captive to Satan’s realm have been transferred completely into God’s kingdom.  Everything we have and everything we are now belongs to Him.  

But this victory was not accomplished without the shedding of blood.  Paul says “In whom we have redemption.”  Redemption means the release of the captive by a legal ransom. And the price for our redemption was paid for with the blood of Jesus, securing not only our freedom, but also the forgiveness of our sins.  Christ’s death was the legal satisfaction for the debt of our sin which we could never pay.

Then starting in vs 15, we have one of the most comprehensive statements of Christ’s divinity and His Lordship that can be found in the New Testament. Many Bible scholars think that Colossians 1:15-20 came from a hymn of the early church that described what Christians believed about Jesus. And that seems to be a possibility, but it can’t be proven conclusively.  Nevertheless, it stands as a magnificent statement about the divinity and Lordship of Jesus Christ. 

Paul says in vs 15, that Christ “…is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.”  We should all be aware that the Bible states that God is Spirit, and thus He is invisible to the human eye, and that no man has ever seen Him.  But Paul says that Jesus is the image of the invisible God. 

I heard a story about a little boy who was sitting at the kitchen table drawing pictures one day as his mother was working nearby. And she said to him, “what are you drawing?”  The little boy replied, “I’m drawing a picture of God.”  The mother knew her theology though, so she said, “But no one knows what God looks like.”  The little boy replied, “Well, they will when I get through!” 

The application to Jesus is this.  The life and work and nature of Jesus Christ created an exact image of the invisible attributes of God. What Paul meant was that Jesus was the perfect likeness and manifestation of the nature of God.  He is the great and final theophany.  The word translated image is eikon, from which the word icon is derived.  So that we might say that we see Jesus as the mirror image, or reflection of God. He is the exact representation of the nature of God.

We find that same description by the author of Hebrews in chapter 1 vs 3; “[The Son] is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of the [Father’s] nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power.”  We cannot see God, but we can see Jesus, who is the exact image of God.  Remember when Philip said to Jesus “show us the Father.” And Jesus said, “if you have seen Me you have seen the Father.” “The Father and I are One.” 

Then notice that Paul says Christ is the first born of all creation. Some cults have wrongly used this verse to support their belief that Jesus was created.  Some even go so far as to say He is just a higher order of the angels, a brother of Lucifer.  That erroneous view seems to be similar to the error of the Colossians to whom Paul had written this letter, in an attempt to correct a false theology that was creeping into the church doctrine.

But first born has, in the sense as Paul is using it, as the heir, the owner, the possessor of Creation.  Dr. Carl Henry, regarded as one of the greatest theologians of the mid 20th century said, “it should be translated as the Primeval Creator of all created things.” So Jesus is the one who possesses, as heir or owner, all things that are created.

Therefore, when Paul says, “Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation” He’s not saying that the Lord Jesus was the first created.  But in regards to his divine person, he is the eternal Son to whom belongs all things. In the OT, we see in the lives of the patriarchs this principle of the firstborn son who inherited everything of the father’s estate.  So firstborn signifies ownership, being the heir of all things, not a created entity.

This word, prototokos, which is used here for firstborn, is a term that has special significance. It is used in the translation of the passage in Psalm 89:27: “I also shall make him [My] firstborn, The highest of the kings of the earth.”  Furthermore,  in the Greek language, there was another word that meant first created, which is protoktisis. That word is never used of the Lord Jesus. They never say that he was first created, though the word was available to them. But in Scripture as a whole, when it says that He is the first born of the whole creation, it means that He is the heir of all creation.

Then in vs 16 he says Jesus is the Creator. “For by Him all things were created, [both] in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities–all things have been created through Him and for Him.”  Jesus is the creator of all things. Perhaps Paul lays stress on this doctrine, possibly for the sake of the Colossians error, in order to emphasize that Jesus was not created, nor equal to anything in creation, but that He is the Creator of all things.

Notice Paul uses three prepositional phrases.  “All things were created through Him.” “All things were created by Him.” “All things were created for Him.”  All things were created through Him refers to the design of creation. Jesus was the architect of creation.  All things were created by Him refers to the fact that He is the builder of creation. And all things were created for Him means that everything was made for His glory.

One may illustrate it by the construction of a building.  The architect designs and draws the plans of the building. Then the builder  constructs the building according to the plans. And then when the building was finished, the building is used by the owner for their own purposes.

In the case of the creation, to apply that analogy, the Lord Jesus Christ is responsible for this universe as the designer, the architect. Further, he was the builder, all things have been made by Him. John 1:3 says “All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made.” And furthermore this whole creation, not only physically what we see about us, the earth and the heavens that we see, but the whole universe, visible and invisible is designed and built to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ and for His purposes.

Then perhaps again as an effort to correct the bad theology pervading the Colossian church, Paul elaborates that even the invisible angels, described as thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities are created by Him.  Paul uses similar language to describe the dominion of darkness in Eph. 6:12 “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places].”  So that we might agree with the people of Jesus’s day, who said that even the demons are subject to Him.  Jesus created them and thus He has authority over them.

Now he goes on to say, not simply that he’s the architect and the builder and the one for whom the creation has been constructed, but He is superior to all things and He sustains all things.  Notice the 17th verse, “He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” Before all things speaks not only of chronology, but also of superiority.   He is over all, before all, superior to all.  There is no one before Him. Chronologically speaking, He is before all, because He was from the beginning with God.  John 1 says , “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, The same was in the beginning with God.”  So Jesus is before all things and superior to all things and furthermore He sustains all things.

Paul says, “In Him all things hold together.”  He is the glue that holds the universe together.  Do you know that science tells us that Earth is traveling through space around the sun about 67,000 mph?  Then in addition to that it is spinning at 1,040 mph.  How does the world hold together with all these forces moving upon it?  The answer is that the power of Jesus Christ holds all things together.  Now that may be difficult for you to believe.  But I say to you that for me it is harder to believe that scientists say we are hurtling through space at 67,000 mlles per hour while spinning over a thousand miles per hour and yet the hair on my head is hardly moving. I’m not sure which takes more faith, to believe in science or to believe that Jesus holds all things together.  I choose to believe the scriptures. 

So Jesus is the Lord of creation, but he’s also Lord of the new creation. Notice the 18th verse. After having said that he’s the Lord of the first creation, Paul says, “He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.”

Notice Paul says He is the head of the body, the church.  In 1Cor. 12:27 Paul says to the church, “Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it.”  That’s an amazing thing to consider, that we are called the body of Christ. Not just body as in an assembly, but body as a physical part of Christ. That’s hard to fully comprehend.  And yet it is more than an analogy, it’s a reality. The church is a new creation. The Spirit of Christ lives in us, so that we are His body on earth.  We are His hands, His feet, and we do His works, His deeds.  We speak His words. We accomplish His will. 

And Paul says, Christ is the head of the body. That indicates how inseparable the church is  from Christ even as our head is essential to the life of our bodies.  He’s the head of the body. The head and the body are not the same. The church  is called the body of Christ. It’s not called the body of Christians. And the reason for that is very simple because the church is His.  The head expresses ownership. Authority is suggested by head. Control is suggested by head. He’s the head of the body. He’s the head of the church. And consequently he controls the church. He owns the church. He has authority over the church. And also the head refers to Jesus’ role as source of the life of the church,  similar to how we refer to the head of a river as the source.

So to put it another way the head refers to Christ’s relationship to the church. We are related to the head who is in heaven. And if we are to live a life that is acceptable to the Lord God, we must be submissive to the head, to the Lord Jesus in a personal sense. And as a body of believers who are under shepherds, it’s most important for them and for us to be under Him and to look to him for control and guidance and authority in the things that we do.

He’s the head of the body, the church for this reason, that he is the beginning and he’s the first born from the dead.  He’s the firstborn from the dead, because he’s the first and only one  to break the power of death. He triumphed over death in His resurrection, and He has the keys of death and Hades as a result.  He is head of the church, supreme and sovereign over it. Government is not in control nor does it have authority over the church. Only Christ has authority.  We acknowledge Christ alone as our head.  Not Peter, not the Pope, not any president or potentate.  But Christ alone is the head of the church. Jesus said, “I will build MY church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

Vs 18 says, “So that He might have first place, or preeminence in everything.”  First place, not second place or third place.  Jesus is preeminent in our worship.  Paul summarizes the doctrine of Christ by saying that Christ is to have first place in everything.  Jesus is fully God. Paul speaks in vs19 of the fullness of deity dwelling in Christ by saying, “For it was the [Father’s] good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him.”  The noted theologian Lightfoot says, The word fullness was “a recognized technical term in theology, denoting the totality of the Divine powers and attributes.” So Jesus is fully God.  And because He is God He is to have first place in our worship.  He is to have first place in the church. He is to have first place in our life.

Paul says, “And through Him to reconcile all things to Himself.”  One day, the scriptures tell us, every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess Jesus is Lord.  Those who do so today, by faith, receive salvation and forgiveness of sins.  They receive a citizenship in the kingdom of heaven and are transferred into His church.  But one day at the consummation of the age, Jesus will return to earth, and every eye shall see Him, and every knee will bow, and the kingdoms of this world will submit to the kingdom of Christ.  Phil. 2:9-11 says “For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,  so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,  and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

When Paul says Christ made peace through the blood of the cross, that speaks to us of the real, physical death of Jesus Christ in our place, on our behalf, before God by which we are redeemed and receive forgiveness of sin. Faith in HIs  literal death in our place, and the literal judgment He bore on our behalf, is what saves us.  But those who do not believe  will not be saved, but nevertheless, all will one day bow, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

I want to conclude today by proclaiming to you that there is a standing invitation from the Head of the Church to come and be a part of His body, to confess Jesus as Lord.  At the end of Revelation, after all the warnings and pictures of those who rebelled against the sovereignty of Christ has been foretold, Christ gives an invitation to anyone who hears to come to Him and be saved, to become a part of His body.  He says in Revelation 22:17, “The Spirit and the bride (that is the church) say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.”  That invitation still stands.  Redemption has been made possible by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ as the payment for your sins.  Come to Him today and find reconciliation with God and be transferred into HIs kingdom, His church.

I think it’s important to ask why we go to church, the reason for the church, and whether or not church is essential.  A few years ago, doing the pandemic, it seemed at the time that government had deemed the church was inessential.  But attending church is not an addendum to our faith, it is not entertainment, it is not merely a social gathering.  Church is not a building, or an organization, but a people, called out from the world unto Christ. I don’t think you can actually join a church, like you join a health club, but you must be born again into the true church of Christ.  I believe that scripture teaches that the church is Christ’s body on earth, in other words, the church is the physical manifestation of Christ on earth, and as such the physical assembly of this body is absolutely essential.

Now I don’t want you to just take my word for it.  Ephesians 5:23 says,  “For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself [being] the Savior of the body.”   And then another one, found in this book we are now studying, Col. 1:18 “He (that is Christ) is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.” That shows that the church and the body of Christ are synonymous, and furthermore, it says that Christ will have first place in everything. You might make the correlation then to say that the church, Christ’s body is to be the number one priority in our lives.  I wish I could say was true in our experience.  But I’m afraid that for most 21st century Christians, the church is not their number one priority. However, if you have confessed  that Jesus is Lord  it should mean that He is to have preeminence in all things.

Well, Paul begins this epistle, after a short introduction, with a prayer for the church at Colossians. And by extension, it is a prayer for all churches, and even a prayer for our church. And I suggest to you that his prayer for the church, should become a model for the prayer of the church.  We might better learn to pray by studying Paul’s prayer, so that we might pray more effectively.  Jesus said, “MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER.”

The scriptures make much of prayer.  Jesus made much of prayer. The One who would seem to need to pray the least, prayed the most.  Jesus spent an entire night in prayer on a lonely mountain top many times. His last night before HIs crucifixion He spent praying for the disciples in the Upper Room, and then praying in the Garden of Gethsemane with the disciples before He was arrested.  And you will remember that Jesus implored the disciples to pray with Him, to keep watch for just an hour, and yet they fell asleep.

Isn’t it amazing that Jesus desired His disciples to pray with Him?  At this point they weren’t exactly spiritual giants. And yet Jesus wanted them to pray.  But Jesus wanted them to pray not only for Him, but also for their own sake.  Notice He said to them in Matt. 26:41 “Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” I can assure you that a life that is prayerful, is a holy life. A prayerful life is one in which temptation rarely overtakes you.  A prayerful life produces a life that is focused on the Lord.  A prayerful life produces a victorious life.

In scripture we are encouraged to pray for the church, for one another, and for ourselves.  In Ephesians Paul indicates that prayer is an essential weapon of the church. After listing the spiritual armor needed for spiritual warfare, he says in Eph. 6:18-20, “With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,  and [pray] on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in [proclaiming] it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”  Prayer is direct communication with God.  And we are to pray at all times, for all the saints, that is those in the church, and for those who minister to us in preaching the word of God.

There are many such encouragements to pray found in scripture, but another one that I want to mention is found in Philippians 4:6 which we looked at a couple of weeks ago:  “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God, And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus..” Over my lifetime I have probably quoted this verse literally thousands of times in prayer to God.  A great strategy of prayer is to speak back the promises of scripture to God.

Philippians 4:6 has a lot of important points that can be made concerning prayer and the peace of God which is given in response to our prayer.   But what I would like to draw your attention to is two components of prayer which are laid out in that verse.  And the two components of prayer Paul gives there are supplication, which also can be translated as petition, and thanksgiving. 

Now I point that out because that is the same method that Paul employs here in his prayer for the church.  He begins his prayer with thanksgiving, praising God for certain things that are true concerning the Colossians.  Then he moves on to petitions on behalf of the Colossian church, and then he sums it all up with another burst of thanksgiving at the end of his prayer.

Notice first of all that Paul mentions that he prays always for the church at Colassae. Vs 3 “We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,”  Perseverance is essential to effective prayer.  In the verse from Ephesians 6 that I read  a moment ago the apostle exhorts us that “With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit.”  I think how we pray is secondary to how often we pray.  The frequency of prayer is important.  Persevering in prayer is important.  Staying in an attitude of prayer.  Prayer should be strategic.  Daniel prayed three times a day, everyday.  And look at the life he lived and how God blessed him, even to the point of this political exile being made an advisor to kings. 

Jesus taught a parable in Luke 18:1 which He said was  “to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart.”  In that parable He equated prayer with a woman who came constantly before the king, so that he was afraid that she would wear him out if he did not grant her request. And in 1Thess. 5:17 we are told to “pray without ceasing.” So, it’s important that we pray frequently, always, which Paul says he does for the church.

Secondly, notice that Paul begins with thanksgiving to God for the faith that was found among the Colossian church.  Vs4 “since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints;”  Thanksgiving, as I pointed out earlier, is an important ingredient of our prayers.  Paul told Timothy in 1Tim. 2:1-2 “First of all, then, I urge that entreaties [and] prayers, petitions [and] thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.”

But notice Paul gives thanks to God for their faith.  Faith is an individual decision.  But it is also a gift from God.  Ephesians 2:8 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, [it is] the gift of God.”  So we pray that God would grant to a person the gift of faith.  That their eyes might be opened so that they will believe the truth.  I think salvation can be correlated to giving sight to a blind person.  God has to open a person’s heart to believe in order for them to receive Christ by faith.  And so faith is something we can thank God for, in the case of the church, but it’s also something we should ask God for, because the scriptures say that the just shall live by faith. 

Notice also that faith is not simply believing in the existence of God, nor even believing in the existence of Jesus.  But it is faith in the work of Christ.  Paul says he is “praying always for you,

since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints;

because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel.”  Paul says their faith came as the result of hearing the word of truth, the gospel.  

He says in Rom 10:17 “So faith [comes] from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”  The word of Christ is the truth of the gospel.  And the truth of the gospel is that God sent His Son Jesus the Messiah to earth to die for our sins.  Recognizing you are a sinner, that you are in need of a Savior, that you are in need of forgiveness, and repenting of your sin, believing that Jesus died in your place to pay the penalty of your sin, and that He rose from the dead and ascended to His Father in heaven- that is the gospel.  Faith in Christ’s gospel is saving faith. The Bible says that even the devils believe in God, but they are not saved.  Saving faith is believing much more than simply that God exists, but believing what God has said.

So Paul is thankful for the gift of their salvation.  Then Paul adds to that thankfulness for the fruit of the gospel as it is being sown throughout the world.  He says at the end of vs 5, “the gospel which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth.”

Jesus gave a parable about the sower who went out to sow and some seed fell on good ground, some fell on stoney ground, some fell beside the road and so forth. I’m sure you all are familiar with the parable. But the point I want to emphasize is when Jesus explained the parable He made it clear that the seed the sower was spreading was the word of God. And the seed which fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and believes it and who brings forth fruit. 

That’s why Paul continues in his thanksgiving for Epaphras, who had ministered the word to the Colossians and had brought back the good news to Paul of the bearing of fruit that was occurring in the church there. It would seem that Paul had never been to Colossae, but Epaphras was likely the pastor of the church, and his faithfulness to proclaim the word resulted in the fruit that was evident in the lives of the Colossians. We sow the seed which is the word of God, but it is God that gives the increase.

And in vs 8 Paul tells us what  the fruit of the church is,  saying, “and he also informed us of your love in the Spirit.”  In Galatians 5:22 Paul identifies the primary fruit of the Spirit is love. And in 1Cor. 13:13 he says concerning spiritual gifts; “But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.” It’s interesting to note that in this prayer, Paul is thankful for their faith, in vs 4, their hope in vs 5, and their love in vs 6.  Love is the fruit of their salvation. Love for God and love for one another. Love is not just some sort of sentimental feeling, but speaking the truth in love.  Love is being concerned about another person’s well being.  And the greatest benefit that anyone could receive is to be saved, to be delivered from darkness and transferred to the church of Christ.  Telling someone that they are a sinner, that there is forgiveness by faith in Christ’s gospel, and telling them the truth even if it might hurt your relationship is really acting in love. Love is not concealing the truth because you’re afraid of offending them.  Love is speaking the truth to a lost and dying world.

So Paul begins his prayer for the Colossians with thanksgiving.  Not simply because it is some formula, a way to somehow butter God up with praise so then you can ask Him for what you really want.  But because thankfulness shapes your perspective.  Thanksgiving for what God has done gives us confidence that God cares, and that God can and will help us, because He has so graciously helped us in the past. Thanksgiving releases an intercession which is formed out of blessing and not out of crisis.  I can promise you that there will be times of crisis in your Christian life, but our prayer life should not be predicated on a response to crisis, but out of a response to blessing.  And when we realize our blessings, we should be inspired to offer up even more prayers and petitions to God from whom all blessings come.

“For this reason” then, Paul says in vs 9, he offers up specific petitions on behalf of the Colossians. Because of his thankfulness for God’s blessings of faith, hope and love in the life of the Colossians, he is spurred to ask God to specifically fill them “with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy.” 

Paul prays specifically, so let’s look specifically at what he is petitioning God for.  First, that God would fill the church with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. Spiritual understanding is what is called discernment. I believe discernment is a spiritual gift that is far too often undervalued in the church.  Spiritual discernment is the gift to be able to rightly divide the word of truth, to be able to discern false teaching, and determine false spirits. Lord knows there is a great need for that today.  And in Colossae, they also had a need to discern the false teaching that was gaining a foothold in their church doctrine.  I’m not going to go all into it today, but there was some sort of teaching which promised a deeper level of Christianity, which actually wasn’t the true gospel at all.  Some level of teaching which promised a deeper experience which was not based on sound doctrine.

But Paul knows that true knowledge of the will of God comes from wisdom and the discernment which is given by the Holy Spirit, and that does not lead to some “deeper spiritual experience” that the false teachers were teaching, but it results in something very practical (as he says in vs 10) “in a walk worthy of the Lord, being pleasing to Him, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God.”  True knowledge then produces a holy walk.  Christian doctrine is not just head knowledge, but it’s to be applied in day to day life.  It results in a different walk, a different life.

Paul describes this walk as being pleasing to the Lord. If you love the Lord, you will seek to please Him, to serve Him, to be found pleasing to Him. Furthermore, a true walk results in being fruitful in good works.  Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”  Our walk is to do the works of Christ, to love one another, to serve the kingdom of God by sowing the seed of the gospel. 

And finally this walk of faith involves growing in the knowledge of God. How do we do that?  We study His word.  We come to the true knowledge of God through HIs word. That is the only way we can truly know God is through His word.  His word is the only barometer of truth that we have.  Even if you had an experience in which you believed God directly spoke to you, you would still have to judge the truth of it by God’s word. To do anything less is to leave yourself open to being deceived.  

To know Christ is to love Him. We grow in our love for the Lord through reading His word, by meditating on Him. And as we know more of Him, we love Him more, and if we love Him more, we will keep His commandments, ie, do the things that are pleasing to Him.

Paul continues his prayer, petitioning God that specifically they would be “strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience.” Notice Paul prays that they would be strengthened by the power of God in order to be steadfast.  What does steadfast mean?  It means faithful, loyal, without wavering.  It carries the idea of standing fast in the storms and trials of life.  

In Ephesians 4:14-15 Paul speaks of steadfastness, saying, “As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;  but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all [aspects] into Him who is the head, [even] Christ.”  The Colossians were in danger of being tossed about by a new wind of doctrine, and as such were in danger of spiritual shipwreck.  Paul’s prayer was that God would strengthen them so that they would be found to be stedfast, immoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. (1 Cor. 15:58)

And that they would be strengthened to attain patience. Patience means endurance, perseverance, longsuffering.  Steadfastness and patience are basically synonyms, but with perhaps a different emphasis.  Patience has more a sense of endurance.  James speaks of trials producing endurance.  James 1:2-4 “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,  knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.  And let endurance have [its] perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

It’s interesting that Paul links joy with patience as well here in vs 11.  But also notice that though the idea of trials is indicated in his prayer, Paul doesn’t ask God to take them out of the trial, but to give them endurance and steadfastness as they go through the trial.  Because as James indicates, the trial is God’s means of refining us, of strengthening us, and giving us confidence in God.  So many times our prayers in crisis mode is “Lord deliver me.  Get me out of this!” But Paul prays “Lord, be with them as they go through trials, and give them steadfastness and endurance so that they come out of it perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

Finally, Paul concludes His prayer for the church with a final round of thanksgiving.  Vs 12, “joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.”  I believe that Paul here is giving thanks for the suffering that they were called to endure.  The inheritance that God qualified them to share in is not just the glory of heaven, but the sufferings on earth.  This is the biggest challenge yet to our prayer life.  To joyously give thanks to God for our sufferings. 

But I would remind you of the attitude of Peter and John who when they were arrested and scourged and thrown in prison, went away rejoicing that they had been counted worthy to suffer for the Lord’s sake.  Why would you have that perspective?  

Well, the answer may be found in Romans 8:16-18 “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,  and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with [Him] so that we may also be glorified with [Him.]  For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”

We can rejoice because we have been counted worthy to share in the sufferings of Christ. Even our trials can be the source of blessing.  And as Paul makes it clear in Romans, if we suffer with Him here, we shall be glorified with Him there.  And the glory that we shall enjoy there, cannot be compared to the suffering that we share in here.  2 Cor. 4:17-18 says “For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison,  while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

The key to enduring with patience the trials that are set before us is to pray at all times, pray without ceasing, giving thanks in all things with all prayer and supplication.  Phl 4:6-7  “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  Let us pray like our lives depended upon it. For it most certainly does.

Last week I shared with you a message about overcoming anxiety and depression.  And in so doing I also ended up sharing with you some of my personal testimony.  I did so, not to try to elicit some sort of sympathy, but because I felt that having gone through these things, it qualified me to be able to speak to you not just from a theoretical point of view, or even a theological point of view, but from the voice of personal experience.

As it turns out, I guess God wasn’t finished teaching me.  On Monday, following my message on Sunday, I ended up having a heart attack and spent the next couple of days or so in the hospital. But I am happy to say that God did give me a peace that passed all understanding as I went through that ordeal. 

As we discovered last week, the opposite of anxiety and depression is peace.  And in Philippians 4 we find that the God of peace offers us the peace of God, which passes all understanding, to those who have learned to put their trust in God, in spite of whatever circumstances they may find themselves. 

So today is really just a continuation of that message.  But what we are going to look at in more detail  today is how the peace of God is achieved on a practical level.  And Paul tells us here that the peace that God provides is called contentment. 

Now, contentment is almost a foreign idea in American society today.  We are programmed from birth to be anything but content.  In fact, in our culture we tend to look down on people who are content as non achievers, as being practically delinquent.  We are expected to be ambitious, to be climbers, to be striving to get ahead.  That is the American way.

I can remember a couple of job interviews I went to back in my younger days, when I was working in the luxury hotel field.  And during a typical interview with the VP of a hotel chain, invariably they would ask the question;  “Where do you see yourself in the next five years?”  And you were expected to give them some sort of answer that showed that you were ambitious, that you had aspirations of climbing to the top.  I found out the hard way that they used that mentality to offer you a carrot on stick to get you to work 6 days a week, 80 hours a week for terrible pay, in the hope that if you did a good job you would get a promotion and start your climb through the corporate ranks.

But this is the American way.  Being discontent has become a way of life. Our materialistic culture basically is trying to keep us dissatisfied, so they can sell us a new product.  We haven’t managed to even learn how to use our iphones yet and they are already trying to sell you on a better one.  And unfortunately, we buy into it.  We have created an environment in which we live our lives in expectation of a better tomorrow.  We buy and borrow and live today in expectation that we will be able to pay for it tomorrow.  Because we are told we really need it today, and so we borrow to buy it, financing our discontent on the promise of a better tomorrow.  We are bred in discontent, so we scuttle our marriage and leave our wives or our husbands in search of a better mate.  We sacrifice homes and families to fulfill our unfulfilled desires that are set aflame by what Hollywood and crass commercialism tells us is necessary for happiness and fulfillment. 

Our parents somehow made do with a tiny ranch houses with 3 shoebox bedrooms and one bathroom and yet raised four kids.  They got by with just one car and just one job.  Dad worked 5 days a week, Monday through Friday, 9 to 5, and had time on weekends to take us fishing or camping or something.  Mom stayed home and took care of the kids and found time to actually keep her own house and cook 99% of the meals from scratch.  We had one phone that was attached to the wall.  We had one black and white tv with only 3 channels.  And yet in spite of such deprivation, life wasn’t all that bad. 

Today, Dad and Mom both work full time jobs because they are convinced they need two incomes.  So they need to hire a maid to come in and clean the house.  They need child care for the kids and put them in every after school program that they can find because they need to work late.  To compensate for all of them going helter skelter in every direction they need to buy a cell phone for everyone in the family.  They need 3 cars, all of them less than 5 years old.  They need to live in a 4 bedroom, 3 bath house with a two car garage, yet they only have 2 kids.  Family dinner is a thing of the past, now it’s in the fridge or on the stove when you get in. They have four tvs and 100 channels and nothing good is on.  Everyone needs their own computer.  And yet in spite of meeting all these needs, they are still dissatisfied.  The divorce rate is higher than 50%.  Drunkenness and drug addiction among our children is rampant, and as a society we are like a runaway train that is careening off the tracks.

It’s no wonder depression and anxiety are at epidemic proportions.  It’s no wonder that anti depressant anxiety medication is the most commonly prescribed medicine in this country.  It’s no wonder the divorce rate is going through the roof.  And as Christians  we are not immune to this, ladies and gentlemen.  Because we have bought in to the message of the world, which is no less than the message of the devil. Ephesians 2:1 describes this world force that works to bring discontentment.  “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.”  

This phrase the “course of the world” that Paul speaks of is the way of the world, being controlled by  thoughts and pursuits designed by the devil to rush men headlong after fleshly gratification which can never satisfy, like a raging river that courses along sweeping everything in it’s path towards destruction.   And as Christians we are not impervious to this current.  It is the nature of this world.  It’s end is destruction, it results in unfullfillment.  There is no real satisfaction that can be found in either our circumstances or in our acquisitions or our indulgences.  It is a rat race, a course designed by the prince of the power of the air, who is Satan, catching us up in a headlong rush to futility and ultimately destruction.

Now that is the course of this world.  It promises happiness but brings distress, dissatisfaction, despair and depression.  But the Bible says the way of godliness brings the peace of God which is contentment. 1Timothy 6:6 says, “But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment.” 

So Paul gives us in this closing passage of this letter the secret to contentment.  Contentment is something that eludes the world because we are told the wrong way to achieve it.  We are told that it is through acquisition of the latest thing, through acquiring something new, to making it to the next rung on the ladder. But Paul tells us the secret to contentment is counterintuitive to human wisdom but is something that is learned from godly wisdom.  Contentment is learned behavior.

Look at verse 11; Paul has just commended the church at Philippi for sending him a gift, probably a monetary gift and he thanks them, but then he adds, “Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.”  Contentment, Paul is saying, can’t be acquired at the mall, it can’t be ordered from Amazon, it can’t be bought. Contentment is learned. 

The course of this world teaches us that contentment is earned by acquiring – through addition.  But godliness teaches us that contentment is learned through subtraction.  Giving rather than getting. Godliness teaches us that it is better to give than to receive.  The world tells us that we somehow have to live life more fully, to go for it all, to grab everything we want.  Godliness tells us that for me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. Phil 3:8 tells us that godliness considers “all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ.” 

Learning contentment then requires that I retrain my thinking from conformity with the world view to conforming to godliness.  As it says in Romans 12:2 to be transformed by the renewing of my mind, and when I have retrained my mind according to godliness, and no longer trying to  conform to the standards of this world, then comes about the offering I give to God, the sacrifice of my body to be used for His glory and not mine.  This is a radical, life changing departure from the worldly view of life.  But this is the secret of contentment. 

Unfortunately, some modern day Christians don’t get this.  They want to have their cake and eat it too.  They want the guarantee of heaven, but they also want the pleasures and treasures that this world offers and they want a God that is little more than a genie who is going to help them get all that they wish for.  That isn’t true Christianity. That is little more than idol worship, and you are the idol and God is serving you.  This is the kind of man talked about in 1Tim. 6:5,  “men of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain.”  In other words, these depraved men who are still looking at their lives from a world’s point of view, who think that godliness is a means of gain.  God is just some genie who guarantees our financial  and material success.  But the next verse says, no, but godliness is of great gain when combined with contentment. “For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.  But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction.”

Listen, sanctification is one of those Bible words that are tossed around in church and nobody seems to know what they mean.  But I’ll tell you simply what sanctification means.  It means growing up, maturing.  Salvation is the new birth.  But once you are born into the family of God, the idea isn’t to stay an infant, but to become sanctified, to grow into maturity.  And sometimes that can be painful.  One thing for sure, is it is a process.  It’s a process of learning.  Learning to trust in God, learning not to trust in your own understanding of how you think things should be, and learning to accept and embrace the way God wants you to be.

Psalm 131:2 illustrates this idea of maturity.  It says, “Surely I have composed and quieted my soul; Like a weaned child rests against his mother, My soul is like a weaned child within me.” The illustration is that of a child who has matured to the point where he no longer needs milk and is able to rest upon his mother without needing milk anymore.  Now there is nothing sweeter than a baby who suckles his mother’s breast for milk.  But there comes a time when it is time for the baby to grow up and mature, and milk isn’t going to be enough for him anymore.  The baby doesn’t understand this.  He cries and cries and throws a tantrum wanting more milk, and yet the mother knows what is best for him.  If he was able to get what he wanted, his growth would be stunted.  He would never attain the usefulness of an adult.  So his mother weans him off the milk.  It is a painful time for the baby, but it is necessary if he is to grow and mature.  And how necessary is it for us, that when God brings about changes in our lives, many times by taking away something that will keep us from growing and maturing, we cry and cry, thinking we know best.  But God knows best.

I can tell you from my own experience, that my meltdown and descent into depression and anxiety 30 years ago coincided with a process of God taking away things I depended upon.  I don’t know if it always has to be that way, but I’ve found that it often is the way God brings about maturity in a believer.   God takes away  our crutches, things that we lean on, that we have counted on to define ourselves, to measure ourselves by.  God takes them away, one by one, until we learn to lean totally on Jesus Christ. 

Before I went through the meltdown phase of my depression, I was at the top of the antiques profession.  I had a good career, I made a comfortable income, I had built a beautiful house on a large tract of land, and had furnished it with all sorts of nice things, I sent my kids to  private schools, and we drove new cars.  But when my health reached the point where I couldn’t work anymore I began to see my bills snowball.  Debts that I had thought were manageable, I couldn’t handle anymore. So I began to have serious financial problems on top of all my health problems.  And during those years I can assure you that the first 20 times or so I read through most of the Bible, I was looking for promises from God that He was going to restore my fortunes.   Godliness, I believed should have brought about financial gain, not loss.  And I couldn’t understand why God would allow me to lose all that I had worked so hard for.

In my case, it took a few years, but eventually I lost my house, I lost my career.  I had a lot of very specialized knowledge that wasn’t able to do me any good anymore.   Eventually practically all my material possessions were gone.  In a few years I went from an upper middle class income to living below the poverty level. 

But  let me tell you what I gained through that loss.  I gained contentment.  I gained the peace of God that passes all comprehension.  I lost a career but I gained a ministry.  I lost my house but I gained a home in heaven.  I lost my valuable antiques but I gained treasure in heaven.  I learned contentment from what I lost, what I went through, which taught me that I could trust God in all my circumstances.  That when I reached the end of my extremity, God was sufficient for my needs.

Paul said in vs. 11, that I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.  Whatever circumstances I find myself in, God is faithful.  God is my resource.  I have learned I can trust in His providence, and learned not to trust in my resources. 

Listen, I don’t think my situation is all that unique.  One way or another, God’s purpose in saving us all is to conform us to the image of Christ.  And that means that if it pleased God to crush His own Son according to Isaiah 53,  so that He might learn obedience from the things He suffered, as it says in Hebrews 5:8, then because a servant is not greater than his master, according to John 13:16 then He will use the same suffering to conform us to Christ’s image.

Look at Paul’s words in the next verse of our text, Phil. 4:12;  this is the curriculum that we need to learn; “I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.”  Paul can say I know contentment because he had come to know Christ. 

We looked at what Paul had to say about knowing Christ earlier in our study of  Phil. 3:10.  Paul said, “that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.”  Knowing Christ means knowing the power of his resurrection;  knowing that He lives so that we might have life in His name.  But it is predicated on knowing the fellowship of his suffering, being conformed to his death. 

And for Paul, knowing the fellowship of his suffering meant that he learned how to get along with humble means, how to live in poverty, how to be hungry, how to rejoice while suffering need.  We don’t have to learn how to get along in prosperity so much, do we?  We don’t have to learn how to deal with abundance so much do we?  But having had those things, we do have to learn how to deal with not having them.  And I can tell you that it is painful.  We cry why Lord?  Why not?  Why can’t I have this thing?  I liked it so much.  I want it so much.  What’s wrong with it?  And maybe the answer is that there isn’t anything wrong with it. The scripture says all things are possible for me, but not all things are profitable.  Maybe it was good for a while, but now it is time to move on.  To grow.  To mature.  To get on with the business that we have been called by God to do.  And that is where being conformed to his death comes in.  We have to die to our desires, and learn to accept His will for our lives. His plan, his purposes. 

So what’s the secret to contentedness?  It’s found in Phil. 4:13.  But only after we have come to know Phil. 3:10. Because I know Him, I can do all things through Him. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”  That is the secret to being hungry, to suffering need, to living in poverty, to being humbled, I can deal with any circumstances I may encounter because I know Him, I have learned to suffer with Him, and I know that when I don’t have any resources I can trust Him to provide for my needs according to his plan for my life. 

And suffering teaches me the difference between my needs and my wants. 1Tim. 6:8 “If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.”  Because Phil. 4:19 promises that “my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”  Therefore, I suffer the loss of all the extra stuff gladly, and consider it but rubbish for the surpassing value of knowing Jesus Christ. 

In 2Cor. 12:9 Paul said he was given a thorn in the flesh, to keep from exalting himself.  And through the suffering of this thorn in the flesh Paul finds the secret of contentment.  God said to Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness. Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”

But I haven’t learned contentment, until I have reached the end of my resources, the end of my strength, and found that his supply is sufficient for all my needs.  That I can do all things, I can endure all things, through Him who strengthens me.  He supplies just what I need when I rest in dependence solely upon Him.  When I learn that I can trust him no matter what the circumstances, then I have contentment.  That’s the secret to contentment.  Knowing that my efficiency is not dependent on my proficiency, but on His sufficiency.

I leave you this morning with the words of Jesus in John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”  But let us compose and quiet our soul, like a weaned child on it’s mother’s breast, knowing that God knows best.