Of which I am made a minister, according to the commission of God which is given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God;
All Commentaries on Colossians 1:25 Go To Colossians 1
John Chrysostom
AD 407
Either he means that Christ’s will was that after his departure we should step up to our special place in the dispensation, in order that we might not feel so deserted (since it is Christ himself who plays the necessary part of the one who suffers and is the ambassador from heaven). Or he means this, namely, for this end that he permitted me to be persecuted, that in my preaching I might gain belief. Or by “dispensation” he means that he required not deeds, nor actions, nor good works but faith and baptism. For you would not otherwise have received the word. “For you,” he says, “to fulfill the word of God.” He speaks of the Gentiles … for that the castaway Gentiles should have been able to receive such lofty doctrines was not ultimately Paul’s personal doing but proceeded from the dispensation of God.
