1:2a
saints and faithful brothers in Christ: The phrase saints and faithful brothers does not refer to two different groups of people. It refers to a single group: people who have dedicated themselves to God and who are faithful to Christ.
saints: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as saints refers to all God’s people, that is, all true believers. It does not just refer to Christians who have done something special or whom the church today calls saints. Possible ways to translate saints in this verse are:
• you(plur) who are devoted to God
• you(plur) who are set apart for God
• you(plur) who belong to God
• God’s people.
See “holy,” sense A3a in Key Biblical Terms and meaning 1 in the glossary for more information.
faithful brothers: This referred to all the Christians in Colossae, both male and female. If the word you use in your language for brothers refers only to men, you should consider saying “brothers and sisters,” or using a neutral term like “relatives.” See also the note in 1:1c.
faithful: This does not mean that these people were faithful to Paul. It means that they were faithful and loyal to Christ.
in Christ: This is a phrase that Paul used in all his letters. It means “united to Christ” or “trusting completely in Christ.” It refers to the close relationship which Christians have with Christ and therefore with one another. It is often a difficult phrase to translate. Here “brothers in Christ” means “Christian brothers,” or “fellow believers in Christ.”
1:2b
Grace and peace to you from God our Father: In this greeting, Paul was expressing a strong desire or a prayer. In Greek, this part of the verse has no verb, but in your language you may need to supply a verb. For example:
I/We(excl.) pray/hope that you will receive…
-or-
May God our Father give you…
Grace: In many passages in the NT the Greek word usually translated Grace describes something that God does for sinful people. It means: “God helps people because he has compassion on them even though they do not deserve his help.” However in this verse it is part of a common Greek greeting and has a more general meaning. Therefore, you do not need to try and express the specific meaning of Grace that is described above. See “grace,” sense A1 in Key Biblical Terms and meaning 1 in the glossary for more information.
Some ways you could express this using a verb are:
May God our(incl.) Father treat you kindly
-or-
We(excl.) pray that God our(incl.) Father will help you in every way
-or-
We(excl.) ask God our(incl.) Father to bless you because of his kindness
peace: God causes his people to be at peace with him and with one another. The meaning of the Greek word includes not only inward peace of mind, but also good health and prosperity.
you: Throughout the letter the word you is always plural and refers to the Colossian believers. The only exception is in 4:17, where Paul was sending a personal message to Archippus.
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