Colossians 1:3, 6
“We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ…since the day you heard of it [the Gospel] and understood the grace of God in truth.”
Two things stand out about Paul’s prayer of thankgiving for the Colossians. First, Paul thanked God for the Colossians’ faith. God was the Active Agent in their salvation, not the people of Colossae themselves. The Colossians had become Christians because God had initiated and work of grace in their lives through His servant Epaphras (vs. 7). Upon hearing the Gospel the Colossians “understood the grace of God.” It took effect in their lives when they realized it was God, not themselves, that had saved them.
Secondly, Paul thanked God that the Colossians had “understood the grace of God in truth.” That is to say, they didn’t misunderstand God’s grace or take it for something it wasn’t. They didn’t become antinomians (people who think the grace of God means they can live any way they want, apart from God’s commandments). Instead, the grace of God worked a faith and love in them that was heard about by other Christians and churches in their region (Colossians 1:4).
These things are important when considering Colossians 1:3-12. We don’t thank ourselves for “doing the right thing” and becoming Christ followers – we thank God. We know it’s His grace at work in our lives that has woken us up to the love of God found in Jesus Christ. And we don’t misuse God’s grace. We understand it in truth. It works a faith and love in us that will be heard and seen by others. The Active Agent works in us an active faith that can’t be hidden.
Ephesians 2:8-10
It’s by grace you have been saved, through faith; and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one will boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
