Author: Ryan Hale

Wait a minute, Paul. In what way, exactly, are Christ’s afflictions lacking? Did Jesus not live a perfect life? Is his sacrifice on the cross not perfect – one sacrifice for all, whether for past, present, or future sins?

Here is the passage that I’m referring to:

Now I rejoice in what I am suffering 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. I have become its servant by the commission God gave me 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 Lord’s people. 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.

Colossians 1:24-27

You can see how this could pretty quickly become confusing. If Paul is saying that Christ’s afflictions are lacking in some way, then we have an imperfect sacrifice.

But scripture has already told us that Jesus is the perfect sacrifice – one sacrifice for all time, for all people, for all sin. Here is what the writer of the book of Hebrews tells us:

And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says:

“This is the covenant I will make with them
after that time, says the Lord.
I will put my laws in their hearts,
and I will write them on their minds.”
Then he adds:
“Their sins and lawless acts
I will remember no more.”

And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.

Hebrews 10:10-18

We can see here that no other sacrifices are necessary. Jesus’s sacrifice was sufficient for all people, for all time. One sacrifice that was given by God himself, by Jesus our high priest, and no sacrifices are needed any longer.

If that is true, then, what in the world is Paul talking about? How can he say that there is something lacking in the sacrifice of Christ? Even further, how can he, although a great man, but just a man, make up for anything that is related to Christ’s sacrifice? He can’t, can he?

Let’s read what Paul is saying in context. He is referring to the presentation of the message. He is talking about the message that has been hidden but that has now been made known to the Gentiles. He is talking about the fact that the message now must be spread to the rest of the world.

The sacrifice of Christ isn’t automatically transmitted to everyone’s heart and mind. Instead, God has decided and seen fit that man would be the way that the message would be transported and taken to everyone everywhere. In this way, Paul is saying that he is taking on what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions.

Let’s take it one step further, however. Paul actually doesn’t just say that he is the bearer of the message. Instead, he says that he fills up in his flesh what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions. Paul takes this message within him, within his flesh, and carries it to the whole world. Paul had taken beatings. Paul had been jailed. Like Christ, his flesh bore wounds, the wounds of the gospel, as he took the message. When you heard the message from Paul, you saw the wounds on his flesh. You saw the marks of Christ upon him. He was full, within his flesh, of the message of Christ. Not just words, but true marks of Christ.

So in this way, Paul fills up within him what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions. He isn’t sacrificing himself for the people. He is giving himself to Christ, to Christ’s glory, so that the mystery of Christ would be revealed and the whole world may hear of the salvation that comes from God.

The church in Philippi had been the first, and at times the only, one to support Paul as he was traveling and doing his work. Several times he had been in need. He didn’t necessarily have food or shelter, nor a way to pay for it, but the church was willing to help him.

We could take an example from when Paul was in Corinth. When he arrived there, he didn’t have a way to live, and he had left the Macedonian churches behind – the Philippian church being one of these – as a result of persecution. At each point along the way, Paul had either been beaten, put in prison, or chased out of town because the Jews wanted to kill him. As a result, he needed to move, and move quickly.

So when he arrived there in Corinth, he needed to work, and he couldn’t continue preaching and teaching full time as a result. As it turned out, that is how Paul met Priscilla and Aquila as they made tents together. So God used this time in Paul’s life that he needed to work to support himself, but when Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, they brought the support that Paul had needed so that he could continue to do the work that God had called him to do, to teach and preach again full time.

However, regardless of whether Paul was in need or had plenty, or regardless of whether he needed to work to support himself or had been supported by the churches, Paul remained content in his situation.

His contentedness wasn’t something that he just knew how to do. It was a way of thinking, a way of acting, a state of being that he learned. I suspect it was something that God taught him through his call and through difficulty.

I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

Philippians 4:10-13

Paul had learned what it means to be content. He learned how to be content. He learned it through the trials of the life that he was living. But most of all he learned it because, even in the difficult times, God gave him strength to endure, and it was through this endurance that he gained his strength. This strength from God and endurance through the difficult situations made Paul to be content and taught him that God will provide for him in each situation, that he is with him and walks with him, just as Jesus promised.

This is the source of Paul’s contentment. Not money. Not provision, but God’s presence with him in the form of Christ.

Paul was waiting for his trial in Rome. He had appealed to Caesar from Caesarea Philippi and then had a long journey to reach Rome. Once there, he was placed in what we might call “house arrest”, although while he was in a house that he had rented, he was neither at his “home”, nor was he just under arrest. He was in chains. He was being held against his will and may have, with some debate about what actually happened next, been killed soon thereafter.

Yet people came to them and he taught them. He spoke freely and preached openly from his house there in Rome. Christ was known all the more there in Rome because of what he had done. And not only that, others began to speak out boldly as well:

Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.

Philippians 1:12-14

It seems that the Christians there in Rome had been scared, and they would have had reason to be scared. They had been driven out. They had been killed. They had been persecuted in many ways. Having the government begin to hunt and kill the people around you would cause anyone to rethink what they are doing! And yet, they already had Paul in prison. The only thing that they could do to him yet is to kill him.

So this emboldened the other Christians. They saw that Paul was speaking boldly about Christ, even despite his situation, and so they began to take more and more courage from Paul’s situation that they too could speak about Jesus.

So Paul says that the chains that he was in actually served to help advance the Gospel. The Gospel moved forward and was heard by more people precisely because he was in chains. Perhaps if he hadn’t been, the circumstances would not have been the same. Perhaps others wouldn’t have been nearly as emboldened, or even would have tried to silence Paul from speaking about Christ. Instead, because he was in chains, people came to him. Because he was in chains, people were more emboldened, and so they began to speak as well.

God will use every situation, even the situations that look hopeless in our eyes, for his glory. There is nothing that Satan can do that God will not be able to turn around for his glory. Yet he continues to try and we continue to despair at difficult situations. We need to remember, instead, these stories. We need to remember that God is using both what we would call a good situation as well as what we would call a bad situation for his good and his glory. And as our heavenly father, while we may not call everything good because it doesn’t seem good to us in the moment, there will come a point that we understand what God was doing and how he used our difficulty and our challenging situations so that the Gospel, the good news of his coming to earth will be advanced.

Paul tells the Ephesian church, while writing from prison in Rome, that he is an ambassador in chains. Paul has been chained up as a result of the Jewish leaders’ accusations, while never having been shown to have done anything wrong. Yet even while he is a prisoner, many people are coming to know Christ, and Paul is continuing to write to the churches that he founded, one of these being the church in Ephesus.

Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

Ephesians 6:19-20

From his writings, Paul seems singularly focused. He doesn’t seem to be stopped, nor even slowed, by the fact that he is in chains or in prison. Instead, he continues to serve his human masters, the Roman soldiers, as if he is serving Christ, and for this he is granted the opportunity to speak freely to the people there in Rome.

But what is even more, Paul continues to serve his heavenly master, Jesus Christ, despite the fact that he is in jail precisely because of his relationship with him and work for him. There isn’t a doubt in Paul’s mind. He is headed toward eternity with Christ and the rest of his life is to be devoted to him. Paul is looking beyond his present circumstances to the eternal reward of living with Christ forever, seeking to bring along with him as many people as possible.

When we walk in the darkness, when we live for ourselves, when we reject God and go the way that we prefer, it may feel good for a while – and in fact often does – but the result will only be temporary. The result is, in reality, fruitless. There is no lasting meaning beyond what happens in that moment. That deed, that thought, has no reference point beyond that point, and as people who do those deeds, if who we are is represented by what we are doing, there is no lasting meaning to our existence.

But if we walk in light, in goodness, we are actually walking in a way that makes reference to God, to the infinite, and we have long-lasting significance. Not because of ourselves, but because of God. We find ourselves in him, so we find our meaning and significance in him. We think thoughts that are related to that which is infinite. We do deeds that find their meaning in eternity, and in this way we can find ourselves walking in the light.

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light.

Ephesians 5:8-13

I shouldn’t live my life in the light just because I must be obedient to God. I should live my life in the light because I find my joy in God. I find happiness in him. I no longer have a taste for evil, the deeds of darkness, but I actually prefer that which truly satisfies with joy and happiness. And in this way, I find the meaning that I long to find.

I follow a man on YouTube named David Wood. I listened yesterday to one of his commentaries regarding the temporary and the infinite reference points. I think it is related, although maybe not directly connected, to what I’m saying here:

Christ is the head of the church.

And we are each members of his body.

First and foremost, it is important to get that right. We don’t always understand or practice that relationship very well. Instead of Christ at the head, we have people in leadership roles that will attempt to step into the headship role. In the same way, instead of being part of the body, we have people who will maneuver to take a position, or will work against the body instead of work to build it up.

Paul spends a lot of words in chapter 4 in his letter to the Ephesians to emphasize these points, that Christ is the head and we are each members of his body. The members of the body work together to build one another up. The members of the body have the other parts of the body in mind. As each part works, it works for the good of the rest of the body, and always to lift up, respond to, and do the work of, the head, which is Christ.

Paul says that, while we are one body, we are not necessarily all the same. Christ gave gifts to each of the people within the body. In this chapter, he lists five:

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Ephesians 4:11-13

The five are apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers.

And these five have a purpose. The purpose of these five is to equip the people for works of service. Christ gives the gifts to the church so that the church will be built up. Not necessarily just that each of us would use our gifts individually so that we are individually glorified. No, instead, it is so that the body will be built up.

But why build up the body? The head of the body is concerned about the health and growth of the body. The head of the body wants to see that the body comes to full maturity. Christ does not want to we remain infants. Instead, he wants that we become mature.

How would these gifts make us mature? Let’s think about the gifts themselves for a moment:

Apostles are the people that see where the kingdom of God is not yet and helps to lead and organize us to reach out to those who do not yet know Christ. This brings the body to greater maturity by teaching the rest of us to see those around us who need to know Christ and do what is necessary to reach out to them.

Prophets call us to greater clarity and truth in alignment to the word of God. Prophets help us to know when we are out of alignment and are straying away from the calling of Christ on our lives. Instead, they point us back to the way of God and keep us pointed in the direction that Christ has called each of us to go.

Evangelists teach us to tell others. We need to know how to share the Gospel. We need to know when to share the Gospel. We need to know the best ways to share the Gospel given the diversity of the people and their backgrounds all around us. Evangelists build us up by showing and leading the rest of us to do these things.

Pastors, or sometimes translated Shepherds, care for the flock. Jesus said that he is the Good Shepherd, but he has also placed shepherds amongst us. They take care of the people within body of Christ and teach each us to do the same with those who are around us.

Teachers continue to take us deeper into the word of God, helping us to understand its meaning and applying it to our lives. They help us to see what it is that the word is saying and teaching us also how we can teach others. They can multiply their gift by teaching others the meaning of certain sections of scripture, but they can also multiply their gift by teaching others to teach.

In these ways, we can see that the body of Christ will be built up. It will continue to grow until it reaches maturity, attaining to the full measure of Christ.

In some ways, it seems sacrilegious to say that there is a mystery of Christ. We should seek to know him. We should look for the answers. God himself came to present himself in the form of a man, and one of the reasons that he did that was so that we could see him, understand him, and know him.

Yet the difficulty is that the more that we know him, the more that we learn how much we don’t know.

It seems so simple. Christ came and died. He gave himself as a sacrifice so that all might live because he himself overcame death and was resurrected three days later. And that is true. But it isn’t enough. Once we understand this, we begin to ask other questions. For example, why would God do all of this? Or Who was this for? Was this for everyone in the world? For the “good people” only? Or also for the “bad” people?

Well, in fact, Paul explains to us that this mystery of Christ is that everyone – not just the Jews – are invited to be God’s people through Jesus. Christ gave himself so that all people, all nations, would be able to come to God. God would be their God, and everyone would have the opportunity to be his people through Christ.

Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 3:2-6

We are no longer separate peoples, but we are one. We have been made to be one people, one nation, one body in Christ. We have all been made to be God’s people, if we will follow Christ. In him, we can know God, we can be reconciled back to God. In him, and only in him. There is no other way to be reconciled with God. Without Christ, we are not a people. But with him, and in him, we are one.

Jesus told the Jewish people of this mystery. He said that he has “other sheep”, the Gentiles, who will be brought into the sheep fold, into the flock. He is the shepherd who will bring all of the sheep together. He is the shepherd who will keep them together and lay down his life for all of them. He is the one who will lead them in an out of the sheep pen. He will call them and his sheep will hear his voice and follow him.

This is the mystery of Christ. He is for all people. He calls all people. And all people may put their faith in Christ to be able to return to God and to know him.

We do not want the wrath of God. God’s wrath is more than we can begin to imagine. More than we could possibly bear.

The earth and nearly all of its people experienced God’s wrath previously in Noah’s time. God saw the wickedness on the earth and brought his wrath upon the earth and all of its people:

The LORD saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. The LORD regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. So the LORD said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them. ”

Genesis 6:5-7

God wiped nearly every human off of the earth. Nearly. Thankfully Noah found favor in God’s eyes and was saved.

The Israelite people experienced God’s wrath. They had been warned over and over that their ongoing betrayal and wandering from God, worshiping other gods and forgetting about the God who had already saved them, would bring God’s wrath upon them. But they persisted, so God brought the nations around them to destroy them and scattered the Israelites across the face of the earth.

And Jesus also experienced God’s wrath. It wasn’t just the Jews. It wasn’t just the Romans. In fact, it was God’s plan to kill Jesus, to make him experience God’s wrath in our place. God’s wrath was poured out on Jesus and he was ripped to shreds and nailed to the cross so that I wouldn’t have to experience that same punishment, that same wrath.

When we say that we are saved, we should be clear about what it is that we mean. We are saved from the wrath. The Bible doesn’t speak about God snapping his fingers and removing us from existence. Neither does it say that we are simply separated from God and his presence if we are punished and are judged to sent to Hell. No, it is clear in that we will experience God’s wrath. Yes, we are separated. Yes, we will actually wish that we never existed, but in reality, we will experience God’s wrath forever.

This is what Paul is referring to when he says that we were dead in our sins and were objects of God’s wrath:

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.

Ephesians 2:1-3

Let’s be clear about what we understand when we talk about our salvation. We are saved from this wrath, and instead we are made alive in Christ! It is an incredible gift that God has given us. He saves us to receive glory and honor for his great mercy and love that he has shown for us, and we are to give him that glory and honor in return. May we live our lives doing exactly this, orienting all of our lives around God and his glory for having saved each of us from his coming judgment and wrath.

There are several different ways in which people try to create unity. Politics is one of the main ways. We say that we want to create unity by rallying around a particular political leader. Sadly, each time that we do this, we subsequently see a degradation of the unity toward stark diversity.

Other ways might be in racial differences. In a particular race, we seek to achieve unity. But even if we achieve unity within a race, we ultimately do nothing more than highlight the diversity and pit one group against another.

There is one way, and really only one way in which unity will be achieved. We can see that unity on display in the book of Revelation. We can see it based on worship that is given to one lamb, the Lamb of God. We see unity because we find that there are people from every tribe, every tongue, and every nation who are worshiping the Lamb, who is himself Jesus, around the throne of God. That is true unity. Through worship of Christ, we see unity achieved.

But that is one day in the future. What about now? Is there any chance for unity now? Yes, there is, although the the way that unity is achieved, in reality, hasn’t changed.

Paul writes to the Ephesian church and says that he has been praying that they would truly understand the hope that comes by the power of God that raised Christ and created one body, in unity. Here is what he says:

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

Ephesians 1:18-23

Paul explains that God’s power is incomparable. It is the same power that placed Christ at God’s right hand. It is the same power that gave him authority and dominion to rule over all things and all peoples. And it is the same power that made the people One. Those people that will believe and place their hope and faith in Christ will worship him as part of his body. In his body, they will be unified here on the earth. In eternity, they will continue to be his body, worshiping Christ as one, in unity, forever.

They were all mixed up. The Jews were no longer just the Jews. They were now mixed with the Gentiles. The death of Christ ripped the curtain in the temple that separated the Holy of Holies to all else. Now, God and his presence are available to all.

But when they said “all”, we don’t just mean all of the Jews. We mean all. So now all can come to God. The God that had originally only been the God of the Jews is now also the God of the Gentiles as well through Jesus Christ.

So they were mixed up. All together. Different cultures and different races that didn’t normally come together around one person, the person of Christ. God who showed himself in the flesh as a human, named Jesus Christ. This one person brings everyone together, regardless of their background, their race, their culture. They come together in one hope, the hope that they will be saved from the wrath of God as he brings judgment upon the world.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:13

Paul writes this to the church in Rome in the hope that the God of hope will give them all that they need. They need joy and peace in the midst of the turbulent world, the turbulent life that they are living. God is the God of hope, a hope that we receive by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit teaches us and reveals to us the hope that God provides.

This is the same hope that we have today. We place our faith in Christ because our God has come to earth to rescue us, to give himself for us, so that we can enter into his kingdom, so that we can live for him, so that he will receive the glory forever. May we continue to have hope in our God that he will fulfill his promises!