The True Secret
Colossians 1:24-2:3
Message #4
In 2006 a movie and book were released that was called “The Secret.” It was a re-write of a re-write of a higher thinking, a higher spiritualizing of life. The concept originated in the 1800s and was called “New Thought,” and it basically says there was a secret, a higher knowledge, that you could attain and access to improve your life. The book, in 2006, sold thirty million copies, which means a lot of people want The Secret. But it was a 150-year-old “not so secret” concept higher knowledge – higher thought – higher spiritualizing. And in fact, it is very similar to what was happening in the Colossian church in 61 AD and what eventually became known as Gnosticism (meaning – Higher Knowledge).
And so, Paul is writing to the Colossians to say, HERE is the true secret, HERE is the true highest knowledge, and as we will read next week in Colossians 2 verse 8,
Colossians 2:8 (NLT)
8 (so) Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ
The enemy is satisfied with any philosophy, spiritual ideology, religion – anything – that diminishes Christ. Anything that takes your eyes off of Jesus Christ, the lord of hell – Satan – will applaud it because it does you no good. And that includes so-called Christian religion that minimizes Christ.
Guys, if we will get to know God’s true secret, we will immediately recognize what Paul calls empty philosophies… that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world.
THAT is our goal in our study of Colossians. Know the real thing – so we won’t be captured by the false thing. If you know Jesus so well, when you hear something like that, you will know it is off, it is not right. As we study this letter, we will learn to know Christ so well that we sense the false ideas or philosophies that are rampant in this world.
As we start in Colossians 1, verse 24, today, Paul leads into his revealing of the true secret by first establishing his love for the Church and the responsibility God has given him to serve the Church.
Remember, Paul was suffering in prison when he wrote to the Colossians, whom he had never met. And Paul says to them the following, in verse 24.
Colossians 1:24 (NLT)
24 I am glad (I rejoice) when I suffer for you in my body, for I am participating in the sufferings of Christ that continue for his body, the church.
This is important, so let’s take a minute here.
The words “for you” mean “on your behalf – for your benefit.” Paul is rejoicing because he considers it a privilege to suffer on behalf of – for the benefit of a group of believers he has never met.
That is something that is extremely foreign in our church culture today – isn’t it?
When was the last time you heard a Christian say, “Alright. I found a church that I can suffer for.”? That’s a foreign thought because our Church culture teaches us just the opposite, doesn’t it? We are taught to evaluate people and churches based on what THEY can do for us. But the Bible calls us to the exact opposite of what our Church culture teaches us. The Bible calls us to rejoice (be glad) when we are privileged to suffer FOR the Church. The only church-growth book that’s brave enough to state that truth is the Bible.
So, continuing in verse 24… If you are reading the NKJ today, the second half of verse 24 requires some explaining. So, let me explain to you what the original is saying by simply reading the NLT.
Colossians 1:24 (NLT)
24 I am glad when I suffer for you in my body, for I am participating in the sufferings of Christ that continue for his body, the church.
The word translated “participating” means “I’m taking my turn, I’m doing my part.” And the phrase translated “that continue” means “to come behind” or “to follow the lead.”
So, Paul is saying, “I rejoice in my physical suffering for you, because I’m taking my turn, I’m following Christ’s lead, by suffering for his Church.”
Please listen carefully to this statement.
When you set aside your self-concerns and self-issues and sacrificially serve the ones that Christ died for, you are participating (doing your part) and following Christ’s lead to suffer for his Body – the Church.
Let me point out that none of us are going to go to prison for loving the Body. None of us are going to receive thirty-nine lashes or be stoned. None of us are going to experience what Paul experienced. But here’s what we experience. We experience hurt. We experience pain because every church is full of sinners – right to the top. And sinners hurt people. And so, we probably won’t do the thirty-nine lashes, or be in stocks, or thrown in jail, but someone’s going to hurt you. And they’re probably going to hurt you bad. And what if you said, “Lord, I’m participating in your suffering. I’m following after you in the sufferings for your Body.”? Oh – that’s heavy (and that’s just the first verse, today).
The Church is going to hurt you, and the devil wants to use it to drive you away from Christ. And God calls you to suffer for the Church. It’s just the truth. Suffering, for us, means that we get hurt. Our pride gets hurt, we don’t get what we want, things don’t work out the way we want.
We cannot add to what Jesus Christ has done for the Church, but we can do our part in the sufferings that continue for the Body of Christ – his Church. (Awesome lesson.)
I didn’t mean for that to be so heavy. Listen twenty years, and this church is absolutely the healthiest, blessed, most rejoicing Body of Christ I have ever been part of. This Body is really, really healthy. It truly is! (By the way, today is our twenty-first anniversary as a church.) Our church is really healthy – but I am telling you, this is our Church culture; the devil uses it.
Then, Paul moves from suffering for the Church to his responsibility to serve the Church. That’s another antithesis of our Church culture… I have a responsibility to serve the Church. It’s a commission – it’s The Great Commission.
Colossians 1:25 (NLT)
25 God has given me the responsibility of serving his church by proclaiming his entire message to you.
Paul is under a commission by his Commanding Officer to sacrificially serve the Body of Christ by proclaiming God’s entire message to them. It is a great commission. In fact, it is THE Great Commission. And it is a commission you and I share with the Apostle Paul as we take our responsibility to do our part to make Disciples in the Church.
So first, Paul makes his sacrificial love clear and his responsibility to proclaim the entire message of God – clear. And then, speaking of the entire message of God.
Colossians 1:26 says (NLT)
26 This message (that Paul was responsible to proclaim) was kept secret for centuries and generations past, but now it has been revealed to God’s people.
The definition of “a secret (or mystery)” in the Bible is simply something “previously un-revealed” by God. And God’s full plan and purpose was kept secret for so, so long, but now it has been revealed to God’s people.
The TRUE SECRET is no longer a secret
The TRUE SECRET is now a revelation
There were some in Colossae who claimed to have a “higher” “secret” knowledge, but the true secret of God has now been revealed.
HOW can there be a higher knowledge than God?
HOW can there be a greater secret than God’s secret?
And so, finally, the secret starts in the first half of verse 27.
Colossians 1:27(a) (NLT)
27 For God wanted them (God’s people, verse 26) to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too . . .
The word “Gentiles” means “the Nations.” It’s everybody except the Jews. This is saying the riches and glory of Christ are for THE NATIONS. For everybody – for you, too.
One translation (CSB) says God wanted to make known among the Gentiles the glorious wealth of this mystery
God wanted to make known the riches and glory of Christ are [available] for you Gentiles
God wanted to make known the glorious wealth of this mystery – for ALL peoples
God wants to make known to his People and to all of creation what 1 Peter 1:12 says is so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen. The true secret, the true mystery that even the angelic realm doesn’t understand, is in the second half of verse 27.
Colossians 1:27(b) (NLT)
27 . . . And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.
We have got to hear this. The true secret – the real mystery – of God all the riches and the glory of the greatest mystery of God that is offered to every person… is that through your faith Jesus Christ, the Eternal Author and Giver of Life, lives in you.
THAT is the true secret. And the life of Jesus Christ living in you, is your assurance, your guarantee of you SHARING his glory for eternity.
THAT is the greatest life-changing secret that God could ever reveal to us. Jesus Christ living in you, is your assurance of you sharing his glory – for eternity. THAT is the true secret and the greatest mystery of God.
When you put your full faith and trust in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, his life becomes your life.
The Creator of Heaven and Earth
The Center of Heaven’s focus
The Almighty God… comes to LIVE IN YOU
The true secret of God, which blows away every other so-called secret of man, is that Jesus Christ actually LIVES within the Believer and his life in us is our guarantee of us sharing his glory with him forever. Christ in you is your hope of glory. And biblical hope is not wishful thinking. This hope is “A confident expectation based on solid certainty.”
And so, we don’t preach a process, program, ideology, a philosophy, a concept, or a theory. We preach a PERSON – we preach Christ!
Colossians 1:28 says (NLT)
28 So we tell others about Christ (we preach Christ), warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God, perfect (complete/mature) in their relationship to Christ.
Notice that our calling is to present people to God complete in their relationship with Christ. Nothing about rules, or religion, or our way of thinking… Our calling is to present people to God complete IN their relationship with Christ. We preach the PERSON of Jesus Christ and a real, transforming relationship with him because his life in you is your assurance of eternal glory.
We are called to warn and teach every person that we may present every person to God complete and mature in their relationship to Christ. We are called to make mature disciples who know the true secret that Jesus living in us is the assurance of our eternal glory!!
Is it an easy calling – NO
Can we do it on our own – NO
Has God given us the power to do it – YES
Colossians 1:29 (NLT)
29 That’s why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me.
Paul says I work hard – I struggle hard. THAT is the “our part” part. And I depend on Christ’s mighty power that works within me. THAT is the life of Christ living in us part.
We still work hard, and we still struggle hard, but we depend on the supernatural, mighty power of the life of Jesus Christ that is at work within us. We work hard, and we struggle but not in our own strength but IN the dynamite life-changing power of Jesus Christ living and working within us.
Then, in Chapter 2, Paul continues to explain how hard he has worked and how much he has struggled.
Colossians 2:1 (NLT)
1 I want you to know how much I have agonized for you and for the church at Laodicea, and for many other believers who have never met me personally.
Paul is IN the battle, and the battle is real, and Paul is agonizing for the Churches and for many other believers who have never met him. And what exactly is he agonizing for?
Colossians 2:2(a) (NLT)
2 I want them to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love . . .
The enemy is trying to sow this false teaching of a higher knowledge into the Church, and Paul is agonizing that the church would be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love because that is the number one way to keep the enemy from getting a claw in the door. We keep the enemy out by us standing together – knit together by strong ties of love.
And then verse 2 goes back to the true secret in order to close this thought.
Colossians 2:2(b) (NLT)
2 . . . I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ himself.
God’s mysterious plan is Jesus Christ himself!!
But – that’s NOT a plan, that’s a PERSON – EXACTLY!
But – that’s NOT a religion, that’s a PERSON – EXACTLY!
God want us to have complete confidence that we understand his mysterious plan, which is Christ himself.
NOT an idea, or a philosophy, NOT a religion, or a higher knowledge.
A PERSON – JESUS!!
The Name above every other name. The Name at which every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess – that he is Lord! Why? Why is the true secret of God that Jesus Christ lives in us? Because…
Colossians 2:3 (NLT)
3 In him (in Christ) lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
There can be no higher knowledge and no greater wisdom when all of the true treasures of wisdom and knowledge lie hidden in Christ, and Christ lives in you!!
The true secret of the true God of Heaven and Earth is that when we put our full faith in Jesus Christ, God promises us that the life of Jesus Christ will live in us and the life of Jesus Christ – who conquered sin, and death, and the grave – and who is alive in us IS our absolute guarantee that we will share his glory for eternity with him.
The people who have sold thirty million copies of a “supposed secret” of “higher knowledge” are getting rich, but they are offering you nothing to deal with your sin, and that sin separates you from spending an eternity in glory with God.
BUT – Jesus Christ paid for your sin completely. And when you put your faith in him, what he has done on your behalf becomes what you have done before God. And his life living in you gives you rock-solid assurance of you sharing his glory for eternity.
Don’t be duped. God’s true secret is you receiving Jesus Christ into your life – as your Savior and Lord.
Christ in you is your assurance of eternal life in glory with him.
And so, Paul is writing to the Colossians to say, HERE is the true secret, HERE is the true highest knowledge, and as we will read next week in Colossians 2 verse 8,
Colossians 2:8 (NLT)
8 (so) Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ
The enemy is satisfied with any philosophy, spiritual ideology, religion – anything – that diminishes Christ. Anything that takes your eyes off of Jesus Christ, the lord of hell – Satan – will applaud it because it does you no good. And that includes so-called Christian religion that minimizes Christ.
Guys, if we will get to know God’s true secret, we will immediately recognize what Paul calls empty philosophies… that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world.
THAT is our goal in our study of Colossians. Know the real thing – so we won’t be captured by the false thing. If you know Jesus so well, when you hear something like that, you will know it is off, it is not right. As we study this letter, we will learn to know Christ so well that we sense the false ideas or philosophies that are rampant in this world.
As we start in Colossians 1, verse 24, today, Paul leads into his revealing of the true secret by first establishing his love for the Church and the responsibility God has given him to serve the Church.
Remember, Paul was suffering in prison when he wrote to the Colossians, whom he had never met. And Paul says to them the following, in verse 24.
Colossians 1:24 (NLT)
24 I am glad (I rejoice) when I suffer for you in my body, for I am participating in the sufferings of Christ that continue for his body, the church.
This is important, so let’s take a minute here.
The words “for you” mean “on your behalf – for your benefit.” Paul is rejoicing because he considers it a privilege to suffer on behalf of – for the benefit of a group of believers he has never met.
That is something that is extremely foreign in our church culture today – isn’t it?
When was the last time you heard a Christian say, “Alright. I found a church that I can suffer for.”? That’s a foreign thought because our Church culture teaches us just the opposite, doesn’t it? We are taught to evaluate people and churches based on what THEY can do for us. But the Bible calls us to the exact opposite of what our Church culture teaches us. The Bible calls us to rejoice (be glad) when we are privileged to suffer FOR the Church. The only church-growth book that’s brave enough to state that truth is the Bible.
So, continuing in verse 24… If you are reading the NKJ today, the second half of verse 24 requires some explaining. So, let me explain to you what the original is saying by simply reading the NLT.
Colossians 1:24 (NLT)
24 I am glad when I suffer for you in my body, for I am participating in the sufferings of Christ that continue for his body, the church.
The word translated “participating” means “I’m taking my turn, I’m doing my part.” And the phrase translated “that continue” means “to come behind” or “to follow the lead.”
So, Paul is saying, “I rejoice in my physical suffering for you, because I’m taking my turn, I’m following Christ’s lead, by suffering for his Church.”
Please listen carefully to this statement.
When you set aside your self-concerns and self-issues and sacrificially serve the ones that Christ died for, you are participating (doing your part) and following Christ’s lead to suffer for his Body – the Church.
Let me point out that none of us are going to go to prison for loving the Body. None of us are going to receive thirty-nine lashes or be stoned. None of us are going to experience what Paul experienced. But here’s what we experience. We experience hurt. We experience pain because every church is full of sinners – right to the top. And sinners hurt people. And so, we probably won’t do the thirty-nine lashes, or be in stocks, or thrown in jail, but someone’s going to hurt you. And they’re probably going to hurt you bad. And what if you said, “Lord, I’m participating in your suffering. I’m following after you in the sufferings for your Body.”? Oh – that’s heavy (and that’s just the first verse, today).
The Church is going to hurt you, and the devil wants to use it to drive you away from Christ. And God calls you to suffer for the Church. It’s just the truth. Suffering, for us, means that we get hurt. Our pride gets hurt, we don’t get what we want, things don’t work out the way we want.
We cannot add to what Jesus Christ has done for the Church, but we can do our part in the sufferings that continue for the Body of Christ – his Church. (Awesome lesson.)
I didn’t mean for that to be so heavy. Listen twenty years, and this church is absolutely the healthiest, blessed, most rejoicing Body of Christ I have ever been part of. This Body is really, really healthy. It truly is! (By the way, today is our twenty-first anniversary as a church.) Our church is really healthy – but I am telling you, this is our Church culture; the devil uses it.
Then, Paul moves from suffering for the Church to his responsibility to serve the Church. That’s another antithesis of our Church culture… I have a responsibility to serve the Church. It’s a commission – it’s The Great Commission.
Colossians 1:25 (NLT)
25 God has given me the responsibility of serving his church by proclaiming his entire message to you.
Paul is under a commission by his Commanding Officer to sacrificially serve the Body of Christ by proclaiming God’s entire message to them. It is a great commission. In fact, it is THE Great Commission. And it is a commission you and I share with the Apostle Paul as we take our responsibility to do our part to make Disciples in the Church.
So first, Paul makes his sacrificial love clear and his responsibility to proclaim the entire message of God – clear. And then, speaking of the entire message of God.
Colossians 1:26 says (NLT)
26 This message (that Paul was responsible to proclaim) was kept secret for centuries and generations past, but now it has been revealed to God’s people.
The definition of “a secret (or mystery)” in the Bible is simply something “previously un-revealed” by God. And God’s full plan and purpose was kept secret for so, so long, but now it has been revealed to God’s people.
The TRUE SECRET is no longer a secret
The TRUE SECRET is now a revelation
There were some in Colossae who claimed to have a “higher” “secret” knowledge, but the true secret of God has now been revealed.
HOW can there be a higher knowledge than God?
HOW can there be a greater secret than God’s secret?
And so, finally, the secret starts in the first half of verse 27.
Colossians 1:27(a) (NLT)
27 For God wanted them (God’s people, verse 26) to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too . . .
The word “Gentiles” means “the Nations.” It’s everybody except the Jews. This is saying the riches and glory of Christ are for THE NATIONS. For everybody – for you, too.
One translation (CSB) says God wanted to make known among the Gentiles the glorious wealth of this mystery
God wanted to make known the riches and glory of Christ are [available] for you Gentiles
God wanted to make known the glorious wealth of this mystery – for ALL peoples
God wants to make known to his People and to all of creation what 1 Peter 1:12 says is so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen. The true secret, the true mystery that even the angelic realm doesn’t understand, is in the second half of verse 27.
Colossians 1:27(b) (NLT)
27 . . . And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.
We have got to hear this. The true secret – the real mystery – of God all the riches and the glory of the greatest mystery of God that is offered to every person… is that through your faith Jesus Christ, the Eternal Author and Giver of Life, lives in you.
THAT is the true secret. And the life of Jesus Christ living in you, is your assurance, your guarantee of you SHARING his glory for eternity.
THAT is the greatest life-changing secret that God could ever reveal to us. Jesus Christ living in you, is your assurance of you sharing his glory – for eternity. THAT is the true secret and the greatest mystery of God.
When you put your full faith and trust in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, his life becomes your life.
The Creator of Heaven and Earth
The Center of Heaven’s focus
The Almighty God… comes to LIVE IN YOU
The true secret of God, which blows away every other so-called secret of man, is that Jesus Christ actually LIVES within the Believer and his life in us is our guarantee of us sharing his glory with him forever. Christ in you is your hope of glory. And biblical hope is not wishful thinking. This hope is “A confident expectation based on solid certainty.”
And so, we don’t preach a process, program, ideology, a philosophy, a concept, or a theory. We preach a PERSON – we preach Christ!
Colossians 1:28 says (NLT)
28 So we tell others about Christ (we preach Christ), warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God, perfect (complete/mature) in their relationship to Christ.
Notice that our calling is to present people to God complete in their relationship with Christ. Nothing about rules, or religion, or our way of thinking… Our calling is to present people to God complete IN their relationship with Christ. We preach the PERSON of Jesus Christ and a real, transforming relationship with him because his life in you is your assurance of eternal glory.
We are called to warn and teach every person that we may present every person to God complete and mature in their relationship to Christ. We are called to make mature disciples who know the true secret that Jesus living in us is the assurance of our eternal glory!!
Is it an easy calling – NO
Can we do it on our own – NO
Has God given us the power to do it – YES
Colossians 1:29 (NLT)
29 That’s why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me.
Paul says I work hard – I struggle hard. THAT is the “our part” part. And I depend on Christ’s mighty power that works within me. THAT is the life of Christ living in us part.
We still work hard, and we still struggle hard, but we depend on the supernatural, mighty power of the life of Jesus Christ that is at work within us. We work hard, and we struggle but not in our own strength but IN the dynamite life-changing power of Jesus Christ living and working within us.
Then, in Chapter 2, Paul continues to explain how hard he has worked and how much he has struggled.
Colossians 2:1 (NLT)
1 I want you to know how much I have agonized for you and for the church at Laodicea, and for many other believers who have never met me personally.
Paul is IN the battle, and the battle is real, and Paul is agonizing for the Churches and for many other believers who have never met him. And what exactly is he agonizing for?
Colossians 2:2(a) (NLT)
2 I want them to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love . . .
The enemy is trying to sow this false teaching of a higher knowledge into the Church, and Paul is agonizing that the church would be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love because that is the number one way to keep the enemy from getting a claw in the door. We keep the enemy out by us standing together – knit together by strong ties of love.
And then verse 2 goes back to the true secret in order to close this thought.
Colossians 2:2(b) (NLT)
2 . . . I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ himself.
God’s mysterious plan is Jesus Christ himself!!
But – that’s NOT a plan, that’s a PERSON – EXACTLY!
But – that’s NOT a religion, that’s a PERSON – EXACTLY!
God want us to have complete confidence that we understand his mysterious plan, which is Christ himself.
NOT an idea, or a philosophy, NOT a religion, or a higher knowledge.
A PERSON – JESUS!!
The Name above every other name. The Name at which every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess – that he is Lord! Why? Why is the true secret of God that Jesus Christ lives in us? Because…
Colossians 2:3 (NLT)
3 In him (in Christ) lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
There can be no higher knowledge and no greater wisdom when all of the true treasures of wisdom and knowledge lie hidden in Christ, and Christ lives in you!!
The true secret of the true God of Heaven and Earth is that when we put our full faith in Jesus Christ, God promises us that the life of Jesus Christ will live in us and the life of Jesus Christ – who conquered sin, and death, and the grave – and who is alive in us IS our absolute guarantee that we will share his glory for eternity with him.
The people who have sold thirty million copies of a “supposed secret” of “higher knowledge” are getting rich, but they are offering you nothing to deal with your sin, and that sin separates you from spending an eternity in glory with God.
BUT – Jesus Christ paid for your sin completely. And when you put your faith in him, what he has done on your behalf becomes what you have done before God. And his life living in you gives you rock-solid assurance of you sharing his glory for eternity.
Don’t be duped. God’s true secret is you receiving Jesus Christ into your life – as your Savior and Lord.
Christ in you is your assurance of eternal life in glory with him.