Colossians 1:24-29
Notes
Transcript
We Can Rejoice in Him
We Can Rejoice in Him
Good morning my friends!
It is a joy to see your faces this morning as we open the Word of God, it i a joy indeed.
i hope you’ve had a good week. I think we could all testify that God has been good to us this week. We’ve had strength, peace and his presence alongside of us and it is a blessing knowing He never leaves us.
We experienced the change to Daylight saving time last night, and thus we have lost an hour of sleep, so if you yawn or dose off, I will not hold it against you.
So today we come again to the first chapter of the Book of Colossians. And we will look at chapter 1, verses 21-29.
Remember, this church at Colossae, was not established by Paul, but the gospel was carried back to that community by a believer by the name of Epaphras (Ep-a-fras). But Paul will minister and help them to be the church God has prepared them to be for His glory.
We will teach them and give them the tools to overcome those who would teach heresy in the church.
So lets begin this morning and lets consider this first thought..
1. Paul Rejoiced in Their Reconciliation ....
We ended the message last week speaking about how God chose the Son, Jesus to have all the fullness of God dwell and through Him. Through Jesus, God has reconciled the world to himself..
And Paul goes on in verses 21-23, telling us why God did this for us… Look at verses 21-23
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.
Why did God did this? Paul says - We were once alienated and hostile in our mind, doing evil deeds.
In their sin, man was separated, there was a wedge driven deep between God and man, they were apart from God. How sad is that statement. But this was their condition.
Paul uses the term evil in relation to our deeds and actions. The mind left to itself was unable to see or know God, man was truly away from Him.
So in all things, they were dead in their trespasses and sins. So there is no way for them to come to God.
But.... there is a great word when we talk about reconciliation. We were alienated, separated, dead - but God!
To reconcile means to make it right, to settle the terms. God in great love for humanity as reconciled us to himself. He has done so through the death of His Son.
Verse 22 tells us that through His death, he made a way for mankind. His death, burial and resurrection is the means by which God has extended grace to all who would call upon the name of the Lord.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
We call upon the Lord, who we know loves us, and as already redeemed us, and His grace is extended to us, this is God’s gift to us. His work on our behalf.
He laid down His life, died upon the cross taking our place, our shame to present us holy and blameless before God.
The phrase “to present us” is crucial to our understanding, it is a present tense verb.. It means that we have been made right in front God, this was God’s purpose that each day He extends grace that men might be saved.
So His present help will bless us so that we enjoy salvation today, but in the future we stand in front of God holy, blameless. On that day, all the Father sees in Jesus.
So we see and exhortation at the end of the passage, we must continue and not give up on the message you were heard and taught… for which reason Paul says I am a minister.
I am dumb founded my friends considering all that God has done for us so that one day in the future we might stand in His presence. In those thoughts we can rejoice. He loved us and gave himself for us.
We do not deserve it but we rejoice in it. Amen..
Friends, do not lose sight of your Salvation, consider it and give thanks for it daily.
2. I Rejoice on Account of Suffering...
As we open the text, we find Paul sharing some of His ministry to the believers at Colossae. They are learning more of him, he ministers and try’s to help them grow and mature in their faith,
As he speaks to them, He is not shy to tell them that even in Christ, there are difficulties in the Christian life. He has seen and experienced it.
We understand this, right? Life is challenging but God is faithful.
So look at verse 24, as we see Paul begin to speak to them.
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,
We read that verse and see that Paul is speaking about a couple different thoughts here...
So to begin with, He says “...I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake.”
Paul’s ministry was uniquely marked by suffering, it was such a part, he knew he could expect it in life. Why?
There is really a couple thoughts here. One part might be him reflecting on the ministry he was called too.
Do you remember what the Lord told Ananias the night he visited Paul? Jesus told Ananias Paul would suffer for His name.
16 For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”
So from the very beginning Paul and others knew suffering would be his unique lot .
So here, in reference to the Colossians, Paul says he had suffered because of His ministry. He planted churches in Jewish and Gentile communities, and time and time again those people persecuted and sought to harm Paul and others because the work he was doing.
But lets look closer… here Paul says I rejoice on account of it… What does that mean? The word in the Greek (Chairo) means to “welcome, to be glad or happy in…”
I think there is a beautiful thought here. Paul loved helping the church, the Bride of Christ grow and mature. This was a part of His ministry and he found joy even in times of persecution and hardship that followed his work.
And now while in prison, waiting to see what would happen, he was content even there. If their needs were met, if they benefited from his help… He was content to suffer.
Then Paul goes on in verse 24b and says.. Col 1:24
Colossians 1:24 (ESV)
24 ....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,
What does this mean? First off, there are thousands of pages written on this one verse…
Here is what I think it means reflecting on some of the best scholars...
A. Paul was happy, blessed to suffer for the sake of Christ. He welcomed it knowing his word promoted the gospel message, if his work brought him suffering, pour it on.
He says I am filling up what is lacking in Christ afflictions for the sake of His body..
It is as if Paul believes or knows some things must take place, like eschatological (end time) events before the work would be complete. It seems as if Paul’s mindset is, he was willing to take on more and more suffering, hardship if it helped the church advance and Christ’s work complete.
He would do this and more to advance the church ( the body) and the work of Christ.
Q. Church, do we and the church universal have this mindset today?
Not really… For many in the church, we are willing to go and do until it gets to hard. Then we pull back and think of self...
But honestly, we have more work to do, and WE have more work to do before Jesus returns and we need to be willing to sacrifice self for His good.
If we suffered advancing the gospel, would be it be worth it? That is the question… We need more workers..
Secondly today
3. I Rejoice on Account of the Mystery…
The ministry in which Paul labored involved the word of God.
Paul knew that God had called him to present, to preach the Word of God in its fulness.
But for some, the message he preached was a mystery, one that they could not comprehend. Many of those who wrestled with the message of God where those tied into Gnosticism...
But the word was given that all might believe by faith.
Now lets look at our text, verses 25-27… Col 1:25-27
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.
What is Paul telling us here in this verses? Lets break it apart and examine it...
A. He was called by God.. Paul reminds them of the calling, the office for which God chose him to serve. We know he was an Apostle but he was called to carry the word to those in needs.
But there is more...
1. And I want you to consider something here> Paul uses the word stewardship, God’s calling in His life was one that he was called to serve faithfully.
He was to execute the work of this office faithfully for the Father no matter the cost.
2. It reminds me that we all bear the responsibility of being good stewards of the gift in each of us, our Salvation.
As such we are to live and serve in a way that glorifies the Lord our God.
We are commanded to carry the truth of His word to the world as well… And this carries over to this next idea...
B. To Make the Word of God known Fully...
Paul’s calling as an apostle involved the work of spreading the gospel message to the Jewish and Gentile communities
What is the gospel? The gospel is the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus
He labored to make this mystery known to all. The word mystery is a word perhaps used to get the attention of those who were engaged in Gnosticism, but it is not any secret or special knowledge for salvation.
The mystery was simply God’s unfolding plan for the redemption of the Jews and Gentiles across the world.
Some parts of God’s plan has been revealed through the prophets in the Old Testament, but parts of it were kept secret until the time came for His fullest plans to be revealed.
One such case some Biblical scholars refer to is the message given to King Nebuchadnezzar, of Babylon.
After Babylon had invaded and carried off many of the young princes and children of the those in power, they trained them to lead their own people in Babylon.
In Daniel chapter 2 verses 31-45, God gave a dream to Nebuchadnezzar that his officials could not interpret. But they called Daniel and he explained the coming of God’s kingdom in the future. A kingdom that would overcome and that no one could defeat because He is the true King and Lord of this world.
So here, in limited means, God is revealing the mystery of His plans...
But now in verse 27, the message of God has come to the Gentiles. Col 1:27
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.
The mystery here is that the gospel is for Jew and Gentile alike.
Yet, the Gentiles, they need not jump through any Jewish hoops, they were to simply by faith alone believe that Jesus gave his life as a ransom for sin And if by faith they call upon the name of the Lord, they are saved.
And being in Christ, they have hope to not only enjoy that future day but to enjoy the present day life of living and walking in the peace of the Lord.
Paul was called to carry the mystery of God to the world.
And I am reminded my friends, we are called to carry the message to the world.
Paul knew his work, the world around him depended on His faithfulness to know… Many lives depended on Paul and he served faithfully that all might believe.
But let me ask you...
Whose life depends on you?
Are you, will you be faithful to carry the message to those around you.
You are called to be a good steward of the gift inside of you.
Now let me share one last thought, I know 4 points form a Baptist Preacher is almost unheard of, but bear with me.
4. I Rejoice on Account of the Maturity…
If there is one thing that Paul rejoiced in, was believers, no matter their background, that they were growing in their faith, becoming more and more mature.
Look at verses 28 and 29 Col 1:28-29
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.
When you look at the scope of Paul’s ministry, it is not just preaching the gospel.
That is a part of it, but he also labors teaching so that those who come to faith in Christ can be nurtured, taught and instructed and thus grow in their faith, maturing in their faith
Paul labored so that they would posses the wisdom of their faith
Let me share Ephesians 4:14
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.
What is Paul saying there?
He desires maturity in the believers life so that they were grow, pass childhood, and become adults.
Knowing what they believe and why they believe it and thus are not easily deceived and carried off by every word that seems good.
Paul knew, he understood the dangers of those heretical teachers…
He knew if people were not grounded in their faith, they could be deceived and manipulated into believing a lie.
Consider this thought my friends… how much of your faith do you know and can articulate, share with others?
Could you share your faith with someone else?
What does baptism mean? What does Grace alone mean, the inspiration of Scripture… I mean the list can go on and on…
Do we know our faith, are we growing and being nurtured, and are we doing this to others?
And if we do not know, we need to be taught more.
How important was this to Paul? Look at verse 29 Col 1:29
29 For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.
For these things, I toil, - Paul labored and remember what we know, Paul is imprisoned, under house arrest in Rome, But even there He worked tirelessly to help churches and believers grow and be mature.
It was important and Paul labored for their good.
Paul labored, he extended 100% of his efforts for the glory of God.
Not to boast or show off, but to see the church, believers benefited from his effort, but also the efforts of many others.
I guess there is one last question we can ask?
Can we do this to benefit younger and less mature believers and see others come to faith in Christ?
I hope we can, we must my friends, because days are passing by and whose influence do we want on our children and new believers.
This morning, do you rejoice in the work of God?
Do you rejoice in your efforts?
Or do you want to be used more by God?
Lets pray
