Joyful Following In The Mission At Any Cost

On Sunday April 15 I looked in my sermon at the Great Commission in Matthew 28:16-20, where I affirmed that the Great Commission is not optional, but is part of what it means to observe all that Jesus commanded for every believer. By looking at the example of the Apostle Paul from Colossians 1:24 I want to make an additional point in this post, namely that such following of our Savior in his Great Commission ought to be done joyfully and regardless of the cost.  

Colossians 1:24 reads: “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.”

It Should Be Joyful

Paul begins this verse with these words: “Now I rejoice in my sufferings.” Most likely Paul intends for the term translated “now” to mean something like, “Based upon what I have just written, here is what is true at this very moment.” Paul was imprisoned when he wrote this letter (4:10, 18). Though the manifold sufferings that came with such a circumstance were true of him, he still found joy in them in light of the great hope and benefits that come out of the gospel, the very gospel of which Paul is a minister (1:5-6, 23) and which is the glorious good news of his preeminent, sufficient Savior, Jesus Christ (1:15-22). The glorious gospel and Savior give us some sense of why Paul would rejoice, but they still don’t tell the whole picture. What else leads Paul to rejoice in hardships?

To begin, in the words “for your sake” we discover that Paul grasped his sufferings were benefiting people. Paul was imprisoned for preaching the gospel (Phil. 1:16) and he knew that only by such proclamation would people come to know Jesus Christ as Savior (Col. 1:5, 23) and also grow in him (Col. 1:6 [see also Romans 16:25f.]). So, Paul rejoiced not so much in the sufferings themselves, but the fact that he was imprisoned for preaching the gospel and such preaching brought eternal benefits to others.

Additionally, Paul understood that his missions work not only benefited people, but more specifically he was going through this “for the sake of his body, that is, the church”. Through the redemption accomplished by Christ for the church and applied to the church the Lord is shown to be preeminent (Col. 1:18). In other words, in the reality that Christ died and was the firstborn from the dead—implying the redeemed Church would also rise from the dead, this magnifies him. So, Paul grasps that Christ is glorified through his call “to make the word of God fully known” (1:25).

Though Paul does not mention any other motivations for joy here, in another letter he wrote during this same imprisonment he made it clear that the great driving force in his life was Jesus Christ. He wanted Christ to be exalted in all he did—whether he lived or died (Phil. 1:19-21a). In fact, Paul so delighted in Christ he affirmed that to die and to be with Christ was gain, it was far better than to continue on in this life (Phil. 1:21b-23). This focus upon his future reward of being with Christ is also heightened since he knew that slight momentary afflictions in this life are preparing for him an eternal weight of glory (2 Cor. 4:17). This glory consists of his being with Christ and also the manner in which his life would redound to the glory of the Savior. The apostle knew that in that day Jesus Christ would be glorified in his saints (2 Thes. 1:10).

So, serving the Lord and his people brought great joy to Paul, even if it also brought suffering. We might put it this way, Paul believed the gain was worth the pain!

We Should Follow Christ In Our Mission Regardless Of The Cost

Paul understood there was a necessary suffering involved in much missions work. This is communicated in this part of the verse:  “And in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions.” Paul here iss not talking specifically about the afflictions Jesus Christ suffered in his atoning work. We know this since nowhere else does Paul use this phrase or a similar phrase in that way. Additionally, if that is what he means and was suggesting that something was lacking in the saving work accomplished by Christ for the church, this would contradict the rest of this letter that argues for the sufficiency of the work of Christ (e.g. 1:12-14, 15-23; 2:13-15). We do find some help understanding this phrase from a similar phrase in 2 Corinthians 1:5, “Christ’s sufferings,” which in context refered to sufferings that came to Paul because he was serving Jesus Christ. So, “Christ’s afflictions” or “Christ’s sufferings” are those afflictions or sufferings that are experienced by the gospel messenger and that come on account of service for Christ.

The term translated “what is lacking” is used elsewhere to refer to situations that are not necessarily deficient, but would be benefited by having more of something added. For example, to a church whose faith Paul praises multiple times, he writes that he prays that he might see them to “supply what is lacking in your faith” (1 Thes. 3:10). This is similar to saying to a man who just picked up half a glass of water, “Here, let me fill it up.” The word translated “I am filling up” supports this understanding since it and its related terms often speak of supplying or filling up something that is not necessarily deficient (2 Cor. 8:14b; Phil. 2:30).

So, what Paul was saying is that he needed to supply an additional amount of something already present that would aid the Colossians, the body of Christ with the gospel. That something was suffering experienced by gospel messengers for the sake of Christ. The only way this makes sense is for Paul to believe that those who seek to live godly in Christ and to take this gospel to others will suffer as a result of the anger of the devil (Rev.12:12) unleashed through those who persecute the heralds of the gospel out of their hatred (John 15:18-21; 2 Tim. 3:12). Paul believed all things happen according to the counsel of the will of God (Eph. 1:11) and that God orchestrates all things together for the good of the saint—namely that he would be conformed to the image of Christ for the glory of Christ (Rom. 8:28-30). So, most likely, he believed God often decreed suffering for the good of his saints and the glory of God in the work of evangelism.

With all these realities in view Paul knew that his gospel imprisonment was a necessary part of his growth and future reward, the salvation of God’s elect, the building up of God’s saints, and the glorification of his great God and Savior. So, how could he do anything but joyfully follow his Lord in the mission regardless of the cost? May we do the same by his grace!