Colossians
1:23,25
A Minister of
the Gospel and the Church
Paul, a Minister of the Gospel (vs.23c)
A.
The Gospel Was Heard by
the Colossians
- 1:23 – they heard
about the HOPE of the gospel
- 1:5 – they heard
the word of the truth of the gospel.
- 1:6 – which (gospel) came
unto you
- 1:6 – in the gospel they
learned of the grace of God in truth
- 1:7 – they learned
this from Epaphras
- 1:14 – they were taught
about redemption through His blood
- 1:14 – they were taught
about forgiveness of sins
- 1:20-21 - they were taught
about reconciliation through the blood of the cross
- Clearly, the gospel was heard
and known by the Colossians.
- Do YOU know the
gospel? It is a very simple
message:
- God the Father sent His
Son to earth to become a man…
- Christ, the God-Man,
was crucified for the sins of the world. My sin and yours were placed on
Him.
- Christ paid the penalty
of sin completely. The work of salvation was FINISHED 2000 years ago.
- Now that the sin issue
has been settled forever, God is free to offer salvation to the whole world…
but only on HIS terms.
- God’s terms: FAITH…
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. It really is
that simple.
- Have you trusted in
Christ for salvation? He offers you eternal life… but you must come to
Him in faith.
B.
The Gospel Was Preached
to Every Creature Under Heaven
- This is obviously a figure
of speech.
- It does not mean that
every human being on earth heard the gospel message at the time of the
writing of this epistle.
- Rather, it speaks of
the fact that the gospel is to BE preached to every
creature under heaven.
- It speaks of the universal
proclamation of the gospel…
- It was God’s
intention for every creature to hear the message… this was His
Great Commission to preach the gospel to every creature. Paul is simply stating
that that commission is in the process of being carried out.
- Acts 2:5 – on Pentecost, there were devout men from every
nation under heaven.
i.
This too was a figure of
speech…
ii.
It is unlikely that there were
any Aborigines there from Australia or that there were any citizens of Tibet.
iii.
Nor were there any there from
the Apache nation.
iv.
It is a figure of speech, like
saying, they came from everywhere… though not literally. Or, “Everybody was
there.”
- Rom. 1:8 - Paul thanked God that their faith was spoken of throughout the
whole world.
i.
It is unlikely that at the time
of that epistle, folks in inland China heard about the faith of the relatively tiny group
of Christians in Rome.
ii.
It means in all parts of the
known world to the writer… namely, north, east, south, and west…
- The literal method of
interpretation allows for figures of speech… some have
referred to this as hyperbole: exaggeration for the purpose of making a
point… a generalization, not requiring statistical exactness.
- EW Bullinger lists this
expression in Col. 1:23 as a synecdoche (the exchange of
one idea for another associated idea.)
i.
Creature is put for man
ii.
The gospel was preached to
every MAN… used in the sense of mankind… without distinction of
nationality, gender, social background, etc…
iii.
But not every single person on
the planet.
- Paul’s purpose and
point:
- The false teachers were
proclaiming that truth was restricted to a few initiates…
- Early gnosticism was
restricted to a select group of insiders with special knowledge.
No one else could know their spiritual secrets.
- The gospel message was
completely UNLIKE their message. It was not just for a select few,
but was for every creature under heaven! All of mankind… from every
nation… every social class… every educational level… every economic
background… red, yellow, black, and white…
C.
Paul Was Made a Minister
of the Gospel
- Minister: diakonos
- Strongs: one who
executes the commands of another, esp. of a master, a servant, attendant,
minister.
- Dict. of Biblical
Languages: servant, one who serves, without necessarily having the office
of deacon. (like Phebe; Rom. 16:1)
- This term is different
from doulos, which emphasizes an abject slavery. Diakonos is also a
servant, but emphasis the ministry performed.
- It is the term for the
church officer: a deacon… which implies a servant of the Body.
- We too are ministers of
the gospel… ambassadors for Christ… to us has been committed the ministry
of reconciliation… we have been given the gospel message to share with
others. Are we faithful in that charge?
Paul, a Minister of the Church
A.
A Minister of the Church
- Col. 1:1 – Paul introduces himself as an apostle
of JC… and this was God’s will… thus establishing his authority…
- His authority was being
undermined by the implications of the false teachers.
- He is an apostle
of Christ – a “sent one”, sent TO the church.
- He is also a minister
of the church… one sent to serve the Body of Christ.
- Paul does not use the
term here in the sense of a church officer, a deacon.
- The term is often used
in a generic, not a specialized sense… such as Phebe who is also
called a servant.
- One of the ways in
which Paul served the church was through his suffering FOR
them…
- Paul was willing to
take his turn in line to suffer for Christ… suffering because he was
bringing the gospel to the gentiles… which thing the Jews hated.
- Paul was a minister of
the church in that he was called and given revelation
concerning the distinct nature of the church, how it functions, its
purpose, its glory, and its final consummation. This he was to deliver to
the churches.
- He was a servant of God
to the churches.
B.
According to the
Dispensation of God
- Dispensation: stewardship.
- Oikonomia: from “house” + “manage”
- Defined: the
management of a household or of household affairs.
- Stewards were managers
of large household estates; they were often slaves or freedmen of high
status;
- Joseph was a high ranking slave, the steward of
Potiphar’s house. He was given the responsibility over Potiphar’s goods… he
was to manage the affairs of his household, and was trusted
to be faithful to that task.
- Being a minister to the
church was Paul’s calling; his stewardship. God entrusted to Paul a
special privilege of ministry to the Body of Christ.
- Consider HOW the
Lord called this man.
a.
Becoming a minister to the
Christian church was not something Paul/Saul wanted to be ever since he was a
little boy. Hardly!
b.
This was not something he had
been planning and preparing for.
c.
His goal was to “make it” as
part of Israel’s religious upper crust… and he was well on his
way toward fulfilling that goal. (Gal. 1:14)
d.
As a loyal Jew, he hated Christ
and Christians.
Ø
Acts 9:1-2 – threatening and
slaughtering them.
Ø
Acts 22:4 – he persecuted
believers to death.
Ø
Acts 26:9-11 – he went to great
lengths to harm if not annihilate the churches of Christ.
e.
Nobody could ever say that
Saul’s ambition in life was to become a minister of the Body of Christ.
f.
Acts 9:3-6 - Saul was on a rampage to wipe out the church if he
could.
Ø
It was then that he met
Jesus Christ…
Ø
He trusted in Christ and surrendered
his will to Him
Ø
Suddenly that zeal that had
been bent on destroying the name of Christ was transformed and now used of the
Lord to magnify the name of Christ!
Ø
Vs. 15-16 – God CHOSE Saul to be His vessel
Ø
His charge: to bear the name
of Christ wherever he went… through his life, ministry, and message.
Ø
And he would suffer MANY
things in carrying out that stewardship.
Ø
Paul knew up front that his
call… his stewardship involved much suffering for Christ and His
body.
Ø
That is Paul’s point in Col.
1:24-25 – he was rejoicing in his sufferings for them… because he was made a
minister of the churches of Christ.
- Paul was a minister of
the church, and this was God’s doing. God Himself granted him this dispensation
or stewardship.
- Eph. 3:2 – the dispensation of the grace of God was GIVEN
to Paul for the benefit of the church in Ephesus.
Ø
He was a steward of
God’s message of grace.
Ø
Oikonomia – Paul was entrusted
with the message of the grace of God… that results in salvation.
Ø
He was also entrusted with the
message of the grace of God that results in sanctification and spiritual
growth.
Ø
This message of grace was GIVEN
to Paul for the purpose of delivering to the gentiles… unto you.
Ø
Paul was called to dispense… or
administer the grace of God to Jews and Gentiles.
Ø
This stewardship was GIVEN to
him… granted to him from God.
Ø
He didn’t earn it. He wasn’t
seeking it. Rather, God chose him to this ministry and GAVE him the privilege
of being a steward of these marvelous truths.
- I Tim. 1:12 – Christ put
him into the ministry.
i.
The ministry = diakonia…
service…
ii.
It was Christ who put Paul in
the diakonia… along the road to Damascus.
iii.
He thanks Christ for the
privilege.
iv.
He notes that it was the LORD
who enabled him to be fruitful… not he himself. He recognized
that he was nothing without the grace of God… and that he had no power of his
own to perform this ministry. He required the Lord’s enablement… and received
it.
v.
He thanked God for counting
him to be faithful… trustworthy… and even his faithfulness he
attributed to the mercy of the Lord.
vi.
I Cor. 7:25 – Paul spoke of
himself as “as one that hath obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful.”
vii.
It was the Lord who PUT
him into the ministry. Put = set, fix; to establish,
ordain.”
- I Tim. 2:7 – he was ORDAINED a preacher.
i.
Ordained: same word as in I
Tim. 1:12 – set; established; ordained… put in place…
- II Tim. 1:11 – he was APPOINTED a preacher of the
gentiles. (same term)
- Rom. 15:15-16 – becoming a minister was a “grace gift” given to Saul.
- Nobody had to twist his
arm to become a minister.
- He wasn’t forced to sit
through countless meetings where the speakers urged, pleaded, begged, and
yelled at the young men until they shamed some into becoming a minister.
- Christ spoke to this
man on the road to Damascus… and that was the end of it. There was no
argument. No arm twisting. No coercing. No pressure.
- God called and Saul
responded: “Lord, what wilt
thou have me to do?”
- Acts 26:19 – Paul later said, “I was not disobedient to
the heavenly vision.”
- Then God answered
and TOLD Saul what He would have him to do. He would preach and
suffer… and all for the benefit of the Body of Christ.
- The ministry to the
church was a stewardship Paul was given.
- Whether he felt
like it or not, it was
still his stewardship… his responsibility.
- I Cor. 9:16-17 – there is a reward for willing service; but
even if he is not willing, it is still required of him. It is his
calling. Stewards don’t have the luxury of serving when they feel like.
They are required to serve.
- I Cor. 4:2 – faithfulness to one’s stewardship is required
not requested.
- Jer. 20:9 – Jeremiah could not stop preaching the Word
if he wanted to. It was like a fire burning in his heart.
- One of the worst things
Bible colleges do is to try to convince the young men who
attend to become ministers of the gospel.
a.
They try to persuade
young men to become missionaries or pastors.
b.
Well meaning men resort to arm
twisting… guilt trips… pressure tactics… trying to get young men to make a
quick commitment after an emotional pitch… and leave them with the impression
that they are failing God if they become an engineer rather than a missionary…
c.
The worst possible scenario
for any church is to have a pastor who is in that position because of the
persistent persuasion of well meaning, but misguided men… and NOT because he
was called of the Lord.
d.
I know men in the ministry who
should NOT be in the ministry. And this is from their own mouths…
e.
I prefer to try to talk
young men OUT of going into the ministry. If I can talk them out of it…
then I know that the Lord did not call them.
f.
I’m convinced that when God
puts His hand on a man, wild horses couldn’t keep him away from the ministry.
g.
Making known possible areas of ministry is fine and good. But
going beyond that, to putting PRESSURE on a young man to accept
such a position is not fine.
h.
You DON’T want a man in the
ministry who doesn’t belong there.
Ø
It will save the flock from
wandering without a God-called shepherd.
Ø
It could waste years of
that young man’s life… and it could damage the work of God wherever he
ends up.
Ø
What could be more frustrating
for a young man than trying to function in a way God never designed him to
function?
Ø
It’s like putting an eyeball on
the side of your head in hopes that it will hear… The eyeball will lead a
frustrated life… and the body will suffer loss.
C.
The Stewardship Was
Given to Paul FOR You
- Paul’s stewardship of
the mystery was given to him NOT for his own personal edification, but for
the good of the body.
- I Cor. 14:5,12 – The Corinthians failed in this area. They
were zealous for spiritual gifts… but wanted them for their own personal
benefit… and they used them at home… but did NOT use them as God
intended: for the edification of the whole Body.
- What could be more
selfish…and contrary to God’s purpose?
- That is why God gives ANY
spiritual gift to every believer. (I Cor. 12:7) (to profit
withal; for the common good)
- I Pet. 4:10 – we have ALL been given a gift and that gift
is to be used to minister one to another. That means the
WHOLE body… all those IN Christ…
- This includes: Jew
& Greek; bond & free; male and female… rich or poor… young or
old.
- If they are in the
Body, the church, then we are obligated to use our grace
gift to minister to ALL of them.
- We don’t have the right
to say, “I will minister to the rich, but not to the poor.” Nor can we
say, “I will minister to the women, but not to the men.” Nor can we say,
“I will minister to the young, but not to the old.”
- Nothing could be more
contrary to the purpose and nature of the LC… wherein EVERY member is
important!
- Paul was given a
stewardship for the Colossian believers… each and every one of them!
- We have not been made a
steward of the revelation of God as Paul was… but we HAVE been given a
grace gift to be used for the edification of the Body… to minister one to
another.
- Have we been faithful?
Are we ministering to the Body… ALL of the Body… not just a select group?
- Are we using our
spiritual gifts to function in the Body as God designed… or are we using
our spiritual gifts in our closet… at home… just for me, myself, and mine?
- Perhaps its time to
look beyond yourself… beyond your own family… and begin to minister to
OTHERS… that is called Christlikeness… godliness.
- If you are not
functioning in the Body as God designed you to do… and equipped you to
do… then you are NOT fulfilling your God-given reason for being.
- We have a stewardship…
a responsibility to function in the Body. And if one member is not
functioning in the Body… then the whole Body suffers.
- Don’t YOU be
responsible for causing the Body to suffer!
- You be responsible to
build UP the Body… edify the Body…
- Paul said that he was
made a minister “for His Body’s sake.” The PURPOSE of YOUR spiritual
gifts is the same: for His Body’s sake… which is the
church.
D.
To Fulfill the Word of
God
- Fulfill: make full, to fill up, i.e. to fill to the
full. 1a to cause to abound, to furnish or supply liberally; to complete.
2a to fill to the top: so that nothing shall be wanting to full measure,
fill to the brim.
- Fulfill the word
of God = to preach the Word of God fully
- Preaching the Word
FULLY…
Ø
To preach the WHOLE counsel of
God…
Ø
Acts 20:27 – he desired to preach the WHOLE counsel
of God and considered that his ministry was not fulfilled until he did so.
Ø
To leave no truth out…
Ø
To preach the word of God in
its entirety…
Ø
To preach the word of God in a
balanced manner: not overemphasizing one aspect of truth and underemphasizing
another aspect of truth.
Ø
To preach the WHOLE counsel of
God… and the only way to do that is line by line; precept by
precept;
Ø
To preach in season and out of
season;
Ø
To preach the positive and the
negative; the blessings and the cursings;
Ø
To preach the Word and present
the emphasis as it appears in the Bible… and not to invent a personal agenda
Ø
In Bible school I heard a
preacher say that he could preach salvation out of any verse in the Bible! The
only way one can do that is by twisting the meaning of the text, for salvation
does NOT appear in every verse.
Ø
The right way to teach the
Bible is to just teach what the Bible says… line by line… and NOT to inject our
own wishes and whims.
- The best way to avoid
a personal agenda and to present the emphasis as it appears in
the Bible is to teach the Bible verse by verse… line upon
line… paragraph by paragraph… and not to ever stop.
- This way, (if the Word
is taught accurately, verse by verse) then the emphasis that
emerges is INSPIRED by the Holy Spirit… for He is
the Author of the Word and its emphasis.
- The emphasis that
emerges is the one that GOD Himself put into His Word… and
not an emphasis that biased men would like to see interjected into the
Word.
i.
Ex: We are going through the
book of Proverbs – an extremely practical book.
ii.
I debated whether to teach it
topically or verse by verse… and verse by verse won out.
iii.
The reason I hesitated was
because certain truths are repeated often in the book… and I didn’t want
to sound repetitious.
iv.
As I analyzed that thinking, I
was convicted. Who am I to “cut out” truths that are repeated? If God repeated
them it must be for a good purpose.
v.
Some truths NEED to be emphasized
& repeated – and that is just what God has done in His holy Word.
- The emphasis in the
Bible is on Christ… and
making Christ known in a deeper and deeper way.
- Christ, the Living
Word, cannot be known apart from a slow, steady, gradual, complete,
careful exposition of the Written Word… line upon line… precept upon
precept.
- If folks don’t like the
emphasis that emerges as you read through the Bible verse by verse, my
counsel is to take that up with the author. I’m just an
index finger, pointing to what God said.
- Growth takes TIME… lots
of time. As Americans, we want everything QUICK… and God doesn’t work on
the American time table.
- Growth takes time… it
takes time to grow in grace and in the KNOWLEDGE of the Lord Jesus
Christ. It takes time to learn the Written Word… line by line… and it
takes time to learn about the Living Word… our Lord Jesus Christ… and to
let truth really SINK IN. That takes time.
- We spent four years
going through Hebrews. We spent three years in Ezekiel before that. We
spent about 2-3 years in I Kings. We spent about a year in Colossians
chapter one.
- Taking the quick
approach leads to the
teacher picking and choosing which gems he wants to highlight and which
truths he doesn’t have time to cover. It is quick & easy, but superficial…
and extremely subjective.
- Taking your time in
the Word… going line by line
means that over time a pattern will emerge: GOD’S emphasis…
This method takes a long time… it is not quick and easy, but it time
consuming and difficult… but it results in depth… and is
extremely objective in its emphasis.
- Paul was given the stewardship
of FULLY preaching the Word of God… the WHOLE counsel of God… exactly
as God delivered it… line by line!
- This included many
truths that the Judaizers, Gnostics, and traditionalists of his day did
not want to hear.
- He was called to preach
the mystery (vs.26)
- He was called to
proclaim that the Law was now obsolete as a rule of life.
- He was called to
describe in great detail, the Body of Christ and how it
functions in the world today… and how it stood in stark contrast to Israel.
- And even though he
faced opposition to the doctrinal emphasis that God gave him… he kept on
going forward… preaching Christ and Him crucified…
preaching the message of the cross… and all that was accomplished there.
- And he fulfilled his
ministry! He was a faithful steward.
a.
Acts 12:25 – Paul &
Barnabus fulfilled their ministry…
b.
Acts 20:24 – Paul wanted to finish
his course… and the ministry God called him to…
c.
II Tim. 4:5-7 – Paul in fact DID
fulfill his ministry.
d.
He was made a servant of the
gospel and a minister of the church… and was faithful to his ministry till his
dying day.
e.
Paul continued in the faith…
grounded and settled… and was never moved away from the hope of the gospel… he
preached it and suffered for it the rest of his life…
f.
This should be our goal as
well…
Ø
Be faithful to our stewardship
to the gospel… as ambassadors for Christ… to preach Christ to every creature…
Ø
Be faithful to our stewardship
to the LC… as members of the Body of Christ… and members one of another…
Ø
By God’s grace, let us be
faithful to OUR dying day!