Verse 14
Perhaps Paul explained redemption because the false teachers were redefining that term too. Redemption is a benefit of union with Christ (Colossians 1:13 b). "Emancipation" expresses this aspect of Christ’s work for us.
"The real redemption [apolutrosis, lit. ransoming away] needed by men is not a redemption from fate by gnostic aeons [intermediate deities]; it is a redemption from sin by a Divine-human Mediator." [Note: Johnson, 472:345.]
"Redemption and forgiveness are not exactly parallel or identical concepts, but by putting the two terms in apposition to each other, the apostle teaches that the central feature of redemption is the forgiveness of sins." [Note: Vaughan, p. 180. ]
Forgiveness of sins is an important motif in this epistle (cf. Colossians 2:13; Colossians 3:13).
This pericope contains a beautiful picture of Christian growth that is God’s will for every believer. Paul alluded to the same concept later (Colossians 2:7). The Christian grows more as a fruit tree than as a stalk of wheat. We do not just bear fruit and then die. We continue to grow in our ability to bear fruit as we increase in the knowledge of God. Each passing year should see both growth in the Christian’s spiritual life and an increase in his or her fruitfulness.
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