God's Eternal Mystery Revealed

Colossians 1:24-29

“24Now I rejoice in my suffering for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body (which is the church) in filling up that which is lacking in Christ’s affliction. 25Of this church I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God, 26that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints, 27to 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. 28And we proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, that we may present every man complete in Christ. 29For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.”

Observations
· Paul had not yet suffered as Christ had, but he was willing to fill up that which was lacking.
· The mystery that had been hidden from the past ages and generations is now made known to the saints. What was this mystery? It was that Christ would live in the saints, giving them hope of sharing the glory of God. Paul says the same thing in Romans. “Having been justified by faith, we have peace with God; through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand and we exult in hope of (sharing) the glory of God” (Rom. 5: 1, 2). In Colossians 2:2 Paul says the mystery is “Christ Himself.”
· A minister is called to proclaim Christ to every man “so that he may present every man complete in Christ.” For this purpose Paul labored in the mighty power of God. No minister can fulfill his calling who doesn’t have the same purpose. And if he has the purpose, God will give him the power.

Remarks
“In 1960 I walked down the street in Bethpage, NY from the church to my house, reading Colossians as I walked. When I read the above verses, I concluded that this must have been Paul’s purpose statement. He had been called to preach God’s mystery. With deep conviction and gratitude I realized that I had been called for the same purpose. I resolved to make this my purpose also. I preached a sermon on these verses the following Sunday titled, “God’s Mystery Revealed;” and I have held these verses among my favorite Scriptures ever since. Looking back I can see how ministers and churches fail to present converts “complete in Christ.”
Family and church traditions have persuaded many to join churches that were not joined to Christ.
They may have made good church members without being good Christians.
Church growth movements have been busy growing churches rather than growing Christians.
Churches advance church doctrine rather than the doctrine of Christ.
“Progressive” churches have grown so accustomed to their aberrant theology and liberal life-style that they have not acknowledged either the Holy Spirit or His Word.
Legalistic churches have considered their interpretation of Scripture to be right and all others to be wrong; and in this rigid mindset they have often become unyielding and unteachable.
Some have no convictions either way; they believe that it doesn’t matter what we believe, since all are going to heaven anyway.
Procrastination is the enemy of the soul. People live as if they have unlimited time to mature, so they fail to take the matter seriously and never grow up.
I have great concern about those who live this way. Remember the song that said, “Everybody that’s talkin’ ‘bout heave but ain’t goin’ there”?
Isn’t it sad to realize that God’s eternal mystery has been clearly revealed in Christ, and to most folk it is still a mystery?