Practicing faith

“…because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints.” Colossians 1:4

Paul had never visited the church at Colosse, however, he knew of its faithfulness. The wording, “faith in Christ Jesus,” suggests a 'practicing of faith,' rather than simply a statement of faith. Faith is the basis of our relationship with Christ. Paul refers to the writing of Habakkuk in Romans (1:17), “just as it is written, ‘the righteous will live by faith.” In fact, without faith (Hebrews 11:6), "it is impossible to please God."

The second evidence of the Colossian Christians’ growth was the presence of love. Love within the Christian community is indiscriminate, “love you have for all the saints.” Jesus said that love is the basis for unity in the Christian community (John 17:20–26). Such love fulfills two divine objectives: It represents Jesus to the world and it perfects the body of Christ.