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Reading from Colossians 1:24 to 2:4

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and I fill up what is lacking of Christ’s afflictions in my flesh, on behalf of His body, which is the church,

of which I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God given to me for you,
so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God,
that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations,
but has now been manifested to His saints,

to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles,
which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Him we proclaim, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom,
so that we may present every man complete in Christ.
For this purpose I also labor, striving according to His working, which He works in me in power.

For I want you to understand how great a struggle I have on your behalf and for those who are at Laodicea,
and for all those who have not seen my face in the flesh,

so that their hearts may be encouraged,
having been held together in love,
even unto all the wealth of the full assurance of understanding,
unto the full knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself,
in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

I say this so that no one will delude you with persuasive argument.

Colossians 1:24 – 2:4

In the last verse, Paul spoke of delusion, a dictionary defines “delude” as “to trick, fool, or mislead someone (or oneself) into believing something false. It is often used to describe intentional deception by others.“

Paul also wrote that “God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.“, so what does this have to do with being deluded? 

The riches of the glory that Paul spoke of, are revealed in the whole counsel of God in His Word, but rather than laying hold of these truths through personally reading the Word, after hearing doctrine from the pulpit, Christians can be deluded, if they adopt belief of doctrinal error through not discerning the truth because they haven’t personally researched the scriptures themselves. The Saints in Berea were referred to as more noble than the Jews in Thessalonica, because “they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if these teachings were true.”.

But adopting doctrinal error, due to lack of personal study, isn’t the only cause of delusion; Satan would like us to think that God has put text in the bible which doesn’t need to be there; a pastor recently told me that a portion of text was in the wrong place so he believed it’s been contextually misunderstood;

Some have said that various doctrines aren’t essentials, so it doesn’t matter what you believe about them. I recently heard of a Pastor speaking negatively about the word “doctrine”, saying that it divides, and there are times when God divides through His Word, separating light from darkness; Paul said to Titus :

For the overseer must be beyond reproach as God’s steward, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not addicted to wine, not pugnacious, not fond of dishonest gain,
but hospitable, loving what is good, sensible, righteous, holy, self-controlled,
holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to reprove those who contradict.

Titus 1:7-9

Then there are those who preach that some doctrines are not applicable in these days, due to cultural changes. Satan’s been using argument to raise doubt against God’s Word since he deceived Eve, when He asked her: “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?”.

But the integrity of God’s word isn’t subject to mans perception, and God doesn’t utter irrelevant or non-consequential words. We’re told in 2 Timothy 3:

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished to all good works.

2 Timothy 3:16-17

Paul had written this letter to counteract the corrupt reasoning and teaching that had been affecting the saints in the churches of Colossae and Laodicea, where this letter was first read.

We’re told that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, but some have departed from the fear of God, having become egocentric, which is a snare of the devil, and they’ve subsequently, partially, or even fully departed from God’s word. In John 14:23, Jesus said:

…If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our dwelling with him.

The evil ones certainly don’t want God’s word to be strong in God’s children, because they know it works against sin, Psalm 119:11 says:

Your word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

There are many subtleties to departure from the Word; Some believe portions of it have a “best before” date, they still believe it’s largely relevant, but in some respects, they teach that it is culturally irrelevant, or only descriptive, but not imperative;

Sacrificing self for God’s glory, through adherence to the truth.

In the verse we’re considering from Colossians 1&2, Paul speaks of his suffering, and struggling to maintain and deliver the word of truth in the churches of Colossae and Laodicea; we know from Revelation 3:14-22, that the church of Laodicea had largely assimilated to the world in temporal ways; with earthly eyes, thinking they had become wealthy, they had actually become spiritually poor. They had received and promoted worldly doctrine which was choking the good Word, so they were becoming unfruitful. The source of all doctrine that is contrary to God’s Word, is from spiritual power of darkness, just as it was working in the simple deceptive words of Satan when he was present among God’s people in the garden of Eden. Evil ones are still active among God’s people today.

So Paul wrote of his suffering for the sake of the saints, on behalf of Christ’s body the church and said “For I want you to understand how great a struggle I have on your behalf and for those who are at Laodicea, and for all those who have not seen my face in the flesh,“, he wrote of rejoicing in his sufferings for the sake of the saints at Colossae and Laodicea, including telling them: “I fill up what is lacking of Christ’s afflictions in my flesh, on behalf of His body, which is the church,“.

Paul had put his hand to the plough and never looked back; by his selfless example, through his love for Christ, and by the power of Christ, he served the body with his Christian brothers, “proclaiming Christ, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom,” so that through working with the other apostles and servants of God, together they would “present every man complete in Christ;”.

Paul wrote of his struggles as being accomplished through the strength of Christ in him. He wasn’t elevating himself through expression of his struggling for the saints, and his suffering for Christ; no, Christ was glorified; just He is today when the saints express God’s glory to all people, through our obedience, and unity, based on the knowledge of truth which is Christ.

The suffering of the saints, works for our present peace and joy, but it’s not for our glory, it’s for God’s glory, for the glory of the name of Christ, just as Paul’s suffering were, as we’re told in Acts 9:15

… he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name.”

Acts 9:15-16

We can see here what the result of suffering is, in Paul’s case, it resulted in strengthening and guarding the church, and taking the gospel to the Gentiles, kings and the sons of Israel;
Christ’s suffering was the supreme form, which couldn’t be accomplished by man, and by it, He redeemed many to the Father, so that through Him, your suffering in denying the desires of the flesh, will take the gospel to your relatives, and all who you interact with. But this will only occur if we hold fast to the word of God which has been delivered to us, so that they see “Christ in you, the hope of glory.“

The physical and spiritual afflictions that affected Paul through his service,  were likely far beyond any suffering most of us will have to bear, they included such as imprisonments,

… beatings without number, in frequent danger of death.
Five times he received 39 lashes from the Jews.
He was beaten 3 times with rods, he was stoned once, he was shipwrecked 3 times, spent a night and a day in the deep.
He’d been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from his own countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the desolate places, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brothers. He’d been in labor and hardship, in many sleepless nights, in starvation and thirst, often hungry, in cold and without enough clothing.

Apart from such external things, there was the daily pressure on him of concern for all the churches.

And there are still many of the saints today who are also suffering substantially for Christ, having covert meetings because of risk of imprisonment, abuse, torture or death; but they are continuing to speak and live Christ just as Paul did, in Christ’s strength; they haven’t taken their hand off the plough or looked back, just like Paul, who kept on proclaiming Christ, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that he and his fellow workers would present every man complete in Christ. He laboured for this purpose, striving according to God’s working, which He worked in him in power.

The power of God which was at work in Paul, is at work in every person who commits themselves to His service. We should be encouraged through reading of Paul’s hardships and those of the other saints, by seeing that whether they suffered, or lost their lives earlier or later, there was fruit from their labours in Christ.

Jesus told us to daily deny ourselves, to take up our cross and follow Him. Christ is the ultimate example of suffering for God’s glory, and His suffering and resurrection, is the ultimate proof of the fruit of obedience, in bringing many sons to glory.

In 1 Peter 4 were told:

Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God must entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing good.

I find my experience in suffering for God, is insignificant compared to Paul’s, and probably even compared to yours, and certainly compared to many who live in oppressive countries around the world, where they even pray for such as us who live in religiously permissive societies. but I know that even in my insignificant suffering for Christ, I need His power to continue, and I find His peace in me is a result of His strength.

Lot’s wife looked back because her affections were still for her life in evil Sodom, any Christian who has their affections in the world, won’t be serving God or His people; but listen again to what Paul wrote about where God’s servants should have our affections, and what our purpose should be:

For I want you to understand how great a struggle I have on your behalf and for those who are at Laodicea, and for all those who have not seen my face in the flesh,

so that their hearts may be encouraged, having been held together in love, even unto all the wealth of the full assurance of understanding, unto the full knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
I say this so that no one will delude you with persuasive argument.
For even though I am absent in body, nevertheless I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the stability of your faith in Christ.

Therefore as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him,

Colossians 2:1-6

In Hebrews 12, we’re exhorted again to fix our eyes on Jesus way of selfless obedience:

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, 
let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, 
and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 
looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, 
who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame,
and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

He’s our rock, not any man, while He was in the mortal body of flesh which had been prepared for Him by God, He was still fully God:

He was still infinitely above all things “visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities“, and yet, He experienced suffering to depths beyond the comprehension of any created being, as we’re told in Hebrews 2:

But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.

Hebrews 2:9-10

But even now, the suffering of Christ Jesus hasn’t been completed. To consider this point further; we know that the Church, which consists of all Christians, is called the body of Christ, which is metaphorically described in 1 Corinthians 12:12

For as the body is one, and has many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.

Then further on in verse 26, we’re told a bit more about the interaction of the members of the body of Christ:

If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.

1 Corinthians 12:26

This verse in 1 Corinthians 12, delivers the same theme as Colossians 1:24, where Paul wrote:

“Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and I fill up what is lacking of Christ’s afflictions in my flesh,
on behalf of His body, which is the church,“

Our brother Paul, was experiencing suffering on behalf of Christ’s body, which is the Church, and this is what Jesus said being a disciple of Himself requires; daily denying ourselves, taking up our cross and following Jesus.

The earthly body hates the thought and action of the new man in us denying the flesh to serve the body of Christ, because this means selfless and often unrecognised commitment to serve others, and this might be required regularly over extended periods of time throughout the week in various ways.

It’s no wonder then, that he said “I rejoice in my suffering“, because God brings good fruit from everyone of His children who suffer for Him, as we deny ourselves in service to the body of Christ, and to those who are yet to be saved.

Remember the fruit that came from Christ’s suffering? Eternal Life for all those the Father has given Him!

I expect that almost all of the teaching of Christ through the bible, has been delivered through suffering. And for the saints personally, the suffering which our flesh hates, as we deny it’s numerous selfish desires, including the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, this form of suffering, works “in order to present us before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach.”.

Beyond reproach means, having nothing negative to be brought to account in His presence after the death of the body, this comes from confessing our sins to Him while we’re still living under the sun. We’re told in 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.“.

Suffering also works to produce another fruit in God’s children, it’s empathy. This characteristic was also attributed to Christ, as written in Hebrews 2:8

For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

So, although we’re to rest in the sovereignty of God in all that we experience and hear of in this corrupt world, we may, or may not personally have many notable experiences of substantial suffering, but God has given us depths of compassion, which is empathy for others, so that we act in selfless kindness, denying ourselves to serve the body. This is what Paul was exhorting us to do, through writing of his own responsibilities.

We’re told Faith without works is dead, but the sufferings that are experienced through serving the church, which are spoken of in 1 Corinthians 12:24-26 are evidence of life in Christ.

God has so composed the body, giving greater honour to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together;…

Then we read in Romans 8:16

The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

Romans 8:16-18

And then in 2 Corinthians 2:14

But thanks be to God, who always leads us triumphantly as captives in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him.

For we are to God the sweet aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.

To the one, we are an odour of death and demise; to the other, a fragrance that brings life.
And who is qualified for such a task?

2 Corinthians 2:14-16

This question is answered in Colossians 1

For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you,
and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 
that you may walk worthy of the Lord, 
fully pleasing Him, 
being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 
strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; 
giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. 
He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 
in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.

So Paul wrote to Timothy:

For this reason I endure all things for the sake of the elect, so that they also may obtain the salvation, which is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.

2 Timothy 2:10

APO 09May2026