Friday, July 10, 2020

The Book of Colossians

Colosse belonged to the Roman province of Asia,
in present-day Turkey.

Apostle Paul wrote this letter to a group of Christians who had been brought to faith by a man named Epaphras 
(Col 1:7–8, 4:12–13).
The purpose of the letter is to introduce corrections in the congregation. 

There were some wrong ideas in the congregation that Paul wanted to address. Although they had great faith in Jesus Christ, loved each other, and lived in the hope that was for them in Heaven (Col 1:4–6, 2:5). They had come to know the grace of God as it really is (Col 1:6b, Heb 12:15). We can't earn God's grace. 

 Paul isn't specific about the problems they had, but he is specific about the solution,
getting to know Jesus better. He prayed for them that they would be as follows
(Col 1:9–12):
  • Filled with knowledge of God's will (spiritual wisdom and understanding).
  • Be able to walk in a way worthy of their identification with Christ.
  • Be able to walk in a way that pleases God (Eph 5:8b–10)
  • Be able to bear fruit in every good work.
  • Be able to increase in the general knowledge of who God is.
"God the Father has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins" (Col 1:13–14). As Christians we belong to this kingdom (Phil 3:20, Col 1:13), it's within the kingdom of the world ruled by Satan
(1 John 5:19). There will come a day when Jesus will get that kingdom back
(Rev 11:15), see The Millennial Kingdom and the Great White Throne Judgement.

Jesus gives a picture of this when he heals the blind man in John 9,
see Blind People in Miracles of Jesus:
  1. We are all born spiritually blind and unable to "see" (Psalm 51:5
    (51:7 in some translations), John 3:19, 9:39–41, Mat 6:22–23),
    see The Fall of Man in The Biblical Creation and the Fall of Man.
  2. It's possible for someone who is spiritually blind to turn to the Lord and have that blindness removed. "When one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed."
    (2 Cor 3:16).
  3. Jesus is the One who opens blind eyes (Psalm 146:8a).
    He gives us spiritual light and sight (John 8:12, 9:4–5), see Salvation.
  4. We must respond by faith (John 9:6–7). Salvation is a free gift (Eph 2:8–9), but we must respond to it, receiving Jesus in our heart (John 1:12).
  5. We are made a new creation (2 Cor 5:17, John 9:8–9). But because of
    our old nature, we sometimes mess things up and make mistakes
    (1 John 8, 10, Rom 7:15–20), see The Book of John.
  6. We are given spiritual insight (John 9:25b, 30–33, 2 Cor 4:6, 1 Pet 2:9).
  7. We will be persecuted by those who refuse to believe in Christ
    (John 9:22b, 34, 15:18–20a, 1 Pet 4:12–16, Acts 5:40–41).
    There will be a reward in Heaven for those who suffer for Jesus
    (Mat 5:10–12, 1 Pet 4:13, Rom 8:16–18, Col 1:24).
  8. We understand that Jesus is worthy of our worship (John 9:35–38,
    Col 1:13–14, 1 Pet 2:9), see How should we worship God? in 
    The Woman's Place in the Congregation.
Jesus is the representation of God to mortal eyes (Col 1:15a). God the Father is invisible and can't be seen. Jesus, the Son of God, is the image of God the Father. Whoever has seen Jesus has seen God the Father (John 14:8–9). Jesus was God in the flesh as a man on Earth. Jesus is also the firstborn of all creation 
(Col 1:15b, 18b). Firstborn in this context means that he is in charge of the creation, see question 6 in The Trinity. God's essence is in Jesus (Col 2:9). Jesus is the creator of all things in heaven and on Earth (Col 1:16, Gen (1 Mos) 1:1),
Jesus is God. He is before all creation, he isn't created, he is eternal (Col 1:17a). In him all things hold together (Col 1:17b). Jesus is the head of the body of Christ, the church (Col 1:18a, 24b). We as believers are reconciled in his body of flesh through his death on the cross (Col 1:22), see The Atonement, if we continue in a stable and steadfast faith in what Jesus did for us on the cross (Col 1:23), see Sanctification.

Paul's goals for the Colossians as follows (these should also be the goals for today's churches) (Col 2:2–3):
  • That their hearts may be encouraged
    (Heb 10:24–25, Acts 15:32, 16:40, 18:27, Rom 1:11–12).
  • To be united in love (1 Pet 4:8), see Unity.
  • To reach full assurance of understanding of their salvation (Rom 8:38–39).
  • To reach the knowledge of the mystery of God which is Jesus
    (John 16:13, 2 Tim 3:16–17, Rev 22:18–19, Proverbs 30:6).
Paul proclaimed both warnings and teaching with all wisdom to make people mature in Christ (Col 1:28–29). A key to reaching spiritual maturity as a Christian is to learn to trust Jesus, to know that he is trustworthy. When we do, we begin to rest in him, which enhances our obedience to him. We know then that his way is best.

We must make sure that no one takes us captive to philosophy and empty deception according to human tradition, not based on Christ (Col 2:8). One such example
in our time is the Evolution theory, which is the atheistic version on how we got here, see Is the Theory of Evolution Proven?

Our focus should be on Jesus (Acts 17:28). Christianity is based on the relationship with the person Jesus Christ (Col 2:6–15). In Jesus we are complete (Col 2:10).

Paul also talks about legalism and asceticism/mysticism: These things don't make us holy or closer to God. Holiness is given through faith in Christ, see Sanctification.

 Legalism: Requirements placed on individuals who have put their faith in Christ, but now have been settled with additional requirements to be accepted by God and to be more holy and righteous (Col 2:8, 20–23, Mat 15:8–9, Isaiah 29:13).
We shouldn't allow anyone to judge us because of the following rules which are part of the Mosaic Laws and examples of legalism (Col 2:16):
The reason is that these Laws are a shadow of Jesus Christ (Heb 10:1, Col 2:17)
who fulfilled these Laws (Mat 5:17). Jesus kept the Mosaic Laws perfectly. Jesus did it for us because it's not possible for us to keep these Laws. Jesus is the fulfillment of the Mosaic Laws, see Jesus and the Law. We keep the Laws by faith in Jesus 
(Rom 3:31, Gal 3:23–25, Rom 6:14).

Legalism is always just placing some kind of overemphasis on irrelevant details.
See also time 0:44–2:38 in Bible Q&A With Pastor Paul │ September 2023.

Asceticism/mysticism: Severe self-discipline and avoidance of all form of indulgence, usually for religious reasons. That isn't according to the Bible 
(Col 2:20–23, 1 Tim 4:1–4), see also The Danger with Gnosticism.

Instead, we should live according to the following:
(But we shouldn't try this in the power of the flesh (2 Cor 3:5–6).)
  • Keep looking for what is above, with a desire to get it
    (Col 3:1, Eph 1:3, Mat 6:19–21). This includes spiritual blessings.
  • Set your mind on things above (Col 3:2, 2 Cor 4:18).
    We should put our focus on these things.
  • Therefore put to death the earthly within us (Col 3:5). Things that
    are against God's will for us to do, such as sexual immorality, see
    the 7th commandment in The Ten Commandments.
  • Put off the old self (Col 3:8–9). It's the old sinful nature.
  • Put on the new self (Col 3:10). It's the new Christlike nature with
    the Holy Spirit within us. We should step out in faith (Col 3:12–14).
  • Let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts (Col 3:15a). 
    We shouldn't let our emotions rule.
  • Let the word of God richly dwell in us (Col 3:16, Mat 7:24–25),
    see The Parable about the Wise and Foolish Builders.
  • Do everything in the Name of the Lord Jesus (Col 3:17a).
    It means in the authority of Jesus.
  • Give thanks to God (Col 3:15b, 16b, 17b).
    We ought to be thankful for what Jesus has done for us.
Posted by at