Truth Today: Colossians 1:8

This is a short verse merely informing us that the information Paul had about the Colossian Christians came from Epaphras.

This information resulted in Paul giving thanks to God. One thing to note is the importance of thanksgiving as part of prayer.

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There was something peculiar about those Christians: their love for the saints. They identified with the saints more than their natural affiliations.

When the mother and brothers of Jesus came calling for him, he said, "My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it." (Luke 8:21).

There is a stronger affiliation than natural affiliation.

After Peter said that he had left everything and followed Jesus, Jesus said the reward includes “family members” in multiples (Luke 18:28-30). These people heard the gospel and they now see other believers as one together with them in Christ.

In the lead verse, Paul said something about love. He called it love in the Spirit—a love that was Spirit-generated, based on an unseen connection found in Christ. It is the same love that binds us to Christ, whom we have not seen.

Though Christians in other places, lands, who speak different languages, have different backgrounds from the Colossians, that love in the Spirit overcomes that barrier. We are one in Christ, who in his body bridged the gap between different people groups, including Jews and Gentiles (Ephesians 2:15).

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There is a single instruction for people everywhere who confesses the name of the Lord: turn away from evil (2 Timothy 2:19). In our diversity, we have that as the north star, so much so that we are supposed to cut off anyone who claims to be a brother but persists in grievous sins (1Corinthians 5:11).

Nevertheless, there is an identification with other Christians that is deeper than skin color, language, gender, or wealth.

You feel a kinship with the other believers. We are from the same Father, who has given birth to us in the Spirit (John 3:5). This is a mystery that is beyond the natural mind.

What sets the Colossian Christians apart is their love in the Spirit for all the saints. They might be preoccupied with the matters of other saints in another place, expressing care for them. The love in the Spirit does not wax and wane; it is sourced from the very presence of God. It is sharing in the love that God has for those saints as His children.

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The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, brings the reality of heaven to us. He brings about the new creation.

In the old creation, in the book of Genesis, we have the Spirit of the Lord moving on the waters (Genesis 1:2). Then God said, "Let there be light," and there was light (Genesis 1:3). He brought life out of chaos through the Spirit.

In the same way, becoming the new creation, being born again of the incorruptible word of God (1 Peter 1:23), does not come about without the operation of the Spirit, who creating a new heart within us, replacing the heart of stone with a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26), a heart to love the Lord our God with everything (Matthew 22:37-40) and generate the same self-sacrificing love that is in Christ in us.

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We would note that Paul would wrote to the Corinthians that without love, we are nothing (1 Corinthians 13:2). While he praised the Colossians for their love, he encouraged the Corinthians to prioritize love.

When he broke that down, he said they should prioritize not speaking in tongues when there is no interpreter (1 Corinthians 14), because it benefits no other person except us, but should excel in activities that bring benefit to others.

He also chided them for various things and seemed to imply that the boasting attitude one against the other is because of a dearth of love (1 Corinthians 5:6).

The long ode to love is to the church in Corinth (1Corinthians 13). They had various problems, all of which could be solved with an adequate dose of love, which starts with the fact that we are one in Christ. Hence, there should be no boasting about one leader against another.

While he said they should desire spiritual gifts, Paul said they should excel in how to benefit others (1 Corinthians 14:12).

In the love chapter (1Corinthians 13), Paul mentioned various gifts. He does not have problems with gifts, but he said they could be coming from a heart that is wrongly oriented—a self-focused, arrogant, combative heart.

The gifts can exist with impatience and pride, which neutralize their effect. In short, it is not so much about how big your gift is, but how big your love is.

Paul eulogizes love. How surprising is that for the Corinthians? They thought various things were great, but love was probably the last thing on their minds.

And when Paul was very impressed with the love expressed by the Colossian church, some may have wondered why was he so enamored about. It is because God is love (1John 4:8), and the person who loves is manifesting God.