Colossians 1:20-25
1:20 a Through Christ, God has reconciled everything to himself, reestablishing his rule over all creation, including both the spiritual and the earthly realms.Summary for Col 1:21-23: 1:21-23 b Paul applies the truth of 1:15-20 c 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 d The phrase once far away from God probably refers to their condition as Gentiles (see Eph 2:12 e).
1:22 f 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 g 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 h).
Summary for Col 1:24-2:5: 1:24–2:5 i Paul considers his own role in the widespread preaching of the Good News (1:23 j). 1:24 k I am participating in the sufferings of Christ (literally I am filling up what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ): While the redemptive suffering of Christ is unique and completely finished, Christ still suffers through his people in a world hostile to the message of redemption. Christ and his church will continue to suffer until God’s purposes in this world are complete (see also Mark 13:19-23 l; Rom 8:17-18 m; 1 Thes 3:3 n).
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