Juan Manuel Granados Rojas, «Is the Word of God Incomplete? An Exegetical and Rhetorical Study of Col 1,25», Vol. 94 (2013) 63-79
The common reading of plhro/w in Col 1,25 has emphasized the apostolic task of preaching the gospel everywhere. We agree with other scholars that such a completion has not only spatial meaning but also a qualitative one. Yet, our research goes further: what kind of quality is this? The rhetorical devices of «accumulation» and «reversal» combined in 1,24-29 point to an ethical purpose. In this sense, «bringing to completion the word of God» means preaching the word, but also making everyone mature in Christ. The phrase includes both the diffusion of the gospel and the achievement of its ethical purpose.
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IS THE WORD OF GOD INCOMPLETE?
suggest that the editor adapted the formula according to some theo-
logical interest, which M. Wolter calls ‘institutional tendency’ 8.
The third exegetical issue in Col 1,25 deals with the phrase
plhrwsai to.n lo,gon tou/ Qeou/, which presents at least two difficulties
/
of interpretation. First, the verb plhro,w could bear two different mean-
ings: realization of the discourse (i.e. to accomplish the discourse); or
fulfillment of the word (i.e. to broadcast the gospel) 9. Second, the
phrase to.n lo,gon tou/ Qeou/ seems to take up the mention of the gospel
in Col 1,5 and 1,23. Is the “word of God†a terminus technicus, i.e. a
word pronounced by God (subjective genitive) or does it refer to the
apostolic preaching about God (objective genitive) 10?
A first reading of the whole phrase could suggest that the word of
God is, or was, incomplete. Paul’s apostolic service would consist then
in making it complete; as E. Lohse sees it, to broadcast the word of
God everywhere and to proclaim it to every creature under heaven 11.
Some authors try to go beyond this spatial formulation by emphasizing
its purpose. For example, F.F. Bruce includes the acceptance in faith
of this word so that it achieves its purpose 12.
Several scholars underline the quality and modality of this reali-
zation rather than the proclamation itself. P.T. O’Brien, for instance,
agrees with Bruce and Percy in affirming that the preaching of the
According to M. Wolter, Eph 3,2 would depend on Col 1,25 and it should
8
be considered as a good sample of the harmonization of the language of Ephe-
sians with that of Colossians. See WOLTER, Der Brief an die Kolosser, 103.
Contra E. Lohse, M. Wolter considers that plhro,w in 1,25 should not be
9
understood as realization (Verwirklichung des Redes) but as fulfillment (Er-
füllung) in the sense of the global spread of the gospel. The expression is
probably linked with the technical designations of the apostolic mission in
Acts 12,24; 19,20; Rom 15,19; 2 Tim 4,17. See WOLTER, Der Brief an die
Kolosser, 103; see also LOHSE, Colossians and Philemon, 73.
A. Standhartinger proposes that lo,goj tou/ Qeou/ is a terminus technicus
10
used as the OT prophets used it. She quotes as proof 2 Chr 36,21. STANDHAR-
TINGER, Studien zur Entstehungsgeschichte und Intention des Kolosserbriefs,
170. Other scholars take the expression to mean the development of the apo-
stolic service. The definition of Paul’s service in 1,23.25 to the gospel and to
the church becomes more precise in the second reference, which is service
to the community of faith. (See also 1 Cor 3,5). FRANK, Der Kolosserbrief
im Kontext des paulinischen Erbes, 100.
LOHSE, Colossians and Philemon, 73.
11
F.F. BRUCE, The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the
12
Ephesians (NIC; Grand Rapids, MI 1984) 83.
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