Colossians 4:3

Praying ... for us. See on Eph. 6:19. In his letter to the Colossians, Paul includes his fellow laborers in his request for intercessory prayer.

Door of utterance. Literally, “door of the word,” that is, a door for the word, a door for preaching. Compare the figure of a door in Acts 14:27; 1 Cor. 16:9; 2 Cor. 2:12. Opportunities to preach the gospel are looked upon as doors flung wide for the preacher to pass through with the good news. Paul desires that he might be liberated, for the preaching of the gospel is hindered by his captivity. He knows that only God can bring this about, and so he would have the Colossians believers importune Heaven that the Lord might so work. Such prayer would unite the Colossian believers in the great interests of the gospel and incite them to greater activity.

Mystery of Christ, see on Rom. 11:25; cf. Eph. 3:3-6. The mystery of Christ is the mystery that Christ has revealed. The far-reaching purposes of God are unknown to man apart from the revelation of Christ.

Bonds. It was because Paul preached the mystery of Christ that he was in bonds. His arrest in Jerusalem was a direct result of the hostility of the Jews toward the message he bore.