Christ, Supreme Over All

Our scripture reading will be the same as this morning. I'll read Colossians chapter 1 Verses 1 through 14, so if you turn there in your

Bibles when you have that please stand with us Colossians 1 1 through 14

Paul an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God and Timothy our brother to the saints and faithful brothers in in Christ at Colossae Grace you in peace from God our

Father We always thank God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ when we pray for you since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints because of the hope laid up for you in heaven of this you heard before in the word of truth the gospel which has come to you as indeed in the whole world is bearing fruit and increasing as it also does among you since the day you heard it and Understood it and understood the grace of God in truth just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved

Fellow servant he is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf as made known to us your love in the spirit and so from the day

We heard we have not ceased to pray for you Asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding

So as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord Fully pleasing to him bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God being strengthened with all power

According to his glorious might for all endurance and patience with joy Giving thanks to the

Father who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the Saints in light He has delivered 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 Please be seated

So everything

Paul wrote in this book to the Colossians was meant for a purpose a particular laser focus purpose

To give them their confidence in what in the sufficiency of Christ and Christ alone and by that increased confidence by that reminder of the sufficiency of Christ be able to not just resist the incursions that were alarming

Paul Not just resist them, but to recognize them and to know what to resist

Whatever falsehood was ready to creep in Jewish customs Mosaic law humanistic Greek philosophy

Gnostic mysticism stoic asceticism salvation sanctification or acceptance by God whether Whatever they offered that would accomplish what

Christ was sent to accomplish They were to be resisted and rejected They were useless because they're humanistic.

They're vain fleshly that came from the earth their products of Babel Impotent because not only does

Jesus stand over them. They owe their existence and their continuance to him

They were rejected because as we've been saying Christ and Christ alone is sufficient

Christ and Christ alone Gives the power to follow his will Christ and Christ alone has saved you

Christ and Christ alone by his spirit sanctifies you Christ and Christ Alone, he's the only means by which

God accomplishes his purposes for man and in man Did you hear that a very all -inclusive statement that Jesus Christ is the only means?

That God uses to accomplish his his purposes in man and through men.

So Paul's purpose is to drive them and if need be us Away from these alternatives away from any means other than faith and the power of God's Spirit.

So the driving force Behind Paul's prayer that is going to be the subject for this afternoon.

Is their faith and their hope The faithful and holy ones in Colossae and As we said this morning

Remember Christian hope is not just a wish. It's a certain confident constant assurance that what

God has promised God has done or will do and The will do portion of God's promise we know and are assured of because of what?

Because of God's promise that he has already accomplished So what is left to be done will be done in Christ Jesus just as what has been done has been done in Christ Jesus This was their hope and this hope causes great rejoicing in the

Apostle Paul And so he prays for them and the prayer will be the subject this afternoon And we'll go through it rather quickly as we did even the first two verses this morning because we could have

Done another message on those if we had time We'll go through this quickly, but understand that as Paul beckons them to look to the purity of the gospel and To put their reliance on Christ and Christ alone and to be aware of and sensitive to these things that would draw them ever so Slightly away from it

He doesn't just tell them now be better Now do more He prays for them.

He prays for them constantly and He gives them the content of the prayer

Remember this is by the will of God and was we said this morning What is the will of God the will of God? part of that will of God would be that the

Paul the Apostle by the Spirit of God would hear the Word of God and write it down for them And it would be translated and protect over the two centuries for us

So it's a prayer they could look at and say if Paul is praying this for us by the will of God for us and By the will of God we could say today two thousand years late two thousand years later for us as well

Then we can look at this prayer. We Colossians and say let us pray With Paul for ourselves for these things that Paul prays for us.

Do you understand that? and we've got a little intricate in the sentence there but the Colossians could look at these topics of prayer and As we ought can say if Paul by the will of God is praying these things for us

Let us pray these things for us. Here's their prayer So the first part of the prayer in verses 3 through 8

It reminds them of their surrender to the gospel the word of truth that they like the

Thessalonians Recognized as God's very word from the lips of Paul and there was fruit that caused the

Apostle to rejoice He says he rejoiced we always thank God the Father since we heard of your faith

With a hope that lays laid up for you and we rejoice in this His constant hope for this and remember this is hope and rejoicing

For a church that he never visited or at least we have no record of him visiting Epiphras appears to be the emissary between them and Paul not the

Paul was unwilling to go there He just we have no record. He ever did. It was probably Epiphras who came as a

Paul there's some things that are dangerous that might be coming in and So preemptively we get this letter to the

Colossians and this prayer to them the first part reminding them of this Gospel that they heard as the word of truth by the will of God They heard the gospel to save them and their fruit

They had fruit. It was bearing fruit. He says is bearing fruit in the whole world as Indeed in the whole world.

He says is bearing fruit and increasing. Of course. He doesn't mean the entire planet at this point

It doesn't mean southern Australia or northern South America He means the known world at the time the

Greco -Roman world where the gospel is as it were Exploding and having fruit and showing forth the goodness of God and the work he does in people

So it's fruit that they had there's two aspects to the fruit that we should have is there not There's a an inner part and an outer part.

There's the inner part. That is faith. There's an outer part Which is the exhibit of faith the works that we do because of our faith

So the inner part their faith now remember that faith is something's foreign to your nature Faith was like a virus to us.

We're gonna save does it not We have nothing to do with it. We don't want it. We don't ask for it

It's not there when you're born and you exercise your faith and come to Christ. It's something brethren You didn't have before you believe in Jesus Christ if you don't believe in Jesus Christ You have no faith to exercise

God must give you this faith and he knew that they had faith

They're faithful brothers in Christ. They stayed true to Christ in the in the light of the resistance against them

So the inner part this faith something that we had didn't have something we didn't desire but those in Christ Jesus What do we do we look at our faith?

We say this is more does it be desired than gold yay the much fine gold to quote the Bible It's that pearl of great price that treasure in a field that wonderful gift

That's worth more than all we have or ever will have Do you have faith to believe in Jesus Christ?

Now of all the gifts of God I would call this first Because without faith you cannot believe in God without faith

You would not even believe that you're gifted by God first Corinthians 12 would be something that would make no sense to you

Except by faith you could look at something like that. I say well I serve

God I serve Christ because he gifted me to be the Or the hand or the eyes or the ears because God has gifted each of you

Personally to serve the church and this is by faith that we believe this This faith that blossomed into love for the

Saints in Colossae The the inner work of God brought forth these outer deeds of love this agape and agape is a love that serves

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son. That's a copy love Not just an emotional attachment to something but a love that does something about that which it sees

Well, the Colossians did something with and about their faith We don't know exactly what it was any more than we know exactly what this

Heresy what this problem was it was coming in. We don't know quite how to define it We know the results of it would be to draw them away from Christ and his sufficiency

We don't know exactly what the heresy or what the problem was What was the error that was being taught even it wasn't quite heresy

Nor do we know exactly the works that they did but Paul says that their love for the Saints is something that is known something is

Seen something is visible their faith this inner work this invisible work of God in your soul

That brings you to Christ brings forth fruit The fruit of the

Spirit is love joy. Peace Patience kindness goodness

We exhibit this in deeds That show forth the love joy peace and the rest of it as I believe the

Colossians did This inner work this invisible work showing forth invisibility They showed their faith by their works their acts of love made visible by the invisible work of God in their soul

You can say you have faith and you can say you believe the gospel but to paraphrase the Apostle John Let's just say if you don't love your brother whom you see

How can you claim to love God whom you can't see You see

I say by faith. I believe in God Praise God. That's good Where are your works?

Well, I don't have works. I just believe sorry Go back to square one

Do not pass go you have to go to jail and think about this for a while if we're on a Monopoly board

No faith does something Faith brings forth something faith in God bring forth service not to please

God anymore because God is pleased because of our faith period God is pleased because you're in Christ.

You're in Christ Jesus period But your faith has to bring something forth in us or in you

You know, you don't say you have faith and believe the gospel and have not fruit consistent with the gospel

Not necessarily the fruit that you want to produce The fruit that God has produced in you the food fruit that God by his will has ordained for you

Is your faith a cause for anybody's rejoicing? even for your own

Because what Paul rejoices in here and the reason Paul can write this confident letter is because He had heard from probably

Epaphras and very likely others Of the service that they did Not to please

God God's pleased with you because of Christ, but because God is pleased we do these things

The second half of the prayer verses 9 through 14 is really just two sentences. It's 9 through 12 and 13 and 14

Now since number one has Paul praying for increase for increased knowledge of God's will that's verse 9

Leading to ever -growing fruit from lives that are pleasing to him. That's verse 10. Can I read those again for you?

And So from the day we heard we have not ceased to pray for you Asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding

Okay, so he continues to pray and what is he praying for specifically here knowledge of his will

Spiritual wisdom and understanding is by the spirit that God gives us is by the conversion We have bringing us to him the new heart that the spirit gives you that brings you to Christ in the first place by all these means of grace that you're filled with the knowledge of his will and spiritual wisdom

The wisdom the psalmist says makes you wiser than all your teachers Because it comes from God's Word It makes you in a sense smarter than all your classmates and perhaps the brightest bulb in your family

Because it's God's Word not because you or I are about anything not because we're worth anything because when we speak

God's Word when we read it and we Say it accurately when we live it out Then that is spiritual wisdom and that's showing understanding and verse 10 this ever -growing fruit that comes from lives pleasing to him

I need to halt here for just a moment, and this is my particular soapbox But here again what he says so as to walk in a manner worthy of the

Lord fully pleasing to him bearing fruit in every Good work. It's the spiritual wisdom

It's the knowledge of God's will by looking to God's Word that gives us the spiritual wisdom and knowledge of his will and Then in verse 10 he speaks of doing

God's will Now we're reformed And as reformed people we have a proper pessimism about man do we not and a proper optimism about Christ and the more we understand our sin and how pessimistic we should be of ourselves the greater we see as Christ So I'm not going to give you a new paradigm here, but I do want to tell you this

We are responsible to live lives that please God you sinner you broken man

You angry woman me prideful preacher All these things we're all sinful in one way or another and yet Can live lives pleasing to God as we are filled with spiritualism?

Which is knowledge of his word which is study of his word and at putting it into practice

If you read first and second Thessalonians, I'm not going to quote any of these. I want you to read those. That's your homework

Look for the phrase Fully pleasing to God as you are doing not because they were worth anything not because they had any ability because they relied fully upon the

Spirit of God and When God looks he sees them doing the work of Christ because of Christ through Christ Spirit, and that's pleasing to him

Not perfection in ourselves that will never happen But Paul prays that they would walk with the spiritual wisdom with his understanding that they have

To walk in a manner worthy of the Lord and fully pleasing to him Increase knowledge of God leading to ever -growing fruit

It's like Romans 12 to do not be conformed to this world But be transformed by the renewal of your mind that by testing that is by doing by doing by living by producing fruit

By testing you may discern. What is the will of God? What is good and acceptable and perfect and that's what strengthens us to continue to grow more and more fruitful

It's like a tree that's being pruned and as it's pruned it grows more fruit and the more fruit it grows the good

Arborist prunes it more and then it grows more fruit and sweeter fruit. And that's the end of my agricultural and arborist

Metaphor because I can get out of my expertise very quickly But it's the doing this strengthens us and continue to grow more and more fruitful

It's the knowledge of God's will and the doing of it by faith and saying this will is good and God will make good of it and I need to step out and do it and Grow more fruit and that strengthens us and we get pruned and grow more fruit

Thanking God the Father who by his foreordained will chose you to be in his son has qualified you to share in the inheritance of Christ's kingdom that's verse 12

What a beautiful prayer What a wonderful way to go into the actual instruction of this book that here's what

I need you to do But before I tell you what to do Here's where you're on the right track

And here's where I pray for that track to continue to grow and to lift you closer and closer to Christ, but know this

While Paul saw the fruit it doesn't come easy Fruit production is hard work.

It demands that you abide as a branch to the vine Jesus said I am the true vine. You are the branches abide in me

Your sustenance is from Christ. Your ability is from Christ Your sufficiency is from Christ Anything you do that is pleasing to God is because of Christ and from Christ and because we're in Christ And can

I say it enough? It's all because of Jesus Christ and none other and yet we are responsible to do the hard work of going out and Producing that fruit and showing it forth

How do you produce fruit by the doing by the growing and when you grow

You learn confidence You say look what God did in me when I by faith and in confidence in him

Stepped outside of my comfort zone and did and fill in the blank. I did something

I testified to Christ I Stayed true to a principle

When staying untrue might have gained me more funds in my checking account whatever the case is

I stepped out and served in the church I Saw God make good from it and As he made good from it

I grew more fruit That by testing I saw that his will is good and acceptable and perfect and the more

I did it the more I grew Confident that his will is good and acceptable and perfect and he works things in me that are good and acceptable and perfect Not me being good not be being acceptable not me being perfect but he working through me does his perfect will through imperfect people like you and me and Understand that he did not work through imperfect people.

There'd be nobody on earth for him to work through in all history So we have to do that hard work

We have to go out and show forth the fruit that we have and trust

God to continue to grow You see faith is not a static thing

Paul speaks to the Colossians about a faith that is growing a Faith that is ever -increasing.

I would argue that that faith grows and increases because Every time they stepped out and showed forth the fruit and produced more fruit and gave out more fruit

And however, you want to work that out the more they did the more confident They were that it was God working through them for his

God works in you and through you to will and to work for his good pleasure So what grows?

What increases as you go out and do God's will his perfect and acceptable will your confidence your confidence in God by the testing by the doing by the obeying and by that seeing that is

God's will is Perfect and acceptable Dear ones you have to go out and do it You have to open your mouth at a time when it's uncomfortable

You have to obey When it's to your hurt as the psalmist says the righteous man keeps his word even to his own hurt

Do you ever feel like your faith is small stagnant Here's a few simple questions.

I mean am I more like Jesus that way than when I was first saved Do I know more about him and I'm and am

I more like him not just knowing but by doing have I become more like Jesus Christ reaching out towards that prize of the upper calling of God in him

Can ask what steps have I taken in the last year? What personal definite active steps have

I taken? What sin have I finally conquered what sin still molest me in that vein

Are you growing fruit ask yourself this Am I finally done ignoring them?

Am I finally done ignoring those sins that keep coming up again and again? Am I finally done making excuses for them and I now am determined By faith

By application of the means of grace that God has given us Brothers and sisters you can go to and discuss pastors who love you and will help you

Am I growing any fruit ask yourself this what sins still keep coming up again and again?

And am I finally done ignoring them? I've talked many times about quitting smoking.

I tried switching cigarette brands. They said that'll work I tried low nicotine cigarettes that didn't work. I tried cold turkey that didn't work.

I finally just got tired of smoking. I Finally got tired of my lungs to my throat hurting every morning.

I got tired of my fingernails being yellow. I Just got tired of it and then

I quit a long time ago haven't had a puff since I'll stop bragging

But it's like that with sin Are you producing fruit? Are you growing in the Lord ask yourself this?

What sin has kept coming up and I'm just now so tired of it I can't stand it anymore and I'm going to do something about it by prayer by faith by application means of grace by coming to Church by sitting under his word by confessing to brothers and sisters confess your sins to one another

Coming to your pastors for help That's fruit ask yourself. Do I really love the

Saints? How have I stepped forward to serve them Not just in my mind.

I know I'm supposed to What do I do? You learn by doing

Even when we don't feel like it You learn by doing Constantly, you're told do this

God says test me in this and see if I don't rain down from heaven such blessings You can't keep it in your lap and it's like that in Romans 12 to that I read that you may discern what the what is the will of God good and acceptable and perfect you learn by doing

The old product the old Jewish proverb is if you want to be good do good things There's some wisdom to that.

It's a little bit humanistic But if you want to become confident in the will of God do what he says

Don't just understand it do it Teach me. Oh Lord the way of your statutes. In other words your

Word of God Psalm 119 this is about the law of God teach me Oh Lord the way of your statutes and I will keep it to the end was teach me so I could do what

I'm taught He says I will keep your law continually and I shall walk in a wide place Keeping the law means doing it.

There's many many more we could go to Paul's rejoicing was not over their intellectual grasp of the ungraspable

But rather it was because they lived out what they trusted to be from God and the hymn goes on The prayer goes on I should say

That Jesus is not only sufficient, but he reigns supreme. I'm gonna go through this very quickly

In the next part of the prayer the key word is all An all -encompassing All -inclusive all he is the image of the invisible

God the firstborn over all creation for by him all things were created He is your creator

He is your maker He is the one who created all things firstborn over all creation first ball

Doesn't mean created at one point as some cults will take that to mean firstborn just means supreme means overall

The physical in heaven and on earth visible and invisible What's the invisible the thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities all things were created through him and for him?

Dr. Moose says all of God's creative work Took place in terms of or in reference to Christ Everything God has done is in terms of or reference to Jesus Christ He's eternal

He is before all things before as in the beginning was the Word and the

Word was with God and the Word was God Obviously if he made all things he was before all things, but he wasn't created in order to make things.

That's a heresy He always was He's a stainer in him all things hold together and he is the head there's verse 18 of the body of the church

He is the beginning the firstborn from the dead that in everything Again, the same word is all in the previous verses in everything.

He might be preeminent Preeminent because he's the head of the church It increases our evaluation of who and what we are as his church

And he's preeminent by way of resurrection For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell

All that God is Jesus is all that God is Jesus has always eternally been

The the God's fullness is resonant in Christ It's not continuous in that it requires no action on Jesus's or God's part to sustain it

It simply is all the fullness God's means that there's nothing of God. There's not also of Christ This is one being prayed for these

Colossians as it says in 1st

Corinthians yet for us There is one God the Father for whom are all things and for whom we exist one

Lord Jesus Christ through whom are all things And through whom we exist,

I'm sorry that was repetitive I wrote it down there wrong And finally reconciler to reconcile all things whether in heaven or in On earth or in heaven making peace by the blood of the cross.

So Christ is Lord over all. Oh Yes, he's

Lord of that all means all whatever it is Our resurrected Lord Jesus sitting enthroned at the

Father's right hand the hand of strength the hand of power the hand of sufficiency The supreme

Lord Jesus. He is Lord over all first born of creation not created but first before what was made in the beginning with God and the

Word is and shall ever be God. He is supreme. He's eternal.

He is sufficient Well, I've gone too long for the afternoon

So in a bit of a clumsy place, I'm gonna leave it with that and Lord willing next week We'll pick up some of the rest of this

This is this really must come to an end Paul's prayer for them and I would say his prayer for us your pastors prayer for you

Is learn confidence in God by the doing of it As he tells the

Colossians, I know your faith because of what you're doing and may it grow and increase all the more If you're one who is timid, it's hard but step out and Trust that God has done this work in you and that by the doing he will grow more fruit in you

And as he does that you will grow more confident that he will grow more fruit You get into this wonderful beautiful cycle where you are more and more confident

God more and more bearing fruit And doing more and more of his good and perfect. Well, amen

Heavenly Father do thank you again for this day For the confidence that we have in Christ and for the work that you've done in us through and because of him

I pray that that work will continue. We all go grow more more into Christ's image and live lives pleasing to you in Jesus name