Colossians 1:3-8
Expanded Bible
3 In our prayers for you we always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 4 ·because we have [or ever since we; L having] heard about the faith you have in Christ Jesus and the love you have for all ·of God’s people [T the saints]. 5 You have this faith and love because of your hope, and what you hope for is ·kept safe [stored up; reserved] for you in heaven. You learned about this hope when you heard the ·message about the truth [or true message; L word of truth], the ·Good News [Gospel] 6 that ·was told [L has come] to you. [L …just as] Everywhere in the world that ·Good News [Gospel] is ·bringing blessings [L bearing fruit] and is growing. This has happened with you, too, ·since [L from the day] you heard and ·understood the truth about [or truly understood] the grace of God. 7 You learned about ·God’s grace [L it] from Epaphras, our ·dear [beloved; much loved] fellow ·servant [slave; bondservant], who is a faithful ·servant [minister] of Christ ·for us[a] [on our behalf]. [C Epaphras apparently established the church at Colossae during Paul’s three-year ministry in Ephesus; Acts 19:10.] 8 He also told us about the love you have ·from [or in] the Holy Spirit.
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- Colossians 1:7 for us Some Greek copies read “for you.”
Colossians 1:3-8
Amplified Bible
3 We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, as we pray always for you, 4 for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus [how you lean on Him with absolute confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness], and of the [unselfish] [a]love which you have for all the saints (God’s people); 5 because of the [confident] hope [of experiencing that] which is reserved and waiting for you in heaven. You previously heard of this hope in the message of truth, the gospel [regarding salvation] 6 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]. 7 You learned it from [our representative] Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf 8 and he also has told us of your love [well-grounded and nurtured] in the [Holy] Spirit.
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- Colossians 1:4 The key to understanding this and other statements about love is to know that this love (the Greek word agape) is not so much a matter of emotion as it is of doing things for the benefit of another person, that is, having an unselfish concern for another and a willingness to seek the best for another.
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