Colossians 1:23

shakewell said:

Colossians 1:23 If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;

Had the saving gospel literally been preached to all people (including the western hemisphere) at the time Paul wrote this?

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If Paul said this and it is a part of Scripture, then there is no reason for us to doubt that what he said was absolutely true. As to how it happened, we do not know, but God knows, therefore He gave those words to Paul. We must always keep in mind that all the epistles of Paul are Scripture (2 Pet 3:15,16), which cannot lie.

Do fundamentalists account for hyperbole? Or ever use it themselves?

Resha Caner said:

Do fundamentalists account for hyperbole? Or ever use it themselves?

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I think it can be interpreted literally by what Jesus did. Cross-reference with 1 Peter 3:18-20.

shakewell said:

Colossians 1:23 If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;


Had the saving gospel literally been preached to all people (including the western hemisphere) at the time Paul wrote this?

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Not yet. In the immediate context of the passage Paul is speaking " To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are at Colossae (V. 2)." However, Paul's message is all encompassing of the body of Christ so as the body increased so did the gospel's reach.

Hentenza said:

Not yet. In the immediate context of the passage Paul is speaking " To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are at Colossae (V. 2)." However, Paul's message is all encompassing of the body of Christ so as the body increased so did the gospel's reach.

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That is simply eisegesis, and not very satisfactory.

The plain literal meaning of the passage is exactly what it says. The Greek Textus Receptus literally states "glad tidings...which were proclaimed in all the creation which [is] under heaven" This is NOT hyperbole by any means. "All the creation" equals "every creature" (Mk 16:15).

Just because we are not aware of the details of how this was accomplished does not negate the fact that God accomplished this, and Paul wrote it down. WITH GOD NOTHING SHALL BE IMPOSSIBLE. Note how the *Everlasting Gospel* will be proclaimed by a flying angel to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people in the future (Rev 14:6).

LivingWordUnity said:

I think it can be interpreted literally by what Jesus did. Cross-reference with 1 Peter 3:18-20.

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Even Catholics can take Scripture literally, which is excellent.

Job8 said:

That is simply eisegesis, and not very satisfactory.

The plain literal meaning of the passage is exactly what it says. The Greek Textus Receptus literally states "glad tidings...which were proclaimed in all the creation which [is] under heaven" (τοῦ κηρυχθέντος ἐν πάσῃ τῇ κτίσει τῇ ὑπὸ τὸν οὐρανό&#957. This is NOT hyperbole by any means. "All the creation" equals "every creature" (Mk 16:15).

Just because we are not aware of the details of how this was accomplished does not negate the fact that God accomplished this, and Paul wrote it down. WITH GOD NOTHING SHALL BE IMPOSSIBLE. Note how the *Everlasting Gospel* will be proclaimed by a flying angel to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people in the future (Rev 14:6).

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Hi Brother,

The OP's question is "Had the saving gospel literally been preached to all people (including the western hemisphere) at the time Paul wrote this?" Proclaim and preach are NOT the same verb or action nor do they mean the same. The gospel had indeed been "proclaimed" to all but it had not yet been "preached" to all. We continue to preach the gospel to this day because there are still lost peoples in the world. I hope this clarifies my earlier post.

shakewell said:

But the text puts it in past tense: "...which was preached to every creature"

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Hi Brother,

My argument centers around the meaning (and use) of the word ηρυχθέντος. The word can be translated as both proclaim and preach, however, proclaim and preach can have different usages or meanings. In Col. 1:23 the most likely meaning is proclaimed because the gospel has not been preached to every creature but has been proclaimed to every creature.

For example, Jesus tells us in Mat. 24:14 that "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come." The end has not come so the gospel is yet to be preached to the whole world. Secondly, if the gospel of the kingdom shall be preached (future indicative) then the gospel will continue to be preached. If everyone has heard the gospel then this verse would stand in tension.

In Luke 16 Jesus tells us that “The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John; since that time the gospel of the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it." Since John (John the Baptist) the gospel has been preached. The gospel of the kingdom stands here in contrast to the law and the line of demarcation is John. In other words, since John the proclaimed gospel (the gospel of Jesus Christ) is the official gospel (proclaimed). Secondly, the verse tells us that everyone is "forcing" (rendered in the present- an ongoing action) his way into it. The verse does not say that everyone has forced (past tense) into it, therefore the preaching of the gospel is ongoing.

The book of Acts is filled with examples of the disciples and the apostles continuing to preach the gospel (Acts 5:42, 8:4,25, 10:42, 14:7, etc.). If everyone had already heard the gospel then there would not have been a need to continue to preach it.

Lastly, Paul charged Timothy with preaching the gospel. Paul tells Timothy that "I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with [a]great patience and instruction (2 Tim 4:1-2)." This charge would not have been necessary if the gospel had already been preached to all of humankind.

Since the preaching of the gospel is ongoing then it stands to reason that Col. 1:23 is not saying that the gospel has been preached to all but that the gospel has been proclaimed (made official) for all.

The word creature is used in this verse.
What is a creature?
Chiggers, pit bulls, bison, brown bear, and man.
God has manifest Himself to all creatures.