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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)
Appointed through the Will of God
Before the gates of Damascus, Paul had encountered Jesus in all of His heavenly splendour. He came to understand that He is the merciful Lord, who, in spite of his fanatical hatred and persecution of Christians, did not destroy him, but pardoned him and commissioned him to be His servant to the nations. The apostle recognized therein that there is no difference between God the Father and God the Son. Both possessed, in great spiritual unity and complete harmony, the same divine will (Matt. 26:39, 42; John 4:34; 5:19-20; 10:27-30; 14:9b-11, etc.).
Therefore, Paul testified that he had not been chosen and sent by man, nor was he dependent on man in his service. Much more, he had been set apart according to the plan of God and His merciful predestination. He had been endowed with divine spiritual power and sent out with compelling authority (Acts 13:2; Rom. 1:1; Gal. 1:1 etc.). He was the authorized and commissioned one of the Almighty, in humility and bodily weakness. While under arrest he designated himself as the prisoner of his Lord (Eph. 3:1; 4:1; Phil. 1:7, 13) and never as the prisoner of the Jews and Romans. He had wilfully made himself a slave of Christ Jesus (Rom. 1:1) and served Him in continual obedience (Acts 16:6-8; 1 Cor. 9:16; 2 Cor. 12:7-10).
QUESTION 5: Why could Paul say he had not been chosen of men, but rather, had been directly appointed and sent by God?