So, we've officially started our study of Colossians in Sunday school. Today we focused on 1:1-14. I'm going to share what my own studies taught me in this. It's all very cool and exciting. So, first, a little background.
Who wrote this? The short answer is Paul. For those of you who might be reading this and not know, here's a little background on Paul. He was once known as Saul, but took the name Paul after his conversion. Apparently, Paul means "little"; he wanted to be known as little in the service of Christ. He was Jewish, and was actually a Pharisee and persecuted the early church prior to his conversion. He was trained under Gamaliel, who was a renowned teacher of Jewish law. This means that Paul would have been very familiar with all the outward observances of the law, which is important as he's writing Colossians. Hopefully, I can make that connection for you once we get there. Paul was converted to Christianity after his encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus; his salvation was clearly all a work of God, which you can definitely see that he's very aware of in his writings.
What is this? Colossians is an epistle, or letter. It's known as one of Paul's prison epistles, because it was most likely written during his imprisonment in Rome.
Why is Paul writing this? Paul had learned of heresies, or false teachings, creeping into the church at Colossae. Colossae was a city in Asia Minor, and was an important trading city, as well as a meeting place for ideas and religions from all around. Many people there worshipped the Greek "gods", in addition to some mystery cults. There was also an apparently sizable Jewish influence as well. All of this led to syncretism, or the combining of ideas from other philosophies or religions with Christian truths. This meant that there was some "Christian mysticism", as well as Jewish legalism to be fought against. Some scholars believe that some of this led to eventual Gnosticism, the idea that one needed to have a special knowledge of God to be saved. Gnostics denied the deity of Christ and to some extent, the seriousness of sin. Obviously, none of these really jive with Christianity and the true gospel, and so were a danger to this church. Interesting to note is that Paul had probably never visited the church at Colossae. It was most likely started by Epaphras, a convert of Paul's, and the man who brought this issue in the church to Paul. So, Paul is writing the church at Colossae to remind them of the gospel truth, to encourage them to stand firm in the gospel, and to combat false teachings within the body.
Digging in: I kind of took this verse by verse with the girls today, so that's what I'll do here. Bear with me, because all of this is coming from scribbled notes I wrote!
Verses 1-2: Greeting
Paul begins in verse 1 by telling who is writing the letter, himself and Timothy. Paul calls himself an apostle here, and that was one of the questions we had. What is an apostle? The definition I found is "one sent with a special message or commission". The apostles were originally the twelve that Jesus chose. However, Paul counts himself an apostle because Christ gave him a special commission to bring the gospel to the Gentiles. We are not apostles, because while we have all been given the Great Commission in Matthew 28, we have not been granted a special message to bring to anyone. We are, however, disciples, ones who follow the teachings of Christ. Paul also says that He is one by the will of God, which we've seen both in his conversion and his commission by Christ. Timothy was a convert of Paul's, and therefore a brother in Christ. An interesting fact that I found was that Timothy may have acted as somewhat of a secretary for Paul, writing his letters as Paul dictated them. It's also important that Timothy is involved in this letter because of his background. He was part Greek, part Jew, so he had his feet in both worlds. He was raised to have a firm foundation in Jewish belief and tradition, but did not follow all of the same laws. In fact, He was not circumcised until Paul did so (my best understanding of this is that, while Paul did not agree with the circumcision party, as we saw in Acts 15 at the Jerusalem Council, this was done so as to avoid Timothy's testimony from being outright rejected and to avoid giving needless offense or hindrance to the gospel message). In addition, He was considered one of Paul's most constant companions.
He tells us in verse 2 who he is writing to, the church at Colossae, which we've already discussed.
Verses 3-8: Thanksgiving
Next, Paul spends some time in thanksgiving for these brothers and sisters in this church, while already beginning to combat some of the false doctrine creeping into it.
In verse 3, he begins by affirming the deity of Christ, which was one of the things that some of the false teachers were denying.
In verses 4-5, he mentions three of the foundational principles of Christianity: faith, hope, and love. He speaks of their faith in Christ, the outward manifestation of that faith in the love they show for the body, and the reason for their faith and love, the hope of the gospel in Jesus Christ. He takes them back to the roots of what they believe and why. He reminds them of who they are! He also reminds them that the gospel, and it alone, is "the word of truth". No other teaching is acceptable or able to gain them access to the Father or give them hope in Christ.
In verse 6, he reminds them of the evidence of the truth of the gospel, that it grows and spreads and bears fruit. He says that this is what it is doing in the world and right there in them, since the moment they were saved by it and in it.
In verse 7, He calls upon a face they know, Epaphras. He reminds them that Epaphras believes the gospel, and calls him a fellow slave (bondservant) to Christ. He reminds them that Epaphras is faithful to Christ, the gospel, and the body.
Finally, in verse 8, he commends them for their "love in the Spirit". What is this? A Spirit-given love that works itself out in action, as an outward manifestation of the inward truth of the gospel salvation they have experienced.
Whoo, and that's just part of the greeting!
Verses 9-14: Prayer
In verse 9, Paul reminds the Colossian church that knowledge alone is not enough to bring them to salvation. It must be a knowledge and understanding that comes from God to discern His will and then to rightly act on it. They were not to rely on wisdom given by these false teachers, but on spiritual wisdom that comes only from God.
In verse 10, we see why this is so: so that we can "walk in a manner worthy of the Lord". To walk here means how we conduct or behave ourselves. Paul tells us how we are to do this, in a manner fully pleasing to the Lord. But wait, we're sinners. We can't do that! Which is why he's reminded us of who Christ is and what He's accomplished for us, and tells us here in verse 10 that we can't do it on our own, but only through the process of sanctification (becoming more Christ-like). Knowing that we are fully forgiven, we can grow in Him and in His knowledge, completing good works as an act of service and worship to Him as a result of the salvation we have obtained in Him. See how it all points back to Christ?
Verse 11 is where, as mentioned above, Paul reminds us that we need God's power and might to accomplish any of this, because we are unable to do it on our own.
In verse 12, Paul reminds the Colossians that God has "qualified" whom He would to inherit the promise of salvation, Jew and Gentile alike. Nothing else is required, no special knowledge, no dietary restrictions, etc.
Finally, in verses 13-14, Paul basically gives them a short summary of the gospel as an encouragement and something to stand steadfastly in. He says that God had "delivered (rescued) us from the domain of darkness (Satan/sin/evil) and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son (the kingdom of God/heaven/salvation in Christ), in whom (Christ's lordship) we have redemption (deliverance/liberation/freedom from), the forgiveness of sins (necessary for a relationship with Christ and for salvation).
What a message! What a joy!
Lord, You are so amazing. You are so faithful; faithful to preserve Your people in the midst of strife, faithful to provide us with shepherds and those who would guard the flock and combat lies, faithful to provide us with Your Word and open our eyes and give us understanding of Your truth. You are a God without description, for our stammering tongues cannot hope to give voice to the truth of who You are, to tell even a fraction of Your glories. But, Lord, I long for the day when I will see You face to face and my mortal tongue is unloosed to more fully and perfectly sing Your praise, when my ears are unstopped and my feeble mind unfettered to more fully hear and understand Your Word, when the scales fall from my eyes to behold the fullness of Your beauty and Your perfect plan for Your bride. Hallelujah and amen!
Who wrote this? The short answer is Paul. For those of you who might be reading this and not know, here's a little background on Paul. He was once known as Saul, but took the name Paul after his conversion. Apparently, Paul means "little"; he wanted to be known as little in the service of Christ. He was Jewish, and was actually a Pharisee and persecuted the early church prior to his conversion. He was trained under Gamaliel, who was a renowned teacher of Jewish law. This means that Paul would have been very familiar with all the outward observances of the law, which is important as he's writing Colossians. Hopefully, I can make that connection for you once we get there. Paul was converted to Christianity after his encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus; his salvation was clearly all a work of God, which you can definitely see that he's very aware of in his writings.
What is this? Colossians is an epistle, or letter. It's known as one of Paul's prison epistles, because it was most likely written during his imprisonment in Rome.
Why is Paul writing this? Paul had learned of heresies, or false teachings, creeping into the church at Colossae. Colossae was a city in Asia Minor, and was an important trading city, as well as a meeting place for ideas and religions from all around. Many people there worshipped the Greek "gods", in addition to some mystery cults. There was also an apparently sizable Jewish influence as well. All of this led to syncretism, or the combining of ideas from other philosophies or religions with Christian truths. This meant that there was some "Christian mysticism", as well as Jewish legalism to be fought against. Some scholars believe that some of this led to eventual Gnosticism, the idea that one needed to have a special knowledge of God to be saved. Gnostics denied the deity of Christ and to some extent, the seriousness of sin. Obviously, none of these really jive with Christianity and the true gospel, and so were a danger to this church. Interesting to note is that Paul had probably never visited the church at Colossae. It was most likely started by Epaphras, a convert of Paul's, and the man who brought this issue in the church to Paul. So, Paul is writing the church at Colossae to remind them of the gospel truth, to encourage them to stand firm in the gospel, and to combat false teachings within the body.
Digging in: I kind of took this verse by verse with the girls today, so that's what I'll do here. Bear with me, because all of this is coming from scribbled notes I wrote!
Verses 1-2: Greeting
Paul begins in verse 1 by telling who is writing the letter, himself and Timothy. Paul calls himself an apostle here, and that was one of the questions we had. What is an apostle? The definition I found is "one sent with a special message or commission". The apostles were originally the twelve that Jesus chose. However, Paul counts himself an apostle because Christ gave him a special commission to bring the gospel to the Gentiles. We are not apostles, because while we have all been given the Great Commission in Matthew 28, we have not been granted a special message to bring to anyone. We are, however, disciples, ones who follow the teachings of Christ. Paul also says that He is one by the will of God, which we've seen both in his conversion and his commission by Christ. Timothy was a convert of Paul's, and therefore a brother in Christ. An interesting fact that I found was that Timothy may have acted as somewhat of a secretary for Paul, writing his letters as Paul dictated them. It's also important that Timothy is involved in this letter because of his background. He was part Greek, part Jew, so he had his feet in both worlds. He was raised to have a firm foundation in Jewish belief and tradition, but did not follow all of the same laws. In fact, He was not circumcised until Paul did so (my best understanding of this is that, while Paul did not agree with the circumcision party, as we saw in Acts 15 at the Jerusalem Council, this was done so as to avoid Timothy's testimony from being outright rejected and to avoid giving needless offense or hindrance to the gospel message). In addition, He was considered one of Paul's most constant companions.
He tells us in verse 2 who he is writing to, the church at Colossae, which we've already discussed.
Verses 3-8: Thanksgiving
Next, Paul spends some time in thanksgiving for these brothers and sisters in this church, while already beginning to combat some of the false doctrine creeping into it.
In verse 3, he begins by affirming the deity of Christ, which was one of the things that some of the false teachers were denying.
In verses 4-5, he mentions three of the foundational principles of Christianity: faith, hope, and love. He speaks of their faith in Christ, the outward manifestation of that faith in the love they show for the body, and the reason for their faith and love, the hope of the gospel in Jesus Christ. He takes them back to the roots of what they believe and why. He reminds them of who they are! He also reminds them that the gospel, and it alone, is "the word of truth". No other teaching is acceptable or able to gain them access to the Father or give them hope in Christ.
In verse 6, he reminds them of the evidence of the truth of the gospel, that it grows and spreads and bears fruit. He says that this is what it is doing in the world and right there in them, since the moment they were saved by it and in it.
In verse 7, He calls upon a face they know, Epaphras. He reminds them that Epaphras believes the gospel, and calls him a fellow slave (bondservant) to Christ. He reminds them that Epaphras is faithful to Christ, the gospel, and the body.
Finally, in verse 8, he commends them for their "love in the Spirit". What is this? A Spirit-given love that works itself out in action, as an outward manifestation of the inward truth of the gospel salvation they have experienced.
Whoo, and that's just part of the greeting!
Verses 9-14: Prayer
In verse 9, Paul reminds the Colossian church that knowledge alone is not enough to bring them to salvation. It must be a knowledge and understanding that comes from God to discern His will and then to rightly act on it. They were not to rely on wisdom given by these false teachers, but on spiritual wisdom that comes only from God.
In verse 10, we see why this is so: so that we can "walk in a manner worthy of the Lord". To walk here means how we conduct or behave ourselves. Paul tells us how we are to do this, in a manner fully pleasing to the Lord. But wait, we're sinners. We can't do that! Which is why he's reminded us of who Christ is and what He's accomplished for us, and tells us here in verse 10 that we can't do it on our own, but only through the process of sanctification (becoming more Christ-like). Knowing that we are fully forgiven, we can grow in Him and in His knowledge, completing good works as an act of service and worship to Him as a result of the salvation we have obtained in Him. See how it all points back to Christ?
Verse 11 is where, as mentioned above, Paul reminds us that we need God's power and might to accomplish any of this, because we are unable to do it on our own.
In verse 12, Paul reminds the Colossians that God has "qualified" whom He would to inherit the promise of salvation, Jew and Gentile alike. Nothing else is required, no special knowledge, no dietary restrictions, etc.
Finally, in verses 13-14, Paul basically gives them a short summary of the gospel as an encouragement and something to stand steadfastly in. He says that God had "delivered (rescued) us from the domain of darkness (Satan/sin/evil) and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son (the kingdom of God/heaven/salvation in Christ), in whom (Christ's lordship) we have redemption (deliverance/liberation/freedom from), the forgiveness of sins (necessary for a relationship with Christ and for salvation).
What a message! What a joy!
Lord, You are so amazing. You are so faithful; faithful to preserve Your people in the midst of strife, faithful to provide us with shepherds and those who would guard the flock and combat lies, faithful to provide us with Your Word and open our eyes and give us understanding of Your truth. You are a God without description, for our stammering tongues cannot hope to give voice to the truth of who You are, to tell even a fraction of Your glories. But, Lord, I long for the day when I will see You face to face and my mortal tongue is unloosed to more fully and perfectly sing Your praise, when my ears are unstopped and my feeble mind unfettered to more fully hear and understand Your Word, when the scales fall from my eyes to behold the fullness of Your beauty and Your perfect plan for Your bride. Hallelujah and amen!
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