The Debt We Owe Paul
When one reads Paul’s words to the Gentile church in Colossae, he has a renewed appreciation for the work that Paul did and just how important it was that Gentiles become equal members with the Jews in the church Jesus established. Take time to read the closing verses of chapter one to see how Paul viewed his place in the kingdom. These same verses show the way all of us should see our place in the kingdom.
Paul saw himself as a minister of Christ who had been entrusted with a stewardship of the gospel to take the gospel to the lost (verse 25). When the church met in Jerusalem to discuss circumcision (Acts 15), the end result was that they “…saw that the gospel for the uncircumcised had been committed to me (i.e., Paul), as the gospel for the circumcised was to Peter” (Gal. 2:7). Paul devoted the rest of his life to establish the church in Gentile cities.
Paul saw that completion of his work would fully reveal that the mystery of the gospel, hidden for many generations, and would take the riches of that gospel to the Gentiles (verses 26-27). Paul was chosen by God to be the one whose work focused on getting the message to the Gentiles. When the church began, it at first did not see the gospel was for every creature. Paul’s work showed how wrong they were.
Paul saw that it was God’s will “…to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles” (v. 27). Under the Old Testament the Gentiles were described as being “…strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope” (Eph. 2:12). Look at these verses in Colossians to see how all of this changed. “Christ in in you, the hope of glory.”
Paul saw his work as preaching Christ, “warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom” (v. 28). The end result was “…that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus” (v. 28).
What does this have to do with those who are members of the church at Palm Beach Lakes? Had the early church failed to realize that Gentiles were to be part of God’s family, we would still be without hope, without Christ and separated from the promises God made. Paul did his work and now all men see that heaven’s plans include us!
One other matter. Do we not also share in Paul’s work of getting the hope of the gospel of Christ to all men? Is it not also our ministry to preach Christ, to warn every man and to teach them in wisdom? Are we not, in this respect, like Paul and our task to take the gospel into our world, and to do all we can to present every man look like Jesus, to be perfect in Christ? Paul did his work—let’s do ours!