^{24}Νῦν χαίρω ἐν τοῖς παθήμασιν ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν, καὶ
24–27. ‘_Now_ when I see the full extent of God’s mercy, _now_ when I
ponder over His mighty work of reconciliation, I cannot choose but
rejoice in my sufferings. Yes, I Paul the persecutor, I Paul the feeble
and sinful, am permitted to supplement—I do not shrink from the word—to
supplement the afflictions of Christ. Despite all that He underwent, He
the Master has left something still for me the servant to undergo. And
so my flesh is privileged to suffer for His body—His spiritual body, the
Church. I was appointed a minister of the Church, a steward in God’s
household, for this very purpose, that I might administer my office on
your behalf, might dispense to you Gentiles the stores which His
bountiful grace has provided. Thus I was charged to preach without
reserve the whole Gospel of God, to proclaim the great mystery which had
remained a secret through all the ages and all the generations from the
beginning, but which now in these last times was revealed to His holy
people. For such was His good pleasure. God willed to make known to
them, in all its inexhaustible wealth thus displayed through the call of
the Gentiles, the glorious revelation of this mystery—Christ not the
Saviour of the Jews only, but Christ dwelling in _you_, Christ become to
_you_ the hope of glory.’
24. Νῦν χαίρω] A sudden outburst of thanksgiving, that he, who was less
than the least, who was not worthy to be called an Apostle, should be
allowed to share and even to supplement the sufferings of Christ. The
relative ὅς, which is found in some authorities, is doubtless the
repetition of the final syllable of δίακονος; but its insertion would be
assisted by the anxiety of scribes to supply a connecting link between
the sentences. The genuine reading is more characteristic of St Paul.
The abruptness, which dispenses with a connecting particle, has a
parallel in Tim. i. 12 χάριν ἔχω τῷ ἐνδυναμώσαντί με Χριστῷ κ.τ.λ.,
where also the common text inserts a link of connexion, καὶ χάριν ἔχω
κ.τ.λ. Compare also 2 Cor. vii. 9 νῦν χαίρω, οὐχ ὅτι κ.τ.λ., where again
there is no connecting particle.
The thought underlying νῦν seems to be this: ‘If ever I have been
disposed to repine at my lot, if ever I have felt my cross almost too
heavy to bear, yet _now_–now, when I contemplate the lavish wealth of
God’s mercy—now when I see all the glory of bearing a part in this
magnificent work—my sorrow is turned to joy.’
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