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COLOSSIANS - Christ in you, the hope of glory!
Studies in the Letter of Paul to the Colossians

PART 1 - The Foundations of Christian Faith (Colossians 1:1-29)

1. Greeting and introduction (Colossians 1:1-2)


The Sent One

Paul was appointed to be an Apostle by the resurrected Lord Jesus, who chose to equip him for service with the Holy Spirit through the insignificant Ananias (Acts 9:10-18). The experienced Jewish Christians, Barnabas and Silas, accompanied Paul, as prayer partners, in the service of their Lord to the people in the Eastern Mediterranean region. In 13 of the Pauline Letters of the New Testament he wrote 14 times of “the Kingdom of God” and 84 times from the church of those “called out” (ecclesia). Yet we read the name of “Jesus” more than 190 times in his letters. This name became dearer and more important to him than any other theme, word or title. Jesus is his Savior and Lord, whose return he longed for. He glorified Him in word and deed, with the labor of his hands, and with patience amidst persecutions and danger. Jesus was the cause, focal point and goal of Paul´s life and preaching. He became His faithful, authorized ambassador to the unclean nations. He labored long years in the power and might of Jesus´ name among the gentiles.

PRAYER: Father in heaven, we thank You that the glorious Jesus, in accordance with Your will, appointed the persecutor of the churches to be a witness of Your divine grace, power and love. We thank You that his words, until today, reach us, quicken us, and strengthen us. Help us, the unworthy and unfit, to be changed, enabled and sent out as a result of Your grace.

Who is Christ?

The official title of Jesus, “the Christ”, in Hebrew “the Messiah” (the anointed), receives special attention in this letter, where some radically legalistic Jewish Christians had begun to esteem the Law of Moses as more important than the salvation of Christ. In the synagogue of His native city, Nazareth, Jesus had openly appropriated His sovereign title in His reading of Isaiah 61:1-2, proclaiming: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:18-21). The Septuagint, the translation of the Old Testament into Greek, differed in some of the original Hebrew formulations of the Prophet Isaiah. Nevertheless, it contained the same spiritual content. Jesus only partly read the verse from Isaiah 61:2, as recorded in Luke 4:19. He omitted the formulation “and the day of vengeance of our God”, for at His first coming He had not appeared to bring judgment, but salvation. The omitted text will find its complete fulfilment, however, at the second coming of Jesus.

In the Old Covenant, kings, priests and prophets were anointed with the “oil of redemption and the power of God” for the execution of their office (Lev. 8:12; Num. 35:25c; 1 Sam. 16:13; 2 Sam. 5:3 etc.). Jesus, however, was directly anointed by God at His baptism in the Jordan (Psalm 45:7-8; Matt. 3:16-17; Heb. 1:9). Therefore, He is “the King of all kings and Lord of all lords” (Matt. 28:18; 1 Tim. 6:15; Rev. 5:6-12; 17:14; 19:16), “the true High Priest, who offered Himself as the Lamb of God for the sinners of the world” (Heb. 2:17-18; 4:14-16; 6:20; 7:26; 10:14 etc.). At the same time, He is “the Word of God become flesh”, who incorporates all previous prophecies into His one person (John 1:1-3, 14; 1 John 1:1-2; Rev. 19:13). The seven Spirits of God live and work through Him (Is. 11:2; Matt. 12:18; Rev. 5:6). Peter recognized Him and was the first to confess: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”, whereupon Christ answered and said to him, Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 16:16-17). Paul wrote to the church in Rome: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith” (Rom. 1:16-17).

PRAYER: We thank You, Lord Jesus, that You proclaimed and testified to Your sovereign title in the synagogue at Nazareth. You are the Lord of all lords and reign in all eternity. Help us to submit ourselves totally to You, and give us willingness to be anointed with Your Holy Spirit – for Your glory.

QUESTION 3: Why is “Christ” not the name, but the official and sovereign title of Jesus? What does this title mean?

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