Colossians Pt. 3 – Living With Christ as King

As we discussed last week, Colossians portrays Christ as the Cosmic King and Redeemer….That [Christ] will “reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross” ( Col. 1:20).

As the “Prince of Peace,” God’s Messiah King (Isa. 9:6), Jesus will ultimately put down all rebellion against God and his purposes. For believers, this means present reconciliation to God as his friends. As for nonbelievers and the demonic powers, Christ's universal reign of peace will be enforced on them, for their rebellion will be decisively defeated by Christ as conquering king (cf. 1 Cor. 15:24–28; Rev. 19:11–21; 20:7–10) so that they can no longer do any harm in the universe. The basis for Christ's reign of peace (i.e., the new heavens and new earth) is the blood of his cross. The cross truly is the most pivotal point in human and cosmic history.  To not see this is to not understand the Gospel.

Recognizing Christ as the Cosmic King and Redeemer, Christians live their lives radically different:

Colossians 3:1–4 The Proper Focus: “Kingdom Perspective”

Setting our minds on things above and not on things that are on earth is not calling us to ignore our relationships and life in this world. It is calling us to focus the agenda of God’s Kingdom and not on our own agenda. So, we are to seek first his kingdom (Matt. 6:33) and live a life worthy of his name (Col. 1:10; 2:6).

 

Colossians 3:5–11 Confronting our Sinful (Self-Oriented) Tendencies

Paul calls the Colossians to make a decisive break with the sinful tendencies they have carried with them into their Christian lives. Notice how inwardly focused each of the listed sinful activities/actions are. We were created for relationship with others (with God and with our fellow humanity); sin is the antithesis for which we were created because it produces relationship-destroying lifestyles. “Sexual immorality” (Gk. porneia) refers to every kind of sexual activity outside of marriage. Five of the items that Paul lists have to do with sexual purity, stressing the importance of bringing this area of life under the control and lordship of Christ.

 

Colossians 3:12–17 Putting on the Virtues of Christ

Paul calls the Colossians to a holy lifestyle, consistent with their new identity/new orientation. Believers have been called to love. Above all else, Christians are called on to love one another (see 1 Corinthians 13).  “…put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony” suggests that love unites all the Christian virtues we are called to possess. The harmony love brings is the way life was meant to be lived. We meant to bring blessings and life to each other, not harm and dissensions.

When we begin to love one another the way we were intended to love, everything changes:

• Marriage (3:18,19), Families (3:20-21), Vocational Relationships (3:22-24); etc…

Moralizing: How to Destroy Scripture & Cultivate Pride

In this clip from this week’s sermon, Pastor Mark looks at how moralizing destroys scripture and how you don’t even have to be a Christian to moralize. How? Worth checking out and considering…

Neue Podcast: Rob Bell

Here’s a great interview with Rob Bell.  Neue interviews Bell on ministry, pastoral development, creativity, disillusionments with church ministry, outreach, Bell’s recent book, and other great topics.  Check it out.

Neue Podcast | 19 OCTOBER 2009

On this podcast, senior editor Josh Loveless talks with Rob Bell, pastor and founder of Mars Hill (Grand Rapids, MI) and author of Drops Like Stars, a book dedicated to trying to find beauty and imagination within suffering. Loveless and Bell discuss preparation and planning, what good things can come out of our brokenness, Bell's own experience of suffering and how church leaders are uniquely positioned to engage in suffering with others.

Dartmouth’s “The Reality of the Resurrection: The Historical Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus”

Here’s a great article by The Dartmouth Apologia: Charles Dunn on the Resurrection.  It goes great with tonight’s topic on Christ’s Resurrection.  Enjoy.

Why Do We Believe in Christ’s Resurrection?

Based on my interaction with other Christians, I’ve witnessed we typically give much more attention to the death of Christ rather than the resurrection of Christ.  Oh, we quickly affirm the resurrection as an orthodox Christian belief, but most Christian have very little reason or rationale behind the belief.  So why did Christ literally and physically rise from the dead?

The 15^th chapter of 1^st Corinthians is the Apostle Paul’s lengthy treatment on the significance of the historical resurrection of Jesus.  As you read the chapter you will find it to be full of rational argumentation (reason) for the validity of Christ’s resurrection.  For Paul, Christ’s physical resurrection was not wishful thinking.  It was actual and enormously significant because the entire Christian message  culminates in the resurrected Christ – “…if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith (vs. 14)” and “if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins (vs. 17).”  For Paul, if Christ has not risen, nothing else mattered!

Why?  Why is the resurrection of Christ so significant?  The short answer is that Christ’s resurrection ushered in the beginnings of the new world and the new humanity (the renewed world and renewed humanity) promised long ago in the Old Testament (Genesis 3:15; 2 Samuel 7:16; Isaiah 9:6-7; Isaiah 11:1-9; etc…).  A humanity and world where sin, pain, and death are only in our memories.  According Paul, the resurrected Christ is the “firstfruits” of this new humanity; that we, though currently ailed by sin, suffering, and death, will one day experience a resurrection into a new physical existence much like Christ’s resurrected body (1 Corinthians 15:20-28).  Here’s NT Wright’s explanation via Tim Keller:

"The message of the resurrection is that the world matters! That the injustices and pains of this present world must now be addressed with the news that the healing, justice, and love have won...If Easter means Jesus Christ is only raised in a spiritual sense--[then] it is only about me, and finding a new dimension in my personal spiritual life.  But if Jesus Christ is truly risen from the dead, Christianity becomes good news for the whole world--news which warms our heart precisely because it isn't just about warming hearts. Easter means that in a world where injustice, violence and degradation are endemic, God is not prepared to tolerate such things--and that we will work and plan, with all the energy of God, to implement victory of Jesus over them all. Take away Easter and Karl Marx was probably right to accuse Christianity of ignoring problems of the material world. Take it away and Freud was probably right to say Christianity is wish-fulfillment. Take it away and Nietzsche probably was right to say it was for wimps." ~ N.T. Wright, from his book Simply Christian; as quoted by Timothy Keller in is his book The Reason for God.

Join us on Mondays nights as we discuss the significance and all the ramifications of Christ’s resurrection tonight in the upcoming weeks as we discuss – Christ on the Throne: The Significance of the Resurrection.

GCF Young Adults News and Happenings…

Monday Night Bible Study – Every Monday Night @ 7pm:

Our Monday Night Bible Studies are a great night to invite a friend to come along with you, they’re especially good to bring  a non-Christian friend to or maybe someone who's simply been out of church for a while.  Every Monday night is casual but usually just in depth enough to cause everyone to reevaluate the way they view Christ.

 

Pizzology - Every Wednesday Night @ 9pm:

Join us at Your Pizza Shop every Wednesday after service.  We always have a topic related to Christianity and Culture with a casual discussion.  To find out more join our Pizzology Facebook page - http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=100217174512. Good times!

 

Basketball  - Every Monday Night @ 9pm:

If you got the skillz, join us every Monday night after Bible study for b-ball at Bayhead (across the street from Largo Central Park).  We play from 9pm to 10pm. 

 

Reform - Every Sunday Morning @ 9am:

Some of you are aware of our Sunday morning Bible study class – Reform.  Reform meets from 9am to 9:45am.  Topics and discussions are always though provoking.  It’s a great time of teaching and discussion.  If you would like to be added to the Reform e-mail list please e-mail Pastor Heath.

Upcoming Young Adults Bible Study Topics

On Mondays, September 21st & 28th, our Bible study topics will be Christ on the Throne: The Significance of the Resurrection.  As we continue in our Doctrine: The Drama of Redemption Series, we’re moving on in the redemptive narrative from discussing “Christ on the Cross” to “Christ on the Throne.” 

The most startling claim of Christianity is that Jesus rose from the dead after being brutally executed on a Roman cross two thousand years ago. Could it possibly be true? And if it were, what difference could it make to us today?  Next Monday, we will begin discussing all the implications of the resurrection of Christ with the help of N.T. Wright.  We used his DVD on evil to better understand the ramifications of sin and the hope of the Gospel.  This time we will be looking at his DVD entitled, Resurrection.  In this 50-minute presentation, Wright walks us through the political, historical and theological issues at stake in Jesus' day and today. Shot on location in Israel, Greece and England, Resurrection presents the essence of Wright's thinking on the most important event in the Gospels.

As always, we’ll have pizza hot & ready to eat @ 6:45pm.  We begin at 7:00pm and finish at 8:30pm.  I hope to see you all there.  Do someone a favor and personally invite them to join us tomorrow night.  Later and God bless you!

GCF Young Adults – Right Thinking Right Living

Every Monday  |  7:00PM

Be sure to check out our GCF Young Adult Blog, our Twitter Page, and our Facebook page.

GCF’s Spruce Up Day.

GCF's Church Spruce-Up on Saturday, September 26th from 9am to noon.

We need help inside and outside the church doing all sorts of cleaning and organizing.  Please e-mail Heath if you plan on helping out!  Young Adults, here’s a way to give back and serve your church family.

Filmology Night this Monday (.09.14.09)

It’s been a year since our last Filmology night! That’s nuts, we are way over due!  (If you are unfamiliar with our Filmology Nights, we watch a film and then discuss it’s worldview & basic message.)  This Monday, Sept. 14th, we’ll be watching Gran Torino.  FYI - It’s rated R for derogatory language and some violence.  (The language is extreme, and full of pretty much every racial and derogatory name you can imagine for a variety of ethnic groups.) 

Gran Torino is "Eastwood adding an interesting new wrinkle to the themes of mortality, violence, revenge and redemption that have been so prominent in his more recent films. Some have said that Gran Torino doesn't have a happy ending, but the symbolism of what happens points to loving sacrifice and the complete commitment of one's life for the betterment of others. We see a man redeemed from hatred to love for neighbors who steadily and persistently showed him love—even when he continually pushed them away. Profound on a number of levels—a commentary on our contemporary zeitgeist but also a timeless story of redemption, sacrifice, and grace. It's Eastwood working through his own Dirty Harry mythos, atoning for his own cinematic sins in the same way that any of us must reckon with our past as we age and the world changes." (Christianity Today)

The message of the movie will go very well with our recent discussions on receiving God’s grace and mercy and showing God’s grace and mercy to others.   Here’s our discussion questions for Gran Torino – Filmology: Gran Torino

For more on watching movies critically – with heart & mind – read Movie Watching 101.

Filmology Night will begin at 7:00pm.  Bring $5 to cover for the food cost (wings, salad, and drinks).  Invite a friend.

PDF of the handout sheet for Mercy & Grace

Here's a copy of our handout sheet on The Cross of Christ - The Source of Mercy and Grace.