I remember watching Blue Peter years ago. There was a man on the programme whose job was to look through thousands of bank notes every day to check for any fakes. The presenters asked him: 'How are you trained? Are you shown lots of fakes so you know what to look for?' 'No', he replied. 'The trick is to get to know the genuine note so well that you immediately spot when something isn't quite right'.
To spot the fake, you have got to know the genuine article. That is why Paul includes Colossians 1.24-29 in his letter. He is worried that the Colossians might be deceived and led astray by false teachers with 'fine-sounding arguments' (2.4). To help them spot the frauds, false teachers who are not true servants of Christ, he describes the genuine article - his own ministry. He is not boasting; his concern is pastoral. His description of his ministry points us to what genuine gospel ministry should look like. That should help us both to avoid the fake and also to spot the kind of ministry we should sit under and should practice ourselves.
1. The authentic gospel minister serves God's people
