Colossians 1:24-2:5: Mature in Christ

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Download the bulletin below: 20260816_final Transcript 20260816Download John Pennylegion August 16, 2026 Good morning. Welcome to Christ the King. My name is Penny and I’m the senior pastor here. It is good to be with you. If you are a guest or a visitor, welcome. We’re glad that you join us this morning as we come to God’s word, as we sing to him, as we celebrate his supper in a few moments. It is good and right for us to join together and be reminded of the gospel, the truth of who Jesus is. And that’s what we’re in need of, every one of us, whether we’ve been attending CTK since its inception or this is your first Sunday. We all need the same thing, and that is the grace of our Lord. If you’ve been walking with Jesus for decades or maybe you’re a new believer or you’re exploring the things of Christ, what we are all in need of is God’s grace. And so we’re glad that we would join together and be able to hear and be reminded of his grace because that’s what we’ve been hearing in the book of Colossians. And we’re going to continue to hear about this morning. And so if you have a Bible, you can turn to Colossians chapter 1. We’re going to be looking at verses 24 through chapter 2, verse 5. And if you have been with us over the last number of weeks, you’ve heard various things. We’ve heard various things about who Jesus is, that he is the preeminent one over creation and over the new creation, that the beauty of who Christ is, it is broken through sin and brokenness, and it is restoring and renewing those who turn to him, that we are to be grounded in this truth in the gospel. We use that word a lot, gospel. It simply means “good news,” the good news that Jesus has lived and died and risen again and that he’s making all things new. And that is what we need. We need that restoration. We need that redemption. And that’s what we’ve been hearing about. It’s what we’ve heard about in the last two weeks in Colossians. And that’s what we’ll hear about again this morning as Paul continues to describe for us and to tell us about who Jesus is and his work. And Paul this morning is not only going to talk about who Jesus is, but he’s going to talk about how is it that we grow in our relationship with Christ. And so with that in mind, let’s read Colossians 1, beginning in verse 24. Paul writes, “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. For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.” (ESV) Friends, this is the Word of the Lord. Let me pray. Heavenly Father, we ask that as we come to your Word now, that you would allow us to see and behold the goodness of your Son, our Lord Jesus. Let us see what he has done and how he is at work, and let us hold fast to your truth, hearing your Word and seeking to pursue after you.

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