Colossians 1:1-14

Verses 1-2:

There are just a couple things about the introduction that I want to address, though as I have noted before, in your own studies you would do well to not just say “this is the way Paul usually greets a church” and then move on. You will have robbed yourselves in this way.

First, Paul states that these Christians are dwelling in two locations. The first is readily apparent, they are those “saints in Colossae.” They are those “set apart by God” who are living in the physical location of Colossae. Easy enough. The second location should not surprise you since it is becoming quite familiar to you in the Prison Epistles. They are the “faithful brothers and sisters located in Christ.” Melick writes: “Their spiritual location, “in Christ,” demonstrated a tie to a higher society, the Christian community. This latter designation provided an orientation for the remainder of the epistle. The Colossians were located in Christ… Both geographical and spiritual locations brought distinctive responsibilities: one to the people of this earth, the other to the concerns of the Lord. The Colossian church should have been beyond the heresy that threatened them since they were ‘in Christ’” (189). They are “in Christ” with all of the implications of that phrase.

Second, in his greeting Paul Christianizes the two greetings of the day, the Gentile and the Jewish greetings (as we talked about in the Philippians greeting, so this should be review). In Greek you would greet someone by saying “χαι̂ρε” (“hail”), and in Hebrew you would say “Shalom” (“peace”). Paul changes the Greek slightly to grace, pointing to the gift of God, the unmerited favor that we have received, and he notes the source of our peace with God and one another “God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Think of the depth of this phrase as Paul says “Hello.” “God’s unmerited favor and the cessation of hostility and the blessings thenceforth to you from the source of these blessings, God our Father (with the cultural implications of the Father including how the entire household takes their bearings from the father and how if we all have one father, then we have been incorporated into the same household) and the Lord (which is to equate him with God and denote his lordship and right to rule over his subjects) Jesus Christ.” It’s a hearty greeting for sure.

Verse 3:

Verse 3 introduces a theme that will be addressed basically throughout the entire work. Ash writes: “Jesus is first mentioned in this verse. He is introduced as ‘Lord,’ and his Lordship is constantly on display throughout the epistle” (Col 1:3). Christ will also be described as the son of God as well, with Paul referring to God as Jesus’s father here. Melick notes: “In praying to God, Paul added that God is “the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” In a sense the focus of the entire epistle rests in this phrase since it contains precise details about the relationship between these two members of the Godhead” (194).

The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, is the God and Father of Jesus Christ. Jesus pointed to this unique relationship in his own ministry, God declared it on at least two occasions, and Peter preached about God’s vindication of Christ on the day of Pentecost. Carson writes: “Paul introduces God not abstractly as some universal divine force but as the one who acted in history in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ” (ZSB 2427). It’s God as a personal and active agent and the unique Son that Paul will be discussing throughout this epistle.

Paul also notes the constancy of his prayers, which, coupled together with what we saw in the Philippian’s epistle, demonstrates something of the constant nature of Paul’s prayers and the content of them as well. He was constantly praying for the churches as well as thanking God for the churches.

Verses 4-5:

Looking at verses 4-5 it is quite clear that the thanksgiving of his prayers was rooted in their belief and their living out their belief. Your textbook and N.T. Wright both point out that: “Paul draws together the three virtues of faith, hope and love. These are the things in the Colossian church for which he thanks God, both because they are fine and lovely in themselves and because they are signs of that new life which is springing up in Colossae: signs of peace and hence evidences of grace” (55). Faith refers not only to intellectual assent, but also to trust and commitment. Thus, Christian faith “in Christ Jesus” has Christ as its object and operates in him as well. We believe in him, we are committed to him, and we live in him.

Love and hope are outgrowths of this. Paul thanks God, then, that their faith “in Christ Jesus” is manifesting itself as it ought to. Now, both faith and love “spring forth” as the NIV interprets the phrase “from the hope stored up for you in heaven.” It seems as if Epaphras may have focused on the “hope” element of the gospel when he proclaimed it first to the Colossians, but the fact remains, as Wright points out: “The solid facts about the future hope of Christians are a powerful motivation for constant faith and costly love in the present” (56). What does Paul mean by “hope”? Remember also that in the pagan world of the first century the understanding of the afterlife was bleak and filled with confusion, thus they were devoid of hope in this area, which begs the question “Why would the Colossians be tempted to add something from the hopeless world to the Gospel that actually produces genuine hope?”

The Gospel in verse 5 and 6 is described as “the word of Truth.” Your textbooks note here is worthwhile: “The Hebrew sense of the word was “reliability.” The Greek sense indicated the true in contrast to the false. Perhaps both ideas are implied here. Truth could be depended upon to give hope, and it dealt the death knell to false teaching (as Paul would go on to show)” (Col 1:5).

Verse 6:

This Gospel is having the effect that God intended it to have. Wright properly points out that in personifying the Gospel like this Paul is pointing to the agents behind it, which would be God himself working through those who proclaim it). Thus, God has been powerfully at work creating a community of believers who have believed and trusted in the word of truth.

The language of verse 6 is that of advancement. Melick notes: “The actual terms used, when pressed to their original ideas, suggest reproductive capability (“bearing fruit”) and maturing capability (“increasing”). Together the terms teach that the gospel is productive; it accomplishes the work God intends” (198). This is true not only of the global mission, but also in the community in Colossae (which these Christians have eyes enough to see).

The Gospel that they themselves have accepted is again referred to as the truth, and its worth pointing out that Paul does not here talk about the overwhelming emotional response, but of an intellectual assent to the proclamation. Wright notes: “Paul describes the effect of Epaphras’ preaching in Colosse in terms not of an emotional reaction, nor even of people ‘accepting Christ into their hearts,’ but of hearing truth and understanding it. The task of the apostolic herald is to announce truth: the word here translated ‘understood’ indicates that the response sought is an intelligent thinking through and recognition of that truth” (58). Your task as ministers and leaders in the church is to be prepared and undergirded yourselves with the truth. You have not come to Bible college for a mere emotional high that you hope to provide a wave for you to ride into the church, but an actual understanding of the grace given to you by God that you can then live out and teach others to do the same. How important is this in your own personal studies and thought about ministry?

Verses 7-8:

Paul then talks about the servant who had brought them the Gospel and who has presumably told Paul all about the character (as well as the troubles) of these Colossians. What is striking is the emphasis on love that Epaphras must have had in his reports, since this is a continued aspect of Paul’s thanksgiving for them. They heard the gospel from Epaphras (who is here commended by Paul very highly), and they responded with love.

Melick notes: “The church at Colossae was healthy in many respects. It had a living faith, an indiscriminate love for all Christians, and a solid hope of life eternal through the gospel. These virtues are solid ground for genuine thanksgiving” (199).

Verse 9:

Verse 9 begins Paul’s prayer for the Colossians. Your text book rightly points out that there are “numerous correspondences between this paragraph and the thanksgiving in verses 3-8…O’Brien lists the following: ‘since the day’ (vv. 6, 9), ‘we heard’ (vv. 4, 9), ‘knowledge’ (vv. 4, 9, 10), ‘bearing fruit and increasing’ (vv. 6, 10), ‘giving thanks’ (vv. 3, 12), ‘the Father’ (vv. 3, 12), ‘the saints’ (vv. 4, 12), ‘Spirit/in spirit’ (vv. 8, 9), ‘hope/inheritance’ (vv. 5, 12), and ‘all’ (vv. 4, 6, 9, 10, 11)” (Col 1:9–14).

Paul’s prayer is that they may be “filled” (πληρόω, a term that carries the sense of filling a container and was also applied in a metaphorical sense) with the “knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.” It seems as if this prayer is timely for them in that it stands in contrast to the “false knowledge” of the heretics (this is especially seen in the threefold description of “knowledge, spiritual wisdom, and understanding); however, it is perfectly at home in what we have read in Paul before and entails a continued growing in the churches understanding of God’s will and the living out of that knowledge.

The EDNT concerning the term ἐπίγνωσις (knowledge) writes: “It is used consistently (by Paul) in the OT sense, i.e., knowledge as recognition of (the will of) God that is effective in the conduct of the one who knows God” (25). Knowledge always leads to action. Again, the EDNT authors note: “The connection between knowing God and the proof in right conduct is also apparent in Col 1:9f.: ἐπίγνωσις is directed to the θέλημα θεοῦ. The “bearing of fruit and growth” in right conduct is brought forth ἐν τῇ ἐπιγνώσει τοῦ θεοῦ (1:10; cf. Eph 1:17; Phil 1:9)” (25).

Verse 10:

I love how your textbook outlines these verses. Ash rights: “‘Knowledge,’ ‘wisdom’ and ‘understanding’ would lead to proper living (v. 10). The process would be empowered by God (v. 11)” (Col 1:9).

Paul prays so that “you may walk” (περιπατέω) worthy of the Lord. The next clause will describe the manner in which they can do this “bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God.” Their Christian conduct parallels the growth of the Gospel. The Christian life, like the Gospel itself, is about continued advancement towards the goal. Notice also that we have a repeated idea “growing in knowledge of God.” So in verse 9 Paul prayed so that they may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will, and this will result in them being filled with the knowledge of God’s will. It’s important to recognize that this argument is not circular, as it may seem at first. Rather, as Wright points out: “The argument is not circular (as might at first appear), but spiral. Paul prays that they may increase in knowledge of God’s will, with the result that the Colossians will live as God wants them to and so increase in the knowledge of God! Understanding will fuel holiness; holiness will deepen understanding” (62).

Verse 11:

Verse 11 then indicates the power that makes this “walk of life” possible for the Colossians. The power to endure, be patient, and be joyful is the focus of verse 11. Melick notes that: “The Greek text stresses the idea of power by employing two different terms in a complementary sense. The first is dynamis which may be defined as “the potentiality to exert force in performing some function.” The second is kratos which indicates “the power to rule or control” (204). Paul uses the verbal form of that first noun as well in the sentence, and so the focus is truly the empowering power of God available to the Christian.

This is available for the Christian to endure, which is the ability to “remain under” difficult circumstances. It is also available for them to be patient, which deals primarily with interactions between people. As Melick notes: “ ‘patience’ is ‘a state of emotional calm in the face of provocation or misfortune and without complaining or irritation” (204). Taken together, this describes the one whose “walk of life” is entirely dependent upon God’s will and not dictated by either man or circumstances. Again, Melick writes: “The two ideas complement each other. Neither circumstances nor people are to upset the person who walks in the will of God. Divine power is available to those who know Christ” (204).

Verses 12-14:

This empowerment is also available that Christians may “give thanks with joy to the Father” for the spiritual blessings that we have as the result of being located in Christ. Like we discovered in Philippians, so is the case here: if you want to be a happy person, you must be a grateful person (and both must be rooted “in the Lord”). The spiritual blessings so described are those things in which the outside world cannot remove our standing (unless we permit it to). We have an inheritance, we have been rescued, we have been delivered from bondage to sin (redemption), and we have been forgiven. Which of these can trying circumstances or ill-tempered people take from us? Then we can thank God with great joy with a “defiant nevertheless!” as we stand firm on the truth of the Word of God. The focus of Colossians will be on the “truth of the Gospel” over against the false teachings with particular attention given to the supremacy of Christ.