Colossians 1:24-29
Colossians 1:24-29
New King James Version (NKJV)
Sacrificial Service for Christ
24 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, 25 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, 26 the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. 27 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. 28 Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. 29 To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.
My Thoughts:
- So let’s start with (v. 24) we read “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,”
- “afflictions of Christ” it seems that Paul knew that Jesus identified with the people through their suffering so Paul is saying that through their suffering they too are experiencing the afflictions of Christ.
- Paul also seems to rejoice in this persecution, as Christians we must pick up the cross just as Christ bared for us. We see Jesus telling us that we must do this as well in (Matt. 8:34-35).
- In (v. 28) we read “Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.”
- Paul is addressing the false teaching of others and telling everyone not just the elite few that there is a place in the Kingdom of God for all.
- Let’s finish with (v.29) “To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.”
- Paul is testifying to the power of Christ and how it can work in all men, and he is using himself and an example as well.
Thought of the Day
“Boast not in what you do for Christ, but in what Christ does for you.”
When John became a salesman in a well-known insurance company years ago, his aim was to work effectively in his firm without compromising his Christian integrity. But there were those who considered him naive. In their view, one could possess either job security or Christian integrity not both.
But John did not waver in his commitment to be a godly witness in the business world. Although he was in a job that required accurate calculations, he had a weakness when it came to simple arithmetic. This forced him to depend more on Christ in everything, which enhanced his witness.
John eventually became the company’s top salesman, and God used him to win many colleagues to Christ. Later, as a branch manager, John and his team became the company’s largest branch worldwide all without compromising Christian integrity.
Are you striving to live and work without compromise in a tough place? Are you doing your best, but your best is not enough? Colossians 1:29 reminds us that dependence on God’s mighty power within us is what makes us effective. John, the businessman, summed it up like this: “God helps me do better than I can!” He will do the same for you. —Joanie Yoder
Savior, let me walk beside Thee,
Let me feel my hand in Thine;
Let me know the joy of walking
In Thy strength and not in mine. —Sidebotham
Personal Reflection and Discussion
- What do think Paul meant in (v. 25)?
- What do think Paul meant in (v. 26)?
- What other things do you see in the text?
Prayer Activities
- Call your Partner and discuss this devotional.
- Continue to have a prayer list and continue to praying for them.
- Pray with them and ask for the following;
- For God to be with you during your time of suffering.
- For God to strengthen our faith.
- For the individuals on your pray list.
- Let’s use (Isaiah 43:10) for today’s prayer verse.
About bobh6
40 Days of study 
It is our duty of love to work warning and making known, through all wisdom, Christ’s work for us (those formally enstranged to Him), and His suffering, to reconcile us to the Father as innocent from sin; to an everlasting life. God is pleased to see us reflect Him and His love and even his suffering to those around us. It seems strange that a Loving God would rejoice in our suffering…but He does because He sees things in full specturm, from the begining to end, from inside out. The love, source, motivation and effect of such love is what brings rejoicing to God and all heaven. The proof of Christ in us is evident in such service. Not only does God rejoice, but we should also. We could only rejoice when we look at it as God does. Praise God for all who have worked, suffered and died for my freedoms and oppounities and readily avalible knowledge we commonly share. Just think in what darkness we would of still been in, and even darker now, if the reformation didn’t take place. There is still a work to be done…and a reformation still to come with the outpouring of the latter rain.
Ellen White wrote in {Steps to Christ p64}
He desires to restore you to Himself, to see His own purity and holiness reflected in you. And if you will but yield yourself to Him, He that hath begun a good work in you will carry it forward to the day of Jesus Christ. Pray more fervently {eagerly}; believe more fully.
My brain is not working today. Unfortunately I am not being funny, it simply is not working. I have prayed over these scriptures and asked for help and have studied them and cannot put to sentences together that make sense so please bear with me. My study bible goes on and on about first born and what all that means for verse 25. I don’t see the connection there so I won’t even try.My study does say, however that these verses are still part of a hymn. It emphasises the superiority of Christ over all creation. This idea was to contradict the false teachings that were coming up in the colossian church. These teaching were the beginning of the Gnostics who believe that angelic beings were the creators of earth. These teaching are still out in the world today what with shows like “Touched by an Angel”. I watched that show when it was on tv. I thought at the time that it was great. It talked about God, had no sex, not much violence no cussing. Only now do I see that it was not what we thought. Not enough emphasis on God, not biblically correct and way to much power for the angels. We must always remember ” All things were created through Him and for Him”.
I have seen that show and never looked at it that way, something to think about.