Themes of Colossians - Part One
Thursday, June 12, 2008 at 03:13AM
J. Mark Jordan

The City

The Church

CHAPTER 1

1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timotheus our brother, 2 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. 3 We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 4 Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which  ye have to all the saints, 5 For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel;

Greeting to saints and faithful brethren. Faithfulness stands out as a virtue worth praising and encouraging.
Hope in heaven: The importance of eternity in our present activities.

John 14:1-3

2 Corinthians 4:14 Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you. 15 For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God. 16 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; 18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

We cannot lose sight of heaven and eternity. Without this understanding, much of what we believe loses its meaning.

6 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: 7 As ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellowservant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ; 8 Who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit.

Epaphras was probably the one responsible for founding the church in Colossae.

9 For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;

Walk worthy . We have an obligation and an expectation to make our lives an authentic representation of the heart and mind of God.

We are dealing today with some distorted ideas of what Christianity is all about. It used to be that when someone left the church, they knew they were wrong and we knew they were wrong. Nowadays, people simply go out and find a church (so-called) that fits their idea of how they want to live their lives.

12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: 13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:

Partakers of the inheritance of the saints. We have treasures in heaven.
Delivered us from the power of darkness. The power and authority of Satan over us has been broken.

  • John 12:31 “Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.”
  • John 14:30 “Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.”
  • John 16:11 “Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.”

Translated us in the kingdom of his dear Son. We are now citizens of another kingdom.

14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: 15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: 16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

The image of the invisible God. Image from Greek word eikon, or icon. Jesus Christ is the physical, human, literal representation or likeness of the invisible God. Taken another way, Jesus is God in a body.

By Him were all things created.

The “Firstborn” is not part of Creation because He created “all things.” One cannot create himself. Jesus already existed as the Almighty God. (Jehovah’s Witnesses wrongly add the word “other” six times in this passage in their New World Translation. Thus they suggest that Christ created all other things after He was created! But the word “other” is not in the Greek.

He is before all things and by him all things consist.

18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in  all things he might have the preeminence. 19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;

Head of the body, the church. You cannot have a relationship with the church without Jesus Christ. Neither can you have a relationship with Christ without a relationship with the church.

Firstborn from the dead . “Firstborn” means two things:

Preeminence.

All the fullness dwells in Him. Greek is pleroma. It means “the sum total of all divine power and attributes.” This was a technical term used by ancient theologians. Paul boldly and unequivocally states that this term describes Christ himself.

Article originally appeared on ThoughtShades (http://www.jmarkjordan.com/).
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