Colossians 1:28 says that Paul’s purpose in preaching is to tell people about Christ, to correct and teach them with all wisdom, so that each person can be brought to spiritual maturity in Jesus. The verse is written by the apostle Paul to the church in Colossae, a city in what is now western Turkey, and to believers who were being pulled toward ideas that claimed to offer more than Christ did.
Whom we proclaim, admonishing every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus…
Colossians 1:28 (WEB)
What Colossians 1:28 Means
The verse begins with “whom we proclaim,” which tells us the center of Paul’s message. He is not offering a set of rules or a private philosophy. He is announcing a person, Christ, and what God has done through him. The word “proclaim” suggests a public declaration, the kind a herald makes so that everyone can hear.
Next Paul describes two activities: “admonishing” and “teaching.” Admonishing means gently warning, correcting, or encouraging someone to change direction. Teaching means building understanding over time. Paul says he does both for “every man,” meaning everyone, not just the spiritually confident or the well educated. The phrase “in all wisdom” describes the manner of this work. The wisdom in view is practical and God-given, shaped by knowing Christ rather than by human cleverness.
The verse ends with its goal: that Paul may “present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.” The word “perfect” here means mature or complete, not sinless. Paul uses the same idea elsewhere to describe believers growing into full maturity in their faith. The verse does not promise that every teaching moment will succeed or that every person will respond. It describes the aim of faithful ministry, which is to see believers grow toward wholeness in Christ.
The Context of Colossians 1:28
Colossians is a letter Paul wrote while in prison, probably in the early 60s AD, addressed to a church he had not personally founded. The Colossian believers had received the gospel through Epaphras, and Paul writes to strengthen them. Just before this verse, Paul describes his role as a servant of the church, entrusted with making known “the mystery” that was hidden for ages but now revealed: Christ among the Gentiles, the hope of glory.
That setting changes how the verse reads. Paul is not boasting about his own authority. He is explaining why he labors so hard, and the verse that follows, verse 29, says he strives with energy that comes from God working in him. Read this way, Colossians 1:28 is less about a preacher’s task list and more about a shared mission that depends on God’s power and aims at the full growth of the people being loved.
Key Phrases in Colossians 1:28
Ephesians 4:13
Until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a full grown man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ…
(WEB)
This verse describes the church reaching unity and maturity in the knowledge of the Son of God, echoing Paul’s hope in Colossians 1:28 that believers grow to full stature in Christ.
Philippians 1:6
Being confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.
(WEB)
Paul expresses confidence that God, who began a good work in believers, will carry it on to completion, which helps explain why he labors patiently for their growth.
A Short Prayer From Colossians 1:28
Lord, you have given us the good news of Christ to hold and to share. Help me to speak about him clearly and without fear, and give me the wisdom to correct and to teach with patience. Where I see others drifting, let my words come from love. Where I feel tired or unsure of my effort, remind me that you are working in me. Grow each person I care for toward maturity in Jesus, and let my labor be shaped by your strength rather than my own. Amen.
