Session 1: Colossians 1:1–14

Session Goals

Every session has a point—what each participant should walk away from the discussion knowing, feeling, and doing.

Main Idea: In light of Jesus’s grace, faithfulness, and the outpour of His love through the Spirit, we should allow the Spirit to mature us in faithfulness back to Christ.

Head Change: To know the truth of the gospel and how it directly relates to us.

Heart Change: To feel adoration for Jesus because of all He’s done for us.

Life Change: To pursue Christian maturity through transformed actions, attitudes, and mindsets.

Open

Share about a time when you were less mature than you are now—maybe a story from your childhood, school days, or first day at a job. What did you do or say that showed your immaturity?

As we grow in Christ, our habits, attitudes, and words change. We become more and more like Jesus the longer we follow Him. As we’re going to discover in this study on Colossians, a mature faith begins with full submission to the supremacy of Jesus. Louie Giglio will walk us through the first section of chapter one to show how the simple gospel is the starting point to Christian maturity.

Read

Read Colossians 1:1–14

Colossians 1:1–14 ESV

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 2 To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father. 3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, 5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, 6 which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, 7 just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf 8 and has made known to us your love in the Spirit. 9 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, 10 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; 11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Watch

Before viewing the session, here are a few important things to look for in Louie Giglio’s teaching. As you watch, pay attention to how Louie answers the following questions.

What is the central message of Colossians?

Who wrote Colossians? Why did he write it? Whom did he write to?

What does it mean to live a life worthy of God?

Show Session 1: Colossians 1:1–14 (13 minutes)

Discuss

Louie Giglio began the discussion on Colossians with two reminders. He first reminded us that the Bible is God’s breathed-out words to us. God’s teaching us about Himself through Scripture. Would you say it’s easy to forget that the Bible is God’s word to us? What might the effects be when the Bible has become more of a simple book and less of God’s actual word?

How has God’s Word proven to be living and active in your life? What, specifically, has changed in you because of how you’ve interacted with the Bible through reading it, listening to sermons, etc.?

What expectations do you have for this study? How do you hope to change through reading the book of Colossians?

Another point Louie talked about was the context of Colossians. Paul wrote Colossians from prison alongside Timothy. He penned the letter to correct some wrong theology circulating in the church in Colossae by emphasizing the supremacy of Jesus. What do you think of when you hear “the supremacy of Jesus”? How would you define supremacy?

How would you describe a life fully submitted to the supremacy of Jesus? What would it look like? What’s appealing to you most about that kind of life?

Read Colossians 1:1–2

Colossians 1:1–2 ESV

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 2 To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

What details that Louie provided about Paul, Timothy, and Colossae help you understand the letter better? How?

Leader: If your group is unfamiliar with Paul and Timothy, spend some time reviewing who they are with your group. Consider reading Acts 9:1–31 for Paul’s story and Acts 16:1–5 and 1 Timothy 1:1–2 for information about Timothy.

Read Colossians 1:3–8

Colossians 1:3–8 ESV

3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, 5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, 6 which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, 7 just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf 8 and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.

According to these verses, how did those in Colossae hear the gospel? Who shared it with them? (Epaphras)

What’s interesting about Colossians is Paul didn’t plant this church—Epaphras did. Paul writes to a church he’s never met before, but still expresses deep care for them. What kinds of things does Paul point out about the church in these verses? (Paul pointed out their faith, love, hope, how they’re bearing fruit, and how they understood God’s grace.)

How do you tend to express your love for God’s people? What about your faith in Jesus Christ? Your hope stored in heaven? What does it practically look like to be full of love, faith, or hope?

If you had to pick faith, love, or hope to work on, which one would you pick? Why? What might it look like to improve in that area?

Paul recognizes the Colossians’ true understanding of the gospel when they first believed. They bore the spiritual fruit of love and faith. Paul continues his encouragement in the next section of verses.

Read Colossians 1:9–14

Colossians 1:9–14 ESV

9 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, 10 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; 11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Paul mentions for the second time that he and Timothy pray for the church in Colossae. He specifically says they never stop praying for them. When has someone modeled this kind of prayer life for you?

Christians who are more mature than us can give us an example of what it looks like to follow Jesus. In their prayers for the Colossians to grow in Christ, Paul and Timothy offer an example of Christian maturity. They pray that the Colossians would live a life worthy of God. How does Paul describe a worthy life in these verses? 

(A worthy life is one that bears fruit, grows in the knowledge of God, is strengthened by God, endures, is patient, and gives thanks.)

GO DEEPER

Read more about what Paul says about living a worthy life in the following verses: Rom. 16:1–2; Eph. 4:1–3; Phil. 1:27–28; 1 Thess. 2:9–12

According to these passages, what kind of attitude characterizes a worthy life? What do these verses say about how we should treat other people?

When Paul asks believers to live a worthy life, he is telling them to live a life that matches the salvation they’ve received.

How do the actions mentioned in these verses reflect a changed life in Christ?

In Christ, we are forever changed. He frees us from sin and death and brings us into relationship with God. But being saved doesn’t mean we can do whatever we want—as Christians we should conduct ourselves in a way that reflects the grace we’ve received. In Christ, we are forever changed. He frees us from sin and death and brings us into relationship with God. But being saved doesn’t mean we can do whatever we want—as Christians we should conduct ourselves in a way that reflects the grace we’ve received.

If we look back to verse 9, living worthily begins with God filling us with His knowledge, wisdom, and understanding. To Paul, following God begins in the mind and heart, and then expresses itself through action. What has it looked like in your walk with Christ to grow in knowledge, wisdom, and understanding? How have you seen your mind mature?

PEEK AT THE GREEK

Paul prays that God would fill the Colossians with the knowledge of His will. The Greek work for knowledge is epignosis. When Paul uses this word, he often refers to the knowledge of God. Rather than knowledge being an intellectual understanding of God, Paul uses it to express the personal knowledge of God Christians experience through relationship with Him. This type of knowledge produces wisdom and understanding, but for Paul, mere head knowledge isn’t the end of the line. Knowing God should fundamentally change us, which trickles down into our everyday actions.

What are some things you know are true of God? How do you know they are true? How have those truths changed the way you act?

What we think about God and what we do are intrinsically connected. Following Jesus isn’t just a head knowledge, it’s acting in obedience too. Paul sums up this section in verses 12–14. The reason we’re even able to know God and follow Him is because of Jesus. He has brought us into a new kingdom—the kingdom of light.

Louie put it this way, “It’s not what you do that brings you to life spiritually. It’s what God does for you that makes you a follower of Jesus and brings you to life spiritually.” What difference does it make in your relationship with God when you operate as if you have to “do something” in order to gain spiritual life?

What kinds of things do we sometimes add to the gospel message? (We sometimes believe we have to do certain things like read your Bible, pray, tithe, fast, and serve in the local church in order to be a Christian.)

Louie reminded us that salvation doesn’t come by our own efforts or by any insider information—what he called the “secret society.” The Colossians had added to the gospel message in several ways. We’ll investigate those additions throughout this series and see how we may have fallen into some of the same traps. How do you think an incorrect view of the gospel—and of God Himself—could impact someone’s actions? What would their life look like?

Have you ever seen that happen in your life? What were you “adding” to the gospel? How did you come to realize what you were doing?

Going back to verses 13–14, what does it mean to you that you’ve been rescued from the kingdom of darkness? How does that truth relate to living a life that’s worthy of God?

PEEK AT THE GREEK

When Paul says God has rescued us from the dominion (NIV) or domain (ESV) of darkness, he uses the word exousias. This word refers to authority, the holder of authority, or a sphere of authority. What Paul means by exousias is that through Christ, our ultimate authority has changed. We were once under the exousia—or authority—of darkness: of Satan, sin, and death. Now through the redemption and forgiveness brought through Jesus, we have been brought into the kingdom of light under the authority of Christ.

As mentioned before, living a life worthy of God is only possible through Jesus. He made a way for us to be reunited with God and gives us the Holy Spirit so we can grow in maturity. That’s not to say we have to strive to be perfect in our own power. Rather, the Spirit fills us and gives us all we need to pursue maturity in Christ—all beginning with the knowledge of God. When did you first hear and understand the gospel message?

Since then, how has the gospel helped you mature as a believer? How has the Spirit played a role in your maturity?

What’s one thing you could do this week to remind yourself of the gospel story?

Last Word

To be a mature follower of Christ is to know God and His gospel so fully that it permeates every inch of our lives. It’s a life full of the Spirit and characterized by love, hope, and faith. Living this way begins with the simple truth that God has delivered us from sin and death by the work of His Son. We are now under His rule, free to follow Him wherever He leads.

As Louie mentioned in his teaching, the Colossians had fallen away from the true gospel, adding to it and making Christianity like an exclusive club. They had forgotten the simple truth we read in verses 13 and 14 of chapter one. As we go about this week, let’s remind ourselves of the truth of the gospel. Let’s pray God would reveal to us the ways we’ve added to the gospel message as we study Colossians.

We also talked about what it means to live a life worthy of God in this session. A worthy life looks like a transformed heart, which overflows into how we treat other people, what we say, and our attitude towards the things God asks us to do. It begins with God giving us the knowledge of Himself through the Spirit. This week, let’s ask God to help us know Him better and reflect what we know about Him through your actions