Let's take our Bibles this morning and turn to Colossians. Chapter one, we're looking at verses 24 through 29. Colossians chapter one, verse 24 through 29. Let me pray. Lord, this morning, as we come before you, as your people, give us listening ears. Give us minds that think through your word, that your word may transform us in the mind. So, Lord, that all of us may come to know your good and your acceptable and your perfect will. I pray this for us today and every day as we are living in this age with as many difficulties, with the dump of information that we receive constantly that causes levels of anxiety and confusion. Lord, let us come to your word and let us see the exalted Christ and what he has done on behalf of his people, that we can see clearly through all the confusion what is true and what is right, that we may give you the praise and the glory and the honor that is constantly do your name. And I ask this in Christ, amen. Colossians chapter one, looking at this morning laboring for Christ's supremacy. Now from last time, once you have become a Christian and have purposed in your heart that you are going to hold fast to this hope that has been given to you in Christ Jesus and that you are determined to continue in it and that you have been convinced by scripture that you should not move away from the hope of the gospel, no matter what. That's where we all should be, thinking like that, no matter what, no matter what. I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to stay right here with the truth. But now what? Now you're there, now what? Well, I tell you, that you are not called to be saved merely to become a church attender and pew warmer. Every Christian is called by God to use his and her God-given gifts and opportunities to serve God in his unfinished work. For what reason? We labor for Christ's supremacy, to advance the gospel in the world so that we, as God's children, the church, will fulfill our part of the unfinished work of God. And what is our part to include? Well, in verse number 28 of chapter 1, it says, we proclaim him. admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom so that we may present every man complete in Christ. Now the we there in verse 28 is probably including everybody that Paul mentions in this epistle to the Colossians. Paul, Timothy, Papyrus, Tychicus, Aristarchus, Mark, Onesimus, Luke, Demas, Nympha, Archippus, and then, of course, the church at Laodicea and Heropolis. So there's a lot of people that's included in the we, but we are also included in the we. See, we are to labor for the Lord. That means work. There's always work involved in the Christian faith, not work to add something to help God save you. You were already saved. It's after you get saved. Now God gives you something to do. We're not there just to twiddle our thumbs or just sit down and do nothing. We are there to do something. There was a missionary in Africa who was teaching his congregation and telling his native students how Christians, as an expression of their joy, gave each other presents on Christ's birthday. On Christmas morning, one of the natives brought the missionary a seashell of lustrous beauty. When asked where he had discovered such an extraordinary shell, the native said he had walked many, many, many miles to a certain bay, the only spot where such shells could be found. And he said, I think it's wonderful of you to travel so far to get this lovely gift from me, the teacher explained to his student. His eyes brightened, and the native replied, long walk, part of the gift. Labor is often part of serving each other in Christ. So Colossians chapter one, verse 24 to 29 gives us a general view of the nature and objective of ministry. And then chapter two, verse one through five, a more specific view of the nature and objective of ministry. So today, contemplate with me four requirements necessary in order to labor for Christ's supremacy. And the first one is this. Laboring for Christ's supremacy requires suffering. Requires suffering. Verse number 24, it says this. Now I rejoice in my suffering for your sake. This suffering is not a misuse or a mistreatment of the body like the false teachers were advocating. And if you look at chapter two, verse 23, where the false teachers were teaching that you are to commit severe treatment of the body and self-abasement, that's what they were teaching. And so these false teachers mistreated the body to show that they were at a higher level of spiritual maturity than others. Satan, once suffering to harm the believer, but instead it usually frustrates him because God uses suffering for our good and his glory. Suffering means, in scripture, progress. It means moving events along to the return of Christ. And why? So the gospel can be advanced, so the kingdom of God can spread, and so the church can grow. Suffering in God's program is necessary. In fact, Paul said to the Philippians, for to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for his sake. So we must be reminded that it is never easy to be a Christian. It was William Barclay who said, the Christian life brings its own loneliness. its own unpopularity, its own problems, its own sacrifices, its own persecutions. And why? Because the Christian brings this exclusive message of the gospel that has come into their life that is bearing before the world a transformed life because the Holy Spirit is making them holy. And the Christian brings to the world the standard of Jesus Christ, which is clearly different from the persons of the world. So then the Christian is the kind of conscience to any society in which it exists. The world and its system does not like when the conscience is pricked by truth, especially when it goes against their worldview and their agenda. And the Christian faith always goes against the worldview of its day and the agenda of its day, always. We're always swimming upstream. So that means the Christian life is not an easy thing to do. Matter of fact, you cannot do it on your own, your own power, your own will. It cannot be done like that. There must be supernatural help to live the Christian life, just as it is to get saved, so it is to live every day. If not, we go back to the flesh. We revert right back to where we were if we're not being helped by God every single second of every day. So to carry out this labor, a particular attitude is to be displayed in our lives. And Paul is saying he learned this attitude. And what is that in verse number 24? He says this, now I rejoice in my sufferings. Now, brethren, I don't know about you, when I read suffering and rejoicing together, it doesn't seem to go. It's like water and oil. It just doesn't seem to go. And of course, remember, God in suffering, we are not called to be moaning or grumbling or complaining, but the text says we are to rejoice. Paul says, I rejoice in my suffering, and later on in scripture it says, and we are to rejoice in our sufferings. For the Christian to prevail in persecution is to respond correctly to suffering with the proper attitude and the proper conduct. And why is that? Well, the epistle of 1 Peter gives us two important reasons to maintain an attitude of rejoicing. He says, the apostle Peter said there in his text, in chapter four, verse number 13, no need to turn there, just listen. He says, rejoice because of your connection to Jesus Christ. He says this, but to the degree that you share in the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing. So it says that also at the revelation of his glory, you may rejoice with exaltation, meaning that this suffering we're going through is present. And if we rejoice in it presently, we will really rejoice in being in God's presence. As we drop off these earthly bodies and as we drop off the suffering and now we're in the presence of God, but it took that to get us there, so the response into suffering is to rejoice. Present rejoicing will give us all what we need for future rejoicing. And then also Peter mentions too to rejoice because of your connection to the Holy Spirit, that the Holy Spirit now indwells you. So the believer is to hedge against discouragement and yes, even depression by Holy Spirit rejoicing. Whether you are involved in a lesser or a greater degree of suffering, be rejoicing. The result of this suffering is that God is near you for present blessing. And this is what Peter says in chapter four of 1 Peter. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed. And here's the reason why believers are blessed when reviled for the name of Christ. It says you are blessed because the spirit of glory and of God rests on you. So here's the great encouragement in suffering. You are not on your own with only dark hopelessness and despair before you. God is with you. with his help and with his comfort and with his support and with his presence and with his church, in the middle of life's problems and trials, God is with you. I will never leave or forsake you. That is an emphatic statement given to us by God before he left to go back to heaven. So there is such a thing as emotional and psychological suffering. but there is also physical suffering. Now, when you read through scripture, you'll find that the Apostle Paul was quite familiar with all kinds of suffering, but he highlighted his physical suffering. Or he says in the book of Acts, he says that, listen, the chief magistrates tore their robes and they proceeded to beat us with rods. And when they struck us with many blows, they've stuck us in prison. And what did Paul and Silas do in prison? Well, the Bible says they were praying and singing hymns of praise to God. Now, how do you get beaten with rods and end up, and not only that, they put them in the deepest prison and they put stocks on them so they couldn't do anything, and they're praying and singing hymns and praises to God. and the prisoners were listening. And what happens, the prisoners probably sat there and said, we just beat these guys to almost death, and they're singing. This is not right. There's something strange about this. And yet, they ended up hearing the gospel, the text says, and they then started praising God for what has happened. And the Bible tells us that these particular individuals rejoiced greatly having believed in God. These are the soldiers and their household believed in God, why these two guys that were suffering for Christ had rejoiced. And the rejoicing caught their attention. And they ended up getting saved. And then another passage, I'd like you to turn to this one, 2 Corinthians 11, verse 23 to 28. The apostle Paul has had many more days, bad days and experiences than you and I will ever encounter. For in 2 Corinthians 11, verse number 23, it says this. Are they servants of Christ? That's a question. I speak as if insane. I more so, in far more labors, in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death, verse 24, five times I received from the Jews 39 lashes. Three times I was beaten with rod. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked at night and a day I spent in the deep. I have been on frequent journeys in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers amongst false brethren. I have been in labor and hardship through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure, apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches. So he had the external suffering, but there the daily pressure of the concern for the churches, the internal suffering, both things going on. Jesus suffered more than Paul. Paul suffered more than us. But he surely suffered for our sake. In fact, later in the beginning of the book of Acts, the Bible tells us that the apostles were flogged and then the council released them and they rejoiced that they had been considered worthy to suffer for his name. So for us, suffering may not take the form of losing our life or being beaten with rods, at least not yet. The form of suffering for us may be just a loss of prestige or ridicule. or snarky comments, or being made fun of because we're a Christian, or we be the butt of jokes or slander, or not be included in a group, or feeling tolerated at family functions, or being left out of the family will. It could be a loss of a job, being overlooked for a promotion, or being treated like a second-rate person, or when a loved one is pulled away from death, there's a certain amount of suffering that goes with that. We feel the enemy taking someone from us. Seldom might a believer in our day, in our country, be burned at the stake or suffer some kind of martyrdom as do others in other countries or have in the past. We may suffer over and over again self-denial, self-sacrifice, and heartbreak. But we must be ready, all of us must be ready to carry our load in this regard. Yet, whatever level of suffering that will be our lot Given to us by God, rejoicing must be included in our suffering, or it's not the suffering that God called us to. And like I said, that is not an easy thing whatsoever. But again, in Philippians, the apostle says, but even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice. and share my joy with you. And then he says to us, and you too, I urge you, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me. So this joy is back and forth with each other as one person may be suffering at one point and the other person not, and then you rejoice together and that may flip back and forth. So suffering that precedes the final consummation of God's salvation amongst God's people, that means that this suffering that Paul was part of was not yet filled up. Paul's suffering fulfills the quota for us, thus hastening the fulfillment of God's work in history. benefiting those Paul never met, including us. And so that leads to the focus group of his suffering, and if you look back at Colossians chapter one, verse 24, he says there, suffering is for the sake of the church. He says, I rejoice in my suffering for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of his body, which is the church. See, Paul did not rejoice in suffering. He did not rejoice in suffering for suffering's sake. He was no, in other words, this was no self-inflicted penance or pain to gain acceptance with God. But this is the suffering that came because of his stand for Christ, because of his care for the church, that others may be saved. So here, what the scripture is referring to in this particular phrase at the end of verse 24, he says this, in fulfilling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions. Paul is filling up in his suffering what was lacking in Christ's afflictions. Now that means, it could mean to fill up for someone else, It could mean making up for a lack in the community of believers, something that was lacking. It could also mean describing a deficiency in something. But for sure, it does not refer to any lack of completion regarding the atonement for our sins, that work was finished and completed by Jesus Christ. But it refers to the unfinished work of Christ's earthly life and ministry. In other words, what is lacking is the unfinished advancement of the gospel. This was left to Christ's disciples. This was left to the church. When Jesus left and went back to heaven, he gave the great commission to the church. He said, go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. So laboring to finish the work of evangelizing the lost and building up the church, this task, will meet with much resistance, with many dangers. As Paul said, dangers from the Jews, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers amongst false brethren, dangers from spiritual wickedness in high placers, dangers from the world system in which we live in. And as we see from our passage, the Apostle Paul was the tip of the spear. He will be the one that will fulfill what is lacking in the full unveiling of the mystery. That was part of it. That the gospel will go to all people groups, not just the Jews, but to the Gentiles. And so laboring, first of all, for Christ's supremacy requires that we suffer. Secondly, laboring for Christ's supremacy requires God is the source of it all. In verse number 25, he says this, in scripture, of this church, I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God, bestowed upon me for your benefit, so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God. So at one time, The apostle Paul could have been considered a self-made man. But after he met Christ, remember his name back then was Saul. Saul's plans for wiping out the church off the face of the earth was essentially done. God put a kibosh on his plan. And Paul himself, or Saul at that point, was undone also. His whole life was turned upside down because he met Christ. The very church that Saul was determined to destroy became now Paul's responsibility to serve, to protect, and to love. So it was God who called Paul. And notice what it says in verse 25 of this church. I was made a minister. Paul was made a minister means his ministry was ordained of God and was not something whimsically chosen. You know, in reality, you don't choose your own ministry. You don't choose the gifts that God gives you. God chooses it. And then you either obey what he chose for you or you disobey. There's no other place to go with that. In fact, later on in scripture, we see it in 2 Corinthians, actually, where the apostle says, not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant. See, God is the one who makes us adequate to do the work. Again, the work is impossible. The Christian life's impossible and the work is impossible. That's why we need the whole church. And so God is the one who calls and God is the one who bestows. In verse number 25, what was bestowed upon Paul? It says the stewardship was given to him from God for our benefit. So Paul is a servant of the gospel, and he was given a stewardship as an apostle to further the plan of God's administration of salvation. And the term stewardship really literally means a task of a household administrator, that the apostolic office that God gave Paul was for his redemptive work, which indicated a responsibility, which gave an authority, and which laid upon him an obligation. He was, in other words, a household slave in God's economy and charged with carrying out the management of the house. That's who Paul was. Paul was called to be a committed servant of another person's property. And the property is the souls of men and women in the church of God that was now given to Paul. Tell me that's not a heavy responsibility. It is. It was God who conferred it upon the apostle. And that is a stewardship for the benefit of the church to fully carry out the Christian message, the gospel, to finish something that had already started to grow and to bear fruit in the world. In other words, he was given a stewardship of God's plan of salvation. And all Christians are given a ministry by God in which they are to be good stewards, faithful in the stewardship of God-given gifts. Now, just quickly turn over to 1 Peter 4, verse number 10, because I just want you to see that not only did God give Paul a stewardship, but he gives us a stewardship. All Christians have a stewardship given by God. Not only are they called by God to salvation, but they are called by God to do something, to labor and do something in the church of God. In 1 Peter 4.10, he says this, as each one has received a special gift, employed in serving one another as good stewards, there's that word, of the manifolds manifold grace of God. So not just the elders and deacons, but church ministries depend on God's distribution of spiritual gifts rather than natural abilities. God bestows these gifts and the measure and the manner in which they are to be used in the church. And so in a sense, God gives us a stewardship and we are to manage that stewardship as slaves within his household economy. For what? For building up the church. Because you notice every time you see this word, it says for one another. That we're building the church up, we're using our gifts for the other person. And the other person is using their gift for me. So we are all building each other up by the particular gift and the measure of that gift that God has given you in the list of spiritual gifts in the places of scripture. So you have to find out what is your spiritual gift and then use that gift. You labor for Christ's supremacy by using that gift. So we might define spiritual gifts as an ability given to an individual believer by God in order that the believer might serve God in some particular way. that Christians are given spiritual gifts and they are to be good stewards in the use of those gifts to advance the grand plan of God to save sinners. So discovery of your gift is important so you can use it to labor for Christ and to build his church. That's how God designed it and God has given it to you. And then thirdly, laboring for Christ's supremacy requires speaking for the one in power. And who's the one in power? Well, at this point, because of what is read and referred to in Colossians chapter one, we see that the description of God here, of Jesus Christ, is such an incredible description. that laboring for the supremacy of Christ requires us to speak for him, for the one in power, and not for us. And how do we do that? In verse number 25, it says, we speak the word of God. It says, so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God. Now, Paul is saying this and saying that this is his responsibility. But that word fully is that he's giving this task to fill up what is undone yet, the work of God. And throughout the past ages, people did not have full revelation from God. It was hidden. In really the complex rituals of the tabernacle in the wilderness and the temple worship, which were types of the coming Lamb of God. All the Old Testament shadows and types were pointing to the coming Lamb of God. And now there emerges from the clear revelation of God, the Lamb of God who did come, and whose message is now given to all the saints, and this hidden truth was not given to earthly kings, presidents, prime ministers, prominent political figures, philosophers, or people in important religious positions, no, they were given to the saints of God's church. That's who they were given to. Because if you look in verse 26, it says, that is the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but now but has now been manifest to his saints. So God held certain revelation back, but there was a day that he called the Apostle Paul, and the Apostle Paul's responsibility was to unveil which God kept hidden. And so that's why when you're reading through Colossians, you'll find words like fully carry out, and every man, and all wisdom, and all wealth, and full assurance, and all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, he is carrying out something that has been kept secret. So a second thing we speak is we speak the mystery of God in verse 26, and that this, that is the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations but now has been manifest to his saints. Now what is, what was the revelation that was hidden? The mystery that was hidden from other generations, but given to the Apostle Paul? Well, remember, the meaning of a mystery was an unveiling or a disclosing of something that had been previously hidden by God himself. So the revealing of the great secret of God was the love and the mercy and the grace of God were meant not for the Jews alone, but for all mankind. Before the cross, Gentiles would have to become Jews if they wanted to be part of God's people. Even Ephesians chapter three and verse six says, to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. Whereas now the Gentiles, as that passage says, Gentiles do not become Jews, nor Jews become Gentiles, but both become one new person when they come to Christ in repentance and faith. Now, this information today doesn't seem to be a secret for us anymore, right? Because we read it in scripture. But believe me, when you're reading a passage like John 3, 16, the most familiar passage probably in all the Bible, right? For God so loved the world. Who is he talking to? He was talking to Nicodemus, a teacher and a religious leader of Israel. But Nicodemus wasn't getting it. And God was using words that he wasn't used to. Because Nicodemus would think, well, the world to me is the Jews, not the Gentiles. The Gentiles were dogs. They were the outcast. But Jesus was meaning in the term world, both Jews and Gentiles. That's what threw him off. That's what makes that passage of scripture so different when you look at the whole context. See, Nicodemus had to be explained by the Lord himself what it meant for God's message of salvation to go out, that it was not just for the Jews anymore. It was for every person. Everyone can hear the message of the gospel and be saved. So the fact is, nothing was discovered by human ingenuity and study. And that means that Paul was not the originator of the knowledge of the mystery. He was only the recipient of it. He was the conduit by which the mystery was unveiled. And this mystery points to the powerful work of God in the death of Christ that brings down ethnic barriers in creation the creation of one people. Actually, the Greek term Gentile is the word ethnos, which we get the word nation, people groups. It's used to designate non-Jews. So why should the Lord give such an administration of revealing God's plan to someone like Saul? who hated the name of Jesus Christ and his followers, who hated the Gentiles. Even Paul called himself the chief of sinners for that very reason. In fact, when he was giving a testimony of his life, this is what he said in Acts 22, and I said, Lord, they themselves understand that in one synagogue after another I used to imprison and beat those who believed in you. And when the blood of your witness Stephen was being shed, I also was standing by approving and watching out for the coats of those who were slaying him. And he said to me after Paul communicated this thing about what he understood he did. He said that Jesus said to me, go, and I will send you far away to the Gentiles. See, Paul, it's always ironic when you see God do stuff like this, giving something to someone that they completely hated. these people and now they are, he is ministering to them and ministering to them rejoicing, ministering to them having a heart of love for them, ministering to them wanting them to be saved and be part of understanding the revelation of God so they can rejoice with him. See, that's somebody who's changed. That's somebody who's different. So you see that from even a passage of scripture like this, the Lord wipes out any kind of ethnic differences between people, any kind of race differences between people. He wipes it way, completely out so we actually can have genuine love for people and maybe love for people we once hated. because of the color of their skin, or because of their culture, or because of a particular group they were part of. God wipes that out. That's what he does. So this message is manifest in the people that God saves. And how is it manifest? Well, if you turn back to Colossians chapter one, you'll notice in verse 27, it says, to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, and what is that? Is Christ in you, the hope of glory. See, up to now, the emphasis of the book of Colossians has been that saints are in Christ. But now you have the counterpart here. Christ is now in them. Christ is in us. And here it is, this is the message, Christ in you, the hope of glory, that the gospel changes from a Jewish sect to a worldwide opportunity and all the barriers are down so that Jew and Gentile saints alike are fellow heirs with Christ because he is in them. And if you did not know, a Gentile is anyone who is not a Jew. So that's the amazing plan of God. And if you notice in the verse, God willed it to include Jews and Gentiles. Christ is given freely to the Gentiles in this mystery, and the mystery is not simply that Christ simply Christ himself, but Christ in you, the unbound Christ in you, whom all creation dwells, that all creation is held together, takes up his dwelling in us. See, the exalted Christ now resides in you. That is a staggering thought. That is a staggering thought. It is a breathtaking point of theology. The personal experience and experience and presence of Christ in the individual life of the believer, the indwelling of Christ in the heart, the indwelling of the exalted Christ in individual believers is their assurance of coming glory. For he says, Christ in you, the hope of glory. That means it signifies the certainty that we will experience final glory because it is God's plan. If the spirit of God is in you, you are a believer. If the spirit of God is in you, you are a believer. And if the Spirit of God is in you and you are a believer, you will be different. You will not be the same person you used to be. You will not want to go back to your old life and your old ways and your old friends. You will not. You are different. Why? The Spirit of Christ is in you. It's all over scripture. where it tells us in 1 Corinthians 6 verse 19, or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you? And you have, whom you have from God, and you are not your own. And remember this, that the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of holiness. For again, in 1 Corinthians 3, it says, do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? So that means once the Holy Spirit indwells you, he must start cleaning house. He gets in your heart and he starts cleaning you up. That's what he does. He's a Holy Spirit, right? He's gonna separate you right from your heart unto God. That's a big process. So the Holy Spirit is cleaning us up. He is making changes in our lives, bringing us in conformity to the will of God, and this conformity happens from the inside out, not the outside in. We are changed from the inside out. Also, God wants us to see the fruit of what the Spirit of God is doing on the inside. So the goal of the Christian life is righteousness. We are being sanctified so that we will do what is right. We will do what honors God. Righteousness, holiness, fruit bearing is most evident in our behavior. As 1 Peter communicates to us, but the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves in all your behavior because it is written you shall be holy for I am holy. So that means that the Holy Spirit is making this change in us through the truth, through the word of God. And he's doing it in your mind. He's transforming your mind. He's driving out what is wrong He's driving out those sinful thoughts. He's driving out those lustful thoughts and behaviors and he's putting in new things, things that honor Christ. The word and the spirit go together and should not be separated. The word of God transforms us so that we develop deep biblical convictions and then our conscience will not allow us to live against those convictions. Our conscience will scream when we think we want to go back to the old way and do the old things. And when our conscience screams, we'll understand that our mind is being transformed. So we desire to do what is right. and live in a manner pleasing before the Lord Jesus Christ in all our behavior. See, behavior is at the center of concern in sanctification. Behavior shows what is and is not going on on the inside. Now, can somebody fake behavior? Yes. But the Bible calls them hypocrites. See, no internal transformation may mean a professor or somebody who understands some things can masquerade around with righteous behavior, but with no internal change. So they're not the same in private as they are in public. They are not the same. A real Christian is the same in private, alone with themselves in the shower, as they are in public around other people. And they are very aware of what they say. They are very aware of what they think and what they are thinking. They are very aware of their relationships with people. They are very sensitive to those things. Why? The Spirit of God is in them. And the Spirit of God is changing you every day if you're a real believer. But I tell you what, if you are here today and you have no change, you are not a believer. If you profess Christ, and as far as it goes, you are not a believer. A real believer is someone, yes, who professes Christ, but who lives the Christian life. Not perfectly, but the direction of their life is always to honor the Lord. And why is that? Because the Spirit of God dwells in you. See, so this is the great mystery, that the Spirit of God dwells in both Jews who come to Christ and Gentiles who come to Christ. And God's plan is gonna be consummated at the end. So that was the great mystery. And now it's revealed to us. So this morning, I'm gonna end right there this morning, we have the Lord's Table. I do want to say this and just come back to it next week, is that in verse number 29, You say, well, you know what, I'm not that strong to be able to do these things. The project and the Christian life seems too daunting for me. But rest assured, I want you to notice, that's why we have to depend on God. Verse number 29, notice what it says. It says this, for this purpose also I labor. striving according to his power, which mightily works within me. So God gives us a power that comes from heaven, a power to live the Christian life and do his work that comes from him and has been given to us by him. And the promise of God's presence in suffering is that God will be with you and make you ready for his eternal glory. See, God works in you. And that's another way you know you're a believer, that the things that are taking place in you are beyond you. You're cooperating with them, but they're beyond you. God is doing things in your life that you could never do. And he gives you the power to do it. So you and I are called to labor for Christ's supremacy. That requires suffering with rejoicing. It requires Knowing that God is the source, he gives the ministries. He gives the giftedness. He gives the measure of those gifts. We are to be faithful stewards like Paul of those things. He also, it also requires speaking for the one in power that's speaking for the Lord. We use his word, not our own words. We speak the mystery revealed, which is the word of God's going to everyone, no matter who they are. And that the ultimate thing is that Christ in you is the hope of glory. That is really the greatest truth of all. And then it requires, we'll look at next time, striving. God's power that works within us, we strive for that. And we work with God for that. We are always laboring as Christians. We're never really at rest. until God takes us to our eternal rest. Let's pray. Lord, thank you this morning. Somewhat of a more difficult passage, Lord. And I pray, Lord, that you would just weld it upon our mind that this wonderful, glorious plan of salvation that you have given to us and the work that is now still unfinished has been given to us, that we may continue to proclaim and share the gospel of Jesus Christ, use our gifts to build your church, so that, Lord, we're part of laboring for your supremacy. Because we know, Lord, you are the only way, the only truth, the only life. No one can go to the Father but by you. and let us be a church who understands that. And I thank you, Lord, this morning, asking you, Lord, to make us people who not only profess Christ, but live Christ. And I pray in Christ's name.