Colossians 1:1-8
Colossians!! The same questions we had last week as to where Paul was imprisoned when he wrote Philippians and Philemon also apply to Colossians, so I won’t comment on that item.
Paul makes a nice, almost hidden triad using the simple word “as” in verses 6 and 7, with the words “which” and “it” referring back to “the Gospel” in verse 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, just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant… (vv. 6-7) Substitute “the Gospel” for “which” and “it” in those verses and Paul’s message becomes more clear.
Epaphras is mentioned above as the person who brought the Gospel to Colossae. He was mentioned in yesterday’s reading (Philemon 23) as being in prison with Paul. Later in this letter (v. 4:12) we will see that Epaphras is from Colossae (or we can at least infer that from Paul’s mention of him as “one of you” or “one of your number”). Since there is never any mention of Paul having been in Colossae, we have to imagine that Epaphras must have been converted sometime during Paul’s three-year ministry in Ephesus and then sharing that message with his friends back home. So he really is quite a story, a model for us, if you will, in taking what we know and sharing it with others – except he went a bit further than we might go, presumably forcefully enough to warrant prison time with Paul! Quite a story…!
Slava Bohu!
I was kind of wondering why Paul didn’t greet Philemon due to his personal letter to him and the fact that the church in Colossae met in his home.