Today on the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. greatest wealth. which you can possess is the knowledge Of Christ. The greatest wisdom which you can ever find is found in. Christ.
Now this Christ who dwells in us, in him That is in the Christ who indwells us, in him are hidden all of the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Welcome to the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. The Apostle Paul writes that the goal of every follower of Christ should be to grow in our faith and become spiritually mature. But what does it take to achieve this growth? And how can we tell if we're growing as we should?
Today, on the verdict, we're looking at some of the key attributes for maturity in Christ as we continue our study in Colossians.
So without further ado, here's Pastor John Monroe. Would you describe yourself as wise? We have a lot of information readily accessible online. But wisdom is another matter, isn't it? We're learning that in the church of Colossi in the first century, there were false teachers.
They claim to have a higher knowledge, a greater wisdom. But in this letter to the Colossians, the Apostle Paul repudiates all that kind of thinking. He emphasizes that it is vital that we know Jesus Christ The eternal God. who is infinite in his wisdom and knowledge. And as we grow in our faith and become more mature, We should be drawing more and more from the wisdom and knowledge of Christ Himself.
Let's continue to learn how we can grow in the Lord as we look further at Colossians chapter 2. From the seven. Opening verses of chapter 2, we will learn more of what it means to be mature in Christ. This Christ, in whom are hidden. Ah.
Oh. of the treasures of wisdom.
Now read with me the first seven verses of Colossians 2. Two. I'm reading from the English Standard Version. Paul says, I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you. And for those at Laodicea, one of the neighboring towns, 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 the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, 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.
Therefore, As you received Christ Jesus the Lord.
So walk. in him. Rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in Thanksgiving. What a magnificent. Passage.
So we'll look at this subject then of maturity further. I believe that in the opening three verses We learn this that maturity requires community. Maturity requires community. Christian maturity, among other things, involves being strengthened through love within the Christian community. Paul says verse 2, this full assurance, this confident understanding of Christ, comes not merely through understanding the truths about Christ as he's presented, although that is necessary, but also through being knit together in love.
with our fellow Christians. Maturity. requires community. Secondly, in verse four, maturity requires discernment. Paul says, I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments.
Paul wants the Colossians to be discerning. Why? There were false teachers at Colossi. He warns them, verse 4, not to be deluded with plausible arguments. Superficial, specious.
Arguments. And he describes this false doctrine in verse 8. As philosophy and empty deceit. This false teaching in Colossi, apparently, had some elements of legalism and mysticism and asceticism. as we read later in chapter two.
But at the heart of this false teaching there was a claim To have true knowledge, higher knowledge. This false teaching clearly was cleverly packaged. It was superficially attractive. It was being promoted by these false teachers in this church at Colossae. And Paul wants the Colossians, as God wants you and me, to be discerning.
Don't be deceived. By these false Teachers. Don't let anyone delude you with plausible Arguments. One of the characteristics of the mature Christian, then, is that this individual. Is discerning.
They can detect False. Teaching.
Now I think one of the unfortunate Characteristics of our society today is gullibility. People are very, very gullible. We have not been taught, I think, in our educational system to think critically. And gullibility and uncritical thinking dominate our society. The Christian is not to be like that, we're not to be gullible people.
Says Paul to the Ephesians and Ephesians 4, verse 14: We are no longer to be children. Tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness and deceitful scheming. Maturity. requires not only community But maturity requires discernment.
Now finally, in verses five and seven, Five through seven, we learn that maturity And this is the most important one, obviously. Maturity requires a Christ-centered life. Verse 5: For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness, notice that, the firmness of your faith in Christ. Therefore, As you received Christ Jesus the Lord, So walk in him. rooted and built up in him.
And established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in Thanksgiving. Maturity? requires A Christ-centered Life. If you grasp this, If we practice this, we will be mature. That's what Colossians is all about, that Christ is everything and has everything and you are in Christ.
Christ is all and in all, Paul is going to say in chapter 2. Three. The greatest wealth which you can possess. is the knowledge of Christ. The greatest wisdom which you can ever find is found in.
Christ.
He is all wise. And Paul is saying here, When you receive Jesus Christ As your personal Saviour and Lord, Christ indwells in us. Christ is in us, the hope of glory. Remember, we learned that in chapter one.
Now, this Christ who dwells in us, verse three, in him. That is in the Christ who indwells us, in him are hidden all of the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. You see, the false teachers in Colossi claim to have a special knowledge. If people followed, they said, their esoteric and mystical practices, they would have access. to this knowledge, we would give you the key to this special knowledge.
And Paul will have none of that. No, he describes this treasure, this thesaurus. The storehouse of knowledge, he says. Of wisdom and knowledge is found in Jesus Christ. Douglas Mu, in his helpful commentary on verse 3, says, This is the Christological high point of the letter, chapter 2, verse 3.
In Christ are hidden all of the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Now, the treasures are hidden in Christ, not in the sense that they're concealed. But in the sense that they're stored up, in the sense that they're disposited only in Christ. That is, they are hidden from the world. inaccessible to the unbeliever. but freely available in their abundance.
to all who are in Christ Jesus.
So here you are. You say, Well, I'm a new believer in Jesus Christ. I just placed my trust in Jesus Christ six months ago. That means, my dear brother, sister, you are in Christ. And in Christ uh is all of the wisdom and all of the knowledge that you need.
All of this wisdom, all of this knowledge. are available To those of us who are in Christ. Isn't that mind-blowing? You want to be wise? Of course you do.
You want to have the knowledge of God? It's found in Christ.
Now why would you spend your time and energy looking for knowledge and wisdom wisdom we might say is practical knowledge guidance and meaning and fulfillment in other and wrong places? All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are in Christ, and Christ is in you. Who is the mature individual? The mature individual is the one who knows Christ. Who is Christ centered.
who is Christ controlled. Who is empowered by Christ, who is guided by Christ. Douglas Moo again writes, Christ is the one. In whom is to be found all that one needs in order to understand spiritual reality and to lead a life. Pleasing.
To God. Do you get that? All you need is found in Christ. False teacher says, no, no, you can have Christ, but. Here's the secret.
Buy my book. Listen to this. Let me tell you these little techniques. Not everyone can understand this. You know, that's if you've ever.
Been exposed to Scientology, that's how they get you involved. There are all these higher levels that you go up, and all of the keys is you pay your money, you graduate. Christian message is entirely different. From the moment of our conversion, we're blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
Now, in all of my Christian life, I am to appropriate that. I'm to integrate that into my life so that I'm being transformed as I live a life focused on Christ, centered on Christ, guided by Christ, as I taste of Christ. No wonder Paul says to me to live is Christ. And to die.
Now notice in verses six and seven then. Which really are, I think, the key and the hinges in this passage. He's saying it in verses 6 and 7. Live in Christ. Grow in Christ, be established in Christ.
Christ.
Verse 6: Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him. Isn't it interesting? Here is the first time in the letter that Paul tells us what we must do. Not like preaching today, is it? Right from the beginning, we're telling people what to do.
Paul doesn't deal with that. No, he lays A true understanding of who Christ is, a true understanding of the gospel. The Christian life is not all do, do, do, do. Of course there are things to do. And Paul is dealing with that now.
But that was the false doctrine in Caucasi, do, do, do. No, how we live. flows from God's grace in Christ. Rest In Christ, no Christ is going to say in Christ, verse 9, the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily. You've received Christ.
You're born again, you're a follower of Christ, you receive Christ, now live in Christ, is the point. They received certain truths about Christ, Jesus, the Lord. They learned that He is the Christ, He is the Messiah. They learned that He is Jesus, the Savior. They learned that He is the sovereign Lord overall, as Paul brilliantly has expounded in chapter 1.
They received Christ.
Now, the challenge is to live out these truths in your life. Paul here then is calling. for a practical response from the Colossians. And these are the key, the hinge verses, explaining what it is to walk in Christ. The Royal Bank of Scotland used to have a slogan I think they still have, although like many banks they've had major problems.
But one of the slogans was this, it's not enough to talk a good game, you have to play a good game. Then they said, let's talk, make it happen. Clearly what Paul is saying. It's not enough to talk a good game. It's not enough to say that you're a follower of Jesus Christ.
Play the good game. Live it out. Make it happen. Christianity then is not just about talk. It's also about our walk.
You call yourself a Christian here? You say you've received Christ?
Now live like a Christian. You say you're following Christ, keep following. Him. Live In Christ, rooted verse seven, rooted and built up in him. We're not only to live in Christ, We are to grow in Christ.
Paul is using, as it were, a gardening metaphor, growing in Christ. You've been firmly rooted in Christ, and now you're to be built up in Christ. Our spiritual life then is an ongoing process. We are growing. We are to make progress in the Christian life.
We are to become more and more like Christ. And that is evidenced in our lives as we're vibrant, as we're fresh, as we're fruitful. Sadly, often We stop growing, don't we? and we become stale. spiritually.
Oh, I don't really need to come At a church, I don't really need to read my Bible. I don't really need to have Christian fellowship after all. I am saved and. The things of the world. consume us And how easy it is, isn't it?
instead of becoming Christ-centered. we become self-centered or Money-centered, or pleasure-centered, or family-centered, rather than Christ. Anyone here like that? They become a little stale. withering Spiritually?
What's the answer? As you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him. And established in the faith just as you were taught. We are not only to be built up, we are to be established. Here is a building metaphor.
Here is a call to be consolidated in the truth. Maturity produces stability and consolidation. The mature Christian is not easily knocked down spiritually when problem comes and difficulty comes. No, they're like that tree that the psalmist speaks of in Psalm 1 that is strong because the roots go down. and their life.
is fruitful. Here is a Young woman. who trust Christ. Oh, she's rooted in Christ. She's being built up in Christ.
She is established in her faith. The world is tough. The opposition is great. We don't need to worry about her when she goes off to college. Why?
She has not only received Christ, But she is mature. young in years, but spiritually mature. because she is centered. in Christ. An important evidence of this maturity We see at the end of verse 7.
abounding in Thanksgiving. We have to teach children to say thank you, don't we? My parents were pretty insistent on that. Say thank you. A sign of immaturity.
is being un Thankful. A sign of immaturity is that we're quick to complain. and slow to give Thanks. Rather convicting, isn't it? To look down at the faults rather than to look up.
No, but for the Christian, for the mature Christian, in spite of the difficulties and the struggles, and Paul had more than his fair share of them, there is an overflowing of thankfulness when we think of who Christ is and what he has done. We are in him. And he is in us. That's why. We praise him.
That's why we have as a priority at church Our worship. Paul is going to say in chapter 3, verse 16, to end of verse 15, to be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your heart. to God. Thankfulness, isn't it?
Is one of the beautiful fruits. that is produced in the life of mature believers. A child, an immature child, is so self-centered, it's give me, give me, give me. It's take, take, take. A mature Christian is one Who abounds and thankfulness.
Not a person who ignores the problems and the difficulties of life. We all have them. Life can be very, very difficult. But we keep our eyes on Christ. and abound in thankfulness.
What is Paul saying here? That Christ is the treasure of wisdom and knowledge. And all of Christ is available to you. Don't miss that point. He is in us.
And we are in him. And when we gather as the people of God, there is a deepening and a strengthening of the bonds of love for one another and for Christ. What happens? As we abound in thankfulness, we're drawn to Christ. And as we're drawn to Christ, we're also drawn to each other, aren't we?
Because the future that you have as a Christian is identical to me. When we sang the king is coming, he's coming for me. He's not only coming for you, he's coming for me. And we're drawn together in these wonderful bonds. of love, and so our knowledge of Christ is deepened.
And we experience the love of Christ through our brothers and sisters and through our worship, and so we mature in. Christ.
Is your life Christ centered. Will it be Christ centered this week? You know there is a wheel in your car that I hope most of you have never seen. But we're all glad it's there. It's the spare wheel.
There may be an emergency when you need it, but let's face it. You don't really want to see that wheel, do you? The spare wheel. It's only for an emergency. But there's another wheel that you use every time you get into the car.
It's the steering wheel which controls the car. Paul is saying, as it were, don't have Jesus as a spear wheel.
Someone you turn to in an emergency. But have him. At the very center of your life. And when you go to your school or your office or your bank or your hospital, or the kitchen sink, or whatever it is, God will put you tomorrow morning. that your eyes are on Christ and that you're serving him.
And you're asking Christ for wisdom. And you're asking Christ for power. And you're asking Christ that His marvelous love, His infinite love, that some of that love will be displayed through you and in a harsh world, a world of lonely people, a world of peculiar people. A world of suffering. A world of tears and of disasters.
That we the people of God would bring something. of the love of Christ and the wisdom of Christ and the knowledge of Christ. Why? Because he is Lord. of all.
And all that we need is is found in him. The treasure of wisdom and knowledge. Draw, therefore. on that wisdom. and knowledge.
And so, our Father and our God, we pray. Help us. to be rooted and established in our faith. to abound in thanksgiving. And that we would bring something of the beauty and the love and the righteousness and the wisdom of Christ.
to our world. Strengthen us, we ask. In Christ's name, amen. This is the verdict featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe. There's still more to hear when John returns in just a moment, so stay with us.
From matters of truth and identity, to the subjects of love and grace, our world seems more confused than ever. but to find truth and certainty about who we are and find peace, we must turn our attention away from the world and look to the Word of God. To help you do that, John wrote a booklet titled Eternal Security, Finding Certainty in a Chaotic World. Through this special resource, John shares his personal testimony, along with a careful examination of Scripture, to offer us clarity on matters of eternity. Get your copy today by visiting our website at the verdict.
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Now, here's Pastor John Monroe.
Well, what's your verdict? At the beginning of this program, I asked if you were wise. What's your response?
Solomon said that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Have Jesus Christ as the reference point to all of your decisions and living. What a difference that will make. Do you know Christ? Are you drawing on his wisdom and knowledge?
Don't forget to join me next time and learn what it means to trust in Christ and in Christ alone. Thanks for joining us today on The Verdict. I'm Michelle Davies. Today's program with Pastor John Monroe was produced and sponsored by Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
