The letter to the Colossians was written by the apostle Paul during his imprisonment, likely in Rome. Though he had never met the believers in Colossae personally, he wrote with deep pastoral concern, having heard of their faith through Epaphras, one of their own. This letter exalts the supremacy and sufficiency of Christ as the head of all creation and the Church. Paul counters false teaching by grounding the saints in the reality of their union with Christ, who is the fullness of God and the source of all wisdom.
Colossians is a portrait of Jesus as the preeminent Lord—above all powers, above all rules, and fully sufficient for the believer’s salvation and sanctification. It draws believers into the mystery of Christ, hidden for ages but now revealed: “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
Greeting and Thanksgiving for the Gospel’s Fruitfulness
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace and peace to you from God our Father. We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints – because of the hope reserved for you in heaven.
You have already heard about this hope in the message of truth, the gospel that has come to you. It is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world, just as it has among you since the day you heard and truly understood the grace of God in truth. You learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.
Notes
Paul opens not simply as a friend or teacher but as an apostle—sent by the will of God. His words carry divine weight, shaped by God’s own calling and purpose. With Timothy beside him, the greeting comes as from a family of faith, to brothers and sisters equally united “in Christ.” This phrase—“in Christ”—anchors the letter. It is the central identity of every believer in the New Covenant. No longer defined by geography, ethnicity, or old religious codes, saints are now defined by their location in Him (cf. 2 Corinthians 5; Ephesians 1).
Grace and peace are not pleasantries. They are New Covenant realities, flowing from the Father through Christ—realities that characterize the entire epistle. Grace: God’s unearned favor. Peace: the reconciliation purchased by Christ’s blood (cf. Romans 5).
Paul’s thanksgiving flows from three abiding fruits of the New Covenant—faith, love, and hope. These are not human virtues; they are divine gifts. Their faith in Christ Jesus connects them to the saving work of the Messiah. Their love for all the saints is the evidence of the Spirit’s presence, a love that reaches across cultural and natural divisions (cf. Galatians 5). Their hope stored in heaven is not a wishful idea but a secure inheritance, already theirs in Christ (cf. 1 Peter 1).
The gospel they received is not local or limited. It is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world. This is a New Covenant phenomenon—God’s Word going out with Spirit-empowered global reach, just as Jesus promised (cf. Matthew 24; Acts 1). What they have believed is not philosophy, law, or tradition. It is the grace of God in truth—a new administration of grace made known through Jesus Christ (cf. John 1).
Epaphras, their teacher, is a living example of this gospel’s fruit. He is not called a priest or rabbi, but a faithful servant of Christ—a designation of New Covenant ministry. His report of their “love in the Spirit” reveals that the Spirit is the active agent of this new life, creating affection, unity, and holiness among those who belong to Christ (cf. Romans 15; Galatians 5).
In this brief opening, the full framework of the New Covenant is visible: identity in Christ, grace flowing from God, faith responding to truth, hope laid up in heaven, love formed by the Spirit, and fruit multiplying across the earth. This is the picture of a people no longer shaped by Sinai, but by the Son.
Moe Bergeron 
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