Colossians 1:24-29
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· 13 viewsMinistry is the hard work of bringing all believers to maturity in Christ.
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The Truth about Ministry
The Truth about Ministry
if indeed you remain grounded and steadfast in the faith and are not shifted away from the hope of the gospel that you heard. This gospel has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and I, Paul, have become a servant of it.
Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I am completing in my flesh what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for His body, that is, the church.
Colossians 1:
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Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I am completing in my flesh what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for His body, that is, the church. I have become its servant, according to God’s administration that was given to me for you, to make God’s message fully known,
Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I am completing in my flesh what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for His body, that is, the church. I have become its servant, according to God’s administration that was given to me for you, to make God’s message fully known,
In Paul’s effort to keep believers from falling prey to the seductive sounds of false teaching, Paul tells us the truth about authentic ministry.
Authentic ministry:
It involves suffering.
It’s aim is maturity.
Its hard work.
He wrote the letter to the Colossians from prison.
Paul was able to rejoice in what he suffered. Why? Because he suffered on behalf of others and because his suffering allowed him to identify with Jesus Christ.
When Paul says he is filling up what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, he isn’t saying that Jesus’ suffering on the cross was insufficient. Paul was enduring suffering on behalf of Christ.
The world hated Jesus Christ, and now that He is not around to persecute, they persecuted his followers.
Paul’s attitude is this: Jesus took the blows meant for me, I’ll take the blows meant for him.
Paul endured his suffering for the sake of the body.
Paul was willing to suffer on behalf of the church because he saw himself as the church’s Servent.
God gave him a commission to proclaim the gospel, and suffering was included with the commission.
colossians 1:26-27
the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to His saints. God wanted to make known among the Gentiles the glorious wealth of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Whats the secret?
That God has chosen to include the Gentiles in the blessings of salvation. ()
Whats the secret?
Jesus Christ is the secret.
He opens the door to everyone.
The unprecedented secret is that all are included.
The Unprecedented truth is that Jesus Christ lives in all who trust him. Hot only does he live in us, he is our hope of glory.
We proclaim Him, warning and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ. I labor for this, striving with His strength that works powerfully in me.
Authentic ministry isn’t just about suffering. It’s also hard work.
Paul makes this clear by call his work labor and struggling.
The good news is that this hard work is motivated and enabled by God’s energy, which so powerfully works in us.
Paul tells us his objective or aim in enduring the suffering and hard work — to present everyone mature in Christ.
The goal of spiritual experience is not to chase the fads or jump on every new religious bandwagon.
The goal is spiritual maturity.
We are to remind believers of this simple truth, Paul hopes to help us avoid the enticing sounds that might lead us away from maturity and into deception.
Conclusion to chapter 1
Conclusion to chapter 1
Countering the counterfeit with Truth
We can learn to recognize false teaching in much the same way. If we devote ourselves to studying the genuine article, the truth of Scripture, then we don’t need to know the particulars of every heresy we encounter. An intimate knowledge of the Word of God is the only defense we need against all the different deceptions in our world.
The truth about the gospel and Christ is that the gospel changes lives all over the world and Christ has supremacy over all of creation.