In 1:25 we see that Paul became a minister according to the stewardship of God “to complete the word of God.” The word of God is the divine revelation. No doubt Colossians is part of the completion of God’s revelation through Paul. Without this Epistle, the divine revelation would not be complete. Because Colossians is part of the completion of the divine revelation, the revelation in this book is exceedingly high and rich. Because this revelation is so high and because Paul’s writing is complicated, not many Christians have a proper understanding of this book. We believe that now, at the close of this age, the Lord is opening this book for the sake of His purpose.
In chapter one of Colossians we have a high revelation of who Christ is and of what Christ is. Actually, this book reveals more concerning what Christ is than who He is. Most Christians, however, only know who Christ is; they have little knowledge of what He is. But if we would know the all-inclusive Christ, we must know what He is as well as who He is. It is easier to know who Christ is than to know what He is. In Colossians 1 we see that Christ is the portion of the saints (v. 12), the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, the Head of the Body, the beginning, the firstborn from among the dead, and the One in whom all the fullness was pleased to dwell. Is this fullness related to what Christ is or to who Christ is? It is difficult to say. It seems, however, that Paul personified the fullness. This indicates that he considered the fullness a Person, for the fullness was pleased to dwell in Christ and to reconcile all things. These are the functions of a living Person, not of a thing. As we consider the aspects of Christ unfolded in chapter one, we find that some are related to who Christ is, whereas others are related to what He is.
The revelation of Christ given thus far in Colossians is altogether objective. For example, Christ is objectively the image of God and the firstborn of all creation. However, in verses 24 through 29 we have the stewardship, the economy, the dispensation, through which the objective Christ is dispensed into us. The Christ revealed objectively in verses 15 through 19 is ministered into us in a subjective way through the ministry of God’s steward in verses 25 through 29. Therefore, in Colossians 1 we have both the objective revelation and the subjective ministry. The goal of the subjective ministry is to dispense the Christ of the objective revelation into us. If we had verses 15 through 19 without verses 25 through 29, we would have only the objective revelation, not the subjective ministry. We need the subjective ministry in order for the all-inclusive Christ revealed objectively to be supplied to us.
The subjective ministry of the objective Christ is the completing of the word of God. Hence, the completing of God’s word is not mere doctrine; it is a matter of ministry. Through the subjective ministry, the objective Christ becomes the very Christ in us, according to verse 27. In verses 25 through 29 Christ is no longer merely objective, for He is now the subjective Christ dwelling in us to be our hope of glory. He has become subjective because He has been dispensed into us through the ministry of the steward. Now the objective Christ has become the subjective Christ, the Christ living in us.
It is rather easy to speak of the objective Christ, but it is difficult to minister this Christ into the saints so that He becomes subjective to them. For this, Paul had to labor, struggling according to God’s operation which operated in him in power (v. 29). Paul labored, struggled, agonized, so that the saints could have Christ ministered into them and so that they could experience Him. Paul’s goal in his labor was to “present every man full-grown in Christ.” His aim was to minister Christ to others so that they would become perfect and complete by maturing with Christ in full growth. First Paul endeavored to minister Christ into the saints. For this reason in 1:27 he speaks of “Christ in you.” Then he went on to struggle on behalf of the saints to present “every man full-grown in Christ.” On the one hand, Christ had to be in the saints; on the other hand, the saints had to mature in Christ. This requires a great deal of labor, even struggling according to the divine operation.
It is not easy to help the saints experience the Christ revealed in chapter one of Colossians. In 2:1 Paul spoke of the great struggle he had on behalf of the believers in Colosse and Laodicea. If we desire that others enter into the practical experience of the all-inclusive Christ, we also need to labor on their behalf.
After presenting the objective revelation of Christ, Paul went on to speak of the need for the subjective ministry of Christ. By means of this ministry the objective Christ revealed in 1:15-19 is dispensed into the saints to dwell in them as their hope of glory. Furthermore, there must be the labor, the struggle, to present the saints full-grown in Christ. To minister Christ into others is difficult, but to present others full-grown in Christ is even more difficult. It is crucial that we experience Christ living in us and also that we have the genuine experience of becoming full-grown in Him.