#42b- God Is So We LIVE?
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(English Standard Version)
Col 1 - Greeting - Thanksgiving and Prayer - The Preeminence of Christ - Paul’s Ministry to The Church
Col 2 - Alive in Christ Let No One Disqualify You
Col 3 - Put on the New Self - Rules for Christian Households
Col 4 - Final Instructions - Final Greetings
COMMENTS and QUESTIONS
by J Neil Evans:
Read Colossians yourself, then …
Watch Bible Project summary of Colossians
Like most of Paul’s letters, Colossians was written to people who are already believers, to “saints and faithful brothers in Christ”. There seems to be no glaring problems Paul sought to address, but Paul wanted to encourage and challenge them to grow in the things they already knew. His prayer for them in 1:9-14, helps us understand his goal in writing the letter. Here is what Paul said:
“And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He 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.”
And his goal in 1:28 and 2:2-4:
“Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments.”
The basis for Paul’s prayer and goal was Who God is and what He has done for us. He summarizes this in 1:15-23 and throughout his letter.
“He (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.”
With this in mind, I want to simply, and profoundly, go through Colossians and note what is said about Who God is and what He has done.
1:1 God wills Apostles of Jesus and Jesus has them.
1:2 God gives Grace and Peace
Jesus has saints and faithful brethren
1:3 God is worthy of thanks as the Father of Jesus
1:9 Jesus has a will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding
1:10 God can be known increasingly
1:11 God has glorious might
1:12 God has qualified (already accomplished) saints and faithful brethren to share in His inheritance
1:13 God has delivered (already accomplished) us from the kingdom of darkness
1:13 God has transferred (already accomplished)us to the Kingdom of His beloved Son
1:14 in Jesus we have (already accomplished) redemption and forgiveness
1:15 God is invisible … Jesus is image of God
1:15 Jesus first born of all creation
1:16 Jesus created all things … they are through Him and for Him
1:17 Jesus is before all things and in Him all things hold together
1:18 Jesus is the Head of His Church … Jesus is the beginning, the First Born from the dead. … Jesus is preeminent in everything
1:19 The fullness of God is pleased to dwell in Jesus
1:20 Jesus reconciled all things to God by making peace by His blood
1:22 Jesus has now reconciled us to God in order to present us holy, blameless and above reproach
1:25 God gave Paul a ministry of stewarding God’s Word which He wants made known
1:25 God had hidden this Word till Jesus came
1:28 Jesus enables spiritual maturity in Himself as His powerful energy works in us
2:2 God had a mystery, and it was “Christ”
2:3 All treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ
2:6 Jesus is “receivable” and we can walk in Him
2:7 we can be rooted, built up and established by faith in Jesus
2:9 the whole fullness of Deity dwells bodily in Jesus
2:10 Jesus fills us
2:10 Jesus is the head of all rule and authority
2:11 we are circumcised without hands in Jesus
2:12 we are buried with Jesus in baptism and raised with Him
2:12 God powerfully worked to raise Jesus and us from the dead
2:13 God made us alive together with Christ forgiving us all our trespasses
2:14 God cancelled our record of debt - set it aside nailing it to the cross
2:15 God disarmed the rulers and authorities - put them to shame - triumphed over them in Christ on the cross
2:17 the reality of Biblical ceremonies realized in Christ
2:19 Jesus is The Head of The Church
2:19 God gives growth to Christ’s Church
3:1 Jesus is seated at right hand of God
3:3 God has our LIFE hidden with Christ in Himself
3:4 Jesus is our LIFE
3:4 Jesus will appear in Glory, and us with Him
3:6 God’s wrath is coming
3:11 Jesus is All and in All
3:12 God has chosen ones who are holy and beloved
3:13 The Lord has forgiven us
3:15 Jesus has Peace that can rule in our hearts
3:15 Jesus calls us to Peace in one body
3:16 Jesus has Word that can dwell in us richly
3:16 God receives thanks through our worship together
3:17 Jesus can motivate and empower everything we do
including thanks to God
3:17 God is The Father
3:18 The Lord sets the pattern for our submission
3:20 The Lord is pleased by children obeying their parents
3:22 fear of The Lord motivates obedience
3:23 The Lord deserves our hearty work in whatever we do
3:24 The Lord will give His inheritance as our reward
3:24 The Lord is the One we serve
4:3 God opens doors for ministry of The Word
4:11 God has a Kingdom
4:12 Jesus has servants
4:12 God has a will in which we can be mature and fully assured
God is all of these these to us by His Grace and Peace. We could never deserve or earn them. But having Christ’s LIFE in us motivates us and enables us to live New LIFE. Thus, it is in response to Who God is and What He has done for us that Paul instructs us in the good works and good ways we should live. So, just as I went through Colossians and listed what Paul says about God, I want to go through and list what Paul says about the way we can and should live.
2:6 walk in Jesus, the same way we received Him, by believing and trusting Him
2:8 see to it that no one takes us captive by worldly means
2:16 let no one pass judgement on the way we don’t keep their religious rituals
2:19 hold fast to Jesus, our Head, and let God grow us
3:1 seek things in Heaven where Jesus is
3:2 set our minds on things above, not on things on earth
3:5 put to death the earthly things in us
3: 8 put away anger, wrath, malice, slander and obscene talk
3:9 don’t lie to each other since we put off our old self
3:10 put on or new self
3:12,13 put on compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, … forgive as the Lord forgives
3:14 above all put on love
3:15 let the Peace of Christ rule in our hearts
3:15 be thankful
3:16 let the Word of Christ dwell in us
3:16 teach and admonish one another in all wisdom
3:16 sing psalms, hymns, spiritual songs in our hearts to The Lord
3:17 do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus
3:17 give thanks to God through Jesus
3:18 be submissive as to the Lord
3:19 love as the Lord loves
3:20 be obedient, pleasing the Lord
3:21 do not provoke
3:23 work heartily as for the Lord
4:1 treat others with justice and fairness
4:5 conduct ourselves wisely toward outsiders
4:5 make the best use of our time
4:6 let our speech be gracious
4:16 share the Bible with others
I must remember that these behaviors and character qualities are the result of God’s Graciousness to us in giving us His LIFE to live. They are not rules to follow to earn God’s Grace and Peace, but they are the result of “growing in the knowledge of God” and all that He Is and Has done and provided for us. These things are the result of our “working out” the salvation that God has gifted us into our daily lives. All the Glory goes to God for any success at doing so.
(English Standard Version)
Col 1 - Greeting - Thanksgiving and Prayer - The Preeminence of Christ - Paul’s Ministry to The Church
Col 2 - Alive in Christ Let No One Disqualify You
Col 3 - Put on the New Self - Rules for Christian Households
Col 4 - Final Instructions - Final Greetings
COMMENTS and QUESTIONS
by J Neil Evans:
Read Colossians yourself, then …
Watch Bible Project summary of Colossians
Like most of Paul’s letters, Colossians was written to people who are already believers, to “saints and faithful brothers in Christ”. There seems to be no glaring problems Paul sought to address, but Paul wanted to encourage and challenge them to grow in the things they already knew. His prayer for them in 1:9-14, helps us understand his goal in writing the letter. Here is what Paul said:
“And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He 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.”
And his goal in 1:28 and 2:2-4:
“Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments.”
The basis for Paul’s prayer and goal was Who God is and what He has done for us. He summarizes this in 1:15-23 and throughout his letter.
“He (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.”
With this in mind, I want to simply, and profoundly, go through Colossians and note what is said about Who God is and what He has done.
1:1 God wills Apostles of Jesus and Jesus has them.
1:2 God gives Grace and Peace
Jesus has saints and faithful brethren
1:3 God is worthy of thanks as the Father of Jesus
1:9 Jesus has a will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding
1:10 God can be known increasingly
1:11 God has glorious might
1:12 God has qualified (already accomplished) saints and faithful brethren to share in His inheritance
1:13 God has delivered (already accomplished) us from the kingdom of darkness
1:13 God has transferred (already accomplished)us to the Kingdom of His beloved Son
1:14 in Jesus we have (already accomplished) redemption and forgiveness
1:15 God is invisible … Jesus is image of God
1:15 Jesus first born of all creation
1:16 Jesus created all things … they are through Him and for Him
1:17 Jesus is before all things and in Him all things hold together
1:18 Jesus is the Head of His Church … Jesus is the beginning, the First Born from the dead. … Jesus is preeminent in everything
1:19 The fullness of God is pleased to dwell in Jesus
1:20 Jesus reconciled all things to God by making peace by His blood
1:22 Jesus has now reconciled us to God in order to present us holy, blameless and above reproach
1:25 God gave Paul a ministry of stewarding God’s Word which He wants made known
1:25 God had hidden this Word till Jesus came
1:28 Jesus enables spiritual maturity in Himself as His powerful energy works in us
2:2 God had a mystery, and it was “Christ”
2:3 All treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ
2:6 Jesus is “receivable” and we can walk in Him
2:7 we can be rooted, built up and established by faith in Jesus
2:9 the whole fullness of Deity dwells bodily in Jesus
2:10 Jesus fills us
2:10 Jesus is the head of all rule and authority
2:11 we are circumcised without hands in Jesus
2:12 we are buried with Jesus in baptism and raised with Him
2:12 God powerfully worked to raise Jesus and us from the dead
2:13 God made us alive together with Christ forgiving us all our trespasses
2:14 God cancelled our record of debt - set it aside nailing it to the cross
2:15 God disarmed the rulers and authorities - put them to shame - triumphed over them in Christ on the cross
2:17 the reality of Biblical ceremonies realized in Christ
2:19 Jesus is The Head of The Church
2:19 God gives growth to Christ’s Church
3:1 Jesus is seated at right hand of God
3:3 God has our LIFE hidden with Christ in Himself
3:4 Jesus is our LIFE
3:4 Jesus will appear in Glory, and us with Him
3:6 God’s wrath is coming
3:11 Jesus is All and in All
3:12 God has chosen ones who are holy and beloved
3:13 The Lord has forgiven us
3:15 Jesus has Peace that can rule in our hearts
3:15 Jesus calls us to Peace in one body
3:16 Jesus has Word that can dwell in us richly
3:16 God receives thanks through our worship together
3:17 Jesus can motivate and empower everything we do
including thanks to God
3:17 God is The Father
3:18 The Lord sets the pattern for our submission
3:20 The Lord is pleased by children obeying their parents
3:22 fear of The Lord motivates obedience
3:23 The Lord deserves our hearty work in whatever we do
3:24 The Lord will give His inheritance as our reward
3:24 The Lord is the One we serve
4:3 God opens doors for ministry of The Word
4:11 God has a Kingdom
4:12 Jesus has servants
4:12 God has a will in which we can be mature and fully assured
God is all of these these to us by His Grace and Peace. We could never deserve or earn them. But having Christ’s LIFE in us motivates us and enables us to live New LIFE. Thus, it is in response to Who God is and What He has done for us that Paul instructs us in the good works and good ways we should live. So, just as I went through Colossians and listed what Paul says about God, I want to go through and list what Paul says about the way we can and should live.
2:6 walk in Jesus, the same way we received Him, by believing and trusting Him
2:8 see to it that no one takes us captive by worldly means
2:16 let no one pass judgement on the way we don’t keep their religious rituals
2:19 hold fast to Jesus, our Head, and let God grow us
3:1 seek things in Heaven where Jesus is
3:2 set our minds on things above, not on things on earth
3:5 put to death the earthly things in us
3: 8 put away anger, wrath, malice, slander and obscene talk
3:9 don’t lie to each other since we put off our old self
3:10 put on or new self
3:12,13 put on compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, … forgive as the Lord forgives
3:14 above all put on love
3:15 let the Peace of Christ rule in our hearts
3:15 be thankful
3:16 let the Word of Christ dwell in us
3:16 teach and admonish one another in all wisdom
3:16 sing psalms, hymns, spiritual songs in our hearts to The Lord
3:17 do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus
3:17 give thanks to God through Jesus
3:18 be submissive as to the Lord
3:19 love as the Lord loves
3:20 be obedient, pleasing the Lord
3:21 do not provoke
3:23 work heartily as for the Lord
4:1 treat others with justice and fairness
4:5 conduct ourselves wisely toward outsiders
4:5 make the best use of our time
4:6 let our speech be gracious
4:16 share the Bible with others
I must remember that these behaviors and character qualities are the result of God’s Graciousness to us in giving us His LIFE to live. They are not rules to follow to earn God’s Grace and Peace, but they are the result of “growing in the knowledge of God” and all that He Is and Has done and provided for us. These things are the result of our “working out” the salvation that God has gifted us into our daily lives. All the Glory goes to God for any success at doing so.
Check out these LINKS:
Watch Bible Project summary of Colossians
Read "Bible Words to Ponder" related to this week study
Read "The Gospel"