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Good morning dear friends,
We are still reading in Colossians chapter one, today beginning in vs. 24. We’re going slowly, so we can try to glean much more from Paul’s letter, as the Holy Spirit leads us to understand, what He led Paul to write. Did you get that? The same Holy Spirit, who led Paul’s mind, when He wrote this letter to the Colossians, in about 60ad, is the same Holy Spirit who now will guide your mind and mine, to understand as we read it in 2019! That’s what Jesus meant when He said “…when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth…He will bring joy to Me by taking what is Mine and making it known to you.” (John 16:13,14)
Let’s be careful with verse 24. Paul writes “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.” Oh my, that sounds a bit confusing doesn’t it? Paul begins, by celebrating Jesus’ suffering, which of course accomplished our salvation, as He took upon Himself the wrath of God, for our sin. So Paul is saying, as terrible as it was, he is glad Jesus suffered like He did, so the people of Colosse could be saved.
But then Paul makes a shift to focus on his personal suffering, at the hands of Jewish leaders, who viewed him a traitor and tried to kill him; Gentiles in several places, who rejected his message and beat him or stoned him or ran him out of their towns; and even the Romans who as he is writing this letter, were holding him in prison and threatening him with death. Now when Paul uses the words “what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions’, he is NOT saying that Jesus didn’t complete the atonement sacrifice process, or that something more must be added by us, to what Jesus did, in order for it to be sufficient or completely accepted by God. Oh no, we must be very careful with this. That is a terrible mistake that every other religion of the world makes. They all tell their followers that they must DO something, in order to earn God’s acceptance. Only Christianity says, Jesus did it ALL! Nothing we could ever do, would improve on what Jesus did!
What Paul is saying here is, that as we sinners are saved by God’s grace, extended to us through Jesus’ completed atonement, then, we will begin living as Christ followers, in this dark and sin-filled world. That will create a conflict for us, perhaps a painful conflict. It’s light penetrating darkness. It’s good trying to push out evil. It’s right trying to overcome wrong. It’s truth trying to defeat deception. And Jesus had warned His disciples, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated Me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. But you no longer belong to this world, because I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you…If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you also…” (John 15:18-27),Paul, writing from Roman prison, is reminding the Colossian Christians, that he has suffered greatly, in every place he has traveled, as he has proclaimed the Gospel of Jesus. And as painful as it has been physically to him, it has been his great privilege, as he has suffered to plant the church of Jesus across Asia and now into Europe.
Paul says “I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness…” Do you see Paul considers himself incredibly fortunate, to have been chosen by God, to bring the Gospel of Jesus to the world, through his preaching and writing. He has also been a servant of Jesus’ church, as he has done the work of an evangelist…initially sharing the good news with those who’d never heard it / then the work of ‘making disciples’, as Jesus had instructed in Matt. 28:19,20 as he taught new believers the truths of Jesus and what Jesus taught. And then Paul has been training those who have gone out from him, to bring the Gospel to other places, or to follow in his footsteps to keep training the little churches Paul established. That was the ‘commission God gave’ to Paul.
Have you ever given thought to what God’s commission to you is my friends? What is it Jesus is trying to accomplish through your life…in years past, NOW and in the future? When finally you and I arrive in heaven and we can have long discussions with Jesus, what will He explain to you that were His purposes for your lifetime here on earth? Here’s a hint… look up Jeremiah 9:23,24 in your Old Testament. Then add to that Proverbs 19:21. Read them and then take some time to pray over them, asking God what HE has had, in HIS mind, for His purposes in your life?
I wonder if you like mysteries? Books or movies or stories that leave you perplexed, until finally the mystery is solved. Look what Paul writes next in vs. 26 & 27 “…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.” So…what do you think? What’s the mystery? Well, like a good mystery it’s has multiple aspects.
First, it’s a mystery of God! It’s something God knew, God had in His mind, from the beginning of time. But God didn’t explain it clearly to anyone, until Jesus came to earth! In fact that’s one of the big reasons God came here, in the person of Jesus, to explain the mysteries to us!
Second, it’s a mystery about the loving relationship God wants to have with His human beings made in His holy image, but who have defiled themselves by their sinful rebellion against Him. Why He keeps loving us is a mystery! Why He would want to restore us into relationship with Him, knowing we’re going to sin again, turn away from Him again…is a mystery?! Wouldn’t it make more sense for God to simply eliminate the human race, and start over again?
Thirdly, is the mystery that JESUS came here, God incarnate, to become our sin atonement, to pay our sin price, to make it possible for God to forgive our sin and restore us into relationship with Him!
Fourth, is the mystery that God wants to place His Holy Spirit into our lives…God living, not just here on earth with us, but actually INSIDE of us! That’s taking the love relationship God wants to a mysterious extreme!
Then Paul’s final words of Colossians chapter 1: “…this mystery which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.“ Do you remember when John wrote his Gospel account, in his first chapter, he describes the mystery of Jesus being fully God, in the beginning, before creation, and then this same Jesus coming to this earth He created, to live among people He created…yet they refused to recognize Him and when they began to understand what He was saying, they refused Him.
Yet John wrote “The Word (Jesus) became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14) I think Paul was thinking the same thing, only he wrote “this mystery is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” In other words, in a mysterious way, similarly to Jesus coming from heaven to live among mankind, God sends the Holy Spirit of God to live INSIDE followers of Jesus Christ, so that we now are the living evidence, of the miracle of God’s transforming work, in human beings! Because of that, we bring HOPE to our broken world! Our lives, evidencing the change that the power of God can bring into sinful, broken people…should awaken HOPE in other people, who know they too need that same God power unleashed in their lives.
As you and I honor God, by living authentic, Spirit filled, Jesus transformed lives, we bring Glory to God! That’s why we are the HOPE of Glory! Others who look at us, who understand what God has done in us, have the hope that God could do the same for them, and they too could live for God’s glory, rather than living as God’s enemies! Oh my…what a great mystery! And you and I my friends, we get to not just read about it, we have the privilege of LIVING the mystery! How can we thank God for that?
Oh Lord Jesus, how do we thank you for the remarkable privilege of living the mysterious, transformed life of a Christ follower and thus being the HOPE OF GLORY for our broken world! Thank you!!
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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