“Him we proclaim…” - Colossians 1:28 ESV; “Whom we preach…”- Colossians 1:28 KJV
“Let us notice first of all what the Apostle tells us about the nature of this message. ‘Whom we preach’ – a better word there would be, ‘Whom we proclaim.’ The Apostle says: I am a man who is proclaiming something; I am making an announcement; I am making a declaration.
And that at once tells us a great thing about this gospel, does it not? You see, Paul is a proclaimer of the great good news. He is proud of it. He says ‘Whom we proclaim’! He is like a man who has been commissioned to sound a trumpet call. He calls everybody to listen. He has the most marvelous good news to give his readers, the most thrilling good news that this world has ever heard. This message that we are considering together is the greatest thing in the world at this moment. There is nothing to compare with it. It is the most glorious, the most wonderful thing.
Charles Wesley wrote a hymn which says:
O for a thousand tongues to sing
My great Redeemer’s praise!
Could you sing that honestly? Would you really mean it? Do you wish that you had a thousand tongues to proclaim what you know about the gospel and what you feel concerning the Lord Jesus Christ? Do you feel that? Charles Wesley did; Paul did. So, you see, the way we test whether we believe the gospel or not, at the very beginning, is to ask ourselves: Is this the most glorious and wonderful thing we have ever heard of or ever can hear of? If it is not, then it is not the gospel. Take the idea that you make yourself a Christian by living a good life – there is no good news about that, is there? There is nothing thrilling. You do not need a thousand tongues to proclaim that. But this, says Paul, is good news, it is a proclamation!”
Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Love So Amazing: Exposition of Colossians I,
An all-inclusive message
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