The Preeminence of Christ

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Salutation

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Like most business letters, Paul first establishes who was writing the letter and secondly, to whom it was sent. Paul was dictating the letter and Timothy was writing it. Notice he not only establishes the writer but also the writers credentials. "Paul, an Apostle of Jesus Christ." Paul believed that he had come face to face with the risen Lord there on the road to Damascus. Therefore, he believed that he was just as much an Apostle as the Disciples were.

Why did Paul become an Apostle? He certainly did not set out to be one. It was not Paul's will to become a believer and he acknowledges this in verse one. "I am an Apostle by the will of God." God chose Paul, Paul did not choose God, at least not until he was called.

Notice in this letter, Timothy is established as a "Brother" in Christ. Elsewhere, Paul speaks of Timothy as "his son", but here, Paul is sticking to credentials, this was no "love letter". He was attempting to establish legalities to a church that couldn't operate on love. But, they were still Saints, believers in Christ. Saved by Grace and headed for eternity with God, and Paul say so, perhaps as a way of reminding them. "To the Saints and faithful Brethren in Christ who are in Colossae." Even Saints can be led astray, sometimes seeking after things that are un-necessary or even detrimental to their growth in Christ. Thus it was with the Saints at Colossae.

Thanksgiving

We see here that we should be thankful for even the poorest Christian. It cost Christ the same for them as it did for the most dedicated and enlightened.

"We", Timothy and I, "Thank God when we pray for you." We should always thank God where ever faith is found, remembering that faith is a gift of God. It is one of three graces that Paul found in these Christians. Faith, hope and love.

1. Faith in Jesus Christ as they had been led to believe in Him.
2. Hope of eternal life, laid up for them in Heaven.
3. Love for fellow Christians. We need to have love for all of God's people, but there should be a special love for the "Brethren".

These three Graces are bestowed without merit. They cannot be earned nor worked for. They are gifts of God and are sufficient to make us complete. Paul needed to establish this in order to establish later what was not needed.

It seems that it was Epafras whom Paul had sent to Colossae to preach the "word of truth", that had told them of acceptance of the Gospel. Epafras was a convert of Paul's from Ephesus. Paul calls him a dear fellow servant and a faithful minister of Christ. Epafras had worked with Paul in Ephesus and knew of his faithfulness to the truth of the Gospel. So when Paul and Timothy got the word of their faith in Jesus Christ, they gave thanks to God.

Prayer

They not only gave thanks for them but they also prayed for them constantly. Notice what they prayed for:

1. They prayed that the Colossians would have knowledge of God's will. I think we fail in this area of our prayer life. In all of our efforts we should first seek God's will. Paul is saying that in order to the complete Christian that we can be we must first know God's will for our lives. Notice what this will do for us. It will give us spiritual wisdom and understanding, being then able to "rightfully discern the truth".
2. They prayed that the Colossians would then be able to lead a life that was worthy and pleasing to the Lord. If we know God's will and we do it, our lives will be pleasing to Him. In return, we will be blessed in our efforts for they will be worthy in His sight. Going contrary to His will, will only lead to failure, regardless of how sincere are our efforts.
3. They prayed that they would be strengthen with endurance, patience and joy. Note how important these three gifts are:
   1. Endurance. God's endurance is paramount. We cannot endure in our efforts for the Lord in our own strength. Whatever we do for the Lord, if we are going to be faithful and dependable, we need the gift of endurance. Paul is not only speaking here of our work but he is also speaking of our doctrine. We must endure the truth, be stable in our beliefs, do not be blown by every wind of doctrine. This was the endurance that Paul was praying for, that the Colossians would have.
   2. Patience. This is another virtue that is greatly needed in our Christian lives. Patience with one another, with the preacher and with God. The Lord is always working in our lives but never in the limits of our patience. Patiently waiting is not in our nature. Israel waited 2,000 years for the Messiah. Noah waited 120 years to use his boat, all the wile he was the town fool. Paul waited a lifetime to see the Lord again, expecting each day to see Him. Patience comes when we are in God's will.
   3. Joy. Joy comes when we are patiently doing God's will. There is no joy for the Christian outside of God's will.
4. They prayed that the Colossians would receive their inheritance. A large part of the joy of being a Christian is the knowledge and assurance of our inheritance, our salvation. All who are headed for Heaven are prepared for it. Those who are not Saints on earth, will not be Saints in Heaven. This preparation is the work of the Lord. Verse 13 says, He will deliver us from the dominion of darkness and transfer us to the Kingdom of His Beloved Son. This was done when we accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior but from that point on, we must grow in Grace, being prepared for out inheritance.

   This preparation is of God, not of man, therefore, look out for man-made qualifications and requirements for Paul says in verse 14 that it is in Christ that we have redemption and forgiveness, not in the practice of rituals or the mutilation of the flesh (circumcision).

Paul is here describing a false teaching that was later called Gnosticism. Two words grew out of the Greek word "gnosis". Gnostic, meaning to know and Agnostic, meaning not to know. Out of the confusion of the Middle East, grew "gnosticism". It promised a closer and fuller religious life through the practice of self-denial. Personal health and food were the first to fall victims to this false teaching. Soon, all earthly matter became evil, so it became necessary to do one of two things. One, separate yourself from all earthly things which was gnosticism, or two, experience all earthly things, which was fatalism. Christ became simply one of many who had been sent of God to bring spiritual truths, placed in the same category as Confucius, Mohamed and others. They denied that He was the Son of God.

They also turned to the stars for guidance, believing that the Angels controlled the stars that, in turn, controlled events in our lives on earth (astrology). Then they turned to the mutilation of the flesh. This included circumcision, the sitting on beds of nails and beds of hot ashes. Sometimes the hand was cut off if one was caught in stealing, eyes were put out if one looked upon evil, ear drums were punctured if you heard any evil and tongues were cut out if you spoke any evil. Apparently all of this was the outgrowth of the Jewish practice of circumcision.

So four teachings were combined in Colossae. Jewish legalism, Oriental philosophy, Pagan astrology and Christianity. The idea was that there was something for every one which is often the claim of those who push Ecumenicalism. Those who taught this believed that they were making Christianity more acceptable to everyone. I was in a small jewelry store in Hagerstown, Maryland that had a sign on its wall that said, "Don't do something, just stand there." This is contrary to human nature. Some people feel the need to "do something". Accepting salvation as a gift is to difficult for them, they need to do something in order to deserve it. This is what they were attempting at the church at Colossae. This is what caused Paul to write our next section.

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