Who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit.
Epaphras, a dear fellow servant and faithful minister of Christ on their behalf, declared to Paul and those with him the love of the Colossian believers and the steadfastness of their faith. That love was brotherly love toward one another and toward all the saints, produced and shaped by the Holy Spirit in its source and character. It was not admiration for a preacher's skill, oratory, or eloquence, but love born of God's Spirit and reflected in faithful ministry and character. Such love is the fruit of hearing the gospel and knowing the grace of God in truth, where genuine faith produces love for Christ and for the souls He came to save and stands as a sign of vital union with Him. This account is instruction for every believer afterward as well as for Colosse, calling for a union with Christ that is constantly striven for and not mere profession, a religion that makes its possessors truly benevolent and noble and allows no littleness or mean action.
The Report and Context
Epaphras was a dear fellow servant and a faithful minister of Christ on behalf of the Colossians, and he declared to Paul and his companions the love of the Colossians in the Spirit. That love was expressed in the Spirit, shaped by the Holy Spirit, produced by the Spirit, and spiritual in its source and character. It was fruit of receiving the gospel and knowing God's grace in truth, for genuine faith produced love for Christ and for the souls He came to save, expressed in life and character. The report of that love came with news of their steadfastness in faith.
The verse completes the account of faith in Christ Jesus and love to all the saints because of the hope laid up in heaven. That hope they had heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, which had come into all the world. That gospel was bringing forth fruit in them since they heard it and knew the grace of God in truth as they had learned it from Epaphras, the dear fellow servant and faithful minister of Christ who reported their Spirit-given love.
Hearing that report moved Paul to pray without ceasing that they might be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. His words show no envy and no fear of being outdone. They present high attainments that every believer may reach, holding out wonderful possibilities of going from strength to strength and increasing in the knowledge of God.
Love in the Spirit
The love declared is brotherly love toward one another, love of fellow believers for one another. It is love for all the saints, and that love is love in the Spirit. That phrase means the love was produced and shaped by the Holy Spirit. It was produced by the Spirit, born of the Holy Spirit, spiritual in its source and character, and identified with the Spirit's work.
That love was not admiration for a preacher's skill, ability, oratory, or eloquence. It was love born of God's Spirit and of the Holy Spirit. It was expressed through faithful ministry, and was represented and reflected in the servant's words and character. It was fruit of receiving the gospel and knowing God's grace in truth, for genuine faith produced love for Christ and for the souls He came to save, expressed in life and character.
Such love is a work of the Holy Spirit and a sign of vital union with Christ. It shows the relation believers should sustain to one another. In that relation, hope in Jesus Christ leads to manifesting His mind.
Instruction for Every Believer
The first chapter containing this verse is a decided address and instruction to every believer, not to Colosse alone. It was given by the Holy Spirit for the help of those who should afterward compose the church as well as those at Colosse. It is an utterance of the Holy Spirit, and therefore the love in the Spirit it reports is identified with the Spirit's work.
With its context the verse teaches the vital union that should exist between Christ and His disciples. That union is more than profession or a name on a church roll, and religion consisting only of profession is pretense. Those whose union with Christ ends with the writing of their names on the roll are not channels of light. Such union must be constantly striven for and kept striving to obtain, and the believers' love as a work of the Holy Spirit is a sign of it.
The chapter holds instruction of the highest value showing that the religion of Christ makes all who possess it truly benevolent and noble in character. It countenances no littleness, no mean transactions, and no cheap covetous actions that are a disgrace to the doer. It calls men in responsible positions to make straight paths for their feet lest the lame be turned out of the way.
Epaphras, a dear fellow servant and faithful minister of Christ on their behalf, declared to Paul and those with him the love of the Colossian believers and the steadfastness of their faith. That love was brotherly love toward one another and toward all the saints, produced and shaped by the Holy Spirit in its source and character. It was not admiration for a preacher's skill, oratory, or eloquence, but love born of God's Spirit and reflected in faithful ministry and character. Such love is the fruit of hearing the gospel and knowing the grace of God in truth, where genuine faith produces love for Christ and for the souls He came to save and stands as a sign of vital union with Him. This account is instruction for every believer afterward as well as for Colosse, calling for a union with Christ that is constantly striven for and not mere profession, a religion that makes its possessors truly benevolent and noble and allows no littleness or mean action.
The Report and Context
Epaphras was a dear fellow servant and a faithful minister of Christ on behalf of the Colossians, and he declared to Paul and his companions the love of the Colossians in the Spirit. That love was expressed in the Spirit, shaped by the Holy Spirit, produced by the Spirit, and spiritual in its source and character. It was fruit of receiving the gospel and knowing God's grace in truth, for genuine faith produced love for Christ and for the souls He came to save, expressed in life and character. The report of that love came with news of their steadfastness in faith.
The verse completes the account of faith in Christ Jesus and love to all the saints because of the hope laid up in heaven. That hope they had heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, which had come into all the world. That gospel was bringing forth fruit in them since they heard it and knew the grace of God in truth as they had learned it from Epaphras, the dear fellow servant and faithful minister of Christ who reported their Spirit-given love.
Hearing that report moved Paul to pray without ceasing that they might be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. His words show no envy and no fear of being outdone. They present high attainments that every believer may reach, holding out wonderful possibilities of going from strength to strength and increasing in the knowledge of God.
Love in the Spirit
The love declared is brotherly love toward one another, love of fellow believers for one another. It is love for all the saints, and that love is love in the Spirit. That phrase means the love was produced and shaped by the Holy Spirit. It was produced by the Spirit, born of the Holy Spirit, spiritual in its source and character, and identified with the Spirit's work.
That love was not admiration for a preacher's skill, ability, oratory, or eloquence. It was love born of God's Spirit and of the Holy Spirit. It was expressed through faithful ministry, and was represented and reflected in the servant's words and character. It was fruit of receiving the gospel and knowing God's grace in truth, for genuine faith produced love for Christ and for the souls He came to save, expressed in life and character.
Such love is a work of the Holy Spirit and a sign of vital union with Christ. It shows the relation believers should sustain to one another. In that relation, hope in Jesus Christ leads to manifesting His mind.
Instruction for Every Believer
The first chapter containing this verse is a decided address and instruction to every believer, not to Colosse alone. It was given by the Holy Spirit for the help of those who should afterward compose the church as well as those at Colosse. It is an utterance of the Holy Spirit, and therefore the love in the Spirit it reports is identified with the Spirit's work.
With its context the verse teaches the vital union that should exist between Christ and His disciples. That union is more than profession or a name on a church roll, and religion consisting only of profession is pretense. Those whose union with Christ ends with the writing of their names on the roll are not channels of light. Such union must be constantly striven for and kept striving to obtain, and the believers' love as a work of the Holy Spirit is a sign of it.
The chapter holds instruction of the highest value showing that the religion of Christ makes all who possess it truly benevolent and noble in character. It countenances no littleness, no mean transactions, and no cheap covetous actions that are a disgrace to the doer. It calls men in responsible positions to make straight paths for their feet lest the lame be turned out of the way.