Center of My Church
Colossians 1:24-2:7
Paul made a statement in verse 24 of this passage that is not easily reconciled with the gospel or Paul’s own writings: “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions?-?.”
Does Paul say that Christ’s afflictions lacked something that he personally can remedy?
Paul makes it clear in this letter that Christ’s sufferings are completely sufficient for our needs of salvation (1:12-14, 19-22; 2:13, 14). So what was lacking in Christ’s afflictions must have referred to something well known.
Many consider a fuller understanding of “Christ’s afflictions” can be found in the Old Testament and Jewish prophetic conception of the afflictions of the end times, the woes of the Messiah. The word used for afflictions is the same used in the Old Testament to signify (1) the oppression of Israel (e.g., Egyptian slavery and the exile); (2) the future great distress of Daniel 12:1; and (3) the affliction that immediately precedes the arrival of the anointed ruler of God.
The phrasing in the Greek of “what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions” is in agreement with this apocalyptic notion of suffering to be endured in the last days. All Christians participate in these sufferings (cf. Acts 12:22; Romans 5:3; 8:17, 18, 38, 39; 1 Thessalonians 1:3, 7).
Could Paul’s suffering on behalf of the Colossians be seen as an example of patient endurance these Christians should follow (cf. Philippians 3:16-18; Hebrews 12:1)? I think so. Paul expressed in the letter his struggle to encourage all who have not seen him face to face (2:1), his desire that they be knit together in love and to grow in their understanding and knowledge of Christ (2:2-3). The end goal of Paul’s encouragement was for the Colossian Christians to stand firm in their faith (1:23) and not be deceived by persuasive arguments (2:4).
The way in which the Colossians conducted their lives demonstrated their reception of Christ (vv. 6-7). If the congregation focused on Christ, rooted and built upon him, and established in the faith, then Jesus Christ was more than adequate to safeguard them from the empty arguments of the faiths around them. Paul challenged them to continually mold their behavior and thought to his teaching.
His letter encourages us to do the same.
Scudder– Lessons in the BSL series for the winter quarter are being written by Steve Scudder, former DOM for Savannah River Association.