Colossians

FOR BEGINNERS

Mike Mazzalongo
THE “FOR BEGINNERS” SERIES

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Copyright © 2014 by Mike Mazzalongo

ISBN: 978-0692313183

BibleTalk Books
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Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible®,

Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995
by The Lockman Foundation Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION TO COLOSSIANS 5
2. COLOSSIANS 1:1-2 15
3. COLOSSIANS 1:3-12 21
4. COLOSSIANS 1:13-18a 31
5. COLOSSIANS 1:18-29 41
6. COLOSSIANS 2:1-14 51
7. COLOSSIANS 2:15-23 61
8. COLOSSIANS 3:1-11 71
9. COLOSSIANS 3:12-17 81
10. COLOSSIANS 3:18-21 89
11. COLOSSIANS 3:22-4:18 97
12. CONCLUSION 107

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION TO COLOSSIANS

Each book in the Bible has a theme and purpose. For

example:

• The Book of Genesis tells the story of the creation and

the beginnings of the human race.

• The Book of Jeremiah records the warnings of the

destruction to come on Jerusalem.

• The Gospel of Matthew shows the Jews that Jesus is

the Messiah according to the Old Testament.

• The Gospel of John does the same but for a Greek

audience.

• The Book of Acts recounts the story of the

establishment of the early church.

• The Epistle to the Romans is the major thesis on the

basic doctrines of Christianity.

• The Epistle to the Galatians was written as a defense

of the Gentiles’ right to be free in Christ and part of the
church.

• The Epistle to the Ephesians was written as an appeal

to Gentile Christians to accept their Jewish brethren
and strive for unity in the church.

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I could go on but as you can see, every book had its purpose
and message for the reader – The Epistle to the Colossians
was no exception.

The Colossian epistle was written as a doctrinal statement

concerning the deity and all sufficiency of Jesus Christ as
Lord and Savior.

Background – Author, Paul the Apostle

Before we begin the reading and study of the text, we need
to look at the background and context for the letter that Paul
sent to this church. A good way of doing this is by reviewing
a timeline of the life and ministry of Paul, the author of this
epistle.

Paul’s Ministry – 32 AD - 67 AD
32-34 AD – Paul was born in Tarsus, educated in Jerusalem,
served as a Pharisee and as a special envoy of the Jewish
religious leaders. He was converted while persecuting
Christians near Damascus. He preached in this area and
spent time in the Arabian Desert before entering Christian
ministry.

35 AD – He tried to associate with the Apostles but was

rejected out of fear for his past violence against Christians.
He was then introduced by Barnabas and subsequently
accepted by the leaders in the church at Jerusalem.

36-42 AD – He returned to his hometown to preach and

teach.

42-44 AD – He was recruited by Barnabas to work in Antioch

(Northern Israel) as a teacher. This church was the first
“mixed” (Jewish and Gentile members) congregation. Paul, a

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Roman citizen as well as a Jew, was well equipped to work
with a mixed group.

44 AD – He served with a group collecting funds to help the

poor in Jerusalem.

45-57 AD – He was chosen by God and sent by the church

in Antioch to preach to the Jews and Gentiles outside of
Israel. He completed three major journeys through the
Roman Mediterranean Empire in twelve years.

58-60 AD – He was detained in Caesarea for two years

awaiting the outcome of hearings based on accusations of
sedition by Jewish religious leaders. He has three hearings
before a series of local rulers, and ultimately appeals for a
hearing before Caesar in Rome in order to avoid further
detainment or plots by the Jews to kill him.

60-61 AD – He has a disastrous trip by sea that ends in

shipwreck, but Paul and the crew are saved. He eventually
arrives in Rome and is placed under house arrest.

61-63 AD – Ultimately Paul was moved to a prison in Rome

while awaiting his trial/hearing before Caesar in order to
defend himself against charges of insurrection and
conspiracy. While he was imprisoned he received many
visitors and fellow workers whom he taught and directed. He
was even successful in evangelizing many among the
servants and guards in Caesar’s household – Philippians
4:22.

63 AD – It seems that after these two years he did plead his

case and won his release.

64-66 AD – In some of his letters Paul had mentioned that

his plan was to return to Jerusalem with the special
collection of funds, go back to Rome to strengthen the
church there and then push on to Spain in order to open up
new frontiers for the Gospel.

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There is some evidence in the non-biblical writings of the
time that he may have done this when freed from prison the
first time.

Some say, however, that after his arrest in Jerusalem and

imprisonment in Rome for two years, his plans changed.

He did not go to Spain during his brief time of freedom.

References from his epistles describe a different course of
action after his release. For example there is evidence that:

• He spent time in Crete – Titus 1:5

• He went to Ephesus – I Timothy 1:3
• He travelled to Corinth – II Timothy 4:20
• He stopped at Troas – II Timothy 4:13
• He went to Miletus – II Timothy 4:20

We could make a case for the fact that he used his time of
freedom to encourage established churches.

I Timothy and Titus are letters that suggest that Paul was
free and actively working with these preachers and others in
his ministry of strengthening established churches.

Some scholars believe that after his first imprisonment in

Rome, 64-66 AD, Paul was active in strengthening these
churches and it is believed that it was during this time that he
wrote the first letter to Timothy and the letter to Titus.

A great turning point in Paul’s life and ministry as well as the

progress of the church occurred in 64 AD. This is the year
that Nero burned down the city of Rome. Nero was a great
builder and he secretly began the fire in order to make way
for a newer and more glorious city that he would rebuild
according to his plan. He was also a fiddle player and

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historians record that he played out of the sheer joy that this
destruction gave him.

Of course to divert blame from himself, he accused

Christians of setting the fire because everyone knew that
Christians considered Rome to be a wicked place – they had
motive. The Bible does not mention Nero as the persecutor
of the church even though this trouble is the background of
at least two epistles: II Timothy and I Peter.

We get information about this persecution from the Roman

historian, Tacitus, who knew about Nero’s involvement and
false accusations of Christians. He knew that Christians of
that time were an easy target because they were without
influence and mostly despised by the pagan citizens of
Rome.

Nero accused them of setting the fire and ordered their

persecution. Multitudes of Roman Christians were arrested
and put to death in cruel ways:

• Some were crucified.

• Some had animal skins tied to them and were
thrown in with wild dogs.
• Some were simply placed in the arena with wild
animals to be killed.
• Nero would even take some and impale them on
stakes, pour tar over them and use them as human
torches to light the imperial gardens.

67 AD – It was during this period of persecution that Paul

was rearrested, not at the insistence of angry Jews, but as a
recognized leader of a religious group who had allegedly
burned down the city of Rome.

It was during this second and final imprisonment that Paul

wrote his last epistle to Timothy (II Timothy).

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Paul knew that with this second imprisonment he had little
hope of release, so he encouraged Timothy to come and
visit him in Rome before winter.

We believe that Paul was finally executed in Rome

(beheaded) in the period between 66 and 67 AD.

Background – Letter to the Colossians

Now that we have some information about Paul’s activities
from around 32 AD to his death in 67 AD, we can situate the
letter he wrote to the Colossian brethren. This particular
letter was written by Paul between 61 and 63 AD during his
first imprisonment in Rome.

We know that Paul is the author because he names himself

in the first verse. This letter was universally accepted by the
early church as an authentic letter from Paul. We also know
that Paul had originally written the Colossians a previous
letter about John Mark but this letter no longer exists (4:10).

It seems that one of Paul’s associates, Epaphroditus, had

come to Rome with a gift for Paul from the Philippian church,
and while he was there he informed the Apostle of a
dangerous heresy brewing in his home congregation of
Colossae.

Philemon verse 23 tells us that Epaphroditus was also

detained for a while with Paul but later released and given a
letter to take back to the Philippians thanking them for their
gift.

In the meantime, after Epaphroditus’ departure, Paul writes

three other letters to churches and people about different
matters.

1. One to the Colossians regarding the false teaching

and heresy that they are dealing with.

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 2. One to Philemon concerning a runaway slave
Onesimus whom Paul had converted in prison and
was sending back home to his master.
3. One to the church in Ephesus that was experiencing
problems of unity and fellowship.

These letters were sent by the hand of two other helpers,

Tychicus and of course, Onesimus, the converted slave
(Ephesians 6:21; Colossians 4:7-9) It seems that Philemon
was a member of the church at Colossae and Tychicus was
there also. This is where the converted slave Onesimus
returned to as well for both are mentioned in Colossians 4:7-
9. Tychicus is also mentioned as the messenger bringing
Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. And so, while in prison in
Rome between 61 and 63 AD, Paul wrote several epistles,
one of which was addressed to the brethren at Colossae and
delivered by Tychicus.

Background – Colossae
(Modern Day Central Turkey)
In 500 BC, Colossae had been a city of importance,
especially as a trade center, but by New Testament times it
had lost its strategic importance to the city of Ephesus that
was 100 miles to the west and closer to the sea and shipping
traffic.

By Paul’s time, it had lost its prestige and was extremely

decadent. The language of Paul’s letter suggests that he had
not been there personally (2:1), but Epaphroditus, who was
from that region, had established the church there.

There was a period when Paul spent a long time in Ephesus

(Acts 19) and sent out Timothy and Epaphroditus to
evangelize the surrounding area. Colossae may have been
established during this evangelistic outreach.

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An interesting footnote about Colossae was that it was in the
region of Phrygia and Luke records that on the day of
Pentecost there were Phrygians present hearing Peter’s
sermon (Acts 2:10). Some of these may have been
converted then and brought back the faith with them into the
region.

Background
Content and Reason for the Letter
The heresy that occasioned the writing of this letter was a
mixture of ideas from Greek philosophy, oriental religions
and Jewish traditions. It was being presented as a “higher
thought” cult and promoted as a new philosophy for
Christianity. Some of its features included:

• A call to worship angels as intermediaries between

God and man (2:18)

• It insisted on the observation of Jewish customs and

laws to the point of asceticism.

• It assumed that its teaching was a superior form of

doctrine than what was presently or had been
previously taught by the apostles or their disciples.

In response to these false ideas, Paul writes a letter to the

Colossians, not as an effort to debate them, but simply an
opportunity of presenting the person of Christ to them once
again. Paul presents Jesus with all of His divine attributes,
and permits his readers to form their own conclusions
between the teachings concerning Jesus of the gospel and
the doctrine taught by the false teachers among them.

His objective was to show that Jesus and His teachings were
pre-eminent (first and superior) in every area of life and

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spiritual knowledge – including this “so-called” higher
knowledge.

Outline
This is a basic outline for the book and the order in which we
will be studying it.

1. Salutation – 1:1-2

2. Christ: Preeminent in Personal Relationships – 1:3-29

3. Christ: Preeminent in Doctrine – 2:1-3:4

4. Christ: Preeminent in Ethics – 3:5-4:1

5. Conclusion and Greetings – 4:2-18

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14
CHAPTER 2
COLOSSIANS 1:1-2

In this chapter we begin our study of the epistle to the

Colossian church. Note the simple outline: The epistle is
Christ centered and its main objective is to show that the true
teaching about Jesus is the sole response to this and all
heresies.

Salutation
Vs. 1 – Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of
God, and Timothy our brother,

Paul, as was the custom, introduces himself at the beginning

of the letter. He takes special care to include his title,
Apostle, in the introduction. The term Apostle meant
messenger and there were many messengers in the church
at the time. (e.g. Phoebe bringing a message to Rome –
Rom.16:1-3).

However only a few could claim the title Apostle of Jesus

Christ. These were the special messengers chosen by Christ
Himself.

Paul even reinforces this position by saying that his

Apostleship was not self-appointed but came about by the
will of God. This introduction was important because what
was at stake here was the credibility of the teachers. Paul is
going to go on to give authoritative teaching so he wants to
establish his credentials from the outset. He mentions
Timothy as a courtesy because the people at Colossae knew
him but Paul does not include him as part of the authority

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base for the letter. Timothy’s role is that he is a brother in the
Lord and that is his connection to Paul and the Colossians.

Vs. 2 – To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ

who are at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from
God our Father.

In the second verse he recognizes the brethren to whom the

letter is sent. Saints and faithful brethren are not two
separate groups but simply a reference to different aspects
of the same groups.

1. Saints – The Greek word meant holy one, or separated

one. Those made holy by the blood of Christ. Those
separated from sin by the blood of Christ. All Christians are
saints, not exceptionally holy or martyrs, etc. The word
“saint” denotes one’s relationship with God.

2. Faithful Brethren referred to the relationship that all

Christians share with one another. When one falls away from
Christ and His church he becomes an unfaithful brother.
When we discipline and disfellowship someone for
unrepented sinfulness or unfaithfulness, we do not condemn
them to hell (that is God’s call); we simply identify them as
faithful or unfaithful brethren.

He then identifies the location and church where his letter is

intended in the first place, but later on (4:16) Paul will instruct
them to pass this letter along to other churches. The content
was meant for them but applicable to all churches, even until
Jesus returns because the heresies might take different
forms but they always have the same objective – to discredit
Jesus Christ as divine Lord and His word in the New
Testament. (I.E. Islam, Buddhism, Christian Science,
Jehovah's Witnesses, etc.)

Paul then offers a blessing upon them that he uses in other

letters and with other churches (e.g. Romans 1:7).

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He offers them a blessing that only God provides, and one
that is the most precious. Prosperity, health, long life, many
children, the respect of others – all of these things are
blessings indeed but grace and peace exceed them all:

Grace: God’s favor, God’s gift of forgiveness, God’s

acceptance regardless of one’s imperfection, God’s
promise of eternal life. These are only possible
because of God’s grace.

Peace: The felt result of God’s grace is peace. Peace of

mind, peace within one’s soul, peace with others,
peace with oneself – all the benefits of God’s grace.

Taken together these two are the very best gifts God
bestows on sinful man. Paul mentions that they are indeed
gifts that do not come from himself, but from the Father in
heaven.

Of course, these gifts (grace and peace) are in marked

contrast with what these people have been experiencing with
their new teachers and new doctrines. There has been
confusion about the way to receive blessings because of the
introduction of the worship of angels and other intermediary
spirit beings by these teachers.

Paul says that these gifts (grace and peace) come directly
from God the Father – He gives them.

They, of course, have not had peace but rather turmoil and
debate with the new doctrines they have had to deal with.
And, with the introduction of Jewish traditions, laws and food
restrictions, the concept of grace is probably being trampled
as well.

Christians are restrained by love, not law. I do not steal

because I love my brother not because the Law will
condemn me. We are new creatures; we live under the
dispensation of grace not law.

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It is God’s grace and love that not only frees us from sin but
also empowers us to overcome sin in our lives. These
Colossians were being dragged back to living under the Law
by these false teachers.

Every new religion does this in one way or another because

that is the only option other than being saved and living in
God’s grace. No religion can improve on the gospel of grace.
God offering us perfection and salvation based on faith in
Jesus Christ (expressed in repentance and baptism).
Nobody can make a better deal, a more gracious offer, a
more effective religious experience, so they always go the
other way.

For example, Eastern religions have their rules of life where

through human effort you keep trying for perfection or
oneness – what is that if not a form of law keeping?

Islam imposes strict rules and if Allah wants and feels like it,
you might go to Paradise – more law keeping, especially
social law. Every form of “Christian” sect or cult has been
based on obedience to the rules of a human prophet or
leader or special “doctrine”. For example:
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• Sabbath keeping – 7 Day Adventist
• No blood letting – Jehovah’s Witness

But it is all a form of law-keeping to obtain salvation, and it

works because people love to try to keep the law – it appeals
to their pride because they can measure their progress in
relationship to another.

The Gospel of Christ on the other hand declares 3 simple

truths:

1. All are sinners and condemned before God –

Romans 3:23; 6:23 (From Adam to the last person).

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 2. No one can save themselves by trying to keep the
law (perfectionism) in any of its religious or social
forms – Galatians 2:16.

3. The only way to be saved from the condemnation

that awaits us because of our sins is through faith in
Jesus Christ and no other.

• Acts 4:12 – very specific who

• Galatians 2:16b – very specific how

Some ask at this point, “well what about repentance and

baptism, where do these fit into all of this?” The answer is
that repentance and baptism are the ways that Christ has
given us to express our faith in Him. We are saved when we
express our faith in Christ Jesus by repentance and baptism.
This is what “saved by faith” includes. If you do not believe,
you will express that disbelief by rejecting repentance and
baptism. So back to verse 2, Paul says that grace and the
peace that comes with grace are things that come from the
Father.

In his epistle he will show how the Father bestows these

through His Son Jesus Christ. Note also that he says our
Father, meaning the Father of Paul and Timothy and the
brethren at Colossae. God is the Creator of all men but the
Father of His adopted children, Christians. All men can call
upon God as their creator, only Christians can call Him
Father or Dad as Paul refers to Him in Romans 8:15.

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20
CHAPTER 3
COLOSSIANS 1:3-12

In our last chapter we covered Paul’s introductory remarks

where he introduces himself and establishes his authority as
an Apostle and teacher in the face of the false teaching and
teachers that have been active at this congregation and
elsewhere. He blesses them with grace and peace from
God, two important spiritual gifts that they are in danger of
losing if the heretics have their way.

In the following section of the letter Paul will offer a prayer

which will serve as a bridge to his first major point in this
lesson: Christ is pre-eminent, or first and foremost, in their
relationship with God.

Christ Pre-Eminent in Relationship

In this first section Paul will review the establishment and
progress of the Colossian church. He does this in prayer
form.

1. The History of the Colossian Church – 3-8

Verses 3 to 8 is one long sentence with many sub-clauses.

Vs. 3 – We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord

Jesus Christ, praying always for you,

Paul establishes the fact that he and his associates

constantly pray for this church.

As a matter of fact, prayer is one of the main functions of

church leaders. In Acts 6:4 the Apostles said that they did

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not want to take up their time with benevolence work (this
they gave to deacons) because they wanted to focus on their
main tasks of prayer and the ministry of the Word.

Paul quickly establishes the position of Jesus Christ as equal

to the Father. He prays to God the Father of Christ – they
are of the same divine nature. He prays to one, but both are
included. And his prayer is one of thanksgiving, which was
not always the case when praying for a congregation (e.g.
Corinth).

This congregation has been making good progress, they

have not yet fallen but rather are in danger of doing so.

Vs. 4-5a – since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus

and the love which you have for all the saints;
because of the hope laid up for you in heaven,

The reasons for his prayers of thanksgiving are found in

these verses:

A. Faith – These Christians have faith in Jesus Christ. They

believe in the Lord, they have not yet been moved away from
this. Paul is thankful for brethren of like-minded faith.

B. Love – He is enthusiastic about their faith because it is

sincerely and authentically demonstrated in love. And not
just any type of love but true Christian love of the brethren
and love of the church.

So then while we have opportunity, let us do good to

all people, and especially to those who are of the
household of faith.

- Galatians 6:10

C. You cannot be for God and against the Church. He is

happy for them and thankful as well as prayerful because of

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their future. In the past they believed in Jesus, in the present
they express that faith in love for others, especially
Christians. In the future there is this hope (this confident
assurance) that there is a reward for them in heaven.

Paul equates the reward (eternal life with God) with the hope
(confident assurance) of the reward. This is a literary device
known as “METONYMY” where one word is substituted for
another. For example, the President is the head of State. He
is not a head; a state does not have a head. The word head
is substituted for the word leader. Paul gives thanks because
they have a sure reward awaiting them in heaven; he refers
to this as their “hope.”

Vs. 5b-8 – of which you previously heard in the word

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of truth, the gospel which has come to you, just as in
all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and
increasing, even as it has been doing in you also
since the day you heard of it and understood the
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grace of God in truth; just as you learned it from
Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a
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faithful servant of Christ on our behalf, and he also
informed us of your love in the Spirit.

In this section Paul expands his comment concerning the

hope/reward that the Colossians are anticipating by saying
several more things about it and its relationship to the gospel
message.

This is another literary device that Paul uses where he talks

about one thing and then, without pausing or beginning a
new sentence, he builds a bridge to a different idea. In these
verses he builds a bridge from the idea of the reward the
Colossians will receive to where they received this reward
and who brought it to them.

A. Where the Information About the Reward Comes

From – verse 5b

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This faith that leads to this love that produces this
reward/hope all begins with the message of the gospel. Paul
assumes that his readers know what he is talking about
when he says “gospel” or “good news.” That Jesus died to
pay the moral debt for all men and now forgiveness and
eternal life are offered through faith in Him.

Gospel is short form for this (compression). He refers to the

gospel as the word of truth.

Remember to keep your eye on what these Colossians are

struggling with here – false doctrine leading them away from
the simple message of the gospel. Paul establishes himself
as an Apostle, Christ as God’s Son and now the gospel as
the truth as opposed to what they have been receiving from
the false teachers.

B. What the Gospel is Doing – verse 6

They are not the only ones to receive this good news that
initiates faith and love and hope – but everywhere else the
gospel is preached, the same pattern of faith, love and hope
has been repeated and increased. The same thing happens
every time the grace of God is perceived in the gospel
message.

Faith, love, hope is produced and increased as people cling

to the message and the promise.

Paul assures them that theirs is not a unique or isolated

experience, but the same pattern that occurs everywhere the
gospel goes – this faith, love, hope is produced.

C. Who Delivered the Message – verses 7 to 8

Paul informs them of how he has come to know of their

progress in the faith (and between the lines, of their
problems). He reminds them of the preacher who first
brought them the gospel, Epaphras, and gives him a

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commendation as a loving and faithful minister. Perhaps
since Epaphroditus was from this congregation, the false
teachers were trying to undermine his teaching and efforts at
ministry.

Paul confirms his standing, his teaching and his faithful

report of their condition and attitude (he did not bad mouth
the congregation to Paul). His report was that their love was
in the Spirit, not the flesh.

2. The Future of the Colossian Church – 9-12

Paul continues his prayer format but turns from a discussion
and thanksgiving for their past, to a prayer request of
blessings for their future. In these verses he asks God to
bless them with very specific spiritual blessings.

A. Knowledge of God's Will

Vs. 9 – For this reason also, since the day we heard of

it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that
you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all
spiritual wisdom and understanding,

Since they are faithful and loving and hopeful, Paul asks God
to add to these things a special kind of knowledge. Not a
worldly knowledge of politics or finances or philosophy, but
the knowledge of God’s will.

Remember, in those days there existed only a few letters

written by the Apostles, very few collection of gospels and
epistles, and so Paul asks God to give them the knowledge
that they need that we can have through the New Testament
– which they had no access to. Spiritual wisdom and
understanding is to know the things of God and Christ
revealed and disseminated by the Apostles.

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Paul prays that God will somehow reveal and supply this
wisdom and understanding to them. In the context of this
letter it would probably be the ability to understand and apply
what he, Paul, was about to share with them regarding
Christ.

B. The Ability to Please the Lord

Vs. 10 – so that you will walk in a manner worthy of

the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in
every good work and increasing in the knowledge of
God;

There is a difference between what we see as the right thing,

what we want to do and what we end up doing. The spirit is
often willing but the flesh is weak. Paul asks God to help
them live in a way that will be pleasing to Him, and this
would include:

• Obeying Him and having the strength to do His will

in every area of life. Reducing the sin quota.
• Bearing the fruit of good works in His name. The
ability to see and do those things that honor God
and witness their faith.
• Increase in their knowledge not just of His will, but of
Himself as a being.

They do not have the resources to do these things even if

they wanted to, Paul asks God to intervene and provide
whatever is necessary to obey Him, to grow in Him and to
know Him personally.

He prays for their increased knowledge and ability…

C. Increased Power

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 Vs. 11a – strengthened with all power, according to
His glorious might, for the attaining of all
steadfastness and patience;

Paul finishes by asking God to increase their power – again

not mental or physical power but their spiritual power. And
not the power to do miracles, speak in tongues or prophecy.
He asks for the power to attain two virtues:

Patience – not just the ability to wait around but rather

the ability to bear under a load of persecution, trials,
and opposition without anger, resentment or self-
pity.

Steadfastness – the ability to hold out against

provocation. One who is not ruled by temper or
passions but rather by love, by faith, by hope.

They are being tested in their congregation and Paul calls

upon God to increase their knowledge, their spiritual abilities
and their power to resist quitting or divisiveness.

Finally, he prays that they have:

D. Joyful Attitude
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Vs. 11b-12 – joyously giving thanks to the Father,
who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the
saints in Light.

Along with all of these he prays that they can exercise their
spiritual virtues with an attitude of joy and thanksgiving
because despite the difficulties, they have the privilege of
sharing in the “inheritance” of the saints in light. Before he
called it the “hope”, now he calls it the “inheritance.”

He is still speaking of the promise of God to all who believe

and obey Jesus Christ His Son:

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 • forgiveness of sin
• resurrection from the dead
• eternal life in heaven

He finishes the section by referring to Christians as “saints in

light” because in the next section he will refer to Jesus as the
King of the kingdom of light. So the reference to light sets up
a visual bridge to the next verse where he will compare the
kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of the Son (which is
light).

Lessons
In our next chapter we will be moving into the central theme
of the letter: Christ who is all sufficient in every relationship.
In this introductory phase we can draw important lessons for
our own lives:

1. Jesus Christ is Lord of All

Others may deny it or call this claim narrow minded or
intolerant, but they cannot deny that this is what the Bible
teaches. The Bible teaches that there is only one Lord, one
Savior, one intermediary and that is Jesus Christ – (Acts
4:12). He shares this role with no one and He is replaced by
no one. Yesterday, today and tomorrow He will always be
the only Lord of all.

2. We Have Something to Look Forward to

Paul calls it a hope, an inheritance, a light but it all points to

a sure and beautiful future for those who have heard and
obeyed the gospel. Whenever we become discouraged with
this life, remember that we are exercising faith in this life not

28
for a reward in this life but for a sure reward to come in the
next life.

Remember, even if it gets really good in this life or really bad

in this life - the reward is not in this life.

3. Ask for Spiritual Blessings not Just for Material

Blessings
Look at the things Paul prayed for:

• Knowledge of God and His will

• Ability to be fruitful
• Spiritual power in Christian virtues
• Joyful and thankful hearts

These are the type of things that enrich our lives beyond
anything money could ever buy. So when you pray, ask for
heavenly things not just earthly things.

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30
CHAPTER 4
COLOSSIANS 1:13-18a

While Paul the Apostle was in a Roman prison somewhere

between 61-63 AD, he wrote several epistles. One of these
was an epistle (letter) to the church at Colossae. This was a
congregation located about 100 miles west of Ephesus and
originally established by Epaphroditus and Timothy. There
were certain teachers there who were teaching, what they
insisted was a more “enlightened” form of Christianity and
were disturbing this congregation with their heretical ideas.
In reality theirs was a mixture of Greek philosophy and
Jewish legalism that threatened to rob the church of its
freedom and salvation in Christ. In response to these
teachers Paul reiterates the all-sufficiency of Christ in every
area of life whether it be personal relationships, doctrine or
ethical conduct.

In our last chapter we studied the first 12 verses of chapter

one. In this section Paul:

• Establishes his authority and the position of Jesus

Christ as Lord.
• Offers a prayer in which he reviews their history as a
church. This has been a faithful group, a loving
church.
• He encourages them to remain this way and look to
the future with hope.
• He then reminds them of the hope or reward that
awaits them if they remain faithful.
• He finishes his prayer with an appeal to God to give
them knowledge of His will, ability to please Him,
increased power to attain patience and

31
 steadfastness; and the ability to remain joyful
through it all.

In this chapter we are going to pick up the last phrase in

verse 12 where Paul is building a bridge to his next thought.

Christ Pre-Eminent in Personal

Relationships – Continued
After finishing his prayer Paul will move into his first main
thought about Christ and that is that Jesus is pre-eminent in
personal relationships. Paul demonstrates that only Jesus
has a relationship with God; only through Him can we have a
relationship with God; and only through Him can we be
united in a meaningful spiritual and eternal way.

Now to get to this thought from his prayer, Paul finishes the
prayer by giving thanks to God the Father for giving the
Colossians the opportunity to go to heaven. This blessing he
calls an “inheritance of the saints of light.”

From this idea and key word “light” he will build a bridge to
the idea that Jesus is the king of the kingdom of light – as
opposed to the kingdom of darkness that infers a condition of
lostness, ignorance, etc.

Vs. 12-14 – giving thanks to the Father, who has

qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in
Light. For He rescued 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.

There are several important concepts included in these

verses:

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 A. RESCUE – Implies that they were helpless to save
themselves (delivered).

B. DOMAIN – Another word for power/authority. They

were kept there purposefully, by a power greater than
themselves.

C. TRANSFER – God Himself does the work of saving us

and unites us to His Son… He chooses the Son and only
the Son is to do this work.

D. KINGDOM – This word denotes royal power,

sovereignty, the apex of power and rule.

In essence God, by His own will and choice, transferred us

from one who was stronger than we were, to One who was
stronger than the one who kept us prisoner. To clarify our
position and as a reminder to the Colossians, Paul also
mentions the original gift that began the life that he prayed
about in the beginning of the letter.

E. FORGIVENESS / REDEMPTION – They are forgiven by

virtue of the fact that Jesus died to redeem their sins (He
pays the moral debt). This is the power that kept them in the
dark, they were sinners, helpless to stop sinning, unable to
atone for the sins they did. They were subject to Satan’s
temptations and cursed by the Law to be condemned and
punished.

Jesus lived a perfect life resisting every attack by Satan and

offered His perfect life on the cross to satisfy the demands
for restitution made by the Law. With Satan defeated and the
Law satisfied, sinners were released into the custody of
Christ, this custody, this group is the kingdom/church.

Of course, the emphasis here is that Jesus is the one who

sacrificed to make this happen and so He is central to
salvation to begin with.

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Now keep in mind that this letter is written to counter the
false teachers among the Colossians. They thought that
things other than Christ's sacrifice were needed to achieve or
maintain salvation. Paul responds by putting Christ and His
sacrifice as the only thing that produces salvation.
Redemption and forgiveness and nothing more or less. In
verses 15-17 Paul will address another of their teachings
that concerned the worship of angels. He responds to this by
describing Christ’s true position in the scheme of creation
and the Godhead – a chain of command where Christ is
every single link.

Vs. 15 – He is the image of the invisible God, the

firstborn of all creation.

This verse explains two key phrases.

1. Image of the invisible God

Jesus is not a reflection of God but of the same divine
essence. God is not seen by the human eye, but Jesus is
seen and He is the visible image of the invisible God, not just
His body but His words, life, etc.

2. Firstborn of all creation

This doesn’t mean He was the first thing created or
somehow emerged at the beginning of creation. Firstborn
refers to His rank or position in comparison to all of creation
including mankind.

• Mankind was created, not born.

• The universe was created, not born.

Jesus is first in rank and position in both of His natures:

34
 • He is divine, the very image and essence of God.

• He is human, the very essence of perfection without

sin or blemish, born of a virgin.

3. Power of creation
Vs. 16a – For by Him all things were created, both in
the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities

Paul goes on to explain that in addition to His divine essence

and rank, Jesus is the power behind creation itself.

• This includes the visible universe.

• This includes the world of spirits which we do not

see but exists nevertheless.

• This certainty includes angels who were being

promoted as objects of worship by the false
teachers. The inference is that we don’t need to
worship angels – Christ is over them too!

4. Purpose of creation
Vs. 16b – all things have been created through Him
and for Him.

Paul adds the point that not only were all things created
through the power of Christ, they were also created for His
purpose. In Ephesians chapter 1, Paul explains that from the
beginning of time God’s purpose was to bless those “in
Christ/in the church" with all the blessings of heaven.

35
Forgiveness, resurrection, glorification, exaltation to the right
hand of God. This is what he refers to in Colossians when
He says, …”for Him.” Everything in creation, everything in
history, in one way or another, works in Christ’s ultimate plan
to bless the church with these spiritual gifts.

5. Before creation
Vs. 17a – He is before all things,

Paul expands Christ’s role by declaring that Christ is before

all things, denoting His divinity (only God is before creation).

6. Sustains creation
Vs. 17b – and in Him all things hold together.

He also says that in Him all things hold together. In other

words, He not only is the agent through whom all things were
created, it is because of Him that all things continue to exist.
He creates all things and in the end when He returns, all
things will cease to exist.

7. Head of the church

Vs. 18a – He is also head of the body, the church;

In this passage Paul gives not only the last link in Christ’s
chain of sovereignty but introduces a new idea to bridge to
the next section about the church, and especially the church
at Colossae. He gives the church another name here, using
the term “body” so as to fit the imagery of Christ as the
“head.”

36
Paul will go on to explain why Christ is the head of the
church and the significance of this for every member.

Summary
In the end, the basic argument or false idea being put forth
was that in some way Christ was not enough to secure or
maintain one’s salvation with God. There needed to be
ceremony; there needed to be secret worship of angels;
there needed to be law-keeping of some kind; there needed
to be these “new” teachers.

Paul’s response is to show that Christ’s chain of authority

went from start to finish – from God, to the creation, to the
church, to the end of time and end of God’s purpose. The
only thing that mattered was Christ Himself because:

• He is divine in nature.
• He is first in rank
• He is before all things.
• He created all things.
• He sustains all things.
• He uses all things for His purpose.
• He is head of the body, the church.


 In the next section Paul will show how the church plays a
central part in Christ’s purpose and what that ultimate
purpose is.

37
Lessons
Even though Paul was indirectly responding to false teachers
st
of the 1 century, there are many lessons we can draw from
this passage for our lives today.

1. We Must Have a Relationship With Christ

I said that this section 1:3-2:7 was about the pre-eminence of
Christ in relationships. When we see that everything is
plugged into Christ in one way or another, we realize that if
we don’t have a relationship with Him, we…

• Don’t have a relationship with God either, He is the

Son of God.
• Are ignoring the person who is first in rank in
everything.
• Are ignorant and neglectful of praising the right person
for everything in creation.
• Are not part of His body and His ultimate plan for
mankind (to bless with gifts).

To reject Christ is to fail in all of these other areas as well.

2. When We Have Christ, We Have Everything

Paul does us a great favor here by exposing the vastness of
Christ’s authority and power. Christianity is not a “western”
religion, or a modern religion, or one of the great religions of
history. Christianity is at the heart of God’s plan for every
soul ever born regardless of place, time or position.

There is no other plan, no other savior, no other Lord than

Jesus Christ who is over time, creation, heaven, life, sin,
death, the church and eternity… there is nothing left to be

38
Lord over! This is why the confession, “I believe that Jesus is
the Son of God” is the greatest, deepest, most insightful, life
changing declaration anyone can make.

3. When We Pray, We Pray in Jesus' Name

When Jesus told His disciples to ask or pray in His name
(John 14:14) He said this not to give us a habit (e.g. every
prayer must end in “Jesus’ name” or it is no good). He gave
this to remind us that everything we prayed about was His
concern because it was all within His authority!

Life, death, food, weather, power, spiritual strength –

whatever…

He is sovereign over everything in existence and He uses

everything in existence for His purpose. Therefore our
prayers, in His name, go to the only being who really
understands and who really can answer them.

This should not only encourage us to direct our prayers

towards Him, but also give us confidence that our prayers
are never in vain when they are in His name, and should
help us understand why we use this term in our prayers.

39
40
CHAPTER 5
COLOSSIANS 1:18-29

We have established the idea that in this letter Paul’s theme

is the pre-eminence of Christ. He is demonstrating this in
order to combat false teachers who are trying to formulate a
new gospel or new teachings that somehow minimize the
person and work of Jesus on our behalf. For this reason he
concentrates on the fact that Jesus is first or pre-eminent in
every area of creation and spiritual life.

In our last chapter we began the section that begins in

chapter 1:3 and goes until 2:7 where Paul demonstrates
Christ’s pre-eminence in the area of relationships. For
example, in a chain of authority that stretches from God to
man, Paul shows that Jesus fulfills every link that permits a
relationship between God and man. This chain, he says,
begins with Jesus’ relationship with God as His divine Son
and ends with Jesus’ relationship with man as head of the
church into which all men are called.

Jesus has the pre-eminent relationship with God and the

pre-eminent relationship with man as well as everything in
between. In verse 18 of chapter 1, Paul will continue to
establish the idea of Jesus’ pre-eminence in relationships.

Why Jesus is Pre-Eminent – 1:18-23

In the previous section Paul listed Jesus’ credentials as to
His position in relationship to everything as seen from God’s
perspective:

• Image of the invisible God

• Firstborn of all creation

41
 • Power of creation
• Purpose of creation
• Sustainer of creation
• Head of the church

In the next section he explains why He has the right to hold

these positions in our eyes, not just in God’s eyes:

• In the eyes of God, Jesus is God and part of the

Godhead; He needs no justification for His position.

• Since we are human and cannot see things from

God’s perspective, God gives us a reason to believe
and accept Jesus’ pre-eminent position from a
human perspective – and in verses 18-23 Paul
explains it.

Vs. 18 – He is also head of the body, the church; and

He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so
that He Himself will come to have first place in
everything.

Vs. 18a
Paul gives the final link in Jesus’ chain of authority – head of
the church. Jesus has the pre-eminent relationship with man
because He is head of the church.

Vs. 18b
Jesus is head of the church because of His resurrection. He
is pre-eminent with all of the previous things mentioned
because of His resurrection from the dead. His resurrection
is the proof they needed to see in order to believe all the
things mentioned that they could not see. His resurrection
confirmed His pre-eminence in every relationship within time
(creation, the church) and within eternity (the new heavens
and earth).

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Vs. 19-20
Paul repeats with more detail what he has said in a very
compact way in verse 18:

Vs. 19-20 – For it was the Father’s good pleasure for

all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to
reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace
through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say,
whether things on earth or things in heaven.

That Jesus was divine, verse 19. The method by which He

became head of the church, verse 20:

• Redemption – the Price

• Resurrection – the Proof
• Reconciliation – the Product

Now remember, keep an eye on the false teachers and their

doctrines. Paul takes great pains to explain why Jesus is the
head of the church and thus why their allegiance should only
be to Him. What is left unsaid is how inadequate and
unworthy these false teachers are to try and take away
Christ’s pre-eminent position based on what He has done for
it. None of them have died or resurrected from the dead!

Through His death and resurrection Jesus has brought God

and man together and has thus closed the full circle of His
authority.

Vs. 21-23 – And although you were formerly alienated

22
and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He
has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through
death, in order to present you before Him holy and
23
blameless and beyond reproach— if indeed you
continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast,
and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that
you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation

43
 under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a
minister.

Vs. 21-23
Paul again repeats the same idea (that Jesus brings God
and man together by His cross), but adds an important
condition for this relationship to continue – faithfulness.

Vs. 21
Their former condition – hostile towards God and guilty of
evil.

Vs. 22
How Jesus accomplished reconciliation and what this
reconciliation produces (transformation of sinners into
acceptable saints before God).

Vs. 23
The conditions:

• Continue in the faith. Continue believing and

teaching the doctrine of Jesus and the Apostles.
Correct doctrine is important because it preserves
our relationship with Christ.

• Continue in the hope. Continue in your assurance,

your confidence, your expectation of what the gospel
promises (forgiveness, resurrection, eternal life).

This is a warning to them that if they abandon the teachings

of Jesus and the Apostles, they will eventually lose the
blessings that come with these teachings.

This is why we have to be careful about doctrine!

In the last part of verse 23, Paul creates another bridge that
will help him segue from talking about the credentials of
Christ which permit Him to be the head of the church (death

44
on the cross and resurrection), to Paul’s credentials for being
a minister or teacher of the gospel and doctrines of Christ.
The "bridge” word is minister. He has established why Jesus
is pre-eminent, now he will establish why he, Paul, has
credibility in preaching Jesus’ message as a minister of the
gospel to the church.

Why Paul is Credible as a Minister – 1:24-29

The way that these false teachers were operating may not
have been limited to tampering with the gospel and the
doctrines taught by the Apostles. They may have also tried
to discredit Paul as a legitimate Apostle, teacher and
minister. Otherwise there would be no reason for Paul to
review with them his own personal history of service and
suffering on behalf of the church. In doing this he is
challenging his readers to compare his ministry (which
includes suffering on their behalf) to the ministry of the false
teachers (which is devoid of such commitment and sacrifice).

Vs. 24 – Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake,

and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body,
which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in
Christ’s afflictions.

He tells them that whatever trials he endures because of his

work for the church (universal) he does it with joy as a
minister appointed by God. He brings up the question of his
suffering not to complain, but to make a point. The suffering
in his life is accepted with joy. And he does suffer because it
is his share as a minister to suffer a portion of persecution
directed towards Christ.

He is not saying that Jesus did not suffer enough to pay for
sins and so Paul now has to make up for some of that
suffering. When Jesus said, “It is finished” on the cross, He
meant that His sacrifice was complete, the work of
redemption accomplished.

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However, the evil, the persecution towards Christ will not be
over until the end of time and the ones who bear it are those
who follow Him (Matthew 5:11-12).

Paul says that as a minister (and especially an Apostle) he

has to bear a greater share of this suffering (he was in prison
because he was seen as a leader in the church), and he
rejoices in this fact.

Vs. 25-27 – Of this church I was made a minister

according to the stewardship from God bestowed on
me for your benefit, so that I might fully carry out the
preaching of the word of God, that is, the mystery
which has been hidden from the past ages and
generations, but has now been manifested to His
saints, to whom God willed to make known what is the
riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles,
which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

So that they will not get the idea that his ministry is
“suffering,” he clarifies what his ministry is so they will see
that the suffering is brought about by his ministry and not the
other way around. He is not a monk with self-imposed
suffering.

Paul reminds them of his special role among the Apostles as

the one who preached the gospel to the Gentiles. This is his
ministry. This gospel, this mystery, would have never been
known had it not been revealed by God. This revelation
would never have come to the Gentiles had God not
specifically chosen Paul and sent him to preach to them.
This revelation is that God offers eternal life (hope of glory)
to all (Jew and gentile) on the basis of faith in Jesus Christ.

There is no more information left unrevealed.

Vs. 28-29 – We proclaim Him, admonishing every

man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that

46
 29
we may present every man complete in Christ. For
this purpose also I labor, striving according to His
power, which mightily works within me.

Paul’s purpose, in his ministry, is to bring every person to the

point of salvation and final reward in Christ. This is what he
strives for and he knows that his work and effort are in
accord with the power and will of God within him and
whatever success he has he attributes to the Lord. Again
there is an unspoken challenge to the Colossians to examine
the work and motives of the false teachers within their midst.

And so in this section Paul reviews his “qualifications” or

“credentials” as a teacher so they can compare these with
the ones put forth by the false teachers.

A. He shares the sufferings of Christ. In the same way

that Jesus suffered in order to establish the church, Paul
suffers because of his ministry on behalf of the church.

B. He is an appointed minister of the church. Paul was

chosen by God to carry out the special ministry of preaching
to the Gentiles.

C. He ministers God’s Word. The Apostle gives to the

Gentiles the entire content of the revelation about Jesus
Christ that God has provided him with.

The false teachers who do what they do for profit or power,

who have appointed themselves to the positions they hold,
and who teach things contrary to or in addition to the
revelation of Christ, are no match for Paul when he
compares his credentials for ministry to theirs.

47
Summary
This ends the section in our outline dealing with the pre-
eminence of Christ in relationships. Paul explains that
because of Jesus’ position in the Godhead, behind creation,
and over the church – His is the pre-eminent relationship in
every area of existence.

In other words, everything that is, is connected to Him first

(God/creation/church). Then he shows that by virtue of his
(Paul’s) calling and ministry by Christ, he is a pre-eminent
teacher of the church (in comparison to the false teachers).

In our next chapter we will go on to the following section

where Paul will explain that Jesus’ teachings are pre-
eminent in doctrine.

Lessons
Here are some lessons we can draw from this section:

1. The Methods of False Teachers are Always the

Same
Time and culture change but false teachers use the same
tactics throughout history.

• Displace Jesus as Messiah and Lord.

• Pervert the doctrine.

Add or change the gospel and the teachings of the Apostles

(new rules, new revelation). Jude 3 – We have all the
revelation we are going to receive.

48
2. The Gospel Produces Everything God Intends
For Us
God wants people to receive Jesus Christ and be saved
through Him. Once we are united to Christ through faith
(expressed in repentance and baptism), we are eligible for all
of the blessings. There are no other conditions, no other
mysteries to learn, no other messiahs to come – once we are
in a relationship with Christ, we are safe forever. Col. 1:28.

3. Suffering is a Normal Part of Christianity

Whether it is suffering the withdrawals of the flesh when we
deny it the sin that it craves, or the persecution by the world
of unbelievers because we stand up for what we believe is
true and right, or the burden of fatigue and inconvenience we
feel as we give up self to serve others.

The closer we are to Christ, the better we follow His

example, the deeper our commitment to ministry in the
church – the greater our discomfort and suffering in this
world will be.

So do not be surprised and do not be discouraged when it

happens, do like Paul and James – consider it a joy to suffer
some of the same kinds of burdens that Jesus suffered to
save your soul – that is when He is closest to you.

49
50
CHAPTER 6
COLOSSIANS 2:1-14

In our last chapter, Paul completed his explanation of the

idea that Christ was first/pre-eminent in all relationships. In
other words, in a chain that links God and man, He is every
link:

• He is linked to God as one of the divine beings in the

Godhead.

• He is linked to the creation as the force that not only

brought it into existence and maintains its existence,
but also the purpose for its existence.

• He is linked to mankind as mankind’s only hope for

salvation from sin and death.

• He is linked to the saved as the head of the body into

which the saved are placed by God – the church.

So whatever the relationship, whatever point of linkage, Paul

shows that Jesus has the credentials to be the first or pre-
eminent individual at every point of contact – whether it be in
the heavens, in the material world, among human beings or
the church. Now onto this idea he adds the thought that as a
minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ, he too has the
credentials to be a teacher or minister of the church. He
mentions his sufferings, the fact that he was appointed by
Jesus and that he teaches only the words of Jesus – as the
credentials he has to qualify him for this task.

I mentioned that Paul was building his case for the pre-
eminence of Christ in order to refute the position and
doctrine of false teachers that had crept into the church at
that time. In the last section of chapter 1, Paul goes from

51
talking about Jesus to references about himself as a
legitimate teacher of Christ’s doctrines. We will see that this
is a transition Paul uses to begin a section about Jesus’
teachings.

Christ: Pre-Eminent in Doctrine – 2:1-3:4

The last chapter focused on Christ and His pre-eminent role
in personal relationships. This next chapter will zero in on the
teachings of Jesus and their pre-eminent place in
comparison to other religious doctrines. Remember those
false teachers. First Paul shows how Christ Himself is pre-
eminent in comparison to them, now he will demonstrate
how His teachings are superior to their teachings as well.

Vs. 1-3 – For I want you to know how great a struggle

I have on your behalf and for those who are at
Laodicea, and for all those who have not personally
2
seen my face, that their hearts may be encouraged,
having been knit together in love, and attaining to all
the wealth that comes from the full assurance of
understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s
3
mystery, that is, Christ Himself, in whom are hidden
all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

He begins by summarizing the thought he will explain in

detail in the entire chapter and 4 verses of the next.

Vs. 1 - Paul is writing to people who know of him, but whom

he has not personally met. Remember, this church was
originally established by Epaphroditus and Timothy. Paul is
in prison in Rome for having preached the gospel, the very
gospel he is trying to protect among them with this letter. The
struggle Paul talks about is his ministry, his imprisonment,
his prayers and now this letter of instruction to people he has
not met – all of this is a great effort that he makes for them

52
as well as other churches for whom he feels a personal
responsibility.

Vs. 2 - In this verse Paul describes what his struggle is for,

what he strives for in his work. He describes his objectives
for them as a series of attainments that have a final
outcome. He wants the results of his work:

• to be a source of encouragement to them.

• that it might promote a loving unity among them.
• that they experience real hope (assurance of
understanding) that comes from knowing the true
revelation (mystery) of God which is the knowledge of
Jesus Christ.
Here Paul compresses all the information about the gospel
into one word, “Christ.” In other words, if you believe in
“Christ” you have the key to understanding all of the Old
Testament as well as all the teachings of the Apostles.

Vs. 3 - He repeats this idea in verse 3 where he explains that

all wisdom and knowledge (about God’s plan, the salvation
of man, etc.) are contained in Jesus’ life, teachings, cross
and resurrection.

• It is not earthly wisdom about science or math, etc.

• It is heavenly, spiritual wisdom that pertains to man’s
condition and salvation.

So, as I said, Paul begins by stating that as far as wisdom,

knowledge, teaching is concerned, Jesus is the embodiment
of “revelation” – something that man, regardless of his
intelligence, cannot compete with.

Vs. 4-5 – I say this so that no one will delude you with
persuasive argument. For even though I am absent in
body, nevertheless I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to

53
 see your good discipline and the stability of your faith
in Christ.

Paul states that he has established Jesus’ teachings as

revelation so that they will not be “persuaded” to abandon
these teachings for some other form of doctrine.

Persuasive argument is the manner in which these false

teachers were drawing the brethren away. They did not have
new revelation but they were smooth talkers and good
debaters. They would use these tactics to fool, confuse and
delude the brethren, and thus make them doubt the gospel.
Even though he warns them, Paul is quick to also commend
them for their personal discipline (self-control) and steady
faith in Jesus.

They were being penetrated by false teachers but so far they

were holding on to the truth and even though Paul is far
away – he rejoices with them in this.

Vs. 6-7 – Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus

the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted
and now being built up in Him and established in your
faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with
gratitude.

The best way to prove doctrine is to live it. They have been
taught about Christ and His teachings, now they need to
practice that teaching in their every day lives if it is really to
take effect. They have been well taught (rooted) and
encouraged, now they need to put into practice those
teachings that dealt especially with faithfulness and
thanksgiving.

Now that they are being challenged, now that things are
becoming difficult, they are being tested to see if their faith is
true – Paul encourages them to persevere.

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 Vs. 8 – See to it that no one takes you captive through
philosophy and empty deception, according to the
tradition of men, according to the elementary
principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.

This is another summary statement where Paul will briefly

outline a new thought and then take several verses to
explain in detail what he has just said. Again, he uses a
compression word – “Christ.”

Christ is the standard

In this case not simply the person but the teachings, the
commands, the example of Christ… this is the standard by
which all things need to be judged. The objective of the false
teachers is slavery. They want to enslave the Colossians to
their doctrine and their religious authority.

Christ sets one free from ignorance and fear.

Their tactics are the teaching of ideas and concepts from a
variety of sources other than Christ. Philosophy (or
concepts) that are really an empty show or deception based
on lofty notions about man-made rules concerning the way
the world works. There was speculation at that time that the
angels somehow controlled the basic elements (fire, rain,
thunder, etc.) and that these should be worshipped or that
they provided spiritual insight.

These Judaizers (false teachers) were not necessarily

educated men, but were making a show of their learning by
putting forth these “new ideas” based on man-made
philosophies involving angels and the manipulation of nature.
And from this new worldview they were inventing rules for
living which robbed the Colossians of their freedoms in
Christ.

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Paul says that the Colossians should not be held responsible
to any teaching that does not have as its source the
teachings of Jesus.

Vs. 9-15
Paul will give 4 reasons why this should be so:

1. Jesus is divine

Vs. 9 – For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in

bodily form,

The teaching of Jesus is the teaching of God because Jesus

is God in human form. To follow His teaching is to follow
God’s teaching and it should not be replaced with the false
doctrines of these other teachers no matter how “spiritual”
they seemed.

2. They are complete in Christ

Vs. 10a – and in Him you have been made complete

By connection to Christ, who is divine, they have access to

all that divinity offers (revelation, wisdom, salvation,
blessings, etc.). They have no need of additional teaching,
additional saving… they have everything they need
spiritually in relation to Christ.

3. Jesus is the ruler of all

Vs. 10b – and He is the head over all rule and

authority;

By saying head over all rule and authority, Paul says in effect
that Jesus is Lord of lords, King of kings, sovereign over
everything. If Jesus is their head or Lord, then there is no
need for another head, another one to take this position – as

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the Judaizers were trying to do… with angels, secret
knowledge, etc.

4. Jesus is the Savior – vs. 11-15

Finally Paul explains the most important reason why they

should only follow the teachings of Christ – He is their
Savior. The Judaizers (false teachers) were boasting that
their circumcision and their adherence to laws on feasts and
food made them superior and holier than their Gentile
counterparts (who simply trusted in Christ) and thus worthy
to be obeyed and followed.

Paul shows that the salvation they have in Christ has a

greater value than the mere boasting in circumcision made
by the Judaizers. Circumcision was of God. It was the sign of
the promise God made to Abraham – which Jesus fulfilled
with His appearance.

These men were using it as a badge to boast of their

religious superiority.

Vs. 11-12 – and in Him you were also circumcised

with a circumcision made without hands, in the
removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of
Christ; having been buried with Him in baptism, in
which you were also raised up with Him through faith
in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.

Fleshly circumcision removed an actual piece of flesh as a

sign of a spiritual promise of God. Paul says that through
Christ what is cut away is the “body of flesh” meaning the
“old person of sin,” or the old nature that loved and served
sin. This was removed by Christ through His efforts on our
behalf. He then describes the physical or historical moment
when that “spiritual circumcision” takes place, baptism. And
this baptism is not just a promise or a symbol, it is the actual

57
moment when the old man is removed and the new person is
raised.

Paul says that what happens to us in baptism is verified and

guaranteed by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. For example,
we are raised and renewed in baptism by the same Godly
power that raised Jesus from the dead. Romans 8.

Vs. 13-14 – When you were dead in your

transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh,
He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven
us all our transgressions, having canceled out the
certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us,
which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the
way, having nailed it to the cross.

In these 2 verses Paul emphasizes the value and importance

of this “spiritual circumcision” that they received at baptism. It
transformed them from death to life. He equates
“uncircumcision” with being spiritually dead. He explains that
they were spiritually dead because they were guilty of
transgressing God’s law, God’s decrees (which said, in
effect, if you sin you die). Paul says that they were made
alive though the power of forgiveness, and what this
forgiveness does is cancel or pay the debt of sin which
constantly accused and condemned them before God. Jesus
took all of these sins and atoned for them once and for all so
that they no longer stood between God and man. His graphic
imagery is that the sins (which he describes as a certificate
of indebtedness) are nailed to the cross along with His own
body.

Paul explains that the spiritual circumcision that takes place

at baptism was made possible by Christ’s sacrifice on the
cross. We go into the water as sinners condemned by the
Law that accuses us of our sins and two things happen in
that watery grave:

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 • The bill or certificate of debt or mortgage we owe
God for our sins is paid for by the cross of Christ. It
is at the point of baptism that forgiveness for our sins
takes effect for us.
• The old nature of sin, the old man of sin is cut away
and we are given a new spiritual nature. It is at the
point of baptism that we receive the Holy Spirit who
enables us to live as spiritual people.

Peter explains this same phenomena but in a much shorter

way in Acts 2:38. In the meantime remember that the
importance and necessity of baptism is not something
invented by the church of Christ. Jesus, Peter and Paul each
emphasized that baptism was the moment that salvation,
forgiveness and regeneration took place. When we focus in
on this principle, we only emphasize what the New
Testament itself emphasizes.

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60
CHAPTER 7
COLOSSIANS 2:15-23

This letter is being sent in order to respond and refute false

teachers and doctrine that have crept into the church at
Colossae. These false teachers were trying to displace
Christ and His doctrines with a mixture of ideas from different
sources. There was the pagan idea that various spirits
(angels in this case) were responsible for the manipulation
and care of the creation, and should somehow be honored or
worshipped. There was the insistence that in order to be
acceptable to God, one had to observe Jewish traditions and
the Law – especially the requirement to be circumcised. The
false teachers, or Judaizers as they were called, were
boasting that their Jewish heritage (of which circumcision
was some kind of badge of honor) and their insight into these
supposedly new religious mysteries, made them superior to
the Gentiles. They used this attitude and teaching about
angels and circumcision requirements to draw the Gentiles
away from their faith and dependence on Christ and only
Christ for salvation.

In this letter Paul responds in several ways:

• He shows that Jesus and only Jesus is the link

between God and man. Jesus created the world for His
purpose and maintains it, not the angels.

• He also demonstrated that as far as doctrine is

concerned, every mystery (or revelation) that God has
made to man, He has made it through Jesus. He says
that if you believe in Jesus Christ, you have the key
that will unlock every mystery of heavenly wisdom and
knowledge there is.

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 • And, as far as circumcision was concerned, Paul
explains that the circumcision that the Gentiles receive
in baptism by Christ is far superior to the fleshly
circumcision that the Judaizers boast about and want
to impose. He teaches them that Jesus has cut away
their old man of sin and given them the Holy Spirit in
baptism. This spiritual circumcision results in
forgiveness and eternal life, two things that mere
physical circumcision could not do. Paul explains that
this forgiveness, this cutting away of the old sinful
nature in baptism, was made possible by Jesus’
sacrifice on the cross. Forgiveness can be offered
because sins have been paid for on the cross by His
precious blood.

As we continue in this section, Paul will explain several other

things that Christ accomplished with His cross; and he will
admonish them not to be pulled away from this teaching.

Victories of the Cross

Verse 15 is the summary or concluding statement from the
passage we were previously studying.

Vs. 8-15 – See to it that no one takes you captive

through philosophy and empty deception, according to
the tradition of men, according to the elementary
principles of the world, rather than according to
9
Christ. For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in
10
bodily form, and in Him you have been made
complete, and He is the head over all rule and
11
authority; and in Him you were also circumcised with
a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of
the body of the flesh by the circumcision of
12
Christ; having been buried with Him in baptism, in
which you were also raised up with Him through faith
in the working of God, who raised Him from the
13
dead. When you were dead in your transgressions

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 and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you
alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our
14
transgressions, having cancelled out the certificate
of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was
hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way,
15
having nailed it to the cross. When He had disarmed
the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of
them, having triumphed over them through Him.

Verses 8 to 14 were explained in the last chapter and in the

review section in the beginning of the chapter. Verse 15 is an
additional statement that piles on all of the victories that the
cross of Jesus accomplishes. Not just forgiveness and the
renewal of the sinners’ life, but victory over the unseen
forces that were against God and man in trying to destroy
the church or block man’s entry into the church. Paul uses a
gentile image here:

• To make a display of your vanquished enemy was very

much a Roman tradition and one the Gentiles would
understand.
• When a returning Roman general would be victorious
in war, he would return to a hero’s welcome and
parade in Rome.
• At this time he would trail behind him the captives and
prizes that he had plundered – even the noblemen of
the conquered land.
• Paul uses this imagery to describe Jesus’ victory at the
cross and the defeat of the spirits and satanic angels
who lost in their effort to possess and destroy mankind
because Jesus’ blood and His Word now protect
believers.

Of course, his reference is directed towards the false

teachers who were pushing the notion of spirits and angels
as mediators between God and man. No faithful angel or
spirit would be in such a position so these were evil spirits

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and their teaching was not much more than magic and
doctrines of demons and the occult.

In verse 15 Paul adds one more link in the chain between

God and all other things. Jesus is the link with God as a
divine person; He is the link with creation as its creator; He is
the link with mankind as mankind’s savior; He is the link with
the church as its head; and finally Paul says, He is even the
link with the underworld because He is its conqueror.

The Traps of False Teachings

Now that Paul has firmly established Jesus as the pre-
eminent individual in their spiritual lives, and His teachings
the pre-eminent doctrine to guide them – he warns them of
the various traps set by the false teachers and their
doctrines:

The Trap of False Authority

Vs. 16-17 – Therefore no one is to act as your judge in
regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a
new moon or a Sabbath day-- things which are a mere
shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs
to Christ.

In this section we catch a glimpse of how the Judaizers were

trying to manipulate and dominate these Gentile Christians.
They set themselves up as the authority by introducing rules
concerning issues over which they had no real authority:

• Laws on food and drink which the Jews had in the Old
Testament (e.g. no pork, priests no alcohol) and which
the Pharisees had raised to a point of obsessiveness
(e.g. tithing condiments).

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• Rules on observing certain feasts which were part of the
Jewish culture in the Old Testament (e.g. Passover,
Pentecost) or the many obligations concerning the
Sabbath which again were part of the Old Testament
laws and traditions.

The false teachers were putting rules and regulations

concerning these things and claiming that by following their
teachings, the Gentile Christians would become stronger and
wiser as Christians. Paul responds to this by saying that all
of the things mentioned (feasts, Sabbath, food laws…) and
every other element in the Jewish religion were a shadow, a
kind of preview of Christ and His work.

For example, the sacrifice of animals in worship was a

shadow or preview of the sacrifice of Jesus.

The special diets that made the Jews unique among the
nations pointed to the unique separation from the world
Christian disciples would experience. Everything in the
Jewish religion pointed to or foreshadowed the coming of
Jesus, His life, death and resurrection as well as the
establishment and eventual glorification of His church. These
false teachers were trying to convince the Gentile Christians
that the shadow was more important than the actual
substance of the shadow – Jesus Christ.

His admonition is: do not let them act as judge for these
things, they are free to do as they please concerning food,
festivals, and special holy days. If they have Christ, meaning
if by faith they are united to Christ, they have achieved the
ultimate religious goal – all of these other things are
secondary and fall in the realm of personal choice.

65
The Trap of False Spirituality
Vs. 18-19 – Let no one keep defrauding you of your
prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship
of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen,
inflated without cause by his fleshly mind, and not
holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body,
being supplied and held together by the joints and
ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God.

The “prize” of course is freedom from condemnation due to

sin, and the reward of having an eternal relationship with
God through Christ – because our sins are forgiven. Paul
says that the Gentile Christians should not allow anyone to
deny them this prize claiming that they are not spiritual
enough to deserve it and basing this denial on their concept
of false spirituality.

In the Judaizers’ case, this claim to superior spirituality was

based on their practices and claims which Paul enumerates
briefly:

• Self abasement
o Asceticism.
o Vows of abstinence from marriage or certain
foods or codes of conduct.
• Worship of angels
o Discussed previously their concept of the role of
angels.
o Paul says that their only proofs for this are
personal claims of visions.
o These claims create a false sense of spiritual
pride in the ones who say they have them.

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Paul brings his readers back to the only source for religious
authority and spiritual growth – God Himself! By extension,
Paul infers here that since Jesus is divine and part of the
Godhead, the only source of authority and teaching that
causes the body (church/Christians) to grow spiritually is
Christ, not the false spirituality of the Judaizers.

Verses 20-23 are a summary statement:

If you have died with Christ to the elementary

principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the
world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, "Do
not handle, do not taste, do not touch!" (which all refer
to things destined to perish with use)--in accordance
with the commandments and teachings of men?
These are matters which have, to be sure, the
appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-
abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are
of no value against fleshly indulgence.

Paul asks his readers a question:

If you have died to this world (in the waters of baptism) and
have risen as new creations (eternal spiritual beings), why
do you think that material things which are temporal (food,
feasts, etc.) and human teachings (from the Judaizers) will
have any effect on you for good or bad?

You cannot manipulate, improve or destroy spiritual things

with physical things. For example, if you have eternal life
through Christ, how can eating or not eating certain foods
add to this or take away from this?

He does admit that from a human perspective these

practices (asceticism, religious festivals, traditions) seem
“spiritual” or look “religious” to the human fleshly mind. He
concludes, however, that none of these things give one the
spiritual power to overcome sin or be forgiven for sin. Only

67
the blood of Jesus removes the stain of sin; only the Holy
Spirit within the Christian and the Word of God can enable
the Christian to overcome sin in this life; only resurrection
and glorification can free man from sin forever, not food or
drink laws, religious rituals, feasts or false religious
teachings.

Summary / Lessons
So in this section Paul really focuses on the teachings and
tactics of the false teachers revealing their basic
worthlessness to achieve any spiritual goals. He also
establishes the gospel, the teachings of Christ as pre-
eminent, sufficient and effective in accomplishing our dearest
spiritual desires.

• to be forgiven for sin

• to be enlightened spiritually
• to live forever with God

A couple of modern day lessons from this section can help

Christians maintain their faith:

1. Be Careful
In every generation there are religious hucksters who try to
build a following using the same gimmicks from 2,000 years
ago --- The claim that they have a special calling, vision or
message from God.

God has given us His final message until the return of Jesus.
Believe in Jesus and obey all of His commands. God has
given all the miracles, visions and direction to carry out that
message to the Apostles who have recorded it and
preserved it in the New Testament. The only thing we wait

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for is the return of Christ; everything else we need to know
concerning God and His will for us is in the Bible.

2. Be Confident
Do not let:
• gurus who starve themselves or never marry or live in
caves make you feel unworthy
• religious zealots with a one doctrine religion make you
doubt
• new religious movements with lots of publicity sweep
you up
• criticism or scorn of the Bible weaken your faith
If you have been united to Jesus Christ in repentance and
baptism and continue to follow Him daily – you are forever a
child of God and your salvation is guaranteed. Nothing you
can do or say will make you any more saved. God is pleased
with those who believe and obey His Son. This is the
ultimate spiritual condition and the only way to spiritual
growth and eternal life. Above all else: Be confident in
Christ.

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70
CHAPTER 8
COLOSSIANS 3:1-11

So far in this letter Paul has been defending the church

against the influence and doctrines of false teachers. We
said that these teachers were promoting doctrines that
denied the all-sufficiency of Christ and His sacrifice to
accomplish salvation. They were suggesting that the
Colossians needed further teachings and adherence to
Jewish Law in order to be saved. They also boasted of
superior spirituality because of their claim to certain visions
and secret knowledge.

Paul demonstrates that Christ is pre-eminent in every

domain regardless of the dimension. Jesus has authority
because He is part of the Godhead and exercises His pre-
eminence in creation, mankind, the church as well as in the
underworld.

He also shows that response to His teachings accomplish all

that is needed. Spiritual circumcision in baptism leads to
regeneration as well as unity with Christ and God.

Once he has completed his response to the false teachers

by exhorting the Colossians not to fall for their schemes,
Paul goes on to develop the true doctrine of Christ in regard
to Christian living. He has dealt with what the false teachers
said concerning how to become a child of God, now he will
teach them Christ’s way to live an ethical and pleasing life
before God.

So we begin the fourth section of this epistle which

demonstrates Christ who is pre-eminent in ethics (in other
words right and wrong living according to Jesus).

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Christ: Pre-Eminent in Ethics – 3:1-4:6
In chapter 3, Paul will begin by summarizing everything he
has already said and presenting it as the basis for the rest of
the section. If Jesus’ doctrine is pre-eminent, then the
lifestyle that flows from it will also be superior to the lifestyle
that comes from the Judaizers’ teaching.

A. The Standard of Christian Living

When we talk about “standard of living” we usually mean
how wealthy we are, how many things we possess, what
advantages of lifestyle we enjoy in comparison to the very
rich or very poor. Paul talks about a “standard” for Christian
living which compares our life not with earthly wealth or
values, but with a heavenly, spiritual standard set by Christ.

Vs. 1a – Therefore if you have been raised up with

Christ

He begins by reaching back to the previous chapter to pick

up the idea of baptism where he previously explained that
Christ makes new creatures of them. At baptism their old
nature of sin is removed, sin is forgiven, the Holy Spirit is
given, a new person emerges. He says, if this is what has
happened to you – in baptism you were raised up from the
death of sin and condemnation (just as Christ was raised
from the grave), then…

Vs. 1b – keep seeking the things above, where Christ

is, seated at the right hand of God.

You have a new standard of living to which you now strive.

The standard is the one established by Christ who is in
heaven. That Jesus is at the right hand of God in heaven is
an exalted way of saying that Jesus is divine and has the

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authority of God. What He has established (through His
teaching), this is the heavenly or godly standard.

Vs. 2 – Set your mind on the things above, not on the

things that are on earth.

They are to focus on the things that Christ (who is above)

has taught and established, and not the things taught and
promoted by the Judaizers. Things that have to do with
earthly rules about food and rituals. Teachings that promote
the rule of the earth by demon-angels, etc. If you have been
raised with Christ then you are freed from earthly rules about
religion, fears concerning demons – you are now living
according to the true spiritual standard set by the One who is
actually in heaven.

Vs. 3-4 – For you have died and your life is hidden
with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is
revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in
glory.

Again he refers to the death that Christians experience in

baptism but adds that at this point we also become united to
Christ. He uses the word hidden because as far as the world
is concerned, what we will become in Christ will not be
revealed until Jesus Himself returns at the end of the world.
He will be revealed as the glorious and only begotten Son of
God, judge of the world; Christians will be revealed as
resurrected and glorified sons and daughters of God who will
live and reign with Christ forever.

The point here is that if this is true (that Christians are united
to God in Christ and will be revealed as the glorious eternal
Church in the end), by what standard should they now live?
The unstated answer is that they certainly should not be
living according to the false (and quite earthly) standard the
Judaizers were trying to set for them.

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Elements of the Christian Standard - 3:4 to
4:6
In the first 4 verses Paul summarized what he will break into
detail in the next several verses. The details of this
spiritual/heavenly/Christ-centered standard fall into several
categories.

1. Personal Holiness – vs. 5-11

Paul begins where the new life of the Christian begins to
show itself first – in the personal conduct of the individual.
Remember the point here – he is saying that as Christians
they are not to be enslaved to the false earthly standard of
religion set by the Judaizers. This standard had to do with
what they ate, cutting their flesh, worship to minor spiritual
beings and submission to the teachers themselves, etc.

He is saying that as Christians they need to focus on the

heavenly standard of true religion established by Christ who
is in heaven and who will bring them to heaven as well.

Vs. 5a – Therefore consider the members of your

earthly body as dead

Since he has encouraged them to seek or focus on the

heavenly standard of holiness, Paul also adds how to arrive
at this point. They are to deaden their flesh to sin. They have
died and been raised as new creatures in baptism. This new
life resists the attempts by the body to reassert its old life of
sin. The admonition is quite clear – render dead your
appetite for sin. Do not offer your body up for unholy activity,
and he names 5 things they are to be “dead” to.

Vs. 5b – ...dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil

desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.

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 Four of these are sexual in nature and one is greed.

1. Sexual immorality (fornication) Illicit sexual activity with

others, includes homosexuality, adultery, etc.
2. Impurity (uncleanness) Filthy talk, pictures, stories of
sexual nature.
3. Passion (lust) a yearning for what is forbidden
(someone’s wife, etc.).
4. Evil desire (a constant desire for evil or impure
things/sexual obsession).
5. Greed – always wanting more of the things above.

All of these (usually come together) produce the sin of

idolatry, the worship of sensuality and sexual gratification
rather than the worship of God. Paul says that personal
holiness begins with the control (deadening) of the flesh to
temptations in the most basic area of life – human sexuality.

Vs. 6-7 – For it is because of these things that the

wrath of God will come upon the sons of
disobedience, and in them you also once walked,
when you were living in them.

He reminds them that this type of activity will be punished by

God. They must not be fooled by high minded ideas that
indulge in sexual immorality. For example, homosexuality
finding acceptability under the banner of Political
Correctness.

These type of activities and attitudes are wrong and God will
punish on account of them.

He also reminds them that they were once guilty of these

things, considered them as a normal part of life – but since
their resurrection in Christ they now live according to a new

75
standard where they are to refuse their bodies’ desire for
these things.

This line also serves as a bridge to the next verse where

Paul will list another group of sins that they are to avoid.

Vs. 8 – But now you also, put them all aside: anger,
wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your
mouth.

The first group of sins brings harm and offence to one’s own
body, these next sins bring harm to others.

1. Anger – the boiling of emotions. Allowing ourselves to

be stirred by negative feelings towards others.
2. Wrath – this is a stronger form of the previous – where
the emotions threaten to boil over. The end of control.
Exasperation.
3. Malice – or meanness, where our unchecked emotions
begin to form into an evil action.
4. Slander – the usual first mean act is to speak against
someone, curse them.
5. Abusive speech – foul, abusive language in regards
to others. A constant attitude.

Along with verse 5 this makes a list of 10 things to resist in

the pursuit of holy living. It is not a comprehensive list of
every sin there is but the fact that Paul refers to sins of
sensuality and those of speech shows that he is including all
the earthly evils we desire in our hearts and evils we commit
as a result of what comes from our hearts. The resurrected
man/woman has a new heart which neither desires these
things nor produces these things – and it is evident.

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Finally, personal holiness requires a new approach to
personal relationships with others. An approach based on
truth.

Vs. 9 – Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside

the old self with its evil practices,

Paul returns to the historical moment when the old man, old
sinful, old devious nature was removed and replaced by the
new, purified, holy nature put in its place – baptism. Because
this has happened they must leave off the sin of lying.

Vs. 10 – and have put on the new self who is being

renewed to a true knowledge according to the image
of the One who created him

This is especially necessary because this transformation was

made in order to bring them back to their true and original
form. Before sin, Adam was the true image of God, sinless,
pure, knowing God. He lost this status because he sinned
and was plunged into darkness, separation and death.

All humans shared in this fallen nature after him. Now that
Christ has renewed man to his true nature (sinless, having a
relationship with God), man must be truthful in his
relationships with others.

Verse 11 summarizes the last few verses:

Vs. 11 – a renewal in which there is no distinction

between Greek and Jew, circumcised and
uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and
freeman, but Christ is all, and in all.

This renewal is not simply a change of ethics or a new set of

moral rules, it is a complete change that occurs to anyone

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who experiences the saving power of Jesus. No matter who
you are (Paul mentions sets of disparate people)…

• Greek/Jew → culture
• Circumcised/uncircumcised → religion
• Barbarian/Scythian → civilized vs. uncivilized
• Slave/Free → social position

No matter what group you formerly identified with, you were

a sinner, did not know the truth, lost in sin – but because of
Jesus you have become a new creature, a Christian. Now as
a Christian none of these labels mean anything; you have
been liberated by the truth, you know the truth (that God
renews everyone through Christ); and now you must live
according to this truth.

Part of leaving off these old labels is to pursue personal

holiness, and part of personal holiness is to speak the truth
since they were renewed by truth. In the end everyone
comes together in Christ because everyone is focused on
Him and the heavenly things connected to Him.

Summary
rd
So in this 3 chapter Paul explains the standard or ethic for
Christian living established by Christ in heaven. He
encourages his readers to focus on this standard rather than
the false and earthly standards that the Judaizers were trying
to impose on them. This heavenly standard reflected their
new status as spiritual beings, renewed and purified by the
blood of Christ in baptism. This heavenly standard included
several elements.

In this chapter we looked at the first of these which was the

pursuit of holy living which required the denial of various evil
desires and the effort to speak the truth to everyone. In the

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next chapter we will move on to the next element in the
heavenly standard – a loving attitude.

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CHAPTER 9
COLOSSIANS 3:12-17

Let’s focus on where we are in this letter. Paul, in response

to false teachers who are trying to undermine Christ’s
position and teaching, demonstrates that Jesus’ life, ministry
and teachings:

• place Him at the right hand of God as a divine being

• over all creation as the creator
• savior of all humanity
• head of the church
• victor over demons in the underworld

From this primary or “pre-eminent” position flow the

teachings which supersede any other teachings (especially
those of the false teachers). And these teachings form the
basis upon which we decide what is good, what is right, what
is from God and what is not from God.

This is where we left off in our previous chapter. Paul

explained what kind of lifestyle flows from the teachings of
Christ and how it is superior to the lifestyle that is being
imposed upon them through the teachings of the Judaizers.
In his explanation Paul says that those who have responded
to Jesus’ command of baptism have cut away the old man of
sin or the old “standards” by which they formerly lived. Not
just the low human standards of immorality, worldliness and
lack of love, but also the earthly standards of “religion” built
around laws on food and religious ritual as well as custom
symbolized in circumcision. Now, he says, they live
according to Christ’s standard which He conveys through His

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teachings. In the previous chapter Paul describes the various
elements of this new standard by which we live.

The first element of Christ’s standard is personal holiness.

The next section contains several other elements that come
together to establish the Christian standard.

Elements of the Christian Standard -

continued
In verses 12 to 17, he will describe several individual things
that are trademarks of Christian attitude and conduct –
things that Christians see as part of the standard they strive
for and live by.

Vs. 12a – So, as those who have been chosen of

God, holy and beloved,

First, however, Paul reminds them of who they really are in

God’s eyes as a way of encouraging them to continually
strive for the standard Christ has established. The Judaizers
have made them feel inferior, incomplete, lacking in what
was necessary to be equal to themselves and thus worthy
before God. He refers to them with three terms that were
originally applied to the Jewish nation in the Old Testament
but now are applied to the Christians at Colossae, a direct
response to the false superiority claimed by the Judaizers.

A. Chosen of God
The Jews were the people of God, the chosen because they
were descendants of Abraham who had been chosen by
God to establish a nation. Genesis 12:2: Their “chosen”
status was based on their relation to him.

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Christians were the chosen of God because they were united
to Christ by faith and Christ had been chosen by God to save
mankind and establish the church. I Peter 2:4: their “chosen”
status was based on their relationship to Christ.

B. Holy
The term "Holy" means to be separate. God had separated
the Jews from the rest of the nations for a special purpose.
They were to be the nation/people through whom the
Messiah would come. Their religious practices, their history
(i.e. Exodus), their lifestyle (all given to them by God) made
them stand apart from the other nations. Christians, in the
same way, were also to be “separate.”

They were separated from the world by faith, separated from

their sins by the blood of Christ, separated from death by the
Holy Spirit. Christians were separated from the world in order
to glorify God and prepare the world for the return of Christ.
(Jews prepared for the first coming / Christians prepare the
world for the second.)

C. Beloved
The Jews were beloved by God in that He sent them
prophets, gave them His Word, protected them and
promised them salvation. Christians were also beloved of
God because they received fulfillment of all the promises
God had made to the Jews.

Once he has reminded them of their true standing with God

on account of Christ, once he has reassured them that they
are not second class citizens in comparison to the Judaizers,
Paul continues to set forth the different elements of the
standard of Christian living.

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1. A Loving Attitude – vs. 12b-14
Next to personal holiness, another distinguishing mark that
sets the Christian apart is the loving attitude that he strives
for. No other religion has as its key doctrine the forgiveness
and love of enemies. No other religion portrays God as a
God of love who demands love above all else.

Love and the evidence of love within the individual and

among the group is another basic element in the standard for
Christian living established by Jesus through His teachings.
For example: John 3:16 – God loves, John 13:35 – we love.

In these few verses Paul will describe the nuts and bolts of
the loving attitude. In other words, what does Christian love
look like? He gives the nuts and bolts first and then
summarizes in the end.

Vs. 12b-14
In the second part of the verse, he mentions seven attributes
of a loving heart.

Vs. 12b-13 – put on a heart of compassion, kindness,

humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one
another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a
complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave
you, so also should you.

Notice that he says to “put on a heart…”, this is suggesting

that these things do not come naturally, we have to make an
act of will – we have to make an effort.

• Compassion – a tender feeling towards those who are

suffering, who are in need.
• Kindness – the same tender feeling but extended
towards all, whether they are suffering or not.

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 • Humility – Pagans sought the upper hand, power and
domination. Love requires Christians to recognize their
sinful state and realize that they are sinners among
sinners. Christians know who they are.
• Meekness – Not self-willed, desiring one’s own way.
• Patience – The willingness to put up with suffering or
trials without losing faith, love, joy, confidence.
• Longsuffering – Bearing with one another and the
ability not to be provoked by another’s weakness or
insult.
• Forgiveness – Giving up the right to receive justice or
restitution for a wrong done.

Paul gives a little more detail here by describing a typical

problem between two people – one person is upset with
another and has a cause to complain. He says we should
have the attitude with one another as Christ had with us.
Don’t continue to complain, don’t look for a judge or
arbitrator – simply forgive and move on.

N.B. Note he said a complaint, not a crime or sin against.

Vs. 14 – Beyond all these things put on love, which is

the perfect bond of unity.

In this verse Paul summarizes these things by saying that

love is the crowning glory of all. In other words, love is
beyond these individual things because it is the fulfillment of
them. I.E. Love is kind, love is patient… I Corinthians 13.

Even though these individual things bring Christians

together, love serves as the glue that truly cements the
relationships that Christians have.

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2. A Thankful Heart – vs. 15-17
Personal holiness is the standard of conduct in the world, a
loving attitude is the standard of conduct in the church, and a
thankful heart is the standard one strives for before God. We
can’t impress God with our holiness because we are sinners.
Our conduct is an attempt to put distance between ourselves
and the world.

Loving attitudes maintain the unity in the church; we can

never “out-love” God or make up for His love with our own.
But a thankful heart, now there is something that is uniquely
ours, that we have control over and that we can legitimately
offer to God in good conscience. Paul mentions three ways
we can express and experience gratitude as Christians
before God.

Thankfulness for a peaceful mind

Vs. 15 – Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to
which indeed you were called in one body; and be
thankful.

The word “rule” refers to a judge or a referee, an arbitrator.

The Christians were being judged by the Judaizers who
wanted them to submit to their standard (law, circumcision,
etc.) in order to be “good enough.” Paul tells them to allow
the “peace” that Christ brings to their hearts be the thing that
decides if God loves and accepts you or not. He adds that
everyone was called to experience this peace, and the
sharing of this peace is the unique feature of those who are
in the body (church), not circumcision or food laws or slavish
submission to certain teachers.

Be thankful that you have the peace of Christ in your heart

and this peace is the assurance, the judge that you belong to
God.

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Worship with Thanksgiving

Vs. 16 – Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you,

with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one
another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

A heart that is thankful ultimately expresses itself, and so

Paul describes the natural progression from feeling to
expression. This peaceful assurance in Christ should lead to
expressions of thanks – how should this be? Certainly not as
the pagans celebrate. And not as the Judaizers express the
feelings of their hearts with empty ritual and self-abasement.
A thankful heart…

• Drinks in the words/teachings of Christ and allows

them to permeate the entire person.
• It shares the peace, the message, the wisdom with
others in teaching and encouragement.
• It praises using spiritual words and ideas provided by
God just for such occasions.

If God is the one that sent Jesus to create the peace

Christians feel, then it is only natural that the praise and
thanksgiving for this return to Him and Him alone.

N.B. Note that in his only reference to public worship Paul

uses the word sing (meaning sing without instrument),
denoting the kind of praise that is acceptable.

3. A Life Motivated by Thanksgiving

Vs. 17 – Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in
the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through
Him to God the Father.

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A heart that feels thankful will eventually begin to express
thanks and this expression of thanksgiving will find its way
into every day life. The Christian lifestyle is filled with actions
great and small, the difference is that the motivation for life is
Christ and His service. This motivation completes the cycle
of thanksgiving:

• We experience the peace of Christ in our hearts.

• We are moved to give thanks to God for this.
• We are motivated by gratitude to live and serve in His
name.
• This reinforces and deepens the peace we feel and
keeps the cycle turning.

Summary
We are not finished with the elements of the Christian
standard Paul outlines in these verses. So far, however, he
has said that Christians live by Christ’s standard, not the
false one promoted by the Judaizers. This Christian standard
has several elements. The ones Paul has described so far
are:

1. Personal holiness
2. A loving attitude
3. A thankful heart

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CHAPTER 10
COLOSSIANS 3:18-21

We are nearing the end of our study on the book of

Colossians. We have learned that this letter was written to
reject a system of false teaching and teachers who were
attempting to displace Jesus and His teachings as the
primary standard for Christian life and doctrine.

After Paul describes Christ’s priority or “pre-eminent” position

in the scheme of things, he goes on to explain that Jesus’
teachings have an equal priority. He also describes for them
the type of life that is supposed to emanate from these
teachings: Christ is pre-eminent in ethics therefore the right
way to live is by following His ethical teachings.

In the previous chapter I described the standard for Christian

life that is established by Jesus’ teachings and the details or
elements of that standard/ethic that pertains to Christians.

1. One was holiness – sexual purity.

2. A loving nature – truthful and compassionate.
3. A thankful heart – a life motivated by a grateful spirit
and expressed in worship and praise.

In this chapter, Paul will add the two final elements he

includes in the Christian ethic/standard established by Christ.

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Elements of the Christian Standard –
continued

4. An Ordered Family – 3:18-21

Most of our lives are lived within the context of a family so it
would only be natural for Jesus to include instructions for
family life so that we would have these teachings as the
base for marriage. The Judaizers forbade marriage and saw
it as a concession to the flesh. The pagans had a very loose
commitment to the marriage bond and they modeled it after
the ignorant and cruel system they themselves came from.
Men treated wives and children as property. Women and
children survived as best they could through cleverness and
silent submission.

Paul establishes the basis for an orderly family according to

the words of Christ.

Vs. 18 – Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is

fitting in the Lord.

Wives should be in submission to their husbands (obedience

towards). Again the word here is the same as the one used
by Paul in Ephesians 5:21, “… be subject to one another in
the fear of Christ.”

In Ephesians he referred to Christians in the church who

were to be subject to each other; in Colossians it is the wife
to be in subjection to her husband. The word is a military
term which means to “place oneself under.” The idea that a
soldier understands his rank and recognizes and submits to
the one who has a higher rank.

In the marriage relationship the ranks were handed out by

God in Genesis and have not changed since Genesis 3:16

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says “… your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall
rule over you.”

The requirement that these be only one man and one

woman for life in a marriage was established here in
Genesis, confirmed by Jesus in Matthew 19:4-6 and taught
by Paul in I Corinthians 7:1-ff.

Everyone agrees this is the “ideal” marriage arrangement.

Well, in the same way the requirement that a wife be subject
to her husband was established in Genesis and confirmed
and taught by Paul in the New Testament not only in this
passage but in Ephesians 5:22 as well.

Jesus does not ever say this but Paul, in teaching this, says
that it is “fitting” or “proper” in the Lord – that a wife submit to
her husband. This is an easy one to understand but not such
an easy one to accomplish for a variety of reasons:

• The husband is not a Christian.

• The husband is a weak or immature Christian.
• The wife has a forceful personality in opposition to her
husband.
• The problems of dysfunctional families.

Whatever the situation, women need to understand several

things about this teaching.

A. It is not a Cultural Thing

This is not an outdated “Jewish” thing that we should ignore

because it does not fit into our society anymore. It is a
command of God and relevant in each generation. In
marriage, what God wants, what is proper and the right thing
for Christians, is that wives be in submission to their
husbands. You can teach this idea to your children because
it will be around as long as marriage will be.

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B. It is not an Absolute Thing

Although the Bible says this is what would be proper for

those calling themselves Christians, it does not mean that it
is always possible (e.g. a widow cannot do this).

A divorced woman cannot do this – I Corinthians 7:15. A

woman whose husband is evil and cruel and violent cannot
do this. However, for those who are trying to have a
marriage that is fitting in the Lord, the woman should be in
subjection to her husband. Do this if this is possible, but if
you do not do it or use a different system because it suits
your personality better – then your relationship to your
husband is not “fitting in the Lord.”

C. It is Something you Choose

If you are beaten or threatened into submission, this is not

submission, it is slavery. Submission is a choice that the wife
makes for the greater good of the family not an act of
debasement. Submission is a faith issue, not a competency
issue.

A Christian woman gives freely, because of her faith, the

leadership role in the marriage to her husband and
reinforces that decision each day by respecting him.

Vs. 19 – Husbands, love your wives and do not be

embittered against them.

In a world where marriages were arranged by parents and

women treated as property, it was natural for Paul to
admonish men to love and not treat their wives harshly.
When your view of your wife is that of property, it is difficult
to love her as self, treat her as self.

Note that Paul’s instructions for men do not have much to do

with being good leaders, fair managers. He goes to the heart

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of what is difficult for men – love and tenderness. We have
come a long way as a society but the commands for men
remain the same within marriage:

A. To love their wives

In Ephesians 5:22, he gives more details about this love:
That it is to be similar to the love that Christ has for the
church (sacrificial) and it is to be similar to the love they have
for themselves (generous).

Again, this command for a husband’s love remains until

there will be no need for marriage (heaven). A woman who is
loved in this way finds it a joy to respect and submit to her
husband.

B. To be tender towards them

The term “bitter” means sharp, pointed, harsh. When you
perceive something as less than you are, it is easy to
disrespect it, to become harsh and cruel. Paul’s
admonishment requires men to keep in mind who the wife is:
• A gift from God – Proverbs 18:22
• A partner for life – Genesis 2:24
• A mother for their children – Genesis 4:1

Such a precious person must be treated with care and

tenderness. I would say the same thing to men as I did to the
women on this subject – a man must choose to be this way
with his wife, it does not come naturally. It does not come
naturally for a woman to submit to her husband (she must
choose and cultivate a submissive nature through prayer and
practice). In the same way it does not come naturally for a
man to love his wife sacrificially and tenderly (it is natural to
act this way because of desire, but not be this way) – men
are just more naturally selfish than women.

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In the end, the man must choose to deny himself and make
his wife the beneficiary of his love and tenderness rather
than himself.

Vs. 20-21 – Children, be obedient to your parents in

all things, for this is well-pleasing to the Lord. Fathers,
do not exasperate your children, so that they will not
lose heart.

Again Paul reaches back to the elemental principles found in

the Old Testament.

In Exodus 20:12:

Honor your father and your mother, that your days

may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your
God gives you.

Paul summarizes this in Colossians by keeping the main

elements and applying them in a New Testament context.
The responsibility of children is:

Obedience to parents in all things

This includes the commands of God and the judgments and

application of these in daily living made by parents. When
parents say, “Because I say so,” this has basis in Scripture.

The promise of the Old Testament was fulfilled in Christ and

so now the children of God look forward to a heavenly
“promised land,” where Christ reigns. There is a blessing in
learning to “obey” parents in all things – it prepares us to
obey Christ and please Him.

Parents are the ones who develop the “obedience” muscle

first in their children. If they do a bad job of this, someone
else (school, police, etc.) will have to teach it the hard way.

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Now Paul adds one caution to dads, and that is to not overdo
the authority thing. Some Bibles use the term “provoke to
anger” or “stir-up” emotionally: how?

• Setting the goals too high

• Being inconsistent
• Lack of praise and appreciation
• Favoritism
• Creating jealousy by devoting too much time to work or
hobbies

Children become discouraged when they cannot please,

properly obey, secure a blessing from their fathers.
Discouragement can easily lead to either depression and
withdrawal or rebellion and acting out.

Summary
So the forth element of the Christian standard is an orderly
family. An orderly family is a tremendous witness of Christian
grace and the presence of God in your life. Paul says that an
orderly family requires three main components (cannot have
it without these):

1. A submissive wife
Begins with the woman because she is the key to a balanced
Christian home. A woman who respects and supports her
husband’s leadership (despite his flaws and hers as well) is
the first component in an orderly family.

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2. A loving husband
A man who understands, accepts and practices loving
leadership of his wife and children is the second part of the
equation. You cannot have an ordered family if the one in
leadership refuses to lead or leads improperly. Many ask, “If
husband will not lead, what is a Christian woman to do?”

• Do not lead him. This is not your job, the job is vacant.
• Lead your children to Christ (e.g. Timothy).

3. Obedient children
Ordered families suffer their greatest strains when children
begin to test the limits of parental authority. Paul says it is
possible to do this without discouraging the children. We
have learned that consistency, fairness and tenderness go a
long way in repairing and maintaining the bonds with them at
this time.

In our next chapter we will go on to explain the last element

in the Christian standard.

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CHAPTER 11
COLOSSIANS 3:22-4:18

We have learned that Paul wrote this letter in response to

the efforts of false teachers (Judaizers) to minimize the place
of Christ and His teachings and substitute their own. The
result of this was that the Colossians were being lured away
from their peace and security in Christ and tempted to base
their salvation on the following of food laws, circumcision,
and various teachings on the position and power of angels.

Paul’s answer is to demonstrate that Jesus Christ and His

teachings are the basis upon which they are saved, continue
to be saved and upon which they should base their lives.
Paul goes on to explain what their lives should be like if they
base them on the teachings of Christ rather than on the
empty teachings of the Judaizers. This has been the subject
of our last few lessons – the standard or ethic that pertains to
Christian living. This standard has several features:

1. Holy living (especially sexual purity)

2. A loving nature (speaking the truth)
3. A thankful heart
4. An ordered family (each with specific roles to play)

Let's continue describing this standard of living that flows

from Jesus’ teaching by adding the final feature that Paul
describes.

Features of the Christian Standard – 3:22-

4:1

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5. Ordered Society – 3:22-4:1
Paul mentioned that Christians are to have an ordered family
and continues this thought to include the natural extension of
an ordered family and that is an orderly society. Now he
does not go into great detail about this. He simply comments
on the role and attitude of the two main positions of society
in that day: slaves and masters.

In the Roman Empire of the day you had only two classes:
slaves and free. There were divisions within these but this
was the dividing line. Paul does not condone slavery; he
merely provides the teaching necessary for Christians to live
properly, orderly before God in each class.

Slaves
Vs. 22-25 – Slaves, in all things obey those who are
your masters on earth, not with external service, as
those who merely please men, but with sincerity of
heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, do your work
heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing
that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the
inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. For
he who does wrong will receive the consequences of
the wrong which he has done, and that without
partiality.

He tells slaves two things that will help guide their Christian
lives:

1. Obey sincerely – Not just lip service to the master but

true obedience from the heart, knowing that the Lord sees
your heart. Work with enthusiasm – no grumbling, no
slacking. Do your work cheerfully and with enthusiasm as if
you are working for God (Jesus), not man (master). Paul
reminds slaves that God will judge and reward their work.

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Their attitude and work should not be based on their
master’s character or reward – it should be done to please
God who will issue the final reward – which is eternal life
(that is the inheritance). A wonderful promise to one who
was destined to a lifetime of slavery here on earth.

2. You will be judged – They should not hide their

disobedience and laziness behind the excuse of slavery.
God is impartial and will judge everyone based on their
obedience to Him, not based on their station in life (slave or
free).

Masters (free)
Vs. 4:1 – Masters, grant to your slaves justice and
fairness, knowing that you too have a Master in
heaven.

Again, Paul does not give all the instructions for the master’s
life, only that which will set the tone for a proper relationship
with their slaves – in God’s eyes. As masters they have a
responsibility to be just (see to their needs) and fair (not take
advantage) of those in their charge. It would be easy to treat
them as less than human because the slaves were seen as
property, but God reminds them of their stewardship in
caring for their slaves.

He also warns them that they too are slaves of the Master
and should pattern their attitude after the attitude that Jesus,
their Master, has for them. The implication is that they too
will be judged.

Now Paul does not denounce slavery as evil and try to begin
a revolution. He merely guides these two classes of people
in how to live orderly lives before God in the positions they
occupied. We know that Paul encouraged those who could
obtain their freedom to do so (I Corinthians 7:21) but did not
encourage rebellion. This would have created chaos in the

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church and in society, not order. Slavery was eventually
defeated as Christianity overtook the various social systems
of the Roman Empire.

So Paul adds one more feature to the Christian lifestyle,

ordered society, as seen in the relationship between free and
slave, or today as seen in the relationship between employer
and employee; manager and worker, etc.

Christians strive to maintain order in their working

relationships whatever position they hold, knowing that they
serve the Lord and will ultimately be judged by Him and not
man.

Conclusion and Greetings – 4:2-18

If they accept Christ and His teachings as the standard, then
their lives will reflect the fact that they live by this standard.
Their lives, as Paul has shown, will be holy, loving, thankful,
and will demonstrate ordered living in the home and society.

In the next verse (4:2) Paul will move seamlessly into the
final part of his letter which will include several words of
encouragement and the commendation of various workers.

Vs. 2-4 – Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in

it with an attitude of thanksgiving; praying at the same
time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door
for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery
of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; that I
may make it clear in the way I ought to speak.

He encourages them to continue giving thanks for their many

blessings but also to pray for him. He is in prison, various
individuals seek to destroy his work, there is still much to do,
and he faces a trial.

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He asks them to be devoted to prayer on his behalf and the
others who work with him so he will be able to preach to
others the good news who have not heard it yet. God is the
one who provides opportunity for Paul. He wants his ministry
to continue. Also, that he have the wisdom to defend himself
at the imperial court in Rome, as he awaited this in prison.

Much of his future ministry rested on the outcome of his

appearance at court. We know he was released for a while
(2 years) as I said in the introductory chapter, he spent the
time after his release revisiting and strengthening the
churches he had established in Crete, Ephesus, Corinth, etc.
(I.E. Titus 1:5). But at the writing of this letter he was unsure
of the future and the outcome of the trial and so he asks
them to pray for him.

Vs. 5-6 – Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward

outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. Let your
speech always be with grace, as though seasoned
with salt, so that you will know how you should
respond to each person.

In the context of him having to deal with pagans at court and

in prison, he turns the prayer request for himself around by
encouraging them to be careful how they communicate with
non-Christians.

He was in prison, fighting for his life, and yet despite these
obstacles he had been able to spread the gospel throughout
the prison in Rome (Philippians 1:13). He tells them that by
their good conduct (he has explained in previous chapters)
and careful speech (not foolish or coarse) but full of grace –
they too must take full advantage of every opportunity to
respond to outsiders concerning their faith.

Him being in prison might have driven them “underground”

but he tells them that with good conduct, careful and graceful

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speech, they can reach others for Christ as they witness for
their faith.

Vs. 7-9 – As to all my affairs, Tychicus, our beloved

brother and faithful servant and fellow bond-servant in
the Lord, will bring you information. For I have sent
him to you for this very purpose, that you may know
about our circumstances and that he may encourage
your hearts; and with him Onesimus, our faithful and
beloved brother, who is one of your number. They will
inform you about the whole situation here.

Now begin the greetings and commendations:

TYCHICUS

He was one of Paul’s personal representatives and the one

who carried the letters to Colossae and to Ephesus. He was
also dispatched to relieve Titus in Crete (Titus 3:12) and
Timothy at Ephesus (II Tim. 4:12). In this passage Paul
refers to him as beloved and faithful, and able to inform them
accurately of his situation. He was a trusted and useful
minister in the early church.

ONESIMUS

He was the runaway slave from Colossae who Paul

converted in prison. He was returning home, accompanying
Tychicus, and bringing a letter from Paul to his former
master, Philemon.

Vs. 10-11 – Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, sends you

his greetings; and also Barnabas’s cousin Mark (about
whom you received instructions; if he comes to you,
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welcome him); and also Jesus who is called Justus;
these are the only fellow workers for the kingdom of
God who are from the circumcision, and they have
proved to be an encouragement to me.

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Paul mentions three Jewish Christians who were working
with him and ministering to him while under house arrest in
Rome.

ARISTARCHUS

He was an early companion of Paul and we see him first as

one with the Apostle in Ephesus during the attack by the
mob (Acts 19:29). He accompanied Paul to Jerusalem with
the collection for the saints (Acts 20:4) and later we see him
again with Paul as he sailed under guard for Rome (Acts
27:2). It seems that he rejoined Paul as a voluntary prisoner
in order to minister to his needs (Col. 4:10).

JOHN MARK

Of course John Mark is a familiar character. His mother’s

(Mary) house was used by the Apostles in Jerusalem (Acts
12:12). He was brought to Antioch by his cousin Barnabas
and left on the first missionary journey with Paul and
Barnabas as their helper (Acts 13:5). He refused (for some
reason) to go into the mainland and returned to Jerusalem
(Acts 13:13). This later caused a dispute between Barnabas
and Paul when Barnabas wanted to bring him on another
missionary journey (Acts 15:38). Barnabas then took Mark
under his wing and went to work in a separate place
(Cyprus) while Paul along with Silas went on to work in Asia
Minor and Greece. We see by this mention of him in the
Colossian letter that Mark was reunited with Paul in the work
and highly regarded by him.

After Paul’s death we see further mention of him by Peter (I

Pet. 5:13) as Peter’s helper. Many scholars feel that the
gospel of Mark is Peter’s recounting of his own experience
and written out by Mark.

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JUSTUS

Not much is known about him other than this mention of him
in this letter.

Paul has spent much of this epistle refuting the false Jewish
teachers among them but quickly mentions three fellow
Christian Jews who are faithful and beloved, to show that
there are many brethren among the Jews who are faithful
and trustworthy.

EPAPHRAS

Vs. 12-13 – Epaphras, who is one of your number, a

bondslave of Jesus Christ, sends you his greetings,
always laboring earnestly for you in his prayers, that
you may stand perfect and fully assured in all the will
of God. For I testify for him that he has a deep
concern for you and for those who are in Laodicea
and Hierapolis.

A friend and co-worker of Paul. Many scholars believe he

was a different person than Epaphroditus mentioned in
Philippians 2:25 and 4:18. Epaphras worked as an
evangelist and helped in the establishment of the churches
in Colossae, Hierapolis and Laodicea.

Paul says he is from Colossae and was a man who prayed

fervently for them. Paul attests to the fact that Epaphras was
truly concerned (agonized) over their faith. He wanted them
to be fully assured that God wanted them to be saved and
secure in Christ – this is God’s will.

LUKE

Vs. 14 – Luke, the beloved physician, sends you his

greetings, and also Demas.

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Again, Paul only mentions Luke in passing, not because he
is unimportant but rather that he is finishing his letter and his
readers know about Luke. A companion and fellow traveler
with Paul and the author of the gospel of Luke and the book
of Acts. This is the only place where he is referred to as a
physician.

DEMAS

There are three references to Demas. Two say that he is a

fellow worker and sends greetings, and the final one in II
Tim. 4:10 which reveals that he finally abandoned Paul and
the work to return to worldly living. He was Paul’s secretary
and scribe for a time before his fall.

Final greetings and instructions then come in rapid

succession.

Vs. 15-18 – Greet the brethren who are in Laodicea

and also Nympha and the church that is in her house.
16
When this letter is read among you, have it also
read in the church of the Laodiceans; and you, for
your part read my letter that is coming from Laodicea.
17
Say to Archippus, “Take heed to the ministry which
you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it.”
18

 
 I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand.
Remember my imprisonment. Grace be with you.

Vs. 15 – Greetings to the church in Laodicea and a smaller

group meeting in the home of an individual.

Vs. 16 – Paul mentions another letter (to the Laodicians)

which he has written and sent, but this letter has not been
found. He instructs them to exchange letters with the
Colossians.

Vs. 17 – The only other reference to Archippus is in the letter

to Philemon – he was probably Philemon’s son. Epaphras

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had left the church in Colossae (where Archippus and
Philemon were) in order to go to Rome to minister to Paul. It
seems that Epaphras had left his ministry there in the hands
of Archippus. Paul exhorts him (like he does Timothy in I
Tim. 4:16) to not neglect that ministry but to work at it and be
diligent. In the end the ministry had really been given to him
by the Lord, not just by Epaphras or Paul.

Vs. 18 – Finally Paul signs with his own hand the letter
dictated to Demas as a proof of authenticity, and as a way of
sending his own personal greeting. He urges them to
remember his imprisonment and what it stands for and why
he is there: the glory of God and the gospel of Christ. He
finishes with a blessing that God’s grace (or favor) be upon
or with them.

And so with this blessing Paul ends the letter which puts
forth Christ and His teachings as the primary or pre-eminent
basis upon which:

• Knowledge of the true God is revealed

• Faith for salvation is based
• Direction for Christian living is established

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CHAPTER 12
CONCLUSION

This is our final chapter in the series on the book of

Colossians. I said when we began this study that the focal
point of this epistle was Jesus Christ. His supremacy/pre-
eminence is the “point” of this letter to the Colossians. Let
us, therefore, review this important theme.

The Supremacy / Preeminence of Christ -

1:15-20

Background Review
In writing to the Colossian brethren, Paul describes the
supremacy of Christ to a church who had begun to drift away
from the faith. False teachers had crept in and began
teaching a gospel that mixed together Greek philosophical
ideas, pagan cultic practices (worship of angels), Jewish
religious traditions along with the teachings of Christianity.
These men blended all of these components into a “new”
gospel which, they claimed, would give people a more
dynamic spiritual experience.

Instead of faith practiced in loving obedience as Jesus had

taught, they promoted a strict form of asceticism (denial of
certain foods, vows of celibacy, etc.) telling their followers
that this would provide the spiritual power needed to gain the
salvation they wanted. This type of teaching and practice
was clearly in opposition to the gospel and so in response to
these heresies, Paul puts forth two main ideas in his epistle
to the Colossian church:

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It is Jesus Who is Supreme and Preeminent
It is not these teachers, not their new methods nor any
person who is superior, only Christ.

Vs. 15-18 – He is the image of the invisible God, the

16
firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were
created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and
invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or
authorities--all things have been created through Him
17
and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all
18
things hold together. He is also head of the body,
the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from
the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first
place in everything.

In stating this fact, Paul describes 7 areas of Jesus’

supremacy:

1. He is the Supreme Spirit – vs. 15a

As the image of God, He is God – no other spirit invented by

man is His equal.

2. He Holds the Supreme Position – vs. 15b

No created thing is before Him in time or position.

3. He is the Supreme Authority – vs. 16a

Every level of creation from the unseen particles to the

greatest king or leader is subject to His authority. Not only is
His authority greater, but every other authority is in service to
His.

4. He is the Supreme Reason for Existence – vs. 16b

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He is the answer to every great question and the end of
every search.

5. He is the Supreme Power – vs. 17

It is by His energy that the physical world continues to exist.

Not gravity, not black holes, not exploding galaxies – HE is
the power source for all existing things.

6. He is the Supreme Head of Organized Religion on

Earth – vs. 18a

Only Jesus, by virtue of His supremacy, has a right to be

worshipped as God. He and only He is the true religious and
spiritual head – all others are pretenders and false prophets.

7. He is the Supreme Leader of the Eternal Kingdom of

Heaven – vs. 18b

In the spiritual world He is the leader of the angels and spirit

beings that were created before us as well as the supreme
leader of those who have joined them from the earthly realm.
In the kingdom of heaven, Jesus is the Lord of all forever.

After establishing Jesus’ supreme position in all of these

areas, Paul explains one other important fact about Jesus
that they need to be reminded of.

Jesus, The Supreme Lord, Sacrificed Himself for

Them
Vs. 19-20 – For it was the Father's good pleasure for
all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to
reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace
through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say,
whether things on earth or things in heaven.

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Paul’s point here is: who needs human philosophy, cultural
rituals or human effort when the Supreme Lord has
personally undertaken the task of saving those who were
condemned to death by sin? No amount of human wisdom
and effort could accomplish what the Supreme Lord had
accomplished for them, and for us!

Exhortation
Paul finishes this section by reminding them of three things.
If they accept what he has taught them, then they need to:

1. Remember the Way They Were Saved

Vs. 21-22 – And although you were formerly alienated
and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has
now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death,
in order to present you before Him holy and blameless
and beyond reproach.

He explains that their sins against God are what made them
guilty and subject to condemnation and punishment in hell.
But, he goes on to say, it was the blood of Jesus, the
Supreme One, that washed away their guilt, that made them
pure before God. The cross, the blood, the sacrifice of Jesus
– this is what makes them pure beyond the reach of Satan
and acceptable to God; not self-sacrifice, self-denial or the
learning of mysteries.

2. Remember to Remain Faithful

Vs. 23a – If indeed you continue in the faith firmly
established and steadfast,

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Note that he says, “if” – this is a condition. God’s grace is
free, we cannot buy it, earn it, sell it, or obtain it based on our
conditions. We cannot produce it or force Him to give it to us
based on our effort, wisdom or actions. God sets the
condition for grace, He establishes the one criterion for its
procurement – and that one condition is faith. You can only
obtain this wonderful soul cleansing grace through faith, and
that faith is expressed according to His will and purpose.

God's grace is free but it is not given to scoffers,

disbelievers and the disobedient.

If it was, then sinners and disbelievers like Herod and Hitler

and Stalin would be with Christ this very moment even
though they hated Him and His church during their lifetime.
No, grace is extended to those who have faith and in
Colossians 2:11-12 Paul further explains that faith in Christ is
properly expressed in baptism.

Vs. 11-12 – and in Him you were also circumcised

with a circumcision made without hands, in the
removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of
Christ; having been buried with Him in baptism, in
which you were also raised up with Him through faith
in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.

In Colossians Paul is simply repeating what Peter explained

to the Jews in Jerusalem on Pentecost Sunday:

Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the

heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles,
"Brethren, what shall we do?" Peter said to them,
"Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of
Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you
will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
 
 - Acts 2:37-38

The Pilgrim gate had pools of water nearby that could

accommodate up to 500 people at a time. Pilgrims visiting

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Jerusalem would use the pools to cleanse themselves before
entering the Holy City. This is where 3000 would have easily
obeyed the gospel as 12 men baptized this many in just a
few hours. And so Paul reminds them to remain faithful,
assured that the grace of God to remove all of their sins was
applied completely when they called on the name of Jesus in
repentance and baptism.

3. Remember the Truth – vs. 23b

The danger here was that with their false teachings, these
men were moving them away from Christ because Christ is
one with His gospel. To deny one is to deny the other.

So Paul tells them to remember:

1. Christ as the only Supreme One

2. His cross as the only way to forgiveness and perfection
3. His gospel as the only true message of hope

If they did this, the Supreme Lord Jesus would remain their
personal Savior and Lord forever.

As we close out the end of this study I encourage all of us

here with the same encouragement of Paul:

1. Hold on to Christ

He is the Supreme Lord of all persons, dominions, worlds,

events; HE is the Lord. Whether there are wars, climate
changes, economic upheavals, or personal tragedies, He is
the Supreme Lord. Jesus will save you, sustain you and
surround you with His love forever. Hold on to Him!

2. Hold on to the Cross of Christ

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There will be all kinds of new prophets, new teachings, new
promises… No matter what, hold on to the cross of Jesus.
When you feel you are unworthy or afraid all is lost. Hold on
to the cross of Jesus as the one act in all of history that will
serve to save you and keep you saved forever.

3. Hold on to the Gospel of Christ

Technology changes and society changes, but people are

the same today as the day Adam sinned. God preached the
gospel to Adam because it was the answer to his problem of
sin and it remains the answer to sinful man today. Let us not
change the gospel or be ashamed of it – let us instead take
every advantage that technology has given us to proclaim
the glorious gospel to every sinner on earth!

4. Hold on to Each Other in Christ

The world is filled with unbelievers and scoffers, evil men

and women who are Satan’s willing servants. Because of
this Christians need each other!

Let’s not hurt each other, let’s forgive and be kind to those
for whom Christ died, and within whom the Holy Spirit
resides. Let’s make the loving of each other our main priority
in the church. This will be pleasing to the Lord Jesus and
promote the best witness of our faith in Him.

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