Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
Grace-based biblical teaching and sermons with Pastor Jason White. Messages that focus on Life in Christ and practical application as New Covenant believers.
Christ in You, the Hope of Glory Sermon
Let me ask you a question this morning, “What are you hoping for today?” What or who are you putting your hope in?
Maybe for some of you, since today is the Super Bowl, it’s the Kansas City Chiefs. You are hoping that the Chiefs and our hometown boy, Patrick Mahomes, will win the Super Bowl today.
Others of you may be putting your hope in the San Francisco 49ers. And that’s okay, but you will be disappointed later.
No, the fact of the matter is that one side is going to lose. So… a lot of us will put our hope in the outcome of a game today, and half of us will end the day in disappointment.
But the fact of the matter is that even though the other half will celebrate and enjoy the victory tonight, they’ll wake up tomorrow and be looking for the next thing to put their hope in…hoping that something else will now happen in the future to bring them joy, peace, and fulfillment.
And isn’t that the way it is with everything? Hope can be very fleeting. Things can change and hope can fade away so quickly.
But hope is so necessary in our lives, and we try to find it in so many ways. We hope that our spouse will change, that our kids will change, or that our parents might change for the better one day.
We hope that we’ll be able to change one day…that we’ll be able to overcome some sin pattern or destructive tendencies in our lives.
We hope for the economy to get better, for better politicians, or for a president who will make our lives better…easier…more comfortable
We hope for more money, a newer phone, a better gaming system. We hope for a better job or for a boyfriend or girlfriend or that we might find a spouse one day.
We hope that our sickness will go away and that our situations and circumstances would just get better.
But each time they do or each time one of those things I mentioned happens, we get bored again and look for the next thing that will bring us hope that will last…but what we learn is that hope is fleeting. We find it and then it disappears.
And some of us need to see that this is our reality…this is the cycle we are in. But of course there are some of you who are here today, and you know this is your reality. As a matter of fact, you don’t have much hope today. You’ve messed up again, and you’ve lost someone or something. Or something out of your control has happened and you feel so empty…so lost…so wondering if it’s worth it and if things will ever get better.
Well, if that is you today, I’m praying for you, and I want you to see what the apostle Paul shares with us in this section of Colossians today… Look at Colossians 1:24…
24 Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church.
The first thing we see here is that Paul has a completely different approach to suffering than most of us. He says that he is rejoicing in his suffering.
Most of us as we have said already are looking to get out of suffering. We are hoping for something better that is coming…something that will get us out of the bad situations or circumstances we are in…we don’t rejoice in them.
But Paul is rejoicing because he knows that his suffering is for the good of the Colossians. It’s for their benefit. He understands that God is not absent from suffering and that He uses it for good in some way and to bring Him glory.
And the same thing is true in your life and in your suffering. God is not absent from it. He is in it with you, and He is working even in it somehow for your good and His glory…
SO you can put your hope in Him being with you in your suffering and what He is doing even if the suffering is difficult.
Now, there are some things in this verse though that need some explanation.
First, what is Paul suffering for them?
Paul is in jail for telling people about Jesus. The Jewish religious leaders didn’t like it because they didn’t believe Jesus was the Messiah, and this was taking away their power and privilege. The Gentiles didn’t like it because Jesus was being declared as the One and Only God and taking away their idols and worship of other so-called gods.
So, Paul was suffering for them in order to make sure that they knew the truth and that they didn’t miss out on the good news about Jesus.
Second question is, “How is Paul’s suffering connected to Jesus’ suffering?” and “Was Jesus’ suffering lacking in some way?”
No, Jesus said on the cross, “It is finished.” His suffering on the cross was not lacking in any way. So, what is Paul talking about here?
Well the answer is in him mentioning “his body, which is the church.” We know that Paul has already mentioned Jesus is the head of the church in Colossians 1:18. Jesus is the head, and we as the church are His body. Each person who puts their faith in Jesus for salvation is spiritually united to Jesus as the Head, and we are His body.
Paul, therefore, was a member of Jesus’ body. And so, since there is a union there…when Paul suffers, Jesus is suffering too. Do you remember what Jesus said to Paul in Acts 9?
4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” 5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,”
Let me ask you a question, “Was Paul persecuting Jesus?” NO, not literally. Jesus had died, had been raised from the dead, and had ascended to heaven.
So, who was Paul persecuting? The church…the body of Christ. But Jesus connects the two. “If you are persecuting the Church, you are persecuting Me,” Jesus says. “I’m suffering too.”
And so Paul connects it here too…
What is lacking is Christ’s bodily presence. Paul’s physical suffering as a member of Christ’s body represents Christ’s continuing suffering for the world through his servants.
But this suffering is all for the sake of the church…it’s worth it b/c it will benefit the church in some way (as we will see as we keep going)…
25 I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness—26 the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people.
“IT’S SERVANT” = the Church
“THE COMMISSION GOD GAVE ME” = Paul’s role in the Body of Christ. We all have a role as part of His Body, and Paul’s role was to serve the church by
“presenting to you (the Church) the word of God in all its fullness” = not just an enlightened few
Paul’s role was to complete what was lacking in understanding of the fulfillment the Old Testament predictions of the future.
And he referred to it as a “mystery.”
A mystery was a truth that lay hidden in the pages of the Old Testament, and its explanation awaited another day. The day of understanding came with the death and resurrection of Christ, and the mystery was revealed to the saints
So what was the mystery?
27 To them (the Lord’s people) God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
The mystery…the word of God in its fullness that Paul was to make known was CHRIST IN YOU…
Not, “here’s all the religious things that you were missing out on and that you need to do and the rules you need to follow to get closer to God. “
Not “here’s the kinds of experiences you need to have and the emotions you must feel in order to truly encounter God…”
NO, the complete truth that has been revealed through Jesus and His death, resurrection, ascension, and sending of the Spirit is…
GOD IN YOU and always being with you and close to you, and you having everything you will ever need in Him and in Him alone!
And this truth is even for the Gentiles, not just the Jewish people.
THE GOSPEL: Christ in you is for all people who will turn to Him for the forgiveness of their sins and receive His salvation by placing their faith in Jesus Christ to be their Savior.
And as you do turn to Him, Jesus, “The Hope of Glory” comes to dwell in you through the Holy Spirit (GLOVE ILLUSTRATION) …this glove is kind of lifeless, like it’s missing something…was created for something else…but when a hand enters the glove, it comes to life! It has purpose.
This glove is you and Jesus through the Spirit comes to dwell in you and you are FULL of Life/Hope!
See, hope is found in a Person. It’s not found in better situations or circumstances one day. Lasting hope is only found in Jesus.
And if He dwells in you and you are in a forever union with Him, then you will always have hope.
You have hope in what He is doing in your situations and circumstances as He walks through them with you, and you have hope that you will be with Him in glory for all of eternity.
Guys, union with Christ, and the fullness of all you have with Him is the greatest truth in all of Scripture and what Paul is trying to make sure the Colossians don’t miss because of the message of these false teachers.
But the reality is that a lot of Christians today miss this truth as well. As a matter of fact, here is what one commentator that I read this week had to say…
This is the great mystery, the greatest truth taught in the Bible, and yet it is the most seriously missing element in many churches today. Most Christians in our churches understand and believe that Christ died for their sins but most fail to go beyond this basic truth. Relatively few go on to grasp the fact that Jesus died for them that He might live in and through them, the so-called "exchanged life" or "Christ life".Many fall sadly short of grasping that it is Christ's life in them that provides the power to live the Christian life, bring about real change in one's behavior and lifestyle and provide the ability to resist temptation. It is not enough to know that Christ died in order that we might go to heaven. We are also to know, understand, and practice Christ "Who is our life" (the hope of glory) living in us now!
Guys, my prayer is that you won’t miss this truth and the HOPE that comes from the indwelling Christ and your new life in Him. And of course Paul doesn’t want you or anyone to miss it either, and that is why he even says what he does next in verse 28…
28 He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ.
Notice again that Paul doesn’t say that the 10 commandments are what we proclaim…He doesn’t say rules, regulations, and religious duties are what we proclaim. He says, Jesus is the one we proclaim…
And Paul says that the reason he proclaims and admonishes and teaches Christ in you, the hope of glory is “SO THAT we may present everyone fully mature in Christ.”
Some translations say, “perfect,”…so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.
Others say “complete,”…so that we may present everyone complete in Christ.
Well, how else could you be made perfect, mature, or complete? Only IN CHRIST…only by Christ in you, the hope of glory being present in you… (reference 15-20 and being IN that kind of God)
And so this is why Paul is willing to suffer for the church, and rejoice in those sufferings to tell others about the indwelling Christ and the lasting hope that can only be found in Him
And because this is so important to do for the sake of the church, look how Paul finishes this chapter…
29 To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.
“To what end?”
To proclaim Christ in you the hope of glory so that everyone will be able to be presented complete in Him… that is the goal…
This phrase that is translated “strenuously contend,” (labor or toil – exhausting physical labor) in the original Greek was used of athletes who painfully pursued athletic glory.
I don’t know if you’ve ever watched the Iron Man Triathlon in Hawaii on tv, but these people swim like a 2.4 mile swim, then bike 112 miles, and then run a full marathon 26.2 miles.
And at the end of the race, I mean you can just see the look on their face that tells you what they are feeling in the moment. I mean they are in so much pain and so exhausted, but they are laboring to get to that finish line and complete this race…
And this is what Paul is saying, “I am laboring to finish this race of proclaiming Christ in you, the hope of glory because it is the most important thing you must know!”
“BUT it’s not my effort. It’s not my energy. It’s not my power…It’s Christ in me, the hope of glory, who works so powerfully through me!”
And I love the way Paul says this here because it shows us kind of how this thing works. The way Paul states this, we see that we participate with Christ in us and through us.
He is the driver. He is the Source, but we participate with Him in what He is doing through us. We are actively engaged with Him in His work through us.
ILLUSTRATION: I showed you this golf glove earlier and how Christ comes to dwell in us at the moment of salvation…
But what is going to happen to this glove as the hand does all of this work in it?
It’s going to get worn down right? (Take out an old glove and put it on)
As we participate with Him in what He is doing in and through us, we’ll get tired and we’ll experience suffering, but He will still be in us and working through us powerfully!
APPLICATION: So, for those of us who have put our faith and trust in Jesus, let’s participate with Him in what He is doing in and through us.
Let’s quit looking for hope in other people, in better situations and circumstances, etc. and find our hope in the One who is the hope of glory!
And let’s make this our message that we proclaim to everyone: Christ in you, the hope of glory is available to you no matter who you are, what you’ve done, and where you’ve been…
If you’ll turn to Him and receive His forgiveness that He purchased for you on the cross by putting your faith in Him to be your Lord and Savior, He will forgive you, and He will come to dwell IN YOU, and you will be made complete in Him.
Maybe you are here today, and that is what He is leading you to do even right now in this moment.