證道細節
Walking In Christ
Walking in Christ
Author & Date
- The apostle Paul
- Autumn of AD 61, the same year he wrote Philemon
- Paul wrote this letter from Rome, where he spent at least two years under house arrest (Acts 28:16-31)
[first Roman imprisonment]
- Paul wrote to the Christians who lived in the city called Colossae.
- Today this area is part of the country that is called Turkey.
The City of Colossae
- Judaism, Platonism, and mystery cults from the surrounding mountain peoples contributed to contradictory religious practices
Epaphras was a man who lived in
Colossae (1:7; 4:12-13).
There he preached the good news about Jesus. The people who became Christians formed the church at Colossae.
Most of them were Gentiles.
Why did Paul write this letter?
- Epaphras visited Paul in prison and told Paul about the young church that was at Colossae.
- The Christians who lived there had begun to listen to false teachers.
- Paul was worried that the Christians would turn away from the true gospel.
Colossians 2:1 (NIV)
I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally.
Colossians 2: 4 – 7 (AMP)
I say this so that no one will deceive you with persuasive [but thoroughly deceptive] arguments. 5 For even though I am absent [from you] in body, nevertheless I am with you in spirit, [a]delighted to see your good discipline [as you stand shoulder to shoulder and form a solid front] and to see the stability of your faith in Christ [your steadfast reliance on Him and your unwavering confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness]. 6 Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in [union with] Him [reflecting His character in the things you do and say—living lives that lead others away from sin], 7 having been deeply rooted [in Him] and now being continually built up in Him and [becoming increasingly more] established [b]in your faith, just as you were taught, and overflowing in it with gratitude.
- To walk in Christ is to live a life patterned after His.
- Paul is calling us to live a lifestyle worthy of the Lord.
- The word “Walk” here is in the present tense, indicating an ongoing process.
- A daily, steady, step-by-step effort and progress toward a goal – heaven!
Rooted, Built- up, Established, and Overflowing in it with gratitude
- The first three words are all passive, emphasizing the fact that God is working these things in us.
- The final description— overflowing in it with gratitude — is active, pointing to our responsibility to be grateful.
- Gratefulness is the result of the first three actions.
Metaphors:
- Walking on a path
- Being deeply rooted like a tree
-Being built up like a building under construction; and
- Overflowing like a flooding river
1) Deeply rooted in Christ.
Why are ROOTS important?
- They provide a tree with the water and nutrients to grow and be healthy.
- They provide the support a tree needs to stand tall, firm and to grow into its potential.
- It can withstand the storms that blow against it and endure times of drought because of its roots.
- Without those deep roots, the tree will fall over in a storm or die during a drought.
Redwoods—Richard Winkle
“This intertwining of roots creates a webbing effect.
Most engineers would tell you this shallow root system still would be impossible to keep the redwoods intact and protected against strong winds and floods.”...“the interconnecting root systems are the secret of their strength and teach us a great lesson...these magnificent giants simply could not make it alone.”
Acts 20:35 (NIV)
35 In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said:
“It is more blessed to give than to receive.”’
2) Overflowing with gratitude.
- Our gratitude to God should overflow onto those around us.
Aspen Tree
- One Aspen tree can spread its root in such a way that it produces ‘saplings, reproduces additional trees...
- Aspen trees can live 40-150 years above ground, and thousands of years below ground.
- ‘Pando’ located in Utah. A colony of aspen tress of 50,000 clones. One common root system spans over 110 acres.
- This root system is about 80,000 thousand years.
- Grumblers & complainers will be more susceptible to the lure of false teaching and principles of the world instead of the truth.
- A grateful heart that is satisfied daily with God’s blessings won’t be attracted by lure of the world.