Glorious Service

in 2-4, pardon me, 1-24 to 2-3, And those two subjects made for
a very natural segue from Christ’s work of redemption, reconciling
sinners to God, to the proclamation of that wonderful message. And
what a wonderful message it is. It’s great news, this message
of reconciliation, and that is because of the grand accomplishment
of Christ’s redemptive work Though we are sinners, worse yet, though
we were dead in our trespasses and sins, and while we were yet
sinners, Jesus Christ came, took on a body of flesh, and ultimately
paid for our sins in full. So that with Paul, we can now
say there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are
in Christ Jesus. God has reconciled us to himself
through the atoning work of Christ, and that is just such glorious
news. How could we not tell others?
And so reconciliation, it really is the connecting point between
these two sections of Scripture, verses 18 through 23 and verses
24 and following. Reconciliation is the message
that is communicated by the gospel. And the incredible gospel which
tells us of God’s reconciliation of us, it has to be communicated. The good news, the gospel must
be shared. It must be proclaimed. It must
be preached. Now, in verse 23, Paul does say
that the gospel of reconciliation has been proclaimed in all creation
under heaven, and some could say, well, the job’s done. Paul even implies there that
this proclamation was largely due to his own God-ordained ministry. Paul had been graced by God to
take the gospel far and wide to the furthest end of the world.
And by that statement, proclaimed in all creation, we noted there
that Paul was not speaking in rigidly literal terms. It’s literary
exaggeration, if you will, hyperbole. Paul isn’t saying that every
person in the world had already heard the gospel. but that God’s
story of redemption had gone even into the remotest regions,
regions that included the little mountain town of Colossae. And
so Paul wants to tell us about this privileged ministry, the
ministry of the gospel, where we all individually and collectively
are tasked with proclaiming the good news of Christ. Paul’s talking
about the Christian ministry. And for our purposes today, I
wanna review verse 24 in our reading and course all the way
down through to verse 27. Chapter one, verse 24. 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. 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, that is, the mystery which
has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but now
has been manifested to his saints, 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. So that’s the subject that Paul
takes up here at the end of chapter one and into the first few verses
of chapter two, the Christian ministry, which is the, in its
chief purpose, is the proclamation of the gospel. And we began our
survey of this section of scripture, as I said, two weeks ago, we
saw, first of all, that this section on the Christian ministry
carries all the way down to verse 3 of chapter 2, and Paul will
discuss over the course of this time the nature of the ministry
of the gospel and specifically his role in it. Paul provides
a detailed treatment, not only of his ministry, but really a
discussion of the Christian ministry itself. And as I suggested two
weeks ago, this section can be effectively broken up into three
subsections. Verse 24, we called the glad
anguish of ministry. Verses 25 through 27, the divine
bestowal of ministry. This is where we’ll start this
morning. And then finally, the efficient method of ministry
from chapter 128 all the way down to 2.3. So two weeks ago, as I said,
we began in verse 24 with that message titled, Glad Anguish.
That little title seemed like it was contradictory, if not
a bitter pill to have to swallow, anguish. But we saw that Paul
leads us into a discussion of this uncomfortable thought of
suffering as it pertains to the gospel ministry. Paul effectively
says that ministry and suffering go hand in hand. We referred
to it there as sustained torment, not just a fleeting or an occasional
difficulty that we’ll face, but constant, as was Paul’s. But
Paul says, even in the midst of such harsh treatment, there
is joy. There’s joy in Christian ministry. That was Paul’s response to this
sustained torment. Paul says, he tells us first, pardon me, the
first response is the joy in sustained torment. The second
thing that Paul tells us is the sphere of that torment. And he
says it was in his flesh. These were real and painful things,
beatings, stonings, that Paul endured. The Christian life is
not a life of ease. We may not be beaten, or treated
as poorly as Paul was, but we will experience this kind of
suffering. It’s not easy to be a Christian.
It shouldn’t be. But knowing for whom we suffer
makes such ill treatment bearable. And Paul says that he endured
such things on behalf of Christ’s body, the church. We persevere
in trial for the sake of our fellow Christians. Paul closed out that verse, verse
24, by reminding us once again, the target of this sustained
affliction. Not only the response and the
sphere, but the target of this sustained affliction, it’s not
aimed at us. It’s aimed at Christ. This is
because the world still vehemently hates Jesus Christ. If the wicked
men of the world could charge and claw their way into heaven,
they would try to kill Jesus by whatever means possible. So
the world doesn’t necessarily hate us. It does feel at times
that way. But the world does hate Jesus
Christ. And so if we are his disciples,
we too will feel the heat of their animosity. So we will suffer
as Christians in the course of our labors for Christ. And yet
Paul wants us to know, he wants to tell us how glorious a calling
the Christian ministry is. So I’ve titled this section,
Glorious Service. This is his focus in verses 25
through 27, in which section he presents the magnificent features
of the Christian ministry. I’m going to give you the overall
outline of this subsection, and that won’t matter much because
we’re not going to get that far this morning. Nevertheless, Paul
presents three magnificent features of the Christian ministry. First
of all, The service of God is initiated by a divine commissioning. It’s initiated by divine commissioning. And we’ll find that emphasis
in verse 25 this morning. Secondly, the service of God
is imparted by divine revelation. For this dynamic point, we’ll
pick up the last portion of verse 25 and glide into verse 26. And
then third, the service of God is instituted by divine intention. That’s Paul’s point of verse
27. The Christian ministry is initiated
by divine commissioning, imparted by divine revelation, and instituted
by divine intention. And before we really dig in,
let me tell you a little something about this passage we just read.
Verses 25 through 27, it is one long sentence. 61 words in the Greek. The New
American Standard translates it into English with 88 words. One very long, very detailed
sentence. And honestly, it’s too much for
one message. But let’s get started. Back,
if you would, to verse 25, where Paul begins his presentation
of glorious service, the magnificent features of the Christian ministry,
the first of which is that the service of God’s kingdom is initiated
by divine commission. We see it in verse 25, of this
church, I was made a minister according to the stewardship
from God, bestowed on me for your benefit, Paul says. Now,
as I’ve already told you, verses 25 through 27, the second section,
Paul is speaking of the glories of ministry. And I would begin
by calling your attention to an interesting translational
element here. In any translation from one language
to another, there will be subjective elements, places where the translator’s
interpretation comes into play and words are supplied in order
to make the translation more understandable. All translations
do this to some degree. In fact, if there were a translation
that did not do this, the translation itself would come off as clunky
and wooden and hardly able to understand it. All translations
do this, and you may know this already, but when a translation
supplies a word, it will be usually printed in italics. And in the
New American Standard here, there are two of these words right
at the beginning of verse 25. The words, this church. In the
Greek, it literally reads of which. Now the ESV does not clarify
exactly what this of which is referencing. The NAS does, but
it has to supply these words in order to do so. Take your
pick. Either way, Paul is referring
back to his mention of the church in verse 24. There in verse 24,
Paul was speaking about the joy of Christian ministry. It’s a
calling that brought about real suffering, and all of that suffering
was endured, as Paul says, on behalf of his, that is, Christ’s
body. And lest he leave anyone behind
in this discussion, in the use of this metaphor, he defines
it instantly. Christ’s body is his church. Unfortunately, the translation
in verse 25 is obscured a bit. In the Greek text, literally
the last word of verse 24 is church. And verse 25 builds on that particular
thought, as I’ve just told you. Paul says, of which? Referring
back unmistakably to the church. And so the translators of our
New American Standard simply Supply those words into our texts
of this church. Paul is still speaking about
Christ’s church and his role in it. And here in verse 25,
the first thing that he wishes to communicate about the subject
is that the service of God’s kingdom is initiated by divine
commission. Paul says it this way, of this
church, I was made a minister. We dealt with this word minister
a few weeks ago back in verse 23. There, Paul exclaimed that
he was made a minister. And we took a careful look at
this word minister. It’s the word from which we get
our word deacon. That word means servant. So it’d
be totally inappropriate to twist and distort the office of deacon,
servant, into a position of prestige and honor. Service as a deacon
is, for the most part, unseen. It’s over and above what the
rest of the saints do, and yet it’s underappreciated work. When the rest of the church has
gone home, A deacon will often be found still laboring in some
way. It’s not easy. Our deacons just
make it look easy. It’s wrong to think of the position
of the deacon as one of status and privilege, influence. But the really strange thing
is that in many ecclesiastical circles, they elevate this word,
minister, to speak of some high-ranking church official, usually synonymous
with reverend or pastor. That is a misrepresentation and
misapplication of this word. As I said a month ago, Jesus
himself clarified the meaning of this word, that if we desire
to be great, really great in God’s eyes, we must become servants. Greatness in God’s eyes does
not come by way of titles. It comes by way of service. Humble,
selfless labor on behalf of others. So when Paul again here refers
to himself as a minister, he is not claiming a place of honor And he certainly wasn’t claiming
that he was a deacon in the literal sense. No, rather he says that
he was appointed by God to the great privilege of serving Christ
Church. But I want you to notice something.
Back in verse 23, Paul acknowledged that he was a minister, a servant
of the gospel. But here in verse 25, he identifies
himself as a servant, a minister of the church. And just as it
was God himself who rendered Paul a minister, a servant of
the gospel, so it was the church, God appointed Paul to serve in
that capacity as a minister to Christ’s church. Now we know
well that Paul, Paul didn’t take up the Christian ministry like
some kind of a hobby. God seized hold of him in a most
dramatic way. Now, two weeks ago, we looked
back to Paul’s conversion in Acts chapter nine, and there,
remember, God directed a man named Ananias to go and attend
to the newly converted Saul of Tarsus. And when Ananias hesitated
because of Paul’s violent reputation, God’s answer said it all. Go,
for he is a chosen instrument of mine to bear my name before
the Gentiles. God made Paul a minister of the
gospel. Well, that was Acts chapter 9,
but I’d like to take a little deeper look into Paul’s testimony
of his appointment to ministry. And so instead of the live account
in Acts chapter 9, I’d like to take us to Acts chapter 22, where
Paul reviews his testimony. Please turn to Acts chapter 22. In Acts 22, Paul is giving his
defense against charges of impropriety before his Jewish accusers. And of his conversion, Paul recalls
the newfound friend, remember Ananias, who graciously sought
to explain some things to him. From verse 14 of that chapter,
just glance down, Paul quotes Ananias as saying, the God of
our fathers has appointed you to know his will and to see the
righteous one, Jesus Christ, and to hear an utterance from
his mouth, for you will be a witness for him to all men of what you
have seen and heard. Paul, God himself has appointed you,
Ananias declares. Now the writer of the book of
Acts, Luke, he doesn’t record those words in the original occurrence,
Acts chapter nine, but Paul remembered these words well and Luke does
record them here as Paul provides his testimony to his accusers.
Now, if you would, if you’re in Acts 22, turn four chapters
over to Acts 26, because Paul is going to give his testimony
again. That’s the amazing thing about
these series of trials. Paul sees to hold of every opportunity
to proclaim Christ. In Acts chapter 26, Luke records
even more information, yet to be seen information about Paul’s
conversion. Here, as Paul has been brought
from trial to trial to trial, he’s now before King Agrippa. And he’s doing the same thing.
He’s giving account of his salvation once again. And he basically
says the same exact thing when he’s brought before King Agrippa.
Look down at verse 16, if you would. In Acts 22, he quotes Ananias’
words, but here he quotes the very message that Jesus Christ
uttered to him on the road to Damascus. Look at verse 16. But
get up and stand on your feet. For this purpose, I have appeared
to you to appoint you a minister and a witness, not only to the
things which you have seen, but also to the things which I will
appear to you, reveal to you, rescuing you from the Jewish
people and from the Gentiles to whom I’m sending you. to open
their eyes that they may turn from darkness to light, from
the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness
of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified
by faith in me.” Paul didn’t choose to enter into the ministry. He was appointed, and this by
God himself. God made Paul a servant, a servant
of the gospel and of the church. And so now, if you would please,
back to Colossians 1. Colossians 1, we’re still in
verse 25. This time, would you glance down
at the second line of verse 25? There, Paul gives us the conditions
of his service. to Christ and his church. It
was according to the stewardship from God. This wasn’t just any
endeavor, like some kind of hobby, or something that is done to
someone else’s standard. It was God’s program, through and
through. It was God who called Paul, and
this calling was aligned with God’s own purposes. It was called according to the
stewardship from God. This word steward, fascinating,
rich word. It means to administrate something
or to manage something. And it was often used to speak
of a foreman type person who was placed in a position of responsibility
over a home or an estate. A steward doesn’t do his own
thing. He’s there to carefully manage
his master’s property. Such a foreman or a steward had
not only great responsibility, but great accountability. When
God took Paul aside, called him into ministry, he bestowed upon
him a stewardship. And that word stewardship, as
I said, is rich in scripture. The Greek word, you’ll hear it,
oikonomia. Yes, that’s the word from which
we get our English word economy. It’s a compound word here, the
first word of which is oikos, house. One of the related forms
of this word speaks of a household, God’s household. In Ephesians
2.19, Paul comforts the believers there by telling them that they
are of God’s household. Isn’t that a beautiful thought?
Paul uses that same imagery in writing to Timothy. 1 Timothy
3.15, so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself
in the household of God. And he gives him all kinds of
directives for the church. And so we can think of a steward
as one who is in charge like a house manager. One placed in
that role was in charge of the estate. He was in charge of the
various servants within the household. He was in charge of the possessions
of the estate, as well as the duties that were necessary to
manage the house. It was a big job. And the steward
was a person who was entrusted with significant responsibility. Peter captures this very sentiment
in 1 Peter 4.10. As each one has received a special
gift, and I would just pause to tell you that if you’re a
believer in Jesus Christ, you have received a series, a package,
if you will, of gifts, an ability to serve Christ’s church in manifold
different ways. as, not if, as each one has received
a special gift, employ it, put it to use, exercise it, employ
it in serving one another as, listen to this, good stewards
of the manifold grace of God. What a powerful verse. And in
that sense, all believers have a stewardship of the gifts that
God has given to them to serve in the church. But did you know,
we don’t often think of this, as a steward, one day you will
give an account as to how you exercised the gifts that God
gave you to serve Christ Church. In a household, the steward was
not the star of the show. He or she was there to fulfill
a solemn obligation. 1 Corinthians 4, 1, Paul says
it. He uses this very terminology
to reject any idea of self-importance. Let a man regard us in this manner,
as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Paul
was a servant, a steward, and nothing more. And Paul urged
this mindset on his fellow shepherds as well. Titus 1.7, the overseer
must be above reproach as God’s steward. What Paul pictures here is that
God is the owner of the estate. The estate represents the church,
and in measure, Paul was appointed as representing the church as
a steward. And in the case of Paul and any
of God’s servants, it is the priceless treasure of God’s people
that are entrusted and for which he is given responsibility. Paul
says it exactly this way in 1 Corinthians 9, 17, that he had a stewardship
entrusted to him. This wasn’t anything he seized
hold of. Not surprisingly, Paul speaks
of the same thing in the parallel letter to the Ephesians. In Ephesians
3, 2, he speaks of the stewardship of God’s grace, which was given
to me for you. Paul was given a measure of God’s
grace for which he would one day give an account. And Paul tells us the reason,
or if you will, the purpose of his stewardship. Why did Paul
come to occupy this position? Look at the next line. The stewardship from God was
bestowed on him for your, that is the Colossians, benefit. Now,
literally here in the Greek text, it just says, for you. That is,
at least for the Colossians. The new American translators
have included what is perhaps a helpful word, benefit. Paul says that he was made a
minister, that he was obtained a stewardship from God for your
benefit, he says to the Colossian people. The word benefit, as
I said, is supplied for clarity, but even without it, we understand
what Paul is saying here. The Colossians specifically,
but including the entire Gentile world down to you and I, we are
the benefactors of Paul’s stewardship. Let’s please remember that it
is not as if Paul had disregarded the Jewish people. Typically,
when he entered a city, the first place he would go was to the
synagogue to preach the gospel. But by God’s command, Paul was
generally dispatched to the heathen, to the Gentile world, to the
non-religious people. at the very outset of his ministry,
Acts 13, 47. This was a fulfillment of Isaiah’s
prophecy. Paul acknowledged that he and
Barnabas had been placed as a light to the nations, the Gentiles.
This Paul drew from his interaction with Christ as well. When Jesus
told him on the road to Damascus, go for I will send you far away
to the Gentiles. He would eventually go so far
as to declare that he was an apostle of the Gentiles. Romans 11, 13, he was a minister
of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles. Romans 15, 16, listen to this.
In that parallel letter, Ephesians chapter three, verse eight, Paul
said that his whole calling could be summed up in this way. To
preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ. What a calling. And his great passion was, as
he said in 2 Timothy 4.17, that all the Gentiles might hear.
That’s a rather lofty goal, isn’t it? This was the stupendous Apostle
Paul, who by his own acknowledgement is no more than a servant, a
steward, laboring on behalf of Christ and his church. As we prepare to close, listen
to the glowing report. I’ll tell you, it’s John Eady,
one of my heroes of the faith. Faithful, godly, Scottish pastor. Listen to his glowing report of one faithful man of God. I pity whoever this is. We can delete that part, right? Listen to one faithful man of
God, John Eady. The church never had such a servant
as Paul. of such industry and heroism,
such enthusiasm and perseverance, such sufferings and travels,
such opposition and success. He had no leisure even when in
chains. His service stands out in superlative
eminence. By the miles he journeyed, by
the sermons he preached, by the stripes and stonings he endured,
by the privations he encountered, by the shipwrecks he suffered,
by the souls he converted, the churches he planted or watered,
by the epistles he wrote, and the death which crowned a life
of such earnestness and triumph. That’s our Apostle Paul. And
he says, I’m no more than a servant. I’m no more than a steward. This really serves as really
just an introduction to this wonderful passage of scripture.
There’s much more to discover, as I said. Paul will go on to
present other magnificent features of the Christian ministry. The
service of God is initiated by divine commission, imparted by
divine revelation, instituted by divine intention. But I want
to ask you a few questions. Paul says, of this church I was
made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed
on me for your benefit. I’d like you to consider What
a joyous and thankworthy thing it is for us to be part of Christ’s
body, his church. That’s astounding. That he saved
you and drew you in, that you are now part of God’s invisible
church. Secondly, consider how grateful
we should be that God in his marvelous mercy opened the door
of salvation to those of us who are not of Jewish blood. Say,
most of us. Consider God’s goodness in lavishing
us with his grace, even with laborers in the vineyard. Somebody
told us about Jesus Christ. God gives us his spirit, God
gives to us his word, but he also gives gifts to his church. Ephesians 4.11 says that he gave
apostles and prophets, evangelists and pastors and teachers. Consider
the goodness of God in lavishing us with his grace. Consider how
greatly we are served, ministered to by those whom God has provided
toward that end. Consider also those who attend
to your spiritual care and are ultimately held accountable to
God. Consider also that these things
are for your spiritual good. They are for your benefit. and to the would-be shepherds
of the church. I guess I should say shepherds
and would-be shepherds of the church. Are we desiring ministry
out of a desire to serve Christ or as some kind of a position
of prominence and respect? Are we desiring to serve Christ
by serving his people? Listen to this quote by a hard-hitting
Puritan. We, alas, on the contrary, are
more willing to be called pastors than studious to be such. We
avoid the labors of our office, but are often eager to obtain
its honor. Secondly, For those who are shepherds
and would-be shepherds, have we balanced the desire expressed
in 1 Timothy 3.1 with the caution given in James 3.1? Let me unpack
that for you. First Timothy 3.1, it is a trustworthy
statement. If any man aspires to the office
of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do. There is nothing
wrong with desiring to serve Christ. In fact, the word that’s
used there, epithumia, you know how that’s translated? Lust. Quite often, it’s a passionate
desire to shepherd God’s people. It’s a trustworthy statement. But that has to be balanced with
James 3.1, let not many of you become teachers. My brethren,
knowing that as such, we will incur a stricter judgment. We will give an account. Hebrews 5.4 says, just like the
priests of old, no one takes the honor to himself, but receives
it when he is called by God. So are we servant-minded? Or
are we prepared to lord it over the people, lording over our
authority over Christ’s church? One pastor said, we have but
a ministry and not an absolute dominion. I am made a minister,
a servant, not a lord. And then finally, We must remember that this is
a stewardship for which we will give an account. Hebrews 13,
17. We will give an account for our
respective ministries. And that’s because it’s not our
church, it’s Christ’s. These are not our sheep, they’re
Christ’s. Would you humble yourself before
the throne of God?