Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints,
Since hearing of it, Paul commends the faith in Christ Jesus and the love to all the saints found among the believers at Colosse as the visible marks of Christian life and brotherly spirit. Such heard-of faith and love are cause for giving thanks to God the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ and for praying always for the believers with joy. Genuine faith of this kind works through love and purifies the soul, softening the heart so that it is seen in loving words. It shows the vital union that should exist between Christ and His disciples, with faith in Him joined to love for one another and to the mind of Christ. That faith and love rest on the hope laid up in heaven in the word of the truth of the gospel, belong to the higher life of God, and bring forth fruit in walking worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing and in growth in spiritual, mental, and physical power.
Faith and Love Described
The believers at Colosse had faith in Christ Jesus and love for all the saints, and their love was a visible sign of their brotherly spirit and cause for rejoicing, with faith in Christ and love for fellow believers standing as marks of Christian life. The first chapter of Colossians is instruction addressed to every believer, given by the Holy Spirit for the help of the later church as well as the original readers at Colosse, a decided address to every believer in every age written for those who should afterward compose the church.
The faith in Christ Jesus joined with love to all the saints shows the vital union that should exist between Christ and His disciples, and that union is to be constantly striven for. Religion consisting only of profession is pretense, and union with Christ that ends with a name on the church roll does not make a person a channel of light. The verse shows the relation believers should sustain to one another, faith in Christ Jesus joined with love to all the saints, and the hope held in Jesus Christ leads those who hold it to manifest His mind.
Genuine faith works through love and purifies the soul, and the truth of the gospel softens the heart and makes that faith evident in loving words, with faith in Christ accompanied by love for all the saints. The faith heard of was faith in the gospel of Christ which works by love and purifies the soul. All who accept the truth in this way become epistles known and read of all men.
That faith and love rest on the hope laid up in heaven heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, which has come as in all the world and brings forth fruit. They belong to the higher life, even the life of God, in which the grace of God is known in truth and the hope laid up in heaven is heard in the word of the truth of the gospel.
Thanksgiving, Growth, and Practice
Hearing of faith in Christ Jesus and love to all the saints is reason for giving thanks to God the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ and for praying always for the believers. The report moved Paul to thanksgiving and continual prayer with joy, and the same news brings comfort to all who are deeply interested in those converted to Christ through their ministry. That thanksgiving belongs to believers assembled in council as the work to do for the saving of souls ready to perish by giving present truth to those in the darkness of error.
It is grounds for prayer that the believers grow in spiritual understanding, live in a way pleasing to the Lord, bear good fruit, know God more fully, and endure with patience and joy. The verse stands in a passage that points believers to what they have to look forward to and to continual growth in Christ. That faith and love rest on the hope laid up in heaven heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, which has come as in all the world and brings forth fruit, and fruit-bearing is the test of preaching the Word, so that a gospel minister whose preaching brings forth no fruit labors in vain. That same faith and love bring forth fruit as the gospel does in all the world, with increase in spiritual, mental, and physical power through wise planning rather than loss of health and courage and faith by overwork, bearing fruit that brings forth more fruit unto eternal life. That higher life, even the life of God in which the grace of God is known in truth, involves walking worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing.
The verse presents faith in Christ Jesus and love for all the saints as marks of believers whose Christian hope has taken root and is bearing fruit, and it was used to teach people considering a decision for God, alongside Christ's teaching about the conditions of acceptance with God. Its context is highly valuable instruction applied to Christian benevolence, for true religion bears fruit in good works and makes those who possess it genuinely generous.
Since hearing of it, Paul commends the faith in Christ Jesus and the love to all the saints found among the believers at Colosse as the visible marks of Christian life and brotherly spirit. Such heard-of faith and love are cause for giving thanks to God the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ and for praying always for the believers with joy. Genuine faith of this kind works through love and purifies the soul, softening the heart so that it is seen in loving words. It shows the vital union that should exist between Christ and His disciples, with faith in Him joined to love for one another and to the mind of Christ. That faith and love rest on the hope laid up in heaven in the word of the truth of the gospel, belong to the higher life of God, and bring forth fruit in walking worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing and in growth in spiritual, mental, and physical power.
Faith and Love Described
The believers at Colosse had faith in Christ Jesus and love for all the saints, and their love was a visible sign of their brotherly spirit and cause for rejoicing, with faith in Christ and love for fellow believers standing as marks of Christian life. The first chapter of Colossians is instruction addressed to every believer, given by the Holy Spirit for the help of the later church as well as the original readers at Colosse, a decided address to every believer in every age written for those who should afterward compose the church.
The faith in Christ Jesus joined with love to all the saints shows the vital union that should exist between Christ and His disciples, and that union is to be constantly striven for. Religion consisting only of profession is pretense, and union with Christ that ends with a name on the church roll does not make a person a channel of light. The verse shows the relation believers should sustain to one another, faith in Christ Jesus joined with love to all the saints, and the hope held in Jesus Christ leads those who hold it to manifest His mind.
Genuine faith works through love and purifies the soul, and the truth of the gospel softens the heart and makes that faith evident in loving words, with faith in Christ accompanied by love for all the saints. The faith heard of was faith in the gospel of Christ which works by love and purifies the soul. All who accept the truth in this way become epistles known and read of all men.
That faith and love rest on the hope laid up in heaven heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, which has come as in all the world and brings forth fruit. They belong to the higher life, even the life of God, in which the grace of God is known in truth and the hope laid up in heaven is heard in the word of the truth of the gospel.
Thanksgiving, Growth, and Practice
Hearing of faith in Christ Jesus and love to all the saints is reason for giving thanks to God the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ and for praying always for the believers. The report moved Paul to thanksgiving and continual prayer with joy, and the same news brings comfort to all who are deeply interested in those converted to Christ through their ministry. That thanksgiving belongs to believers assembled in council as the work to do for the saving of souls ready to perish by giving present truth to those in the darkness of error.
It is grounds for prayer that the believers grow in spiritual understanding, live in a way pleasing to the Lord, bear good fruit, know God more fully, and endure with patience and joy. The verse stands in a passage that points believers to what they have to look forward to and to continual growth in Christ. That faith and love rest on the hope laid up in heaven heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, which has come as in all the world and brings forth fruit, and fruit-bearing is the test of preaching the Word, so that a gospel minister whose preaching brings forth no fruit labors in vain. That same faith and love bring forth fruit as the gospel does in all the world, with increase in spiritual, mental, and physical power through wise planning rather than loss of health and courage and faith by overwork, bearing fruit that brings forth more fruit unto eternal life. That higher life, even the life of God in which the grace of God is known in truth, involves walking worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing.
The verse presents faith in Christ Jesus and love for all the saints as marks of believers whose Christian hope has taken root and is bearing fruit, and it was used to teach people considering a decision for God, alongside Christ's teaching about the conditions of acceptance with God. Its context is highly valuable instruction applied to Christian benevolence, for true religion bears fruit in good works and makes those who possess it genuinely generous.