November 1, Christ's sufferings in us.

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.

Christ has prepared a love offering for the world by suffering and dying for sinners.

It is a perfect sacrifice. It pays in full for the sins of all His people. Nothing can be

added to make it a better gift. It is lacking in nothing, except one thing. A personal present

presentation by Christ Himself to the nations of the world. God's answer to this lack is to

call the people of Christ, people like Paul, to make a personal presentation of the afflictions

of Christ to the world. In doing this, we fill up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions.

We finish what they were designed for, namely a personal presentation to the people who do not know

about their infinite worth. But the most amazing thing about Colossians 1-24 is how Paul fills

up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions. He says that it is His own sufferings that fill up

Christ's afflictions. This means then that Paul exhibits the sufferings of Christ

by suffering Himself for those He is trying to win to Christ. In His sufferings, they are to see

Christ's sufferings. Here is the astounding upshot. God intends for the afflictions of

Christ to be presented to the world through the afflictions of His people. God really means

for the body of Christ the Church to experience some of the suffering He experienced so that when

we proclaim the cross as the way to life, people will see the marks of the cross in us and feel the

love of the cross from us.