Faith and Love Colossians 1:4

As Paul the apostle continued his opening remarks to the church located in Colosse, he thanked “God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” and was “praying always” for them. In chapter one and verse four we learn two of the reasons for Paul's prayer and thanks where we read:

Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which you have to all the saints,

The verse begins, “Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus,...” Paul employed the words “since we heard” which means Paul was told of them from an outside source. We learn in a few verses about the church's pastor Epaphrus who more than likely gave Paul the report of their “faith” which means “of a conviction or belief respecting man's relationship to God and divine things, generally with the included idea of trust and holy fervor born of faith and joined with it” “in Christ Jesus”. No doubt when Paul heard of their faith in Jesus, he was pleased to thank God and pray for them.

The verse goes on to say, “ and of the love which you have to all the saints,” The second trait Paul heard about concerning the church in Colosse was their “love” which is the word “agape” in Greek and means “affection, good will, love, benevolence, brotherly love and unconditional love”. This unselfish love that Paul heard they “have to all the saints” or “to all the believers in Jesus Christ” was easily prayed for and commended, but even more easy to thank “God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ”.

As we ponder these words, we may wonder if others hear about our “faith in Christ Jesus” and our “love” toward “all the saints”. Do others know we believe in Jesus? Do others know how much we love “all the saints”? The reports of the church in Colosse came to Paul, and he was told about the church members' faith and love. This motivated him to pray for the church and to give thanks to God for them. Perhaps we may look at it from another angle. Do we hear of others' faith and love and become motivated to give thanks to God by praying for them? Let us be reminded that Paul the apostle was sitting within a Roman prison at this time, and he may have wondered what his purpose was for being there. However, because he was incarcerated, we may now have “faith in Christ Jesus” and “love...to all the saints” at the inspiration of his words. May the Lord help us to know the circumstances in which we find ourselves may be for the benefit of the faith and love of others we don't even know yet.

Next time Paul will share about the hope within the church of Colosse, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow...there is more...

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