CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES
Colossians 1:24. Fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ.—R.V. “and fill up on my part that which is lacking.” How we seem to hear through these words the cry of the Head of the Church, “Why persecutest thou Me?” And now the persecutor shares the pain of Christ and those to whom it is granted as a favour to suffer for His sake (Philippians 1:29).
MAIN HOMILETICS OF Colossians 1:24
The Joy of Suffering for the Church.
A stolid indifference to suffering and a heroic endurance of the same were not unknown to the ancient pagans; but it is Christianity alone that has taught us to rejoice in afflictions; it supplies an ecstasy of emotion that renders us oblivious for the time being of encompassing trials. The apostle, as he pondered over the mighty work of reconciliation, and as he caught a glimpse of the amazing extent of divine mercy, could not but rejoice even in his sufferings. In this verse he expresses his joy that, in suffering for the Church, he supplements that which was lacking in the afflictions of Christ. Observe:—
I. The representative character of the apostle’s sufferings.—
1. The apostle represented the suffering Saviour. “The afflictions of Christ.” We are not to suppose that the sufferings of Christ were incomplete in themselves or in their value as constituting a sufficient atonement. The passion of Christ was the one full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction for the sins of the whole world. In this sense there could be no deficiency in Christ’s sufferings, for Christ’s sufferings being different in kind from those of His servants, the two are incommensurable. Neither the apostle nor any other could represent the expiatory and sacrificial aspect of the Redeemer’s sufferings. But while His personal sufferings are over, His afflictions in His people still continue. He so thoroughly identifies Himself with them that their trials, sorrows, persecutions, and afflictions become His own. The apostle represented the suffering Saviour in what he endured for Christ and the Church. Thus he declared to the Corinthians, “The sufferings of Christ abound in us.” The Church to-day is the representative of the suffering Saviour, and so completely is He identified with His people that He endures in them the pangs of hunger and thirst, shares their sickness and imprisonment, and reckons every act of kindness done to them as done to Himself (Matthew 25).
2. The sufferings of the apostle supplemented what was lacking in the afflictions of Christ.—“And fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh.” In harmony with the representative character of the Church, we can understand how the afflictions of every saint and martyr do supplement the afflictions of Christ. Every age of the Church has its measure of suffering. The Church is built up by repeated acts of self-denial in successive individuals and successive generations. They continue the work which Christ began. They bear their part, and supplement what is deficient in the sufferings of Christ (2 Corinthians 1:7; Philippians 3:10). As an apostle, Paul was a representative man, and his share in filling up what was wanting in these afflictions was considerable. In his own flesh he bore unexampled hardship, indignities, and distress. “In labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prison more frequent, in deaths oft.” The great Head of the Church was made perfect through suffering; so must the body be in all its relations and development. Through tribulation, more or less evident and intense, we must enter the kingdom. Suffering in itself has no virtue to elevate moral character; it is effective to this end only as it tends to fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ, only as it is borne for Christ, and in the Spirit of Christ. The great Mediator suffered to effect our salvation; and His people, on their part, fill up the suffering needed for the perfection of their spiritual life and for the full display of the divine glory.
II. The vicarious character of the apostle’s sufferings.—“For His body’s sake, which is the Church.” The greater part of the suffering of the believer in this world is vicarious—is endured on behalf of others. It is thus we most nearly approach the spirit and example of Christ. St. Paul, as the pioneer missionary, the wise and edifying instructor, the diligent and anxious overseer, occupied a prominent and important position among the Churches, and his sufferings on their behalf would benefit them in many ways.
1. The apostle’s sufferings for the Church confirmed the faith of her converts.—Thousands are shy in embracing Christianity, because they shrink from the suffering it seems to involve; thousands more retire from the Christian profession for the same reason. An example like that of Paul’s—a man profoundly sincere, intensely earnest, calm and unmoved by the stoutest opposition, and triumphant amid acutest sufferings—encourages the timid and strengthens and confirms the tempted and wavering.
2. The apostle’s sufferings were for the consolation of the Church.—Writing to the Corinthians, he says: “Whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation.” Suffering makes us more capable of sympathising with others. “Great hearts can only be made by great troubles. The spade of trouble digs the reservoir of comfort deeper, and makes more room for the water of consolation.” The richest anointing of divine comfort is bestowed in the moment of severest suffering, and the consolation of one is the consolation of many. When Mr. James Bainham, who suffered under the reign of Henry VIII., was in the midst of the flames which had half consumed his arms and legs, he said aloud: “Oh, ye Papists, ye look for miracles, and here now you may see a miracle; for in this fire I feel no more pain than if I were in a bed of down, but it is to me a bed of roses!”
3. The apostle’s sufferings for the Church tended to promote her increase.—The more the Egyptians afflicted the Hebrews the more they multiplied and grew. The devil’s way of extinguishing goodness is God’s way of advancing it. The apostle could testify, in the midst of his sufferings, that “the things which have happened to me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel.” Suffering seals the word spoken with a sacred and impressive significance. Many a convert has been won to the truth by the irresistible example of a suffering life.
III. The high-toned spirit of the apostle’s sufferings.—“Who now rejoice in my suffering for you.” Nature shrinks from suffering. It is altogether above nature to triumph in suffering. It is Christianity alone that lifts the spirit into the tranquil region of patient endurance and inspires us with joy in tribulation. It is not a love of suffering for its own sake—not a mad, morbid craving for the ghastly honours of a self-sought martyrdom; but there is a nameless charm about the truths of Christianity that exalts the mind, thrills the soul, and transmutes sorrow into joy. Paul was imprisoned at Rome, bound in a chain for the gospel, when he wrote this epistle; but as the thoughts suggested by his theme grew in full-orbed magnificence before his mental vision—as he contemplated the lavish wealth of God’s mercy in the call of the Gentiles who constituted the greater portion of the world’s population—and as he saw all the glory of being allowed to share, and even to supplement, the sufferings of Christ, he rose above the consideration of his own personal trials, and in a sudden outburst of thanksgiving could exclaim, “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you.” Let us not repine at our afflictions. Not only is our own soul chastened and purified; but every pang, every tear, every trial in our lot, is a contribution to the filling up of that which is still behind in the afflictions of Christ. It baptises suffering with a new meaning, and arrays it in a new dignity, when it is viewed as a grand means of promoting the perfection, the purity, and unfading glory of the whole Church.
Lessons.—
1. It is an unspeakable honour to suffer for the Church of Christ.
2. The personal experience of the grace of Christ renders suffering for Him a joy.
3. The glory of the future will outweigh all we have suffered for the Church below.