1 Paul, apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and brother Timothy, Literally, “Timothy the brother”—Paul gives recognition to his junior associate.
2 to the holy and faithful brothers in Christ at Colosse: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanksgiving for the Colossians
3 Paul had never been in Colosse, so he needed to build rapport with strangers. We always give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ when we pray for you
4 (having heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love toward all the saints),
5 because of the hope ‘Hope’ in the Bible contains an element of certainty; it is not mere wishful thinking. that is being reserved for you in the heavens, of which you have already heard through the Word of the Truth Yes, ‘the’ Truth—the Text has the definite article. The Lord Jesus repeatedly referred to the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of ‘the Truth’, so Paul is affirming that the Gospel they heard was God’s Word.
6 (the Gospel that has come to you just as also in all the world, where it is producing fruit and growing Although half the Greek manuscripts, followed by the Textus Receptus, and hence AV and NKJV, do not have “and growing”, the other half, including the best line of transmission (with the three most ancient versions), do. just as also among you, from the day in which you heard about and truly understood God’s grace),
7 even as you learned from Epaphras, our dear fellow slave, The Greek word here means precisely ‘slave’; Paul repeatedly referred to himself as Christ’s slave, as did others. who is a faithful servant of Christ on your behalf,
8 who also reported to us your love in the Spirit. The Text has no article with ‘spirit’, so the reference may not be to the Holy Spirit—in that event the rendering would be, ‘love in spirit’. This whole paragraph is a single sentence—if you feel that the syntax is a little convoluted, you’re right.
Prayer for the Colossians
9 For this very reason, since the day we heard of it, we have not stopped praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the real knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding,
10 in order for you to walk worthily of the Lord, pleasing Him in every way, This reminds me of John 5:19 and 12:49-50; the Lord Jesus was filled with this knowledge and understanding (and evidently we are supposed to be as well). being fruitful in every good work and growing into the real knowledge of God; Getting to know God is a process.
11 being enabled with all capability according to the strength that resides in His glory, His glory reflects who He is, and He is all powerful. for all endurance and steadfastness. This is a great prayer to pray for anybody. Note, however, that the emphasis is on enduring and being steadfast—sounds like tough times.
12 giving thanks joyfully to the Father who has qualified us for the share in the inheritance of the saints in the Light; Yes, ‘the’ Light—the Text has the definite article. John 1:7 refers to Jesus as ‘the Light’, and in John 8:12 Jesus calls Himself ‘the Light’ of the world. What sort of person will enjoy basking in the Light?
13 who delivered us out of the dominion of the darkness “The darkness” refers to Satan’s kingdom, and since there are only the two spiritual kingdoms in this world, everyone is in either one or the other (Luke 11:23). and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,
14 in whom we have the redemption through His blood, “Through His blood” is omitted in some 40% of the Greek manuscripts, but the 60% include the best line of transmission. Without the shed blood of God’s Lamb, we would have neither redemption nor forgiveness. Praise God for the Blood. the forgiveness of our sins.
Christ Is Preeminent in Creation
15 He is the visible representation of the invisible God, ‘Firstborn’ over all creation, In that culture the ‘firstborn’ had the preeminence.
16 because by Him all things were created Although the Trinity was presumably involved in the Creation, this verse plainly states that the Son was the principal agent (see also Hebrews 1:10 and John 1:10). —those in the heavens and those on the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. Most inhabitants of planet Earth don’t understand that God created them for Himself, so they live out their existence here without knowing why they are here.
17 Yes, He is before all, and in Him all things subsist. ‘Subsist’ could also be rendered ‘hold together’—maybe that is why molecules, with their contrary magnetic charges, don’t fly apart.
18 Also, He is the Head of the body, the Church. He is Beginning, There is no article with ‘beginning’, so I consider that it functions like a proper name. the firstborn from among the dead, This is an interesting figure of speech; death is viewed as a huge womb, pregnant with all the deceased, and Jesus was literally the first one out, the first one to be ‘born’, the first one to resurrect with a glorified body. so that He may be preeminent in everything,
Christ Is Preeminent in Redemption
19 because in Him all the Fullness was pleased to dwell I take the point to be that while Jehovah the son was confined to a human body the Father and the Holy Spirit were with Him to such an extent that it could be said that the Godhead was dwelling in Him.
20 and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, It is difficult to know whether the pronoun refers to ‘the Fullness’ (the Godhead) or to Christ—either makes sense. having made peace through the blood of His cross This is reminiscent of Isaiah 53:5, “The chastisement for our peace was upon Him.” —through Him, whether things on the earth or things on That’s what the Text says, “on”. Beings and things that are an inherent part of Heaven don’t need ‘reconciling’, so Paul uses this means to indicate the non-inherent ones that do need it. the heavens.
21 So now He has reconciled you as well (you who once were alienated and hostile in your mind because of your wicked works),
22 by His physical body through His death, so as to present you before Him holy and blameless and above reproach What a marvelous purpose, what a marvelous prospect, but we have to continue in the faith (verse 23). —
23 if, that is, you continue in the faith established and firm, not drifting away from the hope of the Gospel, that you heard and that was proclaimed in all the creation under the heaven, I wonder how and when this took place. of which I, Paul, became a servant.
Christ Is Preeminent in the Church
24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings I confess that I have not yet arrived at this spiritual level, to rejoice in suffering. on your behalf and supplement in my flesh Evidently the ongoing well-being of the Church requires suffering on our part, the enduring of affliction. the things lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the Church,
25 of which I became a servant according to the stewardship from God that was given to me towards you, to complete the Word of God, I take it that Paul was aware that he was writing new Scripture, expounding Truth that had been withheld from Old Testament saints.
26 the mystery that has been hidden from past ages and generations, but now has been revealed to His saints;
27 to whom God resolved to make known who is the wealth of the glory of this mystery among the nations, namely Christ in you, the hope of glory; Christ is ‘the wealth of the glory’, but He must be in us for us to have any hope of sharing in that glory.
28 whom we proclaim, warning every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ. In the Great Commission (Mt. 28:19) Christ commanded His followers to ‘make disciples’, and Paul declares that to be his objective.
29 It is to this end that I labor, striving according to His working that works through me with power. If we want to see God manifesting His power through us, we must subordinate ourselves to His working.