Colossians
Colossians belongs to the corpus known as the Prison Epistles of the Apostle Paul, which includes Colossians, Ephesians, Philemon and Philippians, all of which were likely written during Paul’s imprisonment in Rome between AD. 60-62. The letter to the church in Colosse distinguishes itself in that Paul had never been to that church, and this letter was likely carried by Tychicus together with the letters to Philemon and Ephesus.
From the contents of this letter, we know that the church in Colosse was founded by Epaphras, Paul’s co-worker (1:6-7). The letter was meant to be read by the church in Laodicea as well (4:16) which together with Colosse and Hierapolis formed a “tri-city” in the region of Lycus River Valley in Asia Minor. The church in Colosse is obviously made up of mostly Gentile believers.
Like the other Prison Epistles, Colossians deals with pastoral concerns for the church and addresses the threat of false teachings. I will leave it to your own study to discover the peculiarities of the heresies faced by this church, but there is one thing which is beyond doubt: In this letter, Paul powerfully expressed the absolute supremacy of Christ to oppose such heresies.
1:1-2—The Greetings
(1) As much as the sender and recipient appear in the standard greeting, what is the importance of Paul’s emphasis on
a. Who he (Paul) is?—Consider that he is writing to a church that he has never been to and that he will be attacking the heretics in their midst.
b. Who the Colossians are?—Note this was a time of increasing persecution and pressure from a secular society.
1:3-14—Prayers and Thanksgiving for the church
(2) Faith, love and hope (vv. 3-5)—Paul has previously referred to these three as the “greater gifts” (1 Cor. 12:31; 13:13) of the Spirit to the church.
a. What is the object of their faith? (v. 4)
b. What kind of love do they have? (v. 4)
c. How is their hope related to their faith and love? Why? (v. 5)
(3) By the time of this letter (between AD. 60-62), what progress have the first disciples made in the fulfillment of the Great Commission of Acts 1:8? (1:6; see also Acts 19:10; 27)
(4) Paul was excited that the gospel was “growing throughout the whole world” (1:6). How was the spread of the gospel then compared to our present day, some 2,000 years later?
(5) How does this speak to the power of the gospel and the “hope stored up for you in heaven”?
(6) Paul's specific prayer for the church (vv. 9-11) asked God concerning:
a. What they are to have: To be filled with the (full) knowledge of His will in (or through) all spiritual wisdom and understanding (v. 9).
- They already found faith, love and hope (v. 4,5). What if these greater gifts are given without spiritual wisdom and understanding?
- How important is it for us to have the (full) knowledge of God’s will? (see 1:10)
b. Purpose: What they had (a) was so that they may live a life worthy and pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the(full) knowledge of God (v. 10).
- What is meant by a life "worthy of the Lord"?
- Why is the understanding of God’s will so important to our living a life pleasing to Him?
- The ultimate purpose of this prayer seems to be the growth in the knowledge of God. Is this your ultimate goal? Why or why not?
c. How: Their walk (b) was through being strengthened by God’s glorious might (v. 11a).
- Can such growth in wisdom, understanding and knowledge be achieved by our own fervent study of the Word of God? Why or why not?
- Where does this power come from? (see Eph. 1:19ff)
d. Result: They might attain having great endurance, patience and joy (v. 11b — many follow the Greek manuscripts in assigning “joy” to v. 11)
- Given the persecution faced by the churches at the time, how important is it that they have endurance, patience and joy?
- How does their growth in the full knowledge of the will of God and of God Himself contribute to this result?
(7) Thanksgiving (vv. 12-14) — Paul gives thanks for our “part” or “share” in the inheritance of the saints in the light.
a. What is this inheritance? (v. 13)
b. By nature we were not fit or qualified to share in the inheritance of the saints. In whom have we been made fit and how? (v. 14)
c. We are rescued from darkness into light. Have you tasted this blessing? How thankful should you be?
(8) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
請細心慢慢讀每天指定的經文至少兩遍，然後反複思考問題。
歌羅西書
歌羅西書與以弗所書、腓利門書和腓立比書一起被稱為保羅的「監獄書信」；一般都認為是保羅在羅馬坐牢時寫的（即主後60-62左右）。歌羅西書的特點是在乎保羅似乎沒有親身到過歌羅西城。照估計，推基古是攜此信和給腓利門書的信差。
從書信的內容，我們可以知道這教會是保羅的同工以巴弗所建立的(1:6-7) ，而保羅也希望這書信能被老底嘉教會所誦讀的(4:16)。歌羅西、老底嘉和希拉波立是小亞細亞西南面的「三連城」。歌羅西教會主要是外邦信徒的教會。
像其他「監獄書信」一樣，歌羅西書主要是著重牧養的信息，也有針對異端的教訓。在此不詳論歌羅西教會所面對的是什麼異端；讀者可在研讀時發掘出來。不過，明顯地，信書中的基督論是直接針對這些異端而寫的。
1:1-2—問候語
(1) 在這問候語中，保羅特別提到：
a. 他的身份：這對寫給從未謀面和受異端影響的教會有什麼重要性？
b. 歌羅西信徒是誰：這對在患難中和面對世俗壓力的信徒有什麼重要性？
1:3-14—禱告與感恩
(2) 信、愛、望(1:3-5) —保羅在哥林多前書曾稱這三樣為「更大的恩賜（眾數）」（林前12:31; 13:13）
a. 他們信心的對象是誰？(1:4)
b. 他們愛心的對象是誰？(1:4)
c. 這信和愛與盼望有何關連？(1:5)
(3) 在寫這書信的時候(即主後60-62年左右) ，初期的信徒在大使命(徒1:8) 的遵行上，有什麼進展？(1:6; 亦參徒19:10, 27)
(4) 差不多二千年後的今天又如何？
(5) 這怎樣見證到福音的大能和我們「存在天上的盼望」？
(6) 為歌羅西教會的禱告(1:9-11)
a. 祈求的內容：在一切屬靈的智慧悟性上，滿心知道神的旨意(1:9)
i. 他們既有信、望、愛，為何仍需屬靈的智慧和悟性？沒有又如何？
ii. 滿心知道神的旨意有多重要？（可參下一節）
b. 目的：行事為人對得起主、凡事蒙祂喜悅等(1:10)
i. 「對得起主」是什麼意思？
ii. 滿心明白主旨，和能凡事蒙祂喜悅有什麼關連？
iii. 「多知道(或譯認識) 神」是最終的目的：這是否你追求最終的目的？為什麼？
c. 力能之源：靠神榮耀的權能/glorious might—1:11a
i. 在屬靈的智慧、悟性和認識上的增長是否靠我們殷勤讀經就可以？為什麼？
ii. 這能力從何而來？(1:11a; 弗1:19ff)
d. 結果：凡事有忍耐、寬容、喜樂[原文喜樂是名詞，非形容詞] （1:11b）
i. 這三樣結果對在受苦中的教會有多重要？
ii. 他們能滿心知道神的旨意和認識神，怎樣能帶來這些結果？
(7) 感恩(1:12-14) —保羅為我們能得基業而感恩：
a. 這基業是什麼？(1:13)
b. 按我們的本相是與這基業無份的：能得基業的原因是什麼？(1:14)
c. 從黑暗到光明：你感受到這恩典嗎？當如何感恩？
(8) 今日你得到的主要提醒是什麼？你會怎樣應用在你的生命中？
“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother” (Col. 1:1)
On the face of it, the greetings by the Apostle Paul to the church in Colosse appear to be a fairly standard one, but if we consider his current situation and who the recipients of the letter are, it certainly carries some special meanings.
The mentioning of his calling carries special significance in this letter to the Colossians because this church was not founded by him. In fact, he had never met the people of Colosse face to face. As a result, he needed to establish his authority for his exhortations, not for his sake but for the sake of his readers, not to mention that part of his exhortations will deal severely with the heretics. That perhaps also explains why Paul also chose to write the final greeting in his own hand-writing (4:18) while the rest of the letter was presumably dictated to a secretary.
Furthermore, Paul is writing from a prison in Rome, and as much as he has been granted a bit more freedom than the average prisoner, being put under house arrest in his own rented place (Acts 28:30-31), his fate is in the hands of the infamous, eccentric Emperor Nero. History tells us that both Paul and Peter would die in his hands as martyrs eventually. However, we read of no complaint by Paul of his suffering in any one of the “Prison Epistles” (i.e. Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon). One of the reasons is that Paul is extremely clear of his call, and he knows full well that his suffering is part of his calling. Therefore, for those who have dedicated themselves to serve the Lord, it is always important that we are crystal clear about God’s calling in our lives, or we have little to fall back on in times of suffering.
「奉神旨意，作基督耶穌使徒的保羅和兄弟提摩太……」(西1:1)
表面看來，使徒保羅對歌羅西教會的問候語似是公式化的，但如果我們考慮到保羅當時的處境，和收信人的景況，就會有不同的感受了。
保羅的問候語中提到他的身份，對這個他從未到過的教會是有特殊意義的。他在此表明他是基督耶穌使徒的身份與權威，為要歌羅西人接受他的勸導，更是針對著那些異端邪說而表明的。這或許也是他在結束時，親筆寫問安的話的原因（4:18），叫收信人知道這真是從他而來，帶著權柄的話。
再者，這是保羅在羅馬監獄中所寫的信。雖然他被軟禁，能住在自己租來的房子(徒28:30-31) ，他的命運仍是操縱在瘋癲的尼魯王手中。歷史告訴我們，不久後這瘋狂的該撒放火燒羅馬城，把責任推在基督徒身上；以致保羅與彼得也死在他的手中。但在保羅的“監獄書信” 中，我們從未讀到他有半點的埋怨；其中一個明顯的原因是，他非常清楚從基督而來的呼召，也知道這呼召必帶來苦難。是的，凡蒙召的人都需要清楚他們的呼召確從神而來，因為我們“蒙召原是為此……跟隨祂（受苦）的腳蹤行” （彼前2:21）。清楚的蒙召，就叫我們在受苦時不至後退或後悔。
1:15-23—The Supremacy of Christ—As Lenski rightly points out, this is not a new teaching to the Colossians, but is aimed to defeat the prevalent heresies of that time that sought to reduce Christ to less than the Creator God Himself:
(1) Who Jesus is (vv. 15-18):
a. The Son is "the image of the invisible God".
- Read John 1:18; 14:9 and Hebrews 1:3
- What do you understand by Christ being “the image of the invisible God”? (see Note 1 below)
b. The firstborn over or (before) all creation (“firstborn” has nothing to do with the source, but with time and rank):
- Read John 1:1-3; Proverbs 8:22-31.
- What can you understand about who Christ is in relation to all creation?
- Based on 1:16, what is the scope of “all things” that have been created in Him?
- What is meant by created “for Him”? (v. 16)
- Christ is “before all things” (meaning He is not part of the created); and all things have been created through Him and for Him. What is His present role concerning all things? (v. 17; see Heb. 1:3 also)
c. He is the head of the body, the church (v. 18)—This sudden change of focus is most unexpected, yet it is a logical progression of His supremacy over the old creation to the new creation (as noted above, “firstborn” is best understood not from the viewpoint of “source”, but from His supremacy in “time and rank”).
- What does it mean that the church is now His body with Him as the Head?
- How does Christ (the “beginning”—perhaps, best translated as “before all things in time and rank"; the firstborn) bring about this new creation, the church?
- What does being “firstborn from among the dead” imply?
(2) Cosmic reconciliation through Christ (vv. 19-20)—Christ is the Father’s agent in both the old and new creation:
a. What is meant by Christ having all the fullness of God dwell in Him? (see Eph. 1:23)
b. Apart from having reconciled us to Him through Christ, what else has Christ’s redemption reconciled to the Father?
(3) Our Reconciliation with God (vv. 21-23)
a. Who were we before this reconciliation? (v. 21)
b. Since we were enemies of God, how could we ever be reconciled to Him? (v. 22)
c. What is the purpose of this reconciliation? (v. 22)
d. What kind of threat caused by the false teaching to the Colossians is implied in v. 23?
e. How many versions can the gospel have according to Paul? (v. 23)
(4) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
Note
1:
“The
sum is this — that God in Himself, that is, in His naked majesty, is invisible,
and that not to the eyes of the body merely, but also to the understandings of
men, and that He is revealed to us in Christ alone, that we may behold Him as
in a mirror. For in Christ He shews us
His righteousness, goodness, wisdom, power, in short, His entire self. We must, therefore, beware of seeking Him
elsewhere, for everything that would set itself off as a representation of God,
apart from Christ, will be an idol.”
(Calvin, 149-150)
請細心慢慢讀每天指定的經文至少兩遍，然後反複思考問題。
1:15-23—至高無上的基督—正如解經家Lenski所指出，這不是新的基督論，乃是歌羅西教會所認識的。保羅如此重論是要針對當時貶低基督為被造物的異端：
(1) 耶穌基督是誰(1:15-18) ：
a. 愛子是那不能看見之神的像:
i. 請翻閱約翰福音1:18; 14:9和希伯來書1:3
ii. 把這些經文總結起來，能使我們曉得什麼是看不見的神的像呢？(可參下註)
b. 是首生的，在一切被造的以先 (註：首生的重點不在乎其源頭，乃表明地位與先後):
i. 請翻閱約翰福音1:1-3；箴言8: 22-31
ii. 這些經文怎樣論到基督與萬有的關係？
iii. 按1:16所言，“萬有” 包括什麼？
iv. “又是為祂造的” 是什麼意思？
v. 基督除了是“一切被造以先”( 意思祂不是被造的) ，萬有是“藉著祂” 、“為祂” 而造的，這樣，祂與萬有繼續的關係是什麼？(1:17; 來1:3)
c. 祂是教會全體的頭(1:18) —由作萬有之首，保羅轉而論到基督是教會的頭—由舊的創造、轉到新的創造：
i. 教會竟屬這萬有之首(那元始的)，為祂的身體，有祂為頭：這是什麼意思？
ii. 教會能成為基督的身體，以祂為頭是怎樣作成的？
iii. “首先復活” 意味著什麼？
(2) 宇宙性的和好(1:19-20) —父神藉著基督與萬有和好
a. 父一切的豐富居住在基督裡是什麼意思？(亦見弗1:23)
b. 除藉著基督使我們與神和好外，神還藉著祂叫什麼與自己和好？
(3) 我們與神和好(1:21-23)
a. 我們以前與神的關係是怎樣的？為何會如此？(1:21)
b. 既原是為敵，何以能得與祂和好？(1:22)
c. 這和好帶來什麼果效？(1:22)
d. 1:23暗示著這和好的關係現遭到什麼挑戰？
e. 按保羅所提醒，福音可有不同的版本嗎？(1:23)
(4) 今日你得到的主要信息是什麼？你會怎樣應用在你的生命中？
註：“總括而言—神，這偉大的本身，是（人）不能看見的；不單是人肉眼看不見其本體，也是人不能明白的；惟有藉著基督才被彰顯出來，以致我們能像面對鏡子一樣的看見祂。因為在基督裡，祂給我們看見祂的公義、美善、智慧、能力—簡言之：祂的一切 。故此，我們要小心不要在基督以外尋找祂，因為凡在基督以外自稱能代表神的，都是偶像。”( 加爾文, 149-150)
“…and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross.” (Col. 1:20)
Over the years, there are those who ask if Satan is saved, and the answer should be an emphatic “no”! The fate of Satan is sealed and the Book of Revelation has clearly prophesied this fact (especially in Rev. 20). But what about what Paul says in Colossians 1:20 that through Christ, God will reconcile all things to Himself, including those in heaven? Allow me to share with you the comment of Calvin in this respect:
“It remains, that we see what is the reconciliation of angels and men. I say that men have been reconciled to God, because they were previously alienated from Him by sin, and because they would have had him as a Judge to their ruin had not the grace of the Mediator interposed for appeasing His anger. Hence the nature of the peace-making between God and men was this, that enmities have been abolished through Christ, and thus God becomes a Father instead of a Judge.
"Between God and angels, the state of matters is very different, for there was among them no revolt, no sin, and consequently no separation. It was, however, necessary that angels, also, should be made to be at peace with God, for, being creatures, they were not beyond the risk of falling, had they not been confirmed by the grace of Christ. This, however, is of no small importance for the perpetuity of peace with God, to have a fixed standing in righteousness, so as to have no longer any fear of fall or revolt. Farther, in that very obedience which they render to God, there is not such absolute perfection as to give satisfaction to God in every respect, and without the need of pardon. And this beyond all doubt is what is meant by that statement in Job iv, 18, 'He will find iniquity in His angels'. For if it is explained as referring to the devil, what mighty thing were it? But the Spirit declares there, that the greatest purity is vile, if it is brought into comparison with the righteousness of God. We must, therefore, conclude, that there is not on the part of angels so much of righteousness as would suffice for their being fully joined with God. They have, therefore, need of a peace-maker, through whose grace they may wholly cleave to God. Hence it is with propriety that Paul declares, that the grace of Christ does not reside among mankind alone, and on the other hand makes it common also to angels. Nor is there any injustice done to angels in sending them to a Mediator, that they may, through His kindness, have a well-grounded peace with God.
"Should any one, under the pretext of this word, ‘All things’ move a question in reference to devils, whether Christ be their peace-maker also? I answer, No, not even of wicked men: though I confess that there is a difference, inasmuch as the benefit of redemption is offered to the latter, but not the former. This, however, has nothing to do with Paul’s words, which include nothing else than this, that it is through Christ alone, that all creatures, who have any connection at all with God, cleave to Him.”
(Calvin Commentaries, XXI, 156-7)
「既然藉著祂在十字架上所流的血成就了和平，便藉著祂叫萬有─無論是地上的、天上的─都與自己和好了。」(西1:20)
間中我聽到信徒在問，魔鬼是否會得救？答案當然是否定的。整本聖經，特別是啟示錄，清楚告訴我們魔鬼撒但滅亡的結局是肯定的(啟20) 。不過讀到歌羅西書1:20這話 ，論到神叫萬有—包括地上的、天上的—都與自己和好，這豈不是可能包括魔鬼嗎？容許我與你們分享加爾文就此所作的回答：
“這裡是論到（神）與天使和人的和好。我說人與神和好，因為他們先前因罪與神隔絕了；若非因那中保的恩典滿足了神的憤怒，他們定要在神這審判者面前滅亡。故此，神與人和好是在乎藉著基督滅了冤仇，使神作我們的父，而非審判者。
至於神和天使之間，情形就不同，因為中間沒有叛逆或罪、也就沒有阻隔了。但是天使亦需要與神和好，因為作為被造的，如果沒有基督恩典的保證，他們不是沒有墮落的危險的。這對能與神有長久的和平是極為重要的，有穩固稱義的地位，以致不再有墮落或叛逆的恐懼。再者，他們對神的服從，達不到完全能在每一方面滿足神，以致不用被饒恕的地步。約伯記4:18絕對是這個意思：“主……指祂的使者為愚昧” 。若這是指魔鬼，這句話就沒有意義了。但聖靈說，（他們）最清潔的，在與神的公義相比，也是卑劣的。故此，我們的結論是，天使本身的義不足使他們完全的與神結連。故此，他們需要和平的使者，藉著祂的恩典叫他們完全與神結連。也因如此，保羅恰當的宣告，基督的恩典不是單單臨到人的身上，也惠及天使的。把天使帶到中保面前並非對他們不公，因為藉著祂的慈愛，天使能與神有穩固的和平。
人豈可錯用“萬有” 這字而問基督是否也是魔鬼的和平使者！我的答案是：“不” ，甚至是犯罪的人—當然二者有別，因為救贖的恩典是為後者，非為前者而設。但這與保羅（這裡）的話無關，因為這裡單論到惟有藉著基督，所有被造的—凡與神有任何關係的—都因此得與神結連。” (Calvin Commentaries, XXI, 156-7)