This study is incomplete. Hampton Keathley III went to be with the Lord before it was completed.
Because of the rising tide of human philosophies confronting us today, no New Testament book speaks with more relevancy than does the epistle to the Colossians. Not only do we live in an atomic and space age, but in the most technologically advanced age of all time. As in the past, this is a day where, duped by the age-old lie of Satan, man still continues to believe in himself and his ability to solve his problems apart from God as He is revealed in Scripture. Through one avenue or another, man continues to offer his own manmade solutions for the ills of society whether in the form of secular humanism or religious syncretism. But it appears many are becoming discontented over the futility of materialism and somewhat dissatisfied with the idea that life is but a cosmic accident. As a result, many are turning to the New Age movement that has been growing by leaps and bounds. This new movement claims we stand at the brink of an entirely new age of human achievement and potential, one that will unify the world and bring an end to war and an end to hunger through a redistribution of the world’s resources and population control. It will lead to the conservation of the earth’s environment, result in genuine equality among all races and religions and between men and women, and provide a global ethic that will unite the human family. But at the center of this movement is a religious syncretism that rejects the biblical revelation of God as revealed in Christ. According to this movement, Christ is only one of many religious leaders or influences that man may turn to because there are other ways that are equally valid.
Increasingly our generation wants to take religion out of the realm of rational discourse and relegate it to the area of personal preferences and opinions. If there are thirty-one flavors of ice cream, why can we not have similar variety in religions? The gods of the New Age Movement are always tolerant of sexual preferences, feminism, and hedonistic pleasures at almost any cost. Why shouldn’t we each choose a religion that is compatible with our private values? In order to have a meaningful faith, it must agree with our deeply held beliefs. What works for you might not work for me.1
Thus, Colossians is a book that speaks to our cosmic age and to this New Age movement. But let us not miss the fact that this movement has its source in the occult (though hidden under new names) and in Eastern religions that go all the way back to the beginnings of history with the fall of man.
The New Age movement is not new; it is the most recent repeat of the second oldest religion, the spirituality of the serpent. Its impulse is foreign to none of us. The appeal is ancient indeed; its rudiments were seductively sold to our first parents in the garden. Human pride was tickled, and it jumped.2
The New Age movement promotes a belief in monism. Monism is the belief that all is one, that everything is interrelated, interdependent, and interpenetrating. It promotes the hideous idea that humanity, nature, and God are not separate from each other, but are one. As an illustration, Groothius also points out that John Randolph Price is a New Age writer who teaches that everyone should affirm, “I and the Father are one, and all the Father has is mine. In truth I am the Christ of God,” and that he “tars as ‘anti-Christ’ those under-evolved, ignorant ones who deny ‘the divinity of all men’ (pantheism).”3
As evident from this statement by Price, pantheism is at the heart of the New Age movement. It teaches that “all is God.” But their God is not a personal being; he is an impersonal energy, a force or consciousness. Out of this naturally comes another idea. Since all is one and all is God, we too are gods. The goal of the New Age movement is to awaken us to the god who sleeps within us, to teach us to live like the gods we are. The bait on this pagan hook is Satan’s great delusion from the Garden of Eden, the promise of godhood.
Secular humanism taught that “man is the measure of all things.” Now, because of this promise of godhood for men, the New Age movement says with man all things are possible. The New Age worldview is what could be called “a cosmic humanism.”
But as mentioned, the ideas of the New Age movement are not new. It merely repeats Satan’s age-old lie in a new age using euphemisms or new names to hide and remove old associations and stigmas. As will be shown, the heresy confronting the Colossians had certain similarities to the New Age movement of our day. Colossians is God’s polemic and rebuttal to many kinds of delusions and heresies, but it is especially relevant to what we see happening in the world today.
Colossians presents the all-supremacy, the all-sufficiency, the uniqueness, and the fullness of the person and work of Jesus Christ as the God-man Savior, the Creator and Sustainer of the universe and the total solution for man’s needs both for time and eternity. It is a cosmic book, presenting the cosmic Christ: the Creator/Sustainer who is also the one and only Redeemer/Reconciler of the universe.
One of my former and beloved Greek professors at Dallas Seminary, Dr. S. Lewis Johnson, had the following excellent summary of the importance of this epistle. In the first of a series of articles entitled “Studies in the Epistle to the Colossians” he wrote:
“Without doubt Colossae was the least important church to which any epistle of St. Paul is addressed.” So wrote Bishop Lightfoot some years ago in one of the finest commentaries on New Testament literature. Colosse had been “a great city of Phrygia,” but it was in the afternoon of its influence and importance when Paul wrote the house-church there. And yet the message to Colosse, so bright with the light of the apostle’s highest Christology, has become amazingly relevant in the middle of the twentieth century. With the sudden and startling intrusion of the space age and its astrophysics, nuclear power, missiles and rockets, the church of Jesus Christ has been forced to relate its Lord and Master to the ultimate frontiers. Colossians, which presents Him as the architect and sustainer of the universe, as well as the reconciler of all things, both earthly and heavenly, provides the church with the material it may and must use. Suddenly the epistle to the little flock in the declining city has become perhaps the most contemporary book in the New Testament library.
The usefulness of Colossians, however, is not a recent phenomenon. The epistle is no late-blooming flower, although its grandeur and brilliance may strike one’s eyes with increasing force in the present time. The Christology and the ethics of the letter are important for all time. It has always furnished a proper antidote to humanly devised schemes of salvation. As A. M. Hunter puts it; “To all who would ‘improve’ Christianity by admixing it with spiritualism or Sabbatarianism or occultism or any such extra, it utters its warning: ‘What Christ is and has done for us is enough for salvation. We need no extra mediators, or taboos, or ascetics. To piece out the gospel with the rags and tatters of alien cults is not to enrich but to corrupt it.’” 4
Its Location: Located about 100 miles east of Ephesus, Colossae was a Graeco-Phrygian city in the Roman proconsular of Asia also known as Asia Minor. It was one of three cities located in the Lycus Valley (Colossae, Hierapolis, and Laodicea) that formed an important trade route, a virtual meeting point between east and west. Colossae was about ten miles from Laodicea and thirteen miles from Hierapolis. At one time Colossae had been a large and populous city, but when Paul wrote to the Colossian church, it had become just a small town in contrast to its nearest neighbors, Hierapolis and Laodicea. From the New Testament record, these two neighboring cities appear to also have contained a congregation of believers (cf. Philemon 2 with Col. 4:16) and are mentioned in Colossians (cf. 2:1; 4:13). Though small, Colossae of Paul’s day was still a cosmopolitan city with different cultural and religious elements that were mingled together. Since God’s concern for His own is never based on human distinctions like size, the Colossian church was still close to the heart of God. He obviously thought it important enough to lay it on the heart of the apostle Paul. Significantly, the letter to this small group of believers became one of the letters of the canon of the New Testament and one of the most important because of what it teaches us regarding the person and work of Jesus Christ.
Its Inhabitants. For the most part, the inhabitants of the area were Gentiles, but there was a considerable quantity of Jews among them. In fact, Barclay wrote, “…we may well put the Jewish population as high as almost 50,000 people. Johnson points out:
Apparently the wool business was particularly attractive to them (cf. Acts 16:14), and this was an important trade in the district. Furthermore, they enjoyed the gay life of Hierapolis. Attention has been called to a bitter Talmudist comment, “The wines and baths of Phrygia have separated the ten tribes from Israel.” Luke bears further testimony to the presence of Jews in the tricities area when he specifically mentions that Phrygians were present in Jerusalem at the time of Pentecost, presumably worshiping Jews (cf. Acts 2:10).5
Some scholars have questioned the Pauline authorship of this epistle. In fact, Colossians is sometimes taken to be “deutero-Pauline,” which simply means that on the basis of certain allegedly non-Pauline features of vocabulary, style, and theology, Colossians was written by a disciple of Paul, one well versed in the apostle’s theology.6 This will be approached from the external and internal evidence.
Regarding the external evidence, S. Lewis Johnson writes:
There is no historical evidence that the Pauline authorship of Colossians was ever suspect in the early church. Marcion (ca. A.D. 150) recognized the epistle as a genuine letter of Paul. Irenaeus (ca. A.D. 190) was the first to use the epistle definitely. The letter was included among the Paulines in the Chester Beatty codex 46, and there is no textual evidence that it ever circulated under the name of any other person. While the available evidence is somewhat scanty, that which we possess argues for the authenticity of the writing.7
1. The problem of different vocabulary: There are those who maintain there are words and phrases that do not occur in the rest of Paul’s letters, but does this really proves anything? Paul was dealing with a special brand of heresy that required in some cases a different vocabulary. Why should we try to restrict an author to his usual vocabulary under all situations. Shouldn’t every author have the right to change his vocabulary according to the need of his subject? The apostle chose his vocabulary in order to deal effectively with his opponents by showing how their religious terms and ideas could only be true in Christ.
Just as David slew Goliath with his own sword and Haman was hung from his own gallows, so are Paul’s opponents vanquished with their own vocabulary, which has been baptized into Christ.8
2. The problem of the theology of Colossians: Some promote the idea that the theology of Colossians advances beyond that of Paul’s other epistles and that it is more cosmological than soteriological, especially for Paul. The idea of Christ as creator and as the fullness of God is too advanced for Paul, at least at this time. We find such ideas in the gospel of John, but that is thirty to forty years later. Barclay responds to this by saying:
First, Paul speaks of the unsearchable riches of Christ. In Colosse a new situation met Paul, and out of these unsearchable riches Paul drew new answers to meet it. It is true to say that the Christology of Colossians is an advance on anything in the earlier letters of Paul; but that is far from saying that Paul did not write it, unless we are willing to argue that Paul’s thought remained forever static, and never developed to meet a new situation.… And in face of a new set of circumstances Paul thought out new implications of Christ.
Second, the germ of all Paul’s thought about Christ in Colossians does, in fact, exist in one of his earlier letters. In I Corinthians 8:6 he writes of one Lord Jesus Christ by whom are all things and we by him. In that phrase is the essence of all that Paul says in Colossians. The seed was there in Paul’s mind, ready to blossom when a new climate and new circumstances called in into growth.9
Regarding this issue Johnson has a timely answer:
It has also been said that the author of Colossians subordinates the soteriological to the cosmological (Francis W. Beare, “The Epistle to the Colossians. Introduction and Exegesis,” The Interpreter’s Bible, XI, 144), or salvation truth to truth about the universe. But the two categories are not parallel. Paul does not subordinate, he extends. He relates the saving truths of Christ’s salvation to a wider sphere (cf. 1:20 ). The reason for this was seen clearly by Lightfoot, who said, “New forms of error bring into prominence new aspects of truth.” (Lightfoot, Saint Paul’s Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon, Zondervan, p. 121.) That there was development in Paul’s theological thinking, one may admit readily, but it was a development resting upon the old foundations. He advanced, but he advanced while still abiding in the doctrine of Christ (cf. 2 John 9). One can sympathize with the remark of McNeile: “There are critics who credit St. Paul with no ability to think on a plane other than that of 1, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, and Romans” (A. H. McNeile, An Introduction to the Study of the New Testament, p. 162). It is revelatory of a deep basic lack of harmony with the mind of Paul to restrict the immense genius of the man. James S. Stewart has put it this way: “Paul was always flinging out scouting parties into unexplored theological territory” (Lecture in New College, Edinburgh, January 19, 1961). New and fresh insights into God’s truth on every page are the rule, not the exception, in the letters of Paul.10
3. The problem of the Gnostic thought in Colossians: It has been advocated that the nature of the heresy facing the Colossians with its Gnostic bent could not have existed until much later. However, scholars have discovered incipient features of Gnosticism present even in pre-Christian movements.
…But the idea of two worlds, the idea of the evil of matter, the idea that the body is a tomb, and that the flesh is evil, are ideas which are deeply woven into both Jewish and Greek thought. There is nothing in Colossians which cannot be explained by longstanding Gnostic tendencies in ancient thought, although it is true that the systematization of Gnosticism came later.11
Paul is clearly the author of Colossians and there is really no reasonable argument against it.
1. It was a Pauline church in that it was indirectly the result of Paul’s ministry.
As far as we know Paul never visited Colossae, at least not at the time he wrote this epistle; he had only “heard” about the church at Colossae (1:4, 9; 2:1). Nevertheless, it was a product of his ministry and beautifully illustrates his commitment to impart his vision of reaching others with the powerful message of the gospel. That this is so is illustrated in the following ways.
First, Paul spent three years ministering the word in Ephesus from the lecture room of the School of Tyrannus. It was during this time all of Asia heard the Word (cf. Acts. 19:8-10, 26; & 20:31). Ephesus had three great attractions that brought people into the city from all parts of Asia. It was a seaport town, a center of commerce, and, with the temple of Diana, it was also a center for idol worship.
Second, while on a visit to Ephesus, a young man from Colossae named Epaphras evidently heard the gospel from Paul and was converted. It appears that he was not only saved, but that he was trained and prepared by Paul to go back and plant a church in his hometown of Colossae (1:7; 4:12).
The story of the establishment of the church at Colossae illustrates an important truth. “God does not always need an apostle, or a ‘full-time Christian worker’ to get a ministry established. Nor does He need elaborate buildings and extensive organizations.”12 Through Paul’s vision for training others for ministry, God took two men and sent them out to reach and build others in Christ in at least three cities of the Lycus Valley.
2. It was essentially a church made up of Gentile believers.
Though there was a large Jewish population in the Lycus Valley, the Colossian epistle suggests that the membership of the church was primarily Gentile: (1) It is suggested by 1:12, 21, 24, 27. (2) There is a scarcity of Old Testament allusions. (3) Vices that were distinctively Gentile are mentioned in 3:5-7. (4) There is almost no reference to the reconciliation of Jews and Gentiles that is found in Ephesians, though one might compare 3:11 and 4:11.
3. It was a church facing serious doctrinal and practical problems.
Though the apostle never gives a formal explanation of the heresy facing the Colossians, the chief focus and features of the epistle along with Paul’s arguments show there was a serious threat of false teaching facing the Colossians. This teaching sought to undermine the person and work of Christ and the sufficiency of the salvation believers have in Him. More will be discussed regarding the nature of the heresy.
Several years after the church was established, around A.D. 61-62. Epaphras traveled to Rome to visit Paul during his first Roman imprisonment where he was under house arrest. While he brought some good news regarding the Colossian assembly (1:4, 8; 2:5), it appears his primary purpose for visiting the apostle was to seek aid against certain false teachings that were attempting to eat their way into the Colossian church.
Paul wrote, therefore, to counter this false teaching and sends this epistle to the Colossians by the hand of Tychicus (4:7). In the meantime Epaphras stayed with the apostle, perhaps because he was forced to because of his own imprisonment (Philemon 23, cf. with Col. 4:12), but surely also for instruction and encouragement from Paul.
What was this heresy like? What was the church of Colossae up against?
Scholars are divided concerning the exact identity of the heresy that faced the Colossians since Paul does not identify the heresy or spell out its exact tenets. Whatever, this “…erroneous teaching has normally been described as the ‘Colossian heresy’ and the nature of it has been discussed for more than one hundred years since Lightfoot wrote his important commentary on Colossians in 1875.”13
However, we can determine the features of the heresy by the many allusions, the counter emphases, and by the warnings and teachings of the book. It also seems clear that Paul borrowed certain catchwords and phrases used by the heretical teachers. Some of these Paul filled with biblical content and used them against the heresy itself showing that in reality such ideas can only be found in Jesus Christ because of who He is (His person) and what He has accomplished (His work). Other terms he strongly rejected and totally denounced. Some illustrations are mystery (1:27), fullness (2:9), knowledge and wisdom (2:3), elementary principles or rudiments (2:8), delighting in humility and the worship of angels (2:18), and self-imposed worship (2:23).
From a study of Colossians and from information derived historically, the features of the Colossian heresy fell into at least the following characteristics:
1. As with all heresy, it detracted from the person and work of Christ. It sought to add to His work by calling for human works of religion or asceticism. To counter this, the apostle stresses the divine person and finished nature of the creative and redemptive work of Christ (1:14-22; 2:8-15).
2. It claimed to be human philosophy based on the traditions of men. This philosophy included a Greek form of dualism that believed all matter was evil and that only pure spirit was good. Included was the question, Why is there evil in this world if creation was made by a holy God? Thus, Paul warns us to be on alert to philosophical or religious arguments based on the argument of human tradition that appeals to its antiquity and dignity of the past as a reason for acceptance.14 In other words, this philosophy was based on the empty speculations of man instead of the sure revelation of God (2:8, 18 with 2:3).
3. It contained certain Jewish or Judaistic elements as circumcision (cf. 2:11 with 3:11), rabbinical traditions (2:8), dietary regulations and sabbatical and festival observances (2:16). However, it does not seem to have been the pharisaic Judaism Paul combated in Galatians. It was worse. It was a native Phrygian and cultic variety that was mingled with Eastern or Oriental mysticism. This means it was eclectic or syncretistic. It sought to take a little from all religions.
4. It contained ascetic elements designed to control the flesh (2:20-23). Paul countered this with the futility of such practices against the flesh and by the fullness of the person and work of Christ and the believer’s completeness in Him (1:19-20; 2:9-10).
5. But, and this is very important for today, the heresy confronting the Colossians seems also to have included the worship of angels (2:18). This points to a pagan and mystical element in this heresy. In light of biblical revelation, these angels turn out to be fallen angels or demonic spirits. In the Bible, we find that there are good (angelic) and bad (demonic) spirits. As Groothius accurately points out, “Angels are the ‘messengers’ of God sent to do his will, usually behind the scenes. The Bible never tells Christians to cultivate conscious relationships with angels, although they do visibly appear throughout both the Old and New Testaments.”15
In fact, though God used angels to communicate His word, we are warned against their worship. When John responded to the revelation he received through an angel, the angel responded with the following rebuke:
22:8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things, and when I heard and saw them I threw myself down to worship at the feet of the angel who was showing them to me. 22:9 But he said to me, “Do not do this! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers the prophets, and with those who obey the words of this book. Worship God!” (Rev. 22:8-9)
The exact nature of this angelic worship is debated. Some scholars believe angels weren’t actually worshiped but were simply thought of as guiding spirits and intermediators by which men thought they could worship or contact God.16 Whatever the case, there seems little doubt that in some way, they were advocating occult experiences with these angelic beings or guiding spirits or ascended masters as they are sometimes called in the New Age movement. The goal is to experience some kind of religious fullness and gain contact with God, something that fits with what we see today in advocates of the New Age movement.
6. Finally, it contained and flaunted an exclusivity of mystery, secrecy, and superiority, the element of knowledge for a few elect through some form of initiation by religious experience or religious rites into the mysteries of the cult. This foreshadowed full-blown Gnosticism that would later develop.
As its name would indicate, Gnosticism—the word is related to gnosis, “knowledge”—taught that salvation is obtained not through faith but through knowledge. However, the knowledge, of which the Gnostics spoke, was knowledge acquired through mystical experience and not by intellectual apprehension. It was an occult knowledge that was pervaded by the superstitions of astrology and magic. Moreover, it was an esoteric knowledge, open only to those who had been initiated into the mysteries of the Gnostic system.17
…The Gnostics were the people who were “in the know” when it came to the deep things of God. They were the “spiritual aristocracy” in the church.
To begin with, this heresy promised people such a close union with God that they would achieve a “spiritual perfection.” Spiritual fullness could be theirs only if they entered into the teachings and ceremonies prescribed. There was also a “full knowledge,” a spiritual depth, that only the initiated could enjoy. This “wisdom” would release them from earthly things and put them in touch with heavenly things.18
Paul countered this exclusivity by proclaiming the public and universal nature of the gospel which offers a salvation to all who would believe through faith in Christ (1:20, 23, 28; 3:11). He then went on to show that all believers are complete in Christ who was Himself not only the fullness of deity in bodily form, but the fullness of salvation through whom all believers are reconciled to God (1:19-20; 2:9-10).
From these facts, it seems clear that the Colossian heresy was an eclectic blend of Jewish legalism, Greek philosophic speculation, and oriental mysticism combined together with a Christian flavor or element. In other words, like many of the cults and the eclecticism of today, it wore the mask of Christianity, but it was totally false. It used Christian words and Christian phrases, but with different meanings. It claimed to have something for everybody, but in essence provided only a delusion. It was a satanic deception in the following way: “While at its heart it was a combination of Judaism and paganism, it wore the mask of Christianity. It did not deny Christ, but it did dethrone him. It gave Christ a place, but not the supreme place. This Christian facade made the Colossian error all the more dangerous.”19 In other words, it taught that Christ was insufficient and that one must go beyond Christ into the fullness of what they had to offer. We find the same thing happening today with many of the cults that will likewise use some Christian terminology, but with completely different meanings. All the features found in this cult at Colossae would later be found in full-blown Gnosticism. So it may have been an incipient form of Gnosticism combined with elements of Judaism.
So, what are some things we can learn from this?
1. We see that false doctrine or theology is not only the product of Satan’s deceptions, but it leads one deeper and deeper into his delusions both in theology and practice.
2. There can be no neutrality toward God, the Bible, and Christ for neutrality leads to hostility.
3. There can be no morality and no genuine, lasting, and real humanism or true concern for man without sound theology. The idea that you can have morality without the absolutes of Scripture is a myth, a satanic delusion.
4. Without the absolutes of God’s Holy Word as our foundation, we end up with a world-view that will in some way distort and undermine the being and character of God and His salvation for man in Jesus Christ. The product of this is some from of idolatry, mysticism, agnosticism, pantheism, monism, atheism, or dialectical materialism. When that happens, there is no end to the moral breakdown and degeneracy in humanity for false theology leads to ungodliness.
Do we have any of this heresy today? Yes, we do; and it is just as deceptive and dangerous! When we make Jesus Christ and the Christian revelation only part of a total religious system or philosophy, we cease to give Him the preeminence. When we strive for “spiritual perfection” or “spiritual fullness” by means of formulas, disciplines, or rituals, we go backward instead of forward. Christian believers must beware of mixing their Christian faith with such alluring things as yoga, transcendental meditation, Oriental mysticism, and the like. We must also beware of “deeper life” teachers who offer a system for victory and fullness that bypasses devotion to Jesus Christ. In all things, He must have the preeminence!20
The theme is the fruitful and effective power of the gospel message, a message that heralds the supremacy or preeminence, headship, and the sole sufficiency of Christ to the church, which is His body. In this little book, we see Paul’s “full-length portrait of Christ.”21 Christ is the object of the Christian’s faith (1:4), but why? Because He is God’s Son (1:13), the Redeemer (1:14), the very image of God (1:15), the Lord of creation (1:15), the head of the church (1:18), the fullness of salvation (1:19), the Reconciler of the universe (1:20), the One who contains all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (2:3), the standard by which all religious teaching is judged (2:8), the fullness of God, undiminished deity (2:9), the One under Whom all power and authority is subjected (2:10), the Victor over all the cosmic powers (2:15), the reality of the truth foreshadowed in Old Testament types and figures, regulations and rituals (2:17), the One exalted and enthroned at the right hand of God in heaven (3:1), the One in Whom we are complete and in Whom our life is hidden, protected, and kept (2:10; 3:3), the One by Whom our new life will be gloriously manifested at His coming again (3:4), and it is through Him and because of our new life in Him that we ought to put away our old manner of life from which we have been marvelously saved (3:5f).
Is it any wonder that Charles Wesley wrote: Thou, O Christ, art all I want, More than all in Thee I find.
The purpose in writing Colossians was threefold: (1) to express Paul’s personal interest in the Colossians (1:3, 4; 2:3), (2) to warn them against reverting to their old pagan vices (cf. 3:5ff.), and (3) to counteract both the theological heresy and its practice within the church at Colossae (2:4-23). Paul counters the false theology with sound Christology and then spells out the practical outworking of this in the everyday life of the believer.
He was writing to correct the effects of the religious theories and speculations of the Oriental minds of the ancients concerning (1) man, sin, and salvation, (2) the effect of this on Christology—the person and work of Christ, and (3) the practical behavior of the church.
False theology always leads to wrong behavior and there are at least two main reasons for this: (1) it is futile to deal with man’s condition in sin (cf. Col. 2:23), and (2) it is faithless or bypasses God’s solution for man’s sinful condition through Christ. False theology always contains a wrong view of God, man, sin, and salvation.
Colossians is just as relevant today as it was in the day when Paul wrote the epistle. The names of the heresies have changed along with many of the religious and philosophical ideas, but certain elements are always there in the vain imaginations of man, and to these, no matter what the religious or humanistic idea being promoted in society, Colossians speaks loud and clear. This historical relevance is one of the marks of inspiration. Wiersbe has an important word regarding the relevance of Colossians for our day:
The church today desperately needs the message of Colossians. We live in a day when religious toleration is interpreted to mean “one religion is just as good as another.” Some people try to take the best from various religious systems and manufacture their own private religion. To many people, Jesus Christ is only one of several great religious teachers, with no more authority than they. He may be prominent, but He is definitely not preeminent.
This is an age of “syncretism.” People are trying to harmonize and unite many different schools of thought and come up with a superior religion. Our evangelical churches are in danger of diluting the faith in their loving attempt to understand the beliefs of others. Mysticism, legalism, Eastern religions, asceticism, and man-made philosophies are secretly creeping into churches. They are not denying Christ, but they are dethroning Him and robbing Him of His rightful place of preeminence.22
The Parliament of the World’s Religions met in Chicago in 1993. The parliament met to unify the world’s religions, to probe, to try to understand other religious heritages, but above all, they met to unify and break down the barriers that separated the various religions of the world. But what place did it have in the more than 700 workshops that were held in during the eight-day conference? Lutzer, who attended to get a feel for what was being taught and believed writes:
…At times He was variously admired, quoted, and favorably compared to other religious teachers, ancient and modern. He was seen as one more stage in the evolutionary development of religion; indeed, He was a very necessary and important stage, but He was only one enlightened man among many. It was noted that in our day He is overshadowed by others but that He should be admired for being the man for His times. A special man for His times.
Except for one or two speakers (one said of Him, “He didn’t even know the world was round”), Christ was thus revered for His contribution in the history of religion. He was even described by some as a revealer of God, a man who had achieved the highest degree of enlightenment. Others allowed that He was the Master of Masters, the one who shows us the way; the one who is to be loved and followed. But alas, He was only one among many others. Though He was respected, He was not worshiped.
What I saw and heard in Chicago is a microcosm of your school, business, and community. The people who live next door and your associates at work most likely believe that it doesn’t matter what god you pray to because every deity is ultimately the same deity shrouded in a different name. According to the 1993-94 Barna research report, nearly two out of three adults contend that the choice of one religious faith over another is irrelevant because all religions teach the same basic lessons about life (George Barna, Absolute Confusion, [Ventura, Calif.: Regal Books, 1993], 15.).23
Let us not forget that Christians were killed in ancient Rome under Caesar, not because they worshiped Jesus, but because they would not worship Jesus and Caesar.
…Various religions covered the whole Roman world. One such was the cult of Mithras, a popular Persian form of Zoroastrianism which had reached Rome by 67 B.C. Nobody cared who worshiped whom so long as the worshiper did not disrupt the unity of the state, centered in the formal worship of Caesar. The reason the Christians were killed was because they were rebels.…24
The early church rejected all forms of syncretism because they were convinced that Jesus alone was God and the only way of salvation. Colossians firmly stresses this truth. Thus, as with the early church, so the church must not tolerate the syncretism of our day. We can tolerate genuine pluralism, the idea that the religions of the world can peacefully co-exist, but not syncretism, the idea that the beliefs of various religions can be mindlessly combined. Our society today wants a tolerance that mindlessly accepts all beliefs. This kind of tolerance is unacceptable to the Bible-believing Christian, or at least, it should be. There are two kinds of tolerance that are necessary, however. As Lutzer points out,
Let me be clear that tolerance can be defined in two legitimate ways. As mentioned in the first chapter, legal tolerance is the right for everyone to believe in whatever faith (or none at all) he wishes. Such tolerance is very important in our society, and we as Christians should maintain our conviction that no one should ever be coerced into believing as we do. Freedom of religion should not only be retained in Western democracies but promoted in other countries as well.
Second, there is social tolerance, a commitment to respecting all men even if we vigorously disagree with their religion and ideas. When we engage other religions and moral issues in the ideological marketplace, it should be with courtesy and kindness. We must live in peace with all men and women, even with those of divergent faiths, or those who have no faith at all. We don’t need any more self-righteous Christians who piously judge others without the humble admission that we are all a part of a fallen human race; we are all imperfect and we are all created in the image of God. Tolerance, like patience, is a fruit of the Holy Spirit.
But the tolerance of which I speak—our national icon, if you will—is something quite different. This is an uncritical tolerance that avoids vigorous debate in the quest for truth. This new tolerance insists that we have no right to disagree with a liberal social agenda; we should not defend our views of morality, religion, and respect for human life. This tolerance respects absurd ideas but will castigate anyone who believes in absolutes or who claims to have found some truth. This tolerance, someone has said, includes every point of view except those points of view that do not include every point of view. This is tolerance only for those who march in step with the tolerant crowd.
This new god is our one absolute, the one flag still deemed worthy of our honor. This kind of tolerance is used as an excuse for perpetual skepticism, for keeping any religious commitment at arm’s length; it is also a doorway for being vulnerable to accept the most bizarre ideas. Truth, it is assumed, might exist in mathematics and science, but not in religion or morality. The pressure to accept this uncritical tolerance is growing every year.25
The book of Colossians is about the supremacy of the person of Christ. He has no equal among the religious leaders of the world religions because He and He alone is God’s Son and the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). Indeed, He is “the image of the invisible God, the sovereign and preeminent one among all creation” (Col. 1:15). He has no equal or anyone who even comes close. On the basis of the finished work of Christ on the cross and His glorious resurrections, Peter said, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among people by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Therefore, as we study this vital epistle, let us take heed to Paul’s warnings against adding to or subtracting from the person and work of Jesus Christ:
I. Doctrinal: The Person and Work of Christ (1:1–2:3)
A. Introduction (1:1-14)
1. Paul’s Greeting to the Colossians (1:1-2)
2. Paul’s Gratitude for the Colossians (1:3-8)
3. Paul’s Prayer for the Colossians’ Growth (1:9-14)
B. The Supremacy of the Person of Christ (1:15-18)
1. His Relation to God (1:15)
2. His Relation to Creation (1:16-17)
3. His Relation to the Church (1:18)
C. The Supremacy of the Work of Christ (1:19–2:3)
1. The Plentitude of His Work (1:19-20)
2. The Purpose and Application of His Work (1:21-23)
3. The Propagation of His Work (1:24–2:3)
II. Polemical: The Heretical Problems in Light of Union With Christ (2:4–3:4a)
A. Exhortation Against False Teaching (2:4-8)
1. Exhortation Regarding the Methods of False Teachers (2:4-5)
2. Exhortation to Progress in the Life of Faith (2:6-7)
3. Exhortation Regarding the Philosophy of the False Teachers (2:8)
B. Instruction of the True Teaching (2:9-15)
1. The Believer’s Position in Christ (2:9-10)
2. The Believer’s Circumcision (2:11-12)
3. The Believer’s Benefits (2:13-15)
C. The Obligations of the True Teaching (2:16–3:4)
1. Negative: Emancipation from Legalistic and Gnostic Practices (2:16-19)
2. Negative: Emancipation from Ascetic Ordinances (2:20-23)
3. Positive: Aspirations for the Heavenly Life (3:1-4a)
III. Practical: The Practice of the Believer in Christ (3:4b–4:6)
A. In the Everyday Walk (3:4b-17)
B. In the Home (3:18-21)
C. In Servant/Master Relationships (3:22–4:1)
D. In Prayer and Witnessing (4:2-6)
IV. Personal: The Private Plans and Affairs of the Apostle (4:7-18)
A. His Special Representatives (4:7-9)
B. His Personal Salutations (4:10-18)
1 Erwin W. Lutzer, Christ Among Other gods, A Defense of Christ in an Age of Tolerance (Moody Press, Chicago, 1994), 22.
2 Douglass Groothius, Confronting the New Age (InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, Ill., 1988), 17.
3 Groothius, 16.
4 S. Lewis Johnson, “Studies in the Epistle to the Colossians, Part I,” Bibliotheca Sacra, (Dallas Theological Seminary, Vol. 118, #471, July 1961), 239.
5 Johnson, 240.
6 Murray J. Harris, Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament, Colossians & Philemon (William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, 1991), 3.
7 Johnson, 241-242.
8 Johnson, 242.
9 William Barclay, The Letters to the Philippians, Colossians, and Thessalonians (The Westminster Press, Philadelphia, 2nd ed., 1959), 122.
10 Johnson, 243.
11 Barclay, 121.
12 Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Complete (Victor Books, Wheaton, Ill., 1981), 9.
13 Peter T. O’Brien, Word Biblical Commentary, Colossians, Philemon, gen. ed., Glenn W. Barker, NT. ed., Ralph P. Martin (Word Books, Publisher, Waco, Texas, Vol. 44), xxx.
14 O’Brien, xxxii.
15 Groothius, 36.
16 O’Brien, xxxiii, 143.
17 Curtis Vaughn, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, New Testament, Frank E. Gaebelein, gen. ed. (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1976-1992), electronic media.
18 Wiersbe, 10-11.
19 Vaughn, electronic media.
20 Wiersbe, 13.
21 Vaughn, electronic media.
22 Wiersbe, 18.
23 Lutzer, 11-12.
24 Francis A. Schaeffer, How Should We Then Live? (Fleming H. Revell Co., Old Tappan, NJ, 1976), 24.
25 Lutzer, 29-30.
26 Part of the outline used here is taken from an outstanding series of 12 studies by Dr. S. Lewis Johnson in Bibliotheca Sacra, “Studies in the Epistle to the Colossians,” beginning with Vol. 118, # 471.
I. Doctrinal: The Person and Work of Christ (1:1-23)
A. Introduction (1:1-14)
1. Paul’s Greeting to the Colossians (1:1-2)
The apostle Paul regularly followed the customary form of greeting of first century letters. He first identified himself as the author with his associate Timothy and then identified his recipients followed by a brief greeting. However, he seasoned the greeting with terms that focus on the letter’s distinctively Christian character. As such, these first fourteen verses prepare the Colossian believers psychologically and spiritually for the words of warning and the exhortations that would follow. The greeting contains a biblical tone that identifies both the writer and recipients in keeping with God’s saving grace (1:1-2). This is then followed by a prayer of thanksgiving (1:3-8) and petition (1:9-14). At the same time, these introductory words (verses 1-14) provide us with insight into the church at Colossae as to their conversion and growth in Christ.
1:1 From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, and Timothy my brother.
As S. Lewis Johnson so aptly put it,
Paul associates young Timothy with himself in the salutation, but the accompanying designations distinguish the men with crystal clarity. Timothy is a Christian brother, but Paul is an apostle of Christ Jesus. Paul’s description of himself as apostolos Christou Iesou (AV, “an apostle of Jesus Christ”) is rooted in his arresting encounter with the risen Messiah. The marks of the Damascus Road experience are impressed indelibly upon his apostolic and theological consciousness.27
But the apostle first identified himself by the name that is specifically connected with his ministry and calling to the Gentiles. In his letters, the apostle always identified himself as Paul rather than by his Hebrew name, Saul, which means “asked for.” Paul, which comes from the Greek Paulos, means “little” and was his Roman or Gentile name. How he came to have this name is uncertain. Some think it refers to his small stature (2 Cor. 10:1, 10), but it was common practice among the Hebrews to give their children a Gentile name in addition to the Jewish one. Others think he may have taken it from Sergius Paulus, the Roman proconsul whom he met at Paphos (Acts 13:4-12). It is in this context that the name Paul first occurs, but it may be that Paul chose a name that closely approximated the sound of his Hebrew name, Saul. “Jews in the Greek-speaking areas took names which closely approximated to the sound of their Hebrew and Aramaic names, e.g. Silas:Silvanus; Jesus:Jason (cf. Deissmann, Bible Studies, 314, 315, and Lohse, 6).”28
Regardless, his use of the name Paul certainly illustrated how he viewed himself as a man and as a servant of the Savior and marked him out as the apostle to the Gentiles (Acts 9:15; 22:21; 26:17; Rom. 1:5; Eph. 3:1-2, 8, 13; Col. 1:24-27. Certainly, in the sovereignty of God, the name Paul (the little one) portrayed the way the apostle saw himself by the grace of God (see 1 Cor. 15:9-10; 1 Tim. 1:15). That this is so is also suggested by the way he further identified himself as “an apostle through the will of God.”
The term “apostle” is a transliteration in a shortened form rather than an actual translation of the Greek apostolos. Apostolos means “a sent one,” but it came to be used in an official sense of one who was commissioned by another as his representative. This included special credentials and the responsibility to carry out the orders of the one who sent him. Our term “ambassador” adequately gives the basic meaning.
Such is the meaning of the word when applied to the Twelve (e.g., Luke 6:13), to Barnabas (Acts 14:14), and to Paul. The word is occasionally used in the NT in the weakened sense of “messenger” (e.g., John 13:16; 2Cor 8:23; Philippians 2:25). Here, however, the term is used to designate Paul as a commissioned ambassador for Christ.29
Others see a third or “…semitechnical sense, of a Christian with a particular commission (Acts 14:14, Barnabas; Rom. 16:7, Adronicus and Junias).”30 The nature and source of Paul’s apostleship is brought out by the words, “of Christ Jesus through the will of God.” By identifying himself as “an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God,” Paul was setting forth both his authority for writing to the Colossians and their responsibility to give heed to his encouragement and exhortations as an apostle. Paul does not use the term apostle of either Timothy or Epaphras because he was using the term in its more technical sense. We might also note that apostolos is without the Greek article. He did not view himself as “the apostle,” but only as “an apostle.”
…in the Septuagint the emphasis rests upon the sender rather than on the ones sent. Christ’s apostle, not the church’s, sent forth from Him on special divine assignment, is the thought, a thought which our Lord Himself had already expressed in His high priestly prayer regarding the Eleven, “As thou hast sent (apesteilas, same root as that of apostle) me into the world, I too have sent (apesteila) them into the world” (John 17:18).31
“Of Christ Jesus” means either, “belonging to” (possessive genitive) or “sent by” (genitive of source or subject). One is reminded of the appearance of Christ to Paul and his conversion and call on the road to Damascus (Acts 9). “Through the will of God” further stresses that His position and function as an apostle with the gifts and authority that came with this responsibility and privilege was not something he had either sought or earned. It was a calling and ministry strictly through the will and instrumentality of God (see also 1 Cor. 1:1; Gal. 1:1, 11ff; 2 Tim. 1:1). So, why even mention that he was an apostle? Probably because Paul had never been to Colossae and though the Colossians may have known of him though Epaphras, he introduced himself as an apostle to remind them that he had both the right and responsibility to write to encourage and exhort them in matters of their beliefs and practice.
Paul describes himself as an “apostle of Christ Jesus” in this introduction, not because there had been attacks made on his apostleship in Colossae, as there had been at Galatia and Corinth (cf. Gal 1:1, 10–12; 1 Cor 9:1–3; 2 Cor 10–13), but since he wished to establish his credentials at the outset. He will expose and refute the false teaching (cf. 2:4, 8) that had intruded into the life of the congregation, and underscore the rightness of Epaphras’ instruction, given to this infant Christian community.…32
Because of its general use in other places, the word “apostle” should call our attention to our own responsibility as believers in Christ, which is also through the will of God. While we are not apostles in this technical and limited sense as was Paul, all believers in Christ are to live and function as ambassadors of Christ, as those sent out into the world with the good news of the saving life of Jesus Christ.
By mentioning “and Timothy my brother,” the apostle demonstrated his consideration of others and the fact he recognized the vital place his fellow workers played in the ministry of reaching and building people in Christ. Paul was a team player who promoted the gifts and abilities of others.
1:2 To the saints, the faithful33 brothers and sisters34 in Christ at Colossae: Grace and peace to you from God our Father!
With these words, the apostle describes the recipients in terms that identify them spiritually and physically in relation to two spheres of life. They are identified spiritually in relation to their position in Christ and physically in relation to their geographical location, at Colossae, a reminder of the two spheres in which believers live. “Utter secularism (in Colosse only) or complete monasticism (in Christ) are not the only alternatives.”35
Literally, by way of emphasis, the Greek text reads, “to the in Colossae saints and (or “even”) believers (or faithful) brethren in Christ.” As elsewhere (Rom. 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:2; 1 Cor. 1:1), the apostle first mentions their physical location, but then hurries on to remind them of their spiritual position and relationship to Christ. Who a believer is in Christ must take priority and become the source of the Christian’s life wherever he may find himself in the world. Barclay accurately describes what at least ought to be the experience of all believers when they are living out of their new life and resources in Christ.
The opening greeting closes with a most significant placing of two things side by side. He writes to the Christians who are in Colosse and who are in Christ. A Christian always moves in two spheres. He is in a certain place in this world; but he is also in Christ. He lives in two dimensions. He lives in this world whose duties he does not treat lightly; but above and beyond that he lives in Christ. In this world he may move from place to place; but wherever he is, he is in Christ. That is why outward circumstances make little difference to the Christian; his peace and his joy are not dependent on them. That is why he will do any job with all his heart. It may be menial, unpleasant, painful, it may be far less distinguished than he might expect to have; its rewards may be small and its praise non-existent; nevertheless the Christian will do it diligently, uncomplainingly and cheerfully, for he is in Christ and does all things as to the Lord. We are all in our own Colosse, but we are all in Christ, and it is Christ who sets the tone of our living.36
Paul addresses his readers as “saints (NET, NASB, KJV, RSV) or “holy” (NIV). “Saints” is the plural of hagios, which literally means “consecrated, set apart ones.” It is from hagiazo, which means (1) “to dedicate, separate, set apart for God,” and then (2) “to purify” in the sense of make conformable in character to such dedication.”37 Hagios is an adjective and may be used to describe the ethical condition of something as “holy, dedicated to God, sacred, or pure,” i.e., of what is reserved for God and His service or of what is set apart from sin, pure. Some examples are “the holy city” (Matt. 4:5), “the holy place” (Matt. 24:15), “the holy child” (Acts 4:27, 30), “Holy Father (John 17:11), “the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 1:18), “holy angels” (Mark 8:38). However, it may also be used as a pure noun or substantive to refer to a particular person, place, or thing. Hagios is used of the Holy Spirit as “the Holy One” (1 John 2:20), of Christ as “the Holy One” (Rev. 3:7), of the angels as “the holy ones” (Ps. 89:5, literally, “the assembly of the holy ones”), and of Christians as “saints” or “those who have been set apart to God by God.” The main idea as used of Christians is not excellence of character, but spiritual position as set apart to God through the work of the Holy Spirit on the basis of the redemptive work of Christ.
In the Pauline epistles those who name Jesus as their Lord are called hoi hagioi, the saints. This was primarily not an ethical expression but a parallel to concepts like “called” (Rom. 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:2; 2 Cor. 1:1), “elect” (Rom. 8:33; Col. 3:12) and “faithful” (Col 1:2). It implies association with the Holy Spirit. Christ is their sanctification as well as their righteousness and redemption (1 Cor. 1:30), and thus the One in whom they become holy to the true God. “You were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor. 6:11; cf. 2 Thess. 2:13; 1 Pet. 1:1 f.).38
When Paul speaks of the “saints” or “holy ones,” he is not speaking of a special class of Christians who have achieved a certain level of holiness. According to the use of hoi hagioi in the New Testament, the saints are not a special class established by some church body or ecclesiastical authority as in Roman Catholicism. By contrast, this is a term used for all believers regardless of their spiritual condition whether carnal or spiritual (cf. 1 Cor. 1:2 with 3:3-5). Interestingly, I know of no place where the singular is used of just one person in the body of Christ as Saint Paul or Peter or Jude. The singular is found in Philippians 4:21, but even then it is used of those who have been made the people of God. Believers are saints not because of their conduct, but because of their relationship to Christ. Being saintly in character or living a holy life (sanctification) is one of the results of the work of Christ and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. The Holy spirit, who joins believers into union with the Savior (see 1 Cor. 12:13), is God’s special gift and enablement who is present to lead and enable Christians to live holy lives. Thus, as a term for all believers, the term saint both describes them (tells who they are) and calls them to holiness (tells them what they are to become) because of who they are in Christ.
In ancient times, hagios was used of that which was taken out of secular use and put into some kind of religious service to be devoted to the gods. In Scripture, it came to mean “set apart from the secular world to God alone as His special people for His use or purposes.”
2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may proclaim the virtues of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 2:10 You once were not a people, but now you are God’s people. You were shown no mercy but now you have received mercy (1 Pet. 2:9-10).
It is because we are now His special people, a holy nation, that Peter earlier exhorts the people of God to live holy, set apart lives.
1:14 Like obedient children, do not comply with the evil urges you used to follow in your ignorance, 1:15 but, like the Holy One who called you, become holy yourselves in all of your conduct, 1:16 for it is written, “You shall be holy, because I am holy” (1 Pet. 1:14-16).
Paul next identifies his readers as “faithful brothers and sisters (lit. brethren) in Christ.” “Faithful” is the plural of the adjective pistos, which may mean either “faithful” or “believing.” Commentators are fairly well divided over whether it means “faithful” or “believing” in this passage. Whether pistos means “faithful” or “believing,” because of the use of one article with the two nominatives (adjectives used as nouns) connected by “and” (kai), it is a further description of “the saints” (tois … hagiois) (see the discussion in the note on verse 2, “to the saints, the faithful…”). As I read the comments of some on this simple term, I am reminded of how a theological position can color even one’s understanding of such a term. Lightfoot was a great scholar and exegete, but his comments seem to be colored by what appears to be his belief in the perseverance of the saints versus simply the security of the saints. He writes:
This unusual addition is full of meaning. Some members of the Colossian Church were shaken in their allegiance, even if they had not fallen from it. The Apostle therefore wishes it to be understood that, when he speaks of the saints, he means the true and steadfast members of the brotherhood. In this way he obliquely hints at the defection.…39
But even if it means faithful rather than believing, Carson is correct when he writes:
…Lightfoot suggests that Paul is here hinting indirectly at the defection in the Colossian church by addressing himself specifically to the brethren who have remained faithful. While this is attractive, it hardly seems possible in view of the similar opening in the Epistle to the Ephesians. In that letter Paul is not going to develop a controversial theme, and yet he writes ‘to the faithful.’ It would seem best to regard the phrase as a stimulus and an encouragement. It simulates them by calling those who are set apart for God to be faithful to their high calling. It encourages them by reminding them that they are not alone in Colossae. As saints unto God they are also brethren of all the people of God…40
But it is not at all certain that “faithful” is what Paul intended. It could very well be that Paul is defining who saints are from the standpoint of faith. They are “believing brethren in Christ.” Christ is thus both the object of their faith and the point of spiritual union where all believers are brought together as spiritual brethren in Christ. As believing saints in Christ, they are brethren of all the people of God.
The Colossians have placed their wholehearted trust in Jesus as Son of God, Lord and Savior. The expression “in Christ,” however, does not point to him as the one in whom they have believed so much as the one in whom they, as brothers, have been brought together into a living fellowship (on the theme of incorporation in Christ see on 2:6–15).41
“In Christ” or the believer’s co-union in and with Christ is an important theme of the apostle Paul occurring close to ninety times in the New Testament. This is the theme or subject of positional truth, the biblical truth of who believers are in Christ in view of our so great salvation (the finished work of our Lord). Christians desperately need to understand that the first key to true spirituality and effective growth and fruitfulness is to grasp what God has accomplished for them in Christ.
Begin to show [people] what they are in Christ and all that the Great Physician is and they will apply it to their own life.… That is why preaching positional truth always proceeds in point of importance to life truth. In the great epistles, the doctrinal epistles like Romans and Ephesians, you have this order. Take Ephesians and its six chapters. The first three chapters tell you what Christ has done for you and then the next three chapters tell you what you can do for Him.42
The Colossians were faced with false teachers who were seeking to destroy this confidence by adding human works of one sort or another to the finished and complete salvation Christians have in Christ (see Col. 2:10).
This form of greeting or salutation is found in all of Paul’s epistles with the exception of 1 and 2 Timothy, which has “grace, mercy, and peace.” This greeting is generally viewed as a blending of both Greek and Hebrew greetings. The normal Greek greeting was chairein (the present infinitive form of chairo, “welcome, good day, greetings”). The Hebrew form was shalom, “peace.” But the use of charis in place of chairein denotes a significant Christian shift that is biblically significant. As William Barclay put it, “When Paul took and put together these two great words, grace and peace, charis and eirene, he was doing something very wonderful. He was taking the normal greeting phrases of two great nations and molding them into one.”43
These two words were taken by the Holy Spirit into the service of God and greatly enlarged and deepened in their meaning. Alone, each was missing something. May we not lose sight of the fact that it is only in Christ that both grace and peace are brought together into the biblical order of divine blessings.
The Purpose of the Greeting: This is seen in the translation, “to you.” This is derived from what is called in Greek grammar, the dative of advantage. Paul’s use of grace and peace in his greetings indicates a prayerful concern and desire for his readers because all men are in desperate need of God’s grace and its fruit, peace, as Isaiah 57:20-21 makes so clear:
But the wicked are like a surging sea that is unable to be quiet; its waves toss up mud and sand. There will be no prosperity (or peace, shalom),” says my God, “for the wicked.”
There is, then, an element of prayerful intercession in these greetings. Why? Because the Apostle desires his readers to fully comprehend God’s grace that they might also experience the various aspects of peace, which only God can give through Christ. It is the Lord Jesus who is Himself the manifestation of God’s grace as the Peacemaker and our Peace.
At the same time, Paul is challenging his readers (us included) to a renewed commitment to know, comprehend, and live by the grace of God, which gives God’s peace. We all face a grave danger of either failing or falling away from God’s grace. Either occurs when we seek to live by our own abilities or works and strategies for life (see Jer. 2:12-13; 17:5; Gal. 5:4; Heb. 12:15).
This couplet of blessing is essential, an absolute necessity for life and ministry. Grace and peace compose the stuff out of which strength, capacity, and encouragement are made.
The Order of the Divine Blessings: Biblically speaking, peace is always the product of knowing and appropriating the grace of God in Jesus Christ. This order can never be reversed. If we ignore the grace of God, we will forfeit the peace of God. Peace is the product of grace (cf. 2 Pet. 1:2-4). So, Peter exhorts us, “but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 3:18). The more we grasp and experience the grace of God, the more capacity we have to experience the many wonderful aspects of God’s peace whether peace with God, the peace of God, or peace with one another.
The Nature of the Divine Blessings: Since both of these words are at the heart of the gospel message and the life of sanctification, understanding the nature of God’s grace and peace in all their elements and aspects is tremendously important. Grace is a central concept in the message of the gospel, so much so that Paul referred to this message as the “gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24; contrast with Gal. 1:6). “Peace” (eirene') occurs ninety-one times in the New Testament with fifty-four of those occurrences found in Paul’s writings. Rather than give space to a study of these terms within this commentary, please see the studies entitled, “Grace and Peace” and “Grace: Why It’s So Amazing and Awesome” at the Biblical Studies Foundation web site ( www.bible.org ).
The Source of the Divine Blessings: This is seen in the words, “from God our Father.”44 Though the apostle usually includes “and from Christ Jesus our Lord,” the absence of these words in no way minimizes the importance and place Christ Jesus plays in salvation or in the experience of God’s grace and peace as this book so clearly testifies. No book exalts the person and work of Jesus Christ more than does this epistle. It is only through faith in Christ that people are brought into a relationship with God as their heavenly Father.
Thus, “from God our Father” not only points us to the source, but to the nature and value of this grace and peace since the power and character of the giver determines the value of the gift. If one wants to experience God’s grace and peace, then he must become related to God as his or her Father through faith in Jesus Christ (John 1:12-13; 14:6; Acts 4:12).
We should also note that Paul’s says “our Father.” The pronoun “our” expresses the unity and family relationship we have together with one another as believers in Christ. “Instead of the inner discord which is an inevitable result of sin, the recipient of the free grace of God enjoys an inner harmony, even in the midst of the spiritual conflict which the Christian constantly wages.”45
27 S. Lewis Johnson, “Studies in the Epistle to the Colossians, Part II,” Bibliotheca Sacra (Dallas Theological Seminary, vol. 118, #472, Oct. 1961), 336.
28 Peter T. O’Brien, Word Biblical Commentary, Colossians, Philemon, gen. ed., Glenn W. Barker, NT., ed., Ralph P. Martin (Word Books, Publisher, Waco, TX, vol. 44), 2.
29 Curtis Vaughan, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, gen. ed. Frank E. Gaebelein (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1976-1992), electronic media.
30 Murray J. Harris, Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament, Colossians & Philemon (William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, 1991), 7.
31 Johnson, 336.
32 Peter T. O’Brien, 2.
33 Grk “and faithful.” The construction in Greek (as well as Paul’s style) suggests that the saints are identical to the faithful; hence, the kaiv (kai) is best left untranslated (cf. Eph 1:1). See D. B. Wallace, Exegetical Syntax, 281–2. Taken from the translator’s notes in the NET Bible, the Biblical Studies Foundation ( www.bible.org ).
34 Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BAGD 16 s.v. ajdelfov" 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ajdelfoiv [adelphoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited). Taken from the translator’s notes in the NET Bible, the Biblical Studies Foundation ( www.bible.org ).
35 Johnson, 337.
36 William Barclay, Daily Study Bible Series: The Letters to the Philippiaans, Colossians, and Thessalonia (Revised Edition), (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2000, c. 1975), electronic media.
37 G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh, 1973), 5.
38 Colin Brown, gen. ed., The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1975), electronic media.
39 J. B. Lightfoot, Saint Paul’s Epistles to the Colossians and Philemon (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1879 reprint, 1961), 132.
40 Herbert M. Carson, The Epistle of Paul to the Colossians and Philemon, An Introduction and Commentary (Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 1960), 28.
41 Peter T. O’Brien, Word Biblical Commentary, Colossians, Philemon, gen. ed., Glenn W. Barker, NT., ed., Ralph P. Martin (Word Books, Publisher, Waco, TX, vol. 44), 4.
42 Lewis Sperry Chafer, “The Believer’s Responsibility,” transcription of a class lecture, Dallas Theological Seminary, 1948, taken from class notes by William D. Lawrence, Dallas Theological Seminary, 1993, p. 13-3.
43 William Barclay, Daily Study Bible Series: The Letters to the Philippians, Colossians, and Thessalonians (Revised Edition), (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2000, c. 1975), electronic media.
44 Some mss. (a A C G I Byz Lect al) add kaiV kurivou ‘Ihsou Cristou after hJmwn. This addition is clearly a secondary variant, since (1) it conforms to normal Pauline usage (e.g., Rom. 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:3; 2 Cor. 1:2); (2) it would be difficult to account for its intentional or accidental omission if this longer reading were original.… (Murray J. Harris, Exegetical Guide to the Greek NewTestament, Colossians & Philemon [William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, 1991], 10.
45 Herbert M. Carson, The Epistle of Paul to the Colossians and Philemon, An Introduction and Commentary (Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 1960), 29.
I. Doctrinal: The Person and Work of Christ (1:1-23)
A. Introduction (1:1-14)
1. Paul’s Greeting to the Colossians (1:1-2)
2. Paul’s Gratitude for the Colossians (1:3-8)
Verse three presents the main assertion of verses 1-8,46 namely, Paul’s thanksgiving for the Colossians, but it also demonstrates the circumstances and character of his gratitude. Verses 4-5 then express the cause and underlying conditions that formed the powerful stimulus for such thanksgiving. According to Vaughn, “…Appeals for thanksgiving run through Colossians like the refrain of a song (cf. 1:12; 2:7; 3:15, 17; 4:2). This passage, which expresses the apostle’s own gratitude, shows that what he enjoined upon others he himself practiced.”47
1:3 We always give thanks to God, the father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,
As we move into the body of Paul’s letter to the Colossians, we again get a glimpse of the prayer life of the apostle that is evident in all of his epistles. Somewhere in the early portion of his epistles, Paul begins with either thanksgiving or with praise to God, Galatians being an exception. His prayer life clearly demonstrated a God-dependent attitude and a perspective that formed the foundation and source of the apostle’s ministry, indeed, his very existence. And this becomes even more significant when you stop to realize that Paul wrote this letter while chained daily to a Roman soldier in his own house. His attitude of thanksgiving forms an instructional illustration for us today.
The apostle begins with “we always give thanks” and not “I give thanks.” While some have argued that this is simply an epistolary plural, it is more in keeping with Paul’s team spirit (cf. 1 Thess. 1:2; 1:3; 3:9) that the “we” is a reference to his prayer life in the company of others like Timothy with whom he regularly prayed.
In addition, Paul’s God-dependent perspective in life is seen in the fact his thanksgiving was addressed to God. While the apostle’s thanksgiving followed the pattern of expressions of gratitude found in intimate letters of the Hellenistic period, his thanksgiving, as with his greeting, was flavored through and through with Christian theology. Typically, his thanksgiving illustrates how he saw himself as but an instrument in the hand of God (2 Cor. 4:6-7). Wonderful things had occurred in the Lycus Valley, but rather than congratulate themselves for a job well done or the Colossians on their faith, love, and hope, they (Paul and Timothy) raised their voices in thanks to the heavenly Father for it was all the work of God. Paul expresses the principle in 1 Corinthians 3:5-9.
3:5 What is Apollos, really? Or what is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, and each of us in the ministry the Lord gave us. 3:6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused it to grow. 3:7 So neither the one who plants counts for anything, nor the one who waters, but God who causes the growth. 3:8 The one who plants and the one who waters are united, but each will receive his reward according to his work. 3:9 We are coworkers belonging to God. You are God’s field, God’s building.
Carson has a timely word when he writes, “In a day when Christians too easily slip into the worldly attitude of glorifying men, even though they be godly men, here is a salutary reminder of a basic principle of Scripture: ‘My glory will I not give to another’” (See Is. xlviii.11.).48
There is some question regarding the adverb “always.” Because of the lack of punctuation marks in the Greek text, “always” could be taken with “we give thanks,” even though several words separate them. It would then mean “We always give thanks for you when we pray.” But “always” could also be taken with “we pray,” i.e., “we give thanks, always praying for you.” Though difficult to decide, the adverb should probably be taken with “we give thanks.”49 Regardless, the persistency of his prayer life is suggested by the word “always” and the fact the words “give thanks” and “praying” are in the present continuous tense in the Greek text. Paul’s prayer life was regular, persistent, and faithful. He was a man who, because of his sense of inadequacy and dependence on the Lord (see 2 Cor. 2:16 & 3:5), prayed without ceasing (1 Thess. 5:17). God was real to Paul. God was no vague or mere intellectual concept to the apostle, an idea he clung to just in case. His absolute confidence in God and his own sense of inadequacy drove Paul to his knees—he was a God-dependent man.
Some thoughts on praying persistently. It means:
“To God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,” points the reader to the person to whom Paul prayed. Paul’s prayers were never ambiguous or lacking in biblical clarity and accuracy. Theology or biblical truth guided every aspect of his life. He did not pray to the man upstairs or to the big guy in the sky or some such nonsense. Being confident of God as his spiritual Father through Jesus Christ (vs. 2), he prayed personally to God who is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. We can know God and pray to Him confidently with access into God’s presence because God has revealed Himself in the person of His eternal Son. Who can better reveal God than His own Son who shares the Father’s heart, purposes, and character (Heb. 1:2-3; John 14:8-10; 1:14,18; so cf. Heb. 4:16; 10:19)? The fact that God is the Father of the Lord in no way depreciates the absolute and total deity of Christ as Paul will make clear later on in this epistle.
1:4 since we heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints. 1:5 Your faith and love have arisen from the hope laid up for you in heaven…
“Since we heard of your faith…” explains why they could give thanks for the Colossians since Paul and Timothy had evidently never been to Colossae and did not know the church personally (cf. 2:1-2). Paul expresses gratitude for the Colossians because of the good report he received regarding their love, faith, and hope. The Christian triad of faith, hope, and love appears often in Paul’s writings with either one or more of the three as a basis for thanksgiving or motivation or exhortation (Rom. 5:2-5; 1 Cor. 13:13; Eph. 1:15; 1 Thess. 1:3; 5:8; 2 Thess. 1:3).
First, Paul naturally begins with thanksgiving to God for the faith of the Colossians. Faith, as used here, includes their initial trust in the person and work of Christ. This formed the root and that which brought them into a living relationship with Christ through the Holy Spirit.
A depositor’s money is not safe in proportion to the depositor’s faith in the bank in which the money is deposited. It is safe in proportion to the bank’s solvency. So, the Christian is not a Christian because he possesses faith, but because he possesses faith in Christ. It is not simply faith that matters; it is faith and its object.50
But it is important to also note that their faith is defined as “in Christ.” “In” is the Greek preposition en, which may point to the object of their faith,51 but it most likely points to the sphere in which their faith lived or resided and acted since it is not at all certain that en with pistis (faith) refers to the object.52 This may be a matter of splitting hairs since one’s faith cannot reside in Christ if He is not also the object of that faith. But a faith that resides in Christ would stress not only the past initial act of trust in Christ, but also the present focus of the faith of one who seeks to live by virtue of who and what Christ means to believers. Regardless, the issue is not just the presence of faith, but of a faith that resides in Christ. “It gives the thought of reliance going forth to Christ, and reposing on Christ, so as to sink as it were into Him, and find fixture in Him; as the anchor sinks to the floor of the sea, and then into it, that it may be held in it.”53 The apostle will deal with this concept in more detail in 2:6-10.
Second, Paul also thanks God for the love of the Colossians, a love that was being expressed toward all the saints, to believers in Christ. Here the focus is certainly on the present outworking of an active faith that resides in Christ and all that He means to believers. It is the fruit and evidence of fellowship with the Lord Jesus through an active faith in His blessed life (John 15:1-9; 1 John 3:14, 23). A faith that resides in Christ and a love for others are twins that should walk together in life. It is also important to note that “…such love was directed toward all the saints, not to those of the same social class or intellectual stratum. It is to all the saints without exception that true Christian love is shown. The communion of saints means, not a series of loosely related cliques, but an all-embracing and self-abnegating fellowship.”54
Finally, Paul was thankful for the hope of the Colossians, but rather than coordinating hope with faith and love as in 1 Thessalonians 1:3, it is set forth as the cause or motivating factor in the spiritual welfare of the Colossians. While this phrase may be taken with the main verb as the ground of the thanksgiving,55 it is better to take it with the words “faith” and “love” as seen in the NET Bible’s translation, or with “love” only, which is favored by word position. “Hope,” which is the Greek elpis, refers to a “confident expectation or prospect.” Both the noun elpis and the verb elpizo were used by the apostle to refer to the act of hoping and to the object, the content of hope. Hope is oriented to that which is both future and not immediately seen. The exact content of hope is defined variously by the context. Here are a few illustrations:
Here in Colossians 1:5, “hope” is defined as one which “ is laid up for you in heaven.” “Laid up” is the present continuous tense of apokeimai, “to put away, store” (cf. 2 Tim. 4:8). Though centered in the person of Christ Himself (1:27), the place of storage is heaven, a place of security and protection where the corruption and sin of this present world cannot touch it. Peter gave a three-fold description of this. It is (1) a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, (2) a hope that is an imperishable, undefiled, and an unfading inheritance, and (3) that is kept by the power of God (see 1 Pet. 1:3-5 and Matt. 6:19-20). This includes the whole of our salvation—being in God’s presence at home with the Lord immediately after death, eternal glory, a future resurrected body at the resurrection of the just, and eternal rewards (2 Tim. 4:8). In other words, the “hope laid up” includes all that goes with the gift of eternal life and the blessings of the eternal state according to the many promises of Scripture. Here is a hope that cannot be compared to any earthly hope no matter how exquisite.
The point we must not miss is that when Christians live by a faith that resides in Christ, that faith will produce love for others that may result in losses and crosses, but the Christian’s expectation goes far beyond this life into the eternal future. As Barclay expresses it:
Think of it this way. Loyalty to Christ may involve a man in all kinds of loss and pain and suffering. There may be many things to which he has to say goodbye. The way of love may seem to many to be the way of a fool. Why spend life in selfless service? Why not use it “to get on” as the world counts getting on? Why not push the weaker brother out of the way? The answer is—because of the hope that is set before us.56
In a context that speaks of sufferings for the sake of others, the apostle Paul expressed it this way in 2 Corinthians 4:
4:14 We do so because we know that the one who raised up Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus and will bring us with you into his presence. 4:15 For all these things are for your sake, so that the grace that is including more and more people may cause thanksgiving to increase to the glory of God. 4:16 Therefore we do not despair, but even if our physical body is wearing away, our inner person is being renewed day by day. 4:17 For our momentary light suffering is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, 4:18 because we are not looking at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen. For what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal (2 Cor. 4:14-18). (emphasis mine)
Some see an appeal to rewards as selfish and therefore carnal, but true self-centeredness or selfishness is preoccupation with self at the expense of others and God’s will in one’s life. This kind of behavior is carnal and inconsistent with the leading of the Spirit. But we should not ignore the fact that Christ often motivated His disciples with the prospect of eternal rewards. He warned them that they should lay up treasures in heaven where their treasures would have complete security and an eternal rate of return. He told them “Do not accumulate for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But accumulate for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal.” (Matthew 6:19-20).
1:5b …which you have heard about in the message of truth, the gospel 1:6 that has come to you. Just as in the entire world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, so it has also been bearing fruit and growing among you from the first day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth.
With these verses, Paul covers a number of issues that describe the character and power of the gospel of the New Testament.
First, the gospel is good news. The term gospel is found ninety-nine times in the NASB and ninety-two in the NET Bible. Gospel is the translation of the Greek noun euangelion (occurring 76 times), “good news,” and the Greek verb euangelizo (occurring 54 times), “to bring or announce good news.” Both words are derived from the noun angelos, “messenger.” In Classical Greek, a euangelos was one who brought a message of victory or other political or personal news that caused joy. In addition, euangelizomai (the middle voice form of the verb) meant “to speak as a messenger of gladness, to proclaim good news.”57 Further, the noun euangelion became a technical term for the message of victory, though it was also used for a political or private message that brought joy.58
That both the noun and the verb are used so extensively in the New Testament demonstrates how it developed a distinctly Christian flavor, use, and emphasis because of the glorious news it represents. As the angel told the shepherds, “Do not be afraid; listen carefully, for I proclaim to you good news59 that brings great joy to all the people: Today your Savior is born in the city of David. He is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11). The gospel announces the only genuine salvation and victory over sin and death. This God offers to man through the person and accomplished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. But the good news does not stop there. Its power and eternal value are proven by Christ’s resurrection, ascension, and session at God’s right hand. In the New Testament these two words, euangelion and euangelizo, became technical terms for this message of good news offered to all men through faith in Christ.
Second, the gospel is truth. In Colossians 1:23, the apostle spoke of “the hope of the gospel,” i.e., the hope which comes from the gospel or which the gospel gives. This is now the focus of verses 5-8 and introduces a key point that Paul sought to emphasize to the Colossians. The words, “which you have heard about in the message of truth, the gospel” reminds them that the means by which they came to this hope was faith in “the truth, the gospel” as they heard it before they began to listen to false teachers. These teachers may have been denying the future hope of believers, but it is certain that they were distorting the grace character of the gospel itself (cf. vs. 6b with 2:6-23). Thus, verse 5b sets forth the essential nature of the gospel they heard; it is the truth. Truth is the very essence of the gospel, but Paul was referring to the gospel as they originally heard it from Epaphras (vss. 7-8). This is the gospel, the truth that is based on factual historical evidence in the birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ.
This is very relevant for us today because we live in a day when people worship at the idol of an uncritical tolerance. This is the claim that all religions can be equally true. From the standpoint of religion, what is true for you may not be true for me, but that’s okay since truth, especially religious truth, is strictly personal. Everyone can make up his or her own rules for what is true. But this is absurd and illogical.
When Christ claimed that truth exists, of necessity He also implied that falsehood exists. Your personal opinions about religion may be true; but if so, they are also true for everyone else. If you meet a friend who says, “Christ is true for you, but not for me,” tell him lovingly, ‘You are entitled to your own private opinion, but you are not entitled to your own private truth!
Mathematics is transcultural; it is foolish to say that 2 + 2 = 4 is simply a Western idea. Science and technology also rely on universal principles that apply in every country, in every era. When an astronomer finds a new star, he has not changed the nature of the universe; he has only found something that was already there. Truth exists objectively outside ourselves. We do not create it; we can only discover it.
Does this objectivity also apply to religion, or is religion purely personal and subjective? Logic requires that if there is one God then there are not two, three, or ten. If what Christ said was true, then what Bah llh said was false. You may live next door to a fine Mormon family, but Mormonism and Christianity cannot both be true. Both may be false, but both cannot be true. And if one religion of the world is objectively true, it is true for everyone. The issue is whether we have committed ourselves to a religion that reflects the way things are in the universe.
We must resist the modern notion that there is a sharp distinction between the world of objective facts (mathematics, science, etc.) and the realm of religion, which many believe should be relegated to the private world of personal opinion and individual preferences. Religion, if it is worth the name, claims to make factual statements about spiritual reality. This means that every religion has the responsibility of giving evidence for its truth claims. Such evidence should be accessible to believers and nonbelievers alike.60
The New Testament emphatically presents Jesus Christ as not only the truth (John 14:6), but as the one and only Savior by whom people might be saved.61 Thus, “The last phrase of verse five sets forth the essential nature of the gospel. It is the true word from God. Ultimate truth is not found in the sciences, or philosophy (such as had now penetrated Colosse). The truth of the gospel is the only truth able to span the grave and reveal the hope which lies beyond it.”62 “All previous religions could be entitled ‘guesses about God.’ The Christian gospel gives a man not guesses but certainties about God.”63
Third, the gospel is universal. It is for all men. This is seen in the words, “which has come to you, just as in all the world.” Paul was not saying that it had been preached in every town and village all over the world, though it had already made amazing advances in the ancient world. This statement does, however, point to its universal design by God and, in keeping with the Great Commission of Matthew 28:19-20, it is surely prophetic of the penetrating course and power of the gospel around the world. With its universal appeal, the gospel
…is not confined to any one race or nation, nor to any one class or condition. Very few things in this world are open to all men. A man’s mental calibre decides the studies he can undertake. A man’s social class decides the circle amidst which he will move. A man’s material wealth determines the possessions he can amass. A man’s particular gifts decide the things he can do. But the message of the gospel is open without exception to all men.64
Fourth, the gospel is alive and fruitful. The words “is bearing fruit and growing” stress that the gospel is alive and fruitful. “Is bearing fruit and growing” stresses the continuous activity of the gospel due to its inherent power. With the temporal indicator that follows, “from the first day you heard,” the construction here stresses the past as well as the present fruitfulness of the gospel.65 In addition, “bearing fruit” is in the middle voice (an intensive middle), which again stresses the inherent power of the gospel. “The Gospel is essentially a reproductive organism, a plant whose ‘seed is in itself.’”66 The combination of the two participles, bearing fruit and growing, is probably designed to stress both the inward (bearing fruit) and outward (growing) activity of the gospel. With the accompanying ministry of the Holy Spirit, the gospel not only has the power to break through the darkness to bring men into a relationship with God through Christ, but it transforms and energizes their lives. Those who receive this truth should become fruit-bearers as the Word works within them (cf. 1 Thess. 2:13). Such fruitfulness is a mark of its authority, authenticity, and superiority over all other religions of the world. Thus, this gospel is a message that is alive and powerful because it is the living and enduring Word of God (Heb. 4:12; 1 Pet. 1:23). “The fruit, which the Gospel bears without fail in all soils and under every climate, is its credential, its verification, as against the pretensions of spurious counterfeits.”67
Fifth, the gospel is a message of grace. The words, “understood the grace of God in truth,” declares the fact that the gospel in all aspects (justification and sanctification) is a message of grace. Indeed, grace is nothing less than a synonym for the gospel. Any message that fails to proclaim the grace element of the gospel of the New Testament is no gospel at all (cf. Acts 20:24, “the gospel of the grace of God).” “Grace” refers to the free, unmerited favor of God; to the favor or kindness given to those who can never deserve or earn it by anything they do or refrain from doing. As Swindoll aptly puts it, “Every time the thought of grace appears, there is the idea of its being undeserved. In no way is the recipient getting what he or she deserves. Favor is being extended simply out of the goodness of the heart of the giver.”68
To know the gospel as the grace of God in truth is to trust in the Lord Jesus and His work on the cross for our sin apart from human merit of any sort and to live by virtue of that grace as the means of the sanctifying power of God.
…This grace is absolutely free (Rom. 6:14; 5:15; Eph. 2:8), and it is that which conquers sin both in its penalty and its power (Rom. 5:12-21; 6:1-23). When that grace which was revealed in Christ is received by the believer, it then governs spiritual life by compounding favor upon favor. It equips, strengthens, and controls all phases of his life (II Cor. 8:6; Col. 4:6; II Thess. 2:16; II Tim. 2:1). Consequently, the Christian gives thanks (charis) to God for the riches of grace in His unspeakable gift (II Cor. 9:15). Throughout the New Testament, then, the predominant thought is the grace of God in Christ which redeems us, governs us, and gives us everlasting consolation and good hope.69
This reference to the gospel as “the grace of God in truth” is naturally aimed at the false teachers who were seeking to add some form of religious works to the gospel in a meritorious sense. The apostle will deal with this in chapter two.
Sixth, the gospel must be humanly transmitted or proclaimed. The reference to hearing the gospel (vs. 6) and to learning it from Epaphras (vs. 7) also reminds us that the gospel is a message that God has chosen to be humanly communicated. It is a message that must be proclaimed by other believers in the body of Christ whether by personal testimony or the written word. In the Tribulation as detailed in the Book of Revelation, God will at times use other methods to communicate the gospel (cf. Rev. 8:13; 14:6), but even then, God has chosen the human channel as His primary method for communicating the gospel.
…There must be a human channel through which the gospel can come to men. And this is where we come in. The possession of the good news of the gospel involves the obligation to share it. That which is divinely given must be humanly passed on. Jesus Christ needs us to be the hands and feet and lips which will bring his gospel to those who have never heard it.70
1:7 You learned the gospel from Epaphras, our dear fellow slave—a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf—1:8 who also told us of your love in the Spirit.
Verses 7-8 inform us how the Colossians heard the gospel. A faithful servant of the Lord named Epaphras brought the gospel to the City of Colossae. Paul had just spoken of the fruitfulness of the gospel and here we have an example of the process involved in its fruitfulness. First, it touches the lives of men and brings them to God through Christ. Then, through fellowship with the Savior and the enabling work of the Spirit, the gospel changes those men or women by transforming them into willing servants who use their gifts and abilities for the Savior.
But the purpose for mentioning Epaphras is his approval or the confirmation of his message and ministry. This demonstrates the need and importance for biblical confirmation of a man, his message, and his ministry. This has some very clear applications for today because of the dangers facing the body of Christ. Scripture warns us against several things that are relevant to the context and historical background of this passage. For instance:
1. Christ warned the disciples, “Take care what you listen to” (Mark 4:24). This warning concerns the messenger, his message, and his ministry. Does the man, his message, and ministry line up with the Word?
2. Christ also warned, “Therefore take care how you listen” (Luke 8:18). This warning concerns the motives and manner in which one listens. Are we really hungry or are we apathetic or biased against the truth? Do we have ears to hear? Are we seeking the spectacular or sensational, the new and entertaining? Do we simply want to be stroked and made to feel good? What are we seeking? Is it God or some form of self-gratification from our worship while we withhold our hearts from God and His Word? (cf. Isa. 29:13)
3. As seen in 1 and 2 Corinthians, Scripture also warns against false standards of judgment by which congregations or people tend to evaluate and respond to men, their messages, and their ministries. This especially includes eyes on personalities and style rather than biblical substance and teaching that is truly in accord with the Scripture. As a result, people end up seeking and listening to everything from watered-down messages (sermonettes) that cater to the whimsical trends of the time to various levels of heresy. They become sitting ducks for anything that appeals to their self-centered appetites (2 Tim. 4:3-4).
Understanding this makes this passage tremendously significant because in it we have Paul’s seal of approval on Epaphras—the man, his message, and his ministry. What counts with God? How does Paul confirm this man to the Colossians? What does he call attention to?
Literally, the Greek text has, “just as you learned it from Epaphras.” “Just as” is a conjunction that, in this context, lays stress on the source where they learned “the grace of God in truth.” This not only highlights the ministry of Epaphras and puts Paul’s approval on his ministry, but also contrasts it against the destructive heresy that was being taught by the false teachers. It is also significant that Paul used the verb “learned,” the Greek manthano, “to learn from someone as a teacher, to be a disciple.”71 The use of this verb “…probably indicates that Epaphras had given them systematic instruction in the gospel rather than some flimsy outline and that these Colossians had committed themselves as disciples to that teaching (cf. 2:6, 7).”72 What the Colossians had heard and learned from Epaphras was God’s truth; it was in accord with the true Word of God as the Lord had revealed it through the apostles. In other words, the content of his message was biblical. This is the first requirement. Does a man’s message line up with the Word, God’s index for truth? (cf. 1 Tim. 1:10-11; 4:1-6; 6:3; 2 Tim. 2:14-19; 3:14; Tit. 1:9).
First, the clause, “just as you learned” (kathos emathete) suggests that Epaphras was a disciple maker. “Learned” is the Greek word manthano, “to learn” especially through instruction. When we consider 2:7, “just as you were instructed” (kathos edidachthete), it seems clear that Epaphras had systematically taught the Colossian believers as his disciples (mathetes). While the Great Commission involves several responsibilities for the church, the main one is to “make disciples.” The Great Commission does not stop with evangelism or the salvation of the lost. We are to make disciples. A disciple is one who is devoted to following Christ in obedience to His Word. This requires teaching and spiritual growth. Epaphras was a disciple maker, one who was committed to building men in Christ and in the Word. Naturally, disciple making begins with evangelism, but for a ministry to be confirmed by the Bible, it needs to be committed to building men and women in the Word of God so they mature in Christ (cf. Col. 1:28).
Second, he labored in prayer for his disciples (cf. 4:12). As a disciple himself, Epaphras had grasped the grace perspective of the apostle and knew that spiritual growth and progress are deeply dependent on the blessing of God.
Third, his disciples were productive—they grew and changed (vs. 8). This is evident by Paul’s statement, “who told us of your love in (by) the Spirit.” Believers can, of course, labor in unproductive soil. This is one of the points of the parable of the sower, the seed, and the soil in Mark 4. The fact of love manifested by the Spirit was a proof that God had not only prepared the hearts of the Colossians for the gospel, but it demonstrated the quality of Epaphras’ message and ministry among them. It had changed their lives and demonstrates something of the content of what Epaphras was teaching. He had not only taught them about the Savior and His redemption, but he had taught them how to live the Christian life in the power of the Spirit.
The name “Epaphras” is undoubtedly a shortened form of Epaphroditus and may be related to the word Aphrodite, which denoted charm and loveliness. His name is mentioned again in 4:12-13 and in Philemon 23. This Epaphras should not be identified with the one mentioned in Philippians 2:25 and 4:18 who was apparently from Macedonia. The Epaphras of Colossians was not only a resident of Asia but also a faithful minister of the gospel who had brought the gospel to the Lycus Valley (4:12-13).
Paul describes him in a three-fold way. First, he is called “our dear fellow slave.” “Fellow slave” is the Greek sun-doulos. The prefix is sun is a preposition that expressed “association, fellowship and inclusion.” The inclusion of this prefix stresses the truth mentioned in Phil. 1:27; all believers in Christ are to be working together for the faith of the gospel, which lays stress on the community aspect of our lives together as believers in Christ. It reminds us that we need each other, that we are a team, and that the cause of Jesus Christ is sorely hampered when we do not act accordingly—when we do not use our gifts and talents to work together and strive to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
“Slave” stresses his relationship and attitude to Christ. The second part of the word is doulos and means not merely a servant, but a bondslave. A bondslave was one owned by another and so completely that he was dependant upon his master for everything in life—for his daily supply of needs, where he lived and how, for his vocation or area of service, and for the supplies needed to do his work. It shows his submission and who controlled his life. His life was not his own, he had been bought with a price. He was the Lord’s possession who guided his life and supplied his needs.
But he was not just a “fellow slave,” but “our dear fellow slave.” “Dear” is agapetos, a verbal adjective that means “beloved.” This description not only demonstrated Paul and Timothy’s love for this man, but also pointed to him as their approved and trusted representative, a fact expressed even more in the next description.
Second, Epaphras is described as “a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf.” “Faithful” is the Greek word pistos, which may be used in the active sense of “believing” or in the passive sense of “faithful, reliable.” The basic idea of Scripture is that the faithful person is a person who is also full of faith. That which makes a person faithful is his or her trust and faith in the Lord and His sovereignty, love, provision, and support. A man or woman of faith is faithful because he or she is resting in God’s sovereignty and knows their work is never fruitless (1 Cor. 15:58).
“Minister” is diakonos, “servant, attendant, helper.” It is used technically of the office of “deacon” and generally of some form of service for the sake of others. Other New Testament synonyms like doulos, “bondservant,” therapon, “a servant” who acts voluntarily, and huperetes, “servant, attendant,” by etymology suggesting subordination, all imply a relationship to a person while diakonos represents the servant in relation to his particular work.73 As seen previously, his work was that of training and building the Colossians in Christ (cf. 2:6-7), but in that work, he was first “a servant of Christ.” This means that he served under the authority of Christ and for His glory. As Wiersbe points out:
…we who disciple other believers must be careful not to get in the way. We are not to make disciples for ourselves, but for Jesus Christ. We must relate people to Him so that they love and obey Him. Epaphras faithfully taught his people and related them to Jesus Christ, but the false teachers came in and tried to “draw away disciples.” (For Paul’s warning about this problem, see Acts 20:28–30.) Human nature has the tendency to want to follow men instead of God—to want “something new” instead of the basic foundational truths of the Gospel.74
Also, Epaphras was “a servant of Christ on our (your) behalf.” “On our behalf” introduces us to a manuscript problem. Some later manuscripts read “on your behalf,” but the external evidence is somewhat superior for “on our behalf.” Both make good sense here and it is easy to see how copyists could have altered the text since “for us” and “for you” are so similar in the Greek text. It’s the difference between huper hemon (for us) and huper humon (for you). Scribes often confused the plurals of first and second personal pronouns, the e (h) and u (u). For a discussion of the issues, see the textual notes in the NET Bible on this verse. The context also seems to favor “on our behalf” since Paul is confirming the authenticity of the message and the messenger as his representative. Epaphras was acting on Paul’s behalf.
Paul has now given a third reason for thanksgiving. He first thanked God for the Colossians, for their faith, love and hope. He then thanked God for the gospel and its inherent power and fruitfulness. Now he thanks God for the faithful and trustworthy ministry of Epaphras. In this way, he gave further assurance concerning the source of their spiritual life as set against the deceptions of the false teachers and their teaching.
Finally, with “who also told us of your love in (or by) the Spirit,” Paul again called attention to the love of the Colossians, only now he linked it to the work of the Spirit. “In the Spirit” (en pneumati) is probably best understood as “love inspired or promoted by the Spirit.”75 Their love for one another was a work engendered by the Spirit (cf. Rom. 15:30). This would again highlight the effectiveness of the teaching and ministry of Epaphras for it was through him that they had learned about the Spirit-controlled walk (see also Gal. 5:23). Too often, Christian teachers fail to communicate the truths of the Christ- centered, Spirit-controlled life and as a result, they end up in a mode where they try to force, browbeat, and manipulate people into Christian behavior.
46 Verses 1-8 form one long complex sentence with “we always give thanks) being the main assertion of these eight verses. The NET Bible breaks this long sentence down into several sentences for easier reading.
47 Curtis Vaughn, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, gen. ed. Frank E. Gaebelein (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1976-1992), electronic media.
48 Herbert M. Carson, The Epistle of Paul to the Colossians and Philemon, An Introduction and Commentary (Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 1960), 29.
49 At least two reasons support this position: (1) this corresponds to the customary Pauline epistolary formulae (e.g., 1 Thess. 1:2; Phil. 1:3; Eph. 1:16); and (2) in NT Grk. an adv. generally follows the vb. it modifies (A Grammar of New Testament Greek, by J. H. Moulton, vol. III, Syntax, by N. Turner [Edinburgh: Clark, 1963], 227-228). See Murray J. Harris, Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament, Colossians & Philemon (William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, 1991), 15.
50 S. Lewis Johnson, “Studies in the Epistle to the Colossians, Part II,” Bibliotheca Sacra (Dallas Theological Seminary, vol. 118, #472), 338.
51 One would normally expect either eis or epi to express the object of faith.
52 Cf. C. F. D. Moule, An Idiom-Book of New Testament Greek (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1963), 81, and Peter T. O’Brien, Word Biblical Commentary, Colossians, Philemon, gen. ed., Glenn W. Barker, NT., ed., Ralph P. Martin (Word Books, Publisher, Waco, TX, vol. 44), 11.
53 C. F. D. Moule, “The Epistles of Paul to the Colossians and to Philemon” in The Cambridge Greek Testament Commentary (Cambridge: University Press, 1957), 57.
54 Carson, 31.
55 This is unlikely since the ground of thanksgiving is stated in the words, “since we heard.”
56 William Barclay, Daily Study Bible Series: The Letters to the Philippians, Colossians, and Thessalonians (Revised Edition), n.s. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2000, c. 1975), electronic media.
57 Colin Brown, general editor, The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1976), Volume 2, 107.
58 Colin Brown, 107.
59 “I proclaim good news” is euangelizomai, the middle voice of euangelizo.
60 Lutzer, 53.
61 For a couple of excellent books setting forth evidence in support of these biblical claims, see Christ Among Other gods by Erwin W. Lutzer, a Moody Press publication, and The Case For Christ by Lee Strobel, a Zondervan publication.
62 Johnson, 339.
63 Barclay, electronic media.
64 Barclay, electronic media.
65 “Bearing fruit (karpophoroumenon) and growing (auxanomenon)” are present participles. With the to be verb “is” (estin), this stresses continuos activity, but because of the temporal indicator that follows, this construction could be translated, “has been bearing fruit and growing.” See the translator’s note 11 in the NET Bible.
66 J. B. Lightfoot, Saint Paul’s Epistles to the Colossians and Philemon (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1879 reprint, 1961), 135.
67 Lightfoot, 135.
68 Charles R. Swindoll, The Grace Awakening, (Word Publishing, Dallas, London, Vancouver, Melbourne, 1990), 9.
69 Charles C. Ryrie, The Grace of God, (Moody, Chicago, 1963), 25-26.
70 Barclay, electronic media.
71 Walter Bauer, Wilbur F. Gingrich, and Frederick W. Danker, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1979), electronic media. Here after referenced as BAGD.
72 Peter T. O’Brien, Word Biblical Commentary, Colossians, Philemon, gen. ed., Glenn W. Barker, NT., ed., Ralph P. Martin (Word Books, Publisher, Waco, TX, vol. 44), 15.
73 G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh, 1973), 108.
74 Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Complete (Victor Books, Wheaton, Ill., 1986), 26.
75 The en plus pneumati, the dative case of pneuma, is best taken as a dative of means or instrument pointing to the means by which their love was produced.
I. Doctrinal: The Person and Work of Christ (1:1-23)
A. Introduction (1:1-14)
1. Paul’s Greeting to the Colossians (1:1-2)
2. Paul’s Thanksgiving for the Colossians (1:3-8)
3. Paul’s Prayer for the Colossians (1:9-14)
(a) The Cause of Paul’s Prayer (1:9a)
(a) The Content of Paul’s Prayer (1:9b-14)
(1) The Root and the Trunk—“filled with the knowledge of His will” (vs. 9b)
The apostle greeted the Colossians (1:1-2), gave thanks to God for their faith and love (1:3-8), and then followed with a specific prayer for their growth in the knowledge of God’s will (1:9-14). Many would be content with the fact the Colossians were demonstrating faith and love, but the apostle Paul prayed for further spiritual growth, because without it Christians will become stagnant and unproductive (cf. 2 Pet. 1:4-11). The same emphasis can be seen in Paul’s prayers in Ephesians and Philippians (cf. Eph. 1:15-23; 3:14-19; Phil. 1:9-11). The thrust of these prayers on spiritual growth and understanding should teach us that imbalances and foolish conflicts often exist in the Christian community over the issue of Bible study versus the expression of love. In some churches, the emphasis is on expressing love in meaningful relationships both within and without the body of Christ. In others, the emphasis may be on the corporate life of the body, or it may be on evangelism, teaching, or theology. One is often used against the others as though they were contrary to one another.
All of these responsibilities for the body of Christ are necessary, and should never be pitted against each other. They are allies and go together like a hand in a glove. The important principle is that they are not mutually exclusive. Instead, they are interwoven and related, much as cause and effect when properly and biblically understood. The opening verses of Colossians illustrate this beautifully. The apostle Paul felt able to commend the Colossians for their faith, love, and hope (1:4-5), but this was not sufficient. One’s walk with Christ is not a static relationship. As Christians, we can never sit still or rest on our laurels. People have a tendency to live out of their past or even their present experiences and to stick with what’s comfortable for them. Since no one ever arrives at ultimate spiritual maturity in this life, there is always room for spiritual growth.
If we are to continue to please the Lord, bear fruit in every good work and genuinely grow in Christ, it is necessary that we "be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.” Why is this true? First, because love and ministry without biblical insight and the knowledge of the truth will become only a soft and cheap imitation largely motivated by selfish concerns and desires. Because of this reality, Paul warned against simulated or hypocritical love (Rom. 12:9). And secondly, because without biblical insight and motivation, even genuine Christian love will grow dim and die. Acts of Christian love and service will be turned into drudgery and sour resignation, if they are present at all.
Without love and close relationships within the body of Christ, the knowledge we gain through in-depth study of the Bible will invariably become cold, critical, boring, and mere intellectualism. Knowledge without application is inept because it fails to grasp the meaning and purpose of knowing the Word. Bible study is never an end in itself, but it is an essential element in the life of the believer and one sorely neglected in the church today. As the apostle Paul warns, knowledge without discernment and Christ-like love becomes arrogant, literally, puffed up or inflated, and fails to fulfill the will of God (cf. Col. 2:18; 1 Cor. 8:1).76 If our knowledge of the Savior and our life in Him does not lead to the practice of genuine love, we are nothing (1 Cor. 13:2).
Therefore, in verses 9-14, the apostle moves from thanksgiving to a very specific petition that illustrates the practical outworking of having the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding. As Johnson points out,
Christians frequently ask, “How shall I pray, and for what shall I pray?” The Pauline prayers are reliable guides. They were brief and explicit, directed to the needs at hand. He did not “pray all around the world” before coming to the point. There is an amusing anecdote about Billy Nicholson, the famous Irish evangelist. In a large meeting he called upon a brother to pray who was noted for mentioning all the missionaries he knew in every one of his public prayers. “Brother So-and-So,” said Billy, “will you please lead us in prayer, but keep it in County Donegal!”77
Paul’s prayers are tremendously instructive and often stand as a rebuke to the way many Christians pray. These prayers are not only brief and explicit, but they are spiritually strategic in nature. They center on the great spiritual issues facing individual believers and the body of Christ as a whole. The Christian life is a spiritual warfare (Eph. 6:10-18), and our prayer life should illustrate this by the way we pray. In war or military combat, the objectives usually fall into three areas: the strategic (the primary and essential objectives), the tactical (the more immediate, less long range operations), and the logistic (distribution of supplies, men, and material, etc.). Today, the prayer life of many Christians centers primarily on logistics, on health and wealth issues. By contrast, Paul’s prayers focus mostly on the strategic and the tactical.
Finally, as the world is doing today, the heretics at Colossae were offering the church false knowledge and false solutions to the needs and problems of people. To counter the false knowledge of the heretics, Paul prays for a full and more penetrating knowledge of God's will. Two of the terms he uses in this section (vss. 9-14), “bearing fruit” and “growing,” suggest the figure of a tree to describe God's desire for them and for us as the church, the body of Christ. It calls to mind the words of Jer. 17:8 and Psalm 1:3 that portray the people of God as people of His Holy Word: "He is like a tree planted by flowing streams, it yields its fruit at the proper time…" (Ps. 1:3). When men and women regularly nourish their hearts with the perennial streams of God’s Word, they will become fruitful regardless of the circumstances of life (cf. Dan. 11:32).
1:9a For this reason we also, from the day we heard, have not ceased praying for you and asking God78 to fill you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
"For this reason we also" links verses 9-14 with the preceding section of thanksgiving, specifically (1) the report regarding their faith, love, and hope, and (2) the success of the gospel in their midst through the ministry of Epaphras, his faithful coworker and bondservant. Paul was grateful for what God had done in their lives, but because of the principle already discussed concerning spiritual growth, the apostle knew that their love would fizzle and die without continued growth in the truth of the Savior. Thus, we are introduced to Paul’s prayer for their further enrichment and growth in the knowledge of God's will.
"From the day we heard" brings out the sensitivity and quickness of the apostle to go to the throne of grace for the body of Christ. It shows us how Paul's life was engrossed in concern for others and for the glory of God, and how he believed in the all sufficiency of God. Prayer was never far from his heart and on his lips because God was his confidence and people were his concern.
"Have not ceased praying for you and asking" again draws our attention, as in verse 3, to the persistency of Paul's prayer life. Why do we see so little hunger for the Word and so few results in the lives of others? Surely, one reason is because we fail to pray and pray and pray.
"Praying" is the Greek proseuchomai. This word points to the general privilege of prayer and lays stress on prayer as an act of worship and devotion to God. It looks at prayer as an approach to God from a recognition of (1) one’s need and inadequacy and (2) of God's loving and all wise character and omnipotent ability or total sufficiency to meet those needs. The word “asking” is the Greek aiteo, which means "to ask, desire, or request." This is another word for prayer, a synonym, but it brings out the concept of the specific needs and desires that we bring before God in specific requests.
But a comparison of Psalm 37:4 with James 4:3 reminds us that if our prayer life is to be biblical and effective, our delight must be in the Lord and His purposes. Delighting in the Lord is what guides our desires and requests so they are in keeping with godly motives. God never intended prayer to become a blank check for selfishness. We must learn and seek to pray in the will of God according to His purpose and values. A beautiful Psalm that illustrates the principle is Psalm 40:16:
May all those who seek you be happy and rejoice in you! May those who love to experience your deliverance say continually, “May the Lord be praised!” (magnified, NASB, exalted, NIV) (Ps. 40:16)
1:9b to fill you with the knowldege of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.
The tree figure seen in the terms, “bearing fruit and growing,” reminds us of a very important principle in life, that of the root and the trunk. You simply can’t have fruit without the root to provide the life sustaining nourishment needed and a strong trunk to give stability so the fruit doesn’t lie in the dirt or the trunk doesn’t break off and cut off the supply of nourishment from the fruit. Ours is a day, however, when people want to by pass the root system and go directly to the fruit. Today, in many schools those in authority have abolished failing grades and care more about making certain the children feel good about themselves even if they cannot spell, read or, add and subtract. But these simple ABCs form the root and trunk. The real world out there won’t care about one’s self-image. Rather, the world of business expects its employees to be able to add, subtract, spell, read, and write so these employees can do the job they were hired for. Likewise, developing a healthy spiritual root system and a strong trunk are vital to fruitful Christian living.79
With the words “to fill you" in verse 9, we are introduced to the content and purpose of Paul’s prayer. Literally, the Greek text has, “that you may be filled.” The Greek text uses a hina clause with the subjunctive mood. This construction may express the content (substantival use of hina) or the design (the purpose-result use of hina) of Paul’s prayer. While this construction is probably best understood to point to the content (substantival use) of their prayer, surely Paul and his associates prayed this prayer because this was also the purpose or the result they sought from the Lord in the life of the Colossians. Essentially, Paul prayed for two things: (1) that his readers might have a full knowledge of the will of God and (2) that, as a result, they might live in manner worthy of the Lord, pleasing Him in every respect. Both requests, though distinctive, are intimately related and bound up one with the other as cause and effect. Verse 9 without verse 10 is incomplete and falls short of the will of God, but verse 10 without verse 9 is impossible.
This request forms the objective of the prayer, but essentially, it is also the root and foundation for all that follows. This request points us to the great need in every believer’s life and the means by which this need is met. It is important that the readers, and by application all believers, be filled with the knowledge of God’s will (the need), but not any means will accomplish this. We must never seek to fill this void through man’s fleshly wisdom or human imagination (cf. 2:2-3, 8, 18 and Rom. 1:18ff). Thus, with the words in (or by) all spiritual wisdom and understanding, the apostle points to the all-important means.
Through out this epistle, the apostle used biblical terms like knowledge, filled, spiritual, understanding, and wisdom. These terms also formed part of the vocabulary adopted by the false teachers, but what they meant by these terms was a far cry from sound doctrine or biblical truth. As Wiersbe points out, “Satan is so deceptive! He likes to borrow Christian vocabulary, but he does not use the Christian dictionary! Long before the false teachers had adopted these terms, the words had been in the Christian vocabulary.”80 In this epistle, the apostle often used the theme of “fullness” or “completeness” to combat the claims of the false teachers. This can be seen in the different, but similar terms used in 1:9, 19, 24, 25; 2:2, 3, 9, 10; 4:12, 17. “It seems that the false teachers boasted that they offered the fullness of truth and spiritual maturity, while Epaphras had only instructed the Colossians in the first steps (Beare, 156).”81
“To fill you…” may also be translated, “that you may be filled…” As previously mentioned, this clause does more than refer to the content or substance of what Paul and his team prayed for. It points also to the design and the reason for the prayer! The Colossians had been told that they needed more knowledge and deeper wisdom beyond what they had been taught regarding the person and work of Christ. Now Paul shows them they indeed needed more knowledge, but the true knowledge of God’s will by means of all spiritual wisdom and understanding.
Satan has all sorts of tricks he uses to distract and turn people away from the Word. He especially seeks to keep them an understanding of the sufficiency of salvation in Christ alone. "That you may be filled" represents the subjunctive mood in the Greek, which is the mood of potentiality. It points to that which is God’s designed potential for every believer, i.e., to be filled with the knowledge of His will, but not necessarily the reality. So, while this is the potential and God's design, it may not become a reality. Its reality can be hindered by all kinds of distractions like indifference, laziness, carnality, materialism, and wrong priorities. Or, it can be hindered by counterfeit ideas that seek to add to or subtract from the fullness of salvation as revealed in Christ. It is this that the Colossians were facing with the false teachers at Colossae. God wants all believers in Christ to have their roots deeply planted in His Word like a tree planted by flowing streams.
I grew up on a small cattle ranch in east Texas. Around our house were some towering oaks that spread their branches out providing shade and beauty to our home. Just behind these oaks was our garden where my mom raised vegetables like squash and cucumbers. Now it took years to produce those huge and enjoyable oaks that gave us shade and beauty year after year, but it only took a few weeks to produce a squash or cucumber. So, we might ask, “What kind of Christian do we want to be? Do we want to be like an oak or a squash?” Solid and strong spiritual growth requires time and a life that is perennially fed by the streams of God’s Word, the source for the knowledge of His will.
"Be filled" is full of meaning and significance. First, the tense is aorist, which looks at the effective culmination, the end product and the design of acquiring the knowledge of God's will. The idea is filled full and running over. No one ever reaches this goal, but should it not be our objective. Second, the heretics regularly used the word fullness. It was their claim that what they were offering as a substitute or addition to the gospel and to the believer's life in Christ would bring an added fullness of life. Don't believe it! The world and Satan are always making this claim, but it is a lie. Fullness of life only comes through an understanding of the fullness Christians automatically have in Christ as they continue to grow and relate their lives to Him through the Word (2:6-10). Third, the verb is the Greek pleroo, which may carry three key ideas, all of which may have application here though the first meaning listed below is primary:
“Knowledge” is the Greek epignosis, a compound form of gnosis, “knowledge.” A concordance study of this word in the New Testament reveals that it is used only of moral and spiritual knowledge (the knowledge of God and His truth), but there is considerable debate as to its precise meaning. Vaughn has a good summary of the issues in the debate:
…Armitage Robinson, for instance, concludes that the simple, uncompounded form (gnosis) [This is a quote. What do you do about the lack of omega?] is the wider word and denotes knowledge in “the fullest sense.” The compound form used here he takes to be “knowledge directed toward a particular object” (Epistle to the Ephesians, p. 254). Earlier scholars, on the other hand, are inclined to see epignosis as the larger and stronger word. Meyer, for example, defines it as “the knowledge which grasps and penetrates into the object” (p. 215). Lightfoot remarks that “it was used especially of the knowledge of God and of Christ as being the perfection of knowledge” (p. 138). The older interpreters who understand the word as denoting thorough knowledge, that is, a deep and accurate comprehension, are probably correct. Such knowledge of God’s will is the foundation of all Christian character and conduct.82
Whether epignosis refers to knowledge directed toward a specific area of knowledge like the knowledge of God and spiritual things or to a deeper understanding of the knowledge under consideration, it refers to a knowledge that impacts the life for positive spiritual change and blessing. In Paul’s prayer, the issue is not just knowledge, but the knowledge of God’s will. “Of his will” points us to the precise area of knowledge needed, but in context, what precisely does the apostle have in mind?
In general, the knowledge of God’s will concerns the whole counsel of God’s truth as it is found in the Bible (the source) regarding the person and work of Christ (the primary subject). As Revelation 19:10 points out, “Worship God, for the testimony about Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” The point is simple and clear. The purpose of prophecy, all prophecy, is essentially to bear testimony to Jesus Christ and to glorify Him. The prophetic Scripture, by its very design in the plan of God, is to unfold the beauty of the person and work of Jesus Christ. In both His first and second advents, He is God’s perfect solution to the evils of a fallen world. Thus, all Scripture ultimately points to the person and work of Christ in His preincarnate glory, His incarnation and ministry on earth, His death, resurrection, ascension, session, and imminent return. This was precisely the Lord’s point to the two disciples on the Emmaus road in Luke 24.
24:25 And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 24:26 Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?” 24:27 And beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures (Luke 24:25-27). (NASB)
In this context (vss. 9-14), the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding has as its focus the dynamic result that a proper understanding of the person and work of Christ should have on one’s spiritual walk. In this case, God’s will refers to the complete rule of faith and practice. It is a knowledge that should lead to Christ-like living in the many and varied situations of life. As verse 10 will show, properly understanding the will of God should yield fruit in a worthy walk that pleases the Lord in every respect. This passage is not primarily speaking about the vague impressions people may have about God’s will regarding those questions that concern where one should live or what car one should buy or what person one should marry. Instead, it refers primarily to the principles and promises of Scripture that point believers to the theological and moral will of God. It is this that forms the basis for making wise biblical choices. Such knowledge gives discernment and enables believers to make choices that will glorify God in all the questions and issues of life. In this prayer of Paul, the great object is to grow in the knowledge of God's will so that it leads to pleasing Him, not ourselves. Barclay is correct when he says,
…We are trying not so much to make God listen to us as to make ourselves listen to him; we are trying not to persuade God to do what we want, but to find out what he wants us to do. It so often happens that in prayer we are really saying, “Thy will be changed,” when we ought to be saying, “Thy will be done.” The first object of prayer is not so much to speak to God as to listen to him.83
The important question is how do we gain such knowledge, and how does it manifest itself? What form is it to take? This is answered for us in the next statement, "in (or ‘by’) all spiritual wisdom and understanding." Several things need to be considered here.
First, such knowledge is not the fruit of man’s wisdom or searching. It comes through the illumination of the Holy Spirit who imparts “wisdom and understanding” from the Scripture, God’s revealed will to man. Paul had just mentioned a “love by the Spirit” and now speaks of spiritual wisdom and understanding. “Spiritual” is the Greek adjective pneumatikos, which is emphatic in the Greek text.84 In the New Testament, this adjective most often means “actuated or controlled by the divine Spirit” or “pertaining to the divine Spirit” (pneuma)” whether of things or persons. Here in 1:9, it means a wisdom and understanding given by the Spirit.85 The false teachers also boasted of wisdom, but it was only a show of man’s wisdom (2:23). This is an empty wisdom that belongs to human philosophy and is even the product of the delusions of demonic spirits (cf. 2:8 with 1 Tim. 4:1). By contrast, believers need the wisdom and understanding that is found in the Scripture and is taught by the Holy Spirit, an important theme of the New Testament (cf. John 16:7-15; 1 Cor. 2:6-3:3; Eph. 1:17f; 3:16-19; 1 John 2:20, 27).
Second, what is meant by “wisdom and understanding”? "Wisdom" is the Greek sophia. Sophia refers to the basic, fundamental precepts, the facts and first principles of any subject. In this context, it refers to the basic principles and truths of the Word that every believer should know and live by. However, it is not just knowledge because it looks at a knowledge that makes one wise. And who is a wise person? He or she is one who has a holy reverence or awe for God. Reverence for God forms the beginning and essence of wisdom (Ps. 111:10; Prov. 1:7; 4:7; 9:10). But such reverence or wisdom comes from an understanding of God’s being—His divine essence or character, especially as God has manifested Himself in the person and work of Christ. “But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption” (1 Cor. 1:30) (NASB)
Biblical wisdom, then, is a knowledge that shows one how to live so that one’s life is meaningful and good, just and right, effective or fruitful regardless of what life might bring. How, then, can we define wisdom? Two definitions might be offered. First, biblical wisdom consists in choosing the best means to the best end. The effect of this wisdom "…is to make us more humble, more joyful, more godly, more quick sighted as to His will, more resolute in the doing of it and less troubled (not less sensitive, but less bewildered) than we were at the dark and painful things of which our life in this fallen world is full…"86 Second, "Wisdom is the God-given ability to see life with rare objectivity and to handle life with rare stability."87 But the knowledge of God as He is revealed in the Word is always the root of wisdom and its effects (cf. Ps. 119:97ff).
Interestingly, the text does not say "all wisdom and all understanding" as though they were two independent and unrelated things, but all wisdom and understanding because they are intimately tied together. When you think of wisdom, the book of the Bible that probably comes to your mind is the book of Proverbs. The first nine chapters of Proverbs give us a single sustained exhortation to seek this gift from God, but we should also notice that Solomon mentions these two together nearly half the time. In fourteen of some thirty-five references to wisdom, he includes understanding.
"Understanding" is the Greek word sunesis, which literally means, "a uniting, union, a bringing together." It looks at the faculty of putting two and two together. In sunesis you take wisdom (biblical truth) and apply it to the details of your life or to a specific problem or issue for critical discernment. Understanding is what allows one to see clearly to discern the good from the bad and the best over the good. Whereas "wisdom" (sophia) looks at the theoretical, the theological, or the various truths of Scripture, "understanding" (sunesis) looks at the practical, the application of wisdom.
The wise application of God’s truth is the reason for studying and living in the Word on a daily basis. Oh, that we might become burdened and hungry for God’s Word and that this might take root throughout the Christian community. God says in effect, "stay in My Word and I'll change your life." God places no value on ignorance. Ignorance is not bliss. To remain ignorant when you can know and learn is to play the fool (cf. Prov. 1:20-22 with 1:29f).
Third, the apostle prays that they might be filled with “all spiritual…” The word "all" (pas) may refer to everything that belongs in kind to the word with which it is used, i.e., every kind or category or area of wisdom.88 There are many spheres or categories of wisdom God's wants us to know and have, and this is undoubtedly involved here. But in this context with the term “filled,” perhaps the primary idea is "the highest degree, the maximum."89 This means the maximum knowledge of God's will in all its categories is the goal of the request. God wants us to have a maximum of wisdom and understanding. God does not want His people to remain spiritual babies or adolescents. Milk is fine for the babe for a while, but eventually, if the babe is to grow and become strong, he or she needs a solid meal of spiritual meat and potatoes (Heb. 5:11-6:1). God wants us to be continually growing in the knowledge and application of His will in all spheres of life (cf. 1 Cor. 14:20; 1 Pet. 2:2; 2 Pet. 3:18). As Wiersbe humorously points out:
Spiritual intelligence is the beginning of a successful, fruitful Christian life. God puts no premium on ignorance. I once heard a preacher say, “I didn’t never go to school. I’m just a igerant Christian, and I’m glad I is!” A man does not have to go to school to gain spiritual intelligence; but neither should he magnify his “igerance.”
Great men of God like Charles Spurgeon, G. Campbell Morgan, and H.A. Ironside never had the privilege of formal Bible training. But they were devoted students of the Word, learning its deeper truths through hours of study, meditation, and prayer. The first step toward fullness of life is spiritual intelligence—growing in the will of God by knowing the Word of God.90
As the next verse will stress, the knowledge of God in all spiritual wisdom and understanding enables us to walk in a worthy manner so we can please the Lord in every situation of life and bear fruit for Him. Perhaps an illustration will help. Kathie, my precious and faithful wife and co-laborer for the last forty-one years, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in June 99, just seventeen months ago. Her myeloma is the kind that also attacks the kidneys and she is now experiencing kidney failure. About twelve weeks ago, the doctors thought she had only four to six weeks to live, and though the Lord continues to give her one good day after another, we know that her time on this earth is short, barring, of course, a miraculous healing. We were devastated when she was diagnosed with this terrible disease and were faced with choices concerning how we will respond to the Lord and to this terrible disease. Would we get angry with God, question His love and wisdom? After all, she is not even sixty years old and a vibrant and contributing member of her family, her church, her friends, and of the BSF staff.
As Bible believing Christians, we have continually cast this burden on the Savior and have sought to trust and honor Him throughout this entire ordeal. Because of the principles and promises of Scripture and what it teaches us about God and the Savior’s love (God’s wisdom to us), we know that the Lord could have healed her instantaneously anywhere along this road and still could. We know that with God nothing is impossible (Gen. 19:14; Matt. 19:26; Mark 14:36; Luke 1:37), but we also know from Scripture that healing her might not be His will or what is best according to His infinite wisdom and eternal plan. Naturally, my heart is breaking over the thought of losing her and I, along with many others, pray daily for her healing if that can be His will and will glorify Him the most. While the hurt is deep and the tears have been many, our biblical responsibility (the knowledge of God’s will) is to humble ourselves under His might hand, to desire His glory and honor, and to rest in His loving care and perfect wisdom (1 Pet. 5:6-7) (biblical understanding or wisdom applied). Again our need is to remember Psalm 40:16:
May all those who seek you be happy and rejoice in you! May those who love to experience your deliverance say continually, “May the Lord be praised!” (magnified, NASB, exalted, NIV).
We also know she, as all believers in Christ, has an eternal home and a hope laid up for her in the heavens with the Lord where there is joy unspeakable and glory beyond our imagination. In knowing and resting in these and other truths of the Bible, we know that there are things going on behind the scenes of human history that are beyond our comprehension. This is one of the great lessons in the book of Job as is so evident in Job 1-2. And it is interesting and significant that, when Job had become a bit demanding with God, God never told Job about the angelic conflict going on behind the scenes. He simply reminded Job of Who He is as the sovereign and infinitely wise creator of the universe (see Job 38-41).
Job learned much from this encounter with God and responded:
42:1 Then Job answered the Lord:
42:2 “I know that you can do all things;
no purpose of yours can be thwarted;
42:3 you asked,
‘Who is this who darkens counsel
without knowledge?’
But I have declared without understanding
things too wonderful for me to know.
42:4 You said,
‘Pay attention, and I will speak;
I will question you, and you will answer me.’
42:5 I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,
but now my eye has seen you.
42:6 Therefore I despise myself,
and I repent in dust and ashes!
When Job said, “but now my eye has seen you” (vs. 5), he was not necessarily saying that he had had a vision. He was simply saying that this experience with God was real and personal. In the past, his knowledge of God was what he had heard. Now, through the suffering he had endured and through this encounter with the Almighty, he had grown in his knowledge and understanding of God.
Thus, greater glory can accrue to God through our suffering when Christians simply rest in God and His infinite wisdom and mercy in spite of their own pain or loss. Kathie has shared her experience and testimony in various e-mail messages to a number of people around the world. These have touched the lives of Christians and non-Christians alike. We know of two people in India who, being fearful of dying, wanted to know more when they heard of Kathie’s peace in the face of death. For those interested, she has shared her faith and thoughts in a document on our web site called, “Calm Amidst the Storm.” This entire experience has already been used of the Lord in many lives in ways far beyond our comprehension.
76 The verb used in each of these passages is phusioo, “to puff up, to blow up like a billows.” It is found mostly in Christian literature (BAGD) and is used metaphorically for the idea of becoming arrogant, conceited, proud.
77 S. Lewis Johnson, "Studies in the Epistle to the Colossians, Part I," Bibliotheca Sacra (Dallas Theological Seminary, vol. 118, #472, Oct. 61), 340.
78 “The term “God” does not appear in the Greek text, but the following reference to “his knowledge” makes it clear that “God” is in view as the object of the “praying and asking,” and should therefore be included in the English translation for clarity.” (Translator’s Note from the NET Bible)
79 For a series of studies devoted to the ABCs of the Christian life, see the author’s study, The ABCs for Christian Growth, Laying the Foundation on our web site, www.bible.org.
80 Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Complete (Victor Books, Wheaton, Ill., 1986), Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Complete (Victor Books, Wheaton, Ill., 1986), 32-33.
81 Peter T. O'Brien, Word Biblical Commentary, Colossians, Philemon, gen. ed., Glenn W. Barker, NT., ed., Ralph P. Martin (Word Books, Publisher, Waco, TX, vol. 44), 20.
82 Curtis Vaughn, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, gen. ed. Frank E. Gaebelein (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1976-1992), electronic media.
83 William Barclay, Daily Study Bible Series: The Letters to the Philippians, Colossians, and Thessalonians (Revised Edition), ns (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2000, c1975), electronic media.
84 Pneumatikos modifies both “wisdom and understanding.” It follows the second noun because it is emphatic, but it logically applies to both.
85 Walter Bauer, Wilbur F. Gingrich, and Frederick W. Danker, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1979), electronic media. Here after referenced as BAGD.
86 J. I. Packer, Knowing God (InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, 1973), 97.
87 Charles R. Swindoll, Living on the Ragged Edge (Word Books, Waco, 1985), 208.
88 BAGD, electronic media
89 BAGD, electronic media.
90 Wiersbe, 35.
I. Doctrinal: The Person and Work of Christ (1:1-23)
A. Introduction (1:1-14)
1. Paul’s Greeting to the Colossians (1:1-2)
2. Paul’s Thanksgiving for the Colossians (1:3-8)
3. Paul’s Prayer for the Colossians (1:9-14)
a. The Cause of Paul’s Prayer (1:9a)
b. The Content of Paul’s Prayer (1:9b-14)
(1) The Root and the Trunk—“filled with the knowledge of His will” (vs. 9b)
(2) The Branches—a worthy walk that pleases Him (1:10a)
Following the prayer of thanksgiving (vss. 3-8), the apostle adds a fervent prayer of petition (vss. 9-14) consisting of the cause of the prayer (vs. 9a), its content, and purpose (vss. 9b-14). As mentioned, some of the terms used in these verses suggest the figure of a fruitful tree that has been planted by the refreshing streams of God’s Holy Word. In that regard, there is first the root and the trunk (vs. 9b)—the source and means of fruitfulness. After this come the branches or the Christian’s walk that extends to all areas of life (vs. 10a). This lesson, then, will cover The Branches—a worthy walk that pleases Him (vs. 10a). Lesson 6 will cover the products of a worthy walk, The Fruit—four areas of fruitfulness (vss. 10b-14).
Even a casual look at our society makes it evident that ours is a society that judges success or character by how much a person does, by how active he is, by how many hours he works, or by how much he accomplishes. In this passage, as in his other epistles, the apostle lays great stress on good works and service (cf. Eph. 2:10; 1 Tim. 6:18; Tit. 1:16; 3:1, 8) because our works are important to God and the purpose He has for us in society. But in this emphasis on works or good deeds, the apostle always represents them as an outgrowth of a right relationship with God through personal fellowship with the Lord Jesus. In Paul’s theology, works are never the root; they are the fruit, not just of a saved condition, but the product of spiritual growth and fellowship.
In contrast to Paul and because of man’s tendency to lean on his own resources, many in the Christian community often seek to motivate people to service and good works in ways that contradict the root/fruit principle. They seek to motivate by rah, rah techniques, by entertainment, by promotional campaigns, by playing on the emotions of people, or by seeking to make people feel guilty. Why do we tend to do this? Because we are often unwilling to wait on the Lord and His timing and methods; we are also prone to lean on the arm of the flesh, to measure success by numbers, by budgets, and by activity. We have become a quick fix-it-populace, a gadget society full of fast food junkies and instant tea crazies. We go looking for overnight panaceas, miracle cures or elixirs, but we are reluctant (1) to stop and spend time alone with God to develop our trust and walk with Him in the light of His Word and (2) to help others do likewise.
We are a society that worships at the feet of a god called activism. Activism comes from a misplaced sense of responsibility and trust. Ours is a world that has lost its sense of responsibility and trust in the Lord, placing it instead in what we do, in what we have accomplished, and in how busy we are. These values have become the measure of success, and it indicates a wrong focus, one on doing rather than on being.
Ultimately, we must learn that it is not we who work for God; it is God who works in us (Phil. 2:12,13). Christian service is designed to be the result of intimate fellowship with God, which in turn promotes devotion to God. The work we do is to be the result of the life we live. We need to avoid not only the extremes of impractical mysticism, but also those of fleshly enthusiasm. The opposite of activism is not passivism, it is biblical understanding and faith that produces godly devotion and godly service.
Let me suggest a modern parable:
In our plastic and cardboard society, you rarely see this anymore, but in days past manufacturers built meticulous wooden boxes to ship certain products. I can remember three such boxes—boxes for dynamite, shotgun shells, and books. These boxes were often better made than a lot of furniture you buy today. They were carefully constructed with mortised dovetail corners. I still have such a box. The point is, they were designed to be filled and fitted with specific contents. Where such boxes still exist today, as in my garage, they are filled with an assortment of odds and ends. With the original contents removed, their emptiness becomes a catchall for our junk.
These boxes form a parable of the Christian life. In Ephesians 4:17, Paul speaks of those who walk “in the futility of their minds” (NASB). God designed our minds to be filled with the knowledge of His will, but if they are empty of that knowledge, they can become quickly filled with junk. I like to think of this as the vacuum action of the soul. A vacuum may be defined as a depressurized space that draws whatever substance is around it into the void. The human mind is just such a vacuum, a space within us that becomes a junk box filled with whatever is near.
As regenerated people, those designed to be filled with the knowledge of God and the power of His life, we too often haphazardly fill our lives with the trivia and junk of the world. Then, as a result, we find ourselves either failing to serve the Lord at all or feverishly acting in the energy of the flesh in an attempt to do the work of God.
Through his prayer in Colossians 1:9, Paul has charged us to be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding. To be so filled is in essence to be filled with God Himself and to begin to experience His fullness—His character, peace, comfort, power, and purpose (cf. Eph. 3:19). In this regard, 2 Corinthians 4:6-7 teaches us an important truth.
4:6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” is the one who shined in our hearts to give us the light of the glorious knowledge of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 4:7 But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that the extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us.
According to this passage, what are we? We are clay vessels that God has designed to be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the person and work of Christ. But when this occurs in us, it will result in transformed lives, lives that manifest the power of God in Christ-like living. Thus, in Colossians 1:10-14, Paul points us to the kind of fruitful life that is the designed end of a being filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.
God must make the worker before He can do the work. God spent thirteen years preparing Joseph for his ministry in Egypt, and eighty years preparing Moses to lead Israel. Jesus spent three years teaching His disciples how to bear fruit; and even the learned Apostle Paul needed a “postgraduate course” in Arabia before he could serve God with effectiveness. A newborn babe can cry and make its presence known, but it cannot work. A new Christian can witness for Christ and even win others—but he must be taught to walk and learn God’s wisdom before he is placed in an office of responsible ministry.91
So that you may live (or "walk") worthily of the Lord and please (or "with a view to pleasing") him in all respects:
With these words, the apostle directs us to the intended result of being filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding. “So that you may live” is an infinitive in the Greek text, which may point to either the purpose or result. Though it is often difficult to discern purpose from result, it would seem logical that the infinitive points to the intended result of knowing God’s will. That this clause points to the intended result stresses a vital truth—without the knowledge of God’s will it is impossible to walk worthily of the Lord. The intended result of God’s truth known and applied is changed conduct.
The false teachers in Colossae attracted people through their offer of “spiritual knowledge,” but they did not relate this knowledge to life. In the Christian life, knowledge and obedience go together. There is no separation between learning and living. The wisdom about which Paul prayed was not simply a head knowledge of deep spiritual truths (see Col. 1:28; 2:3; 3:16; 4:5). True spiritual wisdom must affect the daily life. Wisdom and practical intelligence must go together (see Ex. 31:3; Deut. 4:6; 1 Cor. 1:19).92
We must not think, however, that all the false teachers necessarily divorced religious knowledge from life or ethical living. The fundamental problem is that they sought ethical change apart from Christ as the source (means) and goal (design) of spiritual change. The same thing applies today to all the religions of the world and, sad to say, very often in some that name the name of Christ. In other words, spiritual change or moral behavior is sought through asceticism (some form of self-denial), by various forms of legalism (doing good in order to get God’s blessing), or by some other means of human ingenuity or works.
“May live” is the Greek verb peripateo, “to walk, live, conduct one’s life.” It literally means “to walk about or around.” In English, we have a seldom-used adjective, peripatetic, that is derived from this Greek word. It means, “to walk about or from place to place; to be traveling on foot.” The English noun, peripatetics, refers to the philosophy or teaching methods of Aristotle, who conducted discussions while walking about in the Lyceum of ancient Athens. While peripateo is used in the New Testament of one’s literal walk, it is often used metaphorically “of one’s behavior, conduct, of the way one lives” (Rom. 6:4; 8:4; 13:13; 1 Cor. 3:3; Eph. 2:2, 10; 4:1; Col. 1:10; 2:6; 1 Pet. 5:8; 1 John 1:6, 7). Here in Colossians 1:10, the tense of the verb is aorist. This is what grammarians call the constative aorist. As a constative, it envisions the whole of one’s walk or conduct. Thus, the ultimate aim of being filled with the knowledge of God’s will is to influence all of one’s conduct day after day. This will be stressed more in the following phrase, “in all aspects of life.”
“Worthily of the Lord” is the adverb axios, which means “worthily, in a manner worthy of, suitably.”93 Paul is not saying that we can become worthy of God’s love and grace by our good works or manner of life. No matter how hard we might try, we can never walk in a manner that makes us worthy of the Lord’s love or salvation. To walk in a manner worthy of the Lord means to walk in a way that is commensurate, fitting, and consistent with who the Lord is to us and what the Lord has done, is doing, and will do for us. The idea is something like, let your walk be the kind that brings credit to the grace of God in Christ. For instance, Paul illustrates the principle in his admonition to slaves in Titus 2:9-10. There he writes, “Slaves are to be subject to their own masters in everything, to do what is wanted and not talk back, not to pilfer, but showing all good faith, in order to do credit to the teaching of God our Savior in everything.” “To do credit” is literally “to adorn” or “show the beauty of.”
“And please Him in all respects” describes the goal of walking worthily of the Lord and what that looks like. It means to walk with a view to pleasing Him in all respects. This clause is introduced with the preposition eis, which points us to the goal in mind. The preposition eis indicates motion or direction toward or into something. From this, it naturally came to be used figuratively to point to a goal or purpose. Thus, we are to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord with a view to pleasing Him. The pronoun “Him” is not in the Greek, but is certainly to be understood. As we seek to live the Christian life by His matchless grace, it is tremendously important to keep in mind the all-important goal of pleasing the Lord and bringing honor to Him. It is so easy to lose our way here no matter how devoted one is to spiritual things. I recently read a definition of a fanatic that is fitting in this regard. “‘A fanatic is a person who, having lost sight of his goal, redoubles his effort to get there.’ The fanatic runs around frantically getting nowhere. He is a basketball player without a basket, a tennis player with out a net, a golfer without a green.”94 People often want to know how to be more spiritual or more pious, but the underlying goal ought to be to know God more intimately and to please Him. The reason? Simply because it’s possible to be very spiritual and religious, at least on the surface, without being devoted to pleasing God, and especially according to the principles of His Word. The Pharisees were very religious and appeared to very spiritual, but for most of them, it was only external and they failed miserably. More will be said on this in the conclusion of this lesson.
"To please" is the Greek noun areskeia, which is found only here in the New Testament. Nevertheless, it comes from the verb aresko, which Paul uses fourteen times in his writings. An important point to note about this word is that aresko describes an attitude that is the driving force behind one’s actions whether a false or proper attitude. Biblically speaking, a false attitude is seen in one who seeks to please only himself, or in one who acts only as a people-pleaser at the sacrifice of principle or service done in obedience to God (cf. Col. 3:22; Eph. 6:6). For this latter concept, Paul uses anthropareskos, “man-pleaser.” Paul also uses euarestos, “well-pleasing, acceptable,” but always of what is pleasing or acceptable to God. This is true even in Titus 2:9 where it is used of pleasing one’s master, but even there the ultimate goal is a life that does credit to the teaching of God our Savior in everything (Tit. 2:9-10).
“In all respects” focuses us on the all-encompassing nature of pleasing the Lord. As in verse 9, “all” is the adjective pas, meaning “all, every.” When used with a singular noun without the article as here, it may carry the idea of “every type or sphere of pleasing.” Through learning the will of God in the Bible, we are to anticipate and follow completely His wishes in every sphere and aspect of life. “In all respects” or “unto every kind of pleasing” points the to various spheres of one’s life—spiritual, mental, emotional—and all the various areas of one’s activities—family, church or the corporate life of the body of Christ, occupation or employment, recreation, entertainment, hobbies, government—wherever life may take us. Our tendency is to compartmentalize our behavior in such a way that we let God invade and take charge of some areas, but try to keep Him out of others. This kind of thinking displeases the Lord and fails to honor Him as God. Thus, later in this epistle (3:5-4:1 and cf. Eph. 5:22- 6:9), the apostle directs us to the kind of behavior that pleases and displeases the Lord in society as a whole, in the church, in the home, and at one’s place of business. It is for this reason, that God has placed the Holy Spirit within us, to enable us not only to please the Lord, but also to open up every room of our spiritual house to the Lord Jesus so He has access to every sphere of our lives. Paul certainly had this in view when he wrote, “I pray that according to the wealth of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith… (Eph. 3:16-17). In this verse, “dwell” is the Greek, katoikeo, “to dwell, reside, inhabit,” but the idea is that of “being at home.” When one is truly at home, he has access to every room of the house.
For instance, have you noticed how easy it is to love some people, especially those with whom you have a lot in common, but oh, so difficult to love others because of certain personality difference or because some they are just difficult to deal with, much less love. In such cases, we may be tempted to make excuses for avoiding these people or for failing to demonstrate Christ-like love. We rationalize with excuses and refuse to allow the Lord into that area of our life. I remember hearing a young pastor when giving his reasons for getting out of the ministry. He said “I really love the ministry; it’s people that I can’t stand.” Even a casual reading of the New Testament should lead us to the clear conclusion that being people-oriented with a caring heart is what pleases the Lord. Of course, a caring heart must express itself in ways that honor God’s truth, and this may at times require discipline or tough love, but regardless, it must be done in a way that demonstrates love. In 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15, Paul urges tough love on those who refuse to work, but at the end of that section he added, “But if anyone does not obey our message through this letter, take note of him and do not associate closely with him, so that he may be ashamed. Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother” (2 Thess. 3:14-15).
The apostle speaks of living with the aim of pleasing the Lord in every respect to describe the Christ-like mentality that should be the guiding and controlling force in every Christian’s life. Pleasing the Lord stands opposed to the worldly mindset that primarily seeks to please oneself or that seeks to please others but for the wrong reasons. So, where does a life devoted to pleasing the Lord begin? It must naturally begin with the logical and spiritual service of presenting one’s life to God as a living sacrifice.
Rom. 12:1-2 Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice—alive, holy, and pleasing (euarestos) to God—which is your reasonable service. 12:2 Do not be conformed to this present world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve what is the will of God—what is good and well-pleasing (euarestos) and perfect.
As the previous context and the “therefore” of Romans 12:1 teaches, the exhortation of Romans 12:1-2 is based on an intelligent understanding of who God is and all that He has done for us in Christ as described in the chapters preceding Romans 12 (cf. Rom. 3:21–11:36). Understanding the truth of these chapters forms the proper foundation for a life that is pleasing or acceptable (euarestos) to God.
Paul’s threefold use of aresko in Romans 15:1-3 summarily describes what is involved in a life that seeks to please the Lord.
Rom. 15:1-3 But we who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak, and not just please ourselves. 15:2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good to build him up. 15:3 For even Christ did not please himself, but just as it is written, “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.”
When seeking to please others, there is a twofold attitude that should control the Christian’s behavior. First, there must be the desire to please God and not men (Gal. 1:10; Eph. 6:6; Col. 3:22; 1 Thess. 2:4). As seen, this is naturally based on who God is and what He has done for us in Christ. Christians have been bought with a price and now belong to God (cf. Eph. 6:6; 1 Cor. 7:22-23). Second, in pleasing people, we are to be guided by what is best for them in the light of the will of God. If not, we would be serving others (mere people pleasers) for selfish reasons rather than serving God who examines our hearts and motives (cf. Rom. 15:2; 1 Cor. 10:33; Gal. 1:10b).
Naturally, since God is a God of love, pleasing the Lord extends to ministry to people in accordance with the gifts God gives us. Thus, Romans 12:1-2 is followed with the exhortation to take the gifts God has given us and to use them in ministry to the body of Christ and to serve society as a whole (Rom. 12:3-15:13).
Pleasing the Lord should be the great ambition of every believer’s heart for another reason. Since the Judgment Seat of Christ immediately follows the return of the Lord, Christ’s return is one of the great motivations for pleasing the Lord. The Judgment Seat of Christ is the time and place where all believers will be evaluated for the things done in this life and where they will receive or lose rewards based on their faithfulness to the Lord who examines our hearts.
2 Cor. 5:9-10 So then whether we are alive or away, we make it our ambition to please him. 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be paid back according to what he has done while in the body, whether good or evil.
1 Thess. 2:4 but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we declare it, not to please people but God, who examines our hearts.
Pleasing the Lord is not only to be the great ambition of every believer, but something at which we should each seek to excel. The goal is not to be accepted into heaven, which is free through faith in Christ, but we are to excel because we love the Lord, want to honor Him, and because He has promised rewards for faithful service. The following verse, which stresses this, is also stated in a context that anticipates the return of the Lord for the church.
1 Thess. 4:1 Finally then, brothers and sisters, we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received instruction from us about how you must live and please God (as you are in fact living) that you do so more and more (i.e., that you excel still more and more).
But let us not lose sight of the truth that one’s ability to please the Lord is ultimately the result of His work in us as the Great Shepherd who is continually at work to equip us for every good work.
Heb. 13:20-21 Now may the God of peace who by the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep, our Lord Jesus Christ, 13:21 equip you with every good thing to do his will, working in you what is pleasing before him through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever.
Through the Good Shepherd’s equipping ministry (the indwelling Holy Spirit, the Scripture, and the ministry of the body of Christ [cf. Eph. 4:12ff]), pleasing the Lord, which means doing His will, involves discovering and doing what pleases the Lord.
Eph. 5:8-10 for you were at one time darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of the light—5:9 for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth—5:10 trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.
1 Thess. 4:1 …that as you received instruction from us about how you must live and please God…
As mentioned, pleasing the Lord rather than men must be the motive for all ministry, for marriage, and everything we do. If we seek to please people for selfish reasons, it will ruin our capacity to follow the Lord, take a stand for truth or principle, love others unselfishly, and to be and function as servants of God.
1 Thess. 2:4-6 but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we declare it, not to please people but God, who examines our hearts. 2:5 For we never appeared with flattering speech, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is our witness—2:6 nor to seek glory from people, either from you or from others,
Those who are in the flesh and who do not know God (unbelievers) or those who are walking by the flesh (carnal believers) are incapable of pleasing God. Only when Christians are Spirit filled (controlled) and Word filled do they have the spiritual capacity to please God (cf. Eph. 5:18ff; Col. 3:16ff).
Rom. 8:8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
Heb. 11:6 Now without faith it is impossible to please him, for the one who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
When we fail to please the Lord in our relationships with people, we ultimately act against them, at least from God’s perspective. The only way to truly meet the needs of people is by first seeking to please the Lord and by putting His agenda first. Because of its inherent selfishness, the sinful nature or the flesh is a constant threat and antagonist to ministering to others because, whereas the filling of the Spirit provides the enablement by which we are able to please Him. Thus, we are warned against entanglements with the world and its goals because these things will hinder our capacity to please the Lord as His servants and stewards of His grace among people.
1 Thess. 2:14-15 For you became imitators, brothers and sisters, of God’s churches in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, because you too suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they in fact did from the Jews, 2:15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets and persecuted us severely. They are displeasing to God and are opposed to all people.
Rom. 14:17-18 For the kingdom of God does not consist of food and drink, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. 14:18 For the one who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by people.
1Cor. 10:33-11:1 just as I also try to please everyone in all things. I do not seek my own benefit, but that of many, so that they may be saved. 11:1 Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.
Gal. 5:17-18 For the flesh has desires that are opposed to the Spirit, and the Spirit has desires that are opposed to the flesh, for these are in opposition to each other, so that you cannot do what you want. 5:18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
2 Tim. 2:4 No one in military service gets entangled in matters of everyday life; otherwise he will not please the one who recruited him.
Though now nearly two decades old, in his book, Loving God, Chuck Colson hits the nail on the head as he describes the self-seeking condition of Western society:
Popular literature rides the wave with best-selling titles that guarantee success with everything from making money to firming flabby thighs. This not-so-magnificent obsession to "find ourselves" has spawned a whole set of counterfeit values; we worship fame, success, materialism, and celebrity. We want to "live for success" as we "look out for number one," and we don't mind "winning through intimidation."
However, this "self” conscious world is in desperate straits. Each new promise leads only to a frustrating paradox. The 1970s self-fulfillment fads led to self-absorption and isolation, rather than the fuller, liberated lives they predicted. The technology created to lead humanity to this new promised land may instead obliterate us and our planet in a giant mushroom cloud. Three decades of seemingly limitless affluence have succeeded only in sucking our culture dry, leaving it spiritually empty and economically weakened. Our world is filled with self-absorbed, frightened, hollow people…
And in the midst of all this we have the church—those who follow Christ. For the church, this ought to be an hour of opportunity. The church alone can provide a moral vision to a wandering people; the church alone can step into the vacuum and demonstrate that there is a sovereign, living God who is the source of Truth.
BUT, the church is in almost as much trouble as the culture, for the church has bought into the same value system: fame, success, materialism, and celebrity. We watch the leading churches and the leading Christians for our cues. We want to emulate the best-known preachers with the biggest sanctuaries and the grandest edifices.
Preoccupation with these values has also perverted the church's message. The assistant to one renowned media pastor, when asked the key to his man's success, replied without hesitation, "We give the people what they want." This heresy is at the root of the most dangerous message preached today: the what's-in-it-for me gospel.95 (emphasis mine)
Though I know there are plenty within the church of Jesus of Christ that are appalled at the statement, “we give the people what they want,” it is nevertheless a sad commentary on a people who ought to be committed to pleasing God and giving people what God wants instead. The danger is one of two extremes. As God’s people, we are either devoted to pleasing ourselves like the world in which we live, or we tend to make pleasing God complicated with legalism and the rules of man. The prophet Micah, using the time-honored method of asking key questions and playing the role of an inquisitive worshiper, calls our attention to what is vital in pleasing the Lord:
Micah 6:6 With what should I enter the Lord’s presence? With what should I bow before the sovereign God? Should I enter his presence with burnt offerings, with year-old calves? 6:7 Will the Lord accept a thousand rams, or ten thousand streams of olive oil? Should I give him my firstborn child as payment for my rebellion, my own flesh and blood descendant for my sin?
In verse 8, Micah blots out all the complicated things listed in verses 6-7, and replaces it with the most simple and obvious things that please the Lord. These are the kind of things that should be practiced by those who know God through the merit of the Savior and serve Him in simple faith.
Micah 6:8 He has told you, O man, what is proper, and what the Lord really wants from you: He wants you to promote justice, to be faithful, and to live obediently before your God.
Like Micah, the Lord Jesus also pointed to the kind of practice that pleases God and gave the following serious warning: “Be careful about not living righteously merely to be seen by people. Otherwise, you have no reward with your Father in heaven” (Matt. 6:1). Why did he begin with “beware.” Was there some danger confronting the people? Does this danger still face us today? Absolutely!
…A humble, uncomplicated walk with God had been replaced by a prime-time performance of religion. it was righteousness on display… strut-your-stuff spirituality led by none other than the scribes and Phariseees who loved nothing more than to impress the public with their grandiose expression of piety on parade.
Remember the Nazarene’s earlier remark about righteousness?
For I say to you, that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:20).96
Similarly, in Colossians, the apostle Paul warns us against the danger of complicating and distorting the gospel message and our worship with man’s additions and traditions.
Col. 2:16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you with respect to food or drink, or in the matter of a feast, new moon, or Sabbath days 2:17 that are only the shadow of the things to come, but the reality is Christ. 2:18 Let no one who delights in humility and the worship of angels pass judgment on you. That person goes on at great lengths about what he has supposedly seen, but he is puffed up with empty notions by his fleshly mind. 2:19 He has not held fast to the head from whom the whole body, supported and knit together through its ligaments and sinews, grows with a growth that is from God.
Col 2:20 If you have died with Christ to the elemental spirits of the world, why do you submit to them as though you lived in the world? 2:21 “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!” 2:22 These are all destined to perish with use, founded as they are on human commands and teachings. 2:23 They have the appearance of wisdom with their self-imposed worship and false humility, by an unsparing treatment of the body, but they are thoroughly useless when it comes to restraining the indulgences of the flesh (Col. 2:16-2:23).
In the verses that follow (10b-14), the apostle will point us to some simple illustrations of what is involved in pleasing the Lord. There is nothing complicated about what follows as Paul describes four areas of fruitfulness where we should be pleasing the Lord. But we are so prone to complicating the Christian life in one way or another, and I doubt that we ever please the Lord when we do. Swindoll’s comments about simple worship and keeping things simple has application here. He writes:
The same applies to my idea of genuine worship: Keep it simple. I much prefer quiet, reflective times in the Lord’s presence to giant meetings led by professionals who know how to work the crowd and keep the show looking good. Give me a few grand hymns mixed with several choruses of worship and spontaneous moments of silence rather than all the religious hoopla where “guest artists” take turns and crowd-pleasing singing groups share color-coordinated microphones and try to get everybody to smile and clap along with the beat. No thanks. Something within me recoils when I sense that the program is choreographed right down to the last ten secondsand I am an observer of a performance instead of a participant in worship. Don’t misunderstand: I have no problem with great entertainment of professional performances. Nobody screams louder than I do at a ball game or applauds with greater enthusiasm following an evening at the symphony, but when something as meaningful and beautiful as worship gets slick or bears the marks of a complicated stage show or starts to look contrived, I start checking out the closest exits.97
91 Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Complete (Victor Books, Wheaton, Ill., 1986), 37.
92 Wiersbe, 36.
93 BAGD, electronic media.
94 R. C. Sproul, Pleasing God (Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton, 1988), 29.
95 Charles W. Colson, Loving God (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Mich., 1983), 13-14.
96 Charles R. Swindoll, Simple Faith (Word Publishing, Dallas-London-Vancouver-Melbourne, 1991), 121.
97 Swindoll, 117-118.
I. Doctrinal: The Person and Work of Christ (1:1-23)
A. Introduction (1:1-14)
1. Paul’s Greeting to the Colossians (1:1-2)
2. Paul’s Thanksgiving for the Colossians (1:3-8)
3. Paul’s Prayer for the Colossians (1:9-14)
a. The Cause of Paul’s Prayer (1:9a)
b. The Content of Paul’s Prayer (1:9b-14)
(1) The Root and the Trunk—“filled with the knowledge of His will” (vs. 9b)
(2) The Branches—a worthy walk (1:10a)
(3) The Fruit—four areas of fruitfulness (1:10b-14)
1:10b bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God, 1:11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for the display of all patience and steadfastness, with joy 1:12 giving thanks to the Father… (emphasis mine)
Verse 10a and the previous lesson pointed us to the intended result of being filled with the knowledge of God’s will, namely, to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord in order to please Him in every area of one’s life. As seen in the previous study, this does not mean to walk so that one becomes worthy of the Lord or His salvation, but to walk in a manner that is consistent with and conforms to what God has done for us in Christ. Now, with 1:10b-12, the apostle describes four directions a worthy walk that pleases the Lord will take. Certainly, there are other Christ-like qualities every Christian should manifest, but these four illustrate the kind of character that should be found in a Spirit filled, Word filled Christian. In the Greek text, four participles describe the result of walking in a manner worthy of the Lord to please Him in all respects; these participles define the walk that pleases God and each is modified by a prepositional phrase. The four participles are seen in the following English translation:
1. Bearing fruit in every good deed,
2. Growing in (or by) the knowledge of God,
3. Being strengthened with all power, and
4. Giving thanks to the Father.
All the participles are in the continuous present tense and describe what should be the pattern of life for those who walk in a manner that pleases the Lord.
The tree metaphor with its picture of spiritual growth and fruitfulness again becomes prominent by the same terms the apostle used in 1:6 (“bearing fruit and growing”). Fruitfulness is a frequent topic in the New Testament, but in the synoptic Gospels, human actions and words are viewed as fruit that grows out of a person’s essential being or character. In the Gospel of John and the epistles of Paul, the concept of fruitfulness takes a slightly different turn. It shifts from that which is the product of character to that which is the product of God’s work within us through fellowship with Him by means of the Spirit and His Word. Naturally, character is seen in the Bible as the product of God’s work within, but the focus in John and Paul is on this inner spiritual dynamic. This is evident in the passage before us, as the exposition will demonstrate.
“Bearing fruit” (karpophorountes) is the same verb used in verse 6. There it described the inherent power of the gospel, and there the apostle used the middle voice, but here he uses the active voice. Some think no distinction is intended in the change of voices,98 but surely, the apostle had a purpose in the change of voice. Johnson is probably correct when he writes:
The active voice (the middle was used in verse 6 where the verb occurred previously) may point to external diffusion (Lightfoot, op. cit., p. 133), or it may simply direct attention away from the inherent energy of the fruit-bearing instrument, the Christian. When the gospel is in view, emphasis upon the inherent energy in the Word is proper, but it is hardly proper when the instrument is frail, mortal man. The figure of fruit-bearing itself directs attention to the life within, since the tree bears fruit by the life within it. We meet once again the New Testament’s great concept of union with Christ, who is our life within and produces fruit through His own.99
Again, let’s note that “bearing fruit” is a continuous present. This not only reminds us that our lives are to be perennial or constant sources of fruit for the Lord, but the continuous present calls to mind the ongoing work of the Father as our spiritual vine keeper or viticulturist. He is constantly at work to take us from no fruit, to fruit, to more fruit, to much fruit as He seeks to cause us to abide in the Vine, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is our Life (John 15:1-7). This is not always pleasant and often requires severe cutting back of the branches; it may require suffering and pain, but if our lives are to have fruit that abounds for all eternity, and if we are going to mature, various trials are a necessary part of life (Jam. 1:2-4, 1 Pet. 1:6).
“In every good work” marks out the sphere of fruitfulness. First, we should note that “most trees produce after their kind, but this one is omniferous, bearing all the virtues of the Spirit’s fruit (cf. Gal 5:22–23).100 But secondly, we might ask, what else does this include? Fruitfulness in the Christian life certainly includes the following three areas:
The cultivation of our own spiritual lives in such Christian virtues as self-control, meekness, patience, and faithfulness.
The cultivation of worship—confession, praise, prayer, thanksgiving, and the adoration of God in song, singing and making melody in our hearts to the Lord.
The cultivation of loving ministry or service for others—witnessing, teaching, encouraging one another, helping through deeds of kindness and compassion, giving, weeping with those who weep and rejoicing with those who rejoice, hospitality, etc.
Being fruitful in every good work is not only a call for us to be balanced and productive in several areas of good works, but it should also be seen as a reminder that we can be engaged in good works, but without genuine fruitfulness. It is sad but true that our good works can be dead works—the works of the flesh—works done in our own energy and from wrong motives. Works that are the products of wrong motives (to please self, to impress others, to outdo others, etc.) do not please God because He is neither the source nor the energy behind the works produced. The following passages speak strongly to this issue (see 1 Cor. 13:1-8a; Ps. 50:7ff; Isa. 29:13).
A comparison of 1 Thessalonians 1:3 with Revelation 2:1-4 directs our attention to the importance of the source of our fruit. First Thessalonians 1:2-3 reads:
1:2 We thank God always for all of you as we mention you constantly in our prayers, 1:3 because we recall in the presence of our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and endurance of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. (italics mine)
With regard to the specifics mentioned in verse 3, it is evident that the substance of what Paul and his associates remembered is found in three words: work, labor, and endurance. However, Paul was quick to add three more words that were vital to these three active nouns. To each was added one of the great words of the Christian triad—faith, love, and hope. These are three Christ-like qualities, but they are also the fruit of spiritual living. These qualities of faith, love, and hope are absolutely essential if one’s work, labor, and endurance are to result in true fruitfulness. It’s because of this that the Lord’s rebuke to the church of Ephesus provides such a stern warning regarding our Christian service or ministry. In Revelation 2:2, Christ told the church, “I know your deeds (works) and your toil (labor) and perseverance (endurance),” but there was something missing and so they experienced His rebuke. The church of Ephesus had works, labor, and endurance, but there is no mention of the faith, love, and hope as seen at Thessalonica as the source of the works being produced at Ephesus.
These three prepositional phrases are what we call subjective genitives in the Greek and each stands to the word they modify as root to fruit. They point to a work produced by faith, a labor motivated by love, and an endurance prompted by hope. The NIV even translates them similarly. But, as Scripture makes abundantly clear, each is in turn the result of the ministry of the Spirit of God and the Word of God in the heart and life of believers. Again, we see the vital principle that the apostle always sees good works as fruit, never the root. The abiding, Spirit controlled, Word filled life is the root.
Of course, if we are to continue to be productive, we must never stand still, but continue to grow or we will become stagnant. So, the apostle addresses the issue of growth. “Growing” is the Greek auxano, “to grow, cause to grow, increase.” It was used of plants, of infants, of increasing numbers as in a multitude, of the increase of the gospel, and of Christian character or spiritual growth. The fact that the apostle is here speaking to the church as a whole, that he uses this word in verse 6, and the way auxano is used in the New Testament would all suggest that the growth he has in mind is twofold. First, it is qualitative and refers to spiritual growth or enlargement. In this, it speaks of growth in all the areas of fruitfulness as seen in passages like John 15 and Galatians 5:22-26. But second, it may also look at a quantitative growth in the sense of the outward dissemination of the gospel. “The greatest thing that one man can do for another man is that which Andrew did for Peter—‘he brought him to Jesus (John 1:42).’”101 Let’s face it. Spiritual growth should lead to a concern for the lost and telling others about the Savior.
Before discussing “in the knowledge of God,” a few comments are in order about the construction of verse 10b and 10c, since this discussion will impact the focus and meaning of the verse. We may have an illustration here of a chiastic construction (ABBA).
A in every good work (modifier)
B bearing fruit (present participle)
B and growing (present participle)
A in (or by) the knowledge of God (modifier)
The central focus is on B, the continual and progressive action of spiritual fruit bearing and growth. The two modifiers, A, point to the spheres where this is to occur, “in every good work,” and “in the knowledge of God.” However, the second modifier may well point not to the sphere, but to the agent that causes the growth, the knowledge of God, which has its source in the life giving streams of the Word. It is this Word that is alive and powerful (energizing) that contains within it the power to transform the believer’s life (Heb. 4:12; 1 Thess. 2:13).
Thus, “in the knowledge of God” is a vital element in spiritual growth and fruitfulness. The focus is on the instrument or the means, on that which sustains and causes our growth qualitatively and quantitatively—the knowledge of God—rather than on the sphere in which grow occurs. Since Paul has already pointed to the sphere of growth in verse 9, it seems best to understand this verse to point to the agent of growth. As Lightfoot suggested, “The simple instrumental dative represents the knowledge of God as the dew or the rain which nurtures the growth of the plant: Deut. XXXii. 2, Hos. XiV. 5.”102 This is further supported by the fact that the voice is passive. Knowing God intimately and personally through His holy, inspired, and inerrant Word is a necessary element of spiritual growth. Naturally, this is not simply talking about intellectual information about God. Paul has in mind an intimate personal understanding of God. This is a life lived in the light of His being and grace as it touches our lives in every sphere and in every situation of life—in the good and in the difficult or the painful. As rain and sunshine nurtures plants, so knowing God intimately gives growth and maturity to the spiritual life of believers in Christ.
Christians are engaged in a moral and spiritual conflict with forces more powerful and insidious than anything we can even imagine. In ourselves, we are no match for either Satan’s guile or his strength. Because of the finished work of Christ, he is a defeated foe and ultimately doomed to the eternal lake of fire (cf. Col. 2:15; John 12:31; Heb. 2:14 with Matt. 25:41; Rev. 20:10), but at this moment in history, Satan is alive, well, and working night and day to distract, defeat, and destroy. To resist his advances or attacks, his cunning devices and deception, we need power and strength far beyond any human ability.
The power of God is one of the great themes and propositions of the Bible. Through Christ, God promises us power and strength for every situation of life, yet our tendency is to trust in ourselves as though we were sufficient, which we are not (see 2 Cor. 2:14-16 with 3:5). We may trust in ourselves because we each have, by God’s grace, our own abilities and talents, our gifts, our money, our education, our experience and background, or whatever human resources we think we have; so we are ever-prone turn to these to bail ourselves out of life’s difficulties. Or we fail to look to God for strength because our faith is simply too small. Our faith is more theoretical than it is actual. Or we fail to look to God for strength because we are afraid of the conflict; we know that if we are going to trust the Lord, we must sometimes crawl out on a limb or be exposed to significant pain.
Knowing our human tendency to lean on our own resources, the apostle now describes the third aspect of the worthy walk that pleases the Lord, “being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for the display of all patience and steadfastness.” To stress the power available to us, the apostle uses three Greek words for power in 1:11. This serves to stress at least two things: (1) that God’s power is supreme and more than sufficient for anything we might face, and (2) that our human strength is not only insignificant by comparison, but totally insufficient in the spiritual and moral conflict we face in this life. Literally, the text says:
“With all (maximum) power, being constantly empowered according to the standard or measure of the strength (or might) of His glory.”
“With all power” is emphatic because of the word order, and emphasizes what’s available to us in Christ. It points to what God wants us to experience. The Greek word is dunamis, “power, might, strength, force.” Our word dynamite comes from this word, but dunamis is not an explosive kind of power like dynamite. It speaks of inherent ability that carries the potential to perform or accomplish a task. Paul’s prayers contain a strong emphasis on our need of the inherent power of God that He has made available to us in the Lord Jesus. This is because great power is needed to transform sinners into saints who can then live godly lives in an evil and darkened world.
“Strengthened” is dunamoo, “to make strong, strengthen.” It’s a causative verb and comes from dumamis. It carries the idea of making strong something or someone that is inherently weak (cf. Eph. 6:10; 2 Tim. 2:1). Further, the participle is in the present tense and points to the steady access of strength, the constant source that is available to believers in Christ.
Then, “according to His glorious might” directs our focus to the standard or measure of the power with which God strengthens us. “According to” (kata followed by the accusative case) means “the standard, the measure by which something is done.” This calls our attention to an awesome truth! “Might” is the Greek kratos, which speaks of God’s power and is used only of God in the New Testament. It speaks of manifested power, power put forth in action, specifically, the historic acts of God as in creation, with Israel, and especially in the person of Jesus Christ. It also speaks of a power that overcomes some form of resistance like the resistance of sin, of Satan, of the world system under Satan’s grip, and of death (spiritual and physical). Finally, the significance and impact of this word can be seen in Ephesians 1:19-21. As the third in a series of three things Paul prays for believers to understand, he prays they may grasp something of resurrection kind of power that is available to them in Christ:
so that you may know … what is the incomparable greatness of his power toward us who believe, as displayed in the exercise of his immense strength. 1:20 This power he exercised in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms 1:21 far above every rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.
But here in Colossians, Paul declares that the measure or the scale by which this might is available is nothing short of God’s own glory (doxa). The scale is never just our situation or circumstance. It’s nothing less than God’s own glory. The basic idea of glory is “brightness, splendor,” but theologically, as applied to God, it speaks of the various outward manifestations of God’s inward character, the divine essence and the excellence of His divine attributes.
Some Illustrations: (1) Creation is an outward manifestation of the glory of God, it reveals His divine attributes—His holiness, justice, goodness, faithfulness, infiniteness, sovereignty, omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence (Rom. 1:20; Ps. 19:1); (2) In the gift of God’s Son as manifested in the person and work of Christ, we see God’s wisdom, power, holiness, righteousness, grace, mercy, and love. We see this in Christ’s miraculous birth, His unique and powerful life, His substitutionary death, miraculous resurrection, and ascension. We should remember that Paul saw something of the Shekinah glory of the Lord on the Damascus road. This experience of seeing the glorified Lord then became an important theme in the mind and writings of the Apostle. This became the standard and foundation for the works and provision of God in Christ. This may be why the apostle uses the word “glory,” the Greek doxa, some 77 times in his letters in the New Testament.
Thus, “according to His glorious might” not only stresses the limitless source, the infinite power available to us in the person of Christ, but it also points to the goal, being transformed from glory to glory (2 Cor. 3:18) so that we might bring glory to God as a testimony to both mankind and angels regardless of what life may bring. This is evident in the next words, “for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience, with joy” or “joyously giving thanks …”
The NET Bible translates verse 11b as “for the display of all patience and steadfastness, with joy.” As I will explain below, while patience and steadfastness are permissible translations, patience is a little too passive, and steadfastness fails, in my opinion, to capture the emphasis of the Greek term used here. I prefer “for the display of steadfastness (or endurance) and longsuffering (or patience).”
Though experiencing God’s power or strength is vital to handling the various situations and trials of life, it is important to note that the goal or issue Paul stresses here is not power or spiritual strength. Rather, the goal is the moral and spiritual result of God’s empowerment for steadfastness, longsuffering, and joy, or depending on how one understands the text, with joy giving thanks. The text literally says, “unto (eis, indicates the goal) of all steadfastness and longsuffering.” God’s power is for producing at least two or maybe three Christ-like qualities—steadfastness, longsuffering, and joy. There is debate over just how we should understand or translate “with joy.” Some want to take these words with the preceding, with steadfastness and longsuffering as in the KJV, RSV, and ASV. Others believe that the grammatical construction strongly favors the translation of the NASB, NET, and NIV Bibles. Because the first three participles are modified with phrases, many expositors believe that “with joy” should go with this fourth participle as its modifier. Compare the following:
Participles |
Modifiers |
bearing fruit |
in every good work |
growing |
by the knowledge of God |
being strengthened |
with all power |
giving thanks to the Father |
with joy |
But not all agree that this construction answers all the issues here. Commenting on this, Curtis Vaughan writes:
It is debatable whether “joyfully” (meta charas; lit., “with joy”) should be construed with “endurance and patience” (KJV, ASV, RSV, NEB) or with “giving thanks” (NIV.) In the former construction, joy is seen as the pervading element of endurance and patience. Goodspeed renders it “the cheerful exercise of endurance and forbearance.” A distinctively Christian quality (cf. Gal 5:22; Philippians 1:18; 2:17; 3:1, et al.), joy is often associated in the NT with hardship and suffering.103
To this issue, Carson adds the following:
Abbott argues with others that with joyfulness, meta charas, should be taken with the clause that follows. He contends as against Lightfoot that eucharisteo (to give thanks) does not necessarily imply joy, and may therefore be quite legitimately amplified by the preceding phrase. In favour of Lightfoot’s position is the fact that Paul uses virtually the same phrase three times in the Epistle, and in the other two cases eucharisteo stands alone (i.3, iii. 17). This reinforces his view that joyfulness is implicit in thanksgiving, and so it would be unnecessary to introduce such a phrase as meta charas especially in such an emphatic position…104
On the practical side of this, Wiersbe adds,
God’s power is evidenced in our lives not only in our patience and longsuffering, but also in our joyfulness. When circumstances are difficult, we should exhibit joyful patience; and when people are hard to live with, we should reveal joyful longsuffering. We often use the words joy and happiness interchangeable, but a distinction should be made. Happiness often depends on happenings. If circumstances are encouraging and people are kind, we are happy. But joy is independent of both circumstances and people. The most joyful epistle Paul wrote was Philippians and he wrote it from jail as he faced the possibility of being martyred for his faith.105
But because of the construction explained above, it is probably best to translate as the NET Bible, “with joy giving thanks,” or as the NIV, “joyfully giving thanks.” The NASB likewise has “joyously giving thanks.” Paul could easily be pointing to the mood or the state of mind that should accompany our thanksgiving as giving thanks focuses us on the Fatherly love of God and the riches of God’s grace in Christ. But perhaps we have here one of those places of divine ambiguity where either could apply because either viewpoint is really true and applicable biblically.
Regardless of how one understands “with joy,” the objective is not just power, but God’s power manifesting itself in spiritual and moral fruit. We have a similar emphasis in 1 Corinthians 1:3-6 concerning the comfort God offers us as “the God of all comfort.” Paul wants us to know God’s comfort that we might not only be comforted ourselves, but also be able to comfort others. The goal, however, goes beyond just comfort. The goal is that the Corinthians (and we too) might experience patient endurance (2 Cor. 1:6). Naturally, to experience godly endurance or patience, we do need the strength that only God can give, but let’s not lose sight of the fact this strength is tied in with a joyful and thankful heart.
“Patience” as translated by the NET Bible is hupomone, “endurance, fortitude, steadfastness, perseverance.” As a translation, “patience” is a little too passive for this noun. This noun comes from hupo, “under,” and meno, “to abide, remain.” It speaks of remaining under a trial without giving in, of an ability to endure or remain or be steadfast regardless of the intensity and length of the testing. Hupomone is used in relation to the variegated kinds of trials that we all face in life as human beings: sickness, pain, financial loss, death of loved ones, warfare, physical and spiritual weaknesses, satanic attack, and persecution. It’s the perfect word for the kinds of trials faced by Job or Joseph in Genesis or the hall of faith characters listed in Hebrews 11.
Perhaps a few observations are in order:
a. Without trials accompanied by steadfastness or endurance, we will not and cannot grow (Jam. 1:1-4).
b. Endurance means waiting on the Lord in the light of the knowledge of God as revealed in Scripture; it means the enlargement and deepening of our faith (2 Thess. 1:3-4). Since faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God, endurance requires seeking, knowing, and resting in God in the light of His Word (Rom. 10:17; 15:4).
c. To endure we must focus on the goal; we don’t endure just for endurance sake. The goal must always be kept in view. The goal consist of the following: to please and glorify the Lord (see Ps. 40:16), to experience His strength in place of our weakness (2 Cor. 12: 8-9), to be able to comfort others (2 Cor. 1:3-9), to develop our faith and to be transformed into the image of Christ (1 Pet. 1:6-7; Rom. 8:28-29). Understanding this forms the basis of joy even in the midst of pain (Col. 1:11-12; Jam. 1:2-4; Heb. 12:2, 3).
d. The opposite of endurance is losing heart, giving up, running away, or some form of man’s many human escape mechanisms and substitutes (Luke 18:1).
With “patience,” or as I have translated it, “steadfastness,” Paul lists another quality that the NET Bible has translated as “steadfastness.” The Greek term here is makrothumia, “long suffering, long in compassion, even-temperedness.” It comes from makros, “long,” and thumos, “passion, temper.” In its use, this word is directed more toward people or our relationships with others. It means “long tempered, not easily provoked into angry words,” or into some form of retaliation or revenge. Makrothumia is the Christ-like virtue that is manifested in the face of some form of provocation. This word is used of God in His relations with mankind; He is longsuffering and enduring in His patience with man, forgiving and treating them in grace.
a. The opposite of longsuffering is retaliation, revenge, and reaction (1 Thess. 5:14-15).
b. Longsuffering is one of the virtues of the fruit of the Spirit; it is the product of walking by the Spirit (Gal. 5:22, 23).
c. It is also a product of love for love is longsuffering (1 Cor. 13:4).
d. Longsuffering or patience is also goal oriented and motivated by the coming of the Lord and eternal rewards or heavenly treasures (Jam. 5:7-11; 2 Cor. 4:16-18).
Much like a pinnacle, the fourth participle with its modifier, “with joy giving thanks,” focuses on that which sits like a crown over the other three participles. Much of the strength God gives for the display of endurance and longsuffering comes through a life characterized by praise and thanksgiving for God and His matchless grace. Learning to live by praise or thanksgiving is a key element in steadfastness and longsuffering, and in all areas of the Christian life because it turns our focus from our puny selves to Almighty God. This pattern is seen throughout the Psalms. The need, then, is to focus on His glorious person, especially as our heavenly Father, on the truth of His infinitely wise and eternal purposes, and on the unfathomable riches that He has given us in Christ (Eph. 3:8). So important is thankfulness that it is mentioned four times in this short epistle, and in all but one, the thanksgiving is made to God as our Father. At least two things are to occupy our minds as we give thanks. The first is the realization that, through Jesus, God is not some far off and uncaring deity, but a loving God who is concerned for us as a father for his children. The Lord Jesus Himself called our attention to this in His teaching on prayer (Matt. 7:7-11; Luke 11:10-13). Then secondly, we are to be thankful for the awesome blessings that we have through the person and work of Christ as illustrated in the partial list mentioned in 1:12-14. A worthy walk that pleases God is a thankful walk which both recognizes and stays occupied with God as our Father and recognizes and rests in God as our very source and benefactor (Rom. 11:36). The next lesson will be devoted to the issue of thanksgiving and its objects as listed in 1:12-14. The next lesson will focus on verses 12-14 and on the meaning and the objects of prayer listed in these verses.
We are probably not surprised by the responsibility to bear fruit in every good deed or by the need to grow by the knowledge of God, but the concept of being strengthened for the display of steadfastness and longsuffering might be somewhat surprising. But why? If we are typical of many Christians, we may be surprised because the goal of steadfastness and longsuffering is so different from the typical reasons people generally have for desiring God’s strength. We want healing from our diseases, miracle cures in our relationships, sudden deliverances from our life-dominating patterns, but above all, we simply want God to remove our problems with the pain they bring. And when do we want this? Well, NOW, of course! In fact, yesterday would have been better!! Unfortunately, as Christians we are often indifferent to the purposes that God has in suffering both in us and in those around us. Too many of us are often especially ignorant or apathetic regarding God’s purpose for us as a testimony to the angels who observe the church, both the good and the fallen angels as seen in the book of Job (cf. Job 1-2 with Eph. 3:10-11; 1 Pet. 1:12; 1 Tim. 3:16; Luke 2:13).
The principle is this: God is both the Vinedresser and our heavenly Father. In both of these roles He is committed to building spiritual character and conforming us to His Son (Rom. 8:28-29). By contrast, because we are often so dedicated to our own agendas of comfort and ease, God must use the pain of the various trials of life as tools to get our attention. As the Vinedresser, He prunes us like branches on the vine to make us more productive, and as a loving Father, He disciplines us as a training tool that we might partake of the peaceful fruit of righteousness (John 15:1-7; Heb. 12:5-13). At they say in sports, “No pain, no gain.”
Warren Weirsbe writes:
We usually think of God’s glorious power being revealed in great feats of daring—the Israelites crossing the Red Sea, David leading a victorious army, or Paul raising the dead. But the emphasis here is on Christian character: patience, longsuffering, joyfulness, and thanksgiving. The inner victories of the soul are just as great, if not greater, than the public victories recorded in the annals of history.106
A huge disparity exists between the focus of so much of today’s Christianity with that of the New Testament, which is on spiritual growth, maturity, and Christ-like transformation. This is especially evident when one compares the focus of today with the teachings of the epistles. Such a disparity is easily seen when one examines the thrust of the self-help books that line the shelves of bookstores and the health and wealth promises of many preachers and evangelists with their emphasis on signs, wonders, and miracles,
Modern Christians tend to make satisfaction their religion. We show much more concern for self-fulfillment than for pleasing our God. Typical of Christianity today, at any rate in the English speaking world, is its massive rash of how-to-books for believers, directing us to more successful relationships, more joy in sex, becoming more of a person, realizing our possibilities, getting more excitement each day, reducing our weight, improving our diet, managing our money, licking our families into happier shape, and what not. For people whose prime passion is to glorify God, these are doubtless legitimate concerns; but the how-to-books regularly explore them in a self-absorbed way that treats our enjoyment of life rather than the glory of God as the center of interest.107
Since it is our experiences in life that bring the truth from the pages of the Bible into the realities of where we live, maybe it would be helpful to share my own experience of what is meant by this biblical focus on steadfastness in the midst of very painful and even the life threatening trials we all face sooner or later.
On January 29, 2001, the Lord called my beautiful and faithful wife home to glory. This was after eighteen months of battling a horrible cancer called multiple myeloma. These were the most difficult and heartbreaking months of our nearly forty-two years of life together. Knowing that God is sovereign and able to do whatever He pleases, we prayed for her healing by whatever means He might see fit to use. He could have healed her miraculously or used any of the solutions we sought through alternative and conventional medicine. But, in His infinite wisdom and love, He had other purposes in mind, purposes that would manifest His glory and Christ-likeness both in Kathie and in me as we sought to be steadfast and longsuffering through those painful months and learned to give thanks with joy for what He was doing, even in the midst of our tears. Now that she is with the Savior, I must find God’s strength to endure so that I might go on in His service. But I must do it in such a way that it will glorify God and lead to my own spiritual growth as I learn to live without her lovely presence and support.
Would a miraculous recovery have glorified the Lord? Absolutely, and that certainly would have been my choice and that of our family. But during those difficult months, the testimony of her life—her peace and inner joy, her continued humor and sweetness of character, her lack of complaint and much more—were in many ways a greater miracle, and one that was seen not only by those who knew her, but by the angelic hosts who observe the church. Her life and faith showed that her love for God and the Lord Jesus was not dependent on good or comfortable circumstances. Rather, it was dependent on the grace of God that redeems us from sin and makes us His children, those who are blessed with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places (Eph. 1:3). Just as Paul put it in the next verses here in Colossians, Kathie was one who continually “gave thanks to the Father who qualified her to share in the saints’ inheritance in the light, and who delivered her from the power of darkness and transferred her to the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom she (and all believers) have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Col. 1:12-14). (my paraphrase)
Many times in those last months, I heard her offer up praise giving thanks to the Savior for His grace that had saved her. To use her own words, she would say something like, and often with tears of joy in her eyes, “I am so thankful for His grace that has saved me and made me, a wretched sinner, a child of God with the guarantees of glory.” I would almost cringe when she would call herself a wretched sinner because to me she was one of the most beautiful and Christ-like people I have ever known. It’s true, against the scale of God’s holiness, we are all wretched sinners saved only by grace, but through the process of spiritual sanctification and growth over the years of her precious life, God had so transformed her into the image and likeness of the Savior that if anyone was prepared for glory, from the standpoint of progressive sanctification, it was this beautiful lady. She was truly an illustration of God’s strength for the display of steadfastness and longsuffering in the midst of painful conditions. Because of my great love and appreciation for her, I often told her, “My dear, that you are my wife is my greatest claim to fame.” As a result of what the Lord had done in her life both before and in these last eighteen months, the Lord used the testimony of her life over and over again, not only with her family and friends, but also around the world through e-mail and her labors with the worldwide ministry of the Biblical Studies Foundation. For more about her life and her work as a staff member of BSF, see “About BSF” and then “BSF Staff” from the opening page of the BSF website.
98 Peter T. O'Brien, Word Biblical Commentary, Colossians, Philemon, gen. ed., Glenn W. Barker, NT., ed., Ralph P. Martin (Word Books, Publisher, Waco, TX, vol. 44), Peter T. O'Brien, Word Biblical Commentary, Colossians, Philemon, gen. ed., Glenn W. Barker, NT., ed., Ralph P. Martin (Word Books, Publisher, Waco, TX, vol. 44), 23.
99 S. Lewis Johnson, "Studies in the Epistle to the Colossians, Part I," Bibliotheca Sacra (Dallas Theological Seminary, vol. 118, #472), 342-343.
100 Johnson, 343.
101 Johnson, 343.
102 J. B. Lightfoot, Saint Paul's Epistles to the Colossians and Philemon (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1879 reprint, 1961), 139.
103 Curtis Vaughan, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, gen. ed. Frank E. Gaebelein (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1976-1992), electronic media.
104 Herbert M. Carson, The Epistle of Paul to the Colossians and Philemon, An Introduction and Commentary (Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 1960), 38.
105 Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Complete (Victor Books, Wheaton, Ill., 1986), 42
106 Wiersbe, 39.
107 J. I. Packer, Keeping in Step With the Spirit ( ), 97.
I. Doctrinal: The Person and Work of Christ (1:1-23)
A. Introduction (1:1-14)
1. Paul’s Greeting to the Colossians (1:1-2)
2. Paul’s Thanksgiving for the Colossians (1:3-8)
3. Paul’s Prayer for the Colossians (1:9-14)
a. The Cause of Paul’s Prayer (1:9a)
b. The Content of Paul’s Prayer (1:9b-14)
(1) The Root and the Trunk—”filled with the knowledge of His will” (vs. 9b)
(2) The Branches—a worthy walk (1:10a)
(3) The Fruit—four areas of fruitfulness (1:10b-14)
1:12 with joy giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the saints’ inheritance in the light. 1:13 He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves, 1:14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
As seen in the previous lesson, “giving thanks to the Father” introduces us to the fourth participle and quality that pleases the Lord. While grammatically co-ordinate with the other three, giving thanks to the Father, or having a life characterized by a thankful heart, is the crowning virtue of these four qualities. But “giving thanks” is also the fourth product of a life that is growing by the knowledge of God in spiritual wisdom and understanding. A worthy walk that pleases God occurs in those who both recognize and stay occupied with God as their heavenly Father, their very source and benefactor of life (Rom. 11:36). Being thankful also requires a proper comprehension of the reasons why we should be thankful. Thankfulness cannot occur in a vacuum of ignorance. So Paul does not just tell his readers to be thankful, but points them to four awesome blessings that they possess through the mighty acts the Father has accomplished in the person and work of His Beloved Son.
It is also important to see that these blessings, the objects of thanksgiving (1:10-14), do not begin a new section as some have maintained. They are not only still a part of Paul’s prayer, but point us to the reasons why Christians can have a life that is pleasing unto the Lord in the four areas listed—bearing fruit, growing, being strengthened, and giving thanks. The reason for thanksgiving is found in the saving acts of God because it is these blessings that deliver believers out of Satan’s domain of darkness and into the realm of light and spiritual fruitfulness.
These four objects of thanksgiving are only a partial listing of the blessings God gives us in Christ,108 but these four do give us a wonderful illustration of what God has done in the person of His Son and of what all believers possess in Christ. Through Christ, the Father has:
qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light,
delivered us from the domain of darkness,
transferred us into the kingdom of His Son, and
redeemed us, providing the forgiveness of sins (as seen in “in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins).
With the third blessing and the words “in whom,” the apostle not only points to another blessing for thanksgiving, but he also begins to focus on the person through whom the Father gives these blessings. While still pointing to our blessings, Paul begins a transition to the person through whom the Father has given these blessings. This Person, God’s Son, now becomes the focus of the next section in verses 15-20, The Supremacy of the Person and Work of Christ. In the section that follows, Paul will develop the theme of the total adequacy and supremacy of Christ, a concept that he later expands on in 2:8-17. Since thankfulness is the focus of verses 12-14, it might be helpful to spend a few paragraphs on the subject of thankfulness.
Thankfulness is an important subject to the apostle Paul and in the Word of God as a whole. Some combination of the word is found 169 times in 162 verses in the NASB and 195 times in 186 verses in the NET Bible. Paul uses the concept over 40 times in his epistles and seven times in Colossians alone (cf. 1:2, 3, 12; 2:7; 3:15, 17; 4:2). The concept of thankfulness in the New Testament comes from the use of two Greek words. The first is charizomai, which comes from charis, "grace." The second is homologeo, "to confess, acknowledge," (Heb. 13:15), (cf. also exomologeo, [Matt. 11:25]). Thankfulness is a mental and/or verbal expression of one's acknowledgement and appreciation of God's person, His grace, blessings, and sovereign work in one's life and the world. Some key ideas related to thankfulness are: biblical understanding, trust, humility and grace, the right focus and values, and joy. It is through the possession and function of these qualities that we become thankful. So, why should we be thankful?
1. Because it honors God. When we are thankful, we recognize that God exists, and we are acting on the reality of His life as the very source and means of ours. True thankfulness recognizes our total dependence on God and stems from realizing that everything going on in our lives and all we have is the product of God's sovereign control, infinite wisdom, purposes, grace, and activity (2 Cor. 4:15).
2. Because it is commanded in Scripture. First, the Psalms are filled with the call to give thanks. An example is Ps. 100:4 which says, "Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name." Then Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, "In everything keep on giving thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you" (my translation). In Colossians, he twice gives the command to be thankful (3:15, 17).
3. Because of the dangerous consequences of thanklessness: Thanklessness is dangerous to self and others. It dishonors God and leads to proud humanism or dependence on man rather than God (cf. Rom. 1:21). In addition, it leads to bitterness, complaining, and a joyless life (Heb. 12:15). Since thankfulness is a response to the grace of God, its opposite, bitterness with its companions, complaining and grumbling, are the product of an unthankful heart that fails to properly respond to God in faith to His person, infinite wisdom, grace and purposes. Thanklessness promotes pettiness and occupation with self, people, and problems. That in turn creates depression and feelings of hopelessness because we become focused on our problems rather than on the Lord.
But thanks be to God who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and who makes known through us the fragrance that consists of the knowledge of him in every place (2 Cor. 2:14).
This verse in 2 Corinthians demonstrates that a thankful and God-focused person counts on God and His triumph and will manifests the sweet fragrance of a life filled with the knowledge of Christ rather than the spirit of bitterness and complaining. Thankfulness, then, becomes a spiritual barometer; it is an evidence of the condition of our spiritual life and value system, which should give us a warning if we have ears to hear (cf. Eph. 5:4 & 20 and note the context of each verse. For verse 4, the context or focus is living as children of God rather than as children of the world [cf. vs.1]; for verse 20, the context or focus is the fruit of the Spirit [cf. vs. 18]).
First, we should give thanks whenever we pray. Scripture teaches us, both by illustration (cf. Eph. 1:16; Phil. 1:3-4; Col. 1:3; 1 Thess. 1:2) and by direct admonition (Phil. 4:6f; Col. 4:2), that prayer should generally be accompanied by or offered in a context of thanksgiving. The reason is perhaps found in the very nature of thanksgiving! Thanksgiving turns our eyes from our problems and ourselves to the Lord that we might focus on Him and His sovereign grace. It helps us to see life through the perspective of God's person, principles, promises, plan, provisions, and purposes. Then, as this happens, this upward focus promotes faith and courage in the face of the trying and painful situations that we all eventually face to one degree or another.
Second, we should always give thanks in everything and for everything (Eph. 5:20; 1 Thess. 5:18). Now why? In addition to the reasons already given, it helps us to focus on the sovereignty of God and the fact that He is in control and working all things together for good regardless of how they may seem to us in our limited perspective (cf. Rom. 8:28, 29; Jam. 1:2-4; Gen. 50:19-20). While all things may not be good, God uses them for good, the good of making us like His Son. Also, since a spirit of thanksgiving keeps our eyes on the Lord, it also keeps us alert and promotes an eagerness to go to God in prayer to lay our burdens and those of others at His feet (Ps. 68:19-20; Col. 4:2). Finally, we should always give thanks because it protects us against the dangers and consequences of thanklessness mentioned above.
We should give thanks for God Himself and for His sovereign activity and control over the universe. What a hopeless world this world would be if all things had no purpose and were merely the product of time plus chance. As we see here in Colossians 1:12-14, we should give thanks for our salvation through Christ and for the unfathomable riches that are ours in Him (Eph. 3:8). After all, we are blessed with every spiritual blessing, and we are complete in Him (Eph. 1:3; Col. 2:10). As illustrated so often by Paul in the salutation of his epistles, we should give thanks for others who know the Savior and are growing and serving the Lord.
While many things might be mentioned, here are a few contrasts to consider. (a) Thankfulness is the opposite of selfishness. The selfish person says, "I deserve what comes to me. God and others ought to make me happy and fulfill my expectations." (b) Thankfulness is the opposite of murmuring and pettiness. The thankless person is one who is focused on his problems and thinks he deserves better. (c) Thankfulness is the opposite of pride. The thankless person thinks he deserves what he has or better than what he has. (d) Thankfulness is the opposite of self-trust. The thankless person tends to depend on His own merit and abilities. The thankful person, on the other hand, seeks to triumph and live by the grace of God rather than by his own ingenuity or self-sufficiency (1 Cor. 15:57; 2 Cor. 2:14).
Before getting back to the exposition of the passage, a few of the sources that promote thankfulness might be mentioned: (a) Since spiritual understanding is so vital to a thankful heart, a Word-filled life is a necessity (cf. Col. 1:9 with 12; 2:7; 3:16). Living in the Word keeps our focus where it belongs. (b) God has designed the Christian life to be lived under the control and influence of the Holy Spirit. Thus, the Spirit-filled life is a vital source of thankfulness (cf. Eph. 5:18 with 20). (c) Remembering who we are as God's children is another source of being thankful (cf. Eph. 5:1 with 4b). (d) Remembering to what we have been called, to one body in which there should be peace, and recognizing the consequences of a thankless heart (cf. Col. 3:15 with Heb. 12:15b) is another source.
As previously mentioned, Paul now focuses his readers on four things for which all believers are to be thankful. These are blessings that direct our attention to our deliverance and capacity for a new life in the midst of a fallen and Satanically controlled world or cosmos. These are four areas of God’s grace that should give us strength to press on through the various trials and temptations that we all face in this life. In passing, note how this entire passage is reminiscent of Paul’s words to Agrippa where he quotes the commission that Paul received from the Savior Himself. Some of the points of comparison are seen in the bold italicized words in the quote below.
17 I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you 18 to open their eyes so that they turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a share among those who are sanctified by faith in me (Acts 26:17-18) (emphasis mine).
In the Colossians passage we see that:
1. God has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints (vs. 12b),
2. He has delivered us from (or “out of”) the power (or “domain”) of darkness (vs. 13a),
3. And He has transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves (vs. 13b).
In the Greek text, these first three verbs are in the aorist tense, and may well look at the finished work of Christ. As aorist tenses, these three acts may be applied collectively to all believers when they trust in Him, or these saving acts may look at the event of each individual’s conversion down through the pages of history. Either way, it looks at that which is an accomplished fact. This is in contrast the statement that follows.
4. In Christ, God has also given us redemption, the forgiveness of sins (vs. 14). Significantly, Paul switches to the present tense of the verb echo, “to have, possess.” Now he says, “in whom we have.” This change in tense with the verb echo stresses the continuous possession and results of the saving acts of God in Christ. Let’s now evaluate each of these statements.
who has qualified you to share in the saints’ inheritance in the light.
"Qualified" is the Greek hikanoo, which means, “to make sufficient, qualify, enable, make fit,” but it does not mean, “to make deserving.” In fact, this term may even shade into the idea of “empower,”109 a concept that makes good sense in this context where the apostle is dealing with pleasing the Lord, a capacity that flows out of a Christian’s understanding and faith in who he or she is in Christ (cf. vss. 9-10).
The blessings believers have in Christ are totally by the amazing grace and power of God. Only God, the Almighty Himself, is the Sufficient One who has the resources needed to not only qualify sinful man for an eternal relationship with Himself, but to also empower man for a fruitful life in a fallen world. In the Old Testament where God is often called the Almighty, the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament) sometimes renders the Hebrew with ho hikanos, (literally, “the sufficient one”) (cf. Job. 21:15; 31:2; 40:2; Ezek. 1:24). In ourselves, we are totally inadequate (cf. 2 Cor. 2:16), but through Christ and what the Father has given us in Him, we are given the resources needed to become faithful servants of God (cf. 2 Cor. 3:5-6). As mentioned above, this verb is in the aorist tense, which may point to the truth that becoming qualified with the needed resources is not a process, but a fact that occurs in a believer’s life when he or she trusts in Christ; the basis of qualification is the finished work and merit of the Savior and the believer’s abundant blessings in Him. While this involves us in a process of spiritual growth and fruitful living, the basis for the process is always what Christ accomplished by His death and resurrection.
But for what exactly are we qualified? We are qualified “to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.” The term “share” is the noun meris, “a part, share, or portion of that which has been divided or apportioned.” Then, the words “in the inheritance” point us to what has been divided out to the saints. “Inheritance” is the Greek kleros, which literally meant “a lot, that which is cast or drawn, or obtained by casting lots” (cf. Mark 15:24). From this it came to refer to an allotment or a portion allotted to someone with the context determining the exact meaning of what the portion consisted and when it was received. It does not strictly mean inheritance, which is kleronomia, “inheritance, possession, property.”110 With our English term, we often think of an inheritance as something one obtains on the death of the testator, but even kleronomia, the more precise term for inheritance, is not in the least limited to this idea. Rather, in this context the apostle is speaking of the lot or portion that belongs to the saints in this life and in the future.
In John 19:24, kleros was used of the seamless garment of Christ. In Acts 1:17, it was a share in the ministry of the disciples vacated by the death of Judas, the betrayer. In Acts 8:21, it refers to the miraculous powers Simon thought he could acquire with money. In 1 Peter 5:3, kleros is used of the flock of believers that God allots or apportions to a group of elders to shepherd under the guidance of the Great Shepherd, the Lord Jesus. Then, in Acts 26:18, as here in Colossians, it looks at all that believers inherit or receive as their portion in Christ—past (justification, the forgiveness of sin), present heavenly position and present spiritual possessions (sanctification, power for a life that is pleasing to the Lord), and future (glorification, the eternal estate and eternal rewards). Later in Colossians, the apostle speaks about “the reward of the inheritance,” or “your inheritance as a reward,” which, as will be discussed, may refer to rewards given for faithful service and not simply getting to heaven. Here in 1:12, the emphasis is clearly on one’s present inheritance or possessions in Christ that comes to those who have been translated out of the domain or power of Satan’s kingdom and into the kingdom of light. In essence, “inheritance” refers to “the kingdom treasures that belong to believers (cf. Eph. 1:7)”111 past, present, and future. In the context, the primary focus of “the inheritance of the saints’ in light” is God’s provision for us in this life that enables us to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord so we can please Him in all respects.
Next, we note that this inheritance is described as existing "in the light." This is to be contrasted to the next clause that points to our past life under the rule and authority of Satan’s kingdom of darkness (cf. Eph. 2:1-3). It marks out the sphere of our inheritance and portrays such concepts as truth, illumination, and moral purity in contrast to error, blindness, and moral impurity. This is in keeping with the three prominent spiritual uses of light in Scripture. These are:
1. The operational, active use: One of the properties of light is its ability to illuminate, expose, guide, and direct. Also, without light, most forms of life cannot live. Light is essential for the sustenance of life. God created no vegetable or animal life until after he created light. To stress God’s perfect holiness, 1 John 1:5 states that “God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.” So light stands for the concepts of illumination, explanation, exposure, holiness or purity, and life support or sustenance (cf. Eph. 5:13; Ps. 119:105; John 3:19-21; 8:12).
2. The intellectual use: Light is also used in Scripture for that which corresponds to reality and truth as opposed to error, distortion, perversion, and falsehood. A person who has the light is one who has the truth; he is one who has the facts according to reality because they are no longer hidden or unknown, but have been revealed, exposed and seen by the light of God’s truth through the Bible (Eph. 5:9-17; Mat. 4:15-16).
3. The moral use: Finally, light is also used of that which is morally right, good, and orderly (Eph. 5:3-10 with John 3:19-20 and Gen. 1:2-3). Without light there can only be chaos, confusion, disorder, and evil. Everything good is lost and distorted (cf. Gen. 1:1f; 1 Tim. 6:16).
He delivered us from the power of darkness
"Delivered," rhuomai, is also aorist and again suggest that which is an accomplished event. The Greek word carries the idea of rescue (cf. Col. 2:14; Heb. 2:14f). As just stressed, "darkness" in Scripture is symbolic of ignorance, falsehood, delusion, sin, and Satan. "Power" is the Greek exousia, and means "authority, power, or ruling power." Here it refers to the dominion of Satan, which exercises control and tyranny over men and the world, a world blinded and controlled by Satan and sin (cf. Luke 22:53; John 3:19-20; Eph. 2:1-3; 6:12 with 2 Cor. 4:6; 1 Pet. 2:9; Eph. 1:18; 2:4-10). Believers in Christ are delivered from this evil and dark kingdom. “From” is the Greek preposition ek, which is often used of situations, circumstances, and persons from which a connection is severed. This is a deliverance that, as explained in the next blessing, severs us from the necessity of being under Satan’s domain and control by our transference into the Kingdom of God’s Son.
and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves
"Transferred" renders a Greek word (methistemi) that carries with it a very special significance.
…In the ancient world, when one empire won a victory over another, it was the custom to take the population of the defeated country and transfer it lock, stock and barrel to the conqueror’s land. Thus the people of the northern kingdom were taken away to Assyria, and the people of the southern kingdom were taken away to Babylon. So Paul says that God has transferred the Christian to his own kingdom. That was not only a transference but a rescue…112
As believers in Christ, we have been rescued from the tyranny of Satan's darkness and rule into the kingdom of light, which is the kingdom of God's beloved Son, the place where God’s love abides. From this place of love, nothing can sever us (Rom. 8:37-39). Such transference means God's rule and personal care or provision for our lives. This provision means many things because we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ (Eph. 1:3) and are complete in Him (Col. 2:10), but in this context, as Barclay points out, the apostle stresses four blessings.
(a) It meant a transference from darkness to light. Without God men grope and stumble as if walking in the dark. They know not what to do; they know not where they are going. Life is lived in the shadows of doubt and in the darkness of ignorance. When Bilney the martyr read that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, he said that it was like the dawn breaking on a dark night. In Jesus Christ, God has given us a light by which to live and by which to die.
(b) It meant a transference from slavery to freedom. It was redemption, and that was the word used for the emancipation of a slave and for the buying back of something which was in the power of someone else. Without God men are slaves to their fears, to their sins and slaves to their own helplessness. In Jesus Christ there is liberation.
(c) It meant a transference from condemnation to forgiveness. Man in his sin deserves nothing but the condemnation of God; but through the work of Jesus Christ he discovers God’s love and forgiveness. He knows now that he is no longer a condemned criminal at God’s judgment seat, but a lost son for whom the way home is always open.
(d) It meant a transference from the power of Satan to the power of God. Through Jesus Christ man is liberated from the grip of Satan and is able to become a citizen of the Kingdom of God. Just as an earthly conqueror transferred the citizens of the land he had conquered to a new land, so God in his triumphant love transfers men from the realm of sin and darkness into the realm of holiness and light.113
in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
“In whom” points the readers to the sphere in which this redemption occurs. We might render it “in union with whom” or “by whom we have redemption.” Either way, the text stresses that it is through the Lord Jesus and the believer’s relationship to Him that this deliverance occurs. But what is meant by the term “redemption?” The term used here is apolutrosis, “a release affected by payment of ransom, redemption, deliverance.”114 This is just one term of a word group used in the New Testament for our redemption through the death of Christ. Due to the importance of this term and the somewhat loose way theologians and expositors sometimes use this term, more will be said below on the concept and truth of redemption. Here and in Ephesians 1:7, after the word “redemption,” Paul adds, “the forgiveness of sins.” This is appositional (an explanatory equivalent) to the term “redemption.” It tells us what redemption means in terms of its results for the believer, the one who has trusted in the person and work of Christ. It means their “forgiveness.” “Forgiveness” is aphesis, which means, “release” as from captivity, or “pardon, cancellation of an obligation, a punishment, guilt.”115 Johnson writes:
The redemption is defined as ten aphesin ton hamartion (AV, “the forgiveness of sins”), the latter expression being in apposition with apolutrosin. The real redemption needed by men is not a redemption from fate by gnostic aeons; it is a redemption from sin by a divine-human Mediator. One great unavoidable fact faces mankind: its universal and inescapable sense of guilt. It will not do to attempt to wash our hands of it (as a Pilate might advise), or to make an effort to transcend such feeling (as a Freud might prescribe). The latter leads ultimately to an egocentric maniac like Hitler (is there any significance in the fact that Freudianism and Hitlerism have roots in Vienna?). The only relief is the cross and its ransom in red agony. Was it not Samuel Rutherford who said once: “There are some who would have Christ cheap. They would have Him without the cross. But the price will not come down”? Taking upon one’s lips words similar to those of the General Confession’s, “Almighty and Most Merciful Father…we have offended against Thy Holy Laws,” and gazing off in faith to the cross where every last bit of the whole crushing weight of man’s sin was borne by God’s own Lamb—then, and then alone, comes peace to man’s guilt-racked soul. This is why Paul gloried in the cross.116
Sometimes theologians and Christians use the term redemption rather loosely and mean little more than simply deliverance. It does mean deliverance, but it means a particular kind of deliverance, a deliverance that results from the payment of a great price. This concept is always in view even when the word redemption is used in passages such as Exodus 6:6; 15:13; Psalm 74:2; and 78:35. Even in these Old Testament passages, it is clear that redemption is based on some great expenditure of God. The price God paid is always in view. The New Testament terms for redemption always have in mind a price paid, but as just stressed, many expositors and theologians use the terms redeemer and redemption very loosely. Concerning this, Morris writes,
…As we shall see, it does not mean deliverance in general, but a particular kind of deliverance… Whenever we hear them our thoughts turn to religion. But when the man of the first century heard them he immediately thought in non-religious terms. Indeed, that was the reason words came to be used by the early Christians. Men in general knew quite well what redemption was. Therefore Christians found it a convenient term to use…117
Thus, redemption means liberation because of a payment made. In the New Testament, that payment is the death of the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. But to whom is the price paid? There are many theories on this, but the fact is, the Bible says nothing about to whom a ransom was paid. All that can be said it this—our salvation from sin and its penalty, death, is by the death of Christ who died as the payment for sin. Only this could and did satisfy the demands of God’s holy justice.
Redemption is another part of the overall work of God by which God has brought about our reconciliation and the removal of the barrier that separates man from God—the barrier of God’s perfect holiness, man’s sin, his spiritual death, and his unrighteousness, all of which separate man from a holy God. Redemption deals specifically with the problem of man's sin and with the fact that man is viewed in Scripture as imprisoned or enslaved because of his sin (Gal. 4:3-8; 3:22).
Lutron
The basic term used in the redemption word group is lutron, which means, “ransom.” It is derived from the verb luo, which basically means, “to loose.” “It was used of all kinds of loosing, for example, for the loosening of one’s clothing, the loosening of armour, of tied animals, and so on. And sometimes it was used of men to indicate that they had been loosed from captivity or the like. Particularly did this apply to the loosening of prisoners of war when a ransom price had been paid…”118
Lutroo
Basic Meaning: Lutroo comes from lutron, “ransom,” the term just discussed. So lutrao carries the meaning of "to release on receipt of a ransom price" (cf. 1 Pet. 1:18-19; Heb. 9:14).
Key Ideas of Lutroo: This word emphasizes the price paid and the resultant freedom. The price paid was the death and shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross.
Apolutrosis
Basic Meaning: Apolutrosis comes from the preposition apo, which carries the basic meaning of "separation from someone or something,"119 plus lutrosis, the noun form of lutroo mentioned earlier. This word with the preposition is somewhat intensive and may mean, "to permanently set free" (cf. Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:14).
Antilutron
Basic Meaning: This word occurs only once in the New Testament (1 Tim. 2:6) and not at all in the Old Testament Septuagint. It is a combination of the preposition anti, “instead of, in place of, for,” and lutron, “ransom.”
Key Ideas of Antilutron: It signifies a substitute ransom price, a ransom in place of another or others. “…Such a term well suits the Timothy passage which says of Christ, ‘who gave himself a ransom for all.’ The thought clearly resembles that of Mark 10:45, i.e. that Jesus has died in the stead of those who deserved death…”120
Agorazo
Basic Meaning: “This word originally meant ‘to frequent the forum’ from which eventually the meaning ‘to acquire, to buy in the forum’ evolved, and this remains the standard meaning…”121 It is derived from agora, meaning "market place" or “forum, public square of an ancient Roman city.” As Morris points out above, it literally means, "to purchase, buy in or from the market place," though in time the idea of the place disappeared. It then simply meant, “to purchase,” and is used in this general sense in the New Testament twenty-four times. In six places, however, Christians are said, “to have been bought,” and these passages refer to the concept of redemption. In ancient times slaves were brought to the market place, put on the block in the market place, and then traded or sold to the highest bidder. Passages that use this word in the sense of redemption by the price of Christ’s death are 1 Corinthians 6:20; 7:23; 2 Peter 2:1; Revelation 5:9; 14:3, 4.
Key Ideas of Agorazo: stresses Christ's sovereign worth, value, and thus His ability to redeem us from the slave block of sin by paying the price of our redemption.
Exagorazo
Basic Meaning: This is a compound verb derived from the preposition ek, which means "out of" plus agorazo. It means to "purchase out, buy out" or "ransom out". The word is intensive and adds the idea of "deliverance and freedom through the price paid" (Gal. 3:13; 4:5).
Key Ideas of Exogarazo: Because of the preposition, this word may place more emphasis on the deliverance and freedom element. Believers have been set free from the slave master, which is the law and its indictment and condemnation of man as a sinner (cf. Col. 2:14).
1. The Agent of Redemption: The agent is, of course, the Lord Jesus Christ who, in His sinless person and by His death on the cross, purchased our redemption (Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:14; Rom. 3:24). As part of the work of reconciliation, God the Father removed the sin problem through the person and work of His Son.
2. The Instrument and Point of Redemption: This is the blood and the cross of Jesus Christ (Eph. 1:7; 1 Pet. 1:18-19). The blood stands for the fact Christ died as the sacrificial Lamb of God and as the substitute for sinners.
3. The Object of Redemption: This is man's sin and slavery to sin. The object of redemption is not simply man, but man's sin problem and his bondage to sin (Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:14; Gal. 3:13).
4. The Results of Redemption: (a) forgiveness of sin (Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:14), (b) deliverance from bondage to sin and the Law (Gal. 3:13), (c) provides the basis for imputation and justification (Rom. 3:24; 2 Cor. 5:9), (d) provides the basis for our adoption as adult sons of God (Gal. 4:5-6), (e) provides the basis for an eternal inheritance (Heb. 9:15), and (f) provides the basis for capacity to glorify God (1 Cor. 6:20).
Ryrie summarizes the doctrine of redemption as follows:
Redemption may be summarized around three basic ideas. (1) People are redeemed from something; namely, from the marketplace or slavery of sin. (2) People are redeemed by something; namely, by the payment of a price, the blood of Christ. (3) People are redeemed to something; namely, to a state of freedom; and then they are called to renounce that freedom for slavery to the Lord who redeemed them.122
Here in Colossians 1:12-14, the apostle has given us a brief glimpse of some of the wonderful accomplishments of what the Father has done for us in Christ, the Son of His love. In Romans 8:31-39, the apostle asks a series of rhetorical questions that are designed to cause us to think on some of the awesome consequences of this, and then to respond to the grace of God and these awesome things the Father has accomplished for us in His Son as also expressed here in Colossians 1:13. He writes:
8:31 What then shall we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 8:32 Indeed, he who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, freely give us all things? 8:33 Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 8:34 Who is the one who will condemn? Christ is the one who died (and more than that, he was raised), who is at the right hand of God, and who also is interceding for us. 8:35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will trouble, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 8:36 As it is written, “For your sake we encounter death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 8:37 No, in all these things we have complete victory through him who loved us! 8:38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things that are present, nor things to come, nor powers, 8:39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom. 8:31-39).
Writing on this text, S. Lewis Johnson writes:
It is sometimes said that Paul’s terminology in this section (vv. 12–14) was derived primarily from that of his gnostic opponents. A look at the Greek text (or even the AV text) of Acts 26:18 demonstrates the error of this. Paul’s terminology goes back to the great event of his life, his meeting with Messiah and his commission as an apostle. There Saul learned the surpassing excellence of Jesus of Nazareth, and there the seeds of Pauline theology, the missionary theology of conversion, were sown. There the burden rolled away, and there the lusty intrepid Pharisee became a free man in Christ. There Saul was saved, and from this encounter there sprang up that unique and piercing insight into the grace of God, which kindled and fed, as it must always do, the flames of ceaseless and unfading gratitude—the most vital and potent force in Christianity and in the Christian. Keble caught something of this when he wrote:
“As to Thy last Apostle’s heart
Thy lightning glance did then impart
Zeal’s never-dying fire.”123
Are we also responding with a heart of gratitude that is focused on the Lord? Are we actively giving thanks for what God has done, is doing, and will, and are we is seeking to serve the Savior in the enablement that He gives. Such a response can only come as we begin to truly comprehend the grace of God in Christ, are seeking to know Him intimately in all the situations of life as we face them, and are resting in His sovereign grace?
3:14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 3:15 from whom every family in heaven and on the earth is named. 3:16 I pray that according to the wealth of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner man, 3:17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, so that, by being rooted and grounded in love, 3:18 you may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 3:19 and thus to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.
3:20 Now to him who by the power that is working within us is able to do far beyond all that we ask or think, 3:21 to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Eph. 3:14-21).
108 For a more detailed discussion and list of what Christians have in Christ, see “The Wealth of the Believer’s Position in Jesus Christ” as described in The ABCs For Christian Growth, Laying the Foundation, Part Two, The Transformed Life, Lesson 3, The Christ-Centered Life.”
109 Walter Bauer, Wilbur F. Gingrich, and Frederick W. Danker, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1979), electronic media. Here after referenced as BAGD.
110 BAGD, electronic media.
111 Norman L. Geisler, The Bible Knowledge Commentary, New Testament edition, ed. John F. Walvoord, Roy B. Zuck (Victor Books, Wheaton, 1983), electronic media.
112 William Barclay, New Testament Words, Combining A New Testament Wordbook and More New Testament Words (SCM Press LTD, Bloomsbury Street, London, 1964), 133-134.
113 Barclay, 134
114 G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh, 1973), 53.
115 BAGD, electronic media.
116 S. Lewis Johnson, "Studies in the Epistle to the Colossians, Part I," Bibliotheca Sacra (Dallas Theological Seminary, vol. 118, #471, 345.
117 Leon Morris, The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross (Wm. B. Eerdman Publishing Co, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 3d ed., 1965), 11.
118 Morris, 11-12.
119 BAGD, electronic media.
120 Morris, 51.
121 Morris, 53.
122 Charles C. Ryrie, Basic Theology (Victory Books, Wheaton, 1987), electronic media.
123 Johnson, 345-346.
I. Doctrinal: The Person and Work of Christ (1:1-23)
B. The Supremacy of the Person of Christ (1:15-18)
1. His Relation to God (1:15)
2. His Relation to Creation (1:16-17)
3. His Relation to the Church (1:18)
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation, 16 for all things in heaven and on earth were created by him—all things, whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions, whether principalities or powers—all things were created through him and for him. 17 He himself is before all things and all things are held together in him. 18 He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the firstborn from among the dead so that he himself may become first in all things.
From his prayerful concern that the Colossians might walk in a manner fitting to their new life in Christ, the apostle moves quickly into the main focus of this epistle—the exaltation and preeminence of Christ in His person and work. Part of the reason was the false teaching confronting the Colossians, but another reason is because nothing is more vital for experiencing the power of Christ and fruitfulness than an accurate understanding of both the person and work of Jesus Christ. Without truly understanding who Jesus really is and what He alone could and did accomplish through the cross, people become sitting ducks for cultic systems or false religious beliefs that seek to come to God other than exclusively through the Lord Jesus Christ. Always, all false belief systems either reject what the Bible teaches about the person of Christ (deny His deity or true humanity), or they seek to add something to the work of Christ (add some system of religious or ascetic works), or they will do both—subtract from His person and add to His work. In other words, what Christ accomplished on the cross is not sufficient, so some system of works is added as a means of true spirituality and access to God. This is precisely what the false teachers at Colossae were doing. As mentioned in the introductory material to this commentary, these false teachers apparently represented an early system of Gnosticism that would eventually take two forms, one ascetic (some type of religious self-denial) and the other licentious (lacking moral restraint). This philosophy included a Greek form of dualism that believed all matter was evil and that only pure spirit was good. The ascetics taught that the way to overcome the body, which is evil, was by self-abasement and severe treatment of the body. Compare Paul’s warning about "touch not, taste not" in Colossians 2:20-23. The licentious group taught just the opposite—that since the body was evil and only matter, it didn't make any difference what you did with it, or they would advocate that unbridled licentiousness was the only way to rid the body of its evil.
From the standpoint of Christology, or the doctrine of the person of Christ, there were also two schools of Gnosticism that later developed. First, there was docetism, a form that derived its name from the Greek word dokeo, which means, "to seem to be." Those who belonged to this school claimed that the human Jesus was only a phantom, that He had no body. In other words, He only seemed to be as far as His body was concerned, and this meant He only seemed to die on the cross. He was an angelic spirit who appeared in apparitional form or with an apparent body, but in reality He was not truly human or God come in the flesh who literally died for man’s sin. This form clearly denied both the person and work of Christ.
The second school can be called Cerinthianism from it founder, Cerinthus.
…Cerinthian Gnosticism, named after Cerinthus, a late contemporary of John at Ephesus, held that the man Jesus, son of Joseph and Mary, was preeminent in righteousness and wisdom, that “the Christ” came on Him at His baptism and empowered His ministry, but left Him before His crucifixion; it was only a man who died and rose again. Either view eliminated the Incarnation and nullified Christ’s atoning work.124
So both systems ultimately denied that it was the God-man, Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for our sins. As John teaches us, this is nothing less than the spirit of Antichrist.
Who is the liar but the person who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This one is the antichrist: the person who denies the Father and the Son. Everyone who denies the Son does not have the Father either. The person who confesses the Son has the Father also (1 John 2:22-23).
By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses Jesus as the Christ who has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God, and this is the spirit of the antichrist, that you have heard is coming, and now is already in the world (1 John 4:2-3).
The plain teaching of Scripture, a truth backed up by the historical fact of the resurrection of Jesus, is that without the incarnation there is no salvation and Christianity is just another religion. “Think of it this way: God needed a ransom so that man might be forgiven, but only he could meet his own demands.”125 The ransom required a sinless substitute. We could not die for ourselves or for anyone else because of our own sin, which is the case for all humanity with Jesus as the one exception. Thus, in the person of Jesus Christ and by means of the incarnation, Jesus Christ, the God-man Savior and our sinless substitute could and did die for mankind. As man He could die as our representative, and as God He could give us both eternal life and perfect righteousness.
As church historian, Reinhold Seeberg wrote that Athanasius realized that ‘only if Christ is God without qualification, has God entered humanity, and only then have fellowship with God, the forgiveness of sins, the truth of God, and imortality been certainly brought to men.’126
The truth of who Jesus Christ is according to the Bible has never been more important than it is today. There are those today who claim they believe in the Christ and that He is the way of salvation, but their concept of who Christ is falls into the category of Antichrist and is a modern day form of Gnosticism. Operating on the delusion that all people can reach godhood, many today believe that Christ exists in every person and that He is simply waiting to be discovered. Christ has become a generic term for whatever god one wants to believe in.
Interest in Christ is on the rise. A recent article in U.S. News & World Report says that “the quest for the historical Jesus is getting a new surge of scholarly energy.” Every day—in churches, in self-help groups, in discussions at home and in the office—Christ is discussed. In fact, interest in Him seems to be increasing right along with the proliferation of new species of privatized religion. Christ is being redefined to suit the syncretism of our times…
I’ve discovered that the less some people know about Christ the more they like Him. The baby in the manger touches even the most cynical soul who has long since given up on religion. The secularist who is bent on reforming society quotes selected verses from the Sermon on the Mount with reverence. And the religious types use Him as their example of humility, sacrifice, and basic goodness. He is worthy to be spoken about in hushed tones. He is, say some, the first among equals. Yet in all this He is often dammed by faint praise.
Since Christ said that the world would hate Him, we can be quite sure that when the world loves Him it is because they have made Him into something He is not. The biblical Christ cannot be dismissed; He stands in our path forcing us to make a decision, either to the right or to the left. In His presence neutrality is impossible. The babe in the manger quickly grows to become God, the King.127
Colossians 1:15-18 has been called “The Great Christology” because it sets forth Paul’s inspired conviction and understanding of just who Jesus Christ is. S. Lewis Johnson introduces his comments on this portion of Colossians with the following comments, which are very fitting to the focus of these verses.
One evening near the Sea of Galilee Jesus spoke to His disciples after a busy day of ministry and said, “Let us cross over to the other side.” When the multitude of people was dismissed, the disciples took their weary Leader into a boat and began to make their way across the lake. But there arose a lashing storm which churned the little sea into wet fury, and soon the boat and its occupants were in danger of being swamped. Anxiously and somewhat peevishly they turned to their sleeping Companion and brusquely aroused Him with, “Master, carest thou not that we perish?” being quite unaware of the fact that there is no sinking with the Savior aboard. Jesus arose and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush! Be still!” The wind died, and a dead calm ensued. After He had rebuked them for their fear and faithlessness, they, awestruck, murmured to one another, “What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?” (cf. Mark 4:35–41).
If the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews had been present, knowing what he knew when he wrote his letter, he would have replied confidently, “Why, He is the effulgence of God’s glory and the stamp of God’s very being, and sustains the universe by His word of power” (cf. Heb 1:3). Paul the Apostle might have replied, “He is the image of the invisible God; He has primacy over all created things” (Col 1:15).
This line from Paul introduces the section of Colossians which has often been called, “The Great Christology.” We owe the section to the heresy of Gnostic Judaism, which was on the verge of infecting the little church in Colosse. Thus, in one respect at least we may be thankful for heresy, because the church of Jesus Christ would be impoverished substantially if it did not possess this significant testimony to the pre-eminence of its Redeeemer.128
In verses 15-18, Paul highlights several unique characteristics that qualify Jesus Christ to be the preeminent one who has supremacy over all things (cf. vs. 18). He is: (1) the image or likeness and manifestation of the invisible God, (2) the Firstborn or Sovereign over the first creation, (3) the Creator (architect, builder, and goal) of the universe, (4) the Sustainer of creation, (5) the Sovereign or Head of the new creation, the church, (6) the Firstborn from the dead, and thus (7) the Preeminent One of all things. Salvation, of course, is dependent on both the person and work of Christ, thus, in verses 19-20, Paul highlights the work of Christ as the Reconciler of all things, the one who makes peace. There is no one passage in the New Testament that lists so many characteristics that point to Christ’s deity as are found in this short, but powerful passage. It presents the supremacy of the person of Christ in relation to God (vs. 15), in relation to Creation (vss. 16-17), and in relation to the Church (vs. 18).
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation
From the accounts that have been preserved of the teachings of Cerinthus and other Gnostics, it seems clear that the Gnostics taught that the world was created not by the Supreme God, but by an inferior power. This was because,
…Gnosticism was a religious philosophy of metaphysical and radical dualism which taught that God was spirit and good, and that matter and the world were hopelessly evil. Therefore, God could not have created the physical world, because good cannot create evil. A lesser divinity, called by the platonic term Demiurge, committed the mistake of forming the world, in which souls as divine sparks are imprisoned and asleep…129
While Paul was not writing against full-blown Gnosticism as it would later develop, it seems clear that he was dealing with an insipient form that was mixed with certain Judaistic elements. Thus, the apostle asserts that Christ is nothing less than the exact and unique image of the invisible God. “Image” is eikon, a term that expresses the concepts of (1) representation and (2) manifestation. As Lightfoot shows, an image can be two things that come together in each image. An image can be a representation; but a representation, if it is perfect enough, can also become a manifestation.130 By the use of this word, Paul is stressing that Jesus is the perfect manifestation of God. To see what God is like, we must look at Jesus (cf. John 14:7-10; 1:14-18; 12:45; Heb. 1:3). And the description of God as invisible (the emphatic adjective aoratou), clearly shows both aspects of representation and manifestation apply here. Then, with the words, “image of God,” Paul uses the present tense of eimi (is), which stresses that Christ is always and everywhere the manifestation of God.
The very nature and character of God have been perfectly revealed in him; in him the invisible has become visible. Both Old and New Testaments make it plain that “no one has ever seen God.” The Fourth Evangelist, however, adds that “the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, has made him known” (John 1:18). A similar statement is made elsewhere by Paul who, probably with the Damascus road experience in mind, asserts that “the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God (eijkwVn tou' qeou')” had dawned upon him. The God whose creative Word in the beginning called light to shine forth from the darkness had now shone in his heart “to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor 4:4, 6; cf. 3:18). The same point is made in another way by the writer to the Hebrews that Christ is the “radiance (ajpauvgasma) of God’s glory and the very impress of his being” (Heb 1:3).131
The words “the firstborn over all creation” have been a source of great debate, especially with certain cultic groups, because they first appear to make Christ a part of creation. They would say that He is only the first created being, but this is totally erroneous for a number of reasons. Johnson has an excellent summary of the reasons such a view is false.
First, it is inconsistent with the context (cf. vv. 16–17). He existed before all things; in fact, He is the creator Himself. Jesus of Nazareth was not a newcomer at Bethlehem.
Second, it is inconsistent with the rest of the New Testament, which often affirms His uniqueness and responsibility for creation (cf. John 1:3; 3:16 , “only begotten”).
Third, the word prototokos has two connotations (perhaps derived from the fact that protos may mean first in time, or first in rank; cf. the English first): (1) priority, and (2) sovereignty. In view of the statement of verse eighteen, that He has become pre-eminent in all things, it seems probable that Paul has the thought of sovereignty primarily in view. The use of the word in the Old Testament confirms this, for in Psalm 89, which is strongly Messianic, the Psalmist says of Christ, “Also I will make Him my firstborn (prototokon), higher than the kings of the earth” (Ps 89:27, LXX). Paul, then, effectively counters any claim of the heretics that Christ was only an angelic emanation from God and part of the creation. He is creation’s Lord.132
To this, Geisler adds the following cogent arguments.
Though it is grammatically possible to translate this as “Firstborn in Creation,” the context makes this impossible for five reasons: (1) The whole point of the passage (and the book) is to show Christ’s superiority over all things. (2) Other statements about Christ in this passage (such as Creator of all [1:16], upholder of Creation [v. 17], etc.) clearly indicate His priority and superiority over Creation. (3) The “Firstborn” cannot be part of Creation if He created “all things.” One cannot create himself. (Jehovah’s Witnesses wrongly add the word “other” six times in this passage in their New World Translation. Thus they suggest that Christ created all other things after He was created! But the word “other” is not in the Gr.) (4) The “Firstborn” received worship of all the angels (Heb. 1:6), but creatures should not be worshiped (Ex. 20:4-5). (5) The Greek word for “Firstborn” is protokotos. If Christ were the “first-created,” the Greek word would have been protoktisis.
“Firstborn” denotes two things of Christ: He preceded the whole Creation, and He is Sovereign over all Creation. In the Old Testament a firstborn child had not only priority of birth but also the dignity and superiority that went with it (cf. Ex. 13:2-15; Deut. 21:17). When Jesus declared Himself “the First” (ho protos; Rev. 1:17), He used a word that means “absolutely first.” “Firstborn” also implies sovereignty. The description “firstborn” was not a fairly common Old Testament designation of the Messiah-God. “I will also appoint Him My Firstborn, the most exalted of the kings of the earth” (Ps. 89:27). While this regal psalm refers to David, it also designates the Messiah, as seen in Revelation 1:5, where Christ is called “the Firstborn from the dead (cf. Col. 1:18) and the Ruler of the kings of the earth.” So “Firstborn” implies both Christ’s priority to all Creation (in time) and His sovereignty over all Creation (in rank).133
for all things in heaven and on earth were created by him—all things, whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions, whether principalities or powers—all things were created through him and for him. He himself is before all things and all things are held together in him.
With the word “for,” the apostle begins his explanation and proof why Jesus Christ is the Sovereign over all creation. “For” is hoti, a causal conjunction, “because, since.” It points the reader to the reason Christ is in the image of God, i.e., because He is the Creator by virtue of His work as the Architect, Builder, Goal, and Sustainer of the Universe.
The apostle exclaims that Christ, the Father’s beloved Son (1:13), is sovereign because of His relation to creation. Three prepositional phrases are used to describe this relationship. These are: (1) en auto, “by him,” or “in him.” (2) di autou, “through him,” or “by means of him.” And (3) eis auton, “unto him.” Most translations render the first phrase with “by him,” which is a possible translation, but doubtful because the next phrase, “through him,” again declares that He is the agent of Creation. If we take the en in the local sense and not the instrumental sense, this tells us that the Son is the place where the eternal plans and ideas of creation have their abode. As Johnson explains,
…we have an illuminating contribution to Pauline thought, which may be set forth most clearly by means of an illustration. Several steps are involved in the construction of a substantial building. First, an architect is obtained to design the building and prepare plans and specifications in accordance with the expressed desires of the owner. Then the plans are submitted for bids by builders or contractors, and a builder secured. After the completion of the edifice, it is occupied by the owner and devoted to its intended use. Our Lord is not only the builder of the universe; He is also its architect and owner. All things have been created in Him (the eternal plans for the creation abode in Him), by Him (He acted as builder) and for Him (the creation belongs to Him and is to reflect His glory). Before the indescribable majesty of the eternal Christ we are constrained to respond reverently,
“Then sings my soul, My Savior God to Thee: How great Thou art! How great Thou art!”134
The all-encompassing scope of the Son’s creation is described in the words, “all things” (repeated twice for emphasis, once at the beginning and once at the end of this verse), but even this is expanded by a chiasm seen in the words, “the things in the heavens and upon the earth, the things visible and invisible.” “Heaven” corresponds to the invisible and “on earth” to things visible. The relationship can be shown as follows:
in heaven,
and upon the earth
things visible
and invisible
Then, the all-encompassing scope of Christ’s authority is expanded even further by the inclusion of thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers, which are references to the invisible world of angels, both good and evil. With the Colossian heresy in mind, the apostle lays stress on the hierarchy of angelic powers to stress “…even the cosmic powers and principalities, which apparently received some prominence in that heresy, were created in Christ. Good or bad, all are subject to him as Creator.”135 The terms thrones (thronoi), powers (kuriotetes), rulers (archai), and authorities (exousiai) show that in the angelic or spirit world there is a highly organized dominion. As seen later in this epistle, the false teachers were attempting to influence some of the Colossians to engage in the worship of angels (Col. 2:18), but the apostle declares that Christ reigns supreme over all of them (cf. Eph. 1:21; 3:10; 6:12; Phil. 2:9-10; Col. 2:10, 15).
He himself is before all things and all things are held together in him.
Paul has described Christ as the architect, builder, and goal of the created universe, but what is His place in relation to the present? Verse 17 describes this in two ways. First, He has temporal priority to all things created (vs. 17a), and He is the Sustainer of the universe (vs. 17b).
The pronoun “he” is best understood as the emphatic use of autos. This is suggested by the wider context, which lays stress on Christ’s unique position and preeminence above all things. It means, “he himself, he and no other.” “Among supernatural potentates Jesus has no rival for the lordship of the universe (v. 17a) and the church (v. 18).136
“He is” describes Christ’s absolute existence as the eternal “I Am.” Paul does not say, “he came to be (ginomai) before all things,” but that “he is (autos estin, the intensive autos with the present tense of eimi, “I exist, I am”) before all things.” This is Paul’s way of saying what Jesus said Himself in John 8:58.
8:57 when the Jewish people who had been listening to him replied, “You are not yet fifty years old! Have you seen Abraham?” 8:58 Jesus said to them, “I tell you the solemn truth, before Abraham came into existence, I am!” (ego eimi)
The Jews then picked up stones to stone Jesus, which was the normal punishment for blasphemy in the Old Testament. This attempt to stone Christ shows they believed He was committing blasphemy and understood He was claiming to be God. Jesus Christ is not some lesser created being who later created the universe or matter, but the eternal God Himself who existed as the I Am before anything was created.
“Before,” in “before all things,” is the preposition pro, which may refer to time or to priority, status. Though the primary use is that of time, due to the context (He is the sovereign over all creation [vs. 15], and has first place [vs. 18], both elements are surely included here.
Paul summarizes the Son’s relation to creation with the words, “and all things are held together in Him.” “Held together” is the Greek sunistemi, “to bring together, unite, collect,” and then, “continue, endure, exist, hold together.”137 Christ is not only the one who brought all things into being as their efficient cause, but He now holds them together as their conserving power.
This means that not only is the Son the agent of creation in the beginning, and the goal of creation in the end, but between the beginning and the end, during time as we know it, it is he who holds the world together. That is to say, all the laws by which this world is order and not chaos are an expression of the mind of the Son. The law of gravity and the rest, the laws by which the universe hangs together, are not only scientific laws but also divine.
So, then, the Son is the beginning of creation, and the end of creation, and the power who holds creation together, the Creator, the Sustainer, and the Final Goal of the world.138
In verse 18 Paul affirms Christ’s superiority and supremacy over a new creation, the church. Here the apostle moves from the cosmological to the soteriological because the Colossians must also recognize that the Creator of the cosmos is also supreme head of the church as their Savior. There are three key elements that stand out here.
He is the head of the body, the church
To demonstrate the unity and caring function of believers for one another, Paul had previously used the figure of the human body as a metaphor of the church (1 Cor. 12:12-27; Rom. 12:4-8). In 1 Corinthians, the head was presented as just another of the members of the body (1 Cor. 12:21), but here in Colossians, undoubtedly because of the heresy at Colossae that was threatening Christ’s supremacy, the apostle changes and broadens the metaphor, and Christ is presented as the head of the body, which is the church. The personal pronoun “he” is again autos, and as in verse 17, it represents the intensive use and should be understood to mean, “he himself, he and no other.” The intensive use of autos sets the individual off from everything else as a means of emphasis and to set forth a contrast.139 Christ is superior, and this superiority is declared in contrast to the above principalities and powers of evil (Col. 2:10; cf. Eph. 6:12), and to angels (cf. Col. 2:18 with Heb. 1:4-13).
He is here described as “the head of the body, the church.” The obvious meaning of “head” (kephale), especially in this context and in Paul’s use of this term as a description of Christ, is that of authority, supremacy, director, control. This use is clearly established in the Septuagint translation of the Old Testament where kephale is used to render rosh, which carried the double meaning of “head” and “ruler” (cf. Jdg. 10:18; 11:8 with 11:9, 11; 2 Sam. 22:44). This is further supported by Paul’s emphasis in Ephesians 1:22-23, “And God put all things under Christ’s feet and he gave him to the church as head over all things. Now the church is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.”
That He is the head of the body stresses several things as to Christ’s Headship: The first is Christ’s supremacy, authority, and right to direct His body, the church. The second, and closely related, is that the church is a spiritual organism connected to Christ and through which He acts and manifests Himself. As the body is powerless and dead without the head, so the church is powerless and dead without Christ. The body receives its direction and impulses from the head. Thus, every word and action of the church is to be governed and directed by the Lord Jesus as its head. Jesus must, therefore, be the one who directs and empowers the church.
…Without him the Church cannot think the truth, cannot act correctly, cannot decide its direction. There are two things combined here. There is the idea of privilege. It is the privilege of the Church to be the instrument through which Christ works. There is the idea of warning. If a man neglects or abuses his body, he can make it unfit to be the servant of the great purposes of his mind; so by undisciplined and careless living the Church can unfit herself to be the instrument of Christ, who is her head.140
Johnson points to another important truth seen in Christ’s headship.
Finally, the use of the word head, as Vincent Taylor has indicated, asserts His inseparability from the church, but it also excludes His identity with it. The Lord of glory has bound Himself to His body in indissoluble union, but He is still its Lord, the first-born, although “the firstborn (among many brethren” (cf. Rom 8:29). We glory in the wonder of this oneness, but we still sing our grateful hymns of thanksgiving to Him; we carry on no dialogue with ourselves.141
The figure of the church as the body reminds us of a number of elements: (1) Subimission—the church is always to submit to its head. (2) Union—every member of the body is in vital union with Christ who is its source of life. (3) Unity—the church is one body of mutually adapted parts that are to be working together as a team, as one. (4) Diversity—the church is a diversity of abilities and gifts varying in function, in strength, and in honor, yet all are vital to the body. (5) Mutuality—each member is dependent on one another as are the members of our body. No man is an island. (6) Necessity—the growth, care, function, and submission of each member of the body to its Head is vital for the effective function of the body.
Is it necessary to point out that Paul knows of no earthly head of the church? The Head is not in New York, London, Paris or Rome; the Head is in heaven.142
as well as the beginning, the firstborn from among the dead
Paul then adds, “as well as the beginning, the firstborn from the dead.” Literally, “who is the beginning…” “Who” is the Greek hos, a relative pronoun that refers back to the “he” (autos) of verse 18a, but it has a causal sense and points to the reason Christ is the supreme head.143 “Beginning” is arche, “beginning, origin,” but it
…may be interpreted in any one of three ways: as referring to (1) supremacy in rank, (2) precedence in time, or (3) creative initiative. There is, of course, truth in each of these, but it seems best to see in Paul’s word the idea of creative initiative. The meaning then is that Christ is the origin and source of the life of the church, the fount of its being (cf. NEB).144
Headship belongs to Him because He is the source, power, and originating cause of the life of the church.
The statement, “the firstborn from the dead” is appositional and explains why Christ is the origin and life of the church; it further supports the truth of Christ as the source and originating cause. “Firstborn” is again prototokos (see vs. 15), but here the emphasis by context is on Christ’s supremacy in time. He is the first one to break the hold of death in a glorified body by virtue of the resurrection. As such, He is the beginning of a new creation of God,
…At Genesis 49:3 the two terms “firstborn” and “beginning” appear together to describe the firstborn as the founder of a people (cf. LXX Deut 21:17 and Rom 8:29). The resurrection age has burst forth and as the first who has risen from among those who had fallen asleep (ejk tw`n nekrw`n) he is the first-fruits who guarantees the future resurrection of others (1 Cor 15:20, 23).145
so that he himself may become first in all things.
“He” is again the intensive autos, and should be understood to mean “he himself, he and no other.” The idea is “he alone has become preeminent.” Grammatically, “so that he may become,” can be understood as expressing the result of the preceding, specifically, the resurrection, or these words may be taken as pointing to the divine purpose through the resurrection. The Greek text has hina with the subjunctive mood of the verb ginomai, “become, be,” which normally expresses purpose, but sometimes it may express result. If “result,” it still expresses God’s intended result.
“So that in everything he might have the supremacy” in one sense is a summary of all that Paul has affirmed from v. 15 to this point, but syntactically it must be seen as expressing the purpose of the immediately preceding statement about Christ’s being the beginning, the firstborn from the dead. He rose from the dead in order that his preeminence might become universal, extending both to the old creation and to the new. He had always been first, but by his resurrection he entered upon an even wider and more significant sovereignty (cf. Acts 2:26; Rom 1:4).146
The purpose of it all is that He might become pre-eminent in all things. The Apostle appears to contrast the use of genetai (AV construes with proteuon and renders, “might have the pre-eminence”) with the estin (AV, “is”) of verse seventeen. He is supreme over the first creation by virtue of His work of creation. By virtue of His incarnation, cross and resurrection He has taken the supreme place in the new creation, the church, and by this spiritual work He has now become preeminent in all things.147
Also, the use of “became” (ginomai), is probably designed to show a contrast between the “is” (estin) of verse 17a and the “became” (ginomai) of verse 18c. In relation to the universe, Christ is the “I Am,” the one who always is, but in relation to the church, He became the supreme head by His glorious resurrection.
According to the teaching of the false teachers confronting the Colossians, Jesus did not have first place; He was only one of many emanations from God, but not the supreme Son of God and the preeminent one. So, many people today reject Christ as the only way, and assert He is only one of many ways to God, or just a part of the way to God. But the Bible emphatically states that Jesus Christ is the only way, and the one and only name by which anyone can be saved. This is because of Who He is and What He accomplished by virtue of His death and resurrection. “The same eternal Logos (John 1:1) who ‘became flesh’ (John 1:14) and ‘humbled Himself’ (Phil. 2:8) is now ‘exalted’ by God the Father ‘to the highest place’ and has been given ‘the name that is above every name’ (Phil. 2:9).”148
Summing up the great facts of these verses, we have seen that Christ is:
(1) The Sovereign of the First Creation: He is the very manifestation of God by virtue of the fact He is the sovereign Creator God and the Sustainer of the universe (vss. 15-17). All creation, visible and invisible, all the angelic beings, have their source in Him.
(2) He is the Head of the Second Creation, the Church, which is His body: He is the very origin and source of the church by virtue of His resurrection as the first born to break the hold of death. As the resurrected Lord, He has conquered every enemy (death, sin, and Satan), or every power that stands to oppose God’s purpose for the human race. As the Head, He is to direct and empower the church to fulfill its purpose in the world, so the church must learn to live in submission to Him (vss. 18a).
(3) He is the Preeminent One: By virtue of Who He is (the Sovereign Lord, Creator, Sustainer, and Head of the Church), and by virtue of What He accomplished through the resurrection, God’s overall purpose is that Jesus Christ and no other might have preeminence and be Lord of all (vs. 18b).
There are undoubtedly many points of application that might be made from these verses, but four things stand out, especially in the context of the false teachers at Colossae.
1. Christ alone is to be the object of our worship, the sole means of deliverance from the power of darkness, and the means of transference into the kingdom of God’s beloved Son, the only one in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. There is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12), or religious system that can bring us to God (John 14:6).
2. No Christian leader, like Diotrephes of 3 John 1:9, should ever seek to have the place of preeminence, nor should Christians seek to put their leaders, no matter how skilled or dynamic, on a pedestal (cf. 1 Cor. 1:11-17; 3:4-9). Such actions not only usurp Christ’s place of preeminence, but they cause pride in people and cause them to get their eyes off the true source of blessing and fruitfulness in ministry (again cf. 1 Cor. 3:6-9).
3. The same also applies to the worship of angels. Angels, at least the good angels, are ministering spirits, sent out by the Lord to render service to the body of Christ (Heb. 1:14), but they are never to be made preeminent or worshipped in any way as in prayer or in seeking guidance from angels (cf. Rev. 19:10; 22:8). Our prayers are to be directed to the Father, in the name of the Son, and in the power of the Holy Spirit.
4. Finally, the figure of Christ as the head of the body, which is the church, is one of seven major figures that teach us a number of important truths regarding Christ’s relationship with the church, and ours to Him (for an overview of these seven, see the addendum at the end of this study). Weirsbe has some excellent and practical points on this figure:
There are many images of the church in the New Testament, and the body is one of the most important (Rom. 12:4ff; 1 Cor. 12:14; Eph. 4:8-16). No denomination or local assembly can claim to be “the body of Christ,” for that body is composed of all true believers. When a person trusts Christ, he is immediately baptized by the Holy Spirit into this body (1 Cor. 12:12-13). The baptism of the Spirit is not a postconversion experience—for it occurs the instant a person believes in Jesus Christ.
Each Christian is a member of this spiritual body, and Jesus Christ is the Head. In Greek usage, the word head meant “source” and “origin” as well as “leader, ruler.” Jesus Christ is the Source of the church, His body, and the Leader. Paul called Him “the Beginning” which tells us that Jesus Christ has priority in time as far as His church is concerned. The term beginning can be translated “originator.”
No matter which name you select, it will affirm the preeminence of Jesus Christ in the church. The church had its origin in Him, and today it has its operation in Him. As the Head of the church, Jesus Christ supplies it with life through His Spirit. He gives gifts to men, and then places these gifted people in His church that they might serve Him where they are needed. Through His Word, Jesus Christ nourishes and cleanses the church (Eph. 5:25-30).
No believer on earth is the head of the church. This position is reserved exclusively for Jesus Christ. Various religious leaders may have founded churches, or denominations; but only Jesus Christ is the Founder of the church which is His body. This church is composed of all true believers, and it was born at Pentecost. It was then that the Holy Spirit came and baptized the believers into one spiritual body.
The fact that there is “one body” in this world (Eph. 4:4) does not eliminate or minimize the need for local bodies of believers. The fact that I belong to the universal church does not release me from my responsibilities to the local church. I cannot minister to the whole church, but I can strengthen and build the church by ministering to God’s people in a local assembly.149
124 D. Edmond Hiebert, An Expositional Study of 1 John, Part 1: An Exposition of 1 John 1:1-4 (Bibliotheca Sacra, Vol. 145, #578, April 1988), 200.
125 Erwin Lutzer, The Doctrines that Divide, A fresh Look at Historic Doctrines That Separate Christians (Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, MI. 1989), 33.
126 Lutzer, 29.
127 Erwin Lutzer, Christ Among Other gods (Moody Press, Chicago, 1994), 22-23.
128 S. Lewis Johnson, "Studies in the Epistle to the Colossians, Part III," Bibliotheca Sacra (Dallas Theological Seminary, vol. 119, # 473, Jan. 62), 12.
129 Albert A. Bell Jr., A Guide to the New Testament World (Herald Press, Scottdale, PA, 1994), 156.
130 J. B. Lightfoot, Saint Paul's Epistles to the Colossians and Philemon (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1879 reprint 1961), 145.
131 Peter T. O'Brien, Word Biblical Commentary, Colossians, Philemon, gen. ed., Glenn W. Barker, NT., ed., Ralph P. Martin (Word Books, Publisher, Waco, TX, vol. 44), 43.
132 Johnson, 13.
133 Norman L. Geisler, The Bible Knowledge Commentary, New Testament edition, ed. John F. Walvoord, Roy B. Zuck (Victor Books, Wheaton, 1983), electronic media.
134 Johnson, 15.
135 O’Brien, 46.
136 Murray J. Harris, Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament, Colossians & Philemon (William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, 1991), 46.
137 Walter Bauer, Wilbur F. Gingrich, and Frederick W. Danker, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1979), electronic media. Here after referenced as BAGD.
138 William Barclay, New Testament Words, Combining A New Testament Wordbook and More New Testament Words (SCM Press LTD, Bloomsbury Street, London, 1964), 144.
139 BAGD, electronic media.
140 Barclay, 145.
141 Johnson, electronic media.
142 Johnson, electronic media.
143 Harris, 48.
144 Curtis Vaughan, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, gen. ed. Frank E. Gaebelein (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1976-1992), electronic media.
145 O’Brien, 50-51.
146 Vaughan, electronic media.
147 Johnson, electronic media.
148 Geisler, electronic media.
149 Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Complete (Victor Books, Wheaton, Ill., 1986), 51-52.
I. Doctrinal: The Person and Work of Christ (1:1-23)
B. The Supremacy of the Person of Christ (1:15-18)
C. The Supremacy of the Work of Christ (1:19–2:3)
1. The Plenitude and Description of His Work (1:19-20)
a. In Relation to God (1:19)
b. In Relation to all Creation (1:20)
2. The Purpose and Application of His Work (1:21-23)
3. The Propagation of His Work (1:24–2:3)
This lesson will deal only with The Plenitude of the Work of Christ, but to show the literary relationship with the verses that follow, points 2 and 3 are included in the above Outline Review.
In 1:12-14, the apostle had encouraged the Colossians to give thanks for what God had done for them through His beloved Son. This included being delivered from Satan’s rule of darkness, being transferred into the kingdom of the Son of His love, and having redemption, with redemption being further defined as “the forgiveness of sins.” But all of this is dependent on two things: the Person of Christ and the Work of Christ. Since any redemption and propitiatory work for sin is dependent on qualification of the person who accomplishes the work, the apostle devoted verses 15-18 to who “this Son of God’s love” really is. He then moves from the description of the person of Christ to a powerful declaration of the work of Christ in 1:19-20, by which God reconciled all things to Himself.
The treatment of the Redeemer’s work parallels the treatment of His person, since His work, as His person, is related in order to God the Father (1:19 ), the creation (1:20 ), and the new creation, the church (1:21–23).150
1:19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in the Son 1:20 and through him to reconcile all things to himself by making peace through the blood of his cross—whether things on the earth or things in heaven.
1:19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in the Son (literally, “in him”).151
“For” is the subordinating causal conjunction hoti, which introduces the reason why the Son is supreme in the new creation. His supremacy is found not only in Who He is in His person as declared in vss. 15-18, but in God’s purpose to provide salvation totally through the reconciling work of the Son.
Literally, to draw attention to the emphasis, the text reads, “for in Him God was pleased.” This is followed by two declarations regarding what God was pleased to do: (1) that in Him all fullness dwells, and (2) through Him (also emphatic) to reconcile all things…
The subject of the verb, “was pleased,” is not actually expressed in the Greek text and is somewhat uncertain. Some take it to be “God” or “the Father,” others take it to be “Christ,” and some understand the subject to be “fullness.” The NIV and the NET Bible understand the subject of the passage to be God. God was pleased that in Christ all his fullness should dwell.
Perhaps the more difficult question centers in what the “fullness” refers to. “Fullness” is pleroma, and means “the sum total, fullness, plenitude.” “Dwell” is the aorist tense of katoikeo, “to dwell, reside, settle down.” When considered in the light of the simple oikeo “dwell,” or paroikeo, “dwell along side or near,” katoikeo indicates a permanent abode. The aorist here could well be what grammarians call an ingressive aorist, “to take up a permanent abode,” or it could be a constative aorist, a simple reference to the fact that “all fullness resides in Jesus Christ.”
Most expositors understand “fullness” to refer to “the fullness of deity,” that in Christ, the incarnate Son, was the very fullness of God, all the qualities of God’s divine essence. As such it is a powerful affirmation of Christ’s deity, an affirmation that occurs again in 2:9. But this has already been stated in the immediate context and does not seem to fit the context of verse 20 where the subject is now the work of reconciliation. It seems that it might be better to understand “fullness” to refer to the fullness of God’s plan of reconciliation. In other words, Paul is declaring that the fullness of God’s saving grace and provision of salvation resides totally in the work of Christ through the blood of the cross. Nothing else can be added to the work of the Son. Johnson agrees and explains:
The interpretation of pan to pleroma (AV, “all fulness”) is something of a crux interpretum. Most interpreters take “all fulness” to be a reference to the fullness of the Godhead, making this equivalent to the closely related expression in 2:9, where the words tes theotetos (AV, “of the Godhead”) are added. Perhaps the first mention of the expression is to be interpreted by the last in 2:9, but I am not convinced that this is correct. In the first place, the context is not so suitable for a reference to the divine essence at this point. Paul is in the process of giving the reason for the Son’s pre-eminence in the church, and he has indicated that it relates to His redemptive labor (v. 18). To say that He is supreme in the redeemed new creation by virtue of His divine essence seems a bit out of place, especially in the light of the fact that in verse twenty he reverts to His redemptive work under the term of reconciliation. Since the expression probably was in use by the heretical teachers in Colosse in the technical sense of the totality of divine emanations or agencies, the hierarchy of mediators lying between God and man and under whose control men lived, is it not more probable that the expression has reference to our Lord’s redemptive power or position than to His essential nature? Furthermore, Paul has just mentioned Christ’s resurrection in the expression “firstborn from the dead” (v. 18 ). Must not the fullness, then, be that which arises out of His resurrection? By the resurrection He has been constituted God’s saving Redeemer, the one in whom dwells all saving power (cf. Act 5:31; 17:31 ).
In the second place, can it really be said that, in any sense, God was pleased that the divine essence take up its abode in the Son? Is not Eadie right in contending that “…the Divine essence dwelt in Christ unchangeably, and not by the Father’s consent or purpose. It is His in His own right, and not by paternal pleasure”? Were we not right in saying,
“The highest place that heaven affords
Is His, is His by righe’?
Therefore, I think it best to take “all fulness” to refer to that which is official, and not that which is essential. It is the fullness of saving grace and power, which Paul has in mind. It is the fullness that belongs to one constituted a Savior (cf. Acts 2:36; 5:31; 17:31 ). God was pleased that all saving grace and power take up its permanent abode in Him. Then the following verses, which outline His reconciling work (vv. 20–23 ), expand and expound the fullness in its operation.152
This is particularly significant since the false teachers were teaching that Christ’s death or work of the cross was not sufficient for salvation or for sanctification, and that one must also add some form of human religious or ascetic works into the equation for salvation and even sanctification (cf. 2:16-23 and 3:1-4).
1:20 and through him to reconcile all things to himself by making peace through the blood of his cross—whether things on the earth or things in heaven.
“Through Him” is emphatic for emphasis and points to Christ as the sole agent of reconciliation. The false teachers were saying that the angels and emanations could in some way bring men closer to God, but not so; Christ Jesus is the sole means of reconciliation and His death on the cross the sole method that God has chosen to use.
In the Old Testament, the prophet Habakkuk said, “You are too just to tolerate evil; you are unable to condone wrongdoing” (Ha. 1:13). The question, then, is how can sinful man be reconciled to a holy and just God? Those who believe in universalism, the belief that all will one day be saved or reconciled to God, often appeal to God’s love and argue that a good and loving God could never condemn His creatures to eternal separation or judgment. But such an argument ignores other aspects of God’s character as they are revealed to us in Scripture. God’s divine essence involves not only His love and mercy, but also His absolute righteousness, holiness, and justice. Universalists sacrifice God’s righteousness and holiness on the altar of His love and mercy. The result is a god different from the God of the Bible, a tactic that is very consistent with Satan’s distortions. One part of God’s character cannot bypass or ignore another part of His character without going against His very essence.
Is it possible that man can somehow please God by his own good works? No, not at all!! The reason is found in the facts that by nature, man is separated from God (Rom. 3:23; Eph. 2:3); by his deeds, he is alienated from God (Col. 1:21); and by his condition, being dead in sin and without life, man is incapacitated and unable to deal with his problem (John 1:12-13; 3:3-6; Eph. 2:1; 4:18-19). If there is to be reconciliation to God, it must come from God Himself.
With the term reconciliation, we are confronted with one of the key words of Scripture that deal with God’s salvation for man. Reconciliation means the sinner, separated and alienated from God by the barrier of sin, death, and God’s holy character, can be restored to fellowship with a holy God. How? Through that which God has done for man in His Son, Jesus Christ. This work of God in Christ results in the reconciliation of the believing sinner to God. But precisely and biblically just what does the doctrine of reconciliation include? What does reconciliation itself mean? Who is reconciled, how, when, and where? These are some of the questions that need to be answered.
The English word “reconcile” means “to cause to be friendly again; to bring back to harmony, make peace.” The Greek words for reconciliation are tremendously enlightening. There is katallasso, the verb, and katallage, the noun. These words come from kata, which means “down,” and allasso, which means “to change” or “exchange.” Thus, katallasso means “to change from enmity or disharmony to friendship and harmony,” or “to reconcile” (Rom. 5:10; 2 Cor. 5:18-19). Then there is apokatallasso, the term used here in Colossian 1:20. This is a triple compound word because it adds the preposition apo, “from.” It does not occur in earlier Greek and seems to be used by Paul to express the idea of the completeness of reconciliation (Eph. 2:6; Col. 1:20-21). We can properly translate it “to reconcile completely.”153
Each of these Greek words primarily referred to a one-way kind of reconciliation, one accomplished by one person or party. This is important because the Greeks had a word, diallasso, that referred to a two-way or mutual reconciliation—one dependent upon the work of both parties. Diallasso “denotes a mutual concession after mutual hostility, an idea absent from katall-.”154 Though katallasso could be used of a reconciliation between people (1 Cor. 7:11), the exclusive choice of the katalasso family of words for the reconciliation of the sinner stresses that salvation is totally the work of God that man may either accept by faith or reject, but either way, salvation is a work not partly of man and partly of God as it might occur between people, but totally, 100%, a work accomplished by God through His Son, the Lord Jesus (2 Cor. 5:17-19; Rom. 5:11). This is why this section, vss. 19-20, has been defined in the outline as “The Plenitude and Description of His Work.”
It is, therefore, quite significant that Paul never looks at reconciliation as mutual concession after mutual hostility. Reconciliation is manward, not Godward, in its direction. It is God’s reconciling of man “unto himself” (v. 20 ). God never has had need to be reconciled to man; He has always loved man. It is easy to see the importance of holding right views here, since our attitude to Christ’s work and our very idea of God are affected. From the beginning of the revelation of God, when, after the fall, He came seeking the rebellious first man and his wife with the loving call, “Where art thou?” (Gen 3:9) to our Lord’s plaintive lament over Jerusalem, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!” (Matt 23:37, italics added), the message of God is the message of a loving God who seeks and desires to save the lost. Our Lord did not come in order that God might love men, but because God loved men!155
The concept of reconciliation is, of course, not limited to the words reconcile or reconciliation. When Scripture speaks of “peace with God” (Rom. 5:1), of Christ as “our peace” (Eph. 2:14), and of His work of “establishing peace” (Eph. 2:15-17), this is reconciliation, the work of God in Christ to remove the enmity and alienation that separates God and man (Rom. 5:1-11).
Since, for the apostle, reconciliation is always to God (Rom. 5:10; 2 Cor. 5:19; Eph. 2:16), the words “to himself” (eis auton) would stress this fact. God is not reconciled; He is propitiated. It is mankind, through faith in Christ, that is reconciled to God.
In short, reconciliation is the finished and whole work of God through Christ Jesus by which man is brought from the place of enmity to harmony or peace with God (Rom. 5:1). There are other terms used in Scripture of God’s gracious work in Christ like redemption, justification, regeneration, and propitiation, but reconciliation seems to be the over-all term of Scripture which encompasses all the other terms as a part of what God has done through the Lord Jesus to completely remove the enmity or alienation, the whole of the barrier (sin, God’s holiness, death, unrighteousness, etc.). It is this work that sets God free to justify the believing sinner by faith in Christ so there is peace with God, the change of relationship from hostility to harmony. “Salvation is of the Lord” (Jonah 2:9).
In the light of this definition and explanation of reconciliation, several things need to be kept in mind. First, 2 Corinthians 5:18-19, like Colossians 1:19-20, teaches us that reconciliation is all from God through Christ. It is the work of God apart from man’s works. Second, as evidenced by the last words of the Savior when on the cross, “It is finished,” so 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 shows that it is a completed or finished work. It’s a done deal because the Savior has accomplished all that needs to be done to provide salvation. Third, as obvious from Colossians 1:20, the cross is the place, and a vital and necessary part of reconciliation. This is evident in the words, “by making peace through the blood of his cross” (Col. 1:20, cf. also Eph. 2:14-18). It is on the cross that Christ became our substitute and paid the penalty for our sin. Fourth, though it is a finished work, people must trust in this work of reconciliation by personal faith in order for reconciliation to be effective for any individual (Rom. 5:2-10; 2 Cor. 5:20).
Finally, this work of reconciliation extends to “all things…whether things on earth or things in heaven.” This shows that God’s reconciliation is not limited to humankind, but we must not assume that this verse teaches universalism or universal salvation, for this would be quite contrary to the rest of Scripture. As Wiersbe explains,
Universalism” is the teaching that all beings, including those who have rejected Jesus Christ, will one day be saved. This was not what Paul believed. “Universal restorationism” was not a part of Paul’s theology, for he definitely taught that sinners needed to believe in Jesus Christ to be saved (2 Thes. 1).156
So what do the words “all things” and “whether things on earth or things in heaven” refer to? In keeping with the apostle’s own teaching, this must be understood in the light of Romans 8:18-23.
8:18 For I consider that our present sufferings cannot even be compared to the glory that will be revealed to us. 8:19 For the creation eagerly waits for the revelation of the sons of God. 8:20 For the creation was subjected to futility—not willingly but because of God who subjected it—in hope 8:21 that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage of decay into the glorious freedom of God’s children. 8:22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers together until now. 8:23 Not only this, but we ourselves also, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we eagerly await our adoption, the redemption of our bodies.
Johnson explains,
The answer to the problem is probably to be found in Paul’s words in Romans 8:18–23. The apostle sees man and the creation linked together, and man’s sin has affected the whole creation (cf. Gen 3:17–19). Since Paul elsewhere states that the church shall judge angels (cf. 1 Cor 6:3), apparently even the angelic world is involved in defilement (cf. Job 4:18 [?]; 15:15; 25:5). Answering to this, the reconciling work affects not only man, but the whole created universe. When man’s redemption according to the divine program for the age is completed, then that redemption shall be extended to the physical creation. Just as sin and creation’s curse occurred in history, so shall redemption and creation’s deliverance occur in history. The earthly kingdom, therefore, is a necessary issue of the redemption of man. The creation itself groans and travails in pain as it awaits the day of its redemption (cf. Rom 8:22). As sin brought upon it the curse, so redemption leads to the glorious day when “the wilderness and solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose” (Isa 35:1). The significance of this in the Colossian situation is patent: The angels, far from being true objects of worship (2:18 ), are themselves in need of the effects of the Savior’s ministry!157
That Christ reconciles “all things…whether things on earth or things in heaven” points to the completeness of the plan of God for the universe. This will include the defeat of the enemies of God as described in Revelation 6-19, and the new heavens and earth to be created following the millennial reign of Christ (Isa. 65:17; 66:22; 2 Pet. 3:13; Rev. 21:1), but we dare not miss the fact that the method and means for this is the blood of the cross (Col. 1:20) through God’s sinless Lamb (John 1:29). This truth is beautifully portrayed in the scene depicted in Revelation 5.158 In the right hand of the sovereign God who sits on the throne is a seven-sealed scroll. Many believe that the seven-sealed book contains the story of man losing his lordship over the earth to Satan, the usurper, and its recovery through the God-man Savior, the Lion who is also the Lamb. As the Lamb who was slain, but is alive, He alone is able to accomplish what no one else in the universe can. This is why John is seen sobbing. At first, it appears that no one can recover what has been lost. But through the judgments described in chapters 6-19, which are the judgments of the seven-sealed scroll, the trumpets, and bowls, the Lamb defeats all the enemies of God and comes forth as the King of kings and Lord of lords (Rev. 19:16). Taken primarily from the book of Hebrews, the following may help to demonstrate the picture.
(1) As originally intended by God, the earth and its dominion properly belonged to Adam and to his progeny or descendants (Gen. 1:26-30; Heb. 2:7-8). In this we see the Divine Purpose for Man Decreed (Heb. 2:6-8a)
(2) God never intended for angels, either the good angels, or Satan and the fallen angels under his control, to rule over the earth and the human race (Heb. 2:5, 8b, 14-15; Rev. 9:1-11; 12:1-10). Because of the fall, we see the Divine Purpose Delayed (Heb. 2:8b), “But now we do not see all things subjected to him.”
(3) Therefore, someone must be found within humanity, a kinsman redeemer, who qualified to reclaim the lost inheritance, someone who was true humanity, yet free and able to redeem—not a sinful man or an angel (Heb. 2:9, 14-17). Note the elements of worthiness and redemption in Rev. 5:9-10. In this we see the Divine Purpose for Man Accomplished (paradise lost is regained) (Heb. 2:9, 14, 17).
In this study and the previous one, we have seen Paul’s declaration of the person and work of the Savior, the Son of God’s love. This has focused on a number of wonderful facts Christ in His person and work that may be outlined as follows.159
Six Titles of Christ
In relation to God:
1. The Son of His love: the very Son of God and the place where the Father’s love abides (vs. 13)
2. Image: the exact and visible Expression of God (vs. 15a)
In relation to Creation
3. Firstborn: the Supreme Lord and Sovereign over all creation (vs. 15b)
In relation to the Church:
4. Head: the undisputed Authority and Ruler of the body of Christ (vs. 18a)
In relation to the new creation:
5. The Beginning: the creative Pioneer and constant Source (vs. 18:b)
6. The Firstborn: the Pioneer of a resurrection to immortality (vs. 18c)
The Work of God in Reconciliation
The Author of reconciliation: “God was pleased that all fullness dwell in him” (vs. 19a)
The Agent: “through him (Christ)” (vs. 20a)
The Means and Method: “though the blood of His cross” (vs. 20b)
The Accomplishment: “by making peace (fellowship with God)” (vs. 20b)
The Scope: “all things…whether things on earth or things in heaven” (vs. 20a, c)
The Goal: “to himself” (God)” (vs. 20a)
The late Dr. M.R. DeHaan, noted radio Bible teacher, told about a preacher who was confronted by a cultist who rejected the deity of Jesus Christ.
“Jesus cannot be the eternal Son of God, for a father is always older than his son,” the man argued. “If the Father is not eternal, then He is not God. If Jesus is His Son, then He is not eternal.”
The preacher was ready with an answer. “The thing that makes a person a father is having a son. But if God is the eternal Father, then He must have an eternal Son! This means that Jesus Christ is eternal—and that He is God!”160
But the blessed assurance is found in not only knowing that our Savior is God, the Beloved Son of God, but that God was pleased to have all the fullness of salvation to permanently reside in the person and work of His Son rather than in our record of good works or religious rituals. I’m reminded of the old hymn entitled, No Other Plea:
My faith has found a resting place,
Not in device nor creed;
I trust the ever-living One,
His wounds for me shall plead.
I need no other argument, I need no other plea,
It is enough that Jesus died, And that He died for me.161
How comforting it is to know that our Savior, who has redeemed us by His grace and has promised to never leave us or forsake us, is also the Sovereign Creator and Sustainer of the universe. Nothing is outside of His control. Indeed, His sovereignty or kingdom extends over everything (cf. Ps. 103:19). No matter what this life may bring, He is in charge and working all things together for good according to His infinite wisdom and purposes. And that good is ultimately His honor and our growth, which fundamentally means being conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren (Rom. 8:28-29).
150 S. Lewis Johnson, "Studies in the Epistle to the Colossians, Part I," Bibliotheca Sacra (Dallas Theological Seminary, vol. 119, #474, April 62), 141.
151 While the Grk Text actually has “in him”; the referent (the Son; see v. 13) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
152 Johnson, 142.
153 G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (T & T Clark, Edinburgh, 1960), p. 51.
154 Abbott-Smith, p. 109.
155 Johnson, 143-144.
156 Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Complete (Victor Books, Wheaton, Ill., 1986), 56.
157 Johnson, 145. To his comments, Johnson adds the following footnote: Cf. H. C. G. Moule, The Epistles of Paul the Apostle to the Colossians and to Philemon, p. 86. There is here, of course, no implication that angels know the experience of redemption, No angel will ever be able to sing, “He loved me and gave Himself for me.” The thought, rather, seems to move in the sphere of defilement. The second di autou (AV, “by him, I say”) further stresses the fact that the work is through Christ, not through angels.
158 For a detailed study of this scene, see the author’s discussion of Revelation 5 in Studies In Revelation on the BSF website.
159 With some changes, this material was taken from Murray J. Harris’ work on Colossian, Colossians and Philemon, An Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament (William B. Eerdman’s Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, 1991), 55.
160 Wiersbe, 58.
161 Words by Lidie H. Edmunds, 19th Century, Arr. by William J. Kirkpatrick, 1838-1921, Worship and Service Hymnal (Hope Publishing Company, Chicago, 1957), 254.
I. Doctrinal: The Person and Work of Christ (1:1-23)
B. The Supremacy of the Person of Christ (1:15-18)
C. The Supremacy of the Work of Christ (1:19–2:3)
2. The Plenitude and Description of His Work (1:19-20)
a. In Relation to God (1:19)
b. In Relation to all Creation (1:20)
3. The Purpose and Application of His Work (1:21-23)
a. The Past Alienation Described (1:21)
b. The Present Reconciliation Accomplished (1:22a)
c. The Purpose and Obligation of Reconciliation Described (1:22b)
d. The Cautionary Condition Disclosed (1:23)
4. The Propagation of His Work (1:24–2:3)
This lesson will deal only with the Purpose and Application of the Work of Christ, but as in the previous lesson, points 1, 2, and 3 are included in the above Outline Review to show the literary relationship of all the verses of this section, 1:19–2:3.
1:21 And you were at one time strangers and enemies in your minds as expressed through your evil deeds, 1:22 but now he has reconciled you by his physical body through death to present you holy, without blemish, and blameless before him—1:23 if indeed you remain firm in the faith, without shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard. This gospel has also been preached in all creation under heaven, and I, Paul, have become its servant.
While the gospel message guarantees eternal life to believers, it is not without great ramifications and responsibilities for believers here in this life. God’s purpose is not just to bring us into an eternal relationship with him in the eternal future, but into a vital, life transforming fellowship in this life. God is interested in producing a holy people who represent Him to the world as ambassadors who live as aliens or sojourners. However, as with the promise of eternal life, this life-transforming experience (experiential sanctification) is based on a proper grasp of Christ’s person and the nature of His work of reconciliation as finished and complete. To this there is nothing left for us to add by way of human works or religious rituals for either salvation from sin’s penalty or sanctification from sin’s power. We must learn to rest in the sufficiency of His life and abide in Him by faith. Believers are complete in Christ (Col. 2:10) having been blessed with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places (Eph. 1:3). Thus, in 1:21-23, the apostle writes to stress the purpose and application of the reconciling work of the pre-eminent Christ.
1:21 And you were at one time strangers and enemies in your minds as expressed through your evil deeds,
The truth of reconciliation (to bring from a state of enmity to harmony) naturally presupposes the pre-salvation conditions, which the apostle describes in the words, “strangers and enemies in your minds as expressed through your evil deeds.” “Were … strangers” is a perfect passive participle from the verb apallotrioo, “to estrange, alienate.” In the New Testament, this verb is found only in Paul’s writings, here and in Ephesians 2:12; 4:18, and in each incidence, the apostle uses the perfect tense and the passive voice. This construction focuses on their past state of affairs as the outworking of some condition or specific cause. In the Greek text of Colossians 1:21, the perfect participle is found with ontas, the present participle of eimi, a “to be” verb, which serves to stress the persistence and hopelessness of their past condition. In our pre-salvation condition in which we were born in sin as the children of Adam, we were without hope and totally helpless to deal with our sinful condition and totally unable to establish a relationship with God. In Ephesians 2:12, the focus is on the pre-salvation condition of being gentiles who, because they were without Christ, were also strangers from the citizenship of Israel, and thus alienated from fellowship and service to God. In Ephesians 4:18, the apostle speaks of unbelieving gentiles as alienated from the life of God because of their ignorance, undoubtedly their ignorance of the gospel message of God’s grace and salvation in Christ.
Here in Colossians 1:21, the apostle links alienation with being “enemies in your mind …” Of course, the alienation and enmity has to do with their relationship to God, but the connecting “and” (the Greek kai) can be understood to mean, “even enemies…” In other words, “enemies” explains how the alienation expressed itself in their pre-salvation condition. “Enemies” (a plural form of the noun echthros) speaks of a state of enmity or active hostility and opposition. This opposition is in realm of the mind (dianoia, “mind, understanding,” or “thinking, disposition, attitude”). In this unsaved condition, the mind with its unregenerate attitudes expresses itself through “wicked works.” Before salvation all men stand in opposition to God in one way or another. This is true even of religious and moral persons no matter how godly or moral they may appear in the eyes of others, or how many good works they boast of or engage in. In reality, however, and from God’s standpoint, their works are evil because these works oppose the plan of God’s grace. These works, no matter how good they appear to people, are “wicked” if those who do them stand opposed to or ignore the person and work of Christ as the source of their life, and the only means of reconciliation and sanctification by the Holy Spirit through the truth of God’s Holy Word. In that case, they stand opposed to God’s grace in Christ and are His enemies because they seek to either bypass the Savior as the means and motivation for their works, or they seek to add something to His person and work as a means of acceptance with God. Paul deals with this in great detail in chapter 2 (cf. 2:6-23). Two illustrations of such enemies through wicked works are (1) the religious Pharisees and leaders of Christ’s day who rejected Christ and nailed Him to the cross (cf. Acts 2:22-23), and (2) the false teachers at Colossae. These teachers were advocating reconciliation between God and man through the intervention of angelic mediators and religious/human works (2:16-19) rather than by the biblical reconciliation of man to God through the person and work of Christ alone.
but now he has reconciled you by his physical body through death
Verses 1:19-20 focused on how the reconciling work of Christ through the blood of His cross extends to the whole creation. But with the opening words of verse 21, “and you,” the apostle narrows the cosmic work of Christ to the believers in Colossae. The reconciling work of Christ, though cosmic in its nature, has tremendous local application and significance to Christians everywhere. The apostle demonstrates this significance by making a sharp contrast between their past condition in sin and their present state as reconciled believers. In the Greek text, this contrast and emphasis is stressed by the emphatic position of “and you,” by the words “at one time” (pote) in verse 21, and “but now” (nuni de) in verse 22. The emphasis is now on God’s purpose and plan of sanctification (spiritual growth and transformation) for them as reconciled people. The purpose of God’s plan of reconciliation is personal holiness in His people, as the second part of verse 22 will stress. The wonder of the grace work of God in Christ is contrasted with their past life from which God had delivered them through the reconciling work of the Savior.
…the gravity of their previous condition serves to magnify the wonder of God’s mercy. The past is recalled not because the emphasis falls upon it, but to draw attention to God’s mighty action—here in the reconciling death of his Son—on the readers’ behalf. Their response ought to be one of loving gratitude that shows itself in a determination to continue in the faith (vv 22, 23).162
“By his physical body through death” stresses a vital truth of the New Testament, namely that our salvation was accomplished through One who was nothing less than true humanity and undiminished deity united together in the person of Jesus Christ. He is the God-man Savior who came to restore to mankind that which Adam lost in the fall as recorded in Genesis 3, and to provide salvation to everyone who will believe in Christ as his or her Savior.
Paul emphasized the physical body of Jesus Christ that was nailed to the cross. The false teachers denied the incarnation and taught that Jesus Christ did not have a real human body. Their philosophy that all matter was evil made it necessary for them to draw this false conclusion. But the New Testament makes it clear that Jesus did have a fully human body, and that He bore our sins on that body on the cross (1 Peter 2:24). 163
William Barclay’s comment on Paul’s emphasis on the humanity of Christ is also helpful.
The Gnostics completely denied the real manhood of Jesus. In their own writings they, for instance, set it down that when Jesus walked, he left no footprints on the ground. That is why Paul uses such startling phraseology in Colossians. He speaks of Jesus reconciling man to God in his body of flesh (Colossians 1:22); he says that the fullness of the godhead dwelt in him bodily. In opposition to the Gnostics, Paul insisted on the flesh and blood manhood of Jesus.164
In the Lord Jesus, we have one who is the perfect means of our reconciliation to God because in Jesus we have one who was not only true humanity, but also sinless humanity. He is therefore the only one perfectly qualified to represent us and deal with our sin problem by dying in our place. But He was also undiminished deity, God in the flesh. This means that He can also perfectly represent us because He gives us not just life, but eternal life, and not just righteousness, but God’s imputed righteousness.
to present you holy, without blemish, and blameless before him
The purpose of God’s work of reconciliation in Christ through the cross is holiness. Holiness refers to the state or quality of being holy. The fundamental idea of the Greek term for holy (hagios) is set apartness. The holy person in the biblical sense is one who is set apart to God from the world. However, there are three aspects of holiness or sanctification in the New Testament—positional, progressive, and complete or final sanctification. The Lord is deeply concerned about the holiness of His people. He does not save us so we can live as we please, but so that we might live as a special people set apart to Him and His glory (cf. 1 Pet. 1:13-16; 2:9-12). As to the three phases of sanctification, the first phase is that of the believer’s eternal position of holiness. Every believer from the moment of his or her conversion possesses an eternal and heavenly position. This means a perfect standing in holiness before God through faith in Christ as justified saints (Acts 20:32; Rom. 5:1-2; 1 Cor. 1:2, 30a; 6:11). Then, there is the future sanctification of our ultimate, complete state where we will stand in glory without a sinful nature. This is that point in time when we are completely set apart to the Lord (cf. 1 Thess. 5:23). But in-between, there is the obligation for the spiritual process of progressive sanctification here on earth, not in our own strength, but by power of the Holy Spirit through the sanctifying power of the Word. Regarding progressive sanctification, Evans writes:
2 Pet. 3:18—”But grow in [the] grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” 2 Cor. 3:18—We “are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit.” The tense is interesting here: We are being transformed from one degree of character, or glory, to another. It is because sanctification is progressive, a matter of growth, that we are exhorted to “increase and abound” (1 Thess. 3:12), and to “abound more and more” (4:1, 10) in the graces of the Christian life. The fact that there is always danger of contracting defilement by contact with a sinful world, and that there is, in the life of the true Christian, an ever increasing sense of duty and an ever-deepening consciousness of sin, necessitates a continual growth and development in the graces and virtues of the believer’s life.165
Many if not most commentators take the statement, “to present you holy, without blemish, and blameless before him,” of Colossians 1:22 to refer to either the believer’s present position or to the final state. For instance:
The result of Christ’s reconciling work is the presentation of the Colossians “holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.” Some interpreters, perhaps most, take these words as a description of a yet-future presentation to God (at the Judgment Day). And this is the view this passage seems naturally to suggest. There are, however, a number of scholars (e.g., Lightfoot and Beare) who see it as a statement of what God through Christ had already done for the Colossians. In reconciling them, he brought them into his presence, no longer as unhallowed, stained by sin, and bearing the burden of guilt; but “holy” and “without blemish and free from accusation.” So the reference is to the standing effected for the believer at the time of and by the death of Christ.166
But there is a third option, and one that fits with Paul’s focus on spiritual growth and change in the book of Colossians, but this is only obtained through resting in the full benefits of the person and work of the Savior. Anything else is futile to deal with the indulgences of the flesh (see 2:23).
Bruce presents a view in which there is a balance between the present and the future: “The sentence of justification passed upon the believer here and now anticipates the pronouncement of the judgment day; the holiness which is progressively wrought in his life by the Spirit of God here and now is to issue in perfection of glory on the day of Christ’s parousia” (p. 213).167
The point is this: to return to dead works (cf. Heb. 6:1; 9:14) as a means of acceptance with God or for spirituality is to nullify the power of a believer’s complete position in Christ so long as that believer continues to look to his or her own accomplishments or system of works for spiritual change. Rather, the apostle has in mind progressive holiness in this life that is attained through resting in the accomplished work of Christ and what that work means to believers in their daily walk with the Lord. Holiness, progressively wrought in a believer’s life by the Spirit with a view to his or her mature standing before the Lord in the future, falls in line with Paul’s teaching regarding rewards or their loss in the apostle’s other epistles.
One of the key events that will follow the coming of the Lord for His church is the Judgment or Bema Seat of Christ. This should not be confused with the judgment of the Great White Throne mentioned in Revelation 20, which is for unbelievers only. At the Bema all believers will stand before the Savior to be examined for rewards based on their works or faithfulness to follow the Lord and live in fellowship with Him (cf. 2 Cor. 5:10; Rom. 14:10). As Paul explains in 1 Corinthians 3:12-15 and 2 Corinthians 5:10, each person will either loose rewards or receive rewards based on the quality of his or her works whether bad (worthless) or good (valuable). Thus, one of the goals of reconciliation is that each Christian, through the process of progressive sanctification, will stand as a mature person, as one who is holy, without blemish, and blameless before him, and the promise is that they will receive eternal rewards for their spiritual faithfulness (1 Cor. 5:12-14). If they do not, if they stand before Him as one who has failed to grow and bear fruit, then there is the warning that their works will not stand up to His examination, and their works will be burned as wood, hay, and stubble, though they themselves will be saved (1 Cor. 3:14-15). The apostle John, writing to believers concerning true fellowship and evidences of the abiding life, speaks of the concern and the possibility that believers who fail to walk in fellowship with the Savior or who fail to abide in Him as the source of their spiritual life will find themselves shrinking back in shame from the penetrating presence of the Lord at His coming for the church (1 John 2:28). Therefore, in Colossians 1:22, the terms “holy, without blemish, and blameless,” pertain to the progressive element of sanctification, and “before Him” refers to the Bema Seat of Christ.
“Holy” is the Greek adjective hagios from the verb hagiazo, “to dedicate, separate, set apart for God alone.” Thus, hagios means “devout, godly, dedicated.” In secular Greek, hagios meant “devoted to the gods,” with an application to a temple, devoted perhaps to Aphrodite, or to oriental sanctuaries, or to respected persons.”168 As used of people in the New Testament, hagios refers to those who are set aside from Satan’s world system, and who are dedicated to the service and worship of God. God, who is often called Holy, is the perfect standard of holiness because He is totally set apart from sin and devoted to all that is holy and good. In 1 John 1:5, John declares that “God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.”
Christ too is holy. Before His birth an angel described Him as holy (Luke 1:35). Even the demons realized that He was “the Holy one of God” (Mark 1:24). In their proclamation the apostles repeatedly referred to Christ as the Holy One (Acts 4:27-30).169
The Spirit who indwells all believers as their enablement for the process of sanctification (setting us apart to God) is called the “Holy Spirit” some sixty times in the New Testament, yet people try to become holy without resting in the finished work of Christ, the Holy One, and without trusting in the enabling power of the Holy Spirit.
“Without blemish” is the Greek amomos, “unblemished, without blemish in the moral or religious sense. It was used of sacrificial animals (Num. 6:14; 19:2) it is used of Christ as the sacrificial Lamb of God who offered Himself without blemish to God for our sin (Heb. 9:14; 1 Pet. 1:19). Though used in some places of the believer’s standing before God (cf. Eph. 1:4), it is also used of the believer’s experience or the process of sanctification. In Revelation 14:5 the 144,000 Jewish evangelists of the Tribulation are said to be blameless before the throne of God. The reason given is that “no lie was found in their mouth.” This word is used similarly in Philippians 2:15 though there it is translated “above reproach” (NASB) or “without blemish” (NET).
Therefore, dear friends, since you are waiting for these things, strive to be found at peace, without spot or blemish (amomos), when you come into his presence (2 Pet. 3:14).
“And blameless” is anegkletos, a compound word from egkaleo, “to call in, demand,” “to bring a charge against, accuse” plus the alpha (a) negative. Thus, anegkletos means “not to be called to account, unreprovable, blameless.” It is used of the qualifications of elders and deacons, which certainly does not mean faultless or sinless (1 Tim. 3:10 & Tit. 1:6, 7). In these verses, this term is used in a relative sense as one of the qualities of godly maturity, not the absolute sense of one’s standing before God in justification.
Thus, we have seen that none of these three terms call for a meaning that demands that this text refers to either one’s eternal position or one’s final standing before God, but may refer to the results of the maturing process of sanctification at the Bema or Judgment Seat of Christ. This is particularly important because of the cautionary condition mentioned in the 1:23.
if indeed you remain established and firm in the faith, without shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard.
The apostle concludes this section with a strong conditional sentence that has both a positive affirmation and a negative warning. The positive element is seen in the fact that the condition is a first class condition that assumes the condition of remaining established, that is firm in the faith, has been, is, and will be true of the Colossians (cf. 2:5). This is made even more emphatic with the particle ge, “indeed,” which serves to emphasize the word it is attached to, in this case, the first class condition “if.” The negative warning is seen in the clause, “without shifting from the hope of the gospel you heard.” So there is a real danger presented here, a danger of not being presented before the Lord at the Bema as mature believers whose lives have been consistent in the process of spiritual growth or Christ-like sanctification. This is consistent with what the apostle says in other parts of this letter about the danger of being “careful not to allow anyone to captivate you through an empty, deceitful philosophy that is according to human traditions and the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ” (2:8), and of not holding “fast to the head from whom the whole body, supported and knit together through its ligaments and sinews, grows with a growth that is from God” (2:19).
“Established” is the perfect passive of themelioo, “to be build a foundation,” and so, unlike the foolish who build their houses on sand, those who build their house on the finished work of Christ stand on Christ like a solid foundation, “established, firm.” Christ’s person and finished work constitutes the only Rock on which we may build our lives. The perfect tense of the verb “established” stresses the continuing state of solidarity and the passive voice looks at this as a work that God accomplishes in believers when they hold fast to the person and work of Christ as the source of their spiritual lives for salvation and spirituality.
“Firm in the faith” points us to the results of being built on such a foundation. “Firm” is the Greek word edraios, “steadfast, firm.” That which is steadfast or firm is seen in the phrase that follows in the English text, “in the faith.” This could be, “in your faith,” or “in the faith,” the body of revealed truth that is contained in the gospel, which the apostle previously defined as “the word of truth, the gospel.” It is truth and possesses God’s divine authenticity. An interesting observation here is that “in the faith” immediately follows the verb “remain,” and actually precedes the terms “established and firm.” By this word order, it is somewhat emphatic. In other words, remaining in the faith, the truth of the gospel as Epaphras had presented it to them, is the only way these Colossian believers, or any believer, can become established and steadfast, and thus protected from the shifting sands of the false teachings found in the world.
Thus, the apostle quickly added, “without shifting.” This is the verb metakineo, “to cause a state to cease, with the implication of force—‘to cause to cease, to be shaken from.’ … ‘not to be shaken from the hope (you have)’ Col 1.23.” 170 The verb kineo means, “to set in motion, move,” then, “to remove,” and finally, “to excite, stir up.” When believers are not firm in the faith they become easily disturbed and move from one panacea or remedy for their poor spiritual condition to another in hope of finding security or a means of true spirituality—going from one teacher or teaching to another.
“The hope of the gospel” is simply the “hope the gospel gives,” revealed by no other means or source. But hope is not a wishy-washy, maybe, or I hope so kind of thing that may or may not take place. “Hope” is elpis, and may refer to the act of hoping, i.e., “a confident expectation that looks confidently to what is expected and that is beneficial and meaningful.” Or it may be objective and refer to the object of hope, what is hoped for. Hope is used three times in Colossians (1:5, 1:23, and 1:27). In 1:5, “hope” is objective and surely includes the whole of our salvation—being in God’s presence at home with the Lord immediately after death, eternal glory, a future resurrected body at the resurrection of the just, and most importantly, eternal rewards (2 Tim. 4:8). In other words, the “hope laid up” includes all that goes with the gift of eternal life and the blessings of the eternal state according to the many promises of Scripture. This is a hope that cannot be compared to any earthly hope no matter how exquisite. It is a hope that is a living hope through Christ’s resurrection and gives an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading (cf. 1 Pet. 1:3-5). In 1:23 and 1:27, “hope” certainly includes the above, but in view of 1:27-28 there is another focus. The context anticipates being presented as mature believers before the Judgment Seat of Christ for Paul specifically states that his objective in ministry is to see every believer mature in Christ. Thus, the focus on the term “hope” in 1:23 includes the confident expectation of spiritual transformation—being transformed from glory to glory through the outworking of the indwelling Christ. Christ in us is “the hope of glory” (1:27), the glory of a transformed life by the Spirit here and now in this life (1:27). Ultimate glorification will occur at the rapture (1 Thess. 4:13-18), but we can and must begin to experience the glory of Christ’s life in ours here and now.
The words, “that you heard,” reminds the Colossians of the good news as they heard it from Epaphras, a gospel message that he received directly from the apostle Paul. This once more approves the faithful work of Epaphras and becomes a warning against listening to the wrangling of the false teachers.
And what is this gospel? It is nothing less than the gospel that “has also been preached in all creation under heaven, and I, Paul, have become its servant.” The false teaching confronting the Colossians was merely a local aberration that was being restricted to an elite few, but the message the Colossians had heard, as stressed in 1:5, is actively alive, is universal, and has a world-wide reach that is growing and increasing throughout the world. The statement, “in all creation” is not hyperbole, as it is sometimes claimed. Rather, based on the fact there were those like Paul, the other apostles, and their disciples like Epaphras who were carrying this message far and wide, “in all creation” expresses Paul’s anticipation of the fulfillment of the great commission by the Savior (Matt. 28:19; Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8). This gospel that has been preached and is being preached far and wide in all creation is the message of the sovereign one of “all creation” (1:15). This gospel is the true gospel and takes precedence over all so-called gospels, which are not gospels at all (2 Cor. 11:3-4), because it is about the person and the finished work of the preeminent and sovereign Christ.
“And I Paul have become its servant” connects the Colossians with himself and this gospel. Epaphras was a servant trained by Paul to carry this universal and immense message to others, but its source was the apostolic preaching of Paul, one commissioned directly by the Lord Jesus.
At the same time this mention enables him to link himself in bonds of closer sympathy with the Colossians, and passes on at once to his relations with them…171
As presented in the preceding text, “to present you before Him” can refer to: (1) the believer’s present, eternal position, (2) our future, glorious state, or (3) our potential state of mature sanctification at the Bema or Judgment Seat of Christ. This third position is the one taken in this study and is equally plausible over the first two views for the following reasons:
First, in the broader context of the New Testament, this third view fits with the many promises of rewards in Scripture including Colossians itself (1:10, 12; 3:24; 4:12).
Second, the third view contextually fits the emphasis on sanctification through the finished work of Christ found in Colossians 1:9 through chapters 2-3. Note especially the emphasis on the many practical injunctions for sanctification starting in 3:4, but the basis for this is the line of truth discussed in chapters 2-3.
Next, this third view fits with the emphasis of Philippians 1:9-11, another one of the sister epistles written while Paul was held captive under Roman guard in his own apartment in Rome. There he prayed for a similar goal:
“And I pray this, that your love may abound even more and more in knowledge and every kind of insight so that you can decide what is best, and thus be sincere (pure, spotless) and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.” “The day of Christ” is a reference to the coming of Christ, which includes the Judgment Seat and rewards. “The fruit of righteousness” is not a reference to imputed righteousness, the gift of justification through faith in Christ. Rather, it refers to the result of conduct that is pleasing to the Lord that God wants to see continue right up to the day of Christ.
Since the expression, ‘fruit of righteousness’ (karpon dikaiosunes: dikaiosunes, a genitive of apposition) is a familiar biblical phrase for conduct pleasing to God (LXX: Prov 11:30; Amos 6:12; cf. James 3:18), since the participial phrase pepleromenoi karpon dikaiosunes is parallel to the two previous adjectives, eilikrineis (“pure”) and aproskopoi (“harmless”), and since the previous adjectives describe the Philippians in relationship to others as being transparent before them and having no inclination to harm anyone in any way, it is but natural to see here an extension of this same idea. The “fruit of righteousness,” therefore, must be understood in an ethical sense as referring collectively to those “truly good qualities” (gnb) in the Philippians that result in all kinds of noble acts and worthwhile deeds done toward each other and their neighbors (Michael, Scott).
Paul makes it clear, however, that this crop of goodness is not self-generated. Nor can it be, for the “fruit” he has in mind is supernatural and is produced through Jesus Christ (karpon…ton dia Iesou Christou). Hence, although Paul uses the vocabulary of the OT, i.e. “fruit of righteousness” (Prov 11:30; Amos 6:12), he recognizes, as the OT writers seemed not to recognize, that no man is capable of producing this by himself. So in exactly the same way as he told the Galatians that love, joy, peace, and so on are the fruit (karpos) of the Spirit (Gal 5:22), so here he tells the Philippians that their rich harvest of good deeds is in reality the product of Jesus Christ, the source of all life and goodness (cf. John 15:4)…172
Interestingly, one of the characteristics of the Judgment Seat of Christ is that of manifesting the quality of each person’s works, as by fire (1 Cor. 3:13). Here in Philippians, the term “pure” is eilikrineis, a combination of two words, “sun” and “to judge.” In the ancient shops, which were usually dark and without much light, a piece of clothing, or cloth, or furniture would be taken out to the sunlight to examine the merchandise for any flaws. Thus one of the derived meanings of eilikrineis is spotless or free of defect. The apostle clearly had in mind the Bema Seat.
Finally, as discussed above, this third view fits the use of holy, blameless, and without reproach, which do not have to be taken in the absolute sense of the believers perfect standing before God due to the imputed righteousness of Christ, but are sometimes used in a relative sense in other places in Paul’s epistles.
Take your pick; whether money, precious gems, or paintings, anything of valuable will be counterfeited, and the best way to detect a counterfeit is to know what the genuine article really looks like. I have read that bank tellers are trained to discover counterfeit currency not by studying the counterfeit stuff, but by studying genuine currency in the various denominations. The same, of course, applies to the truth of the gospel, and the key element of recognition here concerns the person and work of Christ. The person and work of Christ are complete and perfect, and if anyone or any teaching seeks to add to or take away something from Christ’s person or His work, then it is a counterfeit, pure and simple. Thus, Paul assures the Colossians of the purity of the message they had believed and encourages them to remain steadfast to that message, for in this way and this way only, they could attain spiritual maturity, receive rewards for faithful service, and bring glory and praise to God when they stand before the Lord Jesus at the Judgment or Bema Seat of Christ.
These verses, 1:21-23, also stress that what is true of our faith in Christ for salvation, is equally true of our faith in Christ for the Christ exchanged-life, or for progressive sanctification. To add any system of religious or human works to seek to please God or become like Him in holiness is faithless in our position in Christ and futile to our ability to deal with the overpowering nature of our sin.
In summary, verses 21-23, set down two primary aims and obligations that are vital to the gospel. As already stressed, the first is holiness or transformed living by the power of the gospel message. As the next section will stress, this change or manifestation is the result of Christ in the believer, the hope of glory. The second aim and obligation is that of steadfastness, maintaining a constant confidence in the sufficiency of our new life in Christ based on who Christ is and what He has accomplished through the cross and resurrection, and is accomplishing through the Holy Spirit and the Word.
Finally, this gospel message is a universal message and applies to all peoples everywhere regardless of culture or religious background, but the problem is that every culture will have its own unique tendencies by which it seeks to change the gospel to fit with their religious notions. These notions, of course, must be recognized for what they are, counterfeit forms of the gospel, and rejected.
162 Peter T. O'Brien, vol. 44, Word Biblical Commentary : Colossians-Philemon, electronic ed., Logos Library System;Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1998).
163 Wiersbe, W. W. (1989; Published in electronic form by Logos Research Systems, 1996). The Bible exposition commentary : An exposition of athe New Testament comprising the entire "BE" series (electronic ed.) (Col 1:21). Wheaton: Victor Books.
164 The letters to the Philippians, Colossians, and Thessalonians. 2000, c1975 (W. Barclay, lecturer in the University of Glasgow, Ed.) (electronic ed.). Logos Library System;The Daily study Bible series, Rev. ed. (Col 1:24). Philadelphia: The Westminster Press.
165 William Evans, The Great Doctrines of the Bible (Moody Press, Chicago, 1912), electronic media.
166 Curtis Vaughan, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, gen. ed. Frank E. Gaebelein (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1976-1992), electronic media.
167 Curtis Vaughan, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, gen. ed. Frank E. Gaebelein (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1976-1992), electronic media.
168 Nigel Turner, Christian Words (Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville,1981), 401.
169 Wayne a Detzler, New Testament Words in Today’s Language (Victor Books, Wheaton Ill., 1986), 212.
170 Louw, J. P. (1996, c1989). Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament : Based on semantic domains (LN 13.42). New York: United Bible societies.
171 J. B. Lightfoot, Saint Paul’s Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon (MacMillan and Company, revised edition, 1879; reprint, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, 1961), 164.
172 Hawthorne, G. F. (1998). Vol. 43: Word Biblical Commentary: Philippians (electronic ed.). Logos Library System;Word Biblical Commentary (Php 1:11). Dallas: Word, Incorporated.
I. Doctrinal: The Person and Work of Christ (1:1-2:3)
B. The Supremacy of the Person of Christ (1:15-18)
C. The Supremacy of the Work of Christ (1:19–2:3)
1. The Plenitude and Description of His Work (1:19-20)
a. In Relation to God (1:19)
b. In Relation to all Creation (1:20)
2. The Purpose and Application of His Work (1:21-23)
a. The Past Alienation Described (1:21)
b. The Present Reconciliation Accomplished (1:22a)
c. The Purpose and Obligation of Reconciliation Described (1:22b)
d. The Cautionary Condition Disclosed (1:23)
3. The Proclamation of His Work (1:24–2:3)
e. The Mental Attitude Needed: Rejoicing in Suffering (1:24)
f. The Mission or Mandate Given: a Servant to Fully Proclaim the Gospel (1:25)
g. The Make-up of the Message Proclaimed: the Unveiled Mystery—Christ in you, the hope of Glory (1:26-27)
h. The Method of Proclamation: Admonishing and Teaching Every Person (1:28a)
i. The Motive in Proclamation: to Present Every Person Mature in Christ (1:28b)
j. The Means of Proclamation: God’s Enablement Working Through Believers (1:29)
k. The Model for Proclamation: Strengthened Hearts Instructed in Love Unto the Full Assurance That Understanding Brings (2:1-3)
This lesson will deal only with the Proclamation of Christ’s Work, or the Gospel, but as in the previous lessons, an outline review is given to show the literary relationship of all the verses of this section, 1:19–2:3. The apostle has discussed the supremacy of Christ’s person as the sovereign creator and head of the church and the supremacy of His work in reconciliation both universally and locally as with the Colossians. The gospel message, which centers in the awesome nature of the person and work of Christ, is a universal message that must be proclaimed far and wide because it is God’s only plan of salvation for the entire world, Jew and Gentile alike. This passage is somewhat parallel to Ephesians 3:1ff.
The concluding verse of the previous section, “This gospel has also been preached in all creation under heaven, and I, Paul, have become its servant,” now becomes the focus of the next section, 1:24-2:3. In these verses, the apostle sets forth his part in this ministry of proclamation. In doing so, Paul serves as a model for all believers to follow by laying down a number of vital principles that are needed in proclaiming the good news of the Savior. Here we get a short glimpse of the ministry of Paul that can be divided into three parts: it is a ministry of painful suffering (1:24), a ministry of proclamation (1:25-29), and a ministry of prayer (2:1-3). At the heart of this entire section is the great focus on proclaiming the gospel message to people far and wide. As an apostle to the Gentiles, Paul assures the Colossians that he had a legitimate reason for being concerned about the Colossians even though he had never seen them personally. Here Paul gives us an intimate disclosure of his personal purpose in and power for ministry.
In Elisha’s day King Ben-hadad of Syria gathered his great host of men together and besieged Samaria. The famine became so desperate that an ass’s head was sold for fourscore pieces of silver. The prophet of God, however, untroubled in the midst of it all, calmly promised the king of Israel a bountiful deliverance: “Hear ye the word of the LORD; Thus saith the LORD, Tomorrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria” (2 Kings 7:1). Four leprous men at the entering in of the gate, ignorant or unmindful of the prophecy, determined to fling themselves upon the mercy of the Syrians. After all, if they were to enter the city, it would simply be to encounter the famine, and if they remained at the gate death faced them there also. What could they lose? So, they rose up and made their way to the camp of the Syrians. Arriving in the camp they were startled to discover that the Syrians, panicking over the noise of chariots and horses of a great host which the Lord had caused them to hear, had fled for their lives and abandoned their supplies. Wasting no time, the leprous men began to stuff themselves with the Syrians’ rations, washing the food down with greedy swigs of wine. Clothing and silver were hidden for later recovery until suddenly their consciences awoke, and they remembered the starving, desperately needy inhabitants of the city. “We do not well,” they said, “this day is a day of good tidings [a gospel day], and we hold our peace” (7:9). Mildred Cable, a great missionary, once said, “The greatest crime of the desert was to know where water was and not to tell it.”173
To the woman at the well, Jesus gave the following revelation about Himself as the water of life that was free and without charge (cf. Rev. 22:17). If the greatest crime of the desert was to know where water was and not to tell it, how much greater a crime is it to fail to tell others about Jesus as the water of life, water that is free and that springs up to eternal life.
John 4:10 Jesus answered her, “If you had known the gift of God and who it is who said to you, ‘Give me some water to drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” 4:11 “Sir,” the woman said to him, “you have no bucket and the well is deep; where then do you get this living water? 4:12 Surely you’re not greater than our ancestor Jacob, are you? For he gave us this well and drank from it himself, along with his sons and his livestock.”
4:13 Jesus replied, “Everyone who drinks some of this water (the water of Jacob’s well) will be thirsty again. 4:14 But whoever drinks some of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again, but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up to eternal life.”
Since actions are so closely related to attitudes, and since the world stands opposed to the message of God’s grace and often persecutes the messenger, the apostle begins with an attitude that is fundamental if we are to be faithful to fully proclaim the message of the cross. The attitude so needed is one in which we learn to rejoice in suffering. The simple truth, however, is that we can only rejoice as we focus on the eternal goals that produce for us an eternal weight of glory that should cause the light afflictions of this life to pale in significance if we will stay focused on the eternal rather than the temporal (cf. 2 Cor. 4:17).
Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you and I fill up—for the sake of his body, the church—what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ.
Three things characterized Paul’s suffering: (1) they were a source of joy, (2) they were for others—for the Colossians, for the sake of the body of Christ, the church, and (3) they were related to the sufferings or afflictions of Christ. Paul begins this section with “now,” which may be both temporal (in my present circumstances of suffering), and transitional showing that the present paragraph is a continuation of the preceding section where Christ’s supremacy, the universality of the gospel, and Paul’s ministry as a servant of the gospel has been stressed.
The false teachers in Colossae may have ridiculed Paul to the Colossians over the fact that the great apostle was a prisoner in Rome. They undoubtedly were claiming that his suffering was a sign of something awry in his ministry and that the Colossians should not listen to Him. You know the old argument, “All suffering is a product of sin. When one truly walks with God, there is only blessing, not suffering.” But Christians are in a life and death struggle with Satan, the god of this world, and with his world system of demons and people who not only stand opposed to the light of the gospel, but who often engage in direct persecution against the messengers of the gospel. Believers, then, should never be surprised by suffering (1 Pet. 4:12); they have been appointed not only to believe in Christ, but to suffer for His sake (Phil. 1:29). In fact, suffering is often an evidence of God’s righteous judgment to help prepare us for glory and eternal rewards (2 Thess. 1:5). It is a means that God uses to enable us to comfort others (2 Cor. 1:5-6), and a tool that God often uses to advance the gospel message (cf. Phil. 1:12-18). As Peter declares in 1 Peter 4:13, it is an honor to suffer for Christ and we are to rejoice and be glad in such suffering:
But rejoice in the degree that you have shared in the sufferings of Christ, so that when his glory is revealed you may also rejoice and be glad (1 Pet. 4:13).
Of course, a Christian should never suffer as “a thief or evil doer” (1 Pet. 4:15), but because Paul’s suffering was for Christ’s sake and for the Colossians as a ministry to the gentiles, Paul was not ashamed of his suffering nor was it a sign that something was wrong in his ministry. The apostle rejoiced in his suffering by recognizing the value and purposes of suffering for righteous reasons. He was never afraid of suffering, but as he told Timothy, he took his share of suffering as part of being a good soldier of Christ (2 Tim. 2:3). To shrink back from suffering for Christ’s sake or because of persecution will always hinder the proclamation of the gospel.
But what does Paul mean when he speaks of “my sufferings for you, …for the sake of his body, the church”?
“For you” means “in the interest of” and not “in the place of.” He suffered for their benefit so that they might have the gospel message and be reconciled to God. Christ, on the other hand, suffered in our place, as our substitute for our sin. Paul’s sufferings occurred because he had brought the gospel to the Gentiles, and a good illustration of this can be seen in Acts 13:44-14:20. The message that this apostle to the Gentiles preached declared that both Jew and Gentile would be co-equal heirs in the body of Christ through faith apart from works of the law; together Jew and Gentile believers would constitute one new man in Christ (cf. Eph. 2:11-22; 3:6). It was this message of grace and co-equality that stirred up the Jews and angered them to relentlessly persecute the apostle and his co-workers.
“For the sake of His body, the church” shows Paul’s sufferings were not just for the Colossians, or even just for the Gentiles, but for the entire body of Christ, the church. We have the awesome truths of the prison epistles and their message to the body of Christ, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon, because of Paul’s sufferings.
… The second phrase affirms that the benefit of Paul’s sufferings extends not simply to the Colossians, nor to the Gentile portion of the church only; they in some sense have a bearing on the whole body of Christ. Indeed, the apostle’s sufferings contribute even to our well-being, for had he not suffered imprisonment, this letter might never have been written, and we would have been deprived of its message… ,174
and I fill up … what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ.
This has been a source of controversy with varied opinions as to its meaning.
… These words have evoked a great amount of discussion. Many Roman Catholics, for instance, interpreting the “afflictions” of Christ as Christ’s redemptive sufferings, have used this verse as grounds for asserting that Christ’s atonement is defective and that the sufferings of the saints are needed to supplement his work on our behalf. But whatever is meant by “what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions,” we may be sure that Paul did not regard the death of Jesus as lacking in efficacy (cf. Col 2:11-15). That death was complete, once for all, and wholly adequate to meet man’s need. The Roman doctrine, as Lightfoot says, can be imported into this passage only “at the cost of a contradiction to the Pauline doctrine” of the satisfaction of Christ’s sacrifice (p. 167).175
Johnson adds these helpful comments:
We may introduce the problem of the text by rejecting any suggestion to the effect that Paul implies there is any lack in the atonement of Christ. The gospel has an element of finality in it, if it has any element at all. It was the apostle himself who reminded the Corinthians of this when he said, “Paul was not crucified for you, was he?” (1 Cor 1:13). A Simon of Cyrene may carry the cross, but only Jesus of Nazareth may be nailed to it and victoriously cry, “It is finished” (John 19:30). Furthermore, the word thlipsis (AV, “afflictions”) is never used in the New Testament of the atoning sufferings of Christ. We, therefore, must reject any conception of a treasury of merit, such as Roman Catholics allow, composed of Christ’s sufferings plus the sufferings of the saints and dispensed as indulgences.176
The simplest and most logical explanation stems from the mystical union that exists between Christ and that of His people in the body of Christ, the church. When believers suffer, Christ suffers with them. Christ’s substitutionary sufferings are finished, complete, but His sufferings in and through His people continue. This concept is expressed in several other passages of the New Testament (cf. Matt. 25:34-40; 2 Cor. 1:5; Phil. 3:10; Acts 9:4-5). Paul never directly persecuted the Lord Jesus, nevertheless, when on the Damascus road, Paul heard these words from Christ,
“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” So he said, “Who are you, Lord?” He replied, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting” (Acts. 9:4-5).
… Soon afterwards he heard of further words spoken by Him, “For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake” (9:16). Paul had come to understand that everything done in and for the body of Christ was done in and for Christ Himself. He and the body were one. Thus, the sufferings of Paul were the afflictions of Christ, because He suffered in and with Paul (cf. 2 Cor 1:5–7; 4:10–12). Lightfoot’s idea of continuity between His afflictions and the church’s is valid, too. In fact, the sufferings of Paul, which arose out of persecution, were simply the continuation of the world’s quarrel with Jesus Christ (cf. John 15:18–21). It is a very immature theology, then, which claims that all suffering is alien to the will of God, and it reaches its ultimate expression in the blind and foolish request, “If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross” (Matt 27:40), and its shattering repudiation in the shout of suffering dereliction, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (27:46).
It is no wonder, then, that Paul rejoiced in his sufferings. Seen in the light of his union with Christ, they were transfigured and made an occasion for fellowship with Him, as well as a benefit to the body, the church.177
I became a servant of the church according to the stewardship from God—given to me for you—in order to complete the word of God,
Regarding “the church, which is His body,” the apostle quickly and literally added, “of which I Paul became a servant according to the stewardship from God that was given to me to fulfill the word of God.” The preaching of God’s message was both the mission and mandate for the apostle’s life. Four things about Paul’s ministry should catch our attention here: (1) he was appointed to a ministry of preaching (vs. 25), (2) the nature of the message he preached (vss. 25-28), (3) the method he employed (vs. 28b), and (4) his purpose in preaching (vs. 29).
An important question that every believer in Christ might ask is simply, “Is there any one thing that captivates and directs my life, or am I like the man at a Christian conference who said, “I’m interested a little in a lot of things, but nothing has ever really captivated me.” When asked to doodle on a piece of paper and draw a picture to portray his life as he saw it, he drew a pie with many lines through it that showed his multiplicity of interests, but no one driving force. Such, however, was not the case with the apostle Paul. Paul was a man directed by God’s mission and mandate on his life. “… He had both purpose and power. Beneath the rivers of wisdom and creativity of his amazing life was the mainstream of clear conviction of the reason for his being and the resources to accomplish it.”178 The truth of Christ’s reconciliation or His sacrificial death for our sin was both the means of his salvation and the mandate for his ministry, and the same should be the case for every Christian.
Preaching was not an honor and duty that he took upon himself, one that he could either take or leave. Rather it was an appointment that came directly from God. Two things about his appointment are to be noted: First, it was ministry of service for others. “Servant” is diakonos, “servant of someone, a helper.” It was used of Epaphras in 1:7, and Paul used it of himself as a servant of the gospel (1:23), of the church (1:25), and of the new covenant (2 Cor. 3:6). The focus on the word diakonos is that of ministry to others as a servant who comes alongside to help. Second, it was a ministry that was according to the “stewardship that was given” to him. “Stewardship” is oikonomia, “the work or office of a steward to manage a household,” “arrangement, order, plan.” The key idea here is that of a divine appointment, a stewardship bestowed on the apostle. Paul saw his call as a divine appointment, a high calling from God. On the one hand, he was a servant of the church, but more importantly, he was a steward of God and accountable to Him first and foremost. It was a stewardship that was given to him—he did not earn it or deserve it; it was a grace gift and privilege given to Paul from God. But just what does God want from his stewards?
1 Cor. 4:1-2 People should think about us this way—as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Now what is sought in stewards is that one be found faithful. (emphasis mine)
The nature of this stewardship is also seen in the words, “for you.” The apostle was not in the ministry for selfish reasons of personal agendas like personal power to control others, prestige, or praise. He was there for the blessing and benefit of others like the Colossians and all believers everywhere. A good illustration of the kind of servant attitude needed for others can be seen in Paul’s defense of his ministry to the Thessalonians as he wrote to give answers against his Jewish opponents in Thessalonica.
2:3 For the appeal we make does not come from error or impurity or with deceit, 2:4 but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we declare it, not to please people but God, who examines our hearts. 2:5 For we never appeared with flattering speech, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is our witness— 2:6 nor to seek glory from people, either from you or from others, 2:7 although we could have imposed our weight as apostles of Christ. But we became little children among you. Like a nursing mother caring for her own children, 2:8 with such affection for you, we were happy to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us. 2:9 For you recall, brothers and sisters, our toil and drudgery: by working night and day so as not to impose a burden on any of you, we preached to you the gospel of God (1 Thess. 2:3-9).
Finally, the purpose of this stewardship is seen in the words, “in order to complete the word of God.” “Complete” is the verb pleroo, (1) “to fill, make full, fill to the full,” (2) “to complete, fulfill, to execute, accomplish, carry out to the full.” “To complete the word of God” may refer: (1) to the extension of the gospel around the world to as wide an audience as possible, (2) to fulfill the ministry given to him to the Gentiles, or (3) to fully proclaim the true nature of the gospel message, a message to Jew and Gentile alike in the full sufficiency of the person and work of Christ. Perhaps all three elements are included.
. . . the word of God, that is, the mystery that has been kept hidden from ages and generations, but has now been revealed to his saints. God wanted to make known to them the glorious riches of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
The make up of the message proclaimed is described as: (1) the word of God, (2) the mystery that has been kept hidden, but has now been revealed, and (3) as Christ in you, the hope of glory.
“The word of God” points us to the general nature of the message. It is the Word of God, God’s word to man. This description lays stress on the divine source and nature of this message (cf. 2 Tim. 3:16).
The message Paul preached is further explained as “the mystery.” This is musterion, which, as used by Paul, is not something mysterious, but refers to a divine truth that is unknowable apart from special revelation. However, as the apostle explains, it is a message that has been hidden in the past (unknown in the Old Testament), but now revealed in Christ through the stewardship given to Paul and other New Testament apostles and prophets (cf. Eph. 3:2-5). This new element is a primary emphasis of the term “mystery,” but there are various aspects of this mystery depending on the context where the term is used. The following is a synopsis of the various aspects of this mystery as it is revealed in the New Testament.
The Mysteries of the New Testament
1. The mystery of the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 13). The mystery of the interim program of God between Christ’s first and second advents.
2. The mystery of the blindness of Israel and God’s purpose with Israel’s blindness (Rom. 11:1-25).
3. The mystery of the rapture, the departure of the church at the end of this age (1 Cor. 15:51-57; 1 Thess. 4:13f).
4. The mystery of the church as the body of Christ where Jew and Gentile become one new man in Christ where Jews and Gentiles would be equal heirs in the one body of Christ (Eph. 3:1-11; 2:11f).
5. The mystery of the church as the bride of Christ (Eph. 5:25-32).
6. The mystery of the indwelling of Christ as the hope of glory or spiritual deliverance by the power of the indwelling Christ (Col. 1:26-27; 2:2).
7. The mystery of lawlessness—the continuation and gradual build up of the state of lawlessness that will culminate in the man of lawlessness (2 Thess. 2:7-8). Lawlessness is not necessarily confusion and disorder or even the absence of law, but rather the presence of rebellion against God’s established rule and purposes. It speaks of the aim of Satan and his hosts of wickedness to overthrow the divine government and established ordinances of God as He designed them.
8. The mystery of godliness, or the process by which man becomes God-like in character through the person, work, and life of Jesus Christ as He is faithfully proclaimed and defended by the church of Jesus Christ (1 Tim. 3:16).
9. The mystery of the church as the seven stars (Rev. 1:20).
10. The mystery of God, the answer to the age-old question, why has God allowed Satan and evil to continue to exist (Rev. 10:7). Please note that the answer to this is found in Scripture, it was revealed to God’s New Testament prophets. There are two key parts to this answer: (a) To resolve the angelic warfare—to answer and demonstrate that Satan, the accuser and slanderer of God’s character, is wrong in his accusations and that he is worthy of God’s judgment for his sin. (b) To demonstrate God’s patience and love and to provide ample opportunity for men to come to Christ (2 Pet. 3:9). So when the angel of Revelation 10:7 says “the mystery of God is completed” he means that once the seventh trumpet is sounded, this time of demonstrating God’s character and of demonstrating man and Satan for what they are, this time of allowing Satan and rebellion to continue, will be over; God will act swiftly now to establish His rule of righteousness on earth. This period of the patience of God will be over.
11. The mystery of Babylon, the truth regarding the source of the ancient and godless mother-child cult (Rev. 17:5, 7).
Here in Colossians 1:26-27, the mystery is further defined as “Christ in you, the hope of glory,” but this “… mystery is so rich with glory that God desired to make it known to the saints. The word ethelesen (1:27 ; AV, “would”) appears to have here the force of resolved, or willed, and, thus, stresses God’s purpose in this revelation, as well as His initiative in it. The saints were helpless to discover the secret; He opened their hearts to see it …”179 Actually, all the terms used by Paul to describe his message, the message of the person and work of Christ, stress God’s initiative in revealing the message and man’s complete helplessness at deriving and understanding the message apart from God’s initiative and grace. It’s a message that man could never arrive at on his own or would arrive at if he wanted to. As a message of God’s complete and finished work of Grace in Christ, it is completely foreign to man’s fallen mind. Always, man seeks to either subtract from or add to the gospel of grace in Christ.
The glory of this message for Gentiles is found in the nature of their blessings now in Christ. In the Old Testament, they were promised blessing. The promised blessing of the Gentiles in the Old Testament was nothing new, but never in a way that made them co-equal with the Jews. In Ephesians 2:11-22, the apostle contrasts their past with their new and glorious position as follow:
Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh—who are called “uncircumcision” by the so-called “circumcision” that is performed in the body by hands—2:12 that you were at that time without the Messiah, alienated from the citizenship of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus you who used to be far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 2:14 For he is our peace, the one who turned both groups into one and who destroyed the middle wall of partition, the hostility, in his flesh, 2:15 when he nullified the law of commandments in decrees. He did this to create in himself one new man out of two, thus making peace, 2:16 and to reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by which the hostility has been killed. 2:17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near, 2:18 so that through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 2:19 So then you are no longer foreigners and non-citizens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household, 2:20 because you have been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. 2:21 In him the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 2:22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
Whereas they were without Christ, now they are in Christ and Christ is in them; they were without hope, but now they have Him who is “the hope of glory;” they were without peace and alienated from God, but now they have Him who is our peace and our means of bold access to God.
Finally, we should note that the content of this mystery, “Christ in you, the hope of glory,” is centered in a person and not some theological system or in a denomination or a particular church. The center of this mystery is the pre-eminent Christ, who is not only now among the Gentiles, but also in them. As members of His body, they had the very life of the living Savior dwelling within them as the source and means of their new life.
The post-resurrection home of the living Lord Jesus Christ is in the mind and heart of the believer. Therefore the challenge of loving, forgiving, reconciling and caring is not our responsibility for Christ, but His through us. We are channels through whom He moves to the estranged, sick and suffering world. We don’t have to do it on our own. We are to allow Him to flow through our countenance, touch, words, expressions, compassionate acts and empathetical identification.180
This indwelling of Christ means “the hope of glory.” But what exactly does the apostle mean by “the hope of glory?” Is it primarily future as O’Brien suggests, “They therefore had a sure hope that they would share in that fullness of glory yet to be displayed on the day of “the revealing of the sons of God” (Rom 8:19; cf. 5:2; Col 3:4; 1 Thess 2:12; 2 Thess 1:10; 2:14).”?181 Or is there a more immediate meaning and application of this phrase? As Paul stresses in 1:5, the confident expectation of the blessings laid up for us in Christ for the heavenly future is a great source of motivation to faith and love expressed in the Christian community (cf. 2 Cor. 4:11-18), but there is surely a more immediate focus in the light of the problem facing the Colossians and Paul’s emphasis on spiritual maturity and the transformed life in the here and now (cf. 2:6-23; 3:5-25). The glorious rewards of the future are certainly part of our motivation for this (cf. 3:1-4, 23-25), but in view of the immediate goal of proclaiming Christ through warning and teaching every person to see them advance in spiritual maturity (1:28-29), “the hope of glory” may well involve the confident expectation of experiencing the character of Christ reproduced by the Spirit in the life of every believer. A similar thrust is found in Galatians 4:19 where Paul compared himself to a mother in the throes of birth pangs, “My children—I am again undergoing birth pains until Christ is formed in you!” He had experienced this once when he was in travail for their salvation, but now he was in travail again for their deliverance from the legalism of the false teachers. The goal was the formation of Christ in their lives by means of the Holy Spirit rather than by the legalism being promoted by the Judaistic teachers who were seeking to put them back under the law. Thus,
… a change in metaphors occurred with the expression until Christ is formed in you. Paul longed for these believers to be transformed into (morphe lit., “take on the form of”; cf. morphe in Phil. 2:6-7) the image of Christ. This expression describes the Christian life as a kind of reincarnation of Christ in a believer’s life. This is in fact God’s ideal and purpose—for Christ to live His life in and then through each believer (cf. Gal. 2:20).182
As the apostle was concerned for the Galatians because their spiritual development was being arrested by the legalism of the false teachers, so he was concerned for the Colossians. In both epistles (Galatians and Colossians), the apostle was dealing with false teachers who were seeking to yoke believers again to the Law, a matter that nullified the power of the gospel message on their lives (cf. Gal. 3:1-10 with 5:1-6). Thus, “the hope of glory” is the confident expectation of the formation of Christ in His character and life in and through the life of all believers. Glory is the manifestation of the Lord Jesus in us so that we experience Him in attitude, faith, action, and reaction. Ogilvie writes:
This experience of the indwelling Christ has transformed both my personal life and my ministry. When I was gripped by this liberating experience it set me free from compulsive efforts to earn my status with God by being good enough. It replenished the parched places of my soul that kept my Christian life a constant dry spell. The indwelling Christ gave me all that I had previously worked to achieve, studied to understand, struggled to accomplish.183
We proclaim him by instructing and teaching all people
Speaking of Christ as the hope of glory, the text literally reads, “whom we proclaim by admonishing every person and teaching every person in all wisdom.” Again, the focus is on the proclamation of a person, not a theological persuasion, not a hierarchy of angelic powers, and certainly not a compilation of rules and regulations, but a living person who is the fulfillment of hundreds of prophecies of the Old Testament. He who is proclaimed is the Christ.
“Proclaim” (katangello, “proclaim, announce,”) has a note of solemnity about it; it became almost a technical term for missionary activity of announcing the good news about Christ “since it was normally used of the gospel itself or some element in it. So the gospel (1 Cor. 9:14), the testimony of God (1 Cor. 2:1), and the Word of God (Acts 13:5; 17:13; cf. 15:36) are “proclaimed,” while sometimes Christ (Phil 1:17, 18), his death (1 Cor. 11:26) and resurrection (Acts 4:2), as well as the forgiveness of sins (Acts 13:38), were the significant elements in the apostolic announcement.184 In the New Testament, it occurs only in Paul (6 times) and in Acts (eleven times).
The method by which this is done is spelled out with two participles of means, “instructing (or admonishing) and teaching.” “Instructing” is noutheteo, “to admonish, warn, instruct.” Since it is derived from nous, “mind” and tithemi, “to place, set,” the basic idea is that of putting sense into the mind through warning, counsel, or admonishment. Noutheteo is the negative side of proclamation and carries a moral appeal to the volition to straighten out something that is out of order or contrary to the will and purpose of God. “Teaching” (didasko, “to teach, instruct”) is the positive side of proclamation and involves the impartation of biblical truth to lay the needed foundation for biblical wisdom or understanding. In “admonishment” there is a moral appeal for spiritual change, and with “teaching” there is a doctrinal emphasis that forms the means and basis for change through the power of God’s gracious work in Christ.
with all wisdom that we may present every person mature in Christ
“With all wisdom” may look at the manner, “wisely,” but it is better to understand it to refer to the content—the whole range of biblical truth that is to be the sphere in which the teacher operates. The words “with all wisdom” and “every person” (repeated three times in 1:28) are aimed against the Colossian heretics because they claimed to have a superior wisdom that contained a form of speculative knowledge of the higher worlds, but it was only for a limited elite few. By contrast the proclamation of the cosmic Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (2:3), brings all wisdom within the reach of all who hear and believe in the gospel. No one is excluded.
Whom we proclaim by admonishing every person and teaching every person with all wisdom, so that we may present every person mature in Christ (my translation).
The apostle’s goal was to present every believer mature in Christ. Since Paul’s focus is on the present experience of the Colossians, the term “mature” is a better translation of the Greek teleion than “perfect.” The latter implies a future, eschatological focus of ultimate sanctification. The simple truth is that every church with their leadership should be committed to building all believers of the flock into mature, Christ-like Christians. Too often churches resemble a hospital ward where believers are coddled and pampered rather than a training camp where they are being trained to become Spirit controlled ministering servants who reproduce themselves in the lives of others. Our task in ministry is never over with the conversion of men and women. That’s only the beginning. The objective of the church is to see all believers grow from one stage of maturity to another, from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord (2 Cor. 3:18).
… The word perfect was a favorite word with the gnostic teachers. It described the disciple who was no longer a novice, but who had matured and was fully instructed in the secrets of the religion. Paul used it to mean “complete, mature in Christ.” This is the goal of all preaching, warning, and teaching.185
Toward this goal I also labor, struggling according to his power that powerfully works in me.
“Toward this goal” represents the Greek phrase eis ho, “toward which,” and expresses movement toward a goal or a purpose. Paul’s desire and the biblical objective of seeing all believers grow and mature in Christ was certainly a captivating force that directed his life as his mission and mandate, but to accomplish such a goal requires nothing less than God’s supernatural power. Seeing people move forward from babes in Christ to full grown Christians is a difficult task that requires God’s power at work in us. In 2 Corinthians 2:16 the apostle asks, “who is adequate for these things?” Certainly we are not, but he goes on to show that our adequacy is from God:
Now we have such confidence in God through Christ. Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as if it were coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who made us adequate to be servants of a new covenant not based on the letter but on the Spirit, for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life (2 Cor. 3:4-6). (emphasis mine)
“Labor” is kopiao, “to labor to the point of weariness, to tire, to wear oneself out.” Regarding this Greek term, Kittle points out:
A distinctive NT use is for Christian work in and for the community. Paul has it for his own work in 1 Cor. 15:10 etc. It describes his manual work in 1 Cor. 4:12, but, since he is not under obligation to do this, it forms part of the work that he does for Christ (1 Th. 2:9; 1 Cor. 9: 15ff.). All his service for Christ may indeed be regarded as strenuous work, though it is also his pride and joy (2 Cor. 11:23). His aim is to present mature Christians to Christ (Col. 1:29). He shows concern for the success of this work (Gal. 4:9) and aims at an eschatological reward (1 Th. 3:5; Phil. 2:16).186
“Struggling” further defines the nature of his labor and shows the degree to which he labored. It’s the Greek term agonizomai, “to struggle, fight, strive, engage in an athletic contest.” Our term agony comes from the noun form, agona that Paul uses in 2:1, “struggle.” But the key here is the means he depended on for both his motivation and strength to continue. The apostle labored, struggling hard in the task God had given him, but not in his own strength. He labored and struggled only in the strength that God abundantly supplies to all His people if they will just draw upon His supernatural resources—the Word, the Holy Spirit, and prayer. Interestingly, agonizomai is used in 4:12 of Epaphras who wrestled in prayer for the Colossians that they might mature and stand fully assured in all the will of God. And like the apostle who was his mentor, he worked hard at this task (4:13).
The key to Paul’s labor is seen in the words, “according to his power that powerfully works in me.” Paul labored, but so did God.
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been in vain. In fact, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God with me (cf. 1 Cor. 15:10).
It was mentioned earlier that a responsibility for stewards is faithfulness, but in the emphasis here we see another. It is relinquishment. Until we have learned to relinquish control to the indwelling Christ, our hope of glory, we will never experience God’s grace truly at work in us.
His success was due to the energy of the eternal God. The present participle energoumenen (AV, “worketh”) may be passive rather than middle and, if so, we might render the clause, striving according to his working which is produced in me mightily. The root generally refers to supernatural power, whether God’s or Satan’s. This, then, is the secret of the apostle’s remarkably successful ministry. It was not his education, considerable though it may have been, nor his culture, deeply rooted in the life and literature of God’s ancient people, nor his shrewd methodology—and he was a master of missionary strategy—nor was it simply hard work. His secret lay in his Companion …187
“Did we in our own strength confide,
Our striving would be losing;
Were not the right Man on our side,
The man of God’s own choosing.
Dost ask who that may be?
Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabaoth His name,
From age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.”
Martin Luther
We can only be truly successful when we learn to live and minister by the unseen presence of the risen Christ and allow Him to work in, through, and with us as the source and power for our ministries. So often, however, I see preachers, even with good motives, seek to manipulate, coerce, and force people into spiritual change or Christian service. That may get some results, but that’s not God’s method or means. The Lord Jesus, as the unseen power of our lives, works when we relinquish control and draw upon Him through prayer, faith in the truth of Christ, and by means of the control of the Spirit. Again, we can learn not only from Paul, but from his disciple, Epaphras:
4:2 Be devoted to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving. 4:3 At the same time pray for us too, that God may open a door for the message so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. 4:4 Pray that I may make it known as I should. 4:5 Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunities. 4:6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer everyone.
4:13 Epaphras, who is one of you and a slave of Christ, greets you. He is always struggling in prayer on your behalf, so that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God
2:1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you, and for those in Laodicea, and for those who have not met me face to face. 2:2 My goal is that their hearts, having been knit together in love, may be encouraged, and that they may have all the riches that assurance brings in their understanding of the knowledge of the mystery of God, namely, Christ, 2:3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
As the overall guiding force of his ministry, the apostle declared his struggle in 1:28-29 to see the Gentiles come to know and grow to maturity in Christ, but here in 2:1-3 he makes it personal to the Colossians, to the Laodiceans, and to others to show his personal interest in them. In other words, Paul’s struggle was not limited only to those he knew. Rather, it extended to those who had never met him personally. “This is a clear indication that Paul had not started this or other churches in the Lycus Valley. The mention of Laodicea (cf. 4:16) indicates that the heresy had spread there too, though it was probably centered in Colosse.”188
“Struggle” is agona, the noun form of, “ to struggle, strive.” Agona was an athletic term that was often used of a track contest as in Hebrews 12:1, but also of a wrestling match, which here could easily be a figure of speech that forms a graphic picture of wrestling with the Lord in prayer for others (cf. the use of the verb form, agonizomai, in 4:12).
Thus, in keeping with Paul’s goal of maturity for his readers, there was another goal or purpose connected with his struggle for them. That goal was strengthened hearts that had been instructed in the sphere of love and unto a full assurance that would result in a clear understanding in the knowledge of the mystery of God, namely Christ.
There is some debate regarding how we should translate and understand “encouraged” (NET Bible) or “comforted” (NASB) and “knit together.” “Encouraged” or “comforted” is parakaleo, (1) to call to one’s side for aid, summons for help, (2) appeal to, urge, exhort, encourage, (3) comfort, encourage.189 While “comfort” is a legitimate translation, it is too weak here for this context (cf. vs. 4). There is no mention of, or allusion to distresses or persecutions among the Colossians, but they were under the threat of being led astray by the false teaching. Thus, “confirmed” or “strengthened” would be a better translation.
The means by which this strengthening occurs is found in the words, “knit together in love … “Knit together” is sumbibazo, (1) bring together, unite, (2) to instruct, teach (3) demonstrate, prove, (4) conclude, infer.190 In this passage, most commentators and translation take it to mean “knit together” or “united” in love. However, in the Septuagint, this verb always means “to instruct.” O’Brien makes a good argument contextually for “instruct, teach.”
A good case has been made for rendering this phrase as “being instructed in love,” so referring to the loving admonition given to the community. Several commentators (including Dibelius-Greeven, 25, 26, Scott, 36, and Montague, Growth in Christ, 82) have adopted this line. The verb sumbibazo does, on occasion, carry this didactic meaning outside the Bible (for examples in Aristotle, Philo, etc see Delling, TDNT 7, 763) while all ten LXX instances mean “instruct,” “make known,” “teach,” and refer exclusively to authoritative direction (cf. Exod 4:12, 15; 18:16; Lev 10:11; Deut 4:9; Judg 13:8; etc Isa 40:13 is cited by Paul with the meaning “instruct” at 1 Cor 2:16). The same connotation occurs at Acts 9:22 and 19:33. Further, Scott observed that Paul’s preoccupation in Colossians was less the issue of unity than that his readers be enlightened in their faith over against heretical teachings and practices (the Vulgate seems to have caught this point with its rendering “instructi in caritate”). Also this interpretation suits the immediate context with its strong emphasis on “knowledge,” “understanding” and “wisdom.” En agape then refers less to Paul’s love for the readers—as though they were “charitably instructed”—than to love in its full breadth of meaning, as the foundation of the Christian life (cf. Eph 3:17) …
The issue is a finely balanced one and while most argue that the translation “being knit together” is preferable in the light of the later verses in Colossians, our inclination, because of the immediate context, is in favor of the sense “taught,” “instructed.”191
“Being instructed” is a participle of means and explains how the strengthening occurs, by instruction in the sphere of Christian love. A further result of that instruction is a wealth of assurance that brings a clear understanding in the knowledge of the mystery, even Christ. “Wealth” is ploutos, “wealth, abundance, riches” implying not only abundance, but great value. The world offers all kinds of substitutes for happiness and security, but in the final analysis, they simply cannot deliver what is promised. The greatest wealth a person can possess is the knowledge of Christ and the assurance it gives regarding eternal life and how to live in the power of His exchanged life. People look in all sorts of places for meaning, significance, and happiness, but they are looking in all the wrong places unless it is sought in Christ in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Paul says that they are hidden in Christ, hidden not in the sense that they are kept concealed, but that they are stored up in one place only, and that is in Christ. So the apostle calls upon the Colossians and us to look to Jesus Christ as the one and only place where we can find wisdom and knowledge. Johnson has an excellent word here:
Paul concludes with a final thrust at the gnostic Judaizers. Were they offering a deeper knowledge of spiritual things? Did they possess the secret of truth in their systems? In Him, in Christ are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge hidden away. The word apokruphoi (AV, “hidden”) is emphatic by position, and in the light of this it is just possible that Paul may have in mind something similar to the mystery religions. In them the initiate, after a long period of training and instruction, was allowed to be present at a performance similar to a passion play. By means of the performance the initiate was to have an experience of identification with his god. The instruction given previously enabled the initiate to understand the play. To outsiders the ritual would have been a mystery.
Paul meets the heretics on their own ground. He has a secret, too. It also is unknowable, except to the initiated. To understand the secrets of the pagan religions, one must enter the temples. Likewise, the only way to understand the treasures of God’s wisdom and understanding is to enter Christ by faith. They are stored away in Him. He is God’s great secret; leave the mysteries of men and come to Him who is the way, the truth, and the life is the apostle’s conviction.192
With this in mind, the apostle will next (2:4-5), for the first time, directly address the dangerous heresy facing the Colossians.
For years as a young man and a believer, as one who had trusted in Christ at an early age, I was still without assurance of my salvation, constantly wondering if I was really saved, or if I could loose my salvation. I was ever examining my life for evidence or proof and wondering, “If I’m really saved, then why do I have these thoughts,” or “why am I tempted in this area or that one?” I was one who surely lacked the full assurance that a clear understanding in the knowledge of Christ brings to the heart. Rather than looking to Christ and the Word as the source of my assurance, I looked to my own record and myself. No wonder I was so unsettled and unsure. I went to several pastors for help, but ironically, they were of no help. It was not until I got into a Bible teaching ministry that was devoted to an in depth study of the Word that I began to truly learn about the fullness of wisdom and God’s salvation in the person and work of Christ, and about all that I had in Him as the source of my life. Suddenly the constant introspection left, I gained assurance, and I began to grow and mature in the Savior. As long as I continued to look to myself there was not only no assurance, but no growth or victory over the sinful nature and its lust patterns. But once I began to look away from myself to the matchless life of Christ and His finished work for salvation, that all changed.
The changes that occurred in my life not only impacted my character and patterns of behavior, but knowing Christ more intimately and deeply gave me a new mission that became the mandate for my life as well. Seeing what the Word or the message of Christ had done in and for me, caused me to want to share that with others. One thing led to another (teaching Sunday school, Bible classes, etc.) but eventually the Lord led me to Dallas Theological Seminary where I could be prepared to more effectively know and teach God’s truth and be engaged in building others toward spiritual maturity.
With the word “struggle” as a figure of speech for wrestling with God for others in prayer, we are reminded that prayer is a wonderful means for liberating others from the false views so prevalent in society and into the life-changing power of the gospel. Paul wrestled for these believers that they might be strengthened and have greater insight into the knowledge of Christ. Such was a persistent theme of Paul’s prayer life as is so evident in the prison epistles (cf. Eph. 1:15-19; 3:14-21; Phil. 1:9-11; Col. 1:9-14).
173 S. Lewis Johnson, “Studies in the Epistle to the Colossians, Part V, The Minister of the Mystery,” Bibliotheca Sacra (Dallas Theological Seminary, # 119:475), 227.
174 Curtis Vaughan, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, gen. ed. Frank E. Gaebelein (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1976-1992), electronic media.
175 Vaughan, electronic media
176 Johnson, 229
177 Johnson, 231.
178 Lloyd John Ogilvie, You Are Loved & Forgiven, Paul’s Letter of Hope to the Colossians (Regal Books, Ventura, CA, 1977), 62
179 Johnson, 232.
180 Ogilvie, 72.
181 Peter T. O'Brien, Word Biblical Commentary, Colossians, Philemon, gen. ed., Glenn W. Barker, NT., ed., Ralph P. Martin (Word Books, Publisher, Waco, TX, vol. 44), electronic edition.
182 Walvoord, J. F. (1983-c1985). The Bible Knowledge Commentary : An Exposition of the Scriptures (Ga 4:19). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books), electronic media.
183 Ogilvie, 72-73.
184 O’Brien, electronic edition.
185 Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary: An Exposition of The New Testament Comprising the Entire "BE" Series, electronic ed. (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1989; Published in electronic form by Logos Research Systems, 1996).
186 Kittel, G. (1985; Published in electronic form by Logos Research Systems, 1996). Theological dictionary of the New Testament (electronic ed.) (Page 453). Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans.
187 Johnson, 234-235.
188 Walvoord, J. F. (1983-c1985). The Bible knowledge commentary : An exposition of the scriptures (Col 2:1-2). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
189 Bauer, Arndth, Gingrich, electronic edition.
190 BAG, electronic edition.
191 O’Brien, electronic edition.
192 Johnson, 236-237
I. Doctrinal: The Person and Work of Christ (1:1-2:3)
II. Polemical: The Heretical Problems in Light of Union With Christ (2:4-3:4a)
A. Exhortation Against False Teachers (2:4-8)
1. Exhortation Regarding the Methods of False Teachers (2:4-5)
2. Exhortation to Progress in the Faith (2:6-7)
3. Exhortation Regarding the Philosophy of False Teachers (2:8)
In the passage before us, 2:4-8, Paul moves from the doctrinal focus on the saving life and work of Jesus Christ to the polemical where he directly addresses the issue of the false teachers facing the Colossians. His arguments, however, are never far removed from the doctrinal truth regarding the person and work of Christ. What is now said is based on who Jesus is, one in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and on what He has accomplished by His death for our sin, our complete reconciliation to God. With the exhortation regarding the methods of the false teachers (2:4-5), Paul sets forth the dangers facing the Colossians. With the exhortation to progress in the faith (2:6-7), he sets forth the means of protection: living in Christ through the four qualities so needed in this life. Finally, with the exhortation regarding the philosophy of the false teachers (2:8), he warns them regarding the danger of being kidnapped by their empty philosophy.
2:4 I say this so that no one will deceive you through arguments that sound reasonable. 2:5 For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your morale and the firmness of your faith in Christ.
“I say this” looks back to what the apostle has just affirmed regarding the person of Christ and Paul’s desire for his readers to have the wealth of assurance that comes from a clear understanding in the knowledge of Christ. In other words, why should anyone even want to listen to the false arguments of these heretical teachers and their claims of special knowledge and insight when they have the One in whom are found all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge? Thus, the apostle expresses his purpose: “that no one will deceive you through arguments that only sound reasonable as persuasive as they may seem.”
“Deceive” is paralogizomai, which means literally “to reason aside,” and then “to defraud, delude, distort.” This word is used in the Septuagint in Genesis 29:25 of Jacob’s complaint to Laban because Laban had tricked him with Leah rather than Rachael. The false teachers at Colosae were attempting to trick the Colossians by the method they employed. The method the false teachers used is seen in the statement, “through arguments that sound reasonable.” The term here is pithanologia, “persuasive speech.” It is derived from pithanos, “persuasive,” and logos, “word, argument, speech.” In this context Paul uses it in a negative sense of speech that sounds convincing and reasonable, but is actually false. This word only occurs here in the New Testament, but in “… other literature it is a word of the law court and refers to the lawyer’s persuasive speech and its power to influence an audience towards an unjust verdict. In Classical Greek the word referred to the use of probable arguments as opposed to demonstrable arguments.”193
The false teachers were probably promoting some of the tenets of biblical Christianity to make their system of knowledge sound good and reasonable, but any deviation from the truth is a distortion of the truth and plain heresy. Regardless of what they were saying, these false teachers were failing to hold fast to Christ as the supreme head from whom the body of Christ must draw her life and all her resources (2:18-19).
With verse 5, the apostle explains the reason for his protective strategy. Though physically absent from them, he was nevertheless with them in spirit so that he had been rejoicing to see their spiritual stability in the face of the false teaching. “Rejoicing to see (literally, “rejoicing and seeing”) your morale and the firmness of your faith in Christ” contains two military terms that serve to bring out the reality of the spiritual warfare we are engaged in as Christians. These terms may have been suggested by the circumstances of Paul’s imprisonment. “Morale,” the translation of the NET Bible, is the Greek taxis, “order, fixed succession, discipline,” and even “unbroken ranks.” This reminds us of a military division drawn up in ranks. “Firmness” is stereoma, “steadfastness, solid bulwark, phalanx.” In ancient times, a phalanx consisted of a formation of infantry carrying overlapping shields and long spears. This method of defense and offense was developed by Philip II of Macedon and used by Alexander the Great.
The true Church should have in it a soldier’s discipline. As the Revised Standard Version has it, Paul is glad to hear of the order and of the firmness of the faith of the Colossians. These two words present a vivid picture, for they are both military words. The word translated order is taxis, which means a rank or an ordered arrangement. The Church should be like an ordered army, with every man in his appointed place, ready and willing to obey the word of command. The word translated firmness is stereoma, which means a solid bulwark, an immovable phalanx. It describes an army set out in an unbreakable square, solidly immovable against the shock of the enemy’s charge. Within the Church there should be disciplined order and strong steadiness, like the order and steadiness of a trained and disciplined body of troops.194
The content of their solidarity was their “faith in Christ.” Though being attacked by the false teaching, they had not broken ranks to follow the false teaching of the heretics pursuing the church at Colosae.
2:6 Therefore, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 2:7 rooted and built up in him and firm in your faith just as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
In verses 6-7 we see our protection against all false teaching, living or walking in Christ with the four qualities listed: (1) rooted and (2) built up in Him, (3) firm in the faith, and (4) overflowing with thanksgiving. The “therefore” is transitional and reflects back on the previous warning in verses 4-5. In view of that, here is what is so needed. The words, “just as you have received,” pose a slight problem of interpretation. “Just as” is the Greek adverb hos, “as, just as, like as.” But does it refer to the principle upon which they received Christ, by faith, or the form in which they received Him, namely the doctrinal truth about the person and work of Christ? Johnson has this to say:
(1) Popular expositors have often explained the passages as if Paul were saying: You received Christ by the initial exercise of faith; now, therefore, continue your Christian life by a constant trust in Him. Life begins and proceeds upon the principle of faith. The truth is most certainly a New Testament one, but does Paul have it in mind here?
(2) On the other hand, there is substantial support for a different interpretation, namely, that Paul is exhorting his readers to let their conduct accord with the truths they received. The hos would then refer to the form in which they received Christ, i.e., the doctrines. By the first-mentioned view the hos would refer to the principle upon which they received Christ, i.e., faith. As Moule points out, by this second view there is a virtual identification of the tradition of the facts about Christ with the believer’s experience of the Lord Himself (cf. 1:7; Eph 4:20–21). This interpretation is supported by the use of paralambano in Paul (AV, “received”), which almost always refers to the reception of truth through transmission (cf. 4:6; 1 Cor 11:23; 15:1, 3; Gal 1:9, 12). The expression in verse seven, “as ye have been taught,” adds further support. But the context is most decisive. The apostle has been warning (vv. 4–5) and will continue (v. 8) to warn against the heretical teaching at Colosse. In the midst of the admonition there very appropriately is placed the exhortation to persist in the genuine teaching. Paul, then, means in verse six: As you Colossians received the Messiah, Jesus the Lord, in the preaching of Epaphras, in accord with the truth of his preaching, and not in accord with the enticing words of the heretics, continue your Christian life. The present tense in peripateite (AV, “walk”) stresses the permanent character of this walk in the Lord. Keep walking in Him.195
“Received” is in the aorist tense and serves to stress the fact and decisiveness of their reception of the gospel message about the person and work of Christ. But who exactly is this person that they received?“ Literally, “the Christ (the Messiah), Jesus the (as) Lord.”
… Thus the Colossians had received the apostolic gospel centring on the Person of Christ… Faith had laid hold, not merely of tradition, but on a Person. It was the Christ, the only begotten Son of God, whom they had received. The order of the title here underscores the constant emphasis of the Epistle on the divine nature of the Son. He is first Christ; but faith saw in Him Jesus the Saviour, the One who stooped to man’s need by Himself becoming man, and bearing the guilt of man’s sins. And faith, in obedience, had acknowledged that this Saviour must be Lord…196
“The Lord” which carries the concept of “as Lord” to stress His divine nature, adds further support to the interpretation that Paul has in mind, the form of doctrine they originally received from Epaphras. “Lord” lays stress on the person of Christ as the pre-eminent and sovereign Lord and creator and head of the church as described in chapter one.
With the words, “continue to live your lives in him,” Paul gets down to the basic issue of life in the Son who is our Lord and Savior. Literally and for emphasis by word order, the text reads, “in Him be continually walking.” The emphatic position of “in Him” stresses the fact that He is the sphere that is to occupy our walk. “Walk” is peripateo, “to walk,” and then figuratively, “conduct one’s life, live.” The term “walk” is picturesque in that it portrays the steady progress of one’s life taken one step at a time. With every step we are to draw upon His life as the source, force, and course of our lives. I am reminded of Proverbs 3:5-6:
3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding. 3:6 Acknowledge him in all your ways, and he will make your paths straight.
First, to move away from full dependence on Christ to follow the false teachers is to lean on one’s own understanding. Second, “acknowledge him” is literally “know him.” As this applies to Christ, our sovereign Lord and Savior, “to know Him in all our ways” means we are to have a constant mental awareness of who Christ is and what we have in Him as our sovereign Savior and Lord. This would include complete trust in His person and work for life and godliness, consequential submission to Him as Lord, and obedience to Him through the indwelling Spirit whom He has sent to indwell us. To conduct our lives in Christ calls for a life of trust and obedience in which the believer sees the Lord in every event and relies on him.
This life or walk in Christ is now developed by four participles that describe what it means to walk or live in Christ as our protection against any false teaching that seeks to add to the fullness of what is ours in Christ, the Lord. The first three participles are in the passive voice and reflect God’s activity and work of grace in the process. We must cooperate and respond, but it is He who is at work in us both to will and to do in us according to His purposes. It is He who changes and transforms us, who, as Proverbs 3:6 puts it, “will make our paths straight” as we learn to trust Him with our lives.
“Rooted” is from the verb rhizoo, “to cause to take root, to become firmly rooted or fixed.” But it is significant that the tense is perfect. Paul has in mind that which took place in the past, but continues to have its influence in the present. Through faith in the person and work of Christ, there was an organic union established, rooted in Him, but that still becomes the perennial source of life for the believer’s growth and health. We can never, or must never move away from Him as the source and resource of our spiritual lives. In the above heading, I have put the prepositional phrase “in Him” in parenthesis because “in Him” only occurs after “built up,” but it is to be understood as belonging to both participles, “rooted” and “built up or on.” As in 1 Corinthians 3:9, there is a mixing of the metaphors (plant and building), but this graphically adds to the picture of what is needed—Christ is the common element in both metaphors. He is the root and life of the plant, and he is the foundation and its binding force upon which we are to build.
“Built up” is a passive participle from the verb epoikodomeo, “to build up, to build further” or “build on something.” The tense is present and describes an ongoing process, the steady growth of the spiritual structure of the believer’s life. Again, the passive voice stresses the fact that the Christian is the recipient of God’s work in his or her life. It’s the voice of grace and dependence on the Lord for growth and spiritual change.
This third participle continues the process needed for living in Christ and flows out of the preceding two—rooted and built up in Him. The verb is bebaioo, “to make firm, establish, strengthen.” It is again passive, stressing God’s grace and activity, and in the present tense, which describes the continuous establishment or strengthening that God gives when there is a Christ centered walk. The NET Bible has as the object of strengthening “in your faith.” This translation understands this to refer to one’s personal faith, but in view of the article, “in the faith” and the context that warns against false teaching and that stresses their previous teaching, “as you were taught,” it seems better to understand this to refer to “the faith,” the body of revealed truth or the gospel message. As such, this is a call not to merely hold to “the faith,” but to grow in the knowledge of the faith as it reveals the person and work of Christ so that we might experience God’s power over the world and the sinful nature that we all have. This is a call for continuous growth in the grace and knowledge of the Savior. Plainly, Christianity is Christ, and as Paul shows us in Philippians 3, no one has arrived at full maturity. We all need to continue to pursue our upward calling for growth in Christ (Phil. 3:12-14). No matter how much we may have grown or understand, we have just barely begun to truly know the fullness of Christ. How can we in our finite condition even begin to grasp Him in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, who is the sovereign second person of the Godhead and the fullness of the deity in bodily form, the one who reconciled the world to Himself and who became the peace maker, and the one who has defeated anxiety over whatever life may bring, even in death? It is just as Lloyd Olgivie has stressed:
Assurance and aspiration were carefully balanced by the apostle Paul. He desired the Colossians to be sure of their salvation and still be eager to grow. They had arrived, and yet the journey of faith had only begun. He wanted to assure them of their settled status as the Lord’s people, but he also wanted to startle them with how little they knew of the One who loved them so much.197
Six times in this short epistle that centers our thoughts on the fullness of Christ and our completeness in Him, there is the typical Pauline emphasis on “thankfulness” (1:3, 12; 2:7, 3:15, 16; 4:2). Thankfulness takes our thoughts away from our accomplishments and ourselves as we grow and experience Christ. On the positive side, it directs our thoughts to God and what He has done and is doing for us in and through the Savior.
But we are not to just be thankful. We are to be constantly overflowing, abounding. This participle is present (stressing continual action), but active rather than passive as are the other three. It stresses our responsibility to actively engage in thankful hearts. “Overflowing” is perisseuo, “to be over and above, to abound, to be present in abundance.” No matter what life may bring, there is the need for an overflow of thankfulness because of what Christ brings into the equation where “neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things that are present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:38-39).
2:8 Be careful not to allow anyone to captivate you through an empty, deceitful philosophy that is according to human traditions and the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.
“Be careful” is a present imperative of command from blepo, “to look at,” but it is also used of mental functions like “direct one’s attention to something, watch, beware, be on guard.” It is a command for a constant circumspect watchfulness because of the dangers lurking at every corner in the world or society due to Satan’s many deceptive devices through his world system of ideas and false teachers who, though often appearing as angels of light, are agents of darkness.
The Greek word for “captive” is sulagogeo, “carry off as booty, or as a captive, or rob someone.” It is used here figuratively of carrying someone away from the freedom that comes from the truth in Christ into the bondage of error. Jesus said, “you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free,” but when we move away from Christ, even though the false teachers are promising freedom (cf. 2 Pet. 2:18-20), we are taken into bondage. The false teachers of this world are seeking to claim believers as their booty and so rob them of the fullness of Christ’s life.
Before looking at the text here, we must not think that Paul’s statement suggests that he is against all philosophy, which is basically a love of wisdom. The difference lies in the nature of the wisdom loved or promoted—divine wisdom that comes to us by divine revelation versus human wisdom that makes man’s mind the measure of all things. The apostle contrasts the wisdom of the world, which is foolishness with God, to the wisdom of God in 1 Corinthians 1-2.
1:18 For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 1:19 For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and I will thwart the cleverness of the intelligent.” 1:20 Where is the wise man? Where is the expert in the Mosaic law? Where is the debater of this age? Has God not made the wisdom of the world foolish? 1:21 For since in the wisdom of God, the world by its wisdom did not know God, God was pleased to save those who believe by the foolishness of preaching [or what is preached, i.e., the message) (my comment)].198 1:22 For Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks ask for wisdom, 1:23 but we preach about a crucified Christ, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles. 1:24 But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. 1:25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. 1:26 Think about the circumstances of your call, brothers and sisters. Not many were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were members of the upper class. 1:27 But God chose what the world thinks foolish to shame the wise, and God chose what the world thinks weak to shame the strong. 1:28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, what is regarded as nothing, to set aside what is regarded as something, 1:29 so that no one can boast in his presence. 1:30 He is the reason you have a relationship with Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 1:31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
2:1 When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come with superior eloquence or wisdom as I proclaimed the testimony of God. 2:2 For I decided to be concerned about nothing among you except Jesus Christ, as one who had been crucified. 2:3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. 2:4 My conversation and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 2:5 so that your faith would not be based on human wisdom but on the power of God.
2:6 Now we do speak wisdom among the mature, but not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are perishing. 2:7 Instead we speak the wisdom of God, hidden in a mystery, that God determined before the ages for our glory. 2:8 None of the rulers of this age understood it. If they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 2:9 But just as it is written, “Things that no eye has seen, or ear heard, or mind imagined, are the things God has prepared for those who love him.” 2:10 God has revealed these to us by the Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 2:11 For who among men knows the things of a man except the man’s spirit within him? So too, no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. 2:12 Now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things that are freely given to us by God. 2:13 And we speak about these things, not with words taught us by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual things to spiritual people. 2:14 The unbeliever does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him. And he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. 2:15 The one who is spiritual discerns all things, yet he himself is understood by no one. 2:16 For who has known the mind of the Lord, so as to advise him? But we have the mind of Christ.
In Colossians 2:8, “philosophy” is tied together with the words, “vain deceit” by the fact the two nouns are joined by one article, literally, “the philosophy and vain deceit.” “Vain deceit” describes the nature of human philosophy. “Vain” is kenos, “empty.” It is used figuratively of things: (a) “without content, without any basis, without truth, without power,” or (b) of the effects, “without result, without profit, without effect, without reaching its goal.” As the apostle teaches us later in chapter 2:22-23, man’s wisdom by which he seeks to add to the message of Christ is totally empty and without effect when it comes to dealing with the flesh or our sinful patterns.
2:22 These are all destined to perish with use, founded as they are on human commands and teachings. 2:23 They have the appearance of wisdom with their self-imposed worship and false humility, by an unsparing treatment of the body, but they are thoroughly useless when it comes to restraining the indulgences of the flesh.
“Deceit” describes man’s wisdom further and points to one of its deadly characteristics, it is deceitful. “Deceit” is apate, “deceit, enticing.” It is deceitful and enticing because, in man’s spiritual blindness, it appears attractive through the presentation of the false teachers. The result is that it conceals its own utter barrenness, and seduces the minds of those who are drawn away by it.
This human philosophy is described by three phrases that define its source: (1) it is drawn from human traditions, (2) it is inspired by the elemental spirits of the world, but (3) it is not according (it ignores) the person and work of Christ in whom all the fullness of deity lives (vs. 9).
“Tradition” is paradosis, “a handing down or over” and is used of teachings, commandments, and narratives. As with “philosophy,” there are biblical or divine traditions that have their source in God’s special revelation, and human traditions, those that come from man’s own ideas and theories. Human traditions may be neutral and harmless as in the order of church worship, special events and ceremonial procedures, or policies in the conducting of human affairs, but the concern is when they, as here in Colossians and with the tradition of the Pharisees, nullify the teachings and commands of Scripture (cf. Mark 7:1-13).
Further, as to their source, these vain philosophies are inspired by the elemental spirits of the world. “Elemental” is stoicheion, “one of a row (like a letter of the alphabet), and by extension, the elements of knowledge”
Originally it denoted the letters of the alphabet, its root meaning being “things in a row.” The term then came to be used of the elements (“ABC’s”) of learning (cf. Gal 4:3, ASV, NASB, NIV; Heb 5:12, ASV, TCNT, NASB, NIV), of the physical elements of the world (cf. 2 Peter 3:10), of the stars and other heavenly bodies (cf. 2 Peter 3:10, Moff., Am. Trans.), and of the elemental spirits, that is, the supernatural powers believed by many ancients to preside over and direct the heavenly bodies (cf. Gal 4:3, RSV, NEB). The sense in the present passage may be either the elements of learning (NIV, “basic principles”) or the elemental spirits (RSV).199
The context favors the translation of the NET Bible, “elemental spirits” and is a reference to the demonic powers that inspire false doctrine (1 Tim. 4:1), that are often worshipped (cf. 2:18, the worship of angels), and that are set over against the majesty of Christ who is the head over every power and who defeated them at the cross (Col. 2:15). Vaughan writes:
The rendering “elemental spirits” (cf. RSV, Moff.) is, however, to be preferred. Understood in this manner, the passage means either (1) that the “philosophy” of the errorists was a system instigated by the elemental spirits (perhaps thought of as the powers of evil) or (2) that it was a system having the elemental spirits as its subject matter. The second meaning is more likely the one intended by Paul, for we know from 2:18 that the Colossian heresy made much of the “worship of angels.”200
This view is further confirmed by Paul’s teaching in Galatians 4:8-9 which links stoicheia with beings that are “by nature no gods at all.”
4:8 Formerly when you did not know God, you were enslaved to beings that by nature are not gods at all. 4:9 But now that you have come to know God (or rather to be known by God), how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless basic forces (stoicheia, elemental spirits)? Do you want to be enslaved to them all over again?
“And not according to Christ” is the final and most telling indictment against this and all vain philosophies since they seek to bypass Christ and are not in accord with the truth that is found in the saving life of the person and work of Christ as the apostle will show in the verses that follow.
False philosophies come in all sorts, sizes, shapes, and colors and we are in no short supply of them today. And regardless of nature, they all have their negative impact on the believer’s walk in Christ if he or she is not careful both to watch for them and to recognize them for what they are—deceivers, distorters, and enslavers. And no wonder, Satan, our archenemy and the deceiver, is behind every one of them through his host of demonic powers that are actively at work in his world system.
Consider these ideas and false philosophies which are pervading our culture: God helps those who help themselves; He will love us more if we are good; He will judge us according to our accomplishments; Anything that feels good must be good; Self-expression is the only way to self-realization; Enjoyment is enrichment; Christ is the best of all good men—an example of living for us, nothing more; What we are is what we acquire; Our worth is determined by our productivity … .
And so it goes. Everything—from the playboy philosophy to materialism, astrology to scientism, sensualism to sorcery—is seeking to posses the American mind to manipulate our behavior and motivate our spending. And often Christian are among those who respond because their emptiness has not been filled by the fullness of Christ. His fullness fills our emptiness.201
Specifically, we can easily separate or define at least seven forms of philosophies of worldliness in operation today that, like snares that trap us, can and will nullify our walk in the fullness of Christ’s person and work. The following chart illustrates these.
S E V E N S U B T L E PHILOSOPHICAL S N A R E S O F W O R L D L I N E S S I D E N T I F I E D A N D E X P L A I N E D | ||||
Identification |
Explanation |
Its Distortion |
The Snare |
The Effect |
Materialism |
Matter is all that matters |
Deformed view of the world |
I am what I own |
Affluence, accumulation, occupied with things, consumer mentality, neglect spiritual things. |
Activism |
I must fill my life with activity. |
Deformed view of work. Seeking from work what only God can give. |
I am what I produce, accomplish. |
Neurotic, consuming ministry. Seeking significance from work rather than from the Lord. |
Individualism |
I must depend on no one but myself. |
Deformed view of self. Produces a me-ism society. |
I am the source of my own life. |
Loneliness, resistance to authority, inability to work on a team. |
Conformism |
Recognition by others is primary and necessary. |
Deformed view of the importance of the opinions of others. |
I am who and what others recognize me to be. |
Praise dependent, seeking significance from the approval of others. |
Relativism |
It matters not what you believe as long as you believe something. |
Deformed view of truth. Refuses to recognize revealed truth. |
I am whatever I want to believe. |
Subjective approach to life, to Scripture; Experience oriented, uncertain faith, emotional. |
Secularism |
Man has no need of religion. Man is sufficient. |
Deformed view of man. Fails to take into account man's sinfulness. |
I am sufficient to handle my affairs. |
“Sunday only” kind of Christian. Fail to integrate God into all areas of life or reject God completely. |
Religionism |
If I am good, go to church, etc., I will be okay. |
Deformed view of God. |
I am okay because of my religious works and activities. |
Have some facts about God, engaged in some religious activity, but lacking in inner reality. Fail to integrate God into all areas of life. |
These charts were adapted from material in Defeating the Dragons of the World, Resisting the Seduction of False Values, Stephen D. Eyre, Intervarsity Press, 1987.
193 S. Lewis Johnson, "Studies in the Epistle to the Colossians, Part I," Bibliotheca Sacra (Dallas Theological Seminary, vol. 119, #476), 303.
194 The Letters to the Philippians, Colossians, and Thessalonians, ed. William Barclay, lecturer in the University of Glasgow, electronic ed., Logos Library System;The Daily study Bible series, Rev. ed. (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 2000, c1975).
195 Johnson, 305-306
196 Herbert M. Carson, The Epistle of Paul to the Colossians and Philemon, An Introduction and Commentary (Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 1960), 59.
197 Lloyd John Ogilvie, You are Loved & Forgiven, Paul’s Letter of Hope to the Colossians (Regal Books, Ventura, CA, 1977), 97.
198 “Preaching” is kerugma, which may look at the act of preaching or the content, the message. The emphasis in this text is on the content of the message because the cross appears to man’s wisdom as foolishness.
199 Curtis Vaughan, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, gen. ed. Frank E. Gaebelein (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1976-1992), electronic media.
200 Vaughan, electronic media.
201 Olgilvie, 100
I. The Last Adam (Christ) and the New Creation (the Church)
A. Key Scriptures: 1 Cor. 15:45; Col. 1:15-20; Rom. 5:12f; 2 Cor. 5:14-19
B. Key Emphases and Application:
1. Separation from the old—separated, distinct life
2. Newness of life—transformed behavior
3. The Church is a work, a thing created by Christ—He is its sovereign head and preeminent Lord
II. The Shepherd (Christ) and the Sheep (the Church)
A. Key Scriptures: Psalm 23; John 10:1ff; 21:15-17; Heb. 13:20-21; 1 Pet. 2:25; 5:3-4
B. Key Emphases and Application:
1. The Good Shepherd—gave His life for His sheep
2. The Great Shepherd—leadership, care and provision for the sheep
3. The Chief Shepherd—rewards the sheep
4. The Sheep—submission, following the Great Shepherd
III. The Head (Christ) and the Body (the Church)
A. Key Scriptures: Rom. 12:4-8; I Cor. 12:12-27; Eph. 1:22-23; 4:15-16; Col. 1:18, 24; 2:19; 1 Pet. 4:10-11
B. Key Emphases and Application:
1. Leadership, authority and preeminence of Christ as the head of the body.
2. Unity—one body of mutually adapted parts working together as a team, as one.
3. Diversity—a diversity of abilities and gifts varying in function, in strength, and in honor, yet all vital to the body.
4. Mutuality—each member is dependent on one another as are the members of our body. No man is an island.
3. Necessity — the growth, care, and function of each member of the body.
IV. The Bridegroom (Christ) and the Bride (the Church)
A. Key Scriptures: Eph. 5:22-23; 2 Cor. 11:2; Rev. 19:7-9; 21:2, 9
B. Key Emphasis and Application:
1. Eternal and sacrificial love
2. Submission to Christ as the head of the bride
3. Purity—a chaste bride
4. Preparation of the bride for eternity
5. Exaltation with Christ in the millennium and in eternity.
V. The Foundation and Chief Cornerstone (Christ) and the Stones (the Church)
A. Key Scriptures: Eph. 2:19-22; I Pet. 2:4-7; 1 Cor. 3:11-15.
B. Key Emphases and Application:
1. We must build carefully upon the foundation.
2. We must get our direction from Christ, the chief cornerstone.
3. We must also build on the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets. Their gifts were temporary and foundational.
4. Believers are living stones responsible to Him and making up a spiritual house in which God lives.
VI. The High Priest (Christ) and the Royal Priesthood (the Church)
A. Key Scriptures: 1 Pet. 2:5-9; Hebrews (whole book)
B. Key Emphases and Application
1. As to Christ, He is our High Priest: Means our access, acceptance, advocate, intercessor, and help.
2. As to the Church, it is a Royal Priesthood. Means a ministry of representation and service of every believer. All are clergy, the called of God, and all are laity, the people of God.
3. Areas of Our Priestly Ministry:
a. Sacrifice of self
b. Sacrifice of praise
c. Sacrifice of giving
d. Sacrifice and service of evangelism, declaring the excellencies God.
f. Sacrifice of intercessory prayer.
VII. The Vine (Christ) and the Branches (the Church)
A. Key Scriptures: John 15:1-8; Psalm 80:8-9; Isaiah 5:1-7; Jeremiah 2:21; 12:10; Hosea 10:12
B. Key Emphases and Application:
1. Union with Christ—eternal position.
2. Communion with Christ—fellowship and fruitfulness.
3. Unity in Christ—all one laboring together.