Suffering and Struggle (Colossians 1.24 - 2.5)

Introduction

There was a man approaching middle age whose life was very comfortable and he felt an emptiness inside, a longing for something more. So he decided to join a monastery.

The Abbot told him that the road ahead was going to be very difficult. He would have to give up all his earthly possessions, all comforts, pray all day and remain totally silent. He was only allowed to say two words every five years.

Five years go by and the Pope comes to visit. “How’s it going?” he says and the man replies, “Bed hard.” So the Pope says, “Terribly sorry, we didn’t know. I’ll ask the Abbot to find you a mattrass from the charity shop.”

Five years later the Pope comes back again. “How are you my son, is everything OK now?” The man replies, “Food cold.” So the Pope says, “Ah, I do apologise, I’ll see to it personally that your porridge is at least lukewarm in future.”

Five more years pass by and the Pope comes back a third time. “Is everything well now?” The man says, “I quit.” So the Pope says, “Well of course you quit, I’m not surprised. You’ve been here 15 years and all you’ve done is complain!”

It may surprise you to hear this, but suffering and hardship and struggle are actually standard components of the Christian life.

Jesus promised his disciples they would have big trouble in this world. But he also promised that nothing and no one would take away their joy and that that his joy would be in them, and that this joy would be full.

And these two things, relentless opposition and invincible joy, are not contradictory.

Last week, Michael preached on the first part of Colossians 1 which outlines in stunning and sparkling clarity the reign and command and authority and sovereignty of Christ over all things.

It is one of the mountain peaks of the New Testament and the view it gives us of Christ’s supremacy is simply breathtaking.

But the verses immediately following, which we will look at today, bring us down with a bump.

The last thing you would think Paul would talk about, after that amazing description of Christ’s incomparable greatness, is suffering, and affliction, and how brutal life can be. But that is exactly what he does. 

Here’s what it says.

Now I [underline this word] rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness – the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles [that is all the nations of the world] the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.

I want you to know how hard I am contending for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.  I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and [note this word after all his talk of suffering, affliction and sweaty hard work] delight to see how disciplined you are and how firm your faith in Christ is.

Prayer…

Afflictions Are Included

The great 20th Century preacher Martyn Lloyd-Jones once said, “There is no grosser or greater misrepresentation of the Christian message than that which depicts it as offering a life of ease with no battle and struggle at all... sooner or later every believer discovers that the Christian life is a battleground, not a playground.”

Smith Wigglesworth, the illiterate plumber from Bradford who became an apostolic leader with extraordinary faith, and a ministry of amazing signs and wonders, including reportedly raising 14 people from the dead, put it this way: “Great faith comes only from great fights, great testimonies from great tests, and great triumphs only from great trials.”

He had a remarkable way with words for someone who couldn’t read or write.

I’m a bit of a grumbler at times. I confess that I like a good moan. I know, to my shame, that if I spent as much time praying as I do grumbling, before long there would be nothing left to grumble about. I know that, but still I do it. But complaining and griping are not appropriate responses to trials and troubles for Christians.

In fact, the Bible says, “Do everything without grumbling or arguing” because when you do so “you will [stand out and] shine among [your warped and crooked generation] like stars in the sky.

It’s saying there that people notice your positivity under pressure.

The Soviet dictator Stalin was paranoid about any perceived threat to his authority. Many intellectuals were subjected to forced labour under his purges.

Evgenia Ginsburg was one of them; she was an atheist Jewish academic and for 18 years she was detained in a Siberian gulag.

In her autobiography Journey into the Whirlwind, she recalls a time when she had to work as a tree logger. One bitterly cold day (it was -10°C) she remembers a group of Christians requesting not to work but to spend the day in prayer because it was Easter Sunday.

They said to the soviet prison guards, “We will do overtime and complete today’s work tomorrow. Can we pray today?” Their request was refused, and they were prodded with rifle buts back into the forest to continue their work.

But when they got there, they quietly put down their axes and sat down together to pray. When they were seen doing this, they were beaten up and dragged out onto a frozen lake, made to take their shoes and socks off, and stand on the ice barefoot.

And Evgenia Ginsburg, this atheist intellectual, was deeply moved and affected by what she witnessed. She marvelled at how these believers stood there barefoot but dignified on the ice, heads bowed in prayer.

After a while, all the other prisoners begged the guards through tears to stop this cruelty because it went on for hours and they genuinely wondered if anyone could survive it.

But then Ginzburg reflected on the remarkable fact that nobody, not one, who had stood for so long on that ice became sick.

None complained. They counted themselves blessed to be able to celebrate Christ’s resurrection together. It’s a memory that never left her.

That’s an extreme case, but as we’re going to see this morning, the normal, appropriate Christian response to hardship and adversity, wherever we live, whoever we are, is joy and delight, not complaining and grumbling.

As we move from chapter 1 into chapter 2 of Colossians, in just a few verses, Paul mentions suffering, afflictions, strenuously contending and hard struggle.

But the passage begins with Paul saying he rejoices because of it and it ends with him talking about his delight in spite of it.

We’ll delve into all that in a minute, but first we need to get to grips with probably the hardest thing to understand in the whole letter. Maybe it jarred a bit for you when I read it just now.

It’s in v24 where Paul says, “I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church.”

What on earth is that about? How can there be anything lacking in Christ’s afflictions?

Jesus’ death, his unique giving of himself on the cross, made a full, perfect and sufficient sacrifice, offering and satisfaction for the sins of the whole world” as the Anglican Book of Common Prayer puts it.

How can there possibly be anything still lacking? What does this even mean?

The answer is that Christ’s suffering for sin on the cross is indeed complete. He himself said from the cross, “It is finished.”

Hebrews 10 explains that Christ’s death is once for all. It is all over. It is complete and all-sufficient to cleanse us thoroughly and comprehensively from every foul stain of sin and perfect us forever.

So Paul is not talking about Christ’s redemptive sufferings then, he’s talking about Christ’s ongoing afflictions now. Did you know that Christ still suffers today?

 To help you get your mind round that, think of an expectant mother in labour.

One of the things I found remarkable when witnessing our four children being born is that the extreme physical pain Kathie endured seemed to completely vanish as soon as the baby was in her arms.

It actually made me a little bit suspicious that she had suffered any pain at all. Wait a minute… What if she was just putting it on? Like a footballer rolling around, feigning injury to deceive the referee into awarding a penalty...

All I can say is I very much regret sharing that theory with Kathie before hastily retracting every word!

But here’s the thing; though the labour pains are now over and forgotten as soon as the baby is born, the glorious new era of dirty nappies, colic, sore nipples, endless crying, sleepless nights, projectile vomiting and all the rest was just beginning!

Likewise, Christ’s once-for-all suffering is over. Through it we are born again through faith. Oh, happy day, when Jesus washed my sins away!

But whenever the church is attacked and afflicted, Christ is too.

That’s why when Saul was converted on the Damascus Road Jesus said, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” Saul was actually persecuting Christians, but whenever anyone does that, Jesus says, “it’s not you they’re rejecting, it’s me.”

I wonder if you’ve ever thought of it that way before?

So what it’s saying here in v24 is this; Christ still suffers affliction now whenever his church is rejected and attacked (as Jesus said it would be). And Paul says, “I’m happy to share in these afflictions because they actually make the church stronger, not weaker.

Like in Acts 5 when the apostles are given a beating for preaching Christ, having been ordered not to, and they come out rejoicing for being counted worthy of suffering disgrace for his name.

James makes a similar point. “Consider it pure joy, [not drudgery, not misery, not misfortune] my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.”

I remember when our daughter got chicken pox. She was itching, tired, cranky and her pretty little face was covered in ugly red spots.

All I could say was, “My sweet darling Anna, it won’t always feel like this.” And, though she couldn’t understand, I knew that chicken pox was actually a blessing to be thankful for, because all the while it was giving her immunity.

Marks of True Leaders

I read a news report this month about a pastor in Missouri who had to apologise to his congregation after throwing a tantrum and insulting them from his pulpit. He was upset because they had not honoured him with a luxury watch.

By contrast, if we were to examine the Apostle Paul’s body, on the evidence of 2 Corinthians 10, we’d see traces on his wrists and ankles from iron shackles, we’d find marks from severe floggings, we’d uncover a back that had been subjected to 39 lashes on 5 separate occasions, (that’s 195 scars), we’d find bruises from being beaten with sticks, evidence of stoning and a face that cannot mask a life of frequent sleepless nights, constant danger and daily pressures.

No wonder, at his conversion, God said, “This man is my chosen instrument… I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

Yes, but why did Paul say, “I rejoice in my sufferings”?  Was it some kind of weird, ascetic masochism?

In the Middle Ages people used to wear shirts of rough animal hair to irritate the skin. At the time of the plague, bizarrely, people used to whip themselves as an expression of piety.

People subjected themselves to the pointless misery of climbing stairs on their knees in the hope of making themselves worthy.

This is not that. It's not about joining a monastery and only being able to say two words every five years.

Paul tells us in this passage why he was so willing to work hard, sweat blood, pour out his life, and share in Christ’s afflictions. It was his passion, under God, to work with all his might to build mature, solid, strong and resilient churches.

Have confidence in leaders who are conscious of God’s call on them to pour out their lives to shepherd God’s people and build up the church. Avoid those who always seem to gravitate to a life of comfort and ease.

Paul never tired of labouring to make the church healthier and stronger. That’s the benchmark for church leadership.

In v25 he talks about the commission God gave him to present the word of God in its fullness.

It wasn’t a career move he just decided on one day; “I know; I’ll go into the ministry to add a little bit more religion to people’s lives.” No, God called him and appointed him.

In v28 he talks about proclaiming, admonishing [that means warning] and teaching everyone with all wisdom, with the aim of presenting everyone fully mature in Christ.

And we need admonishments by the way. Practically everything you buy seems to carry some kind of warning and some are a bit silly. For example:

Sainsbury’s peanuts: ‘Warning – Contains nuts’. Nytol Night Time Sleep-Aid: ‘Warning – May cause drowsiness’. On a household DIY drill: ‘Not intended for use as dentist drill.’

Aren’t you glad they told you that? But because so many warnings seem ridiculous to us, we sometimes feel like ignoring all of them.

Like a survivor flagging down cars on a foggy day that are heading towards an accident, the Bible often warns us of dangers because is more loving to tell us the truth even if we don’t want to listen.

Good leaders are not afraid to tell you what you don’t want to hear even if it makes them unpopular.

In v2-3 Paul talks about his goal to see a church encouraged in heart and united in love, with understanding, knowing Christ, where treasures of wisdom and knowledge are found.

The church is God’s Plan A for blessing and bringing salvation to the world. There isn’t a Plan B.

When a church is doing well, when lost people are getting saved, and broken people are being healed, and lonely and excluded people are finding community and God is in the midst of it, it’s a thing of unparalleled beauty.

That’s why it was Paul’s ambition to give everything he had to see his churches flourish.

And he says in v4 that a church which is robust and discipled and well-taught and stable won’t get taken in by fine sounding arguments, smooth talk, which might sound nice enough, they might even be set to a pretty tune, but bad teaching will only make the church sick before eventually killing it. 

Fine-sounding arguments; there are new ones in every generation. The very first was in the Garden of Eden when Eve was asked, “Did God really say?” 

There are plenty of 21st Century ones; and you can get into big trouble for opposing some of them. It’s my right to choose. Love is love. My identity is who I say I am, not who everyone can see I am. All religions have the same God, they perceive him in different ways. There are many more. 

Tragically, boarded up churches up and down the land are the legacy of fine-sounding arguments replacing God’s word in the pulpit as well as the pews.

But Paul says, “No, I want you to know Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

Ending

As I end, I want to say that I’m conscious that I’ve spoken about levels of suffering today that are way beyond what we are likely to have to go through here.

It reminds me a bit of what the former Bishop of Durham Tom Wright once observed. “Wherever Saint Paul went, there was a riot” he said. “Wherever I go, they serve me tea.”

We do not suffer like our brothers and sisters in North Korea or Nigeria do. But I do want to say that we are all called to be courageous and steadfast and immoveable from the gospel in whatever circumstances God puts us in.

Remember, our afflictions are absolutely not in contradiction to Christ’s supremacy over all things. He is sovereign. He does and will work everything together for good for you if you love God, and are called according to his purpose.

Do you need to tighten your grip on that truth today?

Remember, by cheerfully bearing hardship, instead of grumbling and complaining about our lot, we bring glory to God and stand out like stars in the night sky.

Do you need to receive more grace today and a new anointing of joy for when life gets really hard?

And remember, the local church is the hope of the world. It was Paul’s goal to pour out his life for a flourishing church and he did it joyfully. He said he strenuously contended for it with all the energy Christ so powerfully worked in him.

Do you need to renew your commitment to God’s great Plan A for the salvation of the world today? Do you need some of that same power at work in you?

Let’s stand to pray…

Sermon preached at King's Church Darlington, 25 September 2022

 

 

 

Bear Fruit and Grow (Colossians 1.3-14)

Introduction

Have you ever noticed that most of the New Testament is addressed to communities of believers rather than to individuals?

Most of the exhortations in the New Testament are plural, not singular.

When it says “be filled with the Spirit” for example, it means “be a Spirit-filled church” more than it means “be a Spirit-filled person.”

Imagine you’ve got a plate of chips in front of you straight out of the fryer, nice and crunchy on the outside, all fluffy on the inside. All they need is a bit of salt.

What difference do you think one grain of salt will make to the taste? What about a good sprinkle from the salt cellar?

Christian loners, who just do their own thing in isolation, are like a single grain of salt on your chips.

Ineffective. It is not God’s plan for us to live out our faith alone. He puts us in families of fellow believers.

Whenever a friend of mine visits another church, I always like to ask him or her, “How did you find it?”

And what I mean by that is not, “what was the building like?”, or “how many people were present?”, or “was the coffee OK?”, or “which songs did they sing?”

What I’m interested in is the spiritual temperature of the church.

In other words, was the atmosphere there full of faith and the Holy Spirit, or was it all religious and otherworldly?

Was the Bible teaching sound and substantial, or just motivational waffle? Was the worship Christ-exalting and passionate, or me-focused and shallow? Was the presence of God there, or did it feel like a club? Was it outward-looking and welcoming, or all a bit cliquey?

What do you think visitors would tell their friends about King’s?

And I say all this by way of introduction because our passage of scripture today, from Colossians 1, written to a church, not an individual, is all about these kinds of issues.

It’s about the personality of the church in Colossae and the impact it had on its town and region.

Let’s read together what it says. As always with Paul, it’s very condensed and tightly packed, with long sentences, so you have to switch on and focus.

We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people – the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which [faith, hope and love] you have already heard in the true message of the gospel that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world – just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace. You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, and who also told us of your love in the Spirit. For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Hearing About What God Is Doing

As far as we know, Paul never visited Colossae.

The nearest he got was when he planted a church in Ephesus, 120 miles away.

But he knew about this church because one of his Ephesian converts, called Epaphras, later took the gospel to his home town of Colossae.

And in all likelihood, the gospel spread from there into subsequent church plants in nearby Hierapolis and Laodicea.

But notice this remarkable thing; Paul never went anywhere near this church and yet he can say in v4, “We have heard of your faith... and your love.

In fact, three times in this short passage Paul says something like; “We’ve heard all about you” or “someone told us about you.”

So, it was a church with influence. There is something about what God was doing there that was newsworthy.

This church was talked about hundreds of miles away. I want to know, what was it about that little church that so impacted the wider region?

Growth and Fruitfulness

In v6 we get the answer; Paul says, “The gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world – just as it has been doing among you.”

This the story of AD history in fact.

Let me encourage you about how the gospel has multiplied all over the earth just in the last hundred years.

According to research published a decade years ago, over the last century, the number of people calling themselves Christians in China has increased from 2 million to 67 million. In the Philippines it has gone from 8 million to 87 million. And in sub-Saharan Africa it is up from 9 million to 516 million.

In all these places, and in many more, the gospel is still bearing fruit and growing.

As in the global church, one of the hallmarks of a local church, where God is at work, is that there is growth and fruitfulness.

In my experience, the harder a church prays, the more vigorously it grows.

In fact, Paul repeats this expression about fruit and growth in v10 when he prays for more of it.

“We continually ask God”, he says, “…that you may please the Lord in every way, bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God.”

God’s design and desire for you and me is that we advance in faith and produce a spiritual crop in such a way that people notice.

Let me ask you a direct question; are you growing in your Christian faith? Not ten years ago, or when you were a new Christian. I mean this year.

Do you have a growing appetite for God’s presence? Are you more able to forgive people who wrong you, as the Lord forgave you? Are you further on in God than you were this time last year? Are you asking God for more love for the loveless, more authority in faith, and more victorious joy in seasons of pain?

Growth and fruitfulness are indisputable evidence of spiritual health.

And by contrast, spiritual stagnation and unproductiveness are indications that something is wrong and needs fixing.

So what’s the secret of spiritual growth and abundant fruitfulness? Is there a kind of Holy Spirit Baby Bio or compost that promotes good spiritual health?

And v5-7 say here that there is.

It says here that when the gospel really makes its mark on a gathering of Christians, they in turn make an impression on their community.

It’s talking about the gospel of grace here. The gospel is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.

The gospel is the story of how God has loved you, predestined you, chosen you, called you, given you new birth, justified you and forgiven you.

It’s through the gospel that God gives you the obedience of faith.

And, as long as you hold on in faith, the gospel guarantees that God will unquestionably bring you to eternal joy in his glorious presence.

Your security as a believer is not dangling precariously by a thread over a precipice. It says here in v5 that it’s stored up for you in heaven.

Your eternal destination is dependent on God’s consistency, not yours, so whenever you find yourself wavering in your faith remember that.

This is the gospel. No wonder it means ‘good news.’ You did not initiate it, and you cannot add to it; it is complete and unimprovable. You can only accept it by faith or reject it.

Hear, understand, learn

So, what was it about these Colossians’ collective response to the gospel that meant they were growing and bearing fruit to such an extent that people heard about it hundreds of miles away?

If you read v5-7 carefully you’ll notice that they reveal a sequence, a progression. Watch closely.

In v5 and v6 (step 1) it says, “you heard the word of the gospel.”

In other words, somebody (probably Epaphras and his church planting team) communicated the good news about Jesus, your ears tuned in and it rang true, so you became interested. That’s wonderful.

But hearing the gospel is only the start. It’s not enough in itself.

I mean, I have heard all about pulsars, quasars, phantom energy, black holes and dark matter.

I have heard that these things in space are actually fundamental to the structure of the universe.

But I don’t really understand what they are. Don’t ask me.

I wonder if some of us here today are at this first stage with respect to the gospel; we’ve heard it and we kind of like the sound of it but we’ve never really understood it.

But a bit further on in v6, Paul says to these Colossians, about the gospel, (step 2) “You truly understood it.”

That is to say, the message of the gospel not only sounded attractive, there was a lightbulb moment.

You put the pieces together and it made all kinds of sense to you.

The spiritual realities of the seriousness of sin and the sweetness of grace came into focus and you said, “Ah, this is wonderful.”

This is why incidentally we work really hard on communicating the Bible here.

2 Timothy 4 says, “Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favourable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching. For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear.”

We take that seriously. It’s why we don’t settle for a 5-minute thought for the day on the back of an envelope or a rambling wittering-on about a strange dream I had last Wednesday. We preach God’s word.

It’s why we encourage everyone to be in a midweek group like leadership training, or the Tuesday morning Bible study, or a life group, a home group or Alpha.

We passionately want a community of disciples here, lifelong learners who understand their faith.

But there’s more. Understanding the gospel is not quite enough either.

I understand how planes fly. At least in theory. It’s physics and aerodynamics.

As long as thrust is greater than drag, producing lift that is greater than weight, a plane will inevitably get off the ground and stay in the sky.

It may seem improbable when you look at 265 tons of jumbo jet waiting on the tarmac, but it is a mathematical certainty.

I can understand that, even marvel at it, but I have never learned to actually fly a plane.

If you put me in the cockpit of a Boeing 747, this is what you’ll hear over the P.A. “Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. Welcome on board; you are going nowhere today!”

So in v7 we go beyond hearing, and even beyond truly understanding, fundamental though they are.

It says, (step 3) “You learned it.” Paul’s talking about life-related biblical training, not just theoretical theology.

Sound doctrine has morphed into ingrained personal experience. God's word shapes the way we think and speak and act.

That’s where these believers were. They had first heard, then understood, and finally really learned, fully grasped, the gospel of God’s grace.

Where do you think you are on that spectrum?

The truth about you and God’s eternal plan for your life – are you on step 1, (have you heard it and just begun to tune in?)

Or do you think you have progressed to step 2, (do you really understand it now?)

Or have you made it to step 3 yet, (have you properly learned and grasped the gospel so it is an integral part of who you are and affects what you do?)

You see, the difference between step 1 and step 2 is that you go from hearing stuff to knowing stuff.

And the difference between step 2 and step 3 is you go from knowing stuff to doing stuff.

As Kris Valatton says, “The difference between people who do things and people who don’t is that people who do things do things.”

I mentioned Epaphras earlier, this man who first took the gospel from Ephesus to Colossae, and established a new church there.

At the time Paul wrote this letter, he was in prison, and Epaphras was visiting him, bringing practical help and support.

In other words, Epaphras was a man who did things. This is how the early church flourished. Churches sent out leaders and teams, to plant churches or resource churches. They were people of action, who grew and bore fruit where they went.

It’s why we are sending out a team to Brasov, Romania, in a couple of weeks’ time. King’s is blessed with gospel-and-mercy-shaped DNA which hopefully multiplies wherever it goes.

What God has so graciously done among us, is too precious to keep to ourselves. And whenever we give it away, God pours even more back in. Jesus said, “Give, and it will be given to you – with an added bonus and a blessing.”

Our aim is that everyone here hears, understands and learns the gospel of grace so we are all growing and bearing fruit.

We know that the devil wants nothing more than for us to sit comfortably, get some popcorn and just enjoy the show.

But that is not the kind of church Jesus is building. He’s building a church that is passionate about becoming more like him in his character and ministering more like him in his anointed power.

Knowing God

There are few things more beneficial in life than knowing about God. But God doesn’t want you to just know about him, profitable as that is.

As many of you know, the New Testament was written in Greek and is translated for us into English.

The Greek word gnosis, meaning knowledge, refers to the kind of knowledge we acquire from experience.

So, if I wear a pair of trousers that causes everyone to point at me and fall about laughing, I know (gnosis) not to wear them again.

Gnosis is the root of words we use in English all the time. Diagnosis (I know what’s wrong with you). Prognosis (I know what the likely outcome of your treatment will be). And agnostic (I don’t know if there is a God or not).

But every now and then in the New Testament, we get the word epignosis, which also translates as knowledge, but it is subtly different.

You usually find it when it’s talking about Christians knowing God.

It literally means over-knowledge. It’s a kind of turbocharged knowing. It means really know.

It’s saying it’s not what we know that brings spiritual growth and fruitfulness but who we know.

And one of the places we find epignosis (twice in two verses) is right here in v9-10.

“We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God.”

God wants you to really know his will for you, his calling on your life, and he wants you to really know him.

Ending

So I’m going to end with the oratory of a gravel-voiced, African-American preacher and civil rights activist called S. M. Lockridge.

He once came up with this magnificent word picture of Jesus. And he kept challenging his audience; “do you know him?”

I wish I could do the voice because it’s spine-tingling, but I’m no actor I’m afraid.

This is what he said:

My king is a seven-way king. He’s the King of the Jews. He’s the King of Israel. He’s the King of righteousness. He’s the King of the ages. He’s the King of Heaven. He’s the King of glory. He’s the King of kings and He is the Lord of lords. But do you know him?

No means of measure can define His limitless love. No far-seeing telescope can bring into visibility the coastline of His shoreless supplies. No barrier can hinder Him from pouring out His blessings.

He’s enduringly strong. He’s entirely sincere. He’s eternally steadfast. He’s immortally graceful. He’s imperially powerful. He’s impartially merciful.

He’s God’s Son. He’s the sinner’s saviour. He’s the centrepiece of civilization. He stands alone in Himself. He’s august. He’s unique. He’s unparalleled. He’s unprecedented. He’s supreme. He’s pre-eminent. I wonder if you know him today?

He’s the loftiest idea in literature. He’s the highest personality in philosophy. He’s the supreme problem in higher criticism. He’s the fundamental doctrine of true theology. He’s the cardinal necessity of spiritual religion.

He’s the miracle of the age. He’s the superlative of everything good that you choose to call Him. He’s the only one able to supply all of our needs simultaneously. He supplies strength for the weak. He’s available for the tempted and the tried. He sympathizes and He saves. He’s guards and he guides.

He heals the sick. He cleanses lepers. He forgives sinners. He discharges debtors. He delivers captives. He defends the feeble. He blesses the young. He serves the unfortunate. He regards the aged. He rewards the diligent and He beautifies the meek. Do you know him?

Well, my King is the key of knowledge. He’s the wellspring of wisdom. He’s the doorway of deliverance. He’s the pathway of peace. He’s the roadway of righteousness. He’s the highway of holiness. He’s the gateway of glory.

He’s the master of the mighty. He’s the captain of the conquerors. He’s the head of the heroes. He’s the leader of the legislators. He’s the overseer of the overcomers. He’s the governor of governors. He’s the prince of princes. He’s the King of kings and He’s the Lord of lords. Do you know my king?

His office is manifold. His promise is sure. His life is matchless. His goodness is limitless. His mercy is everlasting. His love never changes. His word is enough. His grace is sufficient. His reign is righteous. His yoke is easy and His burden is light.

I wish I could describe him to you! I’m trying to tell you that the heaven of heavens can’t contain Him, let alone a man explain Him… You can’t outlive Him and you can’t live without Him.

The Pharisees couldn’t stand Him, but they found out they couldn’t stop Him. Pilate couldn’t find any fault in Him. The witnesses couldn’t get their testimonies to agree. Herod couldn’t kill Him. Death couldn’t handle Him and the grave couldn’t hold Him. Yes, but do you know him today?

He always has been and He always will be. He had no predecessor and He’ll have no successor. There’s nobody before Him and there’ll be nobody after Him. You can’t impeach Him and He’s not going to resign.

His is the kingdom and the power and the glory. Forever… and ever… and ever… And when you get through with all of the forevers, then Amen!

Let’s stand to pray…

Sermon preached at King's Church Darlington, 11 September 2022