The Appearance of Wisdom

Colossians 2:6-23, The Appearance of Wisdom

Good morning!  It’s good to be back together for worship.

Scripture is an amazing resource for all of us who want to know how to live better in relation to God and the people around us.  Scripture, however, isn’t as detailed as we sometimes want it to be.  We all have questions we’d like to find answers to in the pages of the Bible, but there are all sorts of things the Bible doesn’t address—at least not directly. But that doesn’t mean that we don’t do our best to figure out what God wants from us.  How, then, do we handle the issues that don’t have simple answers?

Some people choose to lean way over to the “freedom” side of the spectrum, while others tend to slide the other way to a position they sometimes refer to as “safe.” It’s hard to know which way to lean, and it’s even more complicated when we’re trying to figure out tough issues with the world weighing in with its countless philosophies and opinions. 

The Apostle Paul was trying to help the church in Colossae figure out those kinds of issues. We’d like to know exactly what sorts of worldly arguments and opinions he was responding to, but the text doesn’t clarify all that.  What we’re left with is a clear focus on Christ Jesus as the source of our truth, a warning to avoid human opinions that sound good but lack godliness, and a reminder that we are alive and bound to Christ in a way that normal human experience can’t understand. This morning, we’ll try to wade through some of that in a way that—I hope—makes sense and gives us a way to think about how we can continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.

— Patrick Barber

Digging Deeper Questions for the sermon: The Appearance of Wisdom

Digging Deeper:

1. What are some popular human traditions or teachings in our culture that are not consistent with the ways of God found in Scripture?
2. What does Paul mean when he says our baptism is akin to being circumcised in Christ?
3. How do we learn wisdom from Christ?
4. How can we distinguish between “do’s” and “don’ts” that come from God versus counterproductive rules that are man-made?