| Geneva Study Bible {13} Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; (13) He brings another proof of his apostleship, that is, that God is the author of it, by whom also he was appointed especially as apostle for the Gentiles, to the end that by this means, that same might be fulfilled by him, which the Prophets foretold concerning the calling of the Gentiles. People's New Testament 1:25 According to the dispensation. God made him a minister of the church. That ministry was a stewardship (dispensation) committed to him. He refers to the great responsibility of the apostolic office. He as a steward of the grace of God (Eph 3:2). To fulfil the word of God. Not only to do what the word required, but to preach the word everywhere. Wesley's Notes 1:25 According to the dispensation of God which is given me - Or, the stewardship with which I am intrusted. King James Translators' Notes to fulfil...: or, fully to preach the word Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary 25. am-Greek, "I was made a minister": resuming Col 1:23, "whereof I Paul was made a minister." dispensation-the stewardship committed to me to dispense in the house of God, the Church, to the whole family of believers, the goods of my Master (Lu 12:42; 1Co 4:1, 2; 9:17; Eph 3:2). which is given-Greek, "which was given." for you-with a view to you, Gentiles (Col 1:27; Ro 15:16). to fulfil-to bring it fully to all: the end of his stewardship: "fully preached" (Ro 15:19). "The fulness of Christ (Col 1:19), and of the times (Eph 1:10) required him so to do" [Bengel]. Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary 1:24-29 Both the sufferings of the Head and of the members are called the sufferings of Christ, and make up, as it were, one body of sufferings. But He suffered for the redemption of the church; we suffer on other accounts; for we do but slightly taste that cup of afflictions of which Christ first drank deeply. A Christian may be said to fill up that which remains of the sufferings of Christ, when he takes up his cross, and after the pattern of Christ, bears patiently the afflictions God allots to him. Let us be thankful that God has made known to us mysteries hidden from ages and generations, and has showed the riches of his glory among us. As Christ is preached among us, let us seriously inquire, whether he dwells and reigns in us; for this alone can warrant our assured hope of his glory. We must be faithful to death, through all trials, that we may receive the crown of life, and obtain the end of our faith, the salvation of our souls. | 
