Are You A Servant of the Gospel, Colossians 1:15-29When reading this passage today I began to think and wonder if all of God's people, from the fivefold ministry leadership to the occasional visitor who says they are a Christian (Christian, a believer in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and the Messiah, and acceptance of his teachings, contained in the Gospels and other New Testament writings) were to live with a passion in line with these passages, if the people of God (followers of Jesus the Messiah) might not see the Kingdom of God Established through His people 'the church' in the earth today to such a degree that the World (those outside the church) would turn away from their ideas, thoughts and perceptions and embrace Jesus of Nazareth as their Messiah as well.
Christ Is Supreme (greater than or superior to any other, especially above all others in power, authority, rank, status, or skill.)
15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before God made anything at all and is supreme over all creation. 16 Christ is the one through whom God created everything in heaven and earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can't see — kings, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities. Everything has been created through him and for him. 17 He existed before everything else began, and he holds all creation together.
18 Christ is the head of the church, which is his body. He is the first of all who will rise from the dead, so he is first in everything. 19 For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, 20 and by him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of his blood on the cross. 21 This includes you who were once so far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions, 22 yet now he has brought you back as his friends. He has done this through his death on the cross in his own human body. As a result, he has brought you into the very presence of God, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault. 23 But you must continue to believe this truth and stand in it firmly. Don't drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News. The Good News has been preached all over the world, and I, Paul, have been appointed by God to proclaim it.
Paul's Work for the Church ( because of God’s grace toward him)
24 I am glad when I suffer for you in my body, for I am completing what remains of Christ's sufferings for his body, the church. 25 God has given me the responsibility of serving his church by proclaiming his message in all its fullness to you Gentiles. 26 This message was kept secret for centuries and generations past, but now it has been revealed to his own holy people. 27 For it has pleased God to tell his people that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. For this is the secret: Christ lives in you, and this is your assurance that you will share in his glory.
28 So everywhere we go, we tell everyone about Christ. We warn them and teach them with all the wisdom God has given us, for we want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ. 29 I work very hard at this, as I depend on Christ's mighty power that works within me. NLT
Insight
15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before God made anything at all and is supreme over all creation. 16 Christ is the one through whom God created everything in heaven and earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can't see — kings, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities. Everything has been created through him and for him. 17 He existed before everything else began, and he holds all creation together.
18 Christ is the head of the church, which is his body. He is the first of all who will rise from the dead, so he is first in everything. 19 For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, 20 and by him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of his blood on the cross. 21 This includes you who were once so far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions, 22 yet now he has brought you back as his friends. He has done this through his death on the cross in his own human body. As a result, he has brought you into the very presence of God, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault. 23 But you must continue to believe this truth and stand in it firmly. Don't drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News. The Good News has been preached all over the world, and I, Paul, have been appointed by God to proclaim it.
Paul's Work for the Church ( because of God’s grace toward him)
24 I am glad when I suffer for you in my body, for I am completing what remains of Christ's sufferings for his body, the church. 25 God has given me the responsibility of serving his church by proclaiming his message in all its fullness to you Gentiles. 26 This message was kept secret for centuries and generations past, but now it has been revealed to his own holy people. 27 For it has pleased God to tell his people that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. For this is the secret: Christ lives in you, and this is your assurance that you will share in his glory.
28 So everywhere we go, we tell everyone about Christ. We warn them and teach them with all the wisdom God has given us, for we want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ. 29 I work very hard at this, as I depend on Christ's mighty power that works within me. NLT
Insight
The Apostle Paul moved by the Holy Spirit here proclaims to us the Supremacy of Jesus the Messiah and how God’s grace has been extended to them. This is the message, that Paul who sees himself as a servant of the Gospel, proclaims and encourages all who will listen to serve as well. Paul by God’s grace has moved from legalistic prosecutor of the law and persecutor of the believers to lover of God’s grace and God’s people.
Are you a servant of the Gospel because of God’s grace toward you?
Is that servant lifestyle seen in your serving God’s people?
Is it seen in your service to the unsaved?
Do they know why you are serving them?
Are you a servant of the Gospel because of God’s grace toward you?
Is that servant lifestyle seen in your serving God’s people?
Is it seen in your service to the unsaved?
Do they know why you are serving them?
IF YOU ANSWERED YES, THAN YOU ARE ESTABLISHING THE KINGDOM OF GOD!
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