Colossians 1

Colossians 1:3-12

The inscription as usual, ver. 1, 2. His thanksgiving to God for what he had heard concerning them; their faith, love, and hope, ver. 3-8. He prays for their knowledge, fruitfulness, and strength, ver. 9-11. Given them an admirable summary of the Christian doctrine concerning the operation of the Spirit, the person of the Redeemer, the work of redemption, and the preaching of it in the gospel, ver. 12-28.

1. PAUL an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God, and Timotheus our brother, 2. To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ, which are at Colosse: ‘Grace be unto you, and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

v. 1, 2. With his usual introduction the apostle opens his epistle. Paul an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God, appointed to that eminent honour and office by an immediate commission from heaven, and Timotheus our brother, who joins with me in this epistle, to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ, which are at Colosse, who are the living members of his body mystical, and in practice correspond with their holy prophecies; Grace be unto you, and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ; may every blessing of pardon, adoption, comfort, strength, perseverance, glory, be your happy portion!

3. We give thanks to God, and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you: 4. Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints; 5. For the hope which

is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel: 6. Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world, and brought forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth. 7. As ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellow-servant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ; 8. Who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit. 9. For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will, in all wisdom and spiritual understanding: 10. That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11. Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness;

Though unknown to them in person, yet in heart and affection warmly attached to them, the blessed Paul,

1. Thanks God for the pleasing account which he had heard of them. We give thanks to God, and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, our yecompled and comerness God in him; praying always for you, that you may abide and abound in every thing that is excellent, and blessing God for what he hath already done on your behalf; since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and how cordially you embraced his glorious gospel, and rested him on him alone for acceptance and salvation; and if the love which ye have to all the saints, the genuine fruit of your faith, and the peace of your unfeigned love to him, which image they hear; for the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, even the eternal blessedness

blessedness which God hath prepared and promised, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel: which is come unto you; through the Divine Providence it hath been preached among you, or it is on all the world, throughout the Roman empire, and bringeth forth fruits, made effectual by the Divine Power to the conversion of men’s fouls, as it doth also in you produce the most blessed effects, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth, experimentally made acquainted therewith, receiving the gospel both in the light and in the love of it. As to this servant of the pasture, per day, for the servant, who is for you a gooder minister of Christ, for to his labours you are singularly indebted; who also declared to us your love in the Spirit, testifying his warm affection toward you, in the report he made of your unfeigned love to Christ and his people, the evidence of the effectual work of God’s Spirit in your souls. Note, (1.) The mercies of which others, who are near and dear to us partake, call for our thanksfulness, as well as those which we receive from God ourselves. (2.) It is a mercy, through Divine Providence, to hear the word of the truth of the gospel preached; but the grand matter is to receive it into our hearts, and at being the grace of God in truth. (3.) Wherever Divine Grace operates effectually, it will be seen in the blessed fruits which are produced thereby. (4.) A faithful minister is an invaluable blessing to any people, and highly are they bound to love and honour them.

2. To his thanksgivings he adds his hearty prayers. For this could not only, since the day we heard it, do not ought to pray for you, (1.) That ye may be made wise unto salvation, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will, your minds more clearly discerning the riches of his grace, your privileges, and the practice of holiness which thence results, advancing or admitting the spiritual understanding; and (2.) Divided in this line in simplicity the light which God believes, that ye might work worthy of the Lord unto all playing, adorning your holy profession by a suitable conversation, and desiring to approve yourselves to the great Maffar, being fruitful, as trees of righteousness, to every good work that is for the glory of God, and the benefit of your brethren; and thus increasing in the knowledge of God. Note, As knowledge is essential to all acceptable service, to the more faithfully we improve the grace given unto us, the more fully shall we be let into the secrets of wisdom. For if any man doth his will, he shall know of the debt-ous whether it be of God, John vi. 17. (3.) We pray that ye may be strengthened with all might in the inner man, for the discharge of every duty, and to resist every enemy of your souls, according to his glorious power, which can support you abundantly unto all patience and long-fasting with impunity, bearing up with cheerfulness under all persecutions or afflictions which may befall you, neither weary nor depending, but with holy triumph exulting in the grave you have experienced, and the promises of continual help in every time of need. Note, (1.) All our strength must come from above, and is to be obtained in the way of prayer. (2.) Every believer, consisting with sin and Satan, is a living motivation of God’s glorious power, and, like the burning bulb, though compelled with temptations, is not confessed. (3.) However multiplied, prolonged, or effective our trials may be, we are called to exercise of patience, and neither to murmur nor faint under them; and hard as the work is, God can enable us for that which he doth command, yea, not only to his resigned, but to rejoice in the midst of tribulations.

3. “Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in light: 13. Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son.” 14. “In whom we have redemption through his blood, ever the forgiveness of sins.” 15. Who is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of every creature? 16. For by him were all things created that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him. 17. And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. 18. And he is the heart of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the first born from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. 19. For it pleased the Father that in him should all be considered, 20. And having made peace through the blood of his cross by him so remeant: all things unto himself, by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. 21. And you that were sometimes alienated, and enemies in your mind by wicked words, yet now hath he reconciled. 22. “In the body of the body, through death, to protect you holy and unblaneable, and unimprovable in his sight: 23. If you continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not more or away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard; and which was preached to every creature which

is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister. 24. “Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh, for his body’s sake, which is the church: 25. Whereof I am made a minister according to the dispensation of God, which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; 26. Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages, and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: 27. To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: 28. Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom: that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: 29. Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.

Colossians 1:22-24

The apostle returns again to thanksgiving.

1. In the view of the unstimable blessings to which they had been admitted. Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in light, by his Spirit renewing our hearts, raising up our afflictions to high and heavenly things, and preparing us for that glory which he hath prepared for us. Note, (1.) Our inheritance is secured to us in Christ, and comes to us by grace, not by desert; he adopts us as children, and then we become born of consequence. (2.) All, who have this title, are educated as becomes the sons of God, and through the inheritance is sure to them in a constant of promise, they are made right for the enjoyment of it: and it would be folly and desirous to expect our lot among the Saints in light, if we have not our conversation among them here below.

2. He gives thanks to God, unto such delivered us from the power of darkness, plucking us as brands from the burning, rescuing us from the slavery of sin and Satan, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son, admitting us to the unstimable privileges and blessings of that kingdom of light and grace which Jesus came to erect, that we might be brought under his happy government. Note, (1.) We are by nature slaves of sin and Satan, walking in darkness, and liable each moment to rush into eternal darkness. (2.) It is an act of sovereign and amazing grace, when God is pleased to pluck the sinner from it is miserable state. (3.) They who are brought into the kingdom of the Son of God’s love, will share that love with him, and be made eternally happy thereby.

3. He blesses God for the salvation obtained through Christ, in whom we have redemption through his blood, including not only deliverance from wrath, but the parchafed possession in glory; and, as the pretext curated thereof, the forgiveness of sins, freely, fully, for ever: So that we should without fault before the throne of God.

4. He describes the glorious perishings to whom we are indebted for pardon, grace, glory, and every blessing, unto us the image of the invisible God, one with the Father in essence and perfection, and, as necessary, appears his visible representation, the first-born of every creature, begotten before the worlds were, or the first-degotten (exultions) of every creature. For by him were all things created that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, from the lowest rank of beings to the highest archangel, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers, by whatever means or titles distinguished, whether in heaven or in earth: all things were created by him, and for him, by his power, and for his glory. And he is before all things, in eternal pre-emption, and by him all things consist, preserved and upheld by his providence and care, as they were spoken, into being at his word. And he is the head of the body, in his peculiar character as mediating, but only as bearing the blindness of all things, but also as communicating vital influence to the liberal members, of which the church universal is composed: but in the beginning, the principle of spiritual and eternal life in his people, the first born from the dead, who rose by his own power, and is the pledge, cause, and first-fruity of our resurrection, that in all things he might have the pre-eminence, exalted far above all creatures, the object of adoration to men and angels, and possessing the first place in their affection and regard. For it pleased the Father, in consequence of the complete redemption which he hath obtained, that in him should all freely dwell for the use of his church, all fathers of merit, righteousness, grace, gifts, according to their wants, to be freely dispersed to every member of his body my heart. And having made peace through the blood of his cross, receiving full satisfaction to his justice, by the oblation of the body of Jesus unto the all, and now, considers with his own glory, being able to extend mercy to the guilty sinner; it pleased the Father to remeath all things unto himself, restoring them from their state of enmity to his forfeited regard, in a way as honourable to him, as happy and safe for them; by him, I say, whether they be things in mind, or things in heaven, the members of the church militant here below, or those already entered into rest above. How glorious is the cross of Christ behind in this delightful view? How justly worthy to be the grand object ever

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in our view, since to it we are indebted for all we possess here, and all we hope for hereafter!

3. He mentions with delight the particular interest which they, to whom he wrote, possessed in all the blessings of this glorious redemption. And yet, that were sometimes utterly alienated from God, and enemies in your mind by wicked words, by nature, by practice, rebels against the divine government, yet now hath he reconciled, in the body of his flesh through death, receiving you into the arms of his mercy, when drawing near to him by faith, through that new and living way which he hath consecrated through the veil of his crucified body, to rejoice me holy and unblessable, and unapprovable in his light, because accepted in the beloved; and being found in him, complete in the righteousness which he hath provided, the piercing eye of justice can discern no spot, nor wrinkle in you; and this will infailibly be your happy case, both now and for ever, if ye continue in the faith, and really possess what you profess; or, since ye continue in the faith, and have given the limingest proofs of your return with the Lord, grounded and firded on him the true foundation, and he not moved away from the hope of the gospel, even that substantial hope, which springs from the perfect amusement, complete righteousness, and all-inflicted grace secured to you in the great Redeemer; which hisdled gospel ye best, through peculiar mercy, heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven, as a common salvation, alike free for Gentiles as for Jews, and extending to sinners of every rank and condition. Note. The gospel is grace abounding; none perish because of the greatness of their guilt, but because they reject the only remedy through pride and unbelief, and will not come to Christ, that they might have life.

4. Having mentioned the gospel which was preached unto them, among others who were honoured with the idlyonization of it, he humbly inserts his own name; whereof I Paul am made a minister, by special commission on behalf of the Gentiles. 1870 now rejoice in my sufferings for the glorious truths which I have preached unto them, and fill up that which is before of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh, for his body’s sake, which is the church; not that the sufferings of Christ were uncomplaining, and needed any addition to them in order to obtain the redemption of his people, and make satisfaction to Divine Justice; but as the members of his body are all to go through tribulation to glory, I, who was the instrument of their sufferings formerly, now in turn receive my measure of afflictions, and with holy joy triumph under them, when I have cause to hope his church and people shall be profited thereby: whereof I am made a minister, by a call immediately from heaven, according to the idlyonization of God, in settling the ceremony of his peculiar family, which is given to me for you therefore, to fulfil the word of God, which was commanded me, or in correspondence with the prophecies which had foresawed your call and conversion; must the mystery which had been hid from ages, and from generations, that the Gentiles should be fellow-herbs, but now is made many of us in the faith, his prophets and spoilers, and by them to all the faithful: to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, who should be admitted to the participation of all the invaluable privileges of the gospel, the author, purchaser, and dispenser of which is Christ in you, formed in your hearts by faith, the hope of glory: whom we present as the only Saviour of the miserable and desperate, warning every man of the mortal danger of sin, and his inevitable ruin out of Christ, and sending every man in all wisdom concerning the only method of safety, even faith in the crucified Saviour, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus, complete in him as their head, and growst up to the perfection of knowledge, grace, and holiness, in the day of his appearing and glory: whereunto I ally labour, stirring with every nerve, in the midst of opposing enemies, according to his working which worketh in me mightily, who enables me for the cordial, and crowns my labours with success.