Larry Reynolds, Denton, TX

At the end of Colossians 1:23, at which we looked last week, Paul described himself as a “minister.” That word literally means “servant.” The Bible teaches that every Christian is a minister in the sense of being a servant of Christ and others. In Colossians 1:24 - 2:8, Paul describes in detail how he goes about the task of ministering or serving. The thesis statement of this section, in my opinion, is the first part of Colossians 1:25 where Paul writes, “Of this church I was made a minister according to the stewardship of God bestowed on me for your benefit…”

• “I was made…” – Reminiscent of Colossians 1:1 where Paul said he was “…an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God…”

• “minister” – diakonos – Means servant. Paul viewed himself as a servant of the body, the church. He understood that the church did not exist for him, but he for the church.

• “according to the stewardship of God…” – oikonomia – Our word economy comes from this word. Means manager, as in manager of a household. Paul was responsible to God for his ministry.  

In the verses that follow Paul tells us four things about his ministry.

1. It is a ministry of suffering (1:24)
2. It is a ministry of preaching (1:25-29)
3. It is a ministry of intercession (2:1-5)
4. It is a ministry of exhortation (2:6-7)