Click here for Colossians 1 audio:
Read it. Pray it. Share it. Live it.
Paul opens his letter by thanking God for the Colossians’ faith in Christ, love for the saints, and hope laid up in heaven—a hope grounded in the true gospel they learned from their pastor, Epaphras (vv. 3–8). This gospel is not a local message but the only gospel, and it is bearing fruit and growing throughout the world, producing changed lives wherever it is truly received (v. 6). Paul then shares how he prays continually that the Colossians would be filled with the knowledge of God’s will, leading them to walk in a way that pleases the Lord—bearing fruit, growing in knowing God, and being strengthened with God’s power for endurance, patience, and joyful thanksgiving (vv. 9–12).
At the heart of Paul’s prayer is gratitude for salvation itself. God has rescued believers from the domain of darkness and transferred them into the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption and forgiveness of sins (vv. 13–14). Paul then lifts the reader’s eyes to one of the richest portraits of Christ in all of Scripture. Jesus is the image of the invisible God, supreme over all creation, the agent and goal of everything that exists, and the one who holds all things together (vv. 15–17). He is also the head of the church and the firstborn from the dead, so that He might be preeminent in everything (v. 18). In Him all the fullness of God dwells, and through the blood of His cross God is reconciling all things to Himself (vv. 19–20).
Paul applies this glorious truth personally. Once alienated and hostile toward God, believers are now reconciled through Christ’s death so that they may be presented holy, blameless, and above reproach—if they continue steadfast in the faith and do not shift from the hope of the gospel (vv. 21–23). Paul then explains his own ministry: he suffers gladly for the sake of Christ’s body, the church, and faithfully proclaims the mystery once hidden but now revealed—Christ in you, the hope of glory (vv. 24–27). His aim is not merely conversion but maturity, as he labors with Christ’s power to present everyone mature in Christ (vv. 28–29).
🌀 Reflection:
How does seeing Jesus as supreme over creation, redemption, and the church reshape the way you view your life and your faith today?
💬 Mission Challenge:
Encourage another believer by reminding them—verbally or in writing—that Christ is at work in them and that their hope is secure because Jesus reigns.
Click here to return to the contents page for Phase 2.4 — The Savior, His Church, and the Mission.
Just Keith Harris 