This week's Bible Study - February 5, 2012
Center of Everything
 Background Scripture:
Colossians 1:9-23
Quote of the Week:
“People see themselves as the center of the universe and judge everything as it relates to them.”
-- Peace Pilgrim
This lesson begins a new study from the book of Colossians. The central theme of the next few lessons is about the centrality and sufficiency of Christ. As we go through this study, the question that will continue to be asked is where Christ truly stands in our lives. Besides this lesson which will ask if Christ is the center of everything, we will also look at our churches and our beliefs, concluding with a lesson regarding Christ at the center of our lives.
Philippians 1:21 states "for me, to live is Christ and to die is gain". Those are just a few small words with a huge implication. In preparing for another Bible Study on that passage, I found hundreds of sermons on that one verse. You may think of the phrase "to live is Christ" as "to live is honoring Christ". That may be easy to say, but what does it mean? We truly need to understand who Christ is. If you are in a relationship with another person, that relationship is grown as you learn more about the other person. If you don't care to learn more about them, do you really care for them? Are we trying to come to know Christ in our lives? We also need to imitate Christ. Romans 12:2 says "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind". We know that thoughts in our heads precede actions. If we are truly trying to imitate Christ, we must begin to think about Christ and who he is. While being like Christ is a lofty goal, it is NOT the thing that saves you. Salvation is based upon belief in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior - not on your ability to be like him. None of us can be perfect, which is God's requirement. We all need a Savior. Lastly, we need to be sharing Christ with others. Are you taking advantage of opportunities to be the light of Christ to those you come in contact with? Do you know those who are hurting? Are you doing anything to help?
When we think of making something the center, we often think of a focal point. When you set a table, there is often some sort of centerpiece. When you think of a basketball court, there is the center circle. If you were describing where a location was, you might relate it somehow to the center of a city. In the town in Kentucky where I grew up, we had the courthouse in the middle of downtown - with the road routed around it. In each of these cases, the center is some designated spot. Is that what it means to have Christ as the center of our lives? Is it enough to put Christ in a prominent position? Unfortunately, that is what many people do - and believe that is enough. Sunday mornings are reserved for church (and Christ), but the rest of the week is focused elsewhere. Is this putting Christ in the center of our lives? (I guess some people would say Wednesdays would be more appropriate - at least that is the center of a work week, right?)
As you examine your own life, do you have Christ relegated to some back corner position? While you may attend church regularly, we aren't called to be good church attendees and have it end at that. While you may have a Bible on display in a central location, it will never impact your life if it rarely, if ever, is opened. In a few classes that I've taught, I've brought some nesting dolls called Matryoshkas to class. They are a set of wooden dolls of decreasing size placed one inside the other. I've taken them all apart and set them in front of the class, asking "if each of these dolls represented a part of your life, which one should be God?". Some people have said the largest one, naturally. (Good church answer - God should mean more than anything else, right?) Others have said the smallest one, as it is the one that everything else surrounds - that gets a little deeper. However, the real answer should be that it is in all of the dolls. When we relegate the role of God into a specific part of our life, we're keeping him out of others. What is the role of Christ in your life?
The concern that Paul shows for the churches is amazing. In each of his letters, he lets them know early on that he has been praying for them. When we are concerned for others, we will be praying for them. Are you praying for others in your prayers? Or, are you prayers only about you and your immediate family- only regarding needs? One of the things that draw us together is praying for one another.
Paul prays for more than just their needs. While I am sure that he cares for their physical condition and for other issues in their lives, his prayer is often that God would fill them with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives. How important is knowledge of God's will? In some areas of life, we say that we need to have all the answers before we make a move. In other areas of life, we have hardly any answers, yet we move. For example, I'm not sure that many who read this can fully describe how a wireless router works. Yet, they will turn their computer's wireless on and connect. In one way, we just need to follow God, but in another way, we should increase in knowledge. If you have a relationship with another person, one of the ways that you show that you love them is by learning more about them. Are you increasing in knowledge of God and his will? In addition to knowledge, Paul prays for their wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives. Wisdom and understanding are an application of knowledge. Paul's prayer for the church and for us is for knowledge, wisdom and understanding.
Why did he pray these things? Was he just trying to make them smarter and wiser? This passage continues to answer that question - so that they may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way. They would bear fruit in all they do, growing in the knowledge of God. We aren't to sit on the sidelines, but in our everyday lives, God's intention is that we would bear fruit and come to know him more. In Galatians 5:22-23, Paul identifies the fruit of the Spirit as being love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. An entire lesson could be focused on each of these qualities, but ask yourself if these things are evident in your life. Would any of these attributes be how anybody else would describe you? As we bear fruit, we grow in the knowledge of God. Paul goes on to say that they would be strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that they would have great endurance and patience. Note that this is based on the power of God's glorious might. How much endurance and patience can you muster up on your own? This is different for each person, but none of us can conjure these things up.
As a result, the Colossian believers were to give joyful thanks to the Father, who had given them a share of inheritance of God's holy people in the kingdom of light. Are we thankful people? Some people are very good about being thankful for little things in life, but how often do we stop and thank God for our salvation? He has truly rescued us from the dominion of darkness and has brought us into the kingdom of light. When we have given our lives over to Christ, we often forget the darkness. We know we struggle with sin, but we have remorse and we know we are forgiven. But, when you are in the dominion of darkness, there is nothing that you can do to relieve yourself from the depravity. Have you forgotten the sheer magnitude of the forgiveness of sins?
If Christ is to be the center of our lives, we need to know who he is. There are many people from many different religions and churches that will talk about Jesus. However, many of them will talk right past each other. Who is Jesus? We read that the Son is the image of the invisible God. When Phillip asked Jesus to show the disciples the Father, Jesus said that the things that he spoke came from the Father. The Father lived in Jesus and he was doing the Father's work. If people talk of Jesus, but he is totally disassociated from the Father, they are talking about a different Jesus. The New World Translation says in John 1:1 that Jesus was a god - not God.
Jesus was the firstborn over all creation. In him were all things created. This includes things in heaven and on earth. This includes things visible and invisible. All things, including thrones and powers and rulers and authorities have been created through him and for him. When we look anywhere, we see something that was created by Jesus. Every person was created by Jesus. Jesus is at the center of creation. He didn't come into being in a stable in Bethlehem. He was present at the dawn of time.
He holds all things together. Some time ago, a friend of mine loaned me a Louie Giglio DVD. It was about the greatness of God. Towards the end, he began to speak of a revelation that a molecular biologist informed him about. It was about laminin, a protein found in the body. This protein forms the substrate of all internal organs and is sometime called the basement membrane. It is the protein that literally holds your body together. That, in and of itself, is amazing, but even more so, is that laminin resembles a cross. How appropriate that our body is held together by a protein that resembles a cross? If you want to see the Louie Giglio clip, click here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_e4zgJXPpI4 Do we realize that Jesus holds all things together? When people are at the end of their rope, they often find that it is Jesus who is holding them.
Jesus is also the head of the body, which is the church. Some churches seem to have a large organizational structure, and if you looked closely, you may not even see any hint of Christ. If a church is a true Christian church, it is founded upon Jesus Christ. It is from that leadership that the many churches become one large group of believers. Recently, there have been a large number of commercials regarding the Catholic church. In it, one person referenced Peter as the head of the church (and the first Pope). I know that there are many Catholic believers, but I would have to point back to Jesus as the head of the church. Other leaders, such as Peter, have played prominent roles in the church, but when our focus shifts from Jesus to them, we are missing the point. No church leader was ever intended to be the center of our lives.
Jesus is the beginning and the firstborn among the dead. He was neither the first human to be born, nor the first human to die, but he is the first human to die and to rise again. His death provides life for all who follow him in belief. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, one day you will follow in being raised from the dead for eternity. In all things, Jesus Christ is supreme.
God was pleased to have his fullness dwell in Christ. Although God gave mankind plenty of opportunities to show their goodness, mankind always failed. We can see it in Scripture and we've seen it over and over in our own lifetime. The problem is that there is no person that is without sin. There needed to be a price paid for our sin, and Jesus' purpose was to pay that price. He was born as a man, with the nature of a man, but he also possessed the nature of God.
God is holy and without sin, and sin cannot be brought into the presence of God. This is our major problem, as we deal with sin often. God's plan was to reconcile mankind through Jesus Christ and for that we can be eternally grateful. You know your own condition - and I know mine. On our own, we could never be reconciled to the most holy God. We can all find people who are just trying to be 'good enough' to find God's favor. It cannot be done. However, through the blood of Jesus Christ, which was shed on the cross, we have peace with God.
This passage says that we were once alienated and enemies because of own evil behavior. To be alienated is to be indifferent or hostile. As we look at people in our world today, we see many who could care less about anything that God says. On the other extreme, we see others who want nothing more than to tear down God.
But due to Christ's sacrifice, believers are seen as holy in his sight. We are seen without blemish and free from accusation. Isn't it amazing to be looked at in this manner? How many of us have made mistakes in our past and we only wish we could wipe them away? Of course, there are consequences for bad behavior and many must deal with that. We have all failed God and through Christ, we are seen without blemish.
Due to our acceptance of Christ, we are seen as without blemish. I've heard some people talk about a color filter. Perhaps you have seen an old silver Christmas tree that had a color wheel next to it. As the wheel rotated, the light on the tree changed colors. We need to realize that Christ isn't a color filter, but a clear filter. We are seen as totally pure. I believe we have a hard time believing this because we so often are reminded of our past. Are we guilty of reminding others? None of us are God - and we cannot truly forget, but are we helping others around us or are we hindering them?
What is required to be free from the accusation of God? We must believe in Christ and base our hope in him. If we continue in our faith, established and firm, not moving from the hope as defined in the gospel, we are seen as holy men and women before God. This is the very nature of the gospel - the saving power and grace of Jesus Christ. Through him, we are reconciled to God, the Father.
Closing
Paul prayed for all of the churches to have a deeper understanding of Christ. Are you praying this for others? If we are going to be placing Jesus at the center of our lives, prayer needs to be an important aspect.
Jesus is not just another religious figure. He was present at the dawn of creation and all things have been created through him. He holds all things together. When life seems to fall apart, Jesus can help you pull the pieces together, if you have a relationship with Him. My favorite Christian artist was Rich Mullins and one of his songs was "Hold Me Jesus". Are you willing to be held by Christ?
We have been redeemed through the blood of Christ. Though we once were enslaved to our sins, Jesus paid the price for our redemption. However, that payment is only valid if you accept him. Are you willing to ask Jesus to forgive you from your sins?
As long as we just look to Jesus as another religious figure, there is no reason to give him much due. We can think of other leaders that are talked about much less often. Jesus deserves to be central to everything in your life. Will you ask him in and will you allow him access to everything you do?
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