Colossians (Verses 1-8)
Fruit, Fruit and more Fruit
Translation: New Living Version (NLT)
Scripture
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
2 To the saints and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ in Colossae:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father.
3 In our prayers for you we always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 4 for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, 5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. You have heard of this hope before in the word of the truth, the gospel 6 that has come to you. Just as it is bearing fruit and growing in the whole world, so it has been bearing fruit among yourselves from the day you heard it and truly comprehended the grace of God. 7 This you learned from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, 8 and he has made known to us your love in the Spirit.
Commentary
Paul starts with is usual greeting, identifying himself as an apostle of Christ Jesus "by the will of God," and also identifies Timothy. While this opening verse mentions Timothy, his broader story emerges from the book of Acts, Paul’s epistles, and the two letters addressed to him (1 and 2 Timothy). He was a close companion and disciple of Paul. In the book of Acts, believers spoke highly of Timothy (Acts 16:2), marking him as a young man of faith and great potential. He was not a Jew; he had a Greek father.
Paul mentions the love that the Colossians have for the saints. It is important to note that in the New Testament, all believers are called saints. In the original Greek, "saints" comes from the word hagioi, meaning someone who is "set apart." It carries the idea of being set-aside or dedicated to God. In Paul’s writings—and across the New Testament (e.g., Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:2, Ephesians 1:1)—"saints" refers to all Christians. If you are a believer and a member of the Church of Jesus Christ, then through the death and resurrection of Christ, God sees you as holy. You are a saint. You will never be accepted by God unless you are 100% holy. Since we, in our flesh, can never be, it is the blood of Jesus that cleanses us from all sin. God sees all believers as saints because when he looks as us, he looks through the perfect life of Jesus. Jesus is that filter that God uses to remove the stain of sin in our lives.
In verse 6, Paul speaks of bearing fruit. If you are a true believer, then Jesus said that your life will bear fruit. God will change you. Your faith will be evident to others by the way that you carry yourself. You won’t need to tell someone that you are a believer; they will see it in your life. If you were put on trial today—charged with being a Christian—could you be convicted in a court of law? If not, are you really a true believer? Have you really been born again (from above) as Jesus requires? When did Paul say that the Colossians start bearing fruit in their lives? “…from the day you heard it and truly comprehended the grace of God.” It was immediate. Although, for some of us it is a process. If you are not growing and bearing fruit at all, well, that is a little scarry.