Preaching to Heart Part II: Watching Pastor Paul at Colossae

“For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you…” Colossians 2:1

There is a great struggle spoken of in this passage.  Pastor Paul writes of it to these believers.  It is a great struggle he has for the church at Colossae and for the believers at Laodicea.  He must be struggling inwardly.  Paul was a man of the heart.  His messages emitted naturally from a newborn heart–a heart suffering for the sake of the church, a heart filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions.  His is a heart that received from God a certain calling.  He is as he said earlier, “a minister.”  What is the main focus of his ministry?

“And you who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which you has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.” Colossians 1:21-23

Here we see that Paul ministers to God’s people for their sanctification.  God is working through Christ to present his people “holy,” “blameless,” and “above reproach” before him.  The main end of the minister’s work, therefore, is help God’s people reach these fruits of sanctification–holiness and blamelessness.  If the minister is not aiming for this, what is he doing?  He is not following the lead of Pastor Paul; and likewise, what Bible is leading him?

More particulary, we see that Paul exhorts the people toward these fruits by way of  three qualities–faithfulness, stability, and steadfastness.  If a minister is not exhorting his people to these three qualities, what is he doing? He is not following the lead of Pastor Paul.

But this is made even more particular.  Look at what the people are told to be faithful to, stable in, and steadfast for:

“not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which you has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven.” v. 23

This clearly demonstrates the way for a people to be holy, the way for a people to be blameless.  The way for a people truly to be God’s people is found in their faithfulness to the gospel, their stability in the gospel, and their steadfastness for the gospel.  Paul says at the end of this verse that he was made a minister of that gospel.  If we say we are ministers of the gospel, are we even preaching it?  If we are not preaching the gospel, we are not ministers of it.  Indeed, we cease to be ministers of anything the Bible has any knowledge of.  We have fallen from our ministership.

Paul says a little later that he is suffering for the church because “[he] became a minister [to it]” (1:24-25).  He then clearly acknowledges the nature of that ministry.  It is a “stewardship from God given to him for [the church]” (1:25).  The minister who calls the ministry his own with no heart-felt knowledge of the stewardship of it, ceases to be the minister the Bible speaks of.  He is a selfish man, building a kingdom, not God’s, but rather his own.

Stewardship signifies reception. If God has called you to this ministry of the gospel, why is there no reception?  You spurn the calling of the Lord, like some disobedient Jonah.  Away to Tarshish, yet God will find you!  A giant fish awaits the called runner. But Paul did not run.  It says in Acts 26:14 that upon the call from the Lord, he had “fallen on the ground.”

Stewardship signifies holding.  The minister of the gospel holds something that is not his own.  He has had something “entrusted” to him (See 1 Timothy 1:11).  It is not his own, yet why do some ministers act as though they invented the gospel?

 ”Man never could nor would have invented and devised a gospel which would lay him low, and secure to the Lord God all the honor and praise.” -C.H. Spurgeon

If any man has forgotten the nature of the gospel as here explained by Mr. Spurgeon, what is he preaching?  The end of the preaching of the gospel is the glory and praise of the Lord God, not the praises of men to the minister.

Stewardship also signifies selflessness.  “the stewardship from God that was given to me for you.”  It is not given by God for the ministers own personal parading prideful pulpiteering!  God has given the minister the stewardship for the sake of others.  Pastor Paul understood that he was given the ministry for the church, not himself.

Stewardship also signfies faithfulness. “…to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints.”  Paul refused to do the ministry half-heartedly.  He declared the whole counsel of God!  He made it fully known! This is the faithfulness of the minister.  He knows his mission, and he does it, fully. What mystery has been made known to us! Yet we preach some other thing as though there is no mystery and all people knew of it.  Don’t ever assume your people already know the mystery; and don’t ever think they know it well enough.

“Never be content with your grasp of the gospel. The gospel is life-permeating, world-altering, universe-changing truth. It has more facets than any diamond. Its depths man will never exhaust.” - C.J. Mahaney, The Cross Centered Life

The minister of God also has one proclamation for his people.  “To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.  Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.” (1:27-28)

What message do we preach?  Is it Christ and him crucified? For Paul would know of nothing else! (See 1 Corinthians 2:1)  What goofy, moralizing, cream-puff exhortations fill the pulpits of men who preach something other than Christ!  They want growth of church, but they forgot the seed–the gospel!  People may have ears for moralistic exhortation, but their hearts will be far from Christ and closer to their own self-righteousness.  “Stop complaining” is no sermon content!  Even the pagans don’t like complainers.  God’s people will stop complaining when they understand the gospel, when they see that the rock guiding them in the desert is Christ (See 1 Corinthians 10:1-11).

The minister of God also has one process for his people. “warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom.”  The only wisdom Paul knows of he gets from Scripture.  “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding” (Psalm 111:10).  Also, Paul knows that his Lord is a truine Lord.  He goes on to say, “Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (2:3).  If a minister wants wise and knoweledgable people with good understanding his process should be to warn them and teach them with this wisdom; that is with this Christ.

The minister of God also has one purpose for his people.  “that we may present everyone mature in Christ.”  That is the purpose the minister of God has for others–their maturity in Christ.  For indeed, he must present them before God!  Will they be mature in Christ?  But yes, they will with God’s help.

The minister of God also has one power for his people.  “For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me” (1:29).  The minister of God knows that two very difficult truths exist together.

1.) I must work, toil, and struggle. (This is our responsibility.)

2.) God gives the strength to endure that toil and struggle. (This is his sovereignty.)

And so, this was the struggle Paul had within him for the church.  He wanted to declare to them the riches of Christ for their joy and God’s glory.  What else is the minister to do?

Working with you to preach to the heart,

Vince R.