In looking at Colossians 1:3-8 we have seen that Paul has heard about this young church that came out of the fruit of his ministry in Ephesus, and reminds them of the source of their hope. Today we will see what Paul points out as what should be done with that hope. In Colossians 1:6-8 we see, “It is bearing fruit and growing all over the world, just as it has among you since the day you heard it and recognized God’s grace in the truth. You learned this from Epaphras, our dearly loved fellow slave. He is a faithful servant of the Messiah on your behalf, and he has told us about your love in the Spirit.” Paul now goes and starts telling the Colossian church the purpose of the Gospel.

Bearing Fruit

He starts out with telling them that the Gospel is bearing fruit and growing all over the world. Essentially Paul is stating that the Gospel is to continue to be spread, they heard the Gospel from someone and in turn they should be sharing the Gospel with others. Paul does this by telling the Colossians that it was not just them that found their hope through the Gospel but that the Gospel is for all people in all places. He was essentially stating that it was not just them that will find salvation in the message of the Gospel, but that they should be willing to spread it so that it would continue to bear its fruit.

Seed Planted

This point was driven home by Paul indicating that the seed that bore the spiritual fruit found in the Colossian church was planted by Epaphras. This was not one of the apostles, a missionary, or even some full time minister; this was just a fellow Colossian that heard the message and came to faith while he was probably visiting Ephasus. God used an ordinary man for His extraordinary purpose. As mentioned in the Great Commission we may not all be evangelists, but as Christians we are all to go and spread the Gospel around the world.

What’s The Fruit

So what is the fruit that is growing all over the world that Paul is talking about. It is those that have given their life to Christ. As mentioned they recognized God’s grace in the Gospel and gave their hearts over to it. On exposure to the Gospel message they had a stirring in their hearts as a result of the Holy Spirit drawing them to God that let them see this great gift that is offered to them, which they did not deserve. That is exactly what grace is, receiving something which you do not deserve; on the other side of the same coin is mercy, which is not receiving something you do deserve. You see through mercy we do not receive the punishment of death that we deserve due to sin and through God’s grace we receive life; not because of anything we did but because of Christ and what He did for us in His love. This is what Paul is doing right off the bat, he is reminding the Colossian church of the Gospel message, the message that led them to faith. He is reminding them of God’s grace and mercy as this needs to be first and foremost in their minds, especially when he starts to counter the false teachings that the church is dealing with.