Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions.
— Colossians 1:24
What is the operation for the living out of the oneness portrayed in Colossians? First, Colossians reveals that the living out of the oneness comes about through the suffering of the apostles. Second, the living out of the oneness comes about through the struggling of the apostles. Third, it comes about through the living of the saints. Finally, the living that produces the oneness issues out of the saints being together.
Adapted from Oneness and the One Accord, page 79.
Tomorrow: “The Suffering of the Lord’s Servants” (1)