WWUTT 062 Together In Love (Colossians 2:1-5)

When we fail to understand the scriptures or we misuse them in an improper way, bad things can happen.

Division is caused in the church and among Christians. If a church truly wants to be a loving church in the love of Christ, it is essential to be committed to sound teaching and sound authority of that teaching when we understand the text.

You are listening to When We Understand The Text, an online Bible ministry committed to teaching sound doctrine and exposing the faulty.

Find videos and more at our website www .utt .com. Now here's our host,

Pastor Gabe Hughes. Thank you, Becky. I am being overrun with ladybugs in my study right now.

As I was getting ready to start recording the podcast, I heard this dinging sound and condenser microphones, which is the kind of microphone that I use to record, they're really sensitive.

They're heard this sound that was like a person taking their fingernail and tapping a light bulb.

And so I'm looking up at the lights in the room. There's more than one. So I'm looking around at the lights, trying to find out where it is.

And finally, I spotted them, several of them, ladybugs that were smacking into the lights. And so that's a little dinging sound.

And I can still hear it right now, even as I'm a, you probably can't hear it. But I can, I can still hear the dinging sound overhead.

So I've got some ladybugs that are going to hear the gospel here. As we go through the, go through the scriptures together, we got as far as verse one yesterday.

That's as far as we ran in Colossians chapter two. So we'll see how far we get today. Colossians two verses one through five.

You want to open up your Bibles and join with me there. Let's first come to the Lord in prayer. Our gracious God, we thank you again for an opportunity to be able to come to your word, to study your word and understand your word.

It is by the spirit of God that we can know what the word of God says. And so give us your spirit so that we're able to discern these things.

And we store up these words on our minds and our hearts so that the very thoughts that we think and the words that we say have been influenced by the word of God.

We take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ. So work these things out in our lives that we may become better worshipers of God in studying through Colossians, knowing that Christ is preeminent and we are completely satisfied in our savior.

And we pray and ask these things in the name of Jesus. Amen. Colossians two verses one through five for,

I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love to reach all of the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mercy, which is

Christ in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments for though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.

So back to verse one, the apostle Paul says, I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you not to compare my plight with the apostle

Paul's, but I am here on this side of the microphone struggling for you. I have very little voice.

I have had little voice for a week and a half, but nonetheless, toughing through these things for your benefit.

And I hope that you know that I greatly care for everyone who has been committed to listening to this broadcast and is receiving the word of God as delivered for you every single day.

I don't know why you want to listen to this for half an hour, but I am so grateful that you do. And as long as we've got people listening,

I'm going to continue to, to deliver the word of God, struggling through all my ailments to do so. I am not in any way struggling as the apostle

Paul did. I'm sitting in a comfortable chair. I've got great recording equipment around me to do these kinds of things.

And I can always pause the recording to cough and hack as I see fit in order to clear my voice up.

But nonetheless, I continue to labor through these things for your benefit. Take that as a small, tiny little dose of the way that Paul would struggle and labor for those who would receive the gospel.

Now, this guy's going through persecutions through beatings. And we also know that the apostle Paul was under house arrest in Rome as he was writing this letter to the

Colossians. So he's being persecuted for advancing the gospel. I'm not being persecuted.

I'm just toughing through this, this cold, this chest cold that I've had now for, for about a week and a half.

But anyway, so coming back into the text here, I want you to know how great a struggle

I have for you. And for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, because remember, as Paul is writing to the

Colossians, he's never been to that church before, never visited Colossae, same with the Laodiceans.

And as I pointed out, and we'll get to this in the end of the end of the letter, Colossians chapter four, Paul had written a letter to the

Laodiceans and told the Colossians to read their letter and also told the Laodiceans to read the

Colossians letter so that they would be mutually encouraged by these further instructions that have been given by the apostles.

We have 13 letters that have survived from the apostle Paul. His letter to the Laodiceans is not one of them, but we are still able to read what has been collected of Paul's in Canon.

What we have that is collected in the new Testament so that this apostle continues to instruct us even now it's in Ephesians chapter two, where we read that Christ has built his church on a foundation of the apostles with himself

Christ as the cornerstone. So we still receive the instructions of the apostles.

Even today, we are still under their authority. Even now, we read this in Ephesians chapter four, and this ties in with how we're going to go on here in Colossians chapter two, but in Ephesians four, starting in verse 11, we read this.

God gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds, and the teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry for building up the body of Christ.

Okay, before I keep going any further here, let's, because this is a long sentence, Paul likes to do those, those run on sentences here.

Let's go back to verse 11. He gave the apostles. So who we see listed first, there are the apostles because we are still under their authority.

Now, there are no more apostles that are going to be appointed that which we have in the new

Testament mentioned in the new Testament, who were the new Testament writers. That's it. There won't be any more apostles other than them.

That's the apostolic age. And how do we come to that conclusion? Well, one of the ways that we come to that conclusion is in first Corinthians 15, eight, where the apostle

Paul is giving a list of all of the apostles that Jesus appeared to and appointed to go and share the gospel.

And he mentions himself last. And he says, last of all, he appeared to me. So the way that the apostle

Paul is laying this out is when Christ was commissioning his disciples to go and do this work of building the church.

Paul was one who was untimely born because he was not actually an eyewitness to the things that Jesus did.

Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus, and then he was converted from the persecutor of Christians, Saul.

That was another thing that made Saul unique is that he persecuted Christians, whereas the other apostles did not.

So that's another reason why he calls himself untimely born. He went from being Saul, the persecutor of Christians to Paul, the apostle, and the other apostles met with Paul.

They verified that his apostleship was genuine, the appearance of Christ to him. And so he is the last of apostles to be appointed.

And then there were no others that were going to come after him. So the apostolic age ended with the apostle

John, because he was the last apostle to pass away. He died of old age while all the other apostles were martyred.

And so with John's passing, the apostolic age came to an end and Canon was closed.

Nothing else has been added to the Bible by anyone who was not an eyewitness of the things that happened in that first century during the creation or the start of the church of Jesus Christ.

Okay, so the apostles are our authority, and they're still our authority even today, because what we read in the

New Testament was given to us by the apostles. No other apostles are going to be appointed. So folks, let me tell you this.

If you ever attend a church or go into a church that thinks, believes, or teaches that new apostles will be raised up, and there can be apostles walking among us today who have the same authority that John or James or Paul or Matthew or any of the other apostles had, they will say that they can have the same level of authority that Paul had run from that church.

They are false teachers. We cannot have a level of apostolic authority today that was the same as the apostles had in the

New Testament. The Spirit of God is not revealing anything else that will contradict or even change or rewrite anything that we have written down for us in the scriptures.

Anything that a person says came to them by the Spirit of God must line up with the

Bible, or it did not come from God. And for a person to say that the

Spirit will continue to appoint apostles is to say that there will still be apostolic authority that is equal to, if not greater than scripture.

And that's just simply false. That's just absolutely not going to happen. First John 4 .1 says to test the spirits, for not every spirit is from God, and many false prophets have gone out into the world.

In fact, the apostle Paul wrote this, Galatians 1 .8 -9, even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.

As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.

I think it's very fascinating that Paul starts that sentence there in 1 Galatians 1 .8 by saying, even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you.

In other words, if anybody comes to you and claims to be an apostle, and they are preaching a gospel contrary to the one that you received, or heaven forbid, but somebody who used to be among the apostles should preach something different than what was originally preached to you, that was the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Okay, I don't necessarily think that's where he's going, because we know that the apostles remained steadfast to the end, faithful to Christ, but there were many among the missionaries of the apostles who would turn their backs on the mission's work that was in front of them.

For example, Demas, whom we see talked about at the end of 2 Timothy, is someone who deserted

Paul and went back to Thessalonica because he was too in love with this world. Demas is mentioned two other places.

As a matter of fact, Demas' name is mentioned in Colossians, and in a couple of other occasions that Demas has mentioned, he's spoken of very favorably.

So there at the end of 2 Timothy, which is the last letter that we have of the apostle Paul's, somewhere there in that ministry,

Demas had abandoned Paul, had turned his back on Paul. So where once he was spoken of favorably, he abandoned

Paul in his darkest hour because he was too in love with this world. And so there were times when there were even among the missionaries that were associated with the apostles that would turn their back on the faith.

And so Paul's saying very emphatically, even if you know there's somebody that has been associated with us that starts preaching a gospel contrary to the one that we preached to you, let him be accursed.

And so we must test the spirits, for not every spirit comes from God. The apostles who wrote the

New Testament for us, that's the apostolic ministry that we have. There will be no other apostles appointed, attend no churches that claim that there will still be apostolic ministry today.

Ephesians 4, 11, he gave the apostles and the prophets. And I think the easiest way to understand that when he says prophet is we're talking about the prophets of the

Old Testament. So the first two authorities that are mentioned are the apostles who wrote the New Testament and the prophets who wrote the

Old Testament. Now a pastor can be a prophet. I have heard Paul Washer say a pastor is a prophet or he is nothing.

He is prophetically speaking when he preaches from the word of God. He is also growing a person in the process of sanctification, encouraging something in the life of a believer that has not yet come to pass.

And he also speaks about the glory of God, which we have not seen in its fullness until Christ comes back in glory.

So in many ways, a pastor is speaking prophetically. So I think it is very true what

Washer has said. A pastor is a prophet or he is nothing. But here in this case, in this context,

Ephesians 4, 11, we're talking about the apostles who wrote the New Testament and the prophets who wrote the

Old Testament. Then we go on and we read the evangelists. So God gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists.

The evangelist is the person who first introduces you to Christ. They are the person who might go into the public square.

They might speak at a church or at some other religious event. But their mission, their calling by God is to preach the gospel and and see conversions made in the lives of those who receive the gospel.

So they preach the gospel. Conversion is made, might direct them to a church or a body of other believers where they can grow.

So that's the evangelist, the person who first preaches the gospel. And through his word, the spirit initiates saving faith in the life of the hearer.

Okay. And then who is mentioned next? The shepherds and the teachers. Now that's definitely talking about the pastor, the elder, the teacher in a church, those people who would care for the body of believers as they are growing and that they would grow in that process of holiness and sanctification, which we are all supposed to grow in.

Now, the apostle Paul instructed Timothy to do the work of an evangelist. So it's not just that shepherds and teachers don't do evangelism work.

They have to do that as well. But there is a difference between doing evangelism and doing preaching in a church that is for the care of that particular flock.

Does that make sense? Okay. So there is our hierarchy of authority in the church.

Christ, of course, is first. He is head. And we're going to get to that as we go through this passage in Ephesians four.

But who we have listed first is the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and the teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry.

So what is the purpose of all of these folks to equip the saints for the works of ministry?

Your pastor in your church is an authority and you must respect that authority.

The elder in the church is the authority and you must respect that authority. Folks, it is necessary for us to understand that there is a difference between the pastor and the congregant.

They're not even disciplined the same way. We see disciplinary processes for an elder or an overseer a little bit different than we see disciplinary processes for any other member of the church.

So the way that you consider your relationship with your pastor is a little bit different than you would consider your relationship with any other member of the church.

They are an authority and they must be respected. And one of the callings upon their position is that they would equip the saints for the work of ministry.

A pastor is in your church for your benefit. I am there for my congregation for their benefit to equip them for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the son of God to mature manhood to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ so that we may no longer be children tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine by human cunning by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

Rather speaking the truth in love we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head into Christ.

There's his authority over the church. He is the head of the church from whom the whole body joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped when each part is working properly makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

All right so that was Ephesians chapter 4 verses 11 through 16. Now going back to Colossians chapter 2

Paul's saying I want you to know how great a struggle that I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all those who

I have not seen face to face that their hearts may be encouraged being knit together in love to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mercy which is

Christ. Are you seeing now the parallels between that which Paul had said to the

Ephesians in Ephesians 4 11 through 16 and what Paul is saying here to the

Colossians even here a church that he has never met before he is saying I am here for your benefit and once again drawing parallels between that and my doing this this podcast that you are listening to I am here for your benefit even though we have never met before I am not doing this to advance myself

I do this for your benefit even toughing through the vocal woes that I'm experiencing

I do this for your benefit and it is so that that all hearts may be encouraged being knit together in love to reach all the fullness all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery which is

Christ. Folks there is something that I've observed in the church before I've seen this happen among congregants

I've even been a victim of this before but there is this squabbling and this disagreement that will stir up among members in a church and it will cause division not just between the two people who are arguing but maybe involving other members in the church as well who are picking sides and then the division just kind of spreads but at the root of this disagreement

I have noticed observing this for several years at the root of this disagreement is a lack of assurance of understanding there's probably a lot of iffiness in some doctrines one or two people may be unwilling to mature beyond the level of maturity that they are at in their understanding of God's word and because of that lack of assurance of understanding because there's that iffiness and that unwillingness to grow then it causes division two people come into a disagreement and then a division is caused and other people have gotten involved they become divisive as well and churches can split apart over this kind of a thing so this is why it is so important to understand how through the word of God and through the the teaching of the apostles the prophets the evangelists the shepherds and the teachers that hearts may be encouraged and knit together in love to reach all of the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery which is

Christ in whom are hidden the treasures of wisdom and knowledge end of sentence and that's where we are going to pick up again tomorrow so continue to work these things out continue to work out in your mind an understanding of of God's word because it's that maturity and understanding

God's word that keeps us solidified as the body of Christ built upon the foundation of God's word that's what keeps us solid grow in your maturity and understanding of God's word the immature church is the one that tends to fall apart and division arises

God as we as we come away from this word today this study that we have invested in Colossians chapter 2 verses 1 through 5

I pray that you continue to work these things out in our hearts and on our minds as we meditate on this going throughout our day help us to live lives of holiness that are pleasing and acceptable to you and help us consider how we ourselves individually can be a benefit to the body of Christ how we can serve the body of Christ in growing in this understanding and being knit together in love we are just as imperfect as anyone else that we go to church with there is not any one of us who are praying right now or or who are listening to this prayer who can say to another person

I am better than you are for we all need to be matured according to the word of Christ help us find ways that we can encourage one another in that work in that process in the church and as we pray and ask these things in Jesus name amen

Proverbs 23 7 says that which a man thinketh in his heart so is he that's a verse that's often used to preach on the power of positive thinking such a sermon tends to go like this

God wants to bless you but you have to believe he wants the best for you in order to unlock such blessings you got to learn how to think right before you can live right

God has got a good plan for your life but if you don't believe it God's not going to be able to do it Proverbs 23 7 says a man thinks in his heart so is he these word of faith preachers like to use the

King James but for the sake of not having to translate old English into new English we're going to look at it in the English standard version

I mean seriously who on earth says thinketh Proverbs 23 6 and 7 reads do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy do not desire his delicacies for he is like one who is inwardly calculating this is the part right here that in the

King James reads that which a man thinketh so is he eat and drink he says to you but his heart is not with you so what do you think does it sound like that verse is in any way saying that if you think positively you'll receive the blessings of God not even close it's saying that a rich host might use their luxuries to ensnare the less wealthy huh so knowing the context of that verse would actually keep a person from being suckered by the teaching of rich preachers who tell you that if you thinketh right you can be as blessed as they are as Proverbs 23 also says do not desire his delicacies for they are deceptive food instead we need to fill ourselves with the daily bread of God's Word we can be properly equipped against false teaching when we understand the text our question today comes from Sherry in Alabama well it's more of a comment than a question but she writes in and says dear what thank you for your video about as a man thinketh in his heart so is he one of the things that I really appreciated about that video is that you played a clip from Joyce Meyer so that we could actually hear her misuse that verse that helped me tremendously as I'm still a young Christian and trying to learn the difference between what is sound teaching and what kinds of teaching that I should probably stay away from I've encountered ministers who won't call out the names of those who misuse the

Bible but they seem to be all right with calling out those who call out others not sure how that works anyway keep up the great work well

I sure appreciate that Sherry you know there's a time and a place for calling out names sometimes it's appropriate and sometimes maybe not there are times when

I may have had a particular false teacher in mind but to mention the false teacher's name would actually distract from the point because it wasn't the teacher that I wanted the hearer to focus on it's the idea so in that circumstance

I would probably stay away from the name and just make sure that that the hearers understand that this idea is what is false as well as anybody who preaches such an idea but then there are other times when using the name is perfectly acceptable the apostle

Paul did that as Paul is instructing Timothy in first Timothy chapter one he says this charge

I entrust to you Timothy what charge is that teaching sound doctrine that's what he gives to Timothy all throughout chapter one he says this charge

I entrust to you Timothy my child in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you that by them you may wage the good warfare holding faith and a good conscience by rejecting this by rejecting sound faith and a good conscience some have made shipwreck of their faith among whom are

Hymenaeus and Alexander whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme so there in that particular situation it was necessary for Paul to mention their names and we see names mentioned a little bit later on the apostle

John he mentions names too as a matter of fact it's in third John verse nine where he mentions a guy by the name of diatrophies

I also talked about how the apostle Paul mentioned to Timothy a guy by the name of Demas who had abandoned

Paul in his darkest hours so there are times and places to mention names and times when not necessary to mention a name in Colossians chapter 2 as we're going through that now the apostle

Paul talks about a philosopher who's come with a a false philosophy but he doesn't mention the philosopher's name because what he wants the

Colossians to understand it's the idea that's wrong and we need to focus all of our attention on Christ in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge but it is appointed upon teachers of the word in Titus 1 9 we read this that he must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also rebuke those who contradict it let's be able to do that in a wise manner handling scripture in a wise way and rebuking others in a wise way lord thank you for your word teach us and guide us according to your word and help us to be submissive to the full authority of your word and also receive discipline and correction when necessary and we pray these things in Jesus name amen thank you for listening to when we understand the text pastor gabe is the author of the book 40 of the most popular bible verses and what they really mean available in paperback or for your kindle he's also authored a bible study through the book of first corinthians both books can be found at our website at www .utt