Colossians 1:1
Introduction
Theme - The Exaltation of Christ
Author - Paul. This is pretty well accepted although some have attempted to claim
that the heresy Paul alluded to, Gnosticism, did not occur until after Paul’s
day. They also like to point out that the epistle contains a lot of words
that Paul never used in any other epistle.
1. To answer the first argument, I would say…
a. Paul had the gift of prophecy and could no doubt see problems that were
in the future.
(1) End time.
1Tim 4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall
depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
(2) Rapture (1Cor 15, 1Thess 4:13-18)
(3) He even spoke of his own future at Miletus \\#Acts 20:25\\.
b. Even without the gift of prophecy, wise Christians can see the seeds of
heresy BEFORE they take root and bring forth their corrupt fruit.
2. As for Paul’s words…
a. Paul was very well educated and probably knew more words than he ever
wrote.
b. The Holy Spirit helped Paul select the words that best met the need of
the situation.
Colosse
The city was located in Turkey, north and east of Israel. The city was
located along the Lycus River. At one time, it and the other cites in
that region were well-fortified cities. By the time Paul was writing this
epistle, Rome was firmly in control of most of the world and the need for
fortification had diminished. Colosse itself had been a large city in
the past, but now most of the traffic traveled to the north, going to
Laodicea instead. Some believe that Paul traveled to Laodicea but never
went to Colosse.
The Epistle
Colossians is a prison epistle, an epistle written by Paul while he was
imprisoned in Rome (the first time). There are four prison epistles,
Philippians, Ephesians, Philemon, and Colossians. All were probably written
the same year, around 62 AD.
Some believe they were even written at the same time because…
a. Some are mentioned in more than one epistle, like Epaphras
\\#Col 1:7, Phm 1:23\\.
b. The themes of the all four have commonality.
(1) Ephesians discusses Christ’s Church.
(2) Colossians discusses the Church’s Head.
(3) Philippians discusses the Church’s walk.
(4) Philemon gives an example of the Church’s Christian walk.
Heresy
Paul seemed to deal with what will become one of the first major heresies of
the church, Gnosticism. The cult is named after the Greek word, GNO-SIS,
meaning knowledge. This belief has several basic tenets.
1. In order to know of spiritual things, you must have an enlightened spirit.
The Gnostic believe they have it and others do not.
2. They believe the material world was indirectly created by God. They believe
God created a being, who created a being, who created… and that one in
that series of created being created the material world.
3. They believe that Jesus is one of those in the series of created beings.
They do not believe the created beings are perfect.
4. They usually hold to either one of two extremes:
a. Asceticism - The belief that the enlightened must deny themselves of
material pleasure.
b. Licentiousness - The belief that the enlightened should indulge
themselves in material pleasure.
Whether the church at Colosse had those within it who adhered to these kinds
of beliefs is not certain, but Paul does answer some of these errors in this
epistle.
Outline
I. \\#1:1-2:23\\ The Person of God Displayed through Christ
A. \\#1:1-12\\ Introduction
B. \\#1:12-2:3\\ The Person of Christ
C. \\#2:4-23\\ Warnings to the Church
D. \\#2:10-23\\ The Solution is to Remember
II. \\#3:1-4:18\\ The Person of God Displayed through the Believers
A. \\#3:1\\ A Condition
B. \\#3:2-4\\ A Correlation
C. \\#3:5-4:6\\ Commands
D. \\#4:7-18\\ Friends in the Ministry
<Outline
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