Paul considered the situation in the church to have been so critical, that he wrote to them while he was in prison (house arrest) awaiting a trial that could end his life. 

The message of this letter is very distinctive. He writes from his heart, emphasizing the hope that the gospel had brought to them, at a time when they were in a hopeless state of despair.   

He urged them to stand firm and reject any teaching that deviated from the gospel; the good news that they had been taught. He exhorted them to focus on their position ‘in Christ’ and to become aware of the amazing source of power now available to those who were ‘in Christ’.  

This letter stresses the new position into which a sinner is translated when he or she is reconciled to Christ. Sinners by definition are alienated from God.  

The reason for the unbiblical behavior that is commonly seen in those who come to Christ, is the difficulty they have in understanding their position ‘in Christ’.  One writer comments on this and it is something to which we should pay special attention. He writes in reference to verse 22:

“There is the great mystery.  It is the greatest truth taught in the Bible and yet it is the most seriously missing element in many churches today.

Most Christians in our churches understand that Christ died for the forgiveness of their sins-- they believed that and came to Christ because of that-- but that is where most of them stop.

Relatively few, it seems, ever go on to grasp the fact that Jesus died for them that he might live in them.  It is his life in them that is the source of power, change and deliverance, and the ability to resist temptation.

That is how loneliness is met and companionship provided.

It is not enough to do with that Christ died in order that we might go to Heaven.  We are also to know, understand, and practice Christ actually living in us now!”

Verse 1-14

Paul established his credentials as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God.  This was necessary because there were teachers there who had infiltrated the church and who claimed to be of God but who were distorting the message of the gospel. 

Paul then greeted the Colossians as saints, or separated ones, thus calling them “holy brothers”.  They were Saints because they belonged to God, for by faith they believed what God had said.    

Note that Paul identified them as saints at Colosse, who are in Christ.  So we know that Christians can be identified by geography and therefore have some responsibility for and to particular areas. At the same time they should recognize that they are ‘in Christ’, which has totally different implications. Being ‘in Christ’ is being in the eternal reality, possessing the guarantee that the Saints will be in the new heaven and the new earth. 

He also calls them “faithful brethren”, that is dependable, genuine believers, consistent in their ideas.  This description suggests that there were some strange doctrinal ideas that had come into the church, aimed at pulling them away from genuine faith. 

In line with his greeting, the apostle gave thanks to God for the strong faith in Christ and the love for all the saints shown by the Colossians.  The gospel, the good news that God had become a man, had lived among us, had died on the cross and paid the price for our sins, was resurrected and his righteousness now clothed us who believe in him, was true. They could look at themselves and see that it had transformed them, so that their lives showed the unmistakable marks of a true Christian life. 

When Paul considered their eternal destiny, he expressed his thankfulness for the hope that was laid out for them in heaven.  He was clearly joyful that these people showed faith and love in their lives based on hope.   

Their hope had been awakened by the gospel, the word of truth. It made them understand that the strength of God was available to them, so that they could overcome and inherit the eternal world.  This hope now produced faith and faith had grown into love, evidenced by their behavior. 

So Paul now tells us that he prayed specifically for them.  He had never met them but he kept on praying for them unceasingly.  

Since they were ‘new born babes’, he prayed for that which would bring them to understand God’s will, to know God and what he expected of them.  The chief aim of every believer is to be filled with all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that they could live as God required, in a dangerous and threatening world. 

Note that this was not knowledge for knowledge sake but knowledge that would allow the believer to:

“walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects”.

It is clear that when we live a life that is worthy of God, not just worthy of ordinary men, but a life that is lived in the real world that is worthy of the Lord, He is pleased.  

Paul's prayer was that they live according to the knowledge that they had received, coupled with being fruitful in every good work, as plants planted by rivers of water. He prayed that they would increase in the knowledge of God, being aware of and strengthened by Him. This would allow them to meet all the challenges of life and continue to hold up under pressure and successfully challenge the circumstances and problems of life. 

The link between ‘fruit bearing’ and ‘good works’ is tied to the increasing knowledge of God.  When we are in love with God, sensitive to his leading, aware of Him, spontaneous in our praise of Him, then we will be increasingly used by Him in ‘fruit bearing’ and ‘good works. 

Our prayer is to be filled with the knowledge of God's will, to know the heart, mind and being of God. 

If we find our selves looking to some authority other than God and being attracted to our ‘fleshly’ appetites, we know that we are not praying in the right way and for the right things. 

Note that Paul is telling us that we are to be filled with, engulfed, literally with the care and personal knowledge of God.  So we know that knowing the will of God is a powerful and overwhelming experience, not something shallow, but instead is something very deep. 

We should point out that people go astray because they think that the will of God is an itinerary with a formula that they must discover.  So they pray that God would tell them where he wants them to go, what he wants them to do, who they should marry, which job they should take, and so on.  But if God did it that way, He would be giving us the opportunity of examining His decisions and then deciding which ones suits us and which ones we should accept and which ones we should reject. 

We erroneously think that we have the ability to make good choices on our own.  God knows us and in any case, He has made us into something different from what we once were. He now has to teach us that we are ‘new persons’, in a new relationship and that the more we learn and know about Him, the more our behavior will automatically change. We will find our self desiring the things of the Spirit, the spiritual wisdom which comes only from the Spirit.  Then the mind of God will increasingly be revealed to us.   

So, being filled with spiritual wisdom and understanding should be the primary focus of our prayers.  We are not now dealing with natural abilities, but things that are given by the Spirit and available to all believers.

So Paul specifically thanks the Father for his role in the plan of redemption, for it is He that has given us the privilege we did not deserve. We share in the inheritance of the saints, having a Father's love, a holy family of brothers and sisters, a sure, glorious destiny of ‘living in the light’ and the presence of a Savior who always watches over us. 

He it is that delivered us from the ‘domination of darkness’, from groping around with futility, being blind and headed for death.  He is a great rescuer. 

So now our text begins to describe how God sets up his plan of redemption and exactly who it is that did something so remarkable, that God the Father would welcome his former enemies and include a close and loving, special relationship with them.

THE TEXT

Verses 14-15.   These verses and following set out some great statements that describe who Jesus is.  Note that these follow immediately after Paul's prayer to the Father, thanking Him for his great kindness to the Colossians, rescuing them from death and transferring them into the kingdom of His Son that he so loves. 

It is clear that the proper understanding of who Jesus really is and what he alone can do, is the only thing that will prevent younger believers, as well as older believers from falling prey to false religious beliefs.   

Paul was obviously concerned about the need for their growth in spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that they could effectively repel the heresy that was attacking the person of Jesus Christ. 

Sundry references in this letter give us some clues as to the nature of the Colossian heresy that led Paul to make these powerful and magnificent statements about Jesus.  The summary statements are so powerful, that it is thought that this was part of a hymn often sung by members of the early church. 

It appears that the Colossians faced the early form of Gnosticism which:

-either taught that there should be some type of religious self-denial, since the body was evil, being composed of matter and had to be overcome by severe treatment of the body (the ascetic), or the licentious

-the group that taught that since the body was made of matter and was evil, it did not make any difference what one did with the body. This licentious group sometimes thought that unbridled licentiousness was the only way to get rid of evil. 

Developing from this was the idea that since Jesus was an angelic spirit, he only appeared to have a physical body. The Jesus who appeared to be human, did not really have a physical body, but only seemed to have one. He was only a phantom.   

This meant that he only seemed to have died on the cross.  All these elements developed eventually into what we call docetism, which held that in reality Jesus was not truly human, God come in the flesh to literally die for the sin of man.  So eventually this doctrine came to fully deny both the person and work of Christ. 

We also know that during the life of the apostle John, a man called Cerinthus believed that Jesus was certainly a wise and righteous man. He believed “the Christ” spirit came on Jesus when he was baptized, gave him power to complete his ministry, but this “Christ” left him before his crucifixion, so that only a man died on the cross and was later resurrected.

Some non-Christian faiths believe that the “Christ” spirit has come on different men at different points in history. 

In addition, he like some Greek teachers, taught that the world was created not by the supreme God, for God was spirit and good, while matter and the world was hopelessly evil. The world was created by an inferior power, a lesser divinity called the Demiurge, who made a mistake of forming the world and in this creation the divine spark rested, imprisoned and asleep in the souls of men. 

Both of these Gnostic views denying the incarnation and would make void the atoning work of Christ. 

The apostle John in 1 John 2:22-23 and 1 John 4:2-3 emphasized that anyone with this doctrinal belief has the spirit of Antichrist and was condemned. 

Nowadays we have people who tell us that we can become God and that there is the Christ spirit in every man just waiting to be discovered.  This is a modern form of Gnosticism. 

In Verse 14 we are told that we have redemption through the blood of Jesus, the price, the legal ransom for our release from sin was paid by Jesus.  He provided the satisfaction price. He is the sinless substitute, who paid for our sins. Those that are redeemed therefore are known as “redeemed people”.  They have been bought with a price. 

Because of this their sins have been literally “sent away”.  The sins have been removed from ‘the redeemed’, so that there is no longer a barrier separating ‘the redeemed’ from God. 

Jesus is now described in four important ways.

First he is described as the image of the invisible God.

We know that the triune, eternal God is not visible and existed before he created the material world, as well as the world of spirits.  In order to make men who have physical bodies get to know him better, he had to make himself visible.  So the Son of God had to be born a man, grow up among men, experience all the human emotions and show all the attributes of God, full of grace and truth. 

God did not simply confine himself to saying that he was not far away, he made himself visible in Jesus Christ of Nazareth. In so doing, he went a massive step forward in making Jesus the brother of man, the God Man. 

The word image (the ancient Greek word eikon) expresses both the idea of “likeness”, as stamped on a coin or seen in a mirror and “manifestation”, which means that the image has become perfect so that it would be called a manifestation, showing what God is.  The sense is that God is fully revealed in Jesus. 

He is next described as the “firstborn of all creation”, a description which has produced a lot of debate and which needs an explanation.

The word firstborn (the ancient Greek word prototokos) can mean

-priority in time, or

-supremacy in rank , or sovereignty.

It is clear from the next verses that the emphasis is on sovereignty or supremacy.  Psalm 89:27 for example refers to the Christ as being his firstborn (prototokon) higher than the kings of the earth.   

Firstborn was used by the ancient rabbis as a messianic title and the fact some of the ancient rabbis described Yahweh himself as “Firstborn of the World”.  

The “firstborn” therefore has to do with the matter of being the first in rank, for the firstborn inherited everything in the ancient world.  So saying that Jesus is the “firstborn” is really stating that he is Lord, the master of creation, the one who inherited all things from his Father.

Verse 16.  The references in this verse show that Jesus existed before creation, preceding it, for it was he who began creation and was the active agent in creation. Clearly, the firstborn couldn't be a part of creation if He created all things, for one cannot create himself.   

There can be no rational suggestion that he was first created and then

created all other things, for the word “other” is not in the Greek.  The Jehovah Witnesses New World Translation wrongly adds the word “other” six times in this passage to support their false doctrines. Their text it is not found in any manuscript. 

The sovereignty of Jesus is so stressed, that we are told not only that He created all things, but the “all” things covers both the things on earth and in Heaven, whether visible or invisible.  We are told that he made all things in the world out of nothing, whether they be angels in Heaven or be men and the things of the earth. 

The thrones, dominions, principalities, or powers, which some believe refer to the hierarchy of the angelic hosts, were all created by Jesus. Some of these have fallen from grace. 

Remember that the Colossians were taught by the Greeks that the universe consisted of a hierarchy of angels, with the worst kind at the bottom and getting progressively better the closer one got to God.  At the very top was the perfectly good God. 

So it is easy to understand how the pagans, whether ancient or modern, believed that it was important to know the techniques to pacify or even control the bad angels and to somehow work ones way up to the good angels.

Nowadays people try to get in touch with Astral Teachers and Divine Masters who can give them new knowledge and power.  There are many techniques offered like Transcendental Meditation, which claim to help man get in touch with these invisible beings.  The New Age teachers are full of these kinds of teachings. 

Paul makes it clear that Jesus is above all angels.  Angels should not be worshiped.  The elaborate angelology of the Greek world and of the Colossians which made angels mediators between God and man was incorrect.  Every single being answered to Jesus. The angels worship Jesus.   

The Colossian brethren had been freed and placed under the true authority and power of the resurrected Christ.  There was no need to believe in horoscopes, astrology, or the stars for help.  Witchcraft or sorcery would not free them from certain death and destruction by God.  Jesus had already freed them. 

To make all this more significant we are told that creation was not only made by Jesus but was made for Him.  It operates for his honor and glory.  He is Lord of all and absolutely supreme and sovereign.  Everything ends up at his door and he determines what happens.

Verse 17.   He was first, existing outside of the creation, living in eternity.  He is involved as Architect, builder and is the goal of the universe. 

He made the galaxy in which we live, which is an extraordinary collection of stars. Beside our galaxy we know that there are millions of galaxies that exist unimaginable far distances from each other. 

He Jesus holds all of this together and if he chose not to let it continue, it would fall apart in a split second.  He sustains and prevents the universe from breaking down. 

This is enormous, unimaginable, incredible and unbelievable power.  Jesus has this power and he holds everything together.  If they were ever to disintegrate we would all be gone. 

So all the good things of life, the mercy, the grace, the good ideas, the love for children, the good food that we enjoy, everything whether mental or physical, was made by Jesus and is sustained by Him. 

It is absolutely amazing that men can look at and examine the universe, its beauty and its order, understand the power needed to keep the world together and yet fail to see that there must be an extraordinary Intelligence behind all of this. 

They must have a really hard, blind and stubborn heart not to appreciate that… the heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows his handiwork. 

We should remember though that one day He will wrap it up just like a scroll, and bring into being a new Heaven and a new Earth, with its New Jerusalem.  So let us be careful of what we do and make sure that we are in that new creation. 

We know that Jesus is at the center of life.  If He can hold all things together and do what he has done, why are we fearful and do not understand that He will give us all things that we need for eternal life! 

Why would we not also follow him without deviation, obey His Commandments and pray for spiritual wisdom and understanding as the chief prayer in our life!

Verse 18.   Jesus is here described as the Head of the body, the Church.  He is also described as the Head, the source and the one in authority who directs and controls the body. We are talking about a spiritual organism, the body over which Christ rules and through which he shows himself to the world and does a lot of his work on earth. So we are rightly called ambassadors for him. Our real citizenship is in Heaven and we look for His coming from heaven. 

This body consists of the people that have been redeemed.  They are all part of a family which is connected to Jesus and to the Father.  It is obviously of great value to be a part of this family. 

To be a part of the family is a great privilege.  To work for Christ is also a great privilege.  That is why we are warned, that we should never through carelessness or indiscipline, do the things which would make us unfit servants. 

Note that since Jesus is the head of the church he cannot be separated from the church but remains in a union that cannot be broken.  He will always be the firstborn among many brethren.  This is a source of tremendous comfort for those in the body of Christ who truly belong to him.  

When we speak about the body, note that they are several elements to be considered.

First, the church must always submit to its head.

Second, every member of the body must be sensitive to and live in  vital union with Christ, for he alone provides life.  He is the only source of life. Without him we can do nothing.

Third, all parts must work together as a team, for they are one body.  Of course it must be remembered that we do not teach the false concept of the spirit of unity, but instead teach the unity of the Spirit.  There is a big difference between both.

Fourth, just as in the body one finds different organs with radically different shapes and sizes performing different functions. So in the church there will be many varying abilities and gifts, with members of the body performing different functions with varying degrees of strength, but all working together to keep the body strong.   

Fifth, every member depends on the other members of the body in order to survive and to keep strong.  That is why in the church there can be no question of members allowing sin to persist, for this weakens everyone and eventually leads to God removing the ‘candlestick’ from the church.  Love demands that holiness is maintained.

Sixth, the head of the church is not on earth but is in Heaven. Anyone on earth who claims to be Jesus is just crazy.  We know of course that when Antichrist comes he too will also claim to be God. 

Jesus is to have the pre-eminence.  He is the firstborn, the source, the power and the reason for the life of the church.

He and only he is the Pre-eminent One.  He is not simply, as the Colossian heresy taught, one of many emanations from God.  He rose from the dead and showed that he is in every way the supreme Lord.

Verse 19.   The Father has revealed why the Son is supreme.  It is the Father’s purpose to provide salvation only through the Son and through Him alone. 

The concept of the “fullness” (the Greek word pleroma)  would immediately conflict with the pagan doctrinal thought.  They would say that no being would have the “fullness”, the sum total, the plenitude. But here we are told that in Christ, the Father was pleased to have the sum total of everything reside or stay settled. 

As such, the fullness of God's provision for salvation would be found totally in the work of Christ through His blood shed on ‘the cross’. Jesus is not only supreme in the redeemed creation but his work by the grace of God fills up all that God has to offer.

Verse 20.   Redemption was brought about through the blood of Jesus.  This blood was shed on the cross.  Man did not and could not have made peace with God, for God is too holy to live with sin.  Man had been alienated from God.  By his sinful nature he was separated from God and being dead in sin and lifeless, he was unable to solve his problem. 

So God had to do it himself.  He brought man into a state of friendship and changed him from being a sinner and alienated, into fellowship with God. 

The word used here for reconciliation is a one-way kind of activity, done by one person.  It is not the Greek word which means a mutual reconciliation, after concessions following mutual hostility.  The word clearly indicates that salvation is not a work of man, but a one hundred percent work done by God through his Son Jesus Christ. 

Reconciliation is thus directed toward men, for God reconciled man unto himself.  Remember that God has always loved man and he has always sought to reconcile rebellious people to himself.  So Jesus himself lamented over Jerusalem and wept.  God is always desirous to save the lost and does not want any to perish but he demands repentance. 

So reconciliation indicates that there is no longer any enmity, no barrier and no hostility.  Any discipline directed to the redeemed is for purification and betterment. 

Recognize too that reconciliation will eventually extend to all things.  Man and the creation are linked together and when man's redemption and the divine program is completed, then redemption will apply to all creation and the groaning and travailing of creation with cease.  Eventually reconciliation will be complete. 

Sin has created an immense problem which has affected everything but the ‘blood of the cross’ is greater and will set everything right one day.

Verse 21.  The Apostle now gets personal.  He pointedly addresses the Colossian.  He reminds them that they were previously enemies of God, owned by another owner and having minds that were dedicated to evil works.  Not only did they do wicked things but their minds encouraged them to do evil. 

So here is the good news of the gospel.  Any life can be changed.  Change can come from the mind working outwards to the body.  Attitudes can be reversed and God who was not considered important, can now be considered most important. 

All this change can be summed up by reconciliation.  The death of Jesus effected a critical change in us and now the cross has become a symbol of success. 

Clearly, God changes lives and that is His goal and intention.  It is sad when people start out with joy but it does not last, it begins to fade as they go back to the way they once were. 

Remember that it is really our minds that are primarily hostile to God.  So let us guard our minds.  We should make ourselves such creatures of reconciliation that we understand deep down in our soul, that we have nothing to sell to anyone, for we are already bought and paid for.  We can never leave Jesus’ ownership.

Verse 22.   Because Jesus has died for us, shedding his blood and making atonement, He can now present the redeemed holy and blameless before God. 

God wants holy people.  Holiness means being set apart and dedicated to God alone.  God has already set us apart but now the Spirit will continue to transform believers more and more into the image of God’s Son.    

Believers are to be unblemished, above reproach and with nothing that they can be rightly accused of or called to account for.  This requires godly maturity, constant repentance and constant self-examination.  This requires continued growth in spiritual wisdom and understanding. 

When we are saved, it means we desire to be made holy, blameless, and irreproachable.  Our attitude must show this. It should not really be just a desire to escape the lake of fire, while at the same time doing what we want to do.

Verse 23.   Those who are reconciled will persevere and continue in the truth of the gospel. This contains a strong warning. The saints are urged to remain firm in the faith, without shifting. 

The gospel taught by Paul, Timothy, Epaphras, and his brethren had stressed the finished work of Christ. Their foundation was secure.  The hope that the gospel gives was firm.  They should not listen to the other false teachers.

CONCLUSION

The first and primary aim of the gospel is to produce holiness, a transformed living by the power of God. 

The other primary aim is that of steadfastness; to maintain the confidence that the new life in Christ is based on the person and work of Christ. So we keep on studying about Christ and we will continue to marvel at who He is and what He has done. This lesson only scratches the surface. There is more. 

The cross and resurrection are pivotal and their importance can never be underestimated. 

We must be filled with spiritual wisdom and understanding and increasingly know and recognize the will of God. 

The cautionary note is that we must recognize that there are many seductive rivals, temptations and deceptions, that invite us to leave the genuine and embrace the false. Sadly many have done so and keep on making excuses as to why they remain in their sins. 

Let us remember the words from the book of Revelation 5:11-14

“Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels numbering thousands upon thousands, and 10,000 times 10,000.  They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders.  In a loud voice they sang: 

“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,

to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength

and honor and glory and praise!”

Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea , and all that is in them, singing:

“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb

be praise and honor and glory and power,

for ever and ever!”

The four living creatures said, “Amen”, and the elders fell down and worshipped.”

Do you want to join that happy throng and be in the new heaven and new earth?

Can we truly sing worthy is the Lamb and reflect that in our lives? Or is our singing just for show?

God is calling us.

Come and he will wash our sins away and reconcile us to himself. 

But be prepared to follow holiness.  There can be no excuses.  Just obey and let the power of Christ reign in you.

The yoke of Christ is easy, and his burden is light.