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?
“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.
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)
“…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)