Colossianschapter 1
29 verses · Paul, by tradition · AD 60 to 62 · Paul's letters
The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
Introduction
Paul, by tradition, Paul's letters, Colossians Overview.
Paul wrote this letter from prison to a small church in the Lycus valley that he had never visited. A man from the town, Epaphras, had planted it and then carried news of it to Paul. Some voices there were telling these believers that Christ was only a beginning and that more was needed. This first chapter answers them before the letter names them. Listen for how the thanks and the prayer turn into a passage on who the Son is, with the weight of a hymn. Then listen for Paul's account of his own labor. Read it as the ground the rest of the letter builds on.
Context
- Who
- Believers at Colossae, converted through Epaphras rather than through Paul himself.
- What
- The opening of Paul's letter to the Colossians: his greeting, his thanks and prayer for the church, the passage on the Son as Lord of creation and head of the church, and his own part in the work of the gospel.
- Where
- Written from Paul's imprisonment, traditionally at Rome, to the church at Colossae in the Lycus valley of Asia Minor.
- When
- About AD 60 to 62, in the same imprisonment in which Paul wrote Ephesians and Philemon.
- Why
- To ground a young church in who Christ is, before the letter answers teachers who told them they needed more than Christ.
Historical context
Colossae sat in the Lycus river valley about a hundred miles inland from Ephesus, alongside Laodicea and Hierapolis. It had once been a significant town on the main road east but had been overtaken by its neighbours, and by the first century it was the least important of the three. The region was known for wool and dyeing.
Show the rest of the historical context, 3 more paragraphs
Paul says plainly that he had not seen their faces. The church was founded by Epaphras, one of their own, who had evidently been converted during Paul's long stay at Ephesus and carried the message home, which is how the whole province heard the word in those years.
The passage about Christ as the image of the invisible God, in whom all things were created, visible and invisible, thrones and dominions and rulers and authorities, reads like a hymn and is generally taken as one. Its listing of unseen powers is not decorative: it is the answer to a local teaching that treated such beings as forces to be managed.
The region was also earthquake country. Ancient sources record a severe earthquake that struck the Lycus valley around AD 60 or 61, and Colossae never fully recovered its standing afterwards.
Significance
For a congregation in a declining town, being told that the Christ they believed in holds all things together, and is head of the body, the church, placed them at the centre of something far larger than their address.
Show the rest of the significance, 1 more paragraph
And Paul's prayer for them is worth noticing for what it does not ask. Not relief or prosperity, but knowledge of God's will, a life worthy of the Lord, endurance and patience with joy, for people he had never met.
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
The Gospel Bearing Fruit in All the World
Colossians 1:1-2
Timothy our brother: Paul writes to a church he has never seen (2:1), planted by Epaphras (1:7) while Paul taught in Ephesus. Colossae was the small town of the Lycus valley, long outgrown by Laodicea and Hierapolis.
Colossians 1:1
“Paul, an apostle - by the will of God - As the word αποστολος, apostle, signifies one sent, an envoy or messenger, any person or persons may be the senders: but the word is particularly restrained to the messengers of the everlasting Gospel, sent immediately from God himself; and this is what St. Paul particularly remarks here when he calls himself an apostle by the will of God; signifying that he had derived his commission from an express volition or purpose of the Almighty.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
the saints and faithful brothers: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read saints as holy to God, and faithful brothers as believers bound to one another in Christ. The same saints are to be presented holy and blameless at verse 22.
Colossians 1:2
“Colosse--written in the oldest manuscripts, "Colasse." As "saints" implies union with God, so "the faithful brethren" union with Christian men [BENGEL]. and the Lord Jesus Christ--supported by some oldest manuscripts omitted by others of equal antiquity.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
1 more voice on this verse
Colossians 1:2
“To the saints - Those who professed Christianity. See the note on Eph 1:1. Which are at Colosse - Instead of εν Κολοσσαις, at Colosse, or among the Colossians, ABC, and many other excellent MSS., with both the Syriac, Coptic, Slavonic, Origen, Gregory Nyssen, Amphilochus, Theodoret, Damascenus, Theophylact, and others, read εν Κολασσαις in Colassa, or among the Colassians; and this is most probably the true reading. That this city perished by an earthquake, a short time after the date of this epistle, we have the testimony of Eusebius.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Colossians 1:3-6
We always thank God: The thanksgiving names the three the letters keep together: faith in Christ Jesus, love for all the saints and the hope stored up in heaven. The hope is the spring of the other two.
Colossians 1:3
“We give thanks to God - Who is the author of all good; and from whom the grace, which has produced your conversion, has sprung by his mission of Christ Jesus. See the note on Eph 1:15, Eph 1:16 (note).”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
3 more voices on this verse
Colossians 1:3
“We give thanks to God,.... Meaning himself and Timothy.”
Colossians 1:3
“We give thanks to God - See the notes at the parallel place in Eph 1:15-16. Praying always for you - See the Rom 1:9, note; Eph 1:16, note; compare 1Th 1:2.”
Colossians 1:3
“Thanksgiving for the "faith, hope, and love" of the Colossians. So in the twin Epistle sent at the same time and by the same bearer, Tychicus (Eph 1:15, 16).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
your love for all the saints—: Paul knew this church only by report, and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown compare Romans 1:8. Chrysostom marks the word all. Love for all the saints took in the absent apostle as well.
Colossians 1:4
“Since we heard--literally, "Having heard." The language implies that he had only heard of, and not seen, them (Col 2:1). Compare Ro 1:8, where like language is used of a Church which he had not at the time visited. love . . . to all--the absent, as well as those present [BENGEL].”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
the hope stored up for you in heaven: Barnes reads hope here as the thing hoped for, a good already stored up in heaven. Chrysostom hears in stored up a promise that the hope is safe, given so that believers in trial would seek their rest in heaven. The hope was part of the gospel they first heard.
Colossians 1:5
“Compare Col 1:23, "the hope of the Gospel." in heaven--Greek, "in the heavens." whereof ye heard before--namely, at the time when it was preached to you. in the word, &c.--That "hope" formed part of "the word of the truth of the Gospel" (compare Eph 1:13), that is, part of the Gospel truth preached unto you.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
bearing fruit and growing: Chrysostom reads bearing fruit as good works and growing as the addition of new believers. The gospel then had reached only part of the world. Augustine reads the phrase all over the world as a statement of how far the gospel would yet spread.
Colossians 1:6
“Which is come unto you - The doctrine of the Gospel is represented as a traveler, whose object it is to visit the whole habitable earth; and, having commenced his journey in Judea, had proceeded through Syria and through different parts of Asia Minor, and had lately arrived at their city, every where proclaiming glad tidings of great joy to all people.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Colossians 1:7-8
You learned it from Epaphras: Epaphras, a Colossian (4:12), founded the church under Paul's mission, our beloved fellow servant and a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf. He has come to Rome with the report behind the letter, and the one grace he singles out is your love in the Spirit.
Colossians 1:7
“The insertion implied that those inserting it thought that Paul had preached the Gospel to the Colossians as well as Epaphras, Whereas the omission in the oldest manuscripts implies that Epaphras alone was the founder of the Church at Colosse. of--"from Epaphras." dear--Greek, "beloved." fellow servant--namely, of Christ.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
1 more voice on this verse
Colossians 1:7
“As ye also learned of Epaphras - Epaphras was then with Paul. Phm 1:23. He had probably been sent to him by the church at Colossae to consult him in reference to some matters pertaining to the church there.”
your love in the Spirit: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read in the Spirit as the sphere where true love is found, the love the Spirit works, as in Galatians 5:22. Gill adds that their love reached Paul too. They knew him only by the word of Epaphras.
Colossians 1:8
“Your love in the Spirit - So we preached, and so ye believed. The heavenly flame in the heart of this minister communicated itself to those who heard him; it was like priest like people. They enjoyed a spiritual, energetic ministry, and they were a spiritual people; they had a loving spirit, and love through the Spirit of God which dwelt in them.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
4 more voices on this verse
Colossians 1:8
“Who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit. Not only their love to God, and Christ, and to all the saints, which is before mentioned, but their love to the apostle; though they had only heard of him, and of his great capacity for, and faithfulness and usefulness in preaching of the Gospel, which had greatly endeared him to them.”
Colossians 1:8
“He is a faithful minister, that is, a mediator between them and the Apostle, and has made known, i.e., indicated, to us your love in the Spirit.”
Thomas Aquinas · written before 1274 · Commentary on Colossianspatristic
Colossians 1:8
“Who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit - The love wrought in you by the Holy Spirit. It was not mere natural affection, but love worked in their hearts by the agency of the Holy Spirit.”
Colossians 1:8
“He recommends him to their affection, from the good report he made of their sincere love to Christ and all his members, which was wrought in them by the Spirit, and is agreeable to the spirit of the gospel. Faithful ministers are glad to be able to speak well of their people.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Rescued From Darkness, Moved Into His Kingdom
Colossians 1:9-11
we have not stopped praying for you: The prayer asks God to fill you with the knowledge of His will. The word is epignosis, the true form of what the false teachers sold as a secret.
Colossians 1:9
What, then, is more divine than the working of the Holy Spirit, since God Himself testifies that the Holy Spirit presides over His blessings, saying: "I will put My Spirit upon thy seed and My blessings upon thy children." For no blessing can be full except through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Wherefore, too, the Apostle found nothing better to wish us than this, as He himself said: "We cease not to pray and make request for you that ye may be filled with the knowledge of His will, in all wisdom and spiritual understanding walking worthily of God."
Ambrose of Milan · written before 397 · On the Holy Spirit, Book 1patristic
4 more voices on this verse
Colossians 1:9
“FOR the Church that was at Colosse, Paul gave hearty thanks to God for many most important blessings, especially for their faith, their love and their hope. It would be a very useful exercise to our hearts if we would often give thanks to God for the gifts and Graces which we discover in our Christian Brothers and Sisters.”
Colossians 1:9
“We pray for you - This was mentioned in general, Colossians i, 3, but now more particularly. That ye may be filled with the knowledge of his will - Of his revealed will.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Colossians 1:9
For there is an instruction of the perfect, of which, writing to the Colossians, he says, "We cease not to pray for you, and beseech that ye may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that ye may walk worthy of the Lord to all pleasing; being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might according to the glory of His power."
Clement of Alexandria · written before 215 · The Stromata Book 5patristic
Colossians 1:9
“And, "that ye may be filled," he saith; not, "that ye may receive," for they had received; but "that ye may be filled" with what as yet was lacking. Thus both the rebuke was given without offense, and the praise did not suffer them to sink down, and become supine, as if it had been complete. But what is, "that ye may be filled with the knowledge of His will"? That through the Son we should be brought unto Him, and no more through Angels.”
John Chrysostom · written before 407 · Homily on Colossians 2patristic
walk in a manner worthy of the Lord: Augustine sets this prayer beside the command to do good. Scripture commands the good work and also prays for it, so the will has its part and grace has its part. Chrysostom notes that Paul always couples faith with conduct.
Colossians 1:10
“That ye might walk worthy of the Lord,.... The Vulgate Latin version reads, "of God"; to which the Ethiopic version agrees; but rather the Lord Jesus Christ seems to be designed: and to "walk worthy" of him, is to walk by faith in him; to walk after his Spirit, and according to his word, and in his ordinances; to have the conversation as becomes his Gospel, and worthy of that calling wherewith the saints are called by grace to the obtaining of his kingdom and glory.”
full endurance and patience: The two words differ. Chrysostom reads endurance as patience toward those outside the church, and patience as longsuffering toward one another, the word used of God. Wesley sees the prayer reach its highest point here, with all power given for joyful endurance of the will of God.
Colossians 1:11
“Strengthened with all might - That they might be able to walk worthy of the Lord, bring forth fruit, etc. See the notes on Eph 3:13, etc. According to his glorious power - According to that sufficiency of strength which may be expected from him who has all power both in the heavens and in the earth. Unto all patience - Relieving, hoping, and enduring all things. With joyfulness - Feeling the continual testimony that ye please God, which will be a spring of perpetual comfort. See the notes on Eph 4:2.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
4 more voices on this verse
Colossians 1:11
"Strengthened with all power." He is here speaking of trials and persecutions. We pray that ye might be filled with strength, that ye faint not for sorrow, nor despair. "According to the might of His glory." But that ye may take up again such forwardness as it becometh the power of His glory to give. "Unto all patience and long-suffering." What he saith is of this sort. Summarily, he saith, we pray that ye may lead a life of virtue, and worthy of your citizenship, and may stand firmly, being strengthened as it is reasonable to be strengthened by God.
John Chrysostom · written before 407 · Homily on Colossians 2patristic
Colossians 1:11
“Strengthened with all might,.... This is still a continuation of the apostle's prayer for these believers; for having prayed for an increase of spiritual knowledge, and that this might be put into practice, he proceeds to pray for strength for them, that they might be enabled to practise what they had knowledge of; to walk worthily, to please God in all things, to bring forth fruit with patience, to persevere in knowledge, practice, fruitfulness, and in an increase thereof.”
Colossians 1:11
“Strengthened with all might - This was also an object of Paul’s earnest prayer. He desired that they might be strengthened for the performance of duty; to meet temptations; and to bear up under the various trials of life. According to his glorious power - Not by any human means, but by the power of God. There is a manifestation of power in the spirit with which Christians are enabled to bear up under trials, which shows that it is not of human origin. It is the power which God gives them in the day of trial.”
Colossians 1:11
“Strengthened unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness - This is the highest point: not only to know, to do, to suffer, the whole will of God; but to suffer it to the end, not barely with patience, but with thankful joy.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Colossians 1:12-14
giving thanks to the Father: The verbs are past tense: the Father has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of His beloved Son. The verb for brought is used of moving a whole population from one rule to another, so the kingdom is entered already.
Colossians 1:12
“Giving thanks unto the Father - Knowing that ye have nothing but what ye have received from his mere mercy, and that in point of merit ye can never claim any thing from him. Which hath made us meet - Ἱκανωσαντι· Who has qualified us to be partakers, etc. Instead of ἱκανωσαντι, some MSS. and versions have καλεσαντι, called; and B (the Codex Vaticanus) has both readings. Giving thanks unto the Father, who hath called and qualified us to be partakers. Of the inheritance - Εις την μεριδα του κληρου.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Colossians 1:12
For He Himself has bound the strong man and spoiled his goods, that is, us men, whom our enemy had abused in every evil activity, and made "vessels meet for the Master's use" us who have been perfected for every work through the making ready of that part of us which is in our own control. Thus we have had our approach to the Father through Him, being translated from "the power of darkness to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light."
Basil of Caesarea · written before 379 · On The Holy Spirit, Chapter 8patristic
Colossians 1:12
“The connection is not, "We do not cease to pray for you (Col 1:9) giving thanks." unto the Father--of Jesus Christ, and so our Father by adoption (Ga 3:26; 4:4-6). which hath made us meet--Greek, "who made us meet." Not "is making us meet" by progressive growth in holiness; but once for all made us meet.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
the dominion of darkness: Augustine reads the verse through the exodus, where Israel was brought out of Egypt's power into a land of promise. Chrysostom marks that darkness here holds real power over people. The Greek calls Christ the Son of His love, as Jamieson, Fausset and Brown translate it.
Colossians 1:13
“Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness - The power exerted over us in that dark kingdom to which we formerly belonged - the kingdom of Satan. The characteristic of this empire is darkness - the emblem of: (1) Sin; (2) Error; (3) Misery and death. Over us, by nature, these things had uncontrollable power; but now we are delivered from them, and brought to the enjoyment of the privileges of those who are connected with the kingdom of light.”
1 more voice on this verse
Colossians 1:13
"Snatched from the powers of darkness" at such a great "price," and by so great a "mystery," and loosed from the chains of the ancient captivity, make sure, dearly beloved, that the devil does not destroy the integrity of your souls with any stratagem.
Leo the Great · written before 461 · Commentary (church-history corpus)patristic
the forgiveness of sins: The Berean has no words about blood here. Clarke and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown report that the oldest copies lack them, likely brought in from Ephesians 1:7. Chrysostom ties redemption to verse 13: the Son brings sinners into His kingdom with their sins forgiven.
Colossians 1:14
“In whom we have redemption - Who has paid down the redemption price, even his own blood, that our sins might be cancelled, and we made fit to be partakers of the inheritance among the saints in light. The clause, δια του αἱματος αυτου, Through his blood, is omitted by ABCDEFG, and by most others of weight and importance; by the Syriac, Arabic of Erpen, Coptic, Ethiopic, Sahidic, some copies of the Vulgate and by the Itala; and by most of the Greek fathers. Griesbach has left it out of the text.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Colossians 1:14
“But vain in every respect are they who despise the entire dispensation of God, and disallow the salvation of the flesh, and treat with contempt its regeneration, maintaining that it is not capable of incorruption. But if this indeed do not attain salvation, then neither did the Lord redeem us with His blood, nor is the cup of the Eucharist the communion of His blood, nor the bread which we break the communion of His body.”
Irenaeus · written before 202 · Against Heresies 5.2.2patristic
Image of the Invisible God: First in Everything
the image of the invisible God: The title the firstborn over all creation names rank. Psalm 89:27 makes the firstborn the highest of the kings of the earth, and Exodus 4:22 calls Israel God's firstborn.
Colossians 1:15
“Not then because He was from the Father was He called `First-born,' but because in Him the creation came to be; and as before the creation He was the Son, through whom was the creation, so also before He was called the First-born of the whole creation, not the less was the Word Himself with God and the Word was God. But this also not understanding, these irreligious men go about saying, `If He is First-born of all creation, it is plain that He too is one of the creation.'”
Athanasius of Alexandria · written before 373 · Discourses Against the Arians 2.63patristic
Colossians 1:16-17
visible and invisible: The creation claim reaches into the unseen, thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, the very ranks the Colossian error taught men to appease. All were created through Him and for Him, and in Him all things hold together.
Colossians 1:16
“But the sentiment of Truth in this matter must not be hidden, but must have high utterance. For the Word of God was not made for us, but rather we for Him, and `in Him all things were created.' Nor for that we were weak, was He strong and made by the Father alone, that He might frame us by means of Him as an instrument; perish the thought! it is not so. For though it had seemed good to God not to make things originate, still had the Word been no less with God, and the Father in Him.”
Athanasius of Alexandria · written before 373 · Discourses Against the Arians 2.31patristic
2 more voices on this verse
Colossians 1:16
“THERE can be no mistake as to the Person concerning whom Paul is writing under the Inspiration of the Holy Spirit—it is Jesus of Nazareth, the Incarnate Son of God who was crucified on Calvary for, writing concerning the same Person in the 14th verse, the Apostle says, "In whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins." It is, therefore, that Savior whose blood was shed for His people's redemption who is here declared to be the Creator of all things and by whom all things consist!”
Charles Spurgeon · written before 1892 · The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3180: “Christ the Creator” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition)Particular Baptist
Colossians 1:16
“His essential nature as the Word of the Father is not a mere appendage of His incarnation, but is the ground of it. The original relation of the Eternal Word to men "made in His image" (Ge 1:27), is the source of the new relation to them by redemption, formed in His incarnation, whereby He restores them to His lost image.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
He is before all things: Barnes reads before as existence in time, as the Son who created all things must be before them. Chrysostom turns the verse against Paul of Samosata. All things cannot hold together in Him if He did not yet exist.
Colossians 1:17
“For after making mention of the creation, he naturally speaks of the Framer's Power as seen in it, which Power, I say, is the Word of God, by whom all things have been made. If indeed the creation is sufficient of itself alone, without the Son, to make God known, see that you fall not, from thinking that without the Son it has come to be.”
Athanasius of Alexandria · written before 373 · Discourses Against the Arians 1.12patristic
He is the head of the body: , the church, and the beginning, arche, the origin of the new creation as of the old. The phrase firstborn from among the dead makes the resurrection a birth order, as 1 Corinthians 15:20 calls Christ the firstfruits.
Colossians 1:18
“He is the head of the body - What the apostle has said in the two preceding verses refers to the Divine nature of Jesus Christ; he now proceeds to speak of his human nature, and to show how highly that is exalted beyond all created things, and how, in that, he is head of the Church - the author and dispenser of light, life, and salvation, to the Christian world; or, in other words, that from him, as the man in whom the fullness of the Godhead bodily dwelt, all the mercy and salvation of the Gospel system is…”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
3 more voices on this verse
Colossians 1:18
“All our hopes and joys take their rise from him who is the author of our salvation. Not that he was the first who ever rose from the dead, but the first and only one who rose by his own power, and was declared to be the Son of God, and Lord of all things. And he is the head of the resurrection, and has given us an example and evidence of our resurrection from the dead.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Colossians 1:18
As if to show us that this title of "Head of the Church" is to be held in highest esteem, it is here placed in connection with the loftiest honors of our Lord Jesus. In the same breath the Son of God is styled "the image of the invisible God," "the first-born of every creature," the Creator of all existence, and then, "the head of the body, the church."
Colossians 1:18
“So that forgiveness is the beginning of redemption, as the resurrection is the completion of it. Who is - By describing the glory of Christ, and his preeminence over the highest angels, the apostle here lays a foundation for the reproof of all worshippers of angels.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Colossians 1:19-20
all His fullness dwell: Pleroma was apparently the error's word for the sum of divine powers. The letter sets it on Christ: God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, as a permanent home.
Colossians 1:19
“THESE two texts make up a very beautiful sketch of the plan of salvation. Put before your mind's eye the sinner, empty of all holiness, of all hope, despairing and ready to die. Put, also, before your mind, God, full of mercy, willing to come and fill the sinner's emptiness, to bring all His communicable attributes, dwell in that sinner and give him, first, the mercy which can blot out his sin, and then the holiness which can lift him up from his ruined condition.”
2 more voices on this verse
Colossians 1:19
“In regard of His Godhead, therefore, the Son of God so hath His own glory, that the glory of Father and Son is one: He is not, therefore, inferior in splendour, for the glory is one, nor lower in Godhead, for the fulness of the Godhead is in Christ.”
Ambrose of Milan · written before 397 · Exposition of the Christian Faith, Book 2patristic
Colossians 1:19
“For it pleased the Father - The words “the Father” are not in the original, but they are not improperly supplied. Some word must be understood, and as the apostle in Col 1:12 referred to “the Father” as having a claim to the thanks of his people for what he had done, and as the great favor for which they ought to be thankful is that which he immediately specifies - the exaltation of Christ, it is not improper to suppose that this is the word to be understood here.”
whether things on earth or things in heaven: Wesley notes that earth comes first, where the enmity began. He takes things in heaven as the saints who died before Christ came. Henry looks to angels and saints brought at last into one blessed company through the peace of the cross.
Colossians 1:20
“The Greek order is, "And through Him (Christ) to reconcile again completely (see on Eph 2:16) all things (Greek, 'the whole universe of things') unto Himself (unto God the Father, 2Co 5:19), having made peace (God the Father having made peace) through the blood of His (Christ's) cross," that is, shed by Christ on the cross: the price and pledge of our reconciliation with God.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
2 more voices on this verse
Colossians 1:20
“Through the blood of the cross - The blood shed thereon. Whether things on earth - Here the enmity began: therefore this is mentioned first. Or things in heaven - Those who are now in paradise; the saints who died before Christ came.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Colossians 1:20
“And, having made peace through the blood of his cross - Peace between God and man; for man being in a sinful state, and there being no peace to the wicked, it required a reconciliation to be made to restore peace between heaven and earth; but peace could not be made without an atonement for sin, and the consequence shows that the blood of Christ shed on the cross was necessary to make this atonement.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Colossians 1:21-22
Once you were alienated from God: The reconciliation of verse 20 lands on the readers, and its means is physical against a teaching uneasy with matter. It came by Christ’s physical body through death, a real body and a real dying.
holy, unblemished, and blameless: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown separate the last two words. Unblemished is the word used of Christ at 1 Peter 1:19, and blameless describes a person no one can bring before a court. John Wesley reads Christ's physical body as His whole manhood, set apart from His body the church.
Colossians 1:22
“In the body of his flesh through death,.... Or "through his death", as the Alexandrian copy and some others, and all the Oriental versions, read.”
2 more voices on this verse
Colossians 1:22
“For flesh is defined one way, the body another; all flesh is body, but not every body is flesh. Flesh is properly what is comprised in blood, veins, bones, and sinews. Although the body is also called flesh, yet sometimes it is designated ethereal or aërial, because it is not subject to touch and sight; and yet it is frequently both visible and tangible. A wall is a body, but is not flesh; a stone is a body, but it is not said to be flesh. Wherefore the Apostle calls some bodies celestial, some terrestrial.”
Jerome · written before 420 · To Pammachius Against John of Jerusalempatristic
Colossians 1:22
“By the body of his flesh - So distinguished from his body, the church. The body here denotes his entire manhood. Through death - Whereby he purchased the reconciliation which we receive by faith.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
if indeed you continue in your faith: Verse 22's presentation carries a condition: if indeed you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope of the gospel. The gospel proclaimed to every creature under heaven is the letter's answer to a private tradition, since the true message was published to the world.
Colossians 1:23
“If ye continue in the faith - Otherwise, ye will lose all the blessings which ye have already begun to enjoy. And be not removed from the hope of the gospel - The glorious hope of perfect love. Which is preached - Is already begun to be preached to every creature under heaven.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Colossians 1:23
“For "to (Greek, 'in') every creature," the oldest manuscripts read, "in all creation." Compare "in all the world," Col 1:6; "all things . . . in earth," Col 1:20 (Mr 16:15): thus he implies that the Gospel from which he urges them not to be moved, has this mark of truth, namely, the universality of its announcement, which accords with the command and prophecy of Christ Himself (Mt 24:14).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
The Mystery Made Known: Christ in You, the Hope of Glory
Colossians 1:24-25
Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you: The letter declares the debt of sin cancelled at the cross (2:13 to 14). So what is lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions is the suffering His body the church still passes through. Paul rejoices to bear his share of it.
Colossians 1:24
“As, however, he says elsewhere, that the Church is the body of Christ, so here also (the apostle) declares that he "fills up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in his flesh for His body's sake, which is the Church." But you must not on this account suppose that on every mention of His body the term is only a metaphor, instead of meaning real flesh.”
Tertullian · written before 220 · Against Marcion Book Vpatristic
2 more voices on this verse
Colossians 1:24
“Rejoice in my sufferings for you - St. Paul always considers his persecutions, as far as the Jews were concerned in them, as arising from this simple circumstance - his asserting that God had chosen the Gentiles, and called them to enjoy the very same privileges with the Jews, and to constitute one Church with them. It was on this account that the Jews attempted his life at Jerusalem, when, in order to save it, he was obliged to appeal to Caesar; the consequences of which persecution he was now suffering in his imprisonment in Rome.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Colossians 1:24
“But the sufferings of Paul and other good ministers made them conformable to Christ; and they followed him in his suffering state: so they are said to fill up what was behind of the sufferings of Christ, as the wax fills up the vacuities of the seal, when it receives the impression of it. Or it may be meant not of Christ's sufferings, but of his suffering for Christ.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
the commission God gave me: Commission renders oikonomia, the charge of a steward over a household. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown picture Paul giving out his Master's goods to the church, His family. They read to you as to the Gentiles of verse 27.
Colossians 1:25
“According to the dispensation of God - The arrangement which God has made. That is, he designed that the gospel should be preached to the Gentiles, and, in accordance with that arrangement, he has called me to be a minister. Notes, Eph 3:2. To fulfil the word of God - Margin, “fully to preach.” The Greek is, “to fill up the word of God;” the meaning is, “fully to teach and promulgate the gospel;” compare the notes at Rom 15:19.”
Colossians 1:26-27
the mystery that was hidden for ages: The mystery is a secret now published, hidden for ages and generations, now revealed to His saints. Its content is five words that carry the letter, Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Colossians 1:26
“The mystery - Namely, Christ both justifying and sanctifying gentiles, as well as Jews. Which hath been comparatively hid from former ages and past generations of men.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Christ in you, the hope of glory: Matthew Henry notes that in you can also be read among you, Christ proclaimed among the Gentiles. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown set the verse beside Ephesians 2:12, where the same Gentiles were once without Christ and without hope. Chrysostom marks that the making known was God's choice.
Colossians 1:27
“This mystery, thus made known, is Christ in you (or among you) the hope of glory. Observe, Christ is the hope of glory. The ground of our hope is Christ in the word, or the gospel revelation, declaring the nature and methods of obtaining it.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
2 more voices on this verse
Colossians 1:27
“This sense is proved by the following: "Christ in you the hope of the (so Greek) glory." The lower was the degradation of you Gentiles, the higher is the richness of the glory to which the mystery revealed now raises you. You were "without Christ, and having no hope" (Eph 2:12).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Colossians 1:27
“THE Gospel is the grand secret—the mystery of mysteries! It was hidden from ages and from generations, but is now made manifest to the saints. To the mass of mankind it was utterly unknown and the chosen people, who saw something of it, only perceived it dimly through the smoke of sacrifices and the veil of types. It remained a mystery which wit could not guess nor invention unravel—and it would have forever have continued a secret had not God, in His infinite mercy, been pleased to reveal it by the Holy Spirit.”
Colossians 1:28-29
We proclaim Him: Every man stands three times in the Greek of verse 28, answering a teaching that graded souls into initiates and outsiders. The goal is to present everyone perfect in Christ, teleios, complete.
Colossians 1:28
“That which he aimed at was to present every man perfect in Christ Jesus, teleios, either perfect in the knowledge of the Christian doctrine ( Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, be thus minded, Phil. iii. 17 ), or else crowned with a glorious reward hereafter, when he will present to himself a glorious church ( Eph. v. 27 ), and bring them to the spirits of just men made perfect, Heb. xii.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
1 more voice on this verse
Colossians 1:28
“Whom we preach, warning every man - This does not mean warning of danger, but “admonishing all of the claims of the gospel to attention.” Our word warn is commonly used in the sense of cautioning against danger. The Greek word here means to put in mind; to admonish; to exhort. The idea of the apostle is, that he made it his great business to bring the offers of the gospel fairly before the mind of every man.”
striving with all His energy: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown trace the word for striving to Epaphras wrestling in prayer at 4:12 and to Jesus praying in Gethsemane at Luke 22:44. Barnes pictures the striving of the Greek games. Clarke sees God working powerfully in Paul and Paul working with God.
Colossians 1:29
“The same Greek word is used of Epaphras (Col 4:12), "laboring fervently for you in prayers": literally, "agonizing," "striving as in the agony of a contest." So Jesus in Gethsemane when praying (Lu 22:44): so "strive" (the same Greek word, "agonize"), Lu 13:24. So Jacob "wrestled" in prayer (Ge 32:24-29).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
How this psalm is built
The form: A greeting, thanksgiving and prayer, then a passage on the Son in His divine nature (verses 16 and 17) and in His human nature as head of the church (verse 18), then Paul's own share in the work, as Clarke classes it.
The patterns in this chapter
| Device | What it does | Where to see it |
|---|---|---|
| All things, six times | The words all things come twice in verse 16, twice in verse 17, once in verse 18 and once in verse 20. Chrysostom hears the close succession of these phrases as rapid strokes that tear a deadly doctrine up by the roots. Creation, its holding together, the Son's first place and the reconciliation all reach the same whole.John Chrysostom, Homily on Colossians 3, on Colossians 1:17. | Colossians 1:16, Colossians 1:17, Colossians 1:18, Colossians 1:20 |
| Firstborn, twice | The word firstborn comes at verse 15, over all creation, and at verse 18, from among the dead. Chrysostom reads the second as the one who rose before all, as the first means the one who was before all things. The first stands with creation in verses 15 to 17, and the second with the church in verse 18.John Chrysostom, Homily on Colossians 3, on Colossians 1:18. | Colossians 1:15, Colossians 1:18 |
| Four marks of the worthy walk | The prayer of verse 10 describes the worthy walk with four verbs in a row: bearing fruit and growing in verse 10, being strengthened in verse 11 and giving thanks in verse 12. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown count these as successive manifestations of the one walk, the third at verse 11 and the fourth at verse 12.Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, 1871, on Colossians 1:10. | Colossians 1:10, Colossians 1:11, Colossians 1:12 |
How this chapter is built
6 more paragraphs on the patterns
The chapter opens with a greeting (verses 1 and 2), a thanksgiving (3 to 8) and a prayer (9 to 14). The prayer describes the worthy walk with four marks, bearing fruit, growing, being strengthened and giving thanks, which Jamieson, Fausset and Brown count as successive manifestations of that walk. From verse 15 the prayer becomes a passage on the Son, and Adam Clarke reads verses 16 and 17 of His divine nature and verse 18 of His human nature as head of the church. The words all things come six times in verses 16 to 20, which Chrysostom hears as rapid strokes against a false doctrine. Verses 21 to 23 apply the passage to the readers, and verses 24 to 29 describe Paul's own labor for the church.
Where it stands in the letter
Chapter 1 lays the ground: who Christ is and what the readers already have in Him. Chapter 2 names the teaching that pressed on them and answers it from that ground, and chapters 3 and 4 turn to how people raised with Christ live. Paul's account of his striving at 1:29 runs on into 2:1, where he tells them how much he is struggling for them and for those at Laodicea. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown tie the hope of verse 5 to the hope of the gospel at verse 23, and they hear the striving of verse 29 again in Epaphras's wrestling prayer at 4:12.
Where to go deeper
Verses 15 to 20 are read line by line at /featured/the-supremacy-of-christ. The title firstborn is traced at /featured/the-firstborn, the peace made through the cross at /featured/reconciliation, and the Son's deity at /featured/deity-of-christ. The head and the body of verse 18 are taken up at /featured/the-church.
Sources: Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible, on Colossians 1:18. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, 1871, on Colossians 1:5, 1:10 and 1:29. John Chrysostom, Homily on Colossians 3, on Colossians 1:17 and 1:18. The historical context draws on the store's context rows for Colossians and Colossians 1, which cite Josephus, The Antiquities of the Jews, and F. F. Bruce, Paul: Apostle of the Heart Set Free.
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Sources for this chapter
The summary
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
The context
Charles Hodge, A Commentary on the Epistle to the Ephesians; J. B. Lightfoot, Saint Paul's Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon and Jonathan Edwards, Charity and Its Fruits.
The form and classifications
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible, on Colossians 1:18; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, 1871, on Colossians 1:10 and John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748), on Colossians 1:11.
The exposition
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes; Augustine of Hippo; J. B. Lightfoot, Saint Paul's Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on Colossians; John Chrysostom; John Gill; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.