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Colossians sermons:
Colossians is one of a number of letters written by Paul from his
final imprisonment and house arrest in Rome.
Having reached the end of his ministry with time to reflect on
priorities, he writes to encourage the young churches he had founded
about, what he regards as, important issues they need to face. These are
issues that will help them in their development as Christians. They are
priorities for him and for them. He focuses on the essentials and
distinctives of the Christian message, and he writes to them in their
specific situation.
There are two significant backgrounds to this letter.
One is specific, relating to the prevailing influences and tendencies
that they were subject to in Colossae. For example, dualism was a
philosophy which tended to separate flesh and spirit; the one was seen
as imminent and real, the other distant and attainable only through
special effort. It removed the spiritual from any tangible, concrete
manifestation or existence. The thinking was that there is the real
world, which can be seen, touched, handled, etc, and the ‘unreal’ one
which is distant, mystical, and virtually out of reach except by
specialised approaches. It seemed to have no bearing on the immediate
and concrete. God was far away, intangible and remote. Against this,
Paul emphasizes the reality of the tangible and physical as expressions
of spiritual life. God was real in the Incarnate Christ.
This esoteric tendency also meant that a prevalent view divorced conduct
from belief. Paul counters this.
The second general background refers to the chronological context of the
church. It had grown and developed and was spreading its influence in a
world full of secular ideas and strange practices. That applied to all
the New Testament churches, each of which had to maintain their witness
in an alien environment. Now, with the novelty worn off, there were real
struggles to maintain a balanced and uncontaminated stance.
For his part, Paul was at the end of his earthly life. He could say
later to Timothy “I have run the race” and so there was a degree of
urgency that this, probably his last communication with them, should be
pertinent and focused. His overriding concern is to highlight the
spiritual principles that will help them serve and survive. Here he
magnifies the gospel with its presentation of the fulness and adequacy
of God’s provision and the responsibility to ‘seek those things which
are above’ and to be permeated with the life of God. The substance is in
Christ; and the secret is “Christ in you – the hope of glory”
These two backgrounds - of distracting influences and focused message -
make this book of great significance to us in these days. And, so we go
on to look at what it has to say, both to the Colossians at that time,
and to us today.
| 1. | We thank God for you | 1:1-14 |
| 2. | Thank God for Christ | 1:15-23 |
| 3. | Following Christ | 1:24-29 |
| 4. | Through Many Dangers 1 | 2:1-7 |
| 5. | Through Many Dangers 2 | 2:8-15 |
| 6. | Through many Dangers 3 | 2:15-23 |
| 7. | Higher Things 1 | 3:1-11 |
| 8. | Higher Things 2 | 3:12-17 |
| 9. | Down to Earth 1 | 3:18-21 |
| 10. | Down to Earth 2 | 3:22-4:1 |
| 11. | Living it out 1 | 4:2-6 |
| 12. | Living it out 2 | 4:7-18 |
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