Colossians 1:8

Who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit. YOUR LOVE () - "to all the saints." IN THE SPIRIT - the element IN which alone true love is found (; ), as distinguished from that of those "in the flesh" (). Even they needed to be stirred up to greater love (Colossians 3:12). Love is the first-fruit of the Spirit ()....

_Love in the Spirit _I take to mean, _spiritual love_, according to the view of Chrysostom, with whom, however, I do not agree in the interpretation of the preceding words. Now, _spiritual love _is of such a nature as has no view to the world, but is consecrated to the service of piety, (286) and has, as it were, an internal root, while carnal friendships depend on external causes....

1-8 All true Christians are brethren one to another. Faithfulness runs through every character and relation of the Christian life. Faith, hope, and love, are the three principal graces in the Christian life, and proper matter for prayer and thanksgiving. The more we fix our hopes on the reward in the other world, the more free shall we be in doing good with our earthly treasure. It was treasured up for them, no enemy could deprive them of it. The gospel is the word of truth, and we may safely venture our souls upon it. And all who hear the word of the gospel, ought to bring forth the fruit of the gospel, obey it, and have their principles and lives formed according to it. Worldly love arises, either from views of interest or from likeness in manners; carnal love, from the appetite for pleasure. To these, something corrupt, selfish, and base always cleaves. But Christian love arises from...

Verse 8. _YOUR LOVE IN THE SPIRIT._] _So we preached, and so ye_ _believed_. The heavenly flame in the heart of this minister communicated itself to those who heard him; it was _like priest_ _like people_. They enjoyed a spiritual, energetic ministry, and they were a _spiritual_ people; they had a _loving spirit_, and _love_ through the _Spirit_ of God which dwelt in them. And of this love of theirs in the Spirit, and particularly towards the apostle, Epaphras gave full proof, not only by describing to the apostle the affection they felt for him, but in presenting to him those _supplies_ which their love to him caused them to furnish....

WHO ALSO DECLARED UNTO US YOUR LOVE IN THE SPIRIT - The love wrought in you by the Holy Spirit. It was not mere natural affection, but love worked in their hearts by the agency of the Holy Spirit....

EXPOSITION COLOSSIANS 1:1 SECTION I. INTRODUCTION. The Epistle commences, in St. Paul's manner, with a _salutation _(Colossians 1:1, Colossians 1:2), followed by _thanksgiving _(Colossians 1:3) and _prayer _(Colossians 1:9). Only in 2 Thessalonians, however, outside of the Epistles of this group, do we find a formal opening prayer. The _salutation _agrees closely with that of Ephesians....

WHO ALSO DECLARED UNTO US YOUR LOVE IN THE SPIRIT. Not only their love to God, and Christ, and to all the saints, which is before mentioned, but their love to the apostle; though they had only heard of him, and of his great capacity for, and faithfulness and usefulness in preaching of the Gospel, which had greatly endeared him to them. This, he says, was in the Spirit; it was spiritual love, to distinguish it from a carnal and worldly one; they loved him for the spiritual grace that was in him, the spiritual gifts bestowed on him, the spiritual service he was engaged in, and the spiritual usefulness he was of: or they loved him in, and with their spirits, with all their hearts, sincerely, and without dissimulation; and though they had never seen him in the flesh, yet being, as it were, present with him in spirit, their affections were knit unto him: or this their love was "in the Holy Sp...

Colossians 1:1. _Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timotheus our brother, to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ._ Kindness is the very breath of Christianity, so the apostle will not begin the subject matter of his letter until first of all he has breathed out a benediction upon those to whom he writes. Colossians 1:3. _We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,_ Paul very graciously blends his giving of thanks and his constant prayer for these Christians at Colosse, and therein sets us an example that we may well imitate....

ANALYSIS AND ANNOTATIONS I. THE PERSON OF CHRIST, His GLORY AND His WORK CHAPTER 1 _ 1. The introduction (Colossians 1:1)_ 2. The prayer (Colossians 1:9) 3. The person and glory of Christ, Head of creation and Head of the Church (Colossians 1:15) 4. The work of reconciliation and the double ministry (Colossians 1:19) Colossians 1:1 This Epistle unfolds the doctrine of Christ and therefore Paul speaks of himself as an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God; Timothe

A PARAGRAPH OF THANKSGIVING. He always gives God thanks when he prays for them, for he has heard (from Epaphras) of their loyalty in Christ and the love which they exhibit towards all God's people: a love based upon that hope of a heavenly destiny which was included in the word of the truth the Good News as originally preached to them. They must remember that the Gospel which is in their midst is also in all the world; that it is bearing fruit and increasing, exactly as it did at Colossæ ever since they first heard it, and came to know God's grace as it truly is. Epaphras their teacher is a beloved sharer in Paul's own slavery to Christ, a loyal ministrant of Christ to them on Paul's behalf. It is he who has notified Paul of their love in the Spirit. COLOSSIANS 1:6. By emphasizing the _universal_ character of the original gospel Paul hints at the falsehood of the new t