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.

Because of the hope ... This clause makes "hope" the pinnacle and summit of the famed triad of faith, hope and love, just as love is designated in 1 Corinthians 13:13. Of course, such a cavalier treatment of "faith" is deplored by the scholars. As Hendriksen put it:

Some have experienced difficulty with the fact that Paul here in Colossians 1:4,5 in which he follows sequence B, seems to be saying that the faith of the Colossians and their love are based on hope. Note the words "by reason of the hope."[12]

It is clear enough that Paul did not here merely "seem to be saying," but that he emphatically affirmed that the Christian's faith and love are derived from and founded upon the hope of the gospel. The New Testament unequivocally states that we are "saved by hope" (Romans 8:24, margin); and here the reason for such a truth appears. Both faith and love are "by reason of hope." See more on this in my Commentary on Romans, Romans 8:24.

In the heavens ... "This appears to be a superlative expression here, including all regions and spheres of the unseen world."[13] The plural "heavens" is a Hebrew conception, probably founded upon such passages as Deuteronomy, 1 Kings 8:27; the rabbis spoke of two heavens; Paul of three (2 Corinthians 12:2).

The truth of the gospel ... "This expression (as in Galatians 2:14) is emphatic ... it refers to a revelation of eternal truth, itself as changeless as the truth revealed."[14] The holy gospel was at that point in time winning its supremacy over all civilized thought and it was particularly needful to warn the Colossians against the sudden growth of wild speculations, as contrasted with the unchanging, eternal truths of the gospel.

[12] William Hendriksen, op. cit., p. 49.

[13] David Lipscomb, A Commentary on the New Testament Epistles, Vol. IV (Nashville: The Gospel Advocate Company, 1964), p. 251.

[14] Alfred Barry, op. cit., p. 96.