Thanksgiving
Colossians 1:3-8
Though
Paul has no usual pattern to his thanksgiving and prayers, it was customary for
him to assure his readers of both. The only exception is in Galatians. Verses 3
to 8 are one sentence in the Greek. It is one continual flow of thanksgiving.
1. Expression of
Thanksgiving (1:3).
“We give thanks.” Thanksgiving is a
recurrent theme in this epistle (cf. 1:12; 2:7; 3:15; 4:2). Here we find the plural
(we), not the singular. That is
because Paul is writing on behalf of Timothy and himself. It is in the present
tense, indicating a continual expression of thankfulness. “Give thanks” is one compound word in the Greek, (charistoumen) meaning well and grace. It is the common word for
the expression of gratitude. It speaks
of action. Gratitude is an expression of worship and praise for what God has
done at the Cross, as well as what He is doing in the lives of others.
Thanksgiving frames this section (1:3, 12). It is an expression of gratitude to
someone for something and therefore an expression of praise and appreciation.
“To God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
These words denote the object to which thanksgiving is expressed or directed. The
definite article is not in the text. The phrase could read, “to God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
The omission matters little for the clear object of the thanksgiving is
directed toward God the Father. It is the Father to whom our prayers are to be
directed (Rom 1:8; 1 Cor. 1:4; Phil. 1:3). The term “Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” is unique to the New Testament. In
the Old Testament, God was the God of the fathers—Abraham, Issac, and Jacob.
However, when the Son came He emphasized His relationship with God as “Father”
(John 5:17; 17:1, 11). Paul uses the phrase a number of times (Rom. 15:6; 2
Cor. 1:13; 11:31; Eph. 1:3, 17; 1 Pet. 1:3).
T.
Croskery gives us the four reasons why our thanksgiving is addressed to God the
Father:[1]
·
We are commanded to be thankful to Him and bless
His Name (Psa. 100:4)
·
It is from Him that we have all good gifts
(James 1:17)
·
It is by Him we are preserved from sin (Psalm
121:7)
·
Because He only is within Himself good (Luke
18:19)
“Praying always for you.” Paul expresses
his gratitude by praying for them. Paul wants the readers to understand that he
gives thanks to the Father on their behalf. They are the subject of his prayer
and gratitude. Paul was a man of prayer. Notice the word “always” (pantote). The Greek word means at all times. It can modify
either the main verb (give thanks) or
the participle (praying), because of
how the text reads (lit. “We give thanks
to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ always for you praying”),[2]
thus it is somewhat ambiguous grammatically. Many seem to take it with the
participle. Thus, they put a comma after the “Lord Jesus Christ, always praying for you.” However, not all agree,
for others takes it with giving thanks always.[3] Thus,
they put the comma after the word always—“giving
thanks to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ always, for you praying.”
This latter view may be favorable in light of Ephesians 5:20; Colossians 3:17;
1 Thessalonians 1:2; 2 Thessalonians 1:3, 3:13, It is more consistent with Paul
in the other epistles. It is consistent with the majority of verses in that God
is the object of thanksgiving, and the fact that thanksgiving is always
directed to God. Both ways are possible grammatically. Thus the idea is “always giving thanks to God.” God is the
object of our thanksgiving. It is always to Him that our thanksgiving is
directed. It should be noted that both thanksgiving and prayer go together. We
are to pray with thanksgiving (Phil 4:6). The heart that is filled with
gratitude is impelled always to give thanks to God.
The
phrase “for you” is interesting. The
preposition (for) is peri which conveys the concept of “around.” Thus, we could
freely translate the phase “surrounding you with prayer.” The gist of the verse
is that Paul gives thanks always to God the Father when surrounding them in
prayer.
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