Colossians 1:6
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:
Study Note
Study Note
Paul characterizes the gospel as bearing fruit and growing 'in all the world' — using organic growth language to describe the missionary expansion of the early church from Jerusalem outward. The verse counters possible Colossian parochialism or uncertainty by situating the local congregation within a universal movement, suggesting that what they received is not a regional variant but the same gospel bearing global fruit. The reference to 'the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth' anchors the gospel's power to the moment of hearing and genuine understanding, contrasting it with the Colossian philosophy's claims to special esoteric knowledge ('plēroma'). This passage is often cited in missiology as a New Testament charter for understanding church growth as an organic, Spirit-driven process rather than a human organizational achievement.
Other Translations
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;
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;
Which has come to you; and which in all the world is giving fruit and increase, as it has done in you from the day when it came to your ears and you had true knowledge of the grace of God;
Cross References
For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard …
For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and …
By Silvanus, a faithful brother unto you, as I suppose, I have written briefly, exhorting, and testifying that this is …
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us …
Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the …
And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.
And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground;
And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, …
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and …