Homily on Colossians 1:24-2:7

This homily was preached at the Wednesday Eucharist service at Prince of Peace on April 24, 2013.

Proclaiming Truth

What is truth? Pontius Pilate isn't the only one to ask this question. It's a question we all have to answer. But here's the thing. When you find your answer to this question, does your answer stand up over and against all the other things called “truth” in this world? When you are asked, “What is truth?” Does the truth you have satisfy the hunger of the question?

Paul writes in his letter to the Colossians that his struggles are for the whole church “to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Paul says this so that “no one will delude [them] with plausible arguments.”

Right now, we need to make one thing clear. Truth is found in Jesus Christ. The mystery of the word of God has been made fully known to us through Christ. Paul writes that “through his saints,” that's each one of us who puts our faith in Jesus, through us, “God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

When we proclaim Jesus Christ, we are not proclaiming a truth, we are proclaiming the truth. And the truth of Christ obliterates all arguments, however plausible or rational they might seem. But if we don't understand the truth of Christ, we run the risk of throwing it into the heap with all of the other so-called “truths” of the world.

We live in a society that undervalues truth. We live among people that are tired of seeking truth. Instead, they have decided that either there is no truth, or if there is, it can't be found. All of a sudden we have phrases like “your truth” and “my truth” as if truth could change from person to person. But we cannot fall into this trend. We need to stand up against it and speak boldly that truth is Christ, and in him is all wisdom and knowledge.

But if we do not grow in our understanding of Christ, how can we face off against the Enemy of Truth? How can we dispute the Father of Lies? We must have the Word ready at our lips. We must know the truth that is Christ and know him fully. “Him we proclaim,” the Scripture reads, “warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.” We must know the Scriptures so that we might know Christ more fully to answer the attacks of the enemy.

We proclaim Christ with a warning. Caution, “the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” The Word of God is dangerous and not to be messed with. If you want to embrace it, you must prepare for your life to be shaken. The truth of the Gospel in Jesus Christ will tear down the walls of self. The Gospel will attack those dark places of the soul which you have thought hidden in the furthest and deepest parts of you. The Gospel will point to what you once called truth-- to the idols of your heart; money, sex, fame, self-- and cast them out. They have no place in the Kingdom of God.

And in the place of these things, the Gospel will insert truth. Wisdom is granted to those who seek after the truth of the Gospel. And all the arguments of the world will wither away in its light. Because truth is not an argument. Truth is. When Paul preached the Gospel to the Corinthian church, he “did not come proclaiming to [them] .. with lofty speech or wisdom … [But he] decided to know nothing among [them] except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” Paul's message was presented “in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.” He did not want the faith of the Corinthians to “rest in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.”

You see, any argument can be debated. If I give you a sound argument for faith in Christ, there's bound to be someone out there smarter than me who can present you with an argument against it. After that person, there will be an even more brilliant thinker debunking that argument. But we don't place our faith in arguments. Our faith is based on the power of God, and specifically in his work through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Jesus Christ, by his life, by his death, and by his rising again from the grave, testifies to God's work here on earth. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, which comes and dwells in you who believe, “will teach you all things and bring you to remembrance all that [Jesus has said.]” Nothing can stand against truth of Christ. By knowing Christ and him crucified, lives are won for the Gospel. But we must know what it means to preach this truth.

Remember, Paul wrote that presenting the Gospel includes teaching with all wisdom so we can present ourselves and others as mature in Christ. We cannot only hear the Gospel once and then not look into it more deeply. The Gospel calls for us to dive into the riches of it's mystery. Within its depths, we see glory.

Peter writes in his epistle that “in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news by the Holy Spirit sent from Heaven, [are] things into which angels long to look.”

God has revealed truth to us in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The deeper we look into this truth of the Gospel, the more it satisfies our questions. To know the Gospel more deeply is to see the glory of God more clearly. How can we not long for this?