Overview of Earlier Colossian Bible Studies
This Bible study series on Paul’s letter to the Colossians helps
us understand the background of the Colossian Christians. These Christians
lived in Asia Minor and had the Greco-Roman, Jewish, and Phrygian cultures,
religions, and philosophical thoughts surrounding them. The teaching assaulting
the Colossian believers most was the early Gnostic teaching about “advance
Christianity.” The Gnostics considered all matter evil and spiritual good. For
the Gnostics, salvation occurred through advanced thought. This so-called advanced
religion caused confusion for the Colossian Christians. (see
Background of Paul's Letter to the
Church at Colossae)
Paul was a well-educated man. He was a Pharisee of the
highest order and had credentials to prove his high-ranking position as a Jew
who was well-educated. If Paul preached to Jews, those credentials would help
his listeners identify with him. In Colossae, Paul spoke mostly with Gentiles,
non-Jews, and so had to help his readers and listeners identify with him and
Timothy, his student and helper. To help them identify with them, he said they
were of the same faith and from the same geographic region as the Colossians
(Colossians 1:1-2). By telling them this, Paul helped the Colossian believers
in Jesus trust what he would tell them in his letter about Jesus, salvation,
and God. Paul’s identifying with the Gentiles gave his words validity. (see
Identification)
Paul prayed to God in Colossians 1:3-8 thanking Him for the
Colossian Christians. He thanked Him for the growth in their faith and in their
love for God and the saints. Paul said the believers in Colossae bore fruit and
matured, which showed their faith. In this opening prayer, he made known to the
Colossians he knew Epaphras, their founding pastor. Paul had discipled Epaphras
at length. This let the Christians there understand they could trust what
Epaphras taught them. Paul said, like himself, Epaphras was a “beloved fellow
bond-servant” of Christ. (see
Thanksgiving in Colossians)
Paul continued to pray after thanking God, as he interceded
for the Colossian believers. In Colossians 1:9-12, he asked God to make the
Colossian Christians grow in Christ so they would be well-pleasing to Him. Paul
prayed for the knowledge of God to fill them. He asked God to give them His
strength, power, steadfastness, and patience. At the end of the prayer, Paul
asked God to give these Christians a sense of thankfulness for Him who
qualified them to inherit eternal life with the saints and His Son. (see
Glorious Might)
Paul spoke of the Father in verse twelve when he interceded
to God for the Colossian Christians. In verses thirteen and fourteen, he
explained who this Father is. The Father is the One who will give them the
gifts for which he prayed for the Colossian Christians. He rescued them because
they trusted in Jesus as the Son of God. Paul declared the Father rescued and
transferred believers into His Son’s kingdom. With verses fourteen, he segued
to teaching about the Son of God when he wrote this Son is the one who redeems.
(see
Snatched and Delivered)
With verses fifteen through twenty, Paul taught about who
Jesus, the Son of God, is. He is the exact embodiment of God. They have the
same mind. Paul said Jesus is preeminent over all created things. Jesus existed
and created all things with the Father and Spirit
ex nihilo, out of
nothing. Paul taught that Jesus is greater than all created things, including
angels. This teaching blatantly went against the Gnostics who believed angels,
as spiritual beings, were superior to Jesus, who they considered just a man.
The Gnostics did not consider Jesus equal to God. Paul continued by teaching Jesus
holds all things together. He is the Head of the body, the Church. The Father
shared His fullness, His superabundance, with the Son. Jesus Christ, the Son of
God, enabled reconciliation of people to the Father through His life, death,
and resurrection. By these, He redeems each person from the power of sin and
death those who trust in Him. Jesus gave His life as a sacrifice for the sin
penalty of each person.
(see
Superabundant Peace)
The last Bible study taught about Colossians 1:21-23. In
these verses, Paul used a common teaching/writing technique, conditional clauses.
He stated who the Colossian Christians were before they trusted in Jesus, then
told them what He wants to do for them. That “then” clause is the
apodosis
clause. It explains what will happen if someone does something. The “if”
clause, the
protasis clause, tells what must occur to get the certain
reward. In these three verses, Paul told the Colossian believers,
if
people will trust in Jesus as the Son of God and repent of their sins (
protasis,
the if),
then Jesus will save them from their sins (
apodosis, the
then). The Father rescues people who desire Him to save them and transfers them
to His Son. His Son redeems and reconciles them to God. Nothing else need
happen for people to receive salvation from their sins and gain eternal life
with God. The Gnostics taught otherwise. (see
Attaining Hope)
Calling
Why did Paul become involved with people throughout the
Roman empire? Why would a Jew care about the Gentiles? The answer to both those
questions is one word: Jesus. Because of God’s saving love for one who
considered himself most unworthy to receive forgiveness, mercy, and grace, Paul
faithfully exercised Jesus’ call on his life. He felt responsible to proclaim
the Gospel to unreached people, particularly the Gentiles. In Colossians
1:24-2:5, we will learn why Paul concerned himself with a Gentile church
he did not found. This Bible study of Colossians 1:24-29 covers the first part
of that reason. It, too, will help us understand how. Paul’s interest in
the Colossian Christians occurred because of his call by Jesus. His call was to
serve and proclaim.
To Serve Christ and His Church
“Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and, in my
flesh, I do my share on behalf of His body, which is the Church, in my filling
up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions. Of this Church, I was made a
minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit…”
(Col. 1:24-25a [NASB])
Paul said he rejoiced in his sufferings. He did not mean he
loved to suffer from afflictions, misfortune, and evil. A person rarely puts
him/herself into afflicting situations without a reason. He/she does not
experience suffering at the hands of someone else without cause either. A
person allows suffering or puts him/herself through suffering to help other
people or to grow in knowledge. In Paul’s case, he suffered afflictions at the
call of Jesus to proclaim to the Gentiles of the salvation He offers.
Paul, as a redeemed child of God through the salvation Jesus
gives, based everything he did on his relationship with Jesus. Paul stated why
he allowed himself to suffer and how he could
suffer. In the second part of verse twenty-five, he said he went
through these afflictions for the sake of the Church of whom Jesus was
the head. Paul endured afflictions so the Church could grow closer to Christ,
its head, and be used to share the Gospel with other people. In the last
phrase of the first sentence, he stated he suffered for Christ. Paul willingly suffered
for Jesus and His purpose because of his love for Him and His call on his
life. He suffered for the Church because of the love Jesus put
into his heart for the Gentiles and His call on his life. Paul
willingly suffered so the Gospel of Jesus Christ would spread, and more people
would come to know Him as the Son of God, their Savior from sin and death. His
agenda was not comfort.
Paul’s suffering afflicted his physical body, yet he rejoiced
while going through them. Why was he able to rejoice while
suffering? How could he rejoice while
living through difficulties? Paul rejoiced while suffering
because he kept his eyes on Jesus. He remembered Jesus’ love for him and
his calling by Him. Paul rejoiced because of the hope set before him,
the prize of the upward calling (Hebrews 12:2, Philippians 3:14). Paul kept his
eyes on Jesus and the hope of his eternal reward of living with Him in His
kingdom. He rejoiced while suffering because he understood the Gentiles
would have this hope, too.
Without keeping his eyes on Jesus and His purpose for him,
Paul may have become stuck in the quagmire of his afflictions and troubles.
Jesus taught His disciples about keeping their eyes on Him and not the storm in
Mark 4:35-41. Just as this explains why Christians can suffer and rejoice, it
explains how to rejoice in suffering-by keeping your eyes on Jesus. How
could Paul rejoice while living through difficulties? He rejoiced,
he said, because he shared, on behalf of the body (the Church) and
Christ, the persecution unbelievers wanted to afflict on Jesus. “Filling
up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions” does not mean Jesus’ sacrifice was
not enough for the salvation of sinners. It means since Jesus was not on earth
in bodily form then and the people wanted to persecute Him, they persecuted His
disciples as an extension, “on behalf,” of Jesus. The suffering of Christians
does not mean salvation is incomplete. It means the Church, the saints, are
going toward completion. That completion will occur when Christ returns to
earth. The suffering Paul experienced gave him more reason to rejoice
because it produced his identification with Jesus (Philippians 3:8-14).
When Paul said he was “being crucified with Christ” or for Christ, he meant he
no longer lived for himself, but Christ lived in him (Galatians 2:20). Paul
understood his afflictions as bearing the dying of Jesus. It meant dying to his
right to himself, too. This enabled him to rejoice because of being in a
closer relationship with Him and His suffering. Paul rejoiced to
suffer, and he bore suffering because of his love for Jesus and because of Jesus’
strength in him. He could rejoice while suffering by keeping Jesus ever
forefront in his mind. Paul could rejoice because he understood what reward believing
Gentiles would receive. This allowed him to rejoice in his sufferings, to
take the Gospel to the Gentiles.
The suffering of Christians does not mean salvation is
incomplete. It means the Church, the saints, are going toward completion.
Would Paul have suffered for Gentiles had he not been a
Christian? No. Jews considered Gentiles unclean. Paul, who had been a Pharisee,
would have avoided them like he did the Samaritans. Being a Christian does not
necessarily mean a person would suffer for others. Yet, being a Christian, one whom
God called to be His steward, should mean he/she definitely would love others
and would willingly suffer for them so they could hear the truth of the Gospel.
Jesus taught each Christian is to love all people and share the Gospel. It is
part of the two greatest commandments (Matthew 22:34-40) and the Great
Commission (Matthew 28:16-20). Paul’s love for Jesus would make him willing to
answer the call and suffer for the people whom He loves. Paul was a minister.
The word “minister” comes from the Greek word diakonos meaning servant
or steward. Paul was a servant to those for whom God sent him. His service
included preaching and teaching the Good News of Jesus Christ, loving as Jesus
loves, and willingly suffering so all people would come to hear the Gospel.
Servanthood means putting one’s self and one’s plans after the love of Jesus
and His plans for the people He loves. For Paul, being a minister with the
duties given him by God meant doing “all things for the sake of the Gospel, so
that I (he) may become a fellow partaker of it.” (1 Corinthians 9:22) Paul was
a servant of God and loved Jesus Christ with his whole being. He loved the
Gentiles because of Jesus. Since Paul was a Jesus-called minister according to
the stewardship of God for the benefit of the Colossians, he rejoiced in his sufferings
for their sake to share on behalf of Christ’s body, the Church, in filling up
what was lacking in Christ’s afflictions. (Colossians 1:24) His love and
obedience meant he rejoiced in his sufferings.
To Proclaim the Gospel Clearly
“Of this church, I was made a minister according to the
stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, so that I might fully
carry out the preaching of the word of God, that is, the mystery which has been
hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His
saints, to whom God willed to make know what is the riches of the glory of this
mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. We
proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so
that we may present every man complete in Christ. For this purpose, also, I
labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.”
(Colossians 1:25b-29 [NASB])
Paul’s interest in the welfare of the Gentile churches
included teaching clearly the full word of God. He took seriously his calling
from Jesus, as recorded in Acts 9:1-19. Paul was Jesus’ chosen instrument to
take His name before the “Gentiles and kings and sons of Israel.” He realized
from that time he was to suffer for Jesus’ name sake (Acts 9:16). How did Paul
enact this calling with the Colossian Christians through this letter? He
repeated for emphasis he was to “fully carry out the preaching of the word of
God.” This means God called him to “minister (serve) according to the stewardship
of God.” (Colossians 1:25a) Of what was Paul to preach? To whom was he to
preach this message? What was the benefit of this message? To what end was Paul
to preach? These are just a few questions Paul answers in these five verses.
Of what was Paul to preach?
Paul said he was to preach the “word of God, that is, the
mystery which has been hidden from past ages and generations.” He understood
well Jesus made him His servant to tell the Gospel and suffer for it. Paul’s
love for Jesus and the people whom Jesus loved compelled him to go forward
despite hunger, beatings, and, perhaps, death. This preaching of the word of
God, he said, was a mystery, which God hid from past ages and
generations. What was this “mystery?” The Gnostics spoke of mystery in their advanced
thought as if only they could receive the benefits of the mystery. They spoke
as if they were the chosen ones. Only spiritual things were worthy of consideration.
Material things were not. Paul probably used the word “mystery” to catch the
attention of the Gnostics and the people the Gnostics confused. Even venerated
scholars and men and women of faith in “past ages and generations” did not know
this mystery of God, he said. By saying “past ages and generations,” Paul
emphasized no person since the beginning of time knew this mystery, not even
the Gnostics who proudly proclaimed they knew the mystery. He had the attention
of most everyone who read and heard this letter in first century Colossae
because he spoke of this mystery. Paul wrote to the Colossian Church to teach
them clearly about the mystery of God.
To whom was he to preach the message?
In Colossians 1:26, Paul said, this mystery “has now been
manifested to His saints.” Who are these saints? The word “saints” comes from
the Greek word hagios, which means the set apart ones. The saints are people
whom God makes holy and sacred. They are the followers of Jesus Christ, the
people made righteous by Him. They are ones who believe Jesus Christ is the Son
of God. The saints are the ones to whom God “willed to make known the riches of
the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles.” God gives faith to trust in
Jesus Christ. These saints understand God’s purpose and plan is that each
person believe in Jesus and receive salvation. John stated this in John 3:16
when he wrote, “for whoever will believe in Jesus Christ will be saved.” The
saints of God include each person whom Jesus makes righteous by faith in Him.
What was the benefit of this message?
To answer this question, we need to understand more of what Paul
wrote. What mystery did he write about? Since Paul was a master orator and
teacher and used lots of clauses, we must break out from the clauses what the
mystery is. In verse twenty-five, Paul said he was to preach the word of God. The
word of God is the Gospel, the good news of God’s plan for salvation from sin
and death and reconciliation with Him. Notice after he wrote “the word of God”
he put a comma and said in verse twenty-six, “that is, the mystery.” The
mystery is the word of God, the Gospel. To make sure his readers and hearers
understood exactly what he meant, Paul said in verse twenty-seven, after many
more clauses, “this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the
hope of glory.” The mystery is Jesus Christ’s presence among and for the
Gentiles, too. The salvation Christ offers is not just for the Jews. Paul said
this mystery, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, was unknown by anyone before and is
for everybody, Gentiles included. God did not exclude the non-Jews from His
salvation and reconciliation plans. He wants all people to return to a
righteous relationship with Him. He called Paul to preach and teach His word,
the Gospel, to Gentiles and every person. Upon belief in Jesus Christ as
Savior, Jesus’ Spirit lives in the believer. Christ’s indwelling a person is
“Christ in you.” Christ is the hope of glory, so Christians have the hope of
Christ living in them. As Christians, hope is only in Jesus–a certain hope of
forgiveness of sins and eternal life with Him in His kingdom, heaven, after His
return to earth. That hope of eternity with Christ in His kingdom is what Paul
called “the riches of the glory of the mystery.” The riches people get for
themselves rot or decay. Only the riches of God’s glory, the glory of the
mystery, gives true hope and is eternal. This hope in believers of Christ
strengthens them and keeps them until His return to earth. This hope is the
hope of glory. Christ dwelling in them is the hope of glory, the hope of being
in God’s glory and exhibiting God’s glory within them. Only when a person looks
to what is eternal and has his/her hope in Jesus can he/she obey to the point
of suffering for Christ’s sake and for the sake of unbelievers. That suffering
for Christ shows love for Christ and the love of Christ to other people. Paul
proclaimed the mystery of salvation available through belief in Jesus Christ
for every person. Assured salvation and eternal life with God is what Paul
proclaimed.
To what end did Paul preach?
Obviously, Paul wanted to be obedient to Jesus’ call on his
life, but another purpose for proclaiming the mystery existed. Paul said in
Colossians 1:28, “We proclaim Him, admonishing every man (person) and teaching
every man (person) with all wisdom so that we may present every man complete in
Christ.” Paul proclaimed the Gospel, but he did more. He admonished people and
taught them with all wisdom. Our English word “admonish” comes from the Greek
word noutheteo. Noutheteo
means to warn, counsel and appeal positively to the mind of a person by
supplying spiritual food while reasonably urging the person to turn to God’s
best. Another way to define noutheteo is gentle persuasion of spiritual
truths from God. Notice these truths are God’s truths, not human truths. God’s
truths come from His character of being true. God’s character defines truth. Man’s
truths vacillate depending on what is the intellectual fad of the time. Human
persuasion is faulty. Godly persuasion is holy because He is holy. Godly
persuasion comes because of God’s love for each person. Human persuasion
comes from love of self and one’s thoughts. Paul arrived at this point of
wisdom. His desire was to lead each person to accept the truths of God, His love,
mercy, grace, and salvation. Because of that, he said he taught “with all
wisdom.” This wisdom is the same wisdom Paul prayed for the Colossians in
Colossians 1:9. This wisdom is spiritual wisdom coming from God. Believers can receive
God’s wisdom if they ask. God gives it when we ask Him and labor for His will. Paul,
as a man called by Jesus to tell the mystery to the Gentiles, had an abundance
of knowledge of God, His will, and His wisdom. When he taught, he taught the
wisdom of God. He would do nothing less because he was responsible to every
person with whom he spoke to tell the truth of the Gospel. James 3:1 expresses
this responsibility. In it, James, wrote, “Let not many of you become teachers,
my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.” [NASB] Paul
understood he bore the responsibility of teach God’s truth because, if he
didn’t, God would hold him accountable for leading people away from Him.
Paul was accountable to each person to tell him/her the
truth so he/she could be made “complete in Christ.” (vs. 28) Being “complete in
Christ” means being perfect and mature because of completing the spiritual
journey. Each of us knows we are not perfect. Christians grow toward perfection
each day as they live the life God wants and as they grow closer to Him. When a
Christian dies and goes to heaven, he/she attains perfection because of Jesus’
gift of salvation. When the mortal body passes away with its sinful passions, full
maturity in Christ occurs for the Christian. The end to which Paul preached was
to stand rightly accountable to God for teaching and preaching His truth with
His wisdom. His other aim was to persuade people gently with God’s truth so they
would come to have a personal relationship with Jesus and receive teaching that
leads to growth in their spiritual life until God calls them home.
Paul labored because of: 1. the mystery from God, 2. the people
who had not heard of the salvation Jesus offers, 3. the truth of the love of
God and of salvation He offers to each person, 4. the perfection and maturity
each believer gains in heaven, 5. his call from God to minister, 6. his love
for God and the instilled love for each person, and 7. his accountability to
God and to people to proclaim the truth of the mystery. He did not labor grudgingly
for God and other people. That would lead to sadness, not rejoicing in
suffering. Paul labored (strove) “according to His power, which mightily works
within me.” (vs 29b) Laboring connotes toiling at work with one’s whole being until
depleted and exhausted. Paul strove like an athlete or soldier who worked for One
who commands him. To this One, Jesus, he gave total allegiance, servitude. Paul
voluntarily submitted himself to God. He became His bond-servant. God, as his
Lord, gave Paul His power to labor as a minister for Him to each person-Gentile,
Jew, slave, free, male, and female (Galatians 3:28). This power of God is the
superabundance of His energy that comes from His being. God made His power available
to Paul through His indwelling Spirit. Paul could only do these works because
of God’s power. He worked with God’s strength and might to do what God called
him to do.
Paul was accountable to Jesus and to the people he taught.
He was a steward, a servant, to God to minister to people. He labored to
proclaim the Gospel by admonishing and teaching. People would understand the
mystery of God. They would trust in Jesus as the Son of God. These believers would
grow to maturity on their spiritual journey and receive the riches of the glory
of this mystery, the hope of glory, life with the Son in His kingdom. Just as
Paul identified with the people and Christ, he served both with all he had,
even to the point of persecution, trials, and suffering. For him, these
afflictions he endured he counted as gain in that he was doing his share to
suffer as a follower of Jesus Christ. Paul rejoiced in his identification with
Jesus in this way. He rejoiced to serve people, though he faced affliction, to mature
the Church, Jesus’ body. Paul could only do these things with God’s superhuman
strength and power/might. None of what Paul did would or could he have done and
endured if not for His strength, commission, and might.
The Colossian heretics, the early Gnostics, challenged the
Christians in Colossae with their philosophical thought on advanced religion.
They strove to prove they were right by saying the Gospel Epaphras taught was
not enough for salvation. The believers in Colossae were not yet mature enough
in their faith to combat them on their own. Paul sought to teach them and
admonish others about the mystery of God. The mystery is that salvation through
Jesus Christ is enough for each person to have forgiveness of sins and eternal
life with God in heaven. For the Gnostics, living with the far-off God was
laughable. They found bodily resurrection disgusting.
Paul’s
love and obedience meant he rejoiced in his sufferings.
Do
you rejoice in your suffering for Jesus Christ?
Thoughts to Consider
What have you heard people say that sounds inconsistent with
God’s Word? Has it caused you to wonder then waiver in your faith? Maybe you
were the one who strove to disprove what a Christian believed by arguing
unreasonably with them. Maybe you caused them to doubt their knowledge of God.
Do you expect the doubt you instilled in the other will remove the Christian
from the hand of God? Do you assume you will gain heaven by reasoning out about
what good you can do to earn heaven? Whether you are the person who argued
against God’s word or you are the person who listened to another person’s ideas
about gaining eternal life, recognize only one way leads to eternal life in
God’s heaven. God gives it freely to each person who trusts Jesus is His Son
who lived a sinless life, died a sinner’s death, and rose victorious from death
to forgive the sins of each person who believes, to cleanse them from the stain
of sin, and to give them eternal life with Him in heaven.
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten
Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For
God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world
might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does
not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of
the only begotten Son. This is the judgment, that Light has come into the
world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were
evil.” (John 3:16-19 [NASB])
No other way exists to have eternal life and to have the stains
and guilt of sin removed from your heart, mind, and spirit. Because Jesus is
God incarnate (in the flesh) and He lived a sinless life, only His sinless
crucifixion can atone for your sinfulness. He died so you and each person would
not have to pay the judgment penalty of death for your/their sins. God is holy
and people are sinful. Holiness and godlessness cannot be in the same place.
Similarly, light and dark cannot be in the same place.
“For everyone who does evil hates the Light and does not come
to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the
truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been
wrought in God.” (John 3:20-21 [NASB])
Questions:
- What sins have kept you chained in your heart, mind,
and spirit?
- Why do you allow them to keep you chained and
ensnared to Satan?
- What keeps you from believing in Jesus, the Son
of God, who came to take away your sins?
- What do you proclaim as the final truth about
salvation that teaches opposite of the Gospel, the mystery of Jesus Christ?
- Why do you try to make yourself appear better
than others by proclaiming this counter to the Gospel?
- Will you come to Jesus now believing in Him as
the Son of God and accepting the salvation and eternal life with Him He offers
you?
For next week, read Colossians 1-2,
especially Colossians 2:1-5.
“For I want you to know how great a struggle I have on your
behalf…” (Colossians 2:1a [NASB])
