Colossians 1:4 (ASV)

Passage

having heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have toward all the saints,

Nearby Context

Colossians 1:2 To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ [that are] at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

Colossians 1:3 We give thanks to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,

Colossians 1:4 having heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have toward all the saints,

Colossians 1:5 because of the hope which is laid up for you in the heavens, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel,

Colossians 1:6 which is come unto you; even as it is also in all the world bearing fruit and increasing, as [it doth] in you also, since the day ye heard and knew the grace of God in truth;

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "faith", "having", "heard", "christ", "jesus", "love", "toward", and "saints". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "faith" and "having", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "We give thanks to God the Father..." into verse 5's "because of the hope which is laid...", so "faith" and "having" belong inside that flow. In Colossians context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "faith" and "having" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.