23 if also ye remain in the faith, being founded and settled, and not moved away from the hope of the good news, which ye heard, which was preached in all the creation that `is' under the heaven, of which I became -- I Paul -- a ministrant.
for partakers we have become of the Christ, if the beginning of the confidence unto the end we may hold fast,
because of the hope that is laid up for you in the heavens, which ye heard of before in the word of the truth of the good news, which is present to you, as also in all the world, and is bearing fruit, as also in you, from the day in which ye heard, and knew the grace of God in truth;
and `the righteous by faith shall live,' and `if he may draw back, My soul hath no pleasure in him,'
and Christ, as a Son over his house, whose house are we, if the boldness and the rejoicing of the hope unto the end we hold fast.
And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation of those under the heaven,
that the Christ may dwell through the faith in your hearts, in love having been rooted and founded,
confirming the souls of the disciples, exhorting to remain in the faith, and that through many tribulations it behoveth us to enter into the reign of God,
and in the doing good we may not be faint-hearted, for at the proper time we shall reap -- not desponding;
`Be not afraid of the things that thou art about to suffer; lo, the devil is about to cast of you to prison, that ye may be tried, and ye shall have tribulation ten days; become thou faithful unto death, and I will give to thee the crown of the life.
of which I -- I did become a ministrant according to the dispensation of God, that was given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God,
In the turning back of the righteous from his righteousness, And he hath done perversity, And he is dying by them, for his perversity That he hath done he dieth.
`And those upon the rock: They who, when they may hear, with joy do receive the word, and these have no root, who for a time believe, and in time of temptation fall away. `And that which fell to the thorns: These are they who have heard, and going forth, through anxieties, and riches, and pleasures of life, are choked, and bear not to completion. `And that in the good ground: These are they, who in an upright and good heart, having heard the word, do retain `it', and bear fruit in continuance.
As he is speaking these things, many believed in him; Jesus, therefore, said unto the Jews who believed in him, `If ye may remain in my word, truly my disciples ye are, and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.'
if any one may not remain in me, he was cast forth without as the branch, and was withered, and they gather them, and cast to fire, and they are burned;
who also made us sufficient `to be' ministrants of a new covenant, not of letter, but of spirit; for the letter doth kill, and the spirit doth make alive.
being rooted and built up in him, and confirmed in the faith, as ye were taught -- abounding in it in thanksgiving.
See ye what love the Father hath given to us, that children of God we may be called; because of this the world doth not know us, because it did not know Him; beloved, now, children of God are we, and it was not yet manifested what we shall be, and we have known that if he may be manifested, like him we shall be, because we shall see him as he is; and every one who is having this hope on him, doth purify himself, even as he is pure.
and may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and our God and Father, who did love us, and did give comfort age-during, and good hope in grace,
and you, the anointing that ye did receive from him, in you it doth remain, and ye have no need that any one may teach you, but as the same anointing doth teach you concerning all, and is true, and is not a lie, and even as was taught you, ye shall remain in him.
for overswellings of vanity speaking, they do entice in desires of the flesh -- lasciviousnesses, those who had truly escaped from those conducting themselves in error, liberty to them promising, themselves being servants of the corruption, for by whom any one hath been overcome, to this one also he hath been brought to servitude, for, if having escaped from the pollutions of the world, in the acknowledging of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and by these again being entangled, they have been overcome, become to them hath the last things worse than the first, for it were better to them not to have acknowledged the way of the righteousness, than having acknowledged `it', to turn back from the holy command delivered to them, and happened to them hath that of the true similitude; `A dog did turn back upon his own vomit,' and, `A sow having bathed herself -- to rolling in mire.'
Blessed `is' the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, according to the abundance of His kindness did beget us again to a living hope, through the rising again of Jesus Christ out of the dead,
Having, then, a great chief priest passed through the heavens -- Jesus the Son of God -- may we hold fast the profession,
that having been declared righteous by His grace, heirs we may become according to the hope of life age-during.
in regard to which I was set a preacher and apostle -- truth I say in Christ, I do not lie -- a teacher of nations, in faith and truth.
And I give thanks to him who enabled me -- Christ Jesus our Lord -- that he did reckon me stedfast, having put `me' to the ministration,
and the hope doth not make ashamed, because the love of God hath been poured forth in our hearts through the Holy Spirit that hath been given to us.
to those, indeed, who in continuance of a good work, do seek glory, and honour, and incorruptibility -- life age-during;
but I make account of none of these, neither do I count my life precious to myself, so that I finish my course with joy, and the ministration that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify fully the good news of the grace of God.
who, having come, and having seen the grace of God, was glad, and was exhorting all with purpose of heart to cleave to the Lord,
to receive the share of this ministration and apostleship, from which Judas, by transgression, did fall, to go on to his proper place;'
because he was numbered among us, and did receive the share in this ministration,
`Therefore, every one who doth hear of me these words, and doth do them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house upon the rock; and the rain did descend, and the streams came, and the winds blew, and they beat on that house, and it fell not, for it had been founded on the rock.
And those removing from after Jehovah, And who have not sought Jehovah, nor besought Him.
And we know -- we pursue to know Jehovah, As the dawn prepared is His going forth, And He cometh in as a shower to us, As gathered rain -- sprinkling earth.' What do I do to thee, O Ephraim? What do I do to thee, O Judah? Your goodness `is' as a cloud of the morning, And as dew rising early -- going.
Thou pursuest in anger, and destroyest them, From under the heavens of Jehovah!
Those planted in the house of Jehovah, In the courts of our God do flourish. Still they bring forth in old age, Fat and flourishing are they,
`And lest thou lift up thine eyes towards the heavens, and hast seen the sun, and the moon, and the stars, all the host of the heavens, and thou hast been forced, and hast bowed thyself to them, and served them, which Jehovah thy God hath apportioned to all the peoples under the whole heavens.
This day I begin to put thy dread and thy fear on the face of the peoples under the whole heavens, who hear thy fame, and have trembled and been pained because of thee.
I am afraid of you, lest in vain I did labour toward you.
that no one be moved in these tribulations, for yourselves have known that for this we are set,
from whom the whole body, being fitly joined together and united, through the supply of every joint, according to the working in the measure of each single part, the increase of the body doth make for the building up of itself in love.
of which I became a ministrant, according to the gift of the grace of God that was given to me, according to the working of His power; to me -- the less than the least of all the saints -- was given this grace, among the nations to proclaim good news -- the untraceable riches of the Christ,
in whom all the building fitly framed together doth increase to an holy sanctuary in the Lord,
the eyes of your understanding being enlightened, for your knowing what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
for we by the Spirit, by faith, a hope of righteousness do wait for,
ministrants of Christ are they? -- as beside myself I speak -- I more; in labours more abundantly, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths many times;
And the all things `are' of God, who reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and did give to us the ministration of the reconciliation, how that God was in Christ -- a world reconciling to Himself, not reckoning to them their trespasses; and having put in us the word of the reconciliation, in behalf of Christ, then, we are ambassadors, as if God were calling through us, we beseech, in behalf of Christ, `Be ye reconciled to God;'
Because of this, having this ministration, according as we did receive kindness, we do not faint,
Let a man so reckon us as officers of Christ, and stewards of the secrets of God, and as to the rest, it is required in the stewards that one may be found faithful, and to me it is for a very little thing that by you I may be judged, or by man's day, but not even myself do I judge,
Who, then, is Paul, and who Apollos, but ministrants through whom ye did believe, and to each as the Lord gave?
to which I was placed a preacher and an apostle, and a teacher of nations, for which cause also these things I suffer, but I am not ashamed, for I have known in whom I have believed, and have been persuaded that he is able that which I have committed to him to guard -- to that day.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Colossians 1
Commentary on Colossians 1 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 1
We have here,
Col 1:1-2
Col 1:3-8
Here he proceeds to the body of the epistle, and begins with thanksgiving to God for what he had heard concerning them, though he had no personal acquaintance with them, and knew their state and character only by the reports of others.
Col 1:9-11
The apostle proceeds in these verses to pray for them. He heard that they were good, and he prayed that they might be better. He was constant in this prayer: We do not cease to pray for you. It may be he could hear of them but seldom, but he constantly prayed for them.-And desire that you may be filled with the knowledge, etc. Observe what it is that he begs of God for them,
Col 1:12-29
Here is a summary of the doctrine of the gospel concerning the great work of our redemption by Christ. It comes in here not as the matter of a sermon, but as the matter of a thanksgiving; for our salvation by Christ furnishes us with abundant matter of thanksgiving in every view of it: Giving thanks unto the Father, v. 12. He does not discourse of the work of redemption in the natural order of it; for then he would speak of the purchase of it first, and afterwards of the application of it. But here he inverts the order, because, in our sense and feeling of it, the application goes before the purchase. We first find the benefits of redemption in our hearts, and then are led by those streams to the original and fountain-head. The order and connection of the apostle's discourse may be considered in the following manner:-