Dr Paul Allen

Christ mosaic (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "And if children, then heirs; heirs of God , and joint-heirs with Christ ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together." ( Romans 8:17 ) One of the greatest doctrines of the Christian faith is the identification of Christ with His people in all the key events of His great work of salvation. For example, we are considered by God as dying with Him since He died for us. As Paul said, "I am crucified with Christ" ( Galatians 2:20 ). Furthermore, when Christ was buried, we were in effect buried also. "We are buried with him by baptism into death" ( Romans 6:4 ). Then we are also resurrected with Christ. "Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead" ( Colossians 2:12 ). But that is only the beginning of our great salvation. Christ then ascended to heaven, sat down on the right ha...

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co- heirs with Christ , if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory (Romans 8:17). The theme of sharing in Christ ’s sufferings is an important one in Paul’s letters. As Christians we are baptized into the death of Christ, and we are called to participate, in a certain sense, in the sufferings of Christ and the tribulations of the kingdom of God. Our sufferings do not earn us merit, but rather their purpose is to solidify our identification with Jesus and to work out the redemptive purposes of God. Filling Up What Is Lacking Paul states in Colossians 1:24 that Christians fill up in their flesh “what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions.” Some theologians, especially in the Roman Catholic community, have deduced from this that the sufferings of believers are meritorious, adding to a kind of deficiency that exists in the value of t...