Wow excellent points all of them Megan!

I am just beginning to realize the difference in me when I am in the word, verses when I'm not. Thank you for that reminder.

 

Interpretation on Col. 2: 1-11

 

My question leading into interpretation is Why now did Paul choose to use the term Philosophy here?

So, going back to the definition of what Philosophy is; denotes a love and pursuit of wisdom, the investigation of truth and nature:

MacArthur notes- that in wisdom and knowledge, worldly philosophy does not conform to Him(Christ)

 

Col.2;23 says  These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom-self made religion…

 

Ephesians 5;6 says Let no one deceive you with empty words…

 

 

These lead me to think that if the definition is correct, it should lead all who search for truth and wisdom to Christ, but it does not.  Some can not and will not believe. And they do their best to change the minds of those who do believe. It chills me!

 

 

 

We do always need to be in the word.

 

 

 

 

Colossians 2:1-5

Who-    Paul is "I" (He is the writer, see Chapter 1),
            To Colossians and Laodiceans

Col 4:16 "And when this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea."

Colossea is 9 miles away from Laodicea and close to Hierapolis

Col 4:13 "For I[Paul] bear him [Epaphras] witness that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis."

For a map click on the link or copy and paste it into the browser.

            http://bibleatlas.org/colossae.htm

                        Laodicea is the 7^th church in Revelation

Revelation 3:14-22 "'And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write:"The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation. (15) I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! (16)So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. (17) For you say , I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. (18) I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. (19) Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. (20) Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.  (21)The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.  (22)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."'"

I do not want to stray too far from Colossae, but I thought it was interesting to point out what happened to Laodicea.  They were rich in monetary value and were a huge textile industry. And they could "purchase" just about anything. See the link below if you feel compelled to read more.

(http://www.studylight.org/dic/hbd/view.cgi?number=T3759)

But the things that Jesus is counseling them to buy are only available through the grace that is in Him. He is the beginning (see Rev 3:14 above and Col 1:17, John 1) and the fullness of God in visible expression. This is a warning against being "lukewarm".  What do you think about this "Lukewarm" character of the people in this church? Does it line up with anything that we are reading in Colossians?

 Col 2:9-10 "For in Him the fullness of deity dwells bodily, (10) and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority."   

In verse 1 – Paul is continuing his topic from Col 1:24-29. In his struggle, he is demonstrating the affliction that believers will experience for the Gospel's sake. 
Verse 2&3 – Christ is God's mystery

-          And with Him are all riches of full assurance, Understanding, wisdom, knowledge

-          As opposed to verse 4

Verse 4 – plausible arguments

-          Just because the world may show "smart" arguments there is still the Truth

-          Paul was warning the Colossians about these plausible arguments.  This is applicable to today's churches. 

Romans 16:17-18 "I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. (18) For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naïve."

2 Peter 2 is a full chapter warning about  false prophets and teachers, though in this passage it is very clear on what is inaccurate.

-          I personally have seen false teachings enter congregations, and it doesn't always start out blatant.  It seems to creep in. We need to stay on the lookout and be prepared to always look back to God's word.  

-          We have foundational truths – Jesus Christ is Lord

-          These truths are understood through the Holy Spirit- 1 Corinthians 12:3

"Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in Spirit of God ever says 'Jesus is accursed!' and no one can say 'Jesus is Lord' except in the Holy Spirit"

Verse 5 – Paul states that he is absent – which is given that this is a letter . BUT he is with them in Spirit.

How  is he with them in Spirit? We hear people say those words frequently, which maybe this is where they get it, in which case, I think they are demeaning the profound message behind it.

Did this verse grab anybody else's attention?  The Colossians (not all of course but the brothers that the letter is written to) are in Christ.  Paul is in Christ.  Paul is with the Colossians in Spirit.  And in that Spirit he is REJOICING (Do I hear thankfulness in rejoicing?) to see that their firmness is in Christ! 

So far Paul has mentioned thanksgiving/thankfulness/Rejoicing for and with his brothers in Christ Four  times in Colossians.

Why is Paul so thankful for his brothers?  Why does he rejoice  to see that Christ is their foundation?

With each of our brothers and sisters in Christ, we have encouragement, but the Lord receives Glory and honor.    

Christ is the Foundation and we need to ALWAYS remember that and keep on the lookout so that none of our congregation is led astray by deceptive philosophies. We need to pray for our church, and the leaders of the church.  They have a significant responsibility in preaching God's word. 

One other thing to note – How are we going to know what is against scripture if we are not in it every day?  

 

Megan

Colosssians 2 ESV

 
 For I want you to know yhow great a wstruggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, 2 that ztheir hearts may be encouraged, being aknit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of bGod's mystery, which is Christ, 3 cin whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I say this in order dthat no one may delude you with plausible arguments. 5 For ethough I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your fgood order and gthe firmness of your faith in Christ.

Alive in Christ

6 hTherefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 irooted and jbuilt up in him and kestablished in the faith, just las you were taught, abounding min thanksgiving.

8 See to it that no one takes you captive by nphilosophy and oempty deceit, according to phuman tradition, according to the qelemental spirits1 of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For rin him the whole fullness of deity dwells sbodily, 10 and tyou have been filled in him, who is uthe head of all rule and authority. 11 In him also vyou were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by wputting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 xhaving been buried with him in baptism, in which yyou were also raised with him through faith in zthe powerful working of God, zwho raised him from the dead. 13 aAnd you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God bmade alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by ccanceling dthe record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 wHe disarmed the rulers and authorities2 and eput them to open shame, by ftriumphing over them in him.3

Let No One Disqualify You

16 Therefore let no one gpass judgment on you hin questions of food and drink, or with regard to ia festival or ja new moon or a Sabbath. 17 kThese are a shadow of the things to come, but lthe substance belongs to Christ. 18 Let no one mdisqualify you, ninsisting on asceticism and worship of angels, ogoing on in detail about visions,4 ppuffed up without reason by qhis sensuous mind, 19 and rnot sholding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.

20 If with Christ tyou died to the uelemental spirits of the world, vwhy, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations—21 w"Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch" 22 (xreferring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to yhuman precepts and teachings? 23 These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in zpromoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are aof no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.

Ok- Colossians 2:1-11

Observation-Who, Where, What

 

Paul, Christ, and believers

Laodicea

What we have in Christ

s-a-l-t

 

structure

  gram. Walk in Him

  writing- letter

                 In Him(5 times)

atmosphere- Thanksgiving

 

Literary form- Letter

 

Terms-there are some really exciting terms in this section of Scripture

 

God's mystery- that which, being outside the range of unassisted natural apprehension, can be made only by Divine revelation,

               And is made known in a manner and at a time appointed by God and to those only who are illumined by His Spirit. 

               In the ordinary sense a mystery implies knowledge withheld. Its Scriptural significance is truth revealed. AWESOME

 

Rooted-in the sense of being firmly established or planted

 

Instructed- taught, trained, initiated into the mysteries- Again Awesome

 

Philosophy- denotes the love and pursuit of wisdom, the investigation of truth and nature-

Note-it is worth observing that this word, which to the Greeks denoted the highest effort of the intellect, occurs here alone in Paul’s writings

 

Elementary- primary, rudiments of the world

 

Knit- signifies to cause to coalesce, to join or knit together, compacted

 

 

 

IRIS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jeremiah 29:13

You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

 

 

Colossians Ch1.

Tess, I too have wondering about this verse.  

Alan and I where discussing this too. I am including our discussion regarding V24.

Alan,   I am trying to understand what Paul means in V24. Am i way off?

What i think v24 means.  Christ's afflictions are not known and loved by everyone. Christ is not earth bound so we are called to walk like Christ and minister  Suffer.  So that when we minister the Word, others can hear the Word and see the Word by our Christ like hearts then they too will know and love Christ our Lord The will know the Affliction of Christ. So i guess we are to fill what is  lacking. 


 Also the constant use of the word "you" in Colossians.  It sounds like he Paul is trying to ralley them?

If you have a few minutes I would love to know what your think.

Love, 

Mom.

Hey Mom,

Yes you are on the right track. The key is that Paul is filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions (in his flesh). This speaks to Paul's sufferings and sacrifices. The suffering and sacrifices that Paul endures displays and manifests Christ's sacrifice on the cross to people who had not seen his sacrifice. Christ's sacrifice was not insufficient in some way. Moreover, Paul is saying that when he is suffering and imprisoned for the sake of the Gospel he is manifesting Christ's sacrifice on the cross. Paul is suffering for the sake of other people's gain that they may know God. Paul gives up contentment for pain, sorrow, suffering, so that people may gain from it a knowledge of the cross more intimately, both unbelievers and believers. He seems to be proving a point that he is jealous for their maturity in Christ.  Colossians 1:28 & 29...and also Colossians 2:1-5. He seems to be struggling and suffering displaying in his flesh Christ's afflictions so that the Colossians will know that Paul is for them and that they may be encouraged and built up in Christ more....

Love you mom, and hope that helps.

Love,

Alan

 

I'm not sure how to answer your question Tess,I will delve more into that when i get there but I have researched some of the history on this church in the

Interpretation phase

 

Question going into The Interpretation phase:

 

In this passage of scripture-the word You was used 9 times. Why was the focus as much on the people as what Christ did/

What was going on that made it necessary to address this audience in this way?

 

 

John MacArthur writes

A city in Phrygia-founded by Epaphras

Several years after the church was founded a dangerous heresy arose to threaten it.  It contained elements of what later became known as Gnosticism: that God is good, but matter is evil, and that Jesus Christ was merely one of a series of emanations descending from God and a being less than God(a belief that led them to deny His true humanity) and that a secret, higher knowledge above Scripture was necessary for enlightenment and salvation.  This heresy also embraced aspects of Jewish legalism like circucision is necessary for salvation, OT law-ceremonial ritual, dietary laws.

 

Epaphras was so concerned that he made the long journey to Rome to talk to Paul(where Paul was a prisoner).

 

My thoughts:

 

I understand better Paul’s deep concern shown by the use of the word You stressed in this  greeting!

He needed to draw the believers in grab their attention in order to minister to them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

iris

 

 

Thoughts

The thoughts and insights you have all shared have been so amazing and so challenging!  I must ask you for forgiveness that after being gungho in the beginning I've dropped the ball and not even posted.  I am committed to this study, and I will persevere in studying and sharing, but please forgive me for letting the things of this world distract me from fully giving His Word and this study my full attention.

Tess asked below a question about v24: 

Vs 24 – What do y'all think Paul means when he says "…and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions…"

I was reading some about that and it talked about how Paul was receiving persecution from Christ's enemies.  I understand that, but I think the word that throws me is "lacking", which might be what Tess was addressing to.  So I guess I am anxious to hear others thoughts on that too. 

How to Study

Here are points one and two (Observation and Interpretation) in detail.

I will type out points three and four (Application and Incorporation) and post as a separate entry.

Tess

 

A Study Method

Based on Living by the Book

By Howard Hendricks

 

 

My notes from Todd Gill's Tuesday night studies.

 

When you study the bible in certain steps, in a certain order, you will achieve certain results.  The question we should come to the Bible with is "What did God mean with this passage?"

 

There are 4 steps.

 

1. Observation – What does the Bible say? You are picking apart the Scripture in this step. (Definitive Phase)
1. Who, What, When, Where (You are not asking Why and How.)
2. SALT

                                                              i.      Structure (grammatical structure)

1.      question/ answers, causes/ effects, subject, verb, object

                                                            ii.      Atmosphere

1.      feelings, mood, tone, environment

2.      What was it like to be there?

                                                          iii.      Literary Form

1.      narrative, history, biography, letter, instruction, exhortation, doctrine, poetry, proverbs

                                                          iv.      Terms

1.      context – keep all words in context

a.       verse, paragraph, chapter, book, author, Bible

b.      Ask: How does this hold up with the rest of Scriptures?

2. Interpretation – What does the Bible mean? You are asking Why and How.
1. Reasons, purpose, author's intent, implications, principles
2. Rational Phase – ask Why and How
3. Implications Phase – Take it to its logical end

                                                              i.      What does this imply?

                                                            ii.      Where does this lead?

4. Ask interpretive questions

                                                              i.      Your questions from the observation phase

5. Answer the questions - Where do the answers come from?

                                                              i.      objective (from text) – lots more to be written here

                                                            ii.      subjective (from you – common sense) – lots more to me written here

6. Summarize     

1.      rephrase and paraphrase the text

3. Application – (Only now can we say…) What does the Bible mean to me?
4. Incorporation – How do I exercise this in my life?

Colossians Chapter 1 ESV

Here is a copy of the chapter for ease of reference as we read each others notes.

Tess

 

Colossians Chapter 1

[Greeting]

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

                [2] To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae:

                Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

[Thanksgiving and Prayer]

                [3] We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, [4] since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, [5] because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, [6] which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, [7] just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf [8] and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.

                [9] And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, [10] so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. [11] May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, [12] giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. [13] He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, [14] in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

[The Preeminence of Christ]

                [15] He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. [16] For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. [17] And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. [18] And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. [19] For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, [20] and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

                [21] And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, [22] he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, [23] if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

[Paul's Ministry to the Church]

                [24] Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, [25] of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, [26] the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. [27] To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. [28] Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. [29] For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.

Colossians 1 - Tess's thoughts

Colossians Chapter 1

In addition to what y'all wrote, these terms popped out at me:

Understanding, knowledge, wisdom, teaching, mature, hope, hearing, truth, continue

Vss 5, 6, 9, 28 understanding, hearing, truth

I am reminded of our catechism question that asks:  How may we know there is a God?  And part of the answer says the light of nature in man and creation – BUT the other part of that answer says it is His Word and Spirit that do it fully and effectually to save sinners.  I see this latter part of the answer in Colossians here.

Vs 5, 6 hearing and understanding and truth

Here I see that you have to hear AND understand the gospel which is truth. The Gospel is truth – the word of God in truth and the grace of God is truth. You have to understand it – The Word of God and Spirit effectually save- It is the Spirit that give this salvific understanding of the Word.

Vs 9 knowledge and wisdom

Paul and those he is with are praying for knowledge, wisdom, and understanding for the saints at Colossae.  Our learning is not to stop once we are saved. We have to keep pressing on toward maturing in the Lord. Maturity is immediately obeying the Lord's will on your life. We cannot do this if we do not know and understand the Scriptures. And wisdom is doing what God commands of us in His Word. (Could wisdom and maturity be used interchangeably?)

Vs 28  is Paul again speaking about teaching, wisdom and maturity in Christ

Paul wrote this letter to correct error. And consistent with this I see Paul challenging the saints to not be ignorant of the Word or of the person and deity of Christ. In Chapter 1 I see the deity and preeminence of Christ displayed and defended.

Vs 15 – 20  Speaks of Christ

I think of our catechism question: Who is the first and chiefiest being?

Vs 15 - 20 image of invisible God, firstborn of all creation (He is the most important of all), all was created by Him, all things hold together in Him, He is the head, He is the beginning, all the fullness of God dwells in Him, reconciliation is found only through Him and by His blood

I think it was Spurgeon who uses a ladder as an illustration of Christ. Spurgeon says that a ladder is only useful if it touches the bottom and goes all the way to the top.  All this section of chapter one verses 15 – 20 talk about Christ, but especially vs 19 I think shows Christ as the top of the ladder. He is God; He is deity.  The first part of vs 18 says He is the first born of the dead. He cannot be the firstborn of the dead if He was not also fully human and thus qualified to represent us (members of the dead – Adam's seed).  Spurgeon's illustration of the ladder has stuck with me, and when I see Christ's humanity and deity in Scripture I usually doodle a ladder in the margin. The Gospel is the only message that teaches Christ is the only way. We need nothing else to be saved. And this is one of the errors that Paul is combating in this letter.

Vs 21 Paul reminds the saints of who we were apart from Christ and who we are now through His sacrifice. This is a good verse to pray over non believers. It also reminds me of my story and who I was before Christ.

Vs 24 – What do y'all think Paul means when he says "…and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions…"

Observation on Col. 1:1-8

The first 8 verses are an introduction or greeting from Paul, accompanied by Timothy

Writer-Paul(by inspiration from the Holy Spirit)
Other whos are Timothy, Epaphras, God, Christ, believers

Where- Colossae
What- The Truth of the Gospel
Repeated words (You-9times), And (Christ-5times) kind of says it all doesn't it?
Structure
Gram. We give thanks -Writing -Greeting, introduction
Atmosphere
Deep concern
Literary style
Letter
Terms
Bond-servant: slave
Truth: genuineness, honest
Learned: obtained knowledge
Fruit: growth, produce
Understand: comprehend

Question going into The Interpretation phase:

In this passage of scripture-the word You was used 9 times. Why was the focus as much on the people as what Christ did/
What was going on that made it necessary to address this audience in this way?

Jeremiah 29:13
You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

Colossians 1:1-8

Here are some of my observations, notes, a little bit of research, and comments, and questions. Please feel free to comment and/or answer questions.  I still haven't found the time to look up specific words that I thought would be interesting to see what a concordance would say. I used an ESV.
 

author: Paul - possibly while he was imprisoned.  (4:10, 18)

Letter of Instruction [Possibly while the main minister (Epaphras, 1:7) is away, Epaphras sent his greeting 4:12] 

Verse 1. Written by Paul (and Timothy)

 Paul states that he is an apostle

He states that it is by the will of God

Verse 2. Written to: Brothers in Christ at Colossae (Saints and the "faithful" brothers)

Greetings of Grace and Peace (from the Giver of these things - "God our Father")

He used the word "our" when describing God.  Not "God the/your/my Father". 

These first 2 verses are very similar to Paul's other writings:

Philippians; 1, 2 Thessalonians; Timothy, Ephesians, etc.

Ephesians 1:1-2

"Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ"

Verse 3. "WE alway thank God..." Question: Who is "We?" Possible thoughts may include Paul and Timothy (vs 1), or may include Paul,

Timothy along with the list of people mentioned in Colossians 4:7-17

"God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" - affirms who God is and who Jesus is -The Diety of Christ.

That thanking is in Prayer for the Colosians.  Paul sees the importance of prayer for fellow brothers in Christ

Verse 4. is an elaboration of verse 3, they thank God for the Colossians - the Colossians have Faith in Christ Jesus and love "for all the

saints".

These are similar to 1 Thes 1:2-3

"We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ".

The actions verbs ("WORK of faith", "LABOR of love") are missing from this section of Colossians, but it doens't mean they were missing. In verse 5, we have a third element that Paul often speaks of - hope. 

Verse 5. a continuation of verse 3 and 4.  it is because of the "Hope laid up for you in Heaven" that there is the faith and love. There is

security, not a wishful thinking, but a reassurance. 

The Colossians have heard this before from the Gospel - which IS "THE WORD OF TRUTH".  Paul states what may seem obvious, but wouldn't you agree that it helps to hear it. They heard this from Epaphras (verse7).

Verse 6. This "word of truth" has gone to them and is "bearing fruit and growing" - as it is among the "whole world"

"whole" is used here, but something we need to consider is the context and ask which meaning of the word "world" he intentioned?

Here are some other verses with bearing fruit:

John 15:5

"I am the vine, you are the branches.  Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing"

John 15:16

"You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your furit should abide, so that whatever you aks the Father in My name, He may give it to you."

Philippians 1:9-11 (Note verse 11 specifically)

"And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment,(10) so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,(11) filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God."

Paul states that the gospel also bears fruit (through Christ) in the Colossians, and has since they "Heard" and "understood the grace of God in truth" .  It not only requires hearing, but also understanding, "IN TRUTH", to see the grace of God and for it to bear fruit in thir lives. 

verse 7. Epaphras told the Colossians the gospel.  He is described as: fellow servant and faithful minister in Christ.  They "Learned" it from

Epaphras.  Learned is translated to "manthano" in Greek which is closely related to "mathetes" which means disciple.  Epaphras in "ministering" and it is an ongoing process. 

Verse 8. Epaphras then in turn has told Paul about the Colossians and their faith, love, hope, and fruit. 

Christ is mentioned over and over again.  It is in Him and through Him that faith, hope, love , and fruit are accessible to us. It is by God's grace that we have faith in Jesus to give and show our love and trust in the hope we have. 

This also shows us of the love Paul had for fellow believers. He is thankful when he prays for them.  Why? Should we be thankful for our brothers/sisters in Christ? Why should we be thankful for our brothers/sisters in Christ?  Why should we be thankful for the evidence in thier lives?  Why should we be thankful for the fruit that they are bearing?  Brothers and sisters in Christ and thier actions should be an encouragement to us, and our actions should be an enouragement to them. It is only through Christ that we can bear that fruit.  If we are bearing fruit that lasts, then that glorifies God and spread His gospel.  I'll repeat Philipians 1:9-11 "And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that come through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God".

 

Megan