Jesus Our Rock (Colossians 1 verse 24 to 2 verse 5)

Introduction

I wonder when was the last time you were looking for employment?

Some of us have left that all behind and retired, some of us have it all in front of us. I still remember those days and nights looking through online job advertisements- getting excited about the salary scales and pondering what the job description actually would mean in practice.

In a sense, our passage today was Paul’s ‘job description’. Here he outlines what he, a servant of the Gospel, was required to do. And, at first glance at least, it doesn’t appear to be the most attractive prospect- there is suffering and strenuous effort, but not mention of pay or perks.

So why on earth would anyone want to do this job called ‘ministry’?

It is important we keep this question in mind. You see, while Paul might appear to be simply speaking of his own personal calling, he is actually describing the calling of every Believer. So, we must consider this job description in detail.

In our passage we learn about:

The Gospel Servant

The Gospel Ministry

And in these verses we see that Jesus must be the focal point and central aspect of all Gospel ministry- He must be the Rock, the firm foundation. Even though Gospel Ministry brings hardships for the Gospel Servant they can put their confident in Christ- He is the One who is supreme and sufficient. This is what Paul experienced and taught, this must be what we believe and live out.

We see this, firstly, as we consider…

The Gospel Servant

Last time we saw how Paul declared Christ is supreme over creation and sufficient for redemption. Today he builds on these truths as he explains the pattern, purpose, and pleasure of the Gospel Servant. Here we see that Gospel servant is all about bringing Believers to maturity in Christ. Jesus, the supreme and sufficient One, is the rock- the foundation that the Gospel Servant must keep building upon. In these verses we see that the Gospel Servant:

Suffers joyfully according to a sovereign call.

Speaks of the fullness found in Christ.

Seeks to bring every Believer to maturity.

So let us consider Paul’s ministry and the Rock at the heart of this ministry.

Firstly, we see that the Gospel Servant… Suffers joyfully according to a sovereign call.

In verses 24 and 25 Paul says that he became a servant of the Church by the ‘…commission God gave…’. Paul was sovereignly chosen by God and given a work to fulfil for God’s glory, no matter the cost.

Paul had no authority of his own. Nor did he have a message of his own. His job was to be faithful to God and His message in its entirety. Paul saw himself as a divinely appointed Gospel Servant, playing a particular part in God’s sovereign plans.

 

For this reason, he was prepared to serve at great personal cost. Christ, the Rock, and His Gospel were worth enduring all kinds of suffering for- in fact it was a joy to suffer. Paul understood that Christ was of supreme worth, and his calling was of eternal significance. It was his joy to suffer to fulfil his calling and God’s purposes.

Now, we must be clear: Paul did not take pleasure in the suffering itself- the floggings, the imprisonments, the shipwrecks-including twenty-four hours drifting out at sea- and the starvations. No, his joy flowed from the fact he was fulfilling God’s calling and playing his part in God’s purposes.

Remember, Jesus warned him about suffering as a Gospel Servant from the very start when He called him on the Damascus Road. But Paul wouldn’t dream of doing anything else. His suffering was a price worth paying for the joy and honour of Christ- the One who endured the ultimate suffering for His People.

But there’s another, stranger reason for Paul’s rejoicing. It flows straight out of the Church being Christ’s body. Paul expects to ‘…fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s affliction…’. Paul is not saying he, or anyone else, can add to the redemptive work of Jesus at Calvary. Instead, he means that he suffered because he was preaching the Gospel. Christ suffered on the Cross for sin, and Paul experiences the additional suffering necessary to take the Good News to a lost world.

Paul’s attitude to suffering couldn’t be more different from the way most of us naturally think of it. In today’s world life seems geared towards all avoidance of any kind of inconvenience. But Paul willingly suffered because he was a man driven by what was at stake: namely, the welcoming of countless souls from every people into God’s Family.

And so, as a Gospel Servant he… Speaks of the fullness found in Christ.

In verses 26 to 27 we see that Paul saw his calling was to proclaim the fullness of God’s eternal salvation plan: that in Christ all peoples can be reconciled to God and welcomed into God’s Family. This ‘mystery’- a truth kept secret for generations but now revealed in God’s perfect time- revealed God’s ‘glorious riches’.

In verse 26 Paul says the Gospel Servant has the great privilege of taking treasure of eternal value and importance to the world. Then, in verse 27, Paul summaries these glorious ruches in just seven words: Christ in you, the hope of glory. Let us pause and consider these words for just a moment.

God Himself, in the person of Christ, is directly and personally present in the lives of His People, assuring us of present grace and eternal glory. Christ has taken up residence in us. That’s right: the cosmic Lord, the firstborn over all creation, the firstborn from among the dead- the one who died for you and me- is present within us.

God in Christ is now up close and personal. He is dwelling in each of His People. If we are Christians, then God is here with us and in us. And this is the foundation of Christian confidence in our world today. Jesus is the Rock we build upon as we live for God – He is the Rock of My Salvation, my Stronghold. My Refuge, my Deliverer.

In Christ alone is our confidence found. And so, Paul the Gospel Servant… Seeks to bring every Believer to perfection.

In verses 28 and 29 Paul explains what a Gospel Servant actually does- how he plays his role in bringing God’s plan to fulfilment. The Gospel Servant, with the help of God, brings every Believer to perfection by bringing the Gospel to bear on every part of the Believer’s life.

Paul begins by saying ‘He is the one we proclaim…’. The focus of every Gospel Servant’s work is Christ- He is the Rock, the foundation. And we can be assured that God’s Word gives us everything we need to know about Him, and indeed, everything we need to know Him personally. That is why we need to keep returning there for our message.

In verse 28 we see proclaiming Christ means ‘admonishing’ and ‘teaching’. People’s lives cannot be the same once Christ is known. Indeed, our thinking, feeling, living and acting must be transformed by a deepening knowledge of Jesus. All of Christ, who He is and what He has done, must shape every part of the Believer.

And this proclamation has a goal, a purpose: to ‘…present everyone perfect in Christ…’. The Gospel Servant desires that all would enjoy the wonder of being all that they are supposed to be in Christ- to be all that they were created and rescued to be. The Gospel Servant’s goal is that through faithful proclamation of Christ all Believers would be made perfect in God’s time. And this goal is achieved with God’s power and the servant’s passion.

We see this as we turn to Chapter 2 and verses 1 to 5; here Paul speaks of…

The Gospel Ministry

I am sure if we were to ask 100 people ‘What is the most powerful force in the world today?’ we would get a variety of responses. All kinds of political, economic, and cultural forces may be considered as having varying degrees of impact on our world. However, if we were to ask Paul this question he would have no doubt: the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the most powerful force in the history of the world.

 

Think about how Paul has already drawn our attention to the way in which the Gospel is working powerfully throughout the whole world. God’s secret plan for world history (the ‘mystery’) is being declared across the world by Gospel Servants (like Paul). These servants proclaim Christ, the hope of Glory, and lives are transformed- everywhere and eternally.

In verses 1 to 5 Paul takes the general truth about the Gospel Servant (in verses 24 to 29) and applies it to the hearers of this letter gathered in Colossae. He wants them to appreciate the way in which God is working to bring them to perfection through Gospel Ministry. In these verses we see:

The Commitment of Gospel Ministry

The Concerns of Gospel Ministry

The Celebration of Gospel Ministry

As Believers we are to understand the way God works through Gospel Ministry so that we may grow in confident faith, assured of eternal perfection.

In verse 1 Paul begins by underlining The Commitment of Gospel Ministry; we read:

I want you to know how hard I am contending for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. 

Paul, the Gospel Servant, laboured in agonising prayer and faithful proclamation.

 

 

Paul struggled in prayer for these Believers because prayer is hard- it requires effort and discipline. But Paul knew that the struggle of prayer wasn’t just for the work, it was the work. Gospel ministry requires a commitment to pray- for the Church, for fellow Believers, for the spread of the Gospel.

And Gospel Ministry requires a commitment to proclaim Christ- we saw this in verse 24 of Chapter 1. We also saw in Chapter 1 that this involves struggle. In a fallen world the Gospel of Christ will always face opposition from outside and apathy within. But Gospel ministry is built upon Christ the Rock faithfully proclaimed- from the pulpit, at the dinner table, in the workplace, over coffee, by the hospital bed.

In verses 2 and 3 we learn that Gospel Ministry has a bold purpose and clear focus:

² My goal 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, ³ in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Paul is proclaiming Christ (no matter how much effort it takes) and he is praying (with all the energy God gives) because he wants to see a profound outcome in the lives of these Believers.

The Gospel servant desires that all Believers will experience the comfort and courage that comes from knowing Christ- the Rock and Refuge of His People; the One who brings ultimate deliverance in the Gospel. Added to this is the desire that Christ’s love would bond Believers together- that relationships in the Church would be grounded on Christ and His love displayed in the Gospel.

 

This love and this courage come from a rich and full assurance of God and His glorious purposes in Christ. On Christ, the Rock, Believers are to confidently build their life of faith. He is, after all, the One ‘…in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge…’. The wealth of wisdom and knowledge and understanding found in Christ is so vast that we can expect to be exploring it for the rest of our lives.

So, Gospel Ministry is a commitment to ensure every Believer grows in their discovery and appreciation of the greatest treasures in creation: divine wisdom and knowledge. Jesus, the Rock, is the ‘image of the invisible God’ and the reconciler of all things. He is the embodiment of God’s wisdom- He is uniquely qualified to show how life is best lived in God’s world.

Gospel ministry is committed to Christ the Rock because the Christian life is difficult and filled with many dangers. And so, we must consider…

The Concerns of Gospel Ministry

So far Paul has been helping us savour the privileges of being in Christ- peace with God and fellow Believers, rock solid confidence to face difficulties, infinite wisdom to live life to the full. But in verse 4 Paul reveals a deep concern behind all he does for the Gospel:

⁴ I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments.

There are those who dispute the value and extent of God’s riches to be found in Christ.

 

 

These people are dangerous precisely because they are doing it within the Christian community. Their arguments are plausible and ‘fine-sounding’ because they themselves seem Christian. They use the right language, have a persuasive manner, and perhaps even have connections with the right people. But it is deceptive. Their words are only superficially Christian, and not authentically Christian.

To be turned away from the truth of Christ- His person and His work- is a serious danger. And Paul, the Gospel servant, is deeply concerned. It is those who believe the Gospel who tend to care most about the truth, and take the danger of deception most seriously- because the truth is so good and vital. To be deeply concerned about theological truth is not pedantic, it is wisdom and goodness, true compassion and love.

Quite how these deceivers are so convincing remains to be seen- that will be the focus of paragraphs to come. Paul is simply alerting his audience to the danger here.

The good news is that they do not yet seem to have made much of a mark in Colossae. And so, there is…

The Celebration of Gospel Ministry

In verse 5 we read:

⁵ For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how disciplined you are and how firm your faith in Christ is.

 

 

The Gospel Servant rejoices in the Gospel Ministry bearing fruit. Paul hears of the stability and maturity of these Believers and he rejoices- his struggles are worthwhile, God is at work in Colossae. Paul rejoices in the firm faith and ordered lives of Believers who have grounded themselves in Christ, the Rock. Indeed, firm faith in Christ is the best basis for ordering our lives and living life to the full.

Conclusion

As we close there are at least three things we can learn from what is said here about Gospel Ministry:

Firstly, let us not get too excited by find sounding sermons or fantastical worship experiences. Instead, let us seek after sound doctrine that keeps us focused on Christ as we study His Word. Let us pursue sound teaching that helps us know Jesus more fully, love Him more dearly, and seek to live for Him more faithfully.

Secondly, let us all be committed to the work of prayer- let us see it as THE work of the Church, and this congregation. We must never forget that anything that is truly of God is ever achieved without God’s People seeking Him in prayer. Only in prayer may we know God’s Will and receive God’s power. The true work of the Church is done by saints on their knees.

Finally, let us never forget what true Gospel Ministry is about and the deep purpose of God in His Word. It is not to entertain or excite, to simply bring earthly comfort or temporary amusement, but to focus us upon Christ so that our hearts might be encouraged to faithfulness, that we might be knit together in firm Gospel bonds, that we might enjoy the riches of full assurance and true wisdom, and that One day we might be presented before God’s throne as holy and blameless and totally perfect for all eternity.