having heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love which you have toward all the saints,
Parallel Translations
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having heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love which you have toward all the saints,
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sence we hearde of youre faith which ye have in Christ Iesu and of the love which ye beare to all sayntes
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Since wee heard of your faith in Christ Iesus, and of your loue toward all Saintes,
Cross-references (15)
Passages linked to Colossians 1:4 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Ephesians 1:15 For this cause I also, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which is among you, and the love which you have toward all the saints,
- 2 Thessalonians 1:3 We are bound to always give thanks to God for you, brothers, even as it is appropriate, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of each and every one of you toward one another abounds,
- 1 Thessalonians 1:3 remembering without ceasing your work of faith and labor of love and perseverance of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, before our God and Father.
- Philemon 1:5 hearing of your love and of the faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all the saints,
- Hebrews 6:10 For God is not unrighteous, so as to forget your work and the labor of love which you showed toward his name, in that you served the saints, and still do serve them.
- Galatians 5:6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision amounts to anything, nor uncircumcision, but faith working through love.
- 1 John 4:16 We know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and he who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him.
- 3 John 1:3-4 For I rejoiced greatly when brothers came and testified about your truth, even as you walk in truth. I have no greater joy than this: to hear about my children walking in truth.
- 1 Thessalonians 3:6 But when Timothy came just now to us from you, and brought us glad news of your faith and love, and that you have good memories of us always, longing to see us, even as we also long to see you,
- 1 John 3:14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. He who doesn’t love his brother remains in death.
- 2 Corinthians 7:7 and not by his coming only, but also by the comfort with which he was comforted in you while he told us of your longing, your mourning, and your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced still more.
- Colossians 1:9 For this cause, we also, since the day we heard this, don’t cease praying and making requests for you, that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
- 1 Thessalonians 4:9-10 But concerning brotherly love, you have no need that one write to you. For you yourselves are taught by God to love one another, for indeed you do it toward all the brothers who are in all Macedonia. But we exhort you, brothers, that you abound more and more;
- 1 Peter 1:21-23 who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead, and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope might be in God. Seeing you have purified your souls in your obedience to the truth through the Spirit in sincere brotherly affection, love one another from the heart fervently, having been born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the word of God, which lives and remains forever.
- 1 John 3:23 This is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, even as he commanded.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (14 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 4. Having heard of your faith. This was a…
4. Having heard of your faith. This was a means of stirring up his love towards them, and his concern for their welfare, when he heard it that they were distinguished by faith and love. And, unquestionably, gifts of God that are so excellent ought to have such an effect upon us as to stir us up to love them wherever they appear. He uses the expression, faith in Christ, that we may always bear in mind that Christ is the proper object of faith.
He employs the expression, love towards the saints, not with the view of excluding others, but because, in proportion as any one is joined to us in God, we ought to embrace him the more closely with special affection. True love, therefore, will extend to mankind universally, because they all are our flesh, and created in the image of God, (Genesis 9:6;) but in respect of degrees, it will begin with those who are of the household of faith. (Galatians 6:10.)
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 4 Since we heard of your faith in Christ…
4 Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints,
Ver. 4. And of the love, &c.] Faith in Christ Jesus maketh love to all the saints. Therefore they go commonly coupled in Paul’s Epistles. And therefore when the disciples heard how often they must forgive an offending brother, "Lord, increase our faith," say they, Luk 17:5. {See Trapp on "Luk 17:5"}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain He instanceth in principal graces, as the matter of…
He instanceth in principal graces, as the matter of his thanksgiving, beginning with faith, described and differenced from the special object of it, Christ Jesus, implying not a bare knowledge or assent, but a trust in him alone for salvation; so Rom 1:8. Understanding this saving grace with the consequent was wrought in them, as he heard it was in the Ephesians, and Philemon, it, was a cogent motive to engage them in solemn thankfulness to God: see on Eph 1:15, compared with Phm 1:5. He joins love, or charity, to all the saints, with faith to our Saviour, because they are in effect inseparable, there being no real embracing of Christ without loving of him, and all his members for his sake, Gal 5:6; 2Ti 1:13; not as if believers were not to show love or charity to others, who are of the same nature, and so bear the image of God, for this Christ requires of them, Mat 5:44,45; but by how much the nearer any are brought to God by sanctification, by so much the more a special love is to be showed to them, as fellow citizens, of the household of God, and the hosehold of faith, Rom 15:26, with Gal 6:10; Eph 2:19.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus,....…
Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus,.... This expresses the matter of their thankfulness, or what it was they gave thanks to God for, their faith in Christ; by which is not only meant their hearty assent to the whole doctrine of faith, concerning the person, offices, and grace of Christ, their soundness and steadfastness in it, and their sincere and constant profession of it; but the grace of faith in them, the operation of the Spirit of God in their souls, which had not Moses, nor any mere man, but Christ for its object; by which they looked unto him as a Saviour, went unto him as such, ventured on him, committed themselves unto him, leaned and relied upon him; that grace which comes from him, has him for its author and finisher, and returns unto him, and lives on him. This Paul and Timothy had heard of by their minister Epaphras; and it shows that they made no secret of it, did not keep it to themselves, but declared, confessed, and published it to others, as is the duty of all believers to do; and thanks being given for it to God, makes it a clear point that it was not of themselves, but was the gift of God, otherwise there would have been no need of thankfulness for it; as also, that it is a very eminent grace, and of great use and service to such who are possessed of it,
And of love which ye have to all the saints; this is another thing for which thanks are given to God. The object of this grace are "saints"; all men indeed are to be loved, and even our very enemies; and good is to be done to all, but especially to holy and good men, to the household of faith; and these are "all" to be loved and respected; nor is any respect or difference of persons to be made on account of country, or natural relation, as Jews or Gentiles, or of outward state and condition, as rich or poor, bond or free, or of greater or lesser gifts and grace, weak or strong believers, or of different sentiments in the lesser matters of religion. It denotes both the grace of love itself, which is a fruit of the Spirit implanted in regeneration, and is an evidence of the new birth, and always is where true faith in Christ is, for faith works by it; and also the effects of it, which lies not in bare words, in expressions of spiritual affection and friendship, but in deeds, by serving one another in love, by relieving in necessity, sympathizing in distress, praying with and for one another, and the like; all which these saints were famous for.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 4. Since we heard of your faith] This…
Verse 4. Since we heard of your faith] This is very similar to Eph 1:15. And it is certain that the apostle seems to have considered the Church at Ephesus, and that at Colassa to have been nearly in the same state, as the two epistles are very similar in their doctrine and phraseology.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus…
Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus - To wit, by Epaphras, who had informed Paul of the steadfastness of their faith and love; Col 1:7-8. This does not prove that Paul had never been at Colossae, or that he did not establish the church there, for he uses a similar expression respecting the church at Ephesus Eph 1:15, of which he was undoubtedly the founder. The meaning is, that he had heard of their faith at that time, or of their perseverance in faith and love.
Which ye have to all the saints - In what way they had manifested this is not known. It would seem that Paul had been informed that this was a character of their piety, that they had remarkable love for all who bore the Christian name. Nothing could be more acceptable information respecting them to one who himself so ardently loved the church; and nothing could have furnished better evidence that they were influenced by the true spirit of religion; compare 1Jo 3:14.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Since we heard--literally, "Having heard." The language implies that…
Since we heard--literally, "Having heard." The language implies that he had only heard of, and not seen, them (Col 2:1). Compare Rom 1:8, where like language is used of a Church which he had not at the time visited.
love . . . to all--the absent, as well as those present [BENGEL].
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 4. Since we heard—Faith, love, and hope are three…
4. Since we heard—Faith, love, and hope are three graces inseparably connected. Faith instrumentally saves the soul, makes it the home of love, and prepares it for the final glorification in heaven. This becomes at once an object of hope to the believer, in accordance with the prayer of our Lord: “Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am.” Joh_17:24. Children of the same Father, believers in the same Saviour, and travellers together to the same heaven, cannot well fail of a deep, broad Christian love. This heavenly home is prepared, set apart, laid up, and so made secure for all believers, to be given them in its fulness of bliss at our Lord’s appearing.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 4. since we heard] More simply, having heard. He…
4. since we heard] More simply, having heard. He refers to the information given by Epaphras (Col_1:7), probably quite recently. On the question whether he had ever visited Colosssæ, see on Col_2:1 below, Introd., pp. 20, 21, and Appendix A. This verse gives no decisive evidence in the matter.
faith in Christ Jesus] Cp. Eph_1:15 for a closely parallel passage. “The preposition [‘in’] here … denotes the sphere in which their faith moves, rather than the object to which it is directed” (Lightfoot). But it is not easy to draw a clear distinction between “sphere” and “object” in this case. And surely Mar_1:15 (Greek) (cp. Rom_3:25; Joh_3:15; and, in the LXX., Psalms 77 :(Heb. and Eng. 78.) 22) proves the possibility of reference here to the Object of faith, on and in whom it reposes, as an anchor in the ground. On the other hand 2Ti_1:13 (quoted by Lightfoot) shews the possibility of explaining, “faith maintained by union with Christ.” But this more recondite meaning scarcely fits this context, where the parallelism of clauses seems to suggest the saints’ regard towards Christ first and then one another.
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and of the love … saints] “This is His commandment, that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another” (1Jn_3:23). Divine faith, in true and full exercise, issues by its nature in a life and work of love towards men, regarded as either actual (as here) or potential brethren of Him who is faith’s goal and rest.
all the saints] Doubtless not at Colossæ only, but everywhere. It was one of the earliest glories of the Gospel, illustrated everywhere in the N.T., to bind together in love a world-wide family. Cp. Col_3:11 below.—The words which ye have are probably in the true text.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Having heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and…
Having heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have (hn ecete, Revised Text) toward all the saints (Eph_1:15, B.V; Phm_1:5, R.V; 1Th_4:9, 1Th_4:10; 1Jn_3:23 2Jn_1:4 3Jn_1:3, 4) "Having heard "more immediately from Epaphras (vers. 8, 9). Note the characteristic recurrence of this word: he had heard of their faith and love, as they had heard before the word of truth (ver. 5); from the day they had heard they had borne fruit (ver. 6), and he, in return, from the day he heard of it, had not ceased to pray for them (ver. 9); see note on ver. 8; and comp. 1Th_1:5 and 2:2 with 3:6 (Greek). "In Christ Jesus" is attached to "faith (as to "brethren" in ver. 2) so closely as to form with it a single idea; to be "in Christ Jesus" is of the very essence of this faith and brotherhood. "Faith in Christ," "believe in Christ," in our English Bible, commonly represent a different Greek preposition, eijv (literally, into or unto Christ); only in the pastoral Epistles and in Eph_1:15 not (Gal_3:26 see Lightfoot) or (Rom_3:25 see Meyer or Beet) do we find, as here, pistiv ejn Cristw. In Christ faith rests, finding its abiding ground and element of life. In the Epistles of this period the Christian state appears chiefly as "life in Christ;" rather than, as in the earlier letters, as "salvation through Christ". (comp. e.g. Ro 5 and Col_2:9-15) The "love" of the Colossians evokes thanksgiving, as that which they have "toward all the saints;" for as the Church extended Christian love needed to be more catholic (ver. 6; Col_3:11) and Colossian error in particular tended to exclusiveness and caste feeling (see note on ver. 28). The iteration of "all" in this Epistle is remarkable.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 4. Since we heard of your faith … and…
4. Since we heard of your faith … and love. He probably heard through Epaphras, a member at Colosse (verse 7 and 4:12), who was at that time with him in Rome.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
William B. Godbey 1900 · Public Domain 4. “Hearing of your faith in Christ Jesus, and…
ARGUMENT 1
FAITH AND LOVE
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4. “Hearing of your faith in Christ Jesus, and the Divine love which you have toward all the saints.” Here, again, we see the magnificent globe of human salvation, exhibiting the two distinct hemispheres; i.e., the human and the Divine. We do the believing, and God does the saving. Salvation must be subjective before it can be objective. We must first receive heaven in us, before we are in a fix to go to heaven. This Divine love, the heavenly agapee, constitutes the very atmosphere of heaven. We can not possibly love in the Bible sense, till we have it in our hearts. It is exotic in humanity, and indigenous in God alone. When the sinner meets the condition by an utter and eternal abandonment of sin, and casts himself, in a moment of desperation, on the mercy of God in Christ by simple faith alone, he freely forgives him for Christ’s sake, imputing to him the righteousness of Christ. At that moment the Holy Ghost, the commissioned executive of the new creation, pours out (Rom 5:5) into his heart this Divine love, which is the nature of God (1Jn 4:18), thus imparting the Christ-life and nature to the dead soul, resurrecting it into the new life of God and heaven. The popular Churches on this problem are wrapped in an awful delusion, preaching human love as a substitute for the Divine, there being no salvation in it, as illustrated in case of the rich man in hell, who there had it in behalf of his brethren in the superlative degree. Faith is your own act, co-operated by the Holy Ghost, who is always on hand and ready to give you all the help you need to believe God’s Word, and as a sinner to trust him implicitly for a free pardon, and as a Christian to trust him triumphantly for entire sanctification, and as a wholly sanctified servant of the Lord to trust him incessantly to keep you by his power, fill you with his Spirit, and give you momentary and perpetual victory over every foe. All the other graces are resolvable into these two; i.e., faith and love, which focalize at the constituents of the two spiritual hemispheres, and represent the entire plan of salvation. Hence, your faith is positively the measuring line of your experience. When the sinner believes God’s convicting truth, he always gets convicted. When he believes converting truth, he always gets converted. When the Christian believes God’s copious illuminating truth, everywhere revealing inbred sin surviving in the heart of the regenerate, he invariably gets convicted of it. When he walks in the light of that conviction, and believes God’s wonderful truth, revealing entire sanctification in the cleansing blood, he sweeps into Beulah land with a shout.
5-7. “From the day in which you heard, and have truly and perfectly known the grace of God.” We know the grace of God in regeneration, but truly, perfectly know that grace in sanctification. We reach experimental certainty.
8. “Who also revealed to us your Divine love in the Spirit.” The Holy Spirit is the only Dispenser of the Divine love, native only in the heart of God, and poured out into our hearts by the Holy Ghost. (Rom 5:5.) Hence, Holy Ghost religion only is characterized by love. All others are carnal and selfish.
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 We have heard
We have heard
Paul is excluding his audience. (See: Exclusive and Inclusive "We")
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your faith in Christ Jesus
"your belief in Christ Jesus"
because of the certain hope reserved for you in heaven
Here "certain hope" stands for what the believer can confidently expect, that is, the things that God has promised to do for all believers. These things are spoken of as if they were physical objects that God was keeping in heaven for the believers to possess later. AT: "because you are certain that God, who is in heaven, will do the many good things that he has promised you" (See: Metonymy)
the word of truth, the gospel
Possible meanings are 1) "the message about the truth, the gospel" or 2) "the true message, the gospel."
This gospel is bearing fruit and is growing
"Fruit" here is a metaphor for "result" or "outcome." AT: "This gospel is having good results, more and more" or "This gospel is having increasing results" (See: Metaphor)
in all the world
This is a generalization referring to the part of the world that they knew about. AT: "throughout the world" (See: Hyperbole and Generalization)
the grace of God in truth
"the true grace of God"
translationWords
faith
Jesus
love
God
heaven
word
true
good news
fruit
grace
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 1:4 God’s people (literally holy ones, or saints): In…
1:4 God’s people (literally holy ones, or saints): In the New Testament, all Christians are saints, people who have been specially set apart by God as his own holy people (3:12).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.