The Christ-Shaped

What is the goal of the Christian life? Having meditated on the person and nature of Christ, Paul shifts gears to discuss how his ministry intersects with those following Christ. That is, he states the function and purpose of his ministry—to those he knew and those he hadn’t met face to face; the purpose or goal was maturity in Christ. For us who are united with Christ, the hope is that we are “encouraged, … knit together in love…, reach[ing] all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ” (Col. 2:2).