Recap

So far in Colossians we've read as Paul has asserted that Jesus is enough. Paul, imprisoned at the time, wrote to this church that had been planted by Epaphras. Hearing from Epaphras about the church’s challenges, Paul aimed to encourage the Colossians to remain steadfast in their faith in Jesus.

Paul opened with a prayer of thanksgiving for the Colossians’ faith and their dedication to the gospel. He reminded them that they had been rescued from darkness and transferred into God’s kingdom. They had received an inheritance not earned through human effort but given freely through Jesus.

To drive this home, Paul recited a well-known hymn that emphasised Christ’s supremacy. Jesus, as the perfect image of God, was the source of all creation. He was also the source of new creation. He was the first to rise from the dead so that all who believe in him might share in new life. Through Jesus, all things in heaven and on earth are reconciled to God.

Paul then warned the Colossians against being swayed by teachings that trapped them again in laws. He argued that Jesus' sacrifice had fulfilled the law and freed believers from its condemnation.

The Colossians should therefore not let others impose extra rules, like dietary restrictions, observance of certain festivals, or requirements around self-abasement and angel worship. These rules might seem outwardly good, but only Jesus can truly transform hearts and align believers with God’s will.

Colossians 3-4

If the goal is to be transformed more and more into the image of Jesus, then that does mean there are better and worse ways to live towards that goal. With that in mind, there are practices and guidelines for living that the Colossians should follow, but they are not rules or law that they are bound to.

Paul provides some guidelines on how to live their lives in Jesus. First, they are to set their minds on him. The more their focus is on Jesus, the more they will be shaped in his image. He describes those who have died in Jesus are now hidden with him.

There’s some debate about what this means. Some argue that this is drawing on the Old Testament tradition where to be hidden by God meant to be protected by him (see Psalm 27:5–6, Psalm 31:19–20, Isaiah 49:2).

Others see it more as they are now participating in an unseen, supernatural realm. Their focus is not on earthly things but on the kingdom of God and his desires, which are currently invisible to others. It is only when Jesus returns that this will then be fully revealed.

Either way, Paul then encourages the Colossians to put to death those things that are not part of the image of Jesus. Those things that would shape the Colossians back into the image of sin.

Sexual immorality, evil desires, jealousy, idolatry, anger, slander, obscene talk. All these things the Colossians used to indulge in, but now they are to remove themselves from them. Instead, they should see themselves as new creations, be made into the image of their creator.

In that case they should take up new behaviours and qualities. Compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience. The Colossians are to forgive others just as God has forgiven them, and they should be marked by love as love is the things that weaves all these other qualities together. They should pursue the peace of Christ and always be thankful.

Paul then suggests some things they could do together to cultivate these qualities in one another. They should focus on the word of Christ, whether that be the words of Jesus himself found in the gospels or the scripture as a whole that points to Jesus.

This should lead to teaching and encouraging one another in the wisdom they learn from Jesus. When they come together singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs together will also shape them more and more into the image of Jesus.

Basically, in everything that they do, do it as though it was in the name of Jesus, so not to dishonour his name. And do it with gratitude and thanks to God for all that he has done.

Next, Paul applies what this would look like in practice in the household, just as he did in Ephesians 5-6. As with Ephesians, those who in the weaker position should submit and be obedient and those in the dominant position should not abuse their power but seek the best for those who are weaker in love.

Paul also encourages the Colossians to devote themselves in prayer. That means praying for themselves, but also for others. Paul asks that the Colossians pray for him and his team that they might have more opportunities to spread the gospel.

He also encourages them to be wise in how they act around those who don’t yet believe. He says this so that they might ‘make most of the time’ (Colossians 4:5). The idea being that they be a good influence on those who don’t believe so that they do come to believe.

In this, Paul encourages them to be gracious in their speech, and always be prepared with answers if people ask questions about their faith.

Finally, Paul ends with his usual greetings, giving updates on different people and greetings from others. Paul specifically mentions that once the Colossians have read this letter, they should pass it on to the Laodiceans and in turn read the letter that he wrote to them.

Unfortunately, we don’t have a letter written to the Laodiceans, but this is the first mention we get that these letters were meant to be passed around churches so that other churches could draw wisdom from them.

That makes sense in particular with a letter like this, that isn’t addressing a Colossian specific problem. Those encourage people to follow set rules and traditions were everywhere, and all believers would benefit from being reminded how to live in a way that shapes them in the image of Jesus.

Then to end we get another example of Paul writing a final greeting in his own hand, so that others know that it is him. If this was a letter written after Paul’s death by a disciple of Paul, looking to write in the tradition of Paul, this still fits. We know Paul did this in many of his letters. Including that in this letter would have been a shared little nod to how Paul wrote his letters.

By now, we’re starting to see a lot of repeated themes in Paul’s letters. He wants the churches to acknowledge the sufficiency of Jesus. Though don’t need other rules or traditions to be better saved. They just need Jesus.

With that, there are definitely some behaviours and qualities that they should avoid as they shape them according to sin. And there are behaviours and qualities they should focus on cultivating that help shape them in the image of Jesus.

But the recognition is that Jesus and the Holy Spirit are the ones ultimately doing the shaping, and that these should never become rules that bind them, but guidelines that help this shaping. That is Colossians.

Psalm 12

This psalm is attributed to king David and falls into the category of lament psalm. It follows the similar structure of a chiasm (where the passage reflects itself) that we’ve seen before.

A) Psalm 12:1 - A godly man ceases to be

B) Psalm 12:2 - People speak falsely

C) Psalm 12:3-4 - God condemns the wicked

C) Psalm 12:5 - God vindicates the righteous

B) Psalm 12:6-7 - God’s words are pure and truthful

A) Psalm 12:8 - The wicked continue to wander freely

The psalmist brings his complaint to God. It seems like there is noone godly left on earth. It’s like they’ve all disappeared. To the psalmist, it looks like everyone around them lies. They mean one thing and say another.

This leads to the psalmist’s big ask of God. Condemn the wicked for their evil. Cut off their tongues so they can no longer lie. For those that think this is a big gruesome, it’s important to remember this is poetry. The writer is using figurative language to ask God to stop the people from lying.

Having brought his request, the psalmist now declares his trust in God. Just as he has asked God to condemn the wicked, God will also vindicate the righteous. Those that are poor and needy will be protected and made safe.

In contrast to the lying words of man, God’s words are like silver. They are faithful and true. They can be trusted. God is not a liar and always keeps his word.

But then the psalmist ends by slipping back into focusing on his problems. Just as all the godly seem to have disappeared, the wicked seemed to be all around.