Colossians 1:1-8

“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 in Christ: Grace and peace to you from God our Father. 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, who is a faithful minister of Christ on ou^]behalf, ⁸ and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.”

Because thanksgiving is a priority Paul starts not with an ordinary greeting but a:

1. BLESSING

The greeting becomes a blessing. “Grace to you and peace from God our Father.” Grace to you and peace was the greeting Paul used to open all 13 of his letters. He chose “grace” God’s gift of unmerited favor, kindness from God we don’t deserve, His benevolence to the undeserving. Grace is God choosing to bless us rather than curse us as our sin deserves. Peace is what results when God’s grace is received. Grace is God’s provision for the Christian life, Peace is the enjoyment of those provisions. Grace always precedes peace and if someone does not have peace in their life, it may be because they’ve not yet experienced grace. Ultimately the Roman Empire that Paul lived in couldn’t deliver peace [Pax Romana] and neither will our Western society. Perfect and lasting peace comes when we are reconciled to God, not to culture, and not to ‘powers and principalities’ which capture us through deceptive philosophy. Peace comes when we are reconciled to Christ and so at the heart of the letter to the Colossians is the supremacy and sufficiency of Christ—whether it be for those living in first century Asia Minor, or for us living in 21st century. Paul is thankful for the:

• BODY – CHURCH 

Who are the church? The letter is addressed to those “in Christ.” “In Christ” is a phrased used by Paul more than 160 times in various forms. It emphasizes the spiritual position of believers. They are “in Christ meaning they are united with Christ, joined to Him as limbs are joined to the body. There are several questions that we need to ask: 1.) Are you part of the body, are you in Christ SALVATION? 2. If you are in Christ are you allowing Christ to operate as the head? 3. Are you thankful for the body of Christ? Do you look at the church as a blessing or a bother, a pain or a privilege? As Paul focuses on the believers in Christ he expresses a triad of thanksgiving. Even though he had never visited the Christians at Colosse, he heard of their faith, their love, and their hope. This is very similar to what he wrote in 1 Thessalonians 1:3: “We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” While these three virtues are linked together in other passages, the phrase is not a faith formula, thrown in for effect, but a genuine statement in which each word is profoundly significant.

Colossians 1:1-8

“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 in Christ: Grace and peace to you from God our Father. 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, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our ^]behalf, ⁸ and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.”

HISTORY

Colosse was a city in the Roman province of Asia about 100 miles east of Ephesus in what is today the country of Turkey. During the 5^th century it was an important trading center on the Lycus river but by New testament times trade had moved to neighboring cities and Colosse had declined to the status of a small town. In 61 AD it suffered a devastating earthquake, it was rebuilt only to be abandoned in the 8^th century moving the town to a more suitable site 3 miles away. Luke tells us in Acts 19:10 that during Paul’s three-year stay in Ephesus on his third missionary journey, “all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord.” Most scholars believe that the church was founded by Paul’s fellow laborer Epaphras who heard Paul’s preaching and was saved and that Paul may not have visited the church himself in person.  This letter was probably requested by Epaphras to help with some problems that had cropped up in the church. This might surprise you – every church has problems! Why? Because every church has people.

OVERVIEW

There are several similarities between the book of Ephesians and Colossians. They were both written while Paul was in prison (notice his outward caring focus despite his critical circumstances). Ephesians reveals the “church of Christ” where Colossians reveals the “Christ of the Church” where Ephesians focuses on the body Colossians focuses on the head. Like the book of Ephesians, Colossians also divides neatly in half, with the first 2 chapters dealing with doctrine (what we believe) and the last 2 our behavior (how we will live out what we believe). There is a move from principles to practice, what we learn must be lived. It is not enough to simply embrace truth, at some point the truth we believe must embrace us.

First half reveals the rule of Christ, His supremacy, where the second is our response, submission to His rule. In a short 95 verses, Paul says three things to the church at Colosse:

• Your Savior is Supreme – Chapter 1
• Your Salvation is Simple – (Chapter 2) – Colosse was located at a major crossroads for travel from east to west, between Europe and Asia in the middle of where ideas and philosophies would intersect. Don’t worry about false philosophies, principalities (Angel worship) or perfection.
• You are Saved for Service – Chapter 3-4

First half is about what Christ has done for us the second what Christ does through us. Paul’s purpose is to show that Christ is preeminent (first and foremost in everything) and a Christians life should reflect that priority.

THANKSGIVING

Paul starts out with thankfulness even though he is in prison. He doesn’t let his problems dictate his priorities. Instead of focusing on his trials he focuses on thanks, teaching us the truth about thanksgiving, it is not tied to our circumstances but to Christ. Our praise is a reflection of our priorities, and at the very start Paul’s priority is thankfulness. He makes his priority praise and thanksgiving saying we “always” give thanks and that thanks goes to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul is pointing to the Supremacy of Christ, “Our Lord Jesus Christ.” This triple name expresses the divinity, humanity, and sacrifice of the Savior. The title “Lord” refers to His deity. He is God and Lord of all. The name “Jesus” speaks of his incarnation, He was born into the human race and walked on this earth. “Christ” reminds us that He came as the sacrifice for our sins as the promised Messiah.