Colossians 1:4

We heard. News of conditions in the church at Colossae was brought by Epaphras (vs. 7, 8).

Faith. Faith in Christ is not simply confidence and trust in Him as a person; it is complete subordination to the will of God and unquestioning reliance in His program. It is man’s acceptance of God’s way.

In Christ Jesus. Paul pictures Christ as the sphere in which the Christian lives, in the same way as the air is the medium in which his body exists. The one who is “in Christ” is bounded and circumscribed by his Saviour’s principles and laws; he lives by them and in them. Jesus is the source and the protector of his life. Within this circle that embraces everything for which Jesus stands as the Christ of God, true faith operates (see Eph. 1:15; Him. 3:13; 2 Tim. 1:13; 3:15).

Love. Gr. agape (see on 1 Cor. 13:1). Actuated by the principle of love to God and love for the brethren, all Christians will blend together. This attitude results in affection for all saints. Genuine faith toward God can produce nothing less. Paul is overjoyed at the developing Christian experience of the Colossian believers.