Colossians 3:24

knowing as a certainty of the Gospel. So Ephesians 6:8. For the Christian's prospect of "reward" cp. Matthew 5:12; Matthew 6:1; Matthew 6:4; Matthew 16:27; Luke 6:35; Luke 14:14; Romans 2:6-10; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Hebrews 10:35; Revelation 22:12; &c. The obedience of love is infallibly remembered by Him to whom it is rendered. "Well done, good and faithful servant" (Matthew 25:21; Matthew 25:23), is His certain ultimate response to every true act of the will given up to Him. This, as presented in Scripture, is entirely harmonious with the sure doctrine of our justification for Christ's Merit only, embraced by faith only (Art. xi). It is the recognition of love by love, of grace by the Giver.

receive The Greek may be rendered, receive as your due. The reward, from one point of view mere grace and gift, is from another, because God has promised it, a debt.

the reward The Greek implies an exact requital. See Lightfoot's note. Even "the cup of cold water" (Matthew 10:42) has its remembrance and loving recompense.

of the inheritance That is, the reward consistsin the inheritance; is involved in the bright prospect of it. For a somewhat similar phrase cp. Colossians 1:12 (and notes). But the reference here is, surely, to the eternal future. So 1 Peter 1:4, and Ephesians 1:14. That future is but the issue of the present, in which "Christ is in us, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27). But the issue is so "far better" (Philippians 1:21) than its prelude and embryo that it is relatively a new thing in prospect. Lightfoot remarks that, by a beautiful paradox, the slaveis here also an heir, which by human law he could not be. He is God's heir (Galatians 4:7) by Divine law. Elsewhere, in other connexions, "slave" and "heir" are contrasted: e.g. Galatians 4:1.

for Probably the word is to be omitted. It is a good noteto the sentence, so to speak, pointing the meaning: "ye shall receive your reward from the Master; forChrist is the Master, and He never fails in requital."

ye serve the Lord Christ We may render, Christ is the Master whose bondmen ye are. Cp. Ephesians 6:6. The Greek may be rendered, "serve, &c.," imperatively. But the context favours the indicative.