Colossians 1:24-29 –

²⁴Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, ²⁵of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, ²⁶the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. ²⁷To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. ²⁸Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. ²⁹For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.

Introduction

Last Sunday, for missions week, I preached a high-level overview of this passage. My main aim was to help you see the kind of perspective Paul had that enabled him to rejoice in his missionary sufferings. His answer, in simplest terms and consistent with the theme of missions week, is that while the sufferings he suffered were significant, they were far lesser than the greater good of bringing the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world.

In other words, Paul was able to rejoice in his sufferings because although the cost was high, the reward was far greater. The loss of worldly comfort was a price worth paying for the gain of living in the will of God and love for His people. It was better, he reasoned, to die to the pleasures of the world than to live apart from the eternal pleasure of God and the saints.

In that way, much of what I pointed out last week focused on how the claims of this passage support that glorious reality in relation to missions and how they relate to a well-stewarded missions ministry.

For the next couple of weeks, then, we are going to circle back through the passage in order to consider more closely and practically what it means for the ministry to which we’ve been called. Last week, the focus was on doing that internationally. This morning we’re going to consider the heart and marks of a well-stewarded local ministry. To be even more specific, I’m going to make the case that this passage is a charge to all of us (to all Christians) to make it our life’s chief ambition to bring the glorious riches of the gospel to bear on everyone we meet. That’s the big idea and the main takeaway.

Follow My Example

Without getting too deep into the weeds, before getting into the meat of this sermon, it’s important for me to acknowledge/remind you of a few things concerning the context of this passage.

I’m arguing that we apply this passage to our local ministry, but Paul had never met the Colossians.
I’m arguing that we apply this passage to our local ministry, but Paul was hundreds of miles away from the Colossians when he wrote this letter.
I’m arguing that we apply this passage to our local ministry, but Paul functioned mainly as an on-the-move missionary.
I’m arguing that we apply this passage to our local ministry, but Paul’s ministry was as an apostle.
I’m arguing that we apply this passage to our local ministry, but Paul’s ministry was directly, audibly, visibly, and explicitly given to him by Jesus.

The question, then, is: How do I get from there to here? Am I being faithful to this passage in claiming that it is a charge for us to heed and example to follow, both in missions (last week) and local ministry (this week)?

I think I am being faithful to the text for two main reasons: (1) Paul’s command in 1 Corinthians 11 and (2) His words in v.28.

Paul’s Command (1 Corinthians 11:1)

In 1 Corinthians 11:1, Paul commands his readers to “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” The NIV translates it like this, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” Paul meant his readers (which includes us) to look to his life and do what he did, love what he loved, and say what he said, because he did, loved, and said what Jesus did, loved, and said.

He was not, of course, calling everyone to imitate him as an imprisoned, apostolic, missionary. Nor was he calling people to perfectly follow his perfect example of the perfect example of Jesus. But he was claiming that by God’s grace, his life was a good example of godliness for others to follow.

In my estimation, following the Paul’s example boils down to living continually out of three main convictions, no matter our context: (1) Treasuring Jesus above all, (2) Expressing that through whole-life, glad-hearted, Spirit-empowered obedience to God, and (3) Doing so especially by proclaiming and applying the gospel everywhere and among everyone, no matter the earthly cost.

In that way, although this paragraph in Colossians was written from prison, to a church he’d never been to, it flowed out of the same convictions that led him to spend 2+ years investing in churches in Tarsus, Ephesus, Rome, Corinth, and a few other cities as well.

For us to obey 1 Corinthians 11:1 in light of this paragraph, then, ultimately means learning to live out of the same core convictions that Paul was living out when he wrote it (which is a local ministry for most of us).

Paul’s Friends (1:28)

The second reason I think this passage is rightly applied to our local ministry is found in v.28. Throughout most of our passage (vs.24-27, 29), Paul described his ministry in first person terms (I/me). But in v.28 he switched to the third person (we). “Him [Jesus] we proclaim…that we may present everyone mature in Christ.”

Timothy, Epaphras, Tychicus, Onesimus, Aristarchus, Mark, Justus, Luke, Demas, and Nympha are all explicitly mentioned in this letter as significant ministry partners (part of the “we” of v.29). Each of those individuals played different ministry roles for the sake of the Church. Paul charged Timothy, for instance, to follow the example he set in this paragraph as a pastor of a local church (in Ephesus). More to the point, what was missions work for Paul, was at the same time, local church ministry for Epaphras (who was from Colossae).

Therefore, just as those who were with Paul shared his convictions and followed his example in whatever context God put them in, so too should we. Grace, may we all treasure Jesus above all, express that through whole-life, glad-hearted, Spirit-empowered obedience to God, and do so especially by proclaiming and applying the gospel everywhere and among everyone, no matter the earthly cost.

The Heart of a Well-Stewarded Ministry

Let’s say I’ve convinced you of the need to pursue those convictions, and apply them according to Paul’s example (which I’ve prayed all week would be the case). What, specifically, does that mean?

At the heart of the example Paul set is a commitment to stewarding his God-given ministry well. Don’t miss that. I think the culture of Grace Church is such that we all eagerly nod our heads when told of our need to treasure Jesus above all. But what does that look like lived-out? Certainly, it has a good deal to do with our appetites, affections, longings (which Paul talks about elsewhere). But it also has a good deal to do with the way we live our lives. It makes little sense to say we treasure Jesus apart from living that out in concrete ways.

Paul’s point in v.25 is that the primary way he did so was by being a good steward of the ministry entrusted to him, “…I became a minister [of the Church] according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you…”

In other words, I think the center of Colossians 1:24-29 is an example of what it means to treasure Jesus in our daily lives; namely, by being good stewards of the ministry entrusted to us by God. My main charge, then, is to do just that, Grace—treasure Jesus by giving your whole life to being a good steward of your God-given ministry.

Key Terms

If we’re going to follow his example, then, we need to begin with clarity on the two main terms of this clause—minister and steward.

The term “minister” is an important one for Paul and an often misunderstood one for us. It is the same word used for “Deacon” when we speak of the office of deacon (1 Timothy 3:8-13). The literal translation is “servant”. God made Paul a minister of the Church in that He made him a servant of the Church. Paul’s main charge was not to get from the Church, but to give to it.

O, that we might all come to think and act like that. We’re so programed to think of the church as existing to serve us (which, of course, it does in some ways) instead of the other way around. Indeed, it is far more blessed to give (to serve, to minister) than to receive. Grace, how are you guilty of thinking of the church mainly as your servant?

The other key term, “steward,” is an unusual one. I can’t think of the last time I heard it outside of the Bib...