Why are you here?

Here, today—in this building, on Sunday evening.

What do you hope to accomplish? Do you have a reason? What is your goal here? What’s your intention?

Are you here because that’s what you do every Sunday? Is is simply a routine habit that you perform mechanically? Or something intentional and purposeful?

I want you to ponder for a moment and ask yourself what Christianity means to you. What’s the purpose of our religion?

As we discussed this morning, Paul presents in the book of Colossians a directive to honor the headship and supremacy of Christ. We honor His authority and majesty most by emulating His life and character.

In our text this morning, Colossians 1:1–9, Paul began his prayer for the Colossians saying that he prays that they would be filled with the knowledge of God. We cut him off and didn’t let him finish. Let’s resume that prayer this evening.

“For this reason also, since the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the full knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and multiplying in the full knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. Who rescued us from the authority of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Col 1:9–14)

Does the Lord control my desires?

“…to please Him in all respects…” (Col 1:10b)

If pleasing the Lord in all respects is our purpose, then it should become our single rule for life. You can live very effectively by using the simple rule:

“Will this please my Lord?”

We ought to use this question more universally. The first sign of “walking worthy of the Lord” is that you allow Him to transform and control your desires. Your algorithm for behavior incorporates not just your own actual desires, but also the will of God.

Does the Lord control my actions?

“…bearing fruit in every good work…” (Col 1:10c)

As we discussed this morning, a key sign of spiritual growth (whether congregational or individual) is bearing fruit— taking spiritual action.

Bearing fruit ought to include spiritual virtues such as the fruit of the Spirit:

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law.” (Gal 5:22–23)

or the Christian graces:

“Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these things are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the full knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Pet 1:5–8)

But it will also include the outpouring in some specific ways, such as prayer, fasting, study, supporting the poor, visiting the sick, and sharing the gospel.

“Good works” abound in the life of Christ. He ought to be the standard for our good works.

“And Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people.” (Matt 4:23)

In that passage, we learn that Jesus spent His time doing three main types of good works, and we only have the ability to do two of the three. They happen to correspond to what Jesus instructed in the Great Commission:

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to keep all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matt 28:19–20)

Does the Lord control my thoughts?

“…multiplying in the full knowledge of God;” (Col 1:10d)

Our minds must experience a constant transformation according to God’s will. This concept runs throughout Scripture, and I feel totally comfortable repeating it and drilling it into your minds. Several years earlier, Paul told the Roman Christians,

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may approve what the will of God is, that which is good and pleasing and perfect.” (Rom 12:2)

Does the Lord control my will?

“Being strengthened with all power…for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience;” (Col 1:11)

Paul is writing to the Colossians to encourage their faith. They have shown strength to this point, but they must remain faithful. Walking worthily of our Lord means we are not ashamed. Instead of fear, we must be filled with confidence in our faith and boldness toward the world. A resolute faith stands stalwart against the wiles of the Devil.

This doesn’t happen overnight. Unfortunately, strengthening faith along these lines usually requires some kind of suffering. The early Christians rejoiced

“…that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for the Name.” (Acts 5:41)

We would not likely be excited about suffering, but they saw it for what it was: a sign that they were walking worthily. They did not suffer because they were mediocre Christians, but because they preached the gospel. As a result, after being released:

“And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.” (Acts 5:42)

Does the Lord control my attitude?

“Joyously giving thanks to the Father…” (Col 1:12a)

Just like the early apostles, we will be walking worthy when fear means nothing to us, and instead we remember what God has done for us. This next section highlights some of those blessings.

God has given you new worth.

“…who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.” (Col 1:12b)

I want to focus here on the word “qualified”. Paul tells us that the first blessing God gave us was the opportunity to receive an inheritance. I don’t know of very many ways to receive an inheritance. The inheritance is reserved for the children, whether by birth or through adoption.

A parallel passage in Ephesians comes out and says it explicitly:

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him in love, by predestining us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He graciously bestowed on us in the Beloved.” (Eph 1:3–6)

As adopted sons and daughters, we have been qualified to partake in the inheritance—the hope of heaven! This is a huge change from our lives as sinners. Separated from God, we had no access to any hope at all. We were formerly disqualified.

God sees value and worth in you. He saw fit to bring you into the church so that you can partake in the blessing of heaven!

God has given you a new ruler.

“Who rescued us from the authority of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son of His love…” (Col 1:13)

Furthermore, our life is different even on this earth! Not only can we someday live with God eternally, even in this life we can serve a better master.

Previously we served the “authority of darkness,” that is, sin and death. They held reign over us as oppressive masters. During that time, we were without hope and plagued by guilt and shame.

Yet God rescued us—which is a beautiful word—and gave us a kind King. Christ is a gentle master, whose “yoke is easy” and whose “burden is light” (Matt 11:30).

God has given you a clean slate.

“In whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Col 1:14)

We probably use the word “forgiveness” when talking about sins more than we use the word “redemption”. Perhaps doing so has disconnected us from spiritual reality. When speaking of a debt, “forgiveness” means that the debtor no longer owes the money.

I have a handful of student loans which I am still paying back. I would love it if the US government (to whom I owe the loans) would forgive that debt. A year or so ago, they tried to pass a bill to forgive a number of larger loans. Now, that sounds nice, but we know that’s not how money works. You can never just forgive a debt; you can’t pretend it never existed. At some point, the debt has to be transferred to someone else. Forgiveness of debt just means someone else pays.

It’s the same way with sins. God cannot simply forgive sins because He wants to. He can’t pretend your sins don’t exist. That’s why Jesus had to die. When God forgives you, your sins don’t disappear into the aether.

God didn’t concoct some method of sneaking everybody into heaven. Rather, he cast our debt upon His Son. And now we can live as free, innocent citizens of His kingdom.

It’s amazing how many roles Christ plays toward us. But each role He has suggests a corresponding role on our part.

• King — citizen.
• Master — slave.
• Teacher — student.
• Head — body (and members).
• Bridegroom — bride.

Are you worthy of the role that you have in Christ? Do you take it seriously? Are you conformed to His will in all things?