Ministers

Colossians 1:24-25

I don’t know about you, but when I first read this passage, my first thought was, “wait…what?”  It seems a bit confusing and in the following verses Paul talks about a “mystery,” which eases my mind that maybe I am not meant to understand what he is saying here.  Yet, that is not the case.  What we encounter here is something that I believe to be one of many instances in our English translations of the bible that does not fully translate from the original Greek and we are left to either skip over it or try to figure out what is going on here.  Thankfully, there are many folks WAY smarter than me that left behind some explanations of what Paul is talking about here.  Not that I know ancient Greek, but I am convinced that in the original language, this would make more sense (if we actually knew it).  In translating from one language to another, there are terms or concepts that sometimes only make sense in the original and in an attempt to make sense of it in another language that doesn’t have the necessary structure for a one-to-one translation, we wind up with something as complicated as what we read in these two verses.  So, now we know why it seems so convoluted, let’s try to see what Paul is actually saying here.

The term “lacking Christ’s afflictions,” or however it may be worded in your particular translation of the bible, is not hinting at some kind of lack that Jesus Himself had in His own sufferings.  Rather, it is an allusion to the Body of Christ, that is, the church, which is an ongoing organism.   Marvin Vincent explains it this way:

These afflictions do not include Christ’s vicarious sufferings, which are never denoted by θλίψεις tribulations. That which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ signifies that portion of Christ’s ministerial sufferings which was not endured by Him in person, but is endured in the suffering of Christians in all generations in carrying out Christ’s work. The point is not the identification of Paul with Christ in His sufferings (which is true as a fact), but the distinction between Paul and Christ. Hence the present tense, I am filling up, denoting something still in progress. The full tale of sufferings will not be completed until the Church shall have finished her conflict, and shall have come up “out of great tribulation” to sit at the marriage-supper of the Lamb.

Vincent, Marvin Richardson. Word Studies in the New Testament. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1887.

To me, this means what Paul is saying is that the suffering he has endured, he rejoices in, because he is fulfilling his purpose in Christ on behalf of the church.  You may recall in Acts 9:16 when Jesus spoke to Ananias, who balked at the idea of hosting Paul (then still Saul), and told him not to worry about what Saul might do to him:

15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. 16 For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”

As of this writing to the church at Colossae, Paul understood that the sufferings he had endured to that point (he was in prison in Rome) was part of his purpose and calling.  He rejoiced because it brought fruit.  Oddly enough, I am reminded of a quote from Thomas Jefferson, a revolutionary-era patriot who wrote: the tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots.  Even though both of these writers are from completely different eras and contexts, Paul was confident that his sacrifice was not in vain.  Instead, it was for the glory of God and the edification of the Body of Christ.

Now, in verse 25, I believe there is a very important distinction to make since it presents itself here.  Paul calls himself a minister called by God, through which in stewarding this calling that he might carry out the preaching of the word of God.  As I write this, I feel a passion rising up within me that if I myself were preaching from this passage, my voice and inflection would get very poignant.  It’s difficult to express that in writing, but I want to make sure you are paying attention to this:

To be a minister is NOT to be a paid preacher in the church!

Read that again, particularly if you have not been told that before.  The word minister in the Greek language did not represent a pastor, elder, career missionary, or anything of the sort.  Although those positions certainly are ministers (or should be), it is not the meaning of that term.  A minister is a servant.  A minister is a waiter.  A minister is someone who serves at the pleasure of the Lord.  You may have seen some movies or TV shows involving high levels of government where someone says, “I serve at the pleasure of the president.”  Meaning, they are a servant of the president.  A minister is simply a servant of the Lord, in any capacity!  Paul is explaining that his capacity, his calling, his purpose is to serve the Lord by preaching the word of God.

What does that mean for us?  We are ALL ministers!  We are all created, saved, and called to serve at the pleasure of the Lord.  Paul, looking back upon his life in his present circumstances, is saying, “Wow, I have actually done what God called me to do.  It’s cause for rejoicing!”  This is why Paul can confidently write in what we would read as 2 Timothy 4:

7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.

Paul’s example of serving the Lord within the purpose He had given him should inspire us to do the same.  When we come to the end of our life, will we be able to say with all confidence that we fulfilled the purpose He gave us?  I hope I can, otherwise my reflections upon my life will be filled with regret and disappointment that I wasted my resources on things that weren’t what God wanted me to do.

So then, since we are all ministers of God, serving at His pleasure, what is He calling you to do?  Leave a comment below and share how God is calling you to minister.