Lord Jesus Christ in Colossians

Verses within this Study.

1:1, 2, 2-Lord, 3, 1:4, 7, 10, 1:13, 24, 27, 28; 2:2, 5, 6, 8, 11, 17, 20; 3:1, 3, 4, 11, 13, 16, 3:17, 18, 20, 23, 24, 24-Lord; 4:3, 7, 10, 11, 12, 17.

Click on the following links to jump to a section within the study of this Bible Book: Lord only, Jesus only, Christ only, Jesus Christ, Christ Jesus, Lord Jesus, Lord Christ, Lord Jesus Christ, Son.

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In this book, Paul uses Lord 12 times and Christ 24 times. Since there are only 32 verses with Lord and/or Jesus and/or Christ in the book, you should see that Paul is emphasizing the roles of Lord and of Christ with twice the emphasis on Christ. Jesus does not occur by itself in this book. The only use of Lord Christ in the New Testament is in this book and one of the few occurrences of Lord Jesus (without Christ added) is in this book. Jesus Christ only occurs once and Christ Jesus only occurs twice, so you should see that most of the emphasis of this book is about our relationship to Christ and our relationship to the Lord. All uses of any combinations of roles (Lord Christ, Lord Jesus, etc) emphasize the combination of blessings that we receive from each role.

In addition, to the normal sections in this study, the Book Study on Colossians provides a basic outline and links to other studies involving this epistle.

Lord only

Colossians 1:10; 3:18, 20, 23, 24; 4:7, 17.

Lord is used in this book mainly to emphasize that the Lord gives positions and rewards us according to how well we meet His expectations. Click here for all of the Verses that use Lord and here for the Summary on the name / role of Lord.

Colossians 1:10 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;

This verse is part of a sentence that goes from 1:9 through 1:17 and is divided by punctuation in the note within the Book Study on Colossians. Please see it and the other note related to this sentence under Son.

This sentence contains 6 colons which divides it into 7equivalent sections which speak about our salvation. This verse is part of the first section which includes 1:9through 1:13and has 4 steps within it. This section is the most detailed. The first step of this section tells us that the first thing we gain in our salvation is being filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. The second step (this verse) tells us that we are to walk worthy in order to be fruitful in every good work. This requires us being obedient to our Lord. So, knowledge is the first step, obedience is the second step and receiving and using power is the third step with our being thankful unto the Father for His promised inheritance being the last step. Each of these steps are part of our salvation, as Paul explains in this sentence. Hopefully the reader can see how each of these steps require the prior steps to be in our personal life before the step in question can be properly implemented. With one more aside note, we can deal with the use of Lord within this verse.

Verses 1:12-13form the fourth step of this section. The subject of 1:12-13 is God the Father while the subject of each other part is God the Son. That tells us that they have equal power even while they are different persons in the Trinity. God the Son, as Lord is equal in power and other attributes of God the Father as Lord. However, God the Son willingly submits to God the Father so that all things (are) done decently and in order (1Corinthians 14:40).

The first of the things that the Lord uses to bring change in the believer's life is the knowledge of his will. As I've wrote many places, 'the Spirit of God uses the word of God to teach the child of God what is the Will of God'. That is what we see here, especially when we consider that this knowledge is to be in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. 1Corinthians teaches us the difference between the wisdom of man and the wisdom of God and clearly teaches that the wisdom of God is only available through the Spirit of God. The same is true about godly understanding. While God's wisdom teaches us how to apply the word of God to the problems of this life, God's understanding teaches us things like precepts (rules of God that always are true regardless of circumstances). So God gives godly knowledge, wisdom and understanding so that the believer can increase in knowledge and obedience to the Lord's will and thereby receive all of the blessings of the rest of this sentence.

The second thing that the Lord uses to bring change in the believer's life is our walk which is supposed to be worthy of the Lord and results in: (a) all pleasing, (b) being fruitful in every good work and (c) increasing in the knowledge of God. I won't go into all of the details of these points but the basic concept is that our walk is to be in obedience to our Lord. That obedience is what continuously brings us closer to God and God's character which is to be displayed in our life. Romans 8:14 tells us For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. This epistle is telling us how we, as sons of God are to be like His Son (in Christ and Christ in us) so that we can receive the blessings that God has available to the saved who are led by the Spirit of God.

The third thing the Lord uses to bring change in the believer's life is God's Strength with all might which results in: (a) all patience, (b) longsuffering with joyfulness and (c) thanks unto the Father for the changes He made in us. Details of these points is covered in the note for this sentence within the Book Study on Colossians. The basic concept is that the Lord gives us the strength and might to do these things and we will fail in them if we don't rely on his strength.

In this sentence, Paul uses Lord (by itself) for the first time in this book to tell us about some of the changes that are brought into every true believer's life through God's role as Lord. Specifically, Paul tells us that the Lord provides the things that every saved person needs to bring change into the life of the believer. The Lord expects us to live as members of His kingdom and stop living as members of the kingdom of Satan, since he translated us when we accepted Him as Lord in order to get saved (James 4:4). As has been seen many places in this study (1Corinthians 15:57-58; Ephesians 4:1-6; 6:10-20; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8; 2 Peter 1:1-11; etc), if there is no God caused Spiritual change then the person is not really saved but is a spiritual bastard no matter what else they claim.

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Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

Please see the note for 3:16 under Lord Christ.

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Colossians 3:18 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord.

Colossians 3:18-4:1 are specific instructions to people who have certain roles and positions in life. Roles and positions in life are given by the Lord. Colossians 3:18-4:1 are a list of the minimum requirements to fulfill the Law of the Lord Jesus which was explained in the note for 3:17 under Lord Jesus. In addition, 3:24 specifically links these minimum legal requirements to the judgment seat of Christ (Romans 14:10; 2Corinthians 5:10-11). (Please see the notes for those verses.) Please also see the note for this sentence in the Book Study on Colossians as it provides the most detail and the considerations due to context.

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Colossians 3:20 Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.

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Colossians 3:23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;

Please see the note for Colossians 3:22-24 in the Book Study on Colossians for division by the punctuation, considerations context and interpretation of the sentence. Colossians 3:18-4:1 are specific instructions to people who have certain roles and positions in life. Roles and positions in life are given by the Lord. These sentences/verses are a list of the minimum requirements to fulfill the Law of the Lord Jesus which was explained in the note for 3:17 under Lord Jesus. In addition, 3:24 specifically links these minimum legal requirements to the judgment seat of Christ (Romans 14:10; 2Corinthians 5:10-11). (Please see the notes for those verses.) Please see the all of the notes for these verses (3:18 and 3:24 in this Study and 3:18 and 3:19 in the Book Study on Colossians) for how Wives are to submit to their own husbands. Apply the same logic to this verse while changing Wives for Servants and husbands for masters.

Lord is used 7times in the last verses of this chapter. That is in every single sentence except one. Paul is really driving home the fact that these commands come from our Lord and not from Jesus or from Christ. These are legal commandments that we will answer for at the judgment seat of Christ. And, in spite of what popular theology might claim, saved people who refuse to obey these legal commands will personally experience the terror of the Lord. Some people will have 'tears in Heaven' for over 1,000 yearss.

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Colossians 3:24 Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.

Colossians 3:18-4:1 are specific instructions to people who have certain roles and positions in life. Roles and positions in life are given by the Lord. Colossians 3:18-4:1 are a list of the minimum requirements to fulfill the Law of the Lord Jesus which was explained in the note for 3:17 under Lord Jesus. In addition, 3:24 specifically links these minimum legal requirements to the judgment seat of Christ (Romans 14:10; 2Corinthians 5:10-11). (Please see the notes for those verses.) Please see the note for 3:18 above for how Wives are to submit to their own husbands. Apply the same logic to this verse while changing Wives for Servants and husbands for masters. Also, please see the note for 3:24 under Lord Christ.

The first part of this verse specifically tells us that ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance from (of) the Lord while making a deliberate distinction from the Lord Christ whom we serve. That is: we are to serve the Lord and Christ while our reward comes only from the Lord. This is explained in the note under Lord Christ but is because the Bible always limits judgment to God the Son's role as Lord. Thus, as explained in other notes, the judgment seat of Christ (Romans 14:10 ; 2Corinthians 5:10-11) is called that because those who are supposed to belong to Christ will be judged there. It is not called that because Christ will be judging because God is always righteous. As judge, He can only be righteous if He uses the role of Lord because judgment must be done by a role that is no respecter of persons (Leviticus 19:15; Deuteronomy 1:17; 16:19; 2Samuel 14:14; 2Chronicles 19:7; Proverbs 24:23; 28:21; Lamentations 4:16; Acts 10:34; Romans 2:11; Ephesians 6:9; Colossians 3:25; James 2:1, 9; 1Peter 1:17). Since the Son of God has a personal relationship with us through His roles as Jesus and as Christ, and since this study has shown that there is nothing personal in God's role as Lord and has shown that the Bible consistently says that judgment is done by the Lord, we will meet the Lord at the judgment seat of Christ. That being said, because it is the Lord who will be giving rewards and punishments, we also know that He will use a consistent impartial scale for matching rewards and punishments to our service. If you do twice the service, you will receive twice the reward. Finally, we are told that this reward is the reward of the inheritance. There are 309verses which use some form of the word inheritance. Without going into all of them, we know that an inheritance is when we receive something that belongs to someone else after they die. Also, they decide who gets what part of the inheritance and how much each receives. Hebrews does an excellent job of teaching us about the inheritance we will receive. Basically, the Son of God died to make the inheritance available to us and He decided to give it to all who serve Him according to the service that they give. He does not have to give it because it is really Him that does the work through our lives. It is by grace but He counts it as our work when we give Him permission to work through out lives (1Peter 1:17).

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Colossians 4:7 All my state shall Tychicus declare unto you, who is a beloved brother, and a faithful minister and fellowservant in the Lord:

Verses 4-7form a single sentence that is divided by punctuation in the note within the Book Study on Colossians. Please see that note for more details.

Tychicus received his position as the pastor of this church at Colossi from the Lord according to this sentence. Yes, the Lord did use the human man named, but the assignment came from the Lord. Again, we see that human positions are assigned by the Lord. Please notice the break-down of this sentence. As said there, 'Paul trusted Tychicus to tell the truth to them with the realization that every word would come up in the court of the Lord'. Both Paul and Tychicus would answer to the Lord. A lot of people take positions or recommend people for positions without considering that they will answer to the Lord for all results of the person taking that position (Hebrews 13:7, 17, 24). Notice that this sentence also tells us something about the ministry of a pastor. He is to be a beloved brother, and a faithful minister and fellowservant in the Lord. His job is to know your estate and comfort your hearts. That is, a pastor is to comfort and help people with their estate. Our estate is the things that we have in this world that we are to use for the glory of God so that we have eternal rewards. So, for example, a good pastor will comfort the hearts of his people by showing them God's promises of eternal rewards if they use their estate to support the Kingdom of God and lay up treasure in Heaven thereby. A good pastor will also assure his people that God will put holes in their bag (Haggai 1:6) if they do not support the Kingdom of God. Therefore, he comfort the hearts by showing them that the Lord says that they have nothing to loose and everything to gain by supporting the Kingdom of God.

Lord is used in this verse for the role of the Son of God who appoints people to positions to warn His people of judgment by the Lord and to show His people how to obey the Lord.

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Colossians 4:17 And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it.

Archippus was not a preacher but he had a church in his home (Philemon 1:24). Many people make the mistake of believing that only preachers will answer to the Lord for the poisitions that He gives them. Archippus not only would answer for the church in his house but he also would answer for the funds provided by the Lord that enabeled him to have the church in his house. As seen in many other uses of Lord in this epistle and in the Bible, human positions of authority are given by the Lord. In addition, we also see a warning to those who neglect their position (see Hebrews 13:17). Each of us will personally answer to the Lord for how we fulfilled the positions that He gave us.

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Jesus only

Colossians 4:11.

Please see the note below. Click here for all of the Verses that use Jesus and here for the Summary on the name / role of Jesus.

Colossians 4:11 And Jesus, which is called Justus, who are of the circumcision. These only are my fellowworkers unto the kingdom of God, which have been a comfort unto me.

This sentence clearly says that the Jesus in this sentence is a man which is called Justus. Thus, Jesus was a common name of that time and not reserved for the Son of God. Some people make a big thing about Jesus meaning 'savior', but there were other men with the same name and other men who were 'saviors', such as Joshua of the Old Testament. Therefore, we can not assign any special meaning to the name of Jesus in the Bible beyond what the context gives it.

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Christ only

Colossians 1:2, 7, 24, 27; 2:2, 5, 8, 11, 17, 20; 3:1, 3, 4, 11, 13, 16; 4:3, 12.

Christ is used more than any other role of God in this book. Being in Christ requires doing more than the legal minimum required by the Lord, but it also provides greater blessings. Being in Christ requires different attitudes and actions than is required to just do the legal minimum required by the Lord. We stop being in Christ when we stop having the required attitudes or stop doing the required actions. Click here for all of the Verses that use Christ and here for the Summary on the name / role of Christ.

Colossians 1:2 To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colossi: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Colossians 1:1-2 forms a single sentence which is divided by punctuation in the note within the Book Study on Colossians. Please see it and the notes for Colossians 1:1 under Jesus Christ and for Colossians 1:2 under Christ.

Paul identifies his audience as the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colossi. Paul is not writing to people who got saved (Jesus) but never grew enough spiritually to join the church and become faithful or to earn the name of saint. All people who claim to be saved want to also claim the promises of God for grace and peace. However, Paul limits this offer (in this salutation) to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ. Neither Paul nor God offer grace and peace to people that claim to be saved and refuse to submit to the ministry of Christ. In fact, Jesus said He would deny these people before His Father (Matthew 10:32-33). Notice that Paul identifies those that are in Christ as being saints and faithful brethren. Verses like Romans 8:9 and Galatians 4:19 tell us that if we aren't following Christ (have not the Spirit of Christ or Christ is not in you) then we aren't in Christ (he [that person] is none of his [Christ's]). Further, the character of God, as revealed by the Bible, is that God judges the heart and is more interested in someone trying to be as faithful as they can be than He is interested is some measurement of faithfulness that can be used to compare brethren (2Corinthians 10:12). So, I doubt that anyone can support a claim that there are people who are in Christ but are not saints and faithful brethren as God judges such things. We see the ministry of Christ in the fact that the Son of God makes people into saints and faithful brethren. We also see that this letter is limited to those that are in Christ. That is to motivate saved people who are not in Christ to get in Christ so that they can also receive the blessings promised in this book. It also disputes the claim that when Colossians 1:27 uses the phrase Christ in that it is referring to saved people who are not in Christ. Since those people were excluded in the opening of this letter, it can not be talking to those excluded people within this letter. More on this subject will be dealt with by notes for later verses of this book. One difference between Colossians and other letters like the one to the Ephesians or to the Galatians should be noted. Colossians is written to those in Christ while the others are not. While the others have the basic plan of how to get saved, Colossians does not. For example, Ephesians was written to the faithful in Christ Jesus and has the basic Gospel of Your Salvationin Ephesians 2:8-10. The same can be found in other books, but not in Colossians. Colossians was written with the assumption that the intended audience had all made a profession.

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Colossians 1:7 As ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellowservant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ;

Colossians 1:3-8 forms a single sentence is divided by punctuation in the note within the Book Study on Colossians. Please see it and the notes for Colossians 1:3 under Lord Jesus Christ and on 1:4 under Christ Jesus.

By saying that Epaphras is a faithful minister of Christ, Paul is telling them that Epaphras is faithful in teaching them of the ministry of Christ and of spiritual fruit after profession. As noted for the first part of the sentence, this is the second half of the sentence which has the same meaning because the sentence is separated by a colon. The first half of this sentence says what Epaphras preached which resulted in fruit among them. As noted for 1:4 under Christ Jesus, producing fruit after profession is the ministry of Christ but it is only done for saved people, which is why this sentence associates the fruit with Christ Jesus. That note also pointed out the difference between the two parts of this sentence and why the first part used Christ Jesus while this part only uses Christ.

While neither this epistle nor Ephesians use the phrase gospel of Christ, they both actually teach quite a lot of it. These two epistles give the details of the gospel of Christ while other epistles (Romans 1:16; 15:19, 29; 1Corinthians 9:12, 18; 2Corinthians 4:4; 9:13; 10:14; Galatians 1:7; Philippians 1:27; 1 Thessalonians 3:2) use the phrase to reference the teaching found in Colossians and Ephesians. As noted at the start of the notes for this epistle, Christ is used twice as much as Lord and Jesus is hardly used at all. The same emphasis can be seen in Ephesians. In addition, if we look at the next sentence (1:9-17) and the associated notes, we see the theme of this epistle. Everything that Paul says he was praying for them to receive requires spiritual maturity after salvation, which is the ministry of Christ. In truth, the gospel of Christ is the 'good news of what we can get in Christ and how to get it'. That is essentially what Colossians and Ephesians tell us in detail.

Epaphras was a faithful minister of Christ because he taught them that they each had a personal responsibility to develop their personal relationship with Christ. The evidence of the teaching of Epaphras was mentioned in the first part of this sentence. While Epaphras taught having a personal relationship with Christ Jesus (as seen in 1:4) was for all saved, Paul knew from experience that some people would not obey and, therefore, would not receive the blessings that only come through the ministry of Christ. While not everyone listened, Epaphras did go on and teach those who did listen how to receive the blessings of Christ. That is another reason why we have Christ Jesus and Christ used in this sentence two different ways.

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Colossians 1:24 Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church:

This verse is part of a single sentence that goes from 1:21 through 1:29and is divided by punctuation in the note within the Book Study on Colossians. That note is quite detailed and extensive (10 pages in Word). This large complex sentence has 5colons which divide it into 6 equivalent sections which say the same thing different ways. Each section is talking about how Christ spiritually matures us after our initial profession. Please see that note, the note for 1:27 (below) and the note under Christ Jesus because they are all related to this sentence. In addition, to those notes, please also see the note for Colossians 3:11 and Ephesians 1:23 which tell us but Christ is all, and in all. Where this sentence tells us how Christ was in Paul and how Christ is to be in us, that sentence tells us what are some of the change that will happen if Christ [is] in us.

The notes for this sentence are only part of the whole explanation of the doctrine that is in this epistle. One of the reasons that we were saved was so that God could bring us to spiritual maturity within this life through the ministry of Christ. However, only those saved people who meet God's conditions, which are ooutlined in this epistle, receive the spiritual maturity and the blessings from being in Christ. That truth is what this sentence is teaching us.

This particular verse is the third step of the second equivalent section of this sentence. This equivalent section starts out with If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled... The if makes the blessings conditional upon our meeting God's requirements. Please see the notes referenced above for all of the details and context which are critical to understanding this verse. Basically, this verse is telling us how a godly pastor will let Christ extend His suffering through the pastor's flesh.

A truly godly preacher and minister will suffer for those that he ministers to and will rejoice in that ministering. Just as a parent or older sibling will willingly suffer in order to protect the young, so also is the spiritually mature called to suffer in order to protect the young. But it's not just a matter of suffering for others. Anyone (that I've ever met) who went through boot camp agrees that there is some suffering there but that suffering causes the person to be better at doing the job of protecting and it gives them knowledge and abilities that they would not have any other way. So, our suffering for others isn't just for their benefit but for our own. That is one way that God spiritually matures us and one reason that God gives us increased rewards in Heaven. Paul could rejoice not only for the protection and spiritual growth of others but also for his own personal spiritual maturity along with his hope of increased rewards in Heaven. All truly godly ministers are willing to suffer for those that they minister to and also rejoice in that suffering.
and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake = many people think that Christ is done with afflictions, but this phrase tells us differently. As mentioned above, all truly godly ministers are willing to suffer for those that they minister to. Well, Christ also suffers for us in many different ways as He ministers to the church through the bodies of His ministers. It isn't us that do the work but Christ in us does the spiritual work (Galatians 2:20). This is a spiritual warfare (2Corinthians 10:3-10). Christ suffers disappointments, lies, scandal, betrayal and many other things and yet he keeps loving and ministering to the church through His various ministers. Yes, a minister of Christ, like Paul, might suffer physical pain or death, but at the same time Christ is suffering on the spiritual level in ways that are beyond our comprehension at this time. What most saved people fail to understand is that when they sin, they increase the suffering of Christ. The suffering of Jesus are done and were completed when He rose from the grave. But, just as God the Son ministers to saved people through His role as Christ, and just as that ministering is different than the ministering that God the Son provided through his role as Jesus, so also are the sufferings that God the Son receives through His role as Christ different than the suffering that He received as Jesus. This can be understood if you think about the difference between the suffering that a mother goes through to give birth compared to the suffering that she goes through to bring that same child to full maturity as an adult. God the Son paid the price for our spiritual birth in His role as Jesus. He pays the price for our spiritual maturing in His role as Christ. He pays that suffering as he works through various ministers of His.

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Colossians 1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

This verse is part of a single sentence that goes from 1:21 through 1:29and is divided by punctuation in the note within the Book Study on Colossians. That note is quite detailed and extensive (10 pages in Word). This large complex sentence has 5colons which divide it into 6 equivalent sections which say the same thing different ways. Each section is talking about how Christ spiritually matures us after our initial profession. Please see that note, the note for 1:24 (above) and the note under Christ Jesus because they are all related to this sentence. In addition, to those notes, please also see the note for Colossians 3:11 and Ephesians 1:23 which tell us but Christ is all, and in all. Where this sentence tells us how Christ was in Paul and how Christ is to be in us, that sentence tells us what are some of the change that will happen if Christ [is] in us.

This particular verse is the fourth equivalent section of this sentence. There is an extensive note within the Book Study on Colossians. Many people take this verse out of context and believe doctrinal error about it. Therefore, the reader is requested to use the link provided and read the note for this verse that is in the Book Study on Colossians

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Colossians 2:2 That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ;

This verse is part of a single sentence that goes from 2:1 through 2:3and is divided by punctuation in the extensive note within the Book Study on Colossians. In this sentence Paul says that he has a great conflict (concern) for those who had not seen him (among the Gentiles that he was Apostle to). His concern was that they would be comforted...(unto) the full assurance of understanding (that comes from) the acknowledgement of the mystery of God and of the Father, and of Christ. Paul said that this mystery is Christ in us in verse 1:27. . (Please see note above). This verse (2:2) again links comfort, love, understanding and more to acknowledging Christ in us. Some saved people don't have these (love, etc) things. These things are received by some saved only after they are spiritually mature due to the ministry of Christ. If we want to be comforted and be knit together in love and receive the riches of the full assurance of understanding and to be able to acknowledge the mystery of God, then we must be in Christ which means that we must have ongoing spiritual maturity, which is the ministry of Christ.

The parts of this sentence are divided by semicolons which gives us three steps in how Paul expresses his personal concern as the minister of Christ. In our First Step we see that Paul was concerned enough to pray for them and to write them this epistle. If we don't have a godly person care enough for us we will not seek spiritual maturity on our own because it goes against the world and the flesh and the devil and they are ally working together to keep us as we are. In the Second Step Paul says 'Here's what is in it for you'. Lots of people say 'Christians should act for the Love of God' but that type of motivation requires spiritual maturity that most people don't have. While most people that make this type of comment probably don't realize it, the fact is that they are being used by the devil. Spiritually immature, but saved, people are still motivated by the same selfish concerns as the lost are motivated by. The comment above contains a hidden criticism of those who use any motivation other than the love of God. However, Jesus fed people and provided miracles and used motivations other than the love of God. So such criticism is actually an attack upon Jesus and what God tells us to do several places in the Bible including this verse. God uses what will motivate people until they mature enough to be motivated by something like the love of God. When I was raising some girls, we got them to eat some healthy food that was made from spinach and cream cheese. When they were young and it was cool to eat yucky stuff, we told them it was green goop. When they were big enough to care about their figure, we told them that it was healthy. It was always healthy green goop, but 5year old girls don't care about healthy. So also do we find God motivating us. Yes, we should be motivated by the love of God, but it is also alright to have other motivations because God provides them.

If we want the treasures of wisdom and knowledge and the treasures [from] wisdom and knowledge, we must be in Christ and have Christ in us and working through us. However, most immature saved people are not going to be motivated enough by wisdom and knowledge to go through the spiritually maturing process. However, receiving comfort and love and fellowship (together) and riches and full assurance and understanding...of the mystery of God will motivate spiritually immature people. So after God gets a preacher to have the concern that Paul had, He then tells the preacher to show them all of these things that He has for them. After they receive some spiritual maturity, then God uses the treasures of wisdom and knowledge to motivate His saved people to spiritually mature even more.

This mystery of God, which is that the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hid in Christ was hidden from God's people before the church age. They could not experience this mystery because the relationship with Christ was not available and certain things can only be understood after experiencing them. Many people today don't understand this ministry, even among the saved, because they have not experienced it. Paul was writing to this church full of saved people whom he had not met, but was Apostle to, and expressed concern that they might miss out on blessings that God hade for them and wanted to be sure that they knew how to get all of the blessings available. Paul wanted to be sure that we had access to blessings that are available only so long as we are in Christ because this verse tells us that all the treasures are hid in Christ.

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Colossians 2:5 For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ.

This sentence starts with For, which means that it is giving us the reason for the statement of the prior verse. There, Paul said And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words. Notice that that sentence starts with And, which means that it is in addition to the first sentence of the chapter. Please be sure to see the note in Book Study on Colossians for 2:1-3and the associated note for 2:2 above. Please also see the note in Book Study on Colossians for this sentence which divides it by punctuation and explains the context.

This sentence tells us why we need to be careful that we aren't fooled (beguile you) with enticing words. Paul has already established that he is the Apostle, or human representative and authority, from Christ. Religious men tell us that we can have all of the blessings of God without meeting God's requirements for those blessings. Paul describes these men in 2Corinthians 11:12-15. These enticing words appeal to our flesh and sinful religious nature. All of Colossians 2 is warning against false religions and false religious leaders. Paul uses beguile here and repeats this warning / word in 2:18. Here he is introducing the chapter and warning against those that teach error. At the end of the chapter, Paul uses beguile to warn against false religious practices.

In Paul's warning against false teachers and preachers, he is telling how he acts and implying that false teachers don't act the same way. In Isaiah 28:1-8, God warns us against false preachers who have religious qualifications but are controlled by fleshly or moral corruption. Compare them to a godly preacher like Paul who says yet am I with you in the spirit. The fruit of his spirit was God honoring and showed faith in Christ, just like these people had. That faith is evident by your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ. Order requires discipline, and we naturally hate discipline. It also requires some maturity. Steadfastness also requires discipline and maturity. Both of these traits are absent from the spirits of people who are saved but not yet spiritually mature. These traits are also missing from those that are not in Christ. The presence of these traits is the result of spiritual maturity from the ministry of Christ in a person's life. Plain and simple, before you look at any other qualification of someone that claims to be a religious authority, look for fruit from Christ working in their life. Look for that fruit being currently present and for it being stedfastness and having the order of discipline and having joying even in suffering as Paul said he had. As James 2 says, faith without works is dead. So also, people that claim to be in Christ and don't have these traits are either liars or too new at being in Christ to have fruit, which means that they are too new to be a leader.

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Colossians 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

This sentence tells us why we need to be careful that we aren't fooled (spoil you) through philosophy and vain deceit. This warning ties directly to the parable of Matthew 7:24-27 where Jesus taught that the difference between a wise obedient saved person and a foolish disobedient saved person was whether their foundation was the Rock (Christ) or if their foundation was religion. Notice that Paul makes the same division between those that are spoiled and those that are after Christ. This verse directly follows a sentence which told us how to walk ye in him (Please see the note on 2:6 for more details). When we walk after Christ, we are following His leading. Of course, as we saw in the prior chapter, walking after Christ results in suffering in the flesh. That is where these people who teach philosophy and vain deceit get followers. They promise the rewards of walking after Christ without the suffering in the flesh. How they do this is simple. They point to newly spoiled people and hide those who have been spoiled to the point of being rotten. When fruits and vegetables first spoil, they actually look more appealing than non-spoiled food. It is only when you look inside that you see that it is spoiled even though it looks good on the outside. We can't see the heart of man, but God can. That's why God tells us to not judge but to inspect fruit. That is, don't look at the religious works people do or the short-term results but look at long-term (fruit) results brought about by God.

Please also see the note for this sentence in the Book Study on Colossians for more details and considerations of context. Please also see the note for the next sentence (2:9) which gives us the first reason (of three reasons) to Beware and we can know this because it starts with For. In addition, the next two sentence start with And, which make 2:10-12 the second reason and 2:13-15 the third reason that we are to Beware lest any man spoil you. Please also see the note on 2:11 under Christ (below) about these reasons.

Christ is the role of God mentioned in this verse because it is dealing with individual spiritual maturity after profession and that maturity varies from person to person. In addition, unfortunately, some saved people do end up spoiled. That is why the verse uses Christ and not Christ Jesus.

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Colossians 2:11 In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:

Please also see the note for this sentence in the Book Study on Colossians for how this sentence is divided by punctuation and for a more detailed explanation of what follows. Please also see the note for 2:8 which tells us to beware and see the note for 2:9 which gives us the first reason to Beware. The sentence which includes this verse (2:10-12) gives us the second reason and 2:13-15 gives us the third reason that we are to Beware lest any man spoil you.

2:9 tells us the first reason to Beware and it warns us that we can lose out on all the fulness of the Godhead. The Son of God lived as a physical man named Jesus and fulfilled all of the requirements to take up the role of Christ (Acts 2:36). The physical Jesus Christ then went to Heaven (Acts 1:9) where He bodily exists and provides us all of the blessings of God with consideration for our physical needs and weaknesses. No one else in all of eternity has as much power and understanding. No one else can or will do as much for us. If we turn from Him to anyone else, we will lose a whole lot of blessings. So, we don't want to be fooled into accepting a whole lot less than what is available to us.

2:10-12 tells us the second reason to Beware, which is that Christ makes you different. Following another person will cause you to miss the God-caused change in you life. This sentence will be expanded more below.

2:13-15 tells us the third of reason to Beware, which is that Christ destroyed those you were following and destroyed the record of your sin. If you continue to follow people like them you will be destroyed also.

Within our current sentence we are told that we were completely cut off (circumcision) from sin and made complete in him [Christ]. That is, we need to Beware because Christ makes us different and following someone else will cause us to miss this change and all of the blessings associated with it. This sentence has three equivalent parts that are separated by two colons.

In Galatians 3, Paul proves that Abraham was saved while uncircumcised. Circumcision (did not / does not) save but (came / comes) after profession as a public sign of initial spiritual growth. The same is true about baptism. Christ is used in this verse because Christ is the Son of God's role that deals with saved people after profession for personal spiritual growth. We are told to Beware (2:9) of religious people who will rob us of the blessings that God has for us personally by telling us (among other things) that we do not need to follow the personal leading of Christ (religious lie) in our lives when that leading from Christ calls for us to do more for God than others are called to do. Notice that Paul gives us these three reasons to Beware in an order:

Acknowledge our God given position in Christ (2:10)
Dump our sin that is interfering with our obedience (2:11)
Receive a new walk (2:12).

We need to follow this order of events to implement the changes that Christ shows us that we need to personally have. We also see this same order presented later in this letter with more detail.

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Colossians 2:17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.

Please also see the note for this sentence in the Book Study on Colossians for how this sentence is divided by punctuation and for a more detailed explanation of what follows. .

Simply put, if we are following religious rules from men we are not following Christ. If we are doing that we are interfering with His personal control of His body just like a stroke would interfere with our personal control of our personal body. We are warned to not give the body of Christ the effects of a stroke.

In 1Corinthians 12 Paul explains that God gives different spiritual gifts to different people. Paul equates these different gifts to different senses in the body. Just as we use our eyes and ears differently, so also does Christ use different people with different gifts differently within the church. Christ also uses different people with the same spiritual gift differently because the same spiritual gift manifests itself differently in different people. Just as we need to control each part of our body to accomplish things so also must Christ have personal and individual control of the members of His body. As we see everywhere else, Christ is used by itself for a truth that applies to many (but not necessarily all) saved and where the Son of God is dealing personally with each spiritually mature person in a different way.

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Colossians 2:20 Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances,

When we are dead, we don't respond. Go ahead and test it. Poke the body in a casket. Run over a dead cat. Test it however you want but there is only one possible conclusion. Things that are dead do no respond to any promptings. In this sentence, Paul essentially says 'If you are dead... from the rudiments of the world, why are you responding to promptings from the rudiments of the world?'

In Romans 6, Paul explains that we are to be dead (unresponsive) to the things that make this world and the flesh act or react. Part of the things that the world and flesh provides is God in a box where if we do the magic moves and say the magic words then God is forced to do whatever the person desires. God in a box goes against all of the teaching of the Bible which teaches a personal relationship with God where God is recognized as Lord (the One in charge Galatians 4:4-10). As we saw in the note for 2:10-12, God has an order of events to receive the changes and blessings from Christ. We must stop our sinning before we can receive grace from God. The same is true here. We must stop responding the prompts from the World and flesh before we can be made alive (responsive) to the things of the spirit from Christ. Jesus told us that we can't serve two masters in Matthew 6:24 and Luke 16:13. If you really respond to the things from Christ, then you don't need a bunch of rules from men to tell you when and how to act. However, this type of responsiveness only happens after spiritual maturity due to the ministry of Christ. A new-born infant doesn't know how to respond like a toddler does because they have not yet learned and matured. The same is true of a spiritual infant compared to a spiritual toddler or adult. Paul's question here is simple. If you aren't a liar and have really matured spiritually enough to claim a personal relationship with Christ, why are you still messing with things (like religious rules) that directly interfere with your personal walk in Christ?

This verse is part of a sentence that goes is in 2:20-21 and is divided by punctuation in the note within the Book Study on Colossians. Please see it for a more detailed explanation of this verse and sentence.

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Colossians 3:1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.

This verse is explained and is divided by punctuation in the note within the Book Study on Colossians. This sentence is the basis of all that follows it in this epistle and is based upon what was already said in this epistle. Therefore, it is very important to understand the context in order to fully appreciate this sentence

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Colossians 3:3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

This verse starts with For, which ties it to the prior sentence (3:2). The next sentence (3:4) is also part of this reason to do as instructed. This verse tells us why we need to Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. We are to act like we are dead now, and not respond to present pain or pleasure (when it detracts from our spiritual response) but are instead to respond to the desires of Christ. Your life is hid with Christ is based upon this physical life being short and not worth much while the spiritual life is for eternity and has great value. Matthew 16:24-26 and Mark 8:34-38 and Luke 9:23-24 all tell us Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. While the wording is slightly different between gospels, the message is the same. We will not receive our reward until AFTER (then he shall reward) Christ comes. That is what Paul means by and your life is hid with Christ. I am not concerned about EXACTLY when we receive our reward so much as to point out that it will not be until AFTER our death or 'Rapture'. Many preachers have correctly claimed that 'His retirement program is out of this world' but neglected to tell people that it requires our contributing to it like a 401K. In Matthew 6:19-21 Jesus told us to Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. He would not tell us to lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven if it wasn't important. Moreover, what Paul is telling us in Colossians is only rephrasing commands that come directly from the Son of God. We are to spend this life concentrating on laying up treasure for the next life. However, doing that requires spiritual maturity after profession, which is the ministry of Christ in our lives. How many immature people spend everything as fast as they can get it? The discipline required to save for the future while denying present reward, either in this world or the next, requires maturity that not everyone learns.

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Colossians 3:4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.

This verse is partially explained in the note above because 3:3-4 is part of the reason for the instructions of 3:1-2. A more detailed note for this sentence is found in the Book Study on Colossians. This verse and the prior are very closely linked.

After giving general instructions (3:1-2) and the reason for those general instructions (3:3-4) Paul starts giving more detailed instructions starting in 3:5 which starts out with Mortify therefore. The Mortify refers back to 3:3 because Mortify means to put to death and 3:3tells us For ye are dead. We see Paul repeating the pattern that He started in 2:10-12 which is:

recognize our God-given position
stop our sin
receive a new walk.

Paul has the same pattern in:

recognize our God-given position (3:1-4)
stop our sin (3:5-11)
receive a new walk (3:12-17).

Colossians is well-known for put off and put on but many people do not think about the second phrase of this sentence. This phrase says who is our life. How long would we live without breath? Air is one of the most basic requirements of physical life. Likewise, Christ is the most basic requirement of spiritual life.

Many people do not realize that the main God given reason to put off and put on is in Colossians 3:1-4. That is, our eternal reward (or lack thereof) and whatever punishment that we receive in Heaven (2Corinthians 5:10-11) that will last over 1,000 yearss and will depend upon how well we obey this command to put off and put on that is in Colossians. Without understanding these extremely important reasons, people will react to preaching of Put off and Put on as a great message that they promptly forget and never implement in their personal life. If you remember (or reread) the verses and associated notes from Colossians 1, you will remember that Paul wrote this epistle because he was concerned that these saved people who were trying to serve God would miss out on some of the blessings that are in Christ. Simply put, if we respond to the message of this epistle with great message and promptly forget it and never implement it in our personal lives, then we will miss out on a lot of the blessings that are only in Christ.

When this verse says When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, Paul is talking about the physical return (shall appear) of Christ to rule and reign this world. Paul goes on the say that then shall ye also appear with him in glory. The then means when Christ returns to rule this world for 1,000 yearss. This means that we won't see our reward until then. That's too late to do anything to increase our reward or to change the way we live. Many people are ignoring what is said here. Find people who likes to 'parry' by fulfilling the lusts of the flesh. Ask them how they would like a life of church, praising God, obtaining from all fleshly lusts and other things that are what the Bible says is to be the life of a true Biblical Christian. Most of these people would claim that life is torture yet many expect to go into Heaven and the 1,000 years reign of Christ. They expect to be in 'instant bliss' but the Bible doesn't promise that. In fact, the Bible doesn't promise that our tears will be wiped away until the great white throne judgment (Revelation 20:11).

Notice the ye in this verse. which makes this personal. Notice the then which makes this part follow When Christ, who is our life, shall appear. The is of who is our life is a present tense verb of being. If we are not being Christ in our present life, then we do not have the right to claim the result (then) of being Christ in our present life. Yes, there are times when we all act in the flesh but when I am talking about people who are not being Christ in their present life I am talking about those who almost never let Christ live through them. I am not talking about those who try most of the time and once in a while fail to let Christ live through them.

Notice that the next few verses tell us how to have Christ live through our personal lives.

3:5 Mortify (stop responding to) your members which are upon the earth. Notice that every one of these are lifestyle sins which may be expressed by the flesh but which are really sins of the mind, heart, will and emotions.
3:6 For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience. Saved people are the children. The Bible tells God's people to fear and religious people teach the doctrinal error that we don't need to fear God. This verse tells us that if we are going to have Christ live through our personal lives we will fear God and not be children of disobedience because we know that the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience.
3:7 tells us that those have Christ living through their personal lives no longer walk and live like they used to.
3:8 lists a series of sins which progressively become more sinful versions of the prior sin. We are told to put off all these starting with anger. Putting off anger prevents the others and filthy communication out of your mouth proves that you have not put off all these anger and the rest.
3:9 tells us to Lie not one to another. John 8:44 says Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. When we Lie we are revealing the control of your father the devil.
3:10 tells us that part of putting on the new man is to be renewed in knowledge after the image of Christ. This should be obvious. If we are going to have Christ live through our personal lives, we need to know what His image is like in order to verify what our life shows that image. This requires knowledge which only comes from the word of God through the Spirit of God, which is what Paul means by being renewed in knowledge.
3:11 Tells us that we are not to judge by any fleshly or religious measure to distinguish between people but to see if Christ is all, and in all. Please see the note for 3:11 below.
3:12 tells us our 'putting on' starts wit internal characteristics. The doctrine of these attributes is too much to include in this note.
3:13 tells us that after we fix our internal attitudes we are to change our dealings with others so that our internal changes are reflected in our relationships.
3:14 tells us to put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. Again, doctrine of charity is too much to include in this note.
3:15 tells us to add (And) the peace of God rule in your hearts because the only way to keep charity is to have the peace of God ruling in our hearts. Paul also tells us that the key to keeping the peace of God is to be thankful on a personal (ye) level. Again, doctrine of this verse is too much to include in this note.
3:16 tells to have the word of Christ dwelling in us and how to keep it there. Pease see the note for 3:16 below.
3:17 sums up the general instructions and verses following it deal with specific instructions to people in specific roles (Wives, Husbands, etc). As seen in the note for 3:17 under Lord Jesus, Paul finishes these instructions for everyone with a reminder that we will meet the Lord Jesus at the judgment seat of Christ (Romans 14:10; 2Corinthians 5:10-11). Paul started this section with a reminder of the rewards and punishments that we will receive at the judgment seat of Christ and he ends these instructions for everyone the same way. Thus, we see the grouping provided by Paul in this section.

This verse uses Christ for the role that the Son of God uses for our current ongoing personal relationship with Him. The rewards and punishments that we will receive at the judgment seat of Christ are based upon what we personally do with this relationship that God has given us.

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Colossians 3:11 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.

Please see the note for this verse in the Book Study on Colossians which has a large detailed explanation of this verse with consideration of context and sentence structure.

The first two equivalent sections of this sentence are to let us know how to properly interpret Christ is all, and in all. Having Christ is all, and in all is to be the experience and goal of being renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him [Jesus Christ, the Son of God]. This is the result of how Paul started this part in Colossians 3:1 where he told us If [Since] ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. It is very important to keep things in context if we are to properly interpret the Bible. This verse uses Christ for that role of the Son of God who makes some saved people renewed in knowledge after the image of him [Christ], but only those saved people who are willing to have Christ in them and be in Christ.

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Colossians 3:13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.

Forgiving and forbearing are different words and, therefore, have different meanings in the Bible. In addition, there is doctrinal error taught and held by many saved people. Lots of preachers like to preach 'Forgive and forget everything done against you or you're not right with God'. Many of them preach, and many more believe, that the Bible means that we are to wipe out debt because we can not 'forget' while we hold onto the debt. They then tell saved people 'You have to forgive me and wipe out the debt!'. (One saved relative owes me the price of 4 new full sized vans.) For those who believe that please tell me this. What happens when a saved girl gets pregnant and demands that Christ forgive her and remove the pregnancy? What happens to some man that puts himself in debt and asks God to forgive him of wasting the Lord's resources? There are two things that need to be considered here. First is that the word as means in the exact same way. If God doesn't wipe out these debits then saved people are not to wipe out these debits. The second thing is that the Biblical meaning of forgive must be different from the definition supporting this popular belief because God does forgive but He does not do what this popular belief claims.

Please see the note for this verse in the Book Study on Colossians which has a large detailed explanation of this verse with consideration of context and sentence structure. Please also note that 3:14 and 3:15 (in the Book Study on Colossians) because those sentences start with And. That mean that what is in those sentences is to be added onto (after) forgiveness even as Christ forgave you.

The note back in 3:4 mentioned that Paul has the same pattern (that he started in 2:10-12) in 3:1-17 which has 3parts:

recognize our God-given position (3:1-4)
stop our sin (3:5-11)
receive a new walk (3:12-17).

This verse starts the third part. All of these verses form a single unit and all of them, with their associated notes, need to be interpreted together.

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Please see the note for 3:16 under Lord Christ.

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Colossians 4:3 Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds:

Colossians 4:2-4 is a single sentence which is divided by punctuation in the note for it within the Book Study on Colossians.

Paul wasn't in bonds for witnessing to the lost but for telling the saved that they needed a personal walk with Christ (make It [the mystery of Christ] manifest) and to stop trusting religion (keeping the Law) for rewards in Heaven. It was the saved (but Law trusting Jews) that caused problems at the Council of Jerusalem and later stirred up other Jews against Paul while he was praying in the Temple (see Acts 21:17 - 28:31 and all associated notes). In Romans 15:29-32 Paul said that he wanted to come in the fulness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ and went on to say Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me; that I may be delivered from them that do not believe in Judaea; and that my service which I have for Jerusalem may be accepted of the saints As we can see here, Paul was seeking to avoid trouble but others brought the trouble to Paul because he preached the gospel of Christ. As can be seen every place that the Bible uses the gospel of Christ, that is a gospel that is preached only to professing Christians and it is the good news of increased blessing through walking in obedience to Christ. This is a personal walk as personally directed by the Spirit of God in accordance to the word of God and not just keeping religious laws. Since Paul preached a personal walk with Christ in place of 'Lordship Salvation / Sanctification'. Those saved Jews who preached 'Lordship Salvation / Sanctification' (keeping the Mosaic Law [Acts 21:20-22, 27-28]) worked with the Jews which believed not (Acts 17:5; 21:27-28) to have Paul killed. That is why Paul says for which I am also in bonds in this verse. Paul told us about this mystery in Colossians 1:26, 27 and 2:2, which is Christ in you and Christ in you is just the start of the gospel of Christ (Romans 1:16; 15:19, 29; 1Corinthians 9:12, 18; 2Corinthians 4:4; 9:13; 10:14; Galatians 1:7; Philippians 1:27; 1 Thessalonians 3:2). Please see those sentences and related notes.

A summary of the gospel of Christ can be seen in the next few verses of 4:5-6 and men who provided an example of Walking in [the] wisdom of the gospel of Christ can be seen in the remainder of this chapter. In the prior chapter of Colossians, and in related verses from Ephesians, we can see Paul making the distinction between the Walk of saved people who only keep the Law of the Lord to avoid punishment and those who really Walk in [the] wisdom of the gospel of Christ.

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Colossians 4:12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.

Epaphras is mentioned three times in the Bible (Colossians 1:7; 4:12; Philemon 1:23) and every one of those verses closely link Him with Christ. (Please also see the notes for Colossians 1:7 and Philemon 1:23.) Epaphras is called a servant of Christ and also called one of you in this verse. That lets us know that he was a regular church member (not a preacher) and that we are also to be identified with Christ. He is noted for laboring fervently for you in prayer. This is the type of labor that we are supposed to be doing. Most people do not think of prayer when they are told about laboring for God. Newly saved people don't labor in prayer. Only those who have spiritually matured through the ministry of Christ do that and not all people who have been saved for a while are laboring fervently... in prayer for others. Most saved people spend most of their time praying for themselves and their own. Notice the next sentence which says For I bear him record, that he hath a great zeal for you, and them that are in Laodicea, and them in Hierapolis. All of the people in the churches of three different cities would not be his relatives other than being 'brothers is Christ'. To labor fervently... in prayer for the people of three different churches requires a spiritual maturity that few people achieve, which is why this verse uses Christ.

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Jesus Christ

Colossians 1:1.

Jesus Christ is only used once in this epistle and that is when Paul identifies himself as apostle of Jesus Christ. Click here for all of the Verses that use Jesus Christ and here for the Summary on the name / role of Jesus Christ.

Colossians 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timotheus our brother,

Colossians 1:1-2 forms a single sentence which is divided by punctuation in the note within the Book Study on Colossians. Please see it and the notes for Colossians 1:2 under Lord Jesus Christ and under Christ.

The name of Jesus is used only 7times in this book in reference to our God and once in reference to another man named Jesus, which is called Justus in 4:11. Jesus is not used by itself to identify the Son of God in this book. One of the twenty nine times that Lord Jesus (without Christ) occurs in the Bible is in this book. Christ Jesus occurs 3 times in this book and Lord Jesus Christ occurs 2 times. So, how often the name of Jesus is referenced in this book is less than found in most books of the New Testament and most uses within this epistle are not the common usages. This one reference to Jesus Christ is the only ordinary use of the name of Jesus.

Paul is writing to a church that he is the apostle to, but which he has not visited (1:4) and which he probably won't visit. Therefore, he uses Jesus Christ as the commonly used identifier for our God used by the first centaury church. He also says that he is an apostle of Jesus Christ, which means he represents the Son of God in His ministry as Jesus and in His ministry as Christ. One of the most important things that this study has revealed to me is that all who claim salvation without the ministry of Jesus or without the ministry of Christ are claiming a 'half-truth' lie. Some preach 'It's all done' (in reference to salvation with emphasis on all) which is claiming the ministry of Jesus while denying the ministry of Christ. Others emphasize 'There must be evidence that you do the will of God' (in reference to salvation) while effectively denying what has been done. But the Bible teaches that true salvation is both and this book recognizes 'what has been done' while emphasizing the need and benefits of 'obeying'.

Many people emphasize the everlasting (of everlasting life) while failing to recognize that everlasting is only a modifier to life and true Biblical salvation is receiving spiritual life from God. Yes, God's life is everlasting, but the Bible also talks about everlasting death and the Bible puts more emphasis on Life than it does on everlasting. In addition, the Bible calls salvation being born again and God does not have any stillborn. If someone NEVER responds to the Spirit of God then they are spiritual dead (according to the Bible) because all life responds to promoting from other life. True spiritual life will respond to prompting by the living God. So there must be some spiritual response to the Spirit of God if someone is really spiritually alive. However, that response is personal. Anyone who has raised more than one child knows that the relationship to each child is personal and there are things in one relationship that are not in the other. In fact, anything that the Son of God has in His relationship with EVERY believer is done through His role as Lord, which is the role that God uses when He is acting with no respect of persons.

Jesus Christ is the most common identifier of the Son of God used in the New Testament and our relationship with the Son of God through His role as Jesus is personal our relationship with the Son of God through His role as Christ is personal. Jesus died to pay for my personal sins and make it possible for me to receive spiritual life and becomes a son of God (John 1:12). As a son of God, I received personal spiritual gifts with my birth. DNA lasts for as long as any part of our body exists and yet it is unique and personal for each person. (Even siblings have unique DNA.) Even so, two different people might receive the same type of personal gift, like wisdom, but they will find certain things about that gift that are different from everyone else's gift. That makes it personal. Likewise, each of receives God's life by the same method but the particulars of each person's salvation experience is unique. In addition, the particular spiritual gifts received at salvation are a unique combination.

Further, once I was spiritually born, Christ started a personal relationship with the expressed purpose of spiritually maturing me so that I could enjoy Heaven. Just like each child physically matures in a unique way, so also does each child of God spiritually mature in a unique way. A lie of the devil claims that there is no differences between how the Son of God deals with one child and how He deals with another. That is true only when the Son of God is dealing with us through His role as Lord. However, this epistle is written To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ, which means that it is telling us about how the Son of God deals with His children as individuals after they make their initial profession.

Paul is an apostle of Jesus Christ because he not only tells people how to get to Heaven but he also tells them how to live between the day of their profession and the day of their death. Paul represents the Son of God in both of these roles and he is writing to a church that he will never meet in order to help them to mature spiritually in their unique and personal relationship with God.

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Christ Jesus

Colossians 1:4, 28.

Each use of Christ Jesus in this book is teaching about something that all saved have but which is spiritually matured after profession with the emphasis being upon the growth after profession. Click here for all of the Verses that use Christ Jesus and here for the Summary on the name / role of Christ Jesus.

Colossians 1:4 Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints,

As noted under 1:3, this is where Paul is relating what Epaphras preached. After emphasizing the authority behind Epaphras preaching, Paul reports the demonstrated effect of that preaching in their lives. That is, Paul mentions the fruit that others saw as a result of their faith in Christ Jesus. As shown so many other places, Christ Jesus is used in relation to things that are available to all saved (Jesus) but which require spiritual growth after profession (Christ) with emphasis on the growth (Jesus Christ is used where the emphasis is not on growth after profession.) Paul said that we heard of your faith which means there had to be enough evidence of spiritual growth after profession for Epaphras to provide examples to Paul and others.

Paul is going to expand on the preaching of Epaphras. Colossians 2 and 3 have Paul's well-known teaching on 'put off the old man and put on the new man'. The 'old man' is our fleshly nature and the new man is the result of spiritual growth from the ministry of Christ. That's why Christ and Lord are emphasized in this book so much. Christ Jesus is used here as a basis for further teaching on the ministry of Christ that is to be in the life of all saved (Jesus). We see that ministry introduced in this sentence where Paul mentions that they had responded to the hope which is laid up for you in Heaven (Please see the note on 1:3) that they had a faith in Christ Jesus, and [a] love which ye have to all the saint which was so great that Paul heard of it while he was in prison in Rome. The type of response that is heard of in other cities and countries is not possible for the newly saved but requires spiritual maturing after initial profession. That is why Paul uses Christ Jesus and not Jesus Christ here.

Notice that Paul uses Christ Jesus and Christ in this sentence. The difference in his use in this sentence matches the difference we find consistently used throughout the Bible. Paul said that their faith was in Christ Jesus because true Biblical saving faith (current action based upon Biblical promises of future reward) is in Jesus (Romans 3:26) and in Christ (Acts 24:24; Colossians 2:5; 1Timothy 2:7), which is why many verses tell us that our faith is in Christ Jesus (Galatians 2:16; 3:26; 5:6; 1Timothy 1:14; 3:13; 2Timothy 1:13; 3:15; Philemon 1:6). While our faith is in Christ Jesus, notice that this sentence says As ye (each and every one personally ) also learned... of Christ. As has been said all through this study, our learning and spiritual growth after salvation comes through the Son of God's role as Christ. That learning only comes as we exercise our faith in Christ and, again, this faith in Christ comes after our faith in Jesus which results in our initial profession (Romans 3:26).

Returning to our verse for this note, Paul said Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and followed that with the gospel ...bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth. It takes time to produce fruit. In addition, Paul says that this fruit came since (after) the day ye heard of it, which means it is a result of the working of the Son of God (through His role as Christ) after their initial profession. Since godly fruit is only produced in saved people and since it requires the spiritual growth of an ongoing personal relationship, we are told that this fruit comes from Christ Jesus. Please also notice that Paul says that this fruit comes from Christ Jesus since the day ye...knew the grace of God in truth. We see ye used for 'each and every one of you personally' because salvation is personal. We know Paul is talking about salvation since he says that they knew the grace of God in truth and the lost people can not know this truth without getting saved. While we know the grace of God in truth at our initial profession, we know it more and better as we grow spiritually and realize the things that God gave us which were beyond our comprehension while we were lost. So once more we see Paul talking about things that saved people received after their salvation which increase with spiritual maturity and are more dependent upon spiritual maturity than they are upon the initial profession. Thus, we see several reasons for this verse to use Christ Jesus instead of Jesus Christ.

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

This verse is part of a single sentence that goes from 1:21 through 1:29and is divided by punctuation in the note within the Book Study on Colossians. That note is quite detailed and extensive (10 pages in Word). This large complex sentence has 5colons which divide it into 6 equivalent sections which say the same thing different ways. Each section is talking about how Christ spiritually matures us after our initial profession. Please see that note, the note for 1:24 and the note for 1:27 under Christ because they are all related to this sentence. In addition, to those notes, please also see the note for Colossians 3:11 and Ephesians 1:23 which tell us but Christ is all, and in all. Where this sentence tells us how Christ was in Paul and how Christ is to be in us, that sentence tells us what are some of the change that will happen if Christ [is] in us.

This particular verse is the fifth equivalent section of this sentence. In it we are told that Paul and others preach and warn and teach that (here's why) we may (not guaranteed) present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. Those who don't receive the preaching and warning and teaching or who receive other preaching and warning and teaching will not fulfill the requirements and will not be perfect in Christ Jesus. Notice that this verse uses Christ Jesus not Jesus Christ or some other name for the Son of God. That means that being made perfect in Christ Jesus is only possible for saved but requires spiritual maturity after the initial profession with the emphasis on spiritual maturity (ministry of Christ). Since the Biblical uses perfect for 'complete spiritual maturity', it should be obvious that the ministry of Christ is mandatory to achieve that 'complete spiritual maturity'.

The condition to be made perfect in Christ Jesus are met when we are in Christ and have Christ in us. This equivalent section of this sentence (1:28) has two steps separated by a semicolon. Paul says the same thing in Acts 20:17-21 and Ephesians 5:25-27. We must first receive and act upon the preaching and warning and teaching. Then Christ Jesus will make us perfect (spiritually mature).

Paul says he is warning every man of the consequences of rejecting the ministry of Christ, which is done by not obeying and growing spiritually after profession. Paul is also teaching... wisdom which causes / results in spiritual maturity.
Paul also says that his goal is that every man (will be) perfect in Christ Jesus. Christ Jesus is used instead of Christ, in this part of the sentence, because this applies to all saved, but emphasizes growth after profession more than the profession itself.

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Lord Jesus

Colossians 3:17.

Lord Jesus is only used once in this epistle and it us used in recognition that the resurrected Jesus is Lord and God. Click here for all of the Verses that use Lord Jesus and here for the Summary on the name / role of Lord Jesus.

Colossians 3:17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

This sentence starts out with And, which links it to prior statements. These statements are generic instructions which apply to everyone and precede instructions to specific classes of people. We see Paul doing the same thing in Ephesians 5 and 6. Please see the notes for those chapters as they parallel these chapters in many ways. These instructions start out in 3:1 with If ye be risen with Christ and then goes on providing instructions based upon the assumption that the reader is in fact risen with Christ. (Please see the note for this sentence in the Book Study on Colossians as well as the notes for 3:1-11 [3:1, 3, 4 and 11] under Christ in this study.)

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Lord Christ

Colossians 3:16, 24.

Colossians 3:16 uses Lord and Christ separately. Colossians 3:24 is the only verse in the Bible that uses the phrase of Lord Christ. Please see the note below on this unique verse. Click here for all of the Verses that use Lord Christ and here for the Summary on the name / role of Lord Christ.

Please see the note in the Book Study on Colossians for this verse. It is large and explains the context of this verse. It also shows, in detail, how Paul is changing emphasis from Christ to Lord within this verse. Since this is a transition verse, it is important to know the context in order to understand the transition that is taking place.

Proper worship requires recognizing the great difference between God and us. Isaiah had this experience as reported to us in Isaiah 6:1-7. As a result of this experience, Isaiah was sent by God as God's messenger and he had a different heart after this experience. We can see that by comparing the first 5chapters of Isaiah to the rest of Isaiah. When we look at Psalms we see the psalmist recognizing God's attributes and what God did for him when he is praising. That is why Paul, in this sentence, tells us to first to Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom. As noted, the word of Christ brings us spiritual maturity through experiencing Christ working through our lives. That is, as we learn (and obey) the parts of the Bible which teach us how to grow spiritually after our profession, we will experience the word of Christ dwelling in [us] richly and that experience will give us God's wisdom. This can be seen in the Word Study on Gospel. The gospel of Christ is ALWAYS preached to saved people and is different than the Gospel of Your Salvation. Having the word of Christ dwelling in [us] richly will give us the proper perspective to worship our Lord properly. In fact, the more that we experience the working of Christ in our lives the more capacity that we truly have to worship. Further, the word of Christ is to dwell (take up residence and be at home) in [us] richly in all wisdom. As we gain godly wisdom through seeing Christ solve the problems of life, we will realize the vast difference between ourselves and God and between our own (flawed) solutions and the solutions provided by Christ. In this sentence, Paul tells us to worship the Lord as we realize this difference. We are to do this worship by singing with grace in [our] hearts. Grace, of course, is unmerited favor from God. That is, as we realize in our hearts how God has given us things that we don't deserve, we are to sing and express our thankfulness to the Lord. We also are to do it before others in order to help them to learn as Paul explained by saying teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. I could go into more detail, but will leave it here with the note that Paul says a similar thing in Ephesians 5:18-21.

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Colossians 3:24 Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.

Colossians 3:18-4:1 are specific instructions to people who have certain roles and positions in life. Roles and positions in life are given by the Lord. Colossians 3:18-4:1 are a list of the minimum requirements to fulfill the Law of the Lord Jesus which was explained in the note for 3:17 under Lord Jesus. In addition, this verse specifically links these minimum legal requirements to the judgment seat of Christ (Romans 14:10; 2Corinthians 5:10-11). Please see the note for 3:18 above for how Wives are to submit to their own husbands. Apply the same logic to this verse while changing Wives for Servants and husbands for masters.

This sentence contains two colons which make three equivalent parts in the sentence of 3:22-24. The sentence is divided by punctuation in the note within the Book Study on Colossians and tells us how Servants are to obey (singleness of heart, fearing God), how they are not to obey (not with eyeservice, as menpleasers), how they are to do all things (heartily, as to the Lord), what they are to keep in mind as they serve (Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance) and why they are to do all of these things (for ye serve the Lord Christ) Since this verse says why (for) Servants are to do these things, we need to know the 'what' in order to understand the 'why'. The judgment and related rewards is covered in detail in the note for 3:24 under Lord.

Paul ends this sentence with for ye serve the Lord Christ and makes this phrase equivalent to the other two parts of this sentence. This phrase combines the traits of God's role as Lord with those of Christ. While Lord is rarely used in the same verse with Christ when Jesus is not also included, this is the only time that this exact phrase occurs in the Bible. The Lord gives us positions in this world. Christ provides spiritual maturity after profession. Most of us, especially servants, have a 'poor me' attitude about being a servant, especially when we have a really mean and unappreciative boss. However, those who have matured spiritually beyond initial salvation (through the ministry of Christ), realize that their Lord gave them their position in love so that they could store up the maximum amount in eternity by being shorted in this world. Paul's telling servants that they need to keep their eye on the eternal inheritance from their Lord in order to have the right attitude towards earthly masters. However, while the reward comes from our Lord our service is to our Lord Christ. That's because not only is our service to be to the Lord but it is also to be to Christ. In the notes for this chapter and even more in the notes for Ephesians 6, it was pointed out that the Lord says 'here if the Law to be obeyed by all in order to avoid punishment'. However, those sections also tell us how Christ goes beyond the Law of the Lord and, on a personal relationship basis, teaches us what to do to receive eternal rewards that are personal and not given to everyone. As mentioned in the note for 3:24 under Lord, if you do twice the service you will receive twice the reward. However, that service has to be what the Lord Christ asks for and not what we want to do. He gives us different spiritual gifts (see 1Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4) and the use of those gifts is going to be personal and under the direction of Christ. In fact, all of our service related to our personal relationship with the Son of God is under the direction of Christ. Therefore, our service is to the Lord and to Christ while the reward comes from the Lord.

In 3:22 Paul is talking to servants but that is (almost) the end of the list of roles for people that he addresses. As pointed out in the note within the Book Study on Colossians, we are all servants. Therefore, this sentence, and the next, apply to each and every one of us. Acts 10:34 and Romans 2:11 tell us there is no respect of persons with God). All are to serve as they would for a direct commandment from the Lord Christ and not as if they were serving some sinful man. Sometimes, we forget that the Bible teaches that if we receive reward here, we won't receive it in Heaven (Matthew 6:5) but if our earthly masters short us, then we should rejoice (1Peter 4:12-14) because God will make up the difference in eternity. Since our reward will be personal, so also is our service personal and under the direction of the Lord Christ.

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Lord Jesus Christ

Colossians 1:2, 3; 2:6.

Lord Jesus Christ is used in the opening as Paul's common opening of letters. The third verse that I put in this part actually uses Christ Jesus the Lord, which has a slightly different meaning than the normal usage of Lord Jesus Christ. Click here for all of the Verses that use Lord Jesus Christ and here for the Summary on the name / role of Lord Jesus Christ.

Colossians 1:2 To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colossi: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Colossians 1:1 and 1:2 form a single sentence with the authors are identified as Paul and Timotheus and the audience is identified as the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colossi. In other letters, Timotheus is identified as one of the authors of this epistle. Paul says that he's in bonds (4:3, 18) and (I believe) Timotheus is receiving support from Paul as Paul's successor to the Gentile churches. That's not important, but one important thing is the colon which makes the two sides equal. Paul uses Grace be unto you, and peace to let the church know that grace and peace come from each of the roles of the Son of God. The colon lets them know that these are given to all addressed in the letter and that Paul is the representative of God, Who is the actual source. The peace from our Lord lets us know that there will not be any legal charges brought against us for violating His Law because He changed our legal status from sons of Satan to sons of God (John 1:12-13). Therefore, we will not go to Hell or the Lake of Fire. The grace from our Lord lets us know that we will be able to go to His personal home called Heaven because he made us 'sons' and not servants (John 15:15-16). The peace from Jesus lets us know that there will not be any legal charges brought against us for violating His Law when we sinned because He paid the debt. The grace from Jesus lets us know that we have been made sons and received spiritual gifts when we were born again. The peace from Christ lets us know that a way has been made to resolve problems that will arise when we sin after professing salvation. The grace from Christ lets us know that Christ will teach us how to avoid doing wrong and how to do right. So here, Paul uses Lord Jesus Christ as the official identifier of God, whom he represents and Who gives His saints grace and peace many different ways.

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Colossians 1:3 We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,

Colossians 1:3-8 forms a single sentence is divided by punctuation in the note within the Book Study on Colossians. Please see it and the notes for Colossians 1:4 under Christ Jesus and on 1:7 under Christ.

This verse is part of a sentence that tells us what motivated Paul to write this epistle. Paul wrote this epistle to explain the true relationship with God. It has one colon which makes two equivalent parts. The first part tells us that Paul and others prayed for those at Colossi who proved that they had responded to the gospel. The second part of this sentence tells how Paul and others knew that they had responded to the gospel. This verse starts this sentence and says that Paul thanked God for the things that were evidence of God working in their lives. It is God who brings spiritual changes in the lives of the saved. We do not make the changes ourselves. What we do is act in faith upon the promises of God and act in hope upon the character of God that is revealed to us. Paul acknowledged these actions by these people at Colosse.

Most of the promises that would have been preached at that time were to the Jews. However, while these (mainly Gentile) people might not have been told about many of the promises, they were told about the character of God and these people responded in faith to the few promises. They also responded in hope, as Paul acknowledges in this sentence. They believed in the demonstrated character of God and believed in the grace that a God who does not change already provided to others who served Him. That's why Paul mentions God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ in this verse as being the source of this grace that we hope for. The saved Jews know God the Father and obey His commands to follow the Son and their hope is based more upon the Father than upon the Son. However, the saved Gentiles don't know the Father as well as they know the Lord Jesus Christ, so Paul points out that it is the Father that originates the grace that we receive. That grace comes through each and every role of the Son, as Paul says in 1:19-20. Then throughout the rest of this letter, Paul describes various aspects of this grace and explains that some things come through Jesus and some come through Christ and some come through the Lord and some come through more than one of these roles of Son. This verse uses Lord Jesus Christ because grace comes through each and every one of those roles and we are to act upon the hope that is based upon each of those roles.

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Colossians 2:6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:

Colossians 2:6-7form a single sentence which is divided by punctuation in the note for this sentence in the Book Study on Colossians. The wording used in this sentence first puts the emphasis on God the Son's role as Christ and then limits it to those who are truly saved with Jesus and after that gives the ministry of Christ the backing of law by adding the Lord. Spiritual maturity through the ministry of Christ is not optional but is an order from the Lord. Further, since this verse uses Christ Jesus and not just Christ, this Law is expected to be true for all saved. The As is used to say 'in the exact same way' and that way is described in detail in the second (equivalent) part of this sentence. Every one of the points in the second part of this sentence requires us to have spiritual maturity (the ministry of Christ) in our personal lives first. Further, unless someone is truly saved (through Jesus) they will not go through what it takes to have these things in their life. Moving on, we know that ye means 'each and every one of you personally' and therefore means as a direct non-optional result. Therefore, the first section of this sentence is telling each and every one of us personally to walk in him (Christ Jesus the Lord). It is also saying that this commandment has the enforcement of God's Law based upon the salvation provided by the Son of God in His role as Jesus (Romans 3:26) and based upon the spiritual maturing provided by the Son of God in His role as Christ. Further, the word As means 'in proportion'. The more that God reveals to us about how much He paid for our personal salvation and paid for our personal spiritual maturing after initial profession; the more that we should walk in him (Christ Jesus the Lord).

Where the first section of this sentence (2:6) tells us that we must walk in him (Christ Jesus the Lord) and why we must do so, the equivalent section of this sentence (2:7) tells us the fruit that is directly tied to this walk. No fruit = no walk and anyone who claims otherwise is a liar. In addition, since this walk is in Christ Jesus the Lord, the judgment of our fruit will be done by Christ Jesus the Lord at the judgment seat of Christ (Romans 14:10; 2Corinthians 5:10-11). Therefore, if we would be wise, we will have to be sure to have the fruit of Colossians this sentence in our life.

Notice that these spiritual fruits are expected to in our lives because we received Christ Jesus. First, we are to be Rooted and built up in him. Something that is Rooted does not move and if its roots are tore out, it dies. Therefore, getting Rooted in anything other than Christ Jesus the Lord will spiritually kill us. Oak trees are hard to knock down because their roots go as deep as the trunk rises above ground. However, trees with just surface roots are easy to knock over. Also, (supposedly) the canopy that an oak supports is in direct proportion to the size of the root system in the ground. The way that an oak increases its leaf capacity is to increase its root structure. That is the picture of what this phrase here means. We are to increase our root structure in Christ Jesus the Lord by our walk in him and that will result in our being built up in him. Further, the extent that we are built up in him is in direct proportion to how much we received [and] walk in him and this can be seen with the use of the word As in two different places within this sentence. As with any exercise, the more we do it the more we can do it. Someone who only walks around in their own house will have a problem with a 5mile walk. However, someone who gets out and walks 5miles per day in all weather will find it possible to do a 10 mile walk when necessary. This sentence clearly teaches that our reward when we meet Christ Jesus the Lord will be in direct proportion to how much we are built up in him which, in turn, is dependent upon how much we are Rooted... in him by our walk in him.

Going on, we are to be stablished in the faith. That is, our faith is to be firmly fixed, legally correct, and having an ongoing correct function. We again see a term linking our walk in him to legal concepts and the concept of not changing. Again, these traits require spiritual maturity and effort. Anyone can make 'spare change' doing 'odd jobs'. However, it requires more effort and training to get a license and establish a legal construction company. Anyone who has had serious construction done prefers an established business to someone doing odd jobs because an established business has a higher probability of being there in the future and of correcting any future problems. An established business or person will not be blown away by any wind of doctrine (Ephesians 4:11-16). When God says we are to be stablished in the faith, he means that Ephesians 4:11-16 should be true in our lives.

Next, in this verse, we are told as ye have been taught. I deal with this enough other places that I will lightly cover it here. No one gets saved by someone showing them the Greek or some bible full of unfortunate translations or any other source of higher learning. We get saved by believing the simple promise of God that is backed by the person of God (1John 5:13). God never changes and expects us to never leave the basis of our faith and salvation.

This verse finishes with abounding therein with thanksgiving. When we are abounding we have an overwhelming amount. We are to have an overwhelming amount of thanksgiving therein (in our walk in Christ Jesus the Lord). Here is a very simple measurement of someone's claim of salvation and spirituality: how much thanksgiving do they have and how easy is it for them to tell their thanksgiving to others especially when the circumstances of their life are 'bad'? Those who really have thanksgiving will attract the lost to salvation while those who don't have thanksgiving will make the lost wonder why they should get saved. This verse uses Christ Jesus the Lord because our walk is to demonstrate the ministry of the Son of God in our lives using each and every one of those roles.

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Son only

Colossians 1:13; 4:10.

Colossians uses Son to show that the Son has the same Spirit and Character as the Father. Click here for all of the Verses that use Son and here for the Summary on the name / role of Son.

Colossians 1:13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:

This verse is part of a sentence that goes from 1:9through 1:17and is divided by punctuation in the note within the Book Study on Colossians. Please see it and the other note related to this sentence under Lord.

The Bible teaches us about many different kingdoms and on kings. All of the verses in the New Testament that use kings have been studied as part of the Lord Jesus Christ Study. Those verses, and associated notes, can be accessed from the section on Kings within the Verses document.

This part of this sentence tells us that God first hath delivered us from the power of darkness then He added on (and) hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son. If we are still addicted to sin (being controlled by the power of darkness) then it is because we rejected the deliverance provided by God. Since both of these actions by God are stated in past tense within this section of the sentence, they already happened. Therefore, any failure is our own fault for not using what God provided. Now it is possible for us to use God's provision in one area of our life while rejecting God's provision in another area of our life. For example, someone can be using the provisions of the kingdom of his dear Son as far as service goes but still be struggling with sin in another area, such as over-eating. All of this is easier to understand when considered within the context of the entire sentence. That explanation is in the note for this sentence within the Book Study on Colossians

Moving on, we can see that every place that the Bible uses son it means that the son has the same spirit and character as the father. Certainly the Son of God has the same Spirit and character as God the Father. In addition, every place that the Bible uses (capitalized) Son it means Son of God and Son of man. He not only has the power, Spirit and character of God, but He also has a physical body and mind and will and emotions and knows, from experience, about human weaknesses. He lived as a weak human being by the power of the Holy Spirit so that He could be our example. (Please see the study called Jesus used the power of the Holy Ghost.) The kingdom of his dear Son is a kingdom with all of the power and authority of God that still has the love and compassion needed to understand human weaknesses. While He will not take away our free will, He will provide us everything from His kingdom that we are willing to use in this life. He will also do it while considering our personal weaknesses and needs. However, He provides them only so long as we are going to use these things to further His kingdom.

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Colossians 4:10 Aristarchus my fellowprisoner saluteth you, and Marcus, sister's son to Barnabas, (touching whom ye received commandments: if he come unto you, receive him;)

This verse is talking about a human son and not the Son of God. It is believed that this is referring to John Mark who abandoned Paul on a missionary trip, caused a split between Paul and Barnabas, was later called 'profitable' by Paul and ended up writing the Gospel of Mark. He is called the sister's son to Barnabas because he is a nephew and not a true son to Barnabas but received the spirit and character of Barnabas as if he was the real son of Barnabas. Since it is believed that Barnabas may have not been married, or if he was married that he had no other son of his own, he treated Marcus as a son. Regardless of the truth or error of that belief, Barnabus passed his character onto Mark (author of the gospel). That is the real reason that Marcus is recognized as the sister's son to Barnabas within this verse. (Please see the note for Acts 4:36 under Son for details of every place that Acts talks about Barnabas.)

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Verses within this Study.

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