◄ Colossians 1 Devotional Commentary ►
Colossians 1:4
Having heard of their fervent trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and their love for one another, we read that Paul prayed often for the Colossians Christians. What a wonderful testimony to these saints, and what a challenge to all who are saved by the blood of the Lamb.
It was not their mighty works for which this little group of Christians were commended in these opening verses of his letter, nor was it their great preaching or read more...
Colossians 1:5
As an outpouring of their trust in Christ Jesus as Saviour, this little band of believers demonstrated a deep love for all the saints of Christ. How this rejoiced the heart of the apostle Paul, who kept this group of Christian believers continually in his prayers.
The faith of this little congregation was anchored upon the message of truth; the good news of Christ, the gospel of the grace of God that Christ died for our sins and read more...
Colossians 1:6
The Word of God is alive and has within its pages the germ of godly living, just as a tiny ear of corn has within its kernel an abundant wheat harvest. The gospel of Christ is living and powerful, and when this living, God-breathed gospel of God's grace is planted in the heart of a spirit-filled, born-again believer and watered with living waters from on high, that tiny germ of life will begin to grow and develop and bring forth much fruit, to the glory of God.
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Colossians 1:7
It was by God's will that Paul was chosen to be an apostle of the Lord Jesus. We read of various co-workers in the gospel and fellow bond-servants of Christ, who worked alongside him.
Some accompanied him on his various missionary journeys, while others carried messages, or delivered epistles to different congregations of believers, during his various imprisonments.
Some were commissioned to be a read more...
Colossians 1:8
At the start of his Epistles to the various churches, we discover Paul giving greetings to the people and thanksgiving to the Lord. Very often in his salutation at the start of his letters, we find Paul giving thanks and praise to God the Father and Jesus Christ Whom He sent. Often he gave thanks for the faith of the saints to whom he was writing and frequently we find Paul interceding for the saints and asking God for their continued well-being and spiritual read more...
Colossians 1:9
Paul opens his epistle to the Colossians expressing his profound joy and grateful thanks for them all, because of their sincere faith in the gospel of Christ, the deep love which they showed for one another and because of the obvious future hope they possessed: "Which is laid up for us in heaven."
Paul rejoiced that in the past, these believers read more...
Colossians 1:10
Paul had never been to Colossae, but had received favourable reports from Epaphras, his faithful brother in Christ, of the spiritual condition of this little band of believers. He had heard of their genuine faith in the Lord, their deep love for one another, and their joyful hope in that which was laid-up for them in heaven. Paul had a deep devotional for these dear saints in this insignificant little town of Colossae, and he prayed fervently for them in a very read more...
Colossians 1:11
When Paul prays for his brothers and sisters in Christ, he does not focus on the day-to-day material needs of the saints nor on other physical matters and necessities of life. Paul prays for spiritual blessings, godly wisdom, practical obedience, moral excellence, and a Christ-like character.
Paul's desire for all Christians is that we study to show ourselves approved unto God so that we may grow in grace and in a knowledge of the read more...
Colossians 1:12
As members of a fallen race, we were unfit for the glories of heaven, for sin had disqualified us and rendered us dead in our trespasses and separated forever from our Creator. But through the blood of Christ, we have been qualified to share in the inheritance of the saints, by faith.
There is no merit in any one of us, and all our attempts to please God through religious strivings, self-abasement, fleshly works, or prescribed read more...
Colossians 1:13
Man is a sinner, and only a Saviour is the answer to man's sin problem. Fallen man seeks answers in many different places, but God has purposed that there is one Deliverer Who can release us from the domain of darkness. There is only one Saviour that can rescue us from the terrible, eternal consequences of our fallen state, the 'God-Man' Christ Jesus.
Because of the fall, man was eternally separated from God, and it was only by read more...
Colossians 1:14
Paul's prayers were filled with thanksgiving for his Christian brothers and sisters at Colossae because of their faith in Christ, their love in spirit and truth for one another, and their heavenly hope in their eternal inheritance; a heritage in Christ's kingdom of light which is kept for us, in heaven.
Like us, these believers had heard and understood the truth of the glorious gospel of Christ, and Paul longed for them to be read more...
Colossians 1:15
The Lord Jesus in His humanity is the visible revelation of the invisible God. This is a great mystery, but it is a truth that has been given to us from the Creator of the universe. The only way for sinful humanity to be reconciled to a holy God is through the shed blood of the eternal Son of God, Who died to pay the price for our sins so that we might be covered with His righteousness and reconciled back to the Father.
The only read more...
Colossians 1:16
Christ is omnipotent God, the Creator of the universe, the second Person of the Trinity, the eternal Son of the living God Who was born into the human race to become the perfect Son of Man and our Kinsman-Redeemer. He become the sacrifice for all sin and the Saviour of all who would trust in His name: "For by Him, and through Him, and for Him, all things were created."
Christ is the only begotten of the Father, read more...
Colossians 1:17
The irreducible deity and eternality of Christ is often a stumbling block to the limited minds of men which gives rise to a plethora of false teachings and gnostic gospels. This results in esoteric, mystical confusion about the Person and Work of Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God and perfect Son of Man.
And today, as in the time of Paul the apostle, the false teachings that deny the eternal divinity, the supreme importance, and read more...
Colossians 1:18
Christ is the Sovereign Creator through Whom all things were made, and by Whom all things in heaven and on earth (both visible and invisible), hold together. He is the uncreated God Who willingly took upon Himself human flesh so that through His shed blood we might receive redemption of our bodies and the forgiveness of sins.
But Christ is also the Head of the Body, which is the Church, and His headship over the Church read more...
Colossians 1:19
The simple gospel truth is easy for a child to understand, but for the rationally thinking man with his analytical mind, the simple gospel truth is the most complicated and abnormal concept to comprehend simply because it does not fall within the bounds of 'normal' human reasoning. But God's boundless and eternal mind is above the restricted limitations of man.
It was God's eternal plan that in Christ should all the fullness of read more...
Colossians 1:20
What an astonishing truth is wrapped up in this simple verse. Just as Christ was the One through Whom all things were made by His mighty power in the original creation, which was ruined through sin, so also that same Christ Jesus is the One through Whom the new creation is formed and made. Through that same Lord Jesus Christ, God is going to make peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ's blood on the Cross.
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Colossians 1:21
The passage that precede this verse, reaches to the heights of the glories of God and paints a stunning picture of who we are in Christ. We are presented with a feast of all the privileges that are ours in Christ Jesus Who has delivered us out of the power of darkness and translated us into His kingdom, by grace through faith.
The mountain-top experience of this glorious passage then tumbles headlong into the descriptive valley of read more...
Colossians 1:22
After a brief reminder that they were once alienated from their Creator, bitter enemies with God in thought, word, and deed, and slaves to every kind of evil, the Colossian Christians were reminded that by His immeasurable grace, God had planned for their reconciliation back to Himself through the matchless death, burial, and Resurrection of His dearly beloved Son, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Like them, we too have been read more...
Colossians 1:23
The good news of the glorious gospel of grace should give every believer a joy and assurance in our eternal security in Christ, and the many precious promises that God Himself has proclaimed are 'yes' and 'amen' in Him. Christ's finished work on the Cross paid the full price for our sins and has already been fully accepted on our behalf by our Heavenly Father: "For there is now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus."
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Colossians 1:24
Paul is able to rejoice in his sufferings because he was counted worthy to suffer for the sake of Jesus Christ. Like Paul, we too can know Christ and the power of His Resurrection. We too can fellowship in His suffering: "Filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions."
Participating in Christ's sufferings has nothing to do with His atoning sacrifice. Only the sinless Lamb of God could die for the sins of the read more...
Colossians 1:24
Suffering is part of our passage through life. Suffering, pain, and death is the stark reality of living in a sinful world and there is no-one exempt from suffering, for we live in a fallen world that is: "Lying in the power of the evil one."
Suffering is part of our passage through life, but when we willingly suffer for Christ (Who Himself suffered so that we might be forgiven of our sins and freed from the pain of read more...
Colossians 1:25
Moses was called to be God's chosen servant through whom He gave the ministration of the Law to Israel (a time which is sometimes called the dispensation of the Law). Paul, in like manner, was the God-ordained servant who was entrusted with the administration of God's Word to the Church, which is currently in effect during this dispensation of grace. The dispensation of the Law was for pre-Cross Israel, while the dispensation of the grace of God is for read more...
Colossians 1:26
Paul was surrounded by a host of enemies, both physical and spiritual, and experienced the most acute hardships and persecutions during his God-appointed ministry. He had been chosen to be the missionary to the Gentiles who were formerly alienated from God, hopelessly dead in sins, and engaged in evil deeds, but by God's grace, many were reconciled to Him through faith in Christ for their salvation.
Paul's singular purpose in read more...
Colossians 1:27
Many of the fundamentals of Christianity are discovered in the epistles of Paul, for he received certain truths directly from the risen and glorified Lord Jesus Christ; mysteries which had been hidden in ages past. Even Peter, who was Christ's leading apostle, chosen by God to unlock the gospel of Christ to the Gentiles at the home of Cornelius the centurion, found some of the mysteries given to "our beloved brother Paul," difficult to understand.
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Colossians 1:28
While incarcerated in prison, Paul lifted up his heart in earnest prayer for the Colossian Christians: for spiritual intelligence, practical obedience, moral excellence, and that Christ may be crowned Lord of all in their lives. He prayed that they might become complete in Him and attain spiritual maturity.
He reminds us that Christ is our Saviour Who died to redeem us from the punishment of sin and rose again to live in us, read more...
Colossians 1:29
God gave Paul a unique ministry and appointed him to be the administrator of His plans and purposes during this Church age. Just as Moses was God's chosen servant to administer His will to Israel during the dispensation of the Law, so Paul was God's chosen servant to administer His will during this dispensation of grace. He laboured tirelessly and strove unswervingly to spread abroad the gospel of grace that he received directly from the glorified Jesus Christ, read more...