Colossians 2: 5 – Orderly and stable

For even if, in flesh, I am absent, nevertheless, in spirit, I am with you, rejoicing and observing your order and the stability of your faith in Christ.

Paul was not in Colossae and was even unknown to them by sight (2:1). But spiritually he was with them, if only in the letter he wrote to them. What Paul “saw” among the Colossians was not physically, but based on what Epaphras had told about them (1:7,8).

Paul saw, first of all, with joy the order of their faith in Christ. The word for order (Gr. taxis) is related to our word taxonomy and refers to order and structure. The Colossians’ faith in Christ was characterized by order and structure. Their faith was not an emotional fad but a logical, coherent belief.

The second thing that Paul observed with joy among the Colossians is related to the first. Their faith was characterized by order but also by stability. We recognize our word stereo (as opposed to mono = only) in the Greek word for it (stereoma). Originally stereo means: solid or sturdy. What is sturdy and stable can take a beating. This was how the Colossians’ faith in Christ was characterized: orderly and stable!

Delen: