Paul’s Love for  the Church (2:1-7)

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For I want you to know how great a struggle I have on your behalf, and for those who are at Laodicea, and for all those who have not personally seen my face, that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this in order that no one may delude you with persuasive argument. For even though I am absent in body, nevertheless I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good discipline and the stability of your faith in Christ. As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude. (2:1-7)

If someone were to ask you to suggest the most important qualities a minister can possess, you might argue for intelligence, education, leadership ability, boldness, holiness, or speaking ability. Although all those are essential components, perhaps the most necessary ingredient in the life of any minister of Jesus Christ is love for the church. No one can truly serve God in the church without that motivation.

Jesus loved the church so much that He gave His life for it. Paul charged the Ephesian elders to “shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood” (Acts 20:28). In Ephesians 5:25 he said that husbands should love their wives “just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her.”

Paul, too, had a deep love for the church and gave his life in service to it. He frequently expressed his love in his epistles. To the Corinthians he wrote, “You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men” (2 Cor. 3:2); “Our mouth has spoken freely to you, O Corinthians, our heart is opened wide” (2 Cor. 6:11); “I will most gladly spend and be expended for your souls” (2 Cor. 12:15). He told the Philippians, “I have you in my heart” (Phil. 1:7).

Paul loved the church because he loved Christ. He knew well the truth expressed in 1 John 4:21, “This commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.” It was his love for Christ and His church that enabled Paul to endure the physical suffering he went through (cf. 2 Cor. 11:23-27). It also allowed him to bear “the daily pressure … of concern for all the churches” (2 Cor. 11:28). Because of that love he could endure defections, false teachers, and personal abuse. Indeed, he could “endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory” (2 Tim. 2:10).

Paul’s love for the church caused him to write this letter to the churches of the Lycus Valley (cf. 4:15-16). He wanted them to know of the great struggle he had on their behalf and their sister church in Laodicea, even though they had not all personally seen his face. Paul’s love was not selective; he loved the whole church, not just those personally known by or close to him. That kind of unselfish love should characterize every spiritual leader. Struggle translates agōn, from which we get our English word agony. It is a different form of the same word he used in 1:29 to speak of his striving in the ministry. Paul’s deep love even for those he had never met reflects his love for Christ, the Head of the church.

Just as loving parents have goals for their children, so Paul had goals for the church. He lists five of them for which he had struggled. He desired the Colossians to be strong in heart, united in love, settled in understanding, walking in Christ, and overflowing with gratitude.

STRONG IN HEART

that their hearts may be encouraged, (2:2a)

The basic meaning of parakaleō (encouraged) is “to call alongside.” Because a person can be called alongside for many purposes, the word has a wide range of meanings. They include to entreat, appeal to, summon, comfort, exhort, or encourage. In the present context, however, it could be translated “strengthen” because the Colossians were beset by false teachers and needed strengthening rather than comfort.

Commentator William Barclay cites an example of parakaleō from classical Greek that parallels its usage here.

When Paul expressed his desire that their hearts be strengthened, he was not referring just to their emotions. The biblical writers associated the emotions with what the King James Version picturesquely calls the “bowels” (cf. Ps. 22:14; Song of Sol. 5:4; Lam. 2:11; 1 John 3:17). They did so because strong emotions produce physical reactions in the lower part of the abdomen. Even today someone who is anxious feels what are called butterflies in the stomach. The abstract concept of emotions was viewed in terms of the concrete physical effects they produced.

When used figuratively in the Bible, the word heart is usually more general and refers broadly to the inner person, the center of life. It often equates specifically to the mind. In Revelation 2:23 the Lord describes Himself as “He who searches the minds and hearts; and … will give to each one of you according to your deeds.” The heart here is a synonym for the mind. Using the term heart as the general term for the thinking faculty, Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?” Revelation 18:7 says of Babylon, “For she says in her heart, ‘I sit as a queen and I am not a widow, and will never see mourning.’” “The fool,” Psalm 53:1 says, “has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” As those verses indicate, the heart refers to the mind, where thinking takes place (cf. Isa. 47:8; Zeph. 2:15; Matt. 24:48).

The emotions respond to what goes on in the heart, to what the mind perceives. The way to control the emotions, then, is through the mind. When the mind is filled with biblical truth, the emotions respond properly. For that reason the Bible counsels to “watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life” (Prov. 4:23). Scripture also says to “direct your heart in the way” (Prov. 23:19). Believers are to guide their hearts, that they may follow the path of pleasing God. For that we need His help. “Examine me, O Lord, and try me; test my mind and my heart” (Ps. 26:2). “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way” (Ps. 139:23-24). What fills the heart will inevitably issue in behavior. “For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. The good man out of his good treasure brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of his evil treasure brings forth what is evil” (Matt. 12:34-35).

What is the means of a strong mind? Ephesians 3:16 says, “That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man.” The Spirit strengthens the hearts of those who yield their lives to His control. One of His names is Helper (cf. John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7). Helper in the Greek is the noun form of parakaleō and could be translated “Strengthener” in those passages. True inner strength comes only from being filled with the Spirit.

After his conversion, Paul enjoyed the experience of being strengthened: “Saul kept increasing in strength and confounding the Jews who lived at Damascus by proving that this Jesus is the Christ” (Acts 9:22). As he lived his life in the power of the Spirit, he experienced strength. Eventually, he could say, “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed” (2 Cor. 4:8-9). He could endure all that because he was strong in heart.

Although the Spirit is the divine strengthener, He also uses human instruments. Jesus told Peter “Once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:32). “Judas and Silas, also being prophets themselves, encouraged and strengthened the brethren with a lengthy message” (Acts 15:32). Paul sent Timothy to the Thessalonians to strengthen their faith (1 Thess. 3:2). An important part of Paul’s ministry was strengthening the believers. Acts 15:41 records his “traveling through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches” (cf. Acts 14:21-22; 18:23). God uses gifted men to teach and strengthen the church (cf. Eph. 4:11-14).

Strong hearts result in a powerful Christian life. When believers are strengthened by the Spirit, Christ will dwell in their hearts, they will be rooted and grounded in love, they will know the love of Christ and be filled with all the fullness of God (Eph. 3:16-19). Then Christ, through them, will do “exceeding abundantly beyond all [they can] ask or think” (Eph. 3:20).

UNITED IN LOVE

having been knit together in love, (2:2b)

Fervent love is the necessary balance to a strong mind. Christianity is not mindless enthusiasm, but neither is it lifeless intellectual orthodoxy. Paul eloquently states the centrality of love in 1 Corinthians 13:1-3:

Sumbibazō (knit together) means to unite, or bring together. This aorist participle explains the main verb (may be encouraged) by further defining the strengthened heart as one filled with love. It refers in Ephesians 4:16 and Colossians 2:19 to the various parts that unite to form the human body. Believers share a common life with love as its basis. All believers possess the same eternal life, all come to Christ in the same way, and all were placed into the Body of Christ by the same Spirit (cf. 1 Cor. 12:11-13). The church’s unity is not organizational, but organic. Believers are “all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28; cf. Rom. 10:12).

Certainly this prayer of Jesus was answered in the unity of the Body:

The late Francis Schaeffer called the unity of the church “the final apologetic” to the watching world (The Mark of the Christian [Downers Grove, III.: InterVarsity, 1970], p. 15). He went on to write,

That Christians display their unity in practice was Paul’s constant concern. He wrote to the quarrelsome Corinthians, “Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree, and there be no divisions among you, but you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment” (1 Cor. 1:10). Again, at the end of his second letter to them, he commanded them to “be like-minded, live in peace” (2 Cor. 13:11). He admonished the Philippians to “conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ; so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel” (Phil. 1:27) and to “make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose” (Phil. 2:2).

The key to practical unity is found in Ephesians 4:3: “Being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Preserving the unity the Spirit has created is accomplished by being peacemakers. Peacemakers love each other. Such love is evident when believers “put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you” (Col. 3:12-13).

That kind of humble, practical love “is the perfect bond of unity” (Col. 3:14). Love is always linked with humility, because only humble people can love. After urging the Philippians to pursue unity in Philippians 2:2, Paul went on to show them how in verses 3-8:

Humility is the key that opens the door of love and unity. The perfect illustration of it was Christ’s self-emptying and obedience, even to the point of death. When believers practice such self-effacing humility, they will be “of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose” (Phil. 2:2).

The apostle John also saw Christ’s offering of Himself as the supreme example of love: “We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren” (1 John 3:16). But since most Christians will not have the opportunity to die for others, John gives a more practical test of love: “Whoever has the world’s goods, and beholds his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth” (1 John 3:17-18).

Loving someone is not defined by having warm feelings toward them, but by meeting their needs. The last time you made a sacrifice for someone was the last time you loved him or her. Love is first action, then the emotions follow. So the strengthened heart is a heart that has learned to love.

SETTLED IN UNDERSTANDING

and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this in order that no one may delude you with persuasive argument. For even though I am absent in body, nevertheless I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good discipline and the stability of your faith in Christ. (2:2c-5)

Paul desires that the Colossians also experience all the wealth that comes from full assurance. Without that assurance, believers cannot enjoy all the blessings that are theirs in Christ. For example, no one can look forward with hope to the blessings of heaven who doubts whether he is going there. For that reason Peter says, “Be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you” (2 Pet. 1:10). How?

Sunesis (understanding) refers to applying biblical principles to everyday life. It is the exclusive property of Christians because “a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised” (1 Cor. 2:14). Because “those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh” (Rom. 8:5), they are “darkened in their understanding” (Eph. 4:18).

When the believer experiences spiritual truth by living it, it becomes truly understood and leads to assurance of his or her salvation. The New Testament, then, concludes that knowing the truth and acting on it leads to full assurance of understanding. People often express to me doubts about their salvation, even though they have read books on assurance. Their primary problem is not a lack of knowledge, but a failure to apply the truths they know. Truth that finds solid footing in a strong heart and works itself out in love of fellow believers results in deep conviction. That is the basis for assurance.

In light of the heresy plaguing them, Paul stresses the need for the Colossians’ understanding to include a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. At the heart of this understanding, they need to have a settled conviction about Christ’s deity and sufficiency. In Christ Himself the hidden God was manifested to mankind. In that sense, He is God’s mystery. First Timothy 3:16 records what may be a first-century hymn:

All those phrases refer to Christ. In the early church, as in our own day, it was vitally important to have a grasp on Christ’s deity. No person can be a Christian at all without this true knowledge of Jesus Christ as the incarnate God. Yet so many Christians who affirm the deity of Christ live as if He were not the One in whom all spiritual sufficiency resides.

But Jesus is the One in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. He alone is sufficient. Hidden is from apokruphos, from which we get our English word apocrypha. It was used by the heretics to refer to the writings containing their secret knowledge. But there is no hidden spiritual knowledge necessary to salvation and sanctification outside of Christ. The treasures of wisdom and knowledge in Christ, however, are hidden from all but Christians.

Because Christ is sufficient, there is no need for the writings of any cult, philosophy, or psychology to supplement the Bible. He is the source of all true spiritual knowledge. That knowledge is also crucial to assurance because doubts about Christ’s sufficiency bring doubts about His ability to do what He promised.

Paul expresses the reason for his concern about knowing Christ in verse 4: I say this in order that no one may delude you with persuasive argument. Lightfoot paraphrases Paul’s thought as follows: “I wish to warn you against any one who would lead you astray by specious argument and persuasive rhetoric” (St. Paul’s Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon [1879; reprint, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1959], p. 175). The basic attack of all false systems throughout history has been to deny either Christ’s deity, His sufficiency to save and sanctify, or both. Any group or person doing so is guilty of teaching “doctrines of demons” (1 Tim. 4:1). As purveyors of another gospel, they are accursed (Gal. 1:8). Believers need to have a settled conviction about Christ’s deity and sufficiency to be able to withstand the onslaughts of such false teaching.

Having warned the Colossians to continue to stand firm, Paul rejoices that they are doing so. Although absent in body due to his imprisonment, Paul was present with them in spirit. Their good discipline and the stability of their faith in Christ caused him to rejoice. Taxis (good discipline) and stereōma (stability) are both military terms, perhaps suggested by Paul’s close contact with Roman soldiers during his imprisonment (cf. Acts 28:16; Phil. 1:13). Taxis refers to a line of soldiers drawn up for battle, whereas stereōma refers to the solidity of a formation of soldiers. Taken together, they express Paul’s joy that individually and collectively the Colossians were standing firm against the attacks of false teaching. His goal for them is that they remain settled in their present true understanding, and not yield to doubt from those attacks.

WALKING IN CHRIST

As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, (2:6-7a)

Therefore builds the concluding exhortation on what Paul has said in verses 2-5. The Colossians have received Christ Jesus the Lord, they have settled convictions about His deity and sufficiency, and are standing firm against the attacks of false teachers, so they must continue to walk in Him. The familiar term walk refers to daily conduct. In this context it means primarily to continue believing the truth about Christ, not allowing their Christology to waver.

In broader terms, however, walking in Christ means living in union with Him. It means to maintain a lifestyle patterned after His. “The one who says he abides in Him,” the apostle John writes, “ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked” (1 John 2:6). When faced with the dilemmas that confront Christians in their daily lives, the guideline should be, “What would Jesus do in this situation?” The hymn “0 to Be Like Thee” expresses what should be the desire of every Christian:

Like a tree with deep roots in rich soil, believers have been firmly rooted in Christ. That eternal planting took place at salvation, as the perfect tense of the participle errizōmenoi (having been firmly rooted) suggests. Christ then became the source of our spiritual nourishment, growth, and fruit. As we walk in Christ, we are now being built up in Him. That connotes the process of being more and more like Jesus Christ. Epoikodomoumenoi (being built up) is a present-tense participle indicating continuous action. By studying the “word of His grace, which is able to build you up” (Acts 20:32), believers will “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 3:18). And they will come “to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fulness of Christ” (Eph. 4:13).

Being firmly rooted in Christ and growing in Him results in believers being established in their faith. The passive voice of the participle bebaioumenoi (established) indicates that it is God who will establish believers. Having such a firm foundation for faith based on walking in Christ is imperative for a healthy Christian life (cf. Rom. 16:25; 2 Thess. 2:16-17; 1 Pet. 5:10; Jude 24).

OVERFLOWING WITH GRATITUDE

overflowing with gratitude. (2:7b)

The last of the four participles in verse 7, perisseuontes (overflowing), is the only one in the active voice. It is a response to the other three. Believers who are firmly rooted in Christ, being built up in Him, and established in their faith, will overflow with gratitude to God. “Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name” (Heb. 13:15). A grateful heart for all God has given us in Christ will further strengthen our grip on the truth.

Praise completes the circle in which the blessings that flow to us from God return to Him in the form of our praise and adoration. By taking in the truth of the Word, believers get a strong mind. By living out those truths, they receive full assurance that Christ is who He claimed to be. Assured of that, they can appropriate the riches that are His legacy to believers, and walk in Him. As they walk in Him, they will grow in Him and become established in their faith. As a result, they will give praise to God.