So this week we are wrapping up with chapter 1 of Colossians with Paul introducing himself to the Colossian church as well as his ministry. We have seen how he is and evangelist, a prisoner for the sake of the Gentiles, and now we will see that he strives for the believers. Colossians 1:28-29, “We proclaim Him, warning and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ. I labor for this, striving with His strength that works powerfully in me.”

Instruction

The first thing Paul mentions here is that he proclaims or preaches Christ. The false teachers preached a system of teaching, a list of rules and regulations, or philosophy and empty traditions of men; Paul pointed to Christ. It was not only preaching though, Paul also warned. He warned the believers of the lies of the enemy and taught then the truth. You see it does not help to just warn of the danger one also needs to teach the way to avoid that danger, this is precisely what Paul does in each of his correspondences. He recognizes that the church needs to be warned of false teachings, but he does not just leave it at that he then goes on to tell them why the teachings are wrong while presenting them with the truth.

Intent

At the end of verse 28 we see what Paul’s intent is, “so that we may present everyone mature in Christ.” Some translations use perfect. In other words Paul desires every believer to grow spiritually, to become mature and complete. That is because growth is the result of a healthy body, if the body is not healthy, if it is malnourished, or if it has died, it no longer grows. Paul in his preaching, warning, and teaching desires for believers to be spiritually healthy. That was the goal of his ministry; in fact his desire and passion is so strong that he labors and strives for it. You see Paul feels so strongly for his ministry that he wrestles and works to the point of exhaustion so that he may present believers that are mature in Christ. Each of us as believers in Christ have a calling, yet can we confidently say that we labor and strive just to fulfill our calling?

Intercession

While Paul ends chapter 1 with the intent and goal of his ministry he starts out chapter 2 with his primary tool to accomplish this task. He does this by praying for them. Paul prays that they be encouraged and that they come together in love. He wants them to experience the richness that they find in Christ and come to knowledge of who God is. You see it is not enough that Paul preaches, teaches, and warns but he understands that he needs to pray that God will work on them as it is ultimately God and the Holy Spirit that will change a person and help them to grow spiritually.