Before my laptop went on the fritz a couple weeks ago, we finished
up the Book of Philippians. This Thursday we are starting the Book of
Colossians ๐
Paul’s
purpose in writing this epistle is to show that Christ is preeminent – first
and foremost in anything and everything; and that the Christian’s life
should reflect that priority.
Because
Believer’s are rooted in Him. Alive in Him, hidden in Him, and completed in Him
… it is utterly inconsistent for them to live life without putting Him first in
their lives. Clothed in His love, with His peace ruling in their hearts, they
are equipped to make Christ first in every area of their life.
The
external testimony to the Pauline authorship of Colossians is ancient
and consistent – and the internal evidence is also very good: it not only claims
to be written by Paul (vv. 1:1, 23; and 4:18), but the
personal details and close parallels with Ephesians and Philemon make the case
even stronger.
Colossae
was a minor city about 100 miles east of Ephesus in the region of the 7 Asian
Churches of Revelation 1 – 3. Located in the fertile Lycus Valley by a mountain
pass on the road from Ephesus to the East. Colossae once was a populous center
of commerce, famous for its glossy black wool. By the time of Paul, it had been
eclipsed by its neighboring cities, Laodicea and Hierapolis, and was on the
decline.
Apart
from this epistle, Colossae exerted almost no influence on the early Church
history.
It is evident
from vvs. 1:4-8 & 2:1, that Paul never visited the Church at
Colossae, which was founded by *Epaphras. On his third missionary journey, Paul
devoted almost three years to an Asian ministry centered in Ephesus (Acts
19:10; 20:31), and Epaphras probably came to Christ during this
timeframe – he carried the **Gospel to
the cities in the Lycus Valley, and years later, came to visit Paul in his
imprisonment (4:12, 13; & Philemon 23).
Epaphras’s
visit and report about the conditions in Colossae prompted this epistle. Although
the Colossians had not yet succumbed, an encroaching heresy was threatening the
predominately ***gentile Colossian church.
Paul
details the preeminence of Christ as “Lord of creation”, “Author of
reconciliation”; He is the “basis for the Believer’s hope”, the “source of the
Believer’s power for a New Life”, the “Believer’s Redeemer and Reconciler”, the
“embodiment of full Deity”, “the Creator and Sustainer of all things”, the
“Head of the Church”, the “Resurrected God-Man”, and the “all-sufficient
Savior.”
**********
Colossians
~ Chapter 1/Thursday
Bible Study
Introduction and
Thanksgiving
“From Paul, an apostle of ****Yeshua Ha’Mashiach, by Elohim’s Will, and from Brother Timothy; to
the *****saints at Colossae, our faithful brethren in
Christ. Grace be to you, and peace, from #Elohim our Father and ##Lord, Jesus Christ. (vv. 1 – 2)
When we pray for you, we
always thank Elohim, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, because of you. For
we have heard about your faith in Christ Jesus, and about your love for all the
fellow-Christians. We thank Elohim also for the hope that is stored up for you
in ###Heaven. This you first heard about through the
Gospel, which is the Word of Truth. The Gospel came to you, even as it is
reaching out to the rest of the world. And it will bring forth fruit
everywhere, just as it already has among you from the very day that you first
heard it and came to know the truth about the grace of God. Since then, you
have also learned the same from Epaphras, our beloved co-worker, who is an
honest and faithful minister of Christ. It is he who has told us about your
Christian love. (vv. 3 – 8)
Paul’s Seven-fold Prayer
We have, therefore, from
the day that we first heard about you, never ceased to pray for you. We have
asked that you may be filled with the knowledge of His Will and that you may
have wisdom and spiritual understanding in every way. We pray, too, that your
lives may be a credit to the Lord and pleasing to Him, and that you may be
fruitful in every good work you take hold of and that you may increase in your
knowledge of God. And we ask that you may receive strength for every task,
drawn from His might and glory, and that you may hold out with patience and
good cheer.
We give thanks to the
Father for having made us fit to have a share in the light which is the
inheritance of the saints. We thank Him for having rescued us from the powers
of darkness, and giving us a place in the kingdom of His Beloved Son. And
because though Him we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins, for this we are
thankful. (vv. 9 – 14)
The Seven Superiorities of
Christ
Christ is the image of the
unseen God. He existed before
creation began. For by Him everything was created, both in Heaven and on
Earth; things visible and invisible, also thrones and dominions,
principalities and powers – all things were created through Him and for
Him. He existed before all things, and all things exist and hold
together through Him. He is the head and the body, that is, the Church.
He is the beginning of everything. He is also the Firstborn from among the
dead and so He stands first in everything. It was the Father’s
pleasure that all fullness should dwell in Him. (vv. 15 – 19)
The Reconciling Work of
Christ
And, through Him, God
would reconcile all things to Himself again, those here on Earth and those in
Heaven, by making peace through the blood of His cross. You were at one time estranged
(separated, apart) from Him. You were His enemies. You were busy doing
evil. But you are now reconciled through the death of His body as a m an, so
that you can stand before Him holy, without sin, and irreproachable (blameless,
flawless, perfect, spotless, stainless). This reconciliation (reunion,
bringing together) demands, of course, that you continue in the Faith –
that you be stable (firm, constant, committed, settled, fixed)
and steadfast (loyal, trusty, dependable, faithful, constant,
devoted), and that you do not shift away from the Gospel hope that you have
heard preached. It is the Gospel that was once proclaimed and is to be
proclaimed to the whole creation under heaven, and I, Paul, have become one of
His servants to do it. (vv. 20 – 23)
The Ministry of the
Mystery
I find joy in my
sufferings for your sake. In this way, in my own body, I undergo some of the
trials of Christ; yet to come, for the sake of the Church, which is His Body. I
am a minister in this Church. It was Elohim, Who appointed me to this office,
and it was for your sakes. My task was to make the Word of God fully known.
This Word was the mystery – or secret – that had been hidden from all the ages
and generations of the past, but now is being revealed to the saints. It is
God’s Will that this mystery shal be fully explained to all the nations in all
its riches and glory. He is the One Whom we proclaim. We use all the wisdom we
have. We warn everyone; we teach everyone, in order that we may present
everyone mature in Christ Jesus. I am working for this end, using the strength
I receive from him Who strengthens me with His might.” (vv. 24 – 29)
*Epaphras: One of Apostle Paul’s
friends and co-workers, Epaphras was from Colossae, and founded the church in
his home town. He was looked up to as a leader in the Church of Asia, and came
to visit Paul in prison in Rome. Seized by the Romans, he was thrown into
prison with Paul. Some of Paul’s deepest tributes are applied to Epaphras:
“fellow prisoner”, and “faithful minister.” Colossians 1:7; 4:12; &
Philemon 23
**Gospel = teaching or revelation of
Christ.
***Gentile: a person who is not
Jewish. The word stems from the Hebrew term ha-goyim, which means “the
nations” … meaning nations of the world that were not Hebrew.
****Yeshua Ha’Mashiach: is Hebrew for “Jesus the
Messiah”; the name Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Yeshua.
Christ (from the Hebrew word, Ha’Mashiach ืืฉืืข ืืืฉืื & the Greek word, Christos/khris-tos) =
The Anointed, Yeshua the Messiah, in both languages.
*****Saint = In its most basic sense,
a saint is a “holy one,” someone who is set apart for Elohim’s special
purposes. As a result, every follower of Yeshua Ha’Mashiach is a Saint. In most
of his letters, the Apostle Paul refers to the recipients as saints, including
the church at Corinth, where there were significant moral and theological
problems! The New Covenant writers draw their use of the word saints (“holy
ones”) from the Old Covenant (e.g., Exod 31:13; Lev 11:45, 19:2; Dan 7:18, 27). Particularly important
is Exodus 19:5-6, where Elohim refers to Israel
as “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” 1 Peter 2:9 applies this same
language to believers: “you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy
nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies
of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”
#Elohim (Hebrew: ืֱืֹืִืื,
romanized: สพฤlลhฤซm: [(eloห(h)im]) is a Hebrew word meaning "Gods –
Father, Son, & Holy Spirit". Although the word is plural in form, in
the Hebrew Bible it usually refers to a single deity “Behold, the Lord – the
Lord is One”, particularly the God of Israel.
##Lord Jesus Christ (in Greek: Kyrios Iฤsous Christos) = the most formal title for Jesus (Yeshua). It occurs often in the New Testament letters.
The word “Lord” has a wide range
of uses; it can be a simple respectful “Sir” or a more formal, “Master.” But
the New Testament also uses “Lord” of God. The word “Christ” is the anglicized
form of the Greek word meaning “anointed one” or “Messiah.” “Lord Jesus Christ”
reminds us that Jesus is both the promised Messiah and our God.
###Heaven: The Hebrews acknowledge three heavens – the atmosphere surrounding
Earth; the firmament of outer space, in which the stars are placed; and the
heaven of Heavens, or third heaven, which is he residence of Jehovah.
Among Christians, Heaven
is the place where the omnipresent God of Gods dwells and manifests His supreme
glory; this habitation of God is represented by the residence of angels and the
blessed spirits of those who are rewarded eternal salvation.
**Philippians 4: https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2022/11/philippians-chapter-4thursday-bible.html
