Colossae – Page 2 – Michelle Lesley

Previous Lessons: 1

Colossians 1:1-14

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

²To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

³We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, ⁴since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, ⁵because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, ⁶which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, ⁷just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf ⁸and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.

⁹And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, ¹⁰so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. ¹¹May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, ¹²giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. ¹³He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, ¹⁴in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Questions to Consider:

1. Who wrote this epistle? (1) To whom was it written? (2) Who was Epaphras, and what was his connection to the church at Colossae? (7) You may wish to go back to lesson 1 (link above) and review just a bit.

2. How would you classify the first two verses of this chapter? (instruction, rebuke, greeting, worship, etc.?) List the characteristics of the Colossian church that have been reported to Paul. (4, 6, 8) Do these things describe your church? Does Paul seem to regard this church as one that is overtly rebellious, worldly, or sinful? Describe Paul’s overall tone in this passage.

3. In verse 3, what two things does Paul say “we” (he, Timothy, and possibly others) do regarding the Colossian church? List and define the five things Paul says they pray for the Colossian church. (9-10) Do you pray similar things for your own church and for yourself? Why was it important for Paul and Timothy to pray for the Colossian church? Why is it important for you to pray for your own church? Take a moment now to pray through these five requests for your church and yourself.

4. What did we learn in lesson 1 about the situation of the Colossian church that would lead Paul to wish the Holy Spirit to empower them (11) to endure, have patience, have joy, and give thanks? (11-12) How are these characteristics important to your church, and the church at large, today?

5. In verses 13-14, Paul gives a mini-recap of the gospel. Explain in your own words what Paul is saying in these two verses. What does it mean in verse 12 that God has “qualified” the Colossian Christians to “share in the inheritance of the saints”? What is that inheritance, and how did God qualify them? How does this apply to Christians today? Peeking ahead a few verses, why is this recap of the gospel a good precursor to the topic Paul is about to introduce?

Homework:

Think about your church’s unique needs in light of the five things Paul prayed for the Colossian church. Make a list of some specific ways you can pray that your church will be “filled with the knowledge of His will,” “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord,” etc., and include these during your daily prayer time this week.

Welcome to our brand new study of the book of Colossians.

Colossians is a great little New Testament book jam packed with both theology and practical instruction for the Christian’s daily life. One area of theology we’ll be learning more about as we study Colossians is Christology, the study of Jesus Christ- who He is, what He did, and why. If you look at the layout of Colossians, you’ll see that the Christological passages come first, followed by the life instruction passages, subtly teaching us that right living is informed by a right understanding of Christ.

Ready to dive in? Here we go!

Introduction to the book of Colossians:

Before we begin studying a book of the Bible, it’s very important that we understand some things about that book. We need to know…

Who the author was and anything we might be able to find out about him or his background.

Who the audience of the book was: Jews or Gentiles? Old Testament Israelites or New Testament Christians? This will help us understand the author’s purpose and approach to what he’s writing.

What kind of biblical literature we’re looking at. We approach books of history differently than books of wisdom, books of wisdom differently than books of prophecy, etc.

What the purpose of the book is. Was it written to encourage? Rebuke? Warn?

What the historical backdrop is for the book. Is Israel at war? At peace? In exile? Under a bad king? Good king? What was it like for Christians to live under Roman rule? Understanding the historical events surrounding a piece of writing help us understand what was written and why it was written.

When the book was written. Where does the book fall on the timeline of biblical history? This is especially important for Old Testament books which are not always arranged in chronological order.

So this week, before we start studying the actual text of the book of Colossians, we need to lay the foundation to understanding the book by finding the answers to these questions.

Read the following overviews of the book of Colossians, taking notes on anything that might aid your understanding of the book, and answer the questions below:

Colossians at Grace to You

Overview of the Book of Colossians at Reformed Answers

Book of Colossians at Got Questions

1. Who wrote the book of Colossians? What authority or position did he have to write this book? What was his relationship to the audience of this book?

2. Who is the intended audience of the book of Colossians? Was it written to the church or an individual? How should knowing Colossians was written to the church rather than an individual shape our reading of this book? Which two local churches was it written for?

3. Which genre of biblical literature is the book of Colossians: law, history, wisdom, poetry, narrative, epistles, or prophecy/apocalyptic? What does this this tell us about the approach we should take when studying this book versus our approach to books of other genres?

4. What is the theme or purpose of the book of Colossians? Describe the heresy Colossians combats.

5. Who are the key people mentioned in or connected to the book of Colossians? Who founded the church at Colossae?

6. What is the historical backdrop of the book of Colossians? In approximately which year was it written? Where was Paul residing when he wrote this epistle? Who was the political and governing authority at the time Colossians was written? What was the government’s attitude toward the church? Where was Colossae located, and what kind of economy, populace, and culture did it have?

7. What else did you learn about Paul, Colossae, or the setting of this book that might help you understand the text of the book better?