Paul the
apostle told the Colossian church members that God made “known
what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles”
which was “Christ in you, the hope of glory:” In other
words, the wonderful gift of salvation through Jesus Christ was
offered to the Gentile world as well as the Jews, and God's purpose
was to extend eternal life to anyone who would believe in Jesus
Christ's sacrifice of His life because of their sins. Jesus paid the
price with His blood upon the cross for the sins of everyone, died,
and was risen from the dead, and now anyone throughout the entire
would has access to eternal life with the Heavenly Father. In chapter
one and verse twenty-eight of his letter to the Colossians, Paul
describes his functions with the gospel as he traveled and shared
with people about Jesus. We read:
Whom we preach, warning
every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom;
that we may present
every man perfect in Christ Jesus:
The verse begins, “Whom
we preach, warning every man,...” Paul
begins with two specific actions he employed as he shared the gospel.
First, “Whom we preach”
or “to announce, declare, promulgate, make known, to
proclaim publicly, publish, and report”, and second “warning
every man” which means “to admonish, exhort or put in mind”
about Jesus Christ. Paul thought the gospel was so important that
people everywhere needed to not only hear proclamation of it, but
also to be admonished about it as well.
The verse goes on to say,
“and teaching every man in all wisdom;” In
addition to preaching and warning everyone, Paul goes on to add
“teaching” which
means “to hold discourse with others in order to instruct them,
deliver didactic discourses, to impart instruction, instill
doctrine into one and to explain or expound a thing” to “every
man” or “the sum total of each person or group whether
individually or collectively” “in all wisdom” or “broad
and full of intelligence; used of the knowledge of very diverse
matters”. Paul knew it was necessary not only to proclaim and warn
people, but also to take the time to instruct them in a full
diversity of matters concerning living for Jesus Christ.
Finally the verse says, “that
we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:” Paul
shared the importance of preaching, warning and teaching every man,
because he desired to “present”
or “to place beside or near, to stand beside or near”
“every man perfect” which
means “brought to its end, finished, wanting nothing
necessary to completeness” “in Christ Jesus” or “into
full maturity in Christ Jesus”. Paul not only desired that all men
know the gospel of Jesus Christ, but also to walk, live, grow and
mature in their relationship with the Lord Jesus.
As we think about these
words from Paul, perhaps we have been challenged by his function with
the gospel. Do we preach, warn and teach concerning the “Good News”
of Jesus Christ? Do we desire that “every man” know Him
and grow unto maturity that they may be presented “perfect in
Christ Jesus”? Perhaps as we consider Paul's excitement and
dedication to the Lord Jesus, we too will ask the Lord to help us to
serve Him with the same fervor as Paul, and as we do, let us allow
the Lord to “perfect” in us any area in which we are
lacking as we mature in our walk with Him.
Next
time Paul tells why he labored and worked,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the
Mount” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ;
www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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