As we begin our study of the Book of Colossians, let us recognize that the Apostle Paul wrote this letter (epistle) in accordance with the information that God and the Lord Jesus Christ revealed to him.
Colossians 1:1 and 2:
1:1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by means of (the) intention of God, and Timothy, the brother – .2to the holy and believing brothers in Christ in Colosse; grace to you and peace from God our Father.
Paul begins by identifying very clearly whom this letter was from – first by name: Paul; and next he identifies himself by 'job-title' or 'work-function' relative-to his working or service relationship with Christ Jesus: apostle. An "apostle" is a person sent-forth or sent-away by someone on a specific mission or assignment to someone else, and in the context we see that Paul was sent-forth by the resurrected Christ Jesus. He was an apostle of or belonging-to Christ Jesus by means of the intention of God (through God's will). The will of God was the action or agency by way of which the initiated progress passed-through in order to reach its accomplishment; it was interposed between the start and the result of him being an apostle of Christ Jesus. Christ Jesus did not apostle Paul without this being God's will.
Paul had not come up with this idea, he had not decided all by himself that he would make himself an apostle of Christ Jesus, nor did some committee or organization get-together and vote Paul into being an apostle of Christ Jesus. There was not some "unknown force" which was driving him to do the things he was doing, nor was he deluded into thinking that he was somebody else, nor did he decide that he was "good enough" to be an apostle to his neighbors or to the whole world, nor had he "forced" God or Christ Jesus into making him an apostle!
When Paul writes "Christ Jesus" he is emphasizing the truth that the Lord Jesus Christ is the resurrected, anointed-one of God. The word "Christ" means the "anointed-one" or "Messiah." In the lands and during the time-period of the writing of the Bible, holy oil was poured on the high priest of God to begin his ministry for God, and it was also used to anoint kings. Many people and things were anointed with holy oil to signify their making holy (sanctified) for a specific purpose, etc, which can be read about in many scriptures in the Bible (refer to Exodus 30:22-33; Acts 2:36, and 4:27, and 10:38).
The word "Jesus" is explained in Matthew 1:21 by the Angel Gabriel when he spoke to Joseph:
Matthew 1:21:
.21She [Mary] will bring-forth a son and you [Joseph] will call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."
"Jesus" means "God saves / Jehovah (Yahweh) the Savior," and the Lord Jesus Christ was given that name "Jesus" because he is the one who carried-out God's will to make it available for people to be saved, to be made-safe. It is by means of Jesus, the Christ, that people are able to be saved and thereby have a true and vital spiritual relationship with the only true God. Jesus the Christ is God's son – he is alive today! Christ Jesus is now at God's right-side, second-in-command to God his Father.
Let us re-read the first verse of Colossians:
Colossians 1:1:
1:1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by means of (the) intention of God, and Timothy, the brother –
Paul writes that this letter was also from a person named Timothy, identifying him as "the brother." Whose brother was Timothy? He was not the natural brother of every person in Colosse with the same mother and/or father, nor is this referring to the fact that everyone has the same blood flowing through their veins passed down from Adam and Eve. But here Paul is referring to the truth that Timothy had received the gift of holy spirit from God by means of the Lord Jesus Christ, just the same as every other holy-person (sanctified-person, Christian, saint, child of God) including Paul himself. He was the brother of all of them in the spirit category because God is the Father of all those who have holy spirit-life within them.
Today, during the time we live in, which is after the day of Pentecost (recorded in the Book of Acts chapter 2), God makes it available for mankind to receive holy spirit-life when people believe what He has given to be believed - which is clearly stated in the Book of Romans chapter 10:
Romans 10:8(b)-10:
…This is the spoken-matter of belief which we herald-forth
.9that if-ever you may express-agreement in your mouth (regarding the) Lord Jesus Christ and you may believe in your heart that God raised him up out-from dead-people you will be saved,
.10for with (the) heart it is believed into righteousness and with (the) mouth agreement-is-expressed into salvation.
God gives this person His gift of holy spirit by means of the Lord Jesus Christ by His grace and he/she becomes a child of God. This child of God has a vital, spiritual relationship with God, his Father.
Returning to verse 2 of Colossians, it says:
Colossians 1:2:
.2to the holy and believing brothers in Christ in Colosse; grace to you and peace from God our Father.
This letter is addressed to the:
…brothers within the sphere of action of Christ Jesus.
Paul's greeting to the holy and believing brothers in Christ in Colosse was: "grace to you and peace from God our Father." This was not some 'nice-phrase' that Paul made-up in his own mind thinking that it sounds good or it might "bless them" - no! - Paul was writing by revelation from God or the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace is what is freely bestowed without any merit on the recipient's part; it includes reference to the attitude and quality of the one giving something favorable to another. Grace is not bestowed because somebody deserves a wage that is owed for something they said or did, nor because they begged so hard, nor because they forced the giver to give! Grace is bestowed because the giver wants to give by his own freedom of will to the recipient - it is completely unmerited favor from the giver to the recipient. Here, grace is being given to the brothers from God "our" Father.
And peace! Oh, how everybody talks about peace and of wanting peace and striving for peace and fighting on behalf of peace, etc! Paul writes that peace is given to the brothers from God "our" Father. Peace is a tranquil-harmony without strife. We may think of peace as the opposite of war, the opposite of conflict, the opposite of being at odds with the other party. Who are the other parties as far as the holy-people are concerned? God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
By using the word “our” in the phrase “God our Father” Paul is emphasizing and reminding the readers of this letter of the truth that God is the Father of all holy-people in the spirit category.
[Reference: Acts 16:1-3; I Corinthians 1:17; II Corinthians 1:1 and 2; Ephesians 1:1 and 2, 4:11; Hebrews 13:23.]
.3We thank God (the) Father of our Lord Jesus Christ always praying concerning you, .4having heard your belief in Christ Jesus and the love1 which you have into all the holy-people .5because-of the hope, the (hope) being laid-away for you in the heavens which you heard-beforehand in the word of the truth of the good-message,
The verb "to thank" in the Greek comes from the same root word as the word "grace" plus the word "well" or "well-off." Therefore to thank somebody is done by the freedom of will of the recipient expressing well his gratitude to the giver of the grace (the bestowed unmerited or undeserved favor) given to and received by him. It is not a forced or obligated "thank you"!
Paul and Timothy thanked God. Whom did they thank? God Who is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. The only true God is the Lord Jesus Christ's God (his First, Superior or Ultimate One, the One Who has power, executes judgment, and emanates what He is, His power and light) and God is also his Father because it was God who supplied the seed, to Mary, plus God gave Jesus Christ holy spirit when he was baptized by John the Baptist during his earthly ministry, plus God gave Jesus Christ a spiritual body with its holy spirit-life when He raised him from among the dead-people. The resurrected Christ is now Lord of all holy-people. The word "Lord" refers to a master or an owner, one who has the authority or authoritative-power, the one from whom the directions and instructions are given and who is to be obeyed, the one who has the dominion over and exercises his lordship in relation to that-which his title of "Lord" or "Master" is being associated. Here in the Book of Colossians Paul gives Jesus Christ his title of "Lord" (refer to also Acts 2:36).
Paul writes: we presently and actively thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, always praying concerning you (constantly communicating to and with God about you Colossian holy-people), since we have already heard what you have evidenced which is your belief in Christ Jesus (the faith or trust you have within the sphere of action of Christ Jesus manifested in the walk/behavior category) and the love1 which you have into all the holy-people (you hold and manifest Godly-love directed to all, not just some, but all Christians). They were not limiting the evidencing of their love for only a certain so-called 'special' group or an 'inner circle' as a 'class above the rest' or showing preferential treatment to some and not others; but they had Godly-love for all the holy-people.
The word "love1" or the verb "to love1" comes from the Greek word agape which is God's kind of love. To love with His love means to love the same way as God loves, to manifest God's love towards another, whether it is towards God Himself, the Lord Jesus Christ, yourself, your Christian neighbor, or towards anyone else. God tells His children today (all who have the spirit of Christ within us) how to Godly-love by means of His previously-revealed written Word and also via our holy spirit-life whereby we receive information from Him regarding how to love in different specific situations. It is the carrying out of God's commandments, His Word, which is the correct usage or way to manifest God's kind of love according to His will (refer to I Corinthians chapter 13 and I John 5:1-3). It is not the same as the brotherly or friendly kind of love, nor is it the same as the emotional/feelings/sexual kind of love.
Why did the Colossian holy-people have the belief in Christ Jesus and the Godly-love into all the holy-people? On account of the hope (the expectation of something future coming to pass), the hope which is presently being laid-away for you (laid up for preservation separated from you right now but it is in store for you to have at a future time) in/within the heavens (literally referring to the areas above the earth, figuratively in this context referring to God's spirit realm)…. The plural word "heavens" gives great emphasis and expansive greatness to God’s spirit realm.
We thank God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ always praying concerning you, having heard your belief in Christ Jesus and the Godly-love which you have into all the holy-people because-of the hope, the hope being laid-away for you in the heavens, which you previously heard in the word of the truth of the good-message (within the spoken-account of that-which is truth which is the gospel, the evangel, the message that is well).
The hope Paul is referring to is the definite hope of Christ's coming to be present and his carrying-out of all that God asks him to do at that time in order to put everything in proper order for God both in the spirit realm and in the physical/natural realm. This was not an "iffy" sort of hoping that something would happen sometime. This was and still is a definite hope that will definitely occur at a future time because God has said so!
[Reference: Luke 19:20; I Corinthians 15:51-58; Ephesians 1:13-16; I Thessalonians 4:13-18; II Timothy 2:15, 4:8; Hebrews 6:17-20; I Peter 1:3-5. For more details regarding this hope, you may read my studies on I Thessalonians, II Thessalonians, and chapter 15 of I Corinthians.]
Verses 6-8:
.6the (good-message) being present into you according as also in all the world, it is bearing-fruit-to-itself and being increased according as also in you from which day you heard and you fully-knew the grace of God in truth .7according as you learned from Epaphras, the loved1 slave-together with us, who is a believing minister of Christ on our behalf, .8the (person) also having made-clear to us your love1 in spirit;
This is the good-message being present into you (it has definitely come directed-to you, it has arrived and is now being near-by or beside you) just as within all the world (no part of God's ordered arrangement that He created has been missed, the good-message is available in all the world). This good-message is:
More people are believing God's Word and thus are receiving God's gift of holy spirit and thus more of the word of the truth which is the good-message is being made known and revealed to these holy-people via their holy spirit-life.
The good-message is bearing fruit to itself and being increased according as also among you holy-people away-from (since) the day that you heard (the words spoken) and you had full, clear and exact personal-knowledge of the grace of God in truth (God's unmerited or undeserved favor being bestowed by Him within the sphere of action of His essential reality, inherent verity) according as you learned from Epaphras.
These Colossian people had already heard and believed the good-message thereby they became holy-people, and they had learned about the grace of God in truth from Epaphras. Paul describes him as: the loved1 slave-together with us (he is loved by God and by myself and Timothy with God's kind of love, and he is a slave in the service category in conjunction with us, our joint or co slave)….
A slave is one who is bound to serve his master. This service as a slave meant that his whole being was at the service of or in service to that one master, not serving anybody or anything else! In the lands and during the time-period of the writing of the Bible, a master was obligated to take-care of his slave (bond-servant) and the slave was obligated to do all his master would ask of him. It was a mutually-beneficial relationship between the master and his slave. Epaphras served the resurrected Christ together with Paul and Timothy.
Paul writes: Epaphras, the loved1 slave-together with us, who is a believing minister (adjectively described as: a faithful, trusting person relative-to God, a believer, while serving to benefit others, not 'being-subject' to them but doing work to bring them profit) of or belonging-to whom? Christ. Epaphras is a believing minister of Christ on behalf of us (in our interests), and he is the one who also made your Godly-love in spirit clear (plain or evident) to us.
He had given them a report concerning the state of the Colossian holy-people's walk/behavior, and part of it was that they were manifesting Godly-love within the sphere of action of their holy spirit-life towards one another (their holy spirit was the efficient and instrumental cause emanating from within them of their evidencing Godly-love).
[Reference: I Corinthians 1:11, 3:6 and 7; Ephesians 2:4-10; Philemon 23.]
Verses 9-12:
.9because-of-this we also, from which day we heard, do not stop praying and asking-for-ourselves on your behalf in order that you may be filled (with) the full-knowledge of His intention in all spiritual wisdom and understanding .10to walk worthily of the Lord into all pleasing, bearing-fruit in all good work and being increased with the full-knowledge of God, .11being caused-to-be-able in all ability according to the strongness of His glory into all patient-endurance and patience, with joy, .12and unitedly being thankful to the Father, the (One) having made you sufficient into the part of the lot of the holy-people in the light –
Paul continues: on this account we (myself and Timothy) also, since the very day that we heard Epaphras' report, do not willingly come to an end (cause ourselves to cease the activity of) praying (constantly communicating to/with God, the general speaking towards/with God) and asking for ourselves (as an inferior asks a superior for something to be given to him) in your interest for the purpose and result that:
…you would be filled (caused to be filled, made full) with the full, clear and exact personal-knowledge of God's intention (His will) within the sphere of action of all/every spiritual wisdom and understanding. Wisdom is the skillful or expert application of personal-knowledge. Understanding is having put things together in the mind gaining insight into those things. Here Paul is referring to wisdom and understanding which belongs-to, is determined-by, influenced-by and proceeds-from spirit (the original source being God Who is Holy Spirit and His information can be revealed via the holy spirit-life within every holy-person – see I Corinthians 12:7-12)…
Why?
…to actively walk worthily of the Lord (literally: to move the feet around, go on foot; figuratively: to walk around during the everyday living of life, behaving or conducting yourselves in the manner that is of equal-value or of like-worth with the Master) into all pleasing (with a view to, resulting-in all/everything that is agreeable, acceptable and gratifying to/with the Lord Jesus Christ, and consequently also pleasing to God his Father and your Father spiritually),…
[Reference: Acts 26:18; I Corinthians 2:12-16; II Corinthians 3:5 and 6; Ephesians 1:15-17, 2:10, 3:16, 5:8-10; Philippians 4:6, I Thessalonians 4:1.]
Verses 13 and 14:
.13Who rescued us out-from the authority of the darkness and changed (our) standing-place into the kingdom of the son of His love1 .14in whom we have the full-redemption, the dismissal of the sins,
Paul now teaches (verses 13-20) about what the only true God and the Lord Jesus Christ have accomplished. God, Who is the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Father of all holy-people spiritually, is the One Who has rescued us (God has already delivered, snatched or drawn us to Himself – all holy-people) out from being inside of the authority of the darkness (the authoritative-power belonging-to and proceeding-from the devil/satan's spirit realm, the total absence of light having rejected God Who is Light) and God has changed our standing-place (God made us to stand in another place, caused us to stand somewhere other than in darkness, He removed or transferred us) – where? – into the kingdom of the son of His love1.
God rescued us out-from the authority of the darkness and changed our standing-place into (from outside to being inside, into the interior of, the opposite to "out-from" – God changed our standing-place into) the kingdom of the son of His Godly-love (into all that is contained within the kingly or royal dominion and government and rule and territory and power, etc, belonging to God's son who proceeds or issues from God's love in manifestation).
The Lord Jesus Christ is God's son, and Christ continues to be loved by God. When God raised His son from being among the dead-people He placed him into the position of being the authority of His kingdom, and so at the moment it is Christ's kingdom. Christ is second-in-command to God and is subject to none except God Himself! We Christians are now in/within the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is where we belong. This is where we are standing. This is our position. This is where we have our life. This is where we live our life. Christ is our life from God's viewpoint because we have the spirit of Christ within us, holy spirit-life.
It is within the sphere of action of the Lord Jesus Christ that we (all of us holy-people) presently and actively have (hold) the full-redemption. The word translated as "full-redemption" means the complete releasing or liberation on receipt of a ransom away-from captivity or bondage with its due guilt or punishment because of sin which has been previously committed. Complete-redemption is brought-about by complete-expiation. We have the full-redemption, and the dismissal of the sins (the discharge, the setting-free, the leaving or letting go from concern, the remission of debt or punishment owed due to the sins which are acts of missing-the-mark of God's truth). The remission of the debt owed by us, which indeed would have resulted in our punishment, has been accomplished by the full payment made for us, full expiation, by the Lord Jesus Christ.
Sin relative to mankind originated with Adam's rejection of what God gave him to believe and resulted in Adam's loss of the holy spirit-life which God had given to him upon the condition that he would believe what God told him and act/behave accordingly (refer to my study of Appendix to Romans, the fall of Adam).
Once a person has received the gift of holy spirit since the day of Pentecost (Acts 2), which is permanent holy spirit-life, sin can never be calculated to him/her by the only true God. All who believe what God says regarding Himself and His son, the Lord Jesus Christ, will receive new, holy, spiritual bodies like the holy spiritual body that the Lord Jesus Christ has already received.
Jesus Christ was dead but now he is alive. God marked Jesus Christ out as the son of God by raising him up from among the dead-people giving him his spiritual body. God gave him the name that is above every other name, designating the resurrected Jesus being Lord and Christ, and his name includes the name – SON – God’s son; he inherits everything that the firstborn son should inherit from his Father, the only true God. The word ‘son’ emphasizes origin, quality, and essence. The spirit of holiness is the spiritual essence of the resurrected Christ Jesus. Refer to Matthew 3:17, 17:5; John 17:1; Acts 2:21 and 38, 3:6 and 16, 4:7-12 and 30, 9:20, 13:33, 26:23; Romans 1:3, 4 and 9, 5:10, 8:3, 29 and 32; I Corinthians 1:9, chapter 15; II Corinthians 1:19; Galatians 2:20, 4:4 and 6; Ephesians 1:19-23, 4:13; Philippians 2:9 and 10; Colossians 1:13 and 18; I Thessalonians 1:10; II Thessalonians 3:6; Hebrews 1:1-8, 3:6, 4:14, 5:5-10, 6:6, 7:3, 21 and 28, 10:29; II Peter 1:17; I John 1:3 and 7, 2:22-24, 3:8 and 23, 4:9, 10, 14 and 15, 5:5, 9-13 and 20; II John 1:3 and 9; Revelation 2:18.
Re-reading verses 13 and 14: .13Who rescued us out-from the authority of the darkness and changed (our) standing-place into the kingdom of the son of His love1 .14in whom we have the full-redemption, the dismissal of the sins….
[Reference: Matthew 3:17; Luke 22:53; Acts 13:33, 26:18; Romans 1:3 and 4, 3:21-26; Ephesians 1:6, 7 and 19-23, 6:12.]
Verses 15-17:
.15who is (the) image of God the unseen, firstborn of all creation .16because all-things were created in him in the heavens and on the earth, the seen-things and the unseen-things whether thrones or lordships or rulerships or authorities, because all-things were created2 by means of him and into him .17and he is before all-things and all-things stood-together2 in him,
Paul continues regarding the son of God's love, the resurrected Christ Jesus, and all he now has, as a result of God having raised him up and having placed him in the position of God's second-in-command and having given him the responsibility of being ruler of the kingdom at the present time.
The Lord Jesus Christ presently and actively is the image (icon, resemblance, representation) of God Who is the unseen God. God is what? Unseen. God Himself is not perceived with the eyes of mankind so as to understand Him in the mind's thoughts as a result of physical sight. God is unseen. He is not perceived with the eyes of man, not even for an instant! God Who is Holy Spirit cannot be seen – but the Lord Jesus Christ has been seen and will be seen with the physical eyes!
Christ is also firstborn of all creation (the first one born, begotten, brought-forth relative-to all creation). “Creation” is that-which has been brought into being or established and is still in progress – every bit of God's creation is included. The word translated "firstborn" means that Christ is the first one born or given-birth-to, indicating that at least one more is/will-be born after this first one. This word emphasizes birth, being brought-forth.
Even though God is the One Who provided the seed so that Jesus Christ could be born in the physical and fleshy realm and thus able to carry-out all that was necessary for the complete redemption of mankind, etc, this statement of Christ being 'firstborn of all creation' refers to when God raised him up giving him his new spiritual body having God's life (holy spirit life) permanently. Thus the resurrected Christ became God's firstborn son permanently within God's kingdom which He has now placed under Christ's rulership. Christ is the firstborn of all creation. There have been others since the day of Pentecost who became born (holy-people have received the gift of holy spirit thereby becoming children of God) and there will be others born of all creation (all who will be resurrected to eternal life receiving spiritual bodies), but there can only be one firstborn.
In the lands and time-period of the writing of the Bible, it was usual that the first male child born in a family received all the rights, abilities, authority, etc, due to him from his father, unless that firstborn rejected his father and God's Word; this is illustrated in many records regarding God's people throughout the Bible. God has made the Lord Jesus Christ to be the firstborn of all His creation when God raised him out-from the rest of the dead-people. Christ now has this position – firstborn. He is the first one brought-forth from among all of God's creation to be born of/by God, Who is Holy Spirit, having been given his spiritual body with its holy spirit-life on a permanent basis. He is God's firstborn son and therefore he has received all the rights, etc, of this privileged position - permanently!
Christ is the firstborn of all creation. Why? The objective cause being that all things were created in Christ (all things were caused by God, when He raised him up, to be brought into being or established, and still in progress, within the sphere of action of Christ)…
whether:
…the objective cause being that all-things were created and are still created (by God) by means of him (through Christ)….
Christ is the agency by way of which the initiated progress passed-through in order to reach the accomplishment of all-things being created by God when God raised him up. All things were created and continue created by means of Christ and into him (with a view to, directed to, for Christ).
God decided that the Christ was going to be firstborn of all He created (Genesis 3:15) and when God raised the Lord Jesus Christ up giving him his new spiritual body and placed him at His right-side second-in-command to Him, it became a reality. The full and exercised manifestation in every category of this reality will come to pass when God gives Christ the "go-ahead" to gather all holy-people with him and then fulfill the rest of what God asks him to do, and eventually give his kingdom over to God (refer to I Corinthians 15:23-57).
Today, every holy-person with holy spirit-life within them is already part of Christ's kingdom, plus God's angels are under Christ's authority. As we await Christ's coming to be present, Christ is super-above all authorities and powers whether spiritual or fleshly, because there is no-one or no spirit or nothing which can remove him from the authoritative position which God has given to him (refer to Ephesians 1:20-23).
It is only by the grace of God and the Lord Jesus Christ that the devil and his angels (devil-spirits, demons), and people who do not believe what God says being true to/for themselves, are able to remain in existence today. The only reason that anything in this present heaven and earth is still active is because of Christ, for without him all of what God had created, including mankind, would have been destroyed by God Himself in righteous judgment because of the creation's unbelief and consequent rejection of God's words to His creation! However, now the resurrected Christ has given the creation (the heaven and the earth and all who believe God's Word regarding God and His son, the Lord Jesus Christ) the hope according as God has promised (verse 5 above).
Again, verses 15 and 16: .15who is (the) image of God the unseen, firstborn of all creation .16because all-things were created in him in the heavens and on the earth, the seen-things and the unseen-things whether thrones or lordships or rulerships or authorities, because all-things were created2 by means of him and into him.
Verse 17 continues: and he himself (emphatically the same one who is the son of God's love, the Lord Christ Jesus) presently and actively is before all-things (in front of, prior to, in advance or ahead of all-things, with respect to place, position, superiority, rank, etc) and all the things were and still are actively standing-together in him (all things stand in conjunction together within the sphere of action of Christ who is the instrumental and efficient cause of all the things standing together, as opposed to falling – without him everything would fall and thereby cease to exist). Christ is above all, excluding God his Father - this does not mean that Christ is controlling everything that any person or spirit does. Every person and spirit has been given freedom of will to believe and obey what God and the Lord Jesus Christ gives to believe and obey - some people and spirits have already made their decision and some are presently making their decision, however, in the future all will receive the righteous outcome of their decision from God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
[Reference: Psalm 2:7; Acts 13:33; Romans 1:20, 8:14-29; I Corinthians 8:6, and 15:23-28; II Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 1:10, 20-23, 3:9-11; Philippians 2:9-11; I Timothy 1:17; Hebrews 1:1-9, 11:27. For more information regarding Christ's coming to be present and the future of all of God's creation, you may read my studies on I Thessalonians, II Thessalonians, and chapter 15 of I Corinthians, plus there are many other references to that time-period throughout the Bible including the Book of Revelation.]
Verses 18-20:
.18and he is the head of the body of the church, who is the beginning, firstborn of the dead-people, in order that he may become being-first in all-things .19because He considered-it-good to dwell-down all the fullness in him .20and to fully-reconcile all-things by means of him into Him, having made-peace by means of the blood of his cross, (even) by means of him, whether the-things on the earth or the-things in the heavens –
And he himself (emphatically the same one who is the son of God's love, the Lord Christ Jesus) presently and actively is the head (chief-part) of the body of the church. The church is Christ's body; all holy-people are limbs of Christ's body because of having received holy spirit-life, which is the spirit of Christ.
The word "church" comes from the Greek word ekklesia, which comes from two words meaning "out from" and "called," so together it means "called out from." A church is an assembly of people called out from other people for any reason. It does not refer to a particular type of building or a house, even though the church or assembly may meet in a particular type of building or in a house. In this letter, Paul writes exactly what group of people are called out from-among other people to/for whom Christ is the head: this church is Christ's body (refer to Ephesians 1:22 and 23). This church is Christ's body, and the body could not live or function without the head. Christ is the head, from where the rest of the body is to take its instructions!
Also, the Lord Jesus Christ presently and actively is:
Why is Christ (the head of the body of the church, who is the beginning) firstborn of the dead-people? For the purpose and result that he himself would become presently and actively being-first in all-things (come to pass to be the one holding the first-place, the foremost or highest in dignity, rank, place, order, etc, precedence, the one being preeminent in every or all things). At a future time there will be other people resurrected to eternal life being given their spiritual bodies (refer to I Corinthians chapter 15), but Christ is being-first.
This is because God supposed it well to permanently dwell (settle-down, fixedly house or inhabit) all the fullness in him (every filling, the full contents, the result of God's action of filling, all the fulfillment within the Lord Jesus Christ who is God's loved son). This does not mean that God is squashed inside of Christ! - but it means that all the fullness of what God is and has is within Christ. Christ has all of what God has given to him and made available for him to use because he now has this authority and power permanently dwelling within him.
In addition, God considered it good to fully-reconcile all-things by means of Christ into Him. To "fully-reconcile" means to absolutely-change, and that great degree of change is on the part of one party only, and is induced by some action on the part of another party. In this context, God supposed it well to actively cause all things (which includes mankind) to change away-from their former relationship with God in response to an action on God's part by means of (through) the Lord Jesus Christ to help bring this about. Without the Lord Jesus Christ no-one or nothing could be fully reconciled into God. How did Christ make full reconciliation available? Christ has made-peace (having brought-about or produced and completed tranquil harmony without strife) by means of the blood of his cross (his blood was shed because he was the sacrifice hung on the cross, the method of death for criminals). The blood of the cross of Jesus Christ was/is the agency by way of which the initiated progress passes-through in order to reach the accomplishment of peace.
You may be interested to know that when we read the word translated "cross" it means a "stake" and so we ought to realize that Jesus Christ was crucified on a stake, as the trunk of a tree or single log of wood stuck upright into a hole in the ground. Thus his hands would not have been out to either side nailed on another piece of wood, but they were stretched above his head and nailed in that position which made it much more difficult for him to breath, etc. "The blood of the cross" of Christ refers to everything involved in the complete sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ on that cross. God had provided this sacrifice for mankind but it was Jesus Christ's own freedom of will to do God's will and offer the sacrifice of himself to God. This includes his death and his burial, with the result being his resurrection from the dead which proved God's having accepted his sacrifice, and his ascension into heaven, plus his being seated at this present time at the right-side of God in the heavens, and having shed forth the gift of holy spirit making it available to mankind – he could not have accomplished all he has done if he were still dead nailed to the cross or still dead buried in the earth!
The Lord Jesus Christ is the head of the body of the church, who is the beginning, firstborn of the dead-people, in order that he may become being-first in all-things because God considered-it-good to dwell-down all the fullness in him and to fully-reconcile all-things by means of Christ into God, having made-peace by means of Christ's blood of his cross, emphatically by means of Christ, whether the-things on the earth or whether the-things in the heavens (all inclusive, the things of the physical/natural realm and of the spirit realm).
[Reference: Leviticus 17:11; Psalm 8:6; Matthew chapters 27-28:18; Romans 5:9-11; I Corinthians 15:20-28; II Corinthians 5:18; Ephesians 1:7-10, and 19-23; 2:13-18, 4:15 and 16; Hebrews 1:1-2:28, and chapter 9; Revelation 1:5, 3:14.]
Verses 21 and 22:
.21even you at-some-time being having been alienated2 and enemies with the mind-process in the works, the evil (works), .22but now you were fully-reconciled in the body of his flesh by means of the death to present you holy and without-blemish and not-arraigned down-before Him.
Emphatically you during a past time-period were in the following state of being:
But emphatically at the present time you Colossian holy-people have already been fully-reconciled within the body of the Lord Jesus Christ's flesh by means of (through) the death which he endured. Why? To present you (cause you to stand beside or near-by):
…down-before Him (in the full-sight or presence of God). This, of course, is referring to the holy spirit category because all of us holy-people have holy spirit-life within us, which is the spirit of Christ, and so everything that Christ has accomplished and is today we have and are spiritually.
[Reference: John 3:19; Romans 5:9-11, 7:4, 8:3 and 4; I Corinthians 1:8; II Corinthians 5:16-21; Ephesians 1:4, 2:11-18, 4:18.]
Verses 23-25:
.23Since indeed you remain-on with the belief having been founded2, and seated, not being removed away-from the hope of the good-message of-which you heard, the (good-message) having been heralded-forth in all creation, the (creation) under heaven, of-which (good-message) I, Paul, became a minister, .24now I joy in the sufferings on your behalf and I fill-up-instead the lacking-things of the pressures of Christ in my flesh on behalf of his body which is the church .25of-which I became a minister according to the stewardship of God, the (stewardship) having been given to me into you to fulfill the word of God,
Since indeed, in the walk/behavior category, you presently and actively remain-on (stay and continue) with/by the belief (the belief which God has given mankind to believe regarding Himself and His son, the Lord Jesus Christ);
This is the good-message which has been heralded-forth (proclaimed) in all creation (within or among every created-thing), specifically the creation under heaven (in the area of earth, which includes mankind). All of mankind has had the availability of believing the good-message because it has been heralded-forth in all creation – there is no excuse.
Paul continues: and it is pertaining to this good-message that emphatically I, Paul (yes, me myself) became a minister (a person who serves to benefit others, not 'being-subject' to them but doing work to bring profit to others, I serve the good-message to people).
Since indeed you remain-on with the belief having been founded and continuing founded, and seated, not being removed away-from the hope of the good-message…at the present time:
Christ's body is what? The church (refer to verse 18 above) – the body of Christ is the church because all holy-people who constitute the church are limbs of the one spiritual body of Christ, Christ himself being the head of his body.
Paul continues: it is pertaining-to the church that emphatically I (me, myself) became a minister in accordance with the stewardship of God (the duty of house-management, the administration of God's household-matters – God's household affairs include teaching, instructing, caring-for, protecting, nourishing, and helping God's children), specifically the stewardship that has already been given to me into (with a view to, directed to) you to fulfill the word of God (to make full the spoken-account of the inner thoughts of God).
Paul became a minister of the church according to God's stewardship, God's administration, the way that God wanted His household affairs managed and administered, not the way someone else might have thought would be a "better strategic plan" or a "more-efficient way to manage" the church!
[Reference: Romans 8:17-22; 10:8-18; I Corinthians 12:11-14, 15:58; II Corinthians 11:23-28; Ephesians 1:22 and 23, 3:2, 7, 13 and 17, 4:12; Philippians 1:29, 2:30. For details regarding the hope which is declared as part of the good-message, you may read my studies on I Thessalonians, II Thessalonians, and chapter 15 of I Corinthians.]
Verses 26-29:
.26the mystery, the (mystery) having been hidden-away2 from the ages and from the generations, but now it was manifested to His holy-people .27to whom God intended to make-known what (is) the wealth of the glory of this mystery in the Gentiles which is 'Christ in you, the hope of the glory' .28whom we message admonishing every man and teaching every man in all wisdom in order that we may present every man complete in Christ; .29with-a-view-to which also I labor contesting according to His in-working, the (in-working) being caused-to-in-work in me in ability,
Verse 25 told us that Paul had become a minister according to the stewardship of God, the stewardship having been given to him directed-to the Colossian holy-people to fulfill the word of God. What is the fullness of God's Word to/with/for these holy-people (and including all holy-people since the day of Pentecost, Acts chapter 2, when the gift of holy spirit was first made available)? The fullness of God’s Word to/with/for all holy-people is the mystery (secret).
The word “mystery” throughout Paul’s letters means “secret.” A mystery contains the details that are known and can be understood by those involved in it and by those to whom it has been revealed – it is not inexplicable to those involved in it.
Paul explains: the mystery having been hidden-away and it is still hidden-away (it had been completely-concealed, kept fully-secret and remains hidden-away by God Himself – that's why it is called a mystery)…
God kept it a secret! Only God Himself knew the fullness of what He was doing by means of His son, the Lord Jesus Christ. This mystery was not revealed to the past ages or the past generations and this truth cannot change.
BUT NOW, at the present time, this mystery was manifested (it has already been caused to be evidenced, brought to light, shown-forth by God) – to whom? To God's holy-people (the people who have received the gift of holy spirit)! God did not reveal it to the chief-of-staff or the president or the CEO, not even to His own angels. God revealed it to His holy-people, who are the limbs of the one spiritual body of Christ, God's children.
It is to God's holy-people that God intended (willed, with active volition and desire) to make personally known what (the specific something that) is the wealth of the glory (the richness of the importance, splendor, renown [some texts omit the words "of the glory" and thus would read 'what is the wealth…']) of this mystery in/within/among the Gentiles (referring to the holy-people with the Gentile background, meaning they used to belong to nations other-than Israel/Judah, descendants of other ethnic groups) – this mystery presently and actively is:…
…Christ in you, the hope of glory….
The spirit of Christ is in (within, among) you holy-people of the Gentile background, the hope of glory (the definite hope, the foundation of your expectation of a still-future event coming to pass pertaining-to and consisting-of importance, splendor, renown).
Why does Paul call these holy-people "Gentiles"? Because by revelation he is making it very clear to these Colossian holy-people (who were not of the Israeli/Judean background but who were descendants of other nations) that they now have gained all that God promises to all who believe what He says. These holy-people have everything that every other holy-person who is of the Israeli/Judean background has; there is no difference between them spiritually. All holy-people are limbs of the one spiritual body of Christ because we all have the same spirit of Christ within us!
Re-reading: ".26the mystery, the (mystery) having been hidden-away2 from the ages and from the generations, but now it was manifested to His holy-people .27to whom God intended to make-known what (is) the wealth of the glory of this mystery in the Gentiles which is 'Christ in you, the hope of the glory'."
The mystery, which God had kept hidden-away in Himself all those years until He revealed it to His holy-people, is that it is:
God not only made it available for people to become holy-people, but He also intended to make personally known to His holy-people all that is involved in becoming a holy-person, one of God's children. He wanted us to know what the wealth of the glory of this mystery is in/within/among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. God has made it known to us. People are not only to become holy-people, but we are also to know what God has done for/with/in us by means of His son, the Lord Jesus Christ – and God has made this information known.
Paul continues that: it is Christ whom we message (myself and Timothy presently and actively bring the message down or home to people):
…in all wisdom (within the sphere of action of all or every skillful or expert application of personal-knowledge) for the purpose and result that we would present every man (cause every man, all mankind, to stand beside or near-by God) complete in Christ (perfect by the ultimate arrival of the state of completeness, the ending-issue, within the sphere of action of Christ whereby Christ is the efficient or instrumental cause of being complete).
We ought to notice how often Paul repeats the word "all," which may also be translated as "every," in this short passage to emphasize the completeness, the totality, the fullness of what Paul is making known by revelation in this letter to the Colossian Christians, and to every other person who reads this letter too!
Paul and Timothy wanted every man to be put in mind of the good-message pertaining to Christ in order that they would not only receive holy spirit-life and thus become holy-people (Christians, children of God) but also that they would walk according to the good-message, the gospel which they preached to them. They intended them to be complete in the spirit category and in the walk/behavior category before God.
Paul continues: it is with a view to (into, directed to, for) this mystery also that I labor (I presently and actively exert wearisome-effort or toil as though physically beating myself) contesting in accordance with God's in-working.
The word "contesting" refers to being in a place of contest where there are two opposing parties conflicting against each other in order to be the one to gain the prize at the end of the contest. The usage of athletic terminology draws attention to holy-people and the truth of being together moving in the direction of the same objective, being on the same team in the same contest, not a different one or on a different team.
It is with a view to this mystery also that I labor contesting in accordance with God's in-working (in proportion, conformity to/with God's in-working). This word translated "in-working" is a noun and it means: the inner-working in action, the active energy, the powerfully active work being done within him, God's effectual work.
It is with a view to the mystery that also I labor contesting according to God's in-working, emphatically the in-working that is presently being caused to in-work (this word is the verb form: caused to do work within, produce effects by being in work, being energized by God) in/within me in ability (within me, in my holy spirit-life, in able-power, capability)….
And, Paul's sentence continues…but it has been put into the next "chapter."
[Reference: Acts chapters 10 and 11; Romans 5:2, 8:10, 16:25-27; I Corinthians 2:1-10, 9:25-27, 12:1-27, 15:52-57; Galatians 2:20, 3:28 and 29; Ephesians 1:6-14, 3:2-11, 16, 20 and 21; Philippians 1:30, 2:13; I Thessalonians 2:2, 4:13-17; I Timothy 1:1. Note: verbs with a superscript 2 (2) immediately following them indicate the "perfect" tense - details are provided in the "Relevant Notes" link of this study.]