Colossians Introduction and 1:1-2
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Colossians
Colossians
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father.
We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.
And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.
Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.
For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.
Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.
Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.
If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.
just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf
, , ,
Colossians 2:1-
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.
Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them. Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality.
Colossians 3:1-25
Masters, treat your bondservants justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.
Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.
Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.
Tychicus will tell you all about my activities. He is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts, and with him Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you of everything that has taken place here.
Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, and Mark the cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you have received instructions—if he comes to you, welcome him), and Jesus who is called Justus. These are the only men of the circumcision among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me. Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God. For I bear him witness that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis. Luke the beloved physician greets you, as does Demas. Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house. And when this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea. And say to Archippus, “See that you fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord.”
I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.
Colossians 4:1-
COLOSSIANS INTRODUCTION
1. Read book
a. Outline of the book.
2. Colossae.
a. Where is it?
About 100 miles east of Ephesus and about 12 miles from Laodicea, which is one of the 7 churches written to in Revelation for the lukewarm approach to the gospel.
b. What was its significant?
There was nothing unique about Colossae at the time of Christ or Paul. Several hundred years before the town had been on a major east to west inland route and sat at an intersecting southern trade route. It had and certainly enjoyed much more notoriety or predominance but by the time the Romans had expanded into the regain of Asia Minor, Colossae was nothing much to speak of.
Many commentators report on its insignificants as a hamlet yet it had a letter sent specifically to its church by the Apostle Paul.
It was an extremely diverse town and at one point had a large population of Jews. Marcus Tullius Cicero writing a letter back to Rome reported that there was a large some of money taken from the region, which had been collected as Temple Tax.
The reason Colossae has a letter sent to it by Paul was the heresy that was growing in the town. We’ll get to that later
c. Who brought the Gospel?
Epaphras a fellow servant of Christ had delivered the Gospel to Colossae, v7 of chapter 1 reads “just as you learned it from Epaphras… He is a faithful servant.
It is likely he had received the gospel from Paul during the 3 years he was in Ephesus you can read about that in .
So the people of Colossae knew of Paul and of the gospel, he preached.
3. When and where was the letter written?
a. The strongest evidence is that Paul wrote this from Rome and that would have been about 62 - 63 AD after he was arrested in Jerusalem, imprisoned in Caesarea for 2 years, shipwrecked on Malta and then finally arriving in Rome as documented in Acts starting in Chapter 22:27 through the end of Acts in chapter 28.
b. There is virtually no evidence that the letter was written in Caesarea. Although Luke documents that, he was allowed visitors to minister to him he does not document one name of a saint who visited. He also was not allowed the freedom he was in Rome being under house arrest.
c. There is some who believe that it may have been written in Ephesus during a possible imprisonment there. This might explain some of the many trips made by some of the brothers from the churches in the region of Phrygia. These are documented in Colossians, 1:7 by Epaphras, Onesimus to Ephesus and Colossae in and and Paul’s discussion of coming to see Philemon in the letter written to him in v22.
Nevertheless, even with these other possibilities most commentators agree that the first Roman imprisonment, “generally fits the facts better than the Caesarean and Ephesian theories.”
Most evidence strongly supports that this letter; Ephesians, Philippians and Philemon are all written in Rome and distributed by Paul’s fellow workers in Christ Jesus to their designated recipients.
4. The author.
a. I don’t think we need to look into this much. The early church fathers certainly believed this was written by Paul or Saul of Tarsus his Jewish name.
b. Some people find difficulties with the differences in the theology expressed in letter when compared to other letters by Paul. I think these are mostly limited to more recent (late 1800s to 2000s) liberal students of the New Testament.
5. There are some very important themes in Colossians these include:
a. The doctrine of salvation
b. Christian liberty
c. Christian ethics
d. Prayer
e. Slavery
f. The Christian Sabbath
But the most important emphasis is on Jesus Christ and his position as it relates to the universe and the church.
So the epistle is all about the greatness of Christ’s person and our position in him through faith. Paul’s intention is to bring Jesus Christ to the fore, because he must be acknowledged as Creator and Redeemer.
4 very clear points:
a. Christ stands supreme and unique’. He is before all things, he created all things and he is first over all creation (1:15–18).
b. He is the Savior who delivers us from Satan, makes atonement and brings forgiveness of sins (1:13, 14; 2:14, 15).
c. This epistle clearly points to the greatness of Christ’s person and our position in him through faith.
d. Paul’s intention is to bring Jesus Christ to the front of our thought, because he must be acknowledged as Creator and Redeemer.
6. Paul the Jewish Saul
a. Paul was a Scholar:
If you recall from Acts chapter 5, the teacher and Pharisee Gamaliel who was the Rabban – our teacher as opposed to Rabbi, which meant, “my teacher. Had put Peter and John put outside the temple when they had been taken into custody and questions by the rulers of Israel. He warned the Sanhedrin that they must be careful with these men, these followers of Jesus. V38 – 40 “So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!” So they took his advice, and when they had called in the apostles, (Peter and John) they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.
This same Gamaliel was the teacher of Saul of Tarsus and Saul was a good student.
b. Paul was a Pharisee (meaning separated one)
He was a member of a sect of the Jewish religion dating back to the intertestamental period. There were about 6000 in the days when Herod was king. They developed a very detailed system of rules that were intended to help the Jewish people keep the 613 laws in the Pentateuch.
d. Paul was inspired
God equipped and prepared him to be His messenger by his tutelage under Gamaliel and through his conversion on the road to Damascus. Paul was filled with the Holy Spirit to grasp the deep things of God. He brought together the Old Testament revelation about the Messiah and first hand facts of Jesus work and ministry.
Paul himself reveals in “But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone; nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.”
Then after 3 more years he went up to Jerusalem to consult with Peter and James the Lord’s bother.
He didn’t just claim knowledge but he was confirmed through his conversion and the works brought forth by the Holy Spirit.
With that said we will move into the scripture and to night I am only going to cove the first 2 verses.
At 2 verses a Friday that’s about 47 weeks we should be done next year in October taking holidays and special occasions into account we will be done in about October of next year, Just kidding.
Let’s pray.
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father.
So we have already discussed Paul’s claim and approval and an Apostle ( a sent one) of Jesus Christ. There is not many in the church at Colossae that would not have know his name and the authority he carried for Christ.
This opening as many of you know was typical of the Greek letters in Pauls day and the people receiving the letter wouldn;t want to flip to the last piece of parchment or unroll the scroll to the end to know who this message was written by.
Now we see Timothy. our brother
Timothy was a co-worker in Christ
and we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s coworker in the gospel of Christ, to establish and exhort you in your faith,
1 Thessalonians
Timothy was called to Christ through the preaching and teaching of Paul and he calls him not only our brother but his child
To Timothy, my beloved child:
Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
Why would he call him his brother?
Well we can see that no matter who someone is he or she has equality of believers in Jesus. No one is more special not even our pastors, elders and deacons.
They have more responsibility and will be judged more strictly,
Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.
James
but no one is more special in Gods kingdom. We will cover more of this in Ch3.
Then we come to the saints.
Specifically
And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you.” And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”
But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison.
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Then we come to the saints.
This is the name Paul uses in most of his epistles for those in Christ
(; ; ; ; also )
But here as in Romans and Philippians he is not referring to them as a church but “He alludes to their status and not to some degree of holiness attained.” They have a spiritual union with our Savior and are born again.
But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’
The second reference to the recipients is “faithful Brothers” or (brothers and sisters)
In just a couple of words we find another reference to brothers.
Here and also in the reference to Timothy we see this word
The other point for us to ponder is that of the Gospels.
adelphos in greek A
believer ⇔ brother n. — a male (believer) understood as one’s own sibling in God’s family; sometimes used of any sibling (regardless of gender) in God’s family.
We see Jesus in the Gospels.
Specifically
And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you.” And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”
adelphos kai adelphe (brothers and sisters.
Finally we see the phrase that in one form or another Paul uses in all 13 letters recorded in the New Testament.
Grace and Peace to you.
Opening Up Colossians and Philemon The Adopted People (v. 2)
He alludes to their status and not to some degree of holiness attained. This is Paul’s normal use of the term (1:4; Eph. 1:1; Phil. 1:1). They are ‘in Christ’, because the saints have a spiritual union with Christ, having been ‘born again’ (John 1:12–13; 3:3, 7)
Grace for the sinner. Which God freely gives to those who believe. Grace which is His mercy that hHe with holds what we rightly deserve through our sin.
Peace, mot world peace or quite time but a peace which only comes to those who believe and follow the Lord Jesus Christ.
Pray.
Next Week
I have some questions to hand out for further study. I will post them on Facebook. Please read the scriptures associated with each question and next week we will read through Colossians again and answer/discuss the questions.
1. Read through the book review and discuss question.
Handed out and posted on the HP Ohana Facebook page.
I have some questions to hand out for further study. I will post them on Facebook. Please read the scriptures associated with each question and next week we will read through Colossians again and answer/discuss the questions.