“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, 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, the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints.” Colossians 1:24-26.

Colossians 1:24 above was posted on 3-7-20 it has been added here for context, this post will concentrate on Colossians 1:25-29.

Notice the repetition of Paul’s credentials posted here and earlier.

“…the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.” Colossians 1:23b.

And again he states below.

“…His [Christ’s] body, which is the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God…” Colossians 1:24b-25a.

The purpose of this repetition is to remind the Colossian believers that it was he who was called to bring the gospel of Christ to the Gentiles and as such he had the right to correct any error which had infiltrated the church.

“…when they saw that the gospel for the uncircumcised [Gentiles] had been committed to me [Apostle Paul], as the gospel for the circumcised [Jews] was to Peter (for He [God] who worked effectively in Peter for the apostleship to the circumcised also worked effectively in me toward the Gentiles), and when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that had been given to me, they gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.” Galatians 2:7-9.

“…the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints.” Colossians 1:26.

The mystery which is revealed in the next verse is not some mysterious thing like you would find in witchcraft, Rosicrucianism, or idolatrous religions and secret societies.

God’s mysteries are something which have never been revealed before, and rather than being a secret, it is meant to be taught openly.

This mystery along with those mentioned in other passages in Scripture are something known only within the Godhead and has been hidden from eternity past, before the creation of anything.

This means that no one, even angels, fallen or not, or men of any generation or time; not Abraham, not Moses, knew anything of this mystery.

Not even the fallen angel Satan, who likes to give us the impression that he sees all, knows all, knew anything about this until it was revealed, and he had no part in it.

Satan, though we as humans must never underestimate his intelligence and power, has just about played his hand out.

“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.” Colossians 1:27.

The apostle uses words like riches and glory to describe the term, Christ in you. It is unfortunate that for the Christian the indwelling of Christ in the believer has become commonplace.

Yet this is far from something commonplace, Christ in you was first of all a privilege that was bought with a price which is impossible to set a value on since it is infinite.

“He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” John 7:38-39.

Not yet glorified here means that He had not yet gone through the agony of crucifixion and the payment for sin. This is what was necessary for us to receive the Holy Spirit.

If it were possible for a believer to lose the Holy Spirit, which it is not, they would feel the difference. In the days before this, the Spirit would come upon people (not indwell them as He does now) for a period of time and then leave again, King David said this.

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me with Your generous Spirit.” Psalm 51:10-12.

The thing that makes this an entirely different concept from the past ages is that the children of Israel looked forward to Christ ruling visibly over them in the millennium.

This He will do in time, but the idea of Gentiles being indwelt by Him and co-heirs with them was inconceivable; a concept which many rejected entirely.

As for the riches of His indwelling folks tend to measure riches in terms of money, but there are spiritual riches and even things which can be measured in terms of dollars and cents that we never hold in our hand that make us rich.

“After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, ‘Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.’” Genesis 15:1, King James Version.

When I first really saw these words, “I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.” My mind immediately went to dollars and cents; will I get a high paying job, win the Lotto, buy a home, and have a new car? And some of those things have come to me in miraculous ways over time.

But those were not the real rewards from God. Things like good health, employment, good children who have accepted Christ as savior and married wonderful Christian women.

Christian sons who are now providing for their wives and children, children who are a joy to be around. In turn there are three peaceful households providing a good environment for children to grow up in.

As for dollars and cents that you never possess; count the accidents that you were nearly in, the times you should have gotten a traffic ticket and did not, the times you should have lost a job and you did not.

The jobs you got when others more qualified were ahead of you, the sales you hit unknowingly, car or home repairs that were not necessary or cost less than expected, the bills or taxes that were cancelled or reduced; you may have some things come to mind to add to this list, it can get very long.

But that is not what the verse above says is it; “I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.” It is God Himself who is our shield, and it is God Himself who is our exceeding great reward.

The things listed above are a result of a Christian, a child of God, following Christ as his mentor and example.

“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name…” John 1:12.

“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” 1 John 3:1-3.

“Do all things without murmuring and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world…” Philippians 2:14-15.

“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs – heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.” Romans 8:14-17.

If God Himself is our shield, what can we fear? There is no power greater than that of God, what forces then can avail against us?

“Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence. He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you. Only with your eyes shall you look, and see the reward of the wicked.” Psalm 91:3-8.

God is our exceedingly great reward. What more can one ask than to be seated at the feet of all power, wisdom, knowledge, and loving kindness.

When we seat ourselves before Him and study His word all superstition and falsehoods fall away, we no longer fear the unknown because most of it becomes known and the rest of it passes to the right of us or to the left of as God carries us through.

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell I the house of the Lord forever.” Psalm 23:4-6.

All of these things are part of the mystery which is Christ in you. I cannot imagine going through life without having the very real God caring for me.

Some like to call Him a crutch, but it is they who are crippled and hobbling through life alone, without hope in the world and traveling to an unknown end in a dark abyss.

Bear in mind that Christians have very real answers to prayers, whether it is for healing, housing, transportation, food or clothing, so this is not some pie in the sky by and by thing, it is a very real experiential day to day thing.

Christians also suffer terrible things in their lives, but they are not alone.

“For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.” Colossians 2:9-10.

“…this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” Colossians 1:27b.

Christ in you, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, meaning that He dwells in us.

The hope of glory is the glory that we will see and be part of when Christ comes to this earth to rule visibly and there will no longer be the mocker, those who sneer, and those who persecute.

A day when righteousness covers the earth as the sun when it rises and dispels darkness everywhere before it; and the meek really will inherit the earth.

“Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.” Colossians 1:28-29.

It is always Christ we preach because without Him there is no hope.

“Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12.

Christ cannot be preached without the warning that rejecting Him will result in eternal separation from God in hell and the lake of fire.

“And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:15.

This is called the second death.

It is the believer that is taught in all wisdom, with the intent of bringing every man and woman to the full measure of a man in Christ Jesus. Presenting them perfect (mature) in Christ Jesus.

Wisdom has been defined as the knowledge of what is true or right coupled with good judgment.

The knowledge of the truth comes from the Scriptures alone. Good judgment comes from a humble, righteous heart free of prejudices and self-importance.

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15.

Teaching every man in all wisdom, not only refers to what you teach them, but how you teach them.

“To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.” Colossians 1:29.

Paul’s labors in verse 29 are great striving which was accomplished through God’s strengthening him; may we all have such strength in serving God.

“And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ…” Ephesians 4:11-13.

Men sent to preach the gospel and equip Christians with the knowledge to use their gifts for the health of Christ’s body, the church.

Colossians 1:25-29 taken from godisrevealed.com posted on 12-29-13, updated on 3-10-20.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version, copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission, all rights reserved.