Embracing Suffering for the Growth of the Church

Summary

### Summary

In today's sermon, we delved into the profound message of Colossians 1:24-2:5, where Paul speaks about the struggles and sufferings he endures for the sake of the church. Paul emphasizes that following Jesus is not an easy path; it involves suffering, struggling, and toiling. However, this suffering is not without purpose. It is for the growth and maturity of the church, to make the word of God fully known, and to reveal the mystery of Christ, which is the hope of glory.

Paul rejoices in his sufferings because he understands that his hardships are for the benefit of the church. He likens his role to that of an older, weathered tree protecting a younger tree from the harshness of winter, allowing it to grow strong. This imagery underscores the idea that mature believers often bear the brunt of suffering to shield and nurture newer believers.

Moreover, Paul clarifies that his sufferings are not adding to Christ's afflictions in terms of salvation, which is already complete and sufficient. Instead, his sufferings are an extension of Christ's sufferings, as he is part of the body of Christ. When one part of the body suffers, Christ suffers with it. This shared suffering brings a unique nearness to Jesus that cannot be experienced otherwise.

The sermon also highlighted the importance of community and unity in the body of Christ. We are called to suffer together, to be knit together in love, and to work towards the maturity of every believer. This communal suffering and striving are essential for fully understanding and knowing Jesus.

Finally, the sermon called us to action, urging us to leave behind complacency and isolation, and to work together for the maturity of everyone in Christ. It reminded us that Jesus is worth every struggle, every tear, and every joy, and that our ultimate goal is to make Him known and to present everyone mature in Christ.

### Key Takeaways

1. Suffering for the Sake of the Church: Paul rejoices in his sufferings because they benefit the church. He likens himself to an older tree protecting a younger one, emphasizing that mature believers often bear suffering to shield and nurture newer believers. This sacrificial suffering is a vital part of the Christian journey. [49:37]

2. Christ's Suffering is Sufficient: Paul's sufferings do not add to Christ's afflictions for salvation, which is already complete. Instead, his sufferings are an extension of Christ's sufferings, as he is part of the body of Christ. This shared suffering brings a unique nearness to Jesus that cannot be experienced otherwise. [51:00]

3. Purposeful Suffering: Followers of Jesus suffer for a purpose. Paul's sufferings are to make the word of God fully known and to reveal the mystery of Christ, which is the hope of glory. This purposeful suffering is essential for the growth and maturity of the church. [57:15]

4. Community and Unity in Suffering: We are called to suffer together, to be knit together in love, and to work towards the maturity of every believer. This communal suffering and striving are essential for fully understanding and knowing Jesus. [01:17:43]

5. Call to Action: The sermon urges us to leave behind complacency and isolation, and to work together for the maturity of everyone in Christ. Jesus is worth every struggle, every tear, and every joy. Our ultimate goal is to make Him known and to present everyone mature in Christ. [01:28:51]

### YouTube Chapters

[0:00] - Welcome
[40:13] - Introduction to Colossians
[41:19] - Paul's Suffering for the Church
[43:06] - The Hardship of Following Jesus
[45:30] - Jesus is King
[46:03] - Rejoicing in Suffering
[48:00] - The Two Trees Analogy
[49:37] - Suffering for the Sake of the Church
[50:15] - Christ's Suffering is Sufficient
[51:52] - Shared Suffering with Christ
[57:15] - Purposeful Suffering
[01:00:12] - The Mystery of Christ
[01:09:27] - Maturing in Christ
[01:17:43] - Community and Unity in Suffering
[01:28:51] - Call to Action
[01:32:02] - Response and Worship

Study Guide

### Bible Study Discussion Guide

#### Bible Reading
- Colossians 1:24-2:5

#### Observation Questions
1. What does Paul mean when he says he rejoices in his sufferings for the sake of the church? ([41:19])
2. How does Paul describe his role in making the word of God fully known? ([41:50])
3. What analogy does Paul use to explain his suffering for the church, and what does it signify? ([48:00])
4. According to Paul, what is the mystery that has been revealed to the saints? ([41:50])

#### Interpretation Questions
1. Why does Paul emphasize that his sufferings do not add to Christ's afflictions for salvation? How does this understanding affect our view of suffering? ([50:15])
2. How does the imagery of the older tree protecting the younger tree help us understand the role of mature believers in the church? ([48:00])
3. What does it mean to be "knit together in love" in the context of communal suffering and striving for maturity in Christ? ([01:17:43])
4. How does Paul’s struggle and toil for the maturity of the church reflect the purpose of suffering in the Christian journey? ([57:15])

#### Application Questions
1. Paul rejoices in his sufferings because they benefit the church. Reflect on a time when you faced hardship for the sake of others. How did it impact your faith and the faith of those around you? ([41:19])
2. The sermon calls us to leave behind complacency and isolation. What steps can you take this week to engage more deeply with your church community? ([01:28:51])
3. Paul talks about being "knit together in love." Identify one person in your church community you can support or encourage this week. How will you do it? ([01:17:43])
4. The sermon emphasizes that Jesus is worth every struggle and tear. How can this perspective change the way you approach your current challenges? ([01:28:51])
5. Reflect on the idea that mature believers often bear suffering to shield and nurture newer believers. How can you take on a mentoring role in your church to support younger Christians? ([48:00])
6. The sermon urges us to work together for the maturity of everyone in Christ. What practical steps can your small group take to foster spiritual growth and maturity among its members? ([01:28:51])
7. Paul’s sufferings are described as an extension of Christ's sufferings. How can you find comfort and strength in knowing that Jesus suffers with you in your trials? ([51:52])

Devotional

### Day 1: Suffering for the Growth of the Church

Paul's sufferings are not in vain; they serve a greater purpose for the church. He likens himself to an older tree that shields a younger one from the harshness of winter, allowing it to grow strong. This imagery highlights the sacrificial nature of mature believers who endure hardships to protect and nurture newer believers. This kind of suffering is a vital part of the Christian journey, as it contributes to the growth and maturity of the church. Paul rejoices in his sufferings because he understands that they benefit the church and help make the word of God fully known. [49:37]

Colossians 1:24 (ESV): "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."

Reflection: Think of a time when you faced a hardship that ultimately benefited someone else in their faith journey. How can you embrace current or future sufferings with the mindset that they may serve a greater purpose for the growth of the church?

### Day 2: Christ's Suffering is Complete

Paul makes it clear that his sufferings do not add to Christ's afflictions for salvation, which is already complete and sufficient. Instead, his sufferings are an extension of Christ's sufferings, as he is part of the body of Christ. This shared suffering brings a unique nearness to Jesus that cannot be experienced otherwise. When one part of the body suffers, Christ suffers with it. This understanding helps believers to see their sufferings in a new light, knowing that they are not alone and that their pain is shared with Christ. [51:00]

2 Corinthians 1:5 (ESV): "For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too."

Reflection: Reflect on a current struggle you are facing. How does knowing that Christ shares in your suffering change your perspective on this hardship?

### Day 3: Purposeful Suffering

Followers of Jesus are called to suffer for a purpose. Paul's sufferings are aimed at making the word of God fully known and revealing the mystery of Christ, which is the hope of glory. This purposeful suffering is essential for the growth and maturity of the church. It is not suffering for the sake of suffering, but suffering with a divine purpose that leads to spiritual growth and the spread of the gospel. Understanding this can help believers to endure hardships with a sense of purpose and hope. [57:15]

2 Timothy 2:10 (ESV): "Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory."

Reflection: Identify a specific area in your life where you are experiencing suffering. How can you see this suffering as part of God's purpose for making His word known and for your spiritual growth?

### Day 4: Community and Unity in Suffering

We are called to suffer together, to be knit together in love, and to work towards the maturity of every believer. This communal suffering and striving are essential for fully understanding and knowing Jesus. When believers come together in their sufferings, they create a strong, unified body that can withstand hardships and grow in faith. This unity in suffering helps to build a supportive community where each member can find strength and encouragement. [01:17:43]

Galatians 6:2 (ESV): "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ."

Reflection: Think of someone in your church community who is currently suffering. How can you come alongside them to share in their burden and offer support and encouragement?

### Day 5: Call to Action

The sermon urges believers to leave behind complacency and isolation and to work together for the maturity of everyone in Christ. Jesus is worth every struggle, every tear, and every joy. The ultimate goal is to make Him known and to present everyone mature in Christ. This call to action challenges believers to actively participate in the growth and maturity of the church, to step out of their comfort zones, and to engage in the communal life of the body of Christ. [01:28:51]

Hebrews 10:24-25 (ESV): "And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near."

Reflection: What is one specific step you can take this week to move out of complacency and engage more deeply in the life of your church community? How can you contribute to the maturity of others in Christ?

Quotes

1. "Following Jesus is hard. It's not easy. Now he doesn't say that exactly like he did, I don't have a verse that says, Paul said, following Jesus is hard. But the idea here is that the words that he's using in this passage and the things that he's talking about, like suffering, struggling, toiling, all for Jesus, it's hard, because those are things that are with the idea of following Jesus. And suffering and struggling, it's hard. It's not something that we typically want to go through." [43:06] (31 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

2. "Jesus is King. And not only is Jesus King, he is the reason for all things. He's the point of it all. He's the center of it all. And so there's nothing that happens anywhere, at any time, that happens outside of his voices, outside of his supremacy, because he is King. And we have to do that. We have to keep that as centered in our vision. We have to have that in common. Because if we forget that, that Jesus is King. Well, then all of a sudden, we're suffering, and we lose hope. And we forget that fundamentally, that we are not alone." [45:30] (44 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

3. "Followers of Jesus suffer with Jesus. Followers of Jesus suffer with Jesus. Now, with Jesus is important. So let's look back in chapter 1, verse 1. He says, Now I rejoice in my suffering. Let's have joy again. Because of suffering. He rejoices in his suffering. That's a really key thing that Paul kind of expands on in a lot of different places, and it's something that we see is pretty true for followers of Christ. We can rejoice in our suffering. But let's talk about what that means. It doesn't mean that Paul enjoys suffering. He's not asking for it. He's not saying, I know it feels good, the suffering that's on my way. It's quite the contrary." [46:03] (58 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

4. "Paul rejoices in his suffering because in his mind, he is suffering for the sake of the church. He is taking that onto himself. He is to suffer for the body. That's kind of a really important thing for him. And it might be a little bit hard for us to picture it, but I've got an image to help you figure this out. Maybe think about it a little bit. I want you to imagine two trees. Now, if you've heard of them. But I want you to imagine there's two trees. One is kind of an older, weathered, you know the kind of thing I'm talking about? This is the kind of tree that I was a little boy. And then, next to that tree, imagine there's a little smaller tree. Now, I want you to imagine those trees. I want you to imagine that they're heading into autumn. So, those trees are heading into autumn. And that older, weathered tree, I want you to see a little attention. You're going to suffer. It's not going to be great. It's going to be kind of hard." [47:26] (83 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

5. "Paul paints us this picture of Jesus identifying with us in our sufferings and we identify him. We suffer together. When Paul is suffering for the sake of the church, he is filling up what is lacking in Christ's affliction for the sake of his body. He is suffering with Jesus. Jesus is suffering with him. So that means that when we suffer for the sake of the gospel, when we endure persecution, rejection, ostracization because we follow Jesus, when people make assumptions about us, when they lie about us, when they spread rumors about us, when we lose promotions or friendships or family members, all for the sake of Jesus, for the kingdom of God, we do not do that alone. We do it by ourselves." [51:52] (46 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

6. "Followers of Jesus suffer for a purpose. We suffer for a purpose. It's not meaningless suffering. It's not like you're not suffering just to suffer. There's a point. So let's read a little bit further. In verse 25 he says. Of which meaning the body Christ. The church. Of 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. So here's the idea. Paul identifies himself as a minister of the gospel. According to the direction. The stewardship of God. For the sake of the church. And for the sake of this church in Colossae. So meaning that you know. Paul knows that he's sent to the Gentiles. And for a reason. So why is Paul suffering for their sake? Why is he a minister of the gospel? To make the word of God fully known. That's it. We can go home. Not really. Don't worry. We have some more to talk about. All this suffering. All this work. All this toil. Is for this purpose. So that this church might fully know the word of God." [57:15] (75 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

7. "There is a hope of glory. A hope of high renown in you and in me as we follow Jesus. And it is Jesus. He is our hope. He is our glory. He is all the things. He is this great mystery. That generations of people searched the scriptures and couldn't find the answer until he came. We have to think about that. That from the conception of God's people in the nation of Israel. He told them. One will come. One will rise up. And he will lead you to me. And he will make me known among the Gentiles. And so generations for hundreds of years. Scholars and studiers of the prophets and of the law. They were searching for the answers. And they were trying to figure it out. And when Jesus finally showed up. They didn't know what it meant. And they couldn't figure it out." [01:00:12] (49 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

8. "Jesus is king. And I know that we're American. Or we're in America. And we don't get what that means. Because we have a president. We get to vote for them every four years. We don't like when we vote for the other person. And hope or figure it out. We don't get to vote Jesus out. He's not going anywhere. He's the king. For all eternity. Not only is he the king. He is the king of kings. He is the lord of lords. He is the center of creation. He is the highest and the one. He is the point of it all. And to be a minister of the gospel. To follow him and tell others about him. That means something. Because that's why Paul tells them. That he proclaims Jesus." [01:04:15] (44 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

9. "Followers of Jesus mature through three things. The first one, Paul says, is through proclaiming the gospel. Him we proclaim. A proclamation or to proclaim means you tell people. You have to be told the gospel and you have to tell others the gospel. We proclaim, not just the gospel, but we proclaim who Jesus is because that is the gospel. The gospel is the story of Jesus. And it's us recognizing who Jesus is. So maturity in Christ, that growing up in him, comes from proclaiming the gospel. The second one is we warn everyone. Warning is not a fun word. It's not something that we want. Because you don't want to receive it and you don't want to give it. But let me tell you something. Followers of Jesus mature through the warning that comes from the gospel. That warning is the correction and the admonition of other believers in the spirit of God when we stray. If you're going to mature in Christ, you need people who can help course correct you. You've got to course correct. Because let's face it, we're all human. We can move our eyes around. We can get distracted. Not only that, we can think that what we're doing is right. We can convince ourselves of that. We can say this is right. I should be doing this. But you need other people to warn you. You need the gospel to warn you about what is actually right. That's where maturity comes from. Through recognizing that warning and listening to it. And then finally, the maturity in Christ comes through teaching. It comes through teaching everyone. And we know exactly what to teach because Jesus told us in Matthew 28 right as he was getting ready to go back to heaven and ascend. He tells them to teach everyone to obey all that I've commanded you. It's not about knowing the Bible or knowing the scripture. It's the obedience factor." [01:08:53] (60 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

10. "Followers of Jesus suffer together. We suffer together. It's an important thing. Because just as we said that Jesus suffers with us, we are not alone. As his body, as his church we suffer together. Look at me beginning in chapter 2 verse 1. For I want you to know how great a struggle, how great an agony I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face. So I'm going to pause right there and give us some context. There was this whole valley basically in modern day Turkey where all of these churches were. Where all these little cities were. And what happened was really cool. Paul's in Ephesus. He makes some disciples. They get sent out. They multiply. And now they're starting to plant churches all down this little valley in all these different places. Paul's never been there. He doesn't know them. If he showed up he wouldn't know who they were. And so I think for Paul it's probably a little crazy because up to this point he's been the dude. He's the guy who shows up in town. He knows who the first followers of Jesus are. But he doesn't know them. But he's still struggling for them. He's agonizing for them. And look at what he says. I'm struggling for all of these people that their hearts may be encouraged being knit together in love to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery which is Christ in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." [01:15:41] (92 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

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Transcript

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