Overview of Colossians

Like Ephesians, Colossians is another disputed letter with arguments over whether this was one of the last letters that Paul wrote, or one of the first written by his disciples in his name. This would place it around 61-62 CE if written by Paul and 68-71 CE if not.

Unlike many of our other letter, the church in Colossae was not planted by Paul. Instead, it was planted by Epaphras that Paul had never met. Tradition has Epaphras meeting Paul in prison and so Paul then writes this letter to encourage the Colossians.

Colossians 1:1-14 - Greetings and prayer

Colossians 1:15-23 - The Messiah Poem and reconciliation of the Colossians

Colossians 1:24-2:5 - Paul’s examples

Colossians 2:6-23 - Jesus is enough

Colossians 3:1-4:5 - The new self

Colossians 4:5-18 - Closing thoughts

In this letter are many issues and ideas that we’ve seen in previous letters. Like many other churches, it seems that the church in Colossae was dealing with teachers that were trying to bring extra rules and instructions to make the Colossians better believers. Paul wants them to know that Jesus is enough and their faith is to be in him.

He then encourages them not to be governed by rules, but by putting to death their old self and the power of sin in them, and living lives shaped by Jesus. In this, he gives them things to avoid and things to pursue. He also, like Ephesians, gives them guidance on how this life might look in their households.

Colossians 1-2

Paul starts with his usual greetings and blessing and then prays for the Colossians. He thanks God to hear of the Colossians’ faith in Jesus and love for fellow believers. They have heard the gospel and are living it out. It is bearing fruit in them just as it is bearing fruit in believers across the whole world.

It was Epaphras who taught them the gospel, and Epaphras who told Paul and his colleagues all about the Colossians' faith. Since then, Paul and the team have been praying for the Colossians that they grow in understanding and continue to lead live worthy of Jesus. Lives that are marked by fruit and continued to be strengthened in their knowledge of God.

So Paul encourages the Colossians to continue to give thanks to God for this inheritance that they have gained. They have been rescued from darkness into God’s new kingdom because of Jesus.

Note Paul’s language here in his introduction. He wants the Colossians to understand that they have not earned access to this new kingdom by following set rules. Instead, they were rescued and are now receiving an inheritance, all because of Jesus.

Paul then recites a hymn on the sufficiency and, like the Christ hymn we read in Philippians 2:6-11, this hymn was likely one already familiar to the Colossians.

Picking up on Genesis 1:26-27, Paul describes Jesus as the image of God. While humanity was made to image God, Jesus is the best and most perfect image. Paul also calls him ‘the firstborn of all creation’ (Colossians 1:15). This has caused some to assume that Jesus was therefore created, but that’s not what firstborn means here.

Psalm 89:27 describes God making David the firstborn. Israel is described as God’s firstborn son in Exodus 4:22, and Ephraim is described as God’s firstborn in Jeremiah 31:8.

Physically speaking, none of these were firstborn. David had seven older brothers, Israel (Jacob) was second to his brother, Esau, and Ephraim was second to his brother, Manasseh. The term firstborn was regularly used to describe a special status, not a literal firstborn. In fact, it was through Jesus that all things were created and continue to find their being.

Not only was he the source of creation, but he continues to be the source of new creation. He is the head of the church, and the first one to die and be resurrected so that all can die and find new life in him. The fullness of God is found in Jesus, and through Jesus all creation is being reconciled to God.

Turning back to the Colossians, Paul describes them as one being estranged from God and hostile in mind. They used to practise evil. But now they are reconciled to Jesus in his body, and continue to be so if they hold on to their faith.

They should not shift their hope to some other means of being right before God. Their hope should be in this gospel.

Paul then points to the example of his own life. He describes his suffering as “completing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions” (Colossians 1:24). This isn’t to say that what Jesus did was not enough, but that Paul is participating in the suffering of Jesus to make it real for the Colossians and other believers at the time. Each generation and group, need Jesus embodied for them in the form of other believers.

Paul has become a servant, and participated in suffering because of this very gospel that all hope is found in Jesus, even for gentiles. It is Jesus that Paul teaches about, and he will continue to work and struggle to get that message out there.

The Colossians, along with the church in Laodicea, and many others, have never met Paul. But he writes to them in the hope that he might encourage them through his struggles. And he writes that they might know the power of the gospel he shares, and not be persuaded by any other gospel that argues something different.

So Paul encourages the Colossians in their faith. He tells them to continue living in Jesus, just as when they first received him. The Colossians are to be rooted and build upon Jesus.

They are to avoid anyone who tries to get them to live according to set traditions or cultural expectations. They are empty, traditions of men, and are in line with ‘the elemental spirits of the universe’ (Colossians 2:9). We saw Paul use similar language in Galatians 4:3. These elemental spirits are the forces of sin and darkness in the world.

The Colossians need to know that it’s only in Jesus that the fullness of God dwells, and in him that they meet God. They were circumcised but with a spiritual circumcision that involved dying to themselves and being raised to live in Jesus.

All sin that came from breaking the law was then forgiven and satisfied. It was nailed to the cross. And Jesus also won a victory over the powers of sin and darkness.

Therefore, because the law is satisfied and the Colossians are now free in Jesus, they should not allow anyone to bring in new, or old, laws that will bring condemnation. Whether that be what you should eat and drink, what festivals you should observe, or how to keep the sabbath. These were clearly the rules and teaching that were being taught to the Colossians.

These things were useful in the past because they pointed to Jesus, but now the Colossians have Jesus himself. Paul then encourages the Colossians to reject other teaching; self-abasement, worship of angels, and dwelling on visions.

There’s some debate what each of these means, but either way Paul describes them as puffing up caused by humans ways of thinking. They made those who do them feel self important when really they have not held to Jesus, who is the one that is both the head of the body of believers, and the thing that keeps them all together. He is all the ligaments and sinews of the body, as well as its lifeblood.

So Paul gives a final warning to the Colossians. Jesus died to defeat these powers of sin and darkness. To satisfy the laws, they had weaponised against creation. Why then would the Colossians then try to live in a way that satisfies these laws themselves, as though they were still under them?

These rules seem good as they enforce on those who do them a sense of humility, but they don’t actually shape the state of one’s heart. Only Jesus can do that.

Psalm 11

This psalm is attributed to King David and fits into the category of trust psalm. These psalms sing of confidence in who God is.

Psalm 11:1 - The Lord is our refuge

Psalm 11:2-3 - False claims on what happens to the righteous and the wicked

Psalm 11:4 - The Lord rules on high

Psalm 11:5-6 - The truth on what happens to the righteous and the wicked

Psalm 11:7 - The Lord is righteous

The psalmist is clearly going through some struggles because they feel the need to take refuge in the Lord. But the focus isn’t on those struggles. It’s firmly on God.

So much so that he challenges the claims of others, who tell him to flee because their enemies are preparing to take them out. He challenges the idea that the wicked are the ones in control, and that the righteous have no foundations or strength to stand on.

God is on the throne. He sees all things. He is in control, not the wicked. Yes, he might test the righteous, to see if they are true, but it is the wicked he will punish and deal with. God is righteous, and he will take care of those who are upright before him.

In Psalm 9 and Psalm 10, we saw two different ways of bringing God our problems. Start with praise or end with praise. Psalm 11 gives us a third option. Sometimes, it’s not even worth giving our problems the time of day. Instead, we’re better off just grounding ourselves in the foundation of the goodness of God. In these situations, our prayers are praise all the way through.

Having looked at these three psalms, you may feel like there’s a particular route you prefer, and that’s fine. But make sure you don’t completely ignore the other two. Each one is beneficial in different ways.

If you decide you are only ever going to praise, then your heart never really gets to lament. But by the same token, spend too much time on lament and you lose the will to praise.