Paul’s Personal Suffering

1:24  Paul begins his discussion by referring to his physical sufferings (in my flesh) on behalf of the Colossian church. The fact that he is in prison may be uppermost in his mind (4:18), although there may be a general reference to other afflictions that he has experienced throughout his ministry as an apostle of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 1:4, 6, 8; 2:4; 6:4; 7:4; 8:2; Phil. 1:17). The “rejoicing” does not come because Paul is undergoing trial or persecution. Paul is happy because his sufferings are for the believers at Colossae. In this, as well as in passages such as Romans 5:3, 8:38ff., the apostle captures the spirit of Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:10–12, where happiness and persecution are linked together (cf. 1 Pet. 4:13).

In other passages, Paul indicates that his …