Colossians 1:1
Παῦλος ἀπόστολος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ διὰ θελήματος θεοῦ καὶ Τιμόθεος ὁ ἀδελφὸς
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God and Timothy, my brother.
Paraphrase: Greetings to my brothers and sisters in the Lycus valley! I, Paul, am writing this letter to you as the messenger and apostle of the good news of Christ Jesus, our Savior. God set me apart for this work, and it is my pleasure to proclaim this good news to you also. With me, at this time, is my brother in the faith, Timothy; he sends his greetings.
Comments:
Colossians 1:2
τοῖς ἐν Κολοσσαῖς ἁγίοις καὶ πιστοῖς ἀδελφοῖς ἐν Χριστῷ· χάρις ὑμῖν καὶ εἰρήνη ἀπὸ θεοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν.
To those in Colossae, saints and faithful brothers in Christ; grace to you and peace from God our Father.
Paraphrase: To all of our brothers and sisters in the city of Colossae, those who have been set apart by God, called to be His people, joined in a saving union with Jesus Christ, and who now walk faithfully with Him day by day; to you I say, and Timothy with me, may God’s grace be richly poured out on you all; and as a result, may your hearts be filled with that unshakeable peace and assurance which comes with it.
Comments:
Colossians 1:3
Εὐχαριστοῦμεν τῷ θεῷ πατρὶ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ πάντοτε περὶ ὑμῶν προσευχόμενοι,
We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ always concerning you, praying
Paraphrase: I’m so thankful for all of you. Every day, I thank God for you in my prayers.
Comments:
Colossians 1:4
ἀκούσαντες τὴν πίστιν ὑμῶν ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ καὶ τὴν ἀγάπην ἣν ἔχετε εἰς πάντας τοὺς ἁγίους
Hearing of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints,
Paraphrase: I’m thankful that I can hear reports of your faith, hope, and love. First, of your firm trust and faith in Jesus and your diligent attention to all that He has taught us. Second, of your fervent love for each other and how you live together in peace, building each other up in the faith.
Comments:
Colossians 1:5
διὰ τὴν ἐλπίδα τὴν ἀποκειμένην ὑμῖν ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς, ἣν προηκούσατε ἐν τῷ λόγῳ τῆς ἀληθείας τοῦ εὐαγγελίου
On account of the hope, being laid up for you in the heavens which you heard before in the word of truth of the gospel.
Paraphrase: Third, of the hope which you treasure so highly. It’s a hope that one day you will enter into the inheritance which God has reserved for you in the heavenly glory. You first learned about this hope when you heard the gospel some years ago. Then, you knew that this good news was the truth, and you believed it and made a complete surrender of your life to Jesus Christ.
Comments:
Lightfoot argues (p131) that the hope here is not connected to Paul’s thanks Εὐχαριστοῦμεν but to the faith mentioned in the previous verse.
Colossians 1:6
τοῦ παρόντος εἰς ὑμᾶς, καθὼς καὶ ἐν παντὶ τῷ κόσμῳ ἐστὶν καρποφορούμενον καὶ αὐξανόμενον καθὼς καὶ ἐν ὑμῖν, ἀφ’ ἧς ἡμέρας ἠκούσατε καὶ ἐπέγνωτε τὴν χάριν τοῦ θεοῦ ἐν ἀληθείᾳ·
which arriving to you even as also in all the world it bearing fruit and expanding even as also among you from which days, you heard and knew the grace of God in truth.
Paraphrase: This good news about Jesus came to you in great power just as it does wherever it comes. It had such a marked effect upon you all. Your lives were transformed by this gospel; and day by day, you grew stronger and stronger in real godliness, bearing fruit to your own edification and to the benefit of all those around you. This is what the grace of God does to a person when they really come to understand the truth of it.
Comments:
Colossians 1:7
καθὼς ἐμάθετε ἀπὸ Ἐπαφρᾶ τοῦ ἀγαπητοῦ συνδούλου ἡμῶν, ὅς ἐστιν πιστὸς ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν διάκονος τοῦ Χριστοῦ,
Even as you learned from Epaphra, the beloved, our fellow slave who is faithful, on our behalf, a minister of Christ.
Paraphrase:
Comments:
Colossians 1:8
ὁ καὶ δηλώσας ἡμῖν τὴν ὑμῶν ἀγάπην ἐν πνεύματι.
Colossians 1:9
Διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἡμεῖς, ἀφ’ ἧς ἡμέρας ἠκούσαμεν, οὐ παυόμεθα ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν προσευχόμενοι καὶ αἰτούμενοι ἵνα πληρωθῆτε τὴν ἐπίγνωσιν τοῦ θελήματος αὐτοῦ ἐν πάσῃ σοφίᾳ καὶ συνέσει πνευματικῇ,
Colossians 1:10
περιπατῆσαι ἀξίως τοῦ κυρίου εἰς πᾶσαν ἀρεσκείαν ἐν παντὶ ἔργῳ ἀγαθῷ καρποφοροῦντες καὶ αὐξανόμενοι τῇ ἐπιγνώσει τοῦ θεοῦ,
Colossians 1:11
ἐν πάσῃ δυνάμει δυναμούμενοι κατὰ τὸ κράτος τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ εἰς πᾶσαν ὑπομονὴν καὶ μακροθυμίαν μετὰ χαρᾶς,
Colossians 1:12
εὐχαριστοῦντες τῷ πατρὶ τῷ ἱκανώσαντι ὑμᾶς εἰς τὴν μερίδα τοῦ κλήρου τῶν ἁγίων ἐν τῷ φωτί,
Colossians 1:13
ὃς ἐρρύσατο ἡμᾶς ἐκ τῆς ἐξουσίας τοῦ σκότους καὶ μετέστησεν εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ υἱοῦ τῆς ἀγάπης αὐτοῦ,
Who rescued us from the power of darkness and moved [us] into the kingdom of the Son of His love.
Paraphrase: Our Father took us out from under the authority of the evil one and transferred our citizenship to a new kingdom. This was the kingdom ruled by His only begotten Son. The Son over whom He cried out, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased!” (Matthew 3:17)
Comments:
Colossians 1:14
ἐν ᾧ ἔχομεν τὴν ἀπολύτρωσιν, τὴν ἄφεσιν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν·
In whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Paraphrase: It is when we are joined in a saving union to this Son, that we are redeemed and set free from the guilt of our sin. Then we enter into the glorious liberty of the children of God. (Romans 8:21; 2 Corinthians 3:17)
Comments:
Colossians 1:15
ὅς ἐστιν εἰκὼν τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ἀοράτου, πρωτότοκος πάσης κτίσεως,
Who is the image of the invisible God, the Firstborn of all creation.
Paraphrase: He is to us the visible representation of our invisible God, which He is uniquely qualified to be since He is superior over all creation.
Comments:
πρωτότοκος is the head noun and κτίσεως the genitive. GGBB says that κτίσεως is a genitive of subordination which gives us “…the firstborn over all creation.” The Arian understanding of this verse makes κτίσεως a partitive genitive “…the firstborn which is a part of creation.” This is impossible because the following verse shows that Jesus was the Creator of all things and not Himself a created being.
Lightfoot (p143) says that two things are given us by the term image, first, representation and second, manifestation.
Colossians 1:16
ὅτι ἐν αὐτῷ ἐκτίσθη τὰ πάντα ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, τὰ ὁρατὰ καὶ τὰ ἀόρατα, εἴτε θρόνοι εἴτε κυριότητες εἴτε ἀρχαὶ εἴτε ἐξουσίαι· τὰ πάντα δι’ αὐτοῦ καὶ εἰς αὐτὸν ἔκτισται·
For by Him, all things in the heavens and on the earth were created, the visible and the invisible whether thrones, or dominions or rulers or authorities, all things through Him and to Him have been created.
Paraphrase: He is superior to all creation because He was the Creator of everything which exists. All things visible and invisible; from the greatest king to the smallest peasant; they all were brought into existence by the mighty power of Jesus, and they all will bring glory to His great Name.
Comments:
Colossians 1:17
καὶ αὐτός ἐστιν πρὸ πάντων καὶ τὰ πάντα ἐν αὐτῷ συνέστηκεν,
And He is before all things, and all things are held together by Him.
Paraphrase: And not only did Jesus bring all things into existence, but He is also the one who holds them in existence.
Comments:
Both creation and providence are here attributed to Christ.
Colossians 1:18
καὶ αὐτός ἐστιν ἡ κεφαλὴ τοῦ σώματος τῆς ἐκκλησίας· ὅς ἐστιν ἀρχή, πρωτότοκος ἐκ τῶν νεκρῶν, ἵνα γένηται ἐν πᾶσιν αὐτὸς πρωτεύων,
Colossians 1:19
ὅτι ἐν αὐτῷ εὐδόκησεν πᾶν τὸ πλήρωμα κατοικῆσαι
Colossians 1:20 καὶ δι’ αὐτοῦ ἀποκαταλλάξαι τὰ πάντα εἰς αὐτόν, εἰρηνοποιήσας διὰ τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ σταυροῦ αὐτοῦ, [δι’ αὐτοῦ] εἴτε τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς εἴτε τὰ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς·
Colossians 1:21 καὶ ὑμᾶς ποτε ὄντας ἀπηλλοτριωμένους καὶ ἐχθροὺς τῇ διανοίᾳ ἐν τοῖς ἔργοις τοῖς πονηροῖς—
Colossians 1:22 νυνὶ δὲ ἀποκατηλλάγητε ἐν τῷ σώματι τῆς σαρκὸς αὐτοῦ διὰ τοῦ θανάτου— παραστῆσαι ὑμᾶς ἁγίους καὶ ἀμώμους καὶ ἀνεγκλήτους κατενώπιον αὐτοῦ,
Colossians 1:23 εἴ γε ἐπιμένετε τῇ πίστει τεθεμελιωμένοι καὶ ἑδραῖοι καὶ μὴ μετακινούμενοι ἀπὸ τῆς ἐλπίδος τοῦ εὐαγγελίου οὗ ἠκούσατε, τοῦ κηρυχθέντος ἐν πάσῃ κτίσει τῇ ὑπὸ τὸν οὐρανόν, οὗ ἐγενόμην ἐγὼ Παῦλος διάκονος.
Colossians 1:24 Νῦν χαίρω ἐν τοῖς παθήμασιν ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν, καὶ ἀνταναπληρῶ τὰ ὑστερήματα τῶν θλίψεων τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐν τῇ σαρκί μου ὑπὲρ τοῦ σώματος αὐτοῦ, ὅ ἐστιν ἡ ἐκκλησία,
Colossians 1:25 ἧς ἐγενόμην ἐγὼ διάκονος κατὰ τὴν οἰκονομίαν τοῦ θεοῦ τὴν δοθεῖσάν μοι εἰς ὑμᾶς πληρῶσαι τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ,
Colossians 1:26 τὸ μυστήριον τὸ ἀποκεκρυμμένον ἀπὸ τῶν αἰώνων καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν γενεῶν,— νῦν δὲ ἐφανερώθη τοῖς ἁγίοις αὐτοῦ,
Colossians 1:27 οἷς ἠθέλησεν ὁ θεὸς γνωρίσαι τί τὸ πλοῦτος τῆς δόξης τοῦ μυστηρίου τούτου ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν, ὅ ἐστιν Χριστὸς ἐν ὑμῖν, ἡ ἐλπὶς τῆς δόξης·
Colossians 1:28 ὃν ἡμεῖς καταγγέλλομεν νουθετοῦντες πάντα ἄνθρωπον καὶ διδάσκοντες πάντα ἄνθρωπον ἐν πάσῃ σοφίᾳ, ἵνα παραστήσωμεν πάντα ἄνθρωπον τέλειον ἐν Χριστῷ·
Colossians 1:29 εἰς ὃ καὶ κοπιῶ ἀγωνιζόμενος κατὰ τὴν ἐνέργειαν αὐτοῦ τὴν ἐνεργουμένην ἐν ἐμοὶ ἐν δυνάμει.