In today's Explore Bible-reading notes, I made an editorial mistake which meant that the notes said something that is totally wrong…
In Colossians 1 v 24, Paul says: "I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions". The notes comment: "What he can't mean is that there is nothing lacking in the sufferings of Christ when it comes to salvation." That is precisely the opposite of the truth—Paul (and the rest of the Bible) repeatedly teaches that there in fact IS nothing lacking in Christ's sufferings when it comes to saving us—his death is sufficient (eg: Colossians 1 v 21-23; 1 Peter 3 v 18). The notes should therefore have said: "What he can't mean is that there is SOMETHING lacking…"
As the paragraph in Explore goes on to explain, Paul seems to be teaching that our suffering for the gospel is a sharing in Christ's suffering. If we'd had space, we might have added that they contribute to Christ's sufferings only in the sense that they are used in the spread of the gospel. In a sense, for God's plan to bring his people to his eternal kingdom, Christ suffered once-for-all to save people; and we suffer as we seek to tell people about him. His suffering and our suffering are both part of the way God brings the message to people; but his suffering is all that is needed to save those people who hear and believe.
Thank you very much to all those Explore readers who've gently pointed out the error! Hopefully, this will clear up any confusion for anyone who's been wondering whether Explore had meant to say what it did say.
And perhaps this is a reminder to me and to the many thousands of people who read Explore throughout the world that, when you do your Bible reading each day, holding your Scriptures and your Explore notes, only one of the things you are holding is infallible. Do please keep checking what Explore says against the Scriptures, and please don't believe anything that Explore says if you can't see it in the Scriptures.
And please do pray for us, too, as we work on resources which we hope will help people to open up, understand, and be thrilled by the Bible—it is a huge privilege, but it is also a slightly terrifying one!
Carl is Editorial Director at The Good Book Company and is a member of Grace Church Worcester Park, London. He is the best-selling author of The Garden, the Curtain and the Cross and God's Big Promises Bible Storybook, and also serves as series editor of the God's Word for You series. Before joining TGBC, he worked as a journalist and then as a teacher, and pastored a congregation in Hull. Carl is married to Lizzie, and they have two children. He studied history at Oxford University.
