Θεοῦ ἐν ἀληθείᾳ, ^7καθὼς ἐμάθετε ἀπὸ Ἐπαφρᾶ τοῦ ἀγαπητοῦ συνδούλου
ἡμῶν, ὅς ἐστιν πιστὸς ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν διάκονος τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ^8 ὁ καὶ δηλώσας
ἡμῖν τὴν ὑμῶν ἀγάπην ἐν πνεύματι.
ἐν ἀληθείᾳ i.e. ‘in its genuine simplicity, without adulteration’: see
the note on τῆς ἀληθείας τοῦ εὐαγγελίου, ver. 5.
7. καθὼς ἐμάθετε] ‘_even as ye were instructed_ in it,’ the clause being
an explanation of the preceding ἐν ἀληθείᾳ; comp. ii. 7 καθὼς
ἐδιδάχθητε. On the insertion of καὶ before ἐμάθετε in the received text,
and the consequent obscuration of the sense, see above, p. 29 sq. The
insertion however was very natural, inasmuch as καθὼς καὶ is an ordinary
collocation of particles and has occurred twice in the preceding verse.
Ἐπαφρᾶ] On the notices of Epaphras, and on his work as the evangelist of
the Colossians, see above, p. 29 sq., p. 34 sq., and the note on iv. 12.
συνδούλου] See iv. 7. The word does not occur elsewhere in St Paul.
ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν] As the evangelist of Colossæ, Epaphras had _represented_ St
Paul there and preached in his stead; see above, p. 30. The other
reading ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν might be interpreted in two ways: either (1) It might
describe the personal ministrations of Epaphras to St Paul as the
representative of the Colossians (see a similar case in Phil. ii. 25,
iv. 18), and so it might be compared with Philem. 13 ἵνα ὑπὲρ σοῦ μοι
διακονῇ; but this interpretation is hardly consistent with τοῦ Χριστοῦ.
Or (2) It might refer to the preaching of Epaphras for the good of the
Colossians; but the natural construction in this case would hardly be
ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν (of which there is no direct example), but either ὑμῶν (Rom.
xv. 8) or ὑμῖν (1 Pet. i. 12). The balance of external authority however
is against it. Partly by the accidental interchange of similar sounds,
partly by the recurrence of ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν in the context (vv. 3, 9), and
partly also from ignorance of the historical circumstances, ὑμῶν would
readily be substituted for ἡμῶν. See the detached note on various
readings.
8. ὁ καὶ δηλώσας] ‘As he preached to you from us, so _also_ he brought
back to us from you the tidings, etc.’
ἐν πνεύματι] to be connected with τὴν ὑμῶν ἀγάπην. ‘The fruit of the
Spirit is love,’ Gal. v. 22. For the omission of the article, τὴν ἐν
πνεύματι, see the note on ver. 4.
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