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Colossians 1 Bible study: Bearing fruit

Colossians 1 speaks of "the word of the truth of the Good News" (1:5) "which has come to you, even as it is in all the world and is bearing fruit" (1:6), and the prayer asks that the readers be "bearing fruit in every good work" (1:10): the same Greek verb both times. And the letter's I names itself once here: "of which I, Paul, was made a servant" (1:23).

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“that you may walk worthily of the Lord, to please him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God,”
Colossians 1:10 · World English Bible

Try it · Did you catch it?

“Colossians 1:10 prays that the readers will be "bearing fruit in every good work".”

Is that in Colossians 1, or not? Make your call.

What's really going on

Paul, and Timothy our brother

In the text

The letter opens, "Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, and Timothy our brother" (1:1), "to the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." (1:2). It names two senders, and goes on as we: "We give thanks to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you" (1:3). Later in the chapter its I names itself: "of which I, Paul, was made a servant" (1:23). So these notes say the letter for its words, write its I as I, and tie that I to Paul only by the letter's own words (1:23). They don't say who the we of 1:3 and 1:9 are. The readers are the ones 1:2 names. These notes say nothing of when or where the letter was written, or of Colossae and the believers there, beyond what the letter says.

Where the Old Testament leads here

The image of the invisible God

Interpretation

Genesis 1:27leads toColossians 1:15-16

People are made in God’s image (1:27). Paul says of the Son, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation,” and “by him all things were created” (Colossians 1:15-16); he also calls Christ “the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4). Colossians doesn’t quote Genesis 1, so linking the two is a reading: some hear Genesis 1:27 behind Paul’s words; others read them on their own, as saying the Son makes the unseen God known.

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The Greek word behind it

καρποφορέωkarpophoreosay kar-pof-or-EH-o

Strong's: "to be fertile (literally or figuratively)". "even as it is in all the world and is bearing fruit and growing, as it does in you also" (1:6), and "bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God" (1:10): behind bearing fruit both times is this verb, and Colossians has it only in these two verses (in all eight editions TAGNT compares). In 1:6 it is in the words that run on from "the word of the truth of the Good News" (1:5), "which has come to you" (1:6); in 1:10 the prayer asks it of the readers. Mark has it of the earth: "For the earth bears fruit by itself: first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear." (Mark 4:28). Favor's Romans 7 studies it.

For your group

Colossians 1 Bible study questions

  1. 1"We give thanks to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you" (1:3). Who are you thankful for, and how could you pray for them this week?
  2. 2"bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God" (1:10). What would one good work look like for you this week?
  3. 3"even as you learned from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant" (1:7). Who has helped you learn of Christ, and how could you thank them?

Leading a group? In Favor, everyone reads Colossians 1 during the week and answers these questions privately. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together, and you can print the week's sheet.

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Questions

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Last reviewed October 8, 2026. Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Hebrew and Greek words are checked against the original-language texts and public-domain lexicons. What we believe · Favor home