Colossians

1. Colossians

2. AUTHOR • The apostle Paul, joined in his salutation by Timothy (1:1), and signed by Paul himself at the end of the letter (4:18). Colossians is one of the “prison epis­tles” sent by Paul from his first confinement as a Roman prisoner about A.D. 60 or 61 It was delivered by Tychicus and Onesimus (4:7-9)

3. THE CITY OF COLOSSE • The city was located about 100 miles east of Ephesus in Asia Minor in southern part of Phrygia, a kingdom in west central Asia Minor – modern day Turkey. Together with Hieropolis (4:13) and Laodicea (2:1; 4:13-16; Re 3:14-22), Colosse made up a tri-city area. • Colosse was mostly a pagan city, with a strong intermingling of Jews (in 62 B.C., there were 11,000 Jewish freemen in the tri-city area). This may explain the nature of some of the problems that arose among the church in Colosse (problems with both pagan and Jewish origin).

4. The City: • They claimed to be the most ancient people of the world • A rather small, insignificant town that had seen better days at the time of this letter • When the gospel was preached there, it was subject to the Roman government

5. The Church: • The name “Colosse” [or Colossae] is not mentioned elsewhere in the Bible • Located very close to Laodicea and Hierapolis (4:13) • “Laodicea mentioned only in this book [4 times] and Revelation [1 time] • Paul and Silas preached throughout Phrygia on Paul’s second and third journeys (Acts 16:5,6)(18:23) • And, “churches” were established

6. The Church: • It is possible, however, that Paul did not establish the church at Colosse • Epaphras was one of their members (4:12,13) • He was a faithful gospel preacher (1:7; 4:12,13) • He was with Paul when this letter was written • Notice the term “Epaphras…greets you” (4:12) • He also gave Paul a report (1:8)

7. PURPOSE OF THE EPISTLE The danger of relapse into paganism with its gross immorality (cf. 1:21-23; 2:6; 3:5-11) The danger of accepting what has come to be known as "The Colossian heresy". This heresy was a involved four elements of both pagan and Jewish origin:

8. PURPOSE OF THE EPISTLE Philosophies of men - which denied the all sufficiency and preeminence of Christ (2:8) Judaisticceremonialism - which attached special significance to the rite of circumcision, food regulations, and observance of special days (2:11,16-17) Angel worship - which detracted from the uniqueness of Christ (2:18) Asceticism - which called for harsh treatment of the body as the means to control its lusts (2:20-23)

9. PURPOSE OF THE EPISTLE To guard against these dangers, Paul writes to: Warnthe Colossians against relapse (1:21-23) Warnthem against the "solution" being urged upon them by those denying the all-sufficiency of Christ (2:8-23) Directtheir attention to the "Beloved Son", the "All-Sufficient and Preeminent Savior" (1:13-18; 2:8-10)

10. The Problems: • A serious threat to the faith and stability of the young Christians at Colosse had arisen • It was in the form of false teaching about the Person and place of Jesus Christ in God’s scheme of redemption • This error had developed into a religious system that combined two schools of thought that usually were divergent in most respects.

11. The Problems: • First, the error was laced with a philosophy of Greek origin • Second, a strong influence of Jewish traditionalism had been infused into the teaching being done at Colosse

12. The Problems: In jeopardy were many of the basic tenets of the gospel: 1. The supremacy of Christ in all things in the world and in the church (1:13-19); 2. The adequacy of the divine Nature of Jesus to procure reconciliation and salvation for wicked men (1:20-23; 2:9); 3. The completenessof the redemption provided by Him (1:20-23); 4. The worthiness of sufferings and sacrifices for the gospel (1:24-29);

13. The Problems: In jeopardy were many of the basic tenets of the gospel: 5. The inability of human religion to benefit the spirit of man (2:8-10); 6. The removal of God’s authority from Moses’ Law (2:13-17); 7. The superiority of divine wisdom over other wisdom (2:3,7; 18,22). 8. The importance of observing the moral and ethical standards established through the laws of God

14. The Themes: • The preeminence and sufficiency of Jesus Christ in all things; • The spiritual completeness of believers in Christ; • The superiority of divine wisdom over other wisdom; • The obligations of union with Christ in the church; • The importance of honoring relationships with others.

15. Colossians - Opening remarks Colossians 1:1-8 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, (2) To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are in Colosse: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (3) We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, (4) since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints;

16. Colossians - Opening remarks (5) because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, (6) which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth; (7) as you also learned from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, (8) who also declared to us your love in the Spirit.

17. Paul’s GreetingsColossians 1:1-2 • Paul follows his usual pattern • Identifies himself and those to whom he is writing • Extends his prayer for their well-being • He then adds other personal remarks and launches into the reason for which the letter was written • He calls himself an “apostle” • Timothy was well-known among the Gentile churches • To the “saints” and “faithful brethren” • To those “in Christ” which are at Colosse (v.2)

18. Paul’s GreetingsColossians 1:3-18 He has several things to say about the Colossians before he addresses the things he wants to say to them

19. Thanksgiving and Prayers Colossians 1:3-5 • His thanksgiving and prayers for the Colossians sprang from two things: • Faith in Christ Jesus and • Love for all the saints • Also, his prayers and thanks were because of the precious hope laid up for them in heaven • Other passages provide information about the value and benefits of the Christian’s hope:

20. Thanksgiving and Prayers Colossians 1:5 Rom. 5:2-- The Christian hopes to receive glory from the Lord; 1Cor. 9:10-- The Christian hopes to be rewarded for his service to Christ; 1Cor. 15:19--The Christian hopes for a bodily resurrection; Gal. 5:5-- The Christian hopes for righteousness before God;

21. Thanksgiving and Prayers Colossians 1:5 Eph. 1:18--The Christian hopes for God’s great power toward believers; Titus 1:2;3:7--The Christian hopes for eternal life; Heb. 6:19--The Christian hopes for entrance into heaven; 1John 3:3--The Christian hopes to have an eternal nature like Christ’s

22. Thanksgiving and Prayers Colossians 1:6-8 • The gospel had been taken to Colosse by faithful preachers just as it had been proclaimed in all parts of the [Roman] world • The success of God’s word in Colosse had occurred because • many “heard” and “knew” [“to know completely, accurately”] the blessings of God’s grace when it was first declared to them • The truth of the gospel was bringing forth fruit • As they had learned it from Epaphras

23. Thanksgiving and Prayers Colossians 1:6-8 • Epaphras • He was “one of them” (4:12) • A “dear fellow servant” and a “minister of Christ” on their behalf • He also declared to Paul their love in the Spirit • He had come to Rome • To report on the spiritual condition at Colosse • To lay the problems caused by false teachers before Paul for solutions

24. Colossians- Rooted in Christ Walking worthy of Christ- Colossians 1:9-13 For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; (10) that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; (11) strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; (12) giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. (13) He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,

25. Colossians- Rooted in Christ Redeemed by Christ- Colossians 1:14-18 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. (15) He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. (16) For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. (17) And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. (18) And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.

26. Colossians- Rooted in Christ Reconciled in Christ- Colossians 1:19-23 For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, (20) and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. (21) And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled (22) in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight—

27. Colossians- Rooted in Christ Reconciled in Christ- (23)If indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.

28. Paul’s Prayer For The Colossians Colossians 1:9-13 • Paul did not cease to pray for them to ask that – • They may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding (v.9) • Not the intellectual “progress” of gnostic philosophy • Not the acquisition of “special knowledge” • They may walk worthy of the Lord (v.10) • Being fruitful in every good work and • Increasing in the knowledge of God • They be strengthened with all might (v.11) • According to God’s glorious power • For all patience and longsuffering with joy

29. Paul’s Prayer For The Colossians Colossians 1:9-13 • Paul did not cease to pray for them to ask that – • They give thanks to the Father • Who qualified us to be partakers of the saints inheritance (v.12) • Who has delivered us from the power of darkness (v.13) • Who has translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love (v.13)

30. Christ Has Pre-eminenceColossians 1:14-18 • In Christ, “the Son of His love” • we have redemption through His blood (v.14) • we have forgiveness of sins (v.14) • The conclusion Paul has in mind is advocated in verse 18: “...that in all things He may have the pre-eminence.”

31. Christ Has Pre-eminenceColossians 1:14-18 • Here are several profound reasons why Christ has pre-eminence: • Reason One: • Christ is the image of the invisible God (v15) • Reason Two: • He is the firstborn over all creation (v.15) • Reason Three: • He was the Creator of everything that was created (v.16)

32. Christ Has Pre-eminenceColossians 1:14-18 • Reason Four: • Everything was made for Him (v.16) • Reason Five: • He existed before any created things existed (v.17) • Reason Six: • He maintains everything that He has made (v.17) • Reason Seven: • He is head of His church (v18)

33. Verses 1:19-23… • The Godhead had one great purpose in mind in the formulation of the “mystery” plan which called for the Word to “become flesh and dwell among us” (John 1:14). • The “Colossian Heresy” troubling the church promoted a multiplicity of intermediaries between man and the “True God.” 33

34. Verses 1:19-23… • These aoens (higher angels) had the elements of man’s salvation distributed among them and were jointly responsible for whatever progress seekers might make toward heaven. • The pre-eminent Christ offered a simple and effective route to the throne of God because He was God in the fullest. 34

35. Verses 1:19-23… • The total nature of Divinity was the nature that dwelt permanently in the body of Jesus as He worked on earth to save man from his sin. • “All things” in heaven and on earth, whoever and wherever they might be, can be reconciled to God by Christ. • Jesus can make peace between God and man because He alone was able to atone for the crimes man had committed against God. 35

36. Verses 1:19-23… • “All things” is a rather generic category of persons and powers that were reconciled by Jesus. • You were enemies in your mind. • You were also guilty of doing unspeakably wicked works, and such actions often drove the apostle to insist that Gentiles “put off the old man” and his deeds and “put on the new man in righteousness and true holiness.” 36

37. Verses 1:19-23… You, nevertheless, have been reconciled despite your unworthiness of forgiveness for what you thought and for what you did. You can now expect to be presented as holy, blameless, and irreproachable. 37

38. Verses 1:19-23… • There were some “ifs” that stood between them and the happy ending they anticipated: • If they continued in the faith of the gospel • If they remained grounded and steadfast in the truths about Jesus that were vital to salvation; • If they didn’t move from their convictions about the pre-eminent Christ that had first given them the hope of heaven (1:5). 38

39. Verses 1:19-23… • Surely, the Colossians knew that the gospel of Christ had been taught in places other than in their own city. • Paul had worked hard to spread the good news into as many places and to as many lost souls as possible. 39

40. Colossians- Rooted in Christ Perfected in Christ- Colossians 1:24-2:7 I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church, (25) of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God, (26) the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints.

41. Colossians- Rooted in Christ Perfected in Christ- (27) To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. (28) Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. (29) To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.

42. Verses 1:24-29… • Paul was concerned that his imprisonment might become a hindrance to the faith of other Christians. • Paul maintained a very optimistic outlook on his imprisonment. • Paul’s sufferings “for the sake of...the church” were a continuation of the trials endured by the Lord at the hands of oppressive men. 42

43. Verses 1:24-29… • Paul’s conversion and apostleship were to be attended by “many things” to be suffered for the name of Christ (Acts 9:16), so imprisonment was not unexpected. • Paul called the gospel a “mystery” several times in the book of Ephesians. • The “mystery” preached to the Gentiles was “rich” in spiritual blessings that they might enjoy if they chose. 43

44. Verses 1:24-29… • The pre-eminent Christ was real wisdom, the wisdom of God. • Paul had worked hard for the salvation of many. 44

45. Verses 1:24-29… • The working of Christ in Paul assumed two roles: • Christ worked in him through motivating him to satisfy his Lord’s expectations for him as a preacher and as an apostle (Acts 26:16-18); • Christ also worked in him through the support of signs and wonders given to him to assist in his effectiveness as an evangelist-confirming the words he spoke. (e.g., Acts 14:3). 45

46. Colossians- Rooted in Christ Perfected in Christ- (2:1) For I want you to know what a great conflict I have for you and those in Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh, (2) that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ, (3) in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

47. The Colossian Heresy... • Verses 2:1-3… • A genuine love for one another that emulated the love he had for them would greatly strengthen their mutual desire to stand together against the doctrinal perversions with which disciples were being confronted at Colosse, Laodicea, and, no doubt, in other churches in the area.

48. Verses 2:1-3… • Not only was a sense of unity a key factor in resisting error but also the possession of a good understanding of God’s “mystery” would provide a defense that deception and falsehood could not penetrate. • The “mystery” of God and Christ was not beyond their understanding and commitment. 48

49. Verses 2:1-3… • Heaven’s revelation was now hidden from men only in the sense of being a precious treasure for which men must “dig” diligently if they were to share in its inestimable riches. 49

50. Colossians- Rooted in Christ Perfected in Christ- (4) Now this I say lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words. (5) For though I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ. (6) As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, (7) rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.