Neal introduced our series on Colossians.
Are you ready for an adventure in Colossians? We are talking about being a disciple of Jesus and following him and this book is great as its tells us where we have come from, how we follow Jesus and what to be careful of in our Christian lives.
Paul writes a letter from his prison in Rome to the church at Colossae – He has never visited the Church personally but it’s like a church plant that was started by Epaphras who had been with Paul on his missionary journeys. Paul writes to the Church to encourage them and to point out some false teaching and primarily to remind them who Jesus is and that he is central to everything – It’s all about Jesus – who he is, what he has done and their position in Christ. He needs to remind them that the Christian life is JESUS plus NOTHING!
36 times in Colossians Paul mentions that we are In Christ/Of Christ/From Christ/With Christ.
If they can understand who Christ is, what he has done and their position in Christ – this will bring everything else in perspective! This is as true for us today as it was for the Church in Colossae!
Chapter 1 vs 15-20 Christ is Supreme!
Vs 21 – Remember who you are?
Rafiki speaks to Simba in the Lion King and says remember who you are. We need to remember who we are in Christ and what he has done for us.
“And this includes you who were once far away from God – You were his enemies – separated from God – But now he has reconciled you to himself through his death on the cross – and you stand Holy and Blameless before him without a single fault”
What a fab verse!! It’s all because of Jesus and what he has done.
This is so important as the early church had received some bad teaching which said that the gospel of Jesus Christ was not enough by itself. But Paul wants them to know that Jesus is enough even if they don’t understand everything! You do not need special knowledge , religious rituals are not necessary, you don’t need to worship angels (only Jesus is to be worshipped) and self denial does not deal with the root cause of our situation – SIN – and that we are sinners in need of a saviour – Jesus is enough! This is so important for us today as well!
2 vs 1 “ I want the people to have complete confidence that they understand God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ himself. In him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I am telling you this so that no –one will deceive you with well crafted arguments.”
We need to careful of false teaching and with all that is available at the moment we can be swayed by reasoned arguments and opinions but must keep Christ central in all our thoughts and discussions. Christianity is Jesus plus nothing – he is all we need and all we have ever needed.
Paul Moore in his commentary on Colossians says –
“Jesus has completely changed our past – He is completely changing our present and he will continue to change our future if we continue in him. He is the only creator and the only saviour. He is all we ever need – Its Jesus plus nothing or it really isn’t Jesus at all”
It’s all about Jesus – It always has been and it always will be – He reigns supreme!
Questions
1. Paul wants us to understand the centrality of Christ in Colossians – Why do you think this is so important and is it important for us as well?
2. Paul says to remember where you have come from – Is this something we need to do and if so what does it change in our thinking?
3. There is a lot of information out there – Just think of Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and You Tube – some good and some bad – How should we manage these and protect ourselves from false teaching?
4. Why not try and write your own letter – either to CITP or to your own Community group – what would you say and why?