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.
That is the suffering that results in illness (like cancer or heart disease and so on), or disability (because of, say, an accident), or hurt (because of someone else’s sinful actions), etc.
And the other aspect of suffering is for the sake of Christ.
That is the suffering that comes through persecution for the sake of one’s faith in Christ.
Paul most often speaks about this kind of suffering rather than the former.
It is helpful to keep this distinction in mind when we experience pain, difficulty, or suffering.
What does this mean for you and me?
Expect gospel ministry to cost you something.
Ministry to the church will involve your time, your talents, and your treasure.
Ask yourself, “Where is Christ inviting me to ‘fill up’ what is lacking in his afflictions—through costly service to the church, that is, the people of God?”
II. Christ’s Ministers Steward the Mystery (1:25-27)
Second, Christ’s ministers steward the mystery.
Paul continues in verse 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....”
God called Paul to serve him as a minister of the gospel.
He regarded this as a “stewardship from God.”
The Greek word for “stewardship” (oikonomian) refers to a household manager.
It is the management of someone else’s property and affairs.
Since the gospel is God’s, Paul’s task was to do what God wanted him to do: make it fully known to others.
That is what Paul gave his entire life to do.
He served to tell others about the grace of God, which is found only in Christ.
The task of every minister is to reach and nourish people, using the word of God to affect every area of their lives.
Here is an example of how much God’s word meant to a young girl:
“In France, there once lived a poor blind girl who obtained the Gospel of Mark in raised letters and learned to read it by the tips of her fingers. By constant reading, … [her fingers] became callous, and her sense of touch diminished until she could not distinguish the characters. One day, she cut the skin from the ends of her fingers to increase their sensitivity, only to destroy it. She felt that she must now give up her beloved Book, and weeping, pressed it to her lips, saying, ‘Farewell, farewell, sweet word of my Heavenly Father!’ To her surprise, her lips, more delicate than her fingers, discerned the form of the letters. All night she perused the form of the letters. All night she perused with her lips the word of God and overflowed with joy at this new acquisition” (Paul Lee Tan, Encyclopedia of 7,700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times, 190).
Is that not the desire of every Christian who is in union with Christ?
Do we not want to know the word of God and make the word of God fully known to others?
Let me encourage you to value expository, Christ-centered preaching.
Don’t grow bored with sermons that open the text and show you Jesus.
That is the very stewardship that Paul is describing in this verse.
Paul described the word of God in verse 26a as “the mystery hidden for ages and generations.”
Paul does not use the word “mystery” in the sense of “something difficult or impossible to understand or explain.”
Rather, he uses it in the sense of “something that was hidden but is now revealed.”
That is why Paul goes on to say, “but now revealed to his saints” (v. 26b).
Through Paul’s ministry as an apostle to the Gentiles, the “mystery” of the word of God—Jesus as the Christ and Redeemer of all nations—was made fully known to “his saints.”
Have you ever misplaced or lost something?
Perhaps you misplaced a book that you had borrowed from someone.
You were concerned because it was not your book and was your friend’s favorite.
Days went by, and you could not find the book.
One morning, you went into your son’s bedroom.
There, much to your surprise, was the book!
He had seen it, thought it looked interesting, took it to his bedroom, and was reading it.
You were so relieved when you found it!
Some Jews in Paul’s day were looking for and anticipating the coming of the Christ.
How glad they were when he was finally revealed to them.
We are blessed because we live two millennia after Christ’s life and death.
We don’t have to wait for his arrival because he has already come.
That is why Paul goes on to say in verse 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.”
Paul continues to clarify the mystery mentioned in verse 26.
God has made known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of the mystery.
Then Paul says what the mystery is: It is “Christ.”
He states further that Christ is “in you.”
Here is another expression of their union with Christ.
Christ so identifies with his people that he is “in you.”
My dear Christian, fight the temptation to seek “something more” than Christ—extra experiences, secret techniques, or spiritual novelties.
All the fullness of God’s saving purpose is in Christ, and Christ is in you by faith.
Because of this glorious union with Christ, believers have “the hope of glory.”
This is not mere wishful thinking.
Rather, it is the certainty that a desire shall be fulfilled.
We can learn something about Christian hope from fishermen.
In Pavlov’s Trout, Paul Quinnett writes:
“It is better to fish hopefully than to catch fish. Fishing is a hopeful experience. To be optimistic in a slow bite is to thrive on hope alone. When asked, ‘How can you fish all day without a hit?’ the true fisherman replies, ‘Hold it! I think I felt something.’ If the line goes slack, he says, ‘He’ll be back!’ When it comes to the human spirit, hope is all. Without hope, there is no yearning, no desire for a better tomorrow, and no belief that the next cast will bring the big strike.” According to the Bible, the Christian life is also a life of hope. A hopeless Christian is a contradiction in terms (Craig Brian Larson, 750 Engaging Illustrations for Preachers, Teachers & Writers [Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2002], 252).
Let “Christ in you, the hope of glory” stabilize you in your trials.
Your future is not fragile because the Christ who is in you is not fragile.
III. Christ’s Ministers Strive for Everyone’s Maturity (1:28)
Third, Christ’s ministers strive for everyone’s maturity.
Paul says in verse 28 about Christ, “Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.”
The focal point of Paul’s gospel message was Christ.
Paul does not make a distinction between evangelism and discipleship in God’s mission.
His mission was to obey Christ’s Great Commission, which is to make disciples of all nations (peoples).
Paul sets down the strategy, audience, and goal.
The strategy for making disciples is to proclaim him, that is, Christ.
This is done by “warning” and “teaching” others.
This must be done with “all wisdom.”
The audience is “everyone,” a term Paul used three times in this verse.
God wants Christ to be proclaimed to “everyone.”
The ultimate goal is to “present everyone mature in Christ.”
While this refers to the disciple’s sanctification, its ultimate focus is on Christ himself and our perfected union with him in eternity.
The challenge to present everyone perfect in Christ is the bottom line for every minister.
Either he does, or he doesn’t.
The story is told about a sailor who had just returned from a whaling voyage.
He heard an eloquent preacher.
Asked how he liked the sermon, the sailor replied:
“It was shipshape. The masts were just high enough, the sails and the rigging all right, but I did not see any harpoons. When a vessel goes on a whaling voyage, the main thing is to get whales. They do not come because you have a fine ship. You must go after them and harpoon them. The preacher must be a whaler!” (Dr. W. H. Griffith Thomas. Quoted in Knight’s Treasury of 2,000 Illustrations by Walter B. Knight, p.280).
The preacher must pursue people to present them to Christ.
The preacher must be a worker!
Let me also say a word to all non-preachers.
Understand that faithful ministry will not always feel comfortable.
You will be warned.
And you will also be taught.
Lean into this, recognizing that the goal is your maturity, not your comfort.
IV. Christ’s Ministers Struggle with All His Energy (1:29)
And finally, Christ’s ministers struggle with all his energy.
Paul says in verse 29, “For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.”
Paul has given his life to the glorious mission of making Christ known to others—especially to the Gentiles.
He is convinced that his struggles—and his sufferings—are not in vain (see 1 Corinthians 15:58).
Therefore, he continues to “toil” for this purpose (Colossians 1:29).
Yet, Paul also recognized that it required strength beyond his own to serve as he did.
Paul’s “struggling” is not just for the sake of Christ.
His tireless devotion is enabled by the “energy” of Christ that “powerfully works” within him.
Christ himself empowers Paul to labor and persevere in accomplishing the mission.
One of my favorite historical characters and one of the greatest evangelists of all time was George Whitfield.
He was born in Gloucester, England, in 1714.
He went to Oxford University, where he met the Wesley brothers.
He was converted to Christ and became a minister in the Church of England.
However, because of his powerful and evangelistic preaching, he was barred from the pulpits in England.
So, he took to preaching in the open air.
Whitefield made several trips to North America, where he preached to vast crowds.
Whitefield died at the age of 55 in Massachusetts.
It is estimated that Whitefield preached 18,000 sermons during his lifetime, reaching an audience of 10 million.
That means that Whitefield preached almost 10 sermons every week of his ministry!
Whitefield entirely agreed with Paul’s statement as he also toiled for the gospel, struggling with all Christ’s energy that powerfully worked within him.
Whitefield once said, “Press forward. Do not stop, do not linger in your journey, but strive for the mark set before you” (George Whitefield, The Works of the Reverend George Whitefield, Vol. 5 [London: Edward and Charles Dilly, 1772], 140).
How does this apply to you?
Where are you “struggling with all Christ’s energy” in your ministry?
How are you involved in making Christ known to others in your church, your family, and your community?
And how are you doing this while relying on his energy rather than your own?
Conclusion
Some of you Christians are weary in your service to Christ and his church.
Learn to serve with all Christ’s energy that powerfully works in you.
Some of you Christians are not weary in your service to Christ and his church.
That is because you are not serving at all.
You wonder why you’re stuck in your walk with Christ.
It is because you are called to service and you are not serving.
You are stuck in spiritual childhood.
You will grow in spiritual maturity as you serve Christ and his church.
So, volunteer to serve in a ministry today.
Finally, I want to address you if you are not yet a Christian.
Your first step is to come to Christ himself for salvation.
Put your trust in him.
Repent of all your sins.
Once you receive salvation from Christ, then, and only then, can you serve him. Amen.
