John Chrysostom

Ver. 7. "Even as ye learned of Epaphras our beloved fellow-servant." He, it is probable, had preached there. "Ye learned" the Gospel. Then to show the trust-worthiness of the man, he says, "our fellow servant." "Who is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf; who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit." Doubt not, he saith, of the hope which is to come: ye see that the world is being converted. And what need to allege the cases of others? …

Homily on Colossians 1 ↗

Theophylact of Ohrid

You, he says, have in fact come to know the grace just as Epaphras also taught you. For it was not one thing that happened in reality while he taught another. For he, most likely, preached to the Colossians. By this he shows that this man is worthy of trust. For I, Paul, would not have loved him if he were not a true preacher, and would not have called him a "fellow worker." That is, the true one. For your sake, he says, he served in matters befitting Christ. …

Commentary on Colossians ↗

Thomas Aquinas

Then he commends the ministry of the Gospel: first, in relation to himself; then in relation to them; and finally in relation to both. So he says: You have been taught the Gospel, as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant: "I am a fellow servant with you and your brethren the prophets" (Rev 22:9). He is a faithful minister, that is, one who does not seek his own profit: "This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. …

Commentary on Colossians ↗