Colorrians 1:24-2:5 Message

THAT THEY MAY KNOW THE MYSTERY OF GOD

Colossians 1:24–2:5 Lesson 4
Key Verse: 2:2 Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF 7-12-09

"My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ."

Everyone loves a mystery. People are intrigued by mysteries. They want to solve a mystery before anyone. Thomas Jefferson’s friend and mathematician, Robert Patterson, encrypted a message over 200 years ago. People have been trying decode his text since then and finally someone has. It turns out that the mystery text is actually the Declaration Of Independence. Robert Patterson was a genius to make an encryption that would stymie our best minds for two hundred years.

But there is mystery that God has given, that could never be solved by even the most clever of people. It is mystery that no person could even have conceived, even if they were told. (Acts 13:41) It is mystery that must be revealed to us by God himself. And this mystery that was hidden from ancient times, has now been revealed. The mystery of God is Christ himself…Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Col 1:27) In him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. When Christ dwells in our hearts, we are encouraged in heart and united in love. The other part of the mystery is that God is not just the God of the Jews. God wants to save all people, even the Gentiles. When Gentiles accept the gospel, then they, too, are indwelt by Christ. They have the same hope to reign with Christ in the heavenly kingdom. You may think that this obvious. But to millions upon millions of people, these facts are still a mystery and many aspects of this mystery may be still mysterious to you. To reveal this mystery to a world living in darkness was Paul's prayer topic. This is the purpose of his hard work and his suffering. May this mystery be revealed, in its fullness, to your own hearts today.

Part l: Rejoice When Participating In The Suffering Of Christ (24-25)

Paul was in a Roman prison and yet he rejoiced. Look at verse 24a, "Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you,…" How is this possible? “What was suffered for you” is in reference to Christ’s suffering for the church. It also refers to others’ suffering that was endured to establish the church. Many servants of God, including Paul suffered daily. How did he suffer for them? He preached, he prayed, he visited, he traveled, he raised disciples, he had physical, spiritual, emotional and mental anguish. At that time he was suffering in the jail. He didn’t have to be there. He could have kept quiet and never tried to preach the gospel and raise disciples. Then he would have never been bothered by the enemies of the gospel. But he chose to engage in the gospel ministry that brought him into direct conflict with the Romans and his own countrymen.

Paul's suffering brought him great joy. This is a mystery that doesn’t seem to make sense. How can suffering bring us great joy? But the truth is that the more we suffer for Jesus' name's sake, the more joy comes to us, especially when we see our Bible students standing up as people of God and seeing fruit being born in our lives. Worldly suffering brings despair, fatalism and regrets, but suffering in Christ, brings great rejoicing in our soul, because we are winning a victory, we are bearing fruit, we are storing up treasures in heaven, we are expanding the territory of the kingdom of God. (1 Peter 4:1,2, 12-19) Knowing this brings great joy to our souls. Do you want to rejoice? Then decide to share in the suffering of Christ to expand the territory of the kingdom of God.

Paul knew the point of all his sufferings. Look at verse 24b , "…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." Simply speaking, Paul carried his own cross of mission knowing the final goal. Let’s make one thing very clear, there is nothing lacking in the suffering Jesus endured for us on the cross. His death and resurrection accomplished God’s purpose in world salvation. Hebrews 10:14, "because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy." But when we look around we see that Jesus has yet to return. We see billions of people not knowing Jesus. “Still lacking” refers to the remaining suffering needed to expand the Gospel work. Until the church is presented to Jesus as a perfect bride, until the exact number of Gentiles is let into the kingdom of God, (Ro 11:26) then there is still some remaining suffering that servants of God must embrace as we serve Jesus.

There is great fellowship among those who choose to participate in the remaining suffering of Christ. Php 3:10, "I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his suffering." Fellowship, here, is a group with similar interests. (Merriam Webster Dictionary. c. 1974) Paul is experiencing companionship with Jesus. He is in fellowship with other Christians who are also participating in the remaining suffering of Jesus. A Christian’s interest is to be interested in what Jesus is interested in and want to share in it. Then there can be fellowship. Those who don’t want any part of this can never experience the joy of serving Jesus with other believers. There can be no lasting fellowship. They will always have trouble and conflicts in their hearts. We need to change our mindset and our attitude relating to suffering for the gospel.

Paul was commissioned to be a servant of the Gospel. Let’s read verse 25, "I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness—" Commission means: “A warrant granting certain powers and imposing certain duties, Authority to act as agent for another.” In saying this, Paul is remembering his first encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus. This moment of his commissioning is revealed in Paul’s speech to king Agrippa. In Acts 26:16-19, Christ appeared to Paul and said, “'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,' the Lord replied. 16'Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you. 17I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 18to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'” He had a commission from Jesus, to present the word of God in it's fullness. His commission was unique. His commission came from God. It was up to him to accept this commission with his whole heart. And that is exactly what he did. We need to renew our calling as servants of God and accept God’s commission to reveal the mystery of God the students of NIU and DeKalb.

Part ll: The Mystery Of God (26-27a)

The Gospel is an ancient mystery that begs to be solved. Look at verse 26, "the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints." What is a mystery? If we knew than it wouldn’t be a mystery now, would it? Definition of mystery: “A religious truth known by revelation alone. 2. something not understood or beyond understanding.” (Merriam- Webster Dictionary c. 1974) The mystery was meant to be revealed to those who have the right relationship with God. The Gospel has been largely hidden to the vast majority of people for thousands of years. In the Old Testament only a few saw what the Christ of God would accomplish. Abraham was one of them. King David was another. The Old Testament prophets where others. God reveled this to them. Most could not even conceive what God was about to do. But when Jesus came, this mystery was revealed very clearly, to all who put their hope and trust in Jesus. Well..what is this mystery? My wife would bring up intriguing news of a recent event saying, “Do you know what happened?” and then say, “I’ll tell you later”. But I am not going to do that to you. God's secret plan is… "Christ in you, the hope of glory" – God planned to have his Son, Jesus Christ, live in the hearts of all who believe in him – even Gentiles like the Colossians. To many students, the Gospel is still a mystery. Only when God gives them the Holy Spirit can they understand. Our job is to make an environment where they can believe.

Knowing the mystery of the Gospel, and the commission to preach it, is a great privilege Look at verse 26 again, “"the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints." This mystery is revealed to God’s saints. Are you a saint? "Hagios" means the Holy Ones. Saints have been forgiven of all their sins. Saints know Jesus personally and have the Holy Spirit. They have been sanctified by Jesus' sacrifice. If you repented of your sins and placed all of your hope and trust in Jesus who died and rose for you, then, yes, you are a saint of God. You have experienced the mystery of God personally in their lives. Knowing this mystery is really a privilege and make you part of an exclusive club. It also brings responsibility.

There is a proper response to God revealing this mystery to you. Let’s read verse 27, "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." Part of the mystery is that God loves the Gentiles. Paul knew this and wanted to participate in God’s mission. Knowing this mystery is really a privilege. It is also something that begs to be shared. Tens of thousands of students have no idea of this mystery. God wants us to assist him in revealing it to them. Why else did God disclose it to you? To keep it to yourselves? No way!

Part ll: The Details Of This Mystery (27- )

Let’s look at the components of this mystery in verse 27, "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." First, “Christ in you”. Essentially, "Christ in you" is the mystery. The Jews felt that God was mostly present in the Temple. Idol worshippers also felt that their gods inhabited temples. But when Jesus died on the cross, the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. (Matt 27:51) Christ is not restricted to the temple. God is spirit. He is everywhere. John 1:14 reads, "The Word 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." He dwells among his people and He is in the heart of every believer. He is "God in us" coming to dwell among his people. We think this is obvious. But it is actually revolutionary. No Jew would have ever thought that God could dwell in the hearts of “unclean” Gentiles. When we know the mystery, God fills our hearts full of new hope for ourselves and new vision for our campus’ and the world.

Second, the hope of glory. This world is full of dead hopes, for everything in this world eventually spoils, perishes and fades away. Dead, worldly hopes disappoint us. Without Jesus there is no hope. People are living in hopelessness and despair. The Gentiles had no hope to share God’s glory. But now, through Jesus, the Gentiles have this great hope. We should be very happy about this because we are all Gentiles. Jesus is your only hope of glory. Can you think of any other way of getting to the kingdom of God? The best way that people can conjure up is being a good person. But the fact is the Bible says that no one is good…only God. (Mark 10:18) When you think about it, can you seriously get to heaven on your own goodness? I doubt it. Praise Jesus for giving us the hope of glory!

Paul kept a clear focus in his ministry. Let’s read verses 28 and 29, "We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. 29To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me" Paul’s main focus was proclaiming “him”. Jesus was the focus of his ministry. He proclaimed what Jesus had accomplished for all of us. We can do a lot of things but let's keep the focus the focus of our ministry by proclaiming, “Him” to the students of NIU and DeKalb.

Paul engaged in a discipleship ministry. Look at verses 28-29 again. To admonish means to warn gently, to reprove with a warning, to chide, rebuke, reproach, reprimand. Teaching means to not only teach the word of God, but to set the example through our own lives. One of the goals of discipleship raising is to present everyone perfect on Christ. The word “perfect” means mature or complete. Paul wanted to see each believer mature spiritually. To do this we first need to realize that only the blood of Jesus can make anyone perfect before the eyes of God. But there is something that we can do as we serve our mission. First, we can help others to stop and think about the grace of God and make environment where they can take hold of that grace. Second, we can engage in a discipleship training, helping others to function as servants of God. Through our message preparation and music prep, Tim and Jenn can mature in their preaching and music skills and in their knowledge of Christ. Thirdly, we must not lower our standards. We have to keep the goal in our sights, to present all of our members perfect in Jesus through repentance and faith, beginning with ourselves. These are things that every church should be doing.

Paul helped others to know the mystery of the Gospel with his whole heart. Look at verse 29 again, "To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me" It was not by human efforts that Paul could serve the Gospel. Paul pioneered 40 cities. In the book of Acts Paul was stoned and left for dead. (Acts 14:19) But he got up and went back into Jerusalem to continue to preach. He endured unimaginable sufferings. Most people would have died many times over. But God gave Paul strength to serve his mission well. God calls us to do the same. We need to love God with all our heart, soul and strength. Some people say, “Why do you work so hard? Why do strive so much? God will do what he wants to do. Are you trying to be be saved by your works?” But they are wrong. We need to have Jesus’ attitude and even Paul’s attitude who wrote, “I labor, struggling with all his energy.” Not because we are trying to save ourselves, but because we love God and want to make him known. “His” energy means that God is ready and willing to work through you if you let him.

Part lV: Paul Was Struggling For Them (2:1-5)

Paul wanted them to know how much he was struggling for them. Let’s read verses 2:1-5 together, "I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. 2My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, 3in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. 5For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how orderly you are and how firm your faith in Christ is."

Laodicea was located a few miles northwest of Colossae. Paul’s disciples had probably pioneered these churches. Paul was really concerned about the churches in that area. False teachers had probably infiltrated their ranks too. Though he had never been there personally, Paul loved them and want them to know how he was struggling on their behalf. He was saying, “I love you. Look at how much have been suffering to build you up in Christ.” He was like a father, separated from his kids for years, but writing letters to let them know how much he loves them. Paul also wanted them all to be encouraged in heart and united in love. He wanted to bring the churches together to stand against the heresy and to encourage one another to remain true to Jesus.

We need to grow in “complete understanding” of Christ. Look at verse 2, “2My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ” Blaise Pascal once said, "Apart from Jesus Christ, we cannot know the meaning of life, of death, of God, or of ourselves." People stop with a shallow understanding of Jesus. They need to delve deeper. When we seek after the treasure of the Gospel, we get a complete understanding of Jesus and his salvation plan. This will come when you seek Jesus and his words as a most precious treasure.

People spend millions of dollars to seek treasure in sunken ships. But they only have to go as far as their own Bible to find true, lasting treasures. Look at verse 3, “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” In Jesus there are treasures of wisdom and knowledge. The Bible is a treasure of truth, like an ocean. In Jesus we have a satisfied heart, we have eternal life. There are benefits when seek Jesus as a treasure. One of them can be found in verse 4, “4I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments.”…. we can be saved from all deceptive heresies and stand firm on the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Through this passage we have been reminded of a great mystery. Jesus, and his precious Gospel is the mystery of God. It speaks of God’s grace to dwell among his people to save them from sin and lead them to the hope of glory. Jesus' Gospel is not of human origin. It is God's mystery. It is completely different from what the world can conjure up. Only God can let us know the mystery and he is more than willing to reveal it to you. Paul wants all people to know the mystery of God and to participate in God's work with him. When we believe it, we will be satisfied. If we believe it, we will preach it. Then we will be blessed and be a blessing.