“Abundant Christian Living”

TOPIC:‌“The Majestic Christ”

                 by Rev. Dr. Reg Dunlap

TEXT:‌Colossians 1:24-29

‌‌“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” (1:27, NIV)

‌Having looked at the magnificent Christ in verses 15 through 23, Paul now calls our attention to the majestic Christ in verses 24 through 29. Two divine truths about Christ stand out in these verses. They are His MARVELOUS SUFFERINGS and His MYSTERIOUS INDWELLING. Let's look at each one of them.

I.

‌Consider, first of all, the MARVELOUS SUFFERINGS of Christ. Paul writes in the words of verse 24: “Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church.” I like the NLT here: “I am glad when I suffer for you in my body, for I am completing what remains of Christ's sufferings for his body, the church.”

‌Here Paul would have the Colossian believers to know that no man ever suffered more than Christ. He stands unique among men at this point. What He suffered in His passion can never be ours to experience. But Paul does want these believers to realize that it is within their Christian responsibility to become a joint participator in those sufferings which Christ left behind for them to go through. In other words, the spirit in which Christ faced suffering and mastered suffering must be imparted to us who would serve Him. This is precisely what Paul was driving at when he wrote these words to the believers at Philippi: “For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake” (Philippians 1:29).

‌When Paul writes of his desire to “fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ” (v. 24), he certainly is not speaking about a personal sharing in the vicarious death of Christ. For he knew that what Christ did for us on the cross was finally and forever sufficient. We can't add to it or take away from it. As the writer of Hebrews declared: “So Christ once offered to bear the sins of many” (9:28). Paul wants the believers at Colossae to understand that he is not sorry for the suffering and persecution he has gone through on behalf of them, for it presents him with a splendid privilege to complete in his own sufferings something . . .