Colossians 1:7Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

"As you also learned from Epaphras, our beloved fellow worker." He probably preached there, and from him you learned the gospel.

Then, showing that this man is worthy of trust, he says: "our fellow worker, faithful minister of Christ for you." Do not doubt, he says, concerning the future hope. You see that the universe is being converted.

And is there need to speak of what is happening among others? Besides this, what is happening among you also deserves faith, because you "knew the grace of God in truth," that is, in deeds.

By these two things the future is confirmed: by the fact that all believed, and by the fact that you believed. It was not one thing that occurred and another that Epaphras said. No, he says, he is "faithful," that is, true.

But why is he "a minister for you"? Because he went to Paul:

"As you also learned from Epaphras." You knew grace in reality, he says, just as Epaphras taught you. For one thing did not occur in deed while he taught another. He probably preached to the Colossians.

"Our beloved fellow worker." By this he shows that this man is worthy of trust. For I, Paul, would not love him if he were not a true preacher, nor would I call him a fellow worker.

"Faithful," that is, true. "A minister of Christ for you." For your sake, he says, he served in works befitting Christ. Even his going to Paul, comforting him in bonds, and informing him about events in Colossae was also a ministry of Christ.

If Epaphras is a servant of Christ, how do you say that you were brought to God through angels?

As you learned from Epaphras, our beloved fellow worker, who is a faithful minister of Christ for you. That is, through his testimony and intercession, the ministry of Christ became sure for you.

This praiseworthy man, Epaphras, was their fellow citizen. When he arrived in Rome, he informed the divine Apostle both of their ardent faith in the Lord and of the deception into which someone had led them. The Apostle adorned Epaphras with many praises, calling him beloved, a fellow worker, and a faithful minister of Christ, so that the Colossians would hold him in greater honor. He said that from him they had learned of the universal spread of the preaching and of the multitude of believers in every nation.

The Apostle here calls Epaphras his beloved fellow worker and their faithful minister (διάκονος), while in the Epistle to Philemon (Phlm 1:23) he calls him a fellow prisoner. On the basis of such indications, he must be distinguished from Epaphroditus, the teacher of the Philippians (Phil 2:25).

As in all the Pauline epistles, his Epistle to the Colossians has a preface (Col 1:1-11) and a conclusion with greetings (Col 4:7-18). Between these parts there is a doctrinal section (Col 1:12-2:23) and a moral section (Col 3-4:6).

In the preface, the Apostle Paul bestows grace and peace upon the Colossians from himself and from Timothy the brother. He then informs them that, since he heard from Epaphras of their faith and love toward all the saints, that is, Christians, he has not ceased praying for them.

The Apostle speaks of Epaphras as the chief teacher of the Colossians, keeping silent about himself in order to exalt his disciple. It was necessary to draw due attention and love to him. Yet he presents him as his fellow worker and, above all, as a servant of Christ.

By this, on the one hand, he exalts Epaphras. On the other hand, he cuts off respect for self-appointed teachers who disturbed the true spirit of faith among the weak Colossians. Meanwhile the majority remained in the spirit of true Christian love toward all, and especially toward the preachers of the faith.

They remained particularly loving toward the Apostle Paul. Epaphras, who himself reverenced the Apostle and taught his flock to do the same, could tell him this.

After the inscription and greeting (vv. 1-2), the Apostle expresses thanks to God for the rather favorable condition of the Church of Colossae. He had learned of this from Epaphras, who had communicated correct notions of Christianity to the Colossians.

The Colossians believe in Christ and perform works of Christian love. They are guided by hope for future, heavenly blessedness, and they nourish toward one another true love, free from fleshly motives (έν πνεύμα.).

In praising the Colossians for faith, the Apostle needed still more to praise the faith itself, exalting its truth. He does this imperceptibly. Having mentioned before two of its traits, its presence everywhere and its beneficence, he now raises it to its original source, Christ the Lord.

St. Paul was sent by the Lord Himself, and Epaphras was sent by St. Paul. Thus the preaching of Epaphras, through St. Paul, is raised to the Lord Himself as its beginning and giver. Through this it is sanctified by divine authority and receives a force that obliges faith.