The Gospel's Power
Colossians • Sermon • Submitted
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Colossians and Philemon I. To Whom Was the Letter Written? Colossae and the Colossians
Colossae was the least important church to which any epistle of St. Paul was addressed
It once was the center of a thriving textile industry (hmmm…Greenville?)
“It once was at the crossroads of two well-traveled highways”
Other larger, competing cities - Laodicea, Hierapolis
“An earthquake devastated the area sometime in the early 60s”
Its population was diverse; its people were exposed to the ideas of travelers passing through; it contained a mixture of political and religious views
The founder was likely Epaphras, a convert of Paul’s from his ministry in Ephesus
Most of the Christians in Colossae were probably gentiles (the same for Philippi)
Epaphras visited Paul in prison and shared the news that false teachings were threatening the Colossian church. This motivated Paul to write this letter of Colossians.
Three purposes emerge from the contents of the epistle. Paul wanted to express his personal interest in this church, which he had evidently not visited. He wrote to warn the Colossians of the danger of returning to their former beliefs and practices. He also refuted the false teaching that was threatening this congregation.
Outline:
Introduction (1:1-14)
Explanation of the person and work of Christ (1:15-29)
Warnings against the philosophies of men (ch. 2)
Exhortations to practical Christian Living (3:1-4:6)
Conclusion (4:7-18)
As with many of Paul’s books, doctrine precedes application.
The outstanding Christian doctrine that this letter deals with is Christology. Paul’s great purpose was to set forth the absolute supremacy and sole sufficiency of Jesus Christ.
1. Set Free
1. Set Free
9 For this reason also, since the day we heard this, we haven’t stopped praying for you. We are asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, 10 so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God, 11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, so that you may have great endurance and patience, joyfully 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the saints’ inheritance in the light. 13 He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son he loves. 14 In him we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
v. 9 “We haven’t stopped praying” What do we pray for? Good things, but what was Paul praying for?
spiritual wisdom and understanding (9)
a worthy walk (10)
strength (11) - to have an easy life? No - to have endurance and patience
What do we need these for? trials
2 Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
“strengthened with all power” - why else is this needed (the big 3)?
the world
the flesh
the devil
v. 12 This leads to…thanksgiving for several things:
two kingdoms: dominion of darkness vs inheritance in the light, kingdom of the Son
redemption (purchase of a slave - a very common scenario)
forgiveness of sins
2. Set Free by Christ
2. Set Free by Christ
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For everything was created by him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities— all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and by him all things hold together. 18 He is also the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile everything to himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
How is this passage formatted in your Bible?
Colossians & Philemon: Verse by Verse (Grant Osborne): The majority of scholars agree that this is an early Christian hymn either borrowed by Paul or created by him for this passage. It is slightly more likely that Paul wrote the hymn, since every part of it resonates with his familiar themes. There has been a good deal of discussion in recent decades regarding what constitutes an early Christian hymn. Let me point to some of the relevant features found in this passage: (1) the use of relative clauses (“who”) at key points (vv. 15, 18); (2) parallelism of lines; (3) the presentation of deep theological truths (Christology, soteriology); (4) teaching that goes beyond the needs of the context and takes on a life of its own; and (5) similarities in style and substance to other passages that have been identified as New Testament hymns (Rom 1:3–4; Phil 2:6–11; 1 Tim 3:16).
This is *why* some would say - “this is a hymn”
We could spend a lot of time here!
v. 15 “the image of the invisible God”
24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and in truth.”
Without God revealing himself to us through his word, and through his son Jesus, there is no way that we could know him.
9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been among you all this time and you do not know me, Philip? The one who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
“the firstborn over all creation” - first in time or status?
Not time, since “everything was created by him”, and “the word was with God”
Colossians & Philemon: Verse by Verse (Christ as the Firstborn over Creation (1:15b))
(in many examples from the OT and NT, “firstborn” connotes preeminence and supremacy
v. 16 “created through him and for him.”
v. 17 “before all things” - in time
“all things hold together” - He is the reason that we have “a cosmos instead of chaos”. He is not a God who set the universe in motion and just stepped away. He is not a disinterested observer.
v. 18 “Head of the body, the church” - this is the best analogy, not the bride of Christ.
As the head, he has the authority to rule and make decisions.
v. 19 “all his fullness dwell in him” - may have been meant to fight against theological error. Jesus was *fully* God and *fully* man. The more detail in which we try to describe this great truth, the harder it is to stay accurate and avoid heresy.
3. Set Free by Christ through His Death
3. Set Free by Christ through His Death
21 Once you were alienated and hostile in your minds as expressed in your evil actions. 22 But now he has reconciled you by his physical body through his death, to present you holy, faultless, and blameless before him—23 if indeed you remain grounded and steadfast in the faith and are not shifted away from the hope of the gospel that you heard. This gospel has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and I, Paul, have become a servant of it.
v. 21 “alienated and hostile” - you and I before salvation
no contact, no fellowship
moreover - enemies
v. 22 “but now…through his death”
A new relationship with God is made possible by the death of Christ satisfying God’s just wrath against sin.
“holy, faultless, and blameless” - what an amazing transformation!
v. 23 “if indeed you remain grounded and steadfast in the faith and are not shifted away...”
Two options:
If - though I doubt it
If - as I am sure
Colossians and Philemon 3. The Hope Held out in the Gospel (1:21–23)
Nevertheless, the condition is a real one, and it is very important not to rob the words of their intended rhetorical function.
Does this mean that I can lose my salvation? No...
Does this mean that I must keep believing and act on that belief? Yes
There is no mere doctrine of “the security” of the believer, as though God’s keeping of us took place irrespective of the lives we live. Indeed there is no such thing in the New Testament as a believer whose perseverance is so guaranteed that he can afford to ignore the warning notes which are sounded so frequently. - Sinclair Fergeson
So do we have to persevere? Yes! Will God give his children the grace to persevere? Yes!
Hold on now - don’t stop believing!
Conclusion - if we are believers then we have been Set free By Christ Through his death. We need to rejoice in this truth *and* live in the light of it.