Christian Service

Audio Player

Tonight we are carrying on with our studies of Paul’s letter to the Colossians and in fact we are coming to the end of chapter 1 and we are going to have a look at vss 24 to 29, and our subject is Christian Service. So can you turn back in your bibles to that passage we had read to us earlier, page 1883 of the bibles in the pews. And what I propose doing after some words of introduction, is to have just two headings tonight, first of all The Service or Ministry, it’s the same word, The Service of Suffering, and then secondly, The Service (or Ministry) of Proclamation.

Introduction

The problem with the church at Colosse was that there were false teachers who were plaguing the converts in the new church in the city. And we will discover more about that when we get on to chapter 22, God willing, next year. False teachers are a permanent plague in the Christian church. A few weeks ago my wife and I were in Jerusalem at the GAFCON conference (The Global Anglican Future Conference). Many people around the world, including many faithful Archbishops and Bishops, believe that there are false teachers in the church today, and they need to be resisted and disciplined. Nor should you be surprised. The last lesson that Paul taught the leaders of the church at Ephesus, a city not far from Colosse, included these words:

“I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard.”, (Acts 20: 29,30).

And Paul was simply echoing the words of Jesus which you find in sermon on the mount:

“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognise them.”(Matt 7:16).

And what are the marks of a false prophet or false teacher in the church? What is the fruit that Jesus spoke about there? Well from those warnings both from Paul and from Jesus, you can see four marks at least. One, a false prophet or teacher distorts the truth. Two, their motives are suspect. They are after a personal following so, as it were, the church serves them rather than they serve the church. Three, they destroy the church, like savage wolves destroy a flock of sheep. And four, they do not seem like ferocious wolves but like docile sheep. That is why they are so dangerous. They seem so nice.

Now in our passage for tonight, Col 1:24-29, Paul gives us something of a biography. But in doing so he gives some benchmarks to help us further judge the claims and credibility of church leaders. And you do need a standard by which to identify false teachers. Dick Lucas in his little commentary on Colossians says, ‘The permanent value of this great passage..’, he is referring to verses 24 to 29, ‘ .. is that it provides the church in every generation with just such a standard.’ This is therefore an important passage for all of us. And obviously its important for anyone who is a pastor or teacher or thinking about being a pastor or teacher in the church. For many years I have personally taken this passage as something related to what I am doing in this church. Well, so much by way of introduction. First, then, The Service of Suffering.

First - The Service of Suffering.

Look at verse 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.”

Paul was exceptional. He was an apostle with a special calling to tell the gentiles and their kings as well as the people of Israel about Jesus Christ. But one of the first lessons that he had to learn after meeting the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus was about how much he must suffer, that is Acts 9:16. He didn’t think however that that lesson was just for himself, because he later writes to Timothy his young friend,

“Everyone who wants to live a Godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”, (2 Tim 3:12).

So the first quality needed by any serious worker for Jesus Christ is the ability to stand firm against opposition. And this is more and more important for any Christian in the United Kingdom today. At the end of the day any witness to Christ will involve you publicly saying that Jesus Christ is the only way back to God. You will then sooner or later be verbally attacked for suggesting such an idea however gently or humbly you actually say it. You will be called right-winged, intolerant, bigoted, ignorant and all sorts of other things. Well this was exactly the situation in the world of Paul and especially in Colosse. it was as we have seen a multi-faith world. The false teachers in Colosse certainly would have objected to a new believer’s exclusiveness. They were open to some of the teaching of Jesus, but they wanted to add to it from other religions and other cults. But all the early Christian missionaries demanded an absolutely exclusive commitment to Christ. They said you have to

“..turn from false gods or idols to serve the living and true God and to wait for his Son from heaven who he raised from the dead, Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath”, (1 Thess 1:9-10).

That short summary of the Christian faith meant salvation, or the rescue, was not merely through Jesus Christ but only through him. And its in that word only that you have all the trouble. But it was so vital because without it there would be no persecution, no martyrdom, but also no Christianity. ‘Isn't this so very narrow?’, someone says. Well yes, but if its true, if as the early Christians and believers since have held, Christ was raise from the dead, and he is going one day at his return to rescue us from the coming wrath or hell, narrow it must be! But the Christian way of salvation is narrow only so long as you and I choose to let it be so. If Christ’s salvation is not offered to all, that is not the fault of the gospel, but the fault of those who fail to spread it so that the gospel actually goes widely. You and I that is and other Christians.

But spreading the gospel involves opposition and suffering. It certainly did for Paul and that is the rub. But note four things:

One, this suffering is no masochistic desire to gain merit with God. Paul says here in verse 24, “It is simply for you and it is for the sake of his (that’s Christ’s) body which is the church.”. So this is an act of service or ministry for the body of Christ, the church.

Note two, this suffering is not more, in fact much less, than the suffering of Jesus. But it relates to Jesus’ suffering. Paul says, “I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions.” Paul's sufferings were not redemptive like the sufferings of Christ which were once-for-all. But nevertheless Christ is identified with his people and their sufferings. Before his conversion Paul was actually himself persecuting the Christians. Then on the road to Damascus, when he met the risen Lord, he was actually on his way to hunt out Christians and take them prisoner. He met with the risen Jesus and Christ said to him, “Saul, Saul! Why do you persecute me?” He didn’t say ‘Why do you persecute the Christians?’, he said, “Why do you persecute me?”, that’s Acts 9:4. You see Christ identified himself with his followers and their suffering.

Note three, Paul speaks as though Christian persecution is limited. he speaks of, “…what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions.”. It seems as though there is a finite amount of suffering before the day when Christ returns and all suffering will end.

And note four, suffering is to be faced joyfully. Paul tells us he rejoices in what was suffered. You say, ‘Isn't that asking too much, that we should equally rejoice?’ No. Jesus says we should rejoice when we suffer for his sake, and James says in his epistle, “Consider it pure joy my brothers whenever you face trials of many kind.”, James 1:2. But note that you are not expected to feel wonderful when you are going through a harrowing time. Rather you are to consider it pure joy. Have the deep conviction that God is in control and allowing it, and be aware and remember that his will, as Paul says in Romans 12:2, is good, pleasant and perfect. I once worked in the Sudan with the CMS, the Church Missionary Society, and it was when Christians in the south were first being persecuted by the predominantly Muslim government in the mid 1960s. And I can remember old Bishop Oliver Alison, the bishop of the Sudan at that time, teaching the people to remember those words from Hebrews 13:5,6:

“God has said, ’Never will I leave you. Never will I forsake you.’ So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper. I will not be afraid what can man do to me.’”

Confidant of that promise you don’t feel joy as the world understands it. Certainly those folk didn’t when they saw their houses burned down or their loved ones killed. But you can be confident that in spite of it all God is in control. It is an inexpressible, as Peter says in his epistle, and glorious joy. Its glorious because it relates to the glorious future that God has in store for his people.

“Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.”, (2 Cor 4:17).

So, the first mark of the true servant of the church, the true minister of the church, is an ability to face opposition and when necessary straight persecution for loyalty to Christ and his word. And he is confident and so he does that, so confident that God is in control and God is good.

Let’s move on secondly, to The Service or Ministry of Proclamation.

The risen Christ, speaking to Ananias, that’s the man who actually helped Paul after he met Christ on that Damascus road, says that Paul was to be, and I am quoting (Acts 9:15,16)

“..my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel..”

. And then the Lord went on,

“ ..I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

Paul was called both to be a servant who suffered but also a servant who proclaimed the name of Jesus. That means he taught people God’s word as it related to the person and the work of Jesus Christ. Look at verse 25. Paul says:

“I have become its (the churches) servant (or minister) by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness.”

So we now ask, what was the message that Paul was wanting to get out as the word of God in its fullness, and the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations but is now disclosed to the saints. 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.”A mystery is a secret, but in the New Testament it means a secret that has now been leaked so to speak, so that it is an open secret. And this open secret is more than the good news being for everyone and not just for Jews. Of course that is central to that secret, but the secret Paul is saying here is “Christ in you, the hope of glory”. Yes, you have to know the facts about Christ, that he is God the Son, that he did live, die, rise again and is now reigning and one day will return to judge this world. But you also need to know him out at a personal level. By the working of God’s Holy Spirit as Paul trusted in Christ, he could say,

“Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.”, (Galations 2:20).

Can you say that? You see Christ died for your sins and rose again to give you new power, new life, and a glorious hope through his Holy Spirit. So if you have not done so why not trust Jesus Christ now and submit to him as Lord and Saviour? Because its foolish not to do so. As Paul learned on the Damascus road, as Christ said to him, ,blockquote>“It is hard for you to kick against the goads.”, (Acts 26:14).

Perhaps there is someone here tonight who knows they are resisting Jesus Christ and you are experiencing some goads, things going wrong for you. That’s what Paul was experiencing. Well, learn from him, Paul.

So this is the message of which Paul was a minister or servant and which Paul was to get out. It contained the facts, but importantly it was about Christ in you, the hope of glory. But secondly, What were Paul’s methods? Its no good just knowing the message about Jesus Christ and that people need to have a personal relationship with him. You have got to get that message out. That’s what the world needs. So it is not narrow. We are spreading it as it were and offering it widely. So what were Paul’s methods for getting that message out? Well look at verses 28 and 29, because you have got there a wonderful summary of how Paul went about his work:

“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 he so powerfully works in me.”

First, Paul’s number one goal there you can see was to proclaim Christ, who he is, what he has done, what he is doing now and what one day he will do. Paul was not there primarily as a psychotherapist, social worker or amateur politician, necessary as those roles are. No. Paul and every true servant or minister of the church is there primarily to tell people about Jesus Christ.

Secondly, know what actually was involved in this proclamation. Verse 26 says admonishing and teaching are involved. Admonishing is warning people negatively that certain things they believe or do are wrong and will lead them into trouble both now in this life and on the day of judgement. You have to call sin sin! But the idea of sin and that Christ died for our sins, 1 Cor 15:3, was probably being ignored by many in Colosse. They said that the problem was not one of people rejecting God and going their own way, but of not knowing enough. What was needed was not a change of heart and redemption from sin, but more knowledge or gnosis, a Greek word for knowledge. Now ever since the 18th Century in Europe, the European enlightenment, many people have been denying sin in the modern world. They say the problems in this world are to be resolved either by education or by evolution. So knowledge and time are redemptive, not Christ and the cross. Of course it has had disastrous effects. But this thinking is now in some churches. Some people now have a theology of acceptance, without repentance for sin and without any need for forgiveness because there is no thing to be forgiven. To be saved, it is being said, you need only realise that God already loves you just the way you are. You don’t need any personal reformation. You have no guilt. You just need to accept yourself, and don’t worry about precise belief. So the mission of the church it is said is no longer to proclaim Christ as the saviour who died for our sins. Rather it is to proclaim God’s love simply by demanding social justice and then by demanding the inclusion in the church of all lifestyles, all behaviours and more and more, all beliefs. No wonder Jesus Christ them becomes unnecessary. Such is one sort of today’s false teaching in the church. So there has to be admonishing and saying that this doesn’t fit the apostolic message and what Jesus taught.

But negative admonishment has to be followed by positive teaching. And that positive teaching must be of the apostolic truth which now for us we have in the bible.

Thirdly, Paul tried to teach and admonish everyone, not just some. The gospel is not just for some spiritual elite but for all.

Fourthly, this admonishing and teaching is to be “..all..” not some wisdom. The whole gospel need to be taught. So the whole Christ need to be proclaimed, that’s both our redeemer and creator, as he has been saying earlier in this chapter. Both our saviour and our judge, and Lord of both the sacred and secular world. He is to be Lord of our whole life, Monday to Saturday as well as Sunday. And the gospel concerns both belief and behaviour – we say doctrine and ethics. It is to be taught with all wisdom, not some.

Fifthly, Paul’s ambition is to have mature Christians at Colosse for when Christ returns. He wants, vs 28, to present everyone perfect or mature in Christ. He doesn’t want just decisions for Christ but mature disciples.

Sixthly and finally, none of this is for people who think that Christians service or ministry is a soft option. It is going to need hard work at whatever level we engage in. Sometime ago I heard about a survey on who work hardest in life and who work the least hard. Well it found that clergy and University lecturers work the hardest but also that clergy and University lecturers worked the least hard. Well Paul’s example was one of hard work, vs 29, “I labour…”. The word in the original signifies late nights, early mornings, sometimes not enough time to eat, as was the case with Jesus. Paul’s example was also one of struggling. Now that is a metaphor from the games, in fact the old Olympic games, and especially wrestling. It involves fighting the opposition, of course not with violence but with, vs 29,

“..all his (that’s Christ’s) energy which so powerfully works in me.”

And that is the resurrection power that is available now to us by God’s Holy Spirit. And here is a mystery which is not even an open mystery, because it is the mystery of God’s sovereignty and human freedom, because both are going on. Paul is struggling but God is giving him the strength.

Well I must conclude, and I recap. Faithful pastors and teachers understand both the service of suffering and the service of proclamation. And proclamation involves both the message and methods. And the message is about Jesus Christ the only Saviour and Lord who is to be our own Saviour and Lord and Paul’s methods in proclaiming Christ involved refuting error, admonishing, teaching the truth, teaching everyone not just some, teaching the whole truth, securing disciples not just decisions and, last but not least, sheer hard work and struggle but in Christ’s strength.

Let’s pray. A moment of silent prayer and lets pray as is appropriate for us, each one of us from a different situation and no doubt many different situations. And some of us do need to say “yes” to Jesus Christ. We are aware we are kicking against those goads. Some of us need to ask for forgiveness. Others of us need guidance. Lets pray as is appropriate.

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayers.

Back to top