"Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church..."

There are quite a few different ways of looking at this text. What is it that is "lacking in Christ's afflictions"? And, how exactly is Paul "filling up" that which is lacking?

Sam Storms does a great job of narrowing the discussion, you can read the full thing here.

The six options are thus:

1. Redemptive: Paul is somehow filling up what is lacking in Christ's redemption
2. Glorifying: Paul is giving more glory to Christ through his suffering
3. Typological: Paul's suffering is corresponding to the suffering of Christ
4. Eschatological: There is a set amount of suffering that Christians will endure, Paul is filling up that bucket of suffering with his suffering.
5. Extending: Ministers, like Paul, extend the message of the suffering servant to others through their suffering in ministry. Christ is not lacking in propitiation but in presentation. Therefore, Paul is extending the presentation of Christ, through suffering, to the nations.
6. Union Suffering: Paul is suffering where Jesus would have as an example and encouragement to benefit the Colossians.

Maybe you have a seventh or a combination of a few of these. I would be interested to hear your suggestions. Read Storms' article first.

"Preaching needs to be constantly adapting itself to the changing face of culture."

Let me give a little more context:

"The message will never change, but the way we deliver it will change--yes, must change--or we will cease to be a bridge between two worlds."

Of course an preacher that hopes to be biblical has to say, "the message will never change". My question, however, is twofold: Do you agree that preaching needs to be constantly adapting itself? And will doing so inadvertently affect the unchanging message?

By the way the quote is from Alex Montoya--Preaching with Passion, p.138

I realize that I have not posted for about two weeks and my last post was only a short statement expressing my thankfulness for Jesus. That still stands true today. The last couple of weeks have been very busy, and since I am not Tim Challies , when things get excessively busy I find it difficult to blog.

One of the things that has caused me to be busy is substitute teaching. This is my way of trying to get the gospel into Mark Twain High School and build rapport with students. That has taken a couple of days out of each week. That puts me behind schedule in my other duties. Since blogging is lower on my list it gets neglected.

Another reason that I have not blogged in awhile is because I am a little discouraged with it. My discouragement is on a few fronts...and honestly they all have a root in not practicing the gospel. 1) I am not as good of a writer as many others. My punctuation skills are horrible. And my ability to convey significant thought pales in comparison to others. Therefore, until I learn to be a better writer I feel like shutting down. 2) Abraham Piper's suggestions on blogging discouraged me. I question whether I have anything unique to say. 3) Why continue throwing so much time into something that only a handful of people will read? 4) Some of the really fun things that I want to do requires more readers--so I feel stuck.

So, I am looking for direction and praying for a heart that treasures Christ and the proclamation of his glorious truth more than my stupid pride and drive for notoriety. I frequently pray perish my honor...I guess I should believe that God answers that prayer. From now on I want to blog for the glory of God and to display His worth and honor and not my own. With that being said, I hope to blog more, even though a busy summer may make that difficult.

I am really thankful for Jesus. Period.

Wednesday's sermon is now available online. Colossians 1:15-17 is an absolutely stunning text in all that it asserts. Jesus is God made flesh. Jesus is the Lord over all of creation. Jesus is the Pre-existent I AM. Jesus holds all things together. That is enough to blow our minds. Yet, as Paul expounds on Jesus being the Lord over all creation in verse 16, the scope absolutely is astounding. Everything was created by the means of, through, and for Jesus Christ.

Why is Mercury closer to the sun than Jupiter? Because Jesus thought that was a good idea? Why was I created? Because Jesus thought it was a good idea. He created me because He wanted to, and he did so for His glory. If that does not give us significance I am not sure what does. EVERYTHING was created by, through, and for Jesus. Truly astounding.

One final thing, did you realize that Jesus was actively involved in knitting Judas together in his mother's womb? In one sense Jesus planted the tree that became the Cross he hung on. He wrote the Passion story. From the rocks under his feet, to the spit that wet his brow, to the blood which dripped from his veins. He poetically wrote the whole thing. Why? Because he wanted to and for His glory. What a mighty God we serve!

The Canvas:

The fourteenth characteristic of the godly man is that he is a heavenly man; that is "heaven is in him before he is in heaven." How is a godly man heavenly? Watson gives us six ways:

1. In his election (He chooses the heavenly over the earthly)
2. In his disposition (His affections are set above)
3. In his communication (His speech is heavenly--not mute nor defiled)
4. In his actions (He is sublime and sacred in his motions)
5. In his expectation (He is hopeful--even in affliction and death)
6. In his conduct (He imitates Christ)

We are then exhorted by two principles. The first is that "to be godly and earthly is a contradiction". If we are "eaten up by the world" then how can we be godly? This, says Watson is Satan's ploy, "to keep [men] from heaven by making them seek a heaven here" (107).

The second principle is that we ought to be raised in our affections. To assist in this endeavor Watson gives four considerations. If we are to raise our affections then we must first consider that God himself sounds a retreat to us to call us off the world. This ought to be enough to encourage us to cast off all worldly restraint, yet Watson will continue. Not only does God command us to cast off the world, but to not do so is quite foolish: consider how much below a Christian it is to be earthly-minded. We see this by the contrast Watson makes in points 3 and 4: consider what a poor, contemptible thing the world is and consider what a glorious place heaven is. Watson then closes the chapter by expounding on the ways that heaven is a better place. Example: In that country there are better delights.

Discussion:

On page 107 Watson says this, "We shall never go to heaven when we die unless we are in heaven while we live." Do you agree?

Does Watson's maxim--to be godly and earthly is a contradiction--apply to the recent discussions on contextualization? When Watson speaks of men being buried twice because "the earth swallows up their time, thoughts, and discourse, could this be a danger to those overly concerned with being "relevant" and "contextualizing the gospel"?

Strokes of Genius:

"...hope lightens and sweetens the most severe dispensations." (106)

"...the earth swallows up their time, thoughts, and discourse. They are buried twice; their hearts are buried in the earth before their bodies." (107)

"Surely dying times are to make men die to the world." (108)