As ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellowservant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ;
The first chapter where the verse stands sets forth the privileges and the responsibilities of the Christian life, as a decided address to every believer given by the Holy Spirit for the help of the later church as well as the original readers at Colosse, instruction of the highest value to be read and obeyed. The Colossians learned the grace of God in truth, the gospel itself, from Epaphras, who is for them a dear fellowservant and a faithful minister of Christ, and the gospel he taught had come to them and was bearing fruit. Paul freely honors what they learned from another worker, calling him by those titles with no envy and no fear of being outdone, while holding before every believer the high attainments all may reach.
The verse shows the relation believers should sustain to one another, where those who receive such faithful teaching and hold the hope laid up in heaven manifest the mind of Jesus Christ. With its context it teaches the vital union that should exist between Christ and His disciples, a union to be constantly striven for, and that believers may constantly grow in spirituality through Christ the Lord. Religion consisting only of profession is pretense, and those whose union with Christ ends with the writing of their names on the church roll are not channels of light.
Their love in the Spirit, reported by Epaphras, was the good fruit of receiving the gospel, not admiration for a preacher's ability, skill or eloquence, but love born of God's Spirit and shown through His servant's words and character. The verse means the religion of Christ makes all who possess it truly benevolent and kind and courteous, bearing fruit in good works with heaven's endorsement and a longing desire for the salvation of souls ready to perish. It gives true Christians nobility of character with no littleness, no mean transactions, and none of the cheap, covetous actions that are a disgrace to the doer, and for men in responsible positions it means making straight paths for their feet, lest the lame be turned out of the way. The chapter is part of the Holy Spirit's testimony, and studying it helps the receiver of the Spirit become a faithful worker for the Lord.
The first chapter where the verse stands sets forth the privileges and the responsibilities of the Christian life, as a decided address to every believer given by the Holy Spirit for the help of the later church as well as the original readers at Colosse, instruction of the highest value to be read and obeyed. The Colossians learned the grace of God in truth, the gospel itself, from Epaphras, who is for them a dear fellowservant and a faithful minister of Christ, and the gospel he taught had come to them and was bearing fruit. Paul freely honors what they learned from another worker, calling him by those titles with no envy and no fear of being outdone, while holding before every believer the high attainments all may reach.
The verse shows the relation believers should sustain to one another, where those who receive such faithful teaching and hold the hope laid up in heaven manifest the mind of Jesus Christ. With its context it teaches the vital union that should exist between Christ and His disciples, a union to be constantly striven for, and that believers may constantly grow in spirituality through Christ the Lord. Religion consisting only of profession is pretense, and those whose union with Christ ends with the writing of their names on the church roll are not channels of light.
Their love in the Spirit, reported by Epaphras, was the good fruit of receiving the gospel, not admiration for a preacher's ability, skill or eloquence, but love born of God's Spirit and shown through His servant's words and character. The verse means the religion of Christ makes all who possess it truly benevolent and kind and courteous, bearing fruit in good works with heaven's endorsement and a longing desire for the salvation of souls ready to perish. It gives true Christians nobility of character with no littleness, no mean transactions, and none of the cheap, covetous actions that are a disgrace to the doer, and for men in responsible positions it means making straight paths for their feet, lest the lame be turned out of the way. The chapter is part of the Holy Spirit's testimony, and studying it helps the receiver of the Spirit become a faithful worker for the Lord.