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1. Devoted To: ____________________________!

Colossians 4: ²Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. ³And pray for us, too…NIV

(Matthew 7:9-11; Ephesians 6:17-18; Psalm 141:2; Philippians 4:6 1Timothy 2:1-2)

2. Careful To: ______________________________________!

Colossians 4: ³And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. NIV

Two Ways:

1. 1. ______________________________________
2. 2. ______________________________________

(Colossians 4:5-6; 1Timothy 3:7; Luke 4:22; Psalm 45:2; Ephesians 4:29; Matthew 5:13; 1Peter 3:15-16)

3. Persistent In: ____________________________________!

Colossians 4: ⁷Tychicus will tell you all the news about me. He is a dear brother, a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord.NIV

(1Kings 19:13-18; Acts 15:36-41; Philemon 23; Colossians 4:14; 2Timothy 4:9)

Chapter 3

2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things – Earthly things as revealed in chapter 2 – philosophy (2:8-15), legalism (2:16-17), mysticism (2:18-19), and asceticism (2:20-23).

3      For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God – The past tense of apothnēskō (you died) shows us that this is a death which took place at salvation. (2 Cor. 5:17).

4      When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory – Cf. Rev 19:7-14.

5      Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry –

1. Sexual immorality (porneia) and refers to any sexual sin. Pornography comes from porneia and graphē, which means a writing. Pornography is a writing (or picture) about sexual sin. Porneia originally referred to prostitution (the related word pornē is the Greek word for “prostitute”). In the New Testament, however, its meaning broadens to include any form of illicit sex.
2. Impurity (akatharsia). Moral uncleanness. A crudeness or insensitivity in sexual matters.
3. Lust (niv) (pathos). Evil sexual passion that leads to excessive sexual immorality and perversion. (See Romans 1:26; 1 Thessalonians 4:5.)
4. Evil desires (epithumia). Wanting something that is sinister and vile in order to satisfy one’s desires (see also Galatians 5:16).
5. Greed [pleonexia] (which is idolatry) Relentless urge to get more for oneself.  The Greek word latterly means “to have more” (pleon, “more,” and exō, “to have”).

8 But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips – Rid yourselves apotithēmi, is from a word that is used for taking off clothes (cf. Acts 7:58; 1 Pet. 2:1).

1. Anger (orge). A continuous attitude of hatred that remains bottled up within.
2. Rage (thumos). Outbursts of anger or quick temper for selfish reasons.
3. Malice (kakia). This word is a general term referring to an evil force that destroys relationships.A deliberate attempt to harm another person.
4. Slander (blasphemia). Destroying another person’s good reputation by lies, gossip, spreading rumors, etc. From the Greek word we get our word “blasphemy,” a term used to describe speaking against God.
5. Filthy language (aisxrologia). Crude talk, abrasive language, expletives.

11 Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all – The Scythians were wild and primitive tribal people, living near the Black Sea.

They drank the blood of the first enemy killed in battle, and made napkins of the scalps, and drinking bowls of the skulls of the slain. They had the most filthy habits and never washed with water. (Herodotus 4.64, 65, 75)

They drank the blood of the first enemy killed in battle, and made napkins of the scalps, and drinking bowls of the skulls of the slain. They had the most filthy habits and never washed with water. (Herodotus 4.64, 65, 75)

12     ¹²Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience – The words: Chosen (Deut. 7:6; 14:2; 1 Chron. 16:13; Ps. 105:43; 135:4; Isa. 41:8; 44:1; 45:4), holy (Ex. 19:6; Lev. 19:2; Jer. 2:3), and dearly loved (1 Kings 10:9; 2 Chron. 9:8; Hos. 11:1) are all used of Israel in the Old Testament.

18 Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord – The word “submit” is used in Luke 2:51 to refer to Jesus’ submission to His parents, and in Luke 10:17, 20 to describe demons being subject to the disciples. In Romans 8:7, Paul uses the word to speak of being submissive to the commands of God’s law. His used it in Romans 13:1, 5 to refer to submission to governing authority, which is established by God. In both 1 Corinthians 15:27-28 and Ephesians 1:22, the verb looks to the time when all things in the universe are made subject to Christ and God in eternal glory.

19     Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them – love is the imperative agapate (love) which means continuous action. Cf. Eph 5:22-28. The imperative pikrainesthe (harsh) could be translated, “stop being bitter,” or “do not have the habit of being bitter” (A. T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament [Grand Rapids: Baker, 1931], 4:506).

20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord – Cf. 2Tim 3:1-2; Prov 30:17.

21 Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged - the word “fathers” is Pateres in the Greek and should be translated, “parents,” as it is in Hebrews 11:23. Embitter erethizō means to stir up, provoke, irritate, or exasperate.

Chapter 4

5        Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity – Cf. Psalm 90:12.

6        Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone – Cf. 1 Pet. 3:15.

7        Tychicus will tell you all the news about me. He is a dear brother, a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord – Cf. Acts 20:4.

9 He is coming with Onesimus, our faithful and dear brother, who is one of you. They will tell you everything that is happening here – Cf. Philemon.

14     ¹⁴Our dear friend Luke, the doctor, and Demas send greetings – This is Luke the gospel writer. His works are written with a more scientific, analytical mindset (Luke 1:1-4) and have much detail that a physician would be interested in (Luke 4:38, 5:12-15, and 8:43).

18     …Grace be with you – (cf. Rom. 16:24; 1 Cor. 16:23; 2 Cor. 13:14; 1 Thess. 5:28; 2 Thess. 3:18; 1 Tim. 6:21; 2 Tim. 4:22; Titus 3:15).

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1. Beware Of: ______________________________________!

Colossians 1: 8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. NIV

(Romans 1:21-22; 1Corinthians 1:19-21; Colossians 2:2-3; 2Thessalonians 3:10-11; Ecclesiastes 1:16-18)

2. Beware Of: __________________/___________________!

Colossians 2: 16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 17 These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. NIV

(Colossians 2:23; Titus 1:13-16; Matthew 15:10-20; Galatians 5:1)

3. Beware Of: ______________________________________!

Colossians 2:18 Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions. ¹⁹He has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow. NIV

(2Corinthians 11:13-15)

Chapter 2

1 I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally –

Colossae was just south about 11 miles or so from Laodicea which was a wealthy center of trade and commerce but became eventually became luke warm Cf. Revelation 3:14-22. Struggle translates agōn from which we get our English word agony.

6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, ⁷rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness – Mixed metaphors: A pilgrim walking (continue to live in Him). And tree which is rooted. A building built up. Strengthened in the faith and taught are school terms and overflowing with thankfulness is a river overflowing.

8    See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ - captive sulagōgeō means “to kidnap” or “to capture and take away as spoil.” Philosophy - phileō, “to love,” and sophia, “wisdom.” Basic principles is stoicheia. This term was used for the letters of an alphabet. It simply refers to the basic, ABC’s of elementary knowledge. CF. Matt 11:28-30.

9    For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, ¹⁰and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority – A false teaching of the early church was called Docetism, which claimed that Jesus had no actual human body, He only seemed to have one and only seemed to have died on the cross. Every power and authority are the invisible spiritual forces (Cf. Romans 8:38, Ephesians 1:21, Ephesians 3:10, Ephesians 6:12).

11   In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ – the act of circumcision symbolized cutting off the flesh. It was a sign of the Covenant for the Jews (Gen 17:9-14).

12   having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead – When a person is saved, they are immediately baptized by the Spirit into the body of Christ (1Cor 12:12-13) in which water baptism is a symbol.

14   having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross – “written code” means an acknowledgement of debt. Jesus paid in full (Tetelestai) our debt Cf. John 19: 28-30.

15   And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross – “Disarmed” apekduomai = to strip off oneself, to put off. Metaphorically it may refer to the stripping away of weapons and the removal of authority and power.

16         Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. ¹⁷These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. – “Therfore) (see verse 14). These things were just to be a shadow of what Christ would one day do.Days and foods, as observed under the Mosaic Law, are not binding upon New Covenant people. The shadow has passed, the reality has come. So for the Christian, all foods are pure (1 Timothy 4:4-5) and all days belong to God.

(Matthew 5:3-5; Philippians 2:12-13)

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1. Christ Supreme: _________________________________!

Colossians 1: 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. NIV

(Luke 24:27; John 5:39-40; John 14:6-9; Isaiah 9:6; Hebrews 1:3; Romans 8:29)

2. Christ Supreme: _________________________________!

Colossians 1: 16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. NIV

(John 1:3; 2Kings 6:15-18; John 1:18; Genesis 1:1; Zech 12:10)

3. Christ Supreme: _________________________________!

Colossians 1: 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. NIV

(Psalm 19:1-4; Romans 1:20; 2Peter 3:10)

4. Christ Supreme: _________________________________!

Colossians 1: 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. NIV

Colossians was written from a Roman prison in approximately 60-62 A.D. during Paul’s first imprisonment. Colosse lay about one hundred miles east of Ephesus, in the Lycus River valley in Phrygia, a district of Asia Minor (Turkey). 13 miles from Hierapolis and 10 from Laodicea. Epaphras founded the church, along with those at Laodicea and Hierapolis (Col 1:7-8; 4:12-13). Founded probably during Paul’s third missionary journey, when he preached in Ephesus for two years and the Bible tells us that during that time the gospel spread through that whole area (Acts 19:10).

Theme –  the sufficiency and supremacy of Christ.

Chapter 1

2 To the holy and faithful brothers in Christ at Colosse: Grace and peace to you from God our Father – The word “holy” is translated “saints” in the other epistles but it means holy or set apart.

5    the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel – Faith, hope and love.

9    For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding – Knowledge = epignosis – super knowledge in contrast to the “super knowledge” of the Gnostics.

10   And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God – The more we grow in the knowledge of God the more we will grow in our faith (I Pet 2:2; II Pet 1:5-7; 3:18; Jude 20).

14   in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins – Redemption (apolutrōsis) = “to ransom in full” “to buy back” or “to save from captivity by paying a ransom.”

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation – “image” = eikon and it is where we get our English word “icon”. (Hebrews 1:1-2) (John 1:14;14:9). Firstborn is prōtotokos. The first part of the word (prōto) can indicate “first in time” as in birth but it can also mean “first in place” (as in preeminence). (See Exod. 4:22; Deut. 21:16, 17; Ps. 89:23 in the LXX for the use of prōtotokos in connection with the idea of preeminence. Firstborn is also used of Jesus in Colossians 1:18, Romans 8:29, Hebrews 1:6, and Revelation 1:15.)

16   For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him – John 1:3 says that Christ created the world. Hebrews 1:2 goes even beyond that.

17   He is before all things, and in him all things hold together – The phrase Hold together (sunestaken) implies being compacted together in a coherent or logical way, prevented from dissolving into chaos.

“The fact that we live in a world in which practically every object is a potential nuclear explosive, without being blown to bits, is due to the extreme difficulties that attend the starting of a nuclear reaction.” (George Gamow cited in Chesnut, The Atom Speaks, p. 38)

“You grasp what this implies. It implies that all the massive nuclei have no right to be alive at all. Indeed, they should never have been created, and, if created, they should have blown up instantly. Yet here they all are.… Some inflexible inhibition is holding them relentlessly together. The nature of the inhibition is also a secret … one thus far reserved by Nature for herself.” (Karl K. Darrow cited in Chesnut, The Atom Speaks, p. 38)

19   For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him – . (fullness) Plērōma was a popular term used by the Gnostics to refer to divine powers and attributes, which were divided among the gods angels and entitites. Dwell is used in the sense of a permanent dwelling (katoikeō).

20   and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross – The blood of Christ is the only sufficient payment for our sins (Eph. 2:13; Heb. 10:19; I Pet. 1:2; Rev. 7:14).

21   Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior – alienated (apellotriomenous) is literally “transferred to another owner.”

26   the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints – Cf. Eph 3:6.

27   To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory – Christ, by the Holy Spirit, takes up permanent residence in all believers (cf. Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 6:19, 20; Eph. 2:22).