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QUESTION #4 What does Paul mean in Colossians 1:24 when he says, “I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church” (italics added for emphasis)? RESPONSE Option #1 — Purgatory: “Roman Catholics have imagined here a reference to the suffering of Christians in purgatory. Christ’s suffering, they maintain, was not enough to purge us completely from our sins. Christians must make up what was lacking in Christ’s suffering on their behalf by their own suffering after death. That can hardly be Paul’s point, however. [1] He has just finished demonstrating that Christ alone is sufficient to reconcile us to God (1:20-23). To do an about face now and teach that believers must help pay for their sins would undermine his whole argument. The New Testament is clear that Christ’s sufferings need nothing added to them. In Jesus’ death on the cross, the work of salvation was completed. [2] Further, the Colossian heretics taught that human works were necessary for salvation. To teach that believers’ suffering was necessary to help expiate their sins would be to play right into the errorists’ hands. [3] The idea that Paul refers to suffering in purgatory is ruled out by both the general content of the epistle and the immediate context, as well as the obvious absence of any mention of a place like purgatory in Scripture. [4] Finally, thlipsis (afflictions) is used nowhere in the New Testament to speak of Christ’s sufferings.”[i] Option #2 — Eschatological: “These sufferings are part and parcel of Christ’s afflictions—not His death on the cross or redemptive sufferings which are ‘finished’—but the afflictions of His people which He endures [cf. Acts 9:4]. The expression Christ’s afflictions is to be understood against an OT and Jewish background with its notion of the afflictions of the end time. These were called the ‘birth-pangs of the Messiah,’ those pains and woes which would occur before the arrival of God’s anointed ruler, the Messiah. In the NT they occur between the first and second comings of Jesus. The exalted Christ is in heaven and before His return He suffers in His members [that is, His spiritual body, the church], not least in the life of Paul himself [cf. 2 Corinthians 11:23-29]. These afflictions have been limited by God; the quota will be complete when the end comes. All Christians take part in these sufferings; it is through them that we enter the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22; 1 Thes. 3:3, 7). Suffering with Christ is essential if we are to be glorified with Him (Rom. 8:17). Through the sufferings he endures in his own flesh, Paul contributes to the sum total, to what is still lacking. The more he suffers the less the Colossians have to.”[ii] Option #3 — Individual: “We may simply understand it to refer to “the persecution that was intended for Christ.” MacArthur explains, “Jesus, having ascended to heaven, was out of their reach. But because His enemies had not filled up all the injuries they wanted to inflict on Him, they turned their hatred on those who preached the gospel. It was in that sense that Paul filled up what was lacking in Christ’s afflictions. In 2 Corinthians 1:5 he wrote that ‘the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance.’ He bore in his body the marks of the blows intended for Christ (Gal. 6:17; cf. 2 Cor. 11:23–28). God is sovereign over these afflictions and knows what is each of our lot [cf. Acts 14:22; 1 Thessalonians 3:3, 7]—so also they might appropriately be enumerated in our lives as ‘filling up…what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ.’”[iii] I prefer this understanding over Option #2, (1) because Option #2 is not a clearly delineated doctrine in Scripture but is instead a bit of a logical leap, (2) because the context is not dealing with eschatological matters but rather present realities, and (3) because Option #3 takes a simple approach to Paul’s statement that is in keeping with his expressions elsewhere (cf. 2 Corinthians 1:5; Galatians 6:17). The Point — Twice in this verse, Paul uses the Greek preposition huper, which means “on behalf of, for the sake of.” Paul saw himself as suffering for the sake of the Colossian believers—yes, even suffering on behalf of the universal body of Christ, His church. While the same preposition is used for Christ’s suffering (cf. 1 Peter 2:21), it obviously carried a different meaning.[iv] Paul’s suffering wasn’t sacrificial, atoning, or propitiatory, as was Jesus’ (1 Corinthians 15:3; 1 Peter 2:24; 3:18); nonetheless, it was still experienced “on the behalf of” or for the benefit of the church. See, Paul practiced what both Peter and John wrote concerning our response to Christ’s sacrificial suffering. Peter wrote in 1 Peter 2:21, “For even [unto suffering] were ye called, because Christ also suffered for [huper] us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow His steps.” John concurred in 1 John 3:16, “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because He laid down His life for [huper] us, and we ought to lay down our lives for [huper] the brethren.” Therefore, while Christ’s suffering and death was more than just an example—it was atoning!—it also serves, for His followers, as an example. That is, just as Jesus suffered and died for our spiritual benefit, we should suffer (and perhaps die) for the spiritual benefit of others. As a servant of the gospel, Paul willingly faced suffering so that others might come to know the hope of the gospel and thereby be reconciled to God (vv. 21-22) and continue in the faith (v. 23). In fact, Paul understands that some would hear the gospel only because of his suffering, like Caesar’s household, for example (cf. Philippians 1:12-13; 4:22). So, he willingly sacrificed his own temporary comfort and convenience for the everlasting glory of gospel fruit (cf. 2 Timothy 2:10).[v] He surrendered himself to temporal suffering, so that others might not experience eternal suffering! Christ suffered in death to save the church, and Paul is suffering in life to help the church! Paul recognized that his suffering served God’s gospel purposes—it “filled up” the ordained afflictions of Christ’s body and gave the Colossians the opportunity to hear the message of salvation and respond in faith. For him to avoid suffering could only have come by his ceasing to proclaim the gospel, thereby forfeiting the opportunity of salvation for those who might hear. So, while suffering is never pleasant, in God’s sovereign plan for His gospel-ministers, it is purposeful. ENDNOTES
[i] John Macarthur, Colossians (Chicago: Moody Press, 1996), pp. 74-75. [ii] D. A. Carson, New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition, 4th ed. (Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994). Cf. Richard R. Melick, Vol. 32, Philippians, Colissians, Philemon, electronic ed., Logos Library System in The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2001), pp. 139-140. [iii] MacArthur, p. 75. [iv] “Jesus’ afflictions became Paul’s sufferings. Paul carefully distinguished between the two. He suffered in his body (‘in my flesh’), and there was a real struggle. The text reveals some parallels between Jesus and Paul. Both suffered in the flesh; both suffered vicariously; both suffered for the gospel; and both suffered for the church. Many differences between them occur, however. Paul did not suffer redemptively. Jesus completed the work of redemption for all people. Paul’s task was to open the door for a universal proclamation of the gospel. At the least, he hoped to convince all people of the validity of the gospel and its application to all persons, Jew or Gentile” (Melick, p. 240). “Participating in the sufferings of Christ is a spiritual experience which is born out of the believer’s union with Christ. Paul is one of a great army of believers who, having taken up their cross and followed Jesus, contribute to the growth of the church worldwide. Christ suffered in death to save the church, and Paul is suffering in life to help the churches. Paul can add nothing to the redemptive work of Christ; there is no sacrificial act of atonement suggested here, rather a participation in the reproach of the Saviour which Paul faced as God’s messenger” (Ian S. McNaughton, Opening Up Colossians and Philemon [Leominster: Day One Publications, 2006], p. 33). [v] John Foxe, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.” |
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