You can listen to the full audio of the message here: Lives Hidden With Christ - The Mystery
In our ongoing study of Colossians, we arrive at a profound and challenging passage at the end of chapter 1. We’ve spent several weeks in this book, and as we come to verses 24 through 29, we find the Apostle Paul laying out a message that is as uncomfortable as it is beautiful. It’s a passage that challenges our modern ideas of faith, leadership, and community.
Let’s read the text, Colossians 1:24-29:
Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness— the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.
As I wrestled with this passage this week, I was struck by how much of it seems directed at those in church leadership. It makes me a little queasy because if we honestly apply what Paul is saying, it presents a difficult calling. But within this challenge lies a deep and powerful truth for all of us.
What Could Be Lacking in Christ’s Afflictions?
Paul begins in verse 24 with a statement that should make us all stop and think: “I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions…”
If you think about that for even a few seconds, it should raise all kinds of questions. First, he’s rejoicing in his suffering. That’s counterintuitive to our human experience. But it gets even more confusing. He says he is filling up what is _lacking_in Christ’s afflictions.
Time out. What could Jesus possibly lack in affliction? Did Paul not read the Gospels? Jesus’ life was affliction. From the hardship of daily life without modern comforts to the ultimate suffering of being beaten, mocked, and crucified for telling people to love one another—Jesus lacked nothing in his afflictions.
So, what is Paul talking about?
He gives us a clue in another of his letters. In 2 Corinthians 1:3-7, he writes:
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer.
I believe what Paul is getting at is this: to be united with Christ is to be united with His suffering. Christ suffered and died, and if we claim to walk in His way, suffering will be part of our journey. This isn’t the American evangelical sales pitch to fill the pews; this is the reality of following Jesus.
Since Christ is no longer physically here to suffer on our behalf, Paul says, “I now want to be the one that suffers on your behalf.” He sees his suffering—whether from persecution, spiritual attack, or the weight of ministry—as a way to shield and serve the church. He rejoices if his arrest or his pain means that others might be spared. He is standing in the gap, taking the heat so the body of Christ can flourish.
A Hard Calling for Leaders
This is where the passage becomes a heavy word for those of us in leadership. Our model is to follow Paul in this way—to rejoice in suffering for the sake of the body, to desire that the burden falls on us rather than on you. This is a hard calling. It’s not something they put on the seminary brochures.
Frankly, as I look across the landscape of American Christianity, I’m not sure we, as pastors and leaders, fully comprehend this. We understand we are called to counsel and care for you, but do we grasp that a significant part of our calling is to bear up under the suffering of all of you? To take your pain, your struggles, and your heartache as our own as much as we possibly can.
Our commission is to “present to you the Word of God in its fullness,” not to turn our pulpits into political rallies or platforms for cultural critique. The goal is to present the people of God in full maturity to Him. That is a heavy and humbling responsibility.
The Glorious Mystery Revealed
But the passage gets better. Paul moves from suffering to the glorious purpose behind it. He speaks of:
…the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. (v. 26)
What is this mystery? The Sunday school answer is the right one: Jesus. It’s the mystery unveiled earlier in this chapter, in verses 15-20—that Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the creator and sustainer of all things, the head of the church, and the one through whom God has reconciled everything to Himself.
But it doesn’t stop there. In verse 27, Paul reveals the other side of this mystery:
To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
The mystery is not just who Jesus is, but for whom He came. His reconciliation is not just for one subset of people; it is for the world. When Paul mentions the “Gentiles,” he is saying this grace is not limited to the people of Israel. It is for everyone.
This is radical. We’ve been part of a Western Christian culture for so long that we’ve lost our sense of awe at how incredibly inclusive the gospel is. The mystery is that the grace and mercy of God are not for a special, exclusive club but for all people. Christ meets you where you are, and that is a remarkable, world-changing truth.
Our Response: Three Key Takeaways
So, what do we, as God’s people, do with this passage?
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The Gospel is for Everyone. The mystery of “Christ in you” should compel us to invite everybody into this story of love and grace. This is especially true for the people we might label as “those people.” They are the ones we should be running to most quickly with the beauty of the gospel.
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Suffering is Part of the Journey. Following Jesus doesn’t mean you are freed from hard things. If we are truly united with Christ, we will walk through hardship. But we walk through it with the hope of glory. If we are united with Christ in his suffering and death, we know we will also be united with Him in His comfort and resurrection.
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We Don’t Do It Alone. Paul says he contends “with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.” He is not using his own strength but is leaning on the power of Christ. How does Christ give us this energy? Through His Spirit and through His people—the body. It’s important to note that every time Paul says “you” in this passage, he’s using the plural. This is a community project. We bear one another’s burdens together.
A Challenge for This Week
My challenge for you is to wrestle with this question: Are you trying to carry your burdens alone?
So often, our pride gets in the way. We think, “I’m fine, I can do it,” or “My problems are nothing compared to someone else’s.” When we do this, we rob the body of Christ of its very purpose, which is to come alongside one another and carry each other’s burdens.
Take a good, hard look at your life this week. Are you inviting other followers of Jesus into your pain, your struggles, and your suffering? Let us not try to do this in our own flesh but with the energy of Christ, which He gives to us through His body.
A Closing Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank you that this mystery you have called us into is one of grace, rooted in love, and bigger than we could possibly ever imagine. It is the mystery of the Christ who has reconciled all things and has invited us to be united with Him—in His suffering and in His resurrection—with one another as a part of the body of Christ.
Lord, I pray that you would help us to be a people who invite one another into our lives—into the joys, but also very intentionally into one another’s sufferings, so that we might bear those burdens together. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.