Paul concludes this section by stating the purpose of the exposition about Christ and his work: it is that his readers remain faithful to the gospel.
Since Paul was writing a letter to the people in Colossae rather than talking to them, it may be necessary to introduce verse 4 as “I am writing to you” or “the purpose of my writing to you is….”
Do not let anyone deceive you: the Greek hina is probably to be understood as an imperative); most (Revised Standard Version New English Bible Jerusalem Bible New American Bible New International Version Barclay Goodspeed Moffatt Phillips Translator’s New Testament) take it as purpose or result. The verb “to deceive” is used elsewhere only in James 1.22, and means “to convince by false reasoning, to delude, mislead, lead astray.” Deceive should not be translated in such a way as to suggest mere “cheating.” The appropriate meaning is sometimes reflected in a translation such as “convince you by lies.” In some instances, this type of deception may be expressed figuratively as “lead you down the wrong path” or “cause you to leave the right road.”
False arguments, no matter how good they seem to be translates the Greek word pithanologia, which appears only here in the NT. New International Version has “fine sounding argument,” Translator’s New Testament “plausible arguments,” Goodspeed Jerusalem Bible New English Bible New American Bible “specious arguments.” False arguments may simply be translated in some languages as “lies” or “arguments which are lies.” No matter how good they seem to be may be rendered as “even if they sound good” or “even if they sound like they are true.”
Paul’s statement about being absent in body but present in spirit (also 1 Cor 5.3) carries no spiritualistic overtones, as though his “spirit” could leave his body and go to Colossae; it is simply a way of stating his sense of close identification with his Colossian fellow Christians, even though he is not physically present with them. Since one must avoid any translation of absent in body and with you in spirit which would suggest migration of one’s spirit from the body in order to be present some place else, it is possible to render the first part of verse 5 as “even though I am not there with you, I am still thinking about you constantly” or “even though I am not present with you, you may be sure it is as though I were present.”
The resolute firmness with which you stand together represents two nouns; taxis is a military term, meaning “orderly ranks,” “columns”; stereōma means “firmness,” “solidity,” and is also used in military context. So New English Bible “orderly array and firm front,” Translator’s New Testament “well-disciplined … firm faith,” Weymouth “good discipline … solid front.”
Resolute firmness may sometimes be expressed more effectively by a negation “you do not move” or “you are not pushed away.” The relationship between the resolute firmness and the way in which the believers stand together may be expressed as “you join tightly together and no one can separate you.”
Your faith in Christ: although possible, it does not seem probable that here “faithfulness to Christ” is meant; Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, however, translates “how firmly and unshakeably you remain in your trust in Christ.” Your faith in Christ may be rendered in this context as “in the way in which you trust Christ” or “… have confidence in Christ.”
Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Colossians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1977. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .