Colossians 1:24-29
24 I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church, 25 of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God, 26 the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. 27 To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. 29 To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.
24 I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church, 25 of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God, 26 the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. 27 To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. 29 To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.
Paul suffered as Christ did for the assembly of those called out, the church. It is not that Christ’s sufferings were not enough, but that the suffering in His name continued in His name for the gospel’s sake. Paul saw that as a joyful privilege, part of his calling as a messenger of the message, to reveal or explain the mystery of Christ in the scriptures which were the Old Testament books. He points out that these all point to Christ from the very beginning of Genesis, and how the gospel and God’s Spirit in us now makes these things known to opened eyes. That is what he preached, Christ in us as the good news, God’s Spirit giving us a new heart with His Law engraved on its pages of grace in place of hard and demanding stone of deeds. This new life with its ability to willingly live as God commands is the hope of God’s glory in us who are in Christ! This is why we also are to preach Christ with warnings and wisdom to the perfection or completion of our transformation, doing all we can by His enabling power and wisdom by His word. Do we strive with all we have and not just make feeble efforts to tell of Christ and the gospel from all of scripture?
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