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in the arena, part 5 (or things to fight for: a true knowledge of Christ)

By Amber | October 9, 2008

If I was putting together a list of things to fight for before God in prayer for my small group members, a true knowledge of Christ would be way at the top of the list.  That is exactly where I would start.  Things like encouragement would not even have occurred to me.

But Paul’s list is in the opposite order. Not that a knowledge of Christ is less important.  Its importance is actually highlighted by being the culmination of this list.  Everything that Paul has prayed for until now are like rungs on a ladder leading up to a true knowledge of the mystery of God, Christ Himself.

If you unwrap the logic of Paul’s prayer, you see that the knitting together of our hearts results in hearts that are encouraged.  Encouraged hearts can attain to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding.  This full assurance results in a true knowledge of Christ.

Paul uses a compelling picture of Christ as the treasure chest of God, in which all the riches of wisdom and knowledge are hidden.  A true knowledge of Christ is not knowing what the box looks like or even simply knowing how to open it.  A true knowledge of Christ is a knowledge of the treasures inside.  You’ve opened the box, you’ve seen the treasures, and you are beginning to examine each jewel, each piece of gold, each priceless item.

So how do you open the box and start studying the treasure within?  Paul, in a burst of delight in these treasures, says in Romans, “Oh the depths of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!“  Yet Jesus gives us hope that we can indeed begin to understand these riches because He promised to send us the Holy Spirit.  In John 16:13-15, He encourages His disciples with this promise:

But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth…He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.  All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.

Jesus’ description of His relationship with the Father in these verses fits exactly with Paul’s image of a treasure chest: “all things that the Father has are Mine,” “God’s mystery, that is Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

But Jesus goes on to describe not only His relationship with the Father, but with the Holy Spirit.  The Spirit of truth is our key to open the box and our expert to point out the amazing intricacies of each piece of treasure that easily escape the amateur’s notice.

This is what we want for our small groups and for ourselves: to know Christ and all the treasures we have in Him. Strive for this in your prayers for each of your group members.  And don’t forget the path that leads to true knowledge.  Never bypass unity and love, encouragement, and assurance in an effort to get to knowledge. You’ll end up with the “knowledge that puffs up” and wonder what happened to the love.

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Small Group Sermon Questions for 9/28/2008

By dave.stone | September 29, 2008

Here are links to the sermon questions for this week. They are separated by campus because the West Pasco campus is one week behind the Richland campus.

Topics: Small Groups, blood of Christ, small group sermon questions | No Comments »


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