seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Colossians 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
2 To God’s holy people in Colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters[a] in Christ:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father.[b]
3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people— 5 the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel 6 that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace. 7 You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant,[c] who is a faithful minister of Christ on our[d] behalf, 8 and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.
9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,[e] 10 so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, 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, 12 and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you[f] to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of[g] your evil behavior. 22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— 23 if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.
24 Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. 25 I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness— 26 the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. 27 To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
28 He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. 29 To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.
a. Colossians 1:2 The Greek word for brothers and sisters (adelphoi) refers here to believers, both men and women, as part of God’s family; also in 4:15.
b. Colossians 1:2 Some manuscripts Father and the Lord Jesus Christ
c. Colossians 1:7 Or slave
d. Colossians 1:7 Some manuscripts your
e. Colossians 1:9 Or all spiritual wisdom and understanding
f. Colossians 1:12 Some manuscripts us
g. Colossians 1:21 Or minds, as shown by
This is from the easy English site.
Paul wrote to the Christians who lived in the city called Colossae. It was 160 kilometres (100 miles) east of the city called Ephesus. It was in the valley of the river Lycus. Today this area is part of the country that is called Turkey. The main roads for trade went past Colossae. It was a large and wealthy city for many centuries. But Laodicea (16 kilometres or 10 miles away) and Hierapolis (21 kilometres or 16 miles away) grew to be larger and more important cities. When Paul wrote this letter, Colossae had become a small town. It was no longer very important.
Epaphras was a man who lived in Colossae. There he preached the good news about Jesus. The people who became Christians formed the church at Colossae. Most of them were Gentiles.
Epaphras visited Paul in prison and told Paul about the young church that was at Colossae. The Christians who lived there had begun to listen to false teachers. Paul was worried that the Christians would turn away from the true gospel. Even today many false teachers do not seem to deny the gospel message. Instead, they slightly change it. Often they teach extra things or add rules to the gospel. Paul wrote to the Christians at Colossae to remind them about Jesus Christ and about his true message. Paul emphasised that Christ is superior. Paul wrote more about Christ in this letter than in any other of his letters. He reminded the Christians that their past life had gone. Christ was now their life. Christ had made them free from rules and evil powers. Paul then went on to teach the Christians how to live this new life.
Paul could not visit every place himself. He had other people who worked with him. Epaphras was one of those people. He came from Colossae . Paul called him a servant of Christ. False teachers had gone to Colossae. They were not teaching the truth. So, Paul emphasised that Epaphras had taught the people in Colossae the truth about Jesus. The proof of this was in the lives of the Christians at Colossae. The fruit of the Holy Spirit includes love (Galatians 5:22-23). The Christians could not love so much unless the Holy Spirit was helping them. Epaphras had visited Paul and told him about the Christians at Colossae. So, Paul wrote this letter to teach them more about Jesus Christ. Paul did not want them to believe the false teachers. Some of the false teachers had been Jews. So, in this letter, Paul referred to Jesus as ‘Christ’. He emphasised that Jesus was the Messiah from God.
The false teachers believed that they had special knowledge and wisdom. They taught people how to understand this secret wisdom. But the false teachers did not believe and trust the true God. The Christians had started to believe these teachers. Paul did not try to correct the false teachers. Instead, he reminded the Christians about God’s truth. Paul did this in several places in this letter. Paul prayed that the Christians would learn more and more about God. The Greek words mean ‘be full of knowledge’. But people cannot discover this knowledge by themselves. The Holy Spirit will teach them (Ephesians 1:17). God wants people to know him more and more. He wants people to know about his wonderful purpose in Jesus. And God wants everybody to hear the good news. He can forgive sins. A person who knows God learns wisdom from the Holy Spirit. James 3:13-18 describes wisdom that comes from God. And those verses compare it with wisdom that does not come from God.
Someone was messing with the Gospel again. They were adding their beliefs to what Jesus wanted taught. I bet as I go into this book... I'm going to see that someone has insisted that people have to do something to be "worthy". Or they are saying.... "believe this and you will get money and fame.... just pass the hat... give generously... and you will be rewarded."According to this chapter... it's up to us to make sure the church is telling us the truth. If we don't know the basic Gospel story... how are we to know the gentle inserts a fake preacher might add to make the gospel more pleasing.
One really good example of changing the gospel is the story of the three kings visiting Mary and Joseph. The preachers, Hallmark, and toy makers would have us believe that the kings arrived the night of His Birth. Fact is.... it was some time later that the kings visited them. I don't even think the shepherds would have made it to the stable that night... they would have had to break camp in the night [it's a star so night is a good assumption]... gather the herd and take everything back to town.... and that was on foot..... so Mary must have stayed in the stable a couple of days at least.... but Hallmark put them all together and people have been showing kids that picture their whole lives.... imagine how they will feel to learn... that's really not what happened... and then getting to Colossians to find out a problem arose about people adding or changing the gospel.
Sure... the placement of the kings and the shepherds in the stable the night of His Birth are believable. He is after all the Son of God and if He wanted the kings and the shepherds there that night... human logistics would be moot. God is God and He can move humans easily..... right?
I bet this is going to have to do with circumcision or sex. Those are always the two biggies. I wonder if this is going to be the big debate about grace and works. I wonder if someone is putting a bunch of "have-tos" in front of gaining Salvation.... you know.... jump three times... turn.... throw your lover to the wolves.... turn on your heal... toddle just so... and then donate big bucks. Do those 99 things and God will give you this..... and the question remains... if we do all the "have-tos" except one.... do we not get Salvation. Everyone who has read gospels knows.... we can't save ourselves no matter how many rules we follow.... they all tried... Adam..... Abraham.... Isaac..... Moses.... even Paul..... but they learned.... It's a gift.
So... What did those genius preachers add to the gospel to upgrade it?
