Nielsen’s Nook

Nestle-Aland 27

24 Νῦν χαίρω ἐν τοῖς παθήμασιν a ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν καὶ ἀνταναπληρῶ b τὰ ὑστερήματα c τῶν θλίψεων τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐν τῇ σαρκί μου ὑπὲρ τοῦ σώματος αὐτοῦ , ὅ ἐστιν ἡ ἐκκλησία , 25 ἧς ἐγενόμην ἐγὼ διάκονος ‹ κατὰ τὴν οἰκονομίαν τοῦ θεοῦ › d τὴν δοθεῖσάν e μοι εἰς ὑμᾶς πληρῶσαι f τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ , 26 τὸ μυστήριον τὸ ἀποκεκρυμμένον g ἀπὸ τῶν αἰώνων καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν γενεῶν - νῦν δὲ ἐφανερώθη τοῖς ἁγίοις αὐτοῦ , 27 οἷς � θέλησεν ὁ θεὸς γνωρίσαι τί τὸ πλοῦτος τῆς δόξης τοῦ μυστηρίου τούτου ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν , ὅ ἐστιν Χριστὸς ἐν ὑμῖν , ἡ ἐλπὶς τῆς δόξης · 28 ὃν ἡμεῖς καταγγέλλομεν νουθετοῦντες h πάντα ἄνθρωπον καὶ διδάσκοντες πάντα ἄνθρωπον ἐν πάσῃ σοφίᾳ , ἵνα παραστήσωμεν i πάντα ἄνθρωπον τέλειον ἐν Χριστῷ · 29 εἰς ὃ καὶ κοπιῶ ἀγωνιζόμενος κατὰ τὴν ἐνέργειαν αὐτοῦ τὴν ἐνεργουμένην ἐν ἐμοὶ ἐν δυνάμει .

Commentary

A faithful minister was out riding his bike last week with his to young sons. He fell off it and has been in a coma for a week and is not likely to recover, according to the doctor’s prognosis. I don’t know how to make sense out of that. But what Paul is telling us here is that the suffering that this man endures (and his wife and children with him!) is suffering in which Christ himself participates.Now, don’t be confused about what Paul seems to be saying here. Paul definitely says that his sufferings as a Christian “fill up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ” (v 24). What is clearly not in the picture here regarding Christ’s sufferings are the ideas of expiation or propitiation. [1]
The paradigm that we have in Colossians is that of union with the risen and exalted Christ who is still very much incarnate, one of us. He is intrinsically bound to his people, in an inseparable fashion. This union (“Christ in you” v 27) is the mystery that was hidden, which has now been revealed to his people, the church.This bond of love is everything for the Christian. It is the purpose of justification. It is the process of sanctification. It is the radiance of glorification. Paul strives, toils for this mysterious bond of love, this union with Christ. It is something he has monergistically by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone and consequently is something that is worked out in union, in cooperation with God as the Lord leads us forward with him in his regal procession through time, having triumphed over sin and death.
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[1] Lightfoot, Joseph Barber. Colossians and Philemon. 1st British ed. The Crossway classic commentaries. Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, 1997, Colossians 1:24.

Translation

24 Now I rejoice in sufferings for your sake; even in my flesh I fill up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ for the sake of his body, which is the church, 25 of which I became a minister according to the divine office, given to me in order to make full the word of God to you, 26 the mystery hidden from eternity and from generations – but now, revealed to his holy ones, 27 to whom God willed to make known among the nations how great the wealth of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory, 28 which we proclaimed to you, warning every person and teaching every person in all wisdom so that we might present every person completed in Christ. 29 For this mystery j I am also toiling, striving according to his work, working k in me with power.

Grammar & Vocabulary

a παθήμασιν dat/pl/neu ( πάθημα ) suffering, misfortune

b ἀνταναπληρῶ pres/act/ind/1p/sg ( ἀνταναπληρόω ) to fill up, complete

c ὑστερήματα acc/pl/neu ( ὑστέρημα ) need, want, deficiency

d κατὰ τὴν οἰκονομίαν τοῦ θεοῦ (according to the divine office); οἰκονομία refers to a plan or administration and I take τοῦ θεοῦ as an attributive genitive resulting in “divine office” (c.f., BAGD p 559).

e δοθεῖσάν aor/psv/ptc/sg/acc/fem ( δίδωμι ) to give

f πληρῶσαι taken as an infinitive of purpose

g ἀποκεκρυμμένον pfc/psv/ptc/sg/acc/neu ( ἀποκρύπτω ) kept secret, hidden

h νουθετοῦντες pres/act/ptc/pl/nom/mas ( νουθετέω ) to admonish, instruct, warn

i παραστήσωμεν BAGD informs us that in cases such as this, Eph 5:27 and 2 Tim 2:15 can function conceptually as “to make” or “to render” (p 627).

j the relative pronoun here is neuter and seems to point back to μυστήριον in v 27.

k The English words “work” and “working” are rendered from the Greek ἐνέργεια and ἐνεργέω respectively. It is the language that historically has indicated the union with Christ that transforms all believers.