Colossians 1:21-24

"Handfuls of Purpose"

For All Gleaners

And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: if ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the Gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister; 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" (Colossians 1:21-22 , Colossians 1:23 , Colossians 1:24 .)

Thus the Apostle continues in rapture, in sacred eloquence, utterly unable to express himself, so full is his heart of thankfulness and praise. Yet even in the midst of this ecstasy, how practical is this apostolic pastor! He will have the Colossians continue in the faith, grounded and settled; he will have them built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone. He does not commit the Colossian Church to the wind or to the clouds, or to varying moods of spiritual experience; he uses language which may be properly employed in describing the laying of foundations, and the building of ample super-structures upon bases of granite. How subtly, yet with what gracious palpableness Paul introduces himself, his personality, and his ministry, into this whole rhapsody and argument! Here we find Paul doing what he exhorted the Colossians to do, namely, rejoicing in his sufferings; not only does he rejoice in his personal sufferings, but he rejoices in suffering itself as an element of Divine revelation and progress. "Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all. For the same cause also do ye joy, and rejoice with me." He rejoiced in his suffering, not because of its own sake, but because he bears it for the sake of the Church. It was thus that Christ rejoices even in his own Cross; he endured the Cross, despising the shame, foreseeing the time when all its tragic purpose would be wrought out in the reconciliation of the world to God. Regarding himself as filling up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ, we are to understand that he fills up instead of his Master what is still left unaccomplished; he represents to the Church in fuller measure what Christ would have represented had he continued to live. The sufferings of Christ overflow to us, so that we seem to carry on the work which he began. All the suffering was not endured by Christ alone; the Church had to drink of his cup, and be baptised with his baptism. We do not share the Cross of atonement, but we share the suffering which exhibits the power of faith; ours is the Cross of struggling against sin, even unto death. We have to be crucified to the world. We have to show what is meant by the term Cross. Here again is a mystery not to be explained in words, the mystery of fellow-suffering with Christ, that afterwards there may follow triumph with him in the power of his resurrection.