Philippians and Colossians

Though short, the letters Paul wrote to the churches of Philippi and Colossians contain wonderful advice on how to live the Christian life on a daily basis. In Philippians, he encourages them to remain united under Christ and to not fall into the trap of believing that their righteousness is of any account because it is only through faith in the righteousness of Christ that they may attain holiness. Finally, he entreats the church to put God first in everything and to love one another. The Colossians, meanwhile, are praised for their good fruit. However, Paul warns them not to think that through any sort of rituals or actions that they may attain salvation but only through the saving work of Christ on the cross. As new creations in Christ, they are to put off old habits of sin and destruction and put on the garments of life, the most important of which is love. And lastly, they are to be kind and just to one another and gracious to those outside the faith.

In both these letters, I found Paul speaking of the goodness of suffering. Normally speaking, suffering is not considered a good thing, usually coming as retribution for a bad action. However, Paul says that suffering for Christ’s sake is an accompanying good to belief in Christ. In Philippians, he says, “For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake,” (1:29). Granting something to someone implies that they would otherwise not have had access to it at a previous time. So here, Christ has granted that people believe in him and suffer for his sake. In the language used, the suffering seems to be a desired bonus. For Paul, it is a privilege to suffer for Christ and to bring Him glory through suffering.

He even goes so far to say that it is a proper role of minister. Colossians 1:24-25 says, “I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the rod of God.” Here, it sounds like Paul is suffering not only for Christ’s sake but also for the church. As one of its ministers, he sees that he is duty bound to protect the church and to act as an example of how they ought to live. So, it is his joy to suffer so that he may bring greater glory to his Lord as well as be an encouragement to those to whom he ministers should they ever encounter similar trials.