Chapter Three
Colossians 1:1-8 The Message of Hope and Love
1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 2 To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.
The first two verses of this letter are very similar to several of Paul’s other epistles (see 2 Corinthians 1:1; Ephesians 1:1 and Philippians 1:1). Paul clarifies that it was God who called him to be an apostle, a humble statement as he apparently never forgave himself for being a persecutor of the church. He then mentions Timothy (as he often does), but this does not mean he was a co-author of the letter (see 1 Thessalonians 3:2). Paul addresses the letter to all believers in Colossae and gives them the classic greeting/blessing of grace and peace from God our Father. The Textus Receptus manuscript adds the equivalent of “and the Lord Jesus Christ” to the end of verse two, most scholars believe this was added by a copyist in error. The Texus Receptus was the primary New Testament manuscript for the KJV and NKJV Bibles.
1:3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,
Paul continues his greeting with a recognition of the people of the church, explaining how important they were to him as he always thanks God, the Father of Jesus, when he prays for them. The word translated here as ‘thank’ is the Greek word, ‘eucharistéō’ which shares the same root word as the word ‘Eucharist’ (a term used by many denominations for communion or the Last Supper), meaning ‘thanksgiving’. This statement also gives us a wonderful view into Paul’s heart, showing his love and care for all believers (see Ephesians 1:15-16; Philemon 1:4). This is something we might want to emulate by regularly giving thanks to God for all of the fellow believers He has placed in our lives.
1:4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints,
Paul goes on to say that he had heard about their faith in Christ Jesus. The Greek word ‘pistis’ (faith) implies that they were persuaded that something (in this case the gospel story) was indeed true and as such, it is not just something intellectually known, but something that is fully embraced and followed. The word ‘pistis’ comes from the root word, ‘peitho’ (meaning to obey, see also Romans 15:18; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-8; Hebrews 11:1; 1 Peter 4:17). Our faith is to be lived out, we are to do things knowing that God keeps His promises, and that belief is based on both the tangible (facts and evidences of the Word of God, changed lives, etc.) as well as the intangible (guidance and understanding obtained through the Holy Spirit). The author of Hebrews defines faith this way, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1, ESV) If we are convicted by our faith it will literally affect every decision in our lives.
You might be asking if we have faith, what should we then believe? Faith in what? We are to believe that God did all the work. What then do we do? We are to accept Jesus as our Savior, through faith, believing what He said was indeed true, that’s it! We then look to Him for guidance in life and in response to His love for us, we do as He has called us to do (read Ephesians 2:8-10). The promise of salvation through faith is amplified in Habakkuk, “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.” (Habakkuk 2:4, ESV) The last half of this verse is quoted in Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11 and Hebrews 10:38 and further amplified in Philippians 1:6, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (ESV) God did everything, we just need to believe and be obedient to Him.
Paul then relates “having faith” in verse three with loving others. Faith in Jesus should result in a changed life and the development of a profound care and love for other people. Here Paul notes how they truly loved their fellow believers, just as Jesus commanded, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35, ESV) Faith in Jesus and love will always be intertwined, we are saved through faith allowing us to love and serve others (see Galatians 5:13).
1:5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, 6 which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth,
In verse five Paul talks about ‘hope’, the Greek word he used here is ‘elpis’, and it refers to the desire of receiving something good with the expectation of obtaining it. Paul then explains how it is “laid up” for us in heaven (see Acts 23:6; 2 Timothy 4:8; Titus 1:2), Peter explained in his first epistle that faith is our inheritance and is reserved and preserved for us, “To an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,” (1 Peter 1:4, ESV) A source of potential misunderstanding comes from the word ‘hope’ as understood in the English language, as the English term implies the potential of something not occurring (such as in the statement, “I hope I turned off the stove.”) Since the word ‘elpis’ refers to an absolute expectation, with no chance of not receiving the promise, the direct result of having ‘hope’ should instill in us a willingness to do something contrary to the world’s way of thinking, such as follow Jesus and defending our faith.
Paul says they have heard the Word of truth, namely the ‘gospel’ before they received this letter. The Greek word ‘euangelion’ (here translated as ‘gospel’) essentially means “good news,” however in the New Testament the term has a specific application and meaning (for example read Matthew 24:14). Paul tells them that the gospel message has been “bearing fruit” (Greek word ‘karpohoreō’ meaning to produce consequences) and is increasing as it has been doing among them (see also Romans 1:8-17; 10:18; 1 Thessalonians 1:8; Revelation 7:9-10), since the day they heard it and ‘understood’ (here Paul uses the Greek word ‘epignosko’, meaning to thoroughly be acquainted with the subject) the grace of God in truth. The gospel message produces fruit both internally (such as in the renewing of the mind, see Romans 12:1-2) and externally (such as in our actions of love and compassion), as we are indeed a new creation (see 2 Corinthians 5:17 John 3:3; Romans 6:4).
Why would Paul emphasize that they, “understood the grace of God in truth”? First of all, since we know that the word ‘grace’ implies the receiving of something that we do not deserve, we need to apply it to the truth of the Bible. We are to recognize that God did not just, “set aside the requirements of the law” (like what we might see a judge exercising ‘grace’ or ‘mercy’ in a modern-day courtroom might do today), God the Father sent His Son to die for our sins, He paid the full price (no discount rate, no setting the law aside, plus no changing or ignoring of the requirements). The law was and still is absolute, God did not compromise then, nor will He ever compromise or change His Word or the law. This is what Paul points out for us, that they accepted the facts of the gospel as being true with no exceptions and certainly not with any other variables, corruption or compromises. The simple truth is, Jesus did it all! They did not, nor can we, add to that.
1:7 just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf 8 and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.
Paul now gets to the subject of who is most likely the church’s founder, Epaphras, the person who brought and taught the gospel to them. Paul refers to him as a, “beloved fellow servant.” The word that Paul uses that is translated as ‘beloved’ implies a close relationship. By calling Epaphras a fellow servant, Paul is giving him high praise (Paul regularly referred to himself as a bondservant or ‘doulos’, a volunteer servant or slave to the work of God’s kingdom, see Romans 1:1; Philippians 1:1; Galatians 1:10 and Titus 1:1). Paul also calls him a faithful minister of Christ on their behalf. The word ‘faithful’ is a variation of the word ‘pistis’ we looked at earlier. The word translated ‘minister’ is the Greek word ‘diakonos’ referring to someone that executes the command or instructions of another (usually from a master or leader). Some manuscripts appear to have a couple of the words transposed in this verse, influencing some translators to phrase the ending as, “on our behalf” (LEB, NASB95, NIV, etc.) instead of “on your behalf” (ESV, NKJV, NLT, HCSB, etc.) However, this does not significantly change its meaning.
In verse eight Paul says that Epaphras also made known to him and potentially others, their love in the Spirit. While the object of the love mentioned is not expressly stated, the context implies that Paul is referring to the only source of true love, the Holy Spirit.