Colossians 1:23Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

"From the hope of the Gospel," he says, "which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven." What is the hope of the Gospel if not Christ? He is our peace, and He has done all this.

Therefore whoever ascribes this to others has turned aside from the truth. If he does not believe in Christ, he has lost everything.

"You heard," he says. Again he calls them as witnesses, and then the whole universe. He does not say, "of the Gospel being preached," but "which was preached," in which they have already believed. He did this also at the beginning, wishing by the testimony of many to strengthen them as well.

"Of which I, Paul, became a minister." He does this too for confirmation. "I," he says, "Paul, became a minister." He had great weight, since he was glorified everywhere and was the teacher of the universe. See Col 1:25.

Therefore one who ascribes peace to angels departs from Christ. With virtue it is possible to waver a little, but with faith it is not. Thus he requires nothing burdensome.

"Which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven." He first sets them themselves forth as witnesses, and then the whole universe. He did not say, "is being preached," but "was preached," that is, the Gospel in which they had already believed.

Therefore be ashamed before yourselves and before all other people if you believe otherwise.

"Of which I, Paul, became a minister." This also confirms the Gospel, that Paul himself is its preacher. His name is great, for he is glorified everywhere and, as it were, rules over the universe. By calling himself a minister, he urged them still more to obedience. For, he says, I do not speak what is my own, but I serve Another, namely God. Therefore you will obey Him.

But he would not have said this if he had never seen them. They would have objected: "If you were appointed preacher to the Gentiles, why did you neglect us and not impart the Gospel teaching to us?" The words that follow support the same thought.

In general, redemption and renewal are given through the blood of Christ only on the condition of remaining in His body (cf. v. 18). From this, everything through which we are joined to the Church and maintain union with her becomes necessary. Such are the Mysteries, liturgical rites, and so forth.

For this purpose, that is, to bring all to this glory through Christ, our universal reconciler with God, or, as the Apostle says, "to present every man perfect in Christ Jesus," "I also labor," he writes, "striving according to His working which works in me mightily" (Col 1:28-29).

"It is a great thing to reconcile," says Saint John Chrysostom, "and greater still that it is through the Son. Here are five things worthy of wonder: He reconciled with God, by Himself, by death, by the cross. How wisely Saint Paul combined all this in a few words! He especially wished to show that the Son of God accomplished the work of reconciliation not by the utterance of a word, but by giving Himself up," not in appearance, but in the body of flesh.

"But what does it mean that He made peace with heavenly things? As for earthly things, this is understandable, because here everything is filled with enmity. Each of us was at odds with himself and with many others. But how did He make peace with heavenly things? Was there discord and disagreement there? No. But earth had been torn away from heaven, and the angels had armed themselves against men, seeing their Master insulted by them. The Lord cut off this enmity. How? By transferring man to heaven, God brought angels down to men and raised men up to heaven."

In the reference to Christ's blood, our recent interpreter sees a refutation of the teaching of the Colossian heretics about angelic mediation in salvation. The angels could not accomplish this work, since they are spirits. Christ, however, being God, assumed a human, fleshly body and in it tasted death.

Concerning faith and hope as the first conditions for receiving justification with all its gifts, His Grace Theophan says: "Faith and hope are for progress what air, moisture, and warmth are for a developing seed. Both give rise to many good manifestations. By their influence these are powerful enough to keep zeal in constant tension. As long as faith and hope themselves remain strong, zeal for holiness, or active love, cannot grow weak."

But faith presupposes the teaching of those who teach. Therefore the Apostle urges them to believe the teaching of the Gospel, and then speaks of true preachers of the faith.

Against the false spiritualism of the Colossian false teachers, who attributed the work of reconciliation to a spirit, a spiritual being, the Apostle emphasizes that God accomplished reconciliation in the body of Christ's flesh. This means in His earthly, not yet glorified body, which underwent an ordinary death.

Likewise, the reconciliation of the Colossians itself was not something fantastic, but entirely real. Before God at the last judgment they will truly appear free from sin and guilt, if only they firmly preserve faith and hope in what was proclaimed to them, what is preached in all the world, and of which the Apostle Paul became a minister.

But if we keep in mind how holiness, under God's action, ripens in actual fact, the sense will be this. He even now presents you, or makes you holy, if you remain firm in faith and unmoved from hope. He does this even though you do not notice it.

Your faith and hope give Him room to act in you with the whole power of His grace. He acts, and He quickly leads you toward the perfection in holiness appointed beforehand.

Whether one takes the first sense or the second, it is clear that by these words, as Chrysostom says, Saint Paul "guards them against carelessness."

Saint Paul mentions only faith and hope as conditions of progress in holiness. But where is love? How has it been separated from its inseparable companions? Love has already been indicated as active in the striving for holiness under the action of grace.

Zeal for progress in good works, which build up holiness, is love in action. Faith and hope are to it what air, moisture, and warmth are to a growing seed. Both faith and hope bring forth many good thoughts.

By their influence these thoughts are powerful enough to keep zeal in constant tension. As long as faith and hope themselves remain in strength, zeal for holiness, or active love, cannot grow weak.

This is the reason why the Apostle mentioned only them as conditions for the working of holiness. He clearly expresses that they must be maintained in strength. He expressed the strength of faith by the words "grounded and steadfast," and the strength of hope by the word "unmoved."

All these expressions signify one thing: unshakenness. Chrysostom says: "He did not simply say, 'if you continue,' because there is a continuance that is tottering and wavering, and there is a standing and continuance that is firm. But he says, 'if you continue grounded, steadfast, and unmoved,' that is, not merely not wavering, but unshakable."

Faith suggests this: we are perishing, but the Lord came and saved us. Believe Him, you also, and you will be saved. When a man holds this in his heart with the same conviction by which he is certain that he exists, his faith is firm.

It has sent its roots deep within the heart and stands like a tree firmly rooted. Hope is inseparable from faith. Faith reveals that our Savior is God, who is true, wise, good, and almighty. These are the foundations of hope.

The believer necessarily already hopes. The first movement of hope is hope of salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. It assures him that apart from Him there is no salvation.

It also assures him that He will not leave the believer without His help and guidance. He will keep him on the saving path, will surely save him, and will grant eternal life.

Hope overshadows the present life and stretches into the future, all under the influence of faith. "The Apostle speaks as though saying, 'If you continue in faith, then the hope of receiving future good things is certain'" (Chrysostom).

For this reason he also joined hope with the gospel. The gospel preaches faith. Yet to awaken faith, it gives promises. Confidence in the promises completes the formation of faith, and faith strengthens hope.

Whoever is firm in the faith preached by the gospel is also unmoved from the hope given by the gospel. Having said this, the Apostle suggests that they must not ground the hope of salvation on anything else.

They must ground it only on that on which the gospel grounds it, namely, on the Lord Jesus Christ. They must mix nothing with this single foundation.

Chrysostom says: "Who is the hope of the gospel if not Christ? For He is our peace" (Eph 2:14). Therefore, whoever grounds his hope on someone or something else is moved away from its true foundation.

He ruins everything, because he does not stand on Christ. This is a paraphrase from Chrysostom.

Ambrosiaster writes similarly: "For this reason Saint Paul showed above how great and boundless the power of Christ the Lord is. He wished to teach that hope must be placed in Him alone.

For all things are His, and nothing can live without Him, either in heaven or on earth. He is before all things, and all things consist in Him. In everything He holds the primacy.

Thus, if anyone thinks that divine reverence must be shown to any elements or angels, let him know that he is in error. For He alone is the Son of God, the Head of every principality and power.

The gospel concerning Him has gone through the whole world. Therefore He alone must be heard and honored, and no one must be placed on the same level with Him.

For whoever is the head holds the whole body together. Whoever is separated from the head, by which the whole body is kept alive, is a corpse."

Since both faith and hope are born and nourished by the gospel, Saint Paul sets forth its special worth and high significance. He fixes the thought of the Colossians on its universality, as he also does at the beginning.

This gospel, he says, was not heard by you alone. It was heard and received by every creature under heaven. By this creature, of course, he means the rational creature, that is, mankind.

After reading this, everyone could not fail to draw the following conclusion. If what I heard and believed has been preached and believed everywhere, and this by God's command and ordering, then it would make no sense for me to permit myself to deviate even slightly.

I must not turn from the teachings of the faith I have received, or move from the foundations of hope on which I stand.

Chrysostom says: "Saint Paul again brings them themselves as witnesses, and then the whole inhabited world. He does not say, 'of the gospel being preached,' but 'preached and believed.' He did this also at the beginning, wishing by the testimony of many to confirm them as well."

"Of which I Paul became a minister." "Became" does not mean that he once was, but that he became, was made, was appointed. Saint Paul was appointed to serve the gospel among the Gentiles, who filled the whole inhabited world.

Therefore, having said that the gospel was preached and believed in the whole inhabited world, he mentioned himself also. He used this turn as a transition to the exposition of what he needed to say about his ministry.

Chrysostom says: "He does this also for assurance, for he carried great weight, since he was glorified everywhere and was the teacher of the inhabited world."

Blessed Theodoret draws this inference here. Saint Paul would not have said this if he had never seen them. They would have objected to him: if you were appointed preacher to the Gentiles, why did you neglect us and not hand on to us the teaching of the gospel?