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CHRIST’S LORDSHIP
Scripture taken from the book of Colossians
The nature of Christ’s Lordship 1:3- 2:7
Christ is Lord 1:15-19
Lord of a new creation 1:18-19
Christ as reconciler 1:20-23
Minister of reconciliation 1:24-29
Lordship and false teachers 2:8-3:4
Lord of every power and authority 2:8-10
Source of Christian’s life 2:11-14
Denial of Christ’s Lordship 2:20-3:4
Lordship in the Christians life 3:5-4:6
Actualize the ‘in Christ’ reality 3 :5-17
Old age to put off 3:5-9
New age to put on 3:10-17
Special precepts 3:18-4:6
Christian home 3:18-4:1
Prayer 4:2-4
Relation to non-Christians 4:5-6
Conclusion 4:7-18
Colossians 1
Paul refers to himself as an apostle; the term conveys the ideas of mission, authorization, and responsibility. Its meaning may be derived from the Hebrew word, shalah, “to send”. It was primarily a legal term, signifying authorized representation. As in the modern law of agency, the one sent was held to be equivalent to the sender himself. To dishonor the king’s ambassador was to dishonor the king (2 Sam 10) The term’ apostle of Jesus’ appears to apply primarily to those directly commissioned as apostles by the risen Lord. (1 Corin 9:1, 15:8-10) Paul exercised the function of an apostle by the will of God. Paul gives thanks for the faith among the Colossians.
True faith is Christward. It is love manifest in the present, having hope for the foundation of the future. That hope will be actualized in the future. There are three that go together: if we have hope only in this life, we are to be pitied. (1 Cor 15:19), but if our hope resides in heaven where the new age is actualized, in the person of Christ, it will manifest itself in love and bring forth fruit in the present word. (Col 1:13, Col 3:14, Eph 6:15, Mark 4:20)
Prayer was offered for spiritual growth in Christ 1:9-14. When compared to the Lord’s prayer, they provide an index to the way Christ’s instruction in the manner of prayer applied to the early church. Paul emphasizes a thorough knowledge of God’s will. He prays they undergo a mental transformation as a pre-requisite to, and the basis for, ethical renewal; in turn, as they are fruitful in every good work, their God is at work to strengthen us, to give us patience, fortitude, and endurance. This is the Christian distinctive. Joy not rooted in the soil of suffering is shallow. God’s power has made us worthy. A past deliverance and transference into Christ’s kingdom, a redemption, is the mark of the new Christian convert. The present aspect of the kingdom is a partial realization of the future fulfillment. It will be fully realized individually only at the parousia (Christ’s return).
Jesus Christ as Lord: 1:15-19
Jesus not merely mediates the creation, but is the goal of the whole created order. Jesus is viewed as the creation. We all have the goal to attain to that image. Christ was the first of a kind, a first born, a first fruit. Christ as a body, the church, is not merely a social society, but is defined in terms of its organic communion with Christ. The fullness of all dwells in Christ. Christ dwells in the fullness of the powers and attributes of God. Christ is represented as containing and representing all the attributes of God.
Christ, God’s reconciler: Peace has been effected by Christ’s blood sacrifice encompassing and unifying Jews and Gentiles. We have been reconciled to God; brought into unity, reconciled through redemption. The proof of the pudding is if you ‘continue’. God’s election is not vacillating; it can be affirmed only in terms of profession and conduct. Any true change will become evidenced by a changed life. It comes about because of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Christ as minister of reconciliation, 1:24-29
Some interpret 1:24 to mean that in God’s purpose, the corporate Christ (the Messianic community) is destined to suffer birth pangs in bringing in the Messianic age. We will share in Christ’s sufferings because we have been redeemed, not as an aide to redemption. Union with Christ involves union with his sufferings. It is the cost of discipleship. Paul’s dispensation in God’s redemptive plan, was to make salvation known to Gentile. In the world of the first century, mystery meant something mysterious, an initiatory religious rite, a secret known only by diving revelation. (Dan 2::28,30,47)
In God’s redemptive plan, the mystery is the corporate union with Christ, Christ ‘in you’, by which God gives righteousness and salvation. In 3:6, the focus is on the inclusion of Gentiles. Paul was a doctor of souls; a warning and teaching ministry. Paul’s goal was to present every man as perfect.
The conflict we face is spiritual warfare against principalities and powers. Paul desired to strengthen them, exhort them, by ethical love, renewal. Love apart from truth becomes mush. If there is a secret, Christ is it. Christ is the sole mediator of God’s gifts to men.
As a member of Christ’s body present with them in spirit, Paul fears that enticing words will disrupt their steadfastness. (2:4-7) He reasoned with an appeal to them to return to that positive Christ centered tradition, through which they had received the Gospel.
Christ’s Lordship- Christ is unique and so is our relationship to him. Christ is the head and the conqueror of every authority. He should hold a place of all inclusiveness, and should exclude all others. Paul doesn’t condemn tradition, but contrasts it with the tradition after Christ. The Godhead or deity holds diving attributes and a divine nature. Christ infuses the believer to bring them to fullness, make them complete. Union with Christ alone is sufficient, for he is head of all authorities. They can add nothing to holiness or to redemption. The institutions and rituals of the old covenant are contrasted to the corporate new reality; made without hands. God’s true temple is brought into being by Christ’s death and resurrection. Putting off the body of flesh, here circumcision is the death of Christ, by which he brought a severance from the old method of cleansing of sin. There is no direct analogy here to baptism. Gentiles were alienated by their literal un-circumcision. Here the issue is of moral circumcision. This is made possible through God’s gracious forgiveness. The obligation was the written Mosaic Law; a certificate of debt. It stood unfulfilled against us until it was discharged at the cross. Christ died that principalities and powers will be stripped naked under God’s judgment. Through death he destroyed them that had power of death; being defeated we are not longer held captive.
False teachers threatened to draw the Colossians back from Christ into the shadow of the former age. Christ has brought us into the light and we are not to remain immature and be led into error. Prohibitions and laws test spiritual maturity. The false teachers hinder the believers race; intimidating them, declaring them disqualified if they don’t follow a prescribed course. It is condemned here because of the object toward which this submissive attitude and activity is directed. The worship of angles does not honor God. Your legalistic practices amount to a worship of angels. The basis of the error is the egoistic or fleshly mind. Any Jewish or pagan ritual that stands over and against the freedom of the spirit is demonic. On Calvary believers died with Christ to the old, and must now live according to the new. By submitting to things of the world, to things that will perish, we admit that we belong to the perishing world. It is a denial of the new life into which, through Christ’s risen body, believers have been incorporated. Perfection of Christian character through rules is the doctrine of men. The practices do not honor God. The Christian set his will on the realities above; Christ and heaven. Christians exist above because of the indwelling Holy Spirit; though our existence in the physical reality of this world. A Christian’s citizenship is above; Christ is our life. In the parousia, when Christ returns, we will be with Him. Individually we will fulfill His glory.
Christ’s Lordship- Our strong desires lead us astray and will bring God’s anger. God mush show justice or His mercy means nothing. Expressed sin is contagious and the control of sin’s expression is a long step from deliverance from it. The image of God which the first Adam failed to realize, is to be fulfilled in the sons of the second Adam. Believers don’t merely put on new attributes, but are undergoing transformation. At the foot of the cross the ground is level. It does not bring uniformity in status. It is a unity in diversity, a unity which transcends differences and works within them, but not a unity that ignores or denies differences or seeks to erase them.
The true Israel is the church; the elect beloved, holy ones. Relations are often ones in friction within the church. The indwelling Word of God brings a transforming influence on a believer’s life. To live in the name of the Lord is to live without the necessity fro rules. Christ’s Lordship of the whole life is expressed. It implies a mode or conduct, and an attitude of life. Te Christian is motivated by his relationship to god. Obedience is motivated by love; a desire to please the Lord. We work to please, whether the boss is watching or not. In honest dedication we seek to serve the Lord who judges in all fairness. God is not a discerner of persons and will reward all His children. In a spirit of thankfulness we pray and watch for Christ’s return. Our Christian witness is to be appetizing not to other Christians but to non-Christians.
Paul compares himself to a gentle nurse, a firm father and a homeless orphan. He is ready to be spent for the spreading of the Gospel.
Where do you stand?
Scripture taken from the book of Colossians
The nature of Christ’s Lordship 1:3- 2:7
Christ is Lord 1:15-19
Lord of a new creation 1:18-19
Christ as reconciler 1:20-23
Minister of reconciliation 1:24-29
Lordship and false teachers 2:8-3:4
Lord of every power and authority 2:8-10
Source of Christian’s life 2:11-14
Denial of Christ’s Lordship 2:20-3:4
Lordship in the Christians life 3:5-4:6
Actualize the ‘in Christ’ reality 3 :5-17
Old age to put off 3:5-9
New age to put on 3:10-17
Special precepts 3:18-4:6
Christian home 3:18-4:1
Prayer 4:2-4
Relation to non-Christians 4:5-6
Conclusion 4:7-18
Colossians 1
Paul refers to himself as an apostle; the term conveys the ideas of mission, authorization, and responsibility. Its meaning may be derived from the Hebrew word, shalah, “to send”. It was primarily a legal term, signifying authorized representation. As in the modern law of agency, the one sent was held to be equivalent to the sender himself. To dishonor the king’s ambassador was to dishonor the king (2 Sam 10) The term’ apostle of Jesus’ appears to apply primarily to those directly commissioned as apostles by the risen Lord. (1 Corin 9:1, 15:8-10) Paul exercised the function of an apostle by the will of God. Paul gives thanks for the faith among the Colossians.
True faith is Christward. It is love manifest in the present, having hope for the foundation of the future. That hope will be actualized in the future. There are three that go together: if we have hope only in this life, we are to be pitied. (1 Cor 15:19), but if our hope resides in heaven where the new age is actualized, in the person of Christ, it will manifest itself in love and bring forth fruit in the present word. (Col 1:13, Col 3:14, Eph 6:15, Mark 4:20)
Prayer was offered for spiritual growth in Christ 1:9-14. When compared to the Lord’s prayer, they provide an index to the way Christ’s instruction in the manner of prayer applied to the early church. Paul emphasizes a thorough knowledge of God’s will. He prays they undergo a mental transformation as a pre-requisite to, and the basis for, ethical renewal; in turn, as they are fruitful in every good work, their God is at work to strengthen us, to give us patience, fortitude, and endurance. This is the Christian distinctive. Joy not rooted in the soil of suffering is shallow. God’s power has made us worthy. A past deliverance and transference into Christ’s kingdom, a redemption, is the mark of the new Christian convert. The present aspect of the kingdom is a partial realization of the future fulfillment. It will be fully realized individually only at the parousia (Christ’s return).
Jesus Christ as Lord: 1:15-19
Jesus not merely mediates the creation, but is the goal of the whole created order. Jesus is viewed as the creation. We all have the goal to attain to that image. Christ was the first of a kind, a first born, a first fruit. Christ as a body, the church, is not merely a social society, but is defined in terms of its organic communion with Christ. The fullness of all dwells in Christ. Christ dwells in the fullness of the powers and attributes of God. Christ is represented as containing and representing all the attributes of God.
Christ, God’s reconciler: Peace has been effected by Christ’s blood sacrifice encompassing and unifying Jews and Gentiles. We have been reconciled to God; brought into unity, reconciled through redemption. The proof of the pudding is if you ‘continue’. God’s election is not vacillating; it can be affirmed only in terms of profession and conduct. Any true change will become evidenced by a changed life. It comes about because of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Christ as minister of reconciliation, 1:24-29
Some interpret 1:24 to mean that in God’s purpose, the corporate Christ (the Messianic community) is destined to suffer birth pangs in bringing in the Messianic age. We will share in Christ’s sufferings because we have been redeemed, not as an aide to redemption. Union with Christ involves union with his sufferings. It is the cost of discipleship. Paul’s dispensation in God’s redemptive plan, was to make salvation known to Gentile. In the world of the first century, mystery meant something mysterious, an initiatory religious rite, a secret known only by diving revelation. (Dan 2::28,30,47)
In God’s redemptive plan, the mystery is the corporate union with Christ, Christ ‘in you’, by which God gives righteousness and salvation. In 3:6, the focus is on the inclusion of Gentiles. Paul was a doctor of souls; a warning and teaching ministry. Paul’s goal was to present every man as perfect.
The conflict we face is spiritual warfare against principalities and powers. Paul desired to strengthen them, exhort them, by ethical love, renewal. Love apart from truth becomes mush. If there is a secret, Christ is it. Christ is the sole mediator of God’s gifts to men.
As a member of Christ’s body present with them in spirit, Paul fears that enticing words will disrupt their steadfastness. (2:4-7) He reasoned with an appeal to them to return to that positive Christ centered tradition, through which they had received the Gospel.
Christ’s Lordship- Christ is unique and so is our relationship to him. Christ is the head and the conqueror of every authority. He should hold a place of all inclusiveness, and should exclude all others. Paul doesn’t condemn tradition, but contrasts it with the tradition after Christ. The Godhead or deity holds diving attributes and a divine nature. Christ infuses the believer to bring them to fullness, make them complete. Union with Christ alone is sufficient, for he is head of all authorities. They can add nothing to holiness or to redemption. The institutions and rituals of the old covenant are contrasted to the corporate new reality; made without hands. God’s true temple is brought into being by Christ’s death and resurrection. Putting off the body of flesh, here circumcision is the death of Christ, by which he brought a severance from the old method of cleansing of sin. There is no direct analogy here to baptism. Gentiles were alienated by their literal un-circumcision. Here the issue is of moral circumcision. This is made possible through God’s gracious forgiveness. The obligation was the written Mosaic Law; a certificate of debt. It stood unfulfilled against us until it was discharged at the cross. Christ died that principalities and powers will be stripped naked under God’s judgment. Through death he destroyed them that had power of death; being defeated we are not longer held captive.
False teachers threatened to draw the Colossians back from Christ into the shadow of the former age. Christ has brought us into the light and we are not to remain immature and be led into error. Prohibitions and laws test spiritual maturity. The false teachers hinder the believers race; intimidating them, declaring them disqualified if they don’t follow a prescribed course. It is condemned here because of the object toward which this submissive attitude and activity is directed. The worship of angles does not honor God. Your legalistic practices amount to a worship of angels. The basis of the error is the egoistic or fleshly mind. Any Jewish or pagan ritual that stands over and against the freedom of the spirit is demonic. On Calvary believers died with Christ to the old, and must now live according to the new. By submitting to things of the world, to things that will perish, we admit that we belong to the perishing world. It is a denial of the new life into which, through Christ’s risen body, believers have been incorporated. Perfection of Christian character through rules is the doctrine of men. The practices do not honor God. The Christian set his will on the realities above; Christ and heaven. Christians exist above because of the indwelling Holy Spirit; though our existence in the physical reality of this world. A Christian’s citizenship is above; Christ is our life. In the parousia, when Christ returns, we will be with Him. Individually we will fulfill His glory.
Christ’s Lordship- Our strong desires lead us astray and will bring God’s anger. God mush show justice or His mercy means nothing. Expressed sin is contagious and the control of sin’s expression is a long step from deliverance from it. The image of God which the first Adam failed to realize, is to be fulfilled in the sons of the second Adam. Believers don’t merely put on new attributes, but are undergoing transformation. At the foot of the cross the ground is level. It does not bring uniformity in status. It is a unity in diversity, a unity which transcends differences and works within them, but not a unity that ignores or denies differences or seeks to erase them.
The true Israel is the church; the elect beloved, holy ones. Relations are often ones in friction within the church. The indwelling Word of God brings a transforming influence on a believer’s life. To live in the name of the Lord is to live without the necessity fro rules. Christ’s Lordship of the whole life is expressed. It implies a mode or conduct, and an attitude of life. Te Christian is motivated by his relationship to god. Obedience is motivated by love; a desire to please the Lord. We work to please, whether the boss is watching or not. In honest dedication we seek to serve the Lord who judges in all fairness. God is not a discerner of persons and will reward all His children. In a spirit of thankfulness we pray and watch for Christ’s return. Our Christian witness is to be appetizing not to other Christians but to non-Christians.
Paul compares himself to a gentle nurse, a firm father and a homeless orphan. He is ready to be spent for the spreading of the Gospel.
Where do you stand?