Colossians 1:24 - Is there anything "lacking" in Jesus Christ?

[Jayne]

I just now read on a closed thread where a poster denied the sufficiency of Christ's atonement and the need for Mary's mediation for us by citing - out of context - Colossians 1:24.  "I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ."

I've been on message boards since 2002 and this is the most distressing thing that I've ever read another person say - I am grieved.  This isn't a contest to see who can recite Bible history, or copy and paste the most of other people's work,  or give a recitation on the canon of scripture.  This is about salvation - heaven and hell - for eternity.

Here is what Colossians 1 actually says.

Verses 21-23 give the sufficiency of what Christ did in his body for us.

"And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight; if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister."

Take note:

• Jesus Christ "reconciled" us in his body through death.  "It is FINISHED" - that's what he said on the cross.  We are reconciled Paul says - through the death of Christ.  That's all.  No more is needed.  He is all sufficient.
• We are presented "holy, blameless, and above reproach" in His sight.  There is no more sacrifice - no more reconciliation - no more reparations  - no need for a different or new mediator. 

Then what is Paul talking about in verse 24 and on in to verse 25?  "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 the His body, which is the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship of God....."

• Is Paul saying that Jesus' death on the cross was NOT sufficient?  No, he just said it WAS.
• Is Paul saying that we need another mediator to "complete" the salvation of Jesus Christ? No.

Then what IS he saying?

He is talking about his own "sufferings" as a "minister to the church according to the calling of God".

He was writing, yet again, from prison.  And Paul suffered many, many things.  Prison on several occasions, being stoned and left for dead, being snake-bit, shipwrecked, and more.

He is not comparing his worldly sufferings to the suffering Jesus had on the cross.  He is saying that the sufferings for the "ministers" here on this earth "for the sake of the body of Jesus, which is the church" are part of the same things Jesus suffered for three  years in HIS ministry and he is adding to the sufferings that all who ministry to the "body" will suffer.

He is NOT associating his or any other person's sufferings to the REDEMPTIVE work of Christ on the cross.  There is no person who has lived, who is living, or who will live - man, woman, boy, or girl - who can add to the REDEMPTIVE work of Christ.

Paul is talking about sufferings of those in the true ministry - no any redemptive work.

There is nothing lacking in the redemptive work of Jesus Christ.  He, alone, completed it all.

[Ezra]

1 hour ago, Jayne said:

I just now read on a closed thread where a poster denied the sufficiency of Christ's atonement and the need for Mary's mediation for us...

The RCC effectually denies the sufficiency of Christ's atonement in all of its teachings and practices.  Nothing to be surprised about, although it is distressing.

[Leonardo Von]

Dear sister Jayne,

 

Grace and mercy and peace from our Lord Jesus Christ.

Complementing what you said, Colossians 1:24 shows that God is a sufferer:

 

·        “But thou, O Lord, [ art ] a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.” (Psalms 86.15).

 

Therefore, all those who are filled with Jesus and His love end up also experiencing His suffering for His Church within themselves, this being what leads us to repent of any bad feeling that springs up in us when we are aggravated by the evil of somebody:

 

·        “Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.” (2Corinthians 7.9,10).

 

After all, God is love (1 John 4:16) and love is suffering:

 

·        “Charity suffereth long, [ and ] is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.” (1Corinthians 13.4-7).

 

Finally, what Paul is saying is that we were all created to give our lives for our brothers (John 15: 12,13) and that the "movie" of our life here must be filled with all the pain Jesus feels when He sees one of His sons suffering. And he, Paul, was fulfilling what was left of the sufferings that Jesus wanted to communicate to him (Philippians 3:10).

May Jesus always find space in us to manifest His saving life wherever we go (2 Corinthians 4, 10, 11).

[thilipsis]

On Saturday, December 03, 2016 at 6:50 PM, Jayne said:

I just now read on a closed thread where a poster denied the sufficiency of Christ's atonement and the need for Mary's mediation for us by citing - out of context - Colossians 1:24.  "I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ."

I've been on message boards since 2002 and this is the most distressing thing that I've ever read another person say - I am grieved.  This isn't a contest to see who can recite Bible history, or copy and paste the most of other people's work,  or give a recitation on the canon of scripture.  This is about salvation - heaven and hell - for eternity.

Here is what Colossians 1 actually says.

Verses 21-23 give the sufficiency of what Christ did in his body for us.

"And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight; if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister."

Take note:

• Jesus Christ "reconciled" us in his body through death.  "It is FINISHED" - that's what he said on the cross.  We are reconciled Paul says - through the death of Christ.  That's all.  No more is needed.  He is all sufficient.
• We are presented "holy, blameless, and above reproach" in His sight.  There is no more sacrifice - no more reconciliation - no more reparations  - no need for a different or new mediator. 

Then what is Paul talking about in verse 24 and on in to verse 25?  "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 the His body, which is the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship of God....."

• Is Paul saying that Jesus' death on the cross was NOT sufficient?  No, he just said it WAS.
• Is Paul saying that we need another mediator to "complete" the salvation of Jesus Christ? No.

Then what IS he saying?

He is talking about his own "sufferings" as a "minister to the church according to the calling of God".

He was writing, yet again, from prison.  And Paul suffered many, many things.  Prison on several occasions, being stoned and left for dead, being snake-bit, shipwrecked, and more.

He is not comparing his worldly sufferings to the suffering Jesus had on the cross.  He is saying that the sufferings for the "ministers" here on this earth "for the sake of the body of Jesus, which is the church" are part of the same things Jesus suffered for three  years in HIS ministry and he is adding to the sufferings that all who ministry to the "body" will suffer.

He is NOT associating his or any other person's sufferings to the REDEMPTIVE work of Christ on the cross.  There is no person who has lived, who is living, or who will live - man, woman, boy, or girl - who can add to the REDEMPTIVE work of Christ.

Paul is talking about sufferings of those in the true ministry - no any redemptive work.

There is nothing lacking in the redemptive work of Jesus Christ.  He, alone, completed it all.

I'll never forget walking into a Catholic church one Christmas eve, a nice service, a little play wn the writing of Silent Night. Then came prayer time and the guy leading the prayer says ' we come to you in the name of the blessed virgin', I was floored. Like anything else I checked into it and turns out this started about a thousand AD. Got a book on the subject I couldn't finish because the subject matter was too disturbing.