II. Man’s final blessedness depends upon his unchanging adherence to the Gospel hope.—1. The Gospel reveals a bright future. It inspires the hope of the resurrection of the body, and of the glorification of it and the soul together in the eternal life of the future. Faith and hope are inseparably linked together; they mutually succour and sustain each other; they rise or fall together. Hope is the unquestioning expectation of the fruition of those things which we steadily believe. It is compared to an anchor, which, cast within the veil, fastened and grounded in heaven, holds our vessel firm and steady amid the agitations and storms of life’s tempestuous sea. The Gospel is the only source of genuine, deathless hope; all hopes grounded elsewhere wither and perish.
2. The Gospel to be effectual must come in contact with the individual mind.—“Which ye have heard.” Epaphras had declared to them the Divine message. It had been brought to them; they had not sought it. Having heard and received the Gospel, to relinquish its blessings would be inexcusable and ungrateful. In some way, either by direct preaching or otherwise, the Gospel must come to man. There is no power of moral reformation in the human heart itself; the germinant principle of a better life must come from without; it is conveyed in the Gospel word.
3. The Gospel is adapted to universal man.—“Which was preached to every creature which is under heaven.” Already it had spread into every part of the then known world, and its power was felt in every province of the Roman empire. The fine prophetic instinct of the apostle saw the universal tendency of the Gospel, and, in spirit, anticipated the fulfilment of its generous mission. His motive is to emphasise the universality of the unchangeable Gospel which is offered without reserve to all alike, and to appeal to its publicity and progress as the credential and guarantee of its truth. It is adapted to all men; it proclaims its message in all lands and is destined to win the world to Christ. The faith and hope of the believer are based, not upon the uncertain declarations of false teachers, but upon that Gospel, which is unchangeable in its character and universal in its appeal and adaptability to humanity; a strong reason is thus furnished for personal steadfastness.
4. The Gospel invested the apostle with an office of high authority.—“Whereof I Paul am made a minister.” Paul participated in the blessings of the Gospel; he had felt its transforming power, and from his personal experience of its preciousness could, with the greater assurance and force, exhort the Colossians to continue in the faith. But in addition to this the Gospel was committed to the apostle as a sacred trust and for faithful ministration; and while dwelling on the broad charity of the Gospel as involving the offer of grace to the Gentiles, he is impressed with the dignity and responsibility of his office as he interjects, somewhat abruptly, but with exquisite modesty, the words, “Whereof I Paul am made a minister.” It has been said of man that he is the priest and interpreter of nature; that it is his function to observe and test phenomena and interpret the laws that govern the material world. Another writer has said that “man is the organ of revelation for the Godhead.” God can find no adequate form of revelation for Himself in the impersonal forces of nature; only through a being in His own image can He unfold to the universe His adorable character. But the highest office to which man can be elevated is to be a ministrant of Gospel light and grace to his fellow-man.
5. There is an implied possibility of relinquishing our hold of the Gospel hope.—“Be not moved away from the hope of the Gospel.” The words do not necessarily imply doubt, but suggest the necessity for constant circumspection, vigilance, and care. The multiplicity and fulness of our blessing may prove a snare to us; prosperity tempts us to relax watchfulness, and we are in danger of becoming a prey to the wiles of the wicked one. Our retention of the Gospel hope is rendered immovable by constant waiting upon God in fervent prayer, by a growing acquaintance with the Word of promise, by continually anticipating in thought the bliss of the future.
Lessons.—1. The Gospel provides the surest basis for faith and hope. 2. Man’s ultimate blessedness depends on his continued fidelity.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE 24.
The Joy of Suffering for the Church.
A stolid indifference to suffering and a heroic endurance of the same were not unknown to the ancient pagans; but it is Christianity alone that has taught us to rejoice in afflictions; it supplies an ecstasy of emotion that renders us oblivious for the time being of encompassing trials. The apostle, as he pondered over the mighty work of reconciliation, and as he caught a glimpse of the amazing extent of Divine mercy, could not but rejoice even in his sufferings. In this verse he expresses his joy that, in suffering for the Church, he supplements that which was lacking in the afflictions of Christ. Observe—
I. The representative character of the apostle’s sufferings.—1. The apostle represented the suffering Saviour. “The afflictions of Christ.” We are not to suppose that the sufferings of Christ were incomplete in themselves or in their value as constituting a sufficient atonement. The passion of Christ was the one full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction for the sins of the whole world. In this sense there could be no deficiency in Christ’s sufferings, for Christ’s sufferings being different in kind from those of His servants, the two are incommensurable. Neither the apostle nor any other could represent the expiatory and sacrificial aspect of the Redeemer’s sufferings. But while His personal sufferings are over, His afflictions in His people still continue. He so thoroughly identifies Himself with them that their trials, sorrows, persecutions, and afflictions become His own. The apostle represented the suffering Saviour in what he endured for Christ and the Church. Thus, he declared to the Corinthians, “The sufferings of Christ abound in us.” The Church to-day is the representative of the suffering Saviour, and so completely is He identified with His people that He endures in them the pangs of hunger and thirst, shares their sickness and imprisonment, and reckons every act of kindness done to them as done to Himself (Matt. xxv.).