the Week of Proper 19 / Ordinary 24
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King James Version
Colossians 1:7
Bible Study Resources
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just as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf,
just as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow slave, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf,
Y'all heard the message from the cowboy, Epaphras, who went out for Christ in search of strays. He found y'all and you listened.
As it was given to you by Epaphras, our well-loved helper, who is a true servant of Christ for us,
even as ye learned from Epaphras our beloved fellow-bondman, who is a faithful minister of Christ for you,
You learned this from Epaphras, our dearly loved fellow slave. He is a faithful servant of the Messiah on your behalf,
even as you learned of Epaphras our beloved fellow-servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf,
As ye likewise learned of Epaphras our beloved fellow-servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ for you:
as you learned it from Epaphras our dearly-loved fellow servant. He is to you a faithful minister of Christ in our stead,
As yee also learned of Epaphras our deare felow seruant, who is for you a faithfull Minister of Christ:
even as you also learned from Epaphras our beloved fellow-slave, who is a faithful minister of Christ for you,
as ye learned of Epaphras oure deare felowe seruaunt, which is a faithfull mynister of Christ for you,
which you heard was offer'd to you, by the instructions of Epaphras, our dear fellow-servant, who is to you a faithful minister of Christ:
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.
You learned it from [our representative] Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf
even as ye learned of Epaphras our beloved fellow-servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf,
as you learned it from Ep'aphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf
as ye learned of Epaphra oure deare felowe servaunt which is for you a faythfull minister of Christ
even as you learned of Epaphras our beloved fellow slave, who is a faithful servant of Christ on your behalf,
As ye also learned from Epaphras our dear fellow-servant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ;
as ye also learned from Epaphras, our beloved fellow-servant, who is for you a faithful ministrant of the Christ,
You learned about God's grace from Epaphras, whom we love. He works together with us and is a faithful servant of Christ for us.
You learned the gospel from Epaphras, our dear fellow slave—a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf—
You learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf,
from our good friend Epaphras. He works together with us for Christ and is a faithful worker for you.
You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow-slave and a faithful worker for the Messiah on your behalf;
just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf
As yee also learned of Epaphras our deare fellowe seruaunt, which is for you a faithfull minister of Christ:
Just as you have learned it from Ep''a-phras our beloved fellow-servant, who is for your sakes a faithful minister of Christ:
even as you learned of Epaphras our beloved fellow-servant, who is a faithful minister of Messiah on our behalf,
You learned about this gospelJust as you learned">[fn] from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on yourour">[fn] behalf.
as you learned from Epaphra our beloved companion, who is himself for you a faithful minister of the Meshiha,
as ye learned from Epaphras, our beloved fellow-servant, who is for you a faithful minister of the Messiah;
as you also learned from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf,
You learned about the Good News from Epaphras, our beloved co-worker. He is Christ's faithful servant, and he is helping us on your behalf.
You heard the Good News through our much-loved brother Epaphras who is taking my place. He is a faithful servant of Christ.
even as ye learned of Epaphras our beloved fellow-servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf,
This you learned from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf,
Even as ye learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow-servant, who is faithful in our behalf, as a minister of the Christ,
As you learned of Epaphras, our most beloved fellow servant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ Jesus;
just as you learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow slave who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf,
As ye also learned of Epaphras, our deare felowe seruaunt, which is for you a faythfull minister of Christe:
You heard it from Epaphras, our dear friend and co-worker. He is a faithful servant of Christ for us.
just as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf,
You learned of God's grace from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is Christ's faithful worker on our behalf.
As ye lerneden of Epafras, oure felawe most dereworthe, which is a trewe mynystre of Jhesu Crist for you;
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
Epaphras: Colossians 4:12, Philemon 1:23
our: Philippians 2:19-22, Philippians 2:25
a: Numbers 12:7, Matthew 24:45, Matthew 25:21, 1 Corinthians 4:2, 1 Corinthians 4:17, 1 Corinthians 7:25, 2 Corinthians 11:23, Ephesians 5:21, 1 Timothy 4:6, 2 Timothy 2:2, Hebrews 2:17, Hebrews 3:2
Reciprocal: Isaiah 43:10 - and my servant Matthew 13:52 - scribe Acts 26:16 - a minister 2 Corinthians 8:23 - and fellowhelper Ephesians 6:21 - faithful Philippians 4:3 - true 1 Thessalonians 2:8 - dear 1 Thessalonians 3:2 - our brother 1 Peter 5:12 - a faithful 3 John 1:3 - when
Cross-References
And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
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 let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.
And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds; and the cloud is not rent under them.
He sendeth the springs into the valleys, which run among the hills.
Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
As ye also learned of Epaphras,.... To know the grace of God, believe the truth of the Gospel, and to own and profess it sincerely.
Our dear fellow servant; a "servant" of Christ he was, and a "fellow" servant of the apostles, jointly engaged with them in preaching the Gospel; which character, as it greatly commends Epaphras, and shows him to be a very considerable preacher of the word, so it expresses the great humility and condescension of the apostle, in putting him upon a level with himself, though he was not in that high office of the apostleship he was. And "dear" this precious servant of Christ was to him, and his fellow ministers, on account of the grace and gifts bestowed on him, because of his usefulness in the ministry, and his faithfulness and integrity in the discharge of it; and whose company and conversation in the prison greatly endeared him to them, for he was a fellow prisoner, as well as a fellow servant, Philemon 1:23. It follows,
who is for you a faithful minister of Christ; one whom Christ had made a "minister" and not man, who was qualified, and sent forth, and made successful by him in his service; and who preached none but Christ, and him crucified, in the business of salvation: and he was a "faithful" one; one that sought not his own glory, but the glory of him that sent him; nor to please men, but his master; who concealed no part of his message, but freely and fully declared the whole; he was faithful to Christ, who put him into the ministry, and to the souls of men, to whom he ministered: and therefore it is said, he was such an one "for you"; for them, not for himself; for their spiritual good and advantage; he sought not theirs, but them; he had a great zeal for them, dearly loved them, and spent his time and strength, and made use of his gifts and talents while among them, for their use and benefit.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
As ye also learned of Epaphras - Epaphras was then with Paul. Philemon 1:23. He had probably been sent to him by the church at Colossae to consult him in reference to some matters pertaining to the church there. It is evident from this, that Epaphras was a minister of the church at Colossae, though there is no evidence, as has been often supposed, that he was the founder of the church. The apostle here says, that they had learned from Epaphras the true nature of the gospel, and he designs undoubtedly to confirm what he had taught them in opposition to the teachings of errorists; see the Introduction, Section 4. He had doubtless conferred with Epaphras respecting the doctrines which he had taught there.
Our dear fellow-servant - This shows that Paul had contracted a strong friendship for Epaphras. There is no reason to believe that he had known him before, but his acquaintance with him now had served to attach him strongly to him. It is possible, as has been conjectured (see the Introduction), that there was a party in the church at Colossae opposed to Epaphras and to the doctrines which he preached, and if this were so, Paul’s strong expression of attachment for him would do much to silence the opposition.
Who is for you a faithful minister of Christ - “For you,” when he is with you, and in managing your interests here.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse 7. As ye also learned of Epaphras - who is for you — Who this Epaphras was we cannot tell; only it is likely that he was a Colossian, and became, by the call and grace of Christ, a deacon of this Church, faithfully labouring with the apostle, to promote its best interests. Some think that he is the same with Epaphroditus, Epaphras being a contraction of that name, as Demas is of Demetrius; and it is remarkable that one of the Slavonic versions has Epaphroditus in this place. That he was a Colossian is evident from Colossians 4:12: Epaphras, who is one of you, οεξυμων. some think that he was the first who preached the Gospel among this people, and hence called an apostle. He was raised up among themselves to be their minister in the absence of the apostle, and he showed himself to be worthy of this calling by a faithful discharge of his ministry, and by labouring fervently for them all, and pressing them forward, that they might stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.
