Colossians 1:24Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

What is the connection here? It seems hardly noticeable, but in fact it is great. By saying "minister," he means: I introduce nothing from myself, and I proclaim another's teaching. I believe so firmly that I suffer for Him, and not only suffer, but rejoice in sufferings, looking to what we expect in the future. And I suffer not for myself, but for you.

"And I fill up," he says, "in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ." It seems to me he said something great. But this was not from boldness. No, it was from strong love for Christ.

He does not want these afflictions to be attributed to himself, but to Christ. He spoke this way because he wished to draw his hearers to Christ.

"I now rejoice in my sufferings for you." Though this might seem inconsistent, in fact it is very consistent. After saying, "I was made a minister of the Gospel, from which I beg you not to depart," he now shows that it is so true that he even suffers for it. Not only does he suffer, but he rejoices in these sufferings.

These sufferings are for you, to bring you benefit.

"And I fill up (και άνταναπληρώ) in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ." This word might seem vainglorious and foolish, but it is not. On the contrary, it is full of great love for Christ.

For he wishes to persuade them that Christ even now suffers for them, and that you do not come to God through us, the apostles, but through Christ, even though we stand in the midst (καν ημείς εν τω μέσω ώμεν).

The Apostle says: "I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I fill up what is lacking in my flesh of the afflictions of Christ." He says not "my afflictions," but "the afflictions of Christ," because he is a member of the Body of Christ. In his persecutions, which Christ had to endure in His Body in all its fullness, he filled up His afflictions according to his measure.

And when Paul, already as a preacher of Christ, endures from others what he himself did when he was His persecutor, he says: "that I may fill up what is lacking in my flesh of the afflictions of Christ." He thereby shows that what is endured belongs to the afflictions of Christ.

I am in no way grieved by the sufferings which I have endured and still endure. Now I even rejoice in sufferings for your sake, since I strive to fill up in my flesh, that is, to bear in myself all the sufferings of Christ for the life of the world. For if he wished to become anathema from Christ for the life of those who crucified Him, how much more would he give the outward life of his body for the Gentiles. He would do this for His body, which is the Church. That is, for the body of Christ I desire, through the sufferings of my body, to fill up what is lacking in His Church.

Paul says that he rejoices in afflictions, because he sees his own progress in the faith of the believers. Affliction is not in vain when it summons to life the one for whom one suffers. He says that he offers these sufferings to Christ, Whose teaching they follow.

"I now rejoice in my sufferings for you." What reason would there be for one who had not seen them and had not imparted spiritual teaching to them to say directly that he underwent various dangers for them?

"And I fill up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ in my flesh, for His body, which is the Church." The Master Christ also accepted death for the Church, endured the shame of the cross, blows on the cheeks, scourging, and much else.

Divine Paul also suffered for the same Church. He underwent various sufferings and endured them with joy. For he says: "I rejoice in my sufferings for you," because he knew that life is acquired by this.

Paul adds, "I fill up what is lacking in my afflictions," and, "I rejoice, suffering for you." Why does he say, "for you"? Because he suffered on account of preaching to them. And if Christ is the head of the body, the Church (Col 1:18), then the afflictions inflicted on the Church by those who rise up against the word of truth are Christ's afflictions, and are most justly called so.

"I fill up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ in my flesh." According to the teaching of the Apostle Paul himself in many places of his epistles, Christ's sufferings were so great and so sufficient that no other means were needed for the salvation of the whole world, nor any completion of them by anyone's sufferings.

Therefore the Apostle's expression must be understood in this sense: the Apostle's sufferings are only a continuation of the sufferings of Christ Himself. He loves us so much that even now He is ready to suffer, and does suffer, in His ministers as in the members of His body.

That this making holy and this reconciliation are indeed not unconditional, the Apostle adds: "if indeed you continue grounded and steadfast in the faith, and are not moved away from the hope of the Gospel."

As for the Apostle himself, despite his chains, he only "rejoices in his sufferings" (Col 1:24) for the Colossians, or rather for the body of the whole Church of Christ. For, according to the divine economy, he suffers as a minister of the word of God and preacher of that very mystery of salvation and of the calling of the Gentiles to glory, which he has just explained to the Colossians.

In opposition to the false teachers, the Apostle points to the universal character of Christian preaching. He confirms by his own witness the teaching given to the Colossians through Epaphras. At the same time he speaks of his calling to the ministry of the divine economy of salvation, both for all in general and for the Colossians in particular.

He partly relates his sufferings to them, as sufferings undertaken for participation in Christ's sufferings in His new body, which is the Church.

According to Saint John Chrysostom, "Saint Paul again calls the Colossians themselves as witnesses, and then the whole universe. He did this also at the beginning, wishing by the testimony of many to strengthen the Colossians."

"Now" may be taken as a consequential particle, meaning "therefore." He has said, "I am a minister of the gospel, through which you were counted worthy of such blessings." Now he says, "therefore I rejoice, despite sufferings, or in all sufferings."

He rejoices in the success of the gospel. He rejoices because of them, since they have been counted worthy of the evangelical promises. Or "now" is a particle of time: now, in my condition, in my sufferings.

In that case the connection with what precedes is not visible. A new discourse begins. If anyone wishes to connect it with what precedes, he must carry the connection mentally and think it through.

Chrysostom does this: "What is the connection here? It seems almost unnoticeable, but in fact it is great. 'I am a minister,' he says, instead of saying, 'I introduce nothing from myself, but proclaim another's teaching.'

'I am so certain of the truth of what is proclaimed that I suffer for it. I not only suffer, but also rejoice in sufferings.'" Oecumenius and Theophylact say the same.

He does not rejoice at sufferings, but "in sufferings." Joy has another source. I rejoice when I see that the work to which I am appointed is advancing successfully.

I rejoice that you are partakers of the gospel and of its blessings. I also rejoice because of the certainty of hope in the future. This is how our interpreters explain it.

"I rejoice in sufferings": "I rejoice as I look toward what we await in the future" (Chrysostom). I rejoice, "knowing that life is acquired by this" (blessed Theodoret).

"The Apostle makes known that he rejoices in the sufferings he endures, because in the faith of believers he sees his own success. Moreover, such suffering is not in vain when through it He is acquired for whose sake it is endured, and acquired unto life" (Ambrosiaster).

"In sufferings for you." By sufferings the Apostle means the bonds he endured. He endured them because he taught the gospel to the Gentiles in its pure form, mixing in nothing from what was under the law and showing it no indulgence.

Therefore, when he says, "in sufferings for you," he surely means, "for you, as believers from the Gentiles." If we suppose that the Apostle means suffering directly for them, we must accept that he had seen them and that they were his personal disciples.

Thus blessed Theodoret says: "What basis would there be for one who had not seen them, and had not directly taught them spiritual doctrine, to say that he was exposed to various dangers for them?"

Oecumenius, and after him Theophylact, understand "for you" as "for your sake," for your benefit: "I suffer for your sake, so that through this I may benefit you and bring you benefit."

Suffering for the gospel bears witness that the preacher is as certain of the truth of the gospel as he is that he exists. Therefore he does not hesitate even to sacrifice his life for it.

How powerfully this affects the firmness of believers' faith! Yet it seems better to join the words "for you" with "I rejoice": I rejoice over you, because you believe, stand in the faith, and partake of the blessings of faith.

The Greek expression does not favor this understanding. Yet by it the flow of the discourse gains greater clarity and order. I am your Apostle. Therefore I rejoice in your success.

By this joy I make up for the deprivation I experience in afflictions for Christ the Lord.

"Since I fill up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ." This passage is rather difficult and is interpreted in different ways. It depends on what thoughts one connects with the words "the afflictions of Christ," "what is lacking," and "I fill up."

The flow of the discourse seems to justify this thought above all. I rejoice over you in my sufferings. By this joy I fill up what the afflictions endured for Christ's sake deprive me of.

This is simple, gives the discourse naturalness, makes its contents easy to grasp, and accords better with the Apostle's intention. How could one more greatly testify to love than by saying, "Joy over you fills up every deprivation to which I am subjected"?

In the original it does not say, "since I fill up," but "and I fill up." All our interpreters also read it so. This "and" requires us to see in the following statement a thought of the same meaning as the preceding one.

It must serve either as its explanation or its application. "I fill up" is antanaplero. "I fill up," anaplero, is used when something is lacking for the fullness of a whole.

But antanaplero means that something has been torn away from a whole, and something new is obtained in its place, by which the damage that has occurred is filled up.

The Apostle expresses his losses, or what was torn away from him, by the word hysteremata, deprivations. Under this he gathers everything of which the afflictions of Christ deprived him.

"What is lacking in the afflictions of Christ" does not mean a deficiency of afflictions. It means deprivations arising from the afflictions of Christ, deprivations caused by these afflictions.

The afflictions of Christ are not afflictions which Christ the Lord Himself endures. They are afflictions endured for Christ. They are the same as the sufferings of Christ in the following passage.

"As the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so through Christ our consolation also abounds" (cf. 2 Cor 1:5).

The afflictions, or sufferings, of Christ deprived the Apostle of many things: fellowship with the brethren, conveniences for preaching, freedom, the feeling that his life was safe, peaceful sleep, food and drink, and much else.

They caused him great loss, produced a great emptying, and formed a great void. But the Apostle says that however great the void may be, and however numerous the losses and deprivations, he fills them all up with joy over their faith and firmness in it.

All that has been said together gives this sense. I rejoice over you, over your faith and your firmness in it, in my sufferings. By this joy I fill up all the deprivations caused me by these sufferings, or afflictions, for Christ the Lord.

What strong joy is expressed! And what firm love for the Colossians is testified! This is what the Apostle wished to show, so that he might then have grounds to say, "how great a struggle I have for you" (2:1).

The words "in my flesh" indicate sufferings, deprivations, and afflictions that are outward, caused in the body and in outward circumstances. The words "for His body" must be understood as explaining "the afflictions of Christ."

By joy over you I fill up the outward deprivations caused by afflictions for Christ the Lord and for His body, which is the Church, so that it may stand, expand, and enjoy well-being.

While acknowledging this interpretation as the best, we do not reject another, more commonly accepted one. According to it, the afflictions of Christ are the afflictions which Christ endures, though not in Himself, but in the person of believers.

In the present passage, He endures them in the person of Saint Paul, "in my flesh." "What is lacking in the afflictions of Christ" is understood as a deficiency in these afflictions.

It is as though Christ the Lord has not yet suffered all that is needed and continues to endure what remains. This is not in the sense that the Lord's sufferings and death on the Cross do not contain sufficient redemptive worth.

Rather, the application of the work of redemption to men requires suffering. Christ endures this suffering in the body of the Church, because of His mystical yet living union with her as Head.

The meaning of the Apostle's words is therefore this. What is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, I fill up by sufferings in my flesh for the Church, His body.

These are Chrysostom's words on this: "'And I fill up,' he says, 'what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ in my flesh.' It seems that he has said something great.

But this is not the result of forgetting his measure. It is the fruit of the great love he bears toward Christ. He does not wish to acknowledge the sufferings as his own, but acknowledges them as Christ's.

He speaks as though saying, 'What I suffer, I suffer for Him or on His account. Therefore do not give thanks to me, but to Him, for it is He who suffers this in me.'

It is clear that the Apostle expressed himself so because he wished to attach and bind the Colossians to Christ. If someone, being sent to another, asked someone else, 'I beg you, go to such a person for me,' then that person would afterward say, 'I am doing this for him.'

So it is here. Therefore the Apostle is not ashamed to say that these sufferings too, namely the sufferings endured by the Apostle, are His.

For He not only died for us, but even after death He is ready to suffer for our sake. The Apostle strives insistently to show that Christ in His own body is afflicted for the Church.

He leads the Colossians to this thought: it is not we who bring you to Him, but He Himself who brings you to Himself, even though, outwardly, we are doing it.

For we have not taken up our own work, but His. It is as though a commander, having a particular army under his command, led it into battle and then was compelled to leave his post.

Then the wounds which he ought to have received would be received by the deputy commander until the very end of the battle.

And that the Apostle truly has this thought, that he does this, that is, suffers, for Christ, listen: 'for His body,' he says. By this he wishes to say, 'I do not give this, these afflictions, to you, but to Christ.

For what He ought to have suffered, I suffer for Him.' See how strongly he speaks and what powerful love he shows!

As in the Second Epistle to the Corinthians he said, 'He has placed in us the ministry of reconciliation' (cf. 2 Cor 5:18), and again, 'We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were entreating through us' (cf. 2 Cor 5:20), so here he says the same.

'I undertook to suffer for Him, in order to draw them more strongly to Christ.' That is, if He, after departing through the Ascension, still remained in any debt, I pay it for Him.

For this reason he also said, 'I fill up what is lacking,' in order to show that, in his judgment, Christ has not yet suffered everything.

'For you,' he says, 'even after death He suffers, if anything lacking remains in this.' In the Epistle to the Romans he does this in another way, saying, 'Who also makes intercession for us' (Rom 8:34).

He had first said that He died, rose again, and sits at the right hand of the Father. By this he showed that He was not satisfied with death alone, but after that also does infinitely much.

Thus he speaks in this way not to exalt himself, but because he wishes to show that Christ is still caring for them."

These are Ambrosiaster's words: "The Apostle says that the sufferings inflicted on believers are inflicted on Christ Himself, because they are persecuted for His teaching.

He speaks thus in order, on the one hand, to make heavier the guilt of the cruelty of unbelievers. On the other, he presents to believers the abundance of God's love for them, in that the Son of God even until now endures injustices for them."

Blessed Photius, in Oecumenius, explains somewhat differently what the filling up of Christ's afflictions is. According to him, the afflictions of Christ are filled up not by Christ's afflictions, but by ours.

Christ suffered for us. We must repay Him for this by our sufferings for Him. But it is not possible to do this fully, for Christ's suffering has infinite worth, and what is ours?

Nevertheless, the more we suffer, the closer we approach the measure of Christ's sufferings. Every new suffering of ours fills up, and is being filled up, with respect to what is still lacking in our sufferings compared with the measure of Christ's sufferings.

This is the very thought Saint Paul has in the present passage. These are his words: "Christ, who endured blows, mockery, and scourging, and was crucified for us, not only paid everything for us, but paid in infinite measure, beyond word and reason.