A Church That Looks Like Jesus

So what does a mature church actually look like? Two verses near the end of Colossians chapter one that tell us exactly what a church that looks like Jesus is doing. We proclaim him, warning and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ. I labor for this, striving with his strength that works powerfully in me. Two verses. Six verbs. One enormous mission. Today, one at a time, we’ll examine the work, the aim, and the cost.

1. The Work

   1. 1:28: We proclaim him, warning and teaching everyone …

      1. This is the word for “herald”. Public. Declarative. Out loud.

      2. What gets proclaimed? We proclaim him.

   2. 1:28:Warning and teaching everyone with all wisdom, …

      1. Warning — to put in the mind.

      2. Teaching — instruction and patient explanation.

   3. 1:28: so that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

   4. 1:28: with all wisdom, …Not just truth. Wisely-applied truth.

2. The Aim

   1. Why proclaim? Why warn? Why teach?

      1. … so that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

   2. Present: like handing something over at a temple, or like a servant presenting a gift to a king.

      1. Paul has a day in view here. He sees the day when all his work comes to its end.

      2. See 1:22. Christ’s work on the cross has a presentation day in view.

         1. We are aiming at a day.

         2. The day when every person here is presented to Christ — fully formed, fully grown, fully his.

   3. Mature: so that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

      1. Full-grown-ness. We need to be aiming for grown-up Christians.

   4. In Christ: so that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

      1. Time, proximity, and love do their slow work.

      2. The measurement is a person. The yardstick for our growth is Jesus.

3. The Cost

   1. 1:29: I labor for this, striving with his strength that works powerfully in me.

      1. Labor means do work until you’re exhausted. The kind that leaves you tired.

      2. Striving. Think agony in trying to win a contest. Not just tiring — it’s contested.

   2. 1:29: with his strength that works powerfully in me.

      1. Strength is the word we use for energy.

      2. And the energy doing the work in us is not our energy. It is his.

4. As We Close…

   1. Colossians 3:16: Let the word of Christ dwell richly among you, in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another…

   2. Every person in this room is somebody’s responsibility — and every person in this room has somebody to be responsible for.