Paul's Desire for Them In Christ It is possible Paul specified Colossae and Laodicea because he had been to both of those cities. Hierapolis, the third of the tri-cities, would thus be designated by the words, "as many as have not seen my face in the flesh." He labored for the salvation of all Genti... [ Continue Reading ]
Man is searching for knowledge and wisdom through a multitude of means. He will not find them until he comes to Jesus wherein those things are revealed. Paul was especially concerned that the Colossian brethren know true wisdom is found in Christ because there were false teachers who would seduce th... [ Continue Reading ]
The good news had been transmitted by God for man's benefit. Those who recognized Jesus Christ as Lord, by yielding to Him in obedience, received that transmission. Those who had so yielded to Christ's Lordship should continue by allowing His will to direct every action of their lives. When a Christ... [ Continue Reading ]
Beware of Empty Deceit Paul urged them to be constantly on their guard lest anyone take them captive through human reasoning. The philosophers Paul is speaking of were puffed up with their own knowledge, which led to empty reasoning that could not save. Such reasoning bred traditions which were pas... [ Continue Reading ]
One would not want to be taken away from Christ because in Him is to be found everything essential to being divine. He was not, as some false teachers suggested, a mere emanation from God. Turner says this essence of deity both dwelt and dwelleth in Christ, which is the force of the verb here. The w... [ Continue Reading ]
The false teachers may have suggested the road to completeness began with Christ but had to be finished with some others. Paul says completeness comes in Christ who is the head of all (Compare Matthew 28:18). The Greeks thought there were various emanations from God and each had a specific area of a... [ Continue Reading ]
The Circumcision of Christ The Jews stressed the importance of a physical circumcision. In Christ, sinful ways, to which our fleshly desires lead, are cut off. The "circumcision of Christ" may be his death on the cross which made it possible for our sins to be put away from us. Or, it may refer to... [ Continue Reading ]
Things Which Resulted from Christ's Resurrection"The handwriting of requirements" is an apparent reference to the ten commandments, which God wrote on tables of stone, and the rest of the law of Moses, which Moses wrote at God's direction. God erased, or canceled, that law because it was against man... [ Continue Reading ]
Warnings About False Teaching Since the law of Moses had been nailed to the cross, Colossian Christians did not have to answer to anyone as to why they did not observe various parts of the law or some group's private requirements. It is particularly interesting that Paul mentions the Sabbath, since... [ Continue Reading ]
The apostle warns against those who would “defraud” the Colossian brethren of their reward. Weed says the word suggests athletic competition in which one is disqualified. If the Colossian brethren listened to the false teachers, they would be robbed of a prize rightfully theirs. "False humility" may... [ Continue Reading ]
Once one had died to sin and worldly pursuits in baptism (verse 12), there was no reason for him to live as if he were still controlled by worldly thinking. Worldly traditions and the law of Moses do not control the Christian's life. The Pharisees wanted to add their own requirements to God's law an... [ Continue Reading ]