Apostles Church

Colossians has given us Christ. There are competing stories that would try to take you away from him, to seek to uproot you and tear down your faith. Idolatrous Ideas that want to take you captive and steal you away from Christ. Don’t be taken prisoner by these Christ-less versions of truth and visions for life that are being promoted in the culture. This language does not sit well with postmodern culture. Postmodernity has a fear of the metanarrative, the idea of an overarching story that defines reality for all people. There is a fear that these metanarratives can become oppressive and controlling, what Focault called “Regimes of truth.” These regimes of truth are power grabbing and seek to control and oppress people and result in the violent suppression and oppression of the other. It is metanarrative, truth claims held by the group in power, that has led to mass persecution of various groups of people. Two quick responses. 1. Controlling metanarratives are unavoidable. Even the postmodern advocate of relativism is controlled by a version of reality – in this case the supremacy of relativism and individualism. Setting aside the question of truth, which the postmodern rejects, the question becomes which metanarrative, controlling story, will truly bring about a more just and gentle world. The answer to that, we believe, is the metanarrative of The Kingdom of God’s beloved Son.  2. This metanarrative has the resources within itself to keep it from becoming a regime of truth. A) Creational (1:15-16) All of life is brought about by a Creative Triune God of Love who through the creative act has bestowed dignity upon every planet and every person. As such, God is committed to bring about flourishing in all creation so that those who enter into His story enter into a narrative where the planet and people are to be treasured and their flourishing sought. We also understand this creational story means that we are finite human beings and as the story also tells us, sinful human beings who are fallible and therefore must hold our convictions with humility. To truly believe this story and live in it and be shaped by it is to be a person of humility that treasures all that God has made and seeks their flourishing even if they disagree with you. B) Incarnational – a story of a God who stoops and takes on flesh to enter into a broken world to heal the creation. In doing so, God voluntarily enters into the experience of suffering so as to bring healing, to restore shalom and justice. This leaves us with a story that is saturated in the suffering of God and his intention to banish suffering, injustice and evil from the creation and restore it. C) Substitutional. This story is ultimately a story of sacrificial love. This King sacrificed himself to save rebellious people and heal the broken creation. This is not a story of a King who conquers by violent power, but one who becomes powerless and establishes his reign through a cross. The practice of this King becomes the pattern for living in his Kingdom. Therefore, the metanarrative of the Kingdom of God’s beloved Son, one that is creational, incarnational, and substitutional is one that is inherently free from power plays and is sensitive to suffering and cruelty and willingly enters into the brokenness to heal it. It will not allow for the use of force or coercion or the infliction of pain because that is not how our King establishes his reign and it is the very thing his reign came to abolish. The church has not always lived out this vision and throughout history has poorly represented the Kingdom of God’s beloved Son. The answer as we saw last week is not less Christianity, but a deeper one, one that is creational, incarnational, and substitutional.
    So, Paul warns us of other competing versions of reality that would seek to steal us away from Christ and our loyalty to him as our Lord. He seeks to secure our allegiance to him with the language of fullness. 2:9 All the fullness of deity…Fullness of God in human flesh. Christ lacks no resources. He is supreme, unsurpassed in beauty, goodness, wisdom, power and joy. 2:10 in him we have been filled – made complete. There is nothing you need that you will find outside of Him. Bringing these two ideas of fullness together, Paul is saying, “Everything that Jesus is for His Glory, He is to you for your good.” Power: his glory/ your good – not leveraged against you to frustrate you, but leveraged for you to strengthen you, encourage you, give you the resources to endure and prevail in life. Wisdom: his glory/your good – to give you guidance in life and understanding. Joy: his glory/your good – to revive you and sustain you. Holiness: his glory/your good – to transform you and banish from you heart all that is contrary to goodness and justice and purity. His Love: glory/good – to rescue you and satisfy you and bestow upon you value and meaning. Now, some of us have had the mindset that “All that He is for His glory, he is to me for my guilt.” You think: His power is to remind of my weakness; His wisdom is there to remind me of my foolishness; His Joy is there to remind me of my fickleness; His Holiness is there to remind me of my sin and shame. No, for those of us who know him, all he is for his glory, he is to us for our good. All that you need is in Him and comes from him, so don’t let any idea or person or story take you captive and drag you away from him or you will rob yourself of all that He desires to be for you.
    This is where the Colossians were being attacked. They were being sold an idea, just like the same one inherent in the American dream, the idea that Christ is not sufficient for a full life of meaning and joy. You need alternative spiritualities and life experiences outside of him.  We may not face the same competing visions the Colossians faced. But, we are faced with competing visions of reality that tell us where to find fullness of life and these words are incredibly important for us today. The cultural story of the American dream is communicated to us through corporate logos, media, entertainment, and Gossip Girl billboards; all of these try to capture our imaginations and convince us that fullness of life is found in power, status, possessions, comforts, and sexual pleasures. This subversive letter speaks to us in that context and says, Fullness of Life is found in this King of sacrificial love. There is nothing outside of Jesus and his good gifts that will bring us into the experience of all that God dreams for us. At every stage along the way, you will not need something other than him, but more of him. To abandon this story for another one is tragic and life-robbing. In him, who is the fullness of God, we are filled. So in light of these truths, 3 exhortations:
Pursue Progress in your relationship with Christ (v6-7). Faith is not just a line you cross but a path you walk. Believing/becoming. Rooted in him - planted in rich soil – so continually grow like a healthy plant getting your nourishment from your relationship with Him; He is your foundation, and your life is being built up in him to become like him; Are you moving forward in Him. So many of you have grown so much over the last year. Illus: Jesus is not a tourist attraction.
Rejoice and Rest in His work for you (vv7, 11-15). Abounding in thanksgiving for all he is for you and all he has done for you. Verses 11-23 really hit the work of Christ. He is all we need to know God's forgiveness and full acceptance. In our failures and moral collapses, we must rest and rejoice in the work of Christ for us. This  joy in His cross strengthens us for life. Remind yourself of who He is and who you are in him. Tell yourself the story over and over so that you are continually shaped by it.
Hold fast to him (v. 19). Kratew (Greek for hold fast)– to take hold of something forcibly; to adhere to something tightly. You must be diligent to persevere in the faith, holding tightly to Christ. You cannot excel where you dabble. Some of you are vigilant about so many things. You never miss a workout; you are never late for work; you never miss your favorite tv show, or a meal…Paul says, you have to be vigilant about holding fast to Christ. You will not accidentally become all He envisions you to be. This is why a devotional life is so critical. To become all that God envisions you to be requires that you abide in Christ. That you hold fast to him through the spiritual disciplines of prayer, solitude, scripture, fasting, silence. You must take him seriously. You have to be just as diligent about knowing him as you are about the other things in our life you consider crucial. As you do this you find your place in his body, his people, and you discover your part in his plan. You begin to experience in Him a community and a mission that gives new shape and definition to your life and leads you into the experience of fullness in Him.