Last night, we began our study in Colossians for Greek Exegesis I and some very neat things come out of the text. Please allow me to share two with you.

First, when we started studying Colossians 1:1-8, we focused on verses 4 and 5 to start. They say, “because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people— (the faith and love) that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel.” (parentheses added) We looked at the fact that faith, hope and love are used a lot of times by Paul, but never in this way. He points out that faith and love go together, but that they are a derivative to the hope “stored up in heaven.” It is because Jesus has already won and is now our hope that we then live differently. Real hope in someone that can really deliver and already has (Eph 1:3) gives us reason to love one another. It is this hope that validates our faith. I thought this was really cool.

Second, we looked at an idea that doesn’t mean much unless you understand a little Greek. In verse 6, it says, “In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace.” Paul goes on to describe that Epaphras, a minister of the good news, shared the good news with them as a church and they expected it. What I love is the phrase “bearing fruit and growing” or “bearing fruit and multiplying.” The Greek for “bearing fruit” is a verb that is in the “middle voice” which means it is an action one does to themselves. So, I can “eat,” which is active, or I can “feed myself,” which would be middle. This is no small thing – the good news of Jesus, the gospel, is bearing fruit and multiplying on its own accord. Where in Genesis, God tells the people to “be fruitful and multiply” or “bear fruit and multiply,” the gospel needs no command – it bears its own fruit, it multiplies without our knowledge.

Here is where we need to be careful to go too far. Look at who is writing this. Paul was the missionary of missionaries – the first prolific church planter! He is the one that is seeing this, and this church was planted without him! The gospel was spreading and popping up on its own – through everyone else, anyone else! God was using people like Epaphras to do the work that Paul was originally commissioned. This is every disciple-makers dream. We make disciples so that others will hear the message that we can’t share with everyone. I have people within my sphere of influence that I am praying to reach (neighbors, people at the gas station, family members, etc), but you can reach people I can’t. Let the gospel bear fruit in you – let the hope of what is to come provide you faith (to trust Him no matter what, to believe He can do anything) and love (for each other). Bear this fruit! Then find ways to let it multiply from you!