PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible — Colossians
Gill, John, 1697-1771 · 60,124 words · 61 reading sections
Colossians 1:1
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible. Colossians 1:1 INTRODUCTION TO COLOSSIANS The Colossians, to whom this epistle is written, were not the Rhodians, by some called Colossians, from Colossus, the large statue of the sun, which stood in the island of Rhodes, and was one of the seven wonders of the world; but …
1,784 wordsSECTION 2Colossians 1:2
Colossians 1:2 Ver. 2. To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ,.... This is the inscription of the epistle, in which the persons wrote unto are described as "saints", or holy men; not by birth, for all are unholy and unclean by nature; nor by baptism, for that neither takes away sin, nor gives grace; nor merely …
368 wordsSECTION 3Colossians 1:3
Colossians 1:3 Ver. 3. We give thanks to God,.... Meaning himself and Timothy. This is the beginning of the epistle, which is introduced with a thanksgiving to God; to whom praise and thankfulness are always due as a Creator and preserver, as the author of all good things, as the Father of mercies, temporal and spirit…
355 wordsSECTION 4Colossians 1:4
Colossians 1:4 Ver. 4. Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus,.... This expresses the matter of their thankfulness, or what it was they gave thanks to God for, their faith in Christ; by which is not only meant their hearty assent to the whole doctrine of faith, concerning the person, offices, and grace of Christ…
468 wordsSECTION 5Colossians 1:5
Colossians 1:5 Ver. 5. For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven,.... These words may be considered either in connection with the foregoing, and express the reason or motive which encouraged these saints to believe in Christ, and to go on believing in him, and hold fast the profession of their faith in him, and …
753 wordsSECTION 6Colossians 1:6
Colossians 1:6 Ver. 6. Which is come unto you,.... That is, the Gospel, which came to them from God, from heaven, from Christ, out of Jerusalem, from whence the word of the Lord was to come, by the ministers of the Gospel, who being sent, came to Colosse, and there preached it; and so the Syriac version renders the wo…
1,174 wordsSECTION 7Colossians 1:7
Colossians 1:7 Ver. 7. As ye also learned of Epaphras,.... To know the grace of God, believe the truth of the Gospel, and to own and profess it sincerely. Our dear fellow servant; a "servant" of Christ he was, and a "fellow" servant of the apostles, jointly engaged with them in preaching the Gospel; which character, …
348 wordsSECTION 8Colossians 1:8
Colossians 1:8 Ver. 8. Who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit. Not only their love to God, and Christ, and to all the saints, which is before mentioned, but their love to the apostle; though they had only heard of him, and of his great capacity for, and faithfulness and usefulness in preaching of the Gospel…
204 wordsSECTION 9Colossians 1:9
Colossians 1:9 Ver. 9. For this cause we also,.... Not merely for their love to the apostle, and the rest that were with him; which sense is too much contracted, and carries some appearance of meanness and selfishness; but because of their faith in Christ, their love to all the saints, and the good hope they had of et…
710 wordsSECTION 10Colossians 1:10
Colossians 1:10 Ver. 10. That ye might walk worthy of the Lord,.... The Vulgate Latin version reads, "of God"; to which the Ethiopic version agrees; but rather the Lord Jesus Christ seems to be designed: and to "walk worthy" of him, is to walk by faith in him; to walk after his Spirit, and according to his word, and i…
632 wordsSECTION 11Colossians 1:11
Colossians 1:11 Ver. 11. Strengthened with all might,.... This is still a continuation of the apostle's prayer for these believers; for having prayed for an increase of spiritual knowledge, and that this might be put into practice, he proceeds to pray for strength for them, that they might be enabled to practise what …
710 wordsSECTION 12Colossians 1:12
Colossians 1:12 Ver. 12. Giving thanks unto the Father,.... To God the Father, as the Vulgate Latin and the Syriac versions read the clause; and the Complutensian edition, and some copies, "God and the Father"; who is both the Father of Christ by nature, and of all his people by adoption. The Ethiopic version renders …
1,278 wordsSECTION 13Colossians 1:13
Colossians 1:13 Ver. 13. Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness,.... That is, from the power of Satan; see Ac 26:18, who, though once an angel of light, is now darkness itself, and is reserved in chains of darkness; he is a ruler of the darkness of this world; his kingdom is a kingdom of darkness; and he bli…
942 wordsSECTION 14Colossians 1:14
Colossians 1:14 Ver. 14. In whom we have redemption,.... Which is an excellent and wonderful blessing of grace saints have in and by Christ; and lies in a deliverance from sin, all sin, original and actual, under which they are held captive, in a state of nature, and by which they are made subject to the punishment of…
1,003 wordsSECTION 15Colossians 1:15
Colossians 1:15 Ver. 15. Who is the image of the invisible God,.... Not of deity, though the fulness of it dwells in him; nor of himself, though he is the true God, and eternal life; nor of the Spirit, who also is God, and the Spirit of the Son; but the Father, called "God", not to the exclusion of the Son or Spirit, …
770 wordsSECTION 16Colossians 1:16
Colossians 1:16 Ver. 16. For by him were all things created,.... This is a reason proving Christ to be before all creatures, to be the common Parent of them, and to have the government over them, since he is the Creator of them. The creation of all things, by him, is not to be understood of the new creation, for whene…
11,585 wordsSECTION 17Colossians 2:1
Colossians 2:1 INTRODUCTION TO COLOSSIANS 2 In this chapter the apostle expresses his great concern for the Colossians, and others he had never seen; exhorts them to constancy in the faith of Christ; warns them of false teachers, and their tenets; takes notice of various blessings and privileges they had by Christ, a…
1,154 wordsSECTION 18Colossians 2:2
Colossians 2:2 Ver. 2. That their hearts might be comforted,.... Here follow the reasons why the apostle had so great a conflict, on account of the above persons, and why he was so desirous they should know it; one is, the consolation of their hearts. The hearts of God's people often need comfort, by reason of indwell…
954 wordsSECTION 19Colossians 2:3
Colossians 2:3 Ver. 3. In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. This may be understood either of the mystery of the Gospel, which contains the rich mines and hidden treasures of all divine truths; so called, because of the richness and intrinsic value and excellency of them; and because of their vari…
313 wordsSECTION 20Colossians 2:4
Colossians 2:4 Ver. 4. And this I say,.... That he had such a conflict for them, and had told them of his care and fear on their account, and had signified his great desire that they might arrive to a more large and certain knowledge of the mysteries of grace, and had asserted that all solid spiritual wisdom and knowl…
362 wordsSECTION 21Colossians 2:5
Colossians 2:5 Ver. 5. For though I be absent in the flesh,.... Or body, as the Ethiopic version reads it, and as it is expressed in 1Co 5:3; here the apostle anticipates an objection which might be made, how he could have such a conflict and concern for them, and express so much affection for them, and know so much o…
876 wordsSECTION 22Colossians 2:6
Colossians 2:6 Ver. 6. As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord,.... Receiving Christ is believing in him: faith is the eye of the soul, that sees the beauty, glory, fulness, and suitableness of Christ; the foot that goes to him, and the hand that takes hold on him, and the arm that receives and embraces hi…
524 wordsSECTION 23Colossians 2:7
Colossians 2:7 Ver. 7. Rooted and built up in him,.... By these metaphors, the apostle expresses the safe and happy state of these believers; and which he makes use of as arguments, to engage them to walk on in Christ, and as pointing out the manner in which they should. Believers are sometimes compared to trees, and …
581 wordsSECTION 24Colossians 2:8
Colossians 2:8 Ver. 8. Beware lest any man spoil you,.... Or despoil you; rob you of the rich treasure of the Gospel, strip you of your spiritual armour, take away from you the truths and doctrines of Christ, and divest you of your spiritual privileges and blessings; suggesting, that the false teachers were thieves an…
1,138 wordsSECTION 25Colossians 2:9
Colossians 2:9 Ver. 9. For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. This is to be understood, not of the doctrine, or Gospel of Christ, as being a perfect revelation of the will of God; but of Christ, and particularly of his human nature, as consisting of a true body and a reasonable soul, in which the G…
599 wordsSECTION 26Colossians 2:10
Colossians 2:10 Ver. 10. And ye are complete in him,.... Or "filled up", or "filled full" in him; that is, are perfect in him: saints are in Christ, and all fulness being in him, they are full too, of as much as they stand in need, and are capable of containing: for these words are not an exhortation to perfection, as…
703 wordsSECTION 27Colossians 2:11
Colossians 2:11 Ver. 11. In whom also ye are circumcised,.... This is said to prevent an objection that might be made to the perfection of these Gentile believers, because they were not circumcised; for the Jews thought that perfection lay in circumcision, at least that there could be no perfection without it: "great…
989 wordsSECTION 28Colossians 2:12
Colossians 2:12 Ver. 12. Buried with him in baptism,.... The apostle goes on to observe how complete and perfect the saints are in Christ; that they are not only circumcised in him in a spiritual sense, and the body of the sins of their flesh is put off, and removed from them, in allusion to the cutting off and castin…
653 wordsSECTION 29Colossians 2:13
Colossians 2:13 Ver. 13. And you being dead in your sins,.... Not corporeally, though sin had subjected them to a corporeal death, and their bodies were really mortal, and in a little time must die; but morally, sin had brought a death upon them in a moral sense, they were separated from God, as at death the body is f…
906 wordsSECTION 30Colossians 2:14
Colossians 2:14 Ver. 14. Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances,.... Various are the senses interpreters give of these words; some think by the handwriting is meant the covenant God made with Adam, Ge 2:17, which being broken, obliged him and all his posterity to the penalty of death, but is cancelled and abolishe…
846 wordsSECTION 31Colossians 2:15
Colossians 2:15 Ver. 15. [And] having spoiled principalities and powers,.... Principalities of hell, the infernal powers of darkness, the devil that had the power of death, the accuser of the brethren, who often objected their debts, with all his works and posse: these Christ has divested of their armour, wherein they…
701 wordsSECTION 32Colossians 2:16
Colossians 2:16 Ver. 16. Let no man therefore judge you,.... Since they were complete in Christ, had everything in him, were circumcised in him; and particularly since the handwriting of the law was blotted out, and torn to pieces through the nails of the cross of Christ, the apostle's conclusion is, that they should …
6,362 wordsSECTION 33Colossians 3:1
Colossians 3:1 INTRODUCTION TO COLOSSIANS 3 This chapter contains exhortations to several duties, some more general, which relate to all Christians, and others more particular, which belong to saints in such and such a state of life. The apostle begins with an exhortation to seek things heavenly, and not earthly, and…
922 wordsSECTION 34Colossians 3:2
Colossians 3:2 Ver. 2. Set your affections on things above,.... For unless the affections are set on them, they will never be sought after in a proper manner. The word signifies to mind them, and think on them, to favour and approve of them, to be affectionately desirous of them, and concerned for them; for where the …
407 wordsSECTION 35Colossians 3:3
Colossians 3:3 Ver. 3. For ye are dead,.... Not in a natural or corporeal sense, for they were living in the world; nor in a moral sense, for though they had been dead in sins, they were quickened by the grace of God; nor in a legal sense, for all their trespasses were forgiven them; see Col 2:13; but they were dead t…
932 wordsSECTION 36Colossians 3:4
Colossians 3:4 Ver. 4. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear,.... The Vulgate Latin version, and some copies, read, "your life". Christ is the author of spiritual life, the fountain from whence it springs, the object on which the saints live, yea, their very life itself; it is not so much they that live, as Chris…
558 wordsSECTION 37Colossians 3:5
Colossians 3:5 Ver. 5. Mortify therefore your members,.... Not your bodies, as the Ethiopic version reads, nor the members of the natural body, but of the body of sin, indwelling sin; which as a body consists of various members, which are parts of it, rise out of it, and are used by it, as the members are by the body;…
920 wordsSECTION 38Colossians 3:6
Colossians 3:6 Ver. 6. For which things' sake,.... Those sins above mentioned, Col 3:5: the wrath of God; the effects of it in temporal judgments, and eternal ruin and destruction, the wrath to come, which all are deserving of, and there is only deliverance from by Christ: cometh upon the children of disobedience: w…
212 wordsSECTION 39Colossians 3:7
Colossians 3:7 Ver. 7. In the which ye also walked some time,.... Either in or among the children of disobedience, Col 3:6, or rather in the afore mentioned sins, Col 3:5. Sin is a road or path, in which sinners walk a way of their own, or of their own choosing and approving, though a dark and crooked one, and which l…
340 wordsSECTION 40Colossians 3:8
Colossians 3:8 Ver. 8. But now you also put off all these,.... Intimating, that now since they were converted and delivered out of the former state in which they were once, and professed not to walk and live in sin, it became them to separate, remove, and put at a distance from them all sins, and every vice, to lay th…
278 wordsSECTION 41Colossians 3:9
Colossians 3:9 Ver. 9. Lie not one to another.... Which is another vice of the tongue, and to which mankind are very prone, and ought not to be done to any, and particularly to one another; since the saints are members one of another, and of the same body, which makes the sin the more unnatural; of this vice, See Gill…
257 wordsSECTION 42Colossians 3:10
Colossians 3:10 Ver. 10. And have put on the new man,.... Concerning which, and the putting it on, See Gill on "Eph 4:24", which is renewed in knowledge; this man, or principle of grace in the soul, is a new one, which never was there before; and there is a daily renovation of it in the spirit of the mind, by the Spi…
324 wordsSECTION 43Colossians 3:11
Colossians 3:11 Ver. 11. Where there is neither Greek nor Jew,.... That is, either in Christ, after whose image the new man is created; see Ga 5:6 or in the new man, and with respect to regeneration; or in the whole business of salvation: it matters not of what nation a man is; this has no influence on his new birth,…
897 wordsSECTION 44Colossians 3:12
Colossians 3:12 Ver. 12. Put on therefore,.... As the apostle had argued for the putting off of the members of the body, from their having put off the old man himself; so he now argues from their having put on the new man, to their putting on of his members; that is, to the exercise of the various graces of the Spirit…
1,062 wordsSECTION 45Colossians 3:13
Colossians 3:13 Ver. 13. Forbearing one another,.... Not only bearing one another's burdens, and with one another's weaknesses, but forbearing to render evil for evil, or railing for railing, or to seek revenge for affronts given, in whatsoever way, whether by words or deeds: and forgiving one another; all trespasses…
223 wordsSECTION 46Colossians 3:14
Colossians 3:14 Ver. 14. And above all these things,.... Bowels of mercies, kindness, &c. put on charity, or brotherly love, for without this all is nothing; they will only be done in show and appearance, in mere guise and hypocrisy, if love is wanting; this actuates and exercises all the rest; it is only from this p…
283 wordsSECTION 47Colossians 3:15
Colossians 3:15 Ver. 15. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts,.... By "the peace of God" is meant, either the peace believers have with God, which is his gift, and passes all understanding, and flows from a comfortable apprehension of interest in the blood, righteousness, and atonement of Christ; or rather tha…
4,285 wordsSECTION 48Colossians 4:1
Colossians 4:1 INTRODUCTION TO COLOSSIANS 4 This chapter begins with an exhortation to masters to behave towards their servants in a just and equitable manner, from the consideration of their having a master in heaven, which should have concluded the preceding one; and in it the apostle gives some general exhortation…
489 wordsSECTION 49Colossians 4:2
Colossians 4:2 Ver. 2. Continue in prayer,.... This is not said particularly to masters, as in the foregoing verse, but to all the members of the church in general; for the apostle having taken notice of some special duties relating to persons in different stations of life, returns to such as were common to them all; …
740 wordsSECTION 50Colossians 4:3
Colossians 4:3 Ver. 3. Withal, praying also for us,.... The persons to be prayed for are next directed to; and these are not only themselves, though their concern is very near and great, but others also, all the saints and people of God, yea, all men, and in particular the ministers of the Gospel. The apostle desires …
660 wordsSECTION 51Colossians 4:4
Colossians 4:4 Ver. 4. That I may make it manifest,.... It being a mystery, a secret, which was hid in God from everlasting, and, during the legal dispensation, was wrapped up in types, and shadows, and sacrifices, and is still hidden unto the natural man. Wherefore the apostle was desirous of making it manifest in a …
220 wordsSECTION 52Colossians 4:5
Colossians 4:5 Ver. 5. Walk in wisdom,.... Or wisely, circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise men; See Gill on "Eph 5:15". Towards them that are without; so the Jews used to call the Gentiles, all that were out of their own land, that were not of their nation or religion, who were aliens from them, and strangers to …
700 wordsSECTION 53Colossians 4:6
Colossians 4:6 Ver. 6. Let your speech be always with grace,.... "In grace, or concerning grace": let grace be the subject matter of your speech and conversation. When saints meet together they should converse with each other about the work of grace upon their souls, how it was begun, and how it has been carried on, a…
726 wordsSECTION 54Colossians 4:7
Colossians 4:7 Ver. 7. All my state shall Tychicus declare unto you,.... This Tychicus was an Asian by birth; see Ac 20:4. His name signifies "fortunate", and is the same with "Fortunatus" in Latin, which name is mentioned in 1Co 16:17 whether he is the same person may be inquired. It is said that this Tychicus was on…
441 wordsSECTION 55Colossians 4:8
Colossians 4:8 Ver. 8. Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose,.... That is, to relate to them his affairs both temporal and spiritual; and also, that he might know your estate. The Arabic version renders it, "that I may know your estate" by him when he returned again; as whether they continued steadfast in th…
206 wordsSECTION 56Colossians 4:9
Colossians 4:9 Ver. 9. With Onesimus,.... Who had been Philemon's servant, ran away from him, and was met with and converted by the Apostle Paul, of whom he says many things in his epistle to his master. According to the Apostolic Constitutions, he was afterwards bishop of Beyrhoea; and some say he suffered martyrdom …
234 wordsSECTION 57Colossians 4:10
Colossians 4:10 Ver. 10. Aristarchus my fellow prisoner saluteth you,.... This man was a man of Macedonia, and a Thessalonian; Ac 19:29 which hinders not but that he might be of the circumcision, or a Jew, as is suggested in the following verse; for he might be born at Thessalonica, and yet be of Jewish parents; nor i…
350 wordsSECTION 58Colossians 4:11
Colossians 4:11 Ver. 11. And Jesus, which is called Justus,.... The former of these names is the same with Joshua, and was very frequent with the Jews, and the later a surname that was sometimes given to men remarkable for holiness and righteousness: so Joseph, called Barsabas, is surnamed Justus, Ac 1:23 and James, t…
265 wordsSECTION 59Colossians 4:12
Colossians 4:12 Ver. 12. Epaphras, who is one of you,.... A native of Colosse, and one of their faithful ministers; see Col 1:7. A servant of Christ; not merely in the same sense as every believer is, but as he was a preacher of the Gospel, in which he faithfully served his Lord and master, Christ: saluteth you; sen…
256 wordsSECTION 60Colossians 4:13
Colossians 4:13 Ver. 13. For I bear him record,.... The apostle was an eye and ear witness of his fervent prayers, his labour of love, and zealous affection for these saints and others; and therefore, as he judged he ought, he bears a testimony for him, that he hath a great zeal for you; for their spiritual welfare, …
207 wordsSource & rights
Public domain; John Gill (1697–1771). Source item is marked Public Domain on Internet Archive.
Project Gutenberg source record →
Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.