Sermon Cloud

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church,

Colossians 1:24 (ESV)

What Paul is not suggesting here is that Christ’s sacrifice on the cross was insufficient...that something else is needed to secure our salvation…When Jesus said, ”It is finished”….he meant it.  He did all that was needed and all that was necessary to pay for the sins of the world.

What I believe he is suggesting is that Christ still suffers when his church or believers suffer….Do you remember when Paul was knocked down on the road to Damascus…(just a couple of miles up the road here)…..Jesus said to him……

¹ But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest ² and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. ³ Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. ⁴ And falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” ⁵ And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.

Acts 9:1-5 (ESV) 

When believers suffer, Christ also suffers because He indwells us.^[i] Paul is letting the Colossians know that he is glad to suffer, because it is on their behalf and because he is convinced it is his calling. Listen to his words to the church in Corinth:

⁷ But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. ⁸ We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; ⁹ persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; ¹⁰ always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. ¹¹ For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. ¹² So death is at work in us, but life in you.

2 Corinthians 4:7-12 (ESV)

¹⁷ From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.

Galatians 6:17 (ESV)

How can this be? If Jesus is all the things that Paul has unpacked in Chapter 1 – if He is sovereign over creation, powers in the heavens and the earth, the church, death and sin – why do His followers suffer?

With the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ the “coming age” has been inaugurated. The present age continues so that Christians live in the overlap of the two aeons. The woes of the Messiah, the afflictions of Christ, have already begun and when their appointed limit has been reached the coming age will be consummated and this present evil age will pass away.

All Christians participate in these sufferings; through them they enter the kingdom of God. Consider the following text in Acts 14.

²¹ When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, ²² strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.

Acts 14:21-22 (ESV)

Suffering with Christ is a necessary prerequisite to being glorified with him but none of these afflictions is able to separate the believer from the love of God in Christ Jesus.^[ii]

¹⁶ The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷ and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. ¹⁸ For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us… ²⁸ And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. ²⁹ For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. ³⁰ And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

Romans 8:16-30 (ESV)

If this is the reality of following Christ, how do we then have the maturity to rejoice in our sufferings? Paul gives us the answer in the text.

First, he rejoices because it is a PERSONAL suffering. He is suffering on behalf of the Colossians, and, in fact, for the whole church. He suffers on behalf of Christ, and the church benefits. I didn’t really understand this in full until Wanda and I were blessed with Judah. When Judah suffers, I suffer and I would gladly suffer on his behalf if I could spare his suffering.

Second, he rejoices in it because it is a PURPOSED suffering. Paul not only loves those who have already come to know Christ, but he loves those who haven’t yet embraced Christ and longs for them to hear and receive the gospel. Listen as He Continues…

²⁵ of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, ²⁶ the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. ²⁷ To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Colossians 1:25-27 (ESV)

Paul can be content in his suffering because it comes as a reality of his calling. The calling that he has is so important, so worthwhile, and so precious that is worth the suffering that comes with it. He endures and embraces this suffering for the payoff:

 ²⁸ Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

Colossians 1:28 (ESV)

The public proclamation of Christ as Lord is explained and developed in the following words about admonition (νουθετοῦντες) and instruction (διδάσκοντες), for it is through the teaching and warning of every man that the proclamation of Christ is carried out (this is the relationship of the two participles to the finite verb καταγγέλομεν, “we announce”). Clearly for Paul and his colleagues evangelistic and missionary outreach was not effected by some superficial presentation of the saving message about Christ to the world, but rather was prosecuted through warning and intensive teaching in pastoral situations.^[iii]

The term τέλειος (“perfect,” “whole”) appeared in a variety of contexts in the Hellenistic world to denote unblemished sacrificial animals, a person who has reached the limit of his professional abilities and the cosmos which contains all kinds of living creatures. The word was also employed to designate the “perfect” man in Greek philosophy.^[iv]

²⁹ For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.

Colossians 1:29 (ESV)

κόπος, a word used in secular Greek of “a beating,” “weariness” (as though one had been beaten) and “exertion,” was the proper word for physical tiredness induced by work, exertion or heat^[v]

ἀγωνίζομαι (“fight,” “struggle,” “engage in a contest,” BAG, 15), perhaps even a stronger term than the preceding, could denote a physical conflict in which weapons were used and an athletic contest.^[vi]

Paul then exposes his heart, a heart of love, to the Colossians. He lays it out. Listen:

¹ For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, ² that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, ³ in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Colossians 2:1-3 (ESV)

I want you to know. And I want you to know why. And I want you to know what. And ultimately, I want you to know who.

Christ: Mystery and Treasure

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, ⁵ who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶ In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, ⁷ so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ⁸ Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, ⁹ obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. ¹⁰ Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, ¹¹ inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. ¹² It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.

1 Peter 1:3-12 (ESV)

⁴ I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. ⁵ For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.

Colossians 2:1-5 (ESV)

Paul’s description of the Colossian church pictures a company of well-disciplined soldiers standing at attention in straight lines. The Greek word stereoma, occurs only here in the New Testament and means “stability.”^[vii]

⁶ Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, ⁷ rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

Colossians 2:6-7 (ESV)

This is the theme statement of the entire letter. This is what Paul wants the Colossians to understand, embrace and experience.

The same faith that saves us sanctifies and satisfies us.

We start in faith, we walk in faith, we finish in faith.

I arise today, Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through the belief in the threeness, Through the confession of the oneness
Of the Creator of Creation.

I arise today
Through the strength of Christ's birth with his baptism,
Through the strength of his crucifixion with his burial,
Through the strength of his resurrection with his ascension,
Through the strength of his descent for the Judgment Day.

I arise today
Through the strength of heaven: Light of sun, Radiance of moon, Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning, Swiftness of wind, Depth of sea, Stability of earth, Firmness of rock.

I arise today, Through God's strength to pilot me: God's might to uphold me,

God's wisdom to guide me, God's eye to look before me, God's ear to hear me,

God's word to speak for me, God's hand to guard me, God's way to lie before me,
God's shield to protect me, God's host to save me
From snares of demons, From temptations of vices, From everyone who shall wish me ill,
Afar and anear, Alone and in multitude.

I summon today all these powers between me and those evils,
Against every cruel merciless power that may oppose my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets, Against black laws of pagandom

Against false laws of heretics, Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul.

Christ to shield me today
Against poison, against burning, Against drowning, against wounding,
So that there may come to me abundance of reward.

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise, Christ to shield me,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,

Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,

Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me.

I arise today, Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the threeness, Through confession of the oneness,
Of the Creator of Creation

^[i]Tom Constable. (2003; 2003). Tom Constable's Expository Notes on the Bible (Col 1:24). Galaxie Software.

^[ii]O'Brien, P. T. (2002). Vol. 44: Word Biblical Commentary : Colossians-Philemon. Word Biblical Commentary (79). Dallas: Word, Incorporated.

^[iii]O'Brien, P. T. (2002). Vol. 44: Word Biblical Commentary : Colossians-Philemon. Word Biblical Commentary (87). Dallas: Word, Incorporated.

^[iv]O'Brien, P. T. (2002). Vol. 44: Word Biblical Commentary : Colossians-Philemon. Word Biblical Commentary (89). Dallas: Word, Incorporated.

^[v]O'Brien, P. T. (2002). Vol. 44: Word Biblical Commentary : Colossians-Philemon. Word Biblical Commentary (90). Dallas: Word, Incorporated.

BAG W. Bauer, W. F. Gingrich, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, (Chicago: Chicago U. P., 1979)

^[vi]O'Brien, P. T. (2002). Vol. 44: Word Biblical Commentary : Colossians-Philemon. Word Biblical Commentary (90). Dallas: Word, Incorporated.

^[vii]Tom Constable. (2003; 2003). Tom Constable's Expository Notes on the Bible (Col 2:4). Galaxie Software.