The Book of Colossians:
The church of the Colossians was a young church that was being infiltrated by people that who challenged the church about the supremacy of Christ Jesus. Paul was visited by a friend of the church named Epaphras while the apostle was under house arrest. Paul sends a letter to address good things their church was doing right. This was his third epistle.
To bring it into an accurate timeline, Paul wrote this letter, (along with his disciple Timothy), in 62 A.D., simultaneously as the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke were in circulation.
He sent it to the church in Colossae – located 100 miles inland from the port city of Ephesus, in the region of modern-day Turkey. It is thought that when Paul was ministering in Ephesus in 52 – 55 A.D., there was a Colossian in attendance who became a convert by the name of Epaphras, who returned to the city of Colossae, motivated to establish a church.
Later, Epaphras visited Paul during the apostle’s house arrest, bringing him a concern about a person(s) in the church of Colossians who presented himself as some ‘spiritual guru,’ who was trying to convince the congregants to turn to his own brand of ‘doctored’ gospel (read: false teaching).
Paul responds by writing a letter to the church that distinguishes the love and truth of God versus the oppositional lies of self-serving men (who are usually driven demonically, because Satan doesn’t want anyone to be saved.
He begins by exhorting most of the church for their great faith:
We always pray for you, and we give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all of God’s people, which come from your confident hope of what God has reserved for you in heaven. Col. 1:3 NLT
You learned about the Good News from Epaphras, our beloved co-worker. He is Christ’s faithful servant, and he is helping us on your behalf. He has told us about the love for others that the Holy Spirit has given you. Col. 1:7, 8. NLT
We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please God the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better. Col. 1:9, 10. NLT
Thus, to walk like God, we must know God; and we know Him by delving progressively deeper into His word.
The exact nature of the ‘false teachings’ being foisted upon the Colossians is not revealed. However, we can deduce that they take away from the divine nature and purpose of the Father and the Son, because Paul jumps right into reaffirming those very things:
For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins. Col. 1:13, 14. NLT
It is the blood of Jesus that broke the devil’s hold over us – granting amnesty from our old worldly selves and ushered us into Christ’s Kingdom.
Paul Presses on, clarifying the preeminence of our Savior – first, over all creation:
Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see – such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him.
He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together. Col. 1:15 – 17. NLT
Jesus is the animated visible essence of Jehovah, drawn into existence before space and time from God’s quintessence, and He is integrated into His Father, to become Jehovah’s creative vehicle for His universal designs – both in the material universe and in the spiritual realm.
Everything was made for Christ. He has dominion over all things, even the universe itself, and their continuing existence is dependent upon His power.
Christ also holds ultimate eminence as head of the church:
Christ is also head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything. For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. Col. 1:18 – 20. NLT
There were others who were raised from the dead, both by the prophets and Jesus Himself. Eventually though, they all went on to die again. Christ is the firstborn of any who died and was resurrected to eternal life; and He was bestowed the power for the resurrection of the dead.
How so? Because Jehovah invested all of Himself, to live in His Son, to reconcile all humankind that accepted Christ as their Savior, through His sacrifice on the cross.
Jesus is the centerpiece and the ultimate authority of the church. He is the reflection of the will of God, and the instrument of our reconciliation with our Creator. Paul next reminds the Colossians of their reconciliation. And He is still at work today – cleansing you, making you presentable before God. Your part is to bring your faith:
This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.
But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News. The Good News has been preached all over the world, and I, Paul, have been appointed as God’s servant to proclaim it. Col. 1:21 – 23. NLT
God did not only offer this gift for ‘special’ people; it is now freely available for everyone:
This message was kept secret (as a ‘mystery’) for centuries and generations past, but now it has been revealed to God’s people. For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.
So we tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God perfect in their relationship to Christ. Col. 1:26 – 28. NLT
The ‘mystery’ revealed, is that salvation is now available for all people, not only the Jewish converts. The revelation states that Christ is ready to live in you now. And, that it is imperative for God’s children to share that message with as many lost souls as possible, because there will be no salvation available at the end of time for those who have heard the Gospel and rejected it.
We can be encouraged and equipped for this task by learning and remembering the truth of our omnipotent, omniscient Jesus – especially by the efforts of those who carried the torch before us, e.g., the apostle Paul:
I want you to know how much I have agonized for you…and for many other believers who have never met me personally. I want them to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love.
I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ himself. In him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Col 2:1 – 3. NLT
Now, Paul shifts his Holy Spirit-inspired narrative to the problem of the false teachers within the church of Colossae:
I am telling you this so no one will deceive you with well-crafted arguments. Col. 2:4 NLT
And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. Col. 2:6, 7. NLT
When we do that, we can resist the lies of the demonic fiction-slingers who would distort and minimize the Son of God:
Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ.
For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority. Col. 2:8 – 10. NLT
As we better understand the sovereignty of Jesus, we will better appreciate His supreme transformation that He bestows upon those who come to Him:
When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision – the cutting away of your sinful nature. For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead.
You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of charges against us and took it away by nailing it on the cross. Col. 2:11 – 14. NLT
Followers of Christ are not required to submit themselves to rituals of the flesh, e.g., physical circumcision. What we need to offer ourselves up to is Christ’s spiritual circumcision of our hearts, as He prepares us to be vessels to receive Him by faith.
Furthermore, Jesus’ work on the cross also constituted a spiritual victory over the darkness in this world on our behalf:
In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross. Col. 2:15 NLT
Satan has no claim on the children of God, nor do the devil’s followers, who try to disenfranchise the faith of the saints:
Don’t let anyone condemn you by insisting on pious self-denial or the worship of angels, saying they have had visions about these things. Their sinful minds have made them proud, and they are not connected to Christ, the head of the body. For he holds the whole body together with its joins and ligaments, and it grows as God nourishes it. Col. 2:18, 19. NLT
We are no longer slaves to ancient Hebrew rituals, nor do we ever worship angels, punish our flesh, or acquiesce to anything designated by humankind, with regards to spiritual growth. Christ is our only teacher in that respect.
If we latch onto what the Holy Spirit is teaching us and own it, we can be warriors of faith – impervious to the lies of false teachers and preachers:
Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.
For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.
So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. Col. 3:1 – 5. NLT
So as not to share the fate of the worldly, we must shake off their behaviors that we may be holding onto:
Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming. You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world. But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds.
Put on your new nature and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. Col. 3:6 – 10. NLT
Therefore, we stay focused on godly things, turning away from our old selves and living as a model of Jesus:
Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.
Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.
Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father. Col. 3:12 – 17. NLT
Finally, Paul instructs us in how to share all this wonder with unbelievers:
Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone. Col. 4:4, 6. NLT
You, a child of God, are the expert on Jehovah and His salvation through Christ. You are a facilitator of His salvation. You are a purveyor of the word of God. Look unbelievers straight, but kindly, in the eyes and boldly claim, “With regards to all things spiritual, if it’s not in the Bible, it’s not the truth.”
Amen.
Goodnight and God bless.