“Whereof,” saith he, “ye heard before in the word of the truth of the Gospel.” And he bears witness to its truth. With good reason, for in it there is nothing false. 259 “Of the Gospel.” He doth not say, “of the preaching,” but he calleth it the “Gospel,” con tinually reminding them of God’s benefits.700 And having first praised them, he next reminds them of these. 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,701 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? Ver. 7. “Even as ye learned of Epaphras our beloved fellow-servant.” He, it is probable, had preached there. “Ye learned” the Gospel. Then to show the trustworthiness of the man, he says, “our fellow servant.” “Who is a faithful minister of Christ on your702 behalf; who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit.” Doubt not, he saith, of the hope which is to come: ye see that the world is being conver- ted. And what need to allege the cases of others? what happened in your own is even inde- pendently a sufficient ground for belief, for, “ye knew the grace of God in truth:” that is, in 700 The passage just above in brackets may have been for the sake of this. 701 Rec. text omits “and increasing” (καὶ αὐξανόμενον), but it is in some of the oldest mss. 702 [“On our behalf” is the correct N.T. text. Chrys. here, as commonly, has what Westcott and Hort call the “Syrian” type of N.T. text.—J.A.B.] 456 Colossians 1:1,2