because we have heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all the saints—
Parallel translations
- WEB having heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which you have toward all the saints,
- KJV Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints,
- NKJV since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints;
- NASB since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints;
- NLT For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all of God’s people,
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Paul gives thanks because he has heard of the Colossians' faith in Christ and love for all the saints. Faith and love are evidence of true conversion.
Overview
Paul's thanksgiving rests on reports of their 'faith in Christ Jesus' and 'love which you have toward all the saints.' Faith directed to Christ and love directed to fellow believers are recurring marks of authentic Christian life in the New Testament. Together with hope (next verse), they form the well-known triad of faith, love, and hope.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Eph 1:15For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints,
- 2 Th 1:3We are obligated to thank God for you all the time, brothers, as is fitting, because your faith is growing more and more, and your love for one another is increasing.
- 1 Th 1:3and continually recalling before our God and Father your work of faith, your labor of love, and your enduring hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
- Phlm 1:5because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints.
- Heb 6:10For God is not unjust. He will not forget your work and the love you have shown for His name as you have ministered to the saints and continue to do so.
- 3 Jn 1:3–4For I was overjoyed when the brothers came and testified about your devotion to the truth, in which you continue to walk.
- Gal 5:6For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. All that matters is faith, expressed through love.
- 1 Jn 4:16And we have come to know and believe the love that God has for us. God is love; whoever abides in love abides in God, and God in him.
- 1 Th 3:6But just now, Timothy has returned from his visit with the good news about your faith, your love, and the fond memories you have preserved, longing to see us just as we long to see you.
- 1 Jn 3:14We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. The one who does not love remains in death.
- 1 Th 4:9–10Now about brotherly love, you do not need anyone to write to you, because you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another.
- 1 Jn 3:23And this is His commandment: that we should believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and we should love one another just as He commanded us.
- 2 Cor 7:7and not only by his arrival, but also by the comfort he had received from you. He told us about your longing, your mourning, and your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced all the more.
- 1 Pet 1:21–23Through Him you believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and glorified Him; and so your faith and hope are in God.
- Col 1:9For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
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Christ at the center
The image of the invisible God, firstborn over creation, in whom all things hold together and all the fullness of God dwells bodily — supreme over every power.
How Colossians 1:4 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.