COLOSSIANS (11) Paul’s Ministry as a Servant of God (2)

“I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness -  the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. 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. He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ.” (Col 1:25-28)
 
Review
Let’s review what we talked about last week. In the last paragraph of Colossians chapter 1, Paul talks about the kind of ministry God entrusted him with.
 
First, he mentions two things that characterize his ministry—suffering and effort.
 
Paul said, “I fill up my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions” (Col 1:24)
 
Here, “What’s still lacking in Christ’s afflictions” doesn’t mean that there’s anything lacking in the salvation that was achieved through His suffering and death.
 
The salvation Jesus achieved was perfect. But the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ hasn’t been preached to all people on earth yet. And seeking God’s will and proclaiming the name of Jesus must be accompanied by suffering and persecution in this world.
 
And persecuting Christians is essentially persecuting Christ Himself. That’s what Paul realized on the way to Damascus. When true followers of Christ suffer, Jesus also suffers with them.
 
So, accepting the gospel of Jesus Christ means that we also join in His suffering. As Paul said, “join with me in suffering for the gospel” (2Tm 1:8)
 
But we don’t have to be afraid because when we suffer for the name of Jesus, He will fill us with unending joy and incomparable peace in Him along with glorious hope for the resurrection and the kingdom of God so that we can rejoice in what we’re suffering for the gospel.
 
The second element that shows the genuineness of Paul’s ministry lies in how earnestly, diligently, and enthusiastically he pursued it in his life. Paul said, “to this end I strenuously contend with all the energy” (Col 1:29).
 
From the book of Acts and Paul’s 13 letters, we see how much effort he put into the ministry of preaching and teaching the gospel and building churches in every region. Paul even said, “I worked harder than all of [the apostles]” (1Co 15:10).
 
Paul didn’t say those things to boast because he always gave credit to the true source of the power and strength that allowed him to work hard.
 
That’s why, after saying he had worked harder than all of other apostles, Paul added, “yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me” (1Co 15:10)
 
These were the two important features that characterized Paul’s ministry as an apostle called by Christ—suffering and effort. But at the same time, we also see unimaginable joy and power that Christ gave Paul. These were what proved the authenticity of his apostleship, which I believe must also be standards for all God’s servants, including myself.
 
In other words, by checking whether these conditions are reflected in our faith, we can see if we’re truly living “a life worthy of the calling [we] have received” from God.
 
Now, let’s move on to the next subject.
 
Paul focused on two ministries, which can be summarized as presenting the word of God in its fullness and presenting God’s people fully mature in Christ.
 
2. Two Ministries
Let’s talk about the two ministries that Paul focused on as a servant of God. We can find them in verses 25 and 28.
 
“I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness… He [Christ] is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ.” (Col 1:25, 28)
 
Here, Paul defines his ministries as 1) presenting the word of God in its fullness and 2) presenting everyone fully mature in Christ.
 
These were the two ministries Paul believed God entrusted him with. We see them in how Paul describes himself. In verse 23, he said, “This is the gospel... of which I, Paul, have become a servant” (Col 1:23). And in verse 25, he also said, “I have become its servant” (Col 1:25), referring to the church.
 
So, in Colossians chapter 1, Paul revealed that he had become a servant for two specific things—the gospel of Jesus Christ and the body of Jesus Christ, the church. These were the two areas for which he was commissioned by God.
 
He knew that he was called to proclaim the word of God. And he also knew that he was called to serve the people of God.
 
However, these two ministries, or two callings, are not independent of one another because knowing who God is, what He has done for our salvation, and what His will for us is should be our top priority as true people of God.
 
There can be many kinds of ministries in the church, but I believe ministries that are related to God’s word such as sermons and Bible study are the most important and fundamental ministries that all churches must be devoted to.
 
I would even say that all other kinds of ministries essentially depend on them. There shouldn’t be any ministry in the church that is not based on the word of God or independent of it.
 
So, even though Paul describes his ministries in two ways—a) presenting the word of God as a servant of the gospel and b) presenting God’s people fully mature in Christ as a servant of the church—they were not two separate ministries but one combined ministry.
 
And I believe this is the ministry that God also entrusts us with. That’s how we join in God’s mission for His word, His church, and the whole world.
 
Then, how was Paul’s ministry different from that of some false teachers in the Colossian church? How can we say that Paul’s ministry was more authentic than theirs? There are three big differences between them.
 
First, Paul didn’t say that he ‘chose’ to be a servant of God. Rather, he said he was called by God. Even though it is right that Paul also humbly obeyed the calling, that didn’t mean that he volunteered for it. It wasn’t his decision, but God’s. As Paul said,
 
“I have become its servant by the commission God gave me…” (Col 1:25)
 
By contrast, the false teachers were not called by God. They came to the church for their own purposes, not God’s. They were not sent by God. It was their decision to go to the church, not God’s.
 
They were like the false prophets of Jeremiah’s time. God spoke about them in Jeremiah 23:21-22:
 
“I did not send these prophets, yet they have run with their message; I did not speak to them, yet they have prophesied. But if they had stood in my council, they would have proclaimed my words to my people and would have turned them from their evil ways and from their evil deeds.” (Jr 23:21-22)
 
Second, Paul didn’t come up with his own message. Even though Paul insisted that his teachings were reliable and authoritative, he never implied that he came up with any part of his message based on his own thoughts or experiences. Rather, Paul said,
 
“I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.” (Gal 1:12)
 
The reason Paul’s teachings and messages are authoritative and powerful is not because Paul himself was a great man of thought, but because they all originated from Jesus.
 
By contrast, the ‘new’ teachings that the false teachers taught in the church didn’t come from Jesus but from other sources such as “philosophy… human tradition… or the elemental spiritual forces of this world” (Col 2:8)
 
In other words, “They have run with their message” (Jr 23:21). Just as the false prophets proclaimed things that God didn’t tell them, the false teachers taught things that were not only unrelated to the gospel, but against it.
 
What makes me sad is that these things are still happening in many churches. I feel like many church leaders are captured by the idea that they must present things that sound ‘new.’
 
But, I strongly believe that there can’t be ‘new teachings’ in Christianity because everything we need for our salvation was already revealed in Jesus Christ and written in the holy Scriptures.
 
Even though there can be ‘new ways’ to teach God’s word and proclaim the gospel, the essence of the teachings must not change. So, we must make every effort to find ‘new ways’ to deliver the gospel of Jesus Christ more effectively, but we shouldn’t add or reduce anything to or from the gospel itself. 
 
Even Jesus didn’t teach ‘new things.’ What He taught was more like a ‘new interpretation’ or a ‘revised version’ of loving God and loving others based on what He would achieve on the cross and the presence of the Holy Spirit.
 
We must remember that we’re not called to preach our own thoughts. So, whenever we teach or proclaim something in the church, we should always check if they are in line with what the Bible really says.
 
However, what makes me really sad is that there are still many false teachings in the church that come from all kinds of ‘different’ sources, ideas, cultures, philosophies, trends, and more that are not really related to what the gospel says.
 
One of the false teachings that is prevalent in today’s churches is what’s called the ‘prosperity gospel.’ It basically says, ‘if you believe in Jesus, you will be blessed. Everything will go well and you will be prosperous.”
 
But that’s not what Christianity is about. What the gospel really says is that we’ve ‘already’ been blessed by believing in Jesus. It’s not that everything will go well ‘if’ or ‘after’ you believe in Jesus.
 
 Everything already went well when you believed in Jesus. The decision to believe in Jesus is a blessing itself—one that’s greater than any other blessings we could possibly have on earth. There’s nothing more valuable or precious than knowing the Son of God and believing in His name.
 
What’s more, we’ve also read about how true Christians lived because of their faith in Jesus. They suffered. They were persecuted. All of Jesus’ disciples were tortured and killed except the apostle John. Then, how can one say that the so-called ‘prosperity gospel’ is true?
 
I’m confident that God would reject the prosperity gospel and say, “This is not what I said. This is not the message I gave.” But still, many Christians misunderstand the gospel of Jesus Christ because of false teachings. That really breaks my heart.
 
There are many people who go to church on a regular basis, but it’s hard to find ‘true’ Christians who really accept the gospel of Jesus Christ and try to live in accordance with it. There are many people who want to be saved from eternal death, but it’s hard to find Christians who willingly ‘take up’ their crosses and follow Jesus, walking the narrow path.
 
Why is that? I think the problem can be traced back to church leaders. Because we’ve preached different, reduced, and ‘accommodated’ versions of the gospel instead of the ‘real’ gospel that the Bible talks about, many Christians came to misunderstand some essential elements of Christianity such as faith, salvation, and the gospel.
 
As a result, we’ve led a lot of people to view themselves as ‘Christians’ when they are not really Christians in light of what the Bible says about being Christians. We’ve led people to think they believe in Jesus without knowing what it really means to have faith in Jesus according to the word of God.
 
So even now, we see false teachings that come from false teachers. What’s worse, because their teachings sound ‘better’ and more comforting to people, they’ve replaced the real gospel.
 
In other words, the problem Paul was fighting against 2,000 years ago wasn’t unique to his time. It is also our problem, and we should fight against it.
 
We should fight against all kinds of ‘false’ teachings and wrong beliefs about the gospel of Jesus Christ because that’s the only way to build up true Christians who are ‘fully mature’ in Christ. That’s what I want every one of us to be devoted to.
 
So, we should always keep ourselves awake in the truth of God’s word so that we not only prevent any false teachings from changing our minds but also fight against them. That’s why we must continue to be committed to reading and studying God’s word.
 
Because there are many false teachings in many churches, we must have discernment to distinguish between what’s wrong and what’s true. We should be able to differentiate false teachers from true servants of God. How can we do that? We need to pay attention to what Paul’s talking about in today’s passage.
 
Today, we talked about two ministries God commissioned Paul to carry out. He was called to be a servant of God’s word who presents the word of God in its fullness without reducing it or adding anything to it. And he was also called to be a servant of the church who presents everyone fully mature in Christ by proclaiming the gospel and “admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom” (Col 1:28).
 
And I believe God has also entrusted us with the same ministries. We’re called to serve the body of Christ, and in order to do so, we should be devoted to being close to the word of God, which equips us in every good work.
 
I hope and pray that we all realize this amazing and holy calling from God and live a life worthy of the calling in Christ Jesus.
 
Let’s pray.
 
Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us this opportunity to think about the kind of ministries You’ve allowed us to join in by Your grace. We thank You for calling us and allowing us to participate in Your great mission for the church and the world.
 
We want to follow Your way. We want to live a life worthy of Your calling. But we can’t do it alone. So we rely on You.
 
We pray that You would please fill us with heavenly wisdom and understanding through the Holy Spirit so that we may grow in the knowledge of God. We ask that You would please strengthen us with all power according to Your glorious might that worked in Jesus’ life so that we can overcome every obstacle and continue to walk with You.
 
Please enlighten our hearts with Your word of truth so that we won’t be swayed by any false teachings or ‘different gospels’ but stay rooted in Your truth until Jesus returns in glory.
 
We thank You again for saving us and calling us to join in Your great mission.
We thank You and love You, Lord.
We pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
 
Sharing Questions
Today we talked about two ministries Paul said he was entrusted with by God.  Here are the questions I want us to think about.
 
1) What do you think it means to be a servant of the gospel? Do you think you are also called to be one? If so, how can you live out this calling?
 
2) What do you think it means to be a servant of the church? What are some ways you can serve the body of Christ?
 
3) What are some key differences between false teachers and true servants of God and between false teachings and the true message of the gospel? How do you differentiate between them?