There’s a word the Apostle Paul uses in Colossians 1:29 that we often take the wrong way. He says, “I toil.” The Greek word behind it conveys the idea of working to the point of weariness; bone-tired, spent, exhausted labor. This is not the language of a motivational poster. It is the language of a man giving all of himself for something that matters infinitely.

But here’s what makes it gospel: Paul doesn’t toil for Christ in some desperate, white-knuckle, prove-yourself-to-God kind of way. He toils in Christ. And that changes everything.

The Mystery That Drives the Mission

Paul’s toil is a response to amazing grace. It flows from God’s revelation, “The mystery hidden for ages and generations, but now revealed to his saints” (Col 1:26). And what is that mystery? It’s staggering in its profound simplicity: “Christ in y’all, the hope of glory” (v. 27, “you” is second person plural).

This isn’t a private spiritual secret for the spiritually elite. Paul says God chose to make known “how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery” (Col 1:26). The mystery has gone public. It’s for everyone. 

Christ in y’all. Not Christ admired from a distance. Not Christ consulted in emergencies. Christ dwelling in you, your hope, your glory, your whole future secured in Him. That Gospel revelation is what fuels everything in Paul’s mission. 

Proclaim Him: Warn All, Teach All

So what does Paul actually do with this mystery? He tells us in Colossians 1:28: “Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.”

Notice the movement: proclaiming, described as both warning all and teaching all. And notice the object: Him. Not a system of thought. Not a philosophy, not an ethical program. Not a self-help strategy. Not a spiritual technique. Him. This is Christ-centered ministry from the inside out.

The proclamation is emphatic. It’s an authoritative declaration of facts — truths. It is the kind of declaration you make about something that matters, not just for you, but for everyone, something that demands a response from all who hear. Paul isn’t suggesting Jesus. He’s heralding Him.

The warning of proclamation is urgent. It involves admonishing and correcting based on the clear truth that Christ is the only way of salvation for everyone. All are sinners and will face eternal judgment apart from Christ

The teaching aspect of our proclamation involves instruction in the truth. It is formative over time. And it is rooted in the wisdom of God’s revelation, which is to say it is rooted in Christ: “Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. 2:3). 

Warning without teaching brings guilt without hope. Teaching without warning provides information without urgency, deceiving hearers. The bad news is real. The good news is better. You need both for the true Gospel.

The goal? To “present everyone mature in Christ.” The word for “mature” is teleios; it’s the language of completion, wholeness, someone who has arrived at the purpose for which they were made. This is what success looks like in ministry. Not crowds. Not platforms. Maturity in Christ. People who know Christ, trust Christ, and faithfully reflect Christ.

The Goal Requires Toil — But Not Alone

Paul brings it home: “For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me” (Col. 1:29).

Look at the tension in that sentence. It is toil. Real work. Hard work. The kind that costs you something. “Walking in a manner worthy of the Lord” (Col. 1:10) is not passive. Bearing fruit in every good work requires effort. Faithfulness in ministry, discipleship, and Christian living is not a spectator sport.

But, and this is the heartbeat of the whole passage, Paul says he struggles “with all His energy that He powerfully works within me.” The source of the toil is God’s supernatural work. Christ’s Spirit-empowered energy, working through Paul’s effort. Thus, any fruit produced is glory to God in Christ, not glory to Paul (or us).

This is how you avoid two equal and opposite errors. On one side, the passive Christian who thinks surrender means disengagement, “let go and let God.” On the other side is the driven, striving, white-knuckled servant who is always running on fumes because he acts as if it all depends on him. 

Christ in y’all, the hope of glory, leads to toiling in Christ, y’all, because of the hope of glory. In fact, the logic of the text is that it’s only those who respond to the truth of the Gospel of Christ by toiling in Christ who grow in the hope of glory. It is those who put that hope to the test by doing things they would have never done apart from Christ, who grow in that hope because they put it to the test. They learn it experientially.

Hoping and Toiling in Christ, Y’all

The whole passage from Christ the preeminent one (Col. 1:15–20) to Christ the reconciler (Col 1:21–23) to Christ the hope of glory (Col. 1:27) lands here: in a community of people who are proclaiming Him, hoping and toiling in Christ together.