Colossians 1:25-27

Colossians chapter 1, reading verses 24 to 27, focus of our study will be on verses 25 to 27. 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. Whereof I am made a minister, according to the division. dispensation of God, which is given to me for you to fulfill the word of God. Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages, 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. Lord. God blessed to us his sacred and holy word this morning. Daniel Webster was once having dinner was some literary gentleman in the city of Boston, and a minister of considerable literary reputation sat opposite him at the table, and asked him, Mr. Webster, can you comprehend how to be able to be able to ask him, Jesus Christ can be both God and man. To which Daniel Webster replied emphatically, No, sir, I cannot comprehend it. If I could comprehend it, he would be no greater than myself, and I need a superhuman Savior. When we come to the gospel of Christ and the things surrounding the Lord Jesus Christ, there is a mystery about some of these things. the grand secret, the mystery of mysteries, is wrapped up in the gospel. You’ll notice how Paul repeatedly refers to the mystery here in this section of Scripture. Something that has been hidden, and hidden sometimes for ages and from generations, but now is made manifested onto the saints. To the mass of mankind, of course, the things of Christ were literally unknown for quite a while. But for his chosen people, who were given the revelation of God’s Word, they did have some knowledge about the things of Christ. Their perception may not have been as full as we have today, of course, but there was revelation concerning Christ. But there was also the smoke of sacrifices and the veil of types that we had in the Old Testament. No human wisdom could have guessed or logically deduced the gospel of Christ and the way of salvation that God reveals in His Word. So we want to talk about the mystery of the gospel this morning. You’re told here that God calls men to be ministers of the mystery of God in verse 25. whereof I am made a minister according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you to fulfill the Word of God. I want you to notice the humble attitude here of the minister. Paul is a great man. Paul has been elevated to the highest office in the church as an apostle. He is the greatest. missionary the church has ever known. He had extraordinary gifts of the Spirit given to him. He was used to pen a great deal of the New Testament. But you’ll notice here that he doesn’t give himself any lofty titles. He doesn’t heap honor upon himself. He simply describes himself as a minister and that word means servant of the church. And he uses the word church here in its broad universal sense because there were many individual churches, of course, that of which he was helping and establishing across the Roman Empire. God did not make him the master of the church, the king of the church, the high priest of the church, or the head of the church. It was just a minister. What a contrast there is between this idea of minister and the vain and haughty titles that many in the church today take. Look at those of the Roman Catholic religion and their bishops and their pope. Those who claim to be the true successors and heirs of Paul and Peter certainly don’t resemble them in this. Friends, ministers are not to be lords over God’s heritage, but to be examples to the flock. As Jesus said, you know the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them, but it shall not be so among you. But whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister, your servant. And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant. Matthew 20, verses 25 to 27. All ministers of the gospel should embrace this humble attitude when it comes to the work of the church. Because Paul certainly could have an elevated status in the church, but no, he is a minister. You know, the term minister invokes the idea of labor. the idea of work. We are to labor in the word and in prayer for the benefit of the people of God. We don’t feed you physical food, but we do feed you spiritual food. And that is our duty. So you are made a minister of God, not for the purpose of exalting yourself, but to be a laborer in the vineyard of God, to serve him. And friends, we need more laborers in the ministry. less egocentric men in the ministry. So look at the humble attitude of the minister. Look at the great responsibility of the minister. He’s made a minister according to the dispensation of God, which is given to me for you. The word dispensation here is, it means administration or stewardship. It’s used of God’s administration of the world, the outworking of his wonderful planet. of salvation in Ephesians 110 and 3.9. It can be used of the administration of a family where the head of the family, the husband or the father, if you would, guides and directs the family, oversees it. The church is God’s family. It’s called the household of God in Scripture. God is the householder or the master of the family. Christ is the son over God’s house. And guess who the servants are? The ministers are the servants in the house of God to carry on the work of their master. their appointed task is to give everyone in the house their portion of meat in due season to feed the church of God. Ministers, therefore, are stewards of God. Here’s how God tells us this should be, and through Paul in 1, 1st Corinthians 4-1. let a man so account of us as of the ministers of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Stewards, overseers with regard to the mystery of God. At this point, Paul has been given the task by the Lord of dispensing the gospel of Jesus Christ. And that is the chief duty of the minister. But though I preach the gospel, I have to be given the gospel, I have. nothing to glory of for necessity is laid upon me, Paul says. Woe unto me if I don’t preach the gospel, because he’s commanded to do so. That’s his duty. Therefore, he tells the Ephesian elders, I’m free from the blood of all men, for I have declared on you the whole counsel of God, everything that God has revealed to me, I have explained to you. Paul in particular has been sent for you here in the sense that he’s been the apostle to the Gentiles. Not among the Jews as much, but to the Gentiles in particular. Every minister is given a group of people to which they are accountable. They are responsible to these people before God and accountable to God before these people. Paul happens that they have a quite large group of people that he’s accountable for because all the churches that he is ministering to. Friends, we live in a day. day and age where many people are seeking after spiritual novelties and sensational preaching, people who cannot endure, let’s say, a careful exposition of the book of Colossians and the things about Christ that we’ve been studying here in Chapter 1 because they don’t see anything exciting about it. But the mystery of the gospel is something that we should be excited about. It is something that should in that. through all us when we think about who Christ is and what he has accomplished. It should not be something that’s unsatisfying and boring. We have a stewardship, and that stewardship is to preach about Christ in his message, the mystery here that has talked about in our text. The danger today, I think, is the same danger that we found in the Old Testament, where in the wilderness the Israelites were given God’s special provision of manna. Remember how it came down every day except for on the Sabbath? And they went out and gathered it every day. But the commonness, they called it angels food, by the way, but the commonness of it, because they had it every day, we find that the people began to grow weary of it. And in their wicked discontentment, they called it light bread, which didn’t satisfy them. And they loathed it. And they longed for the leaks and the garlic and the melons and the fish like they enjoyed when they were slaves down there in Egypt. And God became angry with them at treating his wonderful provision as despised food is not good enough. Dare we do this with the gospel of Christ, the mystery of God? The old, old story, has it become stale? Are we hungering after novelties and maybe something sensational, something taken from the headlines today, that we can fit into some prophetic idea about the future? Are you just satisfied with Christ crucified? For I tell you, he is the manna that has come down from heaven to us. We dare not despise it like the Israelites in the wilderness to despise the message about Christ. God’s minister. must not comply with people’s desires to have teachers that will scratch their ears. But they have a duty to preach the gospel concerning Jesus Christ and the salvation that is found in him. The primary task of the minister is laid out for us here also. And that is to fulfill, he says, the Word of God. This phrase can be taken in two ways. Both of which are true, and certainly both would fit the context. To fulfill the Word of God may mean to complete those promises concerning Christ and the calling of the Gentiles that we find in the Old Testament Scriptures. As if the apostle had said, God has made me an apostle to you Gentiles, that he might fulfill the promise made long ago in the Old Testament Scriptures. that many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day and shall be my people, Zachariah to 11th. We could go to Isaiah 42, will he be a light under the Gentiles. There’s many other passages we could refer to. The Psalms are loaded with the idea of this same thing, that the Gentiles would be called. So God is making good his promise by this dispensation of the gospel, given the Paul for the sake of the Gentiles. Gentiles. However, the phrase also may mean to fully expound the whole doctrinal system concerning the way of salvation, to promote it to the last days of his life. As if the apostle had said, I must not be deterred either by affliction or by bonds or even death itself from preaching the gospel that gospel that God has laid upon me, I have a charge to fulfill. And this implies that a minister is bound not to preach the word of God vaguely, but fully, to explain and teach everything that concerns the way of salvation and to do it faithfully all his days. To meditate upon these things and give yourself holy to them, as he told Timothy. Have ever seen a circus act where there is a knife throw? who throws these knives at a young woman assistant. This woman has attached to this large board that’s going around in a circle and slowly spinning, and the knife thrower shows his skill when he throws the knife by hurling a knife in such a way that they stick in the board. And they laying close to the beautiful assistant’s legs and arms and head and feet and so forth. And the art is not to hit her. Not to come in contact with her. There are ministers that are remarkably proficient in the same thing when it comes to preaching. They never pointed. They never hit anybody with the message because it’s so vague. They preach so vaguely the sharp edges of the gospel never cut. They avoid any type of pointed message. The true gospel, if we really preach it as it’s laid out for us in scripture, is withering. It offends. people. It disturbs the conscience. No wonder Paul gets stoned and locked up and so forth. To fulfill the word of God, the minister must talk about your depraved condition. He must talk about your sinfulness. He must talk about God’s holiness and justice and where you stand in reference to God. He must talk about the danger of hellfire. The minister’s task is not to please me. men. The minister’s task is not to avoid offending anyone. The minister’s task is to faithfully declare what God says in his word. Paul says, if I yet please men, I should not be the servant, the minister of Christ, Galatians 1.10. So you’re told God calls men to be ministers of the mystery of God. Secondly this morning, you have the mystery of God made manifest unto you. Verse 26. whereof I am made a minister according to the dispensation of God, which is given to me for you to fulfill the word of God. Even the mystery, which have been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints. What is this mystery? Well, we said it’s the plan of salvation. It’s called a secret or a mystery in some sense. It’s very possible that this idea comes from the book of Daniel. Remember when Nebuchadnezzar had his dream of the metallic image? And then he asked all his wise men and his soothsayers, tell me what the dream was and its interpretation. Of course, no one could do it. And Paul, or, excuse me, Daniel and his three companions, Shadrach and Meshachach and Venga, they pray to the Lord because if they don’t get an answer, they’re all going to be put to death. and the Bible says they prayed to the Lord and you read this. Then was the secret or the mystery revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. And he reveals the whole dream to Nebuchadnezzar. And he says to him, there is a God in heaven that reveals secrets or mysteries. What is it all about? Well, he talks about the four kingdoms, but what is it really about is the coming of Christ? kingdom, an everlasting kingdom. Not like all the other kingdoms of this world, but a kingdom in which the saints of God are, reign with Christ. A kingdom that’s everlasting. So King Nebuchadnezzar had no idea of this secret plan of God, but it was revealed to him through this dream. God’s plan for world history. and a universal spiritual kingdom with the Gentiles included is not something you could deduce by human logic. We could never have deduced God’s plan. And so Paul takes up this idea of the mystery being revealed that the kingdom of God’s dear son, that he’s talked about in chapter one, is coming into existence in its universal form, just as Daniel’s prophecy had spoken about, his way of self. through the gospel of Christ is made known to all the nations. He’s told us that in chapter 1 in verse 23 when he mentions the preaching of the gospel to every creature under heaven according to the great commission. The big difference is that Daniel’s prophecy looked ahead. Paul was saying, we see the fulfillment of this coming to pass. So the gospel was called the mystery because it contains things that are mysteries to the natural man. Even difficult for enlightened people sometimes to understand. as well. We talk about the person of Christ, the second person of the Holy Trinity. When we talk about the two natures of Christ, that he’s the God, man, not an easy thing to understand or comprehend. We talk about the incarnation of Christ that the word was made flesh and dwell among us. We beheld his glory. The glory is of the only begotten of the Father. That’s hard to understand, too. We talk about the union and communion of the church. We talk about the union and communion of the church. Christ. When we talk about the resurrection of the dead, the calling of the Gentiles, and there to be one fold, one fold, if you would, one shepherd, and one flock, if you would. So what is this mystery of God? It has to do with the gospel of Christ. In what sense was it hidden for ages? Well, at first it was hidden in the secret purpose, an eternal purpose of God. The mystery kept secret since the world began. as Romans 1625 tells us. But after God’s, after man’s fall, God revealed the mystery slowly and surely and more steadily, more fully throughout the scriptures. From Genesis 315, onward we begin to see the mystery coming unfolded for us, little by little. The details of God’s way of salvation were revealed. It was like the rising of the sun. And the closer we get the Christ, the more light we get. And when Christ comes, of course, we have the full noonday time, where the whole earth eventually becomes enlightened by the gospel of Christ in the New Testament age. But for the most part, the gospel was hidden for most of the people of this world, the Gentiles, who were without the Word of God. Even the Jews who had God, among them, it was a God. only the elect themselves that really fully understand all the things that were being revealed to them. And even some of those things were difficult. And they were revealed in an obscure manner. So the various prophecies concerning Christ and the gospel of the kingdom of God were not always easy to comprehend. Even the prophets themselves were desirous to look into these things and understand they’re more fully. In part among the Jews, the way of salvation was known. But the Gentiles, for the most part, were in complete darkness. You know what? The Bible says, even the holy angels desired to look into the things concerning Christ and the way of salvation. These mysteries they were trying to pry into them as well. Now, in the New Testament era, the gospel was much more fully revealed. People from all nations, all walks of life, are brought to salvation in Christ. And we read in a book of Ephesians chapter 3 that the angels, are said to be learning from the church, the manifold wisdom of God in this wonderful plan of salvation. They’re still taking it in. They’re learning about how God saves sinners. Now notice this. As we look at this, we must come to the conclusion that God has every right to hide the gospel from anyone he pleases and sovereignly reveal it to anyone he pleases. look with me at Matthew 11, verses 25 and 26, if you would. We have the words of Christ here in this particular passage. At that time, Jesus answered and said, I thank thee O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and the prudent and hast revealed them unto babes, even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight. my friends, the mystery of salvation is at God’s disposing. He can withhold it from some and reveal it to others according to what pleases him. The worldly wise and the prudent of this world often are not given knowledge of the way of salvation in Christ, whereas those who are perhaps classified as babes in knowledge the simple are often given great insight into. the way of salvation in Christ. What I’m pointing out here is though we need to have the same attitude as Christ has. Be thankful that God reveals it and recognize that he has the right to reveal it to whom he wills and to hide it from others and not to find fault with God in his revealing and hiding. In what sense, was it hidden for the ages? This is what I think Paul means here. How was it made manifest to the saints? This mystery. Well, it once was kept secret, limited the Jewish people, is now in the New Testament error given out to the world by the command of Christ. We have the external revelation of the gospel and the preaching, but Paul seems to be referring to the internal revelation, of the gospel which comes by the Holy Spirit, which is manifested unto us. There’s an unveiling of Christ that takes place so that our heart sees Christ. For God hath commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts, to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 4.6. The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God. There are foolishness to him. cannot grasp these things. They’re supernaturally revealed to people. They’re manifested by God. The saints here refers to those set apart by God for himself. Set apart by election, set apart by Christ’s redemption, set apart by the calling of the Holy Spirit. Only the saints here are given a spiritual discernment with regard to the gospel and God manifest his salvation. to them. So you have the mystery of God made manifest to you. Thirdly, this morning, you find in Christ the riches of the glory of the mystery of God. Verse 27. To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. The riches and the glory of the mystery. The essence of all this, of course, is Christ. We can take each one of these words, and they all can be applied to Christ. The mystery? Well, Christ is the mystery himself. Without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifested in the flash. The gospel is about Christ, The glory? Well, Christ, our Lord, displays it. The glory as of the only begotten of the Father, John 114. What about the riches? In Christ are God’s riches? The unsearchable riches of Christ, we read about in Scripture. For in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. So Christ is all this. The glorious riches are found in the gospel of Christ. An immense treasure is in the gospel. Worth more than gold and silver. For we have the blessing of justification, do we not? We have the blessing of forgiveness of sins. We have reconciliation with God. We have adoption into the family of God. We have eternal life. We are made heirs of all things through Jesus Christ. Let it be clearly understood that these things are found in Christ and in no one else. There’s no good news without Christ. So all these things wrapped up in Christ. That’s why Christ, that’s why Christ in you is the hope of glory. Suppose a man heard there was a great physician that could cure him of a serious disease that he was dying of. He has been to many experts in different fields trying to help him, but this is the one doctor he thinks that it can really do the trick. It’s the most extensive knowledge. This man travels hundreds of miles to visit this particular physician. When he gets there, he finds out the physician has been called away on an emergency call. I had to leave. And the patient says, well, then I’ll wait until he comes back. And the nurse says to him, well, you don’t have to wait. His assistant is here. He can help you. No, I don’t want to see the assistant. I came this distance. I want to see the specific doctor who has all the knowledge in the field that I need. I want to see the great doctor himself. Even if the man was offered to have access to all the books of the great physician. Even if the man could talk to all the people that this man cured, even if he had access to all the whole cabinet of medicine that this man had, he’s still not going to be satisfied. He wants the great physician. My friends, there is no one else. And nothing else that will do except the great physician himself, the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no substitute for Christ. If you’re seeking a Savior, don’t be content with anybody or anything besides Christ. There is salvation in none other the scripture indicates to us. Anything short of Christ leaves you short of heaven. Christ in you the hope of glory. Heaven is a glorious place because Christ’s there. Right? There is no more suffering. There’s more hardship. There is no more trial. There’s no more tears. Right now you have Christ dwelling in your heart by faith. You have the Spirit of Christ within you, and Christ’s presence is with you that way. When you’ve trusted Christ as Lord and Savior, it’s because the Spirit has regenerated you, and he dwells within you. And this is Christ’s reign in your heart. All the glorious riches of the Savior are yours, because Christ is in you in this sense. If Christ dwells in you, let me make this observation. Others will notice it. If Christ is in you by His Spirit, people are going to notice it. Because Christ will speak through your mouth. Because you will speak the things that Christ would speak. You would open the things of Scripture up to people, just as Christ will speak. did. Christ will work through your hands and your feet. It is God that works within you, both the will and the do of his good pleasure. You will have the mind of Christ. You will think after his thoughts. You will hear Christ’s voice in the Word of God. You will see things through Christ’s eyes. You will have his perspective because you’ll see things through the light of Scripture. Friend, does Christ dwell? within you? Have you placed your entire trust in Christ for the hope of eternal life because he’s the only way to heaven? Daniel Webster wanted a superhuman Savior. Nothing less would do. The second half of Colossians 1 reveals Jesus Christ as a superhuman Savior. The focus of our text is on the mystery of God. God calls men to be ministers of the mystery of God. The mystery of God must be made men, to you and you find in Christ the riches of the glory of the mystery of God. Let us close to the word of prayer.