Ministry To The Church Series

Introduction

What should ministry to the church look like today?

We are currently studying Paul’s letter to the Colossians in a series I am calling, “The Peerless Christ.”

A man by the name of Epaphras had most likely been converted under Paul’s three-year ministry in Ephesus from 52 to 55 AD.

Epaphras returned to his home in Colossae, which was 100 miles east of Ephesus, and shared the gospel with family, friends, and strangers.

It was not long before a church was established in Colossae, and Epaphras continued serving as their pastor.

After some years, false teachers began teaching Christians that Christ was not enough for continued growth.

They needed more.

Epaphras then visited Paul in Rome to inform him about what was happening in Colossae and to enlist his help in teaching the believers the truth accurately about Jesus and the gospel.

So, Paul wrote this letter to the Christians in the Church of Colossae from his house arrest confinement in Rome in about 62 AD.

He wanted them to understand that Christ is enough.

Since they were in union with Christ, they did not need to add anything else to grow in him.

Because they were in Christ, they needed to grow in him.

Christians today are not immune from the same false teaching that promotes spiritual growth as “Jesus-plus,” such as Jesus plus extra experiences, Jesus plus secret techniques, or Jesus plus spiritual novelties.

These are all temptations that question whether Christ and his word are sufficient for growing in him.

In today's text, Colossians 1:24-29, Paul speaks about his ministry to the church.

Yet because God calls all Christians to ministry to the church, what we learn from Paul applies to each one of us.

Scripture

Let’s read Colossians 1:24-29:

24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, 25 of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. 27 To them 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. 28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. 29 For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.

Lesson

Colossians 1:24-29 teaches us that God has called each believer to a specific ministry in the church, and it is through our willing participation in Christ’s work in us that we can effectively minister to others.

Let’s use the following outline:

1. Christ’s Ministers Share in Sufferings (1:24)

2. Christ’s Ministers Steward the Mystery (1:25-27)

3. Christ’s Ministers Strive for Everyone’s Maturity (1:28)

4. Christ’s Ministers Struggle with All His Energy (1:29)

I. Christ’s Ministers Share in Sufferings (1:24)

First, Christ’s ministers share in sufferings.

Paul says in verse 24, “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church.”

I want you to note the paradox of rejoicing in suffering.

Keep in mind that when Paul wrote these words, he was in prison.

And yet he says, “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake.”

This is not stoic endurance, but gospel joy.

Paul’s pain was serving the church’s good.

The concept of suffering is woven throughout this passage (see vv. 24, 29: 2:1).

The term carries the idea of “struggles and afflictions.”

Paul had, of course, endured extreme suffering (see 2 Corinthians 11: 23-33).

Some may wonder what Paul meant when he said, “I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions.”

Paul was not saying that something was lacking in Christ's once-for-all atoning sacrifice.

Christ’s sufferings are complete for the salvation of every individual who trusts in him.

What is “lacking” is the embodiment of Christ’s sufferings through “his body on earth.”

That is to say that Christ continues to suffer through his people as they bear opposition for the gospel and lovingly serve his church.

Paul endured this so that the gospel could spread to others throughout the Mediterranean basin.

The reason Paul could “rejoice” in his sufferings was because of his eternal perspective on what was happening to him.

His sufferings were not only for the Colossian Christians, but for the universal cause of Christ, “for his body, that is, the church.”

Now, there are two aspects of suffering.

One is suffering because we live in a fallen world.