Col 1:21-23 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Col 1:21-23: 1:21-23 Paul applies the truth of 1:15-20 to the Colossian Christians. As people who have been reconciled to God, they enjoy a new spiritual status and need to stand firm in the truth they have been taught. 1:21 The phrase once far away from God probably refers to their condition as Gentiles (see Eph 2:12 ).

a1:21-23►

b1:15-20►

dEph 2:12►

‏ Colossians 1:21-23

Summary for Col 1:21-23: 1:21-23 ^a Paul applies the truth of 1:15-20 ^b to the Colossian Christians. As people who have been reconciled to God, they enjoy a new spiritual status and need to stand firm in the truth they have been taught. 1:21 ^c The phrase once far away from God probably refers to their condition as Gentiles (see Eph 2:12 ^d).
1:22 ^e The Colossians, like all believers, were holy and blameless in God’s sight not because of their own perfection but because they had been reconciled with God through Christ’s death.
1:23 ^f preached all over the world (literally preached to every creature under heaven): The point of Paul’s hyperbole (exaggeration for emphasis) is that centers for preaching the Good News had been established in key cities throughout the Roman world (see also 1:6 ^g).