The first chapter in the book of Colossians is loaded with content. As you read through it, you can’t help but notice the lofty tone that this chapter presents. After the introduction Paul shares his prayer for the readers, and wow is it encouraging, I want to draw your attention to verse ten:
….so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God
(Colossians 1:10 ESV)
What I find extraordinary with this verse is that it states exactly what we need to hear today. It IS possible to live a life that pleases God. Now, we may not be able to live a perfect life in our fallen state, but we can live a life that pleases God.
Christ is the anchor of our faith
The life of a Christian is a life of progressive sanctification. As this verse tells us that as we grow in Christ we are to bear fruit in every good work and to increase in our knowledge of God. Verse 11 goes on to tell the reader that God’s children will be empowered to endure with joy because of our promised inheritance. Paul continues with an amazingly exalted view of Jesus. None of the what happens in the first part of this chapter happens without Jesus. Christ is the anchor of our faith and the lofty ideal on which we focus.
Lastly, Paul talks about his own sufferings for the church. He makes an interesting statement in verse 24.
Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church,
(Colossians 1:24 ESV)
Christ did the work, we are to follow
This is an interesting statement, and maybe I can help shed some light on this for you. What Paul is definitely not doing is claiming any sort of equality with Jesus, for only Jesus could suffer for the sins of the world. What Paul is saying is that Jesus laid out a pattern and this is the obvious outworking of that pattern. Matthew Henry stated it this way:
But He suffered for the redemption of the church; we suffer on other accounts; for we do but slightly taste that cup of afflictions of which Christ first drank deeply. A Christian may be said to fill up that which remains of the sufferings of Christ, when he takes up his cross, and after the pattern of Christ, bears patiently the afflictions God allots to him.
Matthew Henry Concise Commentary Colossians
Christ did the work, we are to follow His example for the glory of God and our eternal good.
PJ
