Preaching Christ

"Him we proclaim...." Colossians 1:28

Christ was the continually spotlighted element in Paul's ministry. Even if we did not have an explicit  statement telling us this, as we do here in Colossians (see also 1 Corinthians 2:2; 2 Corinthians 4:5), we would still know it to be true from what is the general tone and content of his many sermons and epistles: Christ is simply everywhere.

But why is this so for him? The Bible is a very large book, much of it not explicitly mentioning our Lord. So why was Paul's life and ministry so explicitly "Christ-focused"?

The answer is this: because the Bible itself is "Christ-focused."

Christ is the centerpiece of all God's revelation. All of salvation history moves toward Christ, and all the parts find themselves tied together in him. The whole of the biblical plot-line (if we understand the big picture), features Jesus of Nazareth as its main character. Whether explicitly (as in the Gospels for example), or implicitly (as in the Prophets for instance), in God's divine redemptive drama, Christ has the lead role.

Tim Keller expresses this truth concisely and draws out the implications of it in such a way that I think Paul would heartily agree with:

"There are two ways to read the Bible. The one way to read the Bible is that it’s basically about you: what you have to do in order to be right with God, in which case you’ll never have a sure and certain hope, because you’ll always know you’re not quite living up. You’ll never be sure about that future. Or you can read it as all about Jesus. Every single thing is not about what you must do in order to make yourself right with God, but what he has done to make you absolutely right with God. And Jesus Christ is saying, “Unless you can read the Bible right, unless you can understand salvation by grace, you’ll never have a sure and certain hope. But once you understand it’s all about me, Jesus Christ, then you can know that you have peace. You can know that you have this future guaranteed, and you can face anything."

So you think you're tough, eh?

Soon I will be making the transition from being a full-time delivery driver to a part-time church staff member. As I said yesterday, I am eager to take hold of this opportunity given me by my church, but I also possess some (I think) healthy fear: it is an awesome thing to minister in and among the flock of God, which he purchased with his own blood, and to stand before both the Almighty and before his people. It is also a difficult thing. Only a fool would think that to wage the good warfare against the world, the flesh, and the devil will take little effort, little time, and little suffering.

Because ministry is a difficult thing, then, it is no wonder that the Bible speaks often of the strength needed by the one ministering. We could turn to many places to see this, but the following three references found in First and Second Timothy are my favorite.

1.     1 Timothy 1:12

Here the emphasis is on Christ’s identity: literally, the Lord is “the one who has strengthened” Paul. In the context, the apostle is discussing his appointment to ministry. Not only, then, is Jesus the one who puts a person into ministry, he is also the one who empowers for it.  We learn in this verse, therefore, to see Christ as our strength in ministry.

2.     2 Timothy 2:1

Paul instructs Timothy in this verse to “be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” The emphasis is upon Christ as the source of power, in contrast to ourselves, who are weak. Reading on in verse 2 (and indeed in the whole epistle), we see that strength Paul is referring to is strength for Timothy to carry out his ministry. We learn here, then, to seek Christ for our strength.

3.     2 Timothy 4:17

Finally, in this verse Paul reflects upon the fact that Christ met his need for strength at a critical moment in ministry, helping him to persevere when it was most necessary. The emphasis is not so much on Christ’s identity, so much as on the fact that he was faithful to his identity in the given situation. Here, then, we learn to stand in Christ as our strength.