hey guys welcome back to my channel today we are going to be starting a new bible study with me series and this is actually the first one i've done since being married life has been very full in the best possible ways but i'm definitely excited for things to be settling down a little bit and to get back to these types of videos so as you can see from the title we are going to be going through the book of colossians colossians is one of paul's shorter epistles and i've done a lot of his other shorter epistles so philippians galatians ephesians titus and i figured we would do this one as well if you've never done one of my bible study with me series before how it works is basically we study the bible together we go through a book of the bible chapter by chapter and every week an entire video is dedicated to each chapter and for the chapter one video and all the series i do i like to start by giving some context so that is what today's video is we're going to be going through colossians 1 and whenever you start reading through a new book of the bible it is so important to understand some of the context of the book because that's really going to help you understand what it is saying and so there's a couple resources i always like to recommend if you've done my bible studies before you know exactly what i'm about to say but i love to start with the bible project they do videos here on youtube giving an overview of each book of the bible and so i like to start by watching that and i'm going to share some points from that video here in this one but i highly recommend you go and watch that video as well i'll have it linked up here and then i also like to use commentaries and listen to sermons to help with the study and just helping to understand it and so i'm going to be referencing some of those things throughout this video if you want to check any of those out i always have them linked down in my description along with all my bible study tools so bible highlighters journals commentary apps any of that it's always linked down below so be sure to check that out if you have any questions but now let's go ahead and get into context so the book of colossians is a letter written by the apostle paul during one of his many imprisonments for announcing jesus as the risen lord so some other letters of his that were also written from prison are philippians ephesians i have bible studies on both of these books and so colossians is written by paul and it is written to the church at colossae so paul didn't actually start this church and many people believed he never actually met the people of this church but rather this church was started by a co-worker of paul's named epaphras and so pafford started this church and he was actually from that city and so epaphras had recently visited paul in prison and he updated paul on how well the colossians were doing overall but mentioned some of the cultural pressures that were tempting them to turn away from jesus and so in response paul wrote this letter the book of colossians to the colossians to encourage them to address the issues that epaphrous had raised and also to challenge them to a greater devotion to jesus so these people were doing well they were seeking jesus but there were these things these cultural pressures tempting them to turn away from him to compromise just a little bit and this is paul's letter speaking to that which i think is so relatable right and so how this book is organized there are first of all four chapters in the book of colossians and chapter one through the beginning of chapter two it's going into how jesus is the exalted messiah and how paul's suffering in prison is for the exalted messiah and then the bulk of chapter 2 is going to be addressing the colossians pressure to turn away from jesus so what are those outside forces those cultural forces tempting them to turn away and then in chapters three and four it's going to be going into the new way of life that jesus's resurrection opened up for them and for us and so i got this organizational kind of breakdown of the book from the bible project video and then i also got this theme statement from there as well they say that the theme of the book of colossians is this no part of human existence remains untouched by the loving and liberating rule of the risen jesus we are invited to live in the present as if the new creation arrived when jesus rose from the dead because it did he is the author of creation and the one who is bringing about new creation and so it's going to talk a lot about how jesus is making all things new and that begins right here and right now as for how chapter one is structured so there are four main subheadings the first one is a greeting that covers verses one through twelve the second is thanksgiving and prayer which covers verses three through fourteen the third section is the preeminence of christ which covers verses 15 through 23 and the final section is paul's ministry to the church which covers verses 24 through 29 and so how this video is going to work is that we're going to read through the chapter verse by verse and then i'll stop at each of those subheading breaks to kind of go back through and talk through it and unpack it a little bit so let's just go ahead and get into it if you have a bible go ahead and join me and open up to colossians chapter one i will be reading from my bible which is esv and so if your version is different it might be a little bit different but i'll have the text up on the screen as well verse one paul an apostle of christ jesus by the will of god and timothy our brother to the saints and faithful brothers in christ at colossae grace to you and peace from god our father so that's the greeting and a couple interesting things i wanted to point out about it this first one is from a sermon i listened to on colossians 1 and the pastor was just talking about how paul introduces himself as an apostle of jesus christ and so his ministry is ultimately to jesus not to the people who he was serving and the reason why this distinction is key is because if his ministry is of the people then they can shut it down if they don't like what he is saying but if it is of jesus then it holds authority and so i just thought this was a really cool thought because i think that it is so important that we view our ministry this way as well that we report ultimately to jesus not to any human and he is the one that we are seeking to please now moving on to the second subheading again this one is thanksgiving and prayer verse 3 it says we always thank god the father of our lord jesus christ when we pray for you since we heard of your faith in jesus christ and of the love that you have for all the saints because of the hope laid up for you in heaven of this you have heard before in the word of the truth the gospel which has come to you as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing as it also does among you since the day you heard it and understood the grace of god in truth just as you learned it from epaphras our beloved fellow servant he is a faithful minister of christ on your behalf and has made known to us your love in the spirit and so from the day we heard we have not ceased to pray for you asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding so as to walk in a manner worthy of the lord fully pleasing to him bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of god may you be strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for all endurance and patience with joy giving thanks to the father who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light he has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved son in whom we have redemption the forgiveness of sins man there is just so much in there so much to unpack i love paul's prayer for the colossians and i love the things that he is praying for he is praying that they would increase in spiritual wisdom and understanding that they would walk in a manner worthy of the lord fully pleasing again to him not to people bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of god and then he prays for strength by the power of god so that they would have endurance and patience with joy and thankfulness to god the first note i want to make is on verse 5 when i was reading through it before i caught how it was talking about how faith in jesus and love for the saints is fueled by an eternal perspective so in verse 5 it says because of the hope laid up for you in heaven so paul has just finished saying we heard about your faith in jesus christ and your love for the saints and so the colossians have this faith in jesus this love for other believers that is gaining a reputation so much that it's making its way back to paul and this faith in jesus and love for people paul says that it is because of the hope laid up for you in heaven and so their faith their love for people it is fueled by an eternal perspective the next note i want to read is actually one from my study bible on verse 7. so study bible is essentially the text of the bible along with explanatory notes i will leave the one i have here linked down below again but this note on verse 7 it's talking about how the colossians have learned the gospel from epaphras and so this note here says the term for learned it comes from the greek word mathono it is closely related to the term disciple which the greek word for that is methitis hopefully i'm saying these right but basically it's saying that it is more than merely listening to a simple gospel presentation paul makes it clear that the gospel involves systematic instruction in the faith and in how to live as a christian and so learning from somebody is not just merely hearing a gospel message but again seeing what that looks like to be lived out and to have a life that is being transformed by jesus being discipled in the word of god and i thought that was so so interesting that you know as we share the gospel with other people you know the job doesn't stop there from there there is discipleship that needs to happen continually and this kind of leads me to a thought i had on verse 9 so verse 9 talks about how from the day we have heard that you received the gospel we have not ceased to pray for you and i just thought that was convicting in a way that you know as we hear reports of god's work how god is moving in other places or as again we share the gospel with someone are we leaving it there or are we continuing to faithfully and consistently pray for them maybe even when we haven't met them you know as we're hearing about what god is doing around the world are we continuing to pray for those people even if we haven't met them when we share the gospel with people are we continuing to pray for them and follow up with them even beyond that initial conversation the next note i want to point out is from the enduring word commentary and it's on this prayer that paul prays it says paul prayed that they would live according to the same knowledge they received and this is a familiar pattern in the new testament that our walk is based on our knowledge of god and our understanding of his revealed will which is here in the bible and so we can't just try hard to be good people but rather knowing jesus intimately is going to transform the way that we live paul also prays that they would bear fruit in every good work and i want to read this quote from the commentary app that i thought was really good it is by spurgeon it says have you the ability to preach the gospel preach it does a little child need comforting comfort it can you stand up and vindicate a glorious truth before thousands do it does a poor saint need a bit of dinner from your table send it to her let works of obedience testimony zeal charity piety and philanthropy all be found in your life do not select big things as your specialty but glorify the lord also in the littles fruitful in every good work i love that so much because i think sometimes there can be an emphasis on gifts which is amazing god has given us all different gifts and sort of things that we're drawn to in terms of ways that we can serve and glorify him but i think sometimes we can say well oh these are the things i'm good at so i don't need to worry about these other things but in reality paul here is praying that the colossians and that us as saints as well would be fruitful in every good work and so whenever we see an opportunity to do good we should take it the next note i want to read is from my study bible as well it is on verse 11 where paul prays that they would be strengthened with all power and so this note says that spiritual power was a key issue in the greco-roman world people sought power through connection with various gods and pagan rituals in order to protect them from evil spirits and to help them acquire wealth or influence paul wants the colossians to know that he regularly prays that god would impart his power to them not for selfish aims but so that they can live for god in a worthy manner next section is the preeminence of christ which we're going to talk about what that means and so this whole section is talking about jesus it starts with verse 15. it says he is the image of the invisible god the firstborn of all creation for by him all things were created in heaven and on earth visible and invisible whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities all things were created through him and for him and he is before all things and in him all things hold together and he is the head of the body the church he is the beginning the firstborn from the dead that in everything he might be preeminent for in him all the fullness of god was pleased to dwell and through him to reconcile to himself all things whether on earth or in heaven making peace by the blood of his cross and you who were once alienated and hostile in mind doing evil deeds he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him if you indeed continue in the faith stable and steadfast not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven and of which i paul became a minister and so one thing the bible project pointed out is that in verse 9 paul prayed for them to have spiritual wisdom and understanding and now in this section he is essentially giving us a poem that does just that it increases our spiritual wisdom and understanding and this subheading this section is a poem that is full of imagery from genesis exodus psalms and proverbs and so the first note i want to make is from the enduring word commentary it starts off by saying that jesus is the image of the invisible god and that word image comes from the greek word icon but this word expresses two ideas one it expresses that it is the likeness as in the image on a coin or the reflection in a mirror and then it also expresses this idea of manifestation meaning that god is fully revealed in jesus jesus reveals to us who god is and then paul says he is also the firstborn of all creation and so that word firstborn it comes from the greek word proto-tokas and this can describe either priority in time or supremacy in rank and so paul likely had both of these ideas in mind that jesus was before all created things and he is also a supremely different order than all created things all things created so saying all things were created in him has the idea of all things stand created or remain created based off of the tense of that verb and so it's not just saying that he created all things and walked away but it's conveying this idea that the permanence of the universe rests on christ far more than it does even something like gravity so jesus not only created things but he is continually holding all things together the universe quite literally revolves around and rests on him and another note here is talking about how jesus is before all things and he himself is the beginning so creation everything that is created we exist in time and anything that is before that is not a part of creation so again this just drives the point home that jesus is not a created being he is before time outside of it and preeminent so the definition of preeminent means surpassing all others or very distinguished in some way moving on now to the part where it says in him the fullness of god is pleased to dwell so we're doing a lot of greek today but to dwell that comes from the greek word pleroma i think that's probably how it said but it's really just another way to say that jesus is fully god and that verb refers not just to a temporary dwelling that would be a different word if that's what it meant it refers instead to a permanent dwelling and so i want to read a note here from the study bible on that it says the fullness language here that the fullness of god was pleased to dwell the fullness language here and throughout the letter is reminiscent of its use in the old testament where it was said that god filled the temple with his presence for instance the prophet ezekiel exclaims i looked and behold the glory of the lord filled the temple so jesus not only bears god's glory but all that god is also dwells in him he possesses the wisdom power spirit and glory of god to say that all this divine fullness dwells in jesus is to say that he is fully god and then it says that he will reconcile all things to himself so this note here says that as the prince of peace jesus will ultimately quell all rebellion against god and his purposes for believers this means present reconciliation to god as his friends so if you're a believer we are reconciled to god as his friends and as for non-believers and demonic powers christ's universal reign of peace will be enforced on them for their rebellion will be decisively defeated by christ as conquering king so that they can no longer do any harm in the universe and so it's saying here that you know jesus is going to quell all rebellion against god so basically either we're being reconciled to god and we're on god's side and then people who are still opposing god christ is going to decisively defeat them so that they can no longer bring about harm in the universe and then it can be restored to how god originally created which was good and so again this is really just diving into this rich theology and revealing to us who jesus is in the work that he is doing and that is all encapsulated in this little poem that paul is reading to us another note here is where it talks about how jesus has presented us holy and blameless and above reproach before him and then it says if you indeed continue in the faith and so a note here from the commentary because i feel like this is a verse that could be confusing it says it is important for us to continue in godly conduct but we are not saved by godly conduct and there's a quote from the commentary here that says if the gospel teaches the final perseverance of the saints and so essentially that we cannot lose our salvation it teaches at the same time that the saints are those who persevere in christ and so continuance is the test of reality and again it's this idea that when that faith is genuine there is going to also be that perseverance and it talks about this i believe in either first or second peter as well that when we go through various trials the testing of our faith basically deems its genuineness or its sincerity and so that's what is being talked about here that when that faith is genuine we're going to continue in it until the end all right final section this is paul's ministry to the church verse 24. it says now i rejoice in my sufferings for your sake and in my flesh i am filling up what is lacking in christ's afflictions for the sake of his body that is the church of which i became a minister according to the stewardship from god that was given to me for you to make the word of god fully known the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints to them god chose to make known how great among the gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery which is christ in you the hope of glory him we proclaim warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom that we may present everyone a mature in christ for this i toil struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me and so the first note about this is from the enduring word commentary it talks about how paul is saying that he rejoices in his sufferings and in his flesh he is sort of filling up what was lacking in christ's afflictions and i feel like this could present a question of was there something lacking here but the actual word used here is never used to refer to the suffering of jesus on the cross that work is fully complete there is nothing lacking in it so most commentators actually see this as a reference to the affliction jesus endured in his ministry and so these afflictions are not yet complete in the sense that jesus still suffers as he ministers through his people so people are still being persecuted suffering for the sake of the gospel and in that sense it is continuing on the afflictions of jesus that he suffered in his ministry next paul is talking about how he is making known to the people the word of god and he says that this was a mystery hidden for ages and generations but is now revealed so a note about this is that mystery does not refer to something mysterious or to a secret ritual rather paul is speaking of god's unfolding plan for the world and above all his plan of redemption through the messiah so although elements of god's design were already known through the prophet so god spoke through the prophets and foreshadowed his plan to redeem the world through jesus there were still key aspects of it that were hidden for ages and generations and so even as we have these prophecies pointing forward towards jesus the people in jesus time had these expectations of what that was going to look like how jesus was going to come that he was going to come and sort of overthrow the roman government but that's not what happened and that's not how god's plan unfolded and so we had a general idea that god had this plan but throughout time more of it was becoming revealed and so it was kept a mystery which could only be known and understood when it was revealed by god through jesus and so the heart of this mystery that god is now revealing through paul is the amazing hallmark of the new covenant which is christ in you christ in me the hope of glory that god himself and the person of christ will be directly and personally present in the lives of his people and his presence assures them assures us of a future life with him when he returns how incredible is that next is paul is saying that it is him we preach jesus we preach so paul wasn't preaching himself his opinions he was preaching jesus and another note from the enduring word commentary is where it says that his goal is that he may present everyone mature in christ so the goal of paul's ministry was to bring people to a maturity in christ not to dependence on himself he wasn't trying to get them to be reliant on him but he was trying to help them become mature in christ and understanding the word of god and growing in that another note from my study bible says it was not enough for paul to see people make a profession of faith in christ as important as this is telios that greek word for mature could be translated as perfect but full perfection will only be attained when christ returns and believers are fully transformed until that time the maturity christians are to seek stands in contrast with the immaturity of infancy and so it's this idea that we are to be continually growing in our walks with god we are not to remain in sort of that spiritual infancy but full maturity is not going to be attained until we see jesus face to face i always go back to my favorite verse second corinthians 3 18 that we with unveiled face beholding the glory of the lord are being transformed from one degree of glory to the next that all throughout our lives he is growing us in maturity making us look more like him but we are not going to fully reach that until we see him face to face that is all for colossians chapter one next what i want to do is pick a couple verses from this chapter to dig a little bit deeper into and meditate on i do this in all my bible study videos and the reason i love doing this is because we take in so much information in these videos and i love picking a couple verses to just spend a little bit more time on to meditate on so that we can kind of focus on one or two truths to really hold on to throughout the week and so for further study i'm going to be looking at colossians 1 verses 13 and 14 and i'm just grabbing my scribe bible journal here so that we can pull it out and take a look okay so i went and wrote out those verses i'll read them again it says he talking about jesus has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved son in whom we have redemption the forgiveness of sin and i just love the imagery here of the domain of darkness and then the kingdom of his beloved son because domain of darkness i just kind of picture like the dark side on star wars or something just this dark dungeony oppressive thing versus the kingdom of his beloved son it has obviously much more of a family feel that beloved son we are a part of a family we are loved we are chosen we belong and so i just love that imagery there and kind of the the stark contrast between the two so i'm just gonna make a quick note of that [Music] okay so i wrote from a dark domain to a family where we belong the next thing i want to do is look up the definition of the word delivered sometimes i like to look up common words that we all know but just to see um how the definition can enrich our meaning and understanding and so that's kind of a crooked circle but the meaning here says to save rescue or set someone or something free from and so i'm going to write that down [Music] next i want to read a note from the commentary that's actually about verses 21 and 23 but these verses actually cross reference or speak to this verse right here and so it's talking about how we were once alienated and enemies of god this is referring or speaking more into the domain of darkness here the sort of beginning state and so this commentary note is right here and it says we were once alienated the greek word alienated translated apello triomenos is literally transferred to another owner this transfer of ownership from god to satan and self affected us in both mind and behavior but it says that we were once alienated meaning in jesus we no longer are the difference between a believer and a non-believer isn't merely forgiveness but rather there's a complete change of status so i'm just going to write those notes down okay so i wrote that down that we who were once alienated from the greek word apello trio menace literally means transferred to another so we were transferred from god who created us to satan and the self which affects us in mind and behavior but in jesus we are no longer alienated we've received not only forgiveness of sins but a complete change of status i'm going to just use this space down here now in the application to reflect on that a bit [Music] okay so i put jesus bought us back from being in bondage to the enemy of our souls and to our own self riddled with fleshly desires in him we are transferred into god's family forgiven and free that is all for colossians chapter one thank you so much for going through this study with me be sure to leave a comment down below letting me know your favorite verse or takeaway or something you learned from this chapter i love reading through those and it's cool to just see all the different things people are learning if you enjoyed this video please be sure to give it a thumbs up and maybe share it with a friend who you might want to go through this study with that is a huge way that you can help to support my channel and continue to get god's word out there and then if you haven't already please be sure to hit the subscribe button as well but thank you so much for watching this video and i will see you back here next week for colossians chapter 2. bye [Music]