Colossians 1:24 Paul completes what is lacking in Christ

[Blood]

See the other thread. He is phaulos, Jesus is chrestos. One is in a body of darkness, the other a body of light. There is also the substitution myth concept - namely that it is compatible with Docetism. Jesus doesn't suffer only his servants.

I wondered about that, too. If Paul completes what is lacking in Christ's tribulations by suffering in the flesh, then the writer seems to say that Christ did not not actually suffer in the flesh. What was "lacking" was any pain because a Docetic Christ can't feel pain. But Paul does.

[MrMacSon]

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Maybe the direction of my post wasn't clear. "Church" didn't have the full meaning of what it means today. "Church" just meant "the assembly of all people who believed in Jesus Christ and had died and were resurrected by baptism". As there wasn't any need for a Holy Spirit because Jesus Christ was that spirit himself in Paul's letters, "church" becomes "all people in which the spirit of Christ lives", which means a multipartite body for the spirit of Christ. It's hard to anthropomorphize a group of people.

The weird image of an anthropomorphized church comes from our extant image of church as institution or building. That's not what is meant, and which wasn't meant in Matthew either. Christ lived in and spoke through the believers.

I appreciate what you meant. My point was aspects of "the spirit of christ" and aspects of the church were anrthopomorphised in the Pauline character.

This section of Colossians is from a post by Stephan Huller on The Solution to the Problem of 'Paul' thread -

This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which have become I, a lowly servant (ἐγὼ φαῦλος διάκονος). Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Chrestos's sufferings, for the sake of his body, which is the church. Whereof became I, minister according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God in its fullness — the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Chrestos in you, the hope of glory. He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Chrestos. To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Chrestos so powerfully works in me.

[Ulan]

Well yes. He sees himself as Christ reborn, having taken over from him.

[MrMacSon]

Yes, that text - Colossians 1:24-29 - portrays Paul as Christ reborn, without reference to Jesus

[Leucius Charinus]

See the other thread. He is phaulos, Jesus is chrestos. One is in a body of darkness, the other a body of light. There is also the substitution myth concept - namely that it is compatible with Docetism. Jesus doesn't suffer only his servants.

I wondered about that, too. If Paul completes what is lacking in Christ's tribulations by suffering in the flesh, then the writer seems to say that Christ did not not actually suffer in the flesh. What was "lacking" was any pain because a Docetic Christ can't feel pain. But Paul does.

That's about it. But where to go from here? Docetism is already part of the terrain.The other thread brings in Platonism a lot and this is IMO part of the way forward.