Commentary on Philippians, Colossians, and Thessalonians

Comm on Phil, Col, Thes
Colossians 1:12-17
12. Gratias agentes Deo et Patri, 291 12. Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath
qui nos
made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance fecit idoneos ad participationem hereditatis
of the saints in light:
sanctorum in lumine.
13. Who hath delivered us from the power of 13. Qui eripuit nos ex potestate tenebrarum,
darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom et transtulit in regnum Filii sui dilecti:
of his dear Son:
14. In whom we have redemption through his 14. In quo habemus redemptionem per
blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
sanguinem eius, remissionem peccatorum:
15. Who is the image of the invisible God, 15. Qui est imago Dei invisibilis,
the firstborn of every creature:
primogenitus universae creaturae.
16. For by him were all things created, that 16. Quoniam in ipso creata sunt omnia, tum
are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and quae in coelis sunt, tum quae super terram;
invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, visibilia et invisibilia; sive throni, sive
or principalities, or powers: all things were dominationes, sive principatus, sive potestates.
created by him, and for him:
17. And he is before all things, and by him 17. Omnia per ipsum, et in ipsum creata sunt:
all things consist.
et ipse est ante omnia, et omnia in ipso constant.
12. Giving thanks. Again he returns to thanksgiving, that he may take this opportunity of
enumerating the blessings which had been conferred upon them through Christ, and thus he enters
upon a full delineation of Christ. For this was the only remedy for fortifying the Colossians against
all the snares, by which the false Apostles endeavored to entrap them — to understand accurately
what Christ was. For how comes it that we are carried about with so many strange doctrines,
(Hebrews 13:9) but because the excellence of Christ is not perceived by us? For Christ alone makes
all other things suddenly vanish. Hence there is nothing that Satan so much endeavors to accomplish
as to bring on mists with the view of obscuring Christ, because he knows, that by this means the
way is opened up for every kind of falsehood. This, therefore, is the only means of retaining, as
well as restoring pure doctrine — to place Christ before the view such as he is with all his blessings,
that his excellence may be truly perceived.
The question here is not as to the name. Papists in common with us acknowledge one and the
same Christ; yet in the mean time how great a difference there is between us and them, inasmuch
as they, after confessing Christ to be the Son of God, transfer his excellence to others, and scatter
it hither and thither, and thus leave him next to empty, 292 or at least rob him of a great part of his
glory, so that he is called, it is true, by them the Son of God, but, nevertheless, he is not such as the
Father designed he should be towards us. If, however, Papists would cordially embrace what is
contained in this chapter, we would soon be perfectly agreed, but the whole of Popery would fall
291 “A Dieu et Pere, qui nous a faits, ou, au Pere, qui nous a faits;” — “To God and the Father, who hath made us, or, to the
Father, who hath made us.”
292 ”Ils le laissent quasi vuide et inutile;” — “They leave him in a manner empty and useless.”
88
John Calvin