Stand Firm

Introduction

Paul did not establish the church in Colossae, the preacher Epaphras did (1:7). But Paul wrote to the Colossians to encourage their faith, reliance and devotion to Jesus Christ, as the Church struggled to grow toward maturity.

Paul, by long standing tradition, is designated as the author. The author claims to be Paul in the greeting (1:1). Paul also refers to himself in 1:23 and 4:18.[1]Modern scholarship casts doubt on this, but it merely distracts from the richer study of the clarity of thought and supreme beauty of Paul’s Christology.

The Colossians were “faithful in Christ” (1:2), exhibited “faith in Jesus Christ” (1:4), were “bearing fruit” (1:6) and “love in the Spirit” (1:8). These statements put the scholarship about the so called “Colossian Heresy,” into proper perspective. Paul was writing these churches, not to admonish them, like the Corinthians, but to encourage them to “continue in the faith, stable and steadfast,” (1:23). This is crucial to determine exactly what the so-called “Colossian Heresy,” consisted of.

As an Epistle, the New Testament book of Colossians follows Paul’s epistolary style. Paul generally begin with a greeting, moving on to thanksgiving and prayer. The body of the epistle is generally apportioned equally between theological instruction and application, while personal greetings reinforce the writer’s attachment to the recipients. The book of Colossians is rhetorically persuasive, with well-styled argumentation clarifying the gospel and its application as one side of a debate between the all-sufficiency of Christ and the false teaching of man-made religion that threatened the Colossian church.[2]

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Preacher, Preach to Yourself First

III

Romans 2:17–24But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law; and if you are sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth—you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. For, as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”

An electrician can’t cut wire with blunt splicers. The music will be scratchy and unmelodious if the hi-fi needle is worn down. A pie isn’t cut into even portions with a dull knife.

A minister can’t effectively preach if the force of his exhortation is blunted by his own lack of spirituality or piety, if he is physically worn down, or if he is intellectually dull.

Preachers are tools in the hands of the Lord. The preacher must keep himself useful by remaining sharp, well cared for and pointed. If you are teaching others to do what you yourself are not doing or are preaching against impiety that you yourself are entangled, then you are a useless tool.

The preacher must be the hungriest for the table fellowship of the Lord. He must be the thirstiest, neediest sinner. He must pursue, repent, praise, thank and honor God more than any other sheep in the flock. Under-shepherds who aren’t watchful of themselves will be devoured along with their defenseless flock.

Preaching as Poetry

II

Good communication consists of two elements, logic and poetics. Logic and poetics are the two rails on which communication moves. In preaching, the Spirit is the engine pulling the train and what the spirit is pulling the communication on, are logic and poetry. Logic and poetics are the what and how of communication.  Aristotle defined Poetics as the study of linguistic techniques in poetry and literature.

It’s a study of communication within the framework of poetic knowledge; non-analytical, intuitive, immediate understanding from the inside out.

Poetics is not Poetry – it’s not verse. Poetics is the art of beautiful transformative metaphor, awe inspiring analogy, allegory, symbolism, etc.  This has a lot to do with how every person thinks -interacts with the world using their intellect.

Thisis like that– is the way we interpret new data. This is how we communicate clearly because its how our brains and creation were made to work. This loaf is the body of Christ. The whole OT temple and sacrificial system is a type or shadow or metaphor for Christ. With this ring I thee wed. what is the ring a symbol of? What is it a metaphor, for?

The reason for this is that human thinking, human understanding is based on metaphor.

Genesis 1:1–2 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

Romans 1:20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

Colossians 1:17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

The universe is a metaphor, a grand statement; this is what God is like. Everything that is, is a spoken word.

Preaching 101

I

Like any work, preaching is a craft that requires time and failure to get really good at. This thread will discuss what preaching is, what it ought to accomplish and how to develop it as a craft.

Of course, we turn to the Bible to discover what it is preachers are doing.

Nehemiah 8:1–8 And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water Gate. And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the LORD had commanded Israel. So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, on the first day of the seventh month. And he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law. And Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform that they had made for the purpose…They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading. (ESV)

So how did it work? The preacher stood on a platform before both men and women. He read the word and the people of God listened attentively. The preacher gave the sense of the words and the people understood the words.

This is preaching in a nutshell. Read the text. Explain the text clearly and the audience receives understanding.

Now let’s move into the NT. Let’s look at the master preacher.

Luke 4:16–22 …[Jesus] stood up to read. [17] And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.  And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”  And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. (ESV)

What pattern do we see in Luke 4? Jesus is handed the Scriptures from the attendant while standing. Jesus reads the Scripture. Jesus closes the book and hands it back to the attendant. Jesus sits down and begins to preach to them. At first they marvel but Jesus continues even thought he has already dazzled them. He isn’t satisfied with tickling their ears. He preaches the kingdom of God and repentance. Then we read,

Luke 4:28–29 When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. (ESV)

The main thing we need to notice in these examples is how the sermon worked. The Word would be read, and then the preacher would teach the sense of the words, and preach an exhortation based on them.

But notice that Jesus’ conclusion infuriated the crowd, and they sought to kill him. That is why preaching takes a ton of prayer for boldness and wisdom. If it takes no courage to preach then you are doing it wrong, because if you go to the front lines, you can’t be surprised when the enemy starts shooting back at you. Sermons ought to ruffle feathers and mess up hair, because the preacher is a weapon in the hand of God.

Likewise, at the conclusion of Peter’s Sermon on Pentecost, we read,

Acts 2:37–38 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (ESV)

Read the word. Give the sense or the meaning of the word directed toward understanding, so that the crowd responds.

R.L Dabney, in Evangelical Eloquence, says of preaching, “its design is to evoke an act.”

Reading the word of God. Explaining the word of God. Giving an understanding of the word of God. Acting on the word of God.

This is preaching 101.