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Review
Paul has prayed that his readers would grow in spiritual wisdom and understanding such that they would be grateful in the midst of hardships.
Specifically what they need to understand is that Jesus is the visible representation of the invisible God to all of creation. He concludes that they stand to benefit from the work of Christ ONLY if they persevere in genuine faith.
Choosing to follow Jesus is a choice to forsake other philosophies and other worldviews.
Passage
Col 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,
Col 1:25 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,
Col 1:26 the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints.
Col 1:27 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.
Col 1:28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.
Col 1:29 For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.
Col 2:1 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,
Col 2:2 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,
Col 2:3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. – Colossians 1:24-2:3
Paul’s Sufferings
Paul was arrested for preaching that the Gentiles can also be saved through Christ (Acts 22). He is urging them to remember what’s at stake in the gospel and hoping his suffering will not be in vain because they have turned away.
What has he suffered?
2Co 11:24 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one.
2Co 11:25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea;
2Co 11:26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers;
2Co 11:27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.
2Co 11:28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. – 2 Corinthians 11:24-28
Paul “fills up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions” in the sense that he carries on the work that Christ began.
Mat 5:11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
Mat 5:12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. – Matthew 5:11-12Mat 10:22 and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
Mat 10:23 When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
Mat 10:24 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. – Matthew 10:22-24
Specifically Paul suffers because he preached that the Gentiles are fellow-heirs of the gospel.
Paul sees his job as not “reach, preach and leave”. He sees his job as to present every person complete in Christ, such all his hearers embrace the gospel such that they persevere to the end.
Conclusion
Ultimately the challenge of this passage is not how have you suffered for Christ. Rather it is have you fully understood the hope of the gospel?
Col 1:9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
Col 1:23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.
Col 1:25 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,
Col 1:28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.
Col 2:2 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,
Col 2:3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Peanuts Cartoon by Charles M Schulz
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Part of the series: Colossians: Getting the Gospel Right
Study Resources: Colossians Resources
Scripture quotes are from the English Standard Version of the Bible.
