Colossians 4:12 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Colossians 4:12
Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.
Epaphras · noun — nominative singular masculine, a proper name
is
ὁho
G3588
the (sometimes to be supplied · article — nominative singular masculine
of
ἐξex
G1537
literal or figurative · preposition
you
ὑμῶνhymōn
G5216
of (from or concerning) you
servant
δοῦλοςdoulos
G1401
a slave (literal or figurative · noun — nominative singular masculine
Christ
ΧριστοῦChristou
G5547
anointed · noun — genitive singular masculine, a title
saluteth
ἈσπάζεταιAspazetai
G782
to enfold in the arms · verb — present middle or passive deponent indicative, 3rd person singular
you
ὑμᾶςhymâs
G5209
you (as the objective of a verb or preposition)
always
πάντοτεpantote
G3842
every when · adverb
fervently
ἀγωνιζόμενοςagōnizomenos
G75
to struggle · verb — present middle or passive deponent participle, nominative singular masculine
for
ὑπὲρhuper
G5228
"over" · preposition
you
ὑμῶνhymōn
G5216
of (from or concerning) you
in
ἐνen
G1722
"in · preposition
prayers
προσευχαῖς,proseuchais
G4335
prayer (worship) · noun — dative plural feminine
that
ἵναina
G2443
compare G3588 (ὁ)) · preposition
stand
σταθῆτεstathēte
G2476
to stand (transitively or intransitively) · verb — aorist passive subjunctive, 2nd person plural
perfect
τέλειοιteleioi
G5046
complete (in various applications of labor · adjective — nominative plural masculine
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
complete
πληρόωplēróō
G4137
to make replete
in
ἐνen
G1722
"in · preposition
all
παντὶpanti
G3956
all · adjective — dative singular neuter
will
θελήματιthelēmati
G2307
a determination (properly · noun — dative singular neuter
God
θεοῦ.theou
G2316
figuratively · noun — genitive singular masculine, a title
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Romans 15:30 Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ’s sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your praye…
Colossians 1:9 For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of…
Colossians 1:7 As ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellowservant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ;
Colossians 1:28 Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:
Philemon 1:23 There salute thee Epaphras, my fellowprisoner in Christ Jesus;
Romans 15:14 And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one…
Galatians 4:19 My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,
2 Peter 1:1 Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of G…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Colossians 4:7–end
In the close of this epistle the apostle does several of his friends the honour to leave their names upon record, with some testimony of his respect, which will be spoken of wherever the gospel comes, and last to the end of the world.
I. Concerning Tychicus, Col 4:7. By him this epistle was sent; and he does not give them an account in writing of his present state, because Tychicus would do it by word of mouth more fully and particularly. He knew they would be glad to hear how it fared with him. The churches cannot but be concerned for good ministers and desirous to know their state. He gives him this character, A beloved brother and faithful minister. Paul, though a great apostle, owns a fa…
Christ--The oldest manuscripts add "Jesus."
labouring fervently--As the Greek, is the same, translate, "striving earnestly" (see on Col 1:29 and Col 2:1), literally, "striving as in the agony of a contest."
in prayers--Translate as Greek, "in his prayers."
complete--The oldest manuscripts read, "fully assured." It is translated, "fully persuaded," Rom 4:21; Rom 14:5. In the expression "perfect," he refers to what he has already said, Col 1:28; Col 2:2; Col 3:14. "Perfect" implies the attainment of the full maturity of a Christian. BENGEL joins "in all the will of God" with "stand."
Adam Clarke on Colossians 4:12
Epaphras, who is one of you - A native of some part of Phrygia, and probably of Colosse itself.
A servant of Christ - A minister of the Gospel.
Labouring fervently for you - Αγωνιζομενος· Agonizing; very properly expressed by our translators, labouring fervently.
That ye may stand perfect and complete - Ἱνα στητε τελειοι και πεπληρμενοι. That ye may stand firm, perfectly instructed, and fully persuaded of the truth of those doctrines which have been taught you as the revealed will of God: this I believe to be the meaning of the apostle.
Instead of πεπληρωμενοι, complete or filled up, almost all the MSS. of the Alexandrian rescension, which are considered the most authentic and correct, have…
"Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, saluteth you, always striving for you in his prayers, that ye may stand perfect and fully assured in all the will of God. For I bear him witness, that he hath much zeal for you, and for them in Laodicea, and for them in Hierapolis." In the commencement of this Epistle also, he commended this man for his love; for even to praise is a sign of love; thus in the beginning he said "Who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit." (Col. i. 8.) To pray for one is also a sign of love, and causeth love again. He commends him moreover in order to open a door to his teachings, for reverendness in the teacher is the disciples' advantage; and so again is his saying, "one of you," in order that they might pride themselves upon the man, as producing such men. And he saith, "always striving for you in prayers." He said not simply "praying," but "striving," trembling and fearing. "For I bear him witness," he saith, "that he hath much zeal for you." A trustworthy witness. "That he hath," he saith, "much zeal for you," that is, that he loveth you exceedingly; and burneth with passionate affection for you. "And them in Laodicea, and them in Hierapolis." He commendeth him to those also. But whence were they to know this? They would assuredly have heard; however, they would also learn it when the Epistle was read. For he said, "Cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans." "That ye may stand perfect," he saith. At once he both accuseth them, and without offensiveness gives them advice and counsel. For it is possible both to be perfect, and withal not to stand, as if one were to know all, and still be wavering; it is possible also not to be perfect, and yet to stand, as if one were to know a part, and stand [not ] firmly. But this man prayeth for both: "That ye may stand perfect," he saith. See how again he has reminded them of what he said about the Angels, and about life. "And fully assured," he saith, "in all the will of God." It is not enough, simply to do His will. He that is "filled," suffereth not any other will to be within him, for if so, he is not wholly filled. "For I bear him witness," he saith, "that he hath much zeal." Both "zeal," and "great"; both are intensitive. As he saith himself, when writing to the Corinthians, "For I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy." (2 Cor. xi. 2.) It is…
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Agony — Contest; wrestling; severe struggling with pain and suffering. Anguish is the reflection on evil that is already past, while agony is a struggle with evil at the time present. It is only used in the…
Colossae — Or Colosse, a city of Phrygia, on the Lycus, which is a tributary of the Maeander. It was about 12 miles above Laodicea, and near the great road from Ephesus to the Euphrates, and was consequently of…
Epaphras — Lovely, spoken of by Paul (Col. 1:7; 4:12) as “his dear fellow-servant,” and “a faithful minister of Christ.” He was thus evidently with him at Rome when he wrote to the Colossians. He was a…
Hierapolis — Sacred city, a city of Phrygia, where was a Christian church under the care of Epaphras (Col. 4:12, 13). This church was founded at the same time as that of Colosse. It now bears the name of…
Epaphras · A co-laborer with Paul — A co-laborer with Paul
Perfection · UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO — UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
John Gill on Colossians 4:12
Epaphras, who is one of you,.... A native of Colosse, and one of their faithful ministers; see Colossians 1:7.
A servant of Christ; not merely in the same sense as every believer is, but as he was a preacher of the Gospel, in which he faithfully served his Lord and master, Christ:
saluteth you; sends his Christian respects to you, for whom he bore a sincere love and hearty affection, as appears by what follows:
always labouring fervently for you in prayers; in all his prayers, which were many and frequent, he never forgot his dear flock at Colosse, of which he was pastor, but strove with God for them, even to an agony, as the word signifies; he wrestled with the Lord as Jacob did, nor, as…
Colossians 4:10-13
10. Aristarchus my fellowprisoner saluteth you, and Marcus, sister's son to Barnabas, (touching whom ye received commandments: if he come unto you, receive him;)
10. Salutat vos Aristarchus, concaptivus meus, et Marcus, cognatus Barnabae, de quo accepistis mandata si venerit ad vos, ut suscipiatis ipsum.
11. And Jesus, which is called Justus, who are of the circumcision. These only are my fellowworkers unto the kingdom of God, which have been a comfort unto me.
11. Et Iesus qui dicitur Iustus, qui sunt ex circumcisione, hi soli cooperarii in regnum Dei, qui mihi fuerunt solatio.
12. Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring ferve…
Jesus (the one we call Justus) is mentioned only here in the New Testament. The surname Justus is included because Jesus (which means the Lord saves) was a common name among Jews in the first century.
