Colossians

Book Outhne

Key theme: Jesus Christ is first in everything (preeminent)

Key verse:

I. Doctrine: Christ’s First Place (Preeminence) Declared ()

A. In the gospel message ()

B. In redemption (, )

C. In creation ()

D. In the church ()

E. In Paul’s ministry ()

II. Danger: Christ’s First Place (Preeminence) Defended ()

A. Beware of empty philosophies ()

B. Beware of religious legalism ()

C. Beware of man-made disciplines ()

III. Duty: Christ’s First Place (Preeminence) Demonstrated ()

A. In person purity ()

B. In Christian fellowship ()

C. In the home ()

D. In daily work ()

E. In Christian witness ()

F. In Christian service ()

Book Overview

Consider the following questions:

Is there any relationship between diet and spiritual living?

Does God speak to us immediately, in our minds, or only through His Word, the Bible?

Do the Eastern religions have something to offer the evangelical Christian?

These questions sound very contemporary. Yet they are the very issues Paul dealt with in his magnificent epistle to the Colossians. We need this important letter today just as they needed it back in A.D. 60 when Paul wrote it.

Colosse was one of three adjacent cities located about one hundred miles inland from Ephesus. The other two cities were Laodicea and Hierapolis (, ). This area was a meeting point of East and West, because an important trade route passed through there. At one time all three cities were growing and prosperous, but gradually Colosse slipped into a second-rate position. It became what we would call a small town. Yet the church there was important enough to merit the attention of the apostle Paul. Interestingly, the church in Laodicea also received a letter from Paul () but it has been lost.

All kinds of philosophies mingled in the cosmopolitan area, and religious hucksters abounded. There was a large Jewish colony in Colosse, and there was also a constant influx of new ideas and doctrines from the East. It was fertile ground for religious speculations and heresies.

Many Bible scholars feel that Colossians is the most profound letter Paul ever wrote. Its compact style encloses a multitude of crucial themes. The apostle was responding to sophisticated spiritual threats that were attempting to undermine the healthy church that had developed in Colosse. For this reason, phrases and terms are packed with meaning that may elude us at first. This must not keep us from reading and studying this wonderful letter. But we must be cautioned against a superficial approach to these chapters. Unless we depend on the Spirit of God to teach us, we will miss the truths God wants us to learn.

“Be Transformed”

The church today desperately needs the message of Colossians. We live in a day when religious toleration is interpreted to mean “one religion is just as good as another.” Our pluralistic spirit tends to approach all spiritual systems with an “equal time, equal truth” assumption that puts destructive heresies and demonic teaching on the same level with the gospel.

Some people try to take the best from various religious systems and manufacture their own private religion. To many people, Jesus Christ is only one of several great religious teachers, with no more authority than they. He may be prominent, but He is definitely not in first place (preeminent). The result of making everyone and everything equally valid and equally important is that subtly they all become equally unimportant.

This is an age of syncretism. People are trying to harmonize and unite many different schools of thought and come up with a superior religion. Our evangelical churches are in danger of diluting the faith in their attempt to lovingly understand the beliefs of others. Principles and ideas derived from mysticism, legalism, Eastern religions, asceticism, and man-made philosophies are secretly creeping into churches. They are not denying Christ, but they are de-emphasizing, dethroning, and robbing Him of His rightful place of preeminence.

As you study this exciting letter, heed Paul’s warnings: “Now this I say lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words” (); “Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit” (); “So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths” (). The kind of healthy spiritual transformation that you desire and need can only come as you remember that “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving” (, ).

Greeting

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

2To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are in Colosse:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Their Faith in Christ

We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,

since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints;

because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel,

which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth;

as you also learned from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf,

8who also declared to us your love in the Spirit.

Preeminence of Christ

For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;

10that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;

strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy;

12giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.

He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,

14in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

16For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.

17And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.

And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.

Reconciled in Christ

For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell,

20and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.

And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled

22in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight—

23if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.

Sacrificial Service for Christ

24I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church,

25of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God,

26the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints.

27To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.

29To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.

Not Philosophy but Christ

1For I want you to know what a great conflict I have for you and those in Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh,

that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ,

3in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Now this I say lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words.

5For though I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ.

6As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him,

7rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.

Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.

9For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;

10and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.

Not Legalism but Christ

In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ,

buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.

And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,

14having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

15Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths,

which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.

18Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,

and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God.

Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations—

21“Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,”

22which all concern things which perish with the using—according to the commandments and doctrines of men?

23These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.

Not Carnality but Christ

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.

2Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.

3For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

4When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

6Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience,

7in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them.

8But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth.

9Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds,

and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,

where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.

Character of the New Man

Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering;

13bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.

14But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.

15And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

The Christian Home

Wives, submit to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.

19Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them.

Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord.

21Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.

22Bondservants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God.

23And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men,

24knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.

25But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality.

1Masters, give your bondservants what is just and fair, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.

Christian Graces

2Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving;

3meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains,

4that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.

Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time.

6Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.

Final Greetings

Tychicus, a beloved brother, faithful minister, and fellow servant in the Lord, will tell you all the news about me.

8I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that he may know your circumstances and comfort your hearts,

9with Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will make known to you all things which are happening here.

Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, with Mark the cousin of Barnabas (about whom you received instructions: if he comes to you, welcome him),

11and Jesus who is called Justus. These are my only fellow workers for the kingdom of God who are of the circumcision; they have proved to be a comfort to me.

12Epaphras, who is one of you, a bondservant of Christ, greets you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.

13For I bear him witness that he has a great zeal for you, and those who are in Laodicea, and those in Hierapolis.

14Luke the beloved physician and Demas greet you.

15Greet the brethren who are in Laodicea, and Nymphas and the church that is in his house.

Closing Exhortations and Blessing

16Now when this epistle is read among you, see that it is read also in the church of the Laodiceans, and that you likewise read the epistle from Laodicea.

17And say to Archippus, “Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it.”

18This salutation by my own hand—Paul. Remember my chains. Grace be with you. Amen.

Annotations for Colossians

Like Paul, we should be grateful for what God is doing in the lives of others. As Christians, we are all members of one body (, ). If one member of the body is strengthened, this helps to strengthen the entire body. If one church experiences a revival touch from God, it will help all the churches.

Everybody has faith in something. But faith is only as good as the object in which a person puts his or her trust. The jungle pagan worships a god of stone; the educated city pagan worships money or possessions or status. In both cases, faith is empty. The true Christian believer has faith in Jesus Christ, and that faith is based on the Word of truth. Any other kind of faith is but superstition—it cannot save.

The faithfulness of the believers in Colosse was so wonderful that people talked about it! Paul heard about it from Epaphras (v. ); the false teachers heard about it and decided to visit the Colossian assembly to see the remarkable change for themselves. You cannot keep silent once you have experienced salvation in Jesus Christ. Is your Christian life the kind that encourages others and makes it easy for them to witness? Is your church fellowship so exciting that even the unsaved are taking notice?

The gospel is the good news that Jesus Christ has solved the problem of sin through His death, burial, and resurrection. The word “gospel” means “good news.” Unfortunately, some people witness as though the gospel is the bad news of condemnation.

Paul said that the gospel was bearing fruit all over the world. The Word of God is the only seed that can be planted anywhere in the world and bear fruit. If people are to be saved, they must hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. And if they are to hear, we who are saved must carry the message. Are you doing your part?

Two words in the Christian vocabulary are often confused: grace and mercy. God in His grace gives me what I do not deserve. Yet God in His mercy does not give me what I do deserve. Grace is God’s favor shown to undeserving sinners. The reason the gospel is good news is because of grace: God is willing and able to save all who will trust Jesus Christ.

The gospel centers in a Person—Jesus Christ. The theme of this letter is the first place (preeminence) of Jesus Christ, and He is certainly preeminent in the gospel. The false teachers who had invaded the fellowship in Colosse were trying to remove Jesus Christ from His place of preeminence, but to do this was to destroy the gospel. It is Christ who died for us and who arose again. The gospel message does not center in a philosophy, a doctrine, or a religious system. It centers in Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

We should never forget that new Christians must be discipled (taught and trained). Just as newborn babies need loving care and protection till they can care for themselves, so the new Christian needs discipling. The Great Commission does not stop with the salvation of the lost, for in that commission Jesus commanded us to teach converts the Word as well (, ). That is what the fellowship of the local church is all about.

The will of God is an important part of a successful Christian life. God wants us to know His will () and understand it (). God is not a distant dictator who issues orders and never explains. Because we are His friends, we can know what He is doing and why He is doing it (). As we study His Word and pray, we discover new and exciting truths about God’s will for His people.

Knowledge, conduct, service, and character must always go together. We know God’s will that we might obey it, and, in obeying it, we serve Him and grow in Christian character. While none of us is perfectly balanced in these four growth areas, we ought to strive for that balance.

Paul prays for the endurance and patience the believers need. We must never think that patience is complacency. Patience is endurance in action. It is not the Christian sitting in a rocking chair, waiting for God to do something. It is the soldier on the battlefield, keeping on when the going is tough. It is the runner on the racetrack, refusing to stop because he wants to win the race ().

, Jesus Christ is preeminent in salvation. No other person could redeem us, forgive us, transfer us out of Satan’s kingdom into God’s kingdom, and do it wholly by grace. The word “purchased” reminds us of the cost of our salvation. Moses and the Israelites only had to shed the blood of a lamb to be delivered from Egypt. But Jesus had to shed His own blood to deliver us from sin.

Since Christ created all things, He Himself is uncreated. This includes all things in heaven and earth, visible and invisible. All things are under His command. Nature reveals the existence, power, and wisdom of God, but nature cannot reveal the very essence of God to us. It is only in Jesus Christ that the invisible God is revealed perfectly. Since no mere creature can perfectly reveal God, Jesus Christ must be God.

Christ is also the head of the Church. The church had its origin in Him, and today it has its operation in Him. As the head of the church, Jesus Christ supplies it with life through His Spirit. He gives gifts to men, and then places these gifted people in His church that they might serve Him where they are needed. Through His Word, Jesus Christ nourishes and cleanses the church ().

, Christ is the fullness of God. “Fullness” was a technical term in the vocabulary of the Gnostic false teachers that were harassing the Colossians. The word meant “the sum total of all the divine power and attributes.” If Jesus Christ is only a man, or only an emanation from God, He cannot reconcile God and man. The only arbitrator who can bring God and man together is One who is both God and Man Himself. Contrary to what the Gnostics taught, Jesus Christ was a true human being with a real body. He was God in human flesh (). When He died on the cross, He met the just demands of the law because He paid the penalty for man’s sins (). Reconciliation was completed on the cross ().

The most important thing in our Christian lives is not how we look in our own sight or in the sight of others (), but how we look in God’s sight. It is amazing that God looks at His children and sees them “holy, and blameless, and above reproach”! God chose us to be “without blame before Him in love” (). People may have accusations to bring against us, but they cannot change our relationship with God.

Paul does not mean that our prayers are more effective if we exert all kinds of fleshly energy. Nor does it mean that we must “wrestle with God” and wear Him out before He will meet our needs. Paul described a spiritual striving: It was God’s power at work in his life. True prayer is directed to the Father (), through the Son (in His name, , ), in the power of the Holy Spirit (). When the Spirit is at work in our lives, then we can pray mightily in the will of God.

All of us are not called to be apostles, but each one of us does have a God-given ministry. We can share the gospel and be soul-winners. We can suffer for Christ and fulfill the ministry God has given us. We can strive in prayer for God’s people and encourage them to mature. Paul took time to minister to individuals; note the repetition of “every man” in . If we minister to even a few believers, we are helping the whole church.

By reviewing these pictures of spiritual progress, we see how the growing Christian can easily defeat the enemy and not be led astray. If our spiritual roots are deep in Christ, we will not want any other soil. If Christ is our sure foundation, we have no need to move. If we are studying and growing in the Word, we will not be easily enticed by false doctrine. And if our hearts are overflowing with thanksgiving, we will not even consider turning from the fullness we have in Christ. A grounded, growing, grateful believer will not be led astray.

When a person is born again into the family of God, he is born complete in Christ. His spiritual growth is not by addition, but by nutrition. He grows from the inside out. Nothing needs to be added to Christ because He already is the very fullness of God. As the believer draws on Christ’s fullness, he is “filled with all the fullness of God” (). What more does he need?

The Jewish teachers that Paul attacked in Galatians insisted that circumcision and obedience to the law were necessary for salvation. (See for some background on this problem.) Gnostic legalism said that the Jewish law would help the believers become more spiritual. If they were circumcised, and if they watched their diets and observed the holy days, then they would become part of the “spiritual elite” in the church. Unfortunately, we have people with similar ideas in our churches today.

Paul used the word “baptism” in a figurative sense in this section of his letter—for no amount of material water could bury a person with Christ or make them alive in Christ. Water baptism by immersion is a picture of this spiritual experience. When a person is saved, he is immediately baptized by the Spirit into the body of Christ (, ) and identified with the Head, Jesus Christ. This identification means that whatever happened to Christ also applies to us. When He died, we died with Him. When He was buried, we were buried. When He rose again, we rose with Him.

Paul made it clear that the Christian is not subject in any way to the Old Testament legal system, nor can it do him any good spiritually. Jesus Christ alone is sufficient for our every spiritual need, for all of God’s fullness is in Him.

The basis for our freedom is the person and work of Jesus Christ. “In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (v. ). On the cross, He canceled the debt and the legal charges against us (v. ). As believers, we are under grace as a rule of life and not under law (.).

The person who judges a believer because that believer is not living under Jewish laws is really judging Jesus Christ. He is saying that Christ did not finish the work of salvation on the cross, and that we must add something to it. He is also saying that Jesus Christ is not sufficient for all the spiritual needs of the Christian.

If a believer does not draw on the spiritual nourishment that comes from Christ and other Christians, he becomes weak. The false teachers were not holding to the Head, and therefore they were spiritually undernourished, but they thought they were spiritual experts.

After Paul condemned legalism and mysticism, he attacked and condemned asceticism. An ascetic practices rigorous self-denial and even self-mortification in order to become more spiritual. Paul disciplined his own body and kept it under control (), so there is a place in our Christian lives for proper care of our bodies. But the ascetic hopes to sanctify the soul by his discipline of the body, and it is this heresy that Paul attacked.

The emphasis here is on the believer’s relationship with Christ: We died with Christ (v. ); we are raised with Christ (v. ); we are hidden in Christ (v. ); we no longer belong to the world, but to Christ; we anticipate sharing in Christ’s glory (v. ). Now, in view of our wonderful identification with Christ, we have a great responsibility—to “seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God” (v. ). Through Christ’s death, burial, resurrection, and ascension, we have been separated from the old life of this world, and we now belong to a new heavenly life.

Sins belong to the old life and have no place in our new life in Christ. The picture is that of a person changing clothes: “put off . . . put on” (vv. , ). This relates to the resurrection of Jesus Christ (v. ), for when He arose from the dead, Jesus Christ left the grave clothes behind. The grave clothes represent the old life with its sinful deeds. Now that we have life in Christ, we must “walk in newness of life” () by putting on the “grace-clothes.” We do this by practicing our position in Christ, by reckoning ourselves to be dead to the old and alive to the new.

, Because we are alive in Christ, we must seek the things that are above. And, because we died with Christ, we must put off the things that belong to the earthly life of past sin. The result is that we can become like Jesus Christ! God wants to renew us and make us into the image of His Son! When we trust Christ, we put off the old life and put on the new. The old man has been buried, and the new man is now in control. But the verb translated “renewed” is a present participle—“who is constantly being renewed.”

We are alive in Christ; therefore, we should seek the heavenly. We are dead in Christ; therefore, we should slay the earthly. We can become like Christ; therefore, we must strengthen the Christly and permit the Spirit to renew our minds, making us more into the image of God.

Chosen by God, set apart for God, loved by God, and forgiven by God. They all add up to grace! Now, because of these gracious blessings, the Christian has some solemn responsibilities before God. He must put on the beautiful graces of the Christian life described in these verses.

, According to Paul, there is a definite relationship between our knowledge of the Bible and our expression of worship in song. One way we teach and encourage ourselves and others is through the singing of the Word of God. But if we do not know the Bible and understand it, we cannot honestly sing it from our hearts.

All that we say and do should be associated with the name of Jesus Christ. By our words and our works, we should glorify His name. If we permit anything into our lives that cannot be associated with the name of Jesus, then we are sinning. We must do and say everything on the authority of His name and for the honor of His name.

Where do we get the power to love and to submit and to obey? From the Lord. If we are wearing the “grace-clothes” described earlier (), and if we have our hearts filled with the peace of Christ and the Word of Christ, then we will contribute to the joy and harmony of the home. If we live to please Christ first, others second, and ourselves last, we will build strong marriages, spiritual homes, and strong relationships.

The fullness of the Spirit and the fullness of the Word are needed in the home. If family members are controlled by the Spirit of God and the Word of God, they will be joyful, thankful, and submissive—and they will have little trouble getting along with each other. Christian employers and employees will treat each other fairly if they are filled with the Spirit and the Word.

, A happy marriage does not happen automatically; it is something that must be worked at all the time. As we walk with Christ in submission to Him, we have no problem submitting to one another and seeking to serve one another. But where there is selfishness, there will be conflict and division. If there is bitterness in the heart, there will eventually be trouble in the home.

If a home is truly Christian, it is a place of encouragement. In such a home, the child finds refuge from battles, and yet strength to fight the battles and carry the burdens of growing maturity. He finds a loving heart, a watching eye, a listening ear, and a helping hand. He does not want any other place—home meets his needs. In this kind of a home, it is natural for the child to trust Christ and want to live for Him.

Catalyst

In , Paul succinctly gives us a great lesson in effective praying. First, our praying must be faithful (v. ). “Continue earnestly in prayer” means, “Be steadfast in your prayer life; be committed; don’t quit.” This is the way the early church prayed (; ). Too many of us pray only occasionally—when we feel like it or when there is a crisis. “Pray without ceasing” is God’s command to us (). This does not mean that we should walk around muttering prayers under our breath. Rather, it means we should be constantly in fellowship with God so that prayer is as normal to us as breathing.

Our praying must also be vigilant (v. ). We must be watchful as we pray. The concept “Watch and pray!” is used often in the Bible. It had its beginning in Bible history when Nehemiah was rebuilding the walls and gates of Jerusalem: “We made our prayer to our God, and, because of them we set a watch against them day and night” (). Jesus used the phrase in the garden of Gethsemane (). Paul said to be “watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints” ().

Our praying should also be thankful (v. ). Thanksgiving is an important ingredient in successful praying (). If all we do is ask and never thank God for His gifts, we are selfish. Sincere gratitude to God is one of the best ways to put fervor into our praying.

Finally, our praying ought to be purposeful (v. ). Too often our prayers are vague and general. “Lord, bless the missionaries!” How much better it would be if we would pray for specific needs. By doing so, we would know when God answered, and we could praise Him for it. Perhaps it is our lack of faith that causes us to pray generally instead of specifically.

Go to the

, As Christians, we must never have a sanctified superiority complex. We have a responsibility to witness to the lost around us and to seek to bring them into God’s family. To begin with, we have the responsibility to live wisely (v. ). This refers to our conduct in daily life. The unsaved outsiders watch us Christians and are very critical of us. There must be nothing in our lives that would jeopardize our testimony. In addition, we must also talk with them and share the gospel message with them (v. ). But we must take care that our speech is controlled by grace, so that it points to Christ and glorifies the Lord.

Paul did not spell out the details of his personal situation in this letter. He left it to his two spiritual brothers, Tychicus and Onesimus, to share the burdens with the church in Colosse. We can share our needs and burdens with others; then they can encourage and assist us. These two men had a dual ministry to perform: to encourage the Colossian Christians and to inform them about Paul’s situation.

It was customary in Paul’s day to close each letter with personal greetings. Friends did not see one another that much, and letter service was very slow and limited. Of course, Paul’s greetings were much more than social; they conveyed his genuine spiritual concern for his friends.

Colossians 1

1:1

1:2

1:2 NU-Text omits and the Lord Jesus Christ.

1:3

1:4

1:4 []

1:5 []

1:6

1:6 NU-Text and M-Text add and growing.

1:7

1:8

1:9

1:9 []

1:9

1:10

1:11 [; ]

1:11

1:11 []

1:12 []

1:12

1:13

1:14

1:14 NU-Text and M-Text omit through His blood.

1:15

1:16 ,

1:16 [, ]

1:16

1:17 []

1:17

1:18

1:19

1:20

1:21 []

1:21

1:21 ,

1:22

1:22 []

1:23

1:23 []

1:23

1:24

1:24 ,

1:24 [; ]

1:24

1:25

1:26 []

1:27

1:27 [, ]

1:27

1:27 M-Text reads who.

1:28

1:29

Colossians 2

2:1

2:2 NU-Text omits both of the Father and.

2:3 ,

2:4

2:5

2:6

2:7

2:7 NU-Text omits in it.

2:8

2:8 , ,

2:9 []

2:10 [, ]

2:11

2:11 ;

2:11 NU-Text omits of the sins.

2:12

2:12 ,

2:12

2:14 [, ]

2:15 []

2:15

2:16

2:17 ;

2:18 NU-Text omits not.

2:19

2:19 ;

2:20

2:20 ,

2:20 NU-Text and M-Text omit Therefore.

2:21

2:22

2:23

Colossians 3

3:1

3:1 ; ;

3:2 []

3:3 []

3:4 []

3:4

3:5 []

3:5

3:5 ; ,

3:6

3:6 []

3:7

3:8

3:10

3:10 []

3:11 ,

3:11

3:12 []

3:12

3:13 []

3:14

3:14 []

3:14

3:15 []

3:15

3:15 []

3:16

3:17

3:18

3:18 []

3:19 []

3:19

3:20

3:21

3:22

3:23 []

3:24

3:24 NU-Text omits for.

3:25

Colossians 4

4:1

4:2

4:3

4:3 , ;

4:3

4:5

4:5 []

4:5

4:6

4:7

4:8

4:8 NU-Text reads you may know our circumstances and he may.

4:9

4:10 ; ;

4:10

4:12

4:12 NU-Text reads fully assured.

4:13 NU-Text reads concern.

4:14

4:15

4:15 NU-Text reads Nympha . . . her house.

4:16

4:17

4:18

↑ Back to top