Colossians 1:3-8

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 teaching which has become prevalent at Colossæ. It is a merely local fad. They should have listened to Epaphras, whose doctrine Paul approves, and who seems to have been their original evangelist.