Colossians
Notes
Transcript
Colossians
Colossians
We are going to shift from Philippians to Colossians, a book that has a few more references to the Hebrew Bible
Let’s read our introduction
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the saints and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ who are at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father. We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints; because of the hope reserved for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth; just as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf, and he also informed us of your love in the Spirit.
We have the usual format of Paul when he sends a letter. There is an introduction
Unlike the Philippians though, this group has a large Jewish population
Here is where Colossae is located.
It has a history of being a Jewish location after the Jews were exiled to Babylon in the north.
So this group is a blend of gentile and Jewish believers
And there are people there who know the Hebrew Bible
So Paul is writing to a mixed crowd
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the saints and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ who are at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father. We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints;
Two things here:
By the will of God is Paul saying he is following the will of God as an apostle
However, for Paul, he is meant to be an apostle
To the saints
I have a pet peeve about this word
The reason I have a problem with the term
Saint…
It was taken to mean ‘specials’
By several faith traditions
It was never ever meant to be taken that way
The term means ‘holy’
Thus the term is ‘holy ones’
The faithful brothers and sisters
Joshua 3:5, “Joshua said to the people, ‘Make yourselves holy one’s, for tomorrow the LORD will make wonderful vows in your midst.’” Isaiah 8:2, “I [the LORD] will make witnesses for myself, faithful witnesses.”
Paul is integrating the language that every Jewish person would immediately understand
The concept is not foreign to the Roman’s either, the idea of holiness and faithfulness is a broad religious concept.
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the saints and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ who are at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father. We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints;
So when Paul is writing to Colossae, he is writing to everyone
Not just saint or two
What about that witness language
because of the hope reserved for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth;
The witness is the fruit of the gospel
Again this was spoken of in the Hebrew Bible and would resonate with all the Jewish believers
Jesus announced he was the beginning of this when he said:
Isaiah 61:1 “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, Because the Lord anointed me To bring good news to the humble; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim release to captives And freedom to prisoners;”
Ps 96:2, “Sing to the LORD! Bless His Name! Proclaim the good news of his salvation from day to day!” Ps 68:11, “The Lord will give his promise: The women of good news are a numerous army!”
just as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf, and he also informed us of your love in the Spirit.
NOTE: Epaphras is a shortened form of the name Epaphroditus, which means ‘devoted to Aphrodite’
He is clearly a gentile, Roman, believer as no Jewish person would have that name
You might notice two different terms for servant in the passage:
Bond-Servant
Faithful Servant
Nature of Service:
Syndoulos emphasizes relational unity and shared status as a “fellow slave” with others (like Paul) in devotion to Christ. It focuses on the communal aspect of servitude.
Diakonos emphasizes the practical or functional role of service, often implying active ministry or leadership tasks within the church.
Connotation:
Syndoulos carries a sense of humility and equality, as it aligns Epaphras with Paul and others as co-laborers under Christ’s lordship.
Diakonos highlights Epaphras’s specific contribution as a faithful worker, possibly as a teacher or evangelist, serving the needs of the Colossian church.
Etymology:
Syndoulos derives from doulos, which typically refers to a slave or bondservant, emphasizing total submission to a master (in this case, Christ).
Diakonos comes from a root associated with running errands or performing tasks, suggesting active service rather than just a state of being.
Thus…
Bound together, we faithfully serve Christ
Colossians
Colossians
