Colossians 1:25

Here, he said he is a servant of the church. In another place, he stated he is a servant of Christ (Romans 1:1). And in a previous verse (v23), he mentioned that he is a servant of the gospel.

Which is it?

The answer is all of the above.

But how?

Let me explain with an illustration: It's like the servant in the house (Paul), who serves the master of the house (Christ) and, in that role, also serves the children in the house (the church) with food (the gospel).

The church is not going to reward Paul for his service; the reward comes from the Master. Paul is not supposed to minister his opinion, but the Gospel. And his opinion aligns with the Gospel, as Christ is revealed in him (Galatians 1:16).

• Paul serves the church according to the will of God.

• The church does not determine Paul's actions; God does.

• Paul is not submitted to the church, but to God.

• Paul informs the church of God's will.

The lead verse clearly states that Paul has been appointed a steward by God for the sake of His church. Paul is not a servant for his own pocket, name, or agenda, much like Christ said, "Not my will, but yours be done" (Luke 22:42).

Paul as steward means:

• He has been sent on an errand by God.

• He speaks the truth because that is what God wants, not because that's what people would want.

• He made it very clear that the reason he has the mandate to preach is because of the believers.

• He stands representing God, presenting God to the people.

• He labors and suffers persecution, not for himself, but for the sake of believers.

And not only him; other apostles similarly suffered.

The apostles were put in jail, but God did not say that was enough, they can go and rest (Acts 5:17-21). He did not tell them to try to hide their heads. Rather, He sent His angel, who told them to continue doing what they were doing before they got into trouble with the authorities. Because spreading the word of truth is more important than their lives.
They learned a lesson that day: the strength of the opposition does not mean that what they are saying is not the truth.

Just like Job.

The severity of the difficulties Job experienced was not indicative of God's pleasure or displeasure with him. It is because there are things beyond the purview of the natural man that influence events on Earth.

So Paul and others forged ahead, as Jesus did in fulfilling the will of God. Paul was told he had lost his mind (Acts 26:24), and Jesus was said to be out of his mind (Mark 3:21), but they lived as those who could see the invisible (Hebrews 11:27). Therefore Paul wrote that the temporary afflictions because of Christ are not worthy to be compared with the glory that will be revealed to us (Romans 8:18).

Paul said he has the mission to complete the word of God.

While they are other servants of the church, Paul was claiming something unique here. This seems to have played out with him writing most of the New Testament.

It is interesting that Paul saw himself as playing the role of someone who would complete the word of God, who would give the finishing note to the truth of God. When something is complete, there is nothing else remaining.

If we cannot find something in the writings of scripture (Bible) that God providentially preserved for us, including Paul’s words, we are actually obligated to reject it. That would immediately flush many religions down the toilet.

God has made absolute truth claims in His Son Jesus Christ, as the one we should listen to (Matthew 17:5), and Paul came as the God-whisperer, mandated to complete the word of God and bring finality to the revelation of truth.

The unique role that God gave Paul to fulfill drove him, so much so that he said he worked harder than everyone else (1 Corinthians 15:10). As it were, the weight of the church lies on his shoulders, and he said so himself (2 Corinthians 11:28). Paul stands as a man apart, not for his own sake, but for the sake of the millions/billions who would be Christians after him.

The writings of Paul became the chokepoint of truth. As many heresies and wrong practices were emerging in his day, polluting the clear waters of Christianity, the writings of Paul became the narrow gate (Matthew 7:13-14).

As Jesus said, there is a wide gate that leads to destruction (Matthew 7:13-14), and many people who find it believe it is leading them to life, or they have convinced themselves or have been convinced that it is.

But thanks be to God, who has chosen us in Him to belong to the truth, to follow the path of life, the narrow way that leads to life.