Returning to the Basics; Colossians 1
ZADOK PUBLICATIONS - Dr. C. R. OLIVER
August 1, 2018

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ZADOK PUBLICATIONS MONTHLY NEWSLETTER

August 1, 2018

Returning to the Basics
Colossians 1

Introduction: While imprisoned the first time, Paul penned Ephesians (60AD), Colossians (61AD), Philemon (61AD) and Philippians (62AD). The gospel of Matthew had already circulated along with James' writings for about twenty years. During that time, Paul authored Galatians (49AD).

These first imprisonment letters were circulated about the time the Gospel of Luke (58-60AD), the book of Acts (62AD) and Mark's gospel (60AD) came on the scene.

Colosse was an ancient trade center located 100 miles east of Ephesus and just a few miles from Laodicea and Hierapolis. Epaphras was the founder of the church and informed Paul of their great love when he visited Paul and sought to minister to him while he was in chains. Already, the cross winds of heresy had made their way into this young church, and Paul's intent was to purify the body and re-align it back to the basic things of the gospel. Paul ministered through this epistle by revelation from the Holy Spirit (something desperately needed in the church today). Ministry by revelation allows vision into the lives of people, while wiping away the subterfuge of façades. Jesus ministered in this fashion (knowing the thoughts of others and seeing their life patterns and sins). Paul had never been to Colosse when he addressed them, but by the Spirit, he literally entered their fellowship with pinpoint accuracy. Men of God, in the past, have ministered this way (calling out error or happenings in people's lives which were privy only to them). Ministry by revelation cancels the need for counseling. (C.G. Bevington was a perfect example.)

Greek speculation (2:4, 8-10), Jewish legalism (2:11) and Oriental mysticism (2:18-23) had negatively flavored the Colosse camp and Paul addressed them all. (Circumcision, dietary regulations, ritual observances were part of the system--also the worship of angels as intermediaries coupled with mystical experiences).

Paul knew a proper view of Christ was and is the antidote for heresy. Jesus is the fullness; He is all the believer needs. There are no add-ons.

Colossians 2:4-11:
4 Now this I say lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words. 5 For though I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ.

6 As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.

8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; 10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.
NKJV

Jesus is all one needs, and Paul spoke to this in his prayer - beginning in 1:9.

Colossians 1:9-19:
9 For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. 13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.
NKJV

Paul established a beachhead against error and deception in twenty-nine verses. It was as if he was saying, "How dare you allow humanistic 'clap-trap' to stand equal to the investment Jesus has in you?" (O' Church, once again this question should be raised in modern congregations.)

He then off-loaded a message which encapsulated the basic gospel message!

Jesus, the Lord of creation (1:16-17)
Jesus, the author of reconciliation (1:20-22)
Jesus, the basis for the believer's hope (1:5, 23,27)
Jesus, the source of power for a new life (1:11,29)
Jesus, the believer's redeemer and reconciler (1:14, 20-22)
Jesus, the embodiment of all Deity (1:15,19)
Jesus, the creator and sustainer of all things (1:16,17)
Jesus, the Head of the church (1:18)
Jesus, the resurrected God-Man (1:18)
Jesus, the all-sufficient Savior (1:28)

These ten components should be preached again! The church of today needs a reiteration of the Supremacy of Jesus Christ and His preeminence in all matters--including the church.

By ministering through revelation, Paul divided Colossians into two aspects of the Lord Jesus-His place above all things (supremacy, Chapters 1-2) and the believer's response to His Lordship (submission, Chapters 3,4).

This newsletter will reflect that dichotomy by exegeting the first section of two chapters in the August and September editions.

Colossians 1

Paul addresses this letter to the saints (Holiness Ones) and the faithful (which today might eliminate thousands claiming to be Christian). Characteristic of this group was their faith in Jesus Christ, their "love for all the saints (1:4)" and their "love in the Spirit (1:8)."

There is a dimension in the Spirit that calls for a depth of love on a greater level than just fellowship.

Love in the Spirit intensifies interaction between the "Christ in you" reaching out to the "Christ in another." In times past, I have called this "the fellowship of the flame." John, the revelator, knew a love for the person of Christ that was consuming and took priority over all other considerations (I, 2, 3 John). Being drawn into another person on a level of interaction attributable only by the means of the Spirit (Billy Sunday and Gypsy Smith; Billy Graham and Cliff Barrows, George Beverly Shea on an evangelistic team level are examples) is a supernatural love. Missionaries that love a people in a distant land and are consumed with compassion for them are examples. Believers pulled together in a friendship depth that is unexplainable aside from the Spirit are examples as well. Husband and wife who are bonded by a spiritual dimension that surpasses the human aspects are examples.

Paul recognized, at the beginning of this epistle, Colosse's salvageable aspects-much like God sees us in ours. Note how he draws from the deep well of their past.

Colossians 1:3-8:
3 We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints; 5 because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, 6 which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth; 7 as you also learned from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, 8 who also declared to us your love in the Spirit.
NKJV

As with many current believers, Colosse needed to return to the bedrock of the "truth of the gospel." They once knew the true gospel, but they allowed other ideologies to take precedence. They once "heard and knew" the grace of God in purity of truth but were now busy with other pursuits. Somebody had to rise up and jerk them back from the brink, lest they lose sight of the simplicity of Christ. (Who will be that "somebody" today?)

Paul began with a prayer for them and that prayer encased the ingredients needed to get to the "road back home." Foremost in the prayer was this element:

Colossians 1:9:
that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding
NKJV

God's will is definable. He does not hide behind the draperies of evasiveness. When one is so "filled," there comes with it an assurance and peace. (I have seen missionaries and pastors in insufferable situations defend their continuance with, "I know this is God's will for me.") Being filled with the knowledge of the will of God is the credentialed passport to the supernatural.

Spiritual wisdom (knowledge of how to apply understanding) and spiritual understanding are power twins. They enable the believer to walk in the power of Christ, by sharing His qualities of wisdom and understanding. These elements usher in the next part of Paul's prayer, which is:

Colossians 1:10:
10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
NKJV

"Fully pleasing" is a state of completeness in one's walk (It is like ever increasing grace, which brings a supernatural fruitfulness and an increase in one's knowledge of God [a state which testifies by producing the "perfect man"]).

Colossians 1:28:
warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.
NKJV

Colossians 4:12:
Epaphras, who is one of you, a bondservant of Christ, greets you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.
NKJV

Paul's prayer continued with:

Colossians 1:11:
11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy;

The authority of the believer flows from "His glorious power." Paul will soon unveil just how powerful Christ is. Establishment of this "understanding" rests in His ultimate power and authority over all things from creation to His return (all power in heaven and on earth). Understanding the immense power of the Master, reigning over all of life's situations, brings patience and endurance to the heart of the believer regardless of circumstances.

Paul, in the following three verses, reviews the glorious station the believer stands in. If believers will rehearse these elements and declare their ownership of these verses, it will change their life.

Colossians 1:12:
12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light
NKJV

Colossians 1:13-14:
He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.
NKJV

Colossians 1:21-23:
…yet now He has reconciled 22 in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight -
NKJV

Next, there appears a big "IF" clause, which challenges all who read it. These afore mentioned elements are predicated on the following verse.

Colossians 1:23:
…if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.
NKJV

Paul begins with verse 15 to show how far reaching is Jesus' Lordship.

He is Lord over creation.
He is Lord over the church.
He is Lord over redemption.

Colossians 1:15-19: (creation & church)
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.
NKJV

Colossians 1:19-20 (redemption)
19 For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, 20 and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.
NKJV

Paul's perspective now must become theirs as well. Colosse church must grasp these truths in order to understand why Paul abides chains. The scope of his ministry reflected these tenets and kept him on track and will do the same for the church.

Colossians 1:24-29
24 I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church, 25 of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God, 26 the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. 27 To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. 29 To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.
NKJV

Let every body of believers hear this message! May the Spirit move in the hearts of the pastors, church leaders, gatekeepers and upon all church evangelists, prophets and teachers to preach these basic tenets of Colossians 1. May they join Paul in declaring,"we also labor, striving according to His working which works in us mightily."

Remember, it is one thing to be a Bible believing church and another to be a church like the one described in the Book of Acts.

Until Next month,

Dr. Cosby R. Oliver, PhD.

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