Colossians 2 Bible study

Colossians 2

2:1 -Contending (Greek) Agon- Struggle or fight originally in context to an athletic event or a place to contend like a stadium usually involving some form of conflict - 1:29 & 2:1

Paul is elaborating on the labors he had mentioned in verse 29 This struggle is not just for these Churches but for all believers.

What does it look like to struggle for other believers and what are some examples of that contending?

Do you think there is value in this context of a sporting event or competition? What is the reward for our contending?

2:2- Paul begins to elaborate further on the meaning of maturity and He lists three things that he defines as his purpose What are they?

How does the word united play a role in this verse for the Church as a whole? Can we learn the lessons and real virtues of our faith without doing life with others? Is the Church as a location whether large or tiny neccessary for Christians to grow in their faith?

United loving and forgiving communities allow us to grow in understanding as we see truth performed in practice and practice enables truth to be seen in action causing it to be fully grasped and understood…Complete understanding of Christ

2:2b,3- What does “complete understanding” mean? (Col 1:9) How can we understand a mystery? Does it happen right away or is it a progressive unraveling of the mystery?

Christ is the mystery of God - He reveals God’s truth previously hidden to mankind (Col 2:2 and 1:27)

This is a challenge and a comfort for the Christian we never need to seek wisdom or knowledge outside of the one we have access to but we have a long way to go to fully understand and explore all the rich inheritance offered to us.

2:3- Where are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge hidden? Who’s wisdom and knowledge is it and how do we access it? Is there any value in calling it a treasure? What if I told you where there was a treasure what would you do?

2:4- Deceive you- Convince you with lies… Fine sounding arguments- arguments which are lies...

When grace is abundant (Christ is present) and working the attack from the enemy is not far behind...

These attacks are not always so obvious when poison is injected slowly it is much easier to go unnoticed…False teachers or Churches who do not have Christ as the central focal point can get religious and this causes our thoughts about God to be skewed into works based or some other form of religious behavior absent of a life changing relationship with Christ...

2:5-Paul’s statement about being absent in body but present in spirit (also 1 Cor 5:3) carries no spiritualistic overtones, as though his “spirit” could leave his body and go to Colossae; it is simply a way of stating his sense of close identification with his Colossian fellow Christians, even though he is not physically present with them

Why is discipline so necessary in our walk with Christ?

What do you believe it means to be firm (Greek - Stereoma-steadfastness) in your faith in Christ? Why is this something that is important for us?