Path to Christian Maturity
Last week we examined the ministry of proclamation and saw that its purpose is Christian maturity. Today, Paul is going to talk about how he struggled for that purpose and he’s going to give us a couple of clues that we’re on the right track and lay the foundation for a caution that we will look at in more detail in the weeks to come.
Let’s read our passage for today then we will dive in.
Colossians 1:28-2:5 - “Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. [29] For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me. [1] 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, [2] 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, [3] in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. [4] I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. [5] 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.”
Paul Struggles for Christian Maturity
The Apostle Paul understood that his purpose in life was not about himself. He lived for Christ (Galatians 2:20), and his desire was to be used by Christ in the lives of other people both near and far away.
Paul’s desire was to present every man complete in Christ. Even though he wasn’t present at Jesus’ ascension, he took the final words of Jesus on Earth very seriously. To make disciples and teach everything that Jesus commanded us. We talked about this last week. He wants to see believers fully-grown in Christ. Complete, perfect, and mature.
This is still the goal that he is talking about. Notice the words at the beginning verse 29, “For this I toil.” This refers back to the desire to “present everyone mature in Christ,” and he picks it up again in verse 5 when he says that he is “rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of you faith in Christ.” That is a good summation of Christian maturity. Good order and firmness of faith.
Unfortunately, this is not a goal that we see very often in today’s American evangelical culture. Christianity has become weak and anemic hardly able to influence the people that sit through services for 2 hours every weekend much less affecting society.
This goal of becoming mature is central to the reason for our salvation. Ephesians 1:4 states, “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him.” We saw earlier in our study of Colossians 1:22 that Jesus “reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and above reproach.” Holy and blameless are just particular character qualities of being complete and mature.
This same word for complete is used by Jesus in calling His followers to “be perfect, as your heavenly father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). Paul doesn’t just want to share the good news then walk away. He is striving and working diligently to present to God believers who are mature in their faith. In Ephesians 4:13 we see Paul link the purpose of the various gifts and ministries within the church to maturity. He says, “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 a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to 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.”
This should not just be a goal for Paul or for those who would call themselves the Christian elite. This is the natural course for all believers, that they would move from the elemental principles and basic doctrines onto maturity as Hebrews 6:1 says. This is not easy though. Unlike a baby that naturally grows and physically becomes an adult whether it wants to or not, growing up in the faith takes effort. It is hard.
Paul encourages believers in Philippians 2:12-13 to, “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”
Paul’s working to produce mature Christians is not easy work, and our goal in ministry is to present ourselves to God along with all of the church as a holy and blameless bride is not easy work. Paul describes this as a labor, the toilsome kind that makes you grow weary. It is also something for which he had to struggle or fight, strive, and contend. This greek word is where we get the word agony or agonize. Paul was laboring in agony to get the church to maturity in Christ. Sounds pretty hard right?
The Strength for the Struggle
But notice where the strength and the energy comes from in Colossians 1:29, They are according to God’s “energy that he powerfully works within” Paul. When I say this, don’t imagine that Paul is just sitting on the sidelines and that God is doing all the work. Paul is doing his part and is diligent in his efforts to the point that he would is physically, mentally and even emotionally tired. But God kept giving energy. God energized his energy.
The same is true for us. It is God that sustains us and accomplishes His will through us. This truth should give us confidence to face tasks that otherwise would overwhelm and terrify us. I can hear Jesus say, “take heart, I’m going to ask you to do hard thing, terrifying difficult things, but I’m with you and I’m going to give you the strength in those moments and the courage in those moments and the words in those moments. I’m going to work through you to do my good and perfect will.” That should get you excited to do impossibly hard things through God.
We must work hard as we rely on His power working in us. Note the paradox and balance of that verse: Paul labors and strives, but he does it according to God’s power, which works mightily in him. 1 Peter 4:11 says it this way, “Let him who serves, serve in the strength that God supplies. So that in everything, God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.”
People tend to go to either extreme. Some kick back, and say, “Let go and let God.” They don’t get too worked up about reaching others for Christ or discipling younger believers in the faith. They won’t commit to doing the work of ministry. To put it nicely, they’re “laid back.” To be more blunt, they’re just lazy when it comes to working for the Lord.
On the other hand, you have people who burn out because they’re laboring and striving, but not according to God’s power working in and through them. It’s almost a badge of honor to be able to say, “I suffered from burnout!” But often these people work so hard because they’re trying to earn God’s favor, rather than working hard through His grace and power.
I have to be quick to make a distinction between working as a believer and working to become a believer. We’re not talking about working to earn your salvation. Salvation has been accomplished by Jesus at the cross. we don’t work for it. But maturity in Christ is something that we will strive the rest of our lives for. The work of salvation is all of Christ and none of me, but the daily practice of sanctification is "all of Christ and all of me."
The Scope of the Struggle
It was important for them to understand that though they had not met in person, their spiritual welfare was of great concern to Paul. Notice that Paul specifically states three groups to which he is expressing this desire, “for you” refers to those in Colossae. Laodicea was a city about 10 miles down the Lycos valley from Colossae. “All who have not seen me face to face” refers to everyone else in the region including those at Hierapolis, another near by city Paul mentions in Colossians 4:13.
This is one of the marks of Paul’s maturity and his understanding of life. Paul was so dedicated to the cause of Jesus Christ that it transcended his own narrow segment and grasped the importance of the whole.
It would have been easy for Paul to have just focused on what opportunities came to him while he was awaiting his trial before Caesar. In Philippians, Paul makes it clear that though he was in jail he was having a very effective ministry to the Praetorian guard and even to some in Caesar’s household.
Also in 2 Corinthians 11:28, Paul mentions the daily pressure that was upon him because of his concern for all the churches. It would have been understandable for him to just focus on the many churches he had already planted. Yet, we find here that Paul is intensely concerned for churches that were in places he had never been.
Paul understood the oneness that all believers share, and so he was compelled to respond to any opportunity given to him in rejoicing over what the Lord was doing in the lives of other believes in other places, and also help them as he could that they might grow spiritually, stand firm against false doctrine and withstand the attacks of adversaries.
I hope that we can in some way imitate Paul’s heart by thinking about and praying for believers around the world. Praying that they would be strengthened in the face of persecution, that they would stay close to the word of God and would trust in the multitude of promises laid before us.
In verses 2-4, Paul reiterates his goal and shares two clues of the goal and one caution.
Paul’s Goal
We already know that Paul’s goal is Christian maturity, but he re-phrases it in the beginning of verse 2 when he says that he’s struggling so “that their hearts may be encouraged.”
We tend to use the heart as a metaphor for our emotions, but that was not true in the Greek world. The emotions came from the stomach in those days. We see that in Philippians 3:19 when Paul is talking about the enemies of the Cross, he says, “their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.” Instead, the term heart was used to describe the seat of the soul, and the ability to reason, desire, make decisions and determine actions.
Paul wanted to encourage them at the heart level, the level of their reason and decision-making, because that would determine their thinking, choices and subsequent actions.
Once again, Christian maturity is something between you and God. I can’t do it for you and Paul couldn’t do it for these believers. However, Paul said that he would do all he could to encourage them. Going to church does not make you a mature Christian. Church is just the place that you go to be encouraged by other believers to grow up into Christian maturity.
The word for encourage here means to come alongside, build up, comfort, instruct, exhort and admonish. The purpose of Biblical encouragement is to bring a person to a right understanding and motivate them to right actions. This is not a pat on the back and a good job. What will be needed to encourage will vary with the person and the particular circumstances. Christian encouragement could mean a reminder of the truth to motivate someone to right actions. Other times it could mean correcting wrong beliefs and actions and then instructing in truth to bring about right beliefs and actions. Paul does all of this in his writing.
Remember way back at week one when we introduced Paul as the master mechanic who was coming to give the church an alignment? That is what Paul means here when he says, “that their hearts may be encouraged.” He could have just as easily said, “so that they would be right-thinking,” or “so that they might straighten up and fly right.”
Paul’s reminders of the nature and position of Jesus as the image of God, the preeminent one over all creation as its architect, maker, possessor and sustainer, and the preeminent one over the church as its head and founder who reconciled God and man through His atoning death would have been enough for many of the Colossian believers. Others needed the corrections, admonitions and warnings found in the rest of the book to be moved back to right beliefs and actions.
It will take the same range of efforts by others to encourage us at various times and for us to encourage others to right beliefs and actions. We can’t do it for people, but we can encourage them.
However, when you hear that phrase “let your hearts be encouraged” you almost get the picture of a warm blanket being pulled over a sick child or a friend consoling you after a bad break-up. That is not what Paul is saying here. If you hear it that way, you will be quick to turn things emotional and put too much stock in feelings.
Feelings are good, when they flow from a right heart. But our culture is quick to promote feelings to the driver’s seat and all manner of sin is encouraged because it makes you feel good. This is the easy way out.
As an employer, it is way easier for me to just let someone continue to do sub-par work. If I was a bad boss, I would just pat them on the back and tell them their doing a great job while I contemplate who I’m going to get to replace them. It takes work to train and encourage right behaviors.
If someone is seeking to do well, they want that encouragement. They don’t just want me to affirm the bad practices that they are currently doing. They seek out corrective criticism and look to those areas of improvement. Because they know that the best thing for them in the long run as an employee is for them to be built up and strengthened in their role.
So when you feel the Bible get up in your business and touch some of those spots that are a little sensitive, that is the Holy Spirit encouraging you towards godliness. That is something that we should be seeking out as believers instead of running from.
Clues on the Path
Next, Paul is going to give us two clues that we are on the right path towards Christian maturity.
Clue 1: Unity
The first clue on the path towards Christian Maturity is Unity in love.
It is always important to distinguish what kind of love we are talking about. The English word, love, has a wide range of meanings from sacrificial charity to fond feelings of affection to personal enjoyment to selfish lust.
The particular word used here, agape, is self sacrificial love. This is the love with which God gave us Christ to be sacrificed as the propitiation for sin (John 3:16). This is love which Jesus has for His disciples in sacrificing His life for them as the redemption price that reconciled us to God and brought forgiveness of our sins(1 Peter 1:18-19, Hebrews 9:12).
This is the love a husband is to have for his wife in seeking her holiness and providing for her needs as a picture of Christ and the Church (Ephesians 5:23-33). That believers should love one another with this kind of love is part of what it means to be a Christian. In John 13:34, Jesus commanded us to love one another as He has loved us and then added in the next verse that it would be this love that would show the world that we are indeed His disciples.
Paul says here that we will know we are on the way to maturity when we are knit together or joined together in love. This is the picture of unity that Jesus prayed for in the garden in John 17:23.
However, because we have a bent toward sin even after we are saved, there will always be lots of opportunity for conflict to arise between believers. Many of the corrections and commands in the New Testament are directed at ending conflict and bringing about unity.
Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:2 that it takes diligence to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. But the glue that holds the body together in unity is this agape love.
How does love hold the body together? It causes the believer to act and react to others with humility. As Paul describes it in Philippians 2:2-4, “Complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” This is the means to bringing about unity.
Clue 2: Riches of Understanding and Knowledge
Remember, I’ve mentioned before about some false teachers that were starting to sink their claws into the Colossians. One of these false teachings was something called gnosticism. It said that there were hidden secrets that only they had the keys to. They were a sect of Christianity that said you need Jesus plus this hidden wisdom and knowledge.
Well, Paul is going to give them a slap in the face here. He says that he has the key to all wisdom and knowledge of God. And he says, I’m not going to make you pay for it, I’m not going to hide it from you, or make you join a cult to get it. Paul received this precious gift freely and he freely distributed it.
Paul says, the result of being encouraged and having their hearts knit together in love would be to discover the abundance of riches of all wisdom and knowledge. It is the mystery of God, in Christ.
First, Paul mentions understanding. This is a comprehension or apprehending of the inter-relatedness of things. I can look at a car and tell you that when I turn the key the engine is supposed to crank and then I can drive. I have a very basic understanding of how all the parts of a car work together to make it go. But a master mechanic knows the purpose of each piece and part and has full understanding. This understanding brings about a full assurance or confidence.
Teachers of false doctrine seek to make us unstable and uncertain about what is true and in that way introduce their heresy as a substitute. When we understand the interconnected nature of the teachings of scripture there is a strong wall of confidence in the truth that is built against such false teachers. And because we are part of a body, we aide one another by bringing understanding to those who are ignorant or uncertain.
Second, we have knowledge which is gained by experience as opposed to information from an external source or just observation. The false teachers could offer up interesting conjecture and even logical arguments, but they operated out of their own knowledge and understanding instead of God’s.
Paul wanted the Colossian believers to have full confidence in the truth through a full knowledge gained by knowing God in Christ. It is a mystery that we as fallen mortal beings can have the privilege of fellowship with and the indwelling of God. But this knowledge is the real source of growth and maturity. There is an experiential component, through the Holy Spirit, that goes beyond simple understanding of the mechanics of the faith.
To continue the car analogy, perhaps understanding is the information that a mechanic has but knowledge is the information that a driver has. The driver is connected with and linked to the car and can in a way know more about a car than the mechanic ever can by simply looking under the hood.
The Holy Spirit works within us enlightening our minds to understand, and we see God’s providential hand working in our lives. In other words, I understand and believe because God has revealed Himself in His word, but I also know because of the inner witness of the Holy Spirit and being able to walk with the Lord and look back and see His guiding hand upon my life.
As we grow in maturity, we don’t just get a little bit of this in Christ. Paul emphasizes in verse 3 that Christ is completely sufficient and supplies riches and treasures. There is nothing to gain in seeking understanding and knowledge outside of Him. In fact, it is foolishness because it opens the door for false teachers. This is wisdom and discernment to know that Christ is enough. He is all we need.
There are all sorts of false teachers out there who will try to sell you Christ minus something or Christ plus something. That is the essence of all these false teachings, and in the coming weeks, we will look at some of the false teachings that were plaguing Colossae and which I think are still around even today.
They are contrary to the fact that Jesus is more than just sufficient, He is the complete revelation of God as I have pointed out in previous sermons.
Caution on the Path
Finally, Paul is going to give us a caution sign on the path to Christian maturity in verse 4. He says, I want you to be built up and unified knowing that Christ is the only source of all wisdom, understanding, and knowledge, so “that no one may delude you with plausible arguments.”
When the body is unified and strong, it is better able to withstand the attacks against it by false teachers. Just like your body’s defense system. If you have an issue with your immune system, then you are much more likely to get sick. But those bacteria and viruses have more trouble taking hold if you have a strong immune defense.
Paul made this same point in Ephesians 4:14 stating, “as a result, 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 in deceitful scheming.” That was the danger they were facing in Colossae, and being encouraged and unified would allow them to attain and live by a full assurance of truth and so be able to resist the teachings of the heretics.
In verse 4, Paul gives his first direct warning about the dangers the false teachers were posing to them. “I say this in order that no one may delude you with persuasive argument.”
Heresy is always a constant danger to the believer because it usually comes disguised with the wrappings of supposed righteousness. That was true in the case of the Colossians, and it is still true today.
As Paul states in Colossians 3:23, they give “the appearance of wisdom,” and because of that they can delude or deceive by false reasoning. The arguments may seem logical and be presented with great persuasion with oratory skills used to change your thinking and beliefs – and often playing upon your emotions and desires to do so, but in the end, it is false and useless or even detrimental in truly knowing God and walking with Him.
Whether the deceptive teaching is done deliberately by false teachers or in ignorance by those who mean well, it doesn’t matter. Paul is seeking to keep them from being deluded and then straying from the path of truth. We will be expanding on this in the weeks to come as we look at Paul’s specific warnings.
Conclusion
In verse 5, Paul concludes this thought by confirming his personal concern for them. “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.” Paul was in Rome under guard awaiting his trial before Caesar so he could not be physically present in Colossae, nevertheless, he was with them in spirit indicating his concern and prayers on their behalf. And though he had just mentioned the dangers he saw they were facing, he also knew from Epaphras’ report that there were good things going on there as well for which he rejoiced. Paul is pleased with them because they are in good order and are firm in their faith.
But remember that Paul is talking in part to the church at Laodicea. Do you remember what Jesus had to say to them in the book of Revelation probably 30 years after this was written
Revelation 3:15-19 says, “I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.”
The work of Christian maturity will not be done until we see Jesus face to face. We must be diligent and encourage one another and struggle after Christ with the strength that he supplies.
What scares me most about Jesus’ word to Laodicea is that their spiritual lethargy is tied to their physical wealth. Let us beware the riches that we can mistake for God’s blessings that could in reality just be the bribery of the devil. Make sure to keep your face squarely on Jesus the author and perfecter of your faith so that when bad times come you don’t curse Him and when good times come you don’t forget Him.