        
• Key
SRB = Scofield References
JFB = Jamieson, Fausset, Brown Commentary
AC = Adam Clarke Comentary
Chapter 1
- The salutation of Paul and Timothy to the Church at
Colosse, 1,2.
- They give thanks to God for the good
estate of that Church, and the wonderful progress of
the Gospel in every place, 3-6;
- having received
particulars of their state from Epaphroditus, which not
only excited their gratitude, but led them to pray to
God that they might walk worthy of the Gospel; and they
give thanks to Him who had made them meet for an
inheritance among the saints in light, 7-12.
- This state is described as a deliverance from the power
of darkness, and being brought into the kingdom of
God's dear Son, 13,14.
- The glorious character of Jesus
Christ, and what He has done for mankind, 15-20.
- The salvation which the Colossians had received, and of
which the apostle had been the minister and
dispenser, 21-26.
- The sum and substance of the
apostle's preaching, and the manner in which he
executed his ministry, 27-29.
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Verse 1. Paul, an apostle-by the
will of God
As the word αποστολος,
apostle, signifies one sent, an envoy or
messenger, any person or persons may be the senders:
but the word is particularly restrained to the messengers of
the everlasting Gospel, sent immediately from God himself; and
this is what St. Paul particularly remarks here when he calls
himself an apostle by the will of God;
signifying that he had derived his commission from an express
volition or purpose of the Almighty.
And Timotheus
Though Timothy is here joined in the salutation, yet he
has never been understood as having any part in composing this
epistle. He has been considered as the amanuensis or scribe of
the apostle.
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Verse 2. To the
saints
Those who professed Christianity.
See Clarke on Ephesians
1:1.
Which are at
Colosse
Instead of ενκολοσσαις, at Colosse,
or among the Colossians, ABC, and many other excellent MSS.,
with both the Syriac, Coptic, Slavonic, Origen, Gregory
Nyssen, Amphilochus, Theodoret, Damascenus, Theophylact, and
others, read ενκολασσαις in Colassa, or among the
Colassians; and this is most probably the true reading.
That this city perished by an earthquake, a short time after
the date of this epistle, we have the testimony of Eusebius.
That which at present is supposed to occupy the site of this
ancient city is called Konos. For other particulars see
the preface to this epistle. See Clarke on Colossians
1:1.
Grace be unto you
See Clarke on Romans
1:7.
And the Lord Jesus
Christ.
This clause is omitted by many
MSS., several versions, and some of the fathers.
Griesbach has left it out of the text, not, in my opinion, on
sufficient evidence.
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Verse 3. We give thanks to
God
Who is the author of all good; and from
whom the grace, which has produced your conversion, has
sprung by his mission of Christ Jesus. See the note on Ephesians
1:15,16.
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Verse 4. Since we heard of your
faith
This is very similar to Ephesians
1:15. And it is certain that the apostle seems to have
considered the Church at Ephesus, and that at Colassa to have
been nearly in the same state, as the two epistles are very
similar in their doctrine and phraseology.
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Verse 6. Which is come unto
you
The doctrine of the Gospel is
represented as a traveller, whose object it is to visit
the whole habitable earth; and, having commenced his journey
in Judea, had proceeded through Syria and through different
parts of Asia Minor, and had lately arrived at their city,
every where proclaiming glad tidings of great joy to all
people.
As it is in all the
world
So rapid is this traveller in
his course, that he had already gone nearly through the whole
of the countries under the Roman dominion; and will travel on
till he has proclaimed his message to every people, and
kindred, and nation, and tongue.
In the beginning of the apostolic age, the word of the Lord
had certainly free course, did run and was
glorified. Since that time the population of the earth
has increased greatly; and, to follow the metaphor, the
traveller still continues in his great journey. It is,
the glory of the present day that, by means of the British
and Foreign Bible Society, Bibles are multiplied in all
the languages of Europe; and by means of the Christian
missionaries, Carey, Marshman, and Ward, whose
zeal, constancy, and ability, have been rarely equalled, and
perhaps never surpassed, the sacred writings have been, in the
compass of a few years, translated into most of the written
languages of India, in which they were not previously extant.
In this labour they have been ably seconded by the Rev. Henry
Martyn, one of the East India Company's chaplains, who was
taken to his great reward just when he had completed a
pure and accurate version of the New Testament into
Persian. The Rev. R. Morrison, at Canton, has had the
honour to present the whole of the New Testament, in Chinese,
to the immense population of that greatest empire of the
earth. May that dark people receive it, and walk in the light
of the Lord! And, by means of the Wesleyan
missionaries, the sacred writings have been printed and
widely circulated in the Singhalese and Indo- Portuguese,
through the whole of the island of Ceylon, and the pure word
of the Gospel has been preached there, and also on the whole
continent of India, to the conversion of multitudes. Let every
reader pray that all these noble attempts may be crowned with
unlimited success, till the earth is filled both with the
knowledge and glory of the Lord. Talia secla currite!
Amen.
And bringeth forth
fruit
Wherever the pure Gospel of Christ is
preached, it is the seed of the kingdom, and must be
fruitful in all those who receive it by faith, in simplicity
of heart.
After καρποφορουμενον, bringeth forth fruit,
ABCD*EFG, many others, both the Syriac, Erpen's
Arabic, the Coptic, Sahidic, AEthiopic,
Armenian, Slavonic, Vulgate, and Itala, together
with many of the fathers, add καιαυξανομενον, and
increaseth. It had not only brought forth fruit,
but was multiplying its own kind; every fruit
containing seed, and every seed producing thirty,
sixty, or a hundredfold. This reading is very important, and
is undoubtedly genuine.
The grace of God in
truth
Ye were fruitful, and went on
increasing in the salvation of God, from the time that
ye heard and acknowledged this doctrine to be of God, to
spring from the grace or benevolence of God; and
received it in truth, sincerely and uprightly, as his greatest
gift to man.
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Verse 7. As ye also learned of
Epaphras-who is for you
Who this Epaphras
was we cannot tell; only it is likely that he was a Colossian,
and became, by the call and grace of Christ, a deacon of this
Church, faithfully labouring with the apostle, to promote its
best interests. Some think that he is the same with
Epaphroditus, Epaphras being a contraction of that
name, as Demas is of Demetrius; and it is
remarkable that one of the Slavonic versions has
Epaphroditus in this place. That he was a Colossian is
evident from Colossians
4:12: Epaphras, who is one of you, οεξυμων.
some think that he was the first who preached the Gospel among
this people, and hence called an apostle. He was raised
up among themselves to be their minister in the absence of the
apostle, and he showed himself to be worthy of this calling by
a faithful discharge of his ministry, and by labouring
fervently for them all, and pressing them forward, that
they might stand perfect and complete in all the
will of God.
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Verse 8. Your love in the
Spirit.
So we preached, and so ye
believed. The heavenly flame in the heart of this
minister communicated itself to those who heard him; it was
like priest like people. They enjoyed a
spiritual, energetic ministry, and they were a
spiritual people; they had a loving spirit, and
love through the Spirit of God which dwelt in
them. And of this love of theirs in the Spirit, and
particularly towards the apostle, Epaphras gave full proof,
not only by describing to the apostle the affection they felt
for him, but in presenting to him those supplies which
their love to him caused them to furnish.
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Verse 9. For this
cause
See on Ephesians
1:15,16, where the same sentiment occurs.
That ye might be
filled
Nothing could satisfy the apostle,
either for himself or his hearers, but the fulness of the
blessing of the Gospel of peace. The Colossians had knowledge,
but they must have more; it is their privilege to be
filled with it. As the bright shining of the sun in the
firmament of heaven fills the whole world with light and heat,
so the light of the Sun of righteousness is to illuminate
their whole souls, and fill them with Divine splendour, so
that they might know the will of God, in all wisdom
and spiritual understanding; in a word, that they might
have such a knowledge of Divine things as the Spirit of truth
can teach to the soul of man.
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Verse 10. That ye might walk worthy
of the Lord
Suitably to your Christian
profession, exemplifying its holy doctrines by a holy and
useful life. See Clarke on Ephesians
4:1.; and on "Php 1:27".
Unto all pleasing
Doing every thing in the best manner, in the most
proper time, and in a becoming spirit. Even a
good work may be marred and rendered fruitless by being done
improperly, out of season, or in a temper
of mind that grieves the Holy Spirit.
Being fruitful in every good
work
See Clarke on Colossians
1:6.
St. Paul exhorts the Christians at Colosse, 1. To
walk-to be active in their Christian calling. 2. To
walk worthily-suitably to the dignity of that calling, and
to the purity of that God who had called them into this state
of salvation. 3. To do every thing unto all pleasing;
that God might be pleased with the manner, the
time, the motive, disposition, design, and
object of every act. 4. That they should be
fruitful; mere harmlessness would not be
sufficient; as God had sown good seed, he expected good fruit.
5. That every work should be good; they must not
be fruitful in some works and fruitless in others. 6. That
they should increase in religious knowledge as time rolled on,
knowing, by genuine Christian experience, more of God,
of his love, and of his peace, day by day.
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Verse 11. Strengthened with all
might
That they might be able to walk
worthy of the Lord, bring forth fruit, See Clarke on Ephesians
3:13.
According to his glorious
power
According to that sufficiency of
strength which may be expected from him who has all power both
in the heavens and in the earth.
Unto all patience
Relieving, hoping, and enduring all things.
With joyfulness
Feeling the continual testimony that ye please God, which
will be a spring of perpetual comfort. See Clarke on Ephesians
4:2.
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Verse 12. Giving thanks unto the
Father
Knowing that ye have nothing but
what ye have received from his mere mercy, and that in point
of merit ye can never claim any thing from him.
Which hath made us
meet
ικανωσαντι. Who has qualified
us to be partakers, have καλεσαντι, called; and B (the
Codex Vaticanus) has both readings. Giving thanks unto the
Father, who hath called and qualified us to be
partakers.
Of the inheritance
ειςτηνμεριδατουκληρου. A plain allusion to the division of
the promised land by lot among the different families
of the twelve Israelitish tribes. The κληρος was the
lot or inheritance belonging to the
tribe; the μερις was the portion in that
lot which belonged to each family of that tribe.
This was a type of the kingdom of God, in which
portions of eternal blessedness are dispensed to the
genuine Israelites; to them who have the circumcision of the
heart by the Spirit, whose praise is of God, and not of man.
Of the saints in
light
Light, in the sacred writings,
is used to express knowledge, felicity, purity,
comfort, and joy of the most substantial kind; here it is put
to point out the state of glory at the right hand of God. As
in Egypt, while the judgments of God were upon the land, there
was a darkness which might be felt yet all the
Israelites had light in their dwellings; so in this
world, while the darkness and wretchedness occasioned
by sin remain, the disciples of Christ are light in the Lord,
walk as children of the light and of the day,
have in them no occasion of stumbling, and are on their
way to the ineffable light at the right hand of God.
Some think there is an allusion here to the Eleusinian
mysteries, celebrated in deep caves and darkness in
honour of Ceres; but I have already, in the notes to the
Epistle to the Ephesians, expressed my doubts that the apostle
has ever condescended to use such a simile. The phraseology of
the text is frequent through various parts of the sacred
writings, where it is most obvious that no such allusion could
possibly be intended.
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Verse 13. Delivered us from the
power of darkness
Darkness is here
personified, and is represented as having εξουσια,
power, authority, and sway; all Jews and
Gentiles, which had not embraced the Gospel, being under this
authority and power. And the apostle intimates here that
nothing less than the power of God can redeem a man from this
darkness, or prince of darkness, who, by means of sin and
unbelief, keeps men in ignorance, vice, and misery.
Translated us into the kingdom, our state,
brought us out of the dark region of vice and impiety, and
placed us in the kingdom under the government of his dear
Son, υιουτηςαγαπηςαυτου, the Son of his love; the
person whom, in his infinite love, he has given to make an
atonement for the sin of the world.
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Verse 14. In whom we have
redemption
Who has paid down the redemption
price, even his own blood, that our sins might be cancelled,
and we made fit to be partakers of the inheritance among the
saints in light.
The clause, διατουαιματοςαυτου, Through his blood,
is omitted by ABCDEFG, and by most others of weight and
importance; by the Syriac, Arabic of Erpen, Coptic,
AEthiopic, Sahidic, some copies of the Vulgate and
by the Itala; and by most of the Greek fathers.
Griesbach has left it out of the text. It is likely that the
reading here is not genuine; yet that we have
redemption any other way than through the sacrifice of Christ,
the Scriptures declare not. The same phrase is used Ephesians
1:7, where there is no various reading in any of
the MSS., versions, or fathers.
The forgiveness of
sins
αφεσιντωναμαρτιων. The taking
away of sins; all the power, guilt, and
infection of sin. All sin of every kind, with all its
influence and consequences.
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Verse 15. Who is the image of the
invisible God
The counterpart of God
Almighty, and if the image of the invisible God,
consequently nothing that appeared in him could be that
image; for if it could be visible in the
Son, it could also be visible in the
Father; but if the Father be invisible,
consequently his image in the Son must be
invisible also. This is that form of God of
which he divested himself; the ineffable glory in which he not
only did not appear, as to its splendour and
accompaniments, but concealed also its essential
nature; that inaccessible light which no man, no created
being, can possibly see. This was that Divine nature, the
fulness of the Godhead bodily, which dwelt in
him.
The first-born of every
creature
I suppose this phrase to mean the
same as that, Philippians
2:9: God hath given him a name which is above every
name; he is as man at the head of all the
creation of God; nor can he with any propriety be considered
as a creature, having himself created all things, and
existed before any thing was made. If it be said that God
created him first, and that he, by a delegated power
from God, created all things, this is most flatly contradicted
by the apostle's reasoning in the 16th and 17th verses. Colossians
1:16,17 As the Jews term Jehovah becoro shel olam,
the first-born of all the world, or of all the
creation, to signify his having created or produced all
things; (see Wolfius in loc.) so Christ is here termed,
and the words which follow in the 16th and 17th Colossians
1:16,17verses are the proof of this. The phraseology is
Jewish; and as they apply it to the supreme Being merely to
denote his eternal pre-existence, and to point him out
as the cause of all things; it is most evident that St.
Paul uses it in the same way, and illustrates his meaning in
the following words, which would be absolutely absurd if we
could suppose that by the former he intended to convey any
idea of the inferiority of Jesus Christ.
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Verse 16.
For by him were all things created, two verses contain
parts of the same subject. I shall endeavour to distinguish
the statements of the apostle, and reason from them in such a
way as the premises shall appear to justify, without appealing
to any other scripture in proof of the doctrine which I
suppose these verses to vindicate.
Four things are here asserted: 1. That Jesus Christ
is the Creator of the universe; of all things visible and
invisible; of all things that had a beginning,
whether they exist in time or in eternity. 2.
That whatsoever was created was created FOR himself;
that he was the sole end of his own work. 3. That he
was prior to all creation, to all beings,
whether in the visible or invisible world. 4.
That he is the preserver and governor of all
things; for by him all things consist.
Now, allowing St. Paul to have understood the terms which
he used, he must have considered Jesus Christ as being truly
and properly God.
I. Creation is the proper work of an infinite, unlimited,
and unoriginated Being; possessed of all perfections in their
highest degrees; capable of knowing, willing, and working
infinitely, unlimitedly, and without control: and as creation
signifies the production of being where all was
absolute nonentity, so it necessarily implies that the
Creator acted of and from himself; for as,
previously to this creation, there was no being, consequently
he could not be actuated by any motive, reason, or
impulse, without himself; which would argue there was
some being to produce the motive or impulse, or
to give the reason. Creation, therefore, is the
work of him who is unoriginated, infinite, unlimited,
and eternal. But Jesus Christ is the Creator of all
things, therefore Jesus Christ must be, according to the
plain construction of the apostle's words, truly and properly
GOD.
II. As, previously to creation, there was no being
but God, consequently the great First Cause must, in
the exertion of his creative energy, have respect to himself
alone; for he could no more have respect to that which had
no existence, than he could be moved by
nonexistence, to produce existence or creation. The
Creator, therefore, must make every thing FOR himself.
Should it be objected that Christ created officially
or by delegation, I answer: This is impossible; for, as
creation requires absolute and unlimited power, or
omnipotence, there can be but one Creator; because it
is impossible that there can be two or more
Omnipotents, Infinites, or Eternals. It is therefore evident
that creation cannot be effected officially, or by
delegation, for this would imply a Being conferring
the office, and delegating such power; and
that the Being to whom it was delegated was a
dependent Being; consequently not unoriginated
and eternal; but this the nature of creation proves to
be absurd. 1. The thing being impossible in itself, because no
limited being could produce a work that necessarily requires
omnipotence. 2. It is impossible, because, if omnipotence be
delegated, he to whom it is delegated had it not
before, and he who delegates it ceases to have
it, and consequently ceases to be GOD; and the
other to whom it was delegated becomes God, because
such attributes as those with which he is supposed to be
invested are essential to the nature of God. On this
supposition God ceases to exist, though infinite and
eternal, and another not naturally infinite and
eternal becomes such; and thus an infinite and
eternal Being ceases to exist, and another infinite and
eternal Being is produced in time, and has a
beginning, which is absurd. Therefore, as Christ
is the Creator, he did not create by delegation,
or in any official way.
Again, if he had created by delegation or
officially, it would have been for that Being
who gave him that office, and delegated to him the
requisite power; but the text says that all things were
made BY him and FOR him, which is a
demonstration that the apostle understood Jesus Christ to be
truly and essentially God.
III. As all creation necessarily exists in
time, and had a commencement, and there was an
infinite duration in which it did not
exist, whatever was before or prior to that
must be no part of creation; and the Being who
existed prior to creation, and before all
things-all existence of every kind, must be the
unoriginated and eternal God: but St. Paul says, Jesus
Christ was before all things; ergo, the apostle
conceived Jesus Christ to be truly and essentially God.
IV. As every effect depends upon its cause,
and cannot exist without it; so creation, which is an
effect of the power and skill of the
Creator, can only exist and be preserved by a continuance of
that energy that first gave it being. Hence, God, as the
Preserver, is as necessary to the continuance of all
things, as God the Creator was to their original
production. But this preserving or continuing
power is here ascribed to Christ, for the apostle says,
And by him do all things consist; for as all being was
derived from him as its cause, so all being must
subsist by him, as the effect subsists
by and through its cause. This is another
proof that the apostle considered Jesus Christ to be truly and
properly God, as he attributes to him the preservation
of all created things, which property of preservation belongs
to God alone; ergo, Jesus Christ is, according to the plain
obvious meaning of every expression in this text, truly,
properly, independently, and essentially God.
Such are the reasonings to which the simple letter of these
two verses necessarily leads me. I own it is possible that I
may have misapprehended this awful subject, for humanum est
errare et nescire; but I am not conscious of the
slightest intentional flaw in the argument. Taking, therefore,
the apostle as an uninspired man, giving his own
view of the Author of the Christian religion, it appears,
beyond all controversy, that himself believed Christ Jesus to
be God; but considering him as writing under the
inspiration of the Holy Ghost, then we have, from the
plain grammatical meaning of the words which he has used, the
fullest demonstration (for the Spirit of God cannot
lie) that he who died for our sins and rose again for our
justification, and in whose blood we have redemption, was GOD
over all. And as God alone can give salvation to
men, and God only can remit sin; hence with the strictest
propriety we are commanded to believe on the Lord
Jesus, with the assurance that we shall be saved. Glory be
to God for this unspeakable gift! See my discourse on this
subject.
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Verse 17. See
Clarke on Colossians
1:16.
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Verse 18. He is the head of the
body
What the apostle has said in the two
preceding verses refers to the Divine nature of Jesus
Christ; he now proceeds to speak of his human nature,
and to show how highly that is exalted beyond all created
things, and how, in that, he is head of the
Church-the author and dispenser of light, life, and
salvation, to the Christian world; or, in other words, that
from him, as the man in whom the fulness of the Godhead
bodily dwelt, all the mercy and salvation of the Gospel system
is to be received.
The beginning, the first-born from
the dead
In 1 Corinthians
15:20, Christ is called the first-fruits of them that
slept; and here, the chief and first-born from the
dead; he being the first that ever resumed the natural
life, with the employment of all its functions, never more to
enter the empire of death, after having died a natural death,
and in such circumstances as precluded the possibility of
deception. The αρχη, chief, head, or first,
answers in this verse to the απαρχη, or first-fruits,
1 Corinthians
15:20. Jesus Christ is not only the first who rose from
the dead to die no more, but he is the first-fruits of human
beings; for as surely as the first-fruits were an
indication and pledge of the harvest, so surely was the
resurrection of Christ the proof that all mankind
should have a resurrection from the dead.
That in all-he might have the
pre-eminence
That he might be considered,
in consequence of his mediatorial office, as possessing the
first place in and being chief over all the
creation of God; for is it to be wondered at that the human
nature, with which the great Creator condescended to unite
himself, should be set over all the works of his hands?
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Verse 19. For it pleased the Father
that in him should all fulness dwell
As the words, the Father are not in the text, some
have translated the verse thus: For in him it seemed right
that all fulness should dwell; that is, that the
majesty, power, and goodness of God should be manifested in
and by Christ Jesus, and thus by him the Father reconciles all
things to himself. The πληρωμα, or fulness, must refer
here to the Divine nature dwelling in the man Christ Jesus.
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Verse 20. And, having made peace
through the blood of his cross
Peace
between God and man; for man being in a sinful state, and
there being no peace to the wicked, it required a
reconciliation to be made to restore peace between heaven and
earth; but peace could not be made without an atonement for
sin, and the consequence shows that the blood of Christ shed
on the cross was necessary to make this atonement.
To reconcile all things unto
himself
The enmity was on the part of the
creature; though God is angry with the wicked every
day, yet he is never unwilling to be reconciled. But
man, whose carnal mind is enmity to God, is naturally
averse from this reconciliation; it requires,
therefore, the blood of the cross to atone for the sin,
and the influence of the Spirit to reconcile the transgressor
to him against whom he has offended! See Clarke on 2 Corinthians
5:19.
Things in earth, or things in
heaven.
Much has been said on this very
obscure clause; but, as it is my object not to write
dissertations but notes, I shall not introduce
the opinions of learned men, which have as much ingenuity as
variety to recommend them. If the phrase be not a kind of
collective phrase to signify all the world, or all
mankind, as Dr. Hammond supposed the things in
heaven may refer, according to some, to those persons who
died under the Old Testament dispensation, and who could not
have a title to glory but through the sacrificial death of
Christ: and the apostle may have intended these merely to show
that without this sacrifice no human beings could be saved,
not only those who were then on the earth, and to whom in
their successive generations the Gospel should be preached,
but even those who had died before the incarnation; and, as
those of them that were faithful were now in a state of
blessedness, they could not have arrived there but through the
blood of the cross, for the blood of calves and goats
could not take away sin. After all, the apostle probably means
the Jews and the Gentiles; the state of the
former being always considered a sort of Divine or
celestial state, while that of the latter was reputed
to be merely earthly, without any mixture of
spiritual or heavenly good. It is certain that a
grand part of our Lord's design, in his incarnation and death,
was to reconcile the Jews and the Gentiles, and make them
one fold under himself, the great Shepherd and Bishop
of souls. That the enmity of the Jews was great against the
Gentiles is well known, and that the Gentiles held them in
supreme contempt is not less so. It was therefore an object
worthy of the mercy of God to form a scheme that might
reconcile these two grand divisions of mankind; and, as it was
his purpose to reconcile and make them one, we learn from this
circumstance, as well as from many others, that his design was
to save the whole human race.
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Verse 21. And you, that were
sometime alienated
All men are
alienated from God, and all are enemies in their
minds to him, and show it by their wicked works;
but this is spoken particularly of the Gentiles. The
word απαλλοτριοω, which we render to alienate, to
give to another, to estrange, expresses the
state of the Gentiles: while the Jews were, at least by
profession, dedicated to God, the Gentiles were
alienated, that is, given up to others; they
worshipped not the true God, but had gods many and lords many,
to whom they dedicated themselves, their religious service,
and their property. The verb αλλοτριοω, to alienate,
being compounded here with the preposition απο, from,
signifies to abalienate, to estrange utterly, to be
wholly the property of another. Thus the
Gentiles had alienated themselves from God, and were alienated
or rejected by him, because of their wickedness and idolatry.
Enemies in your
mind
They had the carnal mind, which
is enmity against God; and this was expressed in their outward
conduct by wicked works. See Clarke on Romans
5:10. The mind is taken here for all the soul, heart,
affections, passions,
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Verse 22. In the body of his
flesh
By Christ's assumption of a human
body, and dying for man, he has made an atonement for sin,
through which men become reconciled to God and to each other.
To present you holy
Having saved you from your sins.
Unblamable
Having filled you with his Spirit, and written his law in
your hearts, so that his love, shed abroad in your
hearts, becomes the principle and motive to every action. The
tree therefore being good, the fruit is also
good.
And unreprovable
For, being filled with love, joy, peace, meekness,
gentleness, and goodness, against these there is no law; and
as they were called to love God with all their heart, soul,
mind, and strength, and their neighbour as themselves, the
whole spirit and design of the law was fulfilled
in them, for love is the fulfilling of the law.
In his sight
At
the day of judgment. None can enjoy heaven who have not been
reconciled to God here, and shown forth the fruits of
that reconciliation in being made holy and
unblamable, that, when they come to be judged, they may
be found unreprovable.
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Verse 23. If ye continue in the
faith
This will be the case if you, who
have already believed in Christ Jesus, continue in that faith,
grounded in the knowledge and love of God, and
settled-made firm and perseveringly
steadfast, in that state of salvation.
And be not moved
away
Not permitting yourselves to be
seduced by false teachers.
The hope of the
Gospel
The resurrection of the body, and
the glorification of it and the soul together, in the realms
of blessedness. This is properly the Gospel HOPE.
To every creature which is under
heaven
A Hebraism for the whole human race,
and particularly referring to the two grand divisions of
mankind, the Jews and Gentiles; to both of these the Gospel
had been preached, and to each, salvation by Christ had been
equally offered. And as none had been excluded from the
offers of mercy, and Jesus Christ had tasted death for every
man, and the Jews and Gentiles, in their great corporate
capacity, had all been invited to believe the Gospel;
therefore, the apostle concludes that the Gospel was preached
to every creature under heaven, as being offered without
restrictions or limitations to these two grand divisions of
mankind, including the whole human race.
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Verse 24. Rejoice in my sufferings
for you
St. Paul always considers his
persecutions, as far as the Jews were concerned in them, as
arising from this simple circumstance-his asserting that God
had chosen the Gentiles, and called them to enjoy the
very same privileges with the Jews, and to
constitute one Church with them.
It was on this account that the Jews attempted his life at
Jerusalem, when, in order to save it, he was obliged to appeal
to Caesar; the consequences of which persecution he was now
suffering in his imprisonment in Rome. See Clarke on Colossians
4:2.
That which is behind of the
afflictions of Christ
I have still some
afflictions to pass through before my race of glory be
finished; afflictions which fall on me on account of the
Gospel; such as Christ bore from the same persecuting people.
It is worthy of remark that the apostle does not say
παθηματα, the passion of Christ, but simply θλιψεις,
the afflictions; such as are common to all good men who
bear a testimony against the ways and fashions of a wicked
world. In these the apostle had his share, in the
passion of Christ he could have none. He trod the wine
press alone, of the people there were none with him.
His body's sake
Believers, both of Jews and Gentiles, who form that one
body, of which Christ is the head.
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Verse 25. Whereof I am made a
minister
Having received especial
commission from God to preach salvation to the Gentiles.
According to the
dispensation
κατατηνοικονομιαν. According
to the Gospel economy or institution; the
scheme or plan of salvation by Christ crucified.
To fulfil the word of
God
The Greek πληρωσαιθονλογοντου θεου may
be translated, fully to preach the doctrine of God. See
Romans
15:19, and the note there. Were we to take the word in its
common meaning, it might signify to accomplish the purpose of
God, as predicted by the prophets.
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Verse 26. The mystery which hath
been hid
The mystery is this: that God had
designed to grant the Gentiles the same privileges with the
Jews, and make them his people who were not his people. That
this is what St. Paul means by the mystery, see Ephesians
3:3,
Made manifest to his
saints
It is fully known to all who have
embraced the doctrine of Christ crucified; to all Christians.
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Verse 27. The riches of the
glory
God manifests to these how abundantly
glorious this Gospel is among the Gentiles; and how effectual
is this doctrine of Christ crucified to the salvation of
multitudes.
Which is Christ in you, the hope
of glory
In this and the following verse
there are several remarkable particulars:-
I. We find here the sum and substance of the
apostle's preaching.
1. He preached Christ, as the only Saviour of
sinners.
2. He proclaimed this Christ as being in them; for
the design of the Gospel is to put men in possession of the
Spirit and power of Christ, to make them partakers of the
Divine nature, and thus prepare them for an eternal union with
himself. Should it be said that the preposition εν should be
translated among, it amounts to the same; for Christ
was among them, to enlighten, quicken, purify, and
refine them, and this he could not do without dwelling
in them.
3. He preached this present and indwelling
Christ as the hope of glory; for no man could
rationally hope for glory who had not the pardon of his
sins, and whose nature was not sanctified; and none could have
pardon but through the blood of his cross; and none could have
glorification but through the indwelling, sanctifying Spirit
of Christ.
II. We see the manner in which the apostles
preached.
1. They warned every one-they showed every man his
danger; they proved that both Jews and Gentiles were under
sin; and that the wrath of God was revealed against all
ungodliness and unrighteousness of men; that time and life
were uncertain; and that now was the day of salvation.
2. They taught every man in all wisdom-they
considered the world in a state of ignorance and darkness,
every man being through sin ignorant of himself and God; and
the apostles taught them to know themselves, viz., that they
were sinners, wretched, helpless, and perishing; and they
taught them to know God, in his purity, justice, and truth,
and in his mercy through Christ Jesus. Thus they instructed
men in all wisdom; for the knowledge of a man's self and his
God constitutes all that is essentially necessary to be known
for present and eternal happiness.
III. The end which the apostles had in view in thus
preaching Christ: to present every man perfect in Christ
Jesus. The words τελειονενχριστω, perfect in or through
Christ, signify two things: 1. That they should be
thoroughly instructed in the doctrines of Christianity,
so that they should know the truth as it is in Jesus. 2. That
they should be made partakers of the grace of the Gospel, so
that they might be saved from all their sins, and be filled
with His fulness. The succeeding chapter amply proves that
nothing less than this entered into the apostle's design. Men
may dispute as they please about Christian
perfection, but without it no soul shall ever see God.
He who is not saved from all sin here, cannot, to his
joy, see God hereafter. This perfection of which the apostle
speaks, and to which he laboured to bring all men, was
something to be attained in and through Christ. The
apostles preached Christ in the people; and they
preached him as crucified for mankind. He who died for
them was to live in them, and fill their whole souls
with his own purity. No indwelling sin can be tolerated
by an indwelling Christ; for he came into the world to
save his people from their sins.
IV. We see who were the objects of the apostle's ministry:
the Jews and Gentiles; πανταανθρωπον, every man, the whole
human race. Every man had sinned; and for every
sinner Christ had died; and he died for them that they might
be saved from all their sins. The apostles never restrained
the offers of salvation; they made them frankly to all,
believing that it was the will of God that all should believe
and be saved: hence they warned and taught every man that they
might, at the day of judgment, present every man perfect in
Christ Jesus; for, although their own personal ministry could
not reach all the inhabitants of the earth, yet it is by the
doctrines which they preached, and by the writings which they
have left on record, that the earth is to be filled with the
knowledge and glory of God, and the souls of men brought to
the enjoyment of the fulness of the blessing of the Gospel of
peace.
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Verse 29. Whereunto I also
labour
In order to accomplish this end, I
labour with the utmost zeal and earnestness; and with all that
strength with which God has most powerfully furnished me.
Whoever considers the original words, αγωνιζομενοςκατατην
ενεργειαναυτουτηνενεργουμενηνενδυναμει, will find that no
verbal translation can convey their sense. God worked
energetically in St. Paul, and he wrought
energetically with God; and all this was in reference to
the salvation of mankind.
1. THE preceding chapter contains the highest truths in the
Christian religion, conveyed in language peculiar to this
apostle; a language never taught by man, clothing ideas as
vast as the human mind can grasp, and both coming immediately
from that inspiration of the Almighty which giveth
understanding.
2. What the apostle says on the Godhead of Christ has
already been distinctly noted; and from this we must conclude
that, unless there be some secret way of understanding the
16th and 17th verses, Colossians
1:16,17which God has nowhere revealed, taken in their
sober and rational sense and meaning they must for ever settle
this very important point. Let any man of common sense and
reason hear these words, whose mind had not been previously
warped by any sentiment on the subject, and who only knew, in
religious matters, this one great truth, that there is a God,
and that he made and governs all things; and then let him be
asked, Of whom doth the apostle speak this? Would he not
immediately answer, He speaketh of God? As to
the difficulties on this subject, we must consider them
difficulties rather to our limited intellect, than as
belonging to the subject. We can know but little of an
infinite and eternal Being; nothing, properly speaking, but
what himself is pleased to reveal. Let us receive, this
with gratitude and reverence. See my discourse on the sum and
substance of apostolic preaching.
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Copyright Statement
The Adam Clarke Commentary is a derivative of an
electronic edition prepared by GodRules.net.
Bibliography
Information
Clarke, Adam. "Commentary
on Colossians 1". "The Adam Clarke Commentary".
<http://www.studylight.org/com/acc/view.cgi?book=col&chapter=001>.
1832.
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