Ministry Involves Suffering

Colossians- The Preeminence of Jesus Christ

Lesson Five:  Ministry Involves Suffering (1:24-27)

Vs. 24-26

 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. 25I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness— 26the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints.

“rejoice in what was suffered for you”

This statement seems like an oxymoron in the sense that suffering and rejoicing don’t usually go together and rejoicing is not usually a product of suffering. However Paul gives us the reality of ministry and the attitude we must have. Being a minister to the Gentiles Paul suffered severely for the sake of the gospel (cf. 2 Cor. 11:24-28).

How was Paul able to rejoice in suffering?

1.    His suffering allowed him to identity with Jesus.

2.    His concern was for the churches- his focus was on others rather than himself.

3.    He was living out God’s calling (commission) on his life

“I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions”

Paul was enduring and serving on Christ’s behalf. Now that Jesus was gone, due to persecution till death, Paul was now receiving persecution because of his identity with Christ. Paul’s attitude was- Jesus suffered in His flesh for me, now I will suffer in my flesh for Him.

It’s important to understand that Paul is not meaning to imply that the sacrifice of Christ was not a sufficient payment for sin and now Paul was filling in where Christ fell short. This would be heresy and would go against everything Paul just taught about Christ in the previous section of chapter one.

Paul is saying that he is receiving in his flesh the continuing persecution people have toward Christ even though He is gone. Jesus was no longer around to be persecuted and Paul is receiving the persecution in His flesh that is meant for Christ (cf. Jn 15:18-21).

“for the sake of His body, which is the church”

Paul was suffering this persecution for the body of Christ, the Church, the believers. His service to others was focused on their spiritual maturity.

He sees this service as his ministry and allows him to rejoice in the suffering.

“servant by the commission God gave me”

Paul was living out God’s calling on his life and could do it for the joy set before him no matter what that entailed and no matter what trial that brought (cf. Heb. 12:2; Jm 1:2). Paul could rejoice because he was living out the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God (cf., Ro. 12:1-2).

As servants of God we must keep our focus on our identity with Christ, the benefit of others, and the calling of God in order to avoid bitterness or burnout but instead rejoice in our service.

What was God’s commission to Paul?

“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.”

What a calling- to present the word of God in its fullness! As servants we must be about the entire Bible and present all that God has said. In context Paul is referring primarily to the new revelation of a previous mystery of God, namely, the Spirit of Christ indwelling believers (1:26-27) and the person of Christ Himself (vs. 2:2).

The mystery has only been revealed to saints in the sense that they are the only one’s experiencing it. The next verse reveals one of the great blessings of this new revelation of God.

Vs. 27

“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.”

A mystery in the Bible is usually referring to something previously unrevealed rather than something not understandable. It was (and still is) hard for people to understand that salvation is a free gift of God that comes by grace, through faith alone in Christ alone. We will see in our later studies they also struggled with sanctification being by grace, through faith alone in Christ alone. However, the false teachers around Colossae taught believers needed to work hard for sanctification and live by the Law and Paul will explain the mystery of our freedom from the Law and sanctification by the Spirit of Christ, how this is our only hope for true sanctification and victory over the flesh. Christ prophesied about this blessing (cf. John 14:16-26; 16:5-15) and Paul begins to explain it here and will does so more fully in chapters 2 and 3. This was a mystery in the Old Testament but essential in the new dispensation of grace or the church age.

So even though Paul’s ministry of fully preaching the word of God involved suffering this suffering was for believers to experience victorious living. Paul began to explain how the mystery that now has been revealed, namely, that Christ lives in all believers and this gives us the certain hope of a holy and glorious presentation at the judgment seat of Christ (cf. vs. 22-23).

As you suffer in your service to others, your life of ministry, remember that in the sacrifice you are identifying with Christ, serving for the benefit of others, and living out the calling of God for your life. In this way we can experience joy through the times of suffering.