Building on Your Love for One Another, Let’s Talk about Jesus
[3] We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, [4] since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, [5] because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, [6] 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, [7] just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf [8] and has made known to us your love in the Spirit. Colossians 1:3–8 ESV
Look at the way Paul greets these people and is affectionate for them:
We always thank God for you
We pray for you
We have heard of your faith
We have heard of your love for all of the saints
The word of God is bearing fruit and increasing among you
You have great love for others in the Holy Spirit
He must have known them pretty well and been close to them to care for them so much, right?
Nope, he had never met most, if not all, of them. In chapter 2 he will talk about how the great struggle he has had to get there and meet them face to face.
How could somebody with such a passion for adherence to the truth of Jesus Christ care for people so much, and be so moved by their faith, without going there and inspecting their beliefs to make sure they believe correctly? This letter is full of instruction, but there isn’t correction like in 1 Corinthians or Galatians.
I think there were at least two things going on here. One, he could tell that their faith was strong because of their love for one another. He mentions love several times and of all the things that show off who we follow, Jesus said love would be the number one sign that we are Christians. Their love for one another and others in the church around the world was widely known.
The other thing is that Paul knows they are focused on Jesus above other issues. Jesus will be mentioned more in this letter than any other letter. They weren’t up against unbelief in this letter, but in making the teachings of Jesus just another wise philosopher. Instead of changing their minds, Paul is only trying to give them greater details about the Lord in whom they believe.
What would happen if we treated people like that? What if instead of convincing people of believing, we assumed they believed and just built up their faith in Jesus? What if we judged churches by their love instead of their music volume or their stance on this or that issue?
And from there, exalted and lifted up Jesus, who is the ultimate teacher by His spirit?
See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. Colossians 2:8 ESV