The Example of Paul

The first chapter of Colossians is filled with wonderful truth. So far we have learned about true faith (1-8):

True faith is in Christ.

True faith transforms.

True faith gives hope.

Paul taught us how to pray for believers (9-14):

He prayed they’d be filled with the knowledge of God

They’d have a worthy walk.

They’d be strong in the Lord.

They’d have a thankful heart.

Paul then showed us the superiority of Christ (15-23):

There is none more lovely than Christ.

There is none before Christ.

There is none wiser than Christ.

There is none more powerful than Christ.

There is none more worthy than Christ

There is none above Christ.

There is none more merciful than Christ.

In verses 24-29 Paul talks about himself. There were times, in order to establish his credibility, Paul would share his accomplishments with the church. Paul had lots of enemies. Oftentimes false teachers would come to the churches and attack Paul’s character. They’d say untrue things to get the church to turn against Paul. Paul would remind the church what God had done in his life. That’s what we see in verses 25-29.

This is a great benefit to the church because it shows us what a man of God should be like. This doesn’t relate only to preachers or missionaries. The life of Paul is one worthy of all of us to emulate.

Paul said in 1 Cor. 11:1

“Be ye followers of me even as I am a follower of Christ.”

He said in 1 Cor. 4:16

“Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me.”

He said in Philippians 3:17

“Brethren, be followers together of me…”

It’s true that Paul called himself the chief of sinners but he was also able to tell people to follow Christ like he followed Christ.

Paul was a man of great faith and character. He so represented Christ that if we were to live the way he lived we would represent Christ well. This morning we consider what it means to be an example for Christ. We answer the question “How should I live so that I can be an example to others?”

1. He suffered with joy (24).

There has been confusion about a statement in this verse. Paul says he is “filling up what is lacking in Christ’s affliction for the sake of His body”. Some have taught that means that Christ’s suffering was not enough for us. We have to suffer for our sins as well. That’s not what Paul is saying at all.

Paul is saying he is suffering for the advance of the gospel. Paul isn’t suffering for his sin. Paul is suffering because he is preaching the gospel. If Paul were not preaching the gospel he would not be suffering.

The world hates Christians because it hates Christ. The world can’t get its hands on Christ so they put their hands on Christians.

Jesus told Paul he would suffer for the name of Christ. Jesus sent Paul to the Gentiles and that led to great suffering in the life of Paul:

1) The Jews hated Paul because he was taking their Messiah to Gentile nations.

2) The Gentiles hated Paul because he was telling them to turn from their idols and wicked ways.

Paul had the right perspective. As he sat in a jail cell he didn’t call himself the prisoner of the Jews. He didn’t call himself the prisoner of the Gentiles. He called himself the prisoner of the Lord (Philemon 1, 9, 23).

How could Paul rejoice when they beat him with rods?

How could he rejoice when they took away his freedom?

How could Paul rejoice when he was shipwrecked?

How could Paul rejoice when he was stoned?

How could he rejoice when he was naked and starving?

Joy comes from communion with God not comfort in the world. As long as Paul was in the will of God He could rejoice. That jail cell he was sitting in was the will of God for him at that time.

Notice Paul said, “my sufferings are for your sake.” In other words, his sufferings benefited others. Think about all we have because Paul sat in jail:

Colossians, Ephesians, Philippians, Philemon, 2 Timothy were all written while Paul was in jail.

Paul suffered so that the gospel could be preached to Gentiles.

Paul suffered so that we could have the written word of God.

Paul had joy in his sufferings because he was in the will of God and he was doing the work of God. Paul didn’t cry because times got hard, he rejoiced! He didn’t moan because people didn’t like him, he rejoiced. He suffered with joy.

2. He understood that his calling was from God (25).

Notice Paul says he became a minister. The Lord made him a minister. He was given a stewardship from God. Paul never got over the fact that God called him to be a minister.

In 1 Timothy 1:12 He thanked God for making him a minister.

Look at Col. 1:23, Paul said he became a minister. In 1 Cor. 9:16 he said, in regard to his calling, he had nothing to brag about.

Paul had been an awful person. Acts 9 says he was breathing out threatenings and slaughterings against the disciples of the Lord. He threw men and women in jail. Acts 2 says he persecuted people unto death binding and delivering into prisons both men and women. Acts 26 says he persecuted people often compelling them to blaspheme and was in a rage against believers pursuing them from city to city.

But God knocked him down on the Damascus road. God opened his eyes to the truth. Paul was born again and God called him to preach the word to the Gentiles. It was his calling to make the word of God fully known.

God doesn’t call men to build their own kingdoms.

God doesn’t call men to promote themselves.

God calls men to preach the Word. A sure way to know if a man is called of God or not is listen to his message. I don’t mean how well he preaches. I mean what he preaches.

Paul knew he had a simple calling. That calling was to preach the Word. That’s what he did.

That is the job of every Christian as well. We’re not here to share what we’d like to be true. We’re not here to share our opinions. We’re here to share what the Word of God says to a lost world.

Paul had to change his mind about everything he believed when the Lord called him. Paul didn’t believe the truth about Christ. He didn’t believe He was the Son of God. He didn’t believe salvation was found only through Christ. He didn’t believe Christ would come again.

His message changed when he met Jesus. His entire belief system changed when he met Jesus. It’s the same with every believer. It doesn’t matter what we believed. It doesn’t matter what we thought. When Christ calls us to salvation we get a new mind. We get a new belief system. We’re called to share that with the world.

3. He proclaimed the mystery of the ages (26-27).

The term “mystery” describes something that was hidden but is now revealed. In our text it refers to an Old Testament mystery that is made known in the New Testament. The mystery is twofold:

1- The Savior would live primarily in Gentile believers. The Jews would reject the Messiah and Christ would be preached to the Gentile world.

2- The Savior would dwell inside people. No longer would God dwell in a Temple made with hands. God would dwell in the hearts of His people, even Gentiles. That’s something that Old Testament Jews could have never comprehended.

Notice Paul says this message was hidden but is now revealed to the saints. The world can’t comprehend the truth that we know and experience. Christ lives in us and we have the hope of glory. In other words, we have a hope that is inspired by Christ who lives within us.

Why do we believe the Scripture? Because Christ in us believes the Scripture.

Why do we believe in heaven? Because Christ in us believes in heaven.

Why do we believe in hell? Because Christ in us believes in hell?

Why do we believe in sin and righteousness? Because Christ in us believes I sin and righteousness.

This is the mystery of the ages: God is building a church through the death and resurrection of His Son. Christ lives in and through His people on this earth. That’s the mystery of the ages. That’s the hope of glory. Paul proclaimed that and we should too!

4. He understood his purpose in life (28).

Paul outlines his purpose in verse 28

To preach Christ. Proclaim His person, His life, His death, His resurrection, His Words

To warn every man. The word “warn” means to admonish.

The idea is to warn someone of sin and punishment. It’s used in Acts 20:31 where Paul said “by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.”

Paul saw people in sin and wept as he warned them about the judgment of God. You can’t share the gospel without mentioning sin. Paul didn’t just mention Jesus. He mentioned the reason Jesus died: sin. It’s our purpose in life to warn as we witness.

Sin thrills but it kills.

Sin is fun but it’s fatal.

Sin tastes good but it’s poisonous.

Sin is applauded by the world but it’s punished by God.

To teach everyone. Teaching is imparting spiritual truth for growth in grace. It’s what we’re doing today.

Look at the end of verse 28. Paul wanted to present the Colossians “mature in Christ Jesus.”

We preach Christ.

We warn people of sin and judgment.

People come to Christ for salvation.

We teach them. They grow into mature believers.

That was Paul’s purpose in life. That’s the purpose of every believer.

Not everyone is called to teach at the level Paul was. But every Christian’s home should be a classroom. You may not have a church but you have a family.

Don’t we all want to present our children as mature believers to the Lord?

Our Grandchildren?

Our nieces and nephews?

Our brothers and sisters Our parents?

5. He was diligent in labor (29).

In verse 29 Paul said he labored for the Lord. He said he was striving.

“Toil” means to work to the point of exhaustion.

“Struggling” is from a Greek word that we get our word “agonize” from.

Do the words labor and agonize properly describe your Christian walk? They should.

A word about ministers- Ministers can be lazy. It’s easy to be lazy if you’re in the ministry. So you have to be careful. You have to be diligent. Lazy ministers are a blight on the church.

If you’re going to get a minister please don’t get a lazy one. If I were on a search committee before I called a pastor I would ask if he were lazy. I would ask him. I would ask every reference he put down if he was lazy. If he was lazy, I don’t care how well he could preach, I wouldn’t call him.

A word about us all- We are called to sweat for Jesus. We sweat for all kinds of things:

Homework

Chores

Jobs

Sports

Hobbies

Recreation

Do we sweat for the Lord? Do we labor diligently in personal growth and service for Christ?

Notice Paul says at the end of the verse that his striving was a result of the energy that was working in Him. He didn’t want to take the credit. When you have the mighty power of God inside of you, you have no reason to be lazy in the Lord.

Have you ever been aggravated with one of your children because you knew there was more potential in them than was coming out of them? They keep whining saying they can’t but you know they can?

Nothing frustrates a parent like seeing their children settle for far less than they are capable of. It frustrates parents because parents love their children and want to see them succeed.

That is how our Father in heaven must feel oftentimes. He knows the potential in us. He has put His mighty power within us. He has given us all we need to do everything He has called us to do. But too often we are lazy. We’re not laboring, striving, agonizing, sweating, and pushing harder.

That wasn’t the case with Paul. He was pouring his life out for the glory of God. That’s what God has called us to do.

The One Thing- Every believer should be an example.