“Until Christ Is Formed in You”: Multiplying Jesus in Us and Through Us
Text: Galatians 4:19; Colossians 3:1–17
After all we’ve experienced so far on this retreat, I thought it would be good for us to reflect on the multiplication of Christ—both within our own lives and within His people, the church.
Paul says, “My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you.”(Gal 4:19)
That’s not sentiment; that’s scar tissue. It’s a pastor’s vow: I will labour again—whatever it costs—until Jesus is actually formed in you.
And here’s the turn: if Christ is to be formed in our people, he must be multiplying in us first. Not just our sermons, not just our systems—us.
2) The ache of spiritual parenting
One of the hardest seasons of my life was when our kids stepped into adulthood. They made beautiful choices...and some that broke my heart. My love didn’t shrink, but my control did. That helplessness gives me a window into Paul’s metaphor.
I’ve never given birth, but I watched my wife labour—once very nearly at the cost of her life and our son’s. Childbirth is long, painful, and overwhelming. Paul uses that image on purpose.
Early Church father John Chrysostom hears the anguish; St. Augustine hears the vigilance against seduction by false gospels. Both agree: this is costly love. Pastors, you know the feeling—when a congregant you’ve poured into drifts, when bad teaching seduces a good heart, when weariness sets in.
Paul isn’t dramatic; he’s describing the cost of forming Christ in real people in a real world.
3) What’s being formed in me? Let’s turn the question on ourselves. If Christ is not being formed in me,
something else is. Our minds don’t idle in neutral.
Think about your thoughts this past week, then zoom out to the past month. What’s occupied your mental energy when the tasks fall quiet?
For some, it’s logistics—meals, budgets, the calendar. For others, it’s a low, believable hum of self-reproach: the replay reel of old mistakes, the inner critic with a good memory and a bad heart.
Paul’s antidote isn’t “think positive.” It’s reality: “Since you have been raised with Christ… set your hearts on things above… For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” (Col 3:1–3) You died.
Your truest life is tucked into Christ. Hidden doesn’t mean fragile; it means secure. So when condemnation narrates your week, you can say, “That’s not the truest story about me".
4) Shrinking souls vs. enlarged souls
Here’s the danger: without Christ filling the centre, our souls shrink to fit lesser treasures—approval, control, lust, comfort, platform. Little souls cling to little gods. But when Christ fills the centre, our souls expand—capacity for love, courage, forgiveness grows. “Christ in you, the hope of glory” isn’t decorative language; it’s how humans
actually flourish. [breathe]
5) God’s prescription for holy multiplication - Read together:
Colossians 3 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ
is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died,
2and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.4 When Christ, who is your[a] life, appears, then you also will
appear with him in glory.
5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality,impurity, lust, evil
desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.[b] 7 You used to walk
in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8 But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these:
anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9 Do not lie to each other, since you have
taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in
knowledge in the image of its Creator. 11 Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised,
barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.
12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness,
humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a
grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love,
which binds them all together in perfect unity.
15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And
be thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another
with all wisdom through psalms,hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your
hearts.
Reflecting on Colossians 3, Paul gives a rhythm that multiplies Christ in us and through us.
Four movements:
A. Set your affection and attention
“Set your hearts… set your minds on things above.
” (vv.1–2) This is not escapism; it’s enthronement. Our attention is discipleship’s steering wheel. Attention set on Christ—regularly, deliberately—re-centres the pastor before the pastor centres anyone else. Build your day so your first gaze and last gaze are upward.
B. Put to death what kills you
“Put to death… whatever belongs to your earthly nature. “(v.5) Paul doesn’t say, "Manage it". ” He says,“Kill it.”
We’re not cruel to ourselves here; we’re kind to our souls. Lust, greed, the quiet idolatry of ministry success—end it before it ends you. This is why we keep short accounts: confession quickly, repentance promptly. (Yes,
“to aright” your steps—set them straight—early and often.)”
C. Put on the new clothes of Christ
“Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience…bear with each other… forgive… and over all these, put on love” (vv.12–14). Formation is not only subtractive; it’s deeply additive. We practise Christ’s
character until it fits like our favourite jacket. Pastoral authority without these clothes is noise; with them, it’s music.
D. Let the peace and the message rule and dwell
“Let the peace of Christ rule… Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish… with psalms, hymns, songs from the Spirit.” (vv.15–16)
Peace rules—it arbitrates, decides, umpires our responses. And the message dwells richly—not in a storage locker, but in the living room. Preaching is not the only place the word dwells; it inhabits our meetings, our
emails, our family table, our staff tensions. Then Paul gathers the whole chapter into one fierce sentence: “Whatever you do… do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus.
” (v.17) That’s comprehensive. That’s multiplication fuel.
From pastors to people: how Christ multiplies through us. Multiplication isn’t merely attendance math; it’s the forming of Christ in people who then form Christ in others. Disciple-makers are not produced by programs
alone; they are begotten by pastors and leaders in whom Jesus is palpably alive. When your church senses that Jesus—not hurry, not anxiety, not polish—Jesus lives in their shepherds, they catch it.
So yes, we structure groups, craft pathways, equip leaders. But beneath all that is this vow: I will labour again until Christ is formed in you.
Common derailers—and how to answer them
Low-grade discouragement / depression: When the soundtrack hums, name it, locate it beneath the gospel, and speak Colossians 3:3 aloud. Your life is hidden with Christ in God. Hidden doesn’t wobble.
Performance spirituality: Theology and academia are good servants and bad masters. If they’re replacing a living relationship with Jesus, pull the plug and re-centre.
Respectable idols: Busyness, reputation, even ministry results. Ask: Would I be at rest if Jesus took the platform but left me himself? If not, there’s an altar that needs building.
A simple pastoral “Rule of Life” for multiplication. Keep it modest. Keep it repeatable.
Four anchors:
1. Gaze: Morning and evening, five unhurried minutes fixing your heart and
mind “above.” (Scripture on the tongue, not just on the screen.)
2. Grain: Weekly confession—alone and with a trusted friend—so you keep very short accounts. Kill what kills you; don’t negotiate with it. Like wood has a grain you work with (not against), grace has a grain too. Confession is simply choosing to move with the grain of grace—naming reality before God (and possibly a trusted brother/sister) so the Spirit can keep your heart soft, agile, and usable. Weekly keeps the accounts short so nothing calcifies.
3. Gather: One deliberate, relational moment each week where you teach and admonish with wisdom—not a pulpit moment, a person moment. Multiply Christ one conversation at a time. Gratitude: End every day with “in the name of the Lord Jesus, thank you…”
Gratitude keeps the message dwelling richly and the peace ruling decisively. I've taken in the last number of months to, as I fall asleep, thanking God for each moment of the day, beginning at the beginning of the day. Most often I am gone before I reach 5 PM.
Let these four turn the flywheel. They are small doors into large rooms.
The identity that steadies the work.
You’ve said it to your people in one way or another; hear it again for you: you are a beloved, adopted child of the Most High King of the universe. Your life is hidden with Christ.
When old sins knock, the weight you feel isn’t God’s rejection; it’s your new nature saying, “You don’t live here anymore.” That discomfort is grace, not shame. Walk back into the sunlight of who you are. And remember Colossians 3:4: “When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”
The hidden life will not stay hidden. You will shine with him. Your labour in secret will be seen. Your people—the ones you travailed over—will be trophies of grace, not of your skill but of his forming presence.
A Challenge
Pastors, here’s the line in the sand—three vows or commitments of holy stubbornness. Receive them personally; then bring them home to your church. I’ll read each commitment first. Join me the second time if it reflects your heart.
Commitment 1 — Formation over performance:
I will choose the forming of Christ in me over the performance of ministry through me. I will not trade presence for polish. I will not sacrifice my soul on the altar of outcomes. I will set my heart and mind above—every day.
Commitment 2 — Death to what kills; life to what heals: I will put to death what kills me and put on what heals me. I will keep short accounts. I will confess quickly, forgive freely, and clothe myself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Over all, I will put on love.
Commitment 3 — Labour until multiplication:
I will labour again—patiently, prayerfully, personally—until Christ is formed in my people. I will not be content to manage ministries. I will be a midwife of resurrection life. I will make disciple-makers, not merely attendees.
If that’s your heart, I’m going to ask you—right where you are—to quietly open your hands. [pause] Let me pray this into us.
Closing Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, be formed in us. Set our minds and hearts above. Kill what kills us; clothe us with your life.Let your peace rule and your word dwell richly. Make us pastors and leaders enlarged by your glory, and through us, multiply your life in your people until many sons and daughters are brought to fullness in you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In the strong Name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
