Author: Ryan Hale

Paul is writing to Timothy who is currently in Ephesus carrying on the work that Paul had started in the years prior. Timothy is working to help set the church in order, and so Paul is giving him instruction on the things that he must do to accomplish that end.

And so to that end, Paul says that the first thing that they must do is pray. He calls for petitions, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving to be made for all people:

I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time.

1 Timothy 2:1-6

Paul interrupts his thought when he says that those prayers should be made for all people, clarifying what he means when he says all people. They had in their time, just as we have today in our time, kings and those in authority. In other words, the government. So Paul gives the commandment to Timothy that the first thing that they should be doing is praying for those in authority.

As opposed to what? What is the opposite of praying for those that are in authority? What is it that Paul is attempting to correct? I would, yes, speculate, but suggest that the answer is playing politics. Paul wants Timothy to, instead of spending time talking about the politics of the day, spend time praying for those in authority.

In Paul and Timothy’s time, the kings – the Romans in particular since they are the ones in charge at this time, but not just them – considered themselves, and were considered to be divine. In other words, they were “gods”, not just kings. So of course this would be a problem when you have a group of Christians who, instead, say that Jesus is king. They are proclaiming a new kingdom, the kingdom of God, where Jesus is king.

So for this reason, and for the fact that we frequently also align ourselves with one political ruler or another in our day, Paul tells Timothy that the first thing that they must do is to pray for (obviously, not pray to) the kings and the authorities. They are to pray and ask God for blessing to come upon these authorities so that – first – they may live peaceful and quiet lives. They should ask that they would have lives that would allow them to do the work of the kingdom of God, making the true and eternal king known to all.

But not only this…instead, they should pray also that these “all people”, meaning also the kings and the authorities, would also come to know Christ. They should pray that these authorities would also submit to the authority of Christ, the greatest and true king over all.

All of this to say that our engagement from a political perspective is to pray. Not to spend time a ton of time in the context of the church body worrying and debating about the policies and politics of the world, but instead praying for the kings and all in authority to know Christ so that they will govern appropriately and that we can live the lives that Christ has called us to live and focus on the work of his kingdom, not focusing on the kingdoms of the world that are passing away.

Yesterday I noted that Paul explained that there are many teachings that seem wise, but in reality do not have any power to restrain someone from “sensual indulgence”, or in other words, from sin. Frequently, we might ask ourselves how we can leave sin behind, how we can, as Paul said in another place, not do what I want to do. My flesh, my sinful nature, wants to sin. It wants what I do not want, and so I must put that off, I must put it away.

But how? Paul has told us that wise-sounding religious rules of “do this” or “don’t do that” really don’t have any power to restrain us. And I think that I would certainly tend to agree.

But if not that, then what?

Paul goes on in chapter 3 of Colossians to explain that we have to look beyond the things of the world to the things above. That which comes from heaven, that which comes God, that is what we need to look toward. We need to consider those things, and if we do, if we will focus on that, then we will no longer desire those things that are of the world.

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

Colossians 3:1-2

The earthly things are the “sensual indulgences” of the world. They are the things that are designed to lead us away from Christ. They are the desires of our flesh that want to distract us from that which is right, that which is holy. But the things above are those things that are good and right and just. They are the things that are holy. They are the things that are of God. These are the things that we must learn to desire because they are much greater than the things of the world. These are the things that will last forever, eternally.

I should say that this isn’t to say that there is a difference in pleasure. There is great pleasure in the things above. There is great enjoyment. But these are pleasures and joys that, in addition to the pleasures and enjoyment that are temporary, are also pleasures and enjoyment that lead to eternity. They aren’t temporary.

Paul subsequently makes a list of the things that we should put off and instead look to things above. He says:

Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.

Colossians 3:5

So, for example, let’s say that the first three in the list all pertain to sex. Does that mean that we shouldn’t enjoy the pleasures of sex? No, of course not. Paul isn’t telling us to put off sex. He is telling us to put off sex that belongs to the earthly nature. Instead, he is referring us toward sexual pleasure and enjoyment that leads to eternal life. That which God has called us to with our spouses. He calls us toward that which he has built for us, not a perversion of that which was designed.

By looking beyond that which is of the flesh, that which is of this world, we choose Christ instead. We prefer what he offers us instead of what the world offers us. We desire those things that are good because we get more pleasure, more enjoyment, more happiness, more joy out of those things. We are, instead, blessed eternally by this way of living.

This reminds me of the parables that Jesus told of the treasure in the field, or the pearl of great price. Remember what happened with the man that found these treasures? He sold everything so that he could purchase that one thing. He left everything behind so that he could purchase that which was worth so much more. He saw no value in everything else that he owned when he compared it to the value, the worth, of that treasure, so therefore he sold it all just so that he could buy that field that contained the treasure, or that pearl that was worth it all.

This is the same idea. Jesus said that the treasure is the kingdom of God. The way that we can put off sin is to prefer the kingdom. We prefer what our King says. To enjoy it more than what the world has to offer to us. This is how we can look toward the things above and leave behind the things of this world.

Paul tells the Colossians that there are rules that people will follow that seem to be wise. Do this, or don’t do that. These are commands that the world gives that seem wise, but don’t actually do you any good.

Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.

Colossians 2:20-23

It is this last part that I think is intriguing and is important to understand:

…but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.

The rules that seem wise are rules of restriction, intended to keep us away from the things that we would actually like to do, but are actually harmful to us. But in those cases, because we are weak creatures, Paul points out that the rules actually are lacking in value to restrain us from indulging ourselves in the sin that they are intended to keep us from. That is why Paul says that those rules seem wise, but actually lack value in truly keeping us from sin.

What is required instead is valuing something even greater. In the next chapter, Paul will go on to talk about the fact that Christ has given us life. Christ is the one that we must desire above all else. More than our sensual desires. More than what the world has to offer, we must desire him. We must want to be with him. That relationship with him will have great value in not only restraining us from sensual indulgence, but in living in holiness. Because we find our joy in Christ, we no longer find joy in sin. We no longer find pleasure in the things of the world, but in the things of God. This is no longer an appearance of wisdom, but is what it means to be truly wise!

Wait a minute, Paul. In what way, exactly, are Christ’s afflictions lacking? Did Jesus not live a perfect life? Is his sacrifice on the cross not perfect – one sacrifice for all, whether for past, present, or future sins?

Here is the passage that I’m referring to:

Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness— the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Colossians 1:24-27

You can see how this could pretty quickly become confusing. If Paul is saying that Christ’s afflictions are lacking in some way, then we have an imperfect sacrifice.

But scripture has already told us that Jesus is the perfect sacrifice – one sacrifice for all time, for all people, for all sin. Here is what the writer of the book of Hebrews tells us:

And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says:

“This is the covenant I will make with them
after that time, says the Lord.
I will put my laws in their hearts,
and I will write them on their minds.”
Then he adds:
“Their sins and lawless acts
I will remember no more.”

And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.

Hebrews 10:10-18

We can see here that no other sacrifices are necessary. Jesus’s sacrifice was sufficient for all people, for all time. One sacrifice that was given by God himself, by Jesus our high priest, and no sacrifices are needed any longer.

If that is true, then, what in the world is Paul talking about? How can he say that there is something lacking in the sacrifice of Christ? Even further, how can he, although a great man, but just a man, make up for anything that is related to Christ’s sacrifice? He can’t, can he?

Let’s read what Paul is saying in context. He is referring to the presentation of the message. He is talking about the message that has been hidden but that has now been made known to the Gentiles. He is talking about the fact that the message now must be spread to the rest of the world.

The sacrifice of Christ isn’t automatically transmitted to everyone’s heart and mind. Instead, God has decided and seen fit that man would be the way that the message would be transported and taken to everyone everywhere. In this way, Paul is saying that he is taking on what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions.

Let’s take it one step further, however. Paul actually doesn’t just say that he is the bearer of the message. Instead, he says that he fills up in his flesh what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions. Paul takes this message within him, within his flesh, and carries it to the whole world. Paul had taken beatings. Paul had been jailed. Like Christ, his flesh bore wounds, the wounds of the gospel, as he took the message. When you heard the message from Paul, you saw the wounds on his flesh. You saw the marks of Christ upon him. He was full, within his flesh, of the message of Christ. Not just words, but true marks of Christ.

So in this way, Paul fills up within him what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions. He isn’t sacrificing himself for the people. He is giving himself to Christ, to Christ’s glory, so that the mystery of Christ would be revealed and the whole world may hear of the salvation that comes from God.

The church in Philippi had been the first, and at times the only, one to support Paul as he was traveling and doing his work. Several times he had been in need. He didn’t necessarily have food or shelter, nor a way to pay for it, but the church was willing to help him.

We could take an example from when Paul was in Corinth. When he arrived there, he didn’t have a way to live, and he had left the Macedonian churches behind – the Philippian church being one of these – as a result of persecution. At each point along the way, Paul had either been beaten, put in prison, or chased out of town because the Jews wanted to kill him. As a result, he needed to move, and move quickly.

So when he arrived there in Corinth, he needed to work, and he couldn’t continue preaching and teaching full time as a result. As it turned out, that is how Paul met Priscilla and Aquila as they made tents together. So God used this time in Paul’s life that he needed to work to support himself, but when Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, they brought the support that Paul had needed so that he could continue to do the work that God had called him to do, to teach and preach again full time.

However, regardless of whether Paul was in need or had plenty, or regardless of whether he needed to work to support himself or had been supported by the churches, Paul remained content in his situation.

His contentedness wasn’t something that he just knew how to do. It was a way of thinking, a way of acting, a state of being that he learned. I suspect it was something that God taught him through his call and through difficulty.

I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

Philippians 4:10-13

Paul had learned what it means to be content. He learned how to be content. He learned it through the trials of the life that he was living. But most of all he learned it because, even in the difficult times, God gave him strength to endure, and it was through this endurance that he gained his strength. This strength from God and endurance through the difficult situations made Paul to be content and taught him that God will provide for him in each situation, that he is with him and walks with him, just as Jesus promised.

This is the source of Paul’s contentment. Not money. Not provision, but God’s presence with him in the form of Christ.

Paul was waiting for his trial in Rome. He had appealed to Caesar from Caesarea Philippi and then had a long journey to reach Rome. Once there, he was placed in what we might call “house arrest”, although while he was in a house that he had rented, he was neither at his “home”, nor was he just under arrest. He was in chains. He was being held against his will and may have, with some debate about what actually happened next, been killed soon thereafter.

Yet people came to them and he taught them. He spoke freely and preached openly from his house there in Rome. Christ was known all the more there in Rome because of what he had done. And not only that, others began to speak out boldly as well:

Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.

Philippians 1:12-14

It seems that the Christians there in Rome had been scared, and they would have had reason to be scared. They had been driven out. They had been killed. They had been persecuted in many ways. Having the government begin to hunt and kill the people around you would cause anyone to rethink what they are doing! And yet, they already had Paul in prison. The only thing that they could do to him yet is to kill him.

So this emboldened the other Christians. They saw that Paul was speaking boldly about Christ, even despite his situation, and so they began to take more and more courage from Paul’s situation that they too could speak about Jesus.

So Paul says that the chains that he was in actually served to help advance the Gospel. The Gospel moved forward and was heard by more people precisely because he was in chains. Perhaps if he hadn’t been, the circumstances would not have been the same. Perhaps others wouldn’t have been nearly as emboldened, or even would have tried to silence Paul from speaking about Christ. Instead, because he was in chains, people came to him. Because he was in chains, people were more emboldened, and so they began to speak as well.

God will use every situation, even the situations that look hopeless in our eyes, for his glory. There is nothing that Satan can do that God will not be able to turn around for his glory. Yet he continues to try and we continue to despair at difficult situations. We need to remember, instead, these stories. We need to remember that God is using both what we would call a good situation as well as what we would call a bad situation for his good and his glory. And as our heavenly father, while we may not call everything good because it doesn’t seem good to us in the moment, there will come a point that we understand what God was doing and how he used our difficulty and our challenging situations so that the Gospel, the good news of his coming to earth will be advanced.

Paul tells the Ephesian church, while writing from prison in Rome, that he is an ambassador in chains. Paul has been chained up as a result of the Jewish leaders’ accusations, while never having been shown to have done anything wrong. Yet even while he is a prisoner, many people are coming to know Christ, and Paul is continuing to write to the churches that he founded, one of these being the church in Ephesus.

Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

Ephesians 6:19-20

From his writings, Paul seems singularly focused. He doesn’t seem to be stopped, nor even slowed, by the fact that he is in chains or in prison. Instead, he continues to serve his human masters, the Roman soldiers, as if he is serving Christ, and for this he is granted the opportunity to speak freely to the people there in Rome.

But what is even more, Paul continues to serve his heavenly master, Jesus Christ, despite the fact that he is in jail precisely because of his relationship with him and work for him. There isn’t a doubt in Paul’s mind. He is headed toward eternity with Christ and the rest of his life is to be devoted to him. Paul is looking beyond his present circumstances to the eternal reward of living with Christ forever, seeking to bring along with him as many people as possible.

When we walk in the darkness, when we live for ourselves, when we reject God and go the way that we prefer, it may feel good for a while – and in fact often does – but the result will only be temporary. The result is, in reality, fruitless. There is no lasting meaning beyond what happens in that moment. That deed, that thought, has no reference point beyond that point, and as people who do those deeds, if who we are is represented by what we are doing, there is no lasting meaning to our existence.

But if we walk in light, in goodness, we are actually walking in a way that makes reference to God, to the infinite, and we have long-lasting significance. Not because of ourselves, but because of God. We find ourselves in him, so we find our meaning and significance in him. We think thoughts that are related to that which is infinite. We do deeds that find their meaning in eternity, and in this way we can find ourselves walking in the light.

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light.

Ephesians 5:8-13

I shouldn’t live my life in the light just because I must be obedient to God. I should live my life in the light because I find my joy in God. I find happiness in him. I no longer have a taste for evil, the deeds of darkness, but I actually prefer that which truly satisfies with joy and happiness. And in this way, I find the meaning that I long to find.

I follow a man on YouTube named David Wood. I listened yesterday to one of his commentaries regarding the temporary and the infinite reference points. I think it is related, although maybe not directly connected, to what I’m saying here:

Christ is the head of the church.

And we are each members of his body.

First and foremost, it is important to get that right. We don’t always understand or practice that relationship very well. Instead of Christ at the head, we have people in leadership roles that will attempt to step into the headship role. In the same way, instead of being part of the body, we have people who will maneuver to take a position, or will work against the body instead of work to build it up.

Paul spends a lot of words in chapter 4 in his letter to the Ephesians to emphasize these points, that Christ is the head and we are each members of his body. The members of the body work together to build one another up. The members of the body have the other parts of the body in mind. As each part works, it works for the good of the rest of the body, and always to lift up, respond to, and do the work of, the head, which is Christ.

Paul says that, while we are one body, we are not necessarily all the same. Christ gave gifts to each of the people within the body. In this chapter, he lists five:

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Ephesians 4:11-13

The five are apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers.

And these five have a purpose. The purpose of these five is to equip the people for works of service. Christ gives the gifts to the church so that the church will be built up. Not necessarily just that each of us would use our gifts individually so that we are individually glorified. No, instead, it is so that the body will be built up.

But why build up the body? The head of the body is concerned about the health and growth of the body. The head of the body wants to see that the body comes to full maturity. Christ does not want to we remain infants. Instead, he wants that we become mature.

How would these gifts make us mature? Let’s think about the gifts themselves for a moment:

Apostles are the people that see where the kingdom of God is not yet and helps to lead and organize us to reach out to those who do not yet know Christ. This brings the body to greater maturity by teaching the rest of us to see those around us who need to know Christ and do what is necessary to reach out to them.

Prophets call us to greater clarity and truth in alignment to the word of God. Prophets help us to know when we are out of alignment and are straying away from the calling of Christ on our lives. Instead, they point us back to the way of God and keep us pointed in the direction that Christ has called each of us to go.

Evangelists teach us to tell others. We need to know how to share the Gospel. We need to know when to share the Gospel. We need to know the best ways to share the Gospel given the diversity of the people and their backgrounds all around us. Evangelists build us up by showing and leading the rest of us to do these things.

Pastors, or sometimes translated Shepherds, care for the flock. Jesus said that he is the Good Shepherd, but he has also placed shepherds amongst us. They take care of the people within body of Christ and teach each us to do the same with those who are around us.

Teachers continue to take us deeper into the word of God, helping us to understand its meaning and applying it to our lives. They help us to see what it is that the word is saying and teaching us also how we can teach others. They can multiply their gift by teaching others the meaning of certain sections of scripture, but they can also multiply their gift by teaching others to teach.

In these ways, we can see that the body of Christ will be built up. It will continue to grow until it reaches maturity, attaining to the full measure of Christ.

In some ways, it seems sacrilegious to say that there is a mystery of Christ. We should seek to know him. We should look for the answers. God himself came to present himself in the form of a man, and one of the reasons that he did that was so that we could see him, understand him, and know him.

Yet the difficulty is that the more that we know him, the more that we learn how much we don’t know.

It seems so simple. Christ came and died. He gave himself as a sacrifice so that all might live because he himself overcame death and was resurrected three days later. And that is true. But it isn’t enough. Once we understand this, we begin to ask other questions. For example, why would God do all of this? Or Who was this for? Was this for everyone in the world? For the “good people” only? Or also for the “bad” people?

Well, in fact, Paul explains to us that this mystery of Christ is that everyone – not just the Jews – are invited to be God’s people through Jesus. Christ gave himself so that all people, all nations, would be able to come to God. God would be their God, and everyone would have the opportunity to be his people through Christ.

Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 3:2-6

We are no longer separate peoples, but we are one. We have been made to be one people, one nation, one body in Christ. We have all been made to be God’s people, if we will follow Christ. In him, we can know God, we can be reconciled back to God. In him, and only in him. There is no other way to be reconciled with God. Without Christ, we are not a people. But with him, and in him, we are one.

Jesus told the Jewish people of this mystery. He said that he has “other sheep”, the Gentiles, who will be brought into the sheep fold, into the flock. He is the shepherd who will bring all of the sheep together. He is the shepherd who will keep them together and lay down his life for all of them. He is the one who will lead them in an out of the sheep pen. He will call them and his sheep will hear his voice and follow him.

This is the mystery of Christ. He is for all people. He calls all people. And all people may put their faith in Christ to be able to return to God and to know him.