TRV
Translation
King James Version
Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth:
KJV (with Strong's)
Which G3588 is come G3918 unto G1519 you G5209, as G2531 G2532 it is in G1722 all G3956 the world G2889; and G2532 bringeth forth fruit G2076 G2592, as G2531 it doth also G2532 in G1722 you G5213, since G575 the G3739 day G2250 ye heard G191 of it, and G2532 knew G1921 the grace G5485 of God G2316 in G1722 truth G225:
Complete Jewish Bible
has made its presence felt among you, just as it is also being fruitful and multiplying throughout the world in the same way as it has among you since the day you heard and understood the grace of God as it really is.
Berean Standard Bible
that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood the grace of God.
American Standard Version
which is come unto you; even as it is also in all the world bearing fruit and increasing, as it doth in you also, since the day ye heard and knew the grace of God in truth;
World English Bible Messianic
which has come to you; even as it is in all the world and is bearing fruit and growing, as it does in you also, since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth;
Geneva Bible (1599)
Which is come vnto you, eue as it is vnto al the world, and is fruitful, as it is also amog you, from ye day that ye heard and truely knew ye grace of God,
Young's Literal Translation
which is present to you, as also in all the world, and is bearing fruit, as also in you, from the day in which ye heard, and knew the grace of God in truth;
See on the biblical-era map
In the KJVVerse 29,472 of 31,102
Study This Verse
Commentary on Colossians 1 verses 3–8
3 ¶ We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,
4 Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints,
5 For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel;
6 Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth:
7 As ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellowservant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ;
8 Who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit.
Here he proceeds to the body of the epistle, and begins with thanksgiving to God for what he had heard concerning them, though he had no personal acquaintance with them, and knew their state and character only by the reports of others.
I. He gave thanks to God for them, that they had embraced the gospel of Christ, and given proofs of their fidelity to him. Observe, In his prayers for them he gave thanks for them. Thanksgiving ought to be a part of every prayer; and whatever is the matter of our rejoicing ought to be the matter of our thanksgiving. Observe, 1. Whom he gives thanks to: To God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In our thanksgiving we must have an eye to God as God (he is the object of thanksgiving as well as prayer), and is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, in and through whom all good comes to us. He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ as well as our Father; and it is a matter of encouragement, in all our addresses to God, that we can look to him as Christ's Father and our Father, as his God and our God, Joh 20:17. Observe, 2. What he gives thanks to God for - for the graces of God in them, which were evidences of the grace of God towards them: Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love you have to all the saints; for the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, Col 1:4, Col 1:5. Faith, hope, and love, are the three principal graces in the Christian life, and proper matter of our prayer and thanksgiving. (1.) He gives thanks for their faith in Christ Jesus, that they were brought to believe in him, and take upon them the profession of his religion, and venture their souls upon his undertaking. (2.) For their love. Besides the general love which is due to all men, there is a particular love owing to the saints, or those who are of the Christian brotherhood, Pe1 2:17. We must love all the saints, bear an extensive kindness and good-will to good men, notwithstanding smaller points of difference, and many real weaknesses. Some understand it of their charity to the saints in necessity, which is one branch and evidence of Christian love. (3.) For their hope: The hope which is laid up for you in heaven, Col 1:5. The happiness of heaven is called their hope, because it is the thing hoped for, looking for the blessed hope, Tit 2:13. What is laid out upon believers in this world is much; but what is laid up for them in heaven is much more. And we have reason to give thanks to God for the hope of heaven which good Christians have, or their well-grounded expectation of the future glory. Their faith in Christ, and love to the saints, had an eye to the hope laid up for them in heaven. The more we fix our hopes on the recompence of reward in the other world, the more free and liberal shall we be of our earthly treasure upon all occasions of doing good.
II. Having blessed God for these graces, he blesses God for the means of grace which they enjoyed: Wherein you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel. They had heard in the word of the truth of the gospel concerning this hope laid up for them in heaven. Observe, 1. The gospel is the word of truth, and what we may safely venture our immortal souls upon: it proceeds from the God of truth and the Spirit of truth, and is a faithful saying. He calls it the grace of God in truth, Col 1:6. 2. It is a great mercy to hear this word of truth; for the great thing we learn from it is the happiness of heaven. Eternal life is brought to light by the gospel, Ti2 1:10. They heard of the hope laid up in heaven in the word of the truth of the gospel. "Which has come unto you, as it hath to all the world, and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, Col 1:6. This gospel is preached and brings forth fruit in other nations; it has come to you, as it hath to all the world, according to the commission, Go preach the gospel in all the nations, and to every creature." Observe, (1.) All who hear the word of the gospel ought to bring forth the fruit of the gospel, that is, be obedient to it, and have their principles and lives formed according to it. This was the doctrine first preached: Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance, Mat 3:8. And our Lord says, If you know these things, happy are you if you do them, Joh 13:17. Observe, (2.) Wherever the gospel comes, it will bring forth fruit to the honour and glory of God: It bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you. We mistake, if we think to monopolize the comforts and benefits of the gospel to ourselves. Does the gospel bring forth fruit in us? So it does in others.
III. He takes this occasion to mention the minister by whom they believed (Col 1:7, Col 1:8): As you also learned of Epaphras, our dear fellow-servant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ. He mentions him with great respect, to engage their love to him. 1. He calls him his fellow-servant, to signify not only that they served the same Master, but that they were engaged in the same work. They were fellow-labourers in the work of the Lord, though one was an apostle and the other an ordinary minister. 2. He calls him his dear fellow-servant: all the servants of Christ ought to love one another, and it is an endearing consideration that they are engaged in the same service. 3. He represents him as one who was a faithful minister of Christ to them, who discharged his trust and fulfilled his ministry among them. Observe, Christ is our proper Master, and we are his ministers. He does not say who is your minister; but who is the minister of Christ for you. It is by his authority and appointment, though for the people's service. 4. He represents him as one who gave them a good word: Who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit, Col 1:8. He recommends him to their affection, from the good report he made of their sincere love to Christ and all his members, which was wrought in them by the Spirit, and is agreeable to the spirit of the gospel. Faithful ministers are glad to be able to speak well of their people.
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 3–8. Public domain.
Copy as
TertullianAD 220
I am accustomed in my prescription against all heresies to fix my concise and comprehensive criterion [of truth] in the testimony of time, claiming priority therein as our rule and alleging lateness to be the characteristic of every heresy. This shall be proved even by the apostle, when he says: “For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, which you have heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel; which has come to you, as it has to the whole world.” For if, even at that time, the tradition of the gospel had spread everywhere, how much more now! Now, if it is our gospel which has spread everywhere, rather than any heretical gospel, much less Marcion’s, which only dates from the reign of Antoninus, then ours will be the gospel of the apostles.
John ChrysostomAD 407
Homily on Colossians 1
Ver. 6. "Which is come unto you, even as it is also in all the world."
He now gives them credit. "Is come," he said metaphorically. He means, it did not come and go away, but that it remained, and was there. Then because to the many the strongest confirmation of doctrines is that they hold them in common with many, he therefore added, "As also it is in all the world."
It is present everywhere, everywhere victorious, everywhere established.
"And is bearing fruit, and increasing, as it doth in you also."
"Bearing fruit." In works. "Increasing." By the accession of many, by becoming firmer; for plants then begin to thicken when they have become firm.
"As also among you," says he.
He first gains the hearer by his praises, so that even though disinclined, he may not refuse to hear him.
"Since the day ye heard it."
Marvelous! that ye quickly came unto it and believed; and straightway, from the very first, showed forth its fruits.
"Since the day ye heard, and knew the grace of God in truth."
Not in word, saith he, nor in deceit, but in very deeds. Either then this is what he means by "bearing fruit," or else, the signs and wonders. Because as soon as ye received it, so soon ye knew the grace of God. What then forthwith gave proofs of its inherent virtue, is it not a hard thing that that should now be disbelieved?
Severian of GabalaAD 425
The gospel has come not only to the Colossians, but to the whole world, where it is powerful and grows by means of the preached word. .
Augustine of HippoAD 430
Honor, love and praise the holy church, your mother, the heavenly Jerusalem, the holy City of God. It is she who, in this faith which you have received, bears fruit and spreads throughout the world. She is the “church of the living God, the pillar and mainstay of truth,” who, in dispensing the sacraments, tolerates the wicked who are eventually to be separated and whom, meanwhile, disparity of customs keeps at a distance. For the sake of the grain now growing amid the chaff, at the final sifting of which the harvest destined for the granary will be revealed, the church has received the keys of the kingdom of heaven.
Augustine of HippoAD 430
“The gospel has come to you, as it is in all the world, and brings forth fruit.” The Son of God said with his own mouth, “You shall be witnesses to me, both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and even to the uttermost part of the earth.” Caecilianus, the bishop of the church of Carthage, is accused with human contentiousness; the church of Christ, established among all nations, is recommended by the voice of God.
Augustine of HippoAD 430
It is much less surprising that he [Paul] used his verbs in the present tense in that passage which, as you remarked, he repeated again and again: “For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, which you have heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, which is come to you as also it is in the whole world, and brings forth fruit and grows.” Although the gospel did not yet embrace the whole world, he said that it brings forth fruit and grows in the whole world, in order to show how far it would extend in bearing fruit and growing. If, then, it is hidden from us when the whole world will be filled by the church bringing forth fruit and growing, undoubtedly it is hidden from us when the end will be, but it certainly will not be before that.
Augustine of HippoAD 430
There are both good and bad in the Catholic church, which has spread not in Africa alone, as the Donatist sect has done, but through all nations, as it was promised, and which extends throughout the whole world, as the apostle says, bringing forth fruit and increasing.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
Copy as
Continue studying Colossians 1:6 across the web’s major study libraries — every link below opens this exact verse, chapter, or book on the destination site.
Read & Compare
BibleGatewayThis verse in more than 200 translations and 70 languages.
Bible.comThe YouVersion reader — hundreds of translations, reading plans, and highlights.
ESV.orgCrossway's official English Standard Version reader.
NET BibleThe NET translation with 60,000+ translators' notes on every rendering decision.
STEP BibleTyndale House's free study tool — original text, vocabulary, and scholarly resources.
BibliaLogos Bible Software's free web reader.
USCCBThe New American Bible (Revised Edition) with the U.S. bishops' study notes.
Commentaries
BibleHub CommentariesDozens of classic commentaries on this verse, gathered on one page.
StudyLightMore than 100 commentary sets — the largest collection on the web.
BibleRefPlain-English commentary on what this verse means, verse by verse.
Enduring WordDavid Guzik's free commentary on this chapter, widely used by Bible teachers.
Bible Study ToolsVerse commentary alongside Greek and Hebrew study aids.
Original Language & Research
- BibleHub InterlinearThe verse word by word — original language, transliteration, and English.
- BibleHub LexiconEvery word's original-language definition and Strong's entry.
Blue Letter BibleDeep-study tools — Strong's numbers, concordance, and word studies.
CNTR CollationThe earliest Greek manuscripts of this verse, collated letter by letter.
Sermons, Hymns & Audio
TrulyRandomVerse is not affiliated with these sites and doesn’t control their content. They’re linked because they’re genuinely useful.
SUMMARY
Paul expresses profound gratitude for the Colossian believers, highlighting the dynamic and expansive nature of the gospel message they received. This verse celebrates the gospel's universal reach, its active power to produce spiritual fruit globally, and its tangible, transformative impact within the Colossian community, evidenced by their genuine reception and deep understanding of God's grace since the day they first heard it.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Colossians 1:6 employs several literary devices to convey its powerful message. The most prominent is Metaphor, specifically the imagery of the gospel "bringing forth fruit." This vivid agricultural metaphor effectively communicates the idea of spiritual growth, productivity, and the tangible evidence of transformation in believers' lives. Just as a healthy plant yields fruit, a life touched by the gospel produces good works, Christ-like character, and further spread of the message. The phrase "in all the world" can be seen as Hyperbole, a deliberate exaggeration used to emphasize the widespread and rapid dissemination of the gospel in the early church, highlighting its universal appeal and divine momentum. Furthermore, the gospel is subtly Personified as an active agent that "comes" and "brings forth fruit," imbuing it with a dynamic, living quality that underscores its inherent power to transform and expand.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Colossians 1:6 profoundly connects to core Christian theology by underscoring the gospel's inherent power, its universal scope, and the nature of genuine conversion. It teaches that the message of Christ is not static but a living, active force that transforms individuals and expands God's kingdom globally. The "fruit" it produces is the visible evidence of God's grace at work, confirming the authenticity of faith and the reality of spiritual regeneration. This verse emphasizes that true spiritual growth stems from a deep, experiential knowledge of God's unmerited favor, not from human effort or adherence to external rules. It positions the gospel as the singular source of life and truth, capable of bearing fruit in any context where it is truly received.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Colossians 1:6 offers profound insights for contemporary believers, urging us to consider the active and transformative power of the gospel in our own lives and in the world around us. It challenges us to move beyond mere intellectual assent to a vibrant, fruit-bearing faith. We are called to examine whether the gospel is genuinely producing spiritual fruit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control—within us, serving as a testament to its living reality. This verse also ignites a passion for global mission, reminding us that the gospel's universal reach means it must be proclaimed to every corner of the earth, just as it was spreading in Paul's day. Furthermore, it grounds our faith in the profound truth of God's grace, encouraging a deeper, more authentic understanding of His unmerited favor as the source of all spiritual life and fruitfulness, fostering humility, gratitude, and a continuous reliance on Him for growth and sustenance.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
What does Paul mean by the gospel "bringeth forth fruit"?
Answer: When Paul states that the gospel "bringeth forth fruit," he is using a powerful metaphor to describe the tangible, positive outcomes that result from the genuine reception and active presence of the gospel. This "fruit" encompasses several aspects:
In essence, the gospel is not just a message to be heard but a dynamic force that produces life, growth, and positive impact in individuals and communities.
How did the Colossians "know the grace of God in truth"?
Answer: To "know the grace of God in truth" implies a deep, experiential, and authentic understanding, rather than a superficial or intellectual acquaintance. The Colossians heard the gospel message, which proclaimed God's unmerited favor (grace) extended through Christ. Their "knowing" suggests they not only intellectually grasped this concept but personally embraced it, leading to genuine repentance and faith. This true knowledge distinguished their faith from the false teachings that might have offered a distorted or works-based path to spirituality. It signifies a transformative encounter with divine truth that led to their conversion and subsequent spiritual fruitfulness, as described in Ephesians 2:8-9.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Colossians 1:6 finds its ultimate fulfillment and deepest meaning in Jesus Christ, for He is the very essence and content of the "word of the truth of the gospel." The gospel "comes" and "brings forth fruit" because it is the message of Christ's finished work—His incarnation, sinless life, atoning death, and glorious resurrection. It is through His sacrifice that God's "grace... in truth" is fully revealed and made accessible to humanity (John 1:14, John 1:17). The fruit that the gospel brings forth in believers is the very life of Christ being formed within them (Galatians 2:20), enabling them to live lives that reflect His character and advance His kingdom. Christ Himself is the true vine from whom all spiritual fruit flows (John 15:1-5), and it is by abiding in Him that believers participate in the gospel's fruitfulness both personally and globally, fulfilling the mission He initiated through His life, death, and resurrection.