Colossians 1:24-2:5, Part 1

Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness – the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.

I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how orderly you are and how firm your faith in Christ is.

Paul has been laying down the doctrinal foundation for the rest of his letter, and this is the reason we have allotted so much time to the previous passages. Now in a more personal section, he proceeds to discuss his work and how it relates to the Colossians and other believers. First, in 1:24-29, he describes in general his suffering for the church, his commission from God, and the message, method, and purpose of his ministry. Next, in 2:1-5, he explains that his work is related to the Colossians and the other Christians in their part of the world, even though they have never met him. Verse 4 indicates a specific reason for much of what he says in the letter.

Paul writes, "I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's affliction" (v. 24). Although he is making a positive statement about what he does, because of misunderstandings, it is needful to first indicate what he cannot mean by it.

Divine justice always entails condemnation and punishment against transgressions of God's law; in other words, we must "pay" for our sins. However, since our sins have offended an infinite God, the price is also infinite. Since our suffering is of finite value, it can never satisfy divine justice. Moreover, even if we were able to pay for our sins through suffering punishment, an unrighteous suffering – suffering with anything other than the perfect reason and attitude – would in itself be another sin against an infinite God. Our sinful disposition and total depravity would prevent us from suffering for our sins in a righteous manner. So the truth is that no one can pay his own debt – no one can redeem himself through suffering the punishment due to him.

Rather, God in his grace sent his own Son, who took upon himself a human nature to redeem the chosen ones. He paid our debt by suffering the punishment that was meant for us. And by this he has canceled the condemnation that was against us. Now by faith in him and in what he has done, we have peace with God, righteousness in Christ, freedom from sin, and an eternal hope.

The above is a limited summary of why Christ's suffering was necessary and what this suffering purchased for us. When it comes to verse 24, the most dangerous and erroneous of all possible misinterpretations would be to think that his suffering was incomplete, that his suffering was insufficient to redeem us from our debt and to effect for us a full salvation.

There are a number of biblical passages that address the topic, and that preclude this misinterpretation. Just several verses before this (1:13), Paul affirms that in Christ we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins, and that we have been rescued from the dominion of darkness and brought into the kingdom of the Son. The language leaves no room for any deficiency, any middle place, or any unfinished business where Christ's atonement is concerned.

Later in this same letter he writes, "When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross" (2:13-14). In Christ all our sins have been forgiven, and the judgment against us has been canceled. This leaves no room for additional vicarious suffering as far as the purpose of redemption is concerned.

Another example comes from Hebrews 10, where it says that when Jesus "had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy" (v. 12-14). The obvious emphasis is the final and complete effect of Christ's sacrifice. He offered "for all time one sacrifice for sins," and by this one sacrifice – a single event in history – he "made perfect forever" those who would believe in him. There is no deficiency, no unfinished business, and no outstanding debt for himself or someone else to pay.

Therefore, whatever Paul is saying, he cannot mean that Christ's suffering for the salvation of believers is incomplete, so that he requires his special saints and apostles, or his people in general, to undergo additional suffering to supply the deficiency. Christians indeed suffer in this world, but not because Christ's suffering falls short of effecting a full salvation for us. Since Christ's sacrifice is complete and sufficient, Paul is not suffering to pay a debt that Christ left unpaid. His suffering is for another reason, although this suffering has a close connection with Christ in a different sense.

The most appropriate understanding of the text is that this is just a natural application of the union between Christ and all Christians, or the church, and that the language merely reflects this. Before Paul's conversion, he was a Pharisee who aggressively persecuted the believers, but when Christ confronts him in Acts 9, he says, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" (v. 4). In other words, when unbelievers criticize and attack Christians, they are in fact persecuting Christ. This suffering is not a payment for sin, in the sense of an atonement to purchase salvation, but it is the result of the unbelievers' opposition against the message of Jesus Christ.

While he was on the earth, he suffered in his own human body, but now unbelievers continue to attack him through persecuting his people, that is, the collective "body" of the church. So Paul writes elsewhere, "The sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives" (2 Corinthians 1:5). Since we have become one with him, we also suffer with him. But we can rejoice in our suffering because we esteem the honor of enduring persecution for his sake, the knowledge of Christ in "the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings" (Philippians 3:10), and the glorious future that God has promised to all who believe in him.

Some commentators suggest that the verse alludes to a Jewish teaching that God has allotted a definite amount of suffering before the end time, and so Paul rejoices in his suffering because he is hastening the Lord's return by contributing to this predetermined amount of afflictions endured. Along with this might also be the idea that, since the amount of suffering has been fixed, the more Paul endures, the less the other believers have to suffer. Thus it is also in this sense that he suffers for the church.

We find no decisive reason to accept this interpretation, and there are several contextual and linguistic objections against it. In any case, it cannot replace the one that we have just given. This is because, first, this interpretation is not necessary in making sense of the verse or in preventing distortions about the atonement; and second, for this interpretation itself to make sense, it must presuppose the one that we have stated. That is, Paul's language reflects the union between Christ and the church. This is a necessary part of understanding 1:24, and sufficient to satisfy Paul's theology and language.

Paul suffers for the sake of the whole church, including the Colossians and the Laodiceans (1:24, 2:1), because the suffering occurs as he follows the commission that God gave him. This commission requires him to disseminate and establish the Christian religion. There is both a width and a depth to his task. He must introduce the faith to many people in many areas, but he must also ensure that he preaches the full message, and that the people follow it in an accurate and thorough manner. And so now our focus turns to his mission, method, and message.