ministers, "to comfort the apostle, and inform him of their state." Epaphras, during his visit to Paul, was himself made a prisoner along with him at Rome.*

This epistle to the Colossians was written during the Apostle's first imprisonment at Rome. The account which Epaphras had given him of the spiritual condition of the Church was, on the whole, satisfactory; yet the disciples there seem to have been in danger from false teachers who urged, on the one hand, the importance of certain philosophical speculations in explanation of the gospel, and, on the other, insisted on the observance of some points of the Jewish ritual in addition to the gospel. To warn them of the danger, to point out the fallacy of the notions, and to help their steadfastness in the faith of Christ, the Apostle wrote this letter.

In these introductory verses we have St. Paul's formal salutation to the Colossians, and his thanksgiving on their behalf.

I. The salutation. The Apostle inscribes his own name on this epistle, claims his position as an ambassador of the Lord Jesus, and ascribes that position to the will of God. "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God"language this which could not fail to enhance the importance of his letter, and increase its authority. He associates Timothy with himself in the salutation, but not as also an apostle. He speaks of him as a brother; and so well known was Timothy, ministering in various ways to Paul-carrying his messages, bringing correspondence to him, representing him in his absence, and endeared to him in so many ways, that the Church at Colossæ could not wonder at Timothy's name being associated with that of the Apostle himself.

Mark the designation by which the persons addressed are

*Philem. 23.

distinguished, "The saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse." By such terms were the disciples of the Saviour and the members of the first churches called. They were saints, persons separated to God, and called to be holy; believers, whose faith in Christ, and whose union. to Him, made them brethren. The words in Christ note the element or sphere in which the brotherhood existed, and the bond by which it was realized. Christ is at once the source, the centre, and the circumference of the believing brotherhood; and union to Him creates this tender relationship between all His disciples. The communion at Colossæ was not promiscuous. None, irrespective of character and spiritual qualification, were at liberty to connect themselves with the Christian Church. That Church was not perfect; there were evils and hypocrisies even in the Christian societies founded by the Apostles; yet their membership was select, and the members, as a whole, could be addressed as "saints and faithful brethren in Christ," those who acknowledged Christ, and honestly sought to obey Him as their Lord, and who gave some evidence of sainthood before the world.

The form of salutation is much the same as St. Paul uses in other epistles: "Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."

God is recognized as the giver or source of all grace and peace. Grace from Him, and peace with Him, are the very highest spiritual blessings, and these coming from God as our Father encircle and fill the soul with all that it can need for the present and the future. Grace richly enjoyed will always bring peace, and peace is the surest stay of the mind and

* The words and the Lord Jesus Christ are not found in several of the ancient MSS., and are omitted by the best modern critics, Tischendorf, Alford, Tregelles, etc.

God, heart amidst all the turmoil and trouble of this life. as the Almighty Father, bestows grace, and diffuses peace throughout the great and growing company of His children.

II. The thanksgiving. "We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints, for the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel; which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth." In praying for them the Apostle could not restrain his gratitude to God on their behalf, thus, in accordance with his own injunction to the Philippians, joining prayer with thanksgiving.* His thanksgiving here is presented to God as the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is in this relation that He is our reconciled and reconciling Father, and to Him the glory of all spiritual blessing and spiritual experience is due. The thanksgiving was offered for what St. Paul had heard of these Colossian Christians, their faith and love and hope, the fruits of that gospel which they had heard and received. He gave thanks for their hope, but this he did because of what he had heard of their faith in Christ, and of their love to all the saints. Their faith in Christ was the central principle, the mighty formative power, of their new life, that without which neither love nor hope could grow in their souls. Of this faith the Lord Jesus Christ, in all the fulness of His glory, and the grandeur of His redemptive work, as suggested by the titles here given Him, was the object and foundation. This faith was a living principle; it worked by love, produced love to all who bore the image of the Saviour, and showed that they were His disciples. Love to Christ

*Phil. iv. 6.

Himself is involved; for love to the saints is really affection for Christ's image in them.

(1.) The character of the Colossians, as thus formed and manifested by faith and love, was the object which first called forth the Apostle's gratitude on their account. Their faith and love blossomed into hope, the glorious hope of a future inheritance. (2.) The prospect before them thus became an element in St. Paul's thanksgiving for them. That prospect, the hope laid up in heaven, was the issue and crown of their faith and love, and for these graces in them, "faith, hope, charity," the Apostle gives thanks to God on their behalf. And well he might. These are the grand features, the Divine elements, of the Christian life; and to possess them, to show their power and working in the heart and in the history, is the highest cause of thankfulness that any man can have for himself or for others. Thank God for providential kindness, for increasing prosperity and comfort, for health and strength, for the joys of friendship, for everything which can minister to our gladness here; for He is "the Father of lights," from whom cometh down every good and perfect gift. But above all may we thank Him for faith and love and hope; these graces are the very elements of a character which will encircle the soul with glory for ever. The hope here spoken of, though chiefly, is not wholly objective; it signifies a blessing so certain and so attainable, that it creates hope in the soul as a subjective feeling, the influence of which is to elevate, purify, and prepare it for the object in heaven within the veil. St. Paul goes on

to speak more definitely of this hope as an objective reality -of its character, source, and foundation-the hope which is laid up for you in heaven. The use of the word hope in this objective sense is not uncommon with the Apostle.* Here

• See Rom. viii. 24; Gal. v. 5; Eph. i. 18; Tit. ii. 13; Heb. vi. 18.

he says it is laid up in heaven.

Thus he refers to its

futurity. The object itself is not now enjoyed; only the prospect of it. It is the hope of felicity, perfection, and glory for ever with Christ, the hope of beholding Him, being like Him, being with Him through eternity; the hope of an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and which fadeth not away. What would the world be, with all it cares, anxieties, and tears, without this prospect? It is this which cheers the soul amidst the gloom and trouble of the present. Here the Christian has no continuing city nor place of abode ; this world is not his permanent home; he looks for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. The prospect of such a future, with all its glory and joy, imparts an influence to strengthen and stimulate him throughout his earthly pilgrimage.

But the words of St. Paul show the security of the Christian's hope, as well as its futurity. It is laid up in heaven, where nothing can touch it or tarnish it for ever. There no thief can enter, no rust corrode, no moth corrupt. The object itself, that for which the Christian looks and longs, will be in keeping with the region where it is now reserved, and where, by-and-by, it will be realized in all its fulness. It is the unimagined glory of spiritual perfection, the blessedness of uninterrupted and perpetual fellowship with the Lord Jesus, who gave Himself for us, that we might reign with Him in life for evermore. Most surely and most truly blessed are they who have such a hope nowsuch an inheritance in prospect. It is a hope which maketh not ashamed, which will never disappoint those who possess it.

The Apostle next speaks of the source of this hope, of how the Colossians obtained it, or where they learned it: "Whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel." They had heard of this hope in the gospel which had been