The Mystery of God, Christ in You The Hope of Glory (Colossians 1:24-29)
‘Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and fill up on my part that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh, for his body's sake, which is the church whereof I was made a minister.'
Paul rejoices that he can suffer for Christ and for His people, for he knows that God's purposes are carried forward through suffering, which has a worthwhile chastening influence on the people of God and is a consequence of the battle with evil (Romans 5:1-4; Hebrews 12:3-13). A century later Tertullian, a late second century Christian leader, could speak of ‘the blood of the martyrs which is the seed of the church' because of the converting effect it had on the world.
The church is made the body of Christ by being united with Him in His body, and as He has suffered they too must anticipate suffering. Thus Paul speaks elsewhere of ‘the fellowship of His sufferings, becoming conformed to His death' (Philippians 3:9), and here he rejoices that he has a part in that ‘fellowship', that ‘sharing together', aware that it has a part to play in the final fulfilment of the purposes of God.
‘I fill up on my part.' The afflictions of Christ had resulted in Paul being reckoned as righteous before God (Romans 3:24-25), they had resulted in his being crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20), they had resulted in his being redeemed by the blood of Christ (Ephesians 1:7) and reconciled to God (Colossians 1:20), but what they did not do, for he had not personally experienced them, was work in him the direct benefits arising from his personally suffering for Christ. So now he gladly suffers (but not voluntarily, there is no suggestion of his inflicting suffering on himself) so that the beneficial effects of suffering may be his (Romans 5:3; 2 Corinthians 1:4; Hebrews 12:10-11). And he does it for the sake of God's people, who have benefited, and will benefit, through his suffering. Furthermore he seeks to make his full contribution to what the church as a whole must suffer in fulfilling the purpose of Christ for them, for he knows that effectiveness and suffering often go together. No one persecutes the unsuccessful.
‘That which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ.' There was nothing lacking from the point of view of man being reckoned as righteous and having his sins forgiven, from the point of view of atonement. But God's purposes have always gone forward through suffering, and always will (Philippians 1:29; 2 Timothy 3:12). We have only to consider how the prophets suffered (see James 5:10), and the sufferings of the early church in the book of Acts (consider 1 Corinthians 4:12), a suffering which was seen as inflicted on Jesus Himself (Acts 9:4). There is no suggestion anywhere that they contributed to atonement, for that had been accomplished by Christ Himself, but they were necessary for the spread of the Gospel and the growth of God's people. And they would lead to greater glory and blessing (Romans 8:18; 2 Corinthians 1:7; 2 Timothy 2:12)
And Paul, who had himself once been a cause of those sufferings, had best cause to know that to serve Christ would regularly lead to suffering of one kind or another (‘the sufferings of Christ abound to us' - 2 Corinthians 1:4-5). He knew that this was necessary for the birth and growth of the church (again 2 Corinthians 1:4-5, ‘that we may be able to stand alongside to strengthen those who are in any affliction through the strengthening with which we are strengthened by God'; see also Acts 9:16). So he knew that as one who had been made a servant of the church he must necessarily suffer. Indeed he points out elsewhere that he suffered birth pangs for them (Galatians 4:19), that he was a prisoner on their behalf (Ephesians 3:1), and he could catalogue a long list of sufferings brought on by his adventures and persecution in the course of his ministry and as a result of it (2 Corinthians 11:23-29; Philippians 3:8).
‘For His body's sake, which is the church.' For the building up and preservation of the church Christ had suffered, and many would suffer with Him as He had warned (John 15:20; John 16:2-3), and as His body the church suffered with them. Just as when Christ suffered in His body on our behalf (Galatians 2:20), we as the body suffered in Him, and when Paul suffered on its behalf, the body suffered, for the body suffers when any of His people suffer (1 Corinthians 12:26) we too must expect suffering of one kind or another, having our part in sharing in the sufferings of Christ. If we are united in the body of the suffering Servant (Isaiah 53), we must expect that suffering will be our lot. Jesus suffered, Paul suffered and so must we be ready to suffer if need be, for we are God's servant. (See Hebrews 12:4).
Jesus is clearly identified with the suffering Servant of Isaiah (Isaiah 42:1-3; Isaiah 49:1-6; Isaiah 50:4-9; Isaiah 52:13 to Isaiah 53:12), and His people are also shown to be part of the ministry of the Servant in his preaching aspect (Acts 13:47), thus being identified with Him in His work and in His suffering. His body is also now the Servant.
(Note. Jesus specifically identifies Himself with the Servant in Luke 22:37, and He is declared to be the Servant at His baptism - ‘my beloved, in whom I am well pleased' (Mark 1:11 compare Isaiah 42:1) and the idea is applied to Him in Matthew 12:17-21; Luke 2:32; Luke 9:35 RV and RSV; Luke 23:35. The Servant is also probably to be identified with the prophet in Isaiah 61:1-3 which Jesus applied to Himself in Luke 4:16-21. When John the Baptiser declares Him to be ‘the Lamb of God' (John 1:29; John 1:36 compare Isaiah 53:7) this identification is also made by him).
Furthermore oneness with Christ must necessarily involve suffering for He is the Son of Man (Daniel 7:13) come out from among the sufferings of His people (who are also the ‘son of man' in comparison with the beasts) in which He will have participated (Daniel 7:25), and indeed He tells us in the Gospels that as the Son of Man He specifically came to suffer (Mark 8:31), and that meant in His body (Colossians 1:22).
So as we are united with Him in His body as the Son of Man and as the Servant, we must therefore suffer with Him, being crucified with Him (Romans 6:5-6), being baptised by the Spirit into the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13), and sharing in His death and resurrection. And that ‘body' is not, be it noted, primarily the church but is Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12) And yet at the same time it includes the body comprised of the church united with Him in His body, which has suffered with Him and will be glorified with Him. The church is in the body, and can be called the body, because it is united with Him. (See Appendix). That is why we must expect to share in the fellowship of His sufferings (Philippians 3:10). And that is why when His people suffer, He suffers with them (Acts 9:4-5). For to persecute them is to persecute Christ.