Colossians and Philemon Bible Studies

Paul’s Letter to the Colossians

Chapter 2

“False teachers were telling the Colossian church that Jesus Christ was not sufficient; they needed some additional spiritual experiences. They taught that Jesus himself was inadequate and this inadequate Jesus couldn’t provide all they needed for a full spiritual experience. Paul countered this claim by telling the Colossian believers, as well as their modern counterparts, that Jesus is the fullness of God and that because of their relationship with him, they have been given fullness. The treasure is Christ, who is in them. Paul tells them in this chapter not to look for other treasure when the true treasure is already theirs. (Anders)

2:1 I want you to know how hard I am contending for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. 2 My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 

 

As I said in the first chapter, Paul did not plant this church or the church in Laodicea.  He says that he has a great struggle on their behalf. (NASB)  It is an internal struggle of spiritual warfare and true caring.  Probably the same type of struggle that he had for the churches that he planted.

In our study of Paul’s letters to the Corinthian church, we learned it must have been difficult for Paul to preach the gospel message and get the church started, then walk away.  He did stop in from time to time on his travels but not at the Colossian church.   As it says in these verses, they had not seen him face to face.

In verse 2, Paul says that he wants them to be “encouraged and united in love” so that they can fully understand the mystery of God which is Jesus as the Christ.  I believe that this is God’s will for every church today.

 

I heard a sermon regarding the great commission (Matthew 28:18-20).  Jesus told His disciples and all believers to “Go” into the world and “Teach” the gospel.  This verse is part of the “Teach” portion of the commission.

When a church is united in love, they can work together to keep Satan at bay.  They can work together without conflict because they have no hidden agendas.  I think of VBS when I read these verses.  During the weeks leading up to and during VBS, everything is focused on the children.  It is about teaching them about salvation through Jesus.  It is love that helps us teach the children, we can be encouraged because they soak Jesus up like sponges.  Without our love and unity, we would have conflict.  God would not bless our VBS.

I see our church as a “Teach” church.  Yes, we do really well with VBS or events close to home but we don’t really “Go”.  Mission trips or working to equip our members to go outside their comfort zone and outside our church, doesn’t fall into our wheelhouse.

 

Verse 2 says that the mystery of God is Christ.  So many people don’t understand salvation through Jesus Christ.  Human nature tells us to live by survival of the fittest.  Looking out for number one is the rule.  Everyone for themselves.  This is opposite of what Jesus taught, love God above all and love others as yourself just doesn’t make sense.

 

When he says “understand Christ, the mystery of God”, I think of what King David wrote in Psalm 8.  “What is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?”  David goes on to list things some status things, like making them just below angels and making them rulers but the real mystery is Jesus.  Why did you send your only begotten Son to His death, to bring salvation to them?

Human nature also says that you have to work for what you want.  “What do you mean to get into heaven I only have to put my faith in Jesus?”  “Right but what are the steps that I have to follow?”  “Grace, what do you mean it is a gift from God?”  It is all a mystery.

 

Guzik says that three mysteries are described in Colossians 1:24 through 2:3:

The Church as the Body of Christ, for which Paul suffered and served (1:24-26).

The Indwelling Christ, the hope of glory in each individual believer (1:27).

The Revealed Jesus, the treasury of all wisdom and knowledge (2:2-3).

Paul writes in verse 3, “Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”  The Greeks were obsessed with wisdom and knowledge.  They must have had an influence here in Colossae.  He ran into the same pursuit of wisdom and knowledge in the church at Corinth (Greece).  In 1 Corinthians 1:30 Paul says, “Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.”

 

4 I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. 5 For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how disciplined you are and how firm your faith in Christ is.

 

Verse 4 says that he wants them to be informed so they “won’t be deceived by well-crafted arguments.”  Just like today, there are people using a gospel type message to get rich or to gain notoriety.  They may not have had television back then but they still made a living out of deceit.  Consider Simon the magician in Acts 8 who wanted to buy the trick of the Holy Spirit so that he could make money from it.

 

In verse 5, Paul says that even though they are separated by physical distance, he is with them in spirit.  He is praying for them, his thoughts are for their success in serving God and being obedient to Him.

 

Paul has said this before with the church at Corinth.  In 1 Corinthians 5:1-5, the church was meeting about a man who was living with his father’s wife.  Paul couldn’t be present physically, but through prayer he was there spiritually.  He said, “4 So when you are assembled and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, 5 hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh.”

 

This is more than just praying about it and giving it to God and moving on.  Paul is deeply moved regarding the success of this church in reaching others for Christ and their faithfulness to the Gospel of Jesus.

 

Romans 8:26-27 tells us part of the function of the Holy Spirit.  It says, “26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.”  I believe that God knows what is burdening our hearts and minds.  A thought is prayer.  There are times when we can fall on our knees and pray but there are also times when a thought or as Paul says a “wordless groan” is all that is needed because the Holy Spirit does the rest.

⁶ So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, ⁷ rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

 

In verse 6, Paul says we are to live in Jesus.  As Christians, we have claimed Jesus as our Lord and Savior.  We are to live more and more like Him every day.  Our goal is to live like Him, unfortunately Satan and our sin nature get in the way.  We are to persevere and stay true to Jesus’ teachings.

 

Read Matthew 24:9-14.  At the beginning of His Olivet Discourse (Jesus tells His disciples about the End Times), Jesus tells us that to those who persevere or “stand firm to the end will be saved.”  Paul is telling the Colossian church the same thing.  “You chose to follow Jesus, continue to do so whatever happens.”

 

As Paul continues in Colossians 2:6, he says that traveling down the road to Jesus also requires growth.  We are not to say, “Step 1. I accepted Jesus as my Savior. Check.  Step 2. I was baptized. Check.  Now I am done.”  This is the proper start but growth is essential.  Just like in our human relationships, we must grow closer to Jesus, through prayer, Bible study and church attendance.

“Paul used a curious combination of metaphors. As Christians, we walk, but we are also rooted, and we are also built up. The metaphors are somewhat mixed, but the message is clear: be established and keep growing.” (Guzik)

Paul tells the Colossian church to “walk in Jesus” (NASB).  In John 15:5, Jesus says, ““I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”  As we learned in our Tony Evans study, self-reliance will lead to failure but if we rely on the strength that comes from walking in Jesus, we can accomplish anything, even defeat Satan.  Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

 

Ephesians 3:20-21 tells us, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.”  We tend to put human limitations on God.  We say, “Why pray?  He can’t fix this problem.”  Just because we don’t see a way out, doesn’t mean that God can’t fix it beyond our wildest dreams.

Even if He doesn’t fix it the way that we want, He will be with us through the trials and problems.  Isaiah 46:4 tells us, “Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you.  I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.”  What an amazing promise.

 

In chapter 1 of this letter, Paul told the church that he was always thankful for them.  Here he tells them that they too must be thankful to God for salvation and all that He has done for them.

8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.

 

When I read this verse, I think of David Koresh and the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas.  The NLT says, “Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world.”  There are so many false prophets today with “high-sounding nonsense”.  If you do not get into the Word of God and know what it says, you will run the risk of following non-biblical teachings.

 

When Jesus taught His disciples to pray the Lord’s prayer, He included, “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.”  This is what He was also meaning.  Help us stay true to the good shepherd and only follow Him.  Throughout the New Testament we are constantly being warned not to be taken in by false prophets.

 

Read Matthew 7:15-19. In verse 15 Jesus warns us,“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.”  These people are of Satan and not God.

 

Consider our school systems and the issue of evolution.  They teach evolution as a fact, yet it is only a theory of man.  We try to rationalize the Bible and millions of years and it cannot be done.  Accepting evolution destroys the foundation of the Bible, if our children are taught to question the Word of God from the beginning, then they are off to a bad start.

9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority. 

 

Do you believe that “Jesus was fully man and fully God”?  When nonbelievers attack our faith in Christ, they usually attack it in two ways.  They say “Jesus really wasn’t God, He was just a man.”  They can also attack you for your faith in Jesus.  In verse 9, Paul states that Jesus was the fully of God in human form or fully God and fully man.

 

People say the Bible doesn’t really say that Jesus is God.  Jesus said in John 10:30, “I and the Father are one.”  Numerous times Jesus referred to himself as “I Am” which is the name that God gave Himself while talking to Moses.  Here is a list of 8 of the times that He called Himself “I Am”.

 

I am the Bread of Life: John 6:35, 41, 48, 51

I am the Light of the World: John 8:12

I am the Door: John 10:7, 9

I am the Good Shepherd: John 10:11, 14

I am the Resurrection and the Life: John 11:25

I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: John 14:6

I am the Vine: John 15:1, 5

Take courage! It is I. (I am) Don’t be afraid.:  Matthew 14:27

“All the fullness of the Godhead bodily: The false teaching among the Colossian Christians was something like an early form of the Gnostic heresies that would come later. These Gnostic heresies made a radical separation between the spiritual and the material. That is why Paul needed to make it clear that all the fullness of the Godhead was in Jesus bodily, not in some strange, mystical sense. John also dealt with this false teaching in 1 John 4:2-3 and other passages.” (Guzik)

In verse 10, Paul repeats what Jesus said in Matthew 28:18, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me (Jesus).”  Guzik says that “The false teaching among the Colossian Christians emphasized these lesser spirit beings, but Paul makes it clear that Jesus is far above them.”

11 In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.

Verse 11 says, “When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical procedure.”  Paul is not talking about the surgical procedure in a physical sense.  In order to convert Judaism, a man would have to be circumcised.  This would be a real deterrent for any adult man.  At that time, circumcision set the Jews apart from everyone else.

 

To a Jew circumcision was representative of putting off the sins of the flesh.  When a man accepts Jesus as His Savior and is baptized, then Paul is saying that he is spiritually circumcised as it says in the NLT.  It is “the cutting away of your sinful nature”.  Anders says, “No religious ritual can make us alive with Christ.”

Verse 12 is an important verse regarding baptism.  If you were baptized by Pastor Larry, you would have heard him recite something very similar when he pulled you up out of the water.  “You have been buried with Christ through baptism, walk with Him in the newness of life.”  Paul says much the same thing in Romans 6:4, “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”

 

Paul says, “having been buried with him in baptism” which is in the past tense.  When they accepted Christ and were baptized, it “was their conversion, the inward circumcision of the heart, by which they entered on the blessings of the New Covenant.” (Peake)

What is the New Covenant that Peake was talking about?  Galatians 3:7-9 says, “7 Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. 8 Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” 9 So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.”  As children of faith then we are accepted as the children of God.  John 1:12-13 says, “12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”

13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

 

Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death”.  As sinners we deserve death.  But the very next verse says, “but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  This is what grace is, we get what we do not deserve.

Verse 13 in Colossians 2 says, “ When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh”.  When were we dead?  When we hadn’t claimed Jesus as our Savior, when we were nonbelievers.  Remember the circumcision is spiritual and not physical.  (see Colossians 2:11)

Paul takes it further in Romans 5:10a, he says, “For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son”.  As nonbelievers we were not only dead but we were “God’s enemies”.

As the old hymns asks, “What can wash away my sin?”, the answer is “Nothing but the blood of Jesus.”  That is what Colossians 2:13 is saying.  Our sins have been washed away and only Jesus can do this for us.  We can’t do it ourselves.  “God made you alive with Christ.”  Another relatively new hymn says, “He paid a debt He did not owe, I owed a debt I could not pay, I needed someone to wash my sins away”.  We could not do it ourselves.  This was God’s plan all along.

 

Verse 14 says how He did it.  God was willing to cancel our “sin debt”.  When someone commits a crime, then they have to pay a debt to society.  That debt is paid off when they pay financially or are finished with their time in prison.  As we read above in Romans 6:23, the sin debt that we owe is death, a death without God.  God was willing to take what Jesus did on the cross as full payment for our sin debt but only if we know Jesus and He knows us.

Where does Paul say our sin is now?  At the end of verse 14, Paul says God took care of our sin debt by “nailing it to the cross”.  That is what grace is.

 In verse 15, Paul says that Jesus “disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them”.  In the physical realm, Jesus did this to the Sanhedrin and the Roman leadership when He resurrected.  More than 500 people saw Him and not just the 12 disciples.  On the spiritual side, Satan thought he had won but Jesus “made a public spectacle” of him, even today.

 

“On the cross, Jesus won a decisive victory, making clear to the universe that Satan is a vanquished foe. This does not mean that we will not have conflict. The devil has been defeated, but he has not yet conceded defeat. He has been overthrown, but he has not yet been fully eliminated. Satan continues to harass us. When we understand our identity in Christ, we can live above Satan’s control.” (Anders)

 

16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 17 These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. 18 Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind. 19 They have lost connection with the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.

In verse 16, Paul explains why as Christians we do not celebrate the Jewish holidays and feasts, and why we aren’t concerned with what is eaten is clean and unclean.  What was eaten or drank or celebrated was huge in Jewish culture.

In Acts 10:15, Peter has a vision regarding clean and unclean food.  A voice is heard by Peter that said, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”

Regarding the Jewish holidays or feasts, the Jews would put the celebration of their holidays and feasts above celebrating God.  Jesus pointed out in John 14:6,“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”  So how do we get to Heaven, by celebrating holidays and feasts?  We can’t and it doesn’t prevent us from getting to Heaven.  Only through our faith in Jesus can we get to Heaven and nothing else.  These things were meant to remind us about how faithful God was.

When the Christian Counsel in Jerusalem (Acts 15) passed a requirement that salvation comes from faith in Jesus but they also added other restrictions.  It said (verse 29) “You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things.”

Paul was opposed these additional requirements and it shows up in these verses in Colossians.  He believed salvation comes from Christ alone.  Anything added to salvation from grace through faith “are only shadows of the reality yet to come.” 

“The point is clear: days and foods, as observed under the Mosaic Law, are not binding upon New Covenant people. The shadow has passed, the reality has come. So for the Christian, all foods are pure (1 Timothy 4:4-5) and all days belong to God.” (Guzik)

In verse 18, Paul says not to listen to people “insisting on pious self-denial or the worship of angels.”  Guzik says, “These aspects of false humility and the worship of angels were parts of the false teaching troubling the Colossian Christians.”  These things were being tied to visions.  When I read this, I think of evangelicals and speaking in tongues or snake handling churches.  If you are not speaking in tongues or handling snakes then you are not a true Christian or we are better Christians because we do.  Just substitute having visions in for speaking in tongues.  It is all wrong.

In verse 19 Paul says, “Don’t get caught up in that nonsense.  True Christianity is all about worshiping Christ.”  Then Paul makes a reference to Christ as the head and the church as the body, just as he told them in Colossians 1:18, “He (Jesus) is the head of the body, the church.”

He finishes verse 19 with Jesus holding the church together.  Jesus is the foundation of the church.  If any church teaches anything but salvation through Jesus as the Christ, it will not stand.  It says in this verse that a church “grows as God nourishes it.”  Why do churches fail?  Because they do not teach salvation through Jesus and they are not teaching the Word of God so God will not bless it so it will not grow.

What kind of nourishment does Jesus provide?  Read John 6:35 and John 4:13.  Jesus is the Bread of Life and the Living Water.

20 Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: 21 “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? 22 These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. 23 Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.

In continuing with Jesus is all you need for salvation, in verse 20 Paul says that we spiritually died with Christ.  Galatians 2:20 says that we “crucified with Christ  and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

 

To say what Paul said in verse 20 a different way.  “If you have claimed the salvation that comes from Christ alone, then why are you concerned about the rules or the Law.”  He is not saying let’s go out and break laws.  He is saying do what Jesus would do.  Live as Christ lived.  Live by Christ and not by legalism.

When people think of Christianity, they think of verse 21.  If you are a Christian, you should do this or that.  They believe that it is a religion of laws or rules.  They don’t think of it as a religion based on love.  If you love God and others, then it changes the way that you care about others.  Think about it.  You love everyone as yourself and you love God enough to hand over control.

 

Remember what Jesus said were the two most important commandments in Matthew 22:37-40, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”  Jesus motivation was love and so should ours.  Our filter should be “If I do what I want, will it be showing love to God or others?”

“Do not… do not… do not: This is a perfect description of legalistic religion, defined more by what we don’t do than by what we do. Christianity is a moral religion; it does have clear moral boundaries. But at its foundation, Christianity is a religion of positive action.”

Verse 22 says that if we are living worldly lives then we and the other things of this world are important.  When we accept Jesus as our savior then these things are no longer important.  Jesus said that we are to store up things in Heaven and put no importance on worldly things that can be stolen, rot or destroyed.

 

Paul says in the last two verses of this chapter that everything that he has taught them in this chapter are rules created by men and are no help in fighting off your sinful nature.  The Jews took the 10 commandments and created 600+ laws from them.  They used these laws, like doing no work on the Sabbath to entrap Jesus.  The Jews had laws that were not viewed as useful by Jesus or Paul.

Finally, Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”  When we accepted Jesus as our Savior, we are a new person in Him.  Our old person was focused on self but our new person should be filtering everything by WWJD.  If someone tries to say, “You can’t go to Heaven if you . . .”, see what the Bible says and filter it through WWJD.

Paul’s Letter to the Colossians

Chapter 3

3 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

 

In verses 1 and 2, Paul tells the Colossian Christians something very similar to what Jesus said in Matthew 6:19-21.  Don’t make things on Earth important but focus on things of Heaven.  Paul says “Heaven is where Jesus is sitting at the right hand of God.”

“The believer is to ‘seek the things… above.’ The word ‘seek’ marks aspiration, desire, and passion… In order to seek these things the mind must be set on them.” (Morgan)

“Love heavenly things; study them; let your hearts be entirely engrossed by them. Now, that you are converted to God, act in reference to heavenly things as ye did formerly in reference to those of earth.” (Clarke)

In verse 3, Paul says that as believers we have died.  This is the same thing he said in verse 20 of the last chapter, “If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules”.   In Galatians 2:20, Paul wrote, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

 

He continues in verse 3 that when we accepted Jesus as our Savior (died in Christ), then we “will be hidden with Christ in God.”  What? In Philippians 1:21, Paul says “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”  And in Galatians 2:20, he writes “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.”  Remember your old self is gone, our goal as Christians is for others to see Christ when they look at us.  Pastor Mickey used the illustration of being seen through “Christ-colored glasses” whether by others or by God.

 

Anders says that when we are in Christ then we have security.  The kind that Jesus talks about in John 10:28-29.  “28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.”   How much more secure can you be than in the hand of God?

Verse 4 says that when Christ appears in His second coming, we will be with Him.  Revelation 19 tells us that as believers, we will be with Jesus and we will be riding white horses.  1 John 3:2-3 tells us. “2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.”

Anders says, “The term ‘hidden’ (kekruptai) can also mean “concealed, unseen.” This means that the believer’s life is unknown or not understood by the watching world (compare 1 John 3:1–2). The unseen realities will be revealed.”

5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. 7 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8 But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices  10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 11 Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

 

The first 4 verses of this chapter have been concerned with putting off the old self.  The old self was sinful and in verse 5 Paul lists some of those sins. “sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.”  In Galatians 5:19-21 many of these same sins make up the “acts of the flesh” list.  “sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.”

 

In Galatians 5, Paul says that these acts of the flesh will prevent you from inheriting “the kingdom of God.”  In verses 6 and 7 of Colossians 3, Paul says “You don’t want to face the wrath of God.”  This is the same cup that Jesus did not want to face when He prayed in the Garden.  It is the same wrath that Pastor Brian has been preaching about in Revelation.

 

In verse 7, Paul says “Since you are a new person or creation (2 Corinthians 5:17) in Christ, you should not be behaving like you used to.”  This makes me think of a Southern Gospel classic sung by the Cathedrals, “Thanks to Calvary.  I don’t come here anymore.”

In verse 8, Paul lists the behaviors from the old life that cause you problems in the new life.  He says, “get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. 9 Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds.”  Now Paul recognizes that we are only human.  He struggles with letting his humanness or his sin nature come out.  Read Romans 7:15-20.

 

Paul realizes that you have a battle going on inside you.  He wrote in Galatians 5:17 “For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.”  Bring out the WWJD bracelet to remind you to filter what you want to do, so you can do what Jesus would do.

 

Since Paul is a new man then he is renewed.  Guzik says that since we are a new person/man, “Because the new man is renewed in knowledge, he is hungry to know what God says in His Word.”  We will want to be like Jesus.  We also want that personal relationship with Him.

In verse 11, Paul says the same thing that he did to the Galatian church in Galatians 3:26-29. “26 So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”  These verses mean that all people are equal in the eyes of God and have the same right to salvation.  Verse 11 ends with “Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.”  (NLT)

¹² Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ¹³ Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴ And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

 

Paul reminds them that since they are God’s chosen people then they are to behave like Jesus.  If you are like me then you think, “God’s chosen people?  I thought that I chose to follow Him.”  In the Old Testament, we learned that the Jews were God’s chosen people but when Jesus came to Earth then all who believe on Jesus and everything that He did (Christians/believers) are now God’s chosen people.

 

1 Peter 2:9-10 says, “9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”  Our faith in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the Living God, who has joined us as a people, God’s chosen people, Christians.  Calvinists would say that each individual was selected before they were born.  I believe that God knew their future but He didn’t predetermine that I was going to be a Christian.  All Christians as a “people” are God’s chosen people.  If you choose to be a Christian then you are part of God’s chosen people.

 

As Christians then Paul says we should have the following characteristics or virtues:   “holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”  Where do these characteristics come from?  From Jesus.

In verse 13, Paul says when it comes to forgiveness then we are to “forgive as Jesus forgave.”  What did Jesus say when He was hanging on the cross? “Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34)  How many times are we to forgive them according to Jesus? “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy times seven times.”  (Matthew 18:22)

 

Paul says to “make allowances for each other’s faults”.  Somewhere in my life, I heard a saying that as a married couple, you are not to go to sleep angry with your spouse.  Paul is saying the same thing for other Christians.  Reconcile or just forgive them because they are human, whatever it takes.  John 13:35 says, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”  Read the Love Chapter – 1 Corinthians 13.  “Love keeps no record of wrongs.”  If you don’t forgive then you are keeping “record of wrongs”.

 

Remember what Jesus said in the Lord’s prayer.  “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”  That can be a scary proposition, “as we forgive”.  How well are you forgiving others, especially other Christians or fellow church members?

 

Verse 14 says, love “binds them (the church) all together in perfect unity”.  I have been asked, “Are we suppose to love and forgive everybody or just other Christians?”  My answer is:  “Start with Christians and in time, make it everybody.”  Our goal is to be like Christ who forgave everyone, even those that hung Him on that cross.

15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

 

“The Colossians were told earlier not to allow false teachers to “act as umpire against” them (2:18). However, when disputes arise, the believer is to let the peace of Christ make the call. Whatever will lead to peace must be the deciding factor so that peace will be preserved.” (Anders)

 

People outside the church are always willing to judge the people in the church or what goes on in the church without firsthand knowledge.  Paul is saying don’t listen to them.  Let WWJD control what you do in all situations.  When a previous pastor was called by another church, someone outside the church said, “They ran off another pastor.”  Don’t listen to that kind of talk.

 

I have seen issues pop up in our church and if forgiveness were the rule, the issues would have disappeared.  When we interact with other believers, we must remember that we are all volunteers and very human.  Paul says, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts.”  After all, you are all part of ONE body.

 

The Message “translates” verse 16 as “Let the Word of Christ have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense.”  Again, spend time in God’s Word so that you know what it says, don’t live by what is right to the world, WWJD.

 

Paul will reiterate verse 17 again in verse 23.  Whatever you do in “word or deed” make sure it glorifies Jesus.  Do or say it with the thought that Jesus is present.  Then give thanks for His presence and the opportunity to glorify Him in the word or deed.  Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 5:16 “Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”  We can never thank Him enough.

 

18 Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.

19 Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.

20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.

21 Fathers,  do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.

 

Throughout this chapter, Paul has been telling us and them how to prevent and stop troubles in the church.  Some of these ideas apply to maintaining order in a family.  Love is key.  The Love chapter (1 Corinthians 13) was meant for all interpersonal relationships but we read it at weddings because it is easily applied to a family.

 

In verse 18, Paul starts a discussion of marriage or family relationships.  Paul starts with “Wives, submit to your husbands.”  I would have said to my sons, “We are going to tear off the BandAid right away.”

 

“Submit is a call to recognize and respond to the God-ordained authority of the husband. Submission does not diminish the equality or destroy the dignity of the wife. Christ himself is the model for equality with God and submission to the one with whom he is equal (1 Cor. 11:3; 15:28; Phil. 2). To function properly, any institution must have clear lines of authority and submission. The family is no different.”  (Anders)

 

One of Terry’s favorite sayings regarding being a supervisor, “Somebody has to be the boss, it may as well be me.  I’m good at it.”  Guzik says, “The idea of submission doesn’t have anything to do with someone being smarter or better or more talented. It has to do with a God appointed order.”  Wiersbe said, “Anyone who has served in the armed forces knows that ‘rank’ has to do with order and authority, not with value or ability.”

There are different ways to lead.  There is lording over someone and forcing them to do what you want.  My dad was head of our household and you better not question his authority.  Mom was just one of the kids but she got control when she wanted it.  This was their generation.  They were married in the early 1920’s and it wasn’t much different than in Paul’s day.

I have heard Matthew Henry’s quote numerous times.  It says, “The woman was made of a rib out of the side of Adam; not made out of his head to rule over him, nor out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, and near his heart to be beloved.”

Someone has to lead and God-ordained it to be man but he should do it with love and with his partner’s input.  How should a husband lead, just as Paul said back up in verses 12-13, “holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”  We need these attributes even more in a family.

Which takes us to verse 19, “Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.”  If we filter everything through a “love filter”, it will change the way that we interact with our spouse.  No one wants to be corrected out of anger.  There are so many people in abusive relationships, it boggles my mind.

A marriage has to be treated as a team.  The goals cannot be those of one person but the goals of the family unit.  I have known couples where the wife gave up her goals and aspiration for the family.  There has to be compromise in a marriage but both husband and wives futures have to be considered.

And then there were children.  Verse 20 says, “Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.”  The latest generation has gone too far the other way on this one.  1 Corinthians 13:11 says “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.”  A child is a child, decisions that impact the child’s future should include input from child but the ultimate decision belongs to the parents.  Today, some parents want to let children decide their gender, that is insanity.

Verse 21 says, “Fathers, don’t make your children hate you or cause them to be frustrated.”  This one really shows up in sports.  The father has plans for the child to play professional sports, the child just wants to have fun.  Dad pushes and pushes and the relationship is strained.  You can insert whatever you want for “sports”.  You can insert behavior, education or any other aspiration you as a parent want.  We should be encouraging our children and celebrating every accomplishment with love.

22 Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. 25 Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for their wrongs, and there is no favoritism.

And Colossians 4:1 Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven.

 

This section is extending the idea of love and peace or at least not causing problems that we covered with families to slaves or bond servants.  During this time in history, every time one country took control of another, the people were sold into slavery.  Slavery was everywhere.  The Jews in this region came from being transplanted from Israel when the Asyrians invaded the northern kingdom.

Think about any job that you have had.  I’m sure that you have encountered the disgruntled employee that was working there because they had to.  I have to believe that being a slave, regardless of how good you have it, would hate being there.  Owens Corning wanted their employees to be “engaged”.  Being engaged meant that you liked working there.

Verse 23 says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters”.  This verse is probably the most quoted scripture for Labor Day weekend.  This verse extended to all work or all jobs.

I had this verse in the forefront of my mind at Owens Corning from 1986-2000.  I went through one major downsizing and at least a dozen smaller downsizings.  I thinned my office down twice.  It was tough to go into work.

When things get tough at work, remember this verse.  You are not working for upper management, you are working for Jesus.  The next verse (24) says that we are to remember that our inheritance is in Heaven.  Our time on Earth is short but our eternity is in Heaven.

Romans 8:18 says, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”  Paul also wrote, “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.”  No matter how bad things get, we are to remember that our time here on Earth is short and our riches in Heaven are greater.

Consider Jesus’ letters to the churches in Revelation 2 and 3.  He told the church at Smyrna, “I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.” (Revelation 2:10)  He told the church of Philadelphia, “Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.” (Revelation 3:10)

 

Paul ends this chapter with “Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for their wrongs, and there is no favoritism.”   Peter wrote in 1 Peter 3:9, “Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult.  On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.”   

 

In verse 1, Paul finishes the circle.  At the end of chapter 3, Paul tells slaves or bond-servants to work hard for their masters and don’t do anything that would upset your master.  Anyone working is to work as though they are working for Jesus.  Verse 1 should have been in the previous chapter.  He tells masters or bosses to do what is “right and fair” (NIV) to those under their charge.

A person responsible for employees or in this case a master that is over slaves must treat them with “justice and fairness” (NASB) because it is the right thing to do but Paul says, “It doesn’t matter how much authority you think you have, you still will answer to God in Heaven.”

“Just and fair: This is even more powerful than a command for masters to be kind or pleasant to slaves. One can be kind or pleasant to animals or pets; but we are only just and fair to fellow human beings. Paul asked masters to make a recognition that would undermine the very foundations of slavery.” (Guzik)

Paul’s Letter to the Colossians

Chapter 4

 

2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. 4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. 

 

In verse 2, Paul begins by encouraging the Colossians to pray diligently.  Many translations says, “Devote yourselves to prayer”.  In 1 Thessalonians 5:17 Paul tells them to “Pray unceasingly”.  Being devoted to prayer suggests the same idea.  He is saying that we are to make it a priority and not something we do last minute or when we have time.

When I was preparing a sermon on prayer, I read books on prayer by Max Lucado and Dr. David Jeremiah.  They both said recommended making a prayer journal.  Keeping track of your prayers would help you to see what God has done in your prayer concerns.  It also helps you make sure that you are taking your important concerns to God.

Paul also writes in verse 2 that when you pray, you should have “an alert mind and a thankful heart.” (NLT) Back in chapter 1 of Colossians, Paul prayed twice for the Colossian church with thanksgiving in his heart for them.  We teach our children that when someone gives them a gift, they should thank them for it.  God has given us numerous gifts, too many to count including salvation through His son, the greatest gift of all.

1 Peter 5:8 says, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”  The alert mind would keep you focused on the task at hand, prayer.  Satan would tell you not to pray and try to divert your focus.

Prayer has so many purposes.  David Jeremiah says that we tend to treat God like a vending machine god.  I want this or I want that.  Prayer should help you develop a true relationship with the unseen God.  Yes, He will supply all my needs according to His riches in glory but there is so much more but it is about building a relationship with God.

In verse 3, Paul asks the members of the Colossian church to pray for him and his ministry.  He specifically asks for prayers that God opens the door so that His message is heard.

He says it is the “mystery of Christ”.  This is the same mystery that he spoke about to them in Chapter 1.  Verses  26 and 27 of Chapter 1 says, “26 the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. 27 To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”  It is only a mystery to the non-believer, to a believer is shows God’s love, grace and mercy.

 

Do you notice that he points out that he is in chains but he doesn’t ask for prayers about being released at all?  We tend to lead with that.  We pray, “God, please take care of my needs first”, but Paul is not.

 

In verse 4, Paul asks them to pray for the way that he shares the gospel message.  He wants to share God’s message clearly so that people understand the mystery of Christ.

5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

 

Earlier in this study, I said that we are not a “Go” church in regards to the Great Commission (Chapter 2).  Our mission field as Paul points out in verse 5 is the people we see every day, at home, at work and everywhere else we go.

 

Paul says to “Be wise”.  I take that to mean “Don’t alienate the non-believer.” “Don’t beat them over the head with the gospel message.”  We are to live in the world and not live like the world.  We are to let others see the difference and want it.

 

In Chapter 2 of Colossians, Paul says don’t make Christianity a religion of “don’t dos”.  He lists several “Do not… do not… do not…”  Being wise means don’t make Christianity appear as a legalistic religion with lots of “don’t dos”. The NLT says it this way, “Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone.”

Guzik says, “The Christian life isn’t only lived in the prayer closet. There also must be practical, lived-out Christianity, which lives wisely toward those who are outside. How we speak has a lot to do with this, so we must let our speech always be with grace.”

When sharing the gospel message remember that you were in the same boat as the person that you are talking to.  If accepting Christ were so easy and trying to live a sinless life were so easy, you would have done it earlier than you did.

7 Tychicus will tell you all the news about me. He is a dear brother, a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. 8 I am sending him to you for the express purpose that you may know about our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts. 9 He is coming with Onesimus, our faithful and dear brother, who is one of you. They will tell you everything that is happening here.

 

In these verses we see that Paul is no different than anyone else.  He was in chains in prison but the message of Jesus had to continue to go out.  Paul had help.  If you look at our church, our forefathers set it up with boards and committees for a reason.  Everyone must share in the work.

 

Paul tells the Colossian church that he is sending Tychicus to update them on what is happening where Paul is imprisoned.  Tychicus was an assistant of Paul.  Just as we saw in the Corinthian letters where Paul sent Timothy and Titus out on his behalf, he is doing the same thing with Tychicus here.

 

Tychicus is also mentioned in Titus 3:12, “As soon as I send Artemas or Tychicus to you.”  Paul must have trusted him and got along with him.  Remember in Acts that John-Mark left Paul and Barnabas and went home. (Acts 13:13)  Then on their next journey, Paul refused to bring John-Mark with them. (Acts 15:37-39).   John-Mark is the author of the Gospel of Mark.

It also says that Tychicus will be traveling with Onesimus, who is a Colossian who was traveling with Paul.  Onesimus was a runaway slave from Colossae. Philemon 1:10 tells us, “I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, who became my son while I was in chains.”  Paul’s letter to Philemon is all about him. Notice that in Philemon 1:10, Paul calls him his son but here Paul calls him our brother.  Onesimus became a Christian.

10 My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. (You have received instructions about him; if he comes to you, welcome him.) 11 Jesus, who is called Justus, also sends greetings. These are the only Jews among my co-workers for the kingdom of God, and they have proved a comfort to me. 

 

Verse 10 says that “Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, sends you his greetings”.  Aristarchus had been with Paul in Macedonia and in the riot in Ephesus (Acts 19:29), as well as shipwrecked with Paul (Acts 27:2).  All this adversity and he continued to travel with Paul.

John-Mark, who is Barnabas’ cousin, is also present.  I assume that he is a visitor because Paul tells them to welcome him if he comes your way.  He must be able to travel.  Finally, Paul lists Jesus (Jewish name), also called Justus (Roman name).  Paul’s group of merry men all say “Hi”.

Paul points out that all three of these men were Jews but now work for the Kingdom of God.  Guzik points out that Paul was indeed imprisoned in Rome and he says it was “because of a Jewish riot on the temple mount over the mere mention of God’s offer of grace to the Gentiles (Acts 22:21-22).”  Paul adds that these men give him comfort while he is in prison.

“He gives us a glimpse into his fellowship of encouragement. Verses 7–18 are more than a mere list of names. They are real, ordinary people, who helped Paul carry out an extraordinary ministry for the sake of an extraordinary Savior. We, too, will need others if we are to maintain the vitality in ministry which Paul exemplifies.” (Anders)

12 Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured. 13 I vouch for him that he is working hard for you and for those at Laodicea and Hierapolis. 14 Our dear friend Luke, the doctor, and Demas send greetings. 15 Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house.

 

Paul started this letter telling the Colossian church that Epaphras sends his greetings.  Paul calls him a bondservant of Christ.  He says that Epaphras is a prayer warrior.  He prays for the church to be “strong and perfect, fully confident that you are following the whole will of God.”

 

Sometimes when someone tells us about their troubles, we say, “I’ll pray for you.”  Then for some reason we don’t pray.  Same thing with “Tell them I said Hi.”  We say we will but fail to do either.  Paul and Epaphras appear in these verses to be doing both.  Paul is telling them who is present with him and saying Hi for them.  He is also telling the church that Epaphras is working hard in prayer on their behalf, as well as the churches in Laodicea and Hierapolis.

 

He closes the final greetings of this letter by letting the Colossians know that Doctor Luke and Demas are also with Paul and they send their greetings.  I am sure that all of these men are Paul’s visitors and not co-inmates with Paul.

 

Guzik suggests that maybe Dr. Luke was visiting Paul so that he can proofread the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts.  Nothing suggests that this is right.

 

Demas is mentioned in Philemon 1:24 and 2 Timothy 4:10.  In Philemon, he is mentioned as a fellow worker with Paul.  In 2 Timothy 4:10, Demas gets the kind of rating from Paul that you don’t want.  Paul says, “he loved this world, has deserted me.”

 

In verse 15, Paul asks them to “Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house.”  Paul says, “Say Hi to the Laodicean church members for me.”  Whether Nympha is a man or woman, no one knows.  In the NIV and most other translations, Nympha is presented as a woman but the KJV says “Nymphas” which is the male for and it says, “in his house.”  To me the gender is not important.  What is important is the fact that this person opened their house to hold church for others.  Our church started in a barn between Alexandria and Granville.

 

When I see the reference to the Laodicean church, my mind goes to Revelation 3 and Jesus rebuke of this church.  If He is speaking to this church at this time then they have a bad reputation.  “15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. 16 So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.”

16 After this letter has been read to you, see that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans and that you in turn read the letter from Laodicea.

In verse 16, Paul tells them that after all of the members of the Colossian church have read the letter then pass it on.  He specifies passing it to the Laodicean church but I am sure it was passed on to all of the churches.

 

Paul references a letter that he wrote to the Laodicean church but there is not one in our Bible.  There are lots theories about this missing letter.  Barklay says that Paul may have been referring to Paul’s letter to the Ephesians which was really meant for the churches of Asia.  Guzik says, “We should not assume from this that our treasure of inspiration is incomplete. The Holy Spirit has chosen to preserve those letters that are inspired for the church in a universal sense. Paul was not inspired in this way every time he set pen to paper.”

17 Tell Archippus: “See to it that you complete the ministry you have received in the Lord.”

 

Paul gives a special note for Archippus.  He encouraged him to stand firm and keep the faith.  He is also mentioned in Philemon 1:2 which says, “to our sister Apphia, and to our fellow soldier Archippus, and to the church that meets in your house.”  Once again, Paul calls out an individual to give them encouragement.  Can you imagine seeing a letter from Paul with your name in it?  What an uplifting thing to see that he even knows your name.  “Paul knows about our little church?” How uplifting.

 

18 I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.

 

And the final verse in the letter to the Colossian church Paul says, “I, Paul, write this “greeting in my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.”  Paul wrote this letter himself.  He usually dictated his letters.  Many of the young men that traveled with Paul started out as scribes.  In Romans 16:22, Tertius acted as Paul’s scribe, “I, Tertius, who wrote down this letter, greet you in the Lord.”

As Paul closes this letter, He says “Remember my chains.”  Robertson says, “The chain clanked afresh as Paul took the pen to sign the salutation. He was not likely to forget it himself.”  It would be a short time after this letter that Paul would have been beheaded.

“There is much emotion, sorrow, and strength in this simple phrase. Paul not only knew the confinement and loneliness of the prisoner; he also had the uncertainty of not knowing if his case before Caesar’s court would end with his execution.” (Guzik)

Paul’s Letter to Philemon

Chapter 1 (only chapter)

1 Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our dear friend and fellow worker— 2 also to Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier—and to the church that meets in your home:

3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

After studying Colossians chapter 4, I decided it would be a good time to transition to Paul’s letter to Philemon.  The main characters were mentioned in Paul’s letters to the Colossian church.  This letter was also written while Paul was in prison in Rome.

So who was Philemon?  In verse 1, Paul calls him a “dear friend and fellow worker”.  It also tells us that Philemon held church at his house.  Based on the phrase “you owe to me even your own self”, we can guess that Paul led Philemon to Christ.

If Colossae is anything like Ephesus, then Philemon would have had a large house.  When Terry and I visited Ephesus, we toured the “Terrace Houses” which were for the very rich.  They even had running water, mosaics on the walls, bathrooms and were all interconnected on the side of a hill.  They would have been very lavish for the time.  Church was believed to have been held in one of these Terrace Houses.  This was what was believed to have happened in Colossae.

Philemon had at least one slave and that was Onesimus.  Remember the name from Colossians 4?  As we will learn, Onesimus did something bad against his master Philemon, but it doesn’t really say what it was.  Many believe that he stole money from Philemon and then ran away to Rome where he met Paul evidently both in prison.

Slaves were everywhere at this time.  By many accounts, the slaves made up one third of the population of the Roman Empire.  The slaves came from all walks of life.  When one country, like the Romans, invaded another country many people were made into slaves and were transported back to Rome or to wherever they could be sold.

Paul included this letter to Philemon with Onesimus and the group that he was sending to Colossae.  As you can guess, Paul is sending Onesimus back to Colossae because there has been a significant change in Onesimus’ life.  Just like Philemon, Paul had led Onesimus to Christ.  The purpose of this letter was to get Onesimus to be reconciled back to Philemon.

Conflict is a family and church killer.  That is why Paul wrote about husbands, wives, children and fathers in Colossians chapter 3.  He included the master-slave relationship in that same section because of the relationship between Philemon and Onesimus was ruined by what Onesimus had done.  Conflict at home and in all relationships can impact the way that we worship.  Paul saw the same thing in the church at Colossae.  Conflict in your life also ruins your relationship with God.

In verse 1, Paul says that he is a prisoner of Jesus Christ.  Paul didn’t consider himself a prisoner of Rome.  Remember, he was in prison in Rome because of the Jews that followed him in his ministry trying to refute what he was teaching.  He was also there because of the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem that put him on trial a number of times.  He truly believed that he ended up imprisoned in Rome under the leadership of Jesus.  This is where he had been heading his whole life.

In verse 2, Paul sends his greetings to “Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier—and to the church that meets at your home.”  Guzik says that Apphia is probably Philemon’s wife and Archippus is probably Philemon’s son.

Verse 3 is Paul’s standard greeting, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” 

 

4 I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, 5 because I hear about your love for all his holy people and your faith in the Lord Jesus. 6 I pray that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ. 7 Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people.

 

In these verses, Paul offers up a prayer of thanksgiving for Philemon and his church.  Paul says “I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers”.  Why? “Because I hear about your love for all his holy people and your faith in the Lord Jesus.”  Where had Paul heard about Philemon’s love?  From Epaphras as we learned in Colossians 1.  These verses are nearly a duplicate of how Paul started his letter to the Colossians.

Paul says that he is thankful that they have love for “all” believers and their faith in Jesus.  Yes, as Christians we are suppose to have these things but holding on to these things is sometimes difficult.  It would have been difficult holding on to these things while living under Roman rule.  Today, churches are willing to separate or fall apart for less.

In verse 6, Paul says that he prays for their partnership with Paul’s team.  Remember much of the time Paul received funding from the churches in this region to keep his ministry moving.  His trip to Rome was paid for by the Roman Empire but his traveling companions would have needed financial support to stay with him.

 

Faith and love should lead believers to be more generous.  Evidently Philemon and his church were very generous at meeting Paul’s needs, as well as helping other believers that traveled through the region.  I would guess they helped others that were spreading the good news of Jesus Christ, too.  Remember that in Paul’s letters to the Corinthian church that he praised them for donating to the poor in Jerusalem.

 

In verse 7, Paul says that their “love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people.” As part of the Deacon Board, we have given to numerous people in need.  We are to be a blessing to others but there is rarely a time when we are not blessed by helping to provide assistance to others.  It gives them a refreshed heart but we in turn receive a refreshed heart.  We don’t do it to get anything from it but we are blessed.

 

Paul’s Plea for Onesimus

8 Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, 9 yet I prefer to appeal to you on the basis of love. It is as none other than Paul—an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus— 10 that I appeal to you for my son Onesimus,[b] who became my son while I was in chains. 11 Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me.

Now here is the purpose for the whole letter.  In verse 10, Paul says, “that I appeal to you for my son Onesimus.”  Paul wants Philemon to forgive Onesimus.  He wants the two of them to not just become master and slave again, he wants Onesimus to be forgiven and for them to become brothers in Christ.  This is a huge ask of Philemon.

In verse 8, Paul says “I could make you reconcile with him but I won’t.”  He says that he would prefer that Philemon would do it out of love.  He wants them to reconcile out of Christ’s love and not based on their past relationship.

If you take Christ out of the equation, reconciliation between a master and a slave that stole and then fled would be IMPOSSIBLE.  Without Christ, regardless of what Onesimus took, it would have been more valuable than a slave’s life to Philemon.

Paul humbles himself and pleads with Philemon as “an old man in chains” to take Onesimus back in love.  What did Jesus say was the second greatest commandment?  Love others as yourself.  Does the kind of love that Paul is asking of Philemon go beyond reasonable?

Other masters would have said, “A master like Philemon should never give that kind of forgiveness to a mere slave!”  Depending on what he did, the punishment could be death or at least imprisonment.  Paul is asking Philemon to not just forgive him but to take him back not as a slave but as a brother.  What??  In 1 Corinthians 9, Paul goes in to great detail about giving up your personal rights for the sake of the gospel.  This is part of what Paul is asking of Philemon but he wants it based on love.

In these verses can you feel the love that Paul has for both men.  He calls Philemon a brother and now in verse 10 Paul is calling Onesimus his son.  Onesimus has been elevated to a level similar to Timothy (1 Cor. 4:17) and Titus (Titus 1:4).

In verse 11, Paul says that previously Onesimus was useless to Philemon but now he is useful to both of us.  The KJV and NKJV says “profitable” and “unprofitable”.

“When Paul spoke of Onesimus being unprofitable and profitable, he made a play on a word. The name Onesimus means profitable. Now that he was a Christian, Onesimus could live up to his name.” (Guzik)

2 Corinthians 12:10 says, “That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”  In Christ, if the weak can become strong then useless can become useful.  Previously, Onesimus was just a common slave.  It doesn’t say what his responsibilities were but in kingdom building for Christ, he would have been useless.  Now as a Christian, a brother in Christ, then he would be truly useful, look how much Paul has relied on Timothy and Titus.  They were viewed as an extension of Paul.

 

12 I am sending him—who is my very heart—back to you. 13 I would have liked to keep him with me so that he could take your place in helping me while I am in chains for the gospel. 14 But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that any favor you do would not seem forced but would be voluntary. 

 

In verse 12, Paul says that he is sending Onesimus back to Philemon.  Depending on the translation, he adds that “In doing so, I am also sending my heart.”  Remember that Paul called Onesimus his son.  Paul knows that a vindictive master is well within his rights to put Onesimus to death.  Guzik says “even crucify him.”

“Roman law… practically imposed no limits to the power of the master over his slave. The alternative of life or death rested solely with Philemon, and slaves were constantly crucified for far lighter offenses than this.” (Lightfoot)

 Paul points out in verse 13 that he preferred to keep Onesimus with him in his imprisonment.  This suggests that Onesimus was tending to Paul’s needs or doing things that Paul could not do for himself.  This could be because of the imprisonment or Paul’s age.  At the time of this letter, Paul is around 60 years old.  Reaching that age was rarer than you would expect in the first century.

In verse 13, Paul also reminds him and us that Paul was imprisoned for the gospel.  It wasn’t for robbery or murder or some kind of evil.  It was because he preached the gospel, salvation through Jesus, grace through faith.

In verse 14, Paul realizes that in order to make things right with Philemon, he must send Onesimus back.  Paul cannot keep Onesimus in Rome with him because Onesimus literally belongs to Philemon.  Paul wants to do what is right even it kills Onesimus.

This letter is full of pleading on Paul’s part for Onesimus’ life.  Even when he is not saying it, he is implying it.  Paul is trusting God and Philemon but he is still willing to plead and pray for things to work out the way that he wants.  He finishes these verses with “What you decide is of your own choice, I am not forcing you to do anything.”

 

15 Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back forever— 16 no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a fellow man and as a brother in the Lord.

 

In verse 15, Paul suggests that what occurred in the past between Philemon and Onesimus was divine providence.  Just so you know, Google AI defines ‘Divine providence is the belief that God governs and cares for the universe, ensuring all events align with a divine plan. It suggests that God is in control, working all things for good, even seemingly negative events.”

Paul is saying that what occurred didn’t just occur out of dumb luck.  God had a plan.  The plan included Onesimus meeting Paul and coming to Christ.  I am not talking about the idea of predestination but I believe sometimes God aligns things to accomplish his plan for our lives.

Consider Paul’s life, he studied under Gamaliel and became an expert at Jewish Law.  He persecuted Christians because they weren’t following the Law.  Then he met Jesus on the Damascus road where he was humbled by Jesus for his persecuting them.  Then he was persecuted by Jews and preached salvation by grace through faith and not by the Law.  Dumb luck, I don’t think so.

Remember Romans 8:28.  “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”  God works for good things to happen in our lives even when bad things occur to us.  The bad thing that happened here was Onesimus’ doing something bad to Philemon, like stealing and running away.  God makes it possible for him to meet Paul and be introduced to the gospel message.  Life changing.

 

Paul says that Onesimus was a slave but now he can be a brother, a brother in Christ.  Back in verse 11, Paul says that he was changed from ‘useless’ to ‘useful’.  The change occurred when Onesimus accepted Christ.  In Colossians 3:23 we read, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters”.  Work as if you are working for Jesus should make a huge difference in your work habits and make you extremely useful.  Also as Christians, they could work together to accomplish even more for the Lord.

 

There is a hymn, “Since Jesus came into my life”.  The first verse says, “What a wonderful change in my life has been wrought Since Jesus came into my heart!  I have light in my soul for which long I had sought, Since Jesus came into my heart!”  Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”

 

In verse 16, Paul says that Onesimus should no longer be treated “as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother.”  This letter from Paul to Philemon contained a huge ask, for the time this was unheard of.  Paul asks him to not just accept Onesimus back as a slave, but as a brother.  Just to bring him back as a slave was a big ask.  Remember, he stole from Philemon or at least did something bad and then ran away.  At that time, slaves were nothing more than a possession.

Paul points out that Onesimus should be welcomed back to Colossae not just as a member of the church but “even dearer to you, both as a fellow man and as a brother in the Lord.”  Paul keeps heaping on his expectations for the relationship between Philemon and Onesimus.

Consider in your employment, what would happen if you walked away from your job for a significant time.  Then you came back and not only asked for your job back but ask for a promotion too.  You would get laughed out of your boss’ office, assuming you got in to it in the first place.

 

17 So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. 18 If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me. 19 I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand. I will pay it back—not to mention that you owe me your very self. 20 I do wish, brother, that I may have some benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ. 21 Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask.

 

 

In verse 17, Paul says consider me a ‘partner’.  The Greek words used for ‘partner’ is ‘koinōnos’.  In 1 Peter 1:5, Peter uses that same word in the phrase, “a ‘partaker’ also of the glory that is to be revealed”.(NASB)  He puts himself in the middle of the conversation.

 

“Paul’s appeal is powerful because he stood beside a guilty man and said to the owner of the slave, “I know this man is a criminal and deserves punishment. Yet this slave is my friend, so if you punish him punish me also. I stand beside him to take his punishment.” This is what Jesus does for us before our master, God the Father.”  (Guzik)

Tim Mackie -This clip was taken from a video, created by The Bible Project, explores Paul’s letter to Philemon.

In verse 19, Paul says that if Onesimus still owes Philemon anything or needs anything further, his account belongs to me.  Put it on my tab.  This is the true picture of Jesus.  He will say something similar to God the Father on our behalf.  “John doesn’t owe any sin debt.  He is mine.  Mark it paid in full.”

 

In verse 20, Paul tells us that paying Onesimus’ debt would give him joy.  If Philemon and Onesimus would be reconciled to each other, it would please him and “refresh” him.  Think about it.  How do you feel when you help resolve a dispute?  To me it refreshes my faith in my fellow man.  We see too little of this today, so much hatred.

He says, “refresh my heart in Christ.”  What did Jesus say in the Lord’s prayer about forgive us our trespasses”?  We ask God to forgive us as we forgive others.  Ephesians 4:32 says, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”  We are to remember that what we pray and read in God’s Word are more than words.  It refreshes Paul to know that Philemon is living proof of that fact.

 

In verse 21, Paul uses a polite way of saying “Git-R-done” to quote Larry the Cable Guy.  This almost sounds like an initial directive from a parent to a teenage child.  “I am sure that you will accomplish everything that I have asked.”  If need be, the parent will elevate the authoritative sound in his voice.

22 And one thing more: Prepare a guest room for me, because I hope to be restored to you in answer to your prayers.

23 Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you greetings. 24 And so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke, my fellow workers.

25 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

In verse 22, Paul tells Philemon to “Prepare a guest room for him.”  There is no evidence in the Bible that Paul ever made the trip to Colossae to visit him.

 

Acts 28:30-31 contain the last information about Paul in the Bible.  It says, “For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. 31 He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ—with all boldness and without hindrance!”  Some historians say that Paul was released by Nero and he made his way on to Spain.  None of this is documented in the Bible.

“The early church historian Eusebius writing about AD 325 supported this with his claim that Paul’s martyrdom was not during the period described in the book of Acts.”  Paul’s 4th Missionary Journey (And I Don’t Mean His Trip to Rome) Kenneth Berding.  He further contends that Paul made a 4th missionary journey, was then captured, returned to Rome and was beheaded.  I am not a historian so I don’t know.

In verses 23 and 24, Paul tells Philemon that everyone else says “Hi”.  The same group of men that were with Paul at the end of the letter to the Colossians, Epaphras, Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke are all with Paul.  Tychicus was traveling with Onesimus back to Philemon in Colossae.

Finally, verse 25 is Paul standard ending, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.”  Paul also ends his letter to the Philippians and the Galatians this way.  He closes with a blessing from God on these churches and to Philemon.

 

As Paul Harvey would say, “And now the rest of the story.”  The letter to Philemon is so short, “Why is this little letter included in the Bible?’  David Guzik says:

“In A.D. 110, the bishop of Ephesus was named Onesimus, and it could have been this same man. If Onesimus was in his late teens or early twenties when Paul wrote this letter, he would then be about 70 years old in A.D.110 and that was not an unreasonable age for a bishop in those days.”

“Ignatius, in his Epistle to the Ephesians, maketh mention of Onesimus, as pastor of Ephesus, next after Timothy. The Roman Martyrologue saith, that he was stoned to death at Rome, under Trajan the emperor.” (Trapp)

“There is also some historical evidence that the letters of Paul were first gathered as a group in the city of Ephesus. Perhaps Onesimus first compiled the letters and wanted to make sure his letter — his charter of freedom — was included.”