In this Bible study series of Paul’s letter to the
Colossians, we have learned the city of Colossae had a Christian community
mixed among Greeks, Romans, Jews, and Phrygians. Each people group had their
own culture, religions, and thoughts. The Greco-Roman philosophical thoughts
mixed with religious ideas created the earliest form of Gnosticism. Gnosticism
is a religious belief that all matter is evil and spiritual is good. Ancient Gnostics
believed the way to salvation was through advanced thought. They proclaimed their
so-called advanced Christianity and caused confusion and speculation about its
validity. (see Background of Paul's Letter to the
Church at Colossae)
Before he began to encourage and teach the Christians in
Colossae, they needed to know who he was so they would know they could trust
what he would tell them. They needed to identify with him and Timothy. Paul
began his letter to these Christians in Colossae identifying himself and
Timothy by their common faith and their common area of residence (vs 1-2). Both
Paul and Timothy grew up in Asia Minor where Colossae was located. Paul told the
Colossian Christians he and Timothy identified with Christ Jesus, just as they
did. (see Identification)
In Colossians 1:3-8, Paul prayed and gave thanks for the
Colossian Christians. He thanked God for their growth in faith in their love
for God and the saints. Paul wrote that they bore fruit and matured in their
faith. He made known he, too, knew Epaphras, their founding pastor and teacher,
because he himself discipled Epaphras. He identified Epaphras as one who knows
Jesus Christ, too, and said he taught them the Gospel truthfully. Epaphras is a
“beloved fellow bond-servant” of Christ. (see Thanksgiving in Colossians)
Paul continued to pray for the Colossian Christians in
Colossians 1:9-12. In this passage, he prayed for the Colossians to grow in
Christ so they would be well-pleasing to God. Paul prayed God would fill them
with the knowledge of His will with spiritual wisdom and understanding. He
prayed the Colossian believers would bear fruit of good works and asked God to
increase their knowledge of Him. Paul asked the Lord to strengthen them with
His power and give them steadfastness and patience, too. At the end of his
prayer, he asked that God give the Christians in Colossae joyous thanksgiving
to and for Him who qualified them to inherit eternal life with the saints and
the Son in His kingdom. (see Glorious Might)
In verses thirteen and fourteen, Paul explained who this
Father is of whom he spoke in verse twelve. He explained the Father is the One
who will give them the gifts for which he prayed for the Colossian Christians.
The Father is the one who rescued the Colossian believers and any person who
trusts in Jesus for salvation. Paul explained the Father rescues and transfers
those who believe in Jesus as the Son of God from Satan’s grip and transfers
them to the Son’s kingdom. These two verses told the Colossians what the Father
can and wants to do. With the end of verse fourteen, Paul segued to who the Son
is. (see Snatched and Delivered)
The Bible study of Colossians 1:15-20 (Superabundant Peace) told what Paul taught about
who Jesus is. He told the Colossians that Jesus is the exact embodiment of God.
He and the Father are of the same mind. Paul explained Jesus is preeminent over all created things. Jesus always existed and
created all things with the Father and Spirit ex nihilo, out of nothing.
Because of this, Jesus is greater than all created things, including angels,
whom the Gnostics proclaimed were greater than Jesus. Jesus created all things
and, in His wisdom, knowledge, and strength, holds all things together. Paul wrote
that Jesus is the head of the body, the Church. He explained Jesus was more
than these; He is the firstborn of the dead. Jesus came back to life and still
exists so He will be first among all things, alive and dead, and visible and
invisible. The Father, with pleasure, shared His fullness (His superabundance)
with the Son. He enabled the reconciliation of people to Him through Christ
Jesus. Paul explained how holy God reconciled sinful people to Himself. For the
reconciliation of every person, Jesus gave His life as the sacrifice for the
death penalty each one deserves because of their sins. Anyone who believes
Jesus is the Son of God and confesses of his or her sins, He will save from their
sins and death. By doing this, Jesus made peace with God possible.
If…Then
With Colossians 1:21-23, Paul continued his teaching about
Jesus Christ. These three verses tell what Christ has done and will do for
believers if they believe in Him. Verses fifteen through twenty told of
who He is in relation to God, the universe, and the church. With the next three
verses, Paul taught about what Jesus would do for them by using a common form
of teaching, the conditional statement. Most people understand conditional
statements. Basically, they say, “If you will do this, then I will do that.”
Biblical scholars call this teaching tool “If…then” protasis and apodosis.
Protasis is the clause that has the condition, you must do something to
get something. Apodosis tells what you get if you keep to your side of
the bargain.
In verses 15-20, Paul explained what the apodosis is
(what people will get from Jesus) if the Colossians and other people will do
something (the protasis). If
people will believe in Jesus as the Son of God and repent of their sins (the protasis) then Jesus will save them from their sins
(apodosis). Paul said Jesus did this for the believers of Colossae because
He is the image of God, preeminent over creation, the Creator of all things,
firstborn from the dead, the Head of the church, the One who has the fullness
of God in Him, and has His purposes-to reconcile all things to Himself. (Colossians
1:15-20) Let’s look closer to see who the Colossian Christians were before
reconciliation, what Jesus did for them, and what the Colossian Christians had
to do as their part of this conditional clause (covenant).
You were…
“And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds…” (Col. 1:21 [NASB])
Paul said the Colossian believers formerly had alienated
themselves. This verb comes from the Greek word apallotrioo and means to
estrange or separate oneself from someone. Before they believed in Jesus as the
Son of God, the Colossian Christians had willfully estranged themselves from
God by doing what they wanted. Until they acted on the gift of faith God gave
them, they had no strength to combat the temptations to willfulness. Human
strength is imperfect against Satan’s temptations. Only Christ’s strength gives
people victory. This verse recalls to us verse thirteen where Paul said, “He
rescued us from the domain of darkness.”
Paul told the Colossians they were more than willfully
alienating themselves from God. They hostilely combated Him in their minds. The
mind and heart are where temptation strikes first. Our minds might say, I want that,
or I have a right to it. Our hearts, with its desires, agree. This illustrates
a hostile mind. This mind separates us from God because, by reasoning with our
human mind and heart’s desires, often we do things opposite of God’s plans. With
this statement, Paul showed the early Gnostics’ belief about philosophical thoughts
giving a person an advanced Christianity was contrary to God’s plan. With hostile
minds, he said they engaged in evil deeds, the things about which Paul prayed in
verses six and ten. These Colossian Christians, before they believed in Jesus, alienated
themselves from God in heart, mind, and spirit. These caused them to act immorally
and separate them from God. Sin affects the four parts of each human.
Yet He did...
“Yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach.” [NASB]
The important part is how Jesus did this. Nothing else has
ever nor would ever be enough of a sacrifice to cleanse us from the stain of
our sins and release us from the grip of Satan and death, eternal separation
from God. Christians do not need Gnostic thought on advanced Christianity.
Jesus sacrifice is enough. Paul said Jesus reconciled us “through his fleshly
body.” He had to become a man, to live as a man, never to submit to temptation,
to die as a man for the sins of all humanity, and then to rise as the
victorious Son of God. He had to be 100% man and 100% divinity for the
sacrifice to be perfect for our redemption and reconciliation. Only God could
do this. Only He could be God and be in human form. No person can make him or
herself God and offer the perfect sacrifice for his or her sins. God, in His three
persons of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, desires for us to accept the
reconciliation He gives.
Jesus’ sacrifice occurred so He could present us before God.
For no one else in creation do we need to be holy except before holy God. When
Paul said, “to present you before Him,” this literally means to stand before
the face of God. Without Jesus’ sacrifice, we could never be face to face with
God because holiness and sinfulness cannot be in the same place just as light
and darkness cannot be in the same place. Jesus gave us this hope that He laid
up for us in heaven (vs 5). He qualified us to share in the inheritance of the
saints in Light (vs 12). Jesus makes each believer in Him “blameless and beyond
reproach”. He makes us unconvictable for our sins because He paid the price for
our cleansing and release from Satan’s grip. To be face to face with holy God, we
must be “blameless and beyond reproach”.
Jesus justified and made each believer righteous and
continues to do this for each person who trusts in Him. What Jesus does, He
does fully. No half-measures occur. Nothing can ever snatch us from God’s
hands. When Jesus saves us, He saves us for eternity. God had to do the reconciling
of people to Himself, unlike what the Gnostics taught with their intellectual
reasoning.
If you will…
“If indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the Gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister.” [NASB]
With the first words of this side of the conditional
statement (protasis), Paul said, “if indeed” you count yourself
as saved. He then adds three things that should occur in your life. “Indeed”
comes from the Greek word ge which emphasizes the word to which it
adjoins. “Indeed” adjoins “if.” The
part Paul emphasized was “If.” He
used the antithesis to emphasize his point. If you are not a Christian
who is “firmly established” is the antithesis. Remember, people taught philosophical
thought and Gnosticism as the better way to live. Paul pointed out only Jesus
provides the salvation sufficient for your reconciliation to God, resurrection
from the dead, and eternity in heaven. Gnostics considered resurrection from
the dead disgusting because they considered the body evil, so resurrection did
not happen. Paul’s use of the antithesis to emphasize leads us to understand
his words this way. “If indeed you
are a Christian who continues in your faith in Jesus Christ, this means three
things.”
What are the three things that prove a person has Christian
faith? First, let’s understand what Paul meant by “continue in your faith.” For
the people of Paul’s day, “continue” meant they persevered no matter what.
Perseverance is more than endurance. Perseverance is endurance lived out. Paul
meant these Colossian Christians, and all Christians, continuously would persevere
in their faith, the deep conviction and trust that Jesus is the Son of God. He
said, “If indeed you continue in your faith” three things will be evident.
Paul stated, “your faith will be firmly established.” He
uses building metaphors in this passage. Firmly established faith comes from
Jesus laying the foundation of your faith. He speaks truth and is Truth. Truth
makes a building stable and grounded in the soul, unlike what the Gnostics
tried to convince them. As Paul prayed for the Colossian Christians in verses
three through twelve, we must make our faith established firmly by holding onto
the faith, maturing, and bearing fruit. We must work out what Christ has put in
us. (Philippians 2:12-13)
Added to this, Paul said, “your faith will be steadfast.” This
word “steadfast” comes from the Greek word hedraios meaning to be
solidly based and morally fixed. It gives Christians a firm purpose in mind and
action. It makes us immovable from the faith and truth in which we first
believed. When our faith is steadfast, no matter what happens to us, we will
not forget God loves us and Jesus gives us the victory. No matter what happens,
we have the hope of our salvation and life eternally in God’s kingdom. Our
foundation will rest on the Truth, Jesus Christ. It will stay secure and
steadfast no matter what comes against it. Nothing can shake us from the
foundation of our faith. Paul prayed for the Colossian Christians to be
steadfast in their faith in verse twelve.
The third thing that will be evident in the life of the
Christian, Paul said, is their faith will “not move away from the hope.” What
did Paul mean with this combination of words? “Moved away” means to dislodge,
like a building built poorly so its walls fell. What is this hope? Hope is
being sure of that to which you hold or on which you stand. The Gospel gives this
hope. With this hope, Christians will remain unmoved from Christ, the Truth and
the Life. Nothing can snatch us out of God’s hands. We have the joyful
anticipation of being with Him forever and His being with us now to make our
faith grow and to keep us strong despite storms that come against us. Understand,
these three things do not make a person a Christian, but they are fruit from a
person who has given his or her life to Jesus and that life has grown these
fruit as her or she grew in their knowledge, wisdom, and understanding from,
and strength through God.
This Gospel is nothing new, but “was proclaimed in all
creation under heaven.” Every created thing proclaims the Gospel, God’s love
for humanity and desire to have a saving relationship with us. He formed all
creation (vs 16). Every living thing declares His might, knowledge, wisdom, and
understanding. Each living thing bears testimony to God’s sovereignty. In Romans
1:20 [NASB], Paul said, “For since the creation of the world His invisible
attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being
understood through what has been made, so that they (the ungodly and
unrighteous) are without excuse (for not believing).” God made Himself evident
in creation as He created, as He walked in the Garden of Eden, as He worked in
and for His people in the Old Testament, as He walked among us in the form of
Jesus, as He rose victorious from the grave, and as He saves and lives in those
who have faith to trust in Him as the Son of God. To this, Jesus made Paul a
minister for Him.
Formerly,
the Colossian Christians sinned and alienated themselves from God. They became
hostile against Him in mind and in deed. Then,
He made a way for their reconciliation to Himself. Christ reconciles each
person who trusts He came in the form of a man, while wholly divine, to die a
bodily death and be resurrected to life to give salvation and eternal life. He
does this to present each believer in front of God as holy and blameless and
without reproach. God will not find sin and the stain of sin on any believer.
This happens if we have
firmly established faith in Jesus that is steadfast and immovable from the hope
the gospel of Jesus Christ gives.
Thoughts to Consider:
This world is full of philosophies, conspiracy theories,
hate, evil, religions, and cultures. Many options satisfy the heart, mind, and
body and cause them to think those options are truth. When Paul wrote his
letter to the Colossians, angelology, Gnosticism, and other cultures and
thoughts existed besides faith in Jesus, newly planted in Colossae but
established in creation by God. These thoughts, cultures, and religions vied to
gain acolytes. To be better than Christianity, the Gnostics wove a web of
thought to convince Christians their ways were better than what Epaphras taught
them. Though the Colossian Christians battled these things, Paul said he was
pleased to hear a good report about them and their faith. He prayed for their faith.
With these three verses from today’s study, Paul reminded the Colossian
believers of who they once were and of Christ, who they believed for salvation.
Next, he reminded the Colossian Christians their faith is established on Christ,
the foundation, and is steadfast and immovable. Finally, Paul said they had the
hope Jesus gave them through their faith in Him. He interwove these three
verses with his prayers for them in verses three through fourteen. He returned
to who Christ is and how He is the Redeemer from verses fifteen through twenty.
Today, decide if you will accept the salvation Christ offers.
Ask yourself if you will uphold and enact the conditional statement and make a
covenant with God. If you are already a Christian, examine your life to see if you
have a faith firmly established, steadfast, and unmoved from the hope of the
Gospel.
Questions to ask yourself:
·
Unbeliever, will you examine your heart, mind,
and soul?
o
Do you now recognize Jesus is the Son of God?
o
Will you accept His gift of salvation and give
your life to Him?
o
Will you grow in your new faith and mature
producing fruit of that Gospel to which you professed?
·
Christian, will you examine your life to see if
you have the true faith?
o
Are you firmly established with Christ as your
foundation?
o
Are you steadfast so that nothing can move you
from Christ?
o
Are you sure of your hope of the gospel so that
whatever comes against you will not remove your hope and testimony in Jesus?
For next week, read Colossians 1 again
and pay particular attention to verses 24-29.
“Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh, I do my share on behalf of His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions.” [NASB]
