Colossians 1:3-5

³We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, ⁴because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints-- ⁵the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel ⁶that has come to you.

With this prayerful opening to his letter, Paul is ensuring the Colossians that they have indeed heard the entirety of the gospel. There’s nothing new that they’ve missed, as the false teachers in their midst may have claimed. He thanks God for the faith of the Colossians and their love for the saints. In so doing, he undercuts the false teachers. It’s as if he’s saying, “I thank God that you do not need to be looking for a new and improved teaching because you’ve got the truth.” Calvin says, “He praises the faith and love of the Colossians, that it may encourage them the more to alacrity and constancy of perseverance. By showing that he respects them, he procures their friendly regards, that they may be the more favorably inclined and teachable for receiving his doctrine. Paul admonishes us, by his example, to acknowledge with gratitude not merely those things that the Lord confers upon us, but also those things that he confers upon others. But for what things does he give thanks to the Lord? For the faith and love of the Colossians. He acknowledges, therefore, that both are conferred by God: otherwise the gratitude were pretended.”

In v4-5, Paul mentions together faith, hope, and love. He does this in numerous places (Romans 5:1-5; 1 Corinthians 13:13; Galatians 5:5-6; Ephesians 1:15-18, 4:2-5; 1 Thessalonians 1:3, 5:8; other authors do as well in Hebrews 6:10-12, 10:22-24; 1 Peter 1:3-8, 21-22), and these three elements – gifts of God and not virtues produced by fallen humanity – help us to understand the basics of the Christian religion, the only true religion in the world. Cheung points out, “When subjective and emotional meanings are attributed to these words, they cannot convey anything substantial about Christianity or accentuate its distinctive features against other religions and philosophies. But when understood according to their biblical usage, these words are able to embody some core aspects of the Christian religion.” Cheung also suggests that, when properly understood, there is no faith, hope, and love in any other religion. True faith, true hope, and true love are exclusive to Christianity. Another important thing to point out, other than the fact that these are gifts from God and not produced by us, is that Paul attributes an object to each of them. Let’s look at that:

First, Paul notices their faith “in Christ.” His message in v4 is to say that faith in Christ, trust in Christ, reliance on Him, commitment to Him, is enough; no other requirements are necessary. And second, Paul notices their love “for all the saints.” Love must be rendered first and foremost, especially in terms of degree, to the saints, and secondly, and to a lesser degree, to all of God’s creation. This is how God’s love is displayed, most fervently toward His own, yet still in some degree to creation. This is not simply a human affection that is being spoken of here. This is self-denying concern that puts the best interest of others as a priority in our relationships to them. This love for the brotherhood is a distinctive gift for the spirit. Third and finally, Paul sees their hope as being “stored up in heaven” – the future glory. And interestingly, Paul notes that this hope is the cause of their faith and love. Faith and love “spring from” hope (Hebrews 11:1). It has been said the future belongs to those who belong to God. That is our hope and, as we expect that reality, it breeds faith and love. Calvin says, “For it is of necessity, that the man who is fully persuaded that a treasure of life is laid up for him in heaven will aspire thither, looking down upon this world. Meditation, however, upon the heavenly life stirs up our affections both to the worship of God (faith), and to exercises of love.” So there’s no need of mystical experiences to have proof of God’s saving grace. Faith, hope, and love are all the proof we need to see God’s grace at work in us by His Holy Spirit.

We’ve seen that the Colossians’ faith and love “spring from” the hope that is stored up in heaven, and now we see that they heard about this hope “in the word of truth, the gospel” (v5). This gospel is a message about God’s grace, bearing fruit consisting of faith, love, and hope once it is heard and understood (v6). In v5, Paul tells the Colossians that they’ve already heard the gospel, which is what he will be telling them; thus there is nothing new in his teaching. This directly contrasts the teaching of the false teachers, which is always something new. There is a similar message in Jude – be on guard when it comes to new teaching.