Colossians 1:1-8
1 “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,2 to the saints and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ who are at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father. 3 We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints; 5 because of the hope reserved for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel6 which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth; 7 just as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf, 8 and he also informed us of your love in the Spirit.”
By the will of God: Paul’s concept of the will of God is not ambiguous or difficult to discern. He’s not speaking of will as if it’s a moving target. Paul is also not speaking of secret messages from heaven. In the context, God’s will is that Paul be an apostle to the Gentiles.
Grace to you and peace: Paul wastes no time reminding people of the grace God has offered in Christ, and the peace people have because of this grace. We are at peace with God because of Christ’s finished work. There are no hoops to jump through to God. Jesus has removed all barriers between the believer and relationship with God.
Love which you have: Paul loves the church and makes that clear through his thanksgiving to God for their faith and their love for other believers. Love is the chief characteristic of the Christian life and follows a faith response to the Gospel. When we believe, Christ comes to live inside of us and produces His love in abundance (see Romans 5:5).
Which has come to you: Paul is speaking of the beginning of the Gospel movement in Colossae. This suggests that Paul did not know the heart of every individual person in the church but knew that the Gospel had been offered to the community. Paul was sure that the Gospel would ultimately bear fruit amongst them.
