COLOSSIANS 2:1-102006 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Colossians 2:1-10

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2006.

Coming from Paul has been writing to the church there at Colossus and he's dealing with false teaching that is taking place there. It was known as Gnosticism mixed with some Judaism. There was laws and rules and regulations and all this higher learning type of false teaching that was going on. And so Paul is writing the book of Colossians.

to counter this doctrine and refute what is going on here, not point by point eliminating all of their arguments and all those things, but focusing really on the supremacy of Jesus Christ and showing us how

Jesus is the fulfillment of everything. He is the first and foremost before everything. He is what Christianity is all about. God's plan centers around Jesus Christ. He is all that we need. He is what fulfills us and completes us. It's all about Jesus Christ. And that's what the book of Colossians is all about.

This morning, as we begin chapter two and look at the first 10 verses, Paul continues to teach us that Jesus is all that we need. And through that, I want to share with you a challenge that I believe God is giving to us. And that is a challenge to go deeper in our relationship with God, not to be satisfied with where we are right now, but to yearn and to thirst for more of Christ in our life.

Now, as we begin this morning, I want to give a little bit of the context of what Paul is saying. And so would you look at me with very quickly at chapter one and let's start in verse 24. It says this.

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ for the sake of his body, which is the church of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God, which was given to me for you to fulfill the word of God. The mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to his saints.

Paul says,

Paul, as he continues on in chapter two, he's continuing with this train of thought. He began by talking about rejoicing in the sufferings that he has for the Colossian church. Now, Paul had not been to the church there at Colossae. He had not been through that city as an apostle of Jesus Christ. He didn't establish the church. It wasn't begun by people that he sent out. But it was an established church that came in contact with him that he heard about and knew about and loved.

And so he says he is rejoicing in his sufferings for them, but it's not for them in the sense that, you know, he was there when he was arrested and put in prison or that it was for something that he was doing specifically for that church. But he was suffering for the name of Christ. He was suffering in his call as an apostle to establish peace.

the Gentile churches, the churches of Christ. And so he's suffering for them in the sense that he is fulfilling what God has called him to do as a result of the ministry that God had given to him and its impact on

was upon all of the churches, including the church at Colossae. See, Paul had a great love for the Colossians, even though he didn't know them and had never met them. In verse 1, he says,

And I love these times in the scriptures when we get to see a glimpse of Paul's heart. Here he is in prison writing to people he's never met and perhaps never will meet.

Yet he shares with them. He has a genuine love and concern for them. He says, I have a great conflict for you. I want you to know that I have this great conflict for you. It tormented Paul that he was not able to see them and minister to them and encourage them personally. It tormented Paul that he wasn't able to be there and take care of this false teaching and help heal their problems.

Body the church there and continue on in the ministry and watch them be established and see the joys of God working in their lives. Paul was called by God to be an apostle to establish the Gentile church. And so his sufferings and imprisonments.

As he was being obedient to the Lord, he counted it as on behalf of all of the church. He wasn't suffering for himself. He wasn't suffering just because he was an apostle, but he was suffering on behalf of all those who had faith in Jesus Christ. And he said, it's part of my call. I have this great conflict for you, man. I desire to be there and to minister to you, to watch you grow.

Now, the next two verses explain what Paul would want to accomplish in the churches. It's his goal of the ministry that he's involved in. And it's his hope through his suffering that these things will take place. And we'll find that these are descriptions really of what God desires in you and I. Verses two and three, it says that their hearts may be encouraged.

being knit together in love and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the fathers and of Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Paul says, here's what it's all about. Here's what I'm struggling for. Here's what, man, I'm praying is accomplished as I'm in conflict over you and I'm in prison for you. I'm praying these four things, that your hearts would be encouraged, that you would be knit together in love, that you would have full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of the mystery of God. And as we look at these things this morning, we'll spend a few moments here in this couple of verses. These are things that

He would desire in our hearts as well. These are characteristics that God looks for in you and I and wants to give you and I. Now, I would encourage you and challenge you as we go through these things to ask yourself the question, is this found in me? Is this a characteristic of my life? Because these are things that God intends for each and every one of us.

This isn't just for a specific few, a select few, those in that day, those who are called apostles. But this is for every Christian. God wants and desires these things in our lives. And they're wonderful things. And so I encourage you to challenge yourself. Do I have this characteristic? And take hold of what God has for you. First of all, he says that their hearts may be encouraged.

Their hearts may be encouraged. This is why I'm in conflict, Paul says, and this is what I hope to accomplish. This is what should be taking place in your heart and my heart, and that is that we should be encouraged. Now, encouraged is such a great word. We could go on and on about this word encouraged, but to sum it up, it speaks of joy as well as strength,

as well as comfort, as well as boldness. It's one of those words that just has all types of meanings and thoughts and ideas encompassed within it. Encourage its joy and strength and comfort and boldness all at the same time.

Paul says, I want you to know that God wants your heart to be encouraged as a believer and as a Christian, your heart should be and can be and will be encouraged, filled with joy and strength and comfort and boldness.

That's what God desires for us. We just spent a few months looking at the book of Philippians, understanding the joy that God has for us. That's part of this word to be encouraged. This means that we don't have to walk around with the Christian Eeyore complex. You know, it is if it is a good day, which I doubt and everything's gloomy and bummer and a drag and the world's falling apart and going to pieces. And I have all these troubles and my wife did this and my husband did that and all the kids did this and so on and so forth. And

Go on and on and on. We can go and we can get caught up in the gloom of this life. But Paul says, I'm going through all of this. And here's what I hope and pray for you. Here's what God wants for you. He wants your heart to be encouraged. Whatever the circumstances that you might find yourself in, God wants your heart encouraged.

To be encouraged. We can look at so many examples in the Old Testament, looking at Daniel and the things that he suffered and David and the things that he suffered and Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the things that all these guys went through. And yet we find as a relationship with God, their hearts were encouraged. They had joy and strength. They were comforted and had boldness in a relationship with God.

Now, does that mean if you're going through difficult times that you should just fake it and, you know, put on your plastic smile and, hey, I'm a Christian. Oh, I'm doing fine, brother. Praise the Lord. Hallelujah. No, it doesn't mean that you should fake it, but that you should genuinely, truly be encouraged. Be like Paul. Acknowledge your situation.

The sufferings and the pain and the difficulty of what you're going through. But then compare that with eternity. Bless you. Romans chapter 8 verse 18. Paul says, for I consider.

Just take a moment and think about that. He's considering. This is what he's come to the conclusion about. He's thought about it. And here's the results. I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. I want to encourage you to do the same. Let your heart be encouraged.

Consider your present sufferings. Consider what you're going through. But then compare that with the glory which will be in us. As Christians, let's be encouraged. Let's have joy and be strengthened and be comforted and have boldness because we know where we will be with him in his arms for the rest of eternity.

Be encouraged. Know and remember that God loves you and he loves you so much that he died on the cross for you because eternity without you would not be eternity. Jesus says, I want to spend the rest of life with you, the rest of the ages to come with you. I died for you and not in the sense, you know, Jesus died for everyone else and

He figured, well, I might as well offer it to you. I mean, it's already there for everybody else. You might as well join in. No, he loves you personally, individually. He died for you and he wants to spend eternity with you. God wants you to be encouraged. He's with you. You have strength and joy and comfort and boldness through relationship with Jesus Christ. Whatever you're going through, be encouraged this morning. God is with you.

The next thing he goes on to say, the characteristic that we look at, is the idea of being knit together in love. Now, this kind of builds upon the last one. It's another reason to be encouraged is that in Christ, we are being knit together in love. Look around. Understand that there's people here who love you.

That's what brings us together. Love is what binds us together and gathers us together here this morning. We don't gather here as a club for some social activity.

You know, I just got to get out and talk to people every once in a while. We don't gather here for intellectual reasons to stimulate our brains and think about new solutions for what we can do to fix the community. We don't gather together here for political reasons. We gather together here because God has implanted within our hearts a love for one another. That's why we're not to forsake the gathering together because

Because God puts upon our hearts the love for one another. And our hearts are being knit together in love. We're being united and drawn together as a family. There's something unique within the church, within the body of Christ.

And it's not just here within this body, but you can go around the world and you can run into people that you've never met. And you find out, hey, we both love the same Lord and Savior. And there's an instant unity there.

There's an instant knitting together of the hearts as we hear about what God is doing and hear about what God has done and what he wants to do and what he's been speaking as we share our hearts back and forth. Then our hearts are knit together in love, having experienced the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, Jesus said that this would be a characteristic of his church, of his disciples in John 13, 35.

He says, by this, we'll all know you are my disciples. If you have love for one another, there's people here that love you and you might have done them wrong. You might have ignored them. You might have treated them badly. You might have lied to their face, ripped them off, but they love you. Why? Because they're Jesus's disciple. It's not based on how we treat one another. It's based on how God has treated us.

And our response to him as we follow him is a love for one another. Now, some might say, well, I don't know. I know some Christians who are not very loving. My response to that is, no, you don't. You know, some people who say they're Christians who claim to be Christians.

But are not very loving because first John chapter four, verse seven and eight says this. Beloved, let us love one another for love is of God and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God for God is love. If we don't love, we don't know God. It's the truth. And so our hearts are being knit together in love because we know God.

And God is working in our hearts with this agape love. It's a growth process to be sure. But we're being knit together as we grow in unconditional love for one another. And so this morning, be encouraged. Man, God loves you. He's with you. And there's people here. He's brought us together. Our hearts are being knit together in love. And so let's love one another. Just turn to someone next to you real quick and say, I love you.

And try to remember, he who does not love does not know God. So if you didn't say it, no, I'm just kidding. Full assurance of understanding. Richard's mouthing the words to me. Thanks. Full assurance of understanding is the next characteristic that we see here in verse 2.

This is a powerful phrase. Full assurance of understanding. Can you say it with me? Full assurance of understanding. It's full assurance. How much assurance? Full assurance. Now, assurance of what? And we could name a whole bunch of things. Salvation, redemption, forgiveness, right standing with God. Full assurance of the faith that we're a part of, of the relationship that we have.

But it's full assurance. This is not a game of chance. It's not a guessing game. It's not a big unsolvable mystery. It's not the great hope in the sense of, well, I think I might have chosen the right path. I think I might be saved.

I'm hoping that when I get to the end of my life, you know, my good works outweigh my bad works and I'll make it into heaven. It's not a big question. It's full assurance, complete, absolute confidence and assurance. Now, if you simply hope in the sense that there's some doubt that you will enter into heaven and spend eternity with God, know that you're missing out on what God wants for you.

He doesn't want there to be some doubt that you would be maybe skeptical. I don't know. He wants you to have full assurance to know that, you know, that, you know, that, you know, beyond a shadow of doubt that you have right relationship with him and are going to spend eternity with him. If it's a mystery to you, understand that you're missing out. God gives us full assurance.

When you have relationship with Jesus Christ, you have full assurance. But it's not just full assurance. He says full assurance of understanding this word understanding. Maybe I could use another word that would help us understand the word understanding. And that is the word comprehension. It's an understanding of your mind. It's an understanding that involves thinking understanding.

And logic and coming to conclusions and making decisions. Here's the reality about a relationship with Jesus. Your assurance, your full and complete absolute assurance comes from understanding. It comes from understanding. And as I was going through that, I was thinking, OK, so it comes from understanding. Is that a good thing?

Is it a good thing that full assurance comes from understanding? Yes, absolutely. First of all, full assurance is more than just wishful thinking. There's a lot of people in life who are going through life with wishful thinking. I'm hoping I'm going to get there. I'm wishing that I'll make to heaven. And it's questionable. It's skeptical. It's uncertain.

Full assurance is one of understanding. It's not one that's meant to be a question or one that you don't understand. The one that you cannot comprehend, one that does not make sense. So it's more than just wishful thinking. But second, the Christian walk is a walk in which you're encouraged to understand. You're encouraged to understand. You're able to understand.

Now, this is important because it's not a secret thing that only a special person can tell you. And for some of you, this may seem elementary, but understand that there's many who do not know themselves, but someone else has told them. There's many who are relying upon, well, only this person can tell me if I'm going to heaven. Only this person can tell me if I'm right with God. Only this person can tell me.

The Christianity that Paul presents to us, the walk with Christ, is a personal one. And we have full assurance of understanding, meaning that you and I can and should understand. And it's from that understanding, that comprehension, that we have full assurance. We're encouraged to think for ourselves, to make our own decision based on the claims of Jesus Christ and the Word of God, and to look differently.

And to analyze and realize the only conclusion is saved by grace through faith. That not of ourselves. It's a gift of God. We have full assurance because we believe what the Bible says. And we believe what Jesus taught.

And we understand that it has nothing to do with us, but it's all about what he did on the cross. We have full assurance because it's all about him and not about us. We have full assurance because we can come to the conclusion ourselves from the reading of the word of God that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. There's a problem when people teach that you cannot come to the understanding of salvation on your own.

There's many who teach that. They'll say, no, you need to come through us. We need to explain. You can't understand on your own. You need to listen to what we have to say and our teaching. And only then can you experience salvation. Only then can you experience the true spiritual life. It's only when you do it our way and are a part of our group. You're encouraged. You need to understand.

what the word of God says, what the gospel message is all about. And as you do, you will have full assurance. Full assurance is not something that you grow out of because, you know, well, I used to believe in that, but now I know better. No, it's something that increases the better you know, the better you understand, the more assurance you have. Full assurance increases as you deepen your understanding of God's plan of redemption.

This morning, if you do not have full assurance and those that do not have full assurance have not been spending time in the word of God, have not been spending time with God because it's a product of understanding, of comprehension, of relationship with him. The final thing characteristic that we see this morning here in verse two is the knowledge of the mystery of God.

So Paul says, I'm laboring. I have this great conflict for you. And here's what it's all about. Here's here's the goal that I want in your life and in your heart. And here's what God desires in each one of us, that we would be encouraged in our hearts, that we would be knit together in love, that we would have full assurance of understanding God.

And that we would also have the knowledge of the mystery of God. This word mystery, we've seen it before. It's not something that's unknowable. It's something that was not known previously, but has now been revealed. Now, the idea here of knowledge of the mystery of God is not that we would be able to express, you know, hey, there's a lot about God that I don't know and that I don't understand. There's a lot of mysteries about God.

Although that is true, that's not what Paul is saying here. Here's what Paul is saying, combining it with verse 3 as well. All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are found in Christ. And by relationship with him, the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are revealed. Paul explained the mystery in Colossians 1.27. He says, here's what it is. It's Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Christ in you relationship within with Jesus Christ, the king of kings and lord of lords, in whom is all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Paul is saying, listen, here's what I'm hoping for. And here's what I want in your life. Here's what God desires for you, that you would learn not the knowledge of the mystery of God.

That through Jesus Christ in you and relationship with him, you would grow in the knowledge of God, that he would reveal more and more to you.

About himself and his plan and his desires. Everything we need to know is found in Jesus Christ. We don't have to look elsewhere. God himself reveals wisdom and knowledge to you. Now, you face difficult situations in life. In all types of different aspects and arenas. Relationships within the home and within the neighbors and within the church and within the workplace. And schedules.

You face difficulties with finances and maintaining houses and cars and things breaking down and difficulties with all kinds of situations that present themselves to you and that all of us go through. But what we need to know is that everything that we need is found in Jesus Christ.

That he is the first one that we ought to go to and look to in those times of crisis, in those times of difficulties, in those areas of struggle. He is the one who has the answers for us. He is the one who will guide us and direct us and lead us. He wants to reveal himself to you, but he also wants to reveal to you all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. There's wisdom and knowledge that can be applied to your life.

Not just spiritual and coming to an understanding of God and walking with him. And by far that is the most important. But also in our daily living. Areas that God wants to help you and increase you and grow you and strengthen you and comfort you. There's works that God wants to do in you. In 2 Peter 1, verse 3 says,

It tells us that God's divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by glory and virtue. Everything that pertains to life and godliness, everything that you need to live a godly life, it's part of the knowledge of the mystery of God that God desires to reveal to you as you develop your relationship with him, as you go deeper into

He reveals more and more to you of the godliness that he desires in you and the way that he wants you to live and relate to him and the way that he wants to relate to you. But also in life, as you grow in your relationship with Jesus Christ, he desires to reveal to you more and more the things that you need for life so that you can have the joyful, abundant life that Jesus promised you.

It's found by relationship with him. It's revealed by God as we draw close to him. The fullness of everything is in Jesus Christ. Now, of course, knowing Jesus does not mean that you know everything. Please don't think that. But he reveals to you everything that you need to know as you grow in your relationship with him.

And so these are four characteristics that Paul says, this is what I'm I'm struggling for. This is what I'm I'm believing God wants to accomplish through my sufferings. And and that's what makes it all worth it, because I'm looking forward to what God's going to do in you. These are characteristics and areas that God wants in us. And we should look to him to strengthen in us that our hearts would be encouraged, that we wouldn't walk around.

With the Eeyore complex, but that we would be strengthened and have joy and be comforted and have boldness that we would be knit together in love, that we would genuinely love one another. And that's.

Give and take. We receive the love and there's a need for you to learn to receive the love from others within the body of Christ and to allow them to love you. And sometimes that's uncomfortable because there's care and concern and maybe questions or conversations or discussions that that need to take place that are done in love, that are as a result of love, but are not.

to us. There needs to be an openness to receive the love of being knit together, but also there needs to be the giving of love and being knit together and having a genuine concern for those around us. That we would have the full assurance of understanding. This is wonderful that we don't have to live under the big question mark and wonder if we're going to make it. We can have full assurance and know that we know because we understand that

Who God is and what he's done. And the knowledge of the mystery of God. Of the Father and of Christ. Because in him are hidden all treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Everything that we need revealed in Jesus Christ as we draw close to him. So I want to encourage you, especially in those four areas. Let's go deeper.

Let's learn these things by experience. You've heard me say them. Our hearts may be encouraged. You may recognize them intellectually and with your mind. Yes, that's what God wants. But go deeper. Know by experience that God wants your heart to be encouraged. Know by experience that God wants to knit us together in love.

Know by experience that God wants to give you full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of the mystery of God. Go deeper. Don't just know it intellectually, but experience it, walk in it, live in relationship with Jesus Christ and watch him work these things out in your heart and in your life. Verse four, Paul says, now this I say, lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words.

And this is kind of the point of the book. I'm teaching you these things. I'm telling you the truth so that no one should deceive you with persuasive words. Paul says, I'm telling you this because there is a great danger. Here's the danger. Here's where you need to be warned. Be concerned. You can be deceived. You can be led astray with persuasive words.

Paul says, I'm telling you this so that no one can trick you to follow another religion or another system or another person, another savior, so that you don't get caught up in the works mentality and legalism, so that you don't get caught up in the deceitfulness of philosophy and all the thoughts and the thinking that can go into that. Now, remember who Paul was dealing with.

He was dealing with teachers who had a mixture of Judaism. And so they were teaching all about the religion, the ritual, the rules, the regulations. You have to follow this and do this in this specific order and specific procedure. And if you don't do this, then you're not spiritually, you're not Christian, you're not saved.

And so it was that mixed with Gnosticism, which is intellectual knowledge and spiritual mysteries that taught that, you know, you could only become perfect through wisdom and secret knowledge.

And so you had these rules and regulations that you had to keep and the secret knowledge that you had to learn. And of course, as you're trying to keep the law and get the special knowledge, it can only be obtained from these particular teachers, this select few. You have to hear from me. You have to learn from me the special knowledge that you may be able to ascend to the planes of all that God has for you. Paul says, I'm telling you the truth.

Because I want you to know these guys can lead you astray. And so know the truth. You don't need anybody else. You don't need a special knowledge. You need Jesus. You need a relationship with him. You don't need to keep all these rules and regulations and go through all these procedures. You need a relationship with Jesus Christ. You need to know him. And through him,

Your heart will be encouraged. You'll be knit together in love. You'll have full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of the mystery of God. Those are things that you need to know so that you will not be shaken, that you won't be led astray next time someone knocks on the door, that you won't be deceived with the persuasive words of the next charismatic leader that comes on the scene. These are the things that you need to know and be established in, that you know the truth.

And are not led away, deceived with persuasive words. The teachers there in Colossae with this false teaching had the makings of a cult. A group that says only by knowing what we can tell you can you be saved is a cult. You have to be part of our group, our church, baptized by our elders. It's only through us. It's false teaching. It's only through Jesus Christ. Only through him.

And anybody says it's only through us, they're not of God. It's a false teaching. Deceptive, heresy, persuasive words. You need Jesus Christ. You need relationship with him. He wants to speak to your heart personally and individually. And he does that, sure, in times like this. This is just a small part of the Christian walk, though. This isn't what you should base your life upon. You base your life upon your own personal life.

Communication with God. Him speaking to you. You speaking to him. Through his word. That's all you need. Paul is protecting us from falling prey to those who would come and teach these false doctrines. You need Jesus Christ. And through him, your heart can be encouraged.

And you can be knit together in love. And you can have full assurance of understanding and knowledge of the mystery of God. All these things are found in relationship with Jesus. And despite the words of anybody else, they cannot be found anywhere else. Any other system leaves you in doubt or deception, which is worse. Any other system leads you astray.

Any other religion takes you away from relationship with God. It's only through Jesus that your heart can be encouraged and knit together in love and that you can have full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of the mystery of God. Verse five, for though I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ.

Now compare this with the church of Galatia. Remember Galatians chapter 1 verses 6 and 7? Paul says, I marvel that you're turning away so soon from him who called you in the grace of Christ to a different gospel, which is not another, but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. See, the same type of teachers were there in Galatia. But the difference is in Galatia, they fell for it. They're turning away from it. They're beginning to be obedient to it, to teach it to others. They're following it.

And Paul says, I can't believe you're turning away already. Now here in Colossae, Paul says, I've heard great things. This false teaching is there and they're trying to come in and deceive many. But, oh man, though I'm absent in the flesh, I'm with you in the spirit and I rejoice to see your good order and your steadfastness of your faith in Christ.

I rejoice that you're not falling for it. You're not turning away. You're remaining steadfast. But I'm writing this to you to ensure that you stay that way, that you remain that way, that you don't be deceived, but that you continue on to be steadfast in the faith. Verse six, as you have therefore received Christ Jesus, the Lord, so walk in him. Here's the thing. You've received him. That's great faith.

Now continue to walk in him. You're being steadfast now. That's awesome. Now continue to walk in him. Galatians, you received him. Now you're turning away. What are you doing? Colossians, you received him. You're being steadfast. Keep walking in him. And here's the thing.

This is why we need to go deeper, because we have to keep walking in him. There's a need for us to continue in our relationship with Jesus Christ. There's a need for us to continue in our communion with the father through the son. You've received Jesus Christ. You've been born again. That's great. Praise the Lord. Now walk in him.

Paul saying, don't be led astray. Don't be deceived with persuasive words. Keep walking in Jesus Christ and don't allow anyone to turn you away from him to something else. It's important for us to keep walking in Jesus Christ, to abide in him as Jesus taught in John chapter 15. Now understand the importance here because there are many religions that

There's many persons and systems that claim to be the way of salvation. But there is only one way. In John 14, 6, Jesus says, I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the father but by me. There's only one way. So keep walking in him. You've been found by him. You've been born again.

Keep walking in him because he is the way, the truth, and the life. And don't allow anyone to deceive you, to lead you astray, to put your eyes anywhere else. It's only in him that we can be encouraged, knit together in love, full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of the mystery of God. But also understand that Satan is not stupid. He is out to deceive you, to take your eyes off of Jesus Christ. And he has faith.

persuasive words. He has arguments that sound really great. The presentation is smooth, makes sense, appeals to your flesh, appeals to your mind and your understanding. We'll see this again in verse eight. Watch out. Everything that you need is found in Christ. So keep walking in him. Don't turn away from him.

Don't begin to focus on other areas and other things. Focus and stay connected to Jesus Christ. Live your life around a relationship with him. What does that look like? Verse seven, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. He says, walk in him, rooted and built up, established in the faith as you have been taught. Keep on going. Keep on going.

Keep walking, be rooted, built up and established. The Christian life is a growth process. That's something that continues and never ends. He says, keep on walking and be rooted and built up and established and keep on walking and being rooted and built up and established.

I like the way that the New Living Translation puts it in verses 6 and 7. It says, And now, just as you have accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to live in obedience to him. Let your roots grow down into him and draw up nourishment from him, so you will grow in faith, strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught. Let your lives overflow with thanksgiving for all he has done.

It's a continuation. It's a process. Growth. Now, if that describes you, then you're walking with Him and in Him. And that's good and that's important. But if it doesn't, then you need to walk in Him, in relationship with Him, out of obedience to Him, with your roots deep into the Word of God, into the character and nature of God and who He is in your relationship with Him, with your nourishment being built up

As a result of God. And established in your faith. Your trust. In who he is. What he's done. What he has in store. His word. Notice the strength of the words that Paul uses. He talks about being rooted. Built up. And established. All of those describe something that is immovable. Solid or firm. And as you grow in him. Walking in him. You become established. Rooted and built up. You become established.

Immovable, steadfast in the faith. See, if you want to be solid in the faith, if you want to be sure that you will not be led astray, you need to keep walking in Jesus Christ. If you're not walking in Jesus Christ, be concerned. Be aware. There's many other ways that will present themselves. But Jesus says, I am the way, the truth and the life. There's only one way to walk with him, to walk in him. It's the way, the truth and the life.

It can't be found anywhere else. And the only way that you can be sure that you're rooted and steadfast and established and built up is as you continue to walk in him. That's why it's important to walk in him. Because if you do not, you will not be established and you can be easily deceived and led astray. You know, some people ask, well, do I need to go to church? Do I need to read the Bible? Is that important? Well, for salvation, no. Jesus says, believe in me and you will be saved. But,

There's always the there's a catch. It's not really a catch, though, because those who've been touched by Jesus Christ, those who have experienced relationship with Jesus Christ, their life then is lived out of obedience to him. It's like Jesus said, abide in me. When you realize and receive what he has done for you, Jesus says, OK, stay there.

That's what I desire from you. It's not that you have to do these works and accomplish these things. Those things will happen, but not because that's what you have to do, but because you're abiding in me. You're walking in me and I'm going to be working through your life and producing those fruits that are necessary. You need to walk in him that you would be established, built up, rooted. Otherwise, verse eight, beware.

Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit. According to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world and not according to Christ. Beware, he says. Watch out. This is a warning. It's a stern and serious warning. There's real danger in false teaching. What's the danger? He says that they would cheat you. It literally means to be carried off captive.

Watch out that you're not carried off captive through all these different things. He gives some examples of things that carry people off captive. Philosophy, empty deceit, tradition of men, basic principles of the world. And man, we don't have time to get into each one of these things. But think about it and spend time meditating on it. There's lots of ways that people are led astray and carried off captive through philosophy. The thinking of the mind.

Man, society is built on the philosophies of men. Empty deceit. Things that have no value. That are just wrong and ruin your life. The tradition of men. Boy, that's a hard one to break. This is what Paul was dealing with with Judaism. People had grown up with these traditions of the Jewish system and now implemented them in the sense that you had to do these in order to be saved.

And there is just the same type of people today. You follow these traditions, keep these things and these regulations. And he says the basic principles of the world, the basic things that the world has to offer. All of these things can carry you captive and cheat you out of a relationship with Jesus Christ. Beware. Watch out.

Paul says the bottom line is that anything that's not of Christ is something that's going to cheat you and carry you off captive. Now again, Satan is not stupid. He doesn't present to you something ridiculous. He doesn't come to you and say, you know, I got it. You make a cross out of Plato and you could be saved. It's true. He doesn't come with ridiculousness. He comes with smooth, flattering, persuasive words. Wonderful, flowery speech.

great things that make sense, sound good, appeals to us. I came home yesterday from the morning Bible study here and on my door was this little pamphlet. You might be familiar with these types of things. Smooth, flowery words. On the front, the title of it is Know About the End of the False Religion. And as I looked into the inside of it and

I was reading through it. It's talking all about the Catholic Church, really, although they don't come out and say it. But dealing with religions and pointing out specific things about a false religion. It's interesting, the Jehovah's Witnesses pointing out things about false religions. But that's what they're doing. And then the back page, which was interesting, tells you how to identify true religion.

And they gave three points. This is how, from their perspective and their opinion, how you identify true religion. Number one, true religion demonstrates love. It talks about the importance of love and loving your brother and so on and so forth. It talks about, number two, trust in the word of God. And then number three, true religion strengthens family bonds and promotes high moral standards. Now that's smooth, right?

Sounds great. All of those things we would agree with. Yeah, love. It's important. We've been talking about being knit together in love. Yeah, that's important. Trust in the word of God. That's what we're built upon. That's our foundation. The word of God strengthens family bonds and promotes high morals. It's all about Christian living. Right. That's sounds great. Sounds wonderful. But there's a problem. See, because the Bible gives a different criteria.

for establishing what is true religion and what is not. What is of God and what is not. And it's found in 1 John 4, verses 2 and 3. In 1 John 4, it says, Here's the determining factor. Here's how you know what the Spirit of God is saying. Here's how you know if someone is of the Spirit, led by the Spirit, if the teaching is of the Spirit of God.

John says, 1 John 4, 2, Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God. Verse 3, And every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming and is now already in the world. In Paul's day, he says, Watch out, beware, there's deception taking place.

John, writing this several years later, says, watch out, beware. There's great deception taking place. And today, watch out, beware. There's great deception taking place. People are being led astray, carried off captive through false teaching because they were not established in the faith of Jesus Christ. Because here's the deal. The bottom line. Here's the core issue.

By this issue, you can determine anybody if they're of the spirit or not of the spirit. You can determine if any religion is of God or not of God. Any teaching is of God or not of God. If they confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh, then they are of God. But if they do not.

They're not of God. There's no question. They might promote wonderful things, love, trust in the word of God, strong family bonds and high moral values. That's great. But where do they stand on Jesus Christ? Well, they say, Jehovah's Witnesses, that is, Jesus is not God. They say he's a created being. And that is important. That is essential. In the book of John, when we went through it with the home studies, that was the focus there.

Of the study. The deity of Jesus Christ. And at our particular study. That we were going through. We kept track. And found 140 references. To the fact that Jesus Christ is God. In the gospel of John. These are the ones we didn't have to debate too much. There's a lot more than that. That we can look at as well. But just the ones that are presented to us. The times that Jesus himself claimed to be God. It's so important. It's.

an essential part of the gospel message. You can check out some scriptures on your own if you need to in John chapter 1, verses 1 through 14, Philippians 2, 5 through 8, Hebrews 1, 1 through 3. If you didn't catch those, you can hook up with me after service. I'll share them with you. But you need to know that Jesus Christ is God, that he became a man, that he died on the cross for your sins, and that you have a relationship with him. And it's through that that you are saved. It's through that that

That everything else is given to you and that all that God desires for you is given to you. It's through relationship in Jesus Christ. Relationship with God through Jesus Christ. It's what we need to know. Beware, lest some deceive you and cheat you with all types of other philosophies and smooth words and great sounding things. The bottom line, the issue is, where do you stand with Jesus Christ and your relationship with him?

And if you're not established in him, here's what Paul is saying. You need to beware and watch out because there's these other things that will lead you astray. Not just religions, but the basic principles of the world. What are the basic principles of the world? Temptation, lust, sin, greed, materialism, all kinds of things that you can pick up. There's lots of things that take you captive. Remember Jesus said, wide is the gate to destruction and narrow is the gate to life. There's few that find it. We need to be reminded that

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. And to be walking in him and ever growing in our relationship with him, to establish us, to keep us, it's the only thing that keeps us from going astray. If we do not walk in Jesus Christ, we will be carried away captive by something else. Verse 10. Actually, I skipped verse 9, didn't I? Verse 9. Verse 10.

And here's the point, and this is what the Bible teaches. Jesus Christ is a God. The Gnostics taught that all matter was evil so that Jesus then couldn't have a physical body and so on and so forth. But Paul is saying, listen, Jesus is fully God and fully man. 100% God, 100% man. What the Bible teaches about Jesus and anyone who says differently is not of God.

It's not of the Spirit of God. Jesus Christ is God and man. The Bible does not leave room for your own opinion or for speculation. If you believe the Bible, you believe that Jesus Christ is God. Verse 10, and you are complete in him who is the head of all principality and power. And so here's the point of it all. Taking us back to the beginning, Paul says, I'm laboring for the saints at Colossae, struggling and have this great conflict.

Because I desire to see in you that your hearts would be encouraged, that you would be knit together in love, that you would have full assurance of understanding and knowledge of the mystery of God, that you would be established and not led astray because you are complete in Jesus Christ.

The teaching of that day was you are not complete in Jesus Christ. That's why you need us to teach you these things. And that's why you need to keep these laws. You have to do these other things in addition to believing in Jesus Christ. You're not complete, they would say. But Paul says, listen,

Jesus Christ is God. The fullness of the Godhead dwells in him bodily. He is the fulfillment of everything. You're complete in him. There's nothing more that you need. There's nothing more that can add on to that. You can't be more saved or more spiritual than when you're in a relationship with Jesus Christ.

It's all about him. You're complete and final. Everything is done in him. Jesus is God. He is the fulfillment of God's plan. Everything that God has in store for you is through Jesus Christ. You are complete in him. You do not need another system, regulations and laws or some secret knowledge or a special teacher or anything else. Have relationship with Jesus Christ and you are complete in

Now, this morning, I said that Paul is talking about these things and through that challenging us to go deeper. And here's what I mean by that. As we wrap this up this morning, you guys, you know the truth about Jesus Christ. But it's not enough to know the truth. It's not an intellectual thing. We need to walk in him. We need to go deeper. Because if we're walking in him, we're not staying in the same place.

If we're walking in Him, we're going deeper. If we're walking in Him, we're growing in our relationship. We're growing and our hearts will be encouraged. If your heart's not encouraged this morning, walk in Jesus Christ. Come back to the relationship with Him, making that the priority and focus of your life. Yes, there's struggles. Yes, there's difficulties. But in Jesus Christ...

Your heart will be encouraged. He'll give you joy and strength and comfort and boldness as you walk with him and in him. Learn that by experience. Don't just believe it because Paul says it. Say, yes, I know that to be true because I've heard it. I believe what the Bible says. Learn it by experience. Whatever you're going through, walk in Jesus Christ. Draw close to him and you will be encouraged in your heart.

Go deeper in being knit together in love. It's so important for us that we have people around us that we've been knit together with. Knit together, as I said, if you look at your hands and you knit them together, there's giving and there's receiving. Open yourself up. Let people around you love you. Let them be concerned about you.

Have conversations with you. Maybe difficult and uncomfortable and sometimes great and fantastic ones. But open up your life. Be knit together in love. I would encourage you, and this is not something that you will be judged on, but after service, stick around. Open up. Be knit together. Receive the love that God has for you through the lives of those that he's placed here next to you. And give.

Give love. As James says, not just in word or tongue, but in deed and in truth. Love those around you. Genuinely have a concern for them. Pray for them. Be looking for what's best for them. We need to go deeper. You, I, we all need to go deeper. It's a continuing walk of learning to be more open and learning to give more love that we might be knit together. Go deeper in your full assurance of understanding.

How can you go deeper in full assurance? If it's already full assurance, you can. God wants to give you fuller full assurance. Complete, total, all-encompassing assurance as you grow in your understanding of who He is and what He's done for you. And then finally, knowledge of the mystery of God because everything that pertains to life and godliness is found in the knowledge of Him. He wants to reveal Himself

To you. But as well, he wants to reveal to you things about your life. Things that he wants to do and help you in. Areas he wants you to go and things he wants you to lead you in. Within your workplace, your driving on the freeway, the way that you deal with your family and friends and neighbors and relatives and everything else. He wants to give you everything that you need. Go deeper.

Don't just know it because Paul said so. Don't just know it because that's what the Bible teaches. Don't know it because that's what Jerry said, but know it because you've experienced it, because you've walked in him, and these are the things that are taking place in your life. That's why on Tuesday, be ready to share about perfect peace. Not because supposedly the Bible tells us we can have perfect peace, because I've experienced perfect peace because I trust in the Lord. It's so important for us. I want to challenge you.

You know, if it were left to us, would we have said these things about God and his relationship with us and what he wants to do with us? Paul knew this by experience because this is what God had done with him and he wanted it to be done in other people's hearts. And so he writes to the church at Colossae and says, don't be deceived. Walk in Jesus Christ. Keep on walking. Be rooted and grounded and established because God is going to be doing these awesome and wonderful things in your heart and in your life.

He wants to transform you from the inside out. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, Lord, you are wonderful. Lord, that you came not to put huge weights upon our back and load us down with rules and regulations and legalism and troubles. But Lord, you present to us the fullness of who you are in such a way that a child can receive you and receive all that you have. The enabling of your power and your spirit.

the encouragement that you give to our hearts, the love that you provide, the assurance and the knowledge. Lord, we need it. We believe in you, Jesus, and we've accepted you. We've received you. But Lord, we need to go deeper. We need you to be working these things in our hearts, God. Lord, we need you. And so we look to you now. Help us, Lord, to live our lives in order to walk in you in sweet fellowship, wonderful relationship and reading your word and

times of conversation and prayer with you, God, in serving you and loving you and sharing with others about you. Lord, we ask that you would develop us. Take us deeper, God. May we be reminded how wonderful you are, even this week, Lord, as we take those steps to walk in you, to be rooted and established firm in you. Protect our hearts, God, from being led astray. And Lord, if there's any here who have

been carried off captive by other things, or are beginning to be entertained or dazzled by other things. God, bring us back. Point our eyes towards you. Help us to walk in you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.