Colossians 1:3-4 3We give thanks to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 4since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints;
Verses 1-8 are one long and complex sentence in the Greek. This makes interpreting these verses challenging. They need to be broken down into bite size pieces and then reconstructed to see the relationship of these pieces. These verses form the typical thanksgiving section of ancient letter writing. This section comes right after the greetings. Most of Paul’s letters have thanksgiving in one form or another (a notable exception is Galatians, which has a serious tone of sarcasm and rebuke).
The key idea of the paragraph is Paul and Timothy’s (the plural we) thanks for what God is doing in the Colossians. His thanks is directed to God the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ. This description implies two important ideas. First is the fatherhood of God, and second is the sonship of Jesus. The divinity of Jesus is emphasized with the description Lord. His mission and self-sacrifice is emphasized with his title of Christ, “Messiah.” These two ideas about the Father and Son will be emphasized again in verses 13-14, with a focus on the person of Jesus in verses 15-20. The purpose of this is to show the truth about Jesus in order to correct any wrong ideas in Colossae about him. Paul will show that a correct understanding of the identity, mission, and redemption of Jesus is crucial for our salvation.
Paul and Timothy give thanks as they pray (temporal participle). There are reasons for their thanksgiving. First is that they had heard (instrumental participle) of the Colossians’ faith in Christ Jesus. Word had reached them of what God was doing in Colossae. There was much to be excited about because this church was growing on its own, without Paul’s direct input. Second, word had reached them of the Colossians’ love for all the saints. Faith and love are often paired in Paul’s writings. Faith in Christ leads to love for others. The Colossians love for one another would grow as their faith in Christ grew. Their love was extensive, reaching to all the saints (hagious). This is the second time Paul has used this description for believers. This suggests that the theme of holiness will be in the background of this letter. Paul will be helping the Colossians become who God has made them to be. God was at work in Colossae. The problems the letter will later address find their answer in Jesus Christ. Faith and love are the essential qualities of those who are holy.
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