Now let us once again turn to
the epistle of Paul to the Colossians and chapter 2 and this evening
we'll continue our meditation and we'll read verses 4 and 5. So that's the epistle of Paul
to the Colossians chapter 2 and reading verses 4 and 5. And this
I say lest any man should beguile you
with enticing words. For though I be absent in the
flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, enjoying and beholding
your order and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ. Well, we continue in this beautiful
epistle that the apostle wrote to the Colossians, and as we've
already noted, he wrote it of course when he was a prisoner
in Rome, and yet this church at Colossae he hadn't met, and
yet they were on his heart. And what a concern he had for
them. And as we thought last week,
in the first three verses in this chapter, where the apostles
say from verse two, that their hearts may be comforted, being
knit together in love and unto all riches, with a full assurance
of understanding to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God and of
the Father and of Christ, in whom are hid all the treasures. of wisdom and knowledge. And
then we read, and this I say. So he spoke these things and
he was concerned that the church at Colossae might truly be led
into this great and glorious treasure of wisdom and knowledge,
which is to be found in God the Father and of Christ. What a good desire he had and
what a concern he had. And that's why he continues by
saying, and this I say, lest any man should beguile you with
enticing words. He was concerned that they would
not wander away and listen to worldly thoughts and worldly
conjecture and try and work everything out in a natural way. But he
wanted them to be comforted with the great blessings which are
in Christ and they're expounded really so beautifully when he
says, unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding. It is a blessed position to have
a good understanding and to have therefore, as the Lord gives
us an understanding, to be blessed with a full assurance of the
truth of God's Word, to believe what we read. and to not consider
it just as a book of fairy tales or things of no value, but to
think and to read and to study it as the Word of God. What a difference it is when
the Holy Spirit touches our heart and brings us with that desire. We can fully understand then
why the Apostle says, and this I say, lest any man should beguile
you with enticing words. He wants them to concentrate
on these things which are the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. And they're hidden, really, from
the natural world. But what a blessing if they are
revealed as they are to the Church of God. And what a blessing if
they are revealed to our souls and we can wander at it and rejoice
in it and praise God for it. Well, the apostle wanted these
Colossians. Remember, they were some, I think,
about 1,200 miles away from where he was in prison in Rome. Didn't
make any difference. He still had a concern. His heart
was toward them. He still wanted them to be blessed
indeed. And so he says, for though I
be absent in the flesh, Yet am I with you in the Spirit. And
that's a glorious truth, isn't it? You see, the Lord is in every
place throughout the world. People may be parted, we may
be parted, but to realize that God is with us in the Spirit,
we might be absent one from another, but to realize, yet am I with
you in the Spirit. How was the apostle, 1,200 miles
or so away, and yet was able to realize he enjoyed that unity? with the Christians at Colossae. And he wanted them to grow in
grace and in the knowledge of their Lord and Saviour, Jesus
Christ. It's a good desire, isn't it?
It's a good desire for us today as we think of perhaps those
that we help and desire to encourage abroad as various countries to
think that we can commit them to God. And we can pray the Lord
to go and bless them indeed and draw us together. There's a great
and glorious bond in the things of God. A bond which the devil
cannot break. He may try to. But you see, we
are knit together. And when we are knit together,
there's a great joining and there's a great bond. And that bond,
of course, is in love. In love to who? The Lord Jesus
Christ. Well, says the Apostle then,
for though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the
Spirit. He says, joying and beholding
your order and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ. He hadn't seen them, but no doubt
the Benoist messages brought to him, which clearly showed
that they were, as he was, steadfast in the truth of God. and not
moved about and not moved away from the glorious truth of the
gospel. And so he rejoiced in this wonderful,
encouraging situation, joying and beholding your order and
the steadfastness of your faith in Christ. It is a great blessing
if the Lord gives us individually Indeed, that steadfastness in
the things of God, so that we can truly rejoice together. And if it is so, it's because
we are joined and we are founded on the Saviour, the Lord Jesus
Christ. I read that third chapter in
the first epistle of the Corinthians. Some wonderful words in that.
But the 11th verse tells us this. For other foundation can no man
lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Well, what a
wonderful blessing for you and me tonight if our foundation
is the Lord Jesus Christ. Indeed, the rock of ages, that
one who does not change, that one who is, as we're told in
the Hebrews, the same yesterday, and today, and forever. And come ye not therefore, rest
on that. And so he goes on to say, now
if any man build upon this foundation, gold, silver, precious stones,
wood, hay, stubble, every man's work shall be made manifest,
for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed
by fire, and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort
it is. Well, it's a blessing if that
which God has done for us remains. It may be tested, it will be
tried, but if it is of God, it will stand every test and live
at last. and we can have great confidence
in this glorious truth and indeed bless God for it and be encouraged
by it. And so as the apostle concluded
that third chapter by saying, and ye are Christ's and Christ
is God's. That's a great blessing, isn't
it? If you and I are Christ's, to think that we are joined with
Christ and that we are gods. My friends, no separation. Eternal
bond. Eternal joy. Eternal happiness. What a mercy and what a blessing
and therefore tonight may we truly rejoice in the wonder of
This truth, as the Apostle so told the Colossians in this letter,
in whom I hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, it's
all in Christ. Yes, all that is necessary for
our eternal salvation is found in the Lord Jesus Christ. It's no wonder, is it, that the
apostle Paul was so concerned and keen as he wrote to the Philippians
to encourage them, and he writes and he tells us this in the third
chapter, in the 10th verse. He says, that I may know him
Well, the apostle knew the saviour, of course, but he wanted to know
the saviour more. And therefore he says that I
may know him and the power of his resurrection, that resurrection
power, which raises naturally from the dead and raises spiritually
from the dead to know that we are born again in the spirit
of God. What a wonderful blessing. The
power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings. We may perhaps turn away from
such a truth, but the reality is Christ crucified is the song
of the redeemed, because through Christ crucified comes our salvation. So surely we can understand why
the apostle desired this great and glorious union, fellowship
of his sufferings being made conformable unto his death, if
by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. And you may just remember what
the apostle said in the earlier verses. He says, what things
were gained to me, those I counted loss for Christ. He had a right
understanding, a right perspective of the difference between earthly
things and eternal things. And then he says, yea, doubtless.
He hadn't got any doubt. And I count all things but loss
for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, for
whom I have suffered the loss of all things and do count them
but done that I may win Christ. Very clear perspective, isn't
it? A very clear understanding that
he expressed here to the Philippians. And we are blessed to be able
to read such a statement tonight. Well, may the Lord indeed bless
us indeed, as we think upon these two verses, the fourth and fifth
verse of the second chapter. And this I say, lest any man
should beguile you with enticing words. For though I be absent
in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding
your order and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ.