Colossians 1:1-14
"thanksgiving and prayer" + intro
Paul begins this letter with a greeting to the church of Colosse. in this intro, he introduces who he is and who he works for. he also then gives a blessing for the Colossian church.
Paul starts the meat of this letter by giving thanks to God for the faith of the church in Christ and the love of the church for each other. He also then gives an exposition of sorts saying where this faith and love has come from - the hope of heaven and the gospel. He then mentions the progression of the gospel through the nations and makes a reference to the man who brought it to Colosse.
Paul then says that he has been praying for this church since hearing about it; praying that the church may be worthy of and pleasing to the Lord while growing in the knowledge of God and being strengthened by Him.
Paul sets a good example here of how we should interact with other believers:
1) rejoice with them 2) be thankful for & with them
3) encourage them
4) pray for them.
nos 1, 3 & 4 i think are fairly self explanatory, but part of no 2 is a little complicated. how do we be thankful with somebody? when we are thankful for something we will often say thanks to whoever provided said something. being thankful with someone, however, is a way of rejoicing with someone; you are thankful to someone for what they did for someone else along with the initial thanker. this type of thanksgiving is what paul is doing in the beginning of this passage - thanking God for what he has done in this church's life.
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