Colossians

Notes

1

Paul

an apostle of Jesus Christ

by the will of God,

and Timothy

our brother,

2

To the saints

and faithful brethren

in Christ

who are at Colossae:

Grace to you

and peace (to you)

from God

our Father.

--------------------------

3

We give thanks to God,

the Father

of our Lord Jesus Christ,

praying always for you,

4

since we heard of your faith

in Christ Jesus

and the love

which you have for all the saints;

5

because of the hope

laid up for you in heaven,

of which you previously heard in the word of truth,

the gospel

6

which has come to you,

just as in all the world also

it is constantly

bearing fruit

and increasing,

even as it has been doing in you also

since the day you heard of it

and understood the grace of God in truth;

7

just as you learned it from Epaphras,

our beloved fellow bond-servant,

who is a faithful servant

of Christ

on our behalf,

8

and he also informed us of your love

in the Spirit.

3-4 When’s the last time I have given thanks for someone else’s faith in Christ and love for the saints? Do I have possess the kind of faith in Christ and love for the saints that another would be thankful for? What does faith in Christ and love for the saints that invokes thanksgiving to God look like?

5 My hope is laid up in Heaven.

5 The Gospel is the word of truth. It is true. I must hear it as true.

6 In the sovereignty of God, the Gospel finds me. Not the other way around.

6 If I hear and understand the Gospel as true, it bears fruit. This is what it does all over the world, and this is what it does in me.

6 The Gospel is the grace of God. I must understand it in truth, i.e., truly understand it.

5, 6, 7 I must hear the Gospel, understand the Gospel, and learn the Gospel.

7 Who is my Epaphras? Who did I learn the Gospel from? What is involved in learning the Gospel? Who am I Epaphras to? What is the best way to teach the Gospel?

7 Epaphras was beloved. He was a fellow bond-servant. He was a faithful servant of Christ on behalf of Paul and the Colossians saints.

8 Do I have a love in the Spirit that is worth telling others about? Does our church?