Lessons from the Colossian Church.

At the time, I was candidating for a Youth Pastor position. During the candidation, there were a lot of great things about the church that attracted me. One of the things that gave me great joy and confidence in our church was how concise and easy to remember the church’s mission statement was.

“To Present Everyone Complete in Christ.“

I was excited about moving into a church that carried this kind of focused and well-thought-out mission. Not only was this mission statement compact, but it was complex in meaning, with a strong Scriptural foundation that is incredibly pertinent to the Western Church of today.

“We proclaim Him, admonishing everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone complete in Christ.” (Col. 1:28)

Before we really get into how and why this verse is so concise for church growth, let’s get some context.

The City of Colossae

At the time this letter was written, Colossae was under Roman rule within the territory of Asia Minor. It is believed that the Colossian church was planted somewhere between 52 and 55 AD. However, this letter wasn’t written until around 60 to 62 AD. Today this territory is known as the country of Turkey and every year, thousands of people still visit the location of this early church.

It’s important to note that culturally, Colossae and this area of Asia Minor were quite prosperous during this time period. The Romans had brought wealth and well-designed trade routes, allowing easy access to numerous goods and services. Though it was still under Roman rule, it was a multi-ethnic city. With a melting pot of ethnicities comes a melting pot of religious and philosophical beliefs and practices.

Colossian Culture

Much like the church of today, the Colossian church was full of people from an array of backgrounds, holding an array of beliefs and values. Paul had the tough job of bringing them back to what’s important, being complete in Christ.

To get us up to speed scripturally, this passage begins as most epistles, with an introduction in verses 1 and 2. This is followed by some words of encouragement for the church in verses 3 through 14, which is also fairly typical. However, following verse 14, God leads Paul to dive right into the focal point of what this church needs to hear:

The Supremacy of Christ

Keeping in mind the cultural environment of this city, Paul doesn’t get caught up in the processes or practices of this church. This church has lost its focus on Christ. Finally, in verse 24, Paul begins to speak about his suffering for Christ. The Colossian church was not experiencing any persecution at this time, due to the religious freedom of that culture.

However, Paul was in prison in the city of Rome, when God led him to write this letter. Basically, this church in Colossae needs a reality check on what they stand for and God’s leading Paul to get things back in order.

Now, coming back to our key Scripture and the Mission Statement.

“We proclaim Him, admonishing everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone complete in Christ.” (Col. 1:28)

Lessons For the Church

There are a few unique points about this Scripture that make it important for the church today. First, this is the only place where God leads Paul to use the words “every man” or “everyone” in one sentence. This shows us that Paul was specifically speaking to all members of the congregation and therefore, we should read this in the same context.

As we’ve established, the Colossian church was filled with people who had their own ideas, beliefs, opinions, practices, etc. Nonetheless, notice that Paul isn’t referring to specific people or programs. He’s not requiring specific facilities or adequate finances. The message here is that it’s time that “everyone” got on board here.

Being a Christ-follower is a group effort.

Moving onto the “admonishing” and “teaching” that “everyone” should be experiencing. I am sure everyone is clear on what “teaching” means, but let’s get a quick definition of “admonishing”: (1) To caution, advise, or counsel against something. (2) To reprove or scold, especially in a mild and good-willed manner. (3) To urge to a duty.

Therefore, if we read this correctly, to “present everyone complete in Christ”, there needs to be some heavy-duty “admonishing” and “teaching” going on. This is the goal. This is the mission. So, ask yourself:

• When’s the last time I was admonished?
• When was the last time I was taught?
• When was the last time I admonished someone else?
• When was the last time I taught someone else?

This was a group effort. This was a group mission.

We’ve got a good understanding of what “everyone” should be doing, but let’s get to the goal; becoming “complete.” Some translations may use “mature” or “perfect”.

Dictionary.com states “complete” as “having all parts or elements; lacking nothing; whole; entire; full.”

As I was studying, I found that this word is often used in the New Testament concerning a ship’s preparedness. For those of you who spend any time boating or sailing, this might connect with you.

One source wrote, “‘Complete’ was a term used when a ship was loaded with all the necessary cargo to be prepared for a long voyage. Complete. Ready for whatever might come.”

To the Colossian ear, this would have been the call and we, in turn, should receive it as such. For our ship to leave port, we need to be “admonishing” and “teaching” “with all wisdom “so that we may be ‘complete.'” Speaking directly to Colossians 1:28, the same source cited above stated the following in regard to this completeness:

“Some churches focus totally on evangelizing the lost. A culture develops saying that as soon as we are saved, we are better than ‘those unbelieving sinners.’ There is little sense of discipleship. Some churches focus on extreme discipleship, morphing into a new legalism, saying a believer hasn’t arrived until he has reached a certain level of holiness.

I like Paul’s sense of ‘completeness.’ I understand it to be a place where each believer is all God expects him to be at that moment, and where he is safe. So, a brand new believer can be complete. Just like a new infant is complete IF and ONLY IF it is in a secure protective family, so a new believer is complete if he is part of a worshiping, teaching, serving, giving, loving, Christ-focused church.

A 50-year seasoned believer can become incomplete if he gets hurt and drops out of church, or if he gets proud and no longer has a teacher, or if he becomes selfish and stops giving. Paul worked like crazy (with all God’s energy) to keep the Colossians in that place of completeness, that place where all the cylinders were firing, where the Holy Spirit had complete freedom to work in the life of the believer. It’s hard to find a better term – COMPLETE.” (Pastor D. Thornton – 2011)