My Pulpit Message - notes Grow in the Knowledge of God My Pulpit Message Notes are extracted from the sermon preached at the Nairobi Baptist Church (NBC) Ngong Road on Sunday 6th March 2022. Preacher: Reverend Majid Ochieng’, Deputy Senior Pastor, Nairobi Baptist Church (NBC). Topic: Grow in the Knowledge of God. Scripture: Colossians 1:1-14 This month’s theme is growing in our capacity. When we grow in still practiced today. capacity, we are able to withstand and to hold the pressures / chalAngel worship (Col 2:18) “Do not let anyone who delenges we experience because we are in this world. lights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you.” Paul is saying that for us to grow in capacity, to be able to overcome some of these false teachings that are coming we must therefore grow in our knowledge of Jesus Christ The book of Colossians is a pauline letter, meaning it was written by Paul. Purpose of Letter Paul introduces the letter by saying, Paul, an apostle (meaning someone who has been sent, primarily by God) of Christ Jesus - To refute the Colossian heresy. To accomplish this role, he exalted by the will of God (meaning that perhaps he would not be where Jesus Christ as the very image of God. Col 1:15 “The Son is the imhe is at the point of writing the letter, because he was a persecu- age of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.” tor of the church until on his way to Damascus he received Jesus Above all the false teachings that you are confronted with, Christ and that made a turnaround in his life), and Timothy our Jesus Christ is exalted above everything else. brother (Timothy is like one of To accomplish this Paul those Paul brought up and it is exalts Jesus Christ as the Cresaid that perhaps he is the one ator. (Col 1:16)“16 For in him who wrote this letter as Paul was all things were created: things dictating.)” in heaven and on earth, visible Verse 2 “To God’s holy We should not compromise anything, but pursue to know and invisible, whether thrones people in Colossae, the faithful who God is and to pursue all other available opportunities or powers or rulers or authoribrothers and sisters in Christ: ties; all things have been creatthat we have in church to grow in our knowledge of God. These were the Colossians. ed through him and for him. Several hundred years Paul talks about Jesus before Paul’s day, Colossae had Christ as the pre-existing Susbeen a leading city in Asia mitainer of all things Col 1:17-18 nor, the modern day Turkey and He is before all things and in first century AD Colossae had Him all things hold together. been diminished to a second rate market town which had been sur- The first to be resurrected, the fullness of deity in bodily form and passed long ago in power and importance by neighbouring towns He is the Reconciler,” so that we are able to access God, so that we Laodicea and Police (Col 4:13) can be called the children of God. The emphasis is not in the cereDuring Paul’s three year ministry in Ephesus, someone monies, in the dos and don’ts. Jesus Christ by His grace is the Reccalled Epaphras had been converted and had carried the gospel to onciler of man to God. Colossae (Acts 19:10) and it is Epaphras who most likely started this church (Col 7:1) “7 You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow Knowing who Jesus Christ is one of the ways of countering servant,[c] who is a faithful minister of Christ on our[d] behalf, 8 false teachings and to know what Jesus Christ is teaching. Once we and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.” So it is Epaphras that know that it doesn’t matter what false teachings come our way but took this letter. by the grace of God we will have the knowledge and our capacity A young church then had become a target of false teaching will have been enlarge so that we are able to withstand the pressures (heretical attacks) which led to Epaphras visit to Paul in Rome and that we face in this world. ultimately to the writing of the Colossian letter. Tim Charlie says that the history of Christ’s church is sepThis explains why the letter was written - to counter false arable from the history of Satan’s attempt to destroy the church. teachings that were very common in Colossae at that particular While difficult challenges have risen from outside the church, the time. So it was almost like an antidote to the heresy that was going most dangerous have always been from within the church. For from on in Colossae. within, arise the false teachers, the peddlers of errors who massaSome of the heresies that were going on were: cred as teachers of truth. False teachers take on many forms cast or -ceremonialism (holding to strict rules about the permissi- crafted to times, cultures and different contexts. ble foods and the drinks and religious festivals). So access to the We can be able to overcome that by enlarging our capacities kingdom of God was through the ceremonies and what you do or and having the knowledge of Jesus Christ. do not do. -Asceticism (do not touch, do not handle, do not taste). This came as a result of severe self disciple and avoiding all forms of indulgence typically for religious reasons. Some of these things are
Growing in the Knowledge of God
3 TT 143 | MAR 8th - 14th | 2022
