Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Colossians 1:25

"whereof I was made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which was given me to you-ward, to fulfil the word of God," — Colossians 1:25 (ASV)

Elsewhere Paul speaks of himself as a minister of the Gospel (v.23; Ephesians 3:7), of God (2 Corinthians 6:4), of Christ (2 Corinthians 11:23), and of a new covenant (2 Corinthians 3:6). Here he is the church’s minister or “servant” (GK 1356; cf. 1:7, 23), and as such is bound to toil and suffer in whatever way the church’s welfare requires.

Paul’s appointment to his office was “by the commission God gave” him— lit., “according to the dispensation of God.” The word translated “commission” (GK 3873) has a wide range of meanings; here it is perhaps best rendered by “stewardship” (cf. Lk 16:2-4). This rendering suggests that Paul conceived of the work to which God appointed him as both a high privilege and a sacred trust. He was a servant of the church, but in the deepest sense he was a steward of God (cf. 1 Corinthians 4:1).

The purpose of the apostle’s stewardship was “to present the word of God in all its fullness.” Some understand this to refer to the geographical extension of the Gospel (cf. Romans 15:19). But Paul probably means that his special ministry was to make clear the true nature of the Gospel as a divine provision intended for all.