Colossians 1: 23 – The Evangel of which Paul became a dispenser

Since surely you are persisting in the faith, grounded and settled and are not being removed from the expectation of the evangel, which you hear, which is being heralded in the entire creation, which is under heaven of which, I , Paul became the dispenser.

The Evangel (= the good message) that was entrusted to Paul was heralded worldwide. Not only by himself, but by other preachers. As in the case of the Colossians, through Epaphras (1:7). But Paul’s ministry is normative in this regard.

The Evangel that the Colossians had heard was revealed to Paul (Gal. 1:12; Col. 1:25,26) and that is why he sometimes calls it “my Evangel” (Rom. 16:25; 1 Tim. 2:18 ). The Gospel may be heralded “in all creation under heaven” by however many, but Paul says: I, Paul, became its dispenser. He is the one to whom the authority was given to complete the word of God and to reveal the secret (hidden from eons).

Of course, Paul is not the subject of the Gospel. He is only a servant of it. In fact, according to his own words, he was not even worthy to be called an apostle of Christ (1Cor.15:9). But precisely because of that unworthiness, Christ called him and revealed himself to him so that through him “the Gospel of the grace of God” might be sent to the nations!

Delen: