A careful reading of the first few verses of this letter to the church ion Colossae reveals a few important points. It seems that this is not a fellowship that Paul planted. It is widely assumed that Epahroditus planted the church in Colossae. Paul has heard of their faith and he writes these words of encouragement. Many scholars believe that this letter was not written by Paul at all, but by one of his disciples who penned it in his name.
If all we had from this letter was the view expressed about the Deity of Jesus it would be enough to secure its place in the schools of theology. The Christology expressed here, "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers--all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things$ hold together. He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross." Colossians 1:15-20 NRSV, is more significant than I can easily express here. Read it again, and think about the claims made here about Jesus.
Finally, the close of chapter 1 impairs that this letter was written from prison. Paul's suffering, both the physical and emotional and spiritual are amazing.
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3 comments:
I had a hard time connecting into this chapter. Maybe just the different tone, compared with Philippians.
15-20 are poetical even in the deep theological expression. Reminds me of the Nicene Creed ;) Or the Nicene Creed reminds me of it...
Yeah, I picked up on the difference to and had a hard time engaging. Quite a polar change from the favorite congregation to one he had only heard about - that may explain part of the difference.
I am finally back up to date with the blog. Thanks for your faithfulness and encouragement this year! 6 weeks or so and We'll finish this read through the NT as a church. I have heard from a few pastors asking me to put together a calendar for next years read through the NT -
Love Bill
Oh okay, I’m glad it wasn’t just me that didn’t connect as well to this chapter. It’s pretty wild that there is such a transition between Philippians and Colossians – but I it wasn’t like he wrote them in the same day or anything – they just go together here because of how the Bible was put together.
I really like that whole “supremacy of Christ” part. It’s really awesome to hear so much about Christ, especially in those terms. I especially relate to “he is the image of the invisible God.” So many kids/people see our God as far away, off in the distance/not around, which make it hard to believe in Him. However, when you see Jesus Christ as the image of the invisible God, it makes believing a much more reasonable task for new believers.
He certainly did suffer – all this jail time and what-not. Sure makes you realize that we have it pretty good.
MNB
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