Colossians CHAPTER 1 PAUL, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timotheus our brother, 2 To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord
3 We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 4 Since we heard of your faith in Christ
Jesus, and of the love which you have to all the saints, 5 For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel; 6 Which is come to you, as it is in all the world; and brings forth fruit, as it does also in you, since the day you heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth:
7 As you also learned of Epaphras our dear fellow-servant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ; 8 Who also declared to us your love in the Spirit.
9 For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that you might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 That you might walk worthy of the Lord to all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, to all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; 12 Giving thanks to the Father, which has made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
13 Who has delivered us from the power of darkness, and has translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
QUESTIONS & OBJECTIONS 1:20 "I've made my peace with the 'Man upstairs.'"
When people refer to God as "the Man upstairs," they reveal that they have no concept of (nor living relationship with) Him.
They will use such words because they feel uncomfortable saying His name. Often they will have a measure of reverence for God, but not enough to obey Him. Ask if the person thinks he will go to heaven when he dies.
He'll almost certainly say he will, and a little probing will reveal that he's trusting in his own goodness to save him. However, the only way sinners can have peace with the God they have offended is through the shed blood of the Savior.
Therefore, it's important to take the person through the Ten Commandments and strip him of his self-righteousness and his false sense of assurance of salvation. As you do so, you may feel bad that you are making him uncomfortable, but if you care about his eternal salvation, you must ask yourself,
"Which is worse: a few moments of conviction under the sound of God's Law, or eternity in the Lake of Fire?" Unless there is a knowledge of sin (which comes by the Law—
Romans 7:7), there will be no repentance.
16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; 20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things to himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.
21 And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now has he reconciled 22 In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:
23 If you continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which you have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister; 24 Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church:
25 Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;
26 Even the mystery which has been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
28 Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ
29 Whereunto I also labor, striving according to his working, which works in me mightily.
1:3,4 Some people applaud when sinners step forward to make a decision for Christ. It is more biblical to hold the applause until the genuineness of their repentance is evidenced by "fruit." See verse 6.
1:15,16 Was Jesus God in human form?
The One who created all things and brought life into being is the Word of God, who became flesh in the person of Jesus of Nazareth (John 1:3,4,14). See Colossians 2:9.
1:21 This runs contrary to the secular concept of man's relationship to his Creator.
We are alienated from God, separated from Him by our iniquities (Isaiah 59:2). We are His enemies, and our works are wicked.
1:27 Salvation doesn't come from what we know, but from Who we know. Jesus said, "This is life eternal, that they might know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent" (John 17:3).
1:28 Our primary task. A lighthouse keeper gained a reputation as being a very kind man. He would give free fuel to ships that miscalculated the amount of fuel needed to reach their destination port. One night during a storm, lightning struck his lighthouse and put out his light. He immediately turned on his generator but it soon ran out of fuel— and he had given all his reserves to passing ships. During the dark night, a ship struck the rocks and many lives were lost.
At his trial, the judge knew of the lighthouse keeper's reputation as a kind man and wept as he gave sentence. He accused the lighthouse keeper of neglecting his primary responsibility—to keep the light shining.
The Church can so often get caught up in legitimate acts of kindness—standing for political righteousness, feeding the hungry, etc.—but our primary task is to warn sinners of danger. We are to keep the light of the gospel shining so that sinners can avoid the jagged-edged rocks of wrath and escape being eternally damned.
My friend, I stand in judgment now, And feel that you're to blame somehow.
On earth I walked with you by day, And never did you show the way.
You knew the Savior in truth and glory, But never did you tell the story.
My knowledge then was very dim.