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Colossians

This short letter was written while Paul was in prison, either in Ephesus or in Rome. Colosse was a large city in Asia Minor (Turkey), though smaller than its neighbours Laodicea and Hierapolis. Paul had never visited the church at Colosse, but received news of it from Epaphras.

The letter implies that there was certain teaching current in Colosse. These teachers may have taught that:

secret knowledge existed which the truly enlightened could gain, but which was hidden from ordinary believers;
the body/physical world was evil, perhaps the creation of a lesser spiritual being, not God;
(as a consequence of 2) Jesus only seemed to be human.

Such teaching became very fashionable in the 2^nd century (when it was known as ‘Gnosticism’, from the Greek word for wisdom) and apparently even in Paul’s day these ideas were attractive to some. Today we still see people tempted to add to the Gospel and this in the question Paul addresses in this letter: ‘Christ is all you need’.

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. (Colossians 2:9,10)

Again I am indebted to Tom Wright and his commentary: Paul for Everyone: The Prison Letters for the notes. The Message of Colossians and Philemon, by Dick Lucas in The Bible Speaks Today series tackles those awkward verses in loads of detail and I have a copy if anyone wants to borrow it.

Colossians 1:1-14

What characteristics of the Colossians cause Paul to thank God for them?

How do faith and love spring from hope (v5)?

How can we gain the knowledge of God’s will (v9)?

What are the qualities of a ‘life worthy of the Lord’ (v10-12)?

How do these verses help us to pray for those we have never met or whose needs we do not know?

Colossians 1:15-23

Make as many statements as you can about why Jesus is supreme. Begin each with ‘Christ is…’

(You may want to write these down and use them in worship later.)

What does it mean to say that Christ is ‘the image of the invisible God’ (v15)?

What is the significance of Jesus’ role in creation (v16, 17)?

How is Jesus ‘the head of the body, the church’ (v18)?

How has God acted in Jesus to ‘reconcile all things to himself’ (v20)?

Why does Paul tell the Colossians all this about Jesus (v21-23)? What does it mean for us?

How has the gospel been ‘proclaimed to every creature under heaven’ (v 23)?

How can this passage help us talk to people about who Jesus is?

Notes

v15-20 are a kind of poem, based on different meanings of the word ‘head’. Paul throws so much at us in a few verses, that it is almost too much to take in. However, much of the rest of the letter is a exploration of the meaning of this poem, so it may be helpful to spend some time meditating on each part.

Paul for Everyone: Prison Letters p148-153

He is the image of God, the invisible one,

the firstborn of all creation.

For in him all things were created,

in the heavens and here on the earth.

Things we can see and things we cannot,

- thrones and lordships and rulers and powers -

All were created both through him and for him.

And he is ahead, prior to all else

and in him all things hold together;

And he himself is supreme, the head

over the body, the church.

He is the start of it all,

firstborn from realms of the dead;

so in all things he might be the chief.

For in him all the Fullness was glad to dwell

and through him to reconcile all to himself,

making peace through the blood of his cross,

through him – yes, things on the earth,

and also the things in the heavens

The poem has balancing sections, the first section matching the third and the middle section looking back to the first and on to the third. But Paul is not just showing off his writing skills. He wants to tell the Colossians something they need to know. If the Colossians are to grow as Christians, they must know the centrality, supremacy and sufficiency of Jesus Christ. The more they get to know Jesus, the more they will understand who the true God is and what it means to live in and for him.

	By looking at Jesus we discover who God is. The more we look at Jesus, the more we learn that God is a God of utter self-giving love.
	Jesus holds together the old and new world, creation and new creation. The world is beautiful, but it is also full of evil. That wasn’t the original intention and now God has acted to heal the world of wickedness, through the same one through whom it was made in the first place. Jesus is the firstborn of all creation and firstborn from the dead.
	Jesus is the blueprint for genuine humanness, the head of the church, the first to rise again. Through him we find out what it truly means to be human.

In Jewish writings of Paul’s day much of what he says about Jesus has already been said about ‘Wisdom’ (see Proverbs 8:22-31). This is one of the points Paul is making: if you want wisdom, look at Jesus.

[v15 ‘firstborn of all creation’ Some may have heard the Jehovah’s Witnesses using this verse to say that Jesus is created. The whole thrust of the passage is against this: Jesus is before all things and the one through whom all things are created and in whom all things hold together, not just another created being. The simple meaning would seem to be that the ‘firstborn’ is the father’s heir, (as in Hebrews 1:2). The NIV tries to make this clear by translating the phrase ‘firstborn over all creation’.]

Colossians 1:24 – 2: 23

This is the first of two studies for the next three weeks. You may want to split them up according to whether you are planning to review Purpose Driven Life for some or all of the study at the beginning of June.

Read Colossians 1:24 - 2:5

What has Paul been called by God to do?

How is he aiming to complete this task?

What does it mean to say that Christ is ‘in us’?

How can we know the ‘mystery of God’?

Read Colossians 2:6-15

How does Paul seek to help the Colossians distinguish the truth from misleading teaching?

What does this passage tell us about the false teaching the Colossians were encountering?

What popular doctrines today might ‘seek to take us captive’ (v6-8)?

How does what Paul says about Christ oppose these ideas (v9-10)?

What is the result for us of what Jesus has done (v11-15)?

Who are the powers and authorities over which Christ has triumphed (v15)?

Read Colossians 2:16-23

What rules and beliefs were the Colossians tempted to add on to the Gospel?

What might we be tempted to add on today?

What is the attraction of such ‘extras’ and why does Paul say they are useless?

How can we encourage each other to stay connected to Jesus our Head and grow as his body?

Notes

v24 Paul tells the Colossians that his sufferings are for their benefit, perhaps suggesting that he is ‘drawing the fire’ of those who oppose the gospel away from them and other Christians and onto himself. He also understands that Jesus represents the Church, his body, and therefore what is true of Jesus is also true of the church. Jesus suffered and therefore so does the church. He is not suggesting that Jesus’ death is in some way incomplete, but that his, Paul’s, sufferings are in some way an extension of what Christ suffered.

Paul uses the word ‘mystery’ several times in these verses. It may have been a popular word with those he opposes in Colosse. To Paul, the mystery of the Gospel is not some secret knowledge you have to attain by complicated rituals or difficult rules, it is made known to all in the life and death of Jesus.

v11 Paul uses circumcision as an image of new birth. It is not clear whether there were people in Colosse teaching that Christians should be circumcised, as he encountered in other places, but Paul is clear that Jesus is all you need.

Colossians 3:1 - 4:1

Read Colossian 3:1-11

What does Paul mean by ‘things above’ and ‘earthly things’ (v1-2)?

How can we set our minds on things above?

How is our life ‘hidden’ in Christ (v3)?

What helps us to put to death the things which belong to the earthly nature (v5)?

Paul lists two main areas of behaviour, concerning sex and speech. Do we consider the second list as serious as the first?

If Paul was writing this letter to Middlesbrough in 2003, what divisions in our society might he say are removed by Christ (v11)?

Read Colossians 3:12 - 4:1

Why is it important to acknowledge that we are God’s chosen and loved people (v12)?

How do each of these virtues help us in our relationships in the church (v12-17)? Look at each word and consider what sort of actions and words will make each come true in our lives, our church and our community.

How can we allow the Word of Christ to dwell in us?

How can we make opportunities in our church for teaching, admonishing and encouraging one another?

Why is thankfulness so important (v15, 16 &17)?

Contrast the way of life Paul describes here on this chapter with the rules of chapter 2. What does this tell us about what it means to be a Christian?

How does the description of the holy life in v12-17 help us to understand the commands in v18-21?

v22-4:1 These verses are often applied to modern employer/employee relations. How might they change attitudes in the workplace or other working situations?

Notes

v12 Paul’s list of behaviour pattern forms an overlapping sequence. But that doesn’t mean, in this case, that we can just glance at them and think, ‘O yes – he’s just saying we should be nice to each other.’ (Though of course we should.) Being ‘nice’ is only the start. It’s worth taking a moment and thinking about each word here, asking yourself what sort of actions and words will make each one come true in your life, in the life of your church, in the life of your village or town. Think about them: tender-hearted; kind; humble; meek; ready to put up with anything (the word Paul uses here literally means large-hearted’).

Remember that with most of these words there are people… who will mock the very idea of behaving like this. Remind yourself that to be tender-hearted doesn’t mean being sentimental. That being kind doesn’t mean being a soft touch. That humility isn’t the same thing as low self-esteem. That meekness is not weakness, but is what you get when a powerful wild horse has been tamed (all the same power, but now under control). That large-heartedness doesn’t mean letting everyone do what they want with you. (Paul for Everyone p182)

v15 The word rule comes from the language of athletics: Paul tells us to let Christ’s peace be the umpire or referee in our hearts.

Colossians 4:2-18

What does it mean to ‘devote’ ourselves to prayer?

Based on what we have read in Colossians:

What have we to be watchful about?
What have we to be thankful for?

What prayer requests does Paul make for himself?

What advice does he give about how we should behave towards non-Christians?

How can we as individuals and as a church make the most of every opportunity?

What qualities does Paul highlight in the people he mentions?

How can we encourage one another in our Christian lives?

Epaphras’ prayer for the Colossians (v12) echoes Paul’s at the opening of the letter. What does it mean to be ‘mature and fully assured’?

Paul has a special message for Archippus (v17). What might cause us not to finish the work God has given us to do?

Paul asks the church to swap letters with Laodicea. How can we share fellowship with our neighbouring churches?

Is there a key thought or verse that you will take away from these studies on Colossians?

Notes

v9 Onesimus is the runaway slave who is the subject of Paul’s letter to Philemon. Archippus (v17) may well be Philemon’s son.

v10 Mark is mentioned here and in Philemon, as a companion of Paul. Paul and Barnabas parted company over him in Acts 15:37-42, but it appears that Paul and Mark were later reconciled.

v16 The letter to Laodicea has not survived, though some have suggested that Ephesians may be a copy of the letter referred to here, because of the similarities between Colossians and Ephesians.

The personal messages emphasize Paul’s links and personal relationship with the church at Colosse, despite never having been there. Christians are dependent on one another – we cannot go it alone.