the Week of Proper 19 / Ordinary 24
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King James Version
Colossians 1:6
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which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth;
which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and multiplying, just as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard and understood the grace of God in truth;
But y'all aren't keeping the good news secret—and you shouldn't! It's changing lives and hearts all across the world every single day. It did the same for y'all when you first heard about God's amazing grace.
Which has come to you; and which in all the world is giving fruit and increase, as it has done in you from the day when it came to your ears and you had true knowledge of the grace of God;
which are come to you, as [they are] in all the world, [and] are bearing fruit and growing, even as also among you, from the day ye heard [them] and knew indeed the grace of God, in truth:
that has come to you. It is bearing fruit and growing all over the world, just as it has among you since the day you heard it and recognized God's grace in the truth.
which has come to you; even as it is in all the world and is bearing fruit and increasing, as it does in you also, since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth;
of which ye heard before in the word of truth, Which is come to you, as also it is in all the world, and bringeth forth fruit, as it hath done likewise among you, from the day ye heard it, and knew the grace of God in truth:
For it has reached you, and remains with you, just as it has also spread through the whole world, yielding fruit there and increasing, as it has done among you from the day when first you heard it and came really to know the grace of God,
Which is come vnto you as it is in all the world, and bringeth foorth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day yee heard of it, and knew the grace of God in trueth,
coming to you, as also in all the world, and it is bearing fruit even also among you, from the day in which you heard and knew the grace of God in truth;
which is come vnto you, eue as it is into all the worlde: and is frutefull, as it is in you, sence ye daye yt ye herde and knewe the grace of God in ye trueth,
which is not only come to you, but to all the world; where it produces its effects, and increases, as it does also among you, ever since you sincerely embrac'd the divine favour,
I, Paul, have been sent on special assignment by Christ as part of God's master plan. Together with my friend Timothy, I greet the Christians and stalwart followers of Christ who live in Colosse. May everything good from God our Father be yours! Our prayers for you are always spilling over into thanksgivings. We can't quit thanking God our Father and Jesus our Messiah for you! We keep getting reports on your steady faith in Christ, our Jesus, and the love you continuously extend to all Christians. The lines of purpose in your lives never grow slack, tightly tied as they are to your future in heaven, kept taut by hope. The Message is as true among you today as when you first heard it. It doesn't diminish or weaken over time. It's the same all over the world. The Message bears fruit and gets larger and stronger, just as it has in you. From the very first day you heard and recognized the truth of what God is doing, you've been hungry for more. It's as vigorous in you now as when you learned it from our friend and close associate Epaphras. He is one reliable worker for Christ! I could always depend on him. He's the one who told us how thoroughly love had been worked into your lives by the Spirit. Be assured that from the first day we heard of you, we haven't stopped praying for you, asking God to give you wise minds and spirits attuned to his will, and so acquire a thorough understanding of the ways in which God works. We pray that you'll live well for the Master, making him proud of you as you work hard in his orchard. As you learn more and more how God works, you will learn how to do your work. We pray that you'll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul—not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that he has for us. God rescued us from dead-end alleys and dark dungeons. He's set us up in the kingdom of the Son he loves so much, the Son who got us out of the pit we were in, got rid of the sins we were doomed to keep repeating. We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God's original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. And when it comes to the church, he organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body. He was supreme in the beginning and—leading the resurrection parade—he is supreme in the end. From beginning to end he's there, towering far above everything, everyone. So spacious is he, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the cross. You yourselves are a case study of what he does. At one time you all had your backs turned to God, thinking rebellious thoughts of him, giving him trouble every chance you got. But now, by giving himself completely at the Cross, actually dying for you, Christ brought you over to God's side and put your lives together, whole and holy in his presence. You don't walk away from a gift like that! You stay grounded and steady in that bond of trust, constantly tuned in to the Message, careful not to be distracted or diverted. There is no other Message—just this one. Every creature under heaven gets this same Message. I, Paul, am a messenger of this Message. I want you to know how glad I am that it's me sitting here in this jail and not you. There's a lot of suffering to be entered into in this world—the kind of suffering Christ takes on. I welcome the chance to take my share in the church's part of that suffering. When I became a servant in this church, I experienced this suffering as a sheer gift, God's way of helping me serve you, laying out the whole truth. This mystery has been kept in the dark for a long time, but now it's out in the open. God wanted everyone, not just Jews, to know this rich and glorious secret inside and out, regardless of their background, regardless of their religious standing. The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you, so therefore you can look forward to sharing in God's glory. It's that simple. That is the substance of our Message. We preach Christ, warning people not to add to the Message. We teach in a spirit of profound common sense so that we can bring each person to maturity. To be mature is to be basic. Christ! No more, no less. That's what I'm working so hard at day after day, year after year, doing my best with the energy God so generously gives me.
which has come to you. Indeed, just as in the whole world the gospel is constantly bearing fruit and spreading [by God's power], just as it has been doing among you ever since the day you first heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth [becoming thoroughly and deeply acquainted with it].
which is come unto you; even as it is also in all the world bearing fruit and increasing, as it doth in you also, since the day ye heard and knew the grace of God in truth;
which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and growing--so among yourselves, from the day you heard and understood the grace of God in truth,
which is come vnto you eve as it is in to all ye worlde and is frutefull as it is amoge you fro the fyrst daye in ye which ye herde of it and had experiece in ye grace of God in the trueth
which has come to you; even as it is also in all the world bearing fruit and increasing, as [it does] in you also, since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth;
Which is come to you, as [it is] in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as [it doth] also in you, since the day ye heard [of it], and knew the grace of God in truth:
which is present to you, as also in all the world, and is bearing fruit, as also in you, from the day in which ye heard, and knew the grace of God in truth;
that was told to you. Everywhere in the world that Good News is bringing blessings and is growing. This has happened with you, too, since you heard the Good News and understood the truth about the grace of God.
that has come to you. Just as in the entire world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, so it has also been bearing fruit and growing among you from the first day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth.
that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood the grace of God.
The good news is spreading all over the world with great success. It has spread in that same way among you, ever since the first day you learned the truth about God's wonderful kindness
has made its presence felt among you, just as it is also be ing fruitful and multiply ing throughout the world in the same way as it has among you since the day you heard and understood the grace of God as it really is.
which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth,
Which is come vnto you, eue as it is vnto al the world, & is fruitful, as it is also amog you, from ye day that ye heard & truely knew ye grace of God,
Which has been preached to you, just as it has been preached throughout the world; growing and bringing forth fruits, as it does also in you, since the day you heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth;
which has come to you; even as it is in all the world and is bearing fruit and increasing, as it does in you also, since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth;
that has come to you. Just as it is bearing fruit and spreading all over the world, so it has been doingit has been doing">[fn] among you from the day you heard it and came to know the grace of God in truth.
which is preached to you, as also to all the world, and increaseth and giveth fruits, as also in you from the day that you heard, and knew the grace of Aloha in truth,
which is announced to you, as also to all the world; and which groweth and yieldeth fruits, as it doth also among you from the day ye heard and knew the grace of God in reality:
which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, [fn] as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth;
This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives, just as it changed your lives from the day you first heard and understood the truth about God's wonderful grace.
The Good News came to you the same as it is now going out to all the world. Lives are being changed, just as your life was changed the day you heard the Good News. You understood the truth about God's loving-kindness.
which is come unto you; even as it is also in all the world bearing fruit and increasing, as it doth in you also, since the day ye heard and knew the grace of God in truth;
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.
When it presented itself unto you; even as, in all the world also, it is bearing fruit and growing, even as also among you, from the day when ye heard, and came personally to know the favour of God in truth,
Which is come unto you, as also it is in the whole world and bringeth forth fruit and groweth, even as it doth in you, since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth.
that has come to you, just as also in all the world it is bearing fruit and increasing, just as also among you from the day you heard about and understood the grace of God in truth,
Which is come vnto you, euen as [it is] into all the worlde, & is fruitfull, as it is also in you, from the day ye hearde [of it] and knewe the grace of God in trueth,
that was told to you. Throughout the world, this Good News is bringing blessings and is spreading. And that's what has been happening among you since the first time you heard it and understood the truth about God's grace.
which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth;
The gospel keeps bringing blessings and is spreading throughout the world, just as it has among you ever since the day you first heard about the grace of God and came to know it as it really is.
that cam to you, as also it is in al the world, and makith fruyt, and wexith, as in you, fro that dai in which ye herden and knewen the grace of God in treuthe.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
is come: Colossians 1:23, Psalms 98:3, Matthew 24:14, Matthew 28:19, Mark 16:15, Romans 10:18, Romans 15:19, Romans 16:26, 2 Corinthians 10:14
bringeth: Colossians 1:10, Mark 4:8, Mark 4:26-29, John 15:16, Acts 12:24, Romans 1:13, Romans 15:28, Ephesians 5:9, Philippians 1:11, Philippians 4:17
since: Romans 10:17
knew: Psalms 110:3, Acts 11:18, Acts 16:14, Acts 26:18, 1 Corinthians 15:10, 1 Corinthians 15:11, 2 Corinthians 6:1, Ephesians 3:2, Ephesians 4:23, 1 Thessalonians 1:5, 1 Thessalonians 2:13, 2 Thessalonians 2:13, Titus 2:11, Titus 2:12, 1 Peter 1:2, 1 Peter 1:3, 1 Peter 5:12
in truth: John 4:23
Reciprocal: Exodus 28:34 - General Ezekiel 47:4 - the waters were to the knees Haggai 1:12 - Zerubbabel Matthew 13:23 - beareth Matthew 13:38 - field Matthew 26:13 - Wheresoever Mark 4:14 - the word Mark 13:10 - General Luke 8:15 - bring Luke 13:29 - General John 15:5 - same Acts 6:7 - the word Acts 10:35 - in Acts 11:23 - seen Romans 1:6 - are ye also Romans 1:16 - for it is Romans 7:4 - that we 1 Corinthians 8:6 - and we by 2 Corinthians 2:14 - the savour Colossians 1:9 - since 1 Timothy 3:16 - believed Titus 1:3 - manifested
Cross-References
And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
And the evening and the morning were the third day.
And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Which is come unto you,.... That is, the Gospel, which came to them from God, from heaven, from Christ, out of Jerusalem, from whence the word of the Lord was to come, by the ministers of the Gospel, who being sent, came to Colosse, and there preached it; and so the Syriac version renders the words הי דאתכרזת, "which is preached unto you". And a wonderful instance of the free grace of God this was; they did not seek, inquire for, and go after the Gospel, but it came to them; and so Christ was found of them by it, who sought him not, and made manifest in his person, grace, and righteousness to them that asked not after him: for this Gospel came not to them in, word only, but with the power of the Holy Spirit: it was come, εις υμας, "into you", as the phrase may be rendered, into their very hearts, and wrought effectually there, enlightening, convincing, comforting, and instructing them; where it had a place, and remained; for the words may be read, as they are by the Arabic version, "which is present with you". The Gospel is always in one place or another, and will be to the end of the world; but it is not always in the same place; but as yet it was not removed from Colosse; it was still with them in the external ministry of it, and it remained in their hearts in the powerful and comfortable experience of it:
as [it is] in all the world; as it was come into, and preached to all the world, and was made useful, and continued in all the world at that time. Christ gave his disciples a commission to go into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature; it was no more to be restrained to a particular nation, but was made general and common to all the nations of the world, and accordingly they preached it to all; and by this time had delivered the joyful message to the greater part of the world, which is sometimes meant by all the world, and the whole world; or it had been now preached in all the known and habitable parts of the world by one apostle and another, some being sent into one part, and some into another; so that the grace of God appeared to all men, and the doctrine of it had been preached to every creature under the heaven, according to Christ's commission; the Gospel of the kingdom was to be preached in all the world, for a witness to all nations, before the end of the Jewish state came, or before the destruction of Jerusalem, which was not many years after the writing of this epistle. Now this shows, that it was the same Gospel which had been preached at Colosse by their faithful minister there, as had been preached in other areas, and in all parts of the world by the apostles; which is said in the commendation of the Gospel, it being one, uniform, consistent, and all of a piece in every place, and as preached by every faithful minister, and might serve greatly to confirm the Colossians in their faith of it:
and bringeth forth fruit: by which is meant, either the conversion of sinners, the fruit of the Gospel ministry, when attended with a divine blessing and power; or the graces of the Spirit, as faith, hope, love, repentance, humility, self-denial, c. with all the effects thereof, in new obedience, and a godly conversation, which come from Christ, the green fir tree, and are produced by the Spirit, through the preaching of the Gospel. The Vulgate Latin adds, "and increaseth" the Syriac version has the same; and it is so read in some Greek copies, as in the Alexandrian copy, two of Stephens's, and in the Complutensian edition; and may intend the spread of the Gospel among others, besides those who first received it, and the growing fruitfulness of the professors of it under its influence:
as [it doth] also in you, since the day ye heard [of it]; as soon as ever it came among them they hearkened to it, they were inclined to hear it externally, and a divine power going along with it, giving them hearing ears, and understanding hearts, they heard it, so as to know it, love it, and believe it; and from that time it brought forth fruit, and increased in them, and they continued in the faith and profession of it; so that as the Gospel is commended both from the large spread and efficacy of it, as well as its uniformity in every place, these Colossians also are commended for their hearing of it, both externally and internally, and for their perseverance in it: and which is further illustrated in the following clause,
and knew the grace of God in truth: by "the grace of God" may be meant the love and favour of God, in the mission and gift of his Son, to be the Saviour and Redeemer of lost sinners, displayed in the Gospel, of which they had a comfortable experience, it being shed abroad in their hearts by the Spirit; or the blessings of grace revealed in the Gospel, as free justification by the righteousness of Christ, full pardon of sin, according to the riches of grace, and adoption of children, arising out of the love and free favour of God, of which they had had a real application made to them through the Gospel, by the Spirit of God; or rather the doctrine of grace itself, so called because it is a declaration of the free grace of God in the salvation of sinners and the means of implanting grace in the heart. This they knew not merely in a notional and speculative manner, but experimentally; for the Gospel was not only come to them, but into them; they had a spiritual knowledge of it, and affection for it; they felt the power of it in their hearts, and tasted and relished the sweetness of it; and owned and "acknowledged" it, as the word here used may be rendered; for as with the heart they believed it so with the mouth they made public profession of it: and this they did "in truth"; they came by the knowledge of the love of God, and the blessings of grace, and the doctrines of it, by the Gospel, the word of truth; in and through that they became acquainted with these things; and having known and embraced the doctrine of the Gospel of the grace of God, in the truth of it, without any mixture of error, as it had been purely, and without adulteration, truly and faithfully preached by their minister, they professed it truly heartily, and sincerely, and without hypocrisy; which is another part of their commendation, and involves in it the praise of their minister also, which is enlarged upon in the following verses.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Which is come unto you - It has not been confined to the Jews, or limited to the narrow country where it was first preached, but has been sent abroad to the Gentile world. The object of the apostle here seems to be, to excite in them a sense of gratitude that the gospel had been sent to them. It was owing entirely to the goodness of God in sending them the gospel, that they had this hope of eternal life.
As it is in all the world - It is confined to no place or people, but is designed to be a universal religion. It offers the same blessedness in heaven to all; compare the notes at Colossians 1:23.
And bringing forth fruit - The fruits of righteousness or good living; see the notes at 2 Corinthians 9:10. The meaning is, that the gospel was not without effect wherever it was preached. The same results were observable everywhere else as in Colossae, that it produced most salutary influences on the hearts and lives of those who received it. On the nature of the “fruits” of religion, see the notes at Galatians 5:22-23.
Since the day ye heard of it - It has constantly been producing these fruits since you first heard it preached.
And knew the grace of God in truth - Since the time ye knew the true grace of God; since you became acquainted with the real benevolence which God has manifested in the gospel. The meaning is, that ever since they had heard the gospel it had been producing among them abundantly its appropriate fruit, and that the same thing had also characterized it wherever it had been dispensed.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse 6. Which is come unto you — The doctrine of the Gospel is represented as a traveller, whose object it is to visit the whole habitable earth; and, having commenced his journey in Judea, had proceeded through Syria and through different parts of Asia Minor, and had lately arrived at their city, every where proclaiming glad tidings of great joy to all people.
As it is in all the world — So rapid is this traveller in his course, that he had already gone nearly through the whole of the countries under the Roman dominion; and will travel on till he has proclaimed his message to every people, and kindred, and nation, and tongue.
In the beginning of the apostolic age, the word of the Lord had certainly free course, did run and was glorified. Since that time the population of the earth has increased greatly; and, to follow the metaphor, the traveller still continues in his great journey. It is, the glory of the present day that, by means of the British and Foreign Bible Society, Bibles are multiplied in all the languages of Europe; and by means of the Christian missionaries, Carey, Marshman, and Ward, whose zeal, constancy, and ability, have been rarely equalled, and perhaps never surpassed, the sacred writings have been, in the compass of a few years, translated into most of the written languages of India, in which they were not previously extant. In this labour they have been ably seconded by the Rev. Henry Martyn, one of the East India Company's chaplains, who was taken to his great reward just when he had completed a pure and accurate version of the New Testament into Persian. The Rev. R. Morrison, at Canton, has had the honour to present the whole of the New Testament, in Chinese, to the immense population of that greatest empire of the earth. May that dark people receive it, and walk in the light of the Lord! And, by means of the Wesleyan missionaries, the sacred writings have been printed and widely circulated in the Singhalese and Indo- Portuguese, through the whole of the island of Ceylon, and the pure word of the Gospel has been preached there, and also on the whole continent of India, to the conversion of multitudes. Let every reader pray that all these noble attempts may be crowned with unlimited success, till the earth is filled both with the knowledge and glory of the Lord. Talia secla currite! Amen.
And bringeth forth fruit — Wherever the pure Gospel of Christ is preached, it is the seed of the kingdom, and must be fruitful in all those who receive it by faith, in simplicity of heart.
After καρποφορουμενον, bringeth forth fruit, ABCD*EFG, many others, both the Syriac, Erpen's Arabic, the Coptic, Sahidic, AEthiopic, Armenian, Slavonic, Vulgate, and Itala, together with many of the fathers, add και αυξανομενον, and increaseth. It had not only brought forth fruit, but was multiplying its own kind; every fruit containing seed, and every seed producing thirty, sixty, or a hundredfold. This reading is very important, and is undoubtedly genuine.
The grace of God in truth — Ye were fruitful, and went on increasing in the salvation of God, from the time that ye heard and acknowledged this doctrine to be of God, to spring from the grace or benevolence of God; and received it in truth, sincerely and uprightly, as his greatest gift to man.
