Difficult texts: Colossians 1:24

Recently I led a Bible Study in Colossians 1. It’s a fantastic chapter that radically exalts Christ and informs us of His absolute preeminence in all things.

Well, at least until you hit verse 24…

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church. (Colossians 1:24 ESV, emphasis mine)

Wait a minute… did Paul really just say that? In Paul’s flesh he is filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions? How could he say that after what he had just written previously, that Jesus had made “peace by the blood of His cross.” (Colossians 1:20 ESV)?  What could possibly be lacking in Christ’s afflictions?

When we come upon such difficult texts, we’re left with several choices:

1. Ignore the text: While that’s sometimes the best thing to do temporarily so that you can keep moving forward in trying to understand the rest of a passage, it’s neither good nor wise to ignore any teaching of Scripture (See 2 Tim 3:16-17).
2. Guess its meaning: Sadly, this is what we tend to do all too often, and it means that what we come up with is at best unreliable – and quite possibly much worse. For example, it would be very wrong to conclude here that Christ’s atonement requires the work of another to be effective! Whenever in doubt, it’s better to say, “I don’t know” than to assume something false in Scripture.
3. Use Scripture to interpret Scripture: While God does not give us every answer to every question in Scripture, He has nonetheless given us His knowable Word. So we ought to ask ourselves if Scripture answers this question itself. Let’s consider this option further.

Sometimes we need only look a verse or two away to find the meaning. In this case, however, we need to flip a couple pages back to Philippians 2. At the very end of that chapter we find this text:

I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need, for he has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill. Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. I am the more eager to send him, therefore, that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious. So receive him in the Lord with all joy, and honor such men, for he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me. (Philippians 2:25-30 ESV, emphasis mine)

Here Paul writes of Epaphroditus that he risked his life to complete (or fill up) what was lacking in the Philippians’ service to Paul. That’s very similar language to Colossians 1:24, but what does it mean?

Paul tells us a few verses earlier that Epaphroditus was a messenger sent from the Philippians to minister to Paul’s needs. So Paul is certainly not complaining of their deficiency of service. What else could it mean? It appears that because the Philippians could not themselves physically be present with Paul to minister to him, they sent a representative: Epaphroditus. So that is what Paul means by “what was lacking”.

With that in mind, let’s return again to Colossians 1:24:

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church. (Colossians 1:24 ESV)

As was the case in the Philippians passage, Paul is not making up for some deficiency in Christ’s atoning work (as if one existed). Rather, because Christ has ascended to be seated at the right hand of His Father in heaven, He cannot be physically present to minister to the Colossians. So He sent a representative: Paul. Mystery solved!

Now, that’s only a tiny sampling of what can be gleaned from Colossians 1:24, but at least we’re safely back in line with the teaching of Scripture. We can confidently rejoice in the completed work of our knowable Savior, Jesus Christ, as demonstrated in His knowable Word.