Thank you, Mark and Diane, for leading us. Good to see everyone here this morning. Welcome. I wanted to let you know at the beginning, this is really kind of a this week and next week, I think, are really important texts, really important messages. My desire is for everyone to understand these things and, of course, apply them. 

But we're going to have a little time of question discussion at the end of the message. I want you to listen, pay attention, think about the things we're talking about, and then if you have questions come up or things you want to share in regard to the text and what we're going to look at, we'll just have a brief time. We'll skip the last song and have a brief time of discussion. So write down any questions you have or things you'd like to share about the message. 

We are continuing our study of the first chapter of the Book of Colossians, this rich and profound chapter focused on Jesus Christ, the one who is preeminent in all things. We saw last week that God has chosen to display his fullness in the person of Jesus, the Son of God, in the flesh. Jesus said, if you have seen the Father, you have seen me. Or if you've seen me, you've seen the Father. I'm sorry. So Jesus is God in all fullness. And Jesus is God in the flesh. 

And this is so important because it strikes at the heart of the heresy that was invading the church in Colossae that Jesus did not take on a body and dwell among us, that he did not die on the cross in our place for our sins. And this heresy was undermining the very gospel truth. And that's what Paul wants to establish clearly in our text this morning, the gospel truth, that Jesus did live among us in the flesh. He did suffer, die, and was buried, and rose again the third day, accomplishing our salvation fully, bringing peace and reconciliation through the blood of his cross. 

Paul's going to make the gospel clear in the words before us this morning, and he's going to establish himself as a minister of that gospel, chosen by God, placed into the ministry for the benefit of the church, the saints, that they be made perfect, mature, presented holy and blameless in Christ. So we're going to learn some very central things concerning the gospel message, the call and purpose of the minister of the gospel, and the purpose for which God saved us, that which he will bring to pass. 

And this all culminates in the mystery, the mystery of the new covenant, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. And we're going to flesh that out in a more complete way next week, but we're building toward that truth in our text this morning. Paul says this is a mystery, and it's vital that we understand what that means. 

To the false teachers invading the church in Colossae, mystery was something hidden, something only they knew in their higher wisdom and knowledge, something the believers needed them for to explain and guide them into. Paul says, no, the mystery of the body of the church of Christ in you, the hope of glory, is now revealed in the new covenant, made manifest to the saints. It has been hidden all through the ages past in the old covenant time until the time of the church, but it has now been fully manifest to you, to the believers in Jesus Christ, and is known plainly, not hidden. 

And every believer can know and understand these truths. We do not need a magisterium. We do not need a hierarchy of religious leaders with big hats and robes and incense. We each one have the word of God. We each one have the Holy Spirit indwelling us and guiding us into all truth, giving us understanding. The mystery Paul talks about here is defined as something that was hidden, but now is revealed and available to everyone who believes. 

So this morning, we're going to see the gospel truth. We're going to learn a little bit about what it means to be a minister of the gospel. We're going to see the purpose of God in the gospel in bringing reconciliation to those who believe in his express intent to then conform them to the image of Christ, to present them holy and blameless, mature in Christ for his glory. 

And next week, we'll focus in on verse 27 and try to wrap our minds around this great truth of the new covenant Christ life, the truth of who we are in Christ and what it means that he lives in and through us. So this is new covenant truth, fully developed in this time of the church as we see the promises, the prophecies of the Old Testament in places like Ezekiel and Jeremiah come to pass as we see the mystery revealed. 

So let's look at our text together in Colossians 1:19. Just a little context here. It says, for it pleased the Father that in him all the fullness should dwell and by him to reconcile all things to himself by him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of his cross. 

And you who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now he has reconciled in the body of his flesh through death to present you holy and blameless and above reproach in his sight. If indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister. 

I now rejoice in my sufferings for you and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ for the sake of his body, which is the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God, which was given to me for you to fulfill the word of God. 

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, 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. 

I've given you four points on your outline this morning. First, alienated and enemies. Second, reconciliation through the cross. Third, holy and blameless. And fourth, a minister of the gospel. 

I'd like to begin our study in verse 21, where Paul says, and you who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now he has reconciled.

Paul has explained to us in the context of these words that Jesus Christ is the fullness of God, that he is God in the flesh, and it is in that very flesh, that human body, that Jesus would present himself as a full and satisfactory sacrifice to God for the sins of mankind, accomplishing salvation, reconciliation, and peace with God and man for those who believe. 

Now, he wants to remind the believers in Colossae of who they were, where they were in relation to God, their condition in Adam, before Jesus brought them to salvation through faith in him. We see similar words in Ephesians 2. Let's go back to Ephesians 2, where Paul explains this truth in more detail. Verse 11, Ephesians 2, 11. He says, therefore, remember that you once Gentiles in the flesh 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, for he himself is our peace, who has made both one and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in his flesh the enmity that is the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that he might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. 

And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and to those who were near, for through him we both have access by one spirit to the Father. Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God. 

So we see here that in the church, we find something that has never existed before, a body, a body made up of Jew and Gentile believers who are all now one in him by grace through faith and now have experienced regeneration, the permanent indwelling of the Holy Spirit and a new heart and a new spirit within them. This was a mystery all through God's history, but now is revealed in the church, the body of Christ in the new covenant time. 

Paul wants them to understand and remember who they were, what they had in this world, what their condition was in Adam, and for a full understanding of this truth, I feel like we need to go back and look at Romans 5. Mark alluded to Romans 5 this morning, but we're gonna go to verse 12, Romans 5, 12. I want you to see the linear progression of Paul's words in our text, that he's talking about who they were in Adam, he's talking about how God reconciled them, and he's talking about God's intent in saving them, which is really an important part. 

His intent in saving every believer is to bring them to maturity in Christ, to conform them to the likeness of Christ and bring them to glory. So we're looking at how that works through the ministry of Paul and every believer, really. So let's look at who they were, who we were in Adam in Romans 5, 12. It says, therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men because all sinned. 

For until the law, sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of him who was to come. But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man's offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one man Jesus Christ abounded to many. 

And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification. For if by one man's offense, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the one Jesus Christ. 

Therefore, as through one man's offense, judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation. Even so, through one man's righteous act, the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification unto life. For as by one man's disobedience, many were made sinners, so also by one man's obedience, many will be made righteous. Moreover, the law entered that the offense might abound, but where sin abounded, grace abounded much more. 

So that, so that, look at the purpose words there, as sin reigned in death in Adam, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. In this passage, Paul's explaining the contrast between the man in Adam and the man in Christ. He's highlighting the condition of the man who was born in Adam, the condition that came into effect when Adam sinned and brought death into the world. 

He shows us that the man in Adam is dominated and controlled by indwelling sin. He is under the yoke of bondage that is the law, and he lives in fear of death. But the man in Christ is no longer under law, sin and death, but he has been made free from the law of sin and death, and now lives under grace, righteousness, and life. 

We see Paul explain the condemnation that he's talking about, because when we see this word condemnation, we need to say, okay, what does that mean in this context? What's Paul talking about? We see the definition over in Romans 8.1. If you turn to Romans 8.1, this whole section holds together in five to eight. In an 8.1, this verse we love, it says, there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. 

Verse two says, for the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. So you see that? There's no condemnation. What condemnation, Paul? For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. Go back to Romans 7.23, just up the page there a little bit. Look at this guy, Romans 7.23. He says, but I see another law in my members warring against the law of my mind, and what? Bringing me into captivity to the law of sin, which is in my members. 

In 7.14, Paul said this man in Adam is a slave to sin. He is carnal, he is fleshly.

In verse 23, he explains that this sin that dwells in his body, in his members, controls and dominates him. He is in captivity to indwelling sin, to law, and to death. This is the condemnation of the man in Adam. A man entered into this state because of the effects of the one man and his sin in the garden. 

But the good news is that this is also, it's also the one act of the one man, Jesus, that is the remedy for this state of condemnation. Jesus' one-time death on the cross accomplishes our salvation, brings peace with God and man, but also, which is what Paul's talking about in Romans 5-8, through our union with him in his death, burial, and resurrection, through our death, the death of that old man in Adam are being placed into Christ, raised new men in him, we now are free from the law of sin and death. 

We are no longer condemned in this sense. Indwelling sin no longer controls us and no longer manifests itself out through our bodies, our members, we no longer are under the law. We do not live in bondage to fear of death. We stand in grace, super abounding grace. We experience righteousness through our bodies, our members, as Jesus lives his life in and through us as we walk by faith, and death is only our gain to be fully and finally released from this body, from the very presence of sin. 

These truths stand in stark contrast to the religions of men, including the one being pushed on the believers in Colossae. The issue is a diagnosis of the problem, the condition of man. What every religion of man teaches us is that the problem of man is outward. It's how he lives, his works, his sins. What the Bible teaches us, and what Paul is highlighting in Romans 5 and in our text in Colossians 1, is that the problem for the man and Adam is an internal one. 

The sinful acts, the wicked works, the hostility towards God are only an outward manifestation of an inward corruption. So religion teaches us that we do bad, and we do bad, and we do bad, and therefore we become bad, right? So what's the remedy of religion? Do good, and do good, and do good so that you can become good. This is a misdiagnosis of the problem, and therefore a lie and a false way of salvation. 

The truth is that men do bad, they sin, exhibit wicked works and hostility toward God because they are bad. They are corrupt on the inside. They are spiritually dead. They are dominated and controlled, enslaved by the sin that dwells in them, and listen now, my brothers and sisters in Christ, there is absolutely nothing that man can do in order to remedy his situation, his condition, and Adam. 

The truth, the fact is that God had to enter the world of man. God had to come into our world to die a death he did not deserve, taking on flesh, living as a man, experiencing the wrath of God in our place for our sins at the cross in order to satisfy the just punishment of sins. It was in this way and only this way that we could be released from the penalty for our sins, reconciled to God, brought back into a right relationship with Him, and it was only by being placed into Christ through regeneration and the baptism of the Spirit that God could deal with the internal corruption of indwelling sin and make us new creations on the inside, giving us a new heart and a new spirit. 

And now, my friends, the glorious truth is this, look at Romans 5 18 with me again, it says, therefore as through one man's offense judgment came to all men resulting in condemnation, what's that condemnation again? It's indwelling sin, it's bondage under the law, it's fear of death. Even so, in the same way, through one man's righteous act, Jesus on the cross, the free gift came to all men resulting in justification, and then there's two little words that are really important of life or unto life, and this means that there was spiritual life, divine life imparted to us. 

For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one man's obedience many will be made righteous. It was through the one man Adam and his one sin in the garden that this sinful inner corruption came to all men, making us sinners. But glory to God, it was likewise through the one righteous act of the one man Jesus Christ that spiritual life was imparted to us, the divine nature was given to us, and we were made righteous. 

God dealt with the sin that dwelled in us, the inner corruption problem, through our death, burial, and resurrection with Jesus. So if we're going to understand salvation in Christ, listen now, wake up if you're nodding off, all right? If we're going to understand salvation in Christ, we must first understand inner corruption in Adam. 

The wicked works, the sins we commit through the members of our body continually in Adam, are only a manifestation of the inward corruption and domination of our old man by indwelling sin. Verse 21, he says, And you who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now he is reconciled in the body of his flesh through death. 

Your sins in Adam were a manifestation of the inner corruption of indwelling sin in your old man, in your condition in Adam in which you were born. God dealt with that inner corruption by nailing our old man to the cross, burying us with Jesus, raising us to new life, a new creation, a new heart, a new spirit. 

Romans 6.6 says, Knowing this, that our old man, that old man dominated by indwelling sin, was crucified with him. Why? In order that the body controlled by indwelling sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin, for he who has died has been freed from sin. 

My friends, participating in religious works, rites, rituals, seeking higher secret knowledge, giving to the poor, living in poverty, suffering, forsaking the world, none of these things do a single thing to deal with the inner corruption in Adam. And therefore, as Paul says, are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh. Only a new creation, only union with Jesus, the death of our old man deals with the inner corruption and raises us new men in Christ. 

Now I want to make one thing clear before we move on, because the Bible says Christ died for our sins. Okay, whenever we see mention of the atonement, of Christ's propitiatory sacrifice, it's always in relation to the plural sins. It is our sins, our acts, that are the cause of the judgment of God, his wrath, eternal separation from God, apart from Christ's work on the cross, and our faith in him.

But those sins are simply a manifestation of who we were in Adam, an outward result of an inward reality, a condemned state of enslavement to indwelling sin, a yoke of bondage under the law, constant fear of death. This is the condemnation that Paul's speaking of in Romans 5 to 8, and it's remedied not through justification by Christ's death, but by regeneration through union with Jesus on the cross, our death, burial, and resurrection with him. 

So we must understand the relationship between inner corruption in Adam and the manifestation of this outwardly through acts of sins if we are going to fully understand the relationship of the new creation to the manifestation of outward acts of righteousness, holiness, and maturity in him. Are you following me on that? If I'm going to understand the new life in Christ, I have to understand the new creation. Just as I understand that in Adam, I was dead on the inside, dominated and controlled by indwelling sin, and that produced through these members acts of sin continually, so I must understand that the new creation, the new birth, a new heart, a new spirit must produce out through these members now acts of righteousness by God's grace and life in me. 

Now with this understanding, go back to Paul's words in Colossians 121. He says, "...and you who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now he has reconciled in the body of his flesh through death." Okay, that's justification, right? We were condemned before God because of our sins. Christ died for our sins. He reconciled us through the blood of his cross, paying the debt for my sins. But if he is going to present you holy and blameless and above reproach in his sight, he has to deal with the inner corruption of sin, indwelling sin, the principle of sin, the law of sin in my members. He has to change me on the inside. 

So we have a positional change in justification, my position before God, but we have an actual change in me in regeneration that affects an actual change in how I live. He says, "...if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel." What's the hope of the gospel? The hope of the gospel is being made right with God, right? Released from the penalty of sins. But it's also a release from the power of sin. It's also glorification. It's also being conformed to the likeness of Christ. This is the hope of the gospel, "...which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister." 

And then verse 27, it says, "...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. Now I believe these truths clarify so many doubts and fears and misunderstandings of believers about the gospel, about the Christian life, about God's full plan for you and for me in Christ. If you really get hold of these words, these truths, no longer will you strive to produce righteousness by the law. No longer will you look to yourself to produce works of righteousness. No longer would you even consider the idea that having been reconciled and regenerated, that you could somehow be lost by God. 

Understanding the fullness of our salvation in Christ, knowing God's purpose in saving us and his plans for us, even to glory, eliminates all these lies that plague the church and undermine the abundant life that God intended for us in Christ for his glory. You see, what we see here and in so many other texts is that God's very purpose in saving you is to conform you to the likeness of Christ, to present you holy and blameless, mature in Christ, and to bring you to glory. 

We as believers fully understand justification by grace through faith, we get that positional truth of our salvation in Christ. But we struggle so mightily with the reality of the actual truth of what God has done in us in Christ, who we are and what we have in him. That we are no longer sinners in Adam. That we are dead to sin in its controlling power. That we are new creations in Christ with a new spirit that is in agreement with the Holy Spirit in every way. That God himself lives in us through the power of the Holy Spirit in the person of Jesus Christ, and it is Christ in you that is your hope of glory. 

It's the new life that we experience in him because of the truth of who we are on the inside. It is Jesus' life in us that we believe, that we take by faith, that is our confident assurance of full salvation, glorification as God brings to consummation his intention, his plan in saving us. This is reconciliation through the cross in its fullness. Not only released from the penalty of my sins, but also released from the very power of indwelling sin and inner corruption in Adam. 

Now I am a new man with a new spirit, the very life of Christ in me, the divine nature and spiritual life imparted to me. I may still be incarcerated in this dying flesh, but this is not who I am. This does not define me. I am in Christ. This is who I am. And therefore it is reasonable, it is rational, that because I am new on the inside and spiritually alive, and I have the very resource of God's life and power in me, the very power that raised Jesus from the dead, the Holy Spirit imparting strength to my inner man, God working out his express purpose in saving me to make me like Christ, my brothers and sisters, it should be our expectation to live a holy life, blameless and mature in him. 

It's reasonable, it's rational, it's our spiritual act of worship. And what we see in our text is that this is the very purpose of the minister of Jesus Christ. Look at verse 23. If indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister. 

Now the word if here should not imply doubt. Paul is really with the use of this word assuming this truth, that they will continue in the faith, and this is important for us to understand. Wiest makes this comment, he says the word if here is not E-A-N, an unfulfilled hypothetical condition used with a subjunctive mode presenting the possibility of a future realization as if there's some doubt. But it is E-I with the indicative, having here the idea of assuming that you continue in the faith.

That is, continuance in the gospel as it was preached by Paul would show the person was saved and thus would be presented wholly without blemish and unchargeable before God. That is, Paul was here addressing truly born-again Colossians, not unsaved professors. Heretics would not be so presented, only true believers. 

Listen to what he says here, he says it is not the retention of salvation that is in the Apostles mind, but the possession of it. Paul states at the end of this verse, speaking of the gospel, of which I became a minister. Verse 24, he says, I now rejoice in my sufferings for you and fill up my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ for the sake of his body which is the church of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you to fulfill the Word of God. 

I just want to spend a little time discussing what it means to be a minister of the gospel. And the first thing we notice about this in the words before us is that it was God who made Paul a minister of the gospel. God called him, God placed him into the ministry. In 1 Timothy 1.12 it says, I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me because he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry. Galatians 1.15, but when it pleased God who separated me from my mother's womb and called me through his grace to reveal his son in me that I might preach him among the Gentiles. Romans 15.15, nevertheless brethren I have written more boldly to you on some points as reminding you because of the grace given to me by God that I might be a minister of Jesus Christ. 

Paul is very clear that it is God who placed him into the ministry. He was called by God and it is God who gives a man a desire to be a minister, who gives the grace to accomplish his will. And also notice in all these verses that Paul gives God's purpose of this ministry as well. He says, ministering the gospel of God that for the purpose that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom that we may present every man perfect or mature in Christ Jesus. 

To this end, he says, I also labor striving according to his working which works in me mightily. The purpose of God in calling ministers is for the maturity, the growth of the believer conforming them to Christ. So how does God intend this to be accomplished? We see it's by God's grace, his sufficiency, Colossians 1.29, to this end I also labor striving according to his working which works in me mightily. It's the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives that imparts strength, it is Christ's life in us, it's God who is able to do exceedingly abundantly more than we could ask or think. 

So God calls the minister, places him into the ministry, God's grace is the source of power and it is God who accomplishes his will through the minister. Look at verse 24 again in our text, I now rejoice in my sufferings for you and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ for the sake of his body which is the church of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you to fulfill the word of God. 

Paul is a minister, this word means servant, originally a slave, this is a lowly term, he's a servant to the body. The minister is a servant for God's purpose and will to bring the saints to maturity, to present the church holy and blameless. The word fulfill, fulfill the word of God means to fully discharge my office so that the divine intent shall be fully carried out. This means all that the ministry includes. 

We know from Timothy that the preaching and teaching of the word of God is central. Paul says if you instruct the brethren in these things, you will what? Be a good minister of Jesus Christ. Give yourself entirely to teaching, to reading, to exhortation, he says. In verse 28 of our text he says, him, Jesus, we preach, him we preach, warning every man, teaching every man in all wisdom that we may present every man perfect in Jesus. 

Teaching Jesus, warning, admonishing, teaching, this is central to God's purpose for the church. Fellowship, love, worship, taking care of the needs of the brethren, discipleship, bearing one another's burdens, rebuking, exhorting, all these things are part of fulfilling the word of God, fulfilling one's ministry. And with this evangelism, in 2 Timothy 2 verse 4, we love that passage, I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, that's who the minister's really responsible to, right? 

I charge you before God and the Lord Jesus Christ. That's who you'll answer to, who will judge the living and the dead that is appearing in his kingdom. Preach the word. Be ready in season, out of season, convince, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and teaching for the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine but according to their own desires because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers that will tell them what they want to hear. 

They will turn away their ears from the truth, be turned aside to fables. What's Timothy to do? You be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. The church thinks of ministers today as qualified or effective because their education, because of their style, because they're great orators or slick speakers, good storytellers, good facilitators, administrators. 

I've often had people tell me, they get a pastor, oh, he's so educated, and I always think, educated in what? I think it's so interesting that Paul was not a great orator. He did not depend on a slick presentation or persuasive speech. In 1 Corinthians 2.1 he says, when I came to you I did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God, for I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 

I was with you in weakness, in fear, in much trembling, and my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom but in demonstration of the Spirit and a power in order that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. 2 Corinthians 10.10 it says, for his letters they say are weighty and powerful, but his bodily presence is weak and his speech contemptible. 

Isn't that interesting? Why was Paul perhaps the most effective minister of all time?

Because God called him, because God empowered him, because God worked in him by his grace and power to accomplish his will, and because Paul believed in God's method. He believed that preaching Jesus Christ and the gospel was enough. He believed God's grace and power and faithfulness to accomplish his will through Paul. And that method was preaching Christ, building the believers, being faithful to the calling by which God had called him. 

There's an interesting application here for each one of us, I think, as well. Turn over to 2 Corinthians 3 with me, 2 Corinthians 3 verse 4. Paul explaining the new covenant here, he says in 2 Corinthians 3 verse 4, we have such trust through Christ toward God. Where's your trust? Where's your faith? Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit, for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 

God has made us each ministers, servants in the new covenant. We are ambassadors for Christ. We are each one members of this body. We are each one gifted in a special way for the edification of this body, for the love of the saints, and we are each empowered by the grace of God and indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Every person in the church has these same provisions and opportunities to serve and minister to one another, to love one another, to contribute to the purpose of God in the growth of the body. 

This includes evangelism, but it is rooted and grounded in our relationship with Christ, and the love we have for the saints and for the lost is a fruit of the Spirit of an abiding relationship with Jesus. We are all servants, we are all ministers in the body to one another. We should each be saying with Paul, him we preach, warning every man, teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. To this end I also labor, striving, agonizing, according to his working, which works in me mightily. 

My brothers and sisters, we were alienated and enemies in Adam, but God has reconciled us to himself through the cross. His purpose now is to present us holy and blameless in Christ, and he has made us each one ministers of the gospel for this very purpose. What a privilege and a blessing to now live for him, to know him, to have the great hope of glory which will come for each one of us who believe in the end of our salvation, our glorification together with him. What a promise. 

Let's close in prayer. Father, we are just overwhelmed at the truths we find in your Word, and when we stop and look and study and ponder and meditate on these things, it's almost more than we can understand, but we thank you that we have all these things in Christ and we are in him. Help us to remember who we were. Help us to know who we are, to know what you say is true, to understand and believe and trust your method for your purpose in our lives, for the church, the world, for each of us individually, and help us to remember our hope, hope of glory. Thank you for Jesus, our salvation, our peace, our hope, our joy. It's in his name we pray. Amen. 

Okay, so we're going to try to develop that a little further next week in verse 27 and hone in on that, but obviously a lot here I think of tremendously important truths, so I just wanted to give you a chance if you've got questions or things in your mind or objections or whatever, we still have people online listening, so Mark's going to use the microphone, so if you have something you want to say or a question you have, just raise your hand and Mark will come to you. It's really important because they can't hear the questions if you're not on the thing here, so here you go, Mary. 

This might be a minor point, but in my translation on verse 21, it says, once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds, I don't quite understand that in your minds part. I believe those words speak of a hostility toward God. In other words, our attitude toward God was hostile. We were enemies of God, we were against God, we were sinners. That's the idea of those words there. 

That just reminded me of, in Philippians here it says, let this mind be in you, it was in Christ Jesus, and we also talk about taking the thoughts of our mind captive so that we're not aliens or undocumented, whatever. But I wanted to say that you touched on it, the word mightily in many verses, went back to Romans, and God has given us the power mightily, it's in earthen vessels now, however we're to share Jesus, but I go back to 1 John 3.1, the tremendous power of God where he says, and I think I'm just going to read it because I don't want to mess it up, behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons or the children of God. 

What power through Jesus Christ and the cross, that we are reconciled, that we are his sons. We are adopted, which even makes it more, this means he adopted, he adopted us and loves us so much more, and it's just incredible, and the thing I think we forget in our daily walk is that God is not only with us and indwelling us, but he just wants to be there to share that power day by day through the word and help us in every instance, whether it's in sickness, financially, whatever. 

He doesn't always take those things, problems away, but he uses them and he just wants us to know, as it is in the Old Testament, I am with you. I am with you through all this. I am with you on the mountaintop and I am with you in the valley, and if we come to that point, I think that's what he wants. That's that beautiful love and relationship that we have through Christ Jesus. 

Right. And Jesus said, I do all things that please the Father, right? I always do what pleases, that's what, that's trust, that's faith, that's that confirmation. John, you used a term incarcerated in this flesh, and you used it in the context of describing our new life, regenerated, contrasting the man in Adam with the man in Christ. How does that work? So we are new creatures, but we are still incarcerated in this flesh. I said that to draw a distinction between that which is new and regenerate and that which is not.

So there is that factor that this body, because what I find really interesting in this whole discussion is that Everything is manifest through this flesh, right? I mean, in Adam, indwelt by sin, controlled and dominated, no power, dead, my sins, right? All of that continual sinful life is manifest out my mouth, my mind, my fingers when I steal or whatever, you know, my eyes when I lust, all those kinds. 

But likewise, and this is really the main point I wanted to make this morning, is that my life in Christ is also manifest in this time between justification and glorification out through my members, through my flesh. So I think to understand that we have to understand that it's my spirit that has been regenerated. So my spirit at the moment I believe and experience regeneration is fit for heaven. It isn't growing, it isn't getting better, it's new, it's in agreement, the Holy Spirit agrees with my spirit. So that's who I am in my spirit. 

But I still have my mind, you know, the soulish, psuche kind of part of me, my emotions, my mind is not regenerate, and this body is not regenerate, and this body is dying, right, day by day. So I just said that, used that term to try to distinguish that it's the spirit that is regenerate, it's who I am, and I am in Christ, and I am in union with Him, and my desires are His desires, and He is in me, and now what I need to do is reckon that truth, I need to count up those facts, and then choose to yield to His life and power so that He can manifest that righteousness out through these members. 

That's Romans 6, 12, 13, right, do not present your members to unrighteousness as one being controlled by sin, but present your members unto righteousness. So yeah, it's something we have to continually renew our minds to, and choose to believe, because everything else in the world, in my experience, in my emotions, is working against that, right? 

Thanks, John. That's a great presentation, or expose of many, many passages there, and I don't disagree with any of them, of course, but I don't see where Paul, how's he deal with anger, in a way, with all these things that are trying to refute everything he's preaching? 

Anger with false teaching, you mean? Exactly, yeah, and I have anger issues with trying to be a good witness, and have somebody really seem to be interested, and next thing you know, they're leading my kids astray, or one of my grandkids astray, or something like that, and that anger just wants to fester up in me, and I have to really pray hard, and things like that, but I guess my question is, does Paul have some good examples of how to head that off? 

Yeah, well, I think righteous anger is right in a place that we are against that which is false, and leads people astray, I mean, that's really this book of Colossians about, right? You have to be aware of those people that you're not led astray, led into captivity, taken hostage by hollow and deceptive philosophies according to the tradition of men, not according to Christ. 

So, but the way I would deal with that is, because I've dealt with that too, right? Is it my job to be against them, or is it my job to be for you, and warn you against those things, right? So if my focus is on my brother in Christ, in the Church, and warning, because Paul and Jesus said some pretty strong words, right, about those guys, but the goal, the focus is to keep that false teaching from influencing the believer, or for drawing men away from the truth and salvation. 

So then my focus is love for the lost sinner, or love for the brother, it's not hatred for the, although I think it's right to hate false teaching, right? What's Paul say? You talk about Paul controlling his anger, well, Galatians 1, 6 to 10, he says, let him be cursed to hell. I mean, is that anger? I don't know, I think it's a righteous anger. 

Or what I do, I will continue to do to prevent those from having an opportunity, right, 2 Corinthians 11, to deceive the Church. So there's a place for that, I think, too. The verse that came to mind with that comment was just, but I say, walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of your flesh, for the flesh is against, and so how do you handle it? We be led by the Spirit, because the works of the flesh are, including, you know, impurity and anger and all those things. 

So abiding and being led and controlled by His Spirit would be how we handle it on this, in our bodies on this earth right now. Right, and if you follow that down past 5.19 there and down to 22, when you get past that, Paul says, walk in the Spirit because you live in the Spirit. In other words, we are in the Spirit. 

You see, that's kind of the whole frame of thinking we have to change, is I'm not trying to please God, God is pleased with me in Christ. I'm not trying to get into the Spirit, I am in the Spirit. So Paul's argument is, this is who you are, this is where you live, therefore this is how you should walk, right? 

So in one sense I could say, Mike, I am not angry. And I may feel the emotion of anger, but I am not angry, because I am in Christ and Christ is not angry. See what I'm saying, it's starting to change the thinking about who you actually are and what you actually want. That will change your expectation and also how you live. 

That's not Norman Vincent Peale, power of positive thinking, by the way. That's truth of God's Word, that's what God says is true, the challenge is for me to believe it. 

John, would you explain a little bit more about verse 24, fill up that which is behind in the afflictions? Yeah, and you know when I started working on this text, I thought I was going to spend a lot of time on verse 24, and then I realized when I got done writing this sermon that I didn't really even mention it. 

So I thought about picking that up next week, but the reason this verse is an issue is because the Roman Catholic Church says that Christ's sacrifice wasn't sufficient, and we need to contribute to that, what was lacking. That's the doctrine of Vatican II, by the way, you can read that on my bookshelf in there if you want, but it says we need to make up what was lacking in the sacrifice of Christ through our sufferings, through our works, through all these things, okay?

So otherwise, when you look at this, Gene, as a believer, mature believer, knowing the Word in the context, what's he talking about? Anybody else want to say? I mean, in general, what's he talking about? Suffering, right? Why is he suffering? Why is he persecuted, why? Because of Christ, because of identification with Christ. 

So what it's talking about is Christ was persecuted, right, unto death, and now Jesus isn't here anymore. So who suffers? Those who are identified with Christ. So he says, I bear in my body the marks of Christ. Now, the Catholic Church says that's a stigmata, Paul had the stigmata. I mean, that's some exegetical gymnastics, right, to get there. 

So what he's saying is, I got scars. I was at Lister and Derby and stoned and left for dead. I was beaten with rods. I was wrecked, and all these things happened to me. I got all these scars on my body because of Jesus. Because the world hates Jesus, and I'm identified with Jesus, I'm bearing those scars. 

But what his point here is in the context is, I'm doing all that for your benefit. The reason I'm doing this is because I'm preaching Christ to you, I'm holding the line, I'm standing against false teaching, I'm warning and calling them out publicly and naming them like Romans 16, 17 says. 

Because just what Mike was talking about, I'm not naming them. I didn't just stand here and say the Roman Catholic Church because I hate the Roman Catholic Church. I said that because you need to know that that's false, so that you aren't drawing it, and also so you'll witness to your grandma who's in the Catholic Church, right? Because she's okay, I don't need to witness to her. Absolutely. 

So we're not talking about Jesus' propitiatory suffering, his death on the cross. What we're talking about is physical persecution because of our identification with Christ, and that's coming to Paul because the work of Jesus is not finished in the sense that the church is still being built. The believers are still growing, right? God is still putting the Gospel forth across the world. 

He's not brought all things to consummation in Christ yet, so in this process of bringing about God's will and what Jesus is continuing to do, you can look at that in the Gospels, right? This is what Jesus did, what's the book of Acts? The book of Acts is what they did to continue the work of Jesus. 

So his work was not finished in that sense, but not in the salvation sense of justification. Does that make sense? In Galatians, Paul says, you know, he's really upset with these Judaizers in Galatians, and there's a verse in there where he says, I bear in my body the marks of Christ, now leave me alone. Right? Don't question my apostleship. They're beating me every day because I'm telling the truth. That's what that verse is about. 

Okay. Any other questions or comments? Think about these things, right? Spend some time in there and think about these things, and we're going to, God willing, we'll flesh it out a little more and hopefully continue to understand it more and more and learn to apply it in our lives. 

All right? All right, you guys have a great day.