Page 444 - Demo

The Letter to the Colossians
was probably written in the early 60s AD. Colossae was a city in Asia Minor, east of Ephesus.
1:6 Paul uses an image of growth. Like a plant growing to maturity and bearing fruit, the Gospel has been planted all over the world and is now bearing fruit.
1:9 Paul assures the Colossians of his prayers for them, for their continued growth in faith. He speaks of “knowledge,” “wisdom,” and “understanding,” but this is not an intellectual kind of learning. Rather, it is a knowledge that brings strength for living and acting in keeping with the action of Christ in their lives. Redemption leads to transformation.
a. [1:1] Eph 1:1.
b. [1:3] Eph 1:15–16; Phlm 4–5.
c. [1:5] Eph 1:13, 18; 1 Pt 1:4.
d. [1:7] Phlm 23.
e. [1:9] Eph 1:15–17; 5:17; Phil 1:9.
f. [1:12] 3:17; Jn 8:12; Acts 26:18;
1 Tm 6:16; 1 Pt 2:9.
g. [1:14] Eph 1:7.
h. [1:15] Ps 89:28; Jn 1:3, 18;
2 Cor 4:4.
i. [1:16] 1 Cor 8:6; Eph 1:10, 21.
j. [1:18] 1 Cor 11:3; 12:12, 27;
15:20; Eph 1:22–23; Rev 1:5.
k. [1:20] 2 Cor 5:18–19; Eph 1:10.
l. [1:21] Eph 2:14–16.
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COLOSSIANS 
I. ADDRESS
1Greeting.*
1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy
a2
our brother, to the holy ones and faithful brothers in Christ in
Colossae: grace to you and peace from God our Father. Thanksgiving.* 3We always give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,b 4for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the holy ones 5because of the hope reserved for you in heaven. Of this you have already heard through the word of truth, the gospel,c 6that has come to you. Just as in the whole world it is bearing fruit and growing, so also among you, from the day you heard it and came to know the grace of God in truth, 7d as you learned it from Epaphras* our beloved fellow slave, who is a trustworthy minister of Christ on your behalf 8and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.
Prayer for Continued Progress.* 9Therefore, from the day we heard this, we do not cease praying for you and asking that you may be lled with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understandinge 10to live in a manner worthy of the Lord, so as to be fully pleasing, in every good work bearing fruit and growing in the knowledge of God, 11strengthened with every power, in accord with his glorious might, for all endurance and patience, with joy 12* giving thanks to the Father, who has made you t to share in the inheritance of the holy ones in light.f 13He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.g
* [1:1–2] For the epistolary form used by Paul at the beginning of his letters, see note on Rom 1:1–7. On holy ones or “God’s people,” see note on Rom 1:7. Awareness of their calling helps this group to be faithful brothers and sisters in Christ, i.e., dedicated to the tasks implied in their calling.
* [1:3–8] On thanksgiving at the start of a letter, see note on Rom 1:8. The apostle, recalling his own prayers for them and the good report about them he has received (Col 1:3–4), congratulates the Colossians upon their acceptance of Christ and their faithful e orts to live the gospel (Col 3:6–8). To encourage them he mentions the success of the gospel elsewhere (Col 1:6) and assures them that his knowledge of their community is accurate, since he has been in personal contact with Epaphras (Col 1:7–8), who likely had evangelized Colossae and other cities in the Lycus Valley of Asia Minor (cf. Col 4:12, 13; Phlm 23). On faith, love, and hope (Col 1:4, 5, 8), see note on 1 Cor 13:13; cf. 1 Thes 1:3; 5:8.
* [1:7] Epaphras: now with Paul but a Colossian, founder of the church there.
* [1:9–14] Moved by Epaphras’ account, the apostle has prayed and continues to pray fervently for the Colossians that, in their response to the gospel, they may be lled with the knowledge of God’s will (Col 1:9; cf. Col 3:10). Paul expects a mutual interaction between their life according to the gospel and this knowledge (Col 1:10), yielding results (fruit, Col 1:10; cf. Col 1:6) in every good work: growth, strength, endurance, patience, with joy (Col 1:11),
and the further giving of thanks (Col 1:12).
* [1:12–14] A summary about redemption by the Father precedes the statement in Col
1:15–20 about the beloved Son who is God’s love in person (Col 1:13). Christians share the inheritance. . .in light with the holy ones, here probably the angels (Col 1:12). The imagery re ects the Exodus (delivered. . .transferred) and Jesus’ theme of the kingdom. Redemption is explained as forgiveness of sins (cf. Acts 2:38; Rom 3:24–25; Eph 1:7).