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Colossians Chapter One
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REMOVE the head coach, and the team flounders;
break the fuel line, and the car won't run; unplugged, the electrical appliance
has no power; without the head, the body dies. Whether for leadership, power, or
life, connections are vital!
Colossians is a book of connections. Writing from prison in Rome, Paul
combated false teachings, which had infiltrated the Colossians church. The
problem was "syncretism," combining ideas from other philosophies and religions
(such as paganism, strains of Judaism, and Greek thought) with Christian truth.
The resulting heresy later became known as "Gnosticism," emphasizing special
knowledge (gnosis in Greek) and denying Christ as God and Savior. To
combat this devious error, Paul stressed Christ's deity-his connection with the
Father-and his sacrificial death on the cross for sin. Only by being connected
with Christ through faith can anyone have eternal life and only through a
continuing connection with him can anyone have power for living. Christ is God
incarnate and the only way to forgiveness and peace with God the Father.
Paul also emphasized believer's connections with each other as Christ's body on
earth.
Paul's introduction to the Colossians includes a greeting, a note of
thanksgiving, and a prayer for spiritual wisdom and strength for these brothers
and sisters in Christ (1:1-12). He then moves into a doctrinal discussion of the
person and work of Christ (1:13-23), stating that Christ is the "image of the
invisible God" (1:15), the Creator (1:16), the "head of the body, the church"
(1:18), and the "beginning and the first-born from among the dead" (1:18). His
death on the cross makes it possible for us to stand in the presence of God
(1:22).
Paul then explains how the world's teachings are totally empty when compared
with God's plan, and he challenges the Colossians to reject shallow answers and
to live in union with Christ (1:24-2:23).
Against this theological backdrop, Paul turns to practical
considerations-what the divinity, death, and resurrection of Jesus should mean
to all believers (3:1-4:6). Because our eternal destiny is sure, heaven should
fill our thoughts (3:1-4), sexual impurity and other worldly lusts should not be
named among us (3:5-8), and truth, love, and peace should mark our lives
(3:9-15). Our love for Christ should also translate into love for
others-friends, fellow believers, spouses, children, parents, slaves, and
masters (3:16-4:1). We should constantly communicate with God through prayer
(4:2-4), and we should take every opportunity to tell others the Good News (4:5,
6). In Christ we have everything we need for salvation and for living the
Christian life.
Paul had probably never visited Colosse, so he concludes this letter with
personal comments about their common Christian associations, providing a living
lesson of the connectedness of the body of Christ.
Read Colossian as a book for an embattled church in the first century, but
read it also for its timeless truths. Gain a fresh appreciation for Christ as
the fullness of God and the only source for living the Christian
life. Know that he is your leader, head, and power source, and make sure of your
connection to him.
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Vital Statistics
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Purpose:
To combat errors in the church and to show that believers have
everything they need in Christ.
Author:
Paul
To Whom Written:
The church at Colosse, a city in Asia Minor, and all believers
everywhere
Date Written:
About A.D. 60, during Paul's imprisonment in Rome
Setting:
Paul had never visited Colosse-evidently the church had been founded by
Epaphras and other converts from Paul's missionary travels. The church, however,
had been infiltrated by religious relativism, with some believers attempting to
combine elements of paganism and secular philosophy with Christian doctrine.
Paul confronts these false teachings and affirms the sufficiently of Christ.
Key Verses:
"For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and
you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and
authority" (2:9, 10).
Key Places:
Colosse, Laodicea (4:15, 16)
Special Features:
Christ is presented as having absolute supremacy and sufficiency.
Colossians has similarities to Ephesians, probably because it was written at
about the same time, but it has a different emphasis.
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The Blueprint
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1) What Christ has done (1:1-2:23)
2) What Christians should do (3:1-4:18)
In this letter Paul clearly teaches that Christ
has paid for sin, that Christ has reconciled us to God, and that Christ gives us
the pattern and the power to grow spiritually. Because Christ is the exact
likeness of God, when we learn what he is like, we see what we need to become.
Since Christ is Lord over all creation, we should crown him Lord over our lives.
Since Christ is the head of the body, his church, we should nurture our vital
connection to him.
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Megathemes
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Theme:
Christ is Lord
Explanation:
Jesus Christ is God in the flesh, Lord of all creation, and Lord of the
new creation. He is the expressed reflection of the invisible God. He is
eternal, preexistent, omnipotent, equal with the Father. He is supreme and
complete.
Importance:
Because Christ is supreme, our lives must be Christ centered. To
recognize him as God means to regard our relationship with him as most vital and
to make his interests our top priority.
Theme:
Christ is head of the church
Explanation:
Because Christ is God, he is the head of the church, his true believers.
Christ is the founder, the leader, and the highest authority on earth. He
requires first place in all our thoughts and activities.
Importance:
To acknowledge Christ as our head, we must welcome his leadership in all
we do or think. No person, group, or church can regard any loyalty as more
critical than that of loyalty to Christ.
Theme:
Union with Christ
Explanation:
Because our sin has been forgiven and we have been reconciled to God, we
have a union with Christ that can never be broken. In our faith connection with
him, we identify with his death, burial, and resurrection.
Importance:
We should live in constant contact and communication with God. When we
do, we all will be unified with Christ and with one another.
Theme:
Man-made religion
Explanation:
False teachers were promoting a heresy that stressed self-made rules
(legalism). They also sought spiritual growth by discipline of the body
(asceticism) and visions (mysticism). This search created pride in their
self-centered efforts.
Importance:
We must not cling to our own ideas and try to blend them into
Christianity. Nor should we let our hunger for a more fulfilling Christian
experience cause us to trust in a teacher, a group, or a system of thought more
than in Christ himself. Christ is our hope and our true source of wisdom.
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Paul's Profile
No person, apart from Jesus himself, shaped
the history of Christianity like the apostle Paul. Even before he was a
believer, his actions were significant. His frenzied persecution of Christians
following Stephen's death got the church started in obeying Christ's final
command to take the gospel worldwide. Paul's personal encounter with Jesus
changed his life. He never lost his fierce intensity, but from then on it was
channeled for the gospel.
Paul was very religious. His training under Gamaliel was the finest
available. His intentions and efforts were sincere. He was a good Pharisee, who
knew the Bible and sincerely believed that this Christian movement was dangerous
to Judaism. Thus Paul hasted the Christian faith and persecuted Christians
without mercy.
Paul got permission to travel to Damascus to capture Christians and bring
them back to Jerusalem. But God stopped him in his hurried tracks on the
Damascus road. Paul personally met Jesus Christ, and his life was never again
the same.
Until Paul's conversion, little had been done about carrying the gospel to
non-Jews. Philip had preached in Samaria and to an Ethiopian man; Cornelius, a
Gentile, was converted under Peter, and in Antioch in Syria, some Greeks had
joined the believers. When Barnabas was sent from Jerusalem to check on this
situation, he went to Tarsus to find Paul and bring him to Antioch, and together
they worked among the believers there. They were then sent on a missionary
journey, the first of three Paul would take, that would carry the gospel across
the Roman empire.
The thorny issue of whether Gentile believers had to obey Jewish laws before
they could become Christians caused many problems in the early church. Paul
worked hard to convince the Jews that Gentiles were acceptable to God, but he
spent even more time convincing the Gentiles that they were acceptable to God.
The lives Paul touched were changed and challenged by meeting Christ through
him.
God did not waste any part of Paul-his background, his training, his
citizenship, his mind, or even his weaknesses. Are you willing to let God do the
same for you? You will never know all he can do with you until you allow him to
have all that you are!
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Paul's Strengths and Accomplishments
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1) Transformed by God from a persecutor of
Christians to a preacher for Christ
2) Preached for Christ throughout the Roman empire on three missionary journeys
3) Wrote letters to various churches, which became part of the New Testament
4) Was never afraid to face an issue head-on and deal with it
5) Was sensitive to God's leading and, despite his strong personality, always
did as God directed
6) Is often called the apostle to the Gentiles
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Paul's Weaknesses and Mistakes
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1) Witnessed and approved of Stephen's stoning
2) Set out to destroy Christianity by persecuting Christians
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Lessons from Paul's Life
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1) The Good News is that forgiveness and eternal
life are a gift of God's grace received through faith in Christ and available to
all people
2) Obedience results from a relationship with God, but obedience will never
create or earn that relationship
3) Real freedom doesn't come until we no longer have to prove our freedom
4) God does not waste our time-he will use our past and present so we may serve
him with our future
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Paul's Vital Statistics
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1) Where: Born in Tarsus, but became a world
traveler for Christ
2) Occupation: Trained as a Pharisee, learned the tent making trade, served as a
missionary
3) Contemporaries: Gamaliel, Stephen, the apostles, Luke, Barnabas, Timothy
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Key Verses
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"For to me, to live is Christ and to die gain. If
I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what
shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and
be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I
remain in the body" (Philippians 1:21-24).
Paul's story is told in Acts 7:58-28:31 and
through his New Testament letters.
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(1) What Christ has Done
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1) How did Paul become an apostle of Christ
Jesus, to whom did Paul write this letter, and what did Paul say was from God
our Father.
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Colossians, along with Philippians, Ephesians,
and Philemon, is called a Prison Letter because Paul wrote it from prison
in Rome. This prison was actually a house where Paul was kept under close guard
at all times (probably chained to a soldier) but given certain freedoms not
offered to most prisoners. He was allowed to write letters and to see any
visitors he wanted to see.
Paul was an apostle "by the will of God." Paul often would establish his
credentials as chosen and sent by God because he had not been one of the
original 12 disciples. Apostle means chosen and sent by God as a
missionary or ambassador. By the will of God means that he was appointed;
this was not just a matter of his own personal aspirations.
The city of Colosse was 100 miles east of Ephesus on the Lycus River. It was
not as influential as the nearby city of Laodicea, but as a trading center it
was a crossroads for ideas and religions. Colosse had a large Jewish
population-many Jews had fled there when they were forced out of Jerusalem under
the persecution of Antiochus III and IV, almost 200 years before Christ. The
church in Colosse had been founded by Epaphras (1:7), one of Paul's converts.
Paul had not yet visited this church. His purpose in writing was to refute
heretical teachings about Christ that had been causing confusion among the
Christians there.
Letters in Paul's day frequently would begin with identifying the writer and
the readers, followed by a greeting of peace. Paul usually would add Christian
elements to his greetings, reminding his readers of his call by God to spread
the gospel, emphasizing that the authority for his words came from God, and
giving thanks for God's blessing.
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Thanksgiving and Prayer
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2) For what reason did Paul say they always
thank God for the church in Colosse when they prayed, what does the faith and
love spring from, what did they already hear about in the word of truth, what is
this gospel doing all over the world, and how long has it been bearing fruit and
growing?
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Paul addresses his thanksgiving to God, thus
recognizing that he is the one ultimately responsible for the virtues and graces
of his people and for the success of the Gospel-both of which are mentioned in
the verses that follow. God is identified as "the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ." The God to whom we pray is the God whom Jesus Christ made known to us
as our Father. (NIV Bible Commentary, Zondervan Publishers)
Throughout this letter Paul combats a heresy similar to Gnosticism.
Gnostics believed that it took special knowledge to be accepted by God; for
them, even for those who claimed to be Christians, Christ alone was not the way
of salvation (1:20). In his introductory comments, therefore, Paul commended
the Colossians for their faith, love, and hope-three main emphases of
Christianity (1Corinthians 13:13). He deliberately omitted the word knowledge
because of the "special knowledge" aspect of the heresy. It is not what
we know that brings salvation, but whom we know. Knowing Christ is
knowing God.
When Paul says that our hope is stored up in heaven, he is emphasizing the
security of the believer. Because we know that our future destination and
salvation are sure, we are free to live for Christ and love others (1Peter 1:3,
4). When you find yourself doubting or wavering in your faith or love, remember
your destination-heaven.
Wherever Paul went, he preached the gospel-to Gentile audiences, to hostile
Jewish leaders, and even to his Roman guards. Whenever people believed in the
message that Paul spoke, they were changed. God's Word is not just for our
information, it is for our transformation! Becoming a Christian means beginning
a whole new relationship with God, not just turning over a new leaf or
determining to do right. New believers have a changed purpose, direction,
attitudes, and behavior. They are no longer seeking to serve themselves, but
they are bearing fruit for God. How is the gospel reaching others through your
life?
3) Whom did the church at Colosse learn the
gospel from, and what did Epaphras tell Paul about the church in Colosse?
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Epaphras had founded the church at Colosse
while Paul was living in Ephesus (Acts 19:10). Epaphras may have been converted
in Ephesus, and then he returned to Colosse, his hometown. For some reason, he
visited Rome and, while there, told Paul about the problems with the Colossian
heresy. This prompted Paul to write this letter. Epaphras is also mentioned in
Philemon 23 (the Colossian church met in Philemon's house).
Because of their love for one another, Christians can have an impact that
goes far beyond their neighborhoods and communities. Christian love comes from
the Holy Spirit (see Galatians 5:22). The Bible speaks of it as an action and an
attitude, not just an emotion. Love is a by-product of our new life in Christ
(see Romans 5:5; 1Corinthians 13). Christians have no excuse for not loving,
because Christian love is a decision to act in the best interest of
others.
4) What did Paul say they ask God to fill the
church with, for what reason did Paul say they pray this, in what does Paul pray
they will bear fruit, of whom does he pray they will grow in the knowledge, for
what reason does Paul pray that they will be strengthened with all power
according to his (Jesus's) glorious might, and in what did Paul say God has
qualified you to share?
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Paul was exposing a heresy in the Colossian
church that was similar to Gnosticism. Gnostics valued the accumulation
of knowledge, but Paul pointed out that knowledge in itself is empty. To be
worth anything, it must lead to a changed life and right living. His prayers for
the Colossians has two dimensions: (1) that they might be filled with the
knowledge of God's will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding, and (2)
that they would bear fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God.
Knowledge is not merely to be accumulated; it should give us direction for
living. Paul wanted the Colossians to be wise, but he also wanted them to use
their knowledge. Knowledge of God is not a secret that only a few can discover,
it is open to everyone. God wants us to learn more about him, and also to put
belief into practice by helping others.
Sometimes we wonder how to pray for missionaries and other leaders we have
never met. Paul had never met the Colossians, but he faithfully prayed for them.
His prayers teach us how to pray for others, whether we know them or not. We can
request that they (1) understand God's will, (2) gain spiritual wisdom, (3)
please and honor God, (4) bear good fruit, (5) grow in the knowledge of God, (6)
be filled with God's strength, (7) have great endurance and patience, (8) stay
full of Christ's joy, and (9) give thanks always. All believers have these same
basic needs. When you don't know how to pray for someone, use Paul's prayer
pattern for the Colossians.
5) From where has God rescued us, where has
God brought us, and what do we have in Christ?
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Paul list's five benefits God gives all
believers through Christ: (1) he made us qualified to share his inheritance (see
also 2Corinthians 5:21); (2) he rescued us from Satan's dominion of darkness and
made us his children (see also 2:15); (3) he brought us into his eternal kingdom
(see also Ephesians 1:5, 6): (4) he redeemed us-bought our freedom from sin and
judgment (see also Hebrews 9:12); and (5) he forgave all our sins (see also
Ephesians 1:7) Thank God for what you have received in Christ.
The Colossians feared the unseen forces of darkness, but Paul says that true
believers have been transferred from the darkness to light, from slavery to
freedom, from guilt to forgiveness, and from the power of Satan to the power of
God. We have been rescued from a rebel kingdom to serve the rightful King. Our
conduct should reflect our new allegiance.
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The Supremacy of Christ
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6) Of whom is Jesus the image, over what is
Jesus the firstborn, how were all things created, and what was created by him
and for him?
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This is one of the strongest statements about
the divine nature of Christ found anywhere in the Bible. Jesus is not only equal
to God (Philippians 2:6), he is God (John 10:30, 38; 12:45; 14:1-11); as
the image of the invisible God, he is the exact representation of God. He not
only reflects God, but he reveals God to us (John 1:18; 14:9); as the firstborn
born over all creation, he has all the priority and authority of the first born
prince in a king's household. He came from heaven, not from the dust of the
earth (1Corinthians 15:47), and he is Lord of all (Romans 9:5; 10:11-13;
Revelation 1:5; 17:14). He is completely holy (Hebrews 7:26-28; 1Peter 1:19;
2:22; 1John 3:5), and he has authority to judge the world (Romans 2:16;
2Corinthians 5:10; 2Timothy 4:1). Therefore, Christ is supreme over all
creation, including the spirit world. We, like the Colossians believers, must
believe in the deity of Jesus Christ (that Jesus is God) or our Christian faith
is hollow, misdirected, and meaningless. This is a central truth of
Christianity. We must oppose those who say that Jesus was merely a prophet or a
good teacher.
Because the false teachers believed that the physical world was evil, they
thought that God himself could not have created it. If Christ were God, they
reasoned, he would be in charge only of the spiritual world. But Paul explained
that the rulers, powers, thrones, and authorities of both spiritual and physical
worlds were created by and are under the authority of Christ himself. This
includes not only the government but also the spiritual world that the heretics
were so concerned about. Christ has no equal and no rival. He is the Lord of
all.
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The Colossians Heresy
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Paul answered the various tenets of
the Colossian heresy that threatened the church. This heresy was a "mixed bag,"
containing elements from several different heresies, some of which contradicted
each other.
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The Heresy:
Spirit is good; matter is evil.
Reference:
1:15-20
Paul's Answer:
God created heaven and earth for his glory.
The Heresy:
One must follow ceremonies, rituals and restrictions in order to be
saved or perfected.
Reference:
2:11, 16-23; 3:11
Paul's Answer:
These were only shadows that ended when Christ came. He is all you need
to be saved.
The Heresy:
One must deny the body and live in strict asceticism.
Reference:
2:20-23
Paul's Answer:
Asceticism is no help in conquering evil thoughts and desires; instead,
it leads to pride.
The Heresy:
Angels must be worshiped.
Reference:
2:18
Paul's answer:
Angels are not to be worshiped; Christ alone is worthy of worship.
The Heresy:
Christ could not be both human and divine.
Reference:
1:15-20; 2:2, 3
Paul's Answer:
Christ is God in the flesh; he is the eternal One, head of the body,
first in everything, supreme.
The Heresy:
One must obtain "secret knowledge" in order to be saved or perfected-and
this was not available to everyone.
Reference:
2:2, 18
Paul's Answer:
God's secret is Christ, and he has been revealed to all.
The Heresy:
One must adhere to human wisdom, tradition, and philosophies.
Reference:
2:4, 8-10; 3:15-17
Paul's answer:
By themselves, these can be misleading and shallow because they have
human origin; instead, we should remember what Christ taught and follow his
words as our ultimate authority.
The Heresy:
It is better to combine aspects of several religions.
Reference:
2:10
Paul's Answer:
You have everything when you have Christ; he is all-sufficient.
The Heresy:
There is nothing wrong with immorality.
Reference:
3:1-11
Paul's Answer:
Get rid of sin and evil because you have been chosen by God to live a
new life as a representative of the Lord Jesus.
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7) Who did Paul say Jesus is before,
how are all things held together, whom is Jesus the head of, and
why is Jesus the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead?
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God is not only the Creator of the world, but
he is also its Sustainer. In him, everything is held together, protected, and
prevented from disintegrating into chaos. Because Christ is the sustainer of all
life, none of us is independent from him. We are all his servants who must daily
trust him for protecting us, caring for us, and sustaining us.
God is not only the creator of the world, but he is also the Sustainer.
In him, everything is held together, protected, and prevented from
disintegrating into chaos. Because Christ is the Sustainer of all life, none of
us is independent from him. We are all his servants who must daily trust him for
protecting us, caring for us, and sustaining us.
Christ is the "firstborn from among the dead." Jesus was raised from death,
and his resurrection proves his lordship over the material world. All who trust
in Christ will also defeat death and rise again to live eternally with him
(1Corinthians 15:20; 1Thessalonians 4:14). Because of Christ's death on the
cross, he has been exalted and elevated to the status that was rightfully his
(see Philippians 2:5-11). Because Christ is spiritually supreme in the universe,
surely we should give him first place in all our thoughts and activities.
8) What was God pleased to have, why was God
pleased to have all his (Jesus) fullness dwell through him, and how did Jesus
reconcile himself to all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven?
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By this statement, Paul was refuting the
Greek idea that Jesus could not be human and divine at the same time. Christ is
fully human; he is also fully divine. Christ has always been God and always will
be God. When we have Christ we have all of God in human form. Don't diminish any
aspect of Christ-either his humanity or his divinity.
Christ's death provided a way for all people to come to God. It cleared away
the sin that keeps us from having a right relationship with our Creator. This
does not mean that everyone has been saved, but that the way has been cleared
for anyone who will trust Christ to be saved. We can have peace with God and be
reconciled to him by accepting Christ, who died in our place. Is there a
distance between you and the Creator? Be reconciled to God. Come to him through
Christ.
9) For what reason were you once alienated
from God and were enemies in your mind, how did Jesus reconciled you, how can
you be presented holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation,
and where has this gospel been proclaimed?
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Because we were alienated from God, we were
strangers to his way of thinking and were "enemies in our minds." Sin corrupted
our way of thinking about God. Wrong thinking leads to sin, which further
perverts and destroys our thoughts about him. When we were out of harmony with
God, our natural condition was to be totally hostile to his standards.
No one is good enough to save himself or herself. If we want to live
eternally with Christ, we must depend totally on God's grace. This is true
whether we have been murders or honest, hardworking citizens. We have all sinned
repeatedly, and any sin is enough to cause us to come to Jesus Christ for
salvation and eternal life. Apart from Christ, there is no way for our sin to be
forgiven and removed.
In order to answer the accusation that Jesus was only a spirit and not a
true human being, Paul explained that Jesus' physical body actually died. Jesus
suffered death fully as a human so that we could be assured that he died in our
place. Jesus faced death as God so we can be assured that his sacrifice was
completed and that he truly removed our sin.
The way to be free from sin is to trust Jesus Christ to take it away. We
must remain "established and firm" in the truth of the gospel, putting our
confidence in Jesus alone to forgive our sins, to make us right with God, and to
empower us to live the way he desires. When a judge in a court of law declares
the defendant not guilty, the person has been acquitted of all the accusations
or charges. Legally, it is as if he or she had never been accused. When God
forgives our sins, our record is wiped clean. From his perspective, it is as
though we had never sinned. God's solution is available to you. No matter what
you have done or what you have been like, God's forgiveness is for you.
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Paul's Labor for the Church
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10) In what did Paul say he rejoices, what did
Paul say he fills up in his flesh, and who is Christ's body?
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When Paul says, "I fill up in my flesh
what is still lacking in regard of Christ's afflictions," he does not mean that
Christ's suffering was inadequate to save him, nor does he mean that there is a
predetermined amount of suffering that must be paid by all believers. Paul could
be saying that suffering is unavoidable in bringing the Good News of Christ to
the world. It is called Christ's suffering, because all Christians are related
to Christ. When we suffer, Christ feels it with us. But this suffering can be
endured joyfully because it changes lives and brings people into God's kingdom
(see 1Peter 4:1, 2, 12-19).
11) What mystery has been kept hidden for ages
and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints, and what has God chosen to
make known among the Gentiles?
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The false teachers in the Colossian
church believed that spiritual perfection was a secret and hidden plan that only
a few privileged people could discover. Their secret plan was meant to be
exclusive. Paul said that he was proclaiming the word of God in its fullness,
not just a part of the plan. He also called God's plan a "mystery that has been
kept hidden for ages and generations," not in the sense that only a few would
understand, but because it was hidden until Christ came. Through Christ it was
made open to all. God's secret plan is "Christ in you, the hope of glory"-God
planned to have his Son, Jesus Christ, live in the hearts of all who believe in
him-even Gentiles like the Colossians. Do you know Christ? He is not hidden if
you will come to him.
12) For what reason did Paul say they proclaim
him (Jesus), and in what way did Paul say he labors?
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The word perfect means mature
or complete, not flawless. Paul wanted to see each believer mature spiritually.
Like Paul, we must work wholeheartedly like an athlete, but we should not strive
in our own strength alone. We have the power of God's Spirit working in us. We
can learn and grow daily, motivated by love, and not by fear or pride, knowing
that God gives the energy to become mature.
Christ's message is for everyone; so everywhere Paul and Timothy went they
brought the Good News to all who would listen. An effective presentation of the
gospel includes admonishing (warning) and teaching. The warning is that
without Christ, people are doomed to eternal separation from God. The teaching
is that salvation is available through faith in Christ. As Christ works in you,
tell others about him, warning and teaching them in love. Who do you know that
needs to hear this message?
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Answers Colossians Chapter One
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1) by the will of God...to the holy and faithful
brothers in Christ in Colosse...grace and peace
2) because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love you have for
all the saints...the hope that is stored up for you in heaven...the gospel that
has come to you...bearing fruit and growing...since the day you heard it and
understood God's grace in all its truth
3) Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ...of
your love in the Spirit
4) the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding...in
order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in
everyway...every good work...the knowledge of God...so that you may have great
endurance and patience...the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of the
light
5) the dominion of darkness...the kingdom of the Son he loves...redemption, the
forgiveness of sins
6) the invisible God...all creation...by him (Jesus)...things in heaven and on
earth, visible and invisible, thrones, powers, rulers, authorities
7) all things...in him...of the body, the church...so that in everything he
might have supremacy
8) all his (Jesus) fullness dwell in him...to reconcile to himself all
things...by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross
9) because of your evil behavior...by Christ's physical body through death...if
you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved by the hope held out
in the gospel...to every creature under heaven
10) what was suffered for you...what is still lacking in regard to Christ's
afflictions...the church
11) the word of God in its fullness...the glorious riches of this mystery, which
is Christ in you, the hope of glory
12) so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ...struggling with all his
energy, which so powerfully works in me
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Taken from The NIV Life Application Study
Bible, Zondervan Publishers
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