So this week we are looking at how Paul introduces himself to the Colossian church by illustrating his three key ministries. Last time we saw him present his ministry of evangelism while also presenting the Gospel to the Colossian church. This time we will see Paul’s role as a prisoner for the Gospel. As we continue with Colossians 1:24-27, “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I am completing in my flesh what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for His body, that is, the church. I have become its servant, according to God’s administration that was given to me for you, to make God’s message fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to His saints. God wanted to make known among the Gentiles the glorious wealth of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Remember Paul right now is defending himself against the ridicule of the false teachers in Colossae, where one weapon they probably used was Paul being a prisoner of Rome. Paul uses his words to turn that weapon around.
Rejoicing
The first thing Paul mentions is that he rejoices in his sufferings, that seems like a contradiction, how can someone rejoice in suffering; yet Paul did. The reason he could state that he rejoices in his sufferings is because of why he was suffering. He was in prison because of the Gospel, it was because of his belief in Christ that he was suffering. It didn’t just end with his belief in Christ but his suffering also came because of his ministry to the Gentiles. It was in Jerusalem where Paul was arrested, and it was because of his calling to share the Gospel to the Gentiles that caused the Jews to call for his execution. Finally Paul rejoiced in his sufferings because it was for the sake of the church. You see in being a prisoner in Rome Paul had opportunities to minister and share the Gospel that he might not have had otherwise, all because of his suffering.
Responsibility
It is in the final aspect of Paul’s rejoicing in his suffering that Paul then expands his responsibility. In his ministry he has become a servant to the church. When dealing with the Jews Paul could have made a compromise and stopped ministering to the Gentiles. This would have prevented a good deal of suffering that Paul endured, yet because he was called by God to minister to the Gentiles he could not abandon this calling. This calling was to make God’s message fully known. Part of this message is what Paul refers to as “the mystery hidden for ages and generations,” This was that salvation is for both the Jew and the Gentile, in the Old Testament Israel was God’s chosen people and a Gentile had to become a Jew to share in the blessings of Israel. Now, however, Jews and Gentiles are both saved by faith in Christ; in other words there is no difference between Jew and Gentile. One saying I like that has multiple meanings is that “the ground is level at the foot of the cross.” It means everyone has the same chance and offer of salvation, we are all offered the same grace, it does not matter who we are, how we look, or even our ancestry; we are all the same.
