Take your Bibles with me and turn to Colossians 1. We are going to finish this chapter this morning. I'm going to be talking this morning about the church's suffering servants. The Church's suffering servants.
As you are turning to Colossians 1, I want to ask you a pretty pointed question: What's the point of all of this?
I mean, why do we go to church every week?
Why do we sit and sing together and then listen to a Bible message? Week in, week out - always the same. What's the point?
And why do we need pastors? Wouldn't their lives be better doing something else? Why do men put themselves through that?
From a worldly perspective, the whole things seems like a waste. A waste of time. A waste of talent. A waste of money.
What's the point?
These are the questions our text deals with this morning. So if you are there, let's get started by reading verses 21-29:
[!bible] Colossians 1:21-29 - KJV 21. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled 22. In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: 23. If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister; 24. Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church: 25. Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; 26. Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: 27. To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: 28. Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: 29. Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.
I'm going to make five points from these verses today that explain what the point of all of this is. Now, I'm going to go ahead and tell you, if you are not a believer, if you have not trusted Christ, then you aren't going to get anything that satisfies you here.
If the gospel is not true, and if the Bible is not true - then this truly is a waste of time, talent and treasure. But if you believe the gospel, if you believe in Christ - then this passage explains for us what church is all about.
So five points. Are you ready? The first point is...
Look at verse 24. Notice what it says:
[!bible] Colossians 1:24 - KJV 24. Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:
It says that the church is Christ's body. Paul was working for the church, suffering for the church and he said that he was doing it for Christ's bodies sake.
Do you realize that on this earth, in this dispensation, the church and Christ are inseparably bound?
Let me show you a few things about this real quick. Turn to Acts 9. Acts 9. Let's read the first few verses of this familiar story.
[!bible] Acts 9:1-3 - KJV
- And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,
- And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.
- And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:
So you have Saul (who would later become known as Paul - the guy who wrote Colossians) and he is bound and determine to hurt Christians. To hurt Christ's disciples. To destroy the church. So much so that Paul gets special permission from the High Priest to go on on an inquisition to round up Christians for persecution.
He's on the way to Damascus, and a light shines to Him from heaven. Look at verse 4:
[!bible] Acts 9:4 - KJV 4. And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
Did you notice what Jesus said there? He didn't say "Why are you persecuting my church?" "He didn't say, why are you persecuting my people?" What did Jesus say? He said "Why are you persecuting me?"
On this earth, in this dispensation, the church is Christ's body.
Let me give you another thought. Look at Ephesians 1 with me, verses 22-23:
[!bible] Ephesians 1:22-23 - KJV 22. And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, 23. Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.
This is speaking of Christ again, and just like our text in Colossians, it says that the church is Christ's body - but then it adds something - it says that the church is "the fulness of him."
What does that mean? It means that the church is a big deal. One more verse in Ephesians. Ephesians 3:10
[!bible] Ephesians 3:10 - KJV 10. To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,
That's a wordy verse - let me break it down for you. God's plan for this world in this era is for the world to know Christ through the church. Through the church, the local church, the world is supposed to see the Christ in His fulness and learn the wisdom fo God.
Here is my point: you need the church. The church is not some secondary thing - the local church is extremely important in the eyes of God.
God's plan for evangelizing the world and bringing people to Himself is not just preaching the gospel to every creature. God's plan for evangelizing the world and growing Christians involves local churches showing the wisdom of God in a visible way to their communities.
The church is not optional. You need the church.
Paul calls the church a mystery in this chapter. A mystery in the biblical sense is a temporary secret. Some secrets should be permanent secrets and are intended to be permanent secrets, but some secrets are temporary.
I'll give you an example: In May, I planned a surprise birthday party for Amanda. I got her parents to come up. Many of you came. The whole thing was a secret. She was completely surprised. I worked hard to keep that thing from her.
But it was never intended to be a permanent secret, it was intended to be revealed - just not yet. That's a mystery.
And the church was a mystery - it was a wonderful surprise that God had planned all along. The world did not see it coming, but it was always God's plan.
You need the church. That's the first point.
The second thing we see in these verses is...
In verse 24 of our text Paul talks about the importance of the church, then in verse 25 he says:
whereof I am made a minister.
Earlier, in verse 23 he says the same thing "I am made a minister."
The word "minister" just means "servant." Paul is talking here about how he was called by God in a special way to be a servant of the church, to give his life for the church.
And that is God's plan too. God's plan is not just for the church to be Christ's body on this earth, but for some people to be called in a special way to give their lives to the church - to live as ministers to the church.
You need the church and the church needs servants.
Now, who are those servants? Ephesians 4:11 tells us:
[!bible] Ephesians 4:11 - KJV 11. And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
We do not have apostles anymore - their were only twelve of them. We do not have prophets anymore. So what is left? God calls some men in this church age to be evangelists and some men to be pastors and teachers. (By the way, those two things are one office.)
Evangelists, in the Bible sense, is probably best understood to be missionaries. They were people going into new areas and preaching the gospel and starting churches.
Pastor teachers are exactly what you think they are.
We see this confirmed in other epistles like Timothy and Titus, where qualifications are given for two offices: elders or bishops (which are pastors) - they have to be apt to teach and deacons, who serve the physical needs of the church.
So what is our text saying? God's plan for this world is for the church to act as Christ's body, doing Christ's work on the earth - and to that end God has given the church special men, ministers, who are pastors and teachers.
You need the church, and the church needs needs servants..
But should these servants be like? What should they do? How does God prepare them?
I told you I have five points - the last three points from our text answer these questions about God's servants who serve the church.
So the church needs servants - but what kind? Well, number 3:
Look again in our text at verse 24:
[!bible] Colossians 1:24 - KJV 24. Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:
This verse is a mouthful and there are parts of this verse that are hard to understand - like how does Paul fill up the afflictions of Christ?
But there is one thing this verse says very clearly, and that is that Paul is suffering for the church and it is clear from this verse that Paul understands that that is God's plan. He's rejoicing in it. He's rejoicing in suffering for the church.
Now, Paul was not an ascetic. He didn't suffer for sufferings sake. He didn't suffer on purpose because suffering makes you more holy. There is none of that here.
No, Paul suffered for the church. Paul suffered for the gospel.
I know some of you like the crime shows on television. Imagine if a modern forensic CSI type got ahold of Paul's body after he died. What would they see?
They would see the marks of his suffering. They would see where he was stoned and left for dead. They would see where he was flogged many times. Maybe they would see the results of his being shipwrecked and spending twenty-four hours drifting in the sea. They would probably see the results of his illness - his thorn in the flesh - I think Paul probably had persistent Malaria that affected his vision and gave him headaches. They would ultimately see that his head was severed from his body by a roman executioner's sword.
Paul suffered for the church. And can I tell you? It is normally God's way when He wants to use someone for that person to go through some suffering.
I read a quote this week that stood out to me. Someone was quoting Alan Redpath who said:
“When GOD wants to do an impossible task He takes an impossible man and crushes him.”
I've read a ton (that's the technical figure) of ministry biographies and do you know what is the persistent theme in all of them? When God is really using someone, usually there is suffering there. There is pain there.
I'm reading a biography of Spurgeon right now with Nathan. None of you would want Spurgeon's childhood. It was rough. The man dealt with debilitating depression his whole life. He had to deal with constant lies in the press. He had horrible health problems. His wife had health problems that kept her home for the last thirty years of her life.
The highs were high - but God balanced them with a lot of suffering.
John Newton, the author of Pilgrim's Progress, said this about the suffering of God's servants:
God appoints his ministers to be sorely exercised, both from without and within; that they may sympathize with their flock, and know in their own hearts the deceitfulness of sin, the infirmities of the flesh, and the way the Lord supports and bears all who trust in Him.
In other words, God grows His preachers through suffering, and then that growth overflows to the health of the church.
You need the church, the church needs servants, and those servants need to go through some suffering.
Two more points here:
Look at verse 25:
[!bible] Colossians 1:25 - KJV 25. Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;
Paul said, I'm made a minister of the church, a servant of the church and here is my job - to fulfil the word of God.
That phrase means "to present the word of God in it's fulness."
So you need the church, the church needs servants, those servants need to suffer and, number 4:
The church needs it's ministers to be people who "fulfil the word of God" or who "present the word of God in it's fulness."
My job as a pastor is not to preach myself. It's not to entertain you with stories. It's not even to challenge and motivate you. My job as a pastor is to get the word of God, all of the word of God, into as many of you as I possibly can.
To fulfill the word of God in you.
What does that look like? Well, look at verse 28:
[!bible] Colossians 1:28 - KJV 28. Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:
There are several things in this verse you can see about what a faithful preaching ministry looks like:
First, a faithful Christian ministry preaches Christ. It says "whom we preach" and the whom there is speaking of Christ.
The message of the Bible is Christ. The message of the Bible is the gospel. Jesus could walk down the Emmaus road with two disciples...
[!bible] Luke 24:27 - KJV 27. And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.
Because the Bible is all about Jesus. Our message isn't "get your life right" it is the finished work of Christ.
So a faithful minister of the gospel is going to have one theme - and that is Jesus. That is the theme of the Bible.
But we see a second thing about a faithful preaching ministry in our verse here, it says "warning every man" - so a faithful preaching ministry is going to be a ministry of warning. A ministry that doesn't just teach, but that corrects, that tries to get people to obey. It is a ministry not just directed at the head, but at the will. It is a ministry with authority.
[!bible] [2 Timothy 4:2 - KJV](https://bible-api.com/2 Timothy+4:2?translation=kjv) 2. Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
A third thing we see about a faithful ministry of the word is that it is a ministry of wisdom and instruction. It says "and teaching every man in all wisdom;" A faithful preaching ministry isn't just fire, it is light. It isn't just do, it is learn.
There is a balance between warning and instructing, between rebuke and doctrine. You have to have both.
So what is the end result of faithfully preaching the word? Well, look at the end of the verse:
that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:
The word perfects Christians. The word when it is preached with the right emphasis (Christ), when it is preached with warning authority and with teaching wisdom, turns people into mature, perfect (or complete) Christians.
Look, this is so important to me that I put it on the wall. This is my reminder every week of what the word does. You do not need more Ryan Hayden, you need more of the word. You need all of it so that you can be presented "perfect in Christ Jesus."
This is God's plan for churches.
So, the world needs the church. The church needs ministers. Those ministers are prepared through suffering. Those ministers preach the word.
One more point from this passage:
Look at the last verse in this chapter:
[!bible] Colossians 1:29 - KJV 29. Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.
Paul is saying here "I am laboring." He was working hard. Make no mistake about it. I am laboring.
But then he said "according to his working, which worketh in me." In other words, the source of Paul's strength was God working in Him.
Paul wanted everyone to know "My success isn't because of me and my work, my success is because of God's work in me."
Church if we are going to have any success as a church, it is going to have to be God working in us and through us.
If I am going to have success as a preacher, it is going to have to be through the working of God in me.
So what's the point? Why do we do this? Why do we sit in church and listen to preaching?
We do it because it is God's plan and God's work in the world. There is nothing I would rather do, than preach the gospel and preach the Bible. What a privilege.
I want to close by asking you to imagine a church. Don't think about the building, think about the people.
They are diverse people. They come from different backgrounds. They are at different stages in life. They have different interests. They have different personalities.
But they are together in Christ and God's word is working in their lives. They come together each week not because they are alike, but because they share a love of Christ.
That group may seem like a ragtag group - it may seem like an arbitrary exercise. But scripture tells us that is God's plan for the world. Churches. It's a glorious thing.
Let me ask you two questions, then I'll be done:
Let's stand for invitation and prayer.