The Character of Gospel Ministry (2 of 2)

Series: Colossians

Speaker: Pastor Justin Wheeler

Scripture: Colossians 1:24-29

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“It’s time to grow up!” This is a phrase I heard many times as a boy and it typically came on the heels of a mistake I had made. It wasn’t a phrase I enjoyed hearing because it almost always implied that I wasn’t grown up. It was both a rebuke and an exhortation. It made me face the fact that I wasn’t mature while spurring me on to pursue maturity, and maturity is one of those things that if you ever begin to seek it out you might just come to realize that you will never fully attain it.

Today, I find myself still seeking to grow and be a mature man. There are so many things I don’t know and so many things I have still yet to learn. There are experiences that I haven’t had, trials that I’ve never been tested against, and so the journey toward maturity that began when I realized just how immature I was, that journey continues and I don’t think I will ever fully arrive; at least not on my own.

Growth and maturity are natural aspects of human life. In fact, it’s when growth is not occurring that we often realize that something is wrong. Some dear friends of ours have a young son who was born as their fourth child and things appeared to be quite normal early on for him. He was a happy, playful, and energetic little boy, but when his age kept increasing and his abilities didn’t match his age, there was cause for concern because growth and maturity are a natural part of healthy human life.

Growth and maturity are natural signs of health in of all forms of life. Now that Spring is officially upon us I will be spending quite a bit of time working in my vegetable garden. One of the things I will be looking for as I tend the garden is whether or not my plants are growing the way they should. The goal of a garden is the fruit and if plants are growing in a healthy way then I will need to address the problems, tend to the specific needs in order to help them grow up to maturity so that they can produce fruit.

Growth and maturity are natural signs of health in every facet of life including the life of God’s people. New Testament authors use the common stages of human development to describe how Christians are to grow from infancy, to childhood, and on to mature adulthood. As Christians, we are called to press on to maturity in the faith. We are encouraged to grow up in every way to be more like Jesus. When growth is not seen in the life of a Christian there is cause for concern because growth is a sign of life.

But what are the means to such growth? How can we put ourselves in a position to promote growth in our own Christian life? How can we serve to promote growth in the lives of others? Well, these are questions that Paul is seeking to help us answer here in Colossians 1:24-29. This passage is about the character of gospel ministry and today in verses 28-29 we are going to see three aspects of ministry that pertain to maturity in the Christian life.

Transition…

Over the last 2 weeks we have been learning about the character of gospel ministry. We learned that the spirit of gospel ministry is joy and that suffering in gospel ministry comes with the territory. Last week we learned that God is the source of gospel ministry, that making the Word of God fully known is the scope, and Christ is the substance of gospel ministry. This morning we are going to look at three more characteristics that are found in verses 28-29: style, sum and strength.

Col 1:24 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.

Sermon Focus…

I. The Style/Method of Gospel Ministry (V. 28a)

28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom

There are three verbs in this verse that describe the style of gospel ministry. They outline how we go about our task. We are to proclaim, warn and teach. And the way we should read this verse is that we are to proclaim Christ, and in our proclamation we do two things: we warn and we teach. Our proclamation involves both warning and teaching. So what does all of this mean?

What are we to proclaim? Him! We proclaim Christ. The One described in verses 15-20 is the One that we are to tell others about. We are to proclaim or announce the truth about Jesus Christ. The verb carries with it the idea of a public announcement, which would include preaching but would also include sharing or dissemination ideas in a bold, clear and public way. This proclamation happens in normal everyday conversation as well as in the pulpit on Sunday morning.

The gospel of Jesus is good news and good news is meant to be shared in formal as well as informal ways. This news doesn’t need to be embellished or polished up in any way. It can stand on its own and it will accomplish the purpose of God (2 Cor 4:1-7).

We need to have complete confidence in the simple yet bold proclamation of Christ as the means by which God would save sinners, build His church and accomplish His purpose in the world. Listen to Paul describe the power of God at work through the clear and faithful proclamation of Christ Crucified.

I Corinthians 2:1 And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, 4 and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

Paul is saying, “Listen, all I did was come to you and tell you about Jesus. I told you who He is and what He died to accomplish. I told you all about His life and miracles. I told you about how He fulfills the OT prophecies regarding the Messiah. I told you about His resurrection…I just told you the truth of the Gospel and that is enough.”

(Illus…This past week I read about an encounter that Tim Challies had with a Worship Leader and Creative Arts Director for a church in Toronto. Here’s how he explained the encounter…

Her main task is to put together and then lead her church’s worship services. Early in the week, the senior pastor tells her his focus for that Sunday and she gets to work. She thinks of stage props that will complement the message, she considers assembling the dance team, she combs through YouTube and popular movies to look for clips—especially funny clips. Some Sundays she removes the sermon altogether so the church can watch a painter produce a work of art or a drama team lead a performance. These “visual sermons” are often more effective than preaching, she said.

At one point she began to tell about her pastor. He is a good communicator and loves to preach, but there is a problem: while the church is getting younger, he is getting older. She isn’t sure he can be effective at his age and is kind of hoping he will move on. I took the opportunity to ask what qualifications the church might value in a new pastor. She thought for a few moments and replied, “He’d need to have good rapport with young people and a great sense of humor.”

This is a sad state of affairs but it is more common than we care to admit. For many “churches” there is no confidence in the simple proclamation of the gospel. For pragmatic churches like this the goal is to inspire people. The worship service has to be engaging, inspirational, uplifting and dramatic; if it doesn’t meet this criterion then it has no place in their service. This is a far cry from the scope of gospel ministry outlined in Scripture.

Again, listen to Paul address the style of gospel ministry in 2 Cor 4:

2 Cor 4:1 Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. 2 But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. 3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

For Paul, the gospel of Jesus has a power and wisdom all its own, it is the power and  wisdom of the upside down kingdom of Christ. It is a wisdom, which shows us that sacrificial love is the most powerful thing in the universe. It is a wisdom that discourages pride and exalts humility. It is a wisdom that says the only way to God is through faith in Christ, not obedience to a religious system, not painstaking adherence to a system of laws, but by abandoning the self-salvation mission that every religion in this world proclaims and trusting in the work of another to save you.

We preach Christ crucified as the only hope of salvation for a sinful humanity that is separated from God and headed for destruction. Notice also that Paul says the style of our ministry involves a warning. We warn everyone and this word warn can be translated as admonish if you prefer old churchy terms. It means that part of our proclamation includes a warning about sin and the judgment that is sure to follow.

Good news is only good if it addresses what we already understand to be bad. The bad news is that we are sinners and God is angry about our sin. The flood in Genesis 6 gives us a picture of God’s wrath toward sin. At the beginning of chapter 6:5 we read, “The Lord saw that the wickedness of mankind had become great upon the earth and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually…”

Ephesians 2:1-3 makes it clear that in our natural sinful state we are dead in our sin, following the rebellious course of Satan himself and are by nature children of wrath. Brother/sister, I know this is uncomfortable to hear but part of our responsibility as gospel ministers is to proclaim the gospel and warn every one of the consequences that they will face if they do not turn from their sin and trust in Christ. “All have sinned and fallen short of God’s glorious standard. The wages of sin is death and after death comes judgment.” This will not make us popular within the growing secularism of our culture, but popularity is not our goal.

There is also a place for warning/admonishing within the church. Colossians 3:16 “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom.” This happens when we see our Christian friends acting in a way that is inconsistent with God’s Word and we warn them of their sin. This happens when we teach our kids not to be selfish or hateful but instead we teach them to share and be kind. This happens when we point each other to the Word of Christ and help one another obey the Lord.

But don’t miss the fact that there should be balance in our proclamation. We proclaim, we warn and we also instruct. It is not enough to warn people of what not to do, we are also to give clear instruction on what we are to do. These two terms serve as two sides of the same coin. We teach what to avoid and we teach what to embrace.

Let me give you an example of this in action…In Ephesians 4 we read that as Christians we are to put off the old and put on the new. If we were once prone to lie all the time we should stop doing that and work hard to tell the truth. If we were once a thief who liked to take things that didn’t belong to us, we should stop doing that and get a job so that we can learn to give away what does belong to us in order to help others.

The style of gospel ministry is such that we proclaim the gospel, we warn people about their sin and its consequences, and we also teach them how to know, love, and serve Christ.

II. The Sum of Gospel Ministry (V. 28)

that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

Why do we labor in preaching, warning and teaching? So that the people we are ministering to can grow up to Christian maturity. The goal of our ministry is not to gain notoriety and book deals. The goal of ministry is not to climb the church ladder and have a cushy job on the stage of a megachurch someday. The goal of gospel ministry is not to grow a big church that is a mile wide and inch deep. The goal of gospel ministry is to help Christians grow to be more like Jesus.

That’s what God promises to do in us, He promises to grow us to be more and more like Jesus. He will work in our hearts to make us wise. He will teach us truth so that we won’t be so confused and susceptible to false doctrine and teaching. He will give us opportunities to serve others and will give us the strength to carry out that service. He will grow our patience, our understanding, our sensitivity to the needs of others, our sensitivity to His Word; God is going to grow us up into maturity and one of the most significant ways that He will accomplish this in our lives is through the ministry of others. The normal means of gospel ministry.

Eph 4:11 Jesus gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood…

God promises to use the normal means of faithful and spiritually gifted men and women in the church to help us mature in the faith.

14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

The church will grow up to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ when we are faithful to invest our lives in gospel ministry. That’s right! God desires to bring Christians to maturity and He has called us to be one of the primary means that He uses to grow young Christian’s into that maturity.

As a church this responsibility starts with the elders, then it impacts the deacons, it leans heavily on the pastor, but also every other member who teaches. It falls on parents to be raising our children to know and love God and His Word. It is accomplished in community groups, in Sunday School, in youth ministry, in ladies Bible studies, in Calvin reading groups and countless other relationships where we take seriously the responsibility of gospel ministry.

This is discipleship and it happens when we invest our lives in the ministry of the church. It happens when we get to know one another on a deeper level than a greeting in the hallway on your way to Sunday School. It happens when we say yes to the needs around us. It happens when you make time to really study the Word, to read a good book, to get plugged into a ministry of the church so that you can grow and then help someone else to grow as well.

So here’s an important question, “How are we going to help others to grow?” The truth is most of us feel as though we are the ones in need of growth so how are we going to be helpful to others? How are we going to help others to grow?

Our confidence for gospel ministry is not in our expertise or qualifications but in the Word of God.

2 Tim 3:16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work…(therefore) 2 preach the word.

Christians will move toward maturity by feeding on God’s Word. You don’t have to have a seminary degree to help others grow in Christ. Read the Scriptures, think and pray. Read, write down your thoughts, and pray. Read a good book, think about it, discuss it with others, and pray. Be faithful in worship and let the Word of God seep down into your heart and life, then be willing to share it with others.

And there is one more thing that Paul wants us to understand about the character of gospel ministry and it is that our strength comes from God.

III. The Strength of Gospel Ministry (V. 29)

29 For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.

First, I want you to notice that gospel ministry involves toil. These word that Paul is using here mean laboring to the point of exhaustion. Gospel ministry is hard work. It requires sacrifice. It means late nights studying to get ready for Sunday morning. It means losing sleep because the person you are discipling is struggling with sin. It means sacrificing leisure time to read and pray. Ministry is often toil.

Most of the leaders and teachers in this church work full time jobs, they are actively raising children, they are taking care of needs within their own families, but they are also carving out time to get a Sunday school lesson together. Once each quarter I ask one of the elders or another capable man in the church to preach for me. I do this because I need to put myself under the ministry of the Word, but I know that this is asking a lot of these men. It’s work to prepare a sermon for this congregation.

Our Sunday school teachers do a wonderful job, our community group leaders work hard to host and make those meetings profitable, our bible study leaders make significant sacrifices to help others grow and all of this is hard work. Ministry in a small local church depends on the hard work and sacrifice of volunteer teachers and leaders.

But for all of our labor we need to understand that we are not working alone. Our struggling in ministry is being propped up by the power which God supplies. In other words, our efforts in ministry are not merely human efforts. It’s hard work yes, but we are not the only one’s working. God supplies us with strength.

(Illus…The fire of faithfulness that burns in us is supplied by the kindling that we put around us (prayer, Bible study, service, etc.) but the flame is kept ablaze by the Holy Spirit who pours oil on the fire even when we can’t see it.

God’s power is at work in us as we labor and His power is at work in those to whom we labor. Our labor is not in vain on either front. The Kingdom of God rests upon the mysterious power that God provides underneath the hard work of His people. It is mysterious in the sense that Paul can say in 1 Cor 15:10, “I worked harder than all of them”, but at the same time he says, “through Him who gives me strength” (Phil 4:13).

Conclusion…

So what does this mean? It means we have a lot of work to do and the burden of that work falls on our shoulders. But God will not abandon us to fruitless toil. He will strengthen us. He will supply what we need and He will work in the hearts of His people through our efforts.

Colossians 1:24-29 has taught us 8 characteristics of gospel ministry ( the spirit of gospel ministry is joy, suffering in gospel ministry is common, the source of gospel ministry is God, the scope of our ministry is to make the Word of God fully known, the substance of gospel ministry is our glorious Christ, the style of our ministry is to proclaim Christ (warning and teaching), the sum of our ministry is Christian maturity and the strength of our labor is supplied by God Himself.

This is the character of gospel ministry within the upside-down kingdom of Christ and it is not just a task for the professionals. Every believer is called to serve in this.

So let’s pray and ask the Lord to ready our hearts and to strengthen our faithfulness to the task of gospel ministry.

 

 

 
 

The Character of Gospel Ministry (1 of 2)

Series: Colossians 

Speaker: Pastor Justin Wheeler

Scripture: Colossians 1:24-29

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Paul’s Conversion in Acts 26:12-18

“Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?” It’s a simple question but the answer will surprise you. This question comes up because Jesus’ disciples were having a conversation while they were walking from Galilee to Capernaum. To be honest it was more of an argument and it had to do with which disciple was the best disciple.

I can imagine them comparing notes about who cast out the most demons, or who had memorized more of Jesus’ sayings. I imagine Peter reminded everyone that he did in fact walk on water, even if only for a minute. I’m sure John reminded everyone that Jesus did seem to love him more than the rest. Judas probably bragged about how Jesus has asked him to manage all of the finances.

This probably wasn’t the first time they had this argument but it must have come to a head on this day because Jesus decides that it is time to set the record straight; not by pointing out who is the greatest but by teaching them what greatness means in His kingdom. Jesus tells them, “he who is least among you is the one who is great. If you want to be first in the Kingdom of God, then you must be the servant of all”

It’s not about what you do that makes you great in Christ’s Kingdom, it’s about how you serve. This is quite different than the pattern of greatness that we are accustomed to in the kingdom of this world, but don’t forget that God’s Kingdom is different, it’s upside down.

This morning we are looking again at the character of gospel ministry through the lens of the apostle Paul’s suffering. What he has to say to us is not simply an outline of the Apostolic role but is intended to serve as basic instruction for all who participate in the ministry of making disciples, which in one way or another involves every single Christian. If you are a believer in Christ, then you have been given not only the gift of salvation but also gifts that the Lord intends for you to use as you take part in the Great Commission which is found in Matthew 28:18-20.

The task that Jesus has given to all of us is that as we are going through life as His people we are to be making disciples. We are to be sharing the gospel and making disciples in our homes, in our churches and out in the world. Now it’s true that we don’t all have the same gifts nor the same responsibilities, but great commission ministry rests on all of us. Because as disciples of Christ we are all servants of God.

That’s the term Paul uses in our passage this morning. He doesn’t introduce himself as an apostle in this text, nor as an elder, nor a pastor; he calls himself a servant (διακονος). In verse 23 Paul refers to himself as a servant of the gospel. In verse 25 he calls himself a servant of the church and we saw last week that at this point in his life, Paul is willing to serve even to the point of suffering.

But, that wasn’t always the case. Paul wasn’t always so supportive of Jesus, the gospel, and the church. So what changed to bring him to the point of being a servant of Christ and a servant of the gospel, who was willing to suffer in order to make disciples and strengthen the church. That’s one of the things we are going to talk about today.

This morning we are going to continue to look at the 8 characteristics of gospel ministry that Paul outlines in verse 24-29. Last week we learned that the Spirit of Gospel Ministry is one of Joy and we learned that serving in gospel ministry often brings Suffering. Today we are going to learn the Source, Scope, and Subject of Gospel Ministry.

Colossians 1:24 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.

Sermon Focus...

I. The Source/Stewardship of Gospel Ministry (V. 25)
V. 25of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you...

It might seem like an odd thing to say but it’s true that Paul didn’t choose gospel ministry, rather he was chosen for gospel ministry. When we first learn about Paul in Acts 9 he was on track to become the next big leader within the ranks of 1st century Pharisaism. He was the rising star of his day.

Paul was born a Jew of the tribe of Benjamin. He had a Jewish mother and a Roman father. From early on he devoted himself to the strictest Jewish religious party of the Pharisees, and he was head of his class. His life was devoted to memorizing the Torah and applying its truth to every bit of his daily life. He was a great student and undoubtedly looking at a career as a great teacher.

He was an apologist for his cause, like a 1st-century blogger ready to argue his position with anyone who disagreed. But he was willing to do more than just argue with his opponents. When we meet him in Acts 9 we find that he is a zealot and the followers of Jesus are his enemies. Paul was a persecutor, having placed himself in the legal position to condemn and kill those who claimed Jesus as the Messiah of God. The first time we meet him it’s in Jerusalem and he is holding the garments of murderers like a boxing manager holds the robe of his prize-fighter, and these men are set to stone Stephen to death.

Now, I imagine that while the men picked up stones to throw them at Stephen, they would look over their shoulders at Paul, the law expert, who quoted scripture to justify what they were doing. He was a proud man, a powerful man and a man who saw great gain in his religion and way of life. But God had another plan for Paul and he kicked it off by turning the man’s life upside down.

In Acts 26, Paul gives an account of what happened in his own words:

Acts 26:5...according to the strictest party of our religion I have lived as a Pharisee... 9 “I was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10 And I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority from the chief priests but when they were put to death I cast my vote against them. 11 And I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to make them blaspheme, and in raging fury against them, I persecuted them even to foreign cities.

12 “In this connection, I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. 13 At midday, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, that shone around me and those who journeyed with me. 14 And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ 15 And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am

Jesus whom you are persecuting. 16 But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, 17 delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you 18 to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

Paul had his career plan mapped out and it included stoning those who followed Jesus, but after this encounter with the Christ, Paul became a man who was willing to be stoned in order to serve the followers of Jesus. That’s a radical transformation and it came directly from God.

Notice that Paul says that he became a minister/servant according to the stewardship from God that was given to him. It wasn’t that he chose this role, he was chosen for it. And make no mistake, it was a shock to those who found out about it.

Near Damascus, there lived a man named Ananias who was a disciple of Christ. One day Ananias had a vision from God and God said to him, “I want you to get up and go into town and take a right on the straight street and stop at the house of a man named Judas. Inside you will find another man praying, his name is Saul of Tarsus.” Ananias answered back to God and said, “Are you talking about the Saul that has been killing Christians in Jerusalem?” And God answered, “Yep, that’s the one...he is a chosen instrument of mine who will carry my name to the Gentiles...I will also show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”

The source of Paul’s ministry wasn’t a decided career move. He didn’t sit down to weigh out his options and chose Christian ministry. He was chosen for it. God changed his life, called him into service, and gave him a specific stewardship/responsibility to take the gospel to the Gentiles

Now, what does this mean for you and me and the ministry that we serve in today? Do we all have to have a radical conversion story and see a vision of Christ to know we are called to ministry? Not exactly.

All those who serve in gospel ministry must be born again and embrace to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. And all who serve in gospel ministry should seek to use the gifts that God has given them to meet the needs of others and the needs of their local church. And let me be clear, that all Christians have been called to serve God in one capacity or another. When God calls us to salvation He calls us into service to Christ, the gospel, and the church.

Each of us has been called into service within the household of God and to shine as lights in the world. But how do we know where to serve? I’m going to try to make this really simple because I think this has often been one of the more complicated issues in the church.

It starts with an understanding of calling and I’m not talking about a Damascus road experience or some mystical prophetic word. I’m referring to the Biblical understanding that all of us are called to serve the Lord in the ministry of the Word and the making of disciples. Nowhere in the NT does God say to Christians that we are saved for nothing more than to sit and learn from others for the rest of our lives. We are all called to serve. We are all called to engage in disciple making whether it is in the home, in the church, in our neighborhoods or in the world.

Once we have embraced the fact that we are all called into service the next step is to identify what you are burdened about. What area of ministry are you most drawn to? What do you desire to do for the Lord and for the church? Is it consistent with the Scriptures?

Then I would encourage you to explore your gifts. What are you able to do? What skills and abilities do you have that could be useful to the body? In what way have you been gifted by God to serve His people? Are you a musician, an artist? Do you like to study and share what you are learning with others? Do you have organizational skills?

Then seek the wisdom, direction, and affirmation of church leaders. Spend time with men and women and get their feedback on how you can grow, on where you can serve, on how you can improve or be more consistent, more clear, more helpful, more faithful.

Then serve. Go on mission trips, assist in Sunday school, take up the offering, volunteer to serve with the deacons, as a deacon, talk to Cody about music ministry, talk to Kim about helping out with hospitality, talk to the elders about hosting a community group, leading a community group, etc.

Let’s not make this mysterious or more complicated than it should be. Here are those 5 steps: calling, burden, gifting, affirmation and service. I believe that all of these steps are initiated by the Holy Spirit in our hearts. He opens our eyes to see that our calling to salvation involves a calling to serve. He burdens our hearts to serve in specific ways. He gives us gifts to use in our service. He guides our leaders to be Biblically discerning and wise, then He empowers our service by His own strength.

Now that we have seen the source of Gospel ministry let’s turn our attention now to the Scope of Gospel Ministry.

II. The Scope/Task of Gospel Ministry (v. 25) to make the word of God fully known...

Our role is not to present ourselves and our ideas but to present God’s Word faithfully. Paul says here that his task is to present the Word of God in its fullness or to fulfill the Word of God. Now what does he mean by this?

The task of making disciples starts with a presentation of the truth. Gospel ministry is a revelatory role in that we are making the truth of God known in the world through preaching, teaching, and sharing God’s Word.

Romans 10: 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

But what does Paul mean by making the Word of God fully known? There are two ways we should understand this:

  • Making the Word of God fully known must be understood to refer to Jesus Christ and the gospel as the pinnacle of revelation. The Bible is incomplete without Jesus. The OT history, law and prophecies are unfinished without the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. The OT characters we love, the OT stories we learned as children, the Psalms we love to quote...these all point beyond themselves and find their ultimate fulfillment in the person and work of Christ.
  • Making the Word of God fully known also refers to the effects of preaching the gospel. The Word moves in power and it is not only heard, but it plows up the rocky soil of men’s hearts, it brings dead women to life, it produces fruit of the Spirit, and changes the world.

The Word of God is made fully known when the gospel is proclaimed and that proclamation accomplishes the purpose God has for it.

Now, there are countless ways that we can serve our community. There are ways that we can help the homeless, provide counsel to needy people, and feed those who are hungry. There are ways that we can show love to our neighbors, be good friends, and serve those around us at home, at work, or in the city. We can and should volunteer our time, we can and should be salt and light wherever we go. But these things are not the focal point/scope of gospel ministry.

The focal point of gospel ministry is to make the Word of God fully known. To preach the truth once for all delivered to the saints. To preach Christ and Him crucified, this is the task of gospel ministry.

Let’s turn our attention now to our last point this morning...

III. The Subject of Gospel Ministry (V. 26-27) v. 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

We have already hit on this a little bit in the previous point but here I want to take the time to be crystal clear that all of Scripture finds it pinnacle and purpose in the gospel. All the Scriptures, the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Writings, they all concern Christ. The whole of the Old Testament is drawing our attention to the main stage where God is showcasing the main event which is Jesus Christ.

The entire Bible has been pointing to Him; He is the mystery of God revealed. He is the one who fulfills all the promises of God. He is the climax of the story and the climax of world history as well.

God the Son, the second person of the eternal triune God, became a man clothed in flesh to die in the place of sinners as the crescendo of God’s plan of redemption. This truth which baffles the mind is the means through which God has determined to undo and destroy the effects of sin upon creation.

Every story the Bible tells is pointing us to Jesus. Every promise finds it’s fulfillment in this; that God became a man and humbled himself to the point of death, even death on a cross in order to settle our debts with God and grant us eternal life. Where imperfect men have failed to rise to the standard of Holiness that God demands, Christ came to succeed.

Jesus is the true and better Adam who passed the test in the garden and whose obedience is imputed to us.

Jesus is the true and better Abel who, though innocently slain, has blood now that cries out, not for our condemnation, but for acquittal.

Jesus is the true and better Abraham who answered the call of God to leave all the comfortable and familiar and go out into the void not knowing whither he went to create a new people of God.

Jesus is the true and better Isaac who was not just offered up by his father on the mount but was truly sacrificed for us. And when God said to Abraham, “Now I know you love me because you did not withhold your son, your only son whom you love from me,” now we can look at God taking his son up the mountain and sacrificing him and say, “Now we know that you love us because you did not withhold your son, your only son, whom you love from us.”

Jesus is the true and better Jacob who wrestled and took the blow of justice we deserved, so we, like Jacob, only receive the wounds of grace to wake us up and discipline us.

Jesus is the true and better Joseph who, at the right hand of the king, forgives those who betrayed and sold him and uses his new power to save them.

Jesus is the true and better Moses who stands in the gap between the people and the Lord and who mediates a new covenant.

Jesus is the true and better Rock of Moses who, struck with the rod of God’s justice, now gives us water in the desert.

Jesus is the true and better Job, the truly innocent sufferer, who then intercedes for and saves his stupid friends.

Jesus is the true and better David whose victory becomes his people’s victory, though they never lifted a stone to accomplish it themselves.

Jesus is the true and better Esther who didn’t just risk leaving an earthly palace but lost the ultimate and heavenly one, who didn’t just risk his life but gave his life to save his people.

Jesus is the true and better Jonah who was cast out into the storm so that we could be brought in.

Jesus is the real Rock of Moses, the real Passover Lamb, innocent, perfect, helpless, slain so the angel of death will pass over us. He’s the true temple, the true prophet, the true priest, the true king, the true sacrifice, the true lamb, the true light, the true bread.

All of the Bible is ultimately about him.1

The overwhelming trajectory of the Biblical witness concerns a movement by God towards man. The Father sends the Son. The Word became flesh. To save us, God did not come in the fullness of His glory, but rather he came in the humility of a man; as a baby crying in the arms of a teenage mother, who required feeding and changing and who would be condemned to die as a criminal upon a cross. Jesus hid his glory, limited himself and walked to the cross in our place.

And all the while, He remained equal, one with God, even though He had taken the form of a slave. He became one with us, sharing in our limitations, our sorrows and bearing our burdens. He experienced the temptations that we know too well, only he remained sinless to the day of his death. And in his death, he atoned for our sins and by faith, He unites us to God.

Conclusion...

In the OT, God dwelled in the midst of His people when His glory came down and rested within the Tabernacle. In the NT, Christ walked in the midst of His people when He humbled Himself and took on flesh to tabernacle among us. Now since Jesus’ ascension, the Holy Spirit of Christ dwells in the hearts of God’s people, leading us, guiding us, gifting us, empowering us for gospel ministry, and He will never leave us nor turn away from us.

 

1 Tim Keller, from class lectures on Preaching Christ in a Post-Modern World.
 
 

Suffering and Joy

Series: Colossians

Speaker: Pastor Justin Wheeler

Scripture: Colossians 1:24-29

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Colossians 1:24 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.

Suffering and joy are two words that don’t often go together in the human experience. Suffering and sorrow work together, comfort and joy go together; but not suffering and joy. Perhaps we can understand joy in the midst of suffering, or we might attempt to cling to some joyful thought as we are enduring suffering; but rejoicing in suffering, well that’s just weird.

Paul’s statement here is counter-cultural. It is contrary to our normal human experience, this is counter-human. Either this man is mentally unstable or there is some set of values within the Christian life that run contrary to the values of the world around us. Just so that I’m clear I don’t think Paul is mentally unstable.

The Kingdom of God is an upside-down kingdom. While the world values power, strength, wealth and notoriety the church of Christ values humility, charity, faith in the strength of another, and sacrificial love. In the days of the early church, as the message of Christ spread to new cities it became obvious to the people that the Christian message overturned the normal course of the world.

This was the testimony of the men of Thessalonica when Paul came to town. Acts 17:6 These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also,

The upside-down kingdom of Christ spread like fire through the Roman Empire during the 1st century, taking root in the people’s hearts, upsetting accepted cultural norms but the world had a strategy for putting a stop to it, persecution. When things got out of control in Jerusalem, Rome clamped down on both the Jews and Christians. When the gospel message reached a new Roman City it was often met with suspicion and those who preached it faced legal opposition.

You would think that a world power like Rome would be able to get a handle on the Christian problem. You would think that persecution and the threat of death would put a stop to the spread of the gospel, but not for the upside-down kingdom of Christ. In fact, according to Paul, what appeared to be devastating to the spread of Christianity was actually serving to advance it.

The book of Colossians is a prison epistle most likely written while Paul was under house arrest in Rome. He is writing this letter from Rome as a prisoner of the state, but how did he get in that position. While on his third missionary journey, Paul took a trip through Macedonia (Philippi) at the beginning of Acts 20:1-6. After this we know that he spent some time encouraging the Ephesian Elders and then he made his final trip to Jerusalem.

Paul went to Jerusalem to deliver a gift, a collection of money from the Gentile churches, which he had hoped would strengthen the relationship between Jewish and Gentile Christians. But on arrival he became aware of a large number of Jews who were not on board with his missionary methods.

A few days later Paul was apprehended in the temple by a group of Jews from Asia who sought to put him to death on the charge of bringing a Gentile into the court of the Jews. The charges were false but their zeal was not. He was then rescued by the Roman authorities as a peacekeeping measure, but this was only the start of his trials.

From this point he was held in chains in Jerusalem as a Roman prisoner awaiting trial. (Acts 22)

He was made to stand before the Sanhedrin and give an account of himself in what proved to be a pre-trial hearing (Acts 23)

Then he was transported to Caesarea to avoid being murdered by another group of Jews who had plotted against him (Acts 23)

While in Caesarea for two years he would stand trial before Felix, Festus and Agrippa before exercising his right as a Roman citizen to appeal to Caesar. These two years were spent in bondage as a prisoner of the state (Acts 24-26).

When he left Caesarea he spent months at Sea during the worst time of the year and his cruise ended in shipwreck off the coast of Malta (Acts 27).

Finally, after more than three years he arrived at Rome only to be kept in custody for another two, while awaiting trial as an insurrectionist, a charge punishable by death (Acts 28). During those two years in Rome Paul wrote Ephesians, Philippians, Philemon and Colossians.

So this brief catalogue of trials is the suffering that he refers to in verse 24. In other letters we get an even more vivid picture of what had happened to Paul in the cause of Christ.

2 Corinthians 11:24-28 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; 27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. 28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.

Many who study the life of Paul are left with the conclusion that this man was either delusional or he was a masochist. Many would say that Paul should have abandoned his ministry because it would appear that he was an utter failure. Hated by the Jews, loathed by

the Gentiles; Paul was a marked man who spent the better part of five years in a Roman prison. It would appear that Rome had succeeded in silencing this man, but things aren’t always what they seem in the upside-down kingdom.

Philippians 1:12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. 14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

15 Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. 16 The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.

Why is that Paul can rejoice in his suffering? Because he knew something that the Romans did not. He knew that God has chosen the foolish in this world to confound the wise. He knew that God has chosen the weak to overpower the strong (I Cor 1:27). He also knew that his suffering was not in vain, but was for the sake of the church. If the state was opposing Paul’s work it was because Paul’s labor was bearing fruit for the upside- down kingdom of God.

Now, all that I have just shared with you should serve as the backdrop to this next section of the book of Colossians. This section (1:24-2:5) marks a shift in the letter, a shift that takes us from what Christ has done to reconcile us to God to what gospel ministers do to extend that reconciliation to others. From reconciled to reconciler, this is the pattern of the Christian life but especially for those serving in gospel ministry.

At the end of verse 23 Paul let us know that he had become a minister of the gospel. He calls himself a servant of the gospel (διάκονός). He is a courier who serves by carrying the message of God wherever he goes and communicating that message to all who will listen. In His day, Paul was the foremost champion of the gospel in the world. He travelled throughout the Roman empire preaching Christ, planting churches, training other ministers and discipling believers who would join him in spreading the good news to the ends of the earth.

Paul saw great success on the mission field. He was blessed to see people converted under his ministry, to see churches established under his leadership, and to see the gospel advance in the world to the point that in Romans 15 he wrote, “I no longer have any room for work in these regions.”

But his ministry was not without its difficulties. The same can be said for gospel ministry today. While the external circumstances have changed a bit, the foundational character of Christian ministry has not and here in this passage Paul is going to give us 8 Characteristics of gospel ministry which we will be studying over the next few weeks. This morning we are going to look at 2 of these characteristics and both of them are found in verse 24.

 

I. The Spirit of Gospel Ministry (v. 24)


Colossians 1:24 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,

The spirit of gospel ministry is one of joy and this outlook was modeled by Christ himself. “For the joy that was set before Him, He endured the cross despising it’s shame (Heb 12:2).” Yes, I know Jesus was a man of sorrows but beneath it all was a deep seated joy that was more powerful than the day to day circumstances of life.

Perhaps it would be accurate to say that Jesus wasn’t happy about the cross, who would be. But joy and happiness are not the same thing. If we view emotion as a sliding scale, then it is easy for us to see that our emotions will fluctuate depending on what is happening to us at the moment.

(Appli...If I bring a box of donuts into the house my kids will all of a sudden become happy. If I bring flowers home to my wife her emotional state tends to swing toward happiness. We have all experienced this to some degree.

John MacArthur writes: ‘Happiness is an attitude of satisfaction or delight that is based upon some present circumstance.’1 The word happiness is related to the word happening, or happenstance. Our degree of happiness is directly related to what is happening in our lives at the moment. And because of this happiness is a fickle thing.

But joy, on the other hand is an emotional state that is not tied to circumstances. Joy, understood Biblically, refers to a deep sense of confidence that all is well, no matter what the circumstance of life may be.

Joy is not on the sliding scale of emotions but rather it is a is a steadfast, immovable satisfaction of the deepest longing of the soul. It goes beyond circumstances and is able to say, “To live is Christ and to die is gain (Phil 1:21).” For the Christian, joy is the internal confidence that says, “I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom 8:28f).”

The gospel is the root of our joy and as ministers of the gospel we have to understand that our joy is not tied to performance but to faithfulness. Joy in ministry is not tied to worldly success. It is tied to faithful service to our redeemer God. Joy in ministry is not tied to worldly success it is tied to faithful service to Christ, His mission and His people.

II. The Suffering of the Gospel Ministry (V. 24)

Colossians 1:24 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,

Paul is clear that he sees his suffering as a benefit to the church. He says it is for your sake and for the sake of his body. But what does he mean when he says that he is filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ? Let’s first point out what he is not saying.

Paul is not saying that we (ministers or saints) do anything to add to the saving work of Christ. There is no redemptive power in my suffering for you. All that was needed for our salvation was accomplished by Christ alone. He paid the full price for our sins and supplies us with all that we need to be reconciled to God forever, Paul has already made that point clear.

The Catholic church uses this passage to prop up its doctrine of purgatory, prayers to the saints and the practice of indulgences. But Paul is not teaching that through suffering we add something to the redemptive work of Christ. But what is he saying?

Paul understands that his mission is that there is one thing lacking in the sufferings of Jesus and it is the presentation or proclamation of Christ’s sacrificial love to the people for whom He died. The only thing lacking is that there are still people who have not yet heard or seen the gospel and so Paul sees his missionary work and the subsequent suffering at the hands of Christ’s enemies as working to complete the sufferings of Christ.

John Piper explains it in this way, “Christ intends for the great commission to be a presentation to the nations of the sufferings of His cross through the suffering of His people...that’s the way it will be finished. If you sign up for the Great Commission, that’s what you sign up for.” Those who wish to represent Christ and serve His church must be willing to suffer for His name.

When ministers of the gospel suffer for faithfully preaching the gospel, two things are bound to happen:

The elect, those for whom Christ died, will be called to salvation as an application of the sacrificial suffering of Christ.

Those present will witness a sample of the suffering poured out on Jesus. They will see a picture of Christ, in the picture of our suffering.

Conclusion...

Some will say that Christian suffering shows Christian weakness, but there is another side to this. God has a habit of working in such a way that he accomplishes his purpose through weakness, because the upside down kingdom of Christ has a totally different pattern, a totally different set of values and a totally different power, than the right side up kingdom of this world.

 

In the book of Exodus, the people of Israel were in bondage as slaves to the most powerful nation on the planet. Moses, a murderous, stuttering outcast was chosen to be the deliverer who would stand before Pharaoh and demand the release of the Jews. But through this weak man, God brought Pharaoh to his knees.

But do you remember how he did it? God warned of the last plague that was to come, the destroyer who would take the life of every first born son in the land. This destroyer was unstoppable and Pharaoh’s army was powerless against him. He swept through Egypt in the night and without any opposition he took the life of every first born son in Egypt. But do you remember what kept this unstoppable force from destroying the Israelites?

The most insignificant animal in the herd; a defenseless, helpless little lamb. What seemed weak was the only thing that could hold back God’s messenger of death. Every home in Egypt that night either had a dead son in it or the blood of the lamb on it. You see it was the lamb of God who covered the sins of the people and kept death from their door.

The greatest and most powerful army in the ancient world could not stop the destroyer whom God sent, but the blood of the lamb did. What looks like weakness is actually an unfathomable power in the upside-down kingdom.

Fast forward 1500 years to the time of Christ, whom John the Baptist called “the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” Christ taught a system of values that turned the world’s pattern upside down, and for that he was nailed to a Roman cross.

The cross was nothing if not a warning to the world of just how weak they are in comparison to the power of Rome. The cross was a tool of torture and humiliation and served as a deterrent for anyone who might get the idea of trying to start a revolution. Jesus, the son of God, hung upon a Roman cross and died.

But, what appeared to be folly, what appeared to be the end of Christianity, what appeared to be weakness was the wisdom and power of God to save men from sin and to reconcile them back to Himself. What looked like failure, was actually the greatest victory ever.

1 Corinthians 1:18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

You see, Paul knew the pattern of God’s kingdom not only from the past, but also through his own firsthand experience. Because rather than silencing the gospel through imprisonment, Paul’s suffering actually promoted it. He writes this letter while he is still imprisoned, in chains, in Roman custody and uncertain about what he will face next; but as he looks upon his suffering he can rejoice because the gospel is not in chains. The mystery of God has been unleashed to turn the world upside-down.

1 J. MacArthur, The Epistle of Joy Philippians 1:1-; code 50-1 (taken from www.gty.org)
 

Our Division Destroyed

Series: Colossians

Speaker: Pastor Justin Wheeler

Scripture: Colossians 1:21-23

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I want us to think for a few minutes about the divisions that we experience in our lives, our families, our culture and our world. When I mention division I’m talking about the differences that divide us from other people. Some of those divisions are simple ones, like which college football team you root for (Aggies, Longhorns, Red Raiders, Bears, or Horned Frogs). Some of those divisions are more personal, like your convictions on education (homeschool, private school, public school). Some of those divisions are more serious, like political philosophy, ethical positions or theological heritage.

Then some of our divisions rise to the point of being eternally serious, such as our religious beliefs and worldviews. You probably have neighbors and friends who don’t practice any faith, some who are atheists, some who are Christian but from a different denominational heritage, then others who are Muslim, Mormon, or Jewish.

These are all very real divisions that we deal with on a regular basis. Some of these cause us more stress than others. And yet, all of them pale in comparison to the division that matters the most, which is the division between a holy God and sinful man.

Over the last few weeks we have been looking at Jesus. We have seen this glorious picture of His eternality, His authority, His power, and His preeminence. Jesus’ glory fills the entire stage of Colossians 1 and what it does is to cast this huge shadow upon us.

Jesus beauty and glory is staggering but the thing that stands out for us is just how unlike Jesus we are. He is holy and we are not. He is totally righteous and we are totally corrupted by sin; and this helps us to see the division that exists between God and man.

Transition...

In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, Jesus talks about the division between Heaven and Earth as being this great immovable chasm. Because God is holy and we are sinful there is an unbridgeable space between us and it is the greatest division that we will ever experience; but Jesus Christ has come to destroy this division.

Listen to Paul talk about it...

Col 1:21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

Sermon Focus...

My purpose in preaching this morning is to show how Jesus has destroyed the division that exists between God and followers of Christ. In order to fully grasp what Christ has done we are going to look at our past, our present and our future and then we will finish things up with the encouragement to stay grounded in the faith.

Let’s look first at our past...

I. What Once Was (V. 21)

The Contrast of Once and Now (Vv. 21-22)

Col 1:21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled...

In this new section of Colossians, we see Paul put into use one of his favorite literary devices when he contrasts what we “once” were and what we are “now.” This should be one of our favorite literary devices as well. But that depends on how well we know our sin and how much we long for forgiveness.

And it depends on whether or not you have turned from your sin to trust in Christ. For many of us here this morning we can say that this is a description of what we once were, but for some I want you to understand that this is a description of what you still are.

As we come to understand our spiritual condition according to the Bible we are confronted with the fact that we are not just separated from God but we are sinners who deserve God’s wrath. As a culture we tend to avoid talking about the wrath of God, but if you read your Bible faithfully you can’t avoid it. God’s wrath is an extension of His justice and since we have rebelled and broken God’s law we deserve His just wrath.

Now, I believe that when we have a right understanding of our sin it is going to cause us to long for forgiveness, to long for salvation, to long to be made right with God. We are going to long for our status to change. Like the prodigal son when he finally recognized how desperate and dreadful he was, he wanted nothing more than to be reunited with his father, even if only as a servant.

When we see just how broken our lives are we want the kind of change that only the gospel can bring. So the question we need to ask is, “How desperate is our situation? Just how broken are we?”

Here in Colossians, God’s Word tells us that our identity apart from Christ is that we are alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds. Let’s break this down a little bit.

To be alienated from someone means to be separated or isolated from them. We were separated from God when He exiled us from the Garden and now we are strangers to Him. Apart from Christ we have no fellowship with God, no relationship with God, no communion with God.

One NT parallel is Ephesians 4:18 where it talks about being alienated/separated from the life of God because of our sinful ignorance. As unbelievers, we were not only separated from relationship with God but were separated from the very life of God.

We thought we were wise and we were confident that we had something to offer the world, but we were living like pagans in a pagan world with nothing to look forward to but death and judgment. In our minds there was hostility toward God.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that you were angry with God, like many atheists are today, but rather it means that the things that you think of as good are actually the opposite of what God declares to be good. One of the clearest ways that our hostility toward God can be seen is that we, apart from Christ, love what God most hates and we hate what God most loves.

When we were separated from God the things of God were cold, dull and boring to us. But the passions of the flesh were exciting and we put all our energy into them.

We were enemies of God in our hearts, minds and behavior. Another NT passage that parallels what we see here in Colossians 1 is what we read in Romans 1:21-32.

Rom 1:21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God...

Our hearts were corrupted by sin. Our minds were bent toward sinful ideas and our lives followed along. This is the spiritual status of everyone apart from faith in Christ.

You might say, but wait aren’t there good people who do good things who aren’t Christians? Well first of all that depends on how you define the term good. Within the scope of God’s common grace there are people who do good things. They care for their families, help others, perform services that strengthen and stabilize society; but every single one of those acts falls short of the type of good that would change one’s status with God.

The law of God makes two things abundantly clear to us: 1. We aren’t’ as sinful as we could be and 2. We are far more sinful than we care to admit. And the bottom line is that even though we aren’t as sinful as we could be, we are still sinful and that sin separates us from God and demands divine justice. The wages of sin is death...and that’s the bad news. But that is not where Paul ends.

II. What Now Is (Vv. 22)
V. 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and

blameless and above reproach before him

I can think of no greater comfort to someone who has come to understand the weight of their sin than for them to hear that because of what Christ has done they are now reconciled to God. The separation was our fault. The judgment was what we deserved. But Jesus kept the law perfectly and then gave His life in order to save us from sin.

And now, by faith in what Christ has done I am reunited to God. The sin that I committed in my youth is no longer held against me. That lifestyle that you once followed is no longer admissible in God’s law court. The past memories that haunt you are paid for, washed away, forgiven.

Apart from Christ we were enemies of God but now by faith in Christ we are children of God, invited to sit at our Father’s knee, to pull up a seat at His table, and to enjoy the closest fellowship we can imagine.

Do you think I’m over stating this? Should we really think of ourselves as that close to God simply because we trust in Jesus? Look back up at the beginning of verse 21 and notice how Paul begins this section with the two words, “And You.”

And You...just so we stay connected to the surrounding context of this passage we need to understand that Paul views “us” as a subset of “all things.” You can and should follow the progression that started with Christ being supreme over all creation, then moved to Christ being supreme over all authorities, last week we saw that Christ is supreme over redemption and here we see that Christ is supreme over us.

The focus of God’s redemptive work is not simply to restore creation to its former glory and it’s not just to bring peace into the animal kingdom. The culmination of all that God has done through Jesus is that we are now brought into intimate fellowship with our God, whom we call Abba.

I think this is one of Paul’s favorite things to teach. He wants us to relive our conversion and be moved to deep emotion and worship because we grasp again what it means to be saved. We were lost but now we’re found, we were blind but now we see, amazing grace how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me.

For all those who believe, Christ has fully reconciled us to God. By His death on the cross, Jesus bridged the gap between heaven and earth, He spanned the chasm between us and God. He has transformed our status, which means that we are no longer separated, hostile strangers, but are now newly adopted sons and daughters, who love and worship our redeemer God.

God shows us our past sins, He covers them to reconcile us in the present and He also promises to work in us in the future.

III. What is to Come (V. 22)
V. 22...in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him

Here Paul tells us the ultimate end of our reconciliation. Christ’s ultimate goal is to not only bring us back into fellowship with the Father but to present us to God. This word carries the idea of a formal presentation, like a wedding, when we will be led down the aisle to stand before God. And when we get there this is what we will be; holy, blameless and above reproach.

Let’s look into what these words mean and think about how this is going to be accomplished.
Holy (hagios) carries the meaning of being separated from sin and set apart to God. We see this

same language in Ephesians 1:4...
He chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless

before him.

Now are we singularly responsible for making ourselves holy before God? Not according to the text here. This verse indicates that Christ is the one ultimately responsible to present us holy before God. He works this holiness in us both practically, through our grace-wrought obedience and positionally, through His own imputed righteousness.

Here is what I mean, we will not stand before God on our own and present ourselves as Holy but rather when Christ presents us He will covers us with His own holiness. His holiness is imputed to us, credited to our account, so that on the day we stand before God, God will not see our righteous deeds but will see the prefect righteousness of Jesus in us.

Christ will bring us to God and when He does we will stand before Him in the perfect holiness of Jesus. God’s purpose was to create a holy people and when the day comes that we are called to stand before God, Jesus will put upon us the robe of His holiness and present us to His Father.

Blameless means without blemish which reminds us of temple sacrifices. The lamb of the sacrifice had to be without blemish otherwise God would not accept it. When we stand before the Judge at the end of the world we too will be presented as spotless, blameless, with defect or blemish.

Above Reproach which means free from accusation. No charge will stand up to the scrutiny of our redemption. Christ’s work is absolutely perfect. It lacks nothing and accomplishes full atonement, full acquittal, full justification before God’s judgment seat.

On the day when we are called to stand before God, our purification from sin will be complete. In fact, according to the NT God sees us now as we will be then.

Romans 8:28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

Foreknown, predestined, called, justified, glorified...all in the past tense. In God’s eyes our salvation is complete. Christ has given us everything we need to stand before God and to be welcomed by Him into everlasting joy.

This is amazing! From hostile enemy exiles to humble loving children; this is what Jesus has done for us. This is the hope of the gospel; this is the power of Christ’s cross. All our sin cleansed away, all our separation removed, all of our future secure. Why would anyone turn away from this?

That’s Paul’s concern. His concern is that through false teaching or a lack in our understanding of the gospel that we might abandon this faith. So here in verse 23 he urges us to make sure that we remain firmly planted in our trust in Christ.

IV. Stay Grounded in the Faith (Vv. 23)

23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

Christ calls us to persevere in the faith. To remain faithful till the end, not shifting from the hope of salvation and eternal life that we heard in the gospel. He has called us to His side and given us every reason to trust Him, and here in this verse He is saying to us, “Keep trusting Me. Keep following Me. I will not abandon you, I will not let you down, so don’t stop trusting in Me.”

When you are in a relationship with someone, especially a marriage relationship, there are ups and downs. There are days, weeks, months when things are great and there is joy and intimacy in the relationship; but there are also seasons when things get difficult. You are still married but you don’t feel the same security and confidence that you feel at those other times. And when this occurs it is often because we have stopped doing the little things.

We don’t say I love you. We don’t hug in the kitchen as much. We don’t flirt anymore. We don’t serve each other. We don’t sit and talk the way we used to and unless something changes the heart begins to wander. What has happened is that, in a sense, we have lost our first love. We have let things get in the way of our love for our spouse. We have let things get in the way of serving our spouse, flirting with our spouse, and making them feel secure in our love and in our relationship.

There are few things more painful than a lack of security in our relationships. But when that happens we have to ask how did it get this way and often times we will find that we simply stopped doing the little things. We didn’t stop being married, but we stopped being faithful to love our spouse the way we should. We stopped doing the things that fostered joy, intimacy and security.

So what does this have to do with Colossians 1? Paul is urging us to keep doing the little things so that we don’t look up one day and realize that our hope has shifted. He is urging us to stay grounded in Christ and stay faithful to love Him, to trust Him, to submit to Him, to learn from Him, to grow in Him.

As Christians, we have put all of our hope in Christ to save us, we don’t hedge our bets with other remedies. We build our house upon the rock of Jesus Christ and we don’t seek any other foundation. We stay grounded, we stay faithful.

This doesn’t mean that we never struggle, or never have doubts. But when doubts come or when sin gets the better of us we don’t run from Christ, we run to Him. Friends, the gospel is powerful enough to save us and it is powerful enough to sanctify us. The grace of God is the foundation of our salvation and it is the motivation for why we remain faithful.

When we stumble in sin we have to remember the gospel and cling to Christ once again. One of the marks of true saving faith is perseverance in believing and that is what we are being called to here in Colossians 1. To persevere in faith and faithfulness (obedience) to Christ and His grace.

Grace doesn’t lead us to ignore sin or to continue sinning, it motivates us to love God and to pursue a life of faith and obedience. Our active faith in Christ and active obedience to Christ are spiritual fruits that bear witness to our salvation. They are not the cause of our salvation but they are indications that we have been born again.

John 15:8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

Conclusion...

So in this passage, Paul wants us to learn 4 things. He wants us to understand the state of our souls before we came to Christ. He wants us to understand that because we now trust in Christ we have been united to God. He wants us to know that our future is incredibly bright because Jesus will present us to the Father and will supply everything we need on that day. He also wants us to stay faithful, to stay grounded in the gospel and not lose or abandon our love for Jesus.

One of the ways that we stay grounded in our faith is that we sing the praises of the One who saved us. So as I close in prayer let’s prepare our hearts to worship Christ and fix the hope of our hearts on Him again.