 |
| “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” |
24 Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you,
and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for
his body's sake, which is the church: 25 Whereof I am made a minister,
according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil
the word of God; 26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and
from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: 27 To whom God
would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the
Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: 28 Whom we preach,
warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present
every man perfect in Christ Jesus: 29 Whereunto I also labour, striving
according to his working, which worketh in me mightily. (Col 1:24-29)
Paul asserts in today’s text his standing as a minister of God. This would lead
us to ponder the meaning of a minister of God. There are far too many
characteristics to enumerate in this devotion; however, allow me to mention a
few that seem to have been missed by the modern church. A minister is first of
all a committed Christian whose living witness and testimony confirms the fact.
As every other committed Christian, he will love the Word of God and consume it
as his daily bread as often as the sun rises and sets. Such a man will not
harbor any compromises with the world. He will not countenance any lifestyle,
any teaching, and any tampering with the Scripture that is not clearly the Will
of God as stated in His Infallibly-preserved Word. He will raise his children
and conduct his family and business according to those same standards. He will
not ask “What is the salary?” before accepting God’s call to the ministry, or
to a particular Church.
A minister of God is not called by the Church – he is called by God to the
ministry. There are three particulars that apply to this calling; 1) That is
comes forcefully and certainly from God; 2) That the called minister
recognizes, and is driven by, that call; and 3) The Church must also recognize
the Calling of God upon the minister (ordination). Paul was such a man. He was
dramatically struck down by the brilliant Light of Christ on the way to
Damascus to persecute the Church; but Christ turned his zeal for persecution to
a zeal for preaching the Word of God and the salvation of souls.
The most important aspect of the role of a minister is
to preach the whole counsel of God with love and never compromise. Paul did
this from the moment of his calling and enlightenment. The minister of god must
preach the truth of the Gospel without consideration of how it will be
received. Does this mean he doesn’t care HOW it is received? Not at all, but it
does mean that his job is to sow the Seed of Truth on all soils and leave the
germination in the heart of the earth of those soils to the efficacious working
of the Holy Ghost. If none will accept, that is not the blame of the minister.
The word of God is a two-edged sword – it will cut both ways to either convict
of sin, or to condemn of sin! The minister will tirelessly labor for the
Church. The believers, too, will labor tirelessly for the same.
Paul is addressing the Preeminence of Christ here as the Head of the Church,
and the Church as His Body. But he is also describing the needs of the Church
as satisfied in its ministers and laity. “Who now rejoice in my
sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of
Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church.”
Contrary to the sense of the world, a minister will willingly suffer for the
Church and, amazingly to the world, he will rejoice in that suffering. Every
Christian will, according to the perceptions of the world, suffer for their
faith. Bearing a cross daily is no picnic. It is a path of self denial, and of
blessing to others about us. The bow-tied dandies such as Joel Osteen will
awaken to a hot acknowledgement of their error at the time appointed by God.
Our Lord suffered horrifying afflictions in His flesh for the Church; can the
Church do no less in suffering for those others of its members? The “Via
Dolorosa” is the way of all who bear their crosses daily.
“25 Whereof I am made a minister, according to the
dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God.”
Paul was made a minister, not by a whimsical and changeable god, but by an
unchanging and immutable God who disposes according to His Will of Ancient
Time. Another salient purpose of the minister is to FULFILL the Word of
God and reveal its mysteries to those who will hear it with comprehension.
The limits of ministry are laid down by God, and not limited by man. When
certain influential members of the laity approach the minister to soften his
preaching and avoid certain issues of the Word that is a signal to the minister
to double-down on his preaching of those points. The Word of God is not
designed to flatter us, or to make us feel good about ourselves; it is, in
fact, just the opposite. It is intended to expose our sinful depravity and to
serve as a mirror to our souls. We view in our own hearts the same murderous
adultery as that which we read of in King David; of the depravity of Judas that
lurks in every heart that is lost to faith; and of the cowardice that pervaded
the heart of Peter, and ours, when separated from Christ that awful night in
Gethsemane. Until we look into that Mirror of God’s Word, we cannot know what
wretched creatures we truly are, and how much we need the grace of God through
Christ to cover our sins.
The reality of the mysteries in God existed from Eternity Past. They existed in
the Garden at Eden when Adam chose to disregard the Tree of Life (Jesus Christ)
for the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (Satan). These mysteries existed
with Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Ruth, Moses, etc. But Jesus Christ fully
revealed them to those who would believe. He is the fulfillment of those
mysteries. “Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from
generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make
known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which
is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” “Unto whom it was
revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things,
which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you
with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to
look into.” (1 Peter 1:12) Once we have seen Christ crucified, we
can understand the importance of that first Passover in Egypt. The
shadows and types of the Old Testament are fulfilled in the express image of
god in Christ!
Who do the ministers of God preach? The foundation being the most important
part of any building, what foundation is laid for the Church and the preaching
of the Word? That foundation is Jesus Christ! Any sermon that does not center
on Christ is one devoid of the seal of the Holy Spirit. We must preach ALL of
Christ; Christ to ALL; and Christ ALWAYS! “Whom we preach, warning
every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man
perfect in Christ Jesus.” Men do not always receive warnings well.
They like to believe that all is well even if the bridge is out around the
mountain pass. Perfection does not come without faith and dedication in Christ.
In fact, we are never perfect in and of ourselves. We are accounted perfect in
righteousness by the imputed righteousness of the only righteous One who ever
set foot upon this sin-filled globe. Every man and woman who receives Christ
into their hearts as Sovereign, having His Will as the Ruler, and not self –
these are perfect in Christ. They are Christians because they bear His nature
and image.
Who says that a Christian, once saved, may simply relax and ride the wave? That
is as false as a diamond made of flour. We are not saved by good works, but we
certainly are saved UNTO good works.
“Whereunto
I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.” If you love the Lord, and
your fellow man, I believe you will find that the most challenging of labors on
His behalf become a joy and with little effort. How is this possible? Because
the yoke of the Lord is light and easy to be borne. In fact, our good works are
not truly ours, but His. He is the One who works in our members to bring us to
perfection in His Will and Way.
In order to own Christ as your Lord and Savior, you must first make yourself
His by surrendering that old sinful will for His perfect will. Do you belong to
Christ? If so, all that pertains to you belongs to Christ – your labors, your
possessions, your family, your thoughts, your time, etc. Does Christ possess
YOUR heart this moment? If so, He possesses your treasure as well for “where
the heart is, there is your treasure also.” My opinion? No, not at all.
It is the Words of our Savior: “For where
your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Matt 6:21)
