(Chapters 1:1–2:3)
In view of what was troubling the Colossian saints, it is interesting that Paul does not begin with warning them of the spurious teaching circulating in their region and immediately launch into an exposure of the error. Rather, in this first chapter, he sets the glory of Christ before them so that they would get a true estimate of the greatness of His Person and His work. In doing this, the Colossians would see that they had all that they would ever need in Him, and thus they wouldn’t be tempted to turn aside after the novel ideas that were being put forth. Paul also shows the Colossians that Christians have been given “all the treasures of wisdom and of knowledge” in the Mystery (chap. 2:2-3), and that they are thus “complete in Him” (chap. 2:10). Having been given all of the truth of God, there was no need for them to be looking for something more. Hence, the Colossian saints needed to understand the fulness that resides in Christ. It is not until the second chapter that Paul exposes the enemy’s evil teaching and work. This order is instructive; it is God’s way of delivering souls from error. It is to ground the saints in the truth first, and then they will be able to readily identify error when it comes along, and reject it.
The Salutation
Vss. 1-2—In writing to the Philippians, Paul does not mention his apostleship, but spoke of Timothy and himself as “servants [bondmen]” of the Lord; whereas here, in writing to the Colossians, he employs his apostleship, stating that he was an “apostle of Christ Jesus, by God’s will.” This is significant; it brings in his official authority. Due to the nature of the problem that the Colossians faced, this was necessary. As mentioned, there was serious doctrinal error concerning the Person and work of Christ being pressed upon them by certain mystic teachers. Paul, therefore, used his apostolic authority to refute the error and to insist on the truth. Things were altogether different at Philippi; there was nothing there that required the use of his apostleship, and so he writes to them as “servants” of the Lord.
It is of note that Paul said that he was an apostle “of Christ Jesus.” (The KJV says “Jesus Christ,” but it should be rendered “Christ Jesus.”) When the Lord’s title (Christ) is placed before His Manhood name (Jesus), it refers to Him as having completed redemption and gone back into heaven as a glorified Man. Thus, Paul was indicating that he received his apostleship from Christ in heaven (1 Cor. 9:1). Peter, on the other hand, calls himself an apostle “of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:1; 2 Peter 1:1). Stating the Lord’s Manhood name (Jesus) before His title (Christ) refers to Him as having come down from heaven to glorify God in His death. Accordingly, Peter received his apostleship from the Lord when the Lord was here on earth (Luke 6:13-16).
Paul adds, “By the will of God.” This means that his apostleship wasn’t something that he sought after and aspired to have; it was something that the Lord had chosen for him (Acts 9:15). Paul includes “Timothy” in the salutation, not because he was the co-author, but because he bore witness to the truth which Paul was about to give (2 Cor. 13:1).
Paul addressed the Colossians as “holy and faithful brethren in Christ Jesus.” Being “holy,” in the sense in which he was speaking here, is a result of what believers are before God through being sanctified by faith in Christ’s finished work on the cross (Heb. 10:10-14). (“Sanctified” and “holiness” are from the same root word in the Greek.) This aspect of sanctification has been called “positional sanctification,” because it refers to the believer being set apart from the mass of humanity into a holy place with Christ. The KJV translates “holy,” as “saints,” which means “sanctified ones,” or “set apart ones.” All the saints are “holy” brethren by virtue of what Christ has accomplished in redemption, but they may not all be “faithful brethren” This shows that a certain state of soul existed among the Colossians that made it possible for them to profit from the truth that Paul was about to give to them. F. B. Hole said, “All believers may rightly be called ‘holy’ brethren for all are ‘saints’ or ‘holy ones,’ that is, ‘ones set apart for God.’ But can we all be addressed as ‘faithful brethren?’ Are we all going forward in faith and faithfulness? Let us take these questions to heart for the unfaithful believer is not likely to appreciate much, or understand, the truth unfolded in this epistle” (Paul’s Epistles, vol. 2, p. 89).
Further to this, Paul speaks of the Colossian saints as being “in Christ Jesus.” As mentioned earlier, “Christ Jesus” refers to the Lord as a glorified Man at God’s right hand. By stating that the saints were “in Christ Jesus,” Paul was indicating that they stood, as far as their position before God is concerned, in the very same place of acceptance as Christ Himself! This is quite incredible, but it is just what grace has done. Simply put, to be “in Christ” is to be in Christ’s place before God. It is the position of all Christians, regardless of their state of soul. Old Testament saints are blessed of God in heaven, but they are not said to have this blessing and position. Believers in other ages are “accepted with” Him (Acts 10:35), but only Christians are said to be “accepted in” Him (Eph. 1:6). This link with Christ on high is through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit in believers. Thus, the position in which Christians are before God is a special position in God’s family (connected with sonship – Gal. 3:26) which all others in His family do not have.
Paul then says, “Grace be unto you and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Thus, a fresh supply of divine grace from above was upon the Colossians (as it is upon all Christians), and thus they could count on God’s help in standing together against the inroads of the new mystical teaching that was coming in.
Paul’s Thanksgiving
Vss. 3-8—Paul begins by thanking God for the Colossians. He says, “We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you” (vs. 3). Thus, he would have them to know that he appreciated God’s work of grace in them and that he was praying for them.
Vss. 4-5—In an effort to help the Colossians regain a sense of their union with Christ as Head of the body—which they had lost, or were in danger of losing—Paul began at the point where they were at spiritually, and worked from there. This union, thankfully, can never be lost, but the practical realization of it can be. When this occurs, the saints cease to look to Christ for all their spiritual needs, and thus, do not hold the Head practically (chap. 2:19). Instead, they begin looking to other things which they think will give them spiritual fulfillment. This, more or less, was the situation of the Colossians. They were in danger of having their minds drawn away from Christ and their portion in Him. They were, in some measure, becoming intrigued with the high-sounding, philosophical ideas of the mystics, and thought that those things would fill their spiritual needs.
Beginning where he perceived the Colossians to be at spiritually, Paul mentions three Christian virtues which were evident among them—“faith,” “love,” and “hope”—and commends them for these things. He had “heard” this by way of report, having not been to Colosse personally. These virtues should accompany every conversion and should be seen in every believer's life as evidence that he is truly saved. These three things are grouped together in at least ten places in the New Testament (1 Cor. 13:13; Gal. 5:5-6; Eph. 1:15-18; 4:2-5; Col. 1:4-5; 1 Thess. 1:3; 5:8; Heb. 6:9-12; 1 Peter 1:3-8, 21-22) and are seen in Scripture as being essential to spiritual growth and practical Christian living. They are the springs that energize a Christian's life and cause him to live for unseen and eternal things which his faith has laid hold of.
Their faith was “in Christ Jesus” who is at God’s right hand in heaven and their love was to “all the saints” on earth. The latter shows that their love, like that of the Ephesians (Eph. 1:15), was not narrowed in upon themselves. They loved all God’s people, and this is commendable. We should have the same love for all Christians—not just those with whom we meet on the same ground of gathering. We may not be able, with good conscience, to walk in fellowship with all Christians on account of some holding bad doctrine (2 John 9-11; 2 Tim. 2:16-21) and others having bad moral practice (1 Cor. 5:11; 2 Tim. 3:1-5), but we can still love all the saints of God and pray for them.
The Colossians were also living in view of their hope of being “in heaven.” This, too, was commendable. They were marked by their steadfast waiting for the Lord to come. By saying, “On account of the hope,” Paul suggests that their love to all the saints was because they knew that all the saints share the same common hope of being together in heaven. With this “hope” before them, it produced right affections for God’s people who will all be together one day. In Scripture, hope is not used in the same way that it is in the common vernacular of today’s language. We use the word in our day to refer to something that we would like to see happen, but we have no guarantee that it will. In the Bible, hope is a deferred certainty; it has expectancy with assurance connected with it. Thus, we are sure that the Lord is coming because Scripture tells us that He will come again to receive us to Himself (John 14:2-3). These three virtues showed that the Colossians were generally in a good state.
Vs. 6—Moreover, since the gospel first came to them and they had received it in faith, it had been “bearing fruit and growing.” This means that they not only believed the good news themselves, but they were also sharing it with others, and those people were getting saved too. This was another sign that the Colossians were generally in a healthy state.
In saying that the gospel was going forth “in all the world,” Paul was not meaning that every last person in the world had heard the gospel, but that people from “every nation under heaven” in the habitable world were hearing it (Acts 2:5). Paul’s use of the word “as” here in verse 6 indicates that the Colossians had heard the very same message of grace that was being preached elsewhere in the world. And, in each place that it went forth there wasn’t the slightest hint given to anyone that they needed to seek for higher knowledge beyond what the apostles had delivered to them.
Two Spheres of Divine Knowledge
In the next few verses, Paul mentions two spheres of divine knowledge that are to govern the saints. He speaks of:
• Knowing “the grace of God in truth” (vs. 6), and,
• Growing in “the full knowledge of God” and “His will” (vss. 9-10).
W. Kelly said, “Knowing the grace of God in truth is not the same thing as being filled with the knowledge or full knowledge of His will” (Lectures on Colossians, p. 89). The first of these has to do with the truth of the gospel (vs. 6) and the second refers to the truth of the Mystery displayed in the saints’ walk (vss. 9-10). These things are intimately connected, and understanding both is necessary to “establish” the believer (Rom. 16:25). Having the knowledge of the forgiveness of sins and being justified by faith are not the ultimate end of the gospel. Rather, it is to have the believer intelligent as to the purpose of God in connection with the display of Christ’s glory in the Church, and this, so that he might be found promoting Christ’s glory in this world. This is what is unfolded in the Mystery.
It is significant that Paul credits the Colossians for having an understanding of the grace of God in the gospel, but not so with the knowledge of God’s will in the Mystery. The fact that he prays that they would be filled with that knowledge clearly shows that they weren’t as yet. Herein lies the crux of the problem with the Colossians. They had received and believed the gospel, but were deficient in their understanding of the Mystery. The enemy had taken note of this and was working through false teachers to seduce them, if possible, into thinking that they needed to seek for higher truth. Had the Colossians been established in the truth of the Mystery, they would have known that the claims of these mystics were false, for in the Mystery they had been given “all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. 2:3).
The Colossians are not alone in this deficiency. Many Christians today know the truth of the gospel and have believed it but they are not clear as to the Mystery, which explains the true nature and calling of the Church as being a special company of blessed persons who will reign in heaven with Christ. Most have the old Reformers idea of merging the respective callings of Israel and the Church into one, known as “Covenant Theology.” Consequently, they have a completely different and erroneous view of God’s plan to publicly glorify His Son in the world to come. The practical ramifications of these “covenantal” doctrines are such that Christians don’t understand their true calling and service in the Lord. As a result, instead of seeking to put the truth of the Mystery into practice as Christians should, they are involving themselves in the political affairs of this world and are trying to set the world right through various programs and protests, etc. They earnestly believe that it is their duty to involve themselves these causes. This is a classic example of how our doctrine affects our practice—either for bad or for good.
Vs. 7—The gospel of God’s grace had reached the Colossians through Epaphras. Paul warmly commends him and his ministry to the saints at Colosse, speaking of him as “our beloved fellow-bondman, who is a faithful minister of Christ.” Epaphras had given the gospel to the Colossians and laboured earnestly in prayer for them (Col. 4:12-13). Commending Epaphras as he did, Paul sought to shore up the Colossians’ confidence in him, and thus assure them that what Epaphras had taught them was the truth, and that they needed to continue in what he had given, without looking for something new.
Vs. 8—Epaphras had also reported to Paul the Colossians’ genuine “love in the Spirit.” The Spirit of God had produced those divine feelings in them. It is significant that the Holy Spirit is only mentioned this one time in the epistle, and that incidentally. This is so different from Ephesians where there is not a chapter where the Person of the Holy Spirit is not mentioned as having an integral part in God’s work in souls, revealing truth, etc. The reason for this is that the Spirit is so intent on glorifying Christ and turning the focus of the Colossian saints toward Him that He purposely keeps Himself out of the picture (John 16:13-14). Moreover, due to the nature of the teaching that was coming in from the false teachers, which occupied people with unseen mystical things, dwelling on the Spirit’s work (which is unseen) might very well have encouraged the Colossians in a wrong direction. The Apostle, therefore, purposely does not enter upon the Spirit’s work in this epistle, but wisely de-emphasizes it, and thus waited for another time to speak to them about the Spirit’s work.
Paul’s Prayer
Vss. 9-14—The report of Epaphras concerning the Colossians had not only moved the Apostle to thanksgiving, but also to earnest prayer for them. Having learned of their state, the Apostle makes known to them what his desires were for them, by reiterating in writing a typical prayer of his for them. There is perhaps no greater service that we can do for the saints of God than to pray for them. Paul is a wonderful example of this, as we can see from the large place that he gives to prayer in his epistles. Epaphras is another example (Col. 4:12). This, of course, shouldn’t be our only service for the saints, but it’s where our service should start.
In his prayer, Paul emphasizes thoroughness and completeness in his requests for them regarding the truth and its practice, by repeatedly using superlatives such as: “full,” “all,” and “every.” The prayer consists of four main requests:
1) That they might be “filled with the full knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding” (vs. 9). As in the epistle to the Ephesians, the will of God is prominent in this epistle (Eph. 1:1; 5, 9, 11; 5:17; 6:6; Col. 1:1, 9; 4:12). Albeit, a different aspect of God’s will is in view in this epistle. In Ephesians, it is “the Mystery of His will” (Eph. 1:9), which has to do with God’s purpose to bring Christ and the Church into display in the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times in the world to come (Eph. 1:10; 2:7). Whereas, in Colossians, it is the practical working out of God’s will in the saints in connection with the truth of the Mystery, so that there would be a present manifestation of Christ and the Church in this world (Col. 1:26-27).
In this first prayer request, Paul mentions three things in connection with learning and applying the great truth of the Mystery:
• “Knowledge”—This has to do with having an intellectual grasp of the truth. Since the New Testament Scriptures have now been written, wherein the Mystery has been unfolded, this knowledge can be acquired through a careful study of the epistles—especially Ephesians and Colossians.
• “Wisdom”—This has to do with applying the knowledge of the Mystery practically. This is largely acquired through prayer.
• “Spiritual understanding”—This refers to having spiritual insight to discern the mind of God revealed by the Holy Spirit. It is acquired through reflection and meditation in the presence of the Lord.
Some have summarized these three things as: “K” (knowledge) plus “W” (wisdom) equals “U” (understanding)—but this might be an overly-simplistic explanation of how these things inter-connect with each other.
The aspect of God’s will which Paul refers to in verse 9 is not exactly knowing the mind of the Lord in practical matters in daily life—i.e. where we should live, which line of employment we should pursue, which house or car to buy, etc. Paul’s prayer here has to do with the saints having a full understanding of God’s will concerning the carrying out of the truth of the Mystery. If these dear Colossian saints understood this, they would immediately know that the mixture of philosophy, Judaism, and mysticism that was being propagated in that region was false. Thus, the greatest safeguard against error is an intimate acquaintance with the truth. Then, when error presents itself, it will be easily identified as such, and immediately rejected
2) That they might “walk worthily of the Lord unto all well-pleasing, bearing fruit in every good work, and growing by the true knowledge of God” (vs. 10). We see from this that Paul’s second prayer request for the saints was that in being filled with knowledge, wisdom, and understanding, they would not use it to compete with the philosophers of their day on the stage of intellectualism, but rather, that they would “walk” pleasing to the Lord.
This shows that the motive for learning the truth is never for the purpose of showing off one’s knowledge. Learning the truth always has in view the putting of it into practice in our life. However, this will not be possible without us first knowing what His will is. Quite naturally, then, this second item in Paul’s prayer grows out of the first. The key point here is that the truth of the Mystery should govern our walk. Walking worthy is mentioned at least four times in Paul’s epistles:
• Walk “worthy of God” (1 Thess. 2:12).
• Walk “worthy of the Lord” (Col. 1:10).
• Walk “worthily of the glad tidings” (Phil. 1:27).
• Walk “worthy of the calling wherewith ye have been called” (Eph. 4:1).
The practice of the truth is just as important as learning it. Thus, knowledge of the truth should result in “bearing fruit in every good work.” As we walk in the truth of the Mystery according to God’s will, we will grow “by the true knowledge of God.” This equates with the “understanding” that Paul has referred to in verse 9.
3) That they would be “strengthened with all power according to the might of His glory unto all endurance and longsuffering with joy.” We might have supposed that praying for the saints to be endowed with divine power, as Paul does here, would be in view of them performing mighty works in service, such as those recorded in the early chapters of the book of the Acts. But not so; it was to give them strength to withstand the opposition and persecution that they would surely encounter in putting the truth of the Mystery into practice. Thus, Paul prayed that they would have “endurance and longsuffering” patience, because they would need it living in a world that is opposed to Christ.
This shows that if we walk in the full revealed truth of God and exhibit the character of Christ in our lives, it will draw forth the hatred of the world. The world hates Christ, and if we exhibit Christ, it will hate us too (John 15:18-20). Strengthening of the saints for this kind of opposition is, therefore, necessary. Hence, Paul prays that the saints would have “power” from God, not to do some great work for Christ, but to suffer for Christ. He adds that our endurance and longsuffering is to be “with joyfulness.” Taking patiently the buffeting of the world is good and acceptable (1 Peter 2:20), but enduring it with joyfulness is better. It makes our faces to shine (1 Peter 4:14), and that renders a powerful testimony to all. A Christian martyr dying at the stake in flames, and doing it joyfully, is a manifestation of this kind of divine strength.
4) That they would be filled with the spirit of thanksgiving and praise. Paul says, “Giving thanks to the Father, who has made us fit for sharing the portion of the saints in light, who has delivered us from the authority [power] of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love: in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (vss. 12-14). thus, he prayed that the saints would be found in a spirit of thankfulness for the present “portion” into which they had been brought through grace. He mentions “the Father,” who is the Source of all blessing; and “the Son of His love,” who is the Channel through which blessing has come to us; and a “kingdom,” into which we have been brought that is governed by divine “light” and “love.” What a wonderful place to be! This surely calls for thanksgiving and praise.
We enter the kingdom through being born again (John 3:5), but new birth in itself does not make us “fit” for this blessed portion in Christ. We need something more; we need to be resting in faith on the finished work of Christ and sealed with the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13). This brings us into our full Christian position before God (Rom. 8:9). J. N. Darby said, “So we are taught in that verse [13] of Colossians 1, ‘Giving thanks to the Father, who hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light.’ A man’s being born again does not make him meet; his being quickened makes him feel the need of it; there is another thing needed that fits you for glory, and that is Christ’s work in grace” (Collected Writings, vol. 21, p. 193).
The “portion” that Paul refers to here is the whole scope of our heavenly blessings in Christ. It is an inheritance of spiritual things, whereas in Ephesians 1, the inheritance is material things of this creation in the heavens and on earth (Eph. 1:11, 14, 18). Thus, there are two aspects to the Christian’s inheritance in the New Testament. Acts 26:18, Colossians 1:12, and 1 Peter 1:4 refer to spiritual side in Christ “in heaven.” J. N. Darby spoke of this aspect of the inheritance as being “over our heads” (in the heavenlies), because those references view the believer as a pilgrim treading the path of faith on earth. In contrast to this, Mr. Darby spoke of the Ephesians’ aspect as something that stretches out “under our feet.” This is because in that epistle the believer is viewed as seated in heavenly places in Christ (Eph. 2:6) and everything in the universe is under him—even the angelic beings (Eph. 1:20-21). Mr. Darby distinguished these two aspects as follows: “The inheritance is the inheritance of all things that Christ created. But in 1 Peter, or in Colossians 1, the thing is in heaven” (Notes and Jottings, p. 101). To help distinguish these two things, his Translation of the Bible renders the spiritual side as “portion,” and the material side as “inheritance.”
In order for us to be made fit for such great blessing, deliverance had to reach us. Satan’s clutch on lost souls is referred to here as “the power of darkness” (Luke 22:53; Acts 26:18; Eph. 6:12). But the mighty power and grace of God has “delivered” us from that and has “translated” us into “the kingdom of the Son of His love.” There are at least ten different aspects of the kingdom mentioned in Scripture. In this passage, it has to do with our being in a sphere of privilege wherein we dwell in fellowship with the Father and the Son, and we enjoy their affection. Thus, in this kingdom, we are loved by God just as much as He loves His own Son! (John 17:23)
It is in the Son of His love that we have our “redemption.” In order for us to be made fit for this kingdom a “ransom” had to be paid, and this was done in Christ’s finished work on the cross (Matt. 20:28; 1 Tim. 2:6). Redemption signifies that the believer has been “bought back” to God and “set free” from the consequences of his sins, and from the power of sin, and Satan. Hence, Paul adds, “Even the forgiveness of sins.” This means that a full release from the eternal judgment of our sins has been granted to us! The expression “through His blood,” found in the KJV, has little manuscript authority, and really should not be in the text because the emphasis in the passage is on the Person who accomplished the work, rather than on the greatness of the work—which will come in later in the chapter.