Colossians 1:21-29
21 And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled 22 In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: 23 If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister; 24 Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church: 25 Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; 26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: 27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: 28 Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: 29 Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.
As we conclude our series on The House of God, we have one final question that we will address in regards to the Church. So far, we have spent seventeen weeks answering eight questions about the Church of Jesus Christ. We have learned what the Church is, what its purpose is, what its mission is, what it does, how it loves, how its governed, how its led, and how it is supposed to behave. Putting all of that together for a local church, there is one final piece of understanding that is necessary. What about the specific activities that each local church is engaged in? We have already addressed what the Church does, what its purpose is, and what its mission is, but how do we apply that to the various activities that local churches engage in underneath those umbrellas provided by Scripture? It is easy for specific ministries that aren’t directly prescribed or delineated in Scripture to lose their focus and drift off of the course given in Scripture. In order to maintain a proper, biblical focus, there must be a goal or set of goals that defines the direction of a specific ministry in a local church. This week, we will answer the question, “What is the goal of the Church’s ministries?”
The Apostle Paul wrote to the Colossian church about the superiority of Jesus Christ over all worldly philosophies, religions, and wisdom to fix the church’s focus on Him. In chapter one He demonstrates that Jesus is Lord over all things as Creator and moves on to show how His lordship is demonstrated in the gospel through His body, the Church. In Colossians 1:21-29, Paul speaks to the reality of what God is accomplishing in the world. It is a ministry that Paul is a part of in bringing people into God’s kingdom and seeing them made like Christ. From this passage, we learn three goals that Christian ministry should be focused toward.
Since the Church’s mission is to take the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18-20), the first goal of all Christian ministry should be to see people saved from sin. Jesus came to set sinners free (John 8:36). He came to redeem us and forgive us of our sins (Colossians 1:13-14). Paul reminds the Colossians in verses 21-23 that at one time they were “alienated and enemies” of God, but they were “reconciled” to God. They were saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8) and Paul calls them to “continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel.” Jesus came and died to save sinners (1 Timothy 1:15). He came “to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). Therefore, all ministries of a local church should have the goal of seeing those within our influence brought to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus.
We also find that the goal of all church ministry should be to lead people to the knowledge of God’s will. In verses 24-27, Paul speaks to the reality that God has made known to the church, through Paul and other faithful servants, the great mystery of the gospel that includes the salvation of Gentiles. This complete knowledge of God’s will and plan were hidden in ages past. Even though God speaks to salvation being brought to the Gentiles in the Old Testament, the Jewish people never dreamed that they would be fully and equally included in His plan as the people of God. Paul’s ministry was to reveal such knowledge to all he taught. He says that God’s great plan “is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” “Christ in you” speaks of the grand truth that God indwells each believer through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit secures the believer (Ephesians 1:13-14; 4:30), gives spiritual life to the believer (Romans 8:11), bears fruit in our lives (Galatians 5:22-23), and guides the believer (John 16:13). “The hope of glory” speaks to the future promise of God’s restoration of all things (Romans 8:18-25). One day believers will ultimately receive new, glorified bodies and the creation itself will be restored apart from sin. This grand redemptive plan has been made known to the Church. All Christian ministry should have the goal of instructing people in the will and Word of God. God’s people need to know His promises and how they fit into being a part of His great plan.
Lastly, we learn that all Christian ministry should have the goal of seeing people conformed into the image of Christ. Ultimately, God’s will for every Christian is to be conformed to the image of His son (Romans 8:29). Paul speaks to his task of “warning” and “teaching every man in all wisdom.” He had the responsibility of preparing everyone that God entrusted him to have a ministry to, to warn them and teach them what they needed to know so that they might be “perfect in Christ Jesus.” This is not some concept of human perfection or entire sanctification on this side of eternity. It speaks to God’s work of conforming people to the image of His Son, a process that is not complete until a believer is with Christ in heaven. It also speaks to the sufficiency of Scripture to fully equip the believer for ever good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Paul is talking about his responsibility to equip believers with all that they need through God’s Word to be all that God wants them to be. Ephesians 4:11-16 tells us that God has given gifts of instruction in the Word of God to the Church so that the Church might be built up and be what that God wants them to be as His representatives on earth. All ministries in a church should therefore serve the purpose of seeing people grow and be conformed to the image of the Son of God. We must avoid the trap of wanting people to be like us or fit into a mold that we have made. Instead, our goal should always be to see people be more like Jesus.
There are three goals that all local church ministries should have. We have the goal of leading people to salvation, a knowledge of God’s will, and conformity to Christ’s image. There are many temptations to deviate from these goals and they will lead us into doing things that God has not called us to and doing things in ways that God doesn’t want us to. Churches can quickly become social gatherings, holy huddles, humanitarian aid services, or behavior reform centers. Our goals must always be gospel centered, Word focused, and Christ exalting. Everything we are and have comes from Him and everything we do must be unto Him (Romans 11:36). May Jesus be glorified and exalted in our Church as we seek to faithfully live for Him, honor Him, and represent Him in this world. We are His people. We are His church. Let us bring Him all the glory due His name.
Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. – Ephesians 3:20-21