The Gospel Doesn’t Just Save You — It Starts Growing
- Thad DeBuhr
- 5 hours ago
- 18 min read
Study Guide: Colossians 1:3-8
Have you ever planted something and then checked on it way too soon?
Maybe you planted tomatoes, flowers, grass seed, or a little tree. You put it in the soil. You watered it. You made sure it had sunlight. Then, the next morning, you walked outside and looked.
Nothing.
So you checked again later.
Still nothing.
At first, growth can feel painfully slow. You know something is happening under the surface, but you cannot see it yet. Then one day, a tiny green shoot appears. A few days later, it is taller. Then leaves come. Eventually, fruit begins to form.
The seed did not just sit in the ground as a seed. It started doing what living seed does.
It grew.
That is the picture Paul gives us in Colossians 1:3–8.
The gospel is not just a set of religious ideas. It is not just information to agree with. It is not just a ticket to heaven someday.
The gospel is the good news about Jesus. And when that good news takes root in a person, it starts growing.
It produces faith.
It produces love.
It produces hope.
It changes the way people see God.
It changes the way people treat each other.
It changes what people live for.
That is why Paul begins this section with thanksgiving. He has heard about the believers in Colossae. He knows they are young in their faith. He knows they will need correction. He knows there are confusing teachings trying to pull them away from the fullness of Jesus.
But before Paul corrects anything, he celebrates what God is already growing.
That is important.
Sometimes we only notice what is wrong. We notice what is missing, immature, broken, or incomplete. Paul does not ignore those things, but he does not start there. He begins by thanking God for signs of life.
And maybe that is where we need to begin too.
Before we talk about what still needs to change, can we pause long enough to notice what
God has already started growing?
As you go through the study guide, I would suggest reading or listening to the Bible passages in two different bible translations from this list: NIV, NLT, NASB, ESV, NKJV
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Setting the Scene
Colossians 1:3–8 comes right after Paul’s opening greeting.
In Colossians 1:1–2, Paul introduced himself as “an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God.” He also included Timothy, calling him “our brother.” Then Paul addressed the believers in Colossae as God’s holy people, faithful brothers and sisters “in Christ.”
That opening mattered because Paul was not simply saying hello. He was reminding them who they were.
They lived in Colossae, but their deepest identity was in Christ.
Now Paul moves into a section of thanksgiving. This was common in ancient letters, but Paul does more than follow a letter-writing custom. He uses this thanksgiving to show what healthy gospel life looks like.
Colossae was a city in the Lycus Valley, in the region of Phrygia, in what is now modern-day Turkey. Nearby were Laodicea and Hierapolis, two better-known cities. Colossae had once been more important, but by Paul’s day it was not the major city in the area.
That detail helps us feel the letter.
This is not a letter to a famous church in a powerful city. It is a letter to ordinary believers in a place that could easily be overlooked.
Paul likely had not personally visited Colossae. The church was probably started through the ministry of Epaphras, a coworker of Paul. We see that in this passage when Paul says the Colossians learned the gospel from Epaphras, whom he calls a “dear fellow servant” and a “faithful minister of Christ” (Colossians 1:7).
That means the gospel did not reach Colossae through Paul personally standing in their marketplace and preaching. It reached them through someone else. An ordinary, faithful servant carried the good news home.
This matters because one of the quiet lessons in this passage is that God spreads His work through people.
Not always famous people.
Not always powerful people.
Not always public people.
Sometimes the gospel reaches a whole community because one faithful person carries it there.
The Colossian church was also facing pressure. We will see later in the letter that some kind of teaching was trying to add to Jesus. It seems to have included a mix of religious rule-keeping, spiritual experiences, visions, angel language, and pressure to follow human traditions (Colossians 2:8, 2:16–23).
Paul’s answer is not simply, “Try harder.”
His answer is: look again at Jesus.
Jesus is supreme.
Jesus is enough.
Jesus is the center.
But before Paul explains that in detail, he first points out what the gospel has already done among them.
They have faith in Christ Jesus.
They have love for God’s people.
They have hope stored up in heaven.
And the gospel is bearing fruit and growing.
Walking Through the Passage
Paul begins:
“We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you…”Colossians 1:3
This is a beautiful beginning.
Paul is praying for a church he likely did not plant personally and may not have met face to face. Yet he is thankful for them. He is carrying them before God in prayer.
That gives us an important picture of Christian love.
You do not have to be physically present with people to care deeply for them. You do not have to know every detail of their lives to pray for them. You do not have to be in the same room to thank God for what He is doing in them.
Paul’s prayer is not vague. He is not simply saying, “God bless those people over there.” He has heard real reports about their faith, love, and hope, and those reports have turned into thanksgiving.
That is worth noticing.
Sometimes prayer becomes a place where we only bring problems. We pray when someone is sick. We pray when something goes wrong. We pray when we are worried.
Of course, we should pray in those times. Scripture invites us to bring our needs to God (Philippians 4:6–7).
But Paul also teaches us to pray with gratitude.
He thanks God for evidence of grace in people’s lives.
This is a healthy habit for families, churches, small groups, and friendships. Before we only talk to God about what needs fixing, we can thank Him for what He is already growing.
Paul continues:
“…because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people…”Colossians 1:4
Paul has heard about them.
This little phrase matters because it shows us something about the early church. News traveled through relationships. There was no internet, livestream, podcast, or social media. People carried news from city to city. Travelers, coworkers, messengers, and church leaders would bring reports.
Paul hears that the Colossians have faith in Christ Jesus.
Faith is more than agreeing with facts. Faith means trust. It means confidence. It means placing the weight of your life on Jesus.
Many people believe certain things about Jesus. They believe He existed. They believe He taught good things. They may even believe He died and rose again.
But biblical faith is not merely saying, “I think that is true.”
Faith says, “I trust Him.”
The Colossians had turned from other centers of life and placed their confidence in Jesus.
That is the first sign of gospel life.
But faith does not stay private.
Paul also hears of their love for all God’s people.
This is huge.
Paul does not say, “I heard you love the people who are easy for you to love.”
He does not say, “I heard you love people who are just like you.”
He says they have love for all God’s people.
In the first-century world, people were often divided by ethnicity, status, household, wealth, gender, religion, and citizenship. The Roman world had clear social layers. Some people were honored. Others were looked down on. Some had power. Others had almost none.
But the gospel created a new family.
In Christ, people who normally would not have shared a table became brothers and sisters.
This is why love is such a serious test of whether the gospel is taking root. Real faith in Jesus begins to change the way we see people.
This does not mean love is always easy. Paul would not need to teach the churches about patience, forgiveness, and unity if love came naturally all the time. In Colossians 3:12–14, Paul will later tell them to clothe themselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, and love.
So their love is real, but it still needs to grow.
That is true for us too.
Christian love is not a warm feeling toward people we already like. It is the Spirit-shaped decision to treat fellow believers as family because we belong to the same Lord.
Then Paul says their faith and love spring from something:
“…the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven…”Colossians 1:5
This may surprise us.
We might expect Paul to say hope grows out of faith and love. But here he says their faith and love spring from hope.
What does that mean?
Hope, in the Bible, is not wishful thinking. It is not saying, “I hope this works out,” while having no idea if it will.
Biblical hope is confident expectation based on what God has promised.
The Colossians have hope stored up for them in heaven. That does not mean their hope is far away and useless right now. It means their future is secure with God.
Think of it like having an inheritance already set aside. You may not have it in your hands yet, but it is real. It is guarded. It is coming.
This future hope changes the present.
If you believe your future is secure in Christ, you do not have to cling so tightly to everything now.
You can love generously.
You can endure hardship.
You can forgive.
You can stay faithful when obedience is costly.
You can live for more than today.
This connects with other New Testament passages. In 1 Peter 1:3–4, believers are told they have a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus and an inheritance kept in heaven. In Romans 8:24–25, Paul says we are saved in hope, and hope helps us wait with patience.
Hope does not make Christians ignore the world. It gives them strength to live faithfully in the world.
Paul continues:
“…and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel…”Colossians 1:5
The Colossians did not invent this hope. They heard it in the gospel.
Paul calls it the true message of the gospel.
That phrase matters because Colossians is going to deal with spiritual confusion. There were other voices trying to influence the church. Some sounded wise. Some sounded spiritual. Some probably sounded impressive.
But Paul reminds them that the message they first received was true.
The gospel is not just one more religious option. It is the true announcement of what God has done through Jesus.
The word “gospel” means good news. In the Roman world, “good news” language could be used for royal announcements, military victories, or news about the emperor. But the Christian gospel announces a different King.
Jesus, not Caesar, is Lord.
Jesus, not any earthly ruler, brings true peace.
Jesus, not any spiritual power, is supreme.
The Colossians heard this good news, and it changed them.
Then Paul widens the lens:
“…that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world…”Colossians 1:6
Paul says the gospel came to them.
That is a simple phrase, but it is full of grace.
They did not climb up to find God. The good news came to them.
Someone carried it.
Someone spoke it.
Someone taught it.
Someone explained Jesus.
That is how the gospel often works. It travels through ordinary people into ordinary places.
Then Paul says this same gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world.
He does not mean every individual person on earth had already heard about Jesus. He means the gospel was spreading across the known world, crossing boundaries, taking root in new places, and producing changed lives among all kinds of people.
This would have been remarkable in the ancient world.
Many religions were tied to a location, a people group, a temple, or a city. But the message about Jesus spread from Jerusalem into Judea, Samaria, Syria, Asia Minor, Greece, Rome, and beyond.
Acts gives us this movement. Jesus told His followers they would be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). The book of Acts then shows that message spreading from place to place, often through surprising people and difficult circumstances.
By the time Paul writes Colossians, the gospel has reached this smaller city in the Lycus Valley.
That tells us something important.
The gospel is not fragile.
It is not dependent on one famous teacher, one impressive city, or one powerful church.
The gospel has its own life because it is the message of the living Jesus.
Paul says it is bearing fruit and growing.
Those two words are important.
“Bearing fruit” points to visible results. The gospel is producing something. It is creating faith, love, hope, changed character, new communities, and faithful witness.
“Growing” points to expansion. The gospel is spreading outward.
So the gospel grows in two directions.
It grows deeper in people.
And it grows wider in the world.
Both matter.
A church can care about going wider but not deeper. That can lead to numbers without maturity.
A church can care about going deeper but not wider. That can lead to knowledge without mission.
Paul celebrates both.
The gospel is bearing fruit and growing.
Then Paul adds:
“…just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace.”Colossians 1:6
This is one of the key lines in the passage.
The gospel began working among them from the day they heard it and truly understood
God’s grace.
They did not simply hear words. They understood grace.
Grace is God’s undeserved kindness. It is not God rewarding impressive people. It is God rescuing, forgiving, and welcoming people through Jesus.
When people truly understand grace, it changes them.
Not because they are pressured.
Not because they are shamed.
Not because they are trying to earn God’s love.
Grace changes people because it tells the truth: in Jesus, God has acted first. God has loved first. God has rescued first.
That kind of grace creates gratitude. It creates humility. It creates love. It creates endurance.
This is why Paul is so concerned about any teaching that adds to Jesus. If someone teaches, “Jesus is good, but you also need these extra rules to be complete,” they are moving away from grace. If someone teaches, “Jesus is helpful, but you also need secret spiritual experiences to be safe,” they are moving away from grace.
The gospel grows where grace is truly understood.
That does not mean obedience does not matter. Colossians will have plenty of commands. But obedience grows from grace. It does not replace grace.
Paul then reminds them how they learned this gospel:
“You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf…”Colossians 1:7
Epaphras is easy to overlook, but he is very important in this letter.
He seems to be the person who brought the gospel to Colossae. Later, Paul says Epaphras is “one of you” and is always wrestling in prayer for them (Colossians 4:12–13). He cares deeply for the believers in Colossae, Laodicea, and Hierapolis.
Epaphras was not one of the twelve apostles. He was not as famous as Paul. But he was faithful.
That should encourage us.
God often does His work through people whose names are not widely known.
Someone teaches a small group.
Someone invites a neighbor.
Someone prays for years.
Someone encourages a discouraged believer.
Someone explains Scripture over coffee.
Someone faithfully serves when no one is watching.
The gospel reached Colossae through a person like that.
Paul honors Epaphras by calling him dear, fellow servant, and faithful. Those are beautiful words.
He is dear because he is loved.
He is a fellow servant because he shares the work.
He is faithful because he can be trusted.
In a world that often celebrates platform, Paul celebrates faithfulness.
Finally, Paul says:
“…and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.”Colossians 1:8
Epaphras told Paul about the Colossians’ love.
That love is “in the Spirit.” This means their love is not merely human friendliness or shared personality. It is love produced by the Holy Spirit.
This connects with Galatians 5:22, where love is the first fruit of the Spirit listed. It also connects with Romans 5:5, where Paul says God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.
In other words, the Colossians are not just trying to be nice people.
The Spirit is at work among them.
Their love is evidence that the gospel is alive and growing.
This brings us back to the main idea of the whole passage.
Paul thanks God because the gospel has taken root in Colossae. It has produced faith in Jesus, love for God’s people, hope for the future, and fruit that can be seen.
The church still has problems.
The believers still need teaching.
But God is already at work.
And Paul notices.
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Why Context Changes Everything
If we pull this passage out of context, we may think Paul is simply being polite. We may read his thanksgiving as a nice opening before the serious teaching begins.
But in context, this thanksgiving is part of the serious teaching.
Paul is preparing the Colossians for everything he will say next.
Later, he will warn them not to be taken captive by hollow and deceptive philosophy (Colossians 2:8). He will warn them about people judging them by food, festivals, Sabbaths, visions, angels, and harsh rules (Colossians 2:16–23). He will point them away from anything that makes Jesus seem incomplete.
But before he does that, he reminds them that the true gospel has already come to them, already taken root, and already begun producing fruit.
That matters because false teaching often works by making believers feel like they are missing something.
“You need more than Jesus.”
“You need a deeper secret.”
“You need our rules.”
“You need our experience.”
“You need our system.”
Paul answers by pointing back to the gospel they first received.
They heard the true message.
They understood God’s grace.
And it was already growing among them.
Context helps us see that Paul is not just saying, “Good job, church.”
He is saying, “Do not forget what is already growing in you. Do not trade the living gospel for spiritual-sounding substitutes.”
Applying It Wrong
One wrong way to read this passage is to think the gospel is only about going to heaven when we die. Paul does talk about hope stored up in heaven, but he also says the gospel is bearing fruit and growing right now. The gospel gives future hope, but it also changes present lives.
Another wrong way is to treat faith, love, and hope as vague religious words. Paul is not using filler language. Faith means trusting Jesus. Love means caring for God’s people. Hope means living now in light of God’s promised future.
Another mistake is to confuse fruit with worldly success. Paul does not celebrate attendance numbers, money, buildings, or public influence. He celebrates faith, love, hope, grace, and changed lives. Those are the signs that matter most.
Another wrong approach is to think spiritual growth happens mainly by trying harder. Paul says the gospel bears fruit as people truly understand God’s grace. Growth is not driven by shame. It is formed by grace.
We can also misuse this passage by ignoring ordinary people like Epaphras. We may assume important ministry only happens through famous leaders. But Paul makes sure Epaphras is named and honored. The gospel often spreads through faithful people who never become famous.
Applying It Well
A faithful reading begins by noticing Paul’s gratitude.
Before he corrects the Colossians, he thanks God for them. This teaches us to look for signs of God’s work before we focus only on what is wrong.
That does not mean we avoid correction. Paul will correct them. But correction lands differently when people know you see God’s grace in them too.
This matters in families, churches, friendships, and small groups.
A faithful reading also helps us ask better questions about spiritual health.
Instead of asking only, “How many people showed up?” or “How impressive does this look?” we can ask:
Is faith in Jesus growing?
Is love for God’s people growing?
Is hope shaping how we live?
Are people understanding grace more deeply?
Is the gospel producing fruit?
This passage also calls us to trust the power of the gospel. The good news about Jesus is not weak. It is not outdated. It is not limited to one kind of person or place. It crossed boundaries in the first century, and it still crosses boundaries today.
Finally, this passage encourages ordinary faithfulness.
Epaphras reminds us that you do not have to be famous to be fruitful. You do not have to be known by thousands to be useful to God. You can be faithful with the people in front of you.
Someone’s story may change because you prayed, invited, taught, encouraged, or stayed.
That is how the gospel keeps growing.
Questions to Chew on and Discuss:
These questions are designed to help you personally dig deeper into the passage and help guide your discussions in your Journey Groups and Me & 3 small groups.
Look Closely
What specific things does Paul thank God for in Colossians 1:3–8?
What does Paul say the gospel is doing throughout the world?
Who is Epaphras, and what role does he play in this passage?
Understand It
Why do you think Paul begins with thanksgiving before addressing problems in the church?
What does it mean that faith and love spring from hope?
Why is it important that the Colossians “truly understood God’s grace”?
Let It Sink In
When you look at your own life, where do you see evidence that the gospel is growing?
Are you more likely to notice what is wrong in people or what God is already doing in them? Why?
Which of these do you most need to grow in right now: faith, love, or hope?
Live It Out
Who is someone you can encourage this week by naming where you see God at work in their life?
What is one way you can help the gospel grow through ordinary faithfulness this week?
How can you live more from grace and less from pressure, shame, or trying to prove yourself?
Journey Group OR ME & 3 Small Group Discussion Starters:
Whether you're helping facilitate a small group, talking about this passage one-on-one with a friend, or even just need a topic to guide the conversation at the dinner table, these ideas can help start a good group conversation before you dive into the passage and questions in this study guide.
Have you ever planted something, built something, or started something small that eventually grew over time? What was it?
Deeper discussion question:
Paul celebrates faith, love, hope, grace, and fruit. If those are signs of healthy spiritual growth, where do you see those growing in your life or in our group right now?
Looking Ahead
In the next section, Paul moves from thanksgiving into prayer. After celebrating what God is already doing, he begins praying for the Colossians to be filled with the knowledge of God’s will so they can live in a way that honors Jesus.
That is important.
Paul does not pray that they would merely know more facts. He prays that what they know would shape how they live.
As we move into Colossians 1:9–14, we will see what mature spiritual growth looks like when knowledge, wisdom, endurance, gratitude, and rescue all come together in Christ.
Sum It Up
Paul thanks God because the gospel is already growing among the Colossians. Their faith in Jesus, love for God’s people, and hope in God’s future show that the message of Jesus has taken root. The gospel is not just information. It is living good news that bears fruit, spreads through ordinary people, and changes lives by God’s grace.
Five key takeaways:
Paul begins by thanking God for what is growing before correcting what is wrong.
Faith, love, and hope belong together in a healthy Christian life.
The gospel grows deeper in people and wider in the world.
True spiritual growth comes from understanding God’s grace.
God often spreads the gospel through ordinary, faithful people like Epaphras.
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