Our Mission

Colossians 1: ²⁴Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church.

As I pondered what Paul meant here, at first I was puzzled, for I fully believed that Jesus’ work was completed on the cross. I know that the work of redemption for our salvation was complete. But after he was resurrected He gave clear instructions:

1. Wait for the filling of the Holy Spirit.

2. Go into the entire world.

3. Preach the Gospel.

4. Make Disciples.

After Jesus had ascended his physical body was no longer here, and so we have been made his ambassadors. Our preparation for this task is the infilling of the Spirit. Paul said, “We have this treasure in vessels of clay.” And those who are filled become the Church, which is His body in the world today. Paul personally felt that holy obligation to accomplish that mission which was given to him, that is to build up the church of Christ. When we are transformed by the new birth these things must happen:

1. We repent and turn from sin.

2. Our sins are forgiven.

3. We are made a new creation in Christ.

4. We are given the gift of the Holy Spirit.

<>We all gladly receive the first three of these, but sometimes we do not understand about the fourth one. The scripture says, this is the deposit or seal (confirmation) that we really are children of God. It involves our will, our determination to obey God’s will in our lives. It means that we will strive with all our heart to maintain this wonderful relationship. Paul warns us not to quench the Spirit or grieve the Spirit for in so doing we jeopardize our growth as a Christian, on the other hand, if we continually seek God’s will in our lives by reading the Word and yielding to his will He will have our all and we will be filled with the Spirit and exhibit the fruits of the Spirit.. This is the qualification we need to be effective in reaching others for Christ. Then we will feel that holy obligation that Paul experienced.

<>Love,

Howard