... author moves from the church (“body”) to the Godhead. One may have expected him to proceed from the unity of God to the unity of the church, but his order appears to be determined by his concern for unity within the body. Verse 4 flows quite naturally from his exhortation in verse 3 calling for the church to preserve the unity that the Spirit gives; thus, “there is one body and one Spirit.” Second, there is an obvious emphasis on all the members of the Trinity and the believer’s relationship to ...
... the church (2:8). Epaphras’ concern for his congregation manifested itself in his prayer life: He did not give birth to the church and then abandon it; rather, states Paul, He is always wrestling in prayer for you. The concerns of his prayer are quite similar to those that Paul himself has expressed throughout the epistle (cf. 1:9, 11, 23, 28; 2:2, 5–7; 3:1, 2). The qualities of firmness, maturity, conviction, and obedience will enable the Colossians to deal effectively with the heresy that is ...