Transcript First Corinthians “Solving Church Problems”

Colossians
“Christ and the Church”
Lesson 1
“Introduction to Colossians”
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INTRODUCTION TO COLOSSIANS
The City:
 Located in southern part of Phrygia, a
kingdom in west central Asia Minor –
modern day Turkey
 They claimed to be the most ancient people
of the world
 A rather small, insignificant town that had
seen better days at the time of this letter
 When the gospel was preached there, it was
subject to the Roman government
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INTRODUCTION TO COLOSSIANS
The Church:
 The name “Colosse” [or Colossae] is not
mentioned elsewhere in the Bible
 Located very close to Laodicea and Hierapolis
(4:13)
 “Laodicea mentioned only in this book [4 times]
and Revelation [1 time]

Paul and Silas preached throughout Phrygia
on Paul’s second and third journeys
(Acts 16:5,6)(18:23)
 And, “churches” were established
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INTRODUCTION TO COLOSSIANS
The Church:
 It is possible, however, that Paul did not
establish the church at Colosse
 Epaphras was one of their members (4:12,13)
 He was a faithful gospel preacher (1:7; 4:12,13)
 He was with Paul when this letter was written
 Notice the term “Epaphras…greets you” (4:12)
 He also gave Paul a report (1:8)
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INTRODUCTION TO COLOSSIANS
The Author:
 Paul identifies himself as the writer of this
letter
 Colossians is one of the “prison epistles” sent
by Paul from his first confinement as a
Roman prisoner about A.D. 60 or 61
 It was delivered by Tychicus and Onesimus
(4:7-9)
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INTRODUCTION TO COLOSSIANS
The Problems:
 A serious threat to the faith and stability of the
young Christians at Colosse had arisen
 It was in the form of false teaching about the
Person and place of Jesus Christ in God’s
scheme of redemption

This error had developed into a religious
system that combined two schools of thought
that usually were divergent in most respects
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INTRODUCTION TO COLOSSIANS
The Problems:
 First, the error was laced with a philosophy of
Greek origin
 Second, a strong influence of Jewish
traditionalism had been infused into the
teaching being done at Colosse
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INTRODUCTION TO COLOSSIANS
The Problems:
In jeopardy were many of the basic tenets of the
gospel:
1. The supremacy of Christ in all things in the world
and in the church (1:13-19);
2. The adequacy of the divine Nature of Jesus to
procure reconciliation and salvation for wicked men
(1:20-23; 2:9);
3. The completeness of the redemption provided by
Him (1:20-23);
4. The worthiness of sufferings and sacrifices for the
gospel (1:24-29);
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INTRODUCTION TO COLOSSIANS
The Problems:
In jeopardy were many of the basic tenets of the
gospel:
5. The inability of human religion to benefit the spirit
of man (2:8-10);
6. The removal of God’s authority from Moses’ Law
(2:13-17);
7. The superiority of divine wisdom over other
wisdom (2:3,7; 18,22).
8. The importance of observing the moral and
ethical standards established through the laws of
God
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INTRODUCTION TO COLOSSIANS
The Themes:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
The preeminence and sufficiency of Jesus
Christ in all things;
The spiritual completeness of believers in
Christ;
The superiority of divine wisdom over other
wisdom;
The obligations of union with Christ in the
church;
The importance of honoring relationships with
others.
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INTRODUCTION TO COLOSSIANS
The Outline:
A simple outline of Colossians might be:
I. Opening remarks (1:1-8)
II. Rooted in Christ (1:9-2:23)
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Walking worthy of Christ (1:9-13)
Redeemed by Christ (1:14-18)
Reconciled in Christ (1:19-23)
Perfected in Christ (1:24-2:7)
Complete in Christ (2:8-23)
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INTRODUCTION TO COLOSSIANS
The Outline:
A simple outline of Colossians might be:
III. Living in Christ (3:1-4:6)
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Seeking things above (3:1-4)
Putting off worldly habits (3:5-11)
Putting on heavenly habits (3:12-17)
Honoring spiritual relationships (3:18-4:1)
Showing concern for others (4:2-6)
IV. Closing remarks and instructions (4:7-18)
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Questions
1.
Who wrote the letter to the Colossians?
2.
Where was Colosse located?
3.
Who started the church in Colosse?
4.
What two schools of thought made up the
false teaching in Colosse?
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Questions
5.
Who was this false teaching attacking?
6.
What are some of the themes of the letter?
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