Passage: Colossians 1:24-27
The Big Idea
The world tells us that what we need is more of ourselves. The gospel tells us something far richer: Christ in you, the hope of glory. The mystery hidden for ages is now revealed. Jesus doesn’t just live near you. He lives in you, and everything you lack, He supplies.
What’s Jesus’ Address?
Where does Jesus live? It depends on when you’re asking.
- Eternity past: heaven.
- Creation and the Old Testament: still heaven, though He visited earth now and then.
- About two thousand years ago: Jesus packed up and moved to earth. To do that, He took on a human body and was born of a woman, while still being fully God. Now He will forever be both God and man.
- The cross and resurrection: Jesus died and rose three days later. He stayed on earth another forty days. More than five hundred people saw Him alive at once (1 Corinthians 15:6). He ate with His disciples and taught them many things. His death made a way for us to be forgiven of all our sin.
- The ascension: Jesus returned home to heaven, a place with no sin, a place fit for God.
- Pentecost: Jesus eagerly sent His Spirit to live in all His believers.
So now Jesus lives in heaven and in His church. He found a way to live in our hearts and in heaven at the same time. We get heaven in us long before we ever get to heaven.
(Worst pickup line ever: “Did you fall from heaven? Because you look like Satan himself.”)
Rejoicing in Suffering (Colossians 1:24)
Paul says he rejoices in his sufferings for them.
- Paul wrote this from a Roman prison.
- He could see that his sufferings were working something good for others, so he could say they were for the Colossians and other believers.
- It was part of God’s plan. Prison gave Paul time to write letters that still feed us today.
- So he rejoiced more in God’s plan than in his own comfort.
Filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions
Paul says he is filling up in his own flesh what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of His body, the church.
The word Paul uses for afflictions is never used of Jesus’ suffering on the cross. Nothing is lacking in the cross. Many commentators see this as the ongoing hardship of ministry. Jesus is deeply moved by your life. He knows what His people go through, and He hurts when they hurt. He bears with us. He isn’t put off by us. And Paul, like any good pastor, shares in that.
A Gift to the Church (Colossians 1:25)
Paul says he became a minister according to the stewardship God gave him for them.
God gave Paul all of his ability for the church. Because God loves the church, He gave her Paul. God is a good caretaker of His church, and that’s why He gives and equips pastors: not for themselves, but for His people.
The Mystery Revealed (Colossians 1:26)
Paul’s job is to fully proclaim God’s word, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to His saints.
Pastors tend to like mystery novels. I’m thinking of writing one. Or am I?
The gospel is a divine mystery, but it’s been solved, finished and revealed through Jesus. God’s plan used to be hidden. It isn’t anymore. A pastor’s main job is to explain that plan and teach God’s grace to His people. (And who are the evangelists? Mostly you!)
So what is this grace gospel?
Christ in You, the Hope of Glory (Colossians 1:27)
God chose to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery: Christ in you, the hope of glory.
We could spend a year on this one verse.
What is the rich and glorious mystery? Jesus in you. And that brings hope, and glory, and meaning.
Why is that so rich? Why so glorious? How is it different from what the world offers?
The World’s Offer: More of You
The world offers us self-esteem, self-effort and self-sufficiency. It’s a huge industry.
In the 1980s, a California legislator named John Vasconcellos championed a state task force on self-esteem, convinced that raising people’s view of themselves would solve social problems from crime to poor grades. The idea spread through government and education. Much of the research behind it later turned out to be shaky. But a massive self-help industry grew up around it, bringing in billions of dollars a year.
It’s really nothing new. It goes all the way back to the Garden, where the serpent told Adam and Eve to think of themselves first.
Here’s the summary of what the world offers: you. What you really need is more of you. Believe in yourself. You’re enough.
But the Bible says we were dead in our sins (Ephesians 2:1). You can’t save anyone, not even yourself.
Self-esteem as a solution is a lie. Self-confidence as a savior is a deception. It’s like plugging an extension cord into itself.
God’s Offer: Jesus in You
Jesus never tells us to look inside ourselves for the solution. He becomes our solution when He comes to live inside us.
Don’t look to self for hope. That’s an empty well, a broken vending machine. Look to Jesus, who lives in you.
- All that we are not, He is.
- All that we lack, He provides.
- All that we long for, He supplies.
- All that we’re called to become, He goes to work building in us.
Jesus is in every believer. He accomplished this wonderful mystery. He made a way for the God of all glory and power to live with and commune with people. The mystery of all mysteries.
What more could we need?
- Jesus eliminates our sin.
- Jesus cleanses our guilt.
- Jesus washes away our shame.
- Jesus adopts us into His family.
- Jesus loves us, truly loves us, when everyone else fails us, when we’re unlovable, unreachable, impossible. He loves us more, better and more truly than we could ever imagine.
- Jesus chooses us.
- Jesus bears with us and accepts us.
- Jesus transforms us by His love and Spirit.
- Jesus writes His will on our hearts, so living for Him becomes our greatest desire.
- Jesus lives in us. We are His home, His resting place. His work is done through us. He’s comfortable with you. He isn’t disappointed in you.
Jesus delights to live in you. Even though we’re unworthy and incapable, He lives in us anyway.
What grace! What mercy! What glory! This is better than anything the world could offer, better than anything Satan could tempt us with. And because Jesus is better, He satisfies our deepest desires. He sets us free from temptation by overwhelming us with His love.
So What Can Death Do?
The One who created life lives in us. So what does death have to do with me? What can it threaten me with?
Our bodies may wear out and our hearts may stop beating, but death will never get its cold hands on us. Life Himself lives in us. And when this tent is no longer useful, He has a new body prepared, fit for heaven, that we’ll live in forever (2 Corinthians 5:1).
Never Need It Again
Now you know what it means: Christ in you, the hope of glory.
I’ll never need self-esteem again, because Jesus lives in me. You’ll never need to trust in yourself again, because Jesus is trustworthy, and He lives in you.
You are His love. His bride. His counterpart. Close to you wasn’t enough for Him. Near you wouldn’t satisfy His heart. The only thing that would do was to live in you. Unity. No division. No separation. You are His, and He is yours.
All His riches are yours: the riches of His love, His joy, His grace. You don’t have to hunt for them in different places. They’re all gathered in Him, and He’s in you.
What need do we have that Jesus doesn’t meet? What inner room of the heart does He not know and fill? None.
Jesus is alive, proven when He rose from the dead. And why did He rise? To fill us with Himself, pouring out His Spirit on everyone who believes. He wanted to reproduce His own life, love and heart in this world, and He did it by living in us.
I wonder how many of our problems would be solved if we truly knew and believed that Jesus lives in us. I wonder if we’d be stronger if we took time to enjoy His presence every day. I wonder what we’d discover if we went to Him every time we’re tempted, every time we have a need, every time we feel something.
A faithful Friend. A gracious Lord. A heavenly Father. A giving Shepherd. A Holy Spirit.
Two Responses
“I’ve never known all Jesus wants to give me. I’ve never had this life in me.” Then confess your need and your sin to Jesus. Believe that His life was perfect and His death was for you. Believe that He rose from the dead. To everyone who believes, He comes and lives in them. All of this will be yours.
“I’ve kind of forgotten all Jesus has given me. I’ve looked elsewhere for life. I’ve drifted. I’ve left my first love.” Come back! Jesus gave His whole life for you, and your joy will be full when you respond by giving Him yours.
Grace Takeaway
The cure for self-focus isn’t a better self. It’s a better Savior, living inside you. Christ in you is the mystery revealed and the hope of glory. Everything you lack, He is. Everything you need, He supplies.
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