Colossians 1 - The Reconciliation of All Things

1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Paul -- Paul no longer thinks of himself as Saul, most likely named after that king of Israel who so typified the life lived by the power of one's natural abilities. Now he is Paul which is his Greek name and means small. Paul has ceased thinking of himself as the man of great ability and has come to think of himself as a man like David, the youngest and probably the smallest of the eight sons of Jesse, who was chosen by God to become king of Israel and to rely on God's ability and not his own.

1 Samuel 16:7

But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

Notice that the very first word in Colossians, Paul's name itself, encapsulates the contrast between Law and Grace, between what we can do to please God and what God, Himself, has done to make us pleasing to Him.

an apostle -- The word apostle comes from the two Greek words apo which means from and stello, which means send. The word itself means one who is sent from another. Ambassador would be our modern equivalent for apostle. Paul was an ambassador sent to the Gentile peoples to proclaim the message of Jesus Christ.

of Jesus Christ -- Paul was an ambassador sent to the Gentile nations to explain who Jesus Christ was and what He had accomplished on their behalf.

by the will of God -- Paul did not choose to become an apostle. In fact, instead of choosing to be and ambassador for Jesus Christ, Paul chose to be a persecutor of Jesus Christ. God had to give Paul a new will before He could use Paul for His glory.

and Timothy our brother -- Timothy isn't mentioned again in the letter to the Colossians and isn't mentioned briefly in any of the three prison epistles, Colossians, Ephesians and Philippians.

Philippians 2:19,20

But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, so that I also may be encouraged when I learn of your condition. For I have no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare.

Here Paul uses Timothy as an example of the Christ-like humility he desired for the believers at Philippi. Apparently Paul included Timothy in his greeting to the Colossians to let them know that he cared for them even while he was with Paul in his imprisonment in Rome.

2 To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

To the saints -- Saints is a very inadequate and misleading translation of the Greek word here. The word hagioi does not implicitly carry the connotation of personal purity that our word saint has. It means set apart, usually for a specific purpose. I think that Paul uses the word saint to describe his readers partly because he is reminding them of their joint calling. They have been set apart from the world to be lights to the world of the knowledge of the saving grace of Jesus Christ. But mostly Paul is just telling the Colossians that they are "special" to God.

Perhaps a better translation would be "To those God considers special..."

and faithful brethren -- Here again, I'm not sure this is a good translation. The Greek word for faithful is pistos. It can mean either faithful or believing. It is up to the translator to decide based on the context. I think that Paul means his salutation to include all the saints at Colossae and that would include those who would probably not be considered trustworthy. All, however, would be considered believers. I would substitute believing brethren because it fits better with those who have been called apart from the world through their belief in the saving grace of Jesus. It is through this belief and not any trustworthiness on their part that they are all made brethren to Jesus.

How does this sound, "To those God considers special as set apart to be the family of those believing in Him..."?

in Christ -- This phrase is used repeatedly by Paul so it is important to understand what he means by it. I think that Paul's meaning is best summarized by,

1 Corinthians 15:22

For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.

Paul explains further in

Romans 5:17-19

For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one (Adam), much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.

By "in Christ" Paul is contrasting all that we were "in Adam". Just as Adam's sin was accounted to all mankind so was Christ's righteousness.

who are at Colossae -- Colossae was a Roman city in Asia Minor (modern Turkey) which was directly east of both Athens and Corinth and Ephesus. It was about 250 miles from Athens and about 80 miles from Ephesus. It was on a major road which Paul may have used on his travels from Jerusalem to preach the gospel to the gentiles. Paul never visited the believers at Colossae but the church there was most likely an outgrowth of his ministry during his 2 year stay at Ephesus.

Grace to you -- The common greeting among the Greek people of Paul's day was "charein" which meant grace to you. It's fitting that Paul was able to use this greeting with its new gospel meaning of the grace of salvation.

and peace -- The common greeting among the Jewish people of Paul's day was "shalom" which meant peace to you. Here, in Paul's salutation to the Colossians, Paul combines both the Greek and Jewish greeting to present the gospel in a nutshell, because God has graciously accounted us righteous in Christ Jesus we now have peace with Him.

from God our Father -- Our Father brings to mind the Lord's prayer and reminds us of the inclusiveness of the gospel. We relate to God, not solely as individuals, but more importantly as members of a body, a family of believers who have a common life in Christ Jesus.

3 We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,

We give thanks to God -- We is Paul and Timothy. Notice how Paul includes Timothy in his praying. It is not "My Father", but "Our Father who art in heaven". We stand before God, not as individuals, but as the body of Christ. Also notice that Paul is thanking God for what God has done in the lives of the Colossians. He is not thanking the Colossians for what they have done.

the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ -- God is described here as the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ reinforcing the fact that we are all together the family of God. It recalls "faithful brethren" and "our Father" from the previous verse, as well as emphasizing our relationship to Jesus Christ.

praying always for you -- Praying always, as in constantly petitioning God, is not what Paul has in mind here. That would be impossible. Rather Paul is thinking of an attitude of communion with God which includes requests but extends to all that we think of in any friendly relationship. It's more like a mental focus on gratitude for what God has done and is doing and trust for what He is doing and will do.

Here's something from a letter from C. S. Lewis in response to a request for advice about devotional life. He said that his fourth rule for the devotional life is,

"To pray without words when I am able, but to fall back on words when tired or otherwise below par."

I'm not at all sure what Mr. Lewis meant by that but I think it might have some bearing on "praying always".

4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints;

your faith in Christ Jesus -- Paul was thankful for their faith in Christ Jesus. They had merely believed that Jesus was the Savior of the world.

They were not baptized.

They did not ask Him into their hearts.

They did not make Him their Lord.

They didn't do anything.

They just mentally acknowledged that Jesus was the demonstration of God's love for the world, that through Jesus, God had reconciled the world to Himself and taken our sins away from us and onto Himself so that we can have full communion with Him.

the love which you have for all the saints -- The corollary to faith in Christ Jesus is the love which you have for all the saints. Now that faith has removed from us the burden of working our way back into fellowship with our heavenly Father, we are freed up to love one another.

Galatians 5:4-6

You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

While trying to be justified by law we are forced to concentrate on our own needs. Having been freed from the requirements of the law we are now free to concentrate on others' needs. Faith in God's provision for us enables us to provide for the needs of others; to love them as He has first loved us.

5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel

because of the hope laid up for you in heaven -- This hope is that we are now as righteous in God's eyes as Christ, Himself. We do not see this righteousness at the present time. It is the hope of the truth of our heavenly position in Christ. Paul will make this clear later in this chapter.

the word of truth, the gospel -- The true gospel is that we now have peace with God through His grace as He accounts us righteous in His Son. The false gospel is that we can only have peace with God through our own acts of righteousness.

6 which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth;

just as in all the world -- Notice that Paul considered that all the world had received the gospel and its fruit at this time in the mid-first century. Perhaps Paul is thinking back to the Pentecost of Acts 2 when every nation under heaven heard the apostles preaching the gospel.

Acts 2:5-11

Now there were Jews living in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven.
And when this sound occurred, the crowd came together, and were bewildered because each one of them was hearing them speak in his own language.
They were amazed and astonished, saying, "Why, are not all these who are speaking Galileans?
"And how is it that we each hear them in our own language to which we were born?
"Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,
Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya around Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes,
Cretans and Arabs--we hear them in our own tongues speaking of the mighty deeds of God."

understood the grace of God in truth -- Here Paul explains to us how fruit is produced in the lives of God's people. It is by understanding the grace of God in truth. Fruit is the result of understanding the truth of the grace of God. It's that simple. How many trees would still be alive today if more authors understood this fact?

7 just as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf,

learned it -- The gospel is not something just to be believed. It must be learned and understood. Salvation is a lifelong process of coming to a complete understanding of the grace of God. Those who associated with Jesus were called disciples, that is, learners, not followers.

Epaphras -- Epaphras was visiting with Paul in his imprisonment in Rome while he was writing this letter. He was Paul's messenger to the Colossians. Epaphras and not Paul had introduced the gospel to Colossae.

who is a faithful servant of Christ -- What does it mean to be a faithful servant of Christ? All we know of Epaphras was that he taught the gospel to the Colossians. Perhaps a faithful servant of Christ is one who teaches the gospel to others.

on our behalf -- Epaphras served the Colossian church on behalf of Paul while he was imprisoned. In the same way Paul and each of us are serving the church on behalf of the risen Lord while He is in heaven.

8 and he also informed us of your love in the Spirit.

love in the Spirit -- The Greek word translated "en" can be translated as "in" or "by". In each case the translator has to consider the context and the entire phrase to determine whether to use "in" or "by". I think that here it should be translated "love by the Spirit" and the meaning is that their love was the result of their understanding the gospel as revealed to them by the Holy Spirit. As we come to understand that Christ has freed us from the burden of earning God's favor we are free to love, to relieve others from their burdens.

9 For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

For this reason also since the day we heard of it -- Since they heard of the love exhibited by the Colossians.

that you may be filled -- just as we are to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

with the knowledge of His will -- His will, as we will see throughout Colossians, is that Christ and what He has done for us come to the focus of all of our thoughts.

in all spiritual wisdom and understanding -- being filled with the Holy Spirit is nothing more than to be filled with all spiritual wisdom and understanding.

Paul explains this concept more clearly in a parallel passage in his letter to Philemon.

Philemon 4-6

I thank my God always, making mention of you in my prayers, because I hear of your love and of the faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints; and I pray that the fellowship of your faith may become effective through the knowledge of every good thing which is in you for Christ's sake.

The "knowledge of every good thing which is in you for Christ's sake" is that very truth into which the Holy Spirit is to guide us.

John 16:13

"But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.

10 so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;

a manner worthy of the Lord -- Paul doesn't explain what he means by this. It is helpful to look at two other passages to see what he means.

Philippians 1:27

Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;

Ephesians 4:1-3

Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

In both passages unity of the Spirit is the expression of a worthy walk. A walk of unity is worthy of the fact that we have all been united in the likeness of Christ. We all have the same standing before God. We are all forgiven, cleansed, and made perfect in His sight.

to please Him in all respects --

Ephesians 4:32, 5:1,2

Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.

As we reflect the character of God He is pleased that we understand how much He loves us and that we rest in His love.

bearing fruit in every good work --

fruit is more people who are filled with the knowledge of their completeness in Christ, more believers. "In" here should also be "by". When people see our good works they come to believe in the good work done by our Savior.

increasing in the knowledge of God --

As we express God's love through our good works we grow more confident in His love for us.

11 strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously

strengthened with all power -- I believe it was Francis Bacon who said, "Knowledge is power." In this case the power Paul mentions is the knowledge of who we are in Christ.

according to His glorious might -- Paul explains this glorious might in

Ephesians 1:19-23

and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

Here we see that this glorious might is the exaltation of Jesus as head over all things. This exaltation is ours also as we see in

Ephesians 2:6

and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

steadfastness and patience -- the knowledge of our heavenly position in God's favor enables us to patiently stand firm in the midst of persecution.

joyously -- and to undergo persecution joyously because it enables us to proclaim the love of God to the world around us.

12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.

giving thanks to the Father -- Paul's prayer is both to ask that the Colossians be filled with the knowledge of who they are in Christ and also to thank the Father for who they are in Christ.

who has qualified us -- The Father has qualified us. It has been done by Him and it is finished. There is nothing we need to add. Qualified means made worthy or sufficient.

to share in the inheritance -- This inheritance corresponds to the inheritance of the land of promise by the Israelites. For the believer today, it is the inheritance of rest in all that Christ has provided.

of the saints -- We are to have unity as the body of saints who equally share a common inheritance.

in Light -- The New American Standard Bible capitalized "Light". I guess that's because Christ is the light of the world.

Light has two functions for Paul. It is knowledge as opposed to ignorance, as in being able to "see" the truth. It also means openness as in not being afraid to be exposed by the light.

I think that here it has both meanings. We are in Light as we now have the knowledge of who we are in Christ and we are also confident to come before God in fellowship because of who we are in Christ.

13 For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,

For He rescued us -- He has rescued us. The rescue took place on a cross just outside Jerusalem in the first century. We have merely believed that it has been accomplished.

from the domain of darkness -- Where we in the darkness of the ignorance of God's love for us as demonstrated by Jesus Christ.

transfered us the kingdom -- The kingdom of the knowledge that God loved us so much that He made us righteous in His sight by the work of His own Son.

Romans 14:17

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit

Because the Holy Spirit has disclosed to us that we all have been clothed in Christ's own righteousness we now have peace and joy with one another and with our heavenly Father.

of His beloved Son -- Paul describes our new kingdom as not ruled by the darkness of the ignorance of God's love, but rather ruled by the light of the knowledge of the Son of His love. God loves His Son and because we are in Christ God loves us every bit as much.

Romans 1:7

to all who are to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

in whom-- Every blessing we have with God is based not on who we are in ourselves but on who we are in Christ.

we have redemption -- Redemption means that the price has been paid to set someone free. Christ's life, itself, was the price that was paid for our freedom. Since we were not even born when we were released we did not have to pay anything ourselves. The price was all paid in full by Jesus.

the forgiveness of sins -- The redemption that we have in Christ is the payment for the forgiveness of our debt to sin and freed us from our slavery to sin.

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.

He is the image of the invisible God -- In Christ the invisible God has become visible. Jesus shows to us what God is like and, as we are made in His image, He shows us what we are to be like. The entire purpose for the creation is summed up in the life of Jesus.

the firstborn of all creation -- Jesus is the firstborn. This means that He holds the place of prominence in the family of God the Father.

16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things have been created through Him and for Him.

For by Him all things were created -- In the creation account in Genesis it seems that both God the Father and God the Holy Spirit were involved in creation. There is no mention of Jesus and yet here it says that all things were created by Him. In what sense? I think the problem is caused by a mistranslation of the Greek word "en". Here it should be translated "in" instead of "by". For in Him all things were created. He was the blueprint for the entire creation.

Ephesians 1:9

He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him

through Him -- While He was creating the world, God had Jesus in mind as the plan for everything. God created all things to express His unconditional love.

and for Him -- Everything in the creation was designed to bring preeminence to Christ, the expression of God's absolute love.

17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

He is before all things -- Christ did not come to earth and die because plan A failed. Christ was the plan from before all things. Christ supersedes all other plans.

and in Him all things hold together -- In Christ we find the unifying theme or purpose for all creation, both in heaven and on earth.

Notice the similarity between verses 15-17 and

Hebrews 1:1-3

God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways,
in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.
And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

In the Hebrews passage, the author is contrasting God speaking long ago with how He has spoken to us in His Son. He is demonstrating that the words of Christ are better than the old words.

Matthew 17:4,5

Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, I will make three tabernacles here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah." While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, "This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!"

Listen to the words of Jesus instead of the words of Moses and Elijah who represent all of the Law and the Prophets.

I think Paul is doing the same thing in Colossians.

18 He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.

He is also head of the body, the church -- Paul has shown that Christ is the head of all things and now he makes personal application. As head of the church which is His bodily expression He takes precedence over all that has gone before.

He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead -- He is the beginning of a new order where life is based on being reborn as a new creation.

so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything -- Christ became man so that He could demonstrate what it is to be man in God's image. Now He is to have the foremost word in everything.

19 For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him,

the Father's good pleasure -- This is the will of God, what pleases Him, for Jesus and for us.

for all the fullness to dwell in Him -- This is what it means to be in the image of God. In Jesus dwelt the full representation of God's character and it is to dwell in us also. Specifically this fullness refers to God's love. Jesus was full of and fully exhibited God's love for man.

Ephesians 3:16-19

that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.

20 and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.

to reconcile all things to Himself -- To reconcile means to restore to complete fellowship, to remove all of the barriers to absolute openness between God and man.

having made peace -- Peace between two people is the result of not being afraid of judgment or condemnation, total acceptance of all that we are.

through the blood of His cross -- The blood of the cross made peace because it represented the giving of a life. The ultimate sacrifice of God Himself to demonstrate His love for mankind and to demonstrate that every barrier to fellowship has been forgiven.

whether things on earth or things in heaven -- There is no limitation on the reconciliation of the cross. All things means all things. This is the same phrase from verse 16

For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things have been created through Him and for Him.

21 And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds,

you were formerly alienated -- Mankind was excluded from fellowship in the family of God when Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden.

hostile in mind -- Having been excluded mankind became hostile toward the ways of God.

engaged in evil deeds -- Godly desires that were to be met by participation in His family life now were satisfied in godless ways.

22 yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach--

He has now reconciled you -- Reconciliation is an accomplished fact.

in His fleshly body through death -- We have been reconciled through the demonstration of His love which has taken away the hostility between us.

in order to present you before Him -- The purpose for reconciliation was that Jesus might present us before God whenever we desire fellowship. This presenting is the completion of the Old Covenant sacrifice formerly offered to God.

holy and blameless and beyond reproach -- We can now come to God as holy as Jesus, as blameless as the lambs sacrificed on the altar, and beyond any reproach we might have for ourselves or feel like God might have for us.

Hebrews 4:16

Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

23 if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister.

if indeed you continue in the faith -- The faith means the body of teaching about God's love and our access to Him. If we continue to believe that we have been reconciled then we will continue to come boldly into His presence. If we fall away from this belief then we will be ashamed to come before God.

firmly established and steadfast -- Belief in God's provision keeps us confident in His presence.

and not moved away from the hope of the gospel -- There were those who were trying to shake the Colossians confidence in God's favor provided solely by His grace and get them to go back to the works of the Law.

which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven -- Paul considered that the gospel had been preached to the whole world midway through the first century.

of which I, Paul, was made a minister -- Paul was entrusted with the gospel to the Gentiles to make clear that grace has replaced law as the means to please God.

24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions.

Now I rejoice in my sufferings -- Paul rejoices in his sufferings because they give him a chance to exhibit the love of Christ to those who are persecuting him.

Philippians 1:12-14

Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else, and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear.

for your sake -- Paul considered his suffering to be for the sake of the Gentiles. His sufferings were caused by unbelieving Jews who were following in Paul's footsteps.

Acts 9:1,2

Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, and asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

His body, which is the church -- Since Christ is no longer physically present on earth, the church has taken His place as the bodily representation of the character of God's unconditional love to the world.

in filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions -- As Christ's body we are now persecuted by those who want to make God's love conditional, just as Jesus was.

Acts 9:3-5

As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" And he said, "Who are You, Lord?" And He said, "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting

25 Of this church I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God,

according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit --

Acts 9:15,16

But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name's sake."

so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God -- Paul's mission was to preach the gospel fully, that is to the entire world, which to him meant to the Gentile nations as far away as Rome.

26 that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints,

the mystery which has been hidden -- I prefer to translate mystery as secret. A secret is mysterious before it is revealed, but once it is revealed it is no longer mysterious.

from the past ages and generations -- This refers to all of the mysterious secrets of the Law and the prophets. They spoke of things which would only become clear in this present age.

but has now been manifested to His saints -- The secret meaning of the rituals of the Old Testament has now been revealed through the apostle Paul to God's new covenant people.

Hebrews 1:1

God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son

27 to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery -- God's will for us is that we understand the importance of this secret and make it known to the world around us.

which is Christ in you -- The secret which is Christ in you is simply that their minds might always be focused on God's unconditional love for them.

John 15:5,7

"I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

John 17:26

and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them."

Galatians 4:19

My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you--

Ephesians 3:17

so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

the hope of glory -- The hope of glory is that when Christ comes again to establish His rule over those who are persecuting the Colossian saints, they will be delivered from His wrath and established in His love.

Titus 2:13

looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus,

1 Thessalonians 1:10

and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come.

28 We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ.

We proclaim Him -- Paul's gospel is nothing more than the crucified Christ who died to satisfy the demands of God's law in our place.

1 Corinthians 2:2

For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.

admonishing every man -- Paul warned every man to keep focused on the crucified Christ and not return to the errors of men.

2 Peter 3:17

You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness

teaching every man with all wisdom -- Paul explains every aspect of God's love for us as demonstrated by Christ crucified.

so that we may present every man complete in Christ -- We are complete in Christ when we have become full of the knowledge of who Christ is and what He has done for us.

1 Corinthians 1:30

But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption

29 For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.

For this purpose also -- This purpose is to present every man fully aware of who he is in Christ.

I labor -- Paul's entire life's work was devoted to spreading the knowledge of Christ.

striving according to His power -- His power is the power of knowing how much God loves us.

Ephesians 3:16-19

that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.

which mightily works within me -- The love of God as demonstrated by Christ works in us to motivate us to reflect God's character to the world around us.

2 Corinthians 5:14,15

For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.