Col. 1:6. from the day you heard and came to know the grace of God in truth,
Brings forth, he says, fruits and increases the Gospel among you from the day you came to know grace. In what way? Not by deception and empty words, but by truth, that is, by extraordinary signs and deeds.
Col. 1:7. as you also learned from Epaphras
You, he says, have in fact come to know the grace just as Epaphras also taught you. For it was not one thing that happened in reality while he taught another. For he, most likely, preached to the Colossians.
Col. 1:7. beloved fellow worker of ours,
By this he shows that this man is worthy of trust. For I, Paul, would not have loved him if he were not a true preacher, and would not have called him a "fellow worker."
Col. 1:7. faithful,
That is, the true one.
Col. 1:7. for you a servant of Christ,
For your sake, he says, he served in matters befitting Christ. For the fact that he went to Paul, comforted him in his bonds, and informed him of the events in Colossae — this too was a service to Christ. And if Epaphras is a servant of Christ, how can you say that through angels you were brought to God?
Col. 1:8. Who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit.
That is, the spiritual love which you have for me. For the most enduring love is love in the spirit. Every other love—both natural love, such as the love of parents for children and children for parents, and love based on friendship and companionship—is not enduring.
Col. 1:9. Therefore we also, from the day we heard of this, do not cease to pray for you
"Therefore" – why? Since, he says, we heard about your faith and love, we, filled with good hopes regarding the future, pray for you not one day, not two, but from the time we heard about this. By this he both shows his love and subtly reproaches them, since even with the help of his love they did not become more perfect. Note then that one must pray much and unceasingly, and that Paul constantly prayed and, even without achieving the fulfillment of his prayer, did not desist from it.
Col. 1:9. and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will
He does not call them either entirely imperfect or entirely perfect. For he did not say: that you may receive, but "that you may be filled." You, he says, have, but not everything. That you have been brought to God, this you know, but that you have been brought through the Son, this you lack, and I pray that you may be filled with this. For the will of God and His good pleasure consists in this: that the Son was given for us, and not angels. Therefore, by understanding, comprehend the increase of knowledge.
Col. 1:9. In all wisdom and spiritual understanding,
Since they were being deceived by philosophers, he says: I desire that you come to know the teaching through spiritual wisdom, and not through human wisdom, which is now leading you astray, which makes us consider ourselves knowledgeable. And if, in order to comprehend the will of God, spiritual wisdom is needed, what shall we say about those who boast that they have come to know the essence of God through external wisdom?
Col. 1:10. that you may walk (περιπατήσαι) worthy of God,
I pray, he says, that you may come to know that the Only-Begotten saved you, so that you would walk worthily, that is, live virtuously. For whoever has come to know the love of God for mankind and that He delivered His Son for us, how would such a person not strive to deliver himself to the labors of virtue and take up his cross? For the word "to walk" (περιπατήσαι – to walk, to go about constantly), as has been said, denotes life and activity. And everywhere he joins activity with faith. In other words: I pray not only, he says, that you may learn, but also that you may show your knowledge in deeds as well; for the one who knows but does not act will be punished. Notice how he constantly calls activity a walking, showing thereby that just as walking (περιπάτησις) is always necessary for us, so too is the best life necessary.
Col. 1:10. Pleasing Him in all things, (εἰς πᾶσαν ἀρεσκείαν) bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God,
So, he says, live in such a way that you please God in everything. How so? In no other way than by every good deed. For where there is every good deed, there is every pleasing of God. And see how he everywhere adds the word "every": in all wisdom, in every good deed, in all pleasing, and in all patience — showing that they have this even now, but not all of it. That is why they must reach perfection. "Bearing fruit and growing in the knowledge of God." Just as, he says, you have come to know God more than the ancients, so also in life you must grow in proportion to your knowledge. For how great must the virtue be of one who has been deemed worthy to know God and even to become a son of God? Or else: you must bear fruit — good works — but in such a way that you also have the knowledge of God as you ought, and not as you now imagine that you have. For what is the benefit of life and activity if you do not know the Son of God? See then how above he said that the knowledge of God is needed in order to walk worthily of the Lord; and now again he requires that they grow in good works so as to simultaneously know God, because the one is closely joined with the other.
Col. 1:11. being strengthened with all power
We pray that you may attain perfection, "being strengthened with all power." Against what? Against temptations and persecutions, so that you do not become careless and do not fall into despair.
Col. 1:11. By the might of His glory,