Colossians 1:24--2:5 – Serving with or without a smile
By James Galbraith
First Baptist Church, Port Alberni
October 7, 2007- Thanksgiving Sunday
Text
Col 1:24 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.
Col 1:28 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.
Col 2:1 I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. 2 My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. 5 For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how orderly you are and how firm your faith in Christ is.
Introduction
A college professor tells of being invited to speak at a military base one December and there meeting an unforgettable soldier named Ralph.
Ralph had been sent to meet him at the airport, and after they had introduced themselves, they headed toward the baggage claim.
As they walked down the concourse, Ralph kept disappearing.
Once to help an older woman whose suitcase had fallen open.
Once to lift two toddlers up to where they could see Santa Claus.
And again to give directions to someone who was lost.
Each time he came back with a big smile on his face.
"Where did you learn to do that?" the professor asked.
"Do what?" Ralph said
"Where did you learn to live like that?"
"Oh," Ralph said, "during the war, I guess."
Then he told the professor about his tour of duty in Vietnam,
about how it was his job to clear mine fields, and how he watched his friends blow up before his eyes, one after another.
"I learned to live between steps," he said.
"I never knew whether the next one would be my last, so I learned to get everything I could out of the moment between when I picked up my foot and when I put it down again. Every step I took was a whole new world, and I guess I’ve just been that way ever since."
The abundance of our lives is not determined by how long we live,
but how well we live it.
Christ makes abundant life possible if we choose to live it now,
and part of the key to that abundance is learning to serving others,
in good times and bad.
Review
In the previous passage in Colossians, Paul has just finished sharing one of the most powerful descriptions of Christ you will ever find.
It is a complete profile of Christ,
which shows him to be Lord over all the known and unknown world – visible and invisible, physical and spiritual, alive and dead.
Paul’s intent is to show the Colossians that the saviour
who they have chosen to follow is everything they need for life,
and no matter what their situation or needs,
Jesus is ready and able to help.
He is indeed Immanuel, or “God with us”
Now we are seeing Paul’s personal reaction to his knowledge of this incredible saviour. He’s spent his time up to now teaching about Jesus, now he is sharing what Jesus means to him personally.
It boils down to being ready to serve Jesus and his church,
regardless of the difficulties he may face.
Paul tells or shows us three different things about serving the Lord -
1. He is ready to suffer for those who Christ also suffered for.
2. He keeps his message simple, teaching about Jesus himself,
to those who know him and those who don’t.
3. He wants them to know how much they are truly cared for.
Exegesis
1. He is ready to suffer for those who Christ also suffered for.
“ I rejoice in what was suffered for you” –
Paul celebrates the fact that Christ loved us enough to suffer for us.
He’s not happy that Christ had to suffer, but rather that Jesus chose to suffer for the rest of us, even though he did not have too.
“and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions”
He’s letting us know that even with Christ on our side,
we will still suffer as Christians,
and that he is ready to suffer alongside those who are already suffering.
Jesus doesn’t always take away our pain, but he doesn’t abandon us to it either, and one way in which he will help is to bring people into our lives who are ready to stay with us through our suffering.
for the sake of his body, which is the church
- the reason Paul is ready to suffer are the people he is writing too
So to a church that doesn’t even know him personally,
he says that he is ready to serve them through suffering for them
And he can say this because he believes that if Christ was willing to suffer for him, than he is ready to suffer for them!
2. He keeps his message simple, teaching about Jesus himself,
to those who know him and those who don’t.
VSS. 25-27 – Revealing the message to those who need to hear it
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.
These words are telling us that Paul is ready to get the gospel message out to as many as need to hear it!
Describing the word of God as a “mystery kept hidden”
looks back at the believers before Christ,
who trusted that God would send a saviour,
but didn’t know what shape that saviour would take.
That mystery of a saviour has now been “disclosed to the saints”, who are all those who trust the gospel message and put their faith in Christ.
And now that the mystery has been revealed in Jesus Christ,
Paul wants to make sure as many people as possible hear about him,
whether they are those who have believed in God for years,
or those who have never heard of Him
That’s a role not just for Paul, but for all of us as well!
If we have been blessed by the gospel,
we need to share that blessing with someone who hasn’t,
in order to fully appreciate the faith that the gospel message gives birth to inside us.
Paul shared the message through preaching and teaching,
And some of us may be ready to do the same.
Many, many more are also able to share the message in other ways,
Such as caring for those in pain, sharing with those in need,
Or simply spending time with those who are lonely!
There are as many different ways to share the gospel message as those who know it, The main thing is that we make sure our lives are, in some way, Showing the love of God to a world that needs it!
Keeping the message focused on Christ Himself
28 We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labour, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.
These verses describe Paul’s heart for all those who already believe in Christ.
He has already said that he is willing and ready to suffer for them,
And he has shown that he wants those who don’t know Jesus to discover him,
Now he is saying that he is giving his life in order that they may better know Christ.
The church he was writing to was pretty isolated, pretty far from the beaten path, and it would have been easy for them to think that no one really cared enough to pay them any attention.
Paul is saying that he wants to be a teacher and leader to them,
teaching them more of the word they have already discovered,
and correcting errors in their knowledge as they grow into their faith.
The phrase he uses, “present everyone perfect in Christ”,
can mean one of two things:
Either he is striving to continually help believers grow in their maturity and wisdom in faith, so that they come closer and closer to a perfect knowledge of Christ in their lives,
perfect not just in doctrine but in showing his love and presence in a very tangible way.
The phrase could also mean that he is striving to bring more and more people to the point where they simply accept Christ as their saviour,
so that when Christ enters their life,
God sees them as perfect,
not because of their own actions,
but because of the presence of his own Son Jesus in their lives.
Because when God sees his Son Jesus in our lives, he thinks that’s perfect! He doesn’t think we are perfect, but that Jesus in us is,
and as we learn to let him show his perfection,
his love, more and more, then we learn and grow and thrive.
One of these meanings is toward helping believers become better, stronger Christians, and the other means that Paul wanted as many as possible to become believers. Since both of these are good things, I’m happy to let both work here.
3. He wants them to know how much they are truly cared for. Vss. 2:1-5
Paul is letting the readers know that his efforts are all geared toward one thing:
- helping them grow into a faith that is built solidly on Christ
and boiling over with thankfulness for what Christ has done for them.
He mentions those in a nearby city as a reminder that they are not alone in their struggles, and then he sums up what he is hoping to accomplish with them.
- “encouraged in heart and united in love”
Since they were an isolated, relatively small church, he wanted them to stay encouraged by the fact that God loves them just as much as anyone anywhere
The gospel message proves that, since Christ died for everyone everywhere who will believe in him
Paul also wants the love that had made their faith possible to also bring them together as God’s people
The love of God in a community is supposed to bring people of all kinds closer together, tearing down lines of status, privilege and ethnicity
- “full riches of complete understanding”
He knew the supreme value of the culture of the day was wisdom, or understanding
He also knows that the false teachings that were creeping into their church were based on what the false teachers were claiming was “a special understanding”
So he strive to let them know that deep, real, true understanding is available to them as Christians:
They can…- “know the mystery of God, namely Christ,
in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge”
Christ is called a mystery because for so many years people looked forward to the coming of the Messiah, and yet they did not really know what he would be like
He is now the mystery of God revealed,
and he has all wisdom and understanding at his disposal
To a society that esteemed wisdom above all, he is the complete revealing of the wisdom of God, and they can learn from this if they will simply believe
He reminds them that not all those who profess to know God’s wisdom really do:
4 I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments.
It’s a warning we all do well to heed – it’s easy to forget that eloquence does not always equate to exactness, and that the best sounding arguments are not always right!
You can find an engaging and convincing teacher for almost every lie known to the human race, and you can find people that will put you to sleep with the truth!
Paul wanted them to be aware enough to know true wisdom from false, and that requires time spent in personal study and reflection!
5 For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how orderly you are and how firm your faith in Christ is.
Even though he is not with them (hasn’t even met them),
he wants them to know the Spirit of God brings them together despite the distance between them
- despite the lack of well-known church leaders, they are a peace loving, well founded church, and that delights Paul’s heart
What does Paul’s readiness to serve mean to us?
We too, can and should be serving!
1. We can be ready to suffer with those who are suffering
2. We can be a part of the message of Christ’s love reaching those who simply do not know it.
3. We can also be a part of helping fellow believers learn and grow in their faith.
Paul had a hand in all three of these areas of service,
and some of us may be called to a role like his as well,
But it more likely that our area of service will focus in one area.
Which area will it be for you?
You won’t know unless you step out and serve!
Whatever area it may be, we need to know that we can and will serve God, if we are willing to simply try.
Service is one of those things you learn by doing it.
If you think you’re not able to help anyone else, listen to this:
God Can Use Us (edited for length)
There are many reasons why God shouldn’t have called you.
But don’t worry. You’re in good company.
Moses stuttered, and he was a murderer.
David’s armour didn’t fit, he was too young and later had an affair.
Solomon was too rich. Jesus was too poor.
Abraham was too old. Timothy was too young.
Peter was afraid of death. Lazarus was dead.
Martha was a worry-wart. Mary was lazy.
Did I mention that Moses had a short fuse?
So did Peter, Paul—well, lots of folks did.
But God doesn’t require a job interview. He doesn’t hire and fire like most bosses, because He’s more our Dad than our Boss. He doesn’t look at financial gain or loss. He’s not prejudiced or partial, not judging, grudging, sassy, or brassy, not deaf to our cry, not blind to our need.
Satan says, “You’re not worthy.”
Jesus says, “So what? I AM.”
Satan looks back and sees our mistakes.
God looks back and sees the cross
***
You can serve, because Jesus already served you, on that cross.
And he stands ready to help you serve him now.
