Paul’s Greetings
The opening greeting in this epistle is typical of the way in which Paul has addressed other churches to whom he has written (1 Cor. 1:1–3; 2 Cor. 1:1–2; Phil. 1:1–2; 1 Thess. 1:1–2; 2 Thess. 1:1–2; cf. Eph. 1:1–2). Although the form of these salutations is quite similar to contemporary Greek models, the content is distinctly Christian and, in the case of Colossians, sets forth statements that are important to the body of the letter.
1:1 Paul links Timothy with the writing of this letter (and Timothy our brother). This beloved co-worker had won a respected place in Paul’s heart and had become a vital cog in all that Paul was attempting to do for Christ (1 Cor. 4:17; 2 Cor. 1:1; Phil. 1:1; 2:19–24; 1 Thess. 1:1; 3:1ff.; Philem. 1). By including Timothy in this greeting, Paul communicates to the Colossians that he is not alone in his imprisonment and that someone whom they know from his ministry in Asia Minor joins him in this epistle.
Paul uses a phrase that helps to convey the authority of his message: He is an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God. An apostle is one who is regarded as possessing power and authority. Although there is no indication that the Colossians were questioning Paul’s apostolic authority, the content of the letter reveals that they were in danger of falling away from the truth of the gospel by turning to false teachings (2:1–8). Consequently, they needed to hear a strong and authoritative message from one of God’s messengers.
1:2 The Colossians are identified in two ways: First, they are holy (lit., “saints,” hagioi). It was not uncommon for Paul to call Christians saints (1 Cor. 1:2; Phil. 1:1; Eph. 1:1), referring to their status in Christ and not to the degree of holiness that they may have attained (cf. 1:4). As saints, they are a distinct class of people who are called out and separated from their former way of life in order to live in and for Christ (1:21ff.).
Second, they are faithful brothers in Christ. Here there is some uncertainty whether Paul’s use of faithful carries the sense of “reliability,” or of “belief,” that is, is the apostle referring to those who are faithful to the gospel, or is he referring to those who have been joined together by their faith in Christ and who now form a believing community? Given that many of Paul’s greetings and thanksgivings foreshadow later pastoral concerns, it is quite possible that he has the readers’ steadfastness or faithfulness in mind (1:10, 23; 2:6, 7).
The greeting ends with an appeal for grace and peace, which have their source in God the Father. This serves to draw attention to the favor that God freely bestows upon his undeserving people and to the healthy or peaceable condition of life that they enjoy because of it.
Paul’s Prayer of Thanksgiving
After the greeting, Paul offers a prayer of thanksgiving for his readers. Even though he has not ministered to them personally (1:6–8; 2:1), he feels that they are very much a part of his pastoral care and concern. Although Paul certainly is genuine in what he says, it does become apparent that his thanksgivings anticipate some of the problems he will deal with later. Thus, for example, he commends them for their “faith,” “hope,” and “love,” (1:5) and yet strongly encourages them to be filled with the knowledge of God’s will and to walk worthy of the Lord (1:9); he praises them for the spread and growth of the gospel in their lives (1:6) but nevertheless prays that they will “bear fruit” and “grow” in the knowledge of God (1:10; 2:6). The entire section 1:3–14 is a beautiful example of how Paul combines praise, thanksgiving, and prayer for his readers.
1:3 Though the use of the plural we may mean that Timothy is a part of the prayer, it is more likely an example of the style that Paul employs on other occasions when he freely alternates between “I” and “we” (cf. 2 Cor. 13:7ff.; 1 Thess. 1:2; 2:13; 3:9; 2 Thess. 1:3; 2:13). The prayer is to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
In this expanded version of his prayer (cf. shorter forms in Rom. 1:8; 1 Cor. 1:4; Phil. 1:2; 1 Thess. 1:2–3), Paul draws attention not only to God as Father—a distinctly Christian insight—but to the Lord [kyrios] Jesus Christ. This emphasis upon Christ’s exalted status as Lord certainly would reinforce the idea that Christ is not an inferior deity but one in whom God himself is found (1:15–20).
1:4 The next two verses introduce the familiar triad of faith, love, and hope. The numerous references to these concepts in the NT (Rom. 5:1–5; 1 Cor. 13:13; Gal. 5:5, 6; Eph. 1:15–18; 4:2–5; 1 Thess. 1:3; 5:8; Heb. 6:10–12; 10:22–24; 1 Pet. 1:3–8, 21, 22) reveal that they were a significant part of early Christian tradition. Here, Paul is not listing them haphazardly but is intentionally developing and applying them for his readers. He has heard of their faith in Christ Jesus from Epaphras, the most likely founder of the Colossian church (1:7).
Whereas Christ certainly is the content and object of faith, Paul has in mind the realm or the sphere in which their faith operates; that is, they not only believe in Christ but they live in him as well (later, in 2:11, 12, and in other passages, such as Rom. 6:1–11; 1 Cor. 12:13, and Gal. 3:26–27, the apostle shows how believers have been baptized into [eis] Christ and incorporated into his body). The result of a life in Christ is a life for Christ. Consequently, Paul can compliment the Colossians on their love … for all the saints. Their faith in Christ was being demonstrated in a love that had spilled over from their immediate congregation to other churches in the surrounding area, such as Laodicea and Hierapolis.
1:5 Hope is the third member of the triad and is introduced as the basis of faith and love (the faith and love that spring from the hope). This message of hope, which is such a vital component of the Christian life, came through the preaching of the gospel. Here Paul is emphasizing that the original word of truth that they received included a word of hope. It is a possession that they had from the beginning and not something that only the false teachers could offer (2:4, 8).
In this verse, Paul combines the present and future dimensions of hope. It is normal to think of hope only as something to be realized at the end time when Christ shall appear (3:4). True, hope is a possession given by God and stored up for you in heaven. Scripture does teach that believers will inherit or possess God’s promises at some future time (Rom. 8:24, 25). But here Paul is placing a much-needed emphasis on the present aspect of hope. He wants to show his readers that hope belongs to the preaching that they originally heard and that they already possess by virtue of being in Christ (“this hope … that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you”). Hope is the basis of their love and faith and thus assures them of the adequacy of the gospel they have received. This should preclude any desire to supplement the gospel with additional speculation from the false teachers.
1:6 Here the emphasis continues to be on the truthfulness of the gospel. In 1:5 it was linked with hope; here the association is with the grace of God. From this, one could conclude that Paul is concerned to show that the message of the gospel is true with respect to hope and grace. But more likely he has the entire message in mind. This gospel, in contrast to the false teachings to which the Colossians have been exposed, is a true message.
The truthfulness and power of the gospel have practical dimensions as well. First of all, the gospel is universal in scope, that is, growing throughout the entire Roman Empire. The gospel of Christ is for everyone (inclusive) and not for a select few (exclusive) as the heretics are teaching (2:8–15). Second, the gospel is bringing blessings (lit., bearing fruit) to the whole world, even as it is to the Christians in Colossae. The true word of God is something that reproduces and grows (cf. the parable of the sower in Mark 4:1–20 and parallels); it does not sprout and then die out quickly (1 Pet. 1:23–25) as the false teaching was prone to do (2:14–15, 19).
Paul is establishing criteria by which the Colossians can counter the claims of the false teachers. With a concern much like the Apostle John, who wrote, “test the spirits to see whether they are of God” (1 John 4:1), Paul wants his readers to test the claims of these heretics against the claims of the gospel. Is it God’s truth? Is it universal? Does it bear fruit in people’s lives? If not, then it cannot be the gospel that they have received. The gospel needs to bear fruit in order for it to be the gospel!
1:7 Another test is to consider the messenger. Although Paul did not bring the gospel to Colossae himself, he reminds his readers that they learned it from Epaphras, one of their own members whom Paul commends as a faithful minister of Christ (cf. 4:12). This brother, who also shared Paul’s imprisonment (Philem. 23), is singled out in 4:13 for his faithfulness and diligence on behalf of the Colossian church.
1:8 Epaphras has brought the news of the situation in Colossae back to Paul. True, they had some major problems and were in danger of falling into heresy, but Epaphras also told Paul of their love in the Spirit. In other words, their conduct in the community is marked by a love that has its source in the Spirit (cf. Rom. 15:30; Gal. 5:22).
Additional Notes
1:3 For helpful insights on the Pauline thanksgivings, see P. Schubert, Form and Function of the Pauline Thanksgivings, BZNW 20 (Berlin: Alfred Töpelmann, 1939); J. L. White, Form and Function of the Greek Letter: A Study of the Letter Body in the Non-Literary Papyri and in Paul the Apostle, SBLDS 2 (Missoula, Mont.: Scholars Press, 1972).
1:6 There is some ambiguity regarding the translation of this verse and the meaning of truth. Does the “it” refer to God’s grace or to this gospel, i.e., did the Colossians come to know the gospel, or God’s grace, in all its truth (en alētheia; cf. RSV, “grace of God in truth”)? From the Greek it appears that truth in 1:6 should keep its identification with this gospel, as in 1:5 (en tō logō tēs alētheias tou euangeliou). The important point, however, is that Paul’s message is based on God’s truth and is, therefore, correct teaching. For the phrase “truth of the gospel,” see Gal. 2:5, 14.
The concept of truth that is employed here is not something that is gained by logical analysis or empirical observation, as in Greek or Western thought. Rather, it conveys the idea of reliability in what it claims (Schweizer, p. 35). Thus the Colossians, in addition to hearing the truth, came to recognize it in all its truth. Paul places emphasis upon hearing and knowing the gospel.
Paul’s Prayer of Intercession
Following the words of thanksgiving (1:3–8), Paul turns to intercession (1:9–11) and lays a foundation for the Christ hymn (1:15–20). As we have noted (§2), Paul typically prays specifically for the things that he has mentioned in his thanksgivings (note the for this reason). Both the thanksgiving and the intercession are good examples of Paul’s continued pastoral concern for this congregation (we have not stopped praying for you) even though he does not know most of them personally.
Although 1:9 forms one of the requests, it stands as a heading for the petitions that follow. Paul begins by asking that his readers be filled with the knowledge of God’s will, through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. This is foundational for the apostle because in biblical thought there is a close relationship between the knowledge of and the doing of God’s will. Those who are being filled in this way will (a) have a worthy walk (1:10a), (b) have a fruitful life (1:10b), (c) experience growth in the knowledge of God (1:10c), and (d) be made strong to endure with patience (1:11).
1:9 The request that God fill (lit., “that you might be filled, plērōthēte), suggests that there is some spiritual vacuum that needs to be corrected. It is the same idea expressed in 4:12 with reference to Epaphras, whose concern for the Colossians was that they stand firm, “mature” (peplērophorēmenoi) and fully convinced, in complete obedience to God’s will.
The filling is to be with the knowledge of God’s will and not some type of speculative or intellectual gnōsis (“knowledge”) so characteristic of the false teachers. Wisdom (sophia) and understanding (synesis) likewise are not some abstract intellectual concepts from the Greek world but attributes that God’s Spirit gives. As spiritual gifts from God, they enable God’s people to live abundant, fruitful, and obedient lives in accordance with his will. Paul’s readers need spiritual wisdom to determine God’s will for their lives; they need spiritual understanding to apply God’s will to specific situations in life.
1:10 This verse begins with a construction in Greek (an infinitive of purpose) that expresses the result of being filled with the knowledge of God’s will. Hence the NIV’s in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord (cf. NASB “so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord”). The first consequence of knowing God’s will is to live as the Lord wants. The main idea is that a Christian’s profession is to correspond with his or her confession.
Second, the believer is to please the Lord fully in all things. Although the Greek word areskia has a negative connotation in secular contexts, here it does not mean seeking favor with someone out of selfish interests or for personal advantage. A life that is lived worthy of the Lord will be a life worthy to the Lord. Thus a constant goal for a Christian is to please the Lord in every way, that is, in all areas of life.
The third result that the apostle envisions is fruitfulness in good works and growth in (by?) the knowledge of God. Although some commentators believe that this sentence expresses two separate petitions (fruitfulness and growth), it is better to keep the two Greek participles (karpophorountes and auxanomenoi) together. In 1:6, the apostle stated that the gospel was “bearing fruit” and “growing” throughout the whole world. Here he is showing that what is true of the gospel in the world should also be true in the lives of the Colossians.
One of the unfortunate distortions in some forms of Christianity is the misunderstanding of the relationship between theology and ethics, that is, between faith and action. Paul has been presenting a concept of wisdom and knowledge that has moral and practical dimensions. The readers need to be preserved from a barren orthodoxy. The faith that they heard and that transformed their lives is to manifest itself in good works that, in turn, will result in fruitfulness and personal growth (for similar concepts, cf. Rom. 7:4; 2 Cor. 9:8; Gal. 5:6; Eph. 2:10; 4:15; 2 Thess. 2:17; 1 Pet. 2:2; 2 Pet. 3:18). A Christian needs to be active in order to grow spiritually; otherwise, stagnation and regression will set in.
The NIV growing in the knowledge of God gives the impression that the growth consists in understanding more and more of God—hence similar to “the knowledge of his will” in 1:9. But the Greek lacks the personal pronoun “your” (cf. GNB), and since the dative case in Greek expresses means or instrumentality as well as reference, it may be better to translate this phrase with the word “by” or “through.” Paul does not mean, therefore, that their growth is in the knowledge of God; rather, it is the result of their knowledge of God. Moral and spiritual growth comes from knowing and doing the will of God. God requires (live a life worthy of the Lord) and enables each believer to live a worthy and fruitful life.
1:11–12 This new life is made possible by the power of God. The repetition of the synonyms strengthened, power, might, shows how difficult it is to express the fullness of God’s power in words. The expressions that Paul uses here are common in early Christian doxologies that praise God for his glory and power (1 Pet. 4:11; 5:11; Jude 25; Rev. 1:6; 5:13). He knows that his readers are going to need perseverance and steadfastness to continue in the will of God and to accomplish all the things for which he has prayed. Only the divine resources of God’s mighty and glorious power can fortify them for this task.
The verb strengthened is a present participle (dynamoumenoi), indicating that this is a continuous activity of God in the believer and not a once-and-for-all experience. Endurance (hypomonē) is that lasting quality that enables one to continue toward a goal. It describes the athlete in Hebrews 12:1 who runs the race to completion or the Christian who patiently bears fruit (Luke 8:15). The Greek word makrothymia, often translated as “patience” or “long-suffering,” is that quality of self-restraint that enables a person to withstand opposition without retaliation.
Giving thanks to the Father: Commentators have had some difficulty with the placement of the word joyfully. In the Greek text joyfully (meta charas) is part of 1:11. Hence the idea would be for believers to endure joyfully—a thought similar to Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:11–12. Endurance, patience, and joy belong to the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22–23), and Paul may be calling upon the Colossians to manifest these specific graces in their lives.
The alternative is to connect joyfully with giving thanks (as in GNB; for a similar joining of these two concepts, cf. Phil. 1:4; 4:4–6; 1 Thess. 5:16–18; 1 Pet. 1:8; 4:13). Paul is developing a hymn of thanksgiving (1:12–20) and consequently directs his readers to express thanks joyfully … to the Father.
The concepts Paul mentions in the following verses are especially appropriate to the situation at Colossae. This church was in danger of turning away from the truth of the gospel (1:5) to “human tradition … rather than … Christ” (2:8). Since so much of this teaching falsified and depreciated the person and work of Christ, Paul sets out to correct their Christology and does so in the form of a thanksgiving (1:12–14) and a hymn to Christ (1:15–20).
There are several reasons why Paul’s readers can rejoice with thanksgiving: First of all, they have an inheritance. The imagery behind this verse probably comes from God’s dealing with the people of Israel when he led them out of bondage in Egypt into a portion of their inheritance in the promised land of Canaan (Exod. 6:8). But the new Israel—the church—also has received an inheritance. The reading qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints translates an awkward Greek phrase that literally reads “unto the portion/share which consists in the lot/inheritance” (grammatically, a genitive of apposition that identifies the noun and the word it modifies as the same thing).
Since God has provided the inheritance, he also qualifies or authorizes (hikanōsanti) those who obtain it. And all this has already happened to these believers. God has prepared them for their inheritance; they already are saints in the kingdom of light.
Saints is a translation of hagioi (lit., “the separated ones”). The unusual phrase kingdom of light is somewhat ambiguous and has received a variety of interpretations. Some commentators take light as the means by which a Christian qualifies for the inheritance. Others base their understanding on such NT passages as 2 Corinthians 4:6, Ephesians 5:8, and 1 Peter 2:9, where light is used as a metaphor for new life. And a few believe that light is analogous in meaning to the “in heaven” of 1:5 or that the author is making a contrast to the “dominion of darkness” of 1:13 that he anticipates. The saints have been delivered from darkness and live in the domain of light.
E. Lohse draws upon passages from the Dead Sea Scrolls that describe the human “lot” in terms of darkness or light. In this literature, however, the “holy ones” (saints) are the angels and not the people of God. It is possible that in this context Paul may be thinking of some of the heretical teaching that included the worship of angels (2:18) and the veneration of angelic powers (2:8, 20). If so, his message to the Colossians is that they are joint heirs with the angels (saints) in the realm of light. There is no need to strive for something that they already possess.
1:13 The second reason for thanksgiving is their deliverance from darkness and their transference to the kingdom of Christ. Darkness, in the NT, is a metaphor for evil, and those in darkness are without God and live under the rule of Satan, the evil one (Matt. 6:13). Paul, as a messenger of the gospel, was himself told: “I am sending you to them to open their [the Gentiles’] eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me” (Acts 26:17–18). Christians are described as those who at one time lived in darkness but in Christ have become people of light (Eph. 5:8; 1 Pet. 2:9; 1 John 1:5–7). In Colossians, Paul reminds his readers that they have been rescued from the dominion of darkness.
The positive side of God’s action is that he brought us (lit., “transferred”) into the kingdom of the Son he loves. The idea expressed by kingdom is that of a “rule” and is used as a counterpart to dominion. In other words, as the realm of darkness had a certain power, the transference is to the rule (power, authority) of the Son God loves (lit., “Beloved Son,” as used at the baptism and transfiguration, Mark 1:11; 9:7, and parallels; cf. also Eph. 1:6). The Colossians have been rescued from the sphere of darkness dominated by evil powers and transferred into the realm of the victorious Son of God.
The phrase kingdom of the Son he loves or the “kingdom of Christ,” is not common in the NT. Perhaps the apostle uses this expression to emphasize the present reality and sphere of their possession in Christ rather than the more common “kingdom of God,” which has a connotation of the future (1 Cor. 6:9; 15:50; Gal. 5:21; 2 Tim. 4:1, 18). Or, Paul simply may be preparing the way for the Christ hymn that follows. At any rate, it serves to remind the readers that they are no longer subject to evil forces; they have been delivered from these powers and are reminded to live victoriously in the power of Christ (3:1–4).
1:14 The third reason for rejoicing is the forgiveness of sins. Here the subject of the actions is no longer God, as in 1:12–13, but Christ. He is the agent of redemption and the means by which we have … the forgiveness of sins. The GNB “by whom we are set free” beautifully captures the essential meaning of redemption as liberation, that is, freedom from the bondage of the evil powers of darkness. The forgiveness of sins is an accompanying result of redemption and not a separate act of Christ as may have been taught by the false teachers.
It would be natural for the Colossians to ask Paul when or where all of this took place in their lives. When has God acted so decisively for us by forgiving our sins and making us children of light? The answer, according to the NT, is in baptism (see note on 1:14).
Additional Notes
1:9 Lohse (p. 24) has a detailed listing of the words and phrases in 1:3–8 that recur in 1:9–11. He provides some excellent background material to this passage, particularly from the OT and the Dead Sea Scrolls, where the idea is developed that “the will of God demands an obedience that is visible in one’s actions” (p. 25). Wisdom and knowledge are gifts of God received through the Spirit. The same is true in the NT, which teaches that to know God’s will is to do God’s will (Matt. 7:21; Luke 12:47; 2 Tim. 2:15; Heb. 10:36).
1:10 On knowledge (epignōsis), see Robinson’s extended note in his commentary St. Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians, pp. 248–54.
1:12 See H. Foerster, “klēroō,” TDNT, vol. 3, pp. 758–85. For Lohse’s comment on angels, see pp. 35–36 of his commentary. Schweizer thinks that “angels” is unlikely, because hagioi is used to describe members of the community (1:2, 4, 26; 3:12).
1:14 The baptismal language and teaching of Colossians and Ephesians will be brought out in the course of the commentary. On the baptismal motifs of Col. 1:12–14, consult Cannon, pp. 16–19. Cannon’s conclusion on these verses is that their confessional nature strongly suggests that Paul was using traditional material connected with the sacrament of baptism.