Relationships

Who cares for the church?

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…the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

24Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, 25of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. 27To 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. 28Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. 29For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.  Colossians 1:23-29
I have a friend who says, “Disciple-making is largely unappreciated at the time.” The Apostle Paul knew what it was like to be unappreciated. Yet, Paul says he has joy in his assignment from Jesus. Joy! But, its not been easy. Following Jesus has brought him into:

Sufferings.

Stewardship.

Struggle.

Sufferings. There are seasons in which Paul suffered physically and psychologically for the advancement of Jesus’ church.

Stewardship. Paul had a persistent sense of responsibility to proclaim the word of God to people, making Jesus known through the Gospel.

Struggle. Paul tapped into all the resources of mind, body, and soul that the Lord made available to him so that people would grow up as Jesus’ disciples.

There is nothing like the Gospel ministry to which we have been called. It has its highs and its lows. It’s rich! It’s glorious! It’s messy! No one else but the church is promised the incredible hope of glory: Christ in you!  Disciple-making is not an easy journey, but it has its joys! There is nothing like being in the company of Jesus, the King of Creation, when He touches the life of a brother or sister.

These joys can be ours when we lean into Jesus with His people and willingly accept some measure of sufferings, stewardship, and struggle for the sake of Jesus and His church. Gospel ministry is not a matter of full-time or part-time vocation. Instead its a relationship and a labour of love. Will you venture into relationship with at least one other person to flame the hope of our glory—Christ in us?

 

 

 

Our Gospel Realizations: Devastation and Delight

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21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him… Colossians 1:21-22

For those who have received Jesus as Lord two states of mind are held in the same hand.

Once we were alienated from God, hostile in our thinking, and doing evil. That’s devastating!

But now through the very body of Jesus Christ and His crucifixion,

we are presented before Him, the King of Creation,

as reconciled to God, holy, blameless, and above accusation. That’s delightful!

Our motivations are to be progressively shaped by the truth and grace of the Gospel. God wants us to set aside the controlling condemnation that accompanies guilt, shame, and fear in order to live a life in the company of Jesus.

Self-righteousness self-justifies to convince us that we are doing pretty good on our own without God and of course that we are doing better than those “other” people. When this illusion is threatened we become caustic, prickly, and accusatory. Jesus’ righteousness ushers us into a confession of our common condition in sin’s brokenness and into a warm strong humility crafted by His love. Only Jesus’ Gospel-grace can keep devastation and delight together and create abundant life.

The King that makes peace by dying.

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19For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.  Colossians 1:19-20

How do kings and the leaders of our world make peace? Any serious consideration of the question requires us to just as quickly contemplate, how do they make war, wield power, and create friendships? We can learn lots about a leader in how she approaches conflict.

The Gospel shows us our conflict. It takes our earthly situation, enmity with God, and shows us God’s character. Colossians 1:19-20 is full of the Gospel.

In Colossians we see not only that Jesus is King of Creation, He is also King over the New Creation. And just as He is the creator of the stuff of earth, He is also the creator of the new creation. The new creation begins with the reconciliation of people into the communion of God through Christ Jesus and it will find its completion in the creation of a new heaven and earth. The church is the fruit of Jesus’ peace-making work at the Cross.

Taking on flesh, Jesus comes to humanity full of God in order to reconcile all of creation to Himself. This peace-making could only be done through his death on the cross, to give us redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Forgiveness always costs. Jesus is the King of all Creation, and He is our peace. He gave Himself fully for our forgiveness and inclusion in His Kingdom.

All praise to Jesus, our peace!

A view that will blow your mind.

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15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. Colossians 1:15-18

Scholars are not sure exactly what kind of “heresy” was shaking up the church in Colossea. The teaching they encountered put in doubt the sufficiency of Christ Jesus for their salvation and lives. They were knocking Jesus off His throne. Rather than attack the teaching, Paul seeks to expand their vision of Jesus. It’s a view that will blow your mind.

Jesus, the beloved Son of God, is the King of Creation.

He is the image of the invisible God.

He is the firstborn of all creation, having preeminence over all things, and powers.

He is the creator of all things; of they have their origin through Him and for Him.

He is before all things.

He is the glue that holds all things together.

When I walk through the UBC campus, I delight in this knowledge: here is a place dedicated to the study of all that Jesus has made and what we have done with it, and what we could do with it. That may not be your default position. It may not have been the Colossians’ default position. But it is the reset they needed in order to fulfill their purpose as His people. For all of creation, and we are part of it, has its purpose inseparably rooted in the person of Jesus Christ.

You wouldn’t want to miss these post-resurrection dinners with Jesus.

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They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, 40but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear, 41not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. 43To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” Acts 10:39-43

I wish I could have sat in on the dinners Jesus had with the disciples after His resurrection from the dead. We get glimpses of these dinners in John 20 and 21, Luke 24, Acts 1:3-8, and the passage above. Peter says, our resurrected Lord Jesus spent time over meals with a chosen few that they would be His witnesses, prepared for His mission. Peter sounds so matter-of-fact. But I can imagine the joy and awe they shared in those forty days as the ate and drank with him. I suppose they hung on his every word.

Drawn to the table, they shared food and drink, and heard Jesus’ heart as He spoke over their meal. Jesus wants people to know the what God is up to through His life, His death, and His resurrection. He has been making it know through all the prophets and now through His disciples and His church.
All people will be judged by Jesus.
All who believe in Jesus will receive forgiveness of sins through His name.

Jesus also spoke of another dinner. It’s post-resurrection and post-judgement. You won’t want to miss it!

26 Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” 27And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, 28for this is my blood of thecovenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”  Matthew 26:26-29