The Mystery has been Solved!
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Paul Imitates Jesus [Verse 24]
Paul Imitates Jesus [Verse 24]
In verse 24 Paul speaks about rejoicing in suffering for the sake of the Colossians. He compares his suffering to Jesus and describes it like he is completing that aspect of Jesus’ ministry. If we look back at we can see how Jesus’ death is referenced there as part of the process of reconciliation. Paul seems to see his own suffering as part of (or necessary) to continuing the work of reconciliation. This is not to say that Paul’s suffering helps reconcile people to God by forgiving sins, for example. But it is through Paul’s suffering that the message of reconciliation and the teaching of the Gospel is going out through Paul.
Paul has Trouble Focusing [Verse 25-27]
Paul has Trouble Focusing [Verse 25-27]
In this passage Paul repeatedly jumps topics to briefly describe each before moving on to the next. Take a look:
Jesus’ body = the church [24]
The church = what Paul became a minister of [25]
Being a minister = according to the stewardship of God [25]
This stewardship = to make the word of God fully known [25]
The word of God = the mystery hidden for ages… [26]
This mystery = now revealed to the saints [26]
The saints = the ones to whom God chose to make known the glory of the mystery [27]
again, the mystery = Christ in you [27]
There’s quite a bit in here, but one of the key concepts here though is the mystery.
Mystery
Mystery
In ancient times certain religious cults existed around the concept of divines mysteries. Without getting into a very long rabbit trail, these cults either practiced rituals called mysteries as a sort of religious experience (to become close to a deity), or the mystery itself was a special kind of knowledge that worshippers had to seek. Only those blessed by the deity would recieved the special knowledge.
The fantastic contrast with Jesus then is how Paul uses the same term to co-opt the language. It’s like Paul is saying “OK, sure, there WAS special secret knowledge, but God just blew the lid off of it!” The message of Jesus is this incredible mystery. It’s a mystery in that it was hidden, but it’s also a mystery in terms of the radical sacrifice of God!
[I like the aspect of ministry as stewardship. This is a fairly underrated concept in Evangelicalism, but imagine if we treated more things as they truly are: God’s things? ]
A Paul’s Purpose [Verses 28-29]
A Paul’s Purpose [Verses 28-29]
In verses 28-29 Paul returns to some purpose statements. These are similar to verse 22, only now Paul is talking more about his purposes instead of Jesus’ purposes in life (of course, Paul’s work is in line with Jesus’ work!).
Paul’s use of “warning” here speaks to his concern about their stability. Not that they were in imminent danger of falling into heresies, but his business is not just to teach them. He wants to keep them from trouble as well. The point of all of this is “to present everyone mature in Christ.” The word for “mature” here references an important concept. When a person reaches maturity we think of them as being biologically “done.” There’s no more growth really: their growth is complete. That’s the sense of the word here: Paul wants to present them completed before Christ. Verse 29 reiterates the point that this goal is why Paul is toiling and struggling. The endgame for Paul is bringing as many people as possible through the gates of the Kingdom of God!
Applications
Applications
From Paul’s first mention of suffering we can be encouraged. When we suffer for the sake of Jesus we’re essentially imitating Him. In Jesus tells the disciples to expect to be treated like Him. There’s a balance here to consider depending on what our culture is like; constant suffering isn’t necessarily evidence of true followers of Jesus, and many Christians in history have enjoyed cultures where their faith was respected or even encouraged. The application for us today is to consider where and how we’re willing to meet resistance in the name of Jesus. Not to flaunt our faith in front of the world, but to be ready and willing to be rejected by our culture if Jesus’ way is heading in a different direction.
From the concept of mystery we can understand that Jesus may still be a mystery to many people today. Not only have many people still not heard the message of salvation, the message itself may still be a mystery to those that have heard it because they do not understand it. That puts the application on us to learn the depth of the gospel and to be ready to answer some of the difficult questions people have
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Finally, consider in your life how you are being a steward of what God has entrusted to you. What are you doing with God’s things, and what is your intent or hope for yourself and for what God has entrusted to you? Do you see what the finish line looks like for those things?