Whom we preach, warning every man - This does not mean warning of danger, but "admonishing all of the claims of the gospel to attention." Our word warn is commonly used in the sense of cautioning against danger. The Greek word here means to put in mind; to admonish; to exhort. The idea of the apostle is, that he made it his great business to bring the offers of the gospel fairly before the mind of every man. As it had the same claims on all; as it might be freely offered to all, and as it furnished the only hope of glory, he made it the object of his life to apprize every man of it, as far as he could.

And teaching every man - Paul made it his business to instruct men, as well as to exhort them. Exhortation and warning are of little use where there is not sound instruction and a careful inculcation of the truth. It is one of the duties of the ministry to instruct men in those truths of which they were before ignorant; see Matthew 28:19; 2 Timothy 2:25.

In all wisdom - Compare the Matthew 10:16 note; Colossians 1:9 note. The meaning is, that he and his fellow-laborers endeavored to manifest true wisdom in the method in which they instructed others.

That we may present every man - When we come to appear before God; Notes, 2 Corinthians 11:2. Paul was anxious that no one to whom this gospel was preached should be lost. He believed it to be adapted to save every man; and as he expected to meet all his hearers at the bar of God, his aim was to present them made perfect by means of that gospel which he preached.

Whom we preach,.... Under the above considerations; as the riches, the glory, and the mystery of the Gospel; as the hope set before lost sinners to lay hold upon; as the only Saviour and Redeemer, by whose righteousness believers are justified, through whose blood their sins are pardoned, by whose sacrifice and satisfaction atonement is made, and in whose person alone is acceptance with God: Christ and him crucified, and salvation by him, were the subjects of the ministry of the apostles; on this they dwelt, and it was this which was blessed for the conversion of sinners, the edification of saints, the planting of churches, and the setting up and establishing the kingdom and interest of Christ:

warning every man; of his lost state and condition by nature; of the wrath to come, and the danger he is in of it; of the terrors of the Lord, and of an awful judgment; showing sinners that they are unrighteous and unholy, that their nature is corrupt and impure, their best righteousness imperfect, and cannot justify them before God; that they stand guilty before him, and that destruction and misery are in all their ways; and therefore advise them to flee from the wrath to come, to the hope set before them in the Gospel:

and teaching every man in all wisdom; not natural, but spiritual and evangelical; the whole Gospel of Christ, the counsel of God, the wisdom of God in a mystery, and all the branches of it; teaching them to believe in Christ for salvation, to lay hold on his righteousness for justification, to deal with his blood for pardon, and with his sacrifice for the atonement of their sins; and to observe all things commanded by Christ, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly: by these two words, "warning" and "teaching", the several parts of the Gospel ministry are expressed; and which extend to all sorts of men, rich and poor, bond and free, greater and lesser sinners, Gentiles as well as Jews; and who are chiefly designed here, and elsewhere, by every man and every creature:

that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus; not in themselves, in which sense no man is perfect in this life; but in the grace, holiness, and righteousness of Christ, in whom all the saints are complete: or it may regard that ripeness of understanding, and perfection of knowledge, which, when arrived unto, saints become perfect men in Christ; and is the end of the Gospel ministry, and to which men are brought by it; see Ephesians 4:13; and to be understood of the presentation of the saints, not by Christ to himself, and to his Father, but by the ministers of the Gospel, as their glory and crown of rejoicing in the day of Christ.

Warning (νουθετοῦντες)

Rev., admonishing. See on Acts 20:31. Compare νουθεσίᾳ admonition, Ephesians 6:4.

Every

Thrice repeated, in order to emphasize the universality of the Gospel against the intellectual exclusiveness encouraged by the false teachers. For similar emphatic repetitions of all or every, compare 1 Corinthians 10:1, 1 Corinthians 10:2; 1 Corinthians 12:13; Romans 9:6, Romans 9:7; Romans 11:32, etc.

In all wisdom (ἐν πάσῃ σοφίᾳ)

In every form of wisdom. Thus opposed to the idea of esoteric and exoteric wisdom represented by the false teachers; higher knowledge for the few philosophic minds, and blind faith for the masses. In christian teaching the highest wisdom is freely open to all. Compare Colossians 2:2, Colossians 2:3.

Perfect

Compare 1 Corinthians 2:6, 1 Corinthians 2:7, and see note. There may be in this word a hint of its use in the ancient mysteries to designate the fully instructed as distinguished from the novices. Peter uses the technical word ἐπόπται eye-witnesses, which designated one admitted to the highest grade in the Eleusinian mysteries, of those who beheld Christ's glory in His transfiguration, 2 Peter 1:16. From this point of view Bishop Lightfoot appropriately says: "The language of the heathen mysteries is transferred by Paul to the christian dispensation, that he may the more effectively contrast the things signified. The true Gospel also has its mysteries, its hierophants, its initiation; but these are open to all alike. In Christ every believer is τέλειος fully initiated, for he has been admitted as ἐπόπτης eye-witness of its most profound, most awful secrets."

{14} Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in {x} all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:

(14) He protests that he faithfully executes his apostleship in every place, bringing men to Christ only through the Lord's plentiful blessing of his labours.

(x) Perfect and sound wisdom, which is perfect in itself, and will in the end make those perfect who follow it.

1:28 Whom we preach. Christ.

Every man. Note that this is repeated three times in the verse. The apostle impresses the fact that the gospel is not for a favored few, but for every one.

In all wisdom. In every form of wisdom.

Perfect in Christ Jesus. We should all aim at perfection; the apostle aims to bring all to this ideal. The high ideal is before, for which we all should aim. However, he whose sins are all blotted out will be counted perfect in the great day.

1:28 We teach the ignorant, and admonish them that are already taught.

Margin perfect See Scofield Note: "Mt 5:48".

28. preach-rather as Greek, "announce" or "proclaim."

warning . teaching-"Warning" is connected with repentance, refers to one's conduct, and is addressed primarily to the heart. "Teaching" is connected with faith, refers to doctrines, and is addressed primarily to the intellect. These are the two heads of evangelical teaching.

every . every man-without distinction of Jew or Gentile, great or small (Ro 10:12, 13).

in all wisdom-with all the wisdom in our method of teaching that we possess: so Alford. But Col 1:9; Col 3:16, favor Estius' view, which refers it to the wisdom communicated to those being taught: keeping back nothing, but instructing all in the perfect knowledge of the mysteries of faith which is the true wisdom (compare 1Co 2:6, 7; 12:8; Eph 1:17).

present-(See on [2410]Col 1:22); at Christ's coming.

every man-Paul is zealous lest the false teachers should seduce one single soul of Christ's people at Colosse. So each individual among them should be zealous for himself and his neighbor. Even one soul is of incalculable value.

perfect in Christ-who is the element in living union with whom alone each believer can find perfection: perfectly instructed (Eph 4:13) in doctrine, and full grown or matured in faith and practice. "Jesus" is omitted in all the oldest manuscripts.

1:24-29 Both the sufferings of the Head and of the members are called the sufferings of Christ, and make up, as it were, one body of sufferings. But He suffered for the redemption of the church; we suffer on other accounts; for we do but slightly taste that cup of afflictions of which Christ first drank deeply. A Christian may be said to fill up that which remains of the sufferings of Christ, when he takes up his cross, and after the pattern of Christ, bears patiently the afflictions God allots to him. Let us be thankful that God has made known to us mysteries hidden from ages and generations, and has showed the riches of his glory among us. As Christ is preached among us, let us seriously inquire, whether he dwells and reigns in us; for this alone can warrant our assured hope of his glory. We must be faithful to death, through all trials, that we may receive the crown of life, and obtain the end of our faith, the salvation of our souls.