From the TeachingtheWord Bible Knowledgebase

Part two of a three-part series. Read part one.

The study of Colossians 1:24 yields a rich understanding of the Biblical method of preaching. It involves "warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom."

In the first article of this series we took up the question, "What does it mean to truly preach Christ?" We found the definition of genuine Christian preaching in Colossians 1:28. "Him we preach," Paul says, "warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect [or complete] in Christ Jesus."

Christ must be preached, because He is the only hope of sinners. To preach Jesus Christ is to proclaim His person and work as the Creator of the Universe, the Savior of sinners, and the Lord of the Church. We also saw that in the postmodern Evangelical church many counterfeits have supplanted preaching that places the person and work of Jesus Christ at the center.

What Kind of Preaching, and to Whom?

Before we move on, I want to mention something else in this verse that is important to an understanding of the nature of genuine Christian preaching. The Greek word for preaching here is katangello. It is related to euangellizo, the Greek word that is used for the proclamation of the Gospel, from which we derive the English word evangelism. However, katangello has a different focus. The focus is on teaching.

In the context of Colossians chapter one, Paul speaks about evangelism, the proclamation of the good news of the Gospel to all men. But he speaks more specifically about the preaching that must occur in the church, to Christians, if those who have already believed the Gospel are to grow to spiritual maturity. That must be the primary focus of preaching in the church. Paul is speaking of the kind of preaching that you as a believer need to hear, week in and week out, year in and year out, in order to become mature and complete in Christ. That is the focus when Paul says, "Him we preach." Genuine preaching proclaims Christ to Christians in such a way that the end result will be that Christians will grow and mature.

This brings us to a second question that Paul addresses: What is the method of genuine Christian preaching? We find the answer in the next part of Paul's statement. He makes three points in this connection.

"Warning Every Man"

First of all, we preach Christ, he says, "warning every man." What does he mean by "warning"? The word that he uses, noutheteo, means to impart understanding, to instill a way of thinking. Furthermore, the word means to do that in such a way that this new understanding, this new way of thinking, will have a corrective influence on someone -- understanding put into action. Genuine Christian preaching is designed to set someone right in his thinking in areas where his thinking has been wrong. It is the same thought that is behind the Greek word for repentance -- metanoia, a change of mind. It is the same thought that is behind Paul's exhortation in Romans 12:2 -- "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind" -- literally, the renovation of your mind, a complete change in your way of thinking.

Paul uses the phrase "every man" three times in this verse: "warning every man and teaching every man that we may present every man." Who does he mean by "every man"? Who is it that he is warning and teaching through the preaching of Christ? Who is it that is going to be presented complete in Christ? The focus in the grammar of the original Greek of this verse is not on all mankind, but on a particular class of individuals, determined by the context. In this case, the context is clear from verses 27 and 28. Obviously, not "every man" in the entire human race is going to be presented complete in Christ Jesus. Paul is speaking of "every man" among those who have "Christ in you, the hope of glory."

Paul is speaking of those to whom he addressed this letter in chapter one, verse two: "To the saints and faithful brethren who are in Christ." In other words, "every man" in this context means "every believer". The preaching of Christ within the church is to be aimed primarily at the believer. The preaching of Christ within the church is, first of all, so that every believer may be warned -- so that every believer will undergo a renovation of his thinking, a change from thinking after the ways of the world, to thinking after the way of Christ.

"Teaching Every Man"

Secondly, Paul says that the genuine preaching of Christ involves "teaching every man." What does he mean by teaching? The word that he uses, didasko, means to impart doctrine. This is, first of all, doctrine about the person of Christ and about His work of salvation. But beyond that, is it also doctrine about the life that the saint is to live in light of the doctrine of Christ and His salvation, the life that you are to live in your relationships with God, with other believers, and with the world.

Now, you can teach an unbeliever how to live a moral life from the pages of the Bible. Many churches do that today, and many people take the moral precepts that we find in the Bible as a guide for life. But teaching people how to live a moral life in a way that is not built on the foundation of regeneration in Jesus Christ does them absolutely no eternal good. It does not save a sinner. It simply makes a moral man on his way to Hell. Faith in Christ must come first, and only then can a genuine change from a world-centered way of thinking to a Christ-centered way of thinking come about. It is only then, as Matthew 3:8 tells us, that we can truly "bear fruits [that are] worthy of repentance" -- that is, works that are in agreement with the fact of repentance.

"In All Wisdom"

Thirdly, Paul says that genuine Christian preaching is "in all wisdom." What does this mean? It means, "in every form of wisdom" -- "in every kind of wisdom" -- "in every area of wisdom." The grammatical reference is both to "warning every man" and to "teaching every man". What Paul is saying is this: "We warn every man in every area of wisdom, and we teach every man in every area of wisdom."

It is interesting to note that in the book of Colossians, Paul often uses words that the pagans and the false teachers of that day had misappropriated for their own evil purposes. This is one such instance. The false teachers at Colosse claimed that there was higher knowledge for the few, for the spiritually elite, for the people who were of a philosophical turn of mind. For everyone else, for the ignorant masses, all that remained was an un-thinking kind of faith that simply went along with whatever the so-called spiritual elites said was true. But this is not what the Bible teaches, Paul says. This is not what I am declaring to you Colossians. What I am telling you, Paul says, is that the highest wisdom, the wisdom that is in Christ and His Word, every bit of it, is freely open to all.

This, then, is the methodology of genuine Christian preaching. It is preaching primarily to believers. It is preaching of the person and work of Christ in all its fullness, all its implications. It is preaching that renovates the believer's mind. It is preaching that imparts sound doctrine. It is preaching that deals with every kind and area of wisdom from the one source of wisdom, Christ and His Word.

Next: What is the goal of genuine Christian preaching?

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