THAT WHICH IS LACKING IN THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST
There is perhaps no statement in all of Paul’s writings that causes the believer to pause more deeply than these words: “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” (Colossians 1:24).
At first glance the words seem impossible. How could anything be lacking in the sufferings of Christ? Did not our Lord cry, “It is finished”? Was not the work of redemption completed once and for all at Calvary (John 19:30; Hebrews 10:12)?
Indeed it was.
Nothing can be added to the atoning value of the cross. The sacrifice of Christ stands complete, perfect, and eternally sufficient.
The apostle is not speaking of redemption. He is speaking of representation. Christ has finished His suffering for sin, but the testimony of that suffering continues in His people.
The risen Lord has a Body on earth, and that Body is called to share in the fellowship of His sufferings (Philippians 3:10). What remains is not suffering for salvation but suffering for manifestation.
The world that rejected Christ continues to reject His life wherever it is expressed through those who belong to Him (John 15:18-20).
When Christ walked this earth, the hostility of darkness was concentrated upon Him. Men despised Him, contradicted Him, and crucified Him.
Yet after His ascension, the same opposition turned toward His church.
The enemy cannot strike the glorified Christ in heaven, but he seeks to wound the testimony of Christ on earth. Thus the church enters into sufferings that reveal the character and life of her Head.
In this way the afflictions of Christ continue, not in His Person, but in His people (Acts 9:4).
This explains why the Lord said to Saul on the Damascus road, “Why are you persecuting Me?” Saul had never laid a hand upon Jesus of Nazareth. But in touching the saints he touched Christ Himself.
The union between the Head and the Body is so complete that the sufferings of the church are regarded as the sufferings of Christ.
What an immense truth this is.
We are not merely followers of Christ. We are joined to Him. His interests become our interests, and our sufferings become bound up with His purpose.
The measure of suffering endured by the church is often related to the measure of Christ revealed through the church.
Whenever God’s people move toward a fuller expression of His Son, conflict increases.
The cross is not only the instrument of our salvation. It becomes the principle of our spiritual growth.
God brings His children into situations where self-strength fails, earthly resources diminish, and dependence upon Christ alone remains. Through such dealings, the life of Jesus is manifested in mortal flesh (2 Corinthians 4:10-11).
Paul could therefore rejoice in suffering. He saw beyond the pain to the purpose. Every trial endured for Christ’s sake contributed to the building up of the church and the unveiling of Christ’s fullness among God’s people.
The sufferings were temporary, but the spiritual increase was eternal.
The grain of wheat must fall into the ground and die before there can be fruit (John 12:24).
So it remains throughout this age.
Many believers ask God to use them greatly, yet shrink from the pathway through which Christ is most clearly revealed. We desire resurrection power while avoiding the fellowship of His sufferings.
God’s word shows that the two are inseparable.
The crown follows the cross. Glory follows suffering (Romans 8:17). The church becomes a vessel of heavenly life only as she shares the cost of bearing Christ’s testimony in a hostile world.
Thus, what was lacking in the sufferings of Christ was never anything deficient in His atonement.
Rather, it was the ongoing participation of His Body in making known His life, His character, and His victory throughout the earth until He comes again.
The Head has entered glory, but the Body remains in the battlefield.
Every hardship borne for His name, every rejection endured for His truth, and every sacrifice made for His people becomes part of that great testimony through which Christ is seen and known in the world.
BDD
