Colossians: 1:1 - 2:3

Review

Context is important

Paul is writing for a purpose to a people. In alignment with the Gospel and applying them to real issues going on.

Paul is writing in a different social, economic, political climate than our own.

Last week we talked about two main things:

1. Colossian Heresy

A certain teaching, based on traditions that Paul does not support, has appeared in Colossae.

The teaching is marked by philosophical arguments.

The philosophy offers heavenly wisdom, knowledge, spiritual maturity, and protection from evil spirits.

The method of success focuses, at least in part, on ascetic practices that treat the physical body negatively and abstemiously, and requires strict adherence of particular dietary practices and festival observances.

This philosophy devalues the importance of Christ (either directly or by implication) in the pursuit of maturity and protection.

This philosophy has had enough of an impact on the Colossian community to cause Paul concern for their stability

2. Theological themes

Christology

Christology is the center of the wheel.

Sources

Douglas J. Moo, Colossians and Philemon

Nijay Gupta, Colossians

Michael Bird, Colossians and Philemon: A New Covenant Commentary

N.T. Wright, TNTC Colossians and Philemon

Introduction

Colossians, like many books, and for that matter like most symphonies, plays or poems, is not the sort of work that can be simply split up into successive units, like the separate inches marked on a ruler. A simple analysis of contents is therefore not sufficient to show what the book is really about. It is more like a flower, growing from a small bud to a large bud and then gradually opening up to reveal, layer upon layer, the petals that had all along been hidden inside. We may briefly observe this unfolding process, as follows. - N.T. Wright

1 Wright, N. T. (1986). Colossians and Philemon: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 12, p. 22). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

Pray.

Ok if you were to read through this letter, you could make some decisions about the breakdown of the letter. Looking for major transitions. Colossians is one where it is a little harder to decide where to draw the lines. I went back and forth myself on best breakdown of the letter and trying to decide what we would cover each week. Something like the gospels or even Romans and Acts....these are a little easier to draw the lines. In the gospels there are these breakdowns, like in Matthew— 5 huge blocks of teaching that we call discourses.

Overall structure of Colossians (Gupta):

Christ the ruler, 1:1-2:3

Fullness in Christ Alone: The transcendent-Ascetic Philosophy Vain, Christ the Fullness, 2:4-23

New Life in Christ: The Quality of New Life in Christ, 3:1-17

New Life in Christ: Household Relationships Reoriented under the Lordship of Christ, 3:18-4:1

Joyful Cruciformity: Patterns and Models, 4:2-18

Christ the Ruler 1:1 - 2:3

Introduction, 1:1-2

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Paul identifies himself as an Apostle, this is important to consider. He considers himself as having been charged by Jesus himself to spread the good news of Jesus. He saw himself as a ancient church planter. To encourage and equip so that communities and lives would be transformed.

Timothy, I think is likely helping to craft this message.

He calls them holy and faithful.

Holy is to mean set apart, other. This is both a compliment but also sets the stage for things he will say later as expectations

Faithful: Is a compliment but could also denote the belief that some have not been faithful

Strongest language that Paul can use is familial language and we see that here

Grace and Peace?

Questions?

Thanksgiving and Prayer, 1:3-14

Ok, remember in our session talking about the form of letters, we talked about the greeting and then the thanksgiving prayer. This is typical of letters in antiquity. They are found in Paul’s letters and they have specific purpose. Often times they introduce themes or encouragement that will be in the following letter.

You could break down this section in the following:

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Paul’s Thanks to God for their Faith and Love, 1:3-5a

The Colossians effective and encouraging reception of the Gospel, 1:5b-8

Paul’s prayer for Godly Wisdom, Obedience, and Joyful Perseverance

Faith:

Based on the other uses of the term pistis in Colossians (1:23; 2:5, 7, 12), Paul appears to mean something like “obeying trust” or, as James D. G. Dunn puts it, “the living expression of a life dependent on God and on Christ.”12

MLA (Modern Language Assoc.) Gupta, Nijay K. Colossians. Smyth & Helwys Publishing, 2013.

Hope and Inheritance Colossians makes this same connection between hope and inheritance(1:12; 3:24). If the gospel they heard from Epaphras resembled Paul’s, the Colossians put their hope in a God who promised, one day, a fully ratified adoption and the consummated redemption of the sin-worn body (Rom 8:22-25). This hope gave the Colossians present faith in Christ and other-centered love for God’s people, for which Paul rejoices.

MLA (Modern Language Assoc.) Gupta, Nijay K. Colossians. Smyth & Helwys Publishing, 2013.

Questions?

The Priority and Supremacy of Christ, 1:15-20

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Colossians 1:15-20 has long stood as a central passage in the NewTestament in discussions of Christology. Indeed, it would be difficult to find a New Testament passage where Jesus is placed in a higher position as supreme being and immaculate agent of redemption.

MLA (Modern Language Assoc.) Gupta, Nijay K. Colossians. Smyth & Helwys Publishing, 2013.

“Paul is tenaciously emphatic that, whatever the problem, Christ is the solution.”

Supreme Christology:

Christ ranks above all (1:15)

He created all (1:16)

He is before all (1:17)

He is sovereign over the whole church (1:18a)

He is victor over death itself (the enemy above all) (1:18a)

He is reconciler of all (1:20)

If this is the strongest teaching in this fashion that Paul has then it speaks to our Colossian heresy, doesen’t it?

It is important, then, in this regard, not to see Paul countering a low Christology with his own high Christology. It is more accurate to see him as arguing for an exalted, cosmic Christ who rules unchallenged as well as a humble Christ whose body was broken and whose blood was spilt. Keeping both of these dimensions of the identity of Christ together enabled Paul to bridge the distance between mortal and immortal, human and divine, perishable body and life-giving spirit. Placing Christ in a superhuman category only would undoubtedly feed the transcendent inclinations of the Colossian philosophy. The key for Paul was the balancing ofChrist’s power and his (self-imposed, voluntary) weakness. In that sense, Colossians 1:15-20 is the mirror image of Philippians 2:5-11.

MLA (Modern Language Assoc.) Gupta, Nijay K. Colossians. Smyth & Helwys Publishing, 2013.

Some notes here:

Jesus is not the “first-born”…that is not what Paul is getting at. He is the firstborn in the Jewish Patriarch. Receiving all that belongs to the Father.

God made David his special son… see Psalms 89:27

Two things at work here....Jesus supremeness but also his shameful death on the cross that brings everything close. His being above all but also a servant to all. And the radical reversal of of his supreme in humility.

Questions? Comments?

A Call to Move Forward Faithfully in the Hope of the Cosmic Gospel, 1:21-23

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Gupta:

In 1:15-20, Paul focused on the cosmic, reconciling work of Christ that made peace in all of creation. In the next section (particularly1:21-22), we find Paul’s discussion of the personal effects of the Christ event on theColossians’ past, present, and future. In the past, they were rescued from their dead ways in sin (1:21) and brought to new life. Their future(1:22) would involve an eschatological “presentation” before God, much like a sacrifice being inspected for blemishes. Their present occupation must not be heavenly visionary experiences but a steady course of following Christ in faith and patience in anticipation of the hope of future glory in him (1:23a).

MLA (Modern Language Assoc.) Gupta, Nijay K. Colossians. Smyth & Helwys Publishing, 2013. Past, Present, Future

possibility that individuals that are participating in the wrong way of thinking with the philosophy, are again becoming enemies of God and each other.

Paul, Herald of the Mysteries of Christ and Cruciform Example, 1:24-2:3

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Questions I would ask about this text:

What could possibly be lacking in Christ’s afflictions.

What is knowledge and wisdom and mystery here

Why does Paul go on about himself again here? That is a little odd.

We have to do a little work to get behind what is happening here. This is more of my take influenced by some of our sources. But what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions is also the suffering of the church and in being joined to Jesus in that suffering.

This is a rhetorical approach that Paul is taking here that is hard to pick up on. In irony, it seems he agrees with them. You’re right…Christ’s afflictions is still not complete as this continued work is for all of us to be joined to it.

Paul then becomes a model for it to say that he is a servant looking out for them, even suffering for them, as the family of God are called to live.

Gupta:

In 1:28-29, Paul continues to describe his own ministry as a model for the Colossians, and, again, it appears to be an attempt to counter the approach to spirituality and spiritual perfection endorsed by the transcendent-ascetic philosophy. Consider Paul’s use of the word teleios (1:28), which can mean “perfection” or“maturity” (see L&N 88.36; 79.129; 68.23; 88.100). It was not uncommon in the ancient world for religious devotees to seek spiritual perfection, especially through particular rituals. Paul wishes for his converts to attain to a place of teleios, but his expectation is driven by two elements....

maturity focused on the community, not simply on the individual

word-centered community (instruction and accountability)

MLA (Modern Language Assoc.) Gupta, Nijay K. Colossians. Smyth & Helwys Publishing, 2013.

Application

Each week I would like to bring some contribution of application. There is much we could apply and we already have in many ways.

Suffering, Cruciformity, and Community, 1:21–2:3

If Jesus was man of the cross, Paul was preacher of the cross. When he claims joy in suffering, such is not the raving of a sadomasochistic lunatic. It is the boasting of one who imitates the way of Jesus, the crucified Nazarene. Paul is pleased to suffer not because it feels good or looks good or earns him favor or credit in the world but because he can actively engage in the primary form of covenantal growth mapped out by Jesus himself.

Michael J. Gorman aptly uses the term “cruciformity” for what Paul expresses in 1:24–2:3. Gorman defines cruciformity as

. . . conformity to the cross, to Christ crucified. Cruciformity is the ethical dimension of the theology of the cross found throughout the NT and the Christian tradition. Paradoxically, because the living Christ remains the crucified one, cruciformity is Spirit-enabled conformity to the indwelling crucified and resurrected Christ. It is the ministry of the living Christ, who reshapes all relationships and responsibilities to express the self-giving, life-giving love of God that was displayed on the cross. Although cruciformity often includes suffering, at its heart [it]—like the cross—is about faithfulness and love.” - Michael J. Gorman

Essentially, the symbol of the cross of Christ represents, for Paul, a destabilization of the worldly value system and the framework for a new mode of living. Paul proclaims a death through the cross, a death to self (Gal 2:20) and to the world (Gal 6:14). The cross-way,“cruciformity,” is about living a new kind of life. The crucial thing to observe, though, is that it is not just suffering “for Christ,” but in imitation of Christ’s suffering for other people—as Paul demonstrates personally. In Colossians 1:24, he shows that he suffered for the Colossians and generally for the body of Christ as the church. He accepted the shame and discomfort of an ongoing “toil and struggle” (1:29) to teach and love and bring life where the world rains down death. In that sense, another word for cruciformity is “Christ-love”—the kind of dying obedience exemplified by Christ that is love for God and, thus, love for other.

What does cruciformity look like today? One extreme example is, of course, martyrdom—dying physically for the faith. John Stott, however, adumbrates a broader cross-identity that underlies the concept of Christ-like suffering. He urges that, while it may not lead physically to death, it is a death nonetheless.

“It may be . . . a death to comfort and ease, and a separation from home and relatives; or a death to personal ambition as they[Christians, but especially missionaries] renounce the temptation to climb the professional ladder, being content to remain in a humble servant ministry instead; or a death to cultural imperialism . . . . In these and other ways we may be called to “die” as the means to a life of fruitfulness.” - John Stott

MLA (Modern Language Assoc.) Gupta, Nijay K. Colossians. Smyth & Helwys Publishing, 2013.