Jesus is head of his church (Colossians 1:18)

‘And he is the head of the body, the church.’

This may be the detail in Paul’s description of Jesus that is the least thought about, although much is said about it in ecclesiastical and denominational disputes. No doubt, such disputes are important when error is advocated. But what would be the significance of saying this about Jesus to a Christian group in Colosse in the first century?

One point is that it is a reminder that believers who live in not-so-important places belong to the same church as those who live in what may be regarded as important places.

A second point is that every believer is equal as far as their union with Christ is concerned. Living in Colosse was not a reason for imagining that less divine guidance and less divine power and less divine grace would be available for them in their gospel witness and church growth. They would not be able to have the same number of committees or activities, but they had the same Christ helping them to live the Christian life, to be salt and light in Colosse.

A third detail is that the Christians in Colosse will share with other Christians in the future eternal glory that Christ will give to his church. The Christians in Colosse were included in the prayer of Jesus recorded in John 17 concerning those who would yet believe in him. Colosse may not have been much in comparison to nearby Laodicea or faraway Rome, but Christians in all places have a great future because they are part of Christ’s church.

Later on in this letter (2:19, Paul uses the same illustration of the church as a body and says that every part receives its sustenance from Christ the head. He knows whatever spiritual provision is needed at every moment by each person in his church, and he provides it. Living in Colosse may have caused the inhabitants of the town to miss out some things, but there was no reason why the members there of Christ's church should lose out on his blessing apart from a decision by any of them to go after something else instead.

Creating and upholding (Colossians 1:17)

 ‘And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together’ (Colossians 1:17).

When we think someone or something is great, we will speak about him or it often, even if we are repeating ourselves. Paul has already told the Colossians about the pre-existence of Jesus. Yet he mentions the claim again in this verse, not because his readers may have missed his earlier emphasis, but because the fact is worth re-telling. Is that not what worship is? Worship is repeating well-known truths about God to God, sometimes in the presence of others and sometimes when we are by ourselves. It is a great privilege, when speaking to God or about God, to repeat what he has said about himself.

 

Paul describes the preexistence of Jesus by using the present tense. Maybe he does so to ensure that we don’t conclude that the greatness of Jesus depends on his activities in the cosmos. After all, an artist is famous because of his paintings; if he had not produced his works of art, he would not be known about. His glory comes after he has produced something commendable. In contrast, Jesus is always full of divine glory. Of course, he has received further glory because of what he did when he became a man and brought about salvation before ascending as the God/man mediator to the highest position. Yet we confess he is the one who is glorious eternally.

 

Because of who he is, the Son of God can do remarkable things. One of them is that he constantly keeps everything in existence in himself. We can remind ourselves of this truth when we look out on a clear night to the star-filled sky or marvel at the beauty of a morning sunrise. But we also see this truth when we look in the mirror. Our minds and hearts, our capabilities and affections, are upheld by him moment by moment. Perhaps the next time we are in a crowded airport, we can reflect for a few minutes on how much depends on the Son of God holding all things together – arriving and leaving planes, all kinds of people going through different experiences, the long or short journeys that people make, and much more. All depends on him. Without him, nothing would exist. Without him, there would be no all things.

 

It is possible to deduce from his preserving of all things that he has plans for the current cosmos. Otherwise, he would have removed it and brought its existence to an end. We know that the creation will undergo deliverance from bondage at the public manifestation of the sons of God. We could say that the Saviour is keeping in existence his inheritance, and ours, as he holds all things in their places. So his upholding is not only for his glory, but it is also an expression of his desire to have a place where he will be with his people forever.

Thinking about Colossians 1:16 - Jesus the Creator of all

‘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’ (Colossians 1:16).

Paul uses three prepositions to describe the role of the Son of God in the divine work of creation. All things were created by him, through him, and for him. The prepositions indicate divine power, divine role and divine purpose. ‘By’ reveals he had the ability to create all things out of nothing; ‘through’ shows that he was the agent through whom the Father created the universe; and ‘for’ tells us that he was the appointed heir of all things. As the Matthew Henry Commentary observes, Jesus ‘is the end, as well as the cause of all things.’

Although Paul refers to the original creation work at the beginning, as described in Genesis 1, the only creatures he highlights are not mentioned in Genesis 1, the four heavenly orders or levels of authority. Does he mention the four because there was speculation in Colosse about angelic orders? Usually, those heavenly beings are described as angels, with one archangel over them called Michael. Whatever levels of authority there are, they are all creatures, created by the Son of God and infinitely below him.

It is possible to read the verse as saying that Jesus is above all authority whether visible (human rulers) or invisible (the four levels of angels are then mentioned to say what Paul has in mind by ‘invisible’). Moreover, he has authority over sinful rulers, whether human or angelic. Not that they serve him willingly or intentionally, yet he can overrule them constantly. All of them combined have no authority in comparison to who he is.

To say that all things were made for the Son of God is also a reminder of the Day of Judgement. All creatures, whether human or angelic, who did not fulfil the main reason for their existence, which was to live for his glory, will be judged by him at the Great Day and will be sentenced by him to a lost eternity.

Discovering that all things were made primarily by, through and for the Son of God gives a new insight into what we see or know to be around us. Why is Everest so high, why are the seas so deep, why the ranges of hours of daylight, why so many kinds of creatures, why anything? Because it pleased him who possessed the power, who acted as the Father’s agent, and who knew the divine purpose, to make them all.

The verse also challenges Christians as to who or what they are living for. Some in Colosse seemed to have shown a greater interest in speculative angelic positions than in living for Christ. Who or what are we living for?

Thinking about Colossians 1:15 – the Greatness of Jesus

In this verse, and the following verses, the Holy Spirit leads Paul to give a magnificent description of Jesus as to his person and activities. In doing so, the apostle gives answers to important questions that would have been asked by his contemporaries about Jesus.

 

First, Paul says that Jesus is the exact image of the invisible God. He means that, in Jesus, the invisible God who cannot be seen was seen by his creatures. His description refers to the incarnate Christ and his mission on earth. The idea is like the statement by the apostle John when he said of Jesus that ‘No one has ever seen God; God the only Son, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known’ (John 1:18). Or we can think of Jesus’ self-description when he told Phillip that ‘Whoever has seen me has seen the Father’ (John 14:9).

 

As Calvin put it, ‘he is revealed to us in Christ alone, that we may behold him as in a mirror. For in Christ he shows us his righteousness, goodness, wisdom, power, in short, his entire self. We must, therefore, beware of seeking him elsewhere, for everything that would set itself off as a representation of God, apart from Christ, will be an idol.’

 

It is possible to see some of God’s attributes through looking at the creation. As Paul says in Romans 1, in creation we can see God’s power in that he made the universe and sustains it in existence. We can also deduce that since he is the creator of all things he existed before all things that he made. It is also possible to conclude from harvests that God the creator reveals his goodness to his creatures.

 

Yet the revelation of God in creation is limited as far as we are concerned. Creation does not tell us that God is triune, that he is love, that he is merciful, that he is full of pity, as well as many other details about him. We cannot discern God’s plan for the creation merely by looking at the creation.

 

Jesus, however, revealed those truths about God. He told us that God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Through his explanations connected to his acts of kindness, he showed that God is full of compassion and mercy. By giving himself to die on the cross for our sins, he revealed that God is love, that he gave his Son for that purpose. His giving himself showed that God had a plan of salvation, a plan that intends to bring sinners into his family, to sanctify them by his Holy Spirit, and to bring them to dwell in God’s presence for ever. He also revealed that God will judge those who rebel against him, and that the Judge will be Jesus himself.

 

When he calls Jesus the image of the invisible God, Paul does not suggest that Jesus is somehow inferior to God. Rather, when he came to reveal the Father, it was the Creator who had entered our world. He did not cease to be divine when he became human. Yet he did reveal more about God when he came and did so because he was and is God. The Son of the Father’s love became man to show us his Father.

Thought on Colossians 1:14 – True Liberty

Redemption has the meaning of setting slaves free from an owner by the payment of a ransom price. Paul mentions here that Jesus has liberated his people from a hostile power, described in the previous verse as the power of darkness. He makes a connection between the hold that that power had on them and the fact that they were guilty sinners.

The power of darkness is the devil, and he has a hold on sinners in the sense that he can demand punishment for their sins. He knows that sinners deserve punishment and that God will judge them for their sins and pronounce the sentence that sin deserves. It would have seemed impossible for that situation to be changed.

Paul, however, knows that God provided the way for sinners to experience deliverance from this awful  outcome. He had revealed how he would do this in several Old Testament passages such as Isaiah 53, but as Peter says, even the prophets who foretold this deliverance did not fully appreciate what they were predicting.

Jesus paid the ransom price when he died on the cross as a sacrifice for his people’s sins. When they believe in him through responding to the gospel, they are forgiven all their sins. God, the judge who otherwise would have condemned them, now freely pardons them because Jesus paid the penalty.

It is important to note the present tense of the verb, that believers have redemption, the forgiveness of their sins. As Christians, they no longer are enslaved, imprisoned in a dungeon awaiting punishment. Rather they are now subjects in the kingdom of Christ. The devil no longer has any claim on them in connection to the penalty their sins deserved. They have been redeemed from their sinful state and brought into his amazing, delightful, eternal kingdom.

Thoughts on Colossians 1:12-13 – Thankful for a change

Verse 12 gives a reason for Paul’s gratitude concerning the Colossians – the Heavenly Father had qualified them to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. ‘Saints in light’ is the opposite of ‘sinners in darkness’. The Colossians had been sinners in darkness, but through responding to the gospel they had become saints living in the presence of God.

The position they have is an inheritance from the Father. Paul is glad that the Colossians are fellow heirs with him of the riches of divine grace. It is not so much that they have those things than that they have an unchangeable place in his presence where they enjoy all those things. They are always under his eye, as it were.

Paul does not mean that they are sinless, although one day they will be. He does not mean that they are no longer in Colosse, although one day they will be. Something has happened to them that their sinfulness does not alter and that a change of circumstances will not disrupt. They are already qualified even although they are not yet perfect and are not yet in heaven.

The Colossians are as really children of God as he and his Jewish fellow-believers in Jesus are. Both Gentile and Jewish Christians have experienced a great deliverance without physically moving an inch. God the Father did two actions on their behalf at their conversion. First, he took them out of a realm and, second, he put them in another kingdom. The realm they left forever is dark, the kingdom they entered forever is light.

As Spurgeon put it, ‘Oh, Christian! If you are careless, if you are asleep, if tonight your heart is heavy and dull, I should like to come and whisper this right into your soul, “He has delivered us from the power of darkness.” We are now to be active, earnest, zealous and full of devoted life!’

It is easy to forget the great change that has happened to believers. Now we belong to the kingdom of Jesus and will do so forever. When we trusted in Jesus through believing the gospel by the illumination of the Spirit, we were justified (given a permanent standing) and adopted (given a permanent status) by the Father. Of course, the full experience of the Father’s grace is in the world to come, but still we should remind ourselves what he has done for us already, and thank him for the change.

Thoughts on Colossians 1:9–11 - Intercession

Christians  often wonder what they should pray for other believers, especially when they have not seen them for a while. One reason for this concern is that we can limit prayer to specific circumstances in a person’s life rather than focussing on ongoing spiritual matters that are common to all Christians.

Although Paul and his friends would have some knowledge of the circumstances facing the Christians in Colosse, they would not have exact knowledge of their immediate temporal needs. But that did not prevent them interceding daily for the Colossian Christians. What did they pray for?

They prayed that the Colossians would have spiritual wisdom and understanding so to live according to God’s will. In order to make spiritual progress, they needed to be submissive to God’s holy requirements. Although they did not have the New Testament, they would have been taught by Epaphras the implications of the gospel. They also would have access to the demands of God contained in the Old Testament.

The obedience that Paul prayed for was to be continuous, with full commitment to Christ the Lord. After all, the life he lived for us was continuous and fully committed. While we know that no Christian can live a totally dedicated life, that is not a reason for not praying that they will be as dedicated as possible. Such a way of living, while not perfect, gives pleasure to the One who died for us on the cross.

Such consecration has two benefits. One is fruitfulness in every area of Christian living. The other is growth in the knowledge of God. Paul probably means experiential knowledge of God’s power (Paul mentions that power in three ways in verse 11, and it is amazing that such power is available to sinners). The experience of that power brings persistence in serving God, perseverance despite the circumstances, and a growing sense of God-given joy in our hearts.

What should I pray today for my fellow Christians?

Thoughts on Colossians 1:7-8

Pauline descriptions

It was through Epaphras that the gospel had come to Colosse. The gospel he brought there had to be taught there, which indicates that by ‘gospel’ Paul had more in mind than how a sinner becomes a Christian. We are not told why Epaphras was now with Paul. Maybe he had gone there to ask Paul for advice about a matter or perhaps he had gone there to inform Paul about the spiritual health of the congregation and dangers they faced, or he could have gone with a gift from the congregation, or possibly all three reasons.

Paul refers to Epaphras as ‘our beloved fellow servant’. Literally, he says ‘fellow slave,’ a reminder that they had a common Master, Jesus the Lord. Describing themselves in this way indicates the depth and extent of their devotion to Jesus. He had purchased them by his redeeming death, they had been bought with a great price. His words are also a reminder that they served Jesus wherever they were. He was constantly first in their lives.

By ‘our’, Paul probably means himself and Timothy or himself and other believers then with him. Whoever they were, they all had the same attitude towards Epaphras – they loved him. It is a strong word – dearly beloved. Brotherly love is a basic evidence of salvation, as the apostle John reminded his readers in his first letter.

Paul also says that Epaphras was a faithful servant of Christ. Here the word for servant is the word for a waiter or a deacon and was often used to describe how a pastor functioned in a church. Basically, he gave to those under his care what was good for their spiritual health, and he gave to them from the resources that Jesus has in abundance. Faithfulness to Jesus required Epaphras to get from Jesus in heaven that which was good for his people in Colosse. We can see how Epaphras would have done this by noting what is said about his prayer life in 4:12.

Epaphras was not only faithful to Jesus, he was also faithful to the Colossians. He ensured that Paul and others knew what kind of believers the Colossians were. Paul has already referred to their love for all the saints and maybe he and others deduced that such love could only have come from the Holy Spirit. Perhaps it was Epaphras who said that such was the change in their lives that the only explanation was the sanctifying work of the Spirit. Either way, the challenge comes to us – do we have such love?

Thoughts on Colossians 1:6 – Gospel growth

It is astonishing that we can say that the gospel has come somewhere, given that we as sinners do not deserve to hear good news from God. Yet it is also astonishing that Paul could say that the gospel had come everywhere, and he could make that claim within a few decades of the giving of the great commission by Jesus.

Whatever Paul meant by the ‘whole world’, the church was growing and spreading to the regions beyond. As Calvin commented, ‘in the multitude of the believers at that time there was beheld an accomplishment of the many predictions which extend the reign of Christ from the East to the West.’

Moreover, Paul was informed, without aids such as the internet, as to this global growth. Maybe God told him (the Holy Spirit certainly inspired him to write about it). He also had a wide range of contacts. Romans 16 tells us that he knew a great deal about the church in Rome long before he travelled to the capital of the empire. Of the initial destinations of his letters, those to Rome and Colosse are the two locations he had not been to before he composed them, yet he knew much about them. He had different reasons for writing his letters, yet they all reveal that he knew to some degree those to whom he was writing, even the names of some of them.

The gospel comes to places with different degrees of experience and prospects. Colosse had been an important place in the past, but its influence and size had declined. Still, the gospel came to it. Further, shortly after receiving this letter, the city was destroyed in an earthquake and we do not know what happened to the Christians there. Still, the gospel came to it. Presumably, they helped in rebuilding the city. But they would be grateful to know that in the gospel they had an immovable foundation on which to build their lives.

The gospel can be described in different ways. Sometimes its contents are detailed, at other times its effects are mentioned. Paul here says that the gospel is alive, having constant effects in the lives of the believers living in Colosse; in other words, their sanctification. Through the gospel, they experienced in a true manner the grace of God. Their minds had been enlightened about the provision of salvation and they had embraced it and continued to experience its power.

Thoughts on Colossians 1:3-5 – Gratitude

The ‘we’ here is likely Paul and Timothy or it could be them plus others who were with them as Paul dictated this letter. Those others are mentioned in 4:7-14. Whoever the ‘we’ are, Paul was eager to inform the Colossians that they were being prayed for regularly. It is good when we can say that about Christians we are in contact with.

The particular aspect of prayer that Paul mentions in these verses is thanksgiving. He and Timothy (and friends?) never omitted thanksgiving whenever they prayed for the Colossian church. This was an important aspect of their brotherly love and practice of Christian unity. They were thankful that there was a community of believers in a small location. Indeed, as one author says, Paul ‘rejoiced to see every sign of the work of grace in the various communities of Christians, and had equal joy in acknowledging this in thanksgiving to God.’ We know plenty churches that we can pray for.

Paul’s prayer commitment increased rather than decreased when he was informed about conversions elsewhere. Since there were problems now in the church in Colosse we can see why the burden would grow as he was informed about where they were spiritually by Epaphrus. When I hear about another church, do they become part of my prayers? Being updated means we cannot ignore the information, but instead we should pray for them. But how?

Paul followed the teaching of Jesus about praying to the Father, although here he describes him as the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ rather than the Father of his people. Maybe he was thinking about why his prayers for the Colossians would be heard. Always present with the Father in heaven is the mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ, in whose name all acceptable prayer is made.

In his thanksgiving, Paul uses the trilogy of faith, love and hope to describe the encouragements he had about praying for the Colossians. Each of the attitudes were present in their spiritual outlook. Their faith in Jesus had commenced when they responded initially to the gospel and was still active. A Christian’s aim regarding Jesus is to depend on him always. Doing so encourages other believers to pray for that Christian. Love for all the saints is a normal consequence of trusting in Jesus, even the grumpy ones. It is impossible to do one without the other. We know we have passed from death to life when we love our fellow Christians. Lack of brotherly love is an ominous sign.

It is not clear whether ‘because of’ indicates a third reason for Paul’s gratitude or whether it suggests that the Colossians’ faith and love were stimulated by the prospect held securely for them in heaven. Perhaps Paul had both realities in mind. He does not mean that getting to heaven is their hope, but rather heaven is the secure place where what they are hoping for is safe in the meantime. Hope in its New Testament form is connected to what will be known when Jesus returns from heaven and provides his people with full salvation. Since all Christians have that hope, it is a reason for praying for one another and is also a means of increasing their dependence on Jesus and growing in love for those who will share glory with them. As Calvin observed, ‘For the hope of eternal life will never be inactive in us, so as not to produce love in us.’

Paul probably mentioned those three graces of faith, love and hope because together they showed that the Colossian believers were genuine Christians. When we examine ourselves or when we consider individuals for church membership, what should we look for? Faith in Christ, love for God’s people, and a longing for glory.

Thoughts on Colossians 1:1-3 – Greetings

Paul in this greeting did not call himself ‘the apostle’, as if he were more important than the other apostles, nor did he say that Timothy was ‘my brother’. In other words he did not think that he was the centre of his universe or of anyone else’s universe. He saw himself as an apostle, a particular servant of Christ commissioned by him, and a brother of all other believers. As has been said, he was sent by Christ to do his work for and in the church, and that is how Paul saw himself.

Paul liked to draw people’s attention to deep doctrines. So here in his greeting he mentions God’s sovereign will in arranging the role that Paul would have in the church. He also mentions the permanent relationship that all believers have with one another – they are brothers in the family of God. It is good to think about both those doctrines as they affect us as Christians. Our role in the church was planned by God and we have the privilege of being in his family.

Paul also reminded Christians that divine salvation makes them into new people. They are saints, set apart to God and in the process of being changed by God. Because that is happening, they can be faithful brothers wherever they are. Paul could say that about his readers even although it seems he had not yet met most of them and had not even been to Colosse.

Colosse was not as large a location as the nearby cities of Laodicea and Hierapolis. No doubt, the church in Colosse would have been smaller than churches in the larger cities. Yet what went on in the church in Colosse was important to the apostle, and he did not assume that a small church in a smaller locality could be ignored.

Because the Colossian had been saved and were thus united to Christ, Paul knew that, as members of the Father’s family, they could and should know the blessings of fresh experiences of heavenly grace and peace. This experience was his desire for them, and was a pointer as to what they should pray for one another. Why should they focus on those blessings? Because they are the ongoing benefits of true religion. Grace is the source and peace is the outcome, and they occur repeatedly.