Paul's Ministry: Fulfilling the Word of God B

To fulfill His Word. What does that mean, to fulfill the Word of God? I think primarily it means the Word of God directly to Him that called Him into the ministry. Secondarily it means to fulfill all that the revelation of God is, to teach it all. I think what he's saying here is, I want to teach all the Word of God to all of the people that God has called me to. Welcome to Grace to You with John MacArthur.

I'm your host, Phil Johnson. Some years back, while walking on a trail near their home, a California couple spotted an old can buried under some moss. Over a thousand gold coins from the 1800s were hidden inside, treasure worth millions. Amazing to think that for years a fortune was buried and no one knew about it. Well, in a similar way, many Christians seem unaware of the astonishing riches of their salvation, the spiritual wealth that is at their disposal.

What are those riches, and how do you know if you're taking advantage of the blessings God has given you? Consider that today on Grace to You as John MacArthur continues his study complete in Christ. And here's John with the lesson. I'd like to have you turn in your Bible to the first chapter of Colossians. Now you'll notice that verse 23 ends with the word minister. Paul has said that regarding this truth about Christ that He has just spoken, He was made a minister. The term minister then triggers Paul's thoughts for the next section because in verses 24 to 29 he describes his ministry. And what I learned out of this passage was so exciting to me because really you have here the eight different aspects of the ministry of the servant of God. Eight different aspects that should characterize the life of anybody who serves the Lord Jesus Christ, anybody who is called to teach or preach or minister within the framework of Christianity.

And this brings us to the third point. We've seen the source of the ministry, the spirit of the ministry, here's the suffering of the ministry...the suffering of the ministry. He says, I'm rejoicing in my suffering because it's for use and also it fills up what is remaining of the afflictions of Christ.

Now this has really been misconstrued. There are some people who say that Christ, when He died on the cross, did not finalize all suffering. And the idea is that you have to continue to suffer and suffer and suffer and so forth in order to expiate sin. You think that's what Paul's saying?

That would be a fatal blow to what he just said. So what he just said is that Christ by the blood of His cross through His death has presented us, verse 22, through death presented you what? Holy and what?

Unblameable and what? Unreproveable through His death. So Paul is not going to unsay everything he has just said. Paul is dealing with a heresy in Colossae that's insisted that Christ's death and Christ's life had to be supplemented by asceticism in human works anyway. He's certainly not going to say that. In fact, the word for affliction here, thalipsis, is nowhere used to describe the atoning suffering of Christ. You say, well, what is he saying?

All right, let's go, let's look at it. Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you. Now this relates directly to him being a prisoner as he is a prisoner when he writes Colossians, chapter 4 tells us that as we find him in Rome and he makes certain references to his situation, we know without shadow of a doubt that he's a prisoner. But you know what was so neat about Paul, he never saw himself as a prisoner of Rome. Every time he talks about being a prisoner, he says, I'm a prisoner of Jesus Christ.

You always saw it that way. In Philemon 1, Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, Philemon 9, now a prisoner of Jesus Christ, Philemon 23, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus Epaphras. So he's always seeing himself not as a prisoner of men, not as a prisoner of the Romans, a prisoner of anybody but Christ. So he says, hey, I rejoice in my suffering for you.

Why did he rejoice? Notice, because my suffering is for you. Now the end of verse 24, it's for his body's sake which is the church. I'm suffering for your sake, for your sake.

You say, in what sense? Look at Philippians 1, 29. For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him but to suffer for his sake, to suffer for his sake. Paul says, it's not only my lot to suffer for Christ's sake but yours too. I'm going to suffer for him, you're going to suffer for him, for his sake, that means because of him. The early church, boy, they suffered, they really suffered. Paul says, I rejoice in this, I'm thrilled with it.

You say, how could a guy be thrilled about suffering? Well, I'm going to give you five little thoughts here, five causes for joy and suffering. Number one, it brings us nearer to Christ. It brings us nearer to Christ. You know, Paul wanted to get as close to Christ as he could. In Philippians 3, 10, that I may know him, the power of his resurrection and the what?

Fellowship of his what? Sufferings. You say, in what sense, John? When we suffer for the cause of Christ, that is when the world hates us, when the world persecutes us, when the world rejects us, when the world casts its slurs at us and mocks our Christ, in a sense that suffering helps us to understand what Jesus went through, doesn't it? Because in John 15 and 16, Jesus said, if they've hated me, they're going to hate you.

If I've suffered, you're going to suffer. And 2 Timothy 3, 12, all that live godly in this present age are going to suffer persecution. And so it helps us to understand more about him. It helps us, as Hebrews 13, 13 says, to go outside the gate and bear his reproach with him. So I think there's joy in suffering because it brings us nearer to the understanding of Christ. Secondly, when we suffer, it brings us the assurance of salvation. Suffering brings us the assurance of salvation in a sense. 1 Peter 4, 14, if you reproach for the name of Christ, happy are you for the spirit of glory and God rests on you. In other words, when you suffer, you have this tremendous confidence of the presence of the Spirit of God.

And that's a very assuring thing. So suffering can bring joy to the Apostle Paul and to any Christian because it identifies him with Christ, because it brings him a sense of the presence of the Spirit of God which assures him that he belongs to God. Thirdly, it brings a future reward. When you're willing to step out for Christ and be bold and speak the truth and suffer the consequences sometimes, as we all have from time to time, God promises a reward. Listen to Romans 8, 18, the sufferings of this present age are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed. Verse 17, if so be that we suffer with him, we will be glorified with him. There is a sense in which the suffering now will be rewarded in the day that we look forward to in the future.

In fact, in 2 Corinthians 4, 17, our light affliction for this moment works a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. So suffering can bring joy because it identifies us with Christ, because it brings assurance of the presence of the Spirit of God, a confidence of salvation, it brings a future reward. Fourthly, it results in the salvation of others. It results in the salvation of others. In Philippians 2, 17, he says, if I be offered as a sacrifice for your faith, I joy and rejoice. In other words, if I offer my life and you get saved, that's joy. There's a price to pay, he says, but that's all right.

The results are worth it. So we can rejoice in suffering because it brings us near to Christ, it brings assurance of salvation, it brings a future reward, and it results in salvation for others. And I think a fifth thing, I just have to throw this in, it leads to terrible frustration on the part of Satan, because he's trying all he can to whack us around and all that comes out is good results. It puts a dent in the kingdom of darkness. In Acts 9, 16, he says, how many things you will suffer for his name's sake. It will come to his glory, it will bounce back to the glory of Christ. Now, having said those five things, Colossians 1.24 adds another reason.

And this brings us right to the text again. He says, I'm not only rejoicing in my suffering because it brings me near to Christ. From other passages we gathered that. It gives me assurance of salvation, it brings a future reward, it results in the salvation of others. It frustrates Satan, but I am rejoicing because it fills up that which is remaining of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh. What he means is this, look, I am receiving in my body what is intended for Christ. This does not mean there's anything lacking in the atonement. It doesn't mean that there's some kind of short change in the value of the death of Christ. It means this, the enemies of Christ were never satisfied with what they did to Jesus.

You know that? They hated Jesus with an insatiable hate. They wanted to add to his suffering. And as soon as Jesus ascended back into heaven and he wasn't around anymore and the world hated him so much, who did the world attack? The church, didn't they? They began to persecute the church and persecute the church and persecute the church. And why were they whipping the church and burning the church at the stake and throwing the church to the lions?

Why? Was it because they hated those individual personalities? No, it was because they stood in the place of Christ and since Christ wasn't around to get, they got the people who stood in his place. That's what it means. Paul is saying this, look, the world isn't done persecuting Christ, but since he's not here, whatever is lacking in what they want to do with him, I am receiving into my body and standing in his place who stood in my place as a cause for joy. To take the blows meant for him when he took the blows meant for me makes me happy. If Jesus Christ could hang on the cross and take my sin and the punishment I deserve, I think I could take a few punches for his sake.

That's what he's saying. He says in Galatians 6 17, beautiful statement, I bear in my body the scars of the Lord Jesus. The blows that I've received have been taken because the world can't hit him. Paul says all of this for your sake for the church. All of this to win you to Christ. All of this to mature you in Christ. It's all for you.

You're the objective in this thing. I pay a price to win people to Christ. I pay a price to build the church.

He says I'm willing to make a sacrifice. In Acts chapter 20 verse 22, and now he says, I go bound to Jerusalem. I don't know what's going to befall me except the Holy Spirit tells me in every city that bonds or chains and affliction await me.

I know when I get to Jerusalem I'm going to get it. But none of these things move me neither count on my life, dear to myself, so that I might finish my course with...what? Joy. I will not allow my spirit to change because the spirit of the ministry is joy and I'm going to finish this thing with joy which I received of the Lord Jesus to testify the gospel of the grace of God. And I don't care what anybody does to me, it isn't going to change it. I'll suffer anything for the sake of the church.

That's a joy. I'm willing to build the church at any price, even the price of my own life. And one day it was true, an axe came down in the sun and severed its head from his body. He says, I endure in 2 Timothy 2, 10, I endure all things for the elect's sake that they may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus. I'll do anything to get people saved.

I'll do anything to make them grow. But after all, he said to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20, 28, you take care of this flock which the Lord has purchased with what? His own blood. And Paul always felt that if the Lord would shed his own blood for the church, Paul could shed a little of his for him too.

So he says, I'm not just a servant of the Lord, I'm a servant of the church. And I'll suffer. He cried. You know, it says in Acts 20 that he wept, that he cried over his ministry. Tears. He warned them night and day with tears.

He suffered internally as well as externally. Not just persecution, but internal anxiety over the church. What is the source of the ministry? God. What is the spirit of the ministry?

Joy. What is the suffering of the ministry? It is the willingness to go out and accept the blows from the world that are meant for Christ and rejoice in it that you're even counted worthy to do it. Fourth, and the last thing we're going to talk about, Paul presents the scope of the ministry.

This is beautiful. The end of verse 25, to fulfill the Word of God. Fantastic statement. The scope of the ministry, to fulfill the Word of God, or to give full scope to the Word of God. Paul is simply saying, I just want to do what he called me to do. What God has given me to do, I want to do it. And so I will rejoice because that's the right spirit. And I will suffer because that has to be in fulfilling the scope of the ministry. Paul wanted to fulfill it. I just read you Acts 20 where he says, None of these things move me.

I don't count my life dear to myself. I just want to finish the ministry God has given me. That's all. I just want to finish. That's the only thing he had in his mind was to finish the ministry with joy. And you know something?

He did. And that man's ministry touches the world. Do you know it's still touching the world right now through the letters that he wrote? I just want to finish the ministry. I just want to do what he called me to do, to fulfill his Word. What does that mean, to fulfill the Word of God? I think primarily it means the Word of God directly to him that called him into the ministry. Secondarily it means to fulfill all that the revelation of God is, to teach it all. I think what he's saying here is, I want to teach all the Word of God to all of the people that God has called me to. The whole world, not necessarily, but the whole word to all the world that God sends me.

I want to teach the whole word to that world that God gives me. That's exactly what he has in mind. Now, at the end of his life, in 2 Timothy 4 verse 2 and following, he kind of talks about it. When it's all over, he's just about to die. And verse 7, he says this, I have fought a good fight. I love it.

I have finished the course. I have kept the faith. You fought all the way. Oh yeah, I had to fight. It wasn't easy. And I never changed what I believed. I kept the faith. And I, what? Finished the course.

Wouldn't you like to say that? Wouldn't it have to come to the end of your life and say, God, I'm done. I can leave now. Anytime you're ready, hit the eject button.

I'm ready. I'm done. How did he do it? How did the man fulfill it? How could a man ever finish the work God gave him? How is it possible? Because he said, I just want to do one thing.

Now notice this. Fulfill the Word of God. I just want to do what he called me to do. Give the whole Word to the people he's called me to reach. Now I want to say something that's very important right here. I want you to get this. Some ministers, and I really see this, get so carried away at this point, and so can we as Christians, that they think they have to win the whole world.

I've got to fulfill it all. They're going to be all over everywhere. You know what happens? Their ministry is all over everywhere about that deep.

It never does much of anything. You know, think about it. The Apostle Paul affect the world, and he's still affecting the world. You know, the guy only took three missionary trips, right? Three. You know that all three of those missionary trips went to the same places?

A little tiny area in the Mediterranean, a little tiny area. First time, went over a little ways. Second time, same ground, step a little further.

Third time, same ground, another little further. He just said, I'd like to get to Rome, and he got there as a prisoner at the expense of the Roman government. That's all. That's all the further it went. Just three little trips, and yet the man affected the entire world.

How did he do that? The Apostle Paul says in Romans chapter 15, he says this, I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ has not wrought in me. One of my limits is I only talk about what God has done in my life.

It isn't theory. And I'll tell you something else. Verse 20, I have strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named.

I've got another limit. I only go to places that are new places for the gospel. See? Think about Jesus. You realize that Jesus never left? He stayed right in the area of Israel.

Galilee, Jerusalem, Galilee, Jerusalem, that's it. You think He had a sense of winning the world? You better believe He did, but He never left where He was. You say, but how could He reach the world if He never left where He was?

Because He knew how. David McKenna says, self-styled messiahs are megalomaniacs. Their sense of mission has no limitations short of conquering the world and conquering it now.

At the slightest signal that their efforts are being frustrated, they usually respond with rage and madness. You see, Jesus had a tremendous economy of effort. He knew how to do what He wanted to do in limitations. Now let me say this because I think it's very important and I need to hear this.

I need to remember this. Jesus limited His ministry because it isn't how broad it is, it's how deep it is. God says, you take care of the depth of it, I'll take care of the breadth of it. Look at the limits that Jesus put on His ministry. Number one limit, He says, I will only do what the Father shows me to do. Limit number one on any ministry, God's will, right? Not my will, God's will. And I'll tell you, there are all kinds of people dreaming about all kinds of fantastic things and running around doing them and God doesn't have a thing to do with it. And instead of spending their time doing what God wants them to do and God gifted them to do, they're running around doing what they want to do and usually it's megalomania.

Usually it's an ego problem when that gets too far stretched out. John chapter 5 and verse 30, that's precisely what Jesus said, that what He wanted to do was just what the Father gave Him to do. I seek not My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me. So the first limitation He put on His ministry was the limitation of God's will. Second one was the limitation of time. He had a timing limitation. How many times have you read in the gospel of John, His hour was not yet come? He had a sense of timing, that there were certain things to be done in certain times and until it was the right time and the Father's time and the Father's will, He didn't do them. He put limitations on His ministry in terms of God's will, in terms of timing. And I'll tell you one thing, when it did become the right time, it was exciting, wasn't it?

Boy, when He finally did say, My hour is come, man, it was exciting. The third limitation that He put on His ministry that I see in the Bible is the objective of His ministry. When He first came into the world in Matthew 9, 13, Matthew 10, He said, I am not come but for the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

I'm just going to talk to Jews. You say, why would He limit Himself like that? He tightened the circle of His ministry. The Father's will, a special time, a special people. He wanted to reach Jews.

I'll even go a step further. He only wanted to reach one kind of Jew. You say, what kind? I come not to seek the righteous but to bring what? Sinners to repentance. He didn't want hypocritical, super religious ones. He wanted ones who recognized their sin.

Again, the scope of His ministry is narrowed. Another thing that limited His ministry, not only the Father's will, time, particular people, but the subject. All through Jesus' ministry, people tried to pressure Him into making political statements. What do you think about Caesar?

And what did he say? Very judiciously, he avoided any political involvement and said, render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's. You see, he refused to be forced into political involvement because that was not his purpose. And I know he had strong feelings about it, but he evaded it because he had limits on his ministry. Do you know something else? He limited himself in the people that he discipled.

Mark chapter 5, he healed a maniac and after he healed the maniac, the maniac fell down at his feet and clutched him and he was clothed and in his right mind and he said, I want to go with you. Jesus said what? No. No.

You stay here, you go back to your own people. Why didn't he take it? You see, megalomaniacs, madmen, they need lots of disciples.

You see, because they need to drag them around and prove themselves. Jesus, he knew how many he could handle, he knew how many he had and that's all he wanted. He kept narrowing and narrowing and the limitations on his ministry are astounding. And yet Jesus Christ affected the world. Listen, the men who affect the world put limits on their ministry that allowed them to do it with depth. Paul goes back to the same people three times. Jesus works with the same 12 people three years and it ultimately affects the world.

Learn it, people. There is a scope to the ministry, but the scope that you're going to have in your ministry is not related to how fast you travel, it's related to how deep you plow. You worry about the depth of it and God will spread it. So Paul lays out his ministry.

The source is God. The spirit is joy. The suffering, well that's on the behalf of Christ for the sake of the church. And the scope is the whole word for the world God has called me to. And then by his spirit to extend it to the world beyond.

This is Grace to You with John MacArthur, Chancellor of the Masters University and Seminary, and today he continued his study, Complete in Christ. John, when you talk about being complete in Christ, let me ask a question that I think a lot of our listeners may wonder, especially those new believers who may be listening. Are all these riches, these spiritual blessings that you're talking about, are these things that a Christian can recognize immediately after he or she receives salvation? Well, in one sense, of course, because they're all revealed in Scripture. When you read Galatians 5, it doesn't matter how long you've been a Christian, what you read is that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control. Those are all the riches that are in Christ Jesus that are available to every believer.

But I think at the same time, there is a—can we say it this way? There is a milk level of all these truths and there is a meat level of all these truths. So that as you grow in grace, and I can speak for this personally because I've been walking with the Lord for so long, as you grow in grace, your comprehension enriches and enriches and grows greater and greater. And the depth with which you understand these things increases and increases. So it's available immediately to every believer. All the riches that are ours in Christ are immediately available to every believer because the Spirit of God has taken up residence in the believer and the deposit of those things is available to the believer from the inside and the quickening of the Spirit in the Word of God helps us to understand those riches. But at the same time, while we can access them from the moment of our salvation, lifelong learning in the Word of God will deepen our understanding of all these incredible, unsearchable riches.

And that's why Paul calls them unfathomable or unsearchable riches in Ephesians 3.8. Now I just want to mention to you the Complete in Christ Study Guide. This is the latest in our study guide. These study guides have been very popular for several generations of Grace To You listeners and we've reformatted them and they're outstanding. The current one, Complete in Christ, 250 pages of in-depth study that goes along with this series. They're great for discipleship groups, personal devotions, home Bible study, Sunday school class, whatever.

And they're affordably priced. And there's a bit of a discount if you, say, purchase 10 or more because you want to use them in your Bible study. To get started or to order more, just let us know today. Yes, and friend, when you understand all the spiritual resources God has given you, you'll experience victory over sin, strength in trials, and a life of joy. Make sure you know what it means to be complete in Christ. Pick up the new study guide by that name, Complete in Christ, when you contact us today. Call 800-55-GRACE or go to our website, gty.org. We also have study guides for John's series, Spiritual Boot Camp and The Believer's Armor. To pick up those books or the newest study guide called, Complete in Christ, call us at 800-55-GRACE or go to gty.org. And thanks for praying for us on a regular basis, encouraging folks you know to listen and strengthening our ministry through your financial partnership. This radio program is heard in Europe, South Africa, New Zealand, basically all the English-speaking corners of the globe, and many Spanish-speaking stations as well.

How does that happen? Far and away, it's because of the generosity of friends like you here in the United States. So thanks for all that you do for Grace To You, and you can express your support when writing to us at Grace To You, Box 4000, Panorama City, CA 91412. Or call us at 800-55-GRACE or go to our website, gty.org. The website address one more time, gty.org. Now for John MacArthur, I'm Phil Johnson, inviting you back tomorrow when John looks again at what it means to be complete in Christ, with another half hour of unleashing God's truth, one verse at a time, on Grace To You.