Colossians Study (1:3)
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Questions
Who wrote the book of Colossians?
Paul & Timothy
Where was Colossians written from?
Prison (possibly in Rome)
Who was the book of Colossians written to?
To the church in Colosse
True or False: The church of Colosse to whom Paul addressed was mostly people who had grown up with the teaching of Christ?
False - they were mostly very young in the faith and were converted from pegan and Jewish religion.
Why was it written?
Our text
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timotheus our brother, To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,
col 1:1-3
Observe that Paul has established a strong difference between the person of Jesus and the Heavenly Father.
He has from the onset of the letter already established a relationship with us and the Heavenly Father through the Grace and Peace that Jesus Christ has applied to our lives by our faith in Him.
Challenge
Remember the audience!
We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,
“We give”
Paul & Timothy and the belivers who were with Paul.
This also speaks to the double authorship of Paul & Timothy.
“Thanks”
Notice the position of gratitude for the working of God in the lives of Colosse that Paul and Timothy had.
They were filled with thanksgiving.
BRING IT HOME
Are we thankful for what God is doing in the lives of other belivers around us?
Jelousy often keeps us from giving “thanks to God” for what He is doing or has done in the lives of our brothers and sisters.
“Our Lord”
Paul and Timothy were making the point of the new inclusion that is found in Christ.
Challenge
Remember the audience!
To the Jews this was so foreign because they thought of themselves as God’s exlusive choice.
To the pegans this would have been encouraging to hear, because they now were premitted open access to a relationship with the God of Israel.
“Our Lord Jesus Christ”
What once was seen as impossible with men, God made possible in the person of Jesus Christ.
BRING IT HOME
We had no access to God!
We had no right to God!
We had such a need for God, but no way to obtain a relationship with God!
BUT THEN, God sent His Son.
Now we have the privilege to “GIVE THANKS” along with Paul and Timothy because we have been provided with access through “OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST”
Question
What does it mean to Pray?
Question
What is intercessory prayer?
Answer: To pray on behalf of someone else.
“Praying always for you”
Question
What does it mean to Pray?
Answer: to beseech, implore, to ask.
The Hebrew word often used in the Old Testament which is translated as “prayer” comes from a root word which means to judge.
The Hebrew mind on the topic of prayer often brings this to light.
The Jewish sages compel people unlike those of us here in America to use prayer as a time of self-reflection and self-judgement first.
If we have condemnation within our lives, we should start there before beginning to follow the other thoughts of prayer.
What good will it do to ask God to answer my prayer of the healing my lungs of cancer if I refuse to deal with the cigarette first?
If I regard iniquity in my heart,
The Lord will not hear me:
Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
Question
What is intercessory prayer?
Answer: To pray on behalf of someone else.
Again notice the position of prayer that Paul takes in relation to the brothers and sisters in the church community.
Challenge
Remember the audience!
The congreation of Colosse was being infiltrated with false doctrine and false ideas of who God is, and how to best worship Him.
Paul was concerned about the bad doctrine, but notice that he isn’t praying for the doctrine to be stopped.
He is praying for the believers themselves!
Knowing the place of intercessory prayer
Paul wasn’t praying so that the believers themselves didn’t have to pray, but was rather praying for them out of a natural expression of love and concern.
There are some prayers that you have to pray for yourself!
Illustration
Uncle Tip Tipton
Paul’s stance of prayer for the believers
First he would “give thanks” to God for them.
Secondly, he would be “praying always” for their spiritual betterment.
BRING IT HOME
How’s your prayer life when it comes to the thoughtfulness and petitions you make on behalf of other people within the church.
This kind of prayer life looks out for people who are beyond their own needs, even beyond the needs of one’s own family.
Are you operating in the ministry of intercessory prayer?
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Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints,
Col 1:4
“Since we heard”
This again reminds us that Paul probably had never seen most of the believers in Colosse in person but had only heard of their faith.
Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints, For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel; Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth:
Col 1:4-