Toil for Your Church’s Maturity in Christ
Editor’s Note: This article was originally a sermon preached by Matt Cohen at our OneNineAlliance Lunch Gathering during Alliance Council 2025. It has been lightly edited for readability.
Matt Cohen
Colossians 1:24–29 reads,
Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God 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. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.
I am a big believer in reminders. Reminders are powerful. For example, I have an alarm on my phone set to go off twice daily to remind me to think about my eternal hope in Christ and adjust my emotions accordingly. It’s not that twice a day I discover fresh insights that I have never learned about my eternal hope. Rather, the alarms stir me up in what I’ve already learned, but need to be reminded of. In 2 Peter 1:13, the Apostle Peter writes, “I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder.” My aim isn’t necessarily to teach you anything new, but, like my alarms, to stir you up by way of reminder. More specifically, my aim is to stir you up by reminding you why God has given you as servants to your churches.
The reason why I feel comfortable using Colossians 1:24–29, which is autobiographical of Paul, to stir you up by reminding you of why God has given you as a servant to your church, is because of the word Paul uses to describe himself in verse 25. Did you notice it? “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, of which I became a minister” (Col 1:24-25a). That word “minister,” or servant (diakonos), is different from the word Paul often uses to describe himself, which is apostle. Apostle is a more exclusive group of men who were directly commissioned by the risen Christ to speak for him. In Colossians, Paul only refers to himself as an apostle. On the other hand, throughout Colossians, Paul uses this word “minister” more liberally. He calls himself a minister, he calls Epaphras, who planted the church, a minister, and he calls a Christian leader who we know very little about, a man named Tychicus, a minister. Here is my point: In our passage, Paul is talking about why God gave people like him, people like Tychicus and Epaphras, and people like you as ministers or servants to the church.
Why has God given you as ministers - servants, pastors, official workers, and Christian leaders - to your churches? The answer is in Colossians 1:28–29, “Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within us.” That brings us to the big idea of our passage: Toil for your church’s maturity in Christ. God made you ministers to toil for your church’s maturity in Christ. What a privilege! How do you do it? How do you toil for your church’s maturity in Christ? I am going to state what I believe is the answer from our passage, and then we’ll unpack it in three parts, three points. How do you toil for your church’s maturity in Christ? Ministers rejoice in their suffering to make Christ fully known to their church, struggling with all His energy.
Ministers Rejoice in Their Sufferings (24–25)
“Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known” (Col 1:24–25). Let’s not rush past Paul’s statement that he rejoices in his suffering. What do you do when you face trials of various kinds? If you’re anything like me, you get angry in your suffering. Others of you are depressed and discouraged in your suffering. Still others are anxious and irritable in your suffering. Paul rejoices in his suffering. Why? Because suffering is meaningful. Paul rejoiced because his suffering was for the sake of the church. Specifically, his suffering was filling up what was lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of the church’s maturity.
Of course, Paul doesn’t mean that Christ’s sinless life, his atoning death on the cross, and his victorious resurrection and ascension are somehow insufficient to save his people from their sins. Rather, as NT Scholar Kevin McFadden explains, “…he means that the risen and ascended Christ is currently using ministers suffering ‘in the flesh,’ like Paul and Epaphras, to bring the church to full maturity (Col. 1:28; 4:12; cf. 1:22).” The ESV Study Bible says, “What was ‘lacking’ in Christ’s afflictions was the future suffering of all who (like Paul) will experience great affliction for the sake of the gospel.” Think of Paul filling up what is lacking in Christ’s affliction a bit like how a master chef and a simple waiter work together in a restaurant. A waiter fills up what is lacking in the master chef’s cooking, not because there is any defect in the dish. Rather, he fills up what is lacking in the cooking in that he labors to deliver the perfectly prepared dish to the table. In a similar way, Paul rejoiced in his suffering because his suffering was the means that the risen Christ used to mature his church (to bring the dish to the table).
Suffering is simply a part of the path that ministers have to go through in order to make Christ fully known to their church. But we rejoice in our suffering because the destination - presenting you mature in Christ - is so glorious. Think of rejoicing in your suffering for your church’s maturity this way: One of the benefits of living in Philadelphia (where I live) is we’re a relatively short drive from the beach. The beach is a wonderful destination, just like presenting your church mature in Christ is a wonderful destination. Almost everyone likes being at the beach. However, to arrive at the beautiful Jersey Shore you have to endure the suffering of driving through New Jersey. It’s just part of the deal. But as unpleasant as driving through New Jersey is, you can rejoice in the traffic because you know the suffering is purposeful: This is how you get to the shore. In the same way, you can rejoice in all the trials you endure on the way to presenting your church mature in Christ because the destination is so glorious.
Honest question: How are you presently responding to the suffering and struggle involved in toiling for your church’s maturity in Christ? You can rejoice in it because it’s not meaningless. It’s not meaningless, it’s the means that the risen and ascended Christ is currently using to bring your church to full maturity. So, let’s get specific. When you struggle in prayer for your people’s maturity against the world, the flesh, and the Devil, and prayer for them is difficult to sustain and spiritually exhausting, you can rejoice in your suffering, because it’s the means the risen and ascended Christ is currently using to bring your church to full maturity. When writing a biblically faithful, Christ-exalting, and pastorally applicable sermon feels like the suffering of giving birth each week, first, never use that analogy with your wife, and second, rejoice, because it’s the means the risen and ascended Christ is currently using to bring your church to full maturity. When you struggle and weary yourself counseling yet another couple that can’t agree on anything except that you’re a bad pastor, you can rejoice, because it’s the means the risen and ascended Christ is currently using to bring your church to full maturity. Whatever suffering and struggle you’re experiencing in the path of proclaiming all of Christ for all of life to all your church - whether that’s financial struggle, family struggle, a struggle with your own sin or sense of inadequacy, or an emotional struggle - you can rejoice, because it’s the means the risen and ascended Christ is currently using to bring your church to full maturity. Rejoice, because it’s the New Jersey that you have to go through in order to make Christ fully known to your people and to arrive at the destination of presenting your people mature in Christ on the last day. Toil for your church’s maturity in Christ, first, by rejoicing in the suffering you must go through to make Christ fully known to them. Let’s turn now, secondly, to what it means to make Christ fully known to our churches. Toil for your church’s maturity in Christ. How? Ministers rejoice in their suffering…
To Make Christ Fully Known to Their Church (25–28)
When I was five years old, my parents enrolled me in gymnastics. Gymnastics is an incredibly technical, complicated sport. So, when I retired from gymnastics at twenty-two, for a time running became my primary form of exercise. I loved the simplicity of it. In a race, the destination is the finish line, and the means of getting there is putting one foot in front of the other over and over again. For ministers of the church of Jesus Christ, the maturity of our people is the destination, and the means of getting there is making Christ fully known to your people. We proclaim him in sermons, in counseling sessions, in discipling relationships, in the songs we sing, in the ordinances, and in every ministry we plan and organize. Wherever our people need greater maturity, Christ is what they need. To reach the finish line, a runner needs to keep running. To reach maturity in Christ, our people need us to keep making Christ fully known to them, from one end of the Bible to the other. Where am I getting that from in our passage?
“Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known” (Col 1:24–25a). What does Paul mean by this phrase, “the word of God”? Of course, the whole and every part of the Bible is the sufficient, clear, authoritative, and necessary word of God. However, that’s not precisely what Paul has in mind. What does he mean?
Colossians 1:25b-27, “to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” The mystery that was dimly lit in the Old Testament, but has now been revealed to the saints, is that through union with Christ through faith, all people, Jewish and Gentile people, can have the certain hope that they will inherit the eternal land promised to Abraham: The New Heavens and the New Earth. The mystery previously hidden but now fully revealed is that Christ in you, no matter who you are, is the certain hope of glory. By “hidden,” Paul means Christ was present, but dimly lit in the pages of the Old Testament. As B.B. Warfield wrote, “The Old Testament may be likened to a chamber richly furnished but dimly lighted.” So, piecing it together, when Paul says that he suffered to make the word of God fully known to the churches, he meant that he suffered to make Christ fully known to them, from all the Scriptures.
And that leads us to the crescendo of our passage: Paul’s one sentence summary of his ministry and yours. “Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ” (Col 1:28). Ministers - toil for the maturity of your church by proclaiming all of Christ. Christ for all of life, for all your church, from all the Scriptures, and through every ministry of the church. Don’t proclaim good advice for better marriages. Don’t proclaim emotional health. Don’t proclaim a rule of life and ascetic practices. Proclaim Christ, because he is all glorious! Make Christ fully known from all the Scriptures. Notice the words “warning” and “teaching.” Not only do ministers of the church proclaim Christ for initial conversion, but we warn and teach Christ in order to bring the transforming power of Jesus Christ to every part of everyday life. In your preaching proclaim Christ, not moralism and sentimentalism. In your counseling proclaim Christ, not pop psychology tips. To your impatience with the church, give yourself Christ. He is what we need! We are not trying to build “good advice” communities, we are building “good news” churches. Christ is good news.
Honest question: Is that the way you’re toiling for your church’s maturity, or have you lost confidence in the transforming power of making Christ fully known from all the Scriptures for all your church? Perhaps your main takeaway from General Council 2025 is rekindled confidence in the sufficiency of making Christ fully known for presenting your people mature in Christ. Perhaps your main takeaway is back to the basics: Making Christ fully known, from all the Scriptures, for all of life, in every ministry, because the Spirit working through the word is sufficient to present your people mature in Christ. Now, let’s be honest: Some of us haven’t lost our confidence in the transforming power of proclaiming Christ from all the Scriptures, we’re simply exhausted. That brings us to our final point. Toil for your church’s maturity in Christ. How? Rejoice in your suffering to make Christ fully known to your church…
Struggling with All His Energy (29)
“For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me” (Col 1:29). That’s a paradoxical statement. Paul clearly states, “I toil.” How does he toil? “Struggling.” Paul toils, by struggling. That’s the life of being a minister of the church. It’s hard toiling. It’s an effortful struggle. Too many pastors and Christian leaders quit or get discouraged because being a minister of the church feels like, “for this I toil, struggling.” It’s supposed to feel that way! To proclaim Christ so that your people are presented mature in Christ will be toiling and struggling. If it feels that way, don’t assume something is wrong! But, that’s not the whole verse. Notice what else Paul says. “For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me” (Col 1:29). How does that work? How do you toil, struggling, but do that toiling with all Christ’s energy. Sounds good. How does it work?
Well, I’ll tell you what I try to do, and I learned this from John Piper. The way to toil with his energy is through a prayer acronym called APTAT. I am trying to learn to pray APTAT before I preach, before I counsel, before I plan, before I lead a staff meeting, before I disciple someone, and so forth.
Admit - I begin by admitting to the Lord that I can do nothing of lasting value apart from him. Apart from him I don’t have the energy to prepare the sermon, pray for the people, counsel the couple, lead the staff, etc. So, I admit.
Pray - I ask the Father to come through for me in a specific way. I ask him, for example, to keep me from error and preach through me better than I’ve prepared, for the sake of his glory in our church.
Trust - I trust in a specific promise. There are so many promises in Scripture to remember and trust. I love Isaiah 55: The word will not return void.
Act - He will not preach for me, counsel for me, lead for me, make decisions for me, strategize for me. I have to act and toil and struggle.
Thank - When it’s done, thank Him for the way I see that he kept his promise, or thank him because I know he will even if I can’t see it.
Struggle with his energy through a life and ministry of dependent prayer.
Conclusion
Brothers and sisters - you’re God’s gift to your church. He made you ministers to toil for your church’s maturity in Christ by rejoicing in all the suffering you have to go through to make Christ fully known to them. You have a glorious calling, so go and struggle with all his energy that he powerfully works in you.