Christ in You and You in Christ (Pt. 1) | Resources
Sermon Text: Colossians 1:24–29
“Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I am completing in my flesh what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for his body, that is, the church. I have become its servant, according to God’s commission 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. God wanted to make known among the Gentiles the glorious wealth of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. We proclaim him, warning and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ. I labor for this, striving with his strength that works powerfully in me.” (CSB)
Devotional
A friend from college once told me road trips make or break a relationship. If you’re not belting out your favorite songs together, your guy clearly isn’t the guy.
A few years later, I breathed a sigh of relief when my favorite Drake song came on and realized my boyfriend could rap every word! Unfortunately, that moment of road trip bliss didn’t last long. Instead, our road trips were rough, especially after I learned he didn’t enjoy listening to loud music! I began to wonder, would road trips break our relationship?
Thankfully, my friend was wrong. That man is now my husband, and I’ve actually grown to look forward to our peaceful car rides together. He prefers to drive while I read my book or quietly chat.
On our last road trip, I shared a few difficult passages of Scripture cited in the book I was reading. For most of the drive, I scoured the internet for commentaries and cross-references and read them aloud. I read commentary after commentary, growing increasingly frustrated with my husband’s silence. Finally, he turned to me and asked, “Can we just read Scripture?”
I was flabbergasted. “That’s exactly what I’m doing! Do you want to quit trying to figure out this passage because it’s hard to understand? What do you think it means then?”
With his signature patience, he simply said, “I’m not sure, but I don’t need to understand all the mysteries of God.” I wish I could tell you I accepted this answer, but it wasn’t until later that it hit me. There is only one mystery God has revealed that stands far above the rest. That is the mystery of Christ in us. In that mystery, two sinners with entirely different preferences in how to spend a few hours on the road can be united as one body until the Lord calls us home. That is what makes or breaks a relationship.
Discussion Questions
1. How is Paul able to rejoice in his suffering?
2. How does this text challenge us to share our faith more boldly? What was Paul’s motivation to be bold?
3. How does Jesus use our suffering to spread the gospel further?
4. What does this text teach us about the gospel?
5. In light of this text, what does it look like to obey the prompting of the Spirit this week?
Memory Verse
“Every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:11