1 Colossians “Christ and the Church” Lesson 1 “Introduction to Colossians” Page 1
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INTRODUCTION TO COLOSSIANS The City: Located in southern part of Phrygia, a kingdom in west central Asia Minor – modern day Turkey They claimed to be the most ancient people of the world A rather small, insignificant town that had seen better days at the time of this letter When the gospel was preached there, it was subject to the Roman government 3
INTRODUCTION TO COLOSSIANS The Church: The name “Colosse” [or Colossae] is not mentioned elsewhere in the Bible Located very close to Laodicea and Hierapolis (4:13) “Laodicea mentioned only in this book [4 times] and Revelation [1 time] Paul and Silas preached throughout Phrygia on Paul’s second and third journeys (Acts 16:5,6)(18:23) And, “churches” were established 4
INTRODUCTION TO COLOSSIANS The Church: It is possible, however, that Paul did not establish the church at Colosse Epaphras was one of their members (4:12,13) He was a faithful gospel preacher (1:7; 4:12,13) He was with Paul when this letter was written Notice the term “Epaphras…greets you” (4:12) He also gave Paul a report (1:8) 5
INTRODUCTION TO COLOSSIANS The Author: Paul identifies himself as the writer of this letter Colossians is one of the “prison epistles” sent by Paul from his first confinement as a Roman prisoner about A.D. 60 or 61 It was delivered by Tychicus and Onesimus (4:7-9) 6
INTRODUCTION TO COLOSSIANS The Problems: A serious threat to the faith and stability of the young Christians at Colosse had arisen It was in the form of false teaching about the Person and place of Jesus Christ in God’s scheme of redemption This error had developed into a religious system that combined two schools of thought that usually were divergent in most respects 7
INTRODUCTION TO COLOSSIANS The Problems: First, the error was laced with a philosophy of Greek origin Second, a strong influence of Jewish traditionalism had been infused into the teaching being done at Colosse 8
INTRODUCTION TO COLOSSIANS The Problems: In jeopardy were many of the basic tenets of the gospel: 1. The supremacy of Christ in all things in the world and in the church (1:13-19); 2. The adequacy of the divine Nature of Jesus to procure reconciliation and salvation for wicked men (1:20-23; 2:9); 3. The completeness of the redemption provided by Him (1:20-23); 4. The worthiness of sufferings and sacrifices for the gospel (1:24-29); 9
INTRODUCTION TO COLOSSIANS The Problems: In jeopardy were many of the basic tenets of the gospel: 5. The inability of human religion to benefit the spirit of man (2:8-10); 6. The removal of God’s authority from Moses’ Law (2:13-17); 7. The superiority of divine wisdom over other wisdom (2:3,7; 18,22). 8. The importance of observing the moral and ethical standards established through the laws of God 10
INTRODUCTION TO COLOSSIANS The Themes: The preeminence and sufficiency of Jesus Christ in all things; The spiritual completeness of believers in Christ; The superiority of divine wisdom over other wisdom; The obligations of union with Christ in the church; The importance of honoring relationships with others. 11
INTRODUCTION TO COLOSSIANS The Outline: A simple outline of Colossians might be: I. I. Opening remarks (1:1-8) II. Rooted in Christ (1:9-2:23) A. Walking worthy of Christ (1:9-13) B. Redeemed by Christ (1:14-18) C. Reconciled in Christ (1:19-23) D. Perfected in Christ (1:24-2:7) E. Complete in Christ (2:8-23) 12
INTRODUCTION TO COLOSSIANS The Outline: A simple outline of Colossians might be: III. Living in Christ (3:1-4:6) A. Seeking things above (3:1-4) B. Putting off worldly habits (3:5-11) C. Putting on heavenly habits (3:12-17) D. Honoring spiritual relationships (3:18-4:1) E. Showing concern for others (4:2-6) IV. Closing remarks and instructions (4:7-18) 13
Questions Who wrote the letter to the Colossians? Where was Colosse located? Who started the church in Colosse? What two schools of thought made up the false teaching in Colosse? 14
Questions Who was this false teaching attacking? What are some of the themes of the letter? 15