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Home > Resources > Sermons > Colossians

Paul moves from the glory and sufficiency of Christ in creation to his glory and sufficiency to the Church, then onto the eternal hope established through faith in the reconciling work of Christ on the cross. What next? After such wondrous statements, how could he add more? Essentially, he does not try to improve what he has stated but to only explain how the gospel had come to the world.

 

Our text uses the word mystery as a synonym for the gospel. Indeed, until the gospel is rooted in a person's heart by faith, though it is declared and printed, it still remains a mystery! It was the Lord, through his messengers, who took the mystery out of the gospel and made it a reality by faith.

 

Let us explore this truth and consider our own part in the work of declaring the mystery of the gospel.

 

I.  The Mystery's Stewardship

 

Paul speaks of having a "stewardship" in relation to the gospel and its declaration. The word is used of a 'household manager', so Paul was considering himself as having been appointed by the Lord for a particular ministry to the peoples of the world. In this ministry, he had a great responsibility which he identifies as two-fold in our text.

 

1. Suffering for the gospel

 

First, he declares that he joyfully participated in suffering on behalf of others for the sake of the gospel. "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 filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions." This is a much-debated verse, so we must begin by stating one thing it does not say. When Paul speaks of suffering "in filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions," he is not implying that there was some insufficiency in the sufferings of Christ at the cross. He has already gone to great lengths in 1:15-20 to explain that Jesus Christ is all-sufficient for the salvation of sinners. Some churches have taken this to mean that we are to be involved in some kind of expiatory suffering due to a lack on the part of Christ in completing what was necessary for salvation. But that would contradict not only the rest of Colossians but all the New Testament. For example,

But He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD (Heb. 10:12).

 

Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at the consummation of the ages he has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself (Heb. 9:26).

 

For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; and he Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed (I Pet. 2:21-24).

So what does Paul mean when he says that he is doing his part to fill up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions? Many scholars go back to a Jewish idea prevalent in Paul's day that the Messiah would come amidst suffering. So the thought is that there is a certain measure of suffering which must be accomplished before the Messiah returns. Whether that is the precise meaning it is difficult to determine. I think a more pointed idea is that for the gospel to be carried to the ends of the earth, it must be accompanied with suffering. Though Paul had not been to Colossae nor directly carried the gospel to them, it was indirectly through his suffering for the sake of the gospel that this church was established. The promise of suffering accompanied his call to preach the gospel (Acts 9:15-16).

 

Suffering in the sense which our text describes takes place for two reasons. First, due to unbelief in the world, those who bear the message of the gospel will suffer because of the natural animosity toward the truth of God. A good example of this is Saul of Tarsus. He did everything imaginable to inflict pain and damage upon the early believers. Why? Because he was full of unbelief toward the truth of the gospel. This same kind of suffering is taking place everyday throughout the world. By next year, it is estimated that 200,000 Christians per year will be killed for their faith in Christ! Many of the people whom our missionaries lead to faith in Christ will die at the hands of their own family members and neighbors.

 

The second reason is this. Suffering by Christians becomes a radical example of the love of Christ for the world. Why else would the New Testament speak so much about suffering as Christians if there was not a great importance placed upon it? To the church at Philippi, Paul wrote that the Lord had given them two gifts: faith and suffering. "For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me" (Phil. 1:29-30; this takes on significant meaning when we realize Paul wrote this letter from a Roman prison).   

 

While Paul was on his first missionary journey in southern Galatia, in the city of Lystra, he was stoned and left for dead after proclaiming the gospel. Miraculously, he got up and went back into the city. He went back yet again and preached in the same city where he had been stoned! This is what he taught the young believers to help them understand how suffering and the gospel gladly go hand-in-hand: "Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22 where the same word for "afflictions" in our text is the very word used for "tribulations").   

 

The suffering of Christians has often become the instrument God has used to melt the hearts of stubborn unbelievers. Sometimes it is the way the Christian handles sufferings which opens the door for the gospel. At other times, it is the direct afflictions due to the gospel which sets the stage for the gospel. A man among the Masai was confronted with the gospel and came to faith in Christ. He was so excited about being saved from the penalty of his sins, that he wanted everyone to know about Jesus Christ. So he went back to his own village and began going from one hut to another to tell them about Jesus Christ who suffered for them at the cross. To his amazement, no one was interested. Instead, they were belligerent over his message. The men of the village held him down while the women beat him with barbed wire. They dragged him into the bush and left him for dead.

 

Amazingly, he remained alive, crawled to a waterhole, and after several days managed to get back up on his feet. He thought that he must have left something out of the gospel story he had told. So he rehearsed it in his mind, then went right back to the same village with the gospel. He told them of Christ's death for them and the forgiveness through faith in Christ. Again, he was seized and beaten, opening the wounds that were just barely beginning to heal. They left him unconscious outside the village to die.

 

Days later he awoke and determined to go back to the village. Before he had a chance to say anything, the flogging began again. In the midst of it he preached Jesus Christ to them. Before he passed out he noticed tears in the eyes of the women beating him. When he awoke after the beating he was in his own bed, with the ones who had beaten him trying desperately to save his life, so that they could hear the story that he was willing to die for. In the end, the whole village came to Christ borne upon the wings of one believer suffering for the gospel [adapted from John Piper, Let the Nations Be Glad! 95-96].

 

How far are we willing to go for the gospel of Jesus Christ? We often shrink back at a little discomfort. What would we do if we faced severe persecution? A close friend of mine told me that recently his college-aged son stood in front of his university astronomy class and told them that he needed a few minutes with them. They listened as he told them of how the stars and planets they had been studying came into existence by the Creator not by chance. He went on to explain that the Creator became a Man and suffered at the cross so that they might know him and be saved. When he finished one lady wrote a note thanking him for his boldness in speaking for Christ. My friend made this piercing comment, "Isn't it amazing that we will call this boldness for the gospel when the worst that could have happened to him was for someone to laugh at him?" Meanwhile, thousands are dying each month because they dare to speak of Jesus Christ and him crucified before their relatives and neighbors.

 

2. Proclaiming the whole gospel

 

In the face of suffering for the gospel, the Apostle never softened the message nor left out the offensive parts to gain a hearing from his audiences. He was not "seeker-sensitive" in his approach to gospel-proclamation. He sought to preach the whole gospel. That is what is meant by the stewardship he received from the Lord. "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." To "fully carry out" meant to do it to the fullest measure or to the fullest extent. In other words, Paul was interested in proclaiming the whole message of the gospel wherever he went. He said, that was his stewardship from God.

 

What did he mean by this? Obviously, when we consider that the Colossians were facing antagonists who deceitfully taught that Epaphras, their pastor, had left something out when he preached. He had left out the secret, mysterious experiences of which they alone were able to reveal to these people. Paul vehemently disagreed. The gospel he proclaimed, and which he obviously passed on to Epaphras, was the whole gospel. He had not left out some "second-blessing" or "secret knowledge" which they needed to discover from this group of false teachers. He taught them concerning who Jesus Christ is and what he had accomplished on behalf of sinners. It was this full knowledge of Christ which was presented to them as the gospel. It was this truth which they savingly believed.

 

This same dual theme of suffering and proclaiming the whole gospel is found in I Thessalonians 2:1-8. Notice how Paul said that the gospel came to the Thessalonians through a time of suffering and mistreatment, so that it was evident that the gospel messengers were willing to lay down their lives for the sake of the gospel. This gospel was not a truncated message appealing to the flattery of men, but the whole gospel.

1 FOR you yourselves know, brethren, that our coming to you was not in vain,2 but after we had already suffered and been mistreated in Philippi, as you know, we had the boldness in our God to speak to you the gospel of God amid much opposition.3 For our exhortation does not come from error or impurity or by way of deceit;4 but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men but God, who examines our hearts.5 For we never came with flattering speech, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed-God is witness-6 nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, even though as apostles of Christ we might have asserted our authority.7 But we proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children.

8 Having thus a fond affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us.

We too have this stewardship to preach the whole gospel in order for men to come into a true wholeness in Christ. The best way to do this from a preaching standpoint is through expositional preaching, laying open a text and letting the Word of God speak in its fullness. In our one-on-one discussions with others or in small groups where we may begin an evangelistic Bible study, take a text and work through it. Let the Word of God speak! It is the truth of God alone which can penetrate hearts and bring sinners into a true knowledge of Christ.

 

II. The Mystery Unveiled

 

Notice how Paul considers "the word of God" as a synonym of "this mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints." What specifically he is addressing and how is it a mystery?

 

1. Proclaimed

 

One thing we must realize is that the first century was a time of gospel-explosion! What had been so little seen and so little realized in the previous centuries was now fully known and clearly proclaimed. There is probably some intent in this Pauline testimonial to infer that he was entrusted with the work of explaining the Old Testament prophecies concerning Christ and the gospel. Much of what we understand of the Old Testament writers is because Paul and other New Testament writers expounded their meaning to us. Paul often quoted Isaiah or Jeremiah in passages which the learned Rabbis of their day may not have understood. But by the insight of God's Spirit, the apostles were able to set forth the clear truth of Scripture which had been hidden to previous generations.   

 

This passage also implies that the message of the gospel is proclaimed by messengers: that's you and me, going about the work of explaining the Scriptures. This stood in contrast to the hidden, experience-based knowledge of the false teachers in Colossae. They could not proclaim openly what they considered to be truth. They could only drop hints and attempt to denigrate the gospel message. Paul states that the gospel is something which was hidden but now is widely made known. It is no secret for a reserved few, but openly proclaimed to whoever has ears to hear.

 

2. Hidden

 

But this was not always the case. For the gospel was "hidden from past ages and generations." The use of "past ages and generations" points to the previous centuries of human history. They did not understand the gospel. They could not begin to imagine that God the Creator would invade human history in the Incarnation and would ultimately bear his own judgment on a bloody cross! And so you have Gentiles going after other gods, worshipping idols, denying the Creator. And you have Jews worshipping a system of thinking in which they had grown to leave out the truth about the Messiah, accommodating him to their own biases.

 

The very word "mystery" implies something which is hidden and must be revealed. Indeed, while previous generations did not know the mystery of the gospel, now it was being proclaimed. With great clarity and power, it was being delivered to others. But though it is openly declared, though men can read the gospel through the Scriptures and many fine books, booklets, and tracts, it is still a mystery to the human heart apart from the revealing work of God. "Hidden" describes a condition which is deep-seated, permanent as far as man is concerned (Greek perfect passive participle). Due to the fall of man he continues in spiritual darkness, blinded to the truth of the gospel by his own sinfulness.

 

"But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised" (I Cor. 2:14). Hidden! "For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing" (I Cor. 1:18).  Hidden! "And if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God" (II Cor. 4:3-4). Hidden! If these things are hidden from the unbelieving man, then how will he come to know? If people could listen to Christ preach and Paul preach and Peter preach, yet still be totally blind to what they were saying, then how can people know the gospel?

 

3. Made known

 

The Greek text is very emphatic in showing that the gospel was hidden, "but now has been made manifest to his saints." The "but now" shows a transition taking place. It is the revelation of God which made the gospel known, a revelation which is primarily given through the proclamation of Scripture. That is why we must regularly attend to the preaching of God's Word and why we must not take public proclamation for granted, for it is in the act of preaching that most begin to know the truth of Christ. There may certainly be others who help along the way and explain truth, but the very act of proclamation was designed by God to make the gospel known to darkened minds.

 

The "things of God" are "spiritually understood," Paul told the Corinthians. That is, it is only by the work of God's Spirit that the darkened human mind can begin to see the light of truth in the gospel. This is the "yet now" of Colossians 1:22 and the "But God" of Ephesians 2:4. It is divine intervention to make the truth of Christ known to sinful men.

 

But having said that, we must see that he speaks specifically that the mystery is made known "to His saints." The believer can then glory in the reality that all of God's truth is his for the knowing! This truth is given for our daily living and for our future preparation. It is not the people of the world who understand the wonders and fullness of the Word of God. It is to his own people that this truth is revealed.

 

That should be encouragement enough as Christians to go to the Word of God regularly. Here is the assurance, with the Holy Spirit as the great Teacher, that believers can understand the Word of God. The Bible is a mystery book only to those who do not know Christ. Yes, there are plenty of things the believer may not understand, but there is light in the Book! He can grow in his knowledge of truth.

 

III. The Mystery Explained

 

Paul explains four simple things about the mystery of the gospel. "To whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."

 

1. God's pleasure

 

It is God's pleasure, and we might add, great delight, to make known the gospel, especially where it seems impossible to be known. In this context, Paul speaks of the gospel coming to the Gentiles! They had seemingly been left out of the picture by the Jews, as the Jews received all the revelation of truth. But now God was pleased to make His truth known to the Gentiles, those pagan idolaters who gave no consideration to the things of God.

 

And the Lord is still pleased to make the mystery of the gospel known outside of so-called Christian nations. It is thrilling to hear reports of how in the most desolate places, the gospel is being proclaimed, sinners are being saved, and churches are starting. Several of us recently heard an International Missions Board missionary tell of work in closed countries where Islam is the dominant (only!) religion. He could not even mention the names of the countries nor the names of the 150 SBC missionaries with whom he worked. Islam stringently controls each of the ten countries where he works with missionaries. Yet the gospel is being made known! This is why we must not hesitate to be involved in the work of missions, for our great God is pleased to make his name known even where peoples for centuries have rejected him. He is glorified by such a work against the backdrop of complete, total ignorance and rejection.

 

2. Far-reaching impact

 

We also see the far-reaching impact of the gospel: "among the Gentiles." It was not that the Gentiles were lining up and begging for missionaries. But it seemed that almost everywhere the early missionaries went, they found people whom the Lord had opened eyes and hearts to receive the truth of Christ. The use of the term, "Gentiles," points to the people groups of the world.

 

There are still thousands of indigenous people groups that have not heard of Jesus Christ. But our God is moving his messengers little by little into these pockets of unbelief, so that the whole earth might eventually be filled with his glory! It may be that some among us will go to a people who have never heard of Christ. It certainly means that we are to be involved through our praying, giving, and supporting those who carry the gospel to the far-ends of the earth.

 

3. Present reality

 

And what is this gospel accomplishing? It is the glorious, present reality that Christ has died and risen from the dead to justify sinful men; and not only that, he indwells by the Spirit all whom he justifies! "...Christ in you, the hope of glory." Paul normally speaks of the indwelling of the Spirit, but here, as he does in Romans 8, he speaks of believers being indwelled by Christ. This is no theological mix-up, but a reality which is true for the believer: Christ lives in me!   

 

Do you know this present reality? As he questioned the church at Corinth, "Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you--unless indeed you fail the test?" (II Cor. 13:5). Christ indwells those who belong to Him as their Prophet, Priest, and King. The great Sovereign Lord lives in us that we might be enabled for every demand of the Christian life, that we might be assured we are never alone as Christians, that we might be strengthened for the suffering which might come as witnesses for Christ.

 

4. Future expectancy   

 

But the gospel is not just for the now, it also prepares us for the not yet. Paul states that Christ in you is "the hope of glory." That term, "hope," refers to what certainly, assuredly lies ahead but has not been fully revealed or completed. It is something which is certain, not something that might happen. It implies an anticipation. And what is the content of this anticipation? Glory! That word conveys the wonder of all that Christ has accomplished for us which will be revealed experientially throughout eternity. It is similar to the term, glorified, which Paul uses in Romans 8:30, "...and these whom He justified, He also glorified."    

 

This hope sustained believers through the centuries. It is the reality that when this life is over there is more, so much more than we can ever begin to fathom in the presence of the Lord. All that happens in this life is preparation time for serving the Lord forever. The delights of the Lord through the work of His Spirit are a down payment of more to come.

 

Conclusion

 

Do you have this hope of glory sustaining you? The gospel proclaimed must be believed. What God has made known to you, embrace by faith, and know His glory.

3175 Germantown Rd. S. | Memphis, Tennessee | 38119 | (901)758-1213