Chapter Seven
Colossians 1:24 Rejoicing in Suffering
1:24 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,
Paul continues with one of the more controversial verses in the Bible. If you quickly read this verse you can see why it raises more questions than it answers, questions like: What did Paul suffer for their sake? What does he mean by “filling up?” What could be lacking in Christ’s afflictions? Is Paul saying we need to add something beyond what Jesus did for our salvation? Paul just got finished talking about the sufficiency of Jesus to provide everything we need for salvation (meaning everything, 100%, see verses 13-20) and now it appears that he is saying that more suffering is needed. Obviously, that is not the case, however it does bring up the sore subject of suffering (sorry about the pun).
As Christians, we know that we will indeed suffer as the Bible tells us in several places, for example: “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 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.” (Romans 8:16-17, ESV, emphasis was added by me, see also John 15:20 and 2 Timothy 3:10-13) Since suffering is not something we would generally choose for ourselves since it is essentially defined as, “the state of undergoing pain, distress or hardship,” we naturally have a lot of questions when we read and learn that suffering is unavoidable in a Christian’s life. However, before we can fully understand verse 24, we need to explore how the Bible handles the concept of suffering. Before we begin, I must point out that this is one of the more divisive subjects in Christianity, with literally hundreds of books written on the subject and has become a source of varied theologies and dogmas, often causing confusion and ultimately division between church groups. Obviously as this is just a cursory review of this subject, we are not going to be able answer this issue to everyone’s satisfaction.
It may be difficult for us to understand why the early church grew even while it was persecuted for many years. Christianity began as a despised and often considered illicit and rebellious sect of Judaism. A great number of believers were publicly captured, tortured and murdered. Many early Christians actually expected to be persecuted and ultimately killed, if one was to suffer as their Lord and Savor suffered, this was regarded as a martyr’s death and was considered a high honor (from the Greek word meaning ‘witness’). The church endured nearly 300 years of hostility from both Jewish and Roman authorities, only to emerge as the prevailing religion of the Roman Empire. Unfortunately, many Christians today (or should I say, “so-called Christians”) are quick to pull away from their beliefs when something goes wrong or refuse to share their beliefs to others due to potential embarrassment (not much of a comparison). While we enjoy various freedoms in this country, many Christians are being persecuted and often brutally murdered in counties around the world today.
One of the greatest barriers to evangelism is the subject of suffering. We often hear questions like: Why do good people suffer? If God is a loving God, why does He allow suffering? Unbelievers use these questions because many Christians are often stumped when asked and thereby able to stop any further gospel-sharing efforts. Years ago, the issue of suffering was the subject of the very first question that was asked of me as a teacher. Now, looking back, I realize that the question was uniquely different from the usual “why is there suffering” question. The person asked me if God wanted to, could He have chosen a different route other than suffering? At first I thought he was talking about our suffering and pointed out that we are to suffer just as Jesus had suffered. He said no, that’s not what he meant, he restated that he meant from the beginning, God could have prevented all suffering, right? He was asking that since being our Creator and sovereign God, He could have eliminated all suffering from the beginning of time, including the suffering of Jesus on the cross. I answered, “I suppose so, but there is nothing that I knew of in the Bible that could say one way or another positively.” So why is there suffering, any suffering? Why do Christians suffer?
Whenever we get to the point where we begin to ask God a ‘why’ question, we need to be prepared to accept the fact that knowing the ‘why’ of something may never happen as we are simply not wired to fully understand. We are all familiar with the metaphor the Bible uses for this comparison, “But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’ ” Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?” (Romans 9:20-21, NIV) The finite can never fully understand the infinite! Everything we need to know about God was given to us in His Word. It is there where we can see (perhaps reluctantly) some benefits and reasons for suffering.
The status of our relationship with God, our Creator, changed the moment mankind disobeyed God. The Bible tells us that essentially everything changed at that time, including the fall of man followed by all of creation being cursed (see Genesis 3:14-19). Paul tells us that, “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23, ESV). When humans were created, they were perfect and not able to die, however as the result of sin, God required humanity to die, man was created from dust and now must return to dust. Death is both a punishment and a benefit as it prevents us from having to remain in a fallen (less than perfect) state for all of eternity. While death is certainly not appealing, God has other plans for us, something beyond our comprehension and yet glorious! We are taught that humanity will experience two deaths. The first one sheds our imperfect bodies and the second death punishes us for our disobedience by sending us to a place that is far away from God. However, God loved us and sent His Son Jesus to die on our behalf (see John 3:16 and Romans 5:12-21) and all we need to do is trust and believe in Jesus and the second death will be avoided (see Revelation 2:11; 20:6, 11-15; 21:8). Suffering was not part of creation; it was only after man was disobedient to God (sinned) that pain and suffering was introduced.
Throughout the modern world engineers, designers and architects have used testing as one way to evaluate product or material performance. Materials are often “proof tested,” to verify their ability to withstand the required design load. Values, obedience, ethics, beliefs and faiths can also be proof tested. In the Bible, God regularly provided scenarios that would test and often expose the true nature of a person’s heart. For example, immediately after the story of creation, the Bible begins with a test of obedience in the Garden of Eden (see Genesis 2:9, 15-17; 3:1-13). Even though someone might have the best of intentions by claiming something to be true, it’s not until those proclaimed traits or points of view are manifested or verified, that they may be considered real, since words alone can be deceptive. For some to accept something as being true, proof may be required (see 1 Peter 1:6-7 and James 4:12). The book of Job is perhaps the most notable story of “proof testing” through intense suffering in the Bible. James also knew this when he wrote James 1:2-4 when he opened his epistle with the words, “Count it all joy…when you meet trials.” (ESV) In these verses James points out that the concept of going through trials and suffering are essentially synonymous terms. We recognize that another barrier to effectively sharing our faith with others comes from Christians not ‘practicing’ what they claim to be true, thus losing their ability to witness. Genuine faith will be seen (applied), as well as heard.
The greatest advantage of suffering comes from the endurance we gain through our suffering. Growth through suffering is probably not something we might have chosen for ourselves, especially if given a choice, but as we grow older (and hopefully more mature) we can see the that Paul was correct when he wrote, “Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” (Romans 5:3-5, ESV) Suffering prepares us for a godly life. We learn that there are no shortcuts in being a Christian. Endurance through suffering allows us to resist the devil, prioritize our lives (spending time and resources on what is worthy and important), being patient, loving others, putting the needs of others first; knowing that life is not about us. Our trust and faith in God grows as we grow Spiritually stronger.
Spiritual growth is not defined like how we might define physical growth, such as getting bigger or stronger, Spiritual growth combines and adds several attributes to a Christian’s life. The main component of Spiritual growth is a deep love of God, where we respect His Word and strongly desire to please Him in all that we do. This can manifest many ways in our lives; including praise, prayer, reading and studying the Bible, but more importantly it means we maintain a Christian and Biblical worldview. That means we learn God’s Word, live God’s Word and follow Jesus, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Spiritual growth essentially means we grow a little closer to Jesus and become more like Him every day. Paul offered some advice on how to live as a genuine Christian, “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12:9-21, ESV)
Due to the fall from perfection, humans, as well as several other species of life, experience pain. There are a variety of types of pain; including emotional, physical (noxious stimuli also known as ‘nociception’, which generally occurs when the body detects a problem), and physical discomfort (such as an uncomfortable environment). Since we are not perfect, pain alerts us when something is wrong, without pain we may not be aware of a problem and never seek a solution. When God allows pain, or suffering in our life, He may be calling our attention to something being wrong. Perhaps we have wandered away from Him or have been lured into lust or some other form of sin. In those situations, pain and suffering may help us get back on the right path. Let us learn and remember the lessons He is teaching us! Fortunately for Christians, we are promised eternity with Jesus, where, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:4, ESV)
Even as Christians we can, and often do, wander away from God. Be it pride, arrogance, or simply a child-like attitude of “I want to do it my way,” we frequently grab the steering wheel of our life out of God’s hands and begin ‘driving’ our way. This is when we get into trouble, we need to stay connected to God. In those situations, suffering can be ‘correctional’ as it reminds us that we are wandering and that we should get back on the road and keep our eyes on God. This is for our benefit, because when we wander we can be influenced by the world and fall victim to false teaching, lusts and other temptations. Without God to rely on, we become more self-reliant and self-pleasing, making us even more vulnerable to attacks from our enemy (see 2 Peter 3:3). In his commentary of Psalm 38:21, Martin Luther demonstrates how suffering can bring us back to God and he further amplifies the point that we only fool ourselves when we become prideful.
“I am lonely, forsaken by all and despised. Do Thou receive me, and do not forsake me.” It is God’s nature to make something out of nothing; hence one who is not yet nothing, out of him God cannot make anything. Man, however, makes something else out of that which exists; but this has no value whatever. Therefore God accepts only the forsaken, cures only the sick, gives sight only to the blind, restores life only to the dead, sanctifies only the sinners, gives wisdom only to the unwise. In short, He has mercy only on those who are wretched, and gives grace only to those who are not in grace. Therefore no proud saint, no wise or righteous person, can become God’s material, and God’s purpose cannot be fulfilled in him. He remains in his own work and makes a fictitious, pretended, false, painted saint of himself, that is, a hypocrite.[1]
God wants us to be reliant on Him, Jesus Himself promised, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?” (Matthew 6:25, ESV) Would He say that if we were supposed to be self-reliant? Peter also instructed his readers to, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:6-7, ESV) Reliance on God is not a sign of weakness, it demonstrates our trust and commitment to Him. Another point to consider is that God is a jealous God and that we are not to have anything (or anyone) in the way of our relationship with Him, including ourselves (see Exodus 20:3-7; 34:14; Deuteronomy 4:24; 6:15). We are to stop struggling and fighting the world on our own, tapping only our own power, we need to stay connected to God!
We also know that some people will experience more suffering than others, many believers often incorrectly attribute suffering to judgment or to something the suffering person deserves. Even though God is sovereign and will bless and curse as He chooses (see Exodus 33:19 and Romans 9:15), we all deserve to be punished (see Romans 3:23). As pointed out earlier, we cannot know the reasons God does something, but we can rationalize and know that some may need to be ‘hardened’ more than others as they will either be on the “front lines” where they will come under intense fire from the enemy more than most or they are going to be called into some form of ‘care’ ministry.
God gave us the capacity to learn from a wide variety of different processes, such as through teachers in a classroom, watching a documentary or hearing wisdom from our parents. But some of the most important lessons in life come from our own experiences. For example, for many of us when we were small children and though warned not to touch something hot we often did anyway, resulting in an invaluable lesson that probably will never be forgotten. Experience may not always be the easiest or best teacher, as the popular phrase conveys, but it is the best teacher for understanding empathy and compassion. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.” (2 Corinthians 1:3–7, ESV) Pain and suffering are equally shared between believers and unbelievers, but one thing that Christians can offer is eternal hope. Through experiencing and relating to someone’s pain, the promise of hope can be presented in a way that only a survivor can offer. As Christians, we can pray for hardships to be taken away or the endurance to persevere. While we may not be given any choice in the matter, think about the potential ministry opportunities God may be giving you to serve Him. Regardless of what you pray for, always remember to give praise and thanksgiving (a reoccurring theme in the book of Colossians).
The Bible often speaks about sharing in Christ’s suffering (see John 15:20; 16:33; Romans 8:17-18; 1 Corinthians 4:12; 2 Corinthians 1:3-7; 4:9; Philippians 3:8-11; Hebrews 10:32-38 and 1 Peter 5:1-11) Paul also regularly wrote about his own suffering. He did not write about his suffering to impress others or to brag, he did so to demonstrate the types of suffering to expect and that he was not excluded from suffering. In his second epistle to Timothy he wrote, “You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me. Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.” (2 Timothy 3:10-13, ESV) In the book of Acts we read that while in Antioch many Jews converted to Christianity, other non-believers were jealous and blasphemed Paul and Barnabas driving them out of town (see Acts 13:1-52). In Iconium they encountered a similar situation except the unbelieving Jews were more hostile and stirred up the Gentiles to mistreat Paul and Barnabas to the point they even tried to stone them (see Acts 14:1-5). While in Lystra, Paul healed a man that was crippled from birth and as a result, the townspeople thought Paul and Barnabas were gods calling them Hermes and Zeus, respectively. Soon afterward the angry crowds from Antioch and Iconium came into Lystra causing a major uproar where they once again attempted to stone them (see Acts 14:6-23). The persecutions and sufferings Paul referred to, ranged from basic verbal abuse to attempt of murder. Please note that these persecutions came during (or after) doing God’s will.
In this verse, Paul refers to the suffering and persecution of Jesus that continues with all Christians including Paul. Here he says that he suffered for the sake of the believers in Colossae. Even though he undoubtedly never met any of these people, Paul is referring to the suffering he has encountered as a minister of Jesus and the gospel message (see verses 23 and 25), which would include sitting in prison where we wrote this epistle. It was through his ministry that they became believers. He further states that in his flesh (Greek word ‘sarx’) he was “filling up” what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions. The Greek word translated here as “am filling up” is ‘antanaplēroō’, which is used only this once in the Bible, means to “fill up or make good what is wanting,” essentially meaning to receive persecution that was intended for Jesus. The word that is translated as ‘afflictions’ is the Greek word ‘thlipsis’, which occurs 45 times in the New Testament most often translated as ‘affliction’ or ‘tribulation’, meaning “pressing together” referring to oppression or distress. This verse is the only time this word is applied to Christ’s suffering or afflictions. Paul points out that this suffering was for the sake of the Body of Christ, the entire Christian church.
Roman Catholics use this verse to support their view that Christ’s sufferings and death were not sufficient to purge us completely of our sins. They believe that we need to make up for this deficiency before we can get into heaven. To bridge that gap we need to suffer more, otherwise we may need to suffer in purgatory (which in itself is a myth). As we discussed earlier, Paul just got finished describing the absolute sufficiency of Jesus for our salvation, this is not what Paul is stating or suggesting! Let’s look at this verse from two other versions:
“Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions.” New American Standard Bible – 1995 Edition (NASB95) Note how Paul states that he is doing his share on behalf of the church. He is not saying that he is stepping in to fill a gap to complete the requirements for salvation, he is filling or continuing the sufferings of Christ.
“I am glad when I suffer for you in my body, for I am participating in the sufferings of Christ that continue for his body, the church.” New Living Translation – 2013 Edition (NLT) In this version, it reads that Paul is participating in the sufferings of Christ that continue.
Jesus warned us that we would suffer as He did, in one case He stated clearly, “they will also persecute you,” (excerpt from John 15:20, ESV, see also John 16:33). Who will suffer? All of Christianity will suffer for Jesus’ sake. The persecution will continue because we carry the same message He did. The world and our enemies want the message of salvation to stop and since Jesus is in heaven and we are His ambassadors (see 2 Corinthians 5:20), we are now the targets. Paul often referred to his own suffering to remind his fellow believers that no one was exempt and to encourage perseverance. This verse has nothing to do with any lack of sufficiency or even salvation. The enemy wants the gospel message squelched any way possible.
Suffering and persecution, as we discussed earlier, can come in many forms including physical ailments; loss of a loved one; emotional pain; fear of rejection or ridicule; chronic pain; depression and many more. Is all suffering a Christian can face on behalf of Jesus? Probably not, but Paul reminds us that suffering is part of every Christian’s life. In reality, any problem that 1) prevents us from being disciples; 2) stop us from evangelizing or 3) doing what we were called to do, would indeed be suffering for Jesus’ sake.
Now let’s go back to the excerpt we read earlier from 2 Timothy 3:10-13, in verse 13 where Paul painted a grim picture of the future by saying that the evil people and imposters of the world are going from bad to worse, practicing deception while they are being deceived. Paul then offers advice to his protégé, “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” (2 Timothy 3:14-4:5, ESV) This sound advice applies to us as well. We need to be fully acquainted with God’s Word, we need to know how to apply God’s Word and we need to be willing to teach His Word. Without someone proclaiming and living the gospel, the world will wander away from God. We need to remain diligent, endure, evangelize and do as we were all called to do. Unfortunately, one of those myths Paul is talking about, is that ministry is only for paid clergy or for those in some form of full-time ministry, it is not. All Christians are called to evangelize (remember the Great Commission, see Matthew 28:18-20), as well as to live and obey Jesus (see Romans 12:1-2). Martin Luther explained that Jesus is our ‘vocation’, we work for and belong to Him, He places us where we need to be while we represent Christ to the people He places around us. It is not hard to see the connection between suffering and obeying God, especially when we carry the same gospel message. In response to God’s love for us, we obey, even though we know we may suffer.
Now back to the book of Colossians, do you remember how Paul began this verse? “Now I rejoice in my suffering…” Paul may have experienced discouragement (see 2 Corinthians 4:8-9) and suffered great sorrow and anguish (see Romans 9:2), like everyone else, but he always rebounds to proclaim joy and thanksgiving (see Philippians 1:18; 2:17; Acts 16:25), a pattern similar to what David employed in most of his Psalms. Rejoicing in our sorrows or suffering is not an easy thing to do. Suffering can either point us toward God or away from Him. Recognizing that our joy can be lost when we pull away from God and become self-absorbed, we should probably listen carefully to Peter, that’s right Peter, here is someone who had difficulty dealing with pride but learned some valuable lessons, ultimately bringing him back to fellowship with Jesus, becoming a powerful minister for the gospel.
“Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Peter 5:5b-11)
Remembering that we will only suffer for a little while on earth (some may suffer their entire life but in comparison with eternity it would undoubtedly be considered a brief period of time), we can rejoice since Jesus will restore, confirm, strengthen and establish each one of us! Can you say you are rejoicing for the suffering you are facing?
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[1] Luther, M. (1999). Luther’s works, vol. 14: Selected Psalms III. (J. J. Pelikan, H. C. Oswald, & H. T. Lehmann, Eds.) (Vol. 14, p. 163). Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House.