Maturity in Christ – Colossians
Maturity in Christ
Sermon Manuscript | Together Church | Pastor Stephen Dellinger
Colossians 1:19–29 | Series: Colossians
INTRODUCTION
If you have your Bible, open with me to Colossians 1:19–29.
As we have seen throughout this series, Paul wrote Colossians to show the church that God is creating a new humanity through faith in Jesus Christ… and he wanted them to live like they belong to it.
In the previous messages, we have seen that…
- Christ is supreme.
• Christ is sufficient.
• We belong to the new humanity because of Him and His work.
And today, Paul continues that same theme.
If the church is the new humanity in Christ, then we need to ask:
- Who is Christ?
- What has Christ done?
- How does Christ work through His people?
And here is the main idea:
As the new humanity, we labor with His power to present everyone mature in Him.
Let’s read the text together.
Colossians 1:19–29
19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from 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.
24 Now 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, 25 of 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, 26 the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints.
27 To 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.
28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.
29 For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.
BODY
- Who is Christ?
Paul says in verse 19:
“For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell…”
Christ is fully God. Jesus is not merely a teacher. He is not merely a prophet. He is not merely a moral example to follow. He is all of these things but He is more than that.
Jesus is God incarnate.
Paul says all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell in Him. This connects directly to what we have already seen in Colossians. Christ is supreme and Christ is sufficient. Everything necessary for salvation is found in Him. Everything necessary for life with God is found in Him. Jesus is not part of the answer but He is the answer itself.
And because Christ is fully God, He is able to do what no one else can do.
That leads us to the second question.
- What has Christ done?
Paul says in verse 20: and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. Col. 1:20
Christ has reconciled us to Himself. But before Paul tells us what Christ has done, he reminds us who we once were.
Verse 21 says: And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds… Col. 1:21
Before Christ, we were…
- Alienated
- Hostile in mind
- Doing evil deeds
That means we were not merely outsiders. We were not simply confused people who needed a little help. According to the nature of the flesh, because of our sin, we were acting in direct rebellion against the God who made us and loves us.
But then verse 22 says: he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him… Col. 1:22
Because of Christ’s death, we are now presented as…
- Holy (set apart by God)
- Blameless (Nothing to blame)
- Above reproach (Similar to blameless, a reputation so squeak clean you can’t lay anything on them)
That is incredible!
The people who were once alienated are now made holy.
The people who were once hostile are now made blameless.
The people who were once doing evil deeds are now above reproach before God.
And this is not because of our performance—that is, we have not produced works or efforts that have impressed God or changed his mind. We are not accepted because we finally cleaned ourselves up and started living “right”. We are accepted because of Christ’s work. We are reconciled by His body of flesh through His death on the cross. This is the grace of God toward us.
But then Paul gives us the balancing truth in verse 23: …if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from 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. Col. 1:23
This is not Paul saying: Do enough good works and you can keep yourself in God’s good books. This is not Paul saying: Jesus gets you started, but your performance keeps you saved. Those are not the truth.
What Paul is saying is this: In faith we must continue clinging to Christ and not any other thing. Paul is concerned that people would shift their hope from Christ to something else. That is the danger. The danger is not weakness, because God’s strength is made perfect in weakness. The danger is not struggle. The danger is not that you have questions in your life. The danger is shifting from the hope you and I have in the gospel to another hope.
This is a good way to recognize if your hope is not in Christ. The hope replaces Christ as wholly sufficient.
It says:
Christ is sufficient but… Christ is supreme but…
Ready for some examples? Boy, I sure hope you are… Because some of these might hurt.
(Note: it’s not just complete replacement. “My hope is ALSO in…” removes Christ as wholly sufficient.)
- Moralism: “My hope is in being a good person.”
- Prosperity Teaching: “My hope is in God’s blessings.”
- Political Salvation: “My hope is in systemic or political change.”
- Self-Help Christianity: “My hope is in my own systems or perspectives or practices.”
- New Age Spirituality: “My hope is in manifestation, crystals, energy, astrology, karma, or ‘the universe.’”
- Consumer Christianity: “My hope shifts to a particular person, church, ministry, or denomination. Meet my preferences or expectations and I am happy.”
- Family as Savior: “My hope is in a happy spouse and raising good kids, so everything will be okay.”
All of these may be a gift from God, but none of it can bear the weight of our hope, church. This is subtle and we all must be on guard.
Now our third question:
How does Christ work through His people?
- How does Christ work through His people?
In verses 24–29, Paul shows us how Christ works through His servants.
And the first way is this:
- Christ works through suffering.
Verse 24 says: Now 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… Col. 1:24
Is Paul okay? Has anybody checked on Paul recently? That is a strange sentence… Paul says he rejoices in his sufferings. Here is the truth: he did not rejoice in his suffering for suffering’s sake.
The reason Paul rejoices in suffering is because he understands the purpose behind it. His suffering serves the church. His suffering is connected to the spiritual good and maturity of other people. This applies to so much of the Christian life.
Suffering can be endured with joy when we understand that God has a purpose for all of it. Christ works through suffering.
And secondly…
- Christ works through stewardship.
Verse 25 says: …of 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… Col. 1:25
Paul says he was given a stewardship from God. A steward manages what belongs to someone else. A steward does not own the house, the resources, or the people.
A steward is entrusted with something by the owner. And Paul says his ministry is a stewardship. Remember the supremacy of Christ? The gospel belongs to Christ. The church belongs to Christ. The people around us belong to Christ. Our families belong to Christ. Our gifts belong to Christ. Our time belongs to Christ. Our opportunities belong to Christ.
We are stewards. We are managers of what belongs to God and no one else.
And what was Paul entrusted with?
He says he was entrusted “to make the word of God fully known.”
Then in verses 26–27, Paul describes this as a mystery…
And what is that mystery?
Verses 26-27 say: …the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. To 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. Col. 1:26-27
That is the mystery revealed: Christ in you, the hope of glory.
This is the great treasure of the gospel…
- Enemies have become children.
- Sinners have become saints.
- Those who were alienated have been brought near.
- Those who were hostile have been reconciled.
- Christ now dwells within His people.
And Paul says this mystery has been revealed not only among the Jews, but among the Gentiles. That means the new humanity is not built around ethnicity. It is not built around background. It is not built around status. It is not built around religious performance.
It is built around Christ. Christ in you, the hope of glory. This is the treasure we have been entrusted with. So the question is: What do faithful stewards do with that treasure?
That leads to the third way Christ works through His people.
- Christ works through proclamation.
Verse 28 says: Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. Col. 1:28
When you hear this word, “proclamation”, you should picture news that you are sharing that’s important. It’s so impactful that there’s not a single soul who doesn’t need to hear it. That’s the idea of proclamation here. Notice the focus, though.
Paul says: “Him we proclaim.”
Not ourselves. Not our opinions. Not our preferences. Not our experiences.
The message of the church is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The source of our hope is Jesus Christ. The focus of maturity (discipleship) is Jesus Christ. If God’s work is not central in your life’s story, then what are we even doing? It’s not about me.
In the text here Paul says this proclamation includes two specific activities:
- Warning everyone
- Teaching everyone
Warning and teaching.
Warning means we tell the truth about danger. We warn people not to shift from the hope of the gospel. We warn people not to build their life on something that cannot save them. We warn people not to settle for a lesser hope because it’s not going to deliver.
Teaching means we help people understand the truth. We teach people who Christ is. We teach people what Christ has done. We teach people Christ’s commands. We teach people how to live like they belong to the new humanity.
And Paul says the goal is this: “That we may present everyone mature in Christ.”
That is the burden for him. Not merely attendance. Not merely dispensing information. Not merely “conversion” in some shallow sense of the word.
That is not what the new humanity produces. Paul’s burden is maturity in Christ.
Because Christ presents us holy, blameless, and above reproach. So now we labor to present others mature in Him.
Discipleship is the method. Maturity in Christ is the goal. We do this because Jesus did this.
Paul did this too. He did it because he imitated Jesus. It’s not about just growing in maturity myself, but it requires me helping others become mature in Christ. Side note: unless you help others mature, you will 100% hit a limit on your own spiritual maturity. God’s written this law into the world at large.
And then Paul shows us one more thing. And I am grateful for it because the burden is heavy…
- Christ works through His power.
Verse 29 says: For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.
Paul works hard. This is not passive or apathetic. Paul gives himself to the work.
But Whose power does he say is behind it? Paul says it is “his energy that he powerfully works within me.” The source of Paul’s capability is Christ. The supremacy and sufficiency of Christ appear again. The ability and the credit is Christ’s.
There is no space for Paul’s flesh because Paul is walking according to the Spirit of God.
This matters for us. Christ has given us a high challenge. But He has also given us the highest support imaginable. Do you believe that? He calls us to labor for the maturity of others. But He does not call us to do it in our own strength.
Christ supplies the power necessary to accomplish the work He has called us to.
Let me bring up the main point again: As the new humanity, we labor with His power to present everyone mature in Him.
Do you see it in the text?
So like Paul…
- We labor.
- We struggle.
- We disciple.
- We teach.
- We warn.
- We rejoice in suffering.
- We steward what God has entrusted to us.
- But we do all of it with His energy that He powerfully works within us.
CONCLUSION
Jesus told a parable about servants who were entrusted with their master’s resources. Two servants invested what they had been given. One servant buried it. The question was not whether they owned the resources. They did not. The question was what they did with what had been entrusted to them. And that is a question for us.
You and I have been given the gospel. You have been given the mystery now revealed. You have been given Christ in you, the hope of glory.
You have been entrusted with the message of Jesus Christ.
What are you doing with what you have been given? Have you stewarded the gospel entrusted to you? Or have you buried it out of fear?
God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and self-control. This too is a part of being the new humanity.
Again: As the new humanity, we labor with His power to present everyone mature in Him.
If you’re not doing this, then you are missing a vital part of your identity. It’s not a checklist to make sure you’re behaving right, it’s who God has made you to be. When you’re not operating in the reality of who God made you, you’re setting yourself for meaningless suffering.
So ask yourself these questions:
- Who is helping me mature in Christ?
- Who am I helping mature in Christ?
- Am I stewarding what Christ has entrusted to me?
- Am I avoiding discipleship because of the cost? To me? To my family?
- Am I relying on Christ’s power or merely my own?
INVITATION TO THE BELIEVER
Now we will move into a time of prayer and response.
- What hope have you been tempted to shift toward besides Christ? Identify it.
- Now pray:
“Jesus, You are my hope and nothing else.”
“Jesus, You are sufficient.”
“Jesus, help me continue in the faith, stable and steadfast.”
- Now ask Him:
“Father, who are You calling me to help mature in Christ?”
“Father, what have You entrusted to me that I have been burying?”
“God, how do You want me to labor with Your power?”
- Trust and obey Him.
- Labor with His power to present others mature in Christ.
GOSPEL INVITATION TO THE UNBELIEVER
If you are not a disciple of Jesus, here is what you need to know.
You were created by God and for God but sin has alienated you from God.
Apart from Christ, you are not merely distant from God. You are separated from Him and you stand guilty before Him. The punishment for sin is death. But God, in His grace, has made a way for reconciliation. Jesus Christ, the fullness of God in the flesh, died on the cross for sinners.
He made peace by the blood of His cross.
He died and rose again so that all who turn from sin and trust in Him can be reconciled to God. In Christ, you can be made holy, blameless, and above reproach before Him.
So today, do not shift your hope to anything else. Do not place your hope in yourself. Do not place your hope in religion. Do not place your hope in good works.
Place your hope in Jesus Christ.
He is supreme. He is sufficient. He is the only Savior. Jesus said: I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through the Son. Do you believe that? Then let’s pray together.