The Truth About Ministry

Good evening from the Panhandle. It has been a great weekend, we went to Amarillo for a day on the town and our school's boy's varsity basketball team won all of their regional games. Exciting times in our little town. I pray you too have had or are having a great weekend.

Tonight we will look at Colossians 1:245-29, this ends Chapter 1. Suffering, being a slave that doesn't sound fun does it? In his effort to keep the believers from falling prey to the seductive sounds of false teachings, Paul tells us the truth about authentic ministry. It involves suffering. It's aim is maturity through the revelation of a mystery. It is hard work.

Paul had suffered many things in his ministry: Are they servants of Christ? -- I speak as if insane -- I more so; in far more labors, in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death. Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. - 2 Cor 11:23-27

Paul many times describes his labor in terms of conflict suitable to an athletic contest (vs. 29), Along this same line of thought it should be noted that Greek athletes traditionally strove in pan-Grecian competitions not only for their own honor but also for that of the city they represented. With Paul he did not seek personal glory, but in all his sufferings he represented the Church and Christ Jesus.

Colossians 1:24-29

24 Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. 25 I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness- 26 the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. 27 To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

28 We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. 29 To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.

1. Suffering for the Sake of the Church (vs. 24-25)

It is not surprising that Paul talks about suffering for the sake of the gospel since he knew suffering “up close and personal.” Paul suffered for the Colossians as their representative, because they were part of the church.

Paul wrote this letter to the Colossians from prison. He wasn't in prison because it was a great place to work through writers block. He wasn't in prison because he found it to be a pleasant place. Paul was not in prison to try and get in touch with his spiritual side. He was a prisoner and he encountered suffering. Why?

He was in prison for preaching the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ Jesus. He was in prison because of his personal relationship with Christ Jesus. He was in prison on behalf of others and because his suffering allowed him to identify in some small way with our Lord and Saviour, Christ Jesus. 

 

It should be noted that Paul's was not a vicarious suffering as endured by some even today. Paul was not suffering because the cross was insufficient. Paul clearly believed and rightly so, that Christ Jesus' suffering was sufficient to save us once and for all. Paul suffered on behalf of Christ Jesus. The world has always hated Christ Jesus; and now that He is not around to persecute, they persecute His followers: "If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.” (John 15:18-19).

Paul's attitude was that Christ Jesus took the blows meant for me; so now I'll take the blows meant for His followers. Suffering brings about an identification with Christ Jesus and a dependence on Him like nothing else seems too. Paul endured his suffering not only for the church at Colosse, but for the sake of the body. God in the form of Christ Jesus gave Paul a commission to proclaim the gospel, and if suffering was part of that commission so be it.

Christ Jesus has called each and everyone of us to take up his cross and follow Me. Matthew 16:24. Are you willing to live your life for Christ Jesus no matter what comes down the road, good or bad?

Paul calls the message he was responsible to announce a mystery. When you hear the word mystery you probably think of an Agatha Christie or Sherlock Homes story. Or maybe mysteries like the ones surrounding the Pyramids or the Nazca Lines in Peru. But this is not what Paul meant. The term “mystery” Paul used really means secret. It is something that has been kept hidden for ages and generations but is now shown to the saints. What is that secret?

2. The Revelation of a Mystery (vs. 26-27)

The hinge verse in this section is verse 27. Paul says the revelation of “the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations” (v. 26) has now been revealed.

What is the secret? “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (v. 27). That God has chosen to include Gentiles in the blessings of salvation: For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles -- ... to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel, (Ephesians 3:1, 6).

What is the secret? Christ Jesus is the secret. He opens the door of salvation, the door of redemption, the door of forgiveness to everyone. The unprecedented secret is that all who will call on the name of Christ Jesus will be welcomed into His kingdom. The unprecedented truth is that Christ Jesus lives in all who trust Him. Not only does He live in us; He is our hope of glory.

Paul’s great definition of a Christian was “a person in Christ.” He used that picture over and over again. The phrase “in Christ” or its equivalent is used at least 172 times in Paul’s epistles. His most vivid description of his own life in Christ was written to the Galatians: “1 have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live; but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). In one of the boldest prayers ever prayed, Paul interceded “that through faith Christ may dwell in your hearts in love … so may you attain to fullness of being, the fullness of God Himself (Ephesians 3:17, 19).

The bottom line is that God’s mysterious secret which has been hidden, has now been revealed. That mystery is Christ Jesus, but more, it is “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” What a revelation! Christ in you, the hope of glory! Your Share in the Mystery: You are the recipient—Christ dwells in you.

The clue to the whole Christian experience, the core of the gospel, is that Christ Jesus, by whom and through whom all things were created, who is before all things and in all things, in whom God was pleased for all His fullness to dwell, the firstborn over all creation, the image of the invisible God; this Christ Jesus who has primacy over all things, in whom all things hold together, who is the head of the church—this Christ Jesus, who will stand at the end of time and be the final judge and triumphal Lord, lives in you!

This is not a sideline thought of Paul, not a peripheral detour of truth. This is the heart of it: Christ Jesus, the Lord of Creation lives in you. His dwelling in you is your hope of glory! We talk about becoming Christian in ways like this: accepting Christ, inviting Christ into our lives, receiving Christ, surrendering our lives to Christ, giving our lives in faith to Christ, being born again by allowing Christ to be born in us, receiving Christ as Savior. 

Whatever the language, the faith and experience is that as you confess and repent of your sins, you are forgiven; you are accepted by God and enter into a new relationship with Him. You are saved, reconciled, forgiven by His grace. He then lives in you through the power of His Spirit as the indwelling Christ. 

Do you have Christ living in you? Have you invited Him to be your Lord and Saviour? If not, why not invite Him in now?

3. Ministry is Hard Work (vs. 28-29)

Not only are you the recipient, you are the communicator of the mystery: We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. (v. 28). Make no mistake about it ministry is hard work. Paul makes this clear by calling his work labor (to work to the point of exhaustion) and struggling (literally, agonizing). The good news is that this hard work is motivated and enabled by God's energy, which so powerfully works in and through us. 

I recently read of a woman in Africa who had discovered the secret, and was the recipient of the mystery. Overwhelmed with gratitude, she wanted to do something for Christ and the kingdom. But she was blind and seventy years of age; therefore her contributions did not seem to be very significant. She was uneducated, but she came to the missionary with her French Bible and said, “Would you mind underlining John 3:16 in my Bible in red?” The missionary was very intrigued to see what she was going to do. The woman took her Bible and sat in front of a boys’ school in the afternoon. When school was dismissed, she would call to a boy or two and say to them, “Boys, come here please. Do you know French?” Very proudly, they said that they did. Then she would ask, “Please read to me this passage underscored in red in my Bible.” They did. Then she would ask, “Do you know what it means?” They would say, “No, we don’t know.” And she would tell them the story of Jesus. Twenty-four young men became pastors due to the work of this blind woman, touched by the overwhelming light in her which only Christ Jesus brings.

What does that say about your passion to communicate the mystery, to share the secret which Christ Jesus no longer wants to be a secret? His power works in and through you. A part of the secret, your share in the mystery, is that the power of Christ Jesus works in and through you: “For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.” (v. 29). The New English Bible Translation gives more clarity: “To this end I am toiling strenuously with all the energy and power of Christ at work in me.”

Paul's aim in enduring the suffering and hard work – to present everyone complete [mature] in Christ Jesus. Paul's goal for believers is not a spiritual experience that chases fads or jump on every new religious bandwagon. His goal is a spiritual maturity firmly grounded in the open secret that Christ Jesus (Creator God, God/man) wants to live in us. Think about that, the creator of all things loves you enough to want to have a personal relationship with you and all you have to do is accept His free gift of grace.

Paul is his own best witness of the secret of the indwelling Christ Jesus. He toils strenuously in his apostolic labor; it is his toil, but the energy is Christ Jesus'. Paul was most himself when he was least dependent on his own resources. So it is for all persons in Christ Jesus. You do not have to rely on your own energy, but that of Christ Jesus whose presence works mightily within you.