Colossians 2:1-5 –
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.
Introduction
In our passage for this morning, Paul continues to describe how hard he worked to bring the Word of God to bear in the lives of others. He did so because he loved them and because he believed with all he had that God’s Word is so precious and powerful and transformative that sharing it with the world is worth every ounce of energy he had.
He also did so because he knew that where God’s Word is taught in truth and received in faith, there is the treasure of encouragement, love, assurance, joy, and unity. Conversely, he did so because he also knew that wherever competing claims have taken hold, there is the misery of discouragement, division, doubt, corrosion, ignorance, and death.
The big idea of the sermon is that hard work for the things of God is a feature, not a flaw of a godly life. Predictably, the main takeaway is to learn to understand and love God and His Word such that we’re compelled to work hard at living it out for the sake of the world.
Moms, this isn’t anything like an ordinary Mother’s Day message, but I think you’ll find a good deal of clarity and hope for the hard work of your mothering in this passage and message.
Paul Greatly Struggled on Behalf of Others (1)
I wonder, what is the hardest you’ve ever worked? Have you ever felt like you were truly at the end of yourself on a physical level; like you worked so hard, you were on the verge of collapse?
Similarly, what’s the longest you’ve worked the hardest for? Have you ever worked really hard for days, months, or years for something?
And probably most importantly, what kinds of things have you determined are worth working your hardest for? What have you found to be valuable enough to work at with significant sacrifice and to the point of exhaustion?
For the most part, our current cultural mindset seems to be that the main things worth working hard at are avoiding hard work and worldliness. But that’s a different sermon for a different day. My point here is to draw your attention to the Apostle Paul’s hard work, and especially what he worked hard for.
Previously, we saw that Paul toiled and struggled to bring the gospel to everyone (1:29). In our passage, he picks up where he left off. You may remember that the Greek word translated “toil” indicates working to near exhaustion. And if you remember that, you probably also remember that the Greek word for “struggle” is even more severe still. To struggle in that sense is to work past exhaustion to the point of agony.
Consider then Paul’s new modifier, “For I want you to know how great a struggle I have…”. He worked past the point of exhaustion, past the point of agony, to the point of great/excruciating agony.
As I mentioned last week, that included ~10,000 miles of foot and water travel, preaching, teaching, debating, counseling, negotiating, rebuking, disciplining, encouraging, writing, tentmaking (he was bi-vocational), and all without a home base, without much sleep, often without food and water, with constant persecution and regular imprisonments, and all of that continually for ~30 years.
We know from this letter (beginning right at the beginning and all the way to the end) that his primary work for others was prayer. His great struggle took the form of nearly constant prayer for his readers.
Twice already, Paul has made it clear that God strengthened him for that work, but that wasn’t apart from Paul’s great struggle.
We’ll come back to who and what it was that Paul greatly struggled for in a bit, but for now, two things…
First, not everything is worth working this hard for, but there most certainly are things that are. We all need to have a category for things worth working towards until we have nothing left. As long as we live in this fallen, broken, cursed, and largely disordered world, and as long as we live under the dominion mandate, the Great Commandment, and the Great Commission, there will be things we need to pour ourselves out for (“as a drink offering” (Philippians 2:17)), both physically and spiritually.
In this world, God’s design is leisure for work, not work for leisure. The rhythm of creation is 6 days of labor and one day of rest. And while we aim at “bearing [good, gospel, God-prescribed] fruit in every good work,” the expectation is inefficiency, difficulty, and injustice, no matter our work (Genesis 3:17-19). In other words, most of us would do well to do a bit of recalibrating concerning our understanding of the role of hard work in the life of a Christian. It is a feature, not a flaw of a godly life.
Moms, on this Mother’s Day, you know this better than most. Good mothering is among the hardest work there is. There are few things more demanding, more constant, and with more at stake. But know this as well, there are few things more worthy of your best efforts and hardest work. If you are working hard as a mom, according to God’s design, you are working hard at one of the most important and significant tasks available to mankind. Do not let the world or your own inner voice tell you otherwise.
That leads to the second thing I want you to notice from the beginning of v.1. For Paul, greatly struggling toward his God-given charge was both success and reward. This will become clearer as we make our way through the passage and letter, but a well-lived life works hard at the things of God and rejoices in the certainty of God’s pleasure in us as we do.
As you all know, moms, your best efforts and hardest work can often feel like two steps forward and three steps back. And that can feel like failure. But the results are up to God, not you. You cannot save or sanctify your kids no matter how many prayers you pray, passages you read over them, verses you have them memorize, or how consistently you disciple and discipline them.
Again, moms, learn from Paul that your task and your success is faithfulness in giving to your kids that which God has called you to. Work hard at those things (repent of not doing so if need be and rest in the forgiveness that is already yours in Christ). But as you do so, in the strength God provides, rest and rejoice in the knowledge that you do so in God’s pleasure.
What’s true of motherhood is true of every aspect of a godly life. Our job and success, Grace, is working hard to live lives of faithfulness to God’s design, not to produce a particular result. Like Paul, work hard—really hard—for the gospel-good of others. And then rest well—really well—in the mighty hand and sweet pleasure of God in Christ.
Paul Wanted Them to Know How Great his Struggle Was for Them (1)
Paul greatly struggled on behalf of a group of people, and he wanted them to know it. I find that fascinating and not a little counter-intuitive.
“For I want you to know how great a struggle I have…”.
The first thought that comes to my mind when I read that is Matthew 6:1-4.
“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. 2 Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Jesus told his followers to do good for others “in secret.” But in our passage, Paul was announcing his good work. He even went beyond simply telling his readers that he was struggling for them. He also told them how great the struggle was.
Why was that and why is it not a violation of Jesus’ charge?
Simply and encouragingly, Jesus’ prohibition was not against talking about our good works. It was about doing so for self-glory; for the praise of others. But that was certainly not what Paul was after. He did not want his readers to know of his great struggle on their behalf so they would think much of him. He wanted them to know so that they would see how much he thought of God and join him in his hard work. He wanted them to recognize the severity of his suffering on their behalf so his rejoicing in it would reveal how much greater God is than comfort. And he wanted them to follow in his example.
As a new Christian I remember feeling weird about reading my Bible in front of other people. I was concerned they’d think I was doing so to show off. Maybe I would have been. But I also remember seeing my brother-in-law read his Bible in the middle of a crowded room a few times and thinking what a good example it was. This is like that.
Paul greatly struggled on behalf of a group of people and he wanted them to know it so they would do likewise. Let us follow his example. Let us give ourselves to the things of God, let us work really hard at them, let us rejoice in the opportunity to honor God in our faithfulness no matter the cost, and let us invite others to join us in it all; not so they think much of us, but so they think much of the God who is worthy.
So, who was this group of people Paul was greatly struggling for?
Paul Struggled for Strangers (1, 5)
Really quickly, let’s take a minute to get our heads around the situation represented in v.1. Paul toiled, struggled, and greatly struggled—worked to the point of agonizing exhaustion; spent nearly all his energy—for a group of people and he wanted them to know it. He was after something on behalf of others such that he poured himself out for them. Before we consider what he was after on their behalf, let’s consider who he was after it for.
And to get our heads around that, let me ask you who you would do that for? Is there anyone? Few people are willing to work as hard as Paul did even for their own gain. Far fewer still are willing to do so for the gain of others. But if you were willing to work like that on behalf of someone else, who would it be?
Again, on Mother’s Day, we have a church filled with godly women who are living answers to that question. Moms, thanks for providing us with the example of working to the point of pain and exhaustion on behalf of your kids. Grace is also filled with husbands and fathers who do so on behalf of their wives and kids. There are still more people here who have laid their lives down in very real ways to serve our missionaries.
As exemplary as many of you are in this regard, there’s a common thread in most of it. For the most part, if we’re willing to work that hard for someone, it’s for someone we know and love. That is, of course, a very good thing. It is a clear demonstration of God’s glory and goodness whenever we lay our lives down for someone like that.
But that’s not mainly who Paul was greatly struggling for; it was not for his family or friends or other close relational connection. Who, then, was he suffering for?
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…“
He was struggling for strangers. He was struggling this greatly, primarily for people he’d never even met! Remember, he’d never been to Colossae or Laodicea (~ 9 miles away).
V.5 gives us a bit more context into who he was struggling so greatly for, “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.”
It’s interesting that Paul chose to use the word “see” (“…rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith…”) for people he hadn’t seen, but the point is straightforward: Though largely strangers, these were fellow believers in Jesus. Paul was working really hard for faithful brothers and sisters in Christ, even though he didn’t know them.
In a lot of ways, that’s the heart of missions week. It’s meant to cultivate a similar gospel-produced love in us for stranger saints around the world, such that we might give at great cost to ourselves for their gospel-gain. That’s the heart of being a good church in this community. I’d guess combined, we might know 20% of the people who live within a 10 mile radius of Grace Church, but we want to work really hard to lovingly bring God’s Word to bear on the other 80%, according to Paul’s example.
God is that glorious. The Word of God is that critical. The gospel is that good of news. The love of God is that compelling. The strength of God is that powerful. The grace of God is that essential. That for the sake of the good of strangers, we work past the point of exhaustion to agony.
Paul’s Reasons for Greatly Struggling for Strangers (2-4)
Finally, to what end was Paul greatly struggling for a group of people he loved, even though he’d never met and was far away from? What was he after on their behalf? What form did his love for them take?
As I said earlier, not everything, not even every good thing, is worth working to the point of agonizing exhaustion for. But if not for ok and good things, what did Paul greatly struggle for on behalf of the Colossians, Laodiceans, and many he’d never seen? He explicitly names four things in our passage.
- For them not be deluded with plausible arguments that were inconsistent with God’s Word
- For their hearts to be encouraged
- For their hearts knit together in love
- For them to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding in Christ
Encouraged Hearts (2)
The first thing explicitly named by Paul, for which he greatly struggled on behalf of stranger saints, was “that their hearts would be encouraged.”
This means what you probably think it means. To be a Christian at the time of Paul’s letter to the Colossians was just about anything but easy, comfortable, or encouraging. At best it meant people thinking you were strange. At worst it meant being disowned by your family and your life being in danger.
For the early Church, outside of the love from within the Church, virtually everything on earth was in a discouragement conspiracy against them. Paul told his readers that he was giving all of himself to work against that; to work for their encouragement; to lift up their countenance; to bring them comfort.
He did so by earnest prayer, by teaching truth, by sharing stories of the faithfulness of the Church around the world, by taking up offerings for those in need, and by being a good example of living in light of the treasure Jesus is.
Let’s consider how we might do this for one another and all the saints, Grace. What can you do to encourage the hearts of the weary among us? What could you work really hard at to bring comfort to the hurting?
We have several members who are homebound for health reasons. Consider writing or calling or visiting them regularly. Or all three.
There are also many among us who have experienced significant loss recently. Consider how you might work hard to encourage them. What costly thing might you do to bring the peace of Christ to them? Could you invite them over for dinner and serve their favorite meal? Could you take the time to share with them of a particular comfort you’ve found in the Lord? Could you sit and pray with them, listening well as they grieve?
And there are many among us who feel beat down and discouraged. Who have fallen into doubt or sin. Who feel alone or isolated. Are you willing to greatly struggle on their behalf? If so, how? Would you be vulnerable enough to share your own sins and struggles? Would you write out the promises of God they might cling to? Would you commit to texting them steadily at times you know they’re prone to temptation and discouragement? Would you fast and pray for the women who would love to be moms, but aren’t yet? Would you offer to babysit, for free for those who are moms but are feeling overwhelmed in their motherhood?
Paul gives us an example of all of those things and more. Let us follow his example, in the same power, and with the same treasure.
Hearts Knit Together in Love (2)
In a similar way, the second explicit thing Paul worked so hard for was to see the saints “being knit together in love.”
2 … being knit together in love…
He worked to help believers understand and experience God’s love for them and to cultivate in them love for one another. As that happened, Paul knew they’d be knit together (built up in unity, affection, mission, provision, etc.) as well.
The fullness of our building on Sunday mornings is a good opportunity to put this into practice. It is easy in our flesh to think mainly in terms of how hard parking is or how awkward it is to have to sit so close to strangers or how disconnected it feels to have to sit on the fellowship hall side. It is easy in our flesh to think in terms of getting here early to stake out our spot. It is easy in our flesh to stay home or look for a more convenient place to worship on Sundays. But those things are almost certainly rooted in something other than love for others and will almost certainly do far more to tear apart than to knit together.
Consistent with Paul’s example, let us instead work hard to make Sunday mornings as much of a blessing as possible for others, and especially newer members and guests. Let us be glad to park further away and give up our seats if necessary. Perhaps one of you might start a valet ministry for the senior saints among us.
Further still, and even more consistent with Paul’s example still, consider doing all you can to build up our missionaries in every way you can. What if you were to call one of them and ask what their biggest gospel dream is and start working hard to help them in it? Imagine how much knitting together that would mean for your hearts.
When we give ourselves to selfish ambition—that is, to looking out for our own interests and satisfying the desires of our flesh—we will tear one another apart. But when we love one another—that is, when we are eager to give ourselves to get that which is best for one another—we will be increasingly knit together.
This is certainly true in the Church and it is equally true in the home. Moms, you have the opportunity in your every decision to love your flesh or your family. And from that decision, you have the opportunity to tear apart or knit together. Once again, I’m so thankful that so many of you love so well, so often. It is a blessing beyond measure to be a member in and a pastor of a church that has so many displays of knitting-together love. (And even more so to have a savior who paid for our sins of failing to do so.)
Interestingly, Paul speaks of being encouraged and knit together in love before full assurance of understanding (next point). I’m certain that there are 50 things to unpack in that, but I just want to briefly name one.
Grace, if you want to know Christ, His will for you, and the certainty of your salvation in Him, you cannot be consumed with selfishness, conflict, and isolation. There is a kind of understanding and assurance that are unavailable to those who are discouraged, divided, and without love. We need each other to know the fullness of the knowledge, wisdom, and assurance in Christ!
All the Riches of Full Assurance of Understanding in Christ (2)
That leads to the third thing Paul considered worthy of working at, to the point of exhausting agony, on behalf of stranger-saints. He did so that they might “2 … 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.”
In the beginning of his letter to them, Paul shared his prayer for them, “That you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding” (1:9) “increasing in the knowledge of God” (1:10). He referred to it as “the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (1:27). He continued by explaining to them that He not only prayed that over them, but also worked really hard to bring it to them.
Paul earnestly, wanted them to know the will of God for their lives; to know how to live as God intended. He wanted them to be able to live, not with doubt or confusion, but with the kind of clarity and full assurance that could weather any storm and recognize and reject any false teaching. He wanted them to know how incalculably and unparalleledly valuable those things are (“all the riches!!!”).
And above all, Paul knew that Jesus is the beginning and end of wisdom and knowledge. He knew that to get Jesus wrong is to get everything else wrong. And so he worked really, really, really hard to share the understanding and knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, with the stranger saints.
Moms, give your kids Jesus. Give them the truth about Him. Teach them that God’s Word as the only sure revelation of Jesus. Show them how to look for and depend upon the truths of Jesus revealed in God’s Word. Help them to learn and love a life marked by trusting in and following Jesus. Teach them the nature and assurance of salvation that is in Christ’s work alone. Don’t just tell them these things, model them. And above all, show them how to fight in faith to do all of this because Jesus is the greatest treasure.
Let me quickly remind you of something concerning this point. It’s beautifully captured in Psalm 67, “May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all the nations.”
The simple point I want to make is that while knowledge of God’s way and salvation are worthy of working with all we have, for as long as it takes, to give to others, no amount of our work can give those things to others. They (knowledge of His way and saving power in Psalm 67; full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery in Colossians 2) come only according to the gracious blessing of God. God will make His face to shine upon us or we will not get those things no matter how hard anyone works to give them to us. God often uses the hard, evangelistic, missional, pastoral, work of His people to give those things to others, but it is always God who gives them.
Once again, remember that, moms. Remember that, Church. And as you do, remember to work hardest in prayer as you seek those things for your kids and friends and neighbors and strangers.
Undeluded with Plausible Arguments (4)
Finally, Paul worked really hard not only so that his readers would know true things, but also to prevent them from being deceived by lies.
4 I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments.
The primary aim of Paul’s letter was to help his readers persevere in their faith in the face of persecution and false teaching. The primary persevering power he offered them was the glorious truth of God’s grace in Jesus.
But he also addressed a few of the false teachings that confronted his readers. We’ll come to them later in the chapter, but for now see clearly that one aspect of gaining knowledge of the truth of Christ is forsaking all false claims. And one aspect of the hard work we need to give ourselves to is helping others recognize the severe consequences of living by lies, no matter how plausible they sound.
Conclusion
The big idea of the sermon is that hard work for the things of God is a feature, not a flaw of a godly life.
Having said that, and certainly meant it, it’s important to remind you all that working hard at the things of God, in a manner pleasing to God, is the fruit of our salvation, not the cause of it. Indeed, it is not by (hard) works that we are saved, but by grace through faith in Jesus (Ephesians 2:8-9). And yet, we are saved to do the good works given to us by God (Ephesians 2:10).
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Predictably, then, the main takeaway is to learn to understand and love and trust God’s Word such that we’re compelled by the transforming power of the Spirit in us to work hard at living it out for the sake of the world.
Let us work hard, therefore, Grace, moms, especially at encouraging one another, knitting one another together in love, helping one another gain all the riches of full assurance of understanding and knowledge of Christ, and to avoid every ungodly way of thinking. And let us work hard to bring all of those things to the whole world through Christ, for the glory of the triune God. He is worthy. He alone is worthy.