Text: Colossians 1:1-23 (NKJV)
1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
2 To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are in Colosse: Grace to you and peace from God our
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints; 5 because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, 6 which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth; 7 as you also learned from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, 8 who also declared to us your love in the Spirit.
9 For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. 13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in 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 may have the preeminence.
19 For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, 20 and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. 21 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled 22 in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight— 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.
Devotional Thoughts and Commentary:
This section is incredibly dense with theology on the study of Jesus Christ. To help give purpose to this, the contextual setting was that of the church at Colossae. There is great debate as to what exactly the heretical teachings Paul was trying to counter later in the book, but this explanation of Jesus Christ was likely also a positive address of doctrine to help the matter also. I believe that the Colossian heresy was not actually a heresy but several different ones. A crossroads, the Colossian church was suffering under the influence of simultaneous, separate heresies, specifically Eastern mysticism, Greek philosophy and theosophy, and required obedience to the Judaistic law. Paul addressed each heresy in turn, but he thought it even more important to simply put forward correct doctrine at the start of the book about the core of our Christianity- Jesus Christ.
Verses 1-8 are a pretty straightforward greeting section. As such, we will not spend any further time on it.
Christology, or the doctrine of Jesus Christ the Son of God, is expounded in verses 9-23. I am simply going to take a verse-by-verse approach here since there is so much to learn.
Verses 9-12: The concepts of knowledge, wisdom, and spiritual understanding introduce the section to us. Then, walking worthy of the Lord, pleasing Him, and being fruitful appear. Strengthened, giving thanks, and receiving an inheritance come. While praying for these things, Paul provides the information necessary here in this letter. What immediately follows is of the utmost doctrinal importance.
Verses 13-14: Jesus Christ provided redemption from sin, forgiveness of sins, and entrance into His kingdom for us. His death is the cornerstone of this provision. Essentially, His death liberated us from the enslavement of sin (redeemed) and allowed for our sin debt to be wiped clear (sins forgiven).
Verses 15-20: Most scholars believe that this was actually a hymn to be sung and remembered. That does not in any way diminish the depth of doctrine in it.
Verse 15: Jesus is the visible expression of God. He is fully God. John 14:9 and this verse are well understood in tandem. Understand that the Old Testament law forbade the building of physical representations of god, even the true God. He demanded to be directly worshiped and not through some stone idol. Understanding this, that Jesus is the "image" of God conveys that He is actually God Himself. The usage of the term "firstborn" is significant in most cultures prior to the 20th century. To be the firstborn meant receiving the vast majority share of the inheritance and carrying on the family line. Jesus is the dominant, priority #1 of all things physical, as He now resides in a human body. This is building toward verse 18.
Verse 16: Simply stated, Jesus was the agent of creation for all things physical and spiritual. See also Genesis 1 and John 1.
Verse 17: This teaches the pre-existence of Jesus before Creation. Further, Jesus is the glue that binds the universe together. The laws of physics are our descriptive terms for the actions of Jesus. Thankfully too, His act of making the universe continue to "consist" exceeds our knowledge of descriptive physics.
Verse 18: Jesus is the head of the church, His body. It is important to note that He is the head and not a person on earth, such as the Pope or Peter. Jesus is also the preeminent one of the new creation, as with the old. His existence is as the Preeminent One in all things. It is always about Him, and never about us.
Verse 19: The fullness of divinity exists in Jesus. This helps us (a little) to understand the Trinity. There is but one God; thus, seeing Jesus is seeing the Father and Spirit. Hard to wrap one's mind around though...
Verse 20: Jesus's death on the Cross as a sinless person paying for the sins of others was the pledge of God reconciling things (namely, us) to Himself.
Verses 21-23: Isn't it amazing what Jesus can do in our lives?!? He turns us from enemies of God to be reconciled and holy.
Applications:
"It's never about me; it's always about Jesus." Remember that and say it every time you get frustrated, suffer, are persecuted, or otherwise start to think that something revolves around you.
Thank Jesus Christ for all that He has done for you as God, sinless God-man, and your Savior.
Other Studies from Colossians
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