Colossians 2:1-5 “Let’s Not Go There”

Paul went to a lot of different towns and met with so many different churches. At one point we know that the Holy Spirit stopped him from visiting churches in Asia Minor and led him to cross into Europe, that is when he meets Lydia in Philippi. We know that he was not successful in some places starting a church, that includes Athens of course. However, Paul was not the only one out there starting churches. We see today that the church in Colossae was started by someone rarely mentioned; his name Epaphras. We know almost nothing about this man. In fact almost all that we do know is that Saint Paul decided not to go to visit his church. Instead, he sent a letter. He has a good excuse not to go there because he is in prison at the time. We are not sure if he is imprisoned in Ephesus, Rome, or Caesarea. Your choice!

This is a big issue in ministry–One that has always caused confusion in churches. Where and when do you go? How do you know if you are being called by the Spirit some place or to a certain group of people. Case in point, Paul always thought that he would start a church in Spain, but he never gets there. In the Book of Philemon, Paul ask that they prepare a place for him to stay, yet we know he never went there. How is it that some churches get his blessing while others do not?

[Play the money under the cup game. Each cup represents a church. Have someone be the apostle and decide which church he wants to keep.]

So, Paul decides not to go to Colossae! He could have many times while he was in Ephesus. They are not far. Instead he writes a letter. Because there is an issue he needs to address in that church. And, I am going to say that it is an issue that is still plaguing some churches today. The church was steeped in rituals and readings from Wisdom literature that would eventually not make it into the bible at all. These scrolls were not even accepted into the Jewish Tanak, yet they were written in Hebrew. Some of these scrolls you can find in the Apocrypha, a group of books to be found in the Catholic and Anglican Bibles.

Paul wants to share with the church therefore that the only true wisdom that we need is that which comes from Christ. He writes this most succinctly in the first chapter of the letter, Chapter 1:15. Would someone like to read this? In this is the understanding that Christ must be the supreme superhero of the church.

Have you noticed how many superhero movies there are nowadays? Right now at the theater is the "Fantastic Four.” Superman has been around a few times, too. All of the Marvel Comics movies, too. Let’s make our own superhero! [Hand out paper and crayons.] Draw your own superhero and list the powers that he/she would possess.

What super powers does Jesus possess? Draw on White board.

His strength is from God’s “ouze.” Homoouisos. The essence that is in all three of the persons of God. Nicene Creed was written in 325 AD and still stands as the basis of what is Christian.

In Luke 9 Jesus commissions the 12 disciples to be apostles. “Gave them power over demons and to cure diseases.” The word “power” here is the same word as in homoousios, except here it is exousios. So, Jesus is able to give his super powers over to lesser super heroes!

Do we have the power to forgive? Yes. The power to heal? Yes. The power to live forever with God in heaven? Yes. When you make Jesus your super hero, you can get these super hero powers in your life. When you share the story of Jesus with others, you can ouze your faith onto them and give them the power too. All they will have to do is recognize that Jesus is the Super hero.

Okay, if I am going to be the hero for Jesus who is the super hero, I have to think about the fact that Superman had his one deadly weakness. That is kryptonite. The church today has its own kryptonite–that which weakens us to the point that we can no longer enjoy our super powers.

When we read the text from Colossians 2:2-3. In Christ is all wisdom and understanding, but we still have God’s mystery. No matter how much we think we know, God is still the mystery. That is why I say churches that can explain everything to you in absolutes are in trouble. That is exactly what they were trying to do in Colossae by reading all these other texts that were non-biblical.

Strangely enough, that was and is the same mistake that was made in the Garden of Eden. “Oh, so you want all knowledge?” “Zap, you are out of here!” Today we think we know it all. And, what we do not know we can just ask Chat GPT. Yet, God is the mystery.

When Job is arguing with God, God’s response is: “Oh you think you can even know. . .the greatness of the creator?” Our kryptonite is thinking that we have really answers at all when it comes to the mystery of God. Instead, we simply must have faith! Lack of faith is our weakness.

We really are not going to discover the mysteries of God by looking through wisdom literature–the Chat GPT of its day. Read Colossians 2:4-5. Firmness in the FAITH says Paul.

Amen.