Thomas Aquinas Commentary Colossians 1:23-29

"if so be that ye continue in the faith, grounded and stedfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel which ye heard, which was preached in all creation under heaven; whereof I Paul was made a minister. Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and fill up on my part that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body`s sake, which is the church; whereof I was made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which was given me to you-ward, to fulfil the word of God, [even] the mystery which hath been hid for ages and generations: but now hath it been manifested to his saints, to whom God was pleased 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: whom we proclaim, admonishing every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ; whereunto I labor also, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily." — Colossians 1:23-29 (ASV)

After Paul commended Christ in relation to God, to all creation, to the entire Church, and to the Colossians themselves, he now commends Christ in relation to himself, showing that he is Christ’s minister. He does this in three ways:

1. He mentions his ministry.
2. He shows his faithfulness in it.
3. He shows its greatness (Colossians 1:25).

He says that the Gospel has been preached to all, the very Gospel of which he, Paul, became a minister. He preaches it not on his own authority, but only as a minister: This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God (1 Corinthians 4:1).

Paul is a faithful minister, which is obvious because he does not run away from the dangers involved in his preaching. He demonstrates this in two ways:

1. He shows his attitude toward his sufferings.
2. He shows the fruit of his suffering (Colossians 1:24b).

His attitude was one of joy, because Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake—that is, for your benefit: If we are afflicted it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer (2 Corinthians 1:6). He also rejoices because of the joy of eternal life which he expects from them, and which is the fruit of his ministry: Count it all joy, my brethren, when you meet various trials, for you know that the testimony of your faith produces steadfastness (James 1:2), and Even if I am to be poured as a libation upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all (Philippians 2:17).

Along with this joy is the fruit that in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions. At first glance, these words can be misunderstood to mean that the passion of Christ was not sufficient for our redemption and that the sufferings of the saints were added to complete it. But this is heretical, because the blood of Christ is sufficient to redeem many worlds: He is the expiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2).

Rather, we should understand that Christ and the Church are one mystical person, whose head is Christ and whose body is all the righteous, for every righteous person is a member of this head: individually members (1 Corinthians 12:27). Now God in his predestination has arranged how much merit will exist throughout the entire Church, both in the head and in the members, just as he has predestined the number of the elect. Among these merits, the sufferings of the holy martyrs occupy a prominent place. For while the merits of Christ, the head, are infinite, each saint displays some merits in a limited degree.

This is why Paul says, I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions—that is, what is lacking in the afflictions of the whole Church, of which Christ is the head. "I complete," that is, "I add my own amount," and I do this in my flesh, meaning it is I myself who am suffering. Alternatively, we could say that Paul was completing the sufferings that were lacking in his own flesh, for what was lacking was that, just as Christ had suffered in his own body, so he should also suffer in Paul, his member, and in similar ways in others.

Paul does this for the sake of his body, which is the Church that was to be redeemed by Christ: That he might present the Church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle (Ephesians 5:27). In the same way, all the saints suffer for the Church, which receives strength from their example. The Gloss says, “Afflictions are still lacking, because the treasure house of the Church’s merits is not full, and it will not be full until the end of the world.”

Then, when Paul says, of which I became a minister, he shows the greatness of his ministry in three ways:

1. From its origin.
2. From the end to which it is directed (Colossians 1:25b).
3. From its purpose (Colossians 1:28).

But someone could ask, “Is his a great ministry?” He answers yes, because he became a minister according to the divine office that was given to me. This can be explained in two ways:

1. In an active sense, the meaning is that he became a minister so that he could dispense divine things to them, faithfully passing them on, and this power has been given to him.
2. In a passive sense, the meaning is that Paul became a minister insofar as he was appointed by God: And his gifts were that some should be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers (Ephesians 4:11); Set apart for me Barnabas and Paul for the work to which I have called them (Acts 13:2).

What is the end of his ministry? Certainly not money or his own glory. Rather, he has received it for a great purpose: to make the word of God fully known. He shows the greatness of this purpose in two ways:

1. He shows the greatness of that for which he has received this ministry.
2. He shows what this is—namely, that it is Christ.

He shows its greatness because it has been widely proclaimed, both in an obscure form and openly.

The ministry he received was to convert the Gentiles and thus to make fully known the word—that is, the eternal plan of God. In other words, by his preaching he is to show that the word of God has been fulfilled, meaning God’s plan and promise concerning the incarnation of the Word of God. Or, he is to show by his preaching the eternal plan of God in which he arranged that the Gentiles were to be converted by Christ to a faith in the true God. This had to be accomplished: Does he say and not do? Does he speak and not do what he said? (Numbers 23:19). As we read in Isaiah, My word that goes forth from my mouth shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and prosper in the thing for which I sent it (Isaiah 55:11).

But God arranged that this be accomplished by Paul’s ministry, and so Paul says he was sent to make fully known this mystery (which is called a mystery because it is hidden). This mystery which has been hidden is this word: I have a secret, I have a secret (Isaiah 24:16) [Vulgate]. This mystery was hidden for ages, that is, from the beginning of the ages, and it was hidden from all the generations of humanity, who were unable to know it: the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God (Ephesians 3:9). For even though the early philosophers seem to have said something about Christ’s divinity, either as their own idea or appropriated (as Augustine found in the works of Plato, such as that in the beginning was the Word, and things like that), yet none could know that the Word was made flesh. But you ask, was this not known by the prophets? I reply that it was, insofar as it pertained to the Gospel, but it was not known as explicitly as the apostles knew it.

Next, he deals with the revelation of this mystery. He does two things:

1. He shows to whom it was revealed.
2. He shows why it was revealed to them (Colossians 1:27).

He says that this mystery is now made manifest, that is, in this time of grace: Behold now is the acceptable time, now is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2). This is the knowledge of the saints: She gave him knowledge of holy things ; He showed his friend that it belongs to him, and that he can approach it (Job 36:33) [Vulgate].

It was revealed to his saints not because of their own merits, but because of God’s good pleasure. Thus Paul says, to them God chose to make known the riches of the glory of this mystery. As Christ said: All that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you (John 15:15); and, Yea, Father, for such was thy gracious will (Matthew 11:26).

This was done to make known the riches of the glory of this mystery, because by the fact that such things had been hidden, God now appears superabundantly glorious. For God was formerly known in Judea, but through this mystery of the conversion of the Gentiles, the glory of God is made known to the entire world, as we read in John: I glorified thee on earth (John 17:4). And this is to be done among the Gentiles, that is, it is to be accomplished among them: Let us rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory of God (Romans 5:2); O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! (Romans 11:33).

This mystery, which is Christ—that is, which we obtain through Christ—is the hope of glory, which had formerly been promised only to the Jews: The believers from among the circumcised were amazed because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles (Acts 10:45). As it is written: Justified by faith, let us have peace toward God; and let us glory in the hope of the glory of the sons of God (Romans 5:1–2); and, The root of Jesse, who stands as an ensign of the people, will be called on by the Gentiles (Isaiah 11:10). So far, Paul has indicated the origin and end of his ministry.

Now he mentions the function of his ministry. In this regard, he does three things:

1. He indicates its function.
2. He indicates its fruit (Colossians 1:28b).
3. He indicates the help he was given (Colossians 1:29).

Its function is to announce Christ, and Paul shows this function and the method he used: Announce his ways among the Gentiles (Psalms 9:11); That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you (1 John 1:1). He states his method when he says, warning every man. This is a complete proclamation because it is to every person, not just the Jewish people: Teach all nations (Matthew 28:19). His method is to teach the truth and to refute what is false, and so he says, warning every man, or unbeliever, in this life: The weapons of our warfare are not worldly but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every proud obstacle to the knowledge of God (2 Corinthians 10:4). It also consists in teaching every man in all wisdom, which is the knowledge of God: To know you is complete righteousness, and to know your power is the root of immortality ; Among the mature we do impart wisdom (1 Corinthians 2:6).

The fruit of this in this life is that people are brought to perfection. And so he says, that we may present every man—that is, of any condition—mature... in Christ. You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:48). But is everyone bound to perfection? No, but it should be the goal of the preacher. The perfection of charity is of two kinds:

1. One is from a necessity of precept, which is that one not allow into his heart anything opposed to God: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind (Matthew 22:37).
2. The other perfection of charity is from a necessity of counsel, which is that one give up even those things that are lawful; this kind of perfection goes beyond what is required.

For this, Paul had God’s help.

And so he says, For this I toil, striving against unbelievers and sinners: Take your share of suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 2:3); I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith (2 Timothy 4:7). Paul does this with all the energy—the grace of God is with me (1 Corinthians 15:10)—which God inspires within him, because God does this in him mightily, that is, by giving him the might or power: Stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high, as we read in Luke (Luke 24:49).