Paul's View of Ministry Part 1
Colossians • Sermon • Submitted
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Good Morning, and Happy Memorial day.
Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church: Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.
Pray...
We pick up in this mornings passage at the end of verse 23 with Paul stating whereof I Paul am made a minister. The word that Paul uses here to say that he is a minister (diakonos) can also be translated as servant. So Paul is stating that he is a servant to the faith, a servant to the gospel. Remember, last week we were talking about the Total and complete reconciliation that God has given through the work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross to all who will believe. We discussed that as believers, we are ambassadors of Heaven, Representatives of the Lord and therefore have the mission of sharing the gospel to the lost and dying world around us. So in this sense of the the word minister or servant here, can and should be considered for all believers. All believers are or should be servants of God fulfilling the great commission in our communities. So as we begin to look at Paul’s view of ministry this morning, we need to think of these truths as applicable to our lives as well. We will begin with the Source of the Ministry, then consider the Spirit of the ministry and conclude with the suffering of the ministry.
The SOURCE of the Ministry
The SOURCE of the Ministry
1:23c
If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;
1:25a
Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;
Introduction of Paul
Hebrew of Hebrews-
I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day.
Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
He persecuted the early believers, in fact, Paul was there when Stephen was stoned to death. He was on his way to capture believers and bring them back to prison in Jerusalem when the Lord called stopped him and he became a believer. Paul and the apostles were not the source of the ministry, though they did great and mighty things. It was the Power of God and the working of the Holy spirit that these men and women were able to become ministers. Think about this, Peter, James and John were fisherman with a seemingly profitable business, why would they leave it if it weren’t for God. Paul who was persecuting believers would never have stopped and became the apostle Paul we know him to be if it weren’t for God.
The SPIRIT of the Ministry
The SPIRIT of the Ministry
1:24a
Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:
The spirit of the ministry is Joy.
The writer of Hebrews writs regarding Jesus in Hebrews 12:2-3 saying
Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.
Jesus never lost His joy in the ministry that He came here to do.
Christian Joy is internal
Joy Generated by humility
Circumstances, people and worry are the thieves that are eager to steal the joy of the ministry. Humility, devotion to Christ and trust in God, protect the joy that Christ has given to all believers.
Through
The SUFFERING of the Ministry
The SUFFERING of the Ministry
1:24b
Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:
the Sufferings that Paul is mentioning here is his present imprisonment in Rome (show map and prison slide) from which he wrote the church in Colosse. Paul would rejoice in his imprisonment because he viewed himself as a prisoner of the Lord Jesus Christ, not the Roman empire. In fact, much of the early Church considered it a privileged to be counted worthy to suffer for Christ’s sake. We see this in
And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.
For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;
Paul flat out tells the Philippian believers that they will suffer for the sake of Christ, and in that day they were. Most of us don’t suffer persecution like they did, some believers in other places in the world do. We deal with different forms of affliction or trials, not to belittle them at all because they very real and we feel them, but regardless of the severity, all believers will suffer in one way or another for the sake of Christ. But there is good that comes from it.
Sufferings bring believers closer to Christ
Sufferings bring believers closer to Christ
That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
Paul realizes that suffering, especially for the gospel sake, brings us closer and to a deeper fellowship with Christ. There is a song called “I Run to Christ” that paints an amazing picture of this. Maybe you have heard it, it says
“I run to Christ when chased by fear
And find a refuge sure.
“Believe in me,” His voice I hear;
His words and wounds secure.
I run to Christ when torn by grief
And find abundant peace.
“I too had tears,” He gently speaks;
Thus joy and sorrow meet.
I run to Christ when worn by life
And find my soul refreshed.
“Come unto Me,” He calls through strife;
Fatigue gives way to rest.
I run to Christ when vexed by hell
And find a mighty arm.
“The Devil flees,” the Scriptures tell;
He roars, but cannot harm.”
You see, where do we run to when these things are happening, where do we go when worn by life, when torn by grief, when chased by fear? We run to and cling to Jesus.
Sufferings assure believers that they belong to Christ
Sufferings assure believers that they belong to Christ
If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
And
Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
As a believer, the world will persecute you, Satan and his demons will attack you. In fact, he will use people, even believers to attack you. But, remember that they are doing so because you are a Christian, because you belong to Him. In those times, we must cling to the Rock of our salvation, out fortress, our strong tower as the Psalmist says.
Suffering brings a future reward
Suffering brings a future reward
And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
And
For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
In both of these verses, we see Paul who was no stranger to persecution, calling his afflictions (being beaten, shipwrecked, stoned and left for dead and imprisoned many times) He calls these things light afflictions when compared to the ultimate reward, or treasure that we will receive because of that. We may never see the reward in this life, we may never see the outcome or good that comes through and from our afflictions, but remember that they work a far more exceeding and eternal weight in Glory.
With Jesus as our ultimate example of the spirit of Joy in ministry, we must remember that He counted it Joy to be tempted, tried falsely, beaten, rejected and ultimately crucified by the very people He came to save.
As we conclude our time together this morning let us remember that we are Ambassadors for Christ here on earth. And as such, if we are to follow and serve Him, we must then understand that we quite possibly will suffer for His sake. But there is Joy that comes from and through Christ as we faithfully follow Him. Though times may seem dark and a myriad of things going wrong or attacking you, cling to David’s words in psalm 23 “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”