A
BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER
Steve W. Reeves
INTRODUCTION:
A. To say we live in a "troubled world" is an understatement of immense proportions.
It seems that everywhere we turn there is conflict, pain and disappointments. Even in the
religious community there is disagreement and strife. Remember, Jesus said, “In the
world you will have tribulation but take heart, I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).
It seems that everywhere we turn there is conflict, pain and disappointments. Even in the
religious community there is disagreement and strife. Remember, Jesus said, “In the
world you will have tribulation but take heart, I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).
B. God’s people have always faced trouble. I want to look at a church of the first
century
that faced some severe threats from a flood
of false teaching. The church to which I
refer was located in a small town called
Colossae.
1. It is important to know something about
this church. Do you ever keep old letters?
In my file cabinets I have folders
containing correspondence from past years. There
are letters that I have written and
letters that I have received. Suppose you pulled a
letter out of those folders without any
knowledge of the author or recipient?
Suppose it was a letter addressing a
certain situation you were unfamiliar with? It is
possible you could read that letter and
come away with a completely erroneous
view of what it was actually saying.
Suppose you took one of those letters and
found a sentence that backed up an
argument you wanted to make and you began
quoting that sentence to validate your
point without any regard for the broader
discussion? Welcome to the world of modern American
Biblical interpretation.
2. Whenever we study a letter in the New
Testament (there are 28 of them
when
you count the 21 epistles {Romans through Jude} plus the letters to the seven
churches
mentioned in Revelation 2-3), it is critical to understand the context in
which they were written.
a.
Authorship.
b.
Audience.
c.
Historical setting. What were the cultural, social and religious backgrounds
that
were taking place at the time.
3. All of the letters in the New Testament
are important since they are inspired by
God (2 Timothy 3:16-17). All of the
letters address subjects that are important to the
church.
a.
If I want to read about faith I’d go to Romans and James.
b.
If I want to read about how we do church I’d go to Pastoral epistles like Titus
or
the letters to Timothy.
c.
If I want to understand how to deal with persecution I’d go to 1 and 2 Peter.
d.
If I want to understand why Christianity is superior to Judaism I’d go to
Hebrews.
e.
There are two letters that every Christian should know when it comes to
understanding the supremacy of Christ and
the importance of the church. These
are the letters of Ephesians and
Colossians. The two letters cover similar
subjects and seem to follow the same
outline.
1.) Both were written from Rome while
Paul was in prison.
2.) Both were written to churches in
the same geographic area.
3.) Both were written at about the
same time.
C.
Let’s consider some background of Colossians.
1. The beginning of the Colossian church is
linked with Epaphras.
a. Colossians 1:7 – just as you learned
it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond-
servant, who is a faithful servant of
Christ on our behalf.” He is also mentioned in
b. Colossians 4:12 – “Epaphras, who is
one of your number, a bondslave of Jesus
Christ, sends you his greetings, always
laboring earnestly for you in his prayers,
that you may stand perfect and fully
assured in all the will of God.”
c. Philemon 1:23 – “Epaphras, my fellow
prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you.”
2. Epaphras heard the gospel (perhaps in
Ephesus – Acts 19) and became a
missionary. He traveled up the Meander
river from Ephesus to another river
called the Lycos that flowed through a
volcanic valley occupied by three towns.
Colossae, Hierapolis and Laodicea Hierapolis and Laodicea were located on
opposite sides of the river just six
miles apart. Colossae was located about
twelve miles upstream. The Lycos river
had such a large concentration of chalk
that there were places where it had
formed a crust on the top of the river with the
water flowing underground. The valley
was known for sheep and for purple dye.
Each of these towns had at one time been
prosperous economically. By the mid
first century Colossae had fallen behind
its sister towns located downstream.
a. Epaphas was a church planter. He
started the congregation in Colossae. As time
passed difficulties arose which
prompted him to turn to Paul, who was
imprisoned in Rome (Colossians,
Ephesians, Philippians and Philemon are often
called, “Prison Epistles).
b. Though Paul had never been to
Colossae he wrote this letter to address some of
the issues the church was facing.
Those issues are relevant for us today.
1.) Who is Jesus?
2.) What do we need to do to have
salvation?
3.) How does this salvation affect
our daily lives?
D. Why
did Paul write this letter? There appear
to be three situations in Colossae that
were causing difficulty. All of them are
addressed in chapter 2.
1. Judaizers – insisted on adherence to the
Law of Moses. In 2:14 – “having canceled
out the certificate of debt consisting
of decrees against us, which was hostile to us;
and He has taken it out of the way,
having nailed it to the cross.”
2. Human philosophy – In 2:8 Paul wrote, “See
to it that no one takes you captive
through philosophy and empty deception,
according to the tradition of men,
according to the elementary principles
of the world, rather than according to
C hrist.”
3.
Gnosticism – from the Greek word, “Gnosis” meaning “knowledge.”: Gnostics
were a group who wanted to combine the
gospel with Greek philosophy. Gnostics
affirmed that Jesus was divine but would
not recognize that He was a man because
they did not believe deity could have
direct contact with corrupt flesh. They believed
that with special knowledge you could
climb a ladder of understanding and through
vicarious means have a relationship with
God.
D. How
did Paul combat this? How did he build a bridge over troubled waters? He
showed them who Jesus really is.
1. Jesus is the image of God and creator of
all things.
2. Jesus is the pre-existent sustainer of
all things.
3. Jesus is head of the church. – a prevent thought in Colossians and Ephesians.
4. Jesus is the firstborn from the dead.
5. Jesus is the fullness of Deity in bodily
form. To see Jesus is to see God.
6. Jesus is the reconciler between God and
man.
E. As
Paul began this letter in 1:1-11 he expressed his prayer for the Christians at
Colossae. Wouldn’t you love to have someone
like Paul praying for you? We need to
remember one another in our prayers at all
times. His prayer consisted of two parts.
I. A PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING - Vss.
1-8.
A. Many times our prayers are long on
requests and short on thanksgiving. A little
boy for his nighttime prayer sang the alphabet
song. “I just sent up letters and let
God put it together.” Many times our
prayers are long on “give me” and short on
“thank you.” Paul says, in verse 3 he
prayed continually with thanksgiving for them.
B. Paul expressed thankfulness regarding
four characteristics of the Colossian
church.
1. Their faith.
a. Vs. 4 - “Since we heard of your
faith in Christ Jesus and the love
which you have for all the saints.”
b. Legendary astronaut and former
U.S. Senator John Glenn once compared
faith in God to a pilot’s
reliance on his compass. “All who fly stake their lives
on their compass. They read it
in full faith that it will guide them where they
want to go. Likewise the
Christian places his destiny in the hands of God
assured that He will arrive at
the desired destination by his personal faith in
the guiding influence of
Christ.”
2. Their love.
a. Vs. 4 – “the love which you have
for all the saints.”
b. This was a young church already
known for its love of one another. They
understood Jesus’ great command
(Mt. 22:37-39). They understood Jesus’
new command (John 13:34-35). They
understood the inseparable link
between love of others and love
of God (1 John 4:20-21).
3. The hope.
a. In vs. 5.Paul mentions their
hope, “laid up in heaven.”
b. Martin Luther said, “I would not
give one moment of heaven for all the joys and
riches of the world even if they
lasted thousands and thousands of years.”
c. People are looking for hope. They
should see it in us.
4.
Their spiritual growth.
a. Vss.7-8 – “Just as you learned it
from Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond-
servant, who is a faithful servant
of Christ on our behalf, 8 and he also
informed us of your love in the
Spirit.”
b. When physical growth does not
occur in a child we recognize there is a
problem. Are we as alarmed when
we fail to see spiritual growth in our lives or
in the lives of others? Are we concerned
when the church is not growing
spiritually? Paul was certainly
concerned about the spiritual growth of these
relatively new Christians.
II. A PRAYER OF ANTICIPATION – Vss.
9-11
A. Paul prayed for their continued growth
and improvement. I believe he would do the
same for us. After all, the biggest room
in your home is the room for improvement.
This was true of the church in Colossae.
It is true of your church, too.
B. Paul expressed his hope that these
Christians would grow in four ways.
1. Their wisdom – vs.9. Do you remember
what James said about wisdom in James
1:3?
2. Their walk with God – vs. 10 – “so
that you will walk in a manner worthy of the
Lord, to please Him in all
respects.” Paul’s use of the metaphor “walk,” is similar
to Ephesians 4-5 where he uses it
five times (4:1, 17; 5:2. 8.15).
3. Their work – vs. 10 – “Bearing fruit
in every good work.” How is your work ethic
regarding spiritual matters? We are
always concerned when we see someone
who does not have a wholesome work
ethic. Should we not have similar concern
regarding spiritual work?
4. Their knowledge – vss. 10-11 – “increasing
in the knowledge of God and
strengthened in His power and
might.”
CONCLUSION
A.Paull
realized that the seriousness of the problems in Colossae required strong
teaching and admonition. He also realized
the importance of laying a foundation of
love and hope.
1. He had never met most of these people.
2. Words
of admonishment and discipline must be always be spoken in love. To the
Ephesians Paul wrote that we are to
“speak the truth in love” (Eph. 4:15).
B. Our
relationship with God provides a bridge over troubled waters. Do you have such
a relationship through your faith in Jesus
Christ? Will you come to Him in faith,
repentance and baptism? Will you surrender
everything to Him so thtat He can lift you
above the troubled waters of this world?
