Christ in You the Hope of Glory

We'll read a few verses around that point in the chapter from verse 24.

Colossians 1 at verse 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,

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, 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.

It's really significant to note during the early centuries of the New Testament church

how some of the great statements of faith were in response to heresy.

If you take the creeds of the church, for example, back in the first few centuries,

such as the Nicene Creed in 325,

where the church council came to formulate that great creed,

along with others that you find in these early centuries,

what you'll find is that they were in response to particular heresies, heresies of the time,

whether it was to do with the Trinity or with the person of Christ or with the Holy Spirit.

The response was that the church at the time,

they came together in these councils and formulated these great statements of theology of faith

to form the creeds that we have since then.

And of course, that led on in later years to statements such as confessions of faith

that you have in the Westminster Confession of Faith

and other confessions of faith that came to be formulated as statements of the,

or a summary of the truth of scripture itself in a more comprehensive way than the early creeds did.

And you find the same thing in Paul's letters as well,

because what we're looking at this evening as part of the letter to the Colossians

is something that is Paul's response to the heresy or the false teaching

that was current in his own day,

because he was here encouraging or assuring the Colossians

as they faced that false teaching,

especially when they were facing the kind of ideas

that taught that there were upper levels of Christian experience

that they as Christians in Colossae had not yet reached,

and that they would have to go through various degrees of advancement

using certain rituals or whatever

in order to come to a more full and comprehensive understanding of the truth

and of Christian experience as well.

So, of course, that's been something the church has faced

down through the years since then as well.

And what Paul is doing,

knowing that these false teachers could very easily discourage

and perplex and cause Christians in the church in Colossae,

all these places, to defect or to just become wearied in the faith

or be so perplexed with the false teaching

that they would begin to fall in with what was taught there,

Paul is emphasizing, especially in Colossians here,

two things that are really important for ourselves.

They're not going to be our two headings for the sermon tonight,

but there are two things that run right through the letter to the Colossians.

The first is the completeness of Christ.

How Christ is complete as the Savior of sinners.

Through all that he has done, through his person and work, he is complete.

There is nothing required other than Christ has done.

There is nothing to be taken back from what Christ has done.

He is absolutely complete in addressing the needs

and providing for the needs of lost sinners like ourselves.

And the second thing alongside of that is the completeness of believers in Christ.

That's to say that when we are in Christ,

we are complete or made complete by God.

Not that there isn't still a stage of redemption to be experienced,

to be finalized in glory.

But nevertheless, in terms of our acceptance with God,

in terms of God treating us and regarding us as his people,

we are complete in Christ.

We don't need to work ourselves into any higher levels of acceptance with God.

Everything is in Christ, and in Christ we are already complete as far as God is concerned.

And that goes a great way towards countering the kind of false teaching

that the Colossians faced, that the apostles faced,

that you face in your own experience in this present day as well.

Every time you meet with something that appears to be false teaching,

different to what you find in the New Testament or in the Bible,

ask yourself the question,

is this presenting a complete Christ to me?

Is this teaching, does it entail the sufficiency of Jesus Christ as my Savior?

And as well as that, ask,

well, is this actually saying to me I need something or need to be something

other than what I am in Christ?

Do I need to have something added to my identity in Christ

as somebody that God has accepted and brought into sonship by adoption

and become part of his believing family?

These are the two great issues that we always need to confront,

and you'll always come to Paul's letters especially,

and you'll find the answer in the completeness of Christ

and your completeness in Christ.

So now he comes to assure these Christians in Colossae

that this, in fact, is what is already true of them.

He says,

Well, there's,

a whole lot of things woven together there,

and there are so many things that you need to open up

and would really bear study just to have

a couple of these phrases themselves opened up.

But let's try and keep them together.

He's talking here about this mystery,

the mystery hidden for ages,

the mystery of the riches of the glory of this mystery,

how great it is among the Gentiles.

He's obviously concerned that these Gentiles,

these non-Hebrew Christians who,

in Colossae,

came to know the gospel

and to know Jesus through the gospel.

They're not in any way behind

those of Israel,

those of the Jewish people

who had come from a long history

of God's revelation to them

to actually come to now know Christ as the Messiah.

But he's now saying these Colossian,

former Colossian Gentiles,

non-Jews,

have exactly the same level of acceptance

with God as the Jews did,

as the Christian Jews did.

And he talks here about this mystery.

What does he mean by this mystery?

The word Paul uses elsewhere as well.

We use the word mystery nowadays

in the ordinary sense of it

to indicate something that is unknowable.

It's a mystery.

You just can't understand it.

The word mystery has that meaning to it

as we normally use it.

But the word mystery in Paul's theology,

in Paul's letters,

the word mystery doesn't mean

something unknowable,

but something that was unrevealed,

but has now been revealed in Christ.

The mystery really essentially

is God's saving purpose,

God's plan of salvation,

which incorporated the Gentiles.

That's really so much an integral part

of what Paul calls the mystery,

the plan of God,

that the Gentiles were always included in the plan.

Though in the process of time,

only after Christ

and after the Holy Spirit

had come into the church,

only then were the Gentiles

incorporated through the gospel,

but it was always within God's plan.

That is the mystery.

That is the previously unknown,

but now known

and made known,

revealed by God.

In other words,

Christ himself

really is the center

of that mystery,

that now revealed plan

of God.

And you see,

it's important

that he says here

that he chose

to make known

to the saints,

the mystery hidden

for ages,

but now revealed

to his saints.

When you go back

to the Old Testament

and look at the book

of Jonah,

a great question there.

Why did Jonah

run away

from God's command

to go to Nineveh

and preach repentance

to them?

Why did he turn away,

find a ship

going in the opposite direction?

Why did he not obey

that command of God

there and then?

Well,

the answer to that

really basically

is that

for Jonah

at that time

in God's revelation,

way back

in those times,

Jonah could not

get his head

around the fact

that these heathens

in Nineveh

were going to be part

or could possibly be part

of God's plan

of salvation.

How could they be?

They were enemies

of Israel.

They weren't within

the covenant

that God made

with Israel.

How could it possibly

be that he was

being asked,

that Jonah was being asked

by this covenant

God of Israel

to go to Nineveh,

the capital of Assyria,

these cruel heathen people

and preach repentance

to them?

But that's really

the key to

God's teaching

of Jonah

that the likes

of Ninevites,

heathen people,

Gentile people,

were also part

of God's great plan

of salvation.

And as we come

to Colossians,

Paul is actually

here saying

it's to his saints

that God

has now revealed this.

That's important.

By saints,

he doesn't mean,

of course,

as we've seen already

different times,

he doesn't mean

perfect people,

he doesn't mean

unblemished Christians,

he doesn't mean

people who are just

now at the point

of going to glory

and have been made

perfect.

By saints,

he means those

sanctified in Christ,

those who are in Christ,

therefore set apart

to be God's people

in him.

and God

has made known

to them

this mystery

hidden for ages

but now revealed

to his saints.

Why is he saying that?

Because these false

teachers are saying,

you know,

you're not yet

amongst the elite.

You haven't actually

come to graduate

into the kind

of mysticism,

the kind of mystical

understanding

that we have

of what salvation is,

of how we actually

proceed into

the knowledge

of God.

That's for

a small elite group.

You have to work

your way towards that.

You have to graduate

into this small group.

No,

Paul is saying,

don't listen to that

because every single

Christian,

everybody in Christ,

all the saints

of God,

God has revealed

this mystery

to them.

They're already

incorporated

into the church

of God

in this life

and all those

have the spirit

of God,

are the saints

of God,

they have this

privilege.

And then he moves

on to speak about

the mystery

that's now revealed

but he now goes

on to speak about

the riches

of the glory

of this revealed

mystery and that's

really adding

another layer

of teaching for us.

Here he is

and he's saying

God has already

revealed this

to his saints.

There are people

who were Gentiles

who did not belong

to Israel

but now have

the same privileges

and indeed now

understand more fully

than ever before

the plan of God

and how it involved

Jew and Gentile alike.

One church,

one salvation,

one God,

one saviour.

But what does he mean

here by the glory

of this mystery?

He's not just saying

he has revealed

this mystery

and he's saying

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.

Christ

in you

is the heart

of this

mystery,

this revealed

will and plan

of God

but there are

riches to that,

riches of the glory

of this mystery,

a glory

to this mystery,

there's a glory

to it because

Christ is central

to it

because it's the

person of Jesus

that stands

absolutely foursquare

in the middle

of all of this,

everything revolves

around him,

everything's based

upon him

but he's now saying

the riches

of this glory

is Christ

in you

the hope

of glory.

Now Paul as you know

more often

than not uses

to be in Christ

is a more

frequent phrase

in his usage

than for Christ

to be in his people.

To be in Christ

is to be saved.

But here he's talking

about the other side

of things,

Christ

in you.

You go to the likes

of Galatians,

remember that wonderful

passage

where Paul

deals similarly

with Christ

in you

or Christ

in him,

Galatians 2

and verse 20

where he says

there through the law

I died to the law

that I might live

to God,

I have been crucified

with Christ,

it is no longer

I who live

but Christ

who lives

in me

and the life

I now live

in the flesh

I live

by the faith

in the Son of God

who loved me

and gave himself for me.

It's no longer

I who lives

but Christ

who lives in me.

whatever else

that means,

it means that the life,

the spiritual life

that Paul possesses

that has come about

through the knowledge

of Christ,

through Christ's blessing

of him

is now

Christ

in him

is at the center

of this

spiritual life

that he possesses.

That's through everyone

here tonight

and it's an amazing thing,

it's an astounding thing

in itself.

You'll find that Paul

also prays

for example

to the Ephesians

for the Ephesians

rather

in chapter 3

verse 17

of the letter

to the Ephesians

and it's

praying that Christ

may dwell

in your hearts

through faith

that you being

rooted and grounded

in love

may have strength

to comprehend

with all the saints

what is the breadth

and length

and depth

and height

and to know

the love of Christ

that surpasses knowledge

that you may be filled

with all the fullness

of God

but you notice there

he's saying

that Christ

may dwell

in your hearts

through faith.

This is what he's

praying for

for these Ephesians

same for the Colossians

here he's saying

this is the mystery

this is the glory

of this mystery

how great among

the Gentiles

is

are the riches

of this glory

which is Christ

in you.

which is the greater

privilege do you think

that we should be found

in Christ

or that Christ

should live

in us

well they're both

I would think

on the same level

the one's

impossible

without the other

isn't it

it can't be

in Christ

without

through the Holy Spirit

Christ taking up

residence

in us

in his heart

in each of us

believing

people

not just

amongst his people

as a gathered group

or as a church

this is talking about

Christ in us

Christ in each one of us

Christ actually

occupying

the life of his people

the soul

of his people

that's the astounding

truth that's set

before us

similar to the way

that

Jesus himself

taught in John 14

that

the father

and himself

would come

and take up

residence

or make their

abode

with the person

who believed

in Christ

who kept

his word

and that's

one of the things

I for one

fail really

so often

even to think

about properly

to dwell my mind

upon properly

the great

privilege

that it is

both to be

found in Christ

and to have

Christ in us

to have Jesus

occupying

your own life

as a place

in which he dwells

as a home

that he has made

for himself

that's really

what he's saying

to these Colossians

you know he's saying

don't feel

in any way

inferior

to the false

teachers

don't feel inferior

or as if something

is absent

from your life

when they say

you've not yet

quite made it

however much

you feel

about yourself

however much

you're still aware

of your sins

how much

you're aware

of your failings

how much

you're aware

of how far

you have to go

as far as you

can see

in terms of

your holiness

of life

Paul is saying

to you

think about this

from the moment

that you're in Christ

by faith

Christ in you

is the hope

of glory

his home

is in your heart

you're not inferior

to any false

teacher

or any heretic

that's out there

that suggests

you haven't yet

made it

you're complete

in him

and the complete

Jesus

is in you

it's so important

to hang on to that

against all

that would tend

to contradict

it or want

to contradict

it in your own

experience as well

and you know

he's saying here

the riches

of the glory

of this mystery

well this mystery

this plan

of salvation

has a glory

to it

and a glory

of course

is Christ himself

Christ in you

the hope of glory

Christ himself

is central

to the glory

of this salvation

as something glorious

and something

in which glory

has such a basic part

the Old Testament

you remember

had its own

presence of God

above the mercy seat

within the Holy of Holies

in the tabernacle

in the sanctuary

in the temple

then afterwards

and

the privilege

was given

to the high priest

alone

to go into

the Holy of Holies

once a year

the folks

on the outside

couldn't see

the cloud

the shekinah cloud

the glory cloud

above

the mercy seat

in the Holy of Holies

they knew

it was there

they were meant

to value

that presence

as the very indication

of God

being amongst them

God

in you

you might say

in the Old Testament

the hope of glory

the hope

anticipating the coming

of the Lord

well here it is

it is Christ in you

the hope of glory

the one who came

and tabernacled

among us

and we beheld

as glorious

John said

the glory

of the only begotten

of the Father

full of grace

and truth

that's the glory

that's the glory

centrally

in the New Testament

church

that's the glory

centrally

in the plan

and the scheme

of God's salvation

but you see

it's in you

it is in you

this Christ

is in you

and as Christ

is in you

so in you

is the hope

of glory

and I think

Paul is

counteracting

an idea

that may have been

we can't be sure

exactly what the form

of this false teaching

was but

it looks as if

there was some

kind of perfectionism

about it

that they've already

made it

and we're saying

to these

genuine Christians

in Colossae

you really haven't

quite made it yet

you're not like us

but Paul is saying

well

it's not yet glory

for those

who are in Christ

yes they are

complete in him

they're accepted

in him

but it's not yet

glory for them

glory is still

to come

and it doesn't

belong to this

world

belongs to the

state of glory

to the next

world

to heaven

and Paul is

saying

the hope

of that

the hope

of glory

is Christ

in you

and the Christ

in you

is the one

in whom

all the riches

of God's

salvation

already dwell

and he's in you

he's in your heart

he's in your soul

you have him

he resides

there

no one can

take him

from you

how rich

are Christians

how rich

is your

very special

salvation

how rich

are you

in Christ

well

you are as rich

as Paul is saying

here

the riches

of the glory

of this mystery

which is Christ

in you

the hope

of glory

it's not yet

possession

of glory

but it very much

is a promise

of it

that's secure

because as Christ

is already

in the hearts

of his people

so that itself

is the guarantee

that his people

will yet be

fully with him

glorified

together with him

but you see

thirdly

I want to just

mention this

before we finish

it's not just

the mystery

that's now

revealed

that had been

hidden

and it's not

just the riches

of the glory

of this mystery

which is Christ

in you

the hope

of glory

he also talks

about this

glory

being presently

active

in our present

sufferings

because all the

way through

here

in this

epistle

he talks

about

the sufferings

that are being

endured

by those

Christians

in Colossae

and

it's important

that that

hope

that we

possess

the hope

of glory

Christ

in us

is active

now

in this

world

in which

we face

tribulations

and it's

right to say

that

the sufferings

of God's

people

of the saints

of God

are unique

now that

doesn't mean

that other

people don't

go through

the same

kind

of sufferings

but it

does mean

no other

people have

these sufferings

given such

a place

in their

experience

as God

gives to

them

because he

uses them

towards their

final glory

and that's

not true

of anyone

that isn't

a saint

in Christ

and a

saved

sinner

in Christ

and that's

why Paul

is saying

that he's

rejoicing in

my sufferings

for your

sake

and

in verse

24

we already

saw in

Philippians

for example

how Paul

can rejoice

even in

prison

as he's

writing to

the Philippians

you have

the same

here

in the

epistle

to the

Colossians

as well

how can

he say

he's

rejoicing

what does

rejoicing

mean in

those

circumstances

well it

does mean

an element

of gladness

or happiness

if you like

but you

must never

leave it

at that

level

because

when Paul

uses this

word

rejoicing

as he

is here

there is

built into

it an

element

of

confidence

an element

of a

sense of

security

in Christ

if you

like

I rejoice

in my

suffering

for you

sake

he's

able to

say

I

have a

sense

of

security

through

these

sufferings

because

they're

part

of

the

sufferings

of

God's

people

and as

I belong

to that

group of

God's

people

I understand

he's saying

that my

sufferings

and your

sufferings

are not

different

in many

respects to

what God's

people have

always gone

through

and you

see this

amazing

phrase

he's

using

I

rejoice

in my

sufferings

I have

confidence

in my

sufferings

and in

my flesh

I'm

filling up

what is

lacking

in

Christ's

afflictions

for the

sake of

his body

that is

the church

now how

can he

say I

am

filling up

what is

lacking

in

Christ's

afflictions

what is

lacking

in

Christ's

affliction

how can

he mean

something

is lacking

when he's

talking about

the afflictions

the suffering

of Jesus

himself

but you

see he's

saying here

he's taking

Christ

and the

church to

be one

entity

his body

he's the

head

his people

are his

body

spiritually

and what

he's saying

here is

that that

one

entity

that one

a body

and a

head

together

have

if you

like

a

totality

of

suffering

allocated

to them

over the

course of

time

in other

words you

can't take

the

sufferings

of Christ

out of

the

sufferings

of his

people

altogether

neither

can you

take the

suffering

of his

people

as detached

from the

sufferings

of Jesus

so what

he's saying

is there

are still

some

afflictions

and will

be to

the end

of time

that will

be added

to what

the church

along with

Christ

the head

has already

suffered

and experienced

and when

that totality

is complete

the sufferings

of Christ

and his

people

together

the sufferings

of

what is

lacking

in Christ's

affliction

that is to

say the

church

will be

complete

in other

words

Paul is

using the

word

Christ

really

essentially

for the

church

itself

as

connected

to

Jesus

and all

through the

course of

time

there are

certain

afflictions

that belong

to the

church

as united

to Christ

joined to

his afflictions

as well

and Paul

is saying

that's why

I rejoice

in my

sufferings

for your

sake

because I

recognize

this is

what the

sufferings

belong

to

this is

the entity

that these

sufferings

are part

of

and therefore

I can

say

that I

rejoice

in them

that I'm

confident

that they

belong to

the saved

people of

God

so there's

the mystery

it's been

revealed

we know

what it

is

it is

that

the

Gentiles

along with

Jews

make up

the church

of God

it's not

the church

of the

Jews

and the

church

of the

Gentiles

it's

God's

church

of Jew

and Gentile

together

Ephesians

2

has that

even more

graphically

portrayed

but the

riches

of the

glory

of this

mystery

the

wonderful

riches

that belong

to being

in Christ

to being

the people

of God

and how

that is

experienced

presently

in our

present

sufferings

and through

them

we

come

to

rejoice

to

have

confidence

that as

far as

God is

concerned

and what

God is

doing

it's all

part

of his

great

plan

of

redemption

God bless

these

thoughts

on his

word

now let's

conclude

this evening

we're

singing