Colossians 1:24-29, “The Fullness of the Gospel”

What we will learn today is that as we become fully human as we are filled with Christ. Paul uses the word for filled or full seven times in these first two chapters of this letter.

Do you know someone that is full to overflowing of their work or their hobby, so much so that they can talk breathlessly about it for hours? That is how this passage unfolds. Paul is overflowing with joy for his ministry, which he summarizes as suffering together with Jesus to fulfill the word of God so that Christians are filled with Christ.

But he rolls on, “let me tell you about how much I love the church. The church is the body of Christ. So I joyfully suffer on His behalf by fulfilling the word of God. Let me tell you about the word of God. It is a mystery that has been revealed. What is that mystery that’s been revealed? It is that the people we Jews once thought were rejects, the gentiles, our Messiah is now entering their lives. And that is exciting because when Christ is in you, you have a glorious future. You are going to be made whole, once and for all, no missing pieces in your life, and you can enter the presence of God perfect and complete. So my work is agonizing, but at the same time, the power of Christ in me is energizing me.”

Paul’s words crash like waves in our minds and hearts. But each of these waves fills us with a little more understanding of the gospel. And each is a unique way in which we are being made fully complete in Christ. The first wave is Paul’s joy in suffering with Jesus Christ for the sake of His body, the church in his ministry of the word of God.

Ministers of the Gospel Fulfill the Sufferings of Christ

Paul says his ministry of the gospel is a participation in the sufferings of Jesus.

Colossians 1:24 (ESV)

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,

What are some experiences that are both rejoicing and suffering at the same time?

When Paul says he is filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions, he does not mean that the sufferings of Jesus on the cross were lacking in power to save us. As we have already seen, all the fullness of God dwells in Jesus. There is nothing lacking or insufficient in Him personally. Paul means that the sufferings of Jesus aren’t complete. Jesus, even in His glorified body, kept His open wounds. This is a picture for us that His saving and sanctifying work continues in the body of Christ on earth, the church. He is now doing His work through His disciples who are willing to suffer in service to others on His behalf.

In the next verse, if we were to translate it using words transliterated from the Greek would read,

Colossians 1:25 (ESV)

of which I became a minister (“deacon”/servant) according to the stewardship (“economy”/household operation) from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known,

Paul sees his ministry as servant role in the household of God. It is hard work. There were physical difficulties, but also because there were Jews who wanted to keep the word of God among their own nation, and because some new gentile believers were already straying from the fullness of life in Christ to other philosophies, Paul’s physical toil was matched with emotional, mental, and spiritual strain.

In verse 29 he says,

Colossians 1:29 (ESV)

For this I toil, struggling (“agonizing”) with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.

that he toils, struggling, the word he uses is “agonizing”. Ministering the word of God will teach you to know Christ in His sufferings like not many other things can. But, as Paul says, it is simultaneously energizing.

He says he toils with all HIS energy that HE powerfully works within me. Paul is experiencing the power of Jesus Christ changing lives. When we partner with Jesus in ministering the gospel to others, it will be agonizing to see some people reject it to their own destruction. It will be agonizing to see others receive it, but struggle to grow because they have hangups that keep them from understanding the fullness of the life of Christ. But it will also energize you when you see Jesus powerfully show up in the lives of the few people who truly repent and believe and hunger for Christ and surrender to Him. He changes lives and gives them their fullest life. This is where the joy comes in.

What are some ways you see the power of Christ changing lives right now?

Jesus has all the power of God at His disposal. And He makes that power available to His disciples in the gospel. The gospel is the power of God for salvation, because it fulfills the word of God in all its truth and promises. God created the world with His powerful word, and the fullness of that word is found in the gospel given to the church.

The second wave of Paul’s message to the church is his awe-inspiring understanding of the significance of the gospel.

Ministering the Gospel Fulfills the Word of God

Paul is going to say the gospel is like a priceless secret that has been hiding in plain sight all along.

Paul says in verse 25, literally,

Colossians 1:25 (ESV)

of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God,

His role is to fulfill the word of God for the church, but he says the fulfillment of the word of God is in the gospel. In his letters, he refers to the gospel in lots of ways. Here, he uses the word “mystery”.

Colossians 1:26 (ESV)

the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints.

In the Bible, a mystery is not a who-done-it like we read in novels. A mystery is truth that could not be fully known previously, but can be now because its fulfillment has been revealed.

God’s word had been given to the Jews so that they could walk obedient to God’s kingdom and bless all the nations of the earth with the knowledge of God. But in their sin they had rejected God’s kingdom and failed in their mission. But God had always promised a deliverer who would rescue them and bring them back into His kingdom. Jesus was that promised deliverer.

Now, the gospel tells us that no matter what nation you belong to, you can enter the kingdom of God as Christ dwells in you by faith. He will empower your obedience and surrender to God.

Colossians 1:27 (ESV)

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 church, made up of both Jewish and Gentile believers in Jesus the Messiah is the new nation, the new community living in the new life of Christ.

When you receive the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Messiah who died to atone for the sins of the world and was raised from the dead to give new life to those who repent and believe in Him, you can be confident that you are receiving the fullness of everything God has ever spoken to humans. There is nothing more God can say. To know all there is to know about God, His love for you, His justice for sin, His life changing power, get to know Jesus Christ.

When you read the word of God, use the gospel as the key to understand the whole thing. When it gets a little confusing, ask, how does this passage find its fulfillment in the gospel, or how does the gospel inform what I am reading?

Can you share any examples of scriptures that were hard to understand but you were able to understand them through the gospel?

Paul says there is a rich glory in the gospel.

This rich glory is wave number 3. If you let this wave fill you, it will blow your mind and overflow your heart.

We are Filled by Christ

Everyone lives with this underlying feeling that life as we know it is incomplete. What are ways people seek fulfillment in life?

Most people think they will be fulfilled when they achieve glory. And they aren’t wrong. But most people settle for a glory that is less than full, and will never fulfill them. Paul’s message to the church is that the riches of the glory of the gospel are no more and no less than Christ in you.

Colossians 1:27 (ESV)

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.

In other words, when you hear the gospel, repent of your life oriented to self and reorient your life to Jesus, Christ dwells in you. if Chris is in you, your hope for glory is realized now, and has a greater fulfillment coming. One day, you will see Jesus Christ revealed in all his glory, and at that moment, you will finally understand the fullness of who God created you to be.

1 John 3:2–3 (ESV)

Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

Your fullest life is coming to you on the day when Jesus is revealed in glory. Until then, first of all, you have all you need to experience that fullness now. Christ is in you.

And you are growing in your fullness. How? This wave is made up of waves 1 and 2. As the church proclaims the fullness of the word of God in the gospel of Jesus through lives of sacrificial service, we learn Jesus in His fullness.

Colossians 1:28 (ESV)

Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

As a church, as disciple makers, we do not proclaim human wisdom. We do not proclaim ourselves as leaders they should follow. We proclaim Christ.

What does it mean to proclaim Christ?

To proclaim Christ is do what Paul has already done in this chapter. To tell everyone who Jesus and what Jesus has done. We tell everyone Jesus is the fullness of God in a human body. He is the creator who can recreate their life the fullness of God’s plan for their fullest life is found in knowing Jesus Christ and making Him known. He reconciles us to God and gives us peace to become stable, steadfast, and secure in a world that is shaking everywhere.

Here are three observations about verse 28:

Paul says we proclaim Him to everyone. He uses the word three times. We are indiscriminate in our proclamation of Christ. People are at various levels of receptivity, but all people deserve to hear about Him.

Who are some people around us that we may have left out of our proclamation of Christ?

2. Paul says this proclamation comes with both warning and teaching. There is both negative and positive implications of who Jesus is and what He has done for everyone’s lives. You cannot live life your own way and expect the fullness of the riches of glory. You must repent of your life of self. This is our warning.

But as you trust in Christ, and reorient your life to Him, He will teach you how to live your fullest life. We teach everyone to obey everything He commanded us. We teach everyone with all wisdom. What does this mean? Paul is going to say,

Colossians 2:3 (ESV)

in [Christ] are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

When we don’t know what to teach someone as we make disciples, we just bring them back to Him. We bring them to the gospels, have them consider who He is, what He said, what He did, and let Him teach them.

3. Paul says the purpose for this proclamation is that “we may present everyone mature in Christ.”

Colossians 1:28 (ESV)

Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature (complete/perfect) in Christ.

We are presenting people to God, like an offering. And the goal is that the fullness of their position as holy and blameless would one day be complete in practical reality.

What does it mean to be complete in Christ?

Ken Boa, “Conformed to His Image”

There is a fullness to the gospel. It is the great proclamation that Jesus has obeyed God the Father fully in His sufferings, He has been raised from the dead, He has ascended to reign over us, and will soon return. So, as ministers of the gospel, we warn and teach others the implications of the gospel. Repent, believe the good news, and abide in Jesus Christ for eternal life. When Christ is in you, you can live in the fullness of hope on your way to the fullness of glory.

Communion

Questions for Discussion

Where is your favorite place to watch waves or play in them?

What activities and experiences do you find fulfilling?

What are some experiences that cause suffering and rejoicing at the same time?What do we learn from that?

What does Paul say was the purpose for his sufferings on behalf of the church? How does this help us understand Jesus’ purpose for the church?

What do we learn about Jesus in this passage?

What does the passage teach about ourselves, especially in our relationship with Christ?

What are some ways we proclaim Christ? What are examples of warning and teaching everyone with al wisdom?

What does it mean to be mature, or “complete” in Christ? How does this shape the way we make disciples?

How will you respond to this passage this week?

Who is someone you can share this passage with this week?