"The unfolding of your words gives light ..." (Psalm 119:130a)

Category: Colossians (Page 3 of 9)

Servants of the Gospel

“This is the gospel . . . of which I, Paul, have become a servant.” (Colossians 1:23, NIV)

We often speak of being servants of Christ, servants of God or even being servants of one another for Christ’s sake. But how often do we think of ourselves as servants of the gospel?

These words of Paul take my mind back to Luke’s words as he opens his Gospel. He spoke of men who were “servants of the word” (Luke 1:2).

What do servants do?

What they are told!

How do servants think?

As their master does!

How do servants spend their time?

In whatever way their master demands!

Ponder that again: servants of the gospel; servants of the word.

The gospel gives the orders. We rise and obey.

The gospel sends the signals. We watch, looking for our cues (“as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master,” Psalm 123:2, ESV).

We jump at the gospel’s bidding.

The gospel is in charge.

The gospel determines.

The gospel issues assignments, tasks and duties.

The gospel determines where we live, how we live, under what conditions we live.

Aren’t those the things a master does?

Sounds strange, perhaps, to our American Christian ears. I wonder what would happen if we truly understood just how good the good news of the gospel really is? Perhaps we’d better understand the spiritual reflex of service which the gospel, rightly understood, woos from us.

New Expository Series

Check out the new expository series for Colossians that has just been posted under the “Resources” tab. This letter, so rich in its exaltation of Christ, is profound and deeply transforming when it comes to our most basic needs and struggles. Outlines are provided for each message to help you preserve the insights you’ll gain and to enable you to prayerfully reflect upon and apply them to your lives.

Intimacy & Suffering

Bulgarian Pastor, Haralan Popov, was arrested by the Bulgarian secret police on July 24, 1948. For the next 13 years—separated from his wife and two children—he faced imprisonment, starvation and endless torture. In the midst of this his testimony for Christ remained unchanged and his reliance upon and experience of Christ’s own presence grew deeply intimate.

“I was alone for ten days. I felt so close with God in solitary confinement that I spent the time in praise and worship. Such close communion with God! I talked with Him. He comforted me. It was a spiritual feast for me. During this time, I received new strength, though my body was wasted away to nothing. Tears of joy ran down my face. Here, in the DS prision, alone and with nothing, I had everything—Christ. Stripped of everything, without any worldly distractions, I found a deep and beautiful communion with God. Joy and peace flooded my soul. My body ached with starvation but my spirit has never been closer to God. Lying starved, alone and too weak to move, I felt I could reach out to God and be taken into His arms.” (Haralan Popov, Tortured for His Faith, p.45)

“I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ . . . that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.” (Philippians 3:8, 10)

“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.” (Colossians 1:24)

The Hope of the Gospel

“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.” (Colossians 1:27-28)

The hope of the Gospel might be summarized in these three statements:

  • Jesus lived to provide the righteousness you lack.

  • Jesus died to pay the penalty you incurred.

  • Jesus lives again to produce in and through you the life required of you.

The first two describe the truth of your being “in Christ.” The last sets forth the hope of “Christ in you.”

“To be in Christ—that is redemption; but for Christ to be in you—that is sanctification! To be in Christ—that makes you fit for heaven; but for Christ to be in you—that makes you fit for earth! To be in Christ—that changes your destination; but for Christ to be in you—that changes your destiny! The one makes heaven your home—the other makes this world His workshop.”  (Major W. Ian Thomas, The Saving Life of Christ, p.20)

Here is a more visually helpful picture in a pdf file: hope of the gospel

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