Suffering for the Sake of the Body (By Dr. Michael Barber)...
Thus Paul explains, "Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church" (Col. 1:24).
This is an astonishing passage. As Thomas Aquinas explains, it could be misinterpreted as teaching "that the passion of Christ was not sufficient for our redemption, and that the sufferings of the saints were added to complete it." Yet, citing 1 John 2:2, Thomas firmly rejects such a reading: "But this is heretical, because the blood of Christ is sufficient to redeem many worlds." How do we interpret this then? Thomas states: Rather, we should understand that Christ and the Church are one mystical person, whose head is Christ, and whose body is all the just, for every just person is a member of this head: "individually members" (1 Cor. 12:27)…. 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's suffering completes what is lacking in Christ's afflictions only in the sense that Christ's redemptive work now must be lived out in his mystical body. Moreover, we should point out the ecclesial nature of all of this. Salvation is not simply communion with Christ but also communion with all believers. Thus, "if one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together" (1 Cor. 12:26). Paul's suffering redounds to the benefit of the entire mystical bodyhe makes up what is lacking not only for himself but, through his union with Christ, what is lacking in the body itself.
Thus Paul explains, "Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church" (Col. 1:24).
This is an astonishing passage. As Thomas Aquinas explains, it could be misinterpreted as teaching "that the passion of Christ was not sufficient for our redemption, and that the sufferings of the saints were added to complete it." Yet, citing 1 John 2:2, Thomas firmly rejects such a reading: "But this is heretical, because the blood of Christ is sufficient to redeem many worlds." How do we interpret this then? Thomas states: Rather, we should understand that Christ and the Church are one mystical person, whose head is Christ, and whose body is all the just, for every just person is a member of this head: "individually members" (1 Cor. 12:27)…. 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's suffering completes what is lacking in Christ's afflictions only in the sense that Christ's redemptive work now must be lived out in his mystical body. Moreover, we should point out the ecclesial nature of all of this. Salvation is not simply communion with Christ but also communion with all believers. Thus, "if one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together" (1 Cor. 12:26). Paul's suffering redounds to the benefit of the entire mystical bodyhe makes up what is lacking not only for himself but, through his union with Christ, what is lacking in the body itself.