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the mystery which has been hidden 
from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to 
His saints. To them God willed to make known 
what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, 
which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we preach, warning 
every man and teaching every man in all wisdom that we may 
present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. To this end I also 
labor, striving according to His working which works in me 
mightily. Amen. Let us pray. Our Father, 
we praise You for Your Holy Scripture. We thank You that You've not 
left us as orphans. You've given us the Spirit. You've 
given us Your Word. We pray even now, Lord God, that 
this would be a profitable study, that You would convince us, rebuke 
us, and correct us and instruct us in all righteousness and thoroughly 
furnish us unto every good work. Lord God, we thank You that You 
have given us the Old and the New Testaments, and we pray that 
You would help us to be men and women of Your Book, men and women 
committed to seeking Your will and to seeking to be filled with 
all the knowledge of that will. in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. We thank You for this book of 
Colossians and for the example of Paul the Apostle. And Lord 
God, we just pray even now that You would continue to instruct 
us from this chapter, edify Your people, strengthen each one of 
us, God, and cause us to go forth from this place to do Your will. And we ask through Jesus Christ 
our Lord. Amen. Well, this morning we focus 
primarily on the suffering of the Apostle Paul. And then we'll 
pick up here in verses 25 to 27, the stewardship of the Apostle, 
when Paul uses that word mystery. We might be inclined to think 
that what is in the background is the Greco-Roman usage of mystery 
as it pertained to mystery religion. But rather, mystery is used in 
the New Testament simply to refer to a truth about God and His 
plan of salvation that at one time was hidden but now has been 
revealed. That's all that a mystery is. 
If anything, the background is in Daniel 2, where the vision 
given to Nebuchadnezzar is spoken of as a secret, and then the 
secret is revealed through Daniel as he interprets that vision. 
And then we'll notice the preaching of the Apostle, verses 28 and 
29. This will go along with what 
we studied on Wednesday night. In Acts 18, we learned of a man 
by the name of Apollos, and he is described there as being a 
faithful minister of the Gospel. And one of the things that we 
noted was that it is important for us as men and women in the 
church to pray that God would raise up such faithful ministers. Because the Lord has ordained 
the foolishness of preaching to save those who believe. And 
as Paul argues in Romans 10, how shall they hear without a 
preacher? How shall they preach unless 
they are sent? And we ought to know that the 
church is the breeding ground, if you will, for gospel ministers. Paul tells Timothy in 2 Timothy 
2 that he is to identify faithful men and that he is to entrust 
to faithful men sound doctrine so that they may be able in turn 
to teach others also. And I used to think that what 
we have here in Colossians 1, 28 and 29 is a description of 
gospel ministry. But it really isn't. It is a 
description of Paul's gospel ministry. There's no one that 
I know, and I certainly, as much as I don't suffer like Paul, 
as we noted this morning, I don't labor like Paul. He is a good 
model. He is a good example. He is one 
to follow. But he was given fully to this 
work, setting a high standard, one that we ought to seek and 
strive after. But we do need to realize that 
this was a brother that was uniquely set apart for the glory of God. But again, he does serve as a 
good example and one that we ought to be like in these issues. Well, notice first of all the 
stewardship of the Apostle. We notice this morning he uses 
the word minister. I love that about Paul. He's 
not the magistrate. He's not the one throwing his 
weight around. He sees himself as a servant 
of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is a servant of the Gospel. 
He is a servant of the Church. He imbibes servant leadership. He truly follows Christ in this 
particular area. He is not a lord. He is not a 
tyrant. He does not lord things over 
the consciences. In fact, in 2 Corinthians, he 
says, but rather, we are workers with you for your joy. That is the role of a faithful 
minister. To be a worker with you for your 
joy. Not to be a tyrant. Not to be 
a lord. Not to be a dictator. Paul was 
installed into this office or given this stewardship by none 
else than God Himself. We see that in verse 25, of which 
I became a minister according to the stewardship from God, 
which was given to me for you. In Galatians 1.15, Paul likens 
himself to Jeremiah. He doesn't say, I'm like Jeremiah, 
but there is a parallel passage. Jeremiah was separated from the 
womb to the prophetic ministry. Paul says that of himself in 
Galatians 1.15, it pleased God to separate me from my mother's 
womb. He was a prepared servant. He was a God-ordained servant. That's not to say he wasn't a 
child of wrath, that he wasn't a sinner, that he wasn't a rebel. But God had His sights on him 
from the very beginning. God decreed, obviously, that 
he would use this Apostle Paul. He didn't install himself into 
office. He didn't make himself an apostle. In fact, he certainly highlights 
that in Galatians 1. He is called to be an apostle. not according to man, but by 
the will of God. It was the Lord Christ who came 
to him on the road to Damascus and who gave him this stewardship. 
And the very language that he uses here, it's a stewardship. He doesn't rule it. He doesn't 
own it. He is not over it, but rather 
he is a steward. The same language that he uses 
in 1 Timothy 3. He says, if a man does not know 
how to rule his own house, How will he be able to steward in 
the house of God? How will he take care of the 
house of God? He shifts from ruling the family 
to being a servant steward in the house of the Lord. And certainly 
that is consistent with his own ministry. Notice that this is 
in fulfillment of God's Word. Verse 25, he says, to fulfill 
the Word of God. A lot of commentators seem to 
imply that the fulfilling of God's Word was Paul's preaching 
of it. But I think it goes a little 
deeper than that. Paul fulfilled the Word of God. You say, of course, we all fulfill 
the Word of God. We all do God's will. We all 
do what God has determined that we are to do. But Paul, in a 
unique way, God had from the beginning said that He was going 
to call Gentiles unto Himself. But He used Paul in that particular 
capacity. He used Paul in a way that He 
doesn't use me to fulfill the written Word in terms of God's 
decree to engage in His redemptive plan on earth. Paul sees this 
in Acts 13, when he's preaching in Pisidian Antioch. And he makes 
that statement. Since you judge yourselves unworthy 
of eternal life, we will turn to the Gentiles. He then says, 
four, and then he applies a text from Isaiah that has its primary 
application in the person of Christ as being a light unto 
the Gentiles. But he says that that was true 
of him and Barnabas. In Galatians 2.7, he says that 
it is uniquely been given to him as to be the apostle to the 
uncircumcised. So, Paul is part of God's plan. Paul is uniquely connected to 
this mystery. As I mentioned before, in fact, 
Paul says this in Galatians 3, that the gospel was preached 
beforehand to Abraham. Genesis 17, because in him all 
the nations of the earth would be blessed. Gentile inclusion. But the particulars, the timing, 
the instrumentality, all of that had not been revealed or had 
not been fully made known until Christ came. And so Paul expounds 
that particular mystery. And he goes on to highlight in 
verse 26, notice, the mystery which has been hidden from ages 
and from generations but now has been revealed to His saints." 
Again, it's a truth about God and His plan of salvation that 
at one time was hidden, but that now had been revealed. Turn to 
Romans 16, verse 25, just to see this word used so we're not 
confused about its interpretation. Romans 16, verse 25. Now to him who is able to establish 
you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, 
according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since 
the world began, but now made manifest, and by the prophetic 
scriptures made known to all nations, according to the commandment 
of the everlasting God for obedience to the faith, to God alone wise 
be glory through Jesus Christ forever. He uses it in a similar 
fashion in 1 Corinthians 2, 7-10. He uses it in a parallel usage 
or parallel passage to this is in Ephesians 3, verses 1-10, 
where he highlights those realities. That he is a steward. That he 
has been given this administration. That he has been given this stewardship 
in order to preach to the Gentiles the fact that they are included 
alongside of ethnic Israel in God's redemptive plan. And then notice the content of 
the mystery in Colossians 1.27, To them God willed to make known 
what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, 
which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Beautiful statement 
there. It is God's sovereign plan. God 
in His free grace discloses these truths. Remember in Matthew 16, 
our brother alluded to it this morning, when Peter makes that 
confession, that lofty confession of faith, when he says, Thou 
art the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus doesn't pat 
him on the back and say, you're wiser, smarter, and better than 
your contemporaries. No, he said, blessed are you, 
Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood did not reveal this to 
you, but my Father in heaven. He has made this known unto you. And it's the same idea here. 
To them God willed. It's God's grace. It's God's 
sovereign pleasure. It's God's freedom. It's God's 
design. It is what God has purposed. He has willed to make known what 
are the riches of the glory of this mystery. To love Paul, the 
riches of the glory of this mystery. I mean, he couldn't make it sound 
any better. The riches of the glory of this 
mystery, that is a beautiful statement. The very fact is that 
it's characterized by God's glory. It is revealed to Gentiles and 
concerns Gentiles very specifically, specifically with reference to 
their inclusion in the covenant blessings. That's what Paul is 
highlighting here. And it is characterized by the 
indwelling Christ in the lives of His people. Josh asked me 
the other day, do you think that Christianity is a religion or 
a relationship? That's a big buzzword in the 
church today. It's not a religion. It's a relationship. It is a religion. We have buildings. We have hymn books. We have structure. We have liturgy. We have all 
those things. It fits the definition of a religion. It's also a relationship. Not 
an either-or, it's a both-and. We have Christ indwelling us. Now Christ, as we just sang in 
Psalm 110, is locally present at the right hand of His Father. Sit thou at my right hand until 
I make thine enemies your footstool. So Christ is locally present 
there. But He indwells His people by 
His Spirit. He takes up residence in our 
hearts, so much so that the Apostle can say, Christ in you, the hope 
of glory. This is not an isolated statement 
in the New Testament. In Romans 8, verse 10, we read, And if Christ is in you, the 
body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is life because 
of righteousness. 2 Corinthians 13.5, one of the 
few passages in the New Testament where a Christian is called to 
introspection. where Christian is called to 
self-examination. And in 2 Corinthians 13, verse 
5, it says, Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the 
faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves that 
Jesus Christ is in you, unless indeed you are disqualified? In Ephesians chapter 3, verse 
17, part of Paul's prayer. After he has essentially said 
what he has said here in Colossae, he then prays for the Ephesians. 
Actually, he develops it a bit more in this parallel passage 
in Ephesians 3. But when he goes to prayer, one 
of the petitions in verse 17 is that Christ may dwell in your 
hearts through faith. That you, being rooted and grounded 
in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the 
width and length and depth and height, to know the love of Christ 
which passes knowledge, that you may be filled with all the 
fullness of God." That's our possession. That's what we have. We have Christ in us. Go back 
to Ephesians 2 for just a moment. Ephesians chapter 2. Notice in 
verse 11, Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the 
flesh, this is us, who are called uncircumcision by what is called 
the circumcision made in the flesh by hands, that at that 
time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth 
of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having 
no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus, 
you who once were far off, have been brought near by the blood 
of Christ. Consider this. We, as Gentiles, 
sinners and rebels against our thrice holy God, are described 
this way. We were aliens from the commonwealth 
of Israel. Not just in an ethnic sense. Not like we were just looking 
at this wonderful nation of Israel. But he's speaking about spiritual 
truths. We were outside the covenant. 
We're outside of the people of God. We were outside the camp 
in the worst possible way. Strangers from the covenants 
of promise. That blessed promise that God 
made to Abraham. That he would have a land. That 
he would have an inheritance. That he would have all of these 
blessings. And He administrated that covenant, 
or that promise through various covenants. We were strangers 
to those things. Again, on the outside, sort of 
looking in. He goes on to say, having no 
hope. See, that's the genuine condition 
of those outside the New Covenant community. They have no hope. I wonder if we think about sinners 
in that way. That they have no hope. I mean, 
there's obviously hope in the Gospel in terms of they ought 
to hear, believe, and be saved. But in their current state, in 
their rebellion against God, in their rejection of the Lord, 
of the covenant, they have no hope. They may have everything 
to the contrary. They may have what looks to be 
a very full life, full of blessing, full of material provision, full 
of benefit. They're hopeless. They're without 
hope. And then he goes on to say, and 
without God, in the world. That is our condition apart from 
Jesus Christ. But through the reconciliation 
of God through the blood of His Son, we can now sing, Jesus, 
I do now receive Him. More than all in Him I find. He hath granted me forgiveness. I am His and He is mine. You see, that's what God is in 
Christ doing. He is reconciling the world to 
Himself. And when we have trusted in the 
Lord Jesus, it is as if He has taken up residence in our lives. Paul says, the life that I now 
live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved 
me and who gave Himself for me. We have the closest possible 
relationship that we could ever even begin to imagine. We are 
closer to Christ as Christians than we are to one another. We 
are closer to Christ as Christians than we are to husband or wife. 
We are closer to Christ than I believe we've even begun to 
imagine in terms of what it means practically. This is what Paul 
is saying. This is the mystery, that you 
Gentiles who once were afar off, who were strangers to the covenants 
of promise, who were alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, 
who had no hope, who had no God, you have now been brought nigh 
through the blood of Christ. You have been cleansed, you have 
been reconciled, you have been washed, you have been purified, 
and now Christ is in you, the very hope of glory. What a glorious 
thing! that is ours as we consider this 
particular chapter. Notice, secondly, the preaching 
of the Apostle Paul. The preaching. He moves from 
his suffering to his stewardship to his proclamation. And he says 
four things with reference to his preaching. First, the object 
of his preaching. Christ. Does that surprise you? Him we preach. It doesn't surprise 
me. Him we preach. Paul was not a 
moralist. Paul was not a humanist. Paul 
was not a motivational speaker. Paul was about declaring Jesus 
Christ in his person and in his work. In 1 Corinthians 1, at 
verse 18, he says, For the message of the cross is foolishness to 
those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it 
is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy 
the wisdom of the wise and bring to nothing the understanding 
of the prudent." And then he goes on to say, where is the 
wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this 
age? Has not God made foolish the 
wisdom of this world? For since in the wisdom of God 
the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God 
through the foolishness of the message preached to save those 
who believe. For Jews request a sign and Greeks 
seek after wisdom. But we preach Christ crucified. To the Jews a stumbling block 
and to the Greeks foolishness. But to those who are called, 
both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom 
of God. Because the foolishness of God 
is wiser than men and the weakness of God is stronger than man. So it ought not to surprise us 
that here in Colossians 1, after speaking of the stewardship of 
this mystery, revealing the very essence of it, which is Christ 
in us, the hope of glory, he then moves on to his proclamation 
and he says, Him we preach. That's what Christian preaching 
is all about, Christ. Christ is the center. Christ 
in His cross. Christ in His glory. Christ in 
His salvation. Christ in His majesty. Christ 
in His person. As Paul has already described 
Him in verse 15, He is the image of the invisible God. He is the 
incarnate God. Christ in His person as the One 
who made all things. As the One who governs. In Him, 
all things consist according to verse 17. Christ in His work. He is the one who shed His blood 
so that we would have the remission of sins. Him we preach. That ought not to surprise any 
Christian. John Eady comments, this Christ, 
so glorious in person and perfect in work, the incarnate God, the 
bleeding peacemaker, the imperial governor of the universe, it 
is He None else, and none besides Him, whom we preach." Traced 
through the book of Acts, that's what you find Paul doing. He 
comes into a city, he finds the synagogue, he opens up his Bible, 
and he reasons, he demonstrates, and he persuades from the Scriptures 
that Jesus is the Christ. Edy goes on to say, Christ is 
the one Deliverer. conferring pardon by His blood, 
purity by His Spirit, and perfection by His pledge and presence, securing 
defense by His power, comfort by His sympathy, and the hope 
of glory by His residence in the believing heart. Him we preach. He goes on to speak of the manner 
in which He preaches. Notice in verse 28, warning every 
man, and teaching every man in all wisdom. There is a warning 
element. Some of the older commentators 
made a division here and some follow it. They say this warning 
pertains to unbelievers and the teaching pertains to believers. I disagree. I think warning and 
teaching are fitting for both believers and unbelievers. There are times, brethren, when 
we as Christians need to be warned. There are times when we need 
to be corrected. We need to be reproved. We need 
to know something of the terror of God. We need to know something 
of His majesty and His power. And here this idea of warning 
means to correct, to warn, to guide. He goes on to say there 
is a teaching element. Teaching was necessary in the 
church in Colossae. Some had come in and tried to 
teach something differently. And Paul is highlighting the 
necessity for genuine Christian teaching. But not only warning 
and teaching, but there must be wisdom. There must be wisdom. Remember back in verse 9 of chapter 
1. People need wisdom in order to 
use the knowledge of God's will in their lives. Doesn't that 
make sense? We saw it illustrated in the 
life of Solomon. David exhorted him to study the 
law of God. This is the way that you will 
protect your kingdom. Study, give your mind, give your 
heart fully to know the law of God. Get rid of your enemies. 
That's the second means by which to protect his kingdom. And then 
later on in the narrative, when God comes to Solomon and asks 
him what does he want, Solomon requests wisdom. So he has the 
law of God, but he prays for wisdom so that he'll know how 
to put it into practice. And it's the same thing here 
with Christian preaching. It's not enough just to warn 
and to teach, but there must be wisdom in order to carry out 
effective Gospel preaching. The preacher needs wisdom to 
know how to teach and admonish the people. That's absolutely 
crucial. You remember to pray for your 
pastors. Pray that not only would they 
warn and teach, but that they would have wisdom. That they 
would do it righteously. That they would carry out their 
task in accordance with the Word of God. They wouldn't just come 
and lay a bunch of information in your lap and not try and connect 
some dots and make some practical applications and give you some 
encouragements and some helps so that you can put that into 
practice. But not only a warning element, 
a teaching element, and the wisdom necessary, there's a universal 
scope. What's conspicuous in Paul's 
language in these two verses? Every man, every man, every man. Paul predated the combat warriors 
who say, leave no man behind. Paul didn't want the church to 
be separated into cliques. It doesn't mean that friends 
can't, you know, cling to one another and you have some friends. 
Jesus in the midst of twelve had three that were extra special 
to him, that went with him in various places. There is a genuine 
biblical doctrine of bosom friendship, close friends. But he's talking 
about an elitism. You know, this group over here, 
they really use their noggins and they're really excelling. 
Behind all of this may have been something of the Colossian heresy. 
You follow our instruction, you'll be a bit better off than the 
rest of these slobs. You listen to what we're saying 
and you subscribe to angelic worship, you'll be one of the 
initiates. You'll be one of the few above 
the rest. So, if Paul's motto predated 
the combat warriors, these Colossian heretics predated the U.S. Marine Corps, the few, the proud, 
the Marines. They would come into a church 
and grab a select few of initiates. Paul says, no. We teach every 
man, we warn every man with the goal of presenting every man 
complete in Christ. We don't want to leave anybody 
behind. We want everybody to mature. We want everybody to 
use their heads and their hearts. We want everybody to grow in 
the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 
Bruce says there are no heights in Christian attainment which 
are not within the reach of all by the power of heavenly grace. 
There's no heights of Christian attainment that are beyond the 
reach of Christians. You may not be down with all 
the theological jargon, but you certainly can read your Bible 
and know what that jargon means. You don't have to know hypostatic 
union to know that there is one person of Christ with two natures, 
divine and human. You don't need to know the specific 
label to understand the truth that it's labeling. There's not 
initiates. There's not an elitism. There's 
not a few of the proud within the church. Everybody growing 
together into maturation. Everybody growing together unto 
a well-equipped Christ-like man. He goes on to speak of the goal 
of his preaching. We've already touched on it. 
Notice in verse 28, that we may present every man perfect in 
Christ Jesus. Perfect here doesn't mean sinless. 
You might look at that and say, was Charles Wesley right? Is 
there a second work of grace? Or not Charles, John. Are we 
able to get perfection? Is Finney right? Can we become 
Christian perfectionists? No, the word means to be complete. 
It means wholehearted. means devotedness. But I think 
what is in view here is the final judgment. Just like verse 22, 
"...in the body of his flesh through death to present you 
holy and blameless and above reproach in his sight." Well, 
Paul says there is an eschatological element to Christian preaching. 
Yes, the Scriptures help you right now. You should leave here 
tonight, love your wives more, love your husbands more, be more 
obedient to your parents, or be a better worker tomorrow. 
Christianity, the Scriptures, proclamation, truth, has application 
to the life that now is. But Paul here is highlighting 
the application for the life that is to come. when He presents 
every man on that day of judgment. He uses that language in 2 Corinthians 
11. He wants to present the Corinthian 
church as a chaste virgin unto Christ. He wants to be able to 
say, I have carried out the task that you have given to me. I 
want to make sure no one's left behind, there's no stragglers, 
no one's stuck out in the middle of nowhere, but we're going to 
grab them and we're going to bring them and we're going to 
present them unto Christ on that day. So, we've seen the object, 
the manner, the goal, and then fourthly and finally, the labor 
involved in His preaching. It was labor-intensive. To this 
end, I also labor. This means to toil to the point 
of weariness. It means to work hard. It's used 
of normal, everyday, secular, in-the-world labor. Paul uses 
it with reference to Christian ministry. To this end I also 
labor. The other night I read a quote 
from Gordon Keddy commenting on the fervent spirit of Apollos. Here's what he said about Apollos 
being fervent in his spirit. He did not give quiet talks. He was enthusiastic and animated 
in his speaking. He broke some sweat in the pulpit 
precisely because he was fervent in his commitment to the message 
he proclaimed. It is one of the scandals of 
the modern church and a symptom of its powerlessness that a passion 
for Christ and the Gospel is so conspicuously absent from 
so many of its pulpits. Fervent preaching is never comfortable 
to those who sit under it, but those who treasure God's truth 
and value their own souls will love to be disturbed by such 
ministry and will bless the Lord for the privilege. The point 
is that Christian ministry, if it is conducted properly, will 
be a labor. If anyone desires the office 
of overseer, it is a good work that he desires. It is not simply 
a time to relax and sit back and play golf and drink tea or 
whatever the common report may be. Paul says, to this end I 
also labor. He goes on to say it was conducted 
with striving. Striving, he says. It's a strong 
word, where we get the word agonize. He strives in his labor for the 
churches. Don't we have a beautiful, well-rounded 
picture of a genuinely godly man? So, I'm saying, this is 
not descriptive of the ministry as a whole. This is not descriptive 
of the ministry as a whole. This is descriptive of Paul's 
ministry. And in terms of its example, 
it is prescriptive. It is a prescription how the 
ministry ought to be carried out. But on this side of Paul, 
I think maybe Whitefield, Maybe Spurgeon and a few others, well, 
Luther and Calvin, the reformers, those guys, they could probably, 
or we could say this of them, to this end I also labor, striving, 
agonizing. Gordon Clark comments, the verb 
agonizing does not connote the sufferings of persecution. The 
striving here has nothing to do with him being in jail. It 
has nothing to do with those rods or those whips or those 
stones or those perils that we read of this morning. He says, 
the striving here does not connote the sufferings of persecution, 
but very definitely the striving of an athlete to win a contest. 
He's strained, now get this, to preach and teach. That's what he's talking about. He says he's strained to preach 
and teach and many faithful pastors and missionaries have some appreciation 
of the difficulties involved. He's strained to preach and teach. How can I better, more purposefully, 
more graciously, more fervently, more earnestly, more deliberately 
preach Him? That's what made Paul strive. 
But notice, he didn't strive in his own strength. See, the 
ministry for Paul wasn't about technique. It wasn't about manipulation. Though the labor was his, the 
energy, the power came from God. He wasn't just a great orator. 
In fact, he says he wasn't. Paul tells us that. He wasn't 
a great orator. But he did speak with the demonstration 
of the Spirit and the power. Though he toiled, though he labored, 
though he strove, strived, the power was God's. Striving, notice, 
according to his working which works in me mightily. He says in 1 Corinthians 15, 
10, But by the grace of God I am what I am. The labor was Paul's, 
the energy or the power was God's. John Edie said, learning, industry, 
and genius are of little avail without piety and spiritual support. He highlights 2 Corinthians 3, 
5, and 6 where Paul says, our sufficiency is of God. You see, he works, he toils, 
he strives, but he knows that it's God who is energizing him. 
It is God who is driving. It is God who is moving. It is 
God who is displaying that power. Again, usefulness in Christian 
ministry is not a matter of technique. It is not an ability to manipulate 
crowds or the skill of a polished performer, but faithful labor 
which is dependent upon God. In every avenue, in every scope, 
in every part, in every parcel. That's Paul's preaching. So we round out this section. 
We've seen his suffering, his stewardship, and his proclamation. He does set an example for each 
one of us as a sufferer. We already looked at that in 
detail this morning. He is a model as well for preachers. If the church today could recover 
something of that work ethic, if the church today could pray 
that we would have men, not just skilled in technique, but mighty 
in the Scriptures and dependent upon God, fervent in spirit, 
preaching Christ in His person and in His work. It's one of 
the beautiful things, talking to that brother from the church 
or from the group in Kitimat. For those who don't know, there's 
a group in Kitimat, about 15 people. that want, they're coming 
into reform doctrine. They made a contact with ARBCA 
and they said, you know, how can we get a church planted here? 
And so the man in charge of ARBCA, Gordon Taylor, sent an email 
to myself, to Don Lindblad and to Tom Lyon, because we're sort 
of in that region. And so I made contact with this 
man and spoke with him for two hours. It was glorious. You know 
what he said? I mean, he said a lot of things 
in two hours. He can say quite a bit. He said, 
just keep preaching the gospel. That's been his appreciation 
of Reformed theology. It's Christ. He said, I was saved 
early. I don't doubt that. He says, 
but I was brought up in churches and it wasn't until I started 
reading these other things, I started weeping. I started getting excited. 
I started getting thrilled about these things. And he said, you 
know, just take it from me, a guy in the pew. I can encourage you. 
He said, just keep preaching the gospel. Amen. That's a good encouragement. 
Because that's Pauline. Him. We. Preach. Preaching Christ in his person 
and work, wisely warning and teaching every man in order to 
present them to Christ, working and striving according to God's 
power to accomplish the task of ministry. There is, I think, 
responsibility in this passage as well for the hearers. If this 
is the scope of the preaching, or if this is what Paul is supposed 
to do, then we as people are to give ear to this. In other 
words, when Christ is preached, we ought to listen. When Christ 
is preached, we ought to be When Christ is preached, we ought 
to pay every bit of attention we can muster. There is responsibility. It's not just the preacher who's 
to grab everybody and try to present them on that day of Christ. There is responsibility for us 
as well. We're hanging out over here and 
not following the plan. You know, we need to change, 
man. We need to get on board. We need 
to be there. We need to be like in that account 
in Nehemiah chapter 8. I love it. They find the law. 
They're going to engage in covenant renewal. It says that the people 
gathered together and their ears were to the book. They gathered 
as one man. One man. It was a whole assembly 
of Israel. They gathered as one man. And 
their ears were to the book. I can see it in my mind's eye. 
All these people's ears like this. radar dish, finding its 
spot. The ears are there. That's the 
way we need to be in the New Covenant community when it comes 
to this Bible, when it comes to the Scriptures, when it comes 
to the Gospel. Well, let us pray and ask the 
Lord to help us to know something of a genuine Pauline Christianity. Father, we thank you for your 
Word. And we know that Paul is just a man, but a very useful 
man in your kingdom. We know ultimately our example, 
our great, great pattern is the Lord Jesus Christ. But Paul says 
elsewhere we are to imitate him as he imitates Christ. And God 
help us. Help us in suffering. Help us 
in stewardship. Help us in proclamation to be 
these kinds of things, Lord God. We pray for the church at large. 
We pray for our church. that you would continue to work 
in our midst, continue to work in churches to raise up men who 
have this focus, who have this mindset with reference to Christian 
ministry. We ask, Lord God, that you would 
go with each one of us now, that you would protect us and watch 
over us and bring us together on the Lord's day to worship 
you. Be with us, Lord, in the various circumstances in our 
lives. not only the knowledge of Your will, but grant us that 
wisdom and spiritual understanding so we can apply the Scriptures. 
We ask through Christ our Lord. Amen.