May 30 - Colossians 1:24-27
“Now I rejoice in what was suffered 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 saints. 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.”
As I read the first sentence a couple of times, I realized how many times I skim something over in the Bible (aw heck, I do that in any type of reading) and not fully understand or question what it is that I’m reading.
The first impression is that Paul is filling in what was lacking in regards to Christ’s afflictions. Umm … what in the world? No … what Paul means here is that he is hoping to finish the work the Christ began so that the end of the world could come more quickly, that is, the work among the people of the earth – spreading the Gospel. The word ‘afflictions’ is from the Greek word ‘thlipsis’ which has nothing to do with Christ’s suffering on the cross, but everything to do with trials, sufferings, pressure, or trouble of everyday life. Paul had to deal with all of that much as we do and he was glad to do all of this for the church.
Now we see the glory of the mystery. This is so exciting for us. The mystery was revealed as Christ, who came to earth to save everyone … not just the Jews. Gentiles were made one with God – there was no longer a separation between Jews and Gentiles, everyone has access to the throne of the Father! The ripping of the curtain at Jesus’ death was more than just opening God’s holy of holies to the people, it was opening that to all of the people of earth.
The earth has waited for ages and generations for this mystery to be revealed. Christ came to earth, first to the Jews and then to the Gentiles. God gave the gift first to His chosen people and then threw open His arms and sent the Gospel to the entire world! Paul was glad to suffer whatever it was he would face so that the Gospel … the mystery … the truth of Christ in you (in me, in all of us), He is the hope that we have for glory.
“Now I rejoice in what was suffered 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 saints. 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.”
As I read the first sentence a couple of times, I realized how many times I skim something over in the Bible (aw heck, I do that in any type of reading) and not fully understand or question what it is that I’m reading.
The first impression is that Paul is filling in what was lacking in regards to Christ’s afflictions. Umm … what in the world? No … what Paul means here is that he is hoping to finish the work the Christ began so that the end of the world could come more quickly, that is, the work among the people of the earth – spreading the Gospel. The word ‘afflictions’ is from the Greek word ‘thlipsis’ which has nothing to do with Christ’s suffering on the cross, but everything to do with trials, sufferings, pressure, or trouble of everyday life. Paul had to deal with all of that much as we do and he was glad to do all of this for the church.
Now we see the glory of the mystery. This is so exciting for us. The mystery was revealed as Christ, who came to earth to save everyone … not just the Jews. Gentiles were made one with God – there was no longer a separation between Jews and Gentiles, everyone has access to the throne of the Father! The ripping of the curtain at Jesus’ death was more than just opening God’s holy of holies to the people, it was opening that to all of the people of earth.
The earth has waited for ages and generations for this mystery to be revealed. Christ came to earth, first to the Jews and then to the Gentiles. God gave the gift first to His chosen people and then threw open His arms and sent the Gospel to the entire world! Paul was glad to suffer whatever it was he would face so that the Gospel … the mystery … the truth of Christ in you (in me, in all of us), He is the hope that we have for glory.
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