"Understanding and Doing!"
A sermon preached on The Eighth Sunday after Pentecost, July 22, 2007 at Edgemont Chrsitian Church (Disciples of Christ) , by the Rev. Christopher E. Yopp. The sermon is based on Colossians 1:9-10, 15-28.
C. William Nichols shares in his book; Day by Day – Through the New Testament, the story of a pastor who woke up one Sunday morning to discover that a case of laryngitis had left him without a voice. What would he do? He thought to himself. Who would lead the service and preach the sermon in his place? After a moment of prayerful thought he phoned one of the elders in his church, who also happened to be a good friend of his. He struggled, in a hoarse whisper, to explain his dilemma and to plead for the elder’s help. Without hesitation the elder agreed to fill in for him.
In a simple and straightforward approach the elder presented to the congregation the simplistic, yet practical method he used when he read and studied the Bible. He said; "I always ask myself three questions when I read anything in the Bible: first, do I know what is says? Second, do I understand what it means? And third, am I willing to do what it demands?" It would be difficult to conceive a more effective way to get inside a scripture passage and apply it to one’s life. The leap between "knowing" and "understanding" is surpassed in importance only by the gulf between "understanding" and "doing."
The Apostle Paul attempts to help the Christians in Colosse bridge that important gulf in his epistle to them. He prays "that [they] may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that [they] may lead lives worthy of the Lord" (verses 9-10a). Knowing the will of God is not enough; nor is understanding the will of God enough. Certainly, these are essential in our walk of faith, but they are not enough. It is only when we complete the circle, so to speak, by applying the truth of God’s word and God’s will to our lives that God’s power becomes available to us.
Keep in mind, Paul wrote this letter while imprisoned in Rome. In fact, Paul had never had the opportunity to go to the church in Colosse. Epaphras, whom Paul met during his three-year stay in Ephesus, had founded the church. But over time, we see that within this church a form of heresy had evolved, commonly called "Colossian Heresy." Some scholars identify this heresy with an early form of gnosticism, which was a belief system that emphasized the importance of "secret knowledge" in attaining salvation. It had become a popular teaching later in the first and second century church. But the central tenet of this secret knowledge was that all matter, including the body, was evil and that only the spirit had any real value. Thus, they denied the idea that God – who is holy, became flesh. They denied the whole idea of the incarnation – one of the central teachings and doctrines of the church! However, Paul totally denounces such a teaching with his words here in the first chapter of Colossians and instead, stressed the divinity of Christ, as well as the humanity of Christ. This dual nature of Christ – fully God and fully man is known as Kenosis. And certainly, the teaching of Kenosis is found and supported throughout Scripture, and one such place is in our Scripture Lesson this morning. Here, Paul reminds us that Jesus is the one who teaches us the truth about God. It is in the person of Jesus Christ that God becomes known to us; that God becomes real and personal to us; that God becomes intimate with us. In fact, Paul writes; "[Christ] is the image of the invisible God." You know, this word "image" is the Greek word eikon, meaning "an exact likeness" or "an exact representation" and yet, this word is still so limiting when it comes to the nature of Christ.
In fact, Paul felt obligated to further define the nature and character of Christ. And so, not only does he define Jesus as the "image of the invisible God," but also "the firstborn of all creation..." Paul uses the Greek word prototokos here to stress the preeminence of Christ. In fact, his words mirror those of John who wrote; "In the beginning was the Word," which is to say, Jesus – and the word that John uses here is, Logos, which is the say the very "idea" or "understanding of God." John goes on to write; "…and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made." But John doesn’t stop there and neither does Paul. Paul would write; "For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell [in bodily form]." And John would say; "And the Word became flesh and lived among us..." Both John and Paul remind us, the origin of Jesus didn’t begin in Bethlehem. On the contrary! Jesus is co-equal, co-eternal with God. What a profound thought! He is God in the flesh! God became one of us – in the person of Jesus Christ and reconciled us unto himself. In fact, Paul reminds us, that it is "through Jesus, [that] God can reconcile all things unto himself." The word "reconcile," means to bring together two things or two people who have been separated. This is what Jesus does for us! God brings us back into communion and fellowship with God’s self through Christ. It is Christ who bridges the gap that once separated us from the Holy. Christ tears down the very veil that once concealed the Holy of Holies. He brings us back into the family of God – the household of God. And not only does God do this, but as Paul reminds us in verse 25 God also gives us a responsibility!
In fact, Paul writes in verse 25; "I became a servant according to God’s commission that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known…" The Greek word here for "commission" comes from the word oikonomia, meaning "an administrator" or "a trustee." You see, friends, Paul is saying; I am a steward, I am an administrator, I am a trustee in God’s household. God’s purpose was Paul’s purpose. God’s Word was Paul’s message. And Paul’s mission and responsibility, as is ours is to share the mystery of God’s love and grace to all people – that mystery which became known and revealed through Christ.
But sometimes we forget about that responsibility – that task! I heard a story of a parishioner who told his pastor one Sunday; "You know, pastor, I may not be making the progress as you hoped for, but I sure am well-established." Sadly, there are a many well-established Christians today. They’re not making any progress, they’re not fruitful and faithful in their calling as God’s trustees and stewards – they’re just established. Well it wasn’t too long after that parishioner told his pastor that, that the pastor happened to be driving down a rural road and he noticed the parishioner stuck in some mud off the side of the road. He had swerved to miss a deer and had gotten stuck. No matter what the man did, mud flew, and the car stayed put. The pastor slowed down just enough to roll down his window and yelled at the parishioner; "You may not be making the progress as you hoped but you sure are well-established."
Paul prays for these Christians that they "may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that [they] may lead lives worthy of the Lord" (verses 9-10a). As I said, knowing the will of God is not enough; nor is understanding the will of God enough. It’s only when we complete the circle by applying the word and will of God to our lives that we become the people who God is calling us to be.
I want to close with the story of the old simple farmer who was called upon one day by a sophisticated and crafty salesman who attempted to lure the farmer into the purchase of certain agricultural equipment. The salesman asked the farmer; "Don’t you want to know how to be a better farmer?" To which the farmer replied; "Heck, I already know how to be a better farmer. I just need the gumption to do what I know."
There are a lot of Christians who are like that farmer. They know what they are to do, but what they lack is the gumption to do it! We have come this morning not just to dedicate Elijah and Karter, but also our own lives to the God who has reconciled us and called us to be his faithful and fruitful people. May we have the gumption to live out this calling, Amen.
In a simple and straightforward approach the elder presented to the congregation the simplistic, yet practical method he used when he read and studied the Bible. He said; "I always ask myself three questions when I read anything in the Bible: first, do I know what is says? Second, do I understand what it means? And third, am I willing to do what it demands?" It would be difficult to conceive a more effective way to get inside a scripture passage and apply it to one’s life. The leap between "knowing" and "understanding" is surpassed in importance only by the gulf between "understanding" and "doing."
The Apostle Paul attempts to help the Christians in Colosse bridge that important gulf in his epistle to them. He prays "that [they] may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that [they] may lead lives worthy of the Lord" (verses 9-10a). Knowing the will of God is not enough; nor is understanding the will of God enough. Certainly, these are essential in our walk of faith, but they are not enough. It is only when we complete the circle, so to speak, by applying the truth of God’s word and God’s will to our lives that God’s power becomes available to us.
Keep in mind, Paul wrote this letter while imprisoned in Rome. In fact, Paul had never had the opportunity to go to the church in Colosse. Epaphras, whom Paul met during his three-year stay in Ephesus, had founded the church. But over time, we see that within this church a form of heresy had evolved, commonly called "Colossian Heresy." Some scholars identify this heresy with an early form of gnosticism, which was a belief system that emphasized the importance of "secret knowledge" in attaining salvation. It had become a popular teaching later in the first and second century church. But the central tenet of this secret knowledge was that all matter, including the body, was evil and that only the spirit had any real value. Thus, they denied the idea that God – who is holy, became flesh. They denied the whole idea of the incarnation – one of the central teachings and doctrines of the church! However, Paul totally denounces such a teaching with his words here in the first chapter of Colossians and instead, stressed the divinity of Christ, as well as the humanity of Christ. This dual nature of Christ – fully God and fully man is known as Kenosis. And certainly, the teaching of Kenosis is found and supported throughout Scripture, and one such place is in our Scripture Lesson this morning. Here, Paul reminds us that Jesus is the one who teaches us the truth about God. It is in the person of Jesus Christ that God becomes known to us; that God becomes real and personal to us; that God becomes intimate with us. In fact, Paul writes; "[Christ] is the image of the invisible God." You know, this word "image" is the Greek word eikon, meaning "an exact likeness" or "an exact representation" and yet, this word is still so limiting when it comes to the nature of Christ.
In fact, Paul felt obligated to further define the nature and character of Christ. And so, not only does he define Jesus as the "image of the invisible God," but also "the firstborn of all creation..." Paul uses the Greek word prototokos here to stress the preeminence of Christ. In fact, his words mirror those of John who wrote; "In the beginning was the Word," which is to say, Jesus – and the word that John uses here is, Logos, which is the say the very "idea" or "understanding of God." John goes on to write; "…and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made." But John doesn’t stop there and neither does Paul. Paul would write; "For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell [in bodily form]." And John would say; "And the Word became flesh and lived among us..." Both John and Paul remind us, the origin of Jesus didn’t begin in Bethlehem. On the contrary! Jesus is co-equal, co-eternal with God. What a profound thought! He is God in the flesh! God became one of us – in the person of Jesus Christ and reconciled us unto himself. In fact, Paul reminds us, that it is "through Jesus, [that] God can reconcile all things unto himself." The word "reconcile," means to bring together two things or two people who have been separated. This is what Jesus does for us! God brings us back into communion and fellowship with God’s self through Christ. It is Christ who bridges the gap that once separated us from the Holy. Christ tears down the very veil that once concealed the Holy of Holies. He brings us back into the family of God – the household of God. And not only does God do this, but as Paul reminds us in verse 25 God also gives us a responsibility!
In fact, Paul writes in verse 25; "I became a servant according to God’s commission that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known…" The Greek word here for "commission" comes from the word oikonomia, meaning "an administrator" or "a trustee." You see, friends, Paul is saying; I am a steward, I am an administrator, I am a trustee in God’s household. God’s purpose was Paul’s purpose. God’s Word was Paul’s message. And Paul’s mission and responsibility, as is ours is to share the mystery of God’s love and grace to all people – that mystery which became known and revealed through Christ.
But sometimes we forget about that responsibility – that task! I heard a story of a parishioner who told his pastor one Sunday; "You know, pastor, I may not be making the progress as you hoped for, but I sure am well-established." Sadly, there are a many well-established Christians today. They’re not making any progress, they’re not fruitful and faithful in their calling as God’s trustees and stewards – they’re just established. Well it wasn’t too long after that parishioner told his pastor that, that the pastor happened to be driving down a rural road and he noticed the parishioner stuck in some mud off the side of the road. He had swerved to miss a deer and had gotten stuck. No matter what the man did, mud flew, and the car stayed put. The pastor slowed down just enough to roll down his window and yelled at the parishioner; "You may not be making the progress as you hoped but you sure are well-established."
Paul prays for these Christians that they "may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that [they] may lead lives worthy of the Lord" (verses 9-10a). As I said, knowing the will of God is not enough; nor is understanding the will of God enough. It’s only when we complete the circle by applying the word and will of God to our lives that we become the people who God is calling us to be.
I want to close with the story of the old simple farmer who was called upon one day by a sophisticated and crafty salesman who attempted to lure the farmer into the purchase of certain agricultural equipment. The salesman asked the farmer; "Don’t you want to know how to be a better farmer?" To which the farmer replied; "Heck, I already know how to be a better farmer. I just need the gumption to do what I know."
There are a lot of Christians who are like that farmer. They know what they are to do, but what they lack is the gumption to do it! We have come this morning not just to dedicate Elijah and Karter, but also our own lives to the God who has reconciled us and called us to be his faithful and fruitful people. May we have the gumption to live out this calling, Amen.
posted by Pastor Christopher @ 12:14 PM
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