THE LETTER TO THE COLOSSIANS
Lesson 1
Introduction and Chapter 1
Paul's Opening Address to the Colossian Christian Community
The Preeminence of the Christ at Work in Salvation History and the Church
Holy Lord and Divine Father,
Throughout the history of Your New Covenant Kingdom of the Church, all Christians in every generation are bound together as brothers and sisters in the family of God the Father. They are bound by the redemptive merits of God the Son, Jesus Christ, and the Sacrament of Baptism. We recognize that this great honor calls us, like the great St. Paul, to a life in service to our Savior. Most of us do in a small way what St. Paul did in a great way, but nevertheless, it is a service of love that You will reward when we cross the threshold of this life into eternity in the next. Lord, we ask You to send Your Holy Spirit to guide us in our study of St. Paul's letter to the Christians in the pagan city of Colossae who faced some of the same struggles against sin and the secular world that we also face. We pray in the Name of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
+ + +
Holy indeed are
all Paul's letters. But those he writes behind bars are especially
advantageous for the reader. Those include, for instance, the letters to the
Ephesians and Philemon, that to Timothy, that to the Philippians and the one
before us. For Colossians was written while Paul was imprisoned, since he
writes in it: "for which I am also in bonds; that I may make it manifest as I
ought to speak."
St. John
Chrysostom, Homilies on Colossians I
Introduction
Colossae (Colossus) was a minor, Roman-controlled, Greek culture city in the Roman Province of Phrygia, in the fertile Lycus Valley in Asia Minor. It was located on the Roman road about a hundred miles east of the city of Ephesus, the third most important city in the Roman Empire after Rome and Alexandria. Colossae had previously been a populous center of commerce; however, in Paul's time, it had been eclipsed in importance by the neighboring cities of Laodicea and Hierapolis. St. Paul identifies himself as the sender of the letter, along with St. Timothy, in 1:1 and again 4:18. St. Paul, Christ's apostle to the Gentiles, was a Jewish convert to Christianity.
By his account, St. Paul was a son of Jewish parents of the tribe of Benjamin in the city of Tarsus, the capital of the Roman province of Cilicia. His parents named him Saul (Sha'ul in Hebrew), a Hebrew name meaning "to desire" or "to ask." As a member of the tribe of Benjamin, it is likely that he was named after that tribe's most illustrious member, Saul the first King of Israel (Acts 13:9 and 1 Sam 8:1-5; 9:1-2, 15-17; 10:1a). It was not uncommon for Jews of Paul's time to use two names, their Hebrew name and a Gentile name that facilitated their interaction in the Gentile community. Therefore, Paul probably always used two names: Saul, his Hebrew name, and Paulus, his Latin name that helped to define his Roman citizenship.
Paul's hometown was a Roman provincial capital, and his father was a Roman citizen; therefore, Paul was born a Roman citizen (Acts 22:28). When St. Paul was in trouble with the Roman authorities, he always used his Roman citizenship to his advantage, as he did when the Roman authorities arrested him and his associates in Philippi (see Acts 16:37-39; also see 22:25-29).
Paul writes that he was an orthodox Jewish Pharisee and called from his mother's womb to serve God (Rom 3:5-6). As a youth, he was sent to Jerusalem to study under the great rabbi and Sanhedrin council member Gamaliel. He later served as an officer of this same Jewish law court which condemned both Jesus and St. Stephen to death. It was Saul/Paul's assignment as an officer of the Sanhedrin to hunt down and persecute suspected follows of Jesus of Nazareth. It was a task he pursued with enthusiasm before his conversion experience: Now Saul, still breathing murderous threats against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, that if he should find any men or women who belonged to the Way, he might bring them back to Jerusalem in chains (Acts 9:1-2).
It was as an officer of the Jewish High Court, the Sanhedrin that he witnessed the martyrdom of St. Stephen in circa 37 AD (Acts 7:58-8:1). And as an officer of the Sanhedrin, Paul was sent to Damascus, Syria to arrest other Jewish Christians who had fled persecution in Jerusalem. The turning point in Paul's life was his encounter with the risen Savior on the road to Damascus: On his journey, as he was nearing Damascus, a light from the sky suddenly flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" He said, "Who are you, Lord?" The reply came, "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting (Acts 9:3-5). It is a story repeated three times by Luke in Acts of Apostles (9:1-19; 22:4-16; and 26:1-23).
The Fathers of the Church unanimously accepted St. Paul as the writer of the Letter to the Colossians. It wasn't until the nineteenth century that some German, Protestant scholars raised doubts concerning Paul's authorship of the letter. However, most modern scholars, in agreement with the Church Fathers, accept Paul as the writer of the Letter to Philemon which has many links to the Letter to the Colossians:
Therefore, the evidence connecting both letters and the weight of Christian tradition makes a compelling defense for Paul as the writer of the Letter to the Colossians.
St. Paul wrote his letter to the Christians at Colossae soon after his Letter to Philemon in which he requested forgiveness and freedom for Philemon's slave, Onesimus. Paul was sending Onesimus back to his master in Colossae with his letter petitioning Philemon to accept him back as a "brother" and perhaps free him to return to Paul. It was Onesimus along with Tychicus who probably delivered Paul's letter to Philemon along with his letter to the faith community in Colossae (Col 4:7-9). This was St. John Chrysostom's belief in his Homilies on Colossians where he points out, "...in the epistle to Philemon he says Being such a one as Paul the aged,' and makes a request for Onesimus. But in the Colossian letter, Paul sends Onesimus himself, as he says, With Onesimus the faithful and beloved brother'" (Homilies on Colossians I, quoting Colossians 4:9). Both the letters to Philemon and Colossians are numbered among Paul's "prison letters" (Phlm verse 9; Col 4:10, 18) along with his letters to the Philippians (Phil 1:7, 13, 14, 17), Ephesians (Eph 3:1; 4:1; 6:20), and his second letter to Timothy (2 Tim 1:8, 16; 2:9).
Paul did not found the Christian community in the Hellenistic city of Colossae, nor, at the time he wrote the letter, had he even visited there (Col 2:1). Paul credits his "fellow servant" Epaphras, a Christian from Colossae, with teaching the Colossians about Christ (Col 1:7) and bringing him news of the faith of the Colossian Christians (Col 1:4, 12) while Paul was in prison. Paul's comment in Colossians 2:13 suggests that most of the Christians in the Colossae community were uncircumcised Gentiles.
Biblical scholars are divided on the question of where Paul was imprisoned when he wrote the letters to Philemon and the Christians of Colossae. The most widely held view is that he wrote the letters during his first imprisonment in Rome between 61/63 AD. Other scholars suggest his earlier imprisonment in Caesarea Maritima before he was sent to Rome in c. 60 and 61 AD. However, more scholars are adopting the view that Paul was imprisoned in Ephesus when he wrote to Philemon of Colossae and his Letter to the Colossians. The young slave, Onesimus, had escaped from his master in Colossae to join Paul. It makes more sense for a slave to have made the journey overland of a hundred miles to Ephesus to join Paul than a much longer and more expensive journey across the sea to Rome. If Paul was writing from Ephesus, the date for the letter is in the mid-to-late 50's AD.
Paul's Letter to the Colossians is his most Christological letter along with his letter to the Philippians. Both letters contain beautiful Christ-hymns defining the nature of Christ and His mission (Phil 2:6-11 and Col 1:15-20). Christology is the study of the person and the mission of Jesus Christ in God's plan for the salvation of humanity. The predominant theme and focus of the teaching in St. Paul's Letter to the Colossians is the preeminence and sufficiency of the Messiah, the Christos in Greek. Paul uses Christos/Messiah twenty-five times in the letter (Col 1:1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 24, 27, 28; 2:2, 5, 6, 8, 11, 17, 20; 3:1 twice, 3, 4, 11, 15, 16, 24; 4:3, 12). It is the Christ who is in all and through all in the life of the Christian. Every Christian is made complete in Jesus as God intended for that person from the moment of his/her conception. The redeemed Christian lacks nothing to prepare him/her for the Kingdom of Heaven because "in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily" (Col 2:9). Some scholars say that Paul's Letter to the Ephesians is his epistle portraying the "Church of Christ." That being the case, then St. Paul's Letter to the Colossians must surely be the letter that portrays the "Christ of the Church"!
| Biblical Period | #12 The Kingdom of the Church | |||
| Covenant | The New Covenant in Christ Jesus | |||
| Focus | Supremacy of Christ in His Church | Submission to Christ in His Church | ||
| Scripture | 1:1-----------1:15------------------------------3:1---------------------------4:7------------4:18 | |||
| Division | Address | Preeminence of Christ | The Ideal Christian Life | Conclusion |
| Topic | Preeminence of Christ in Creation, Redemption, and in the Church | Practice of the Believer | ||
| Freedom in Christ | ; Living in Holiness | |||
| Location |
Possibly from prison in Caesarea Possibly from prison in Ephesus in Possibly from house arrest in Rome |
|||
| Time | Probably c. 57 AD from Ephesus, or c. 58 AD from Caesarea, or 61-63 AD from Rome | |||
| Michal E. Hunt Copyright © 2018 | ||||
The first part of Paul's letter is an exposition of Christ's supremacy over all creation (Chapters 1:15-2:23). The second part explains what Christ's supremacy means in terms of the Christian's submission to Christ as Lord and Savior and as a citizen of His Kingdom that is the Church (Chapters 3:1-4:6).
The divisions of Paul's Letter:
Chapter 1:1-14 ~ The Address
Like the many of Paul's other letters, his address is in three parts:
Colossians 1:1-2 ~ Paul's Greeting
1 Paul, an
apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 2 to the holy ones and faithful brothers in
Christ in Colossae: grace to you and peace from God our Father.
Unlike Paul's letters to the Philippians and Philemon, but like all his other letters, Paul begins with his name and then immediately asserts his apostolic authority: an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God. He didn't have to announce that he was writing to his beloved Philippians (Phil 4:1) in his role as an authority of the Church. Paul founded the church in Philippi. The Philippian Christians, loving him and recognizing him as their founding father, never challenged his authority and were completely loyal to Paul. He did not assert his apostolic authority in his letter to Philemon because, even though he writes that he had the authority to have ordered Philemon to fulfill his request, he wanted Philemon to make the voluntary sacrifice concerning his slave Onesimus (Phlm 8, 14).
Question: Why does Paul
refer to himself as "an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God"?
See Acts 9:1-19.
Answer: Just as the
other Apostles were personally called by Jesus to serve Him and His Kingdom of
the Church, Paul received a personal calling in his conversion experience on
the Damascus Road. Ananias, the Christian who baptized Paul, probably told him
that God revealed his future, saying, "...this man is a chosen instrument of
mine to carry my name before Gentiles, kings, and Israelites, and I will show
him what he will have to suffer for my name" (Acts 9:15-17).
Question: Why does Paul
assert his apostolic authority in this letter?
Answer: He asserts his
apostolic authority because he is writing in the name of the Church, and the community
is bound to observe the practices and doctrines he will communicate to them in
the letter.
Question: Who is Timothy? See
Acts 16:1-3; 18:5; 19:22; 20:4;
Rom 16:21;
1 Cor 4:17; 16:10-11;
2 Cor 1:1;
Phil 1:1; 2:19-22;
Col 1:1;
1 Thes 1:1; 3:2;
2 Thes 1:1;
Phlm 1;
1 Tim 1:2-3; and
2 Tim 1:5, 7.
Answer:
2 to the holy
ones and faithful brothers in Christ in Colossae: grace and peace to you from
God our Father.
Paul gives the community of "holy ones" a blessing at the
end of his greeting. The "holy ones" refers to the Christians of Colossae, but
Paul also intends for the Christians of Colossae to share his letter with the
Christians in nearby Laodicea and other Christians in the Lycus River Valley
(Col 2:1; 4:15).1
The blessing of grace and peace is Paul's typical blessing, with slight variations, found in all of his letters. The only exception is the Letter to the Hebrews that the Church Fathers attributed to St. Paul and which was probably the written copy of a homily he delivered to the Jewish-Christians of the Jerusalem Church. The only difference in Paul's greetings from a traditional Greek letter is that he does not use the customary Greek greeting chara or chaire, meaning "joy" or "rejoice." Instead, he substitutes the Greek word charis.
Scholars suggest that Paul intentionally substitutes the Greek word charis, meaning "favor," with the distinctive meaning and understanding of the Hebrew word hen, meaning "grace," a gift of God. The New Testament writers used the international language of Greek to write their letters, but all their concepts were from the Hebrew, and so they adapted Greek words to convey the Hebrew into distinctively Christian concepts.2 And then, to the greeting giving the blessing of God's grace, Paul adds the Greek word for "peace," eirene, which reflects the typical Semitic greeting of peace that is shalom (i.e., see 2 Mac 1:1; Lk 24:36; Jn 20:19, 21, 26). It is the peace of a special relationship with Christ that He promised the Church in His final homily after the Last Supper (Jn 14:27; 16:33). It is a greeting repeated in our priestly greeting at Mass when the priest repeats the words of Jesus' post-Resurrection greetings (Lk 24:36; Jn 20:19, 21, 26), says "Peace be with you."
In his greeting of grace and peace, Paul gives what Jewish-Christians would have recognized as an echo the ancient priestly blessing for God's holy people Israel in Numbers 6:24-26, May Yahweh bless you and keep you. May Yahweh let his face shine on you and be gracious to you [give you grace]. May Yahweh show you his face and bring you peace (NJB). If Paul does intend to echo the priestly blessing, then this is an ecclesial blessing. In that case, "grace" represents God's covenantal grace revealed in Jesus Christ and "peace" is the deep and abiding peace that comes from the indwelling of God the Holy Spirit. It is a blessing that would have appealed to a mixed congregation of Christian Jews and Gentiles who are one Body in Christ.
Question: Paul's letters are not the only place
where this blessing of "grace and peace" appears as a greeting in the New
Testament. Where else is the same blessing found in the New Testament? See
Rev 1:4.
Answer: It is the greeting Jesus sends to the
seven churches in the Book of Revelation.
Colossians 1:3-7 ~ Paul's
Thanksgiving to God for the Community
3 We always give
thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 for we have heard of your faith in Christ
Jesus and the love that you have for all the holy ones 5 because of the hope reserved for you in
heaven. Of this you have already heard through the word of truth, the gospel, 6 that has come to you. Just as in the whole
world it is bearing fruit and growing, so also among you, from the day you
heard it and came to know the grace of God in truth, 7 as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved
fellow slave, who is a trustworthy minister of Christ on your behalf 8 and who also told us of your love in the
Spirit.
In verses 3-4, Paul encourages the Colossae Christians by telling them that he and Timothy offer thanks to God for the community, having heard from Epaphras of their faith in Christ and their love for the Church. In verses 5b-9, he congratulates them on their acceptance of Christ and their faithful efforts in bearing the "fruit" of righteousness in living the Gospel as they learned it from Epaphras, who Paul calls a "beloved fellow slave" in service to Christ.
Colossians 1:9-15 ~ Prayer for Continued Progress
9 Therefore, from the day
we heard this, we do not cease praying for you and asking that you may be
filled with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and
understanding 10 to live in a manner worthy of the
Lord, so as to be fully pleasing, in every good work bearing fruit and growing
in the knowledge of God, 11 strengthened with every
power, in accord with his glorious might, for all endurance and patience, with
joy 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has made you
fit to share in the inheritance of the holy ones in light. 13 He
delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his
beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the
forgiveness of sins.
Paul has never visited the Christians in Colossae and only knows about them from his co-worker Epaphras, but he assures them "from the day we heard" about them that he and Timothy have continually prayed for them.
Question: What petitions have Paul and Timothy
made to Christ on their behalf? See verses 9-12.
Answer: They have prayed for the Christians of
Colossae to receive God's blessings of:
That Christians share the inheritance won for us by Christ in light with the holy ones (verse 12) probably refers to the angels who live in the heavenly beatitude.
13 He delivered us from the
power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in
whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
The imagery St. Paul uses at the end of his petition for the Colossian
Christians in verse 13 recalls the Exodus liberation: they have been
"delivered" and "transferred." He also refers to Jesus' theme of the "kingdom"
and our "redemption" and "forgiveness of sins" through belief in Christ (see
Acts 2:38; Rom 3:24-25;
Eph 1:7).
Verses 12-14 are a summary about redemption by the Father. The Father's redemption and forgiveness of sins is a prelude to Paul's beautiful Christ-hymn in verses 15-20 in which he writes about the "beloved Son" who is God's love revealed to mankind in human form.
Chapter 1:15-29 ~ The Preeminence of Christ: His Person and His Work
Colossians 1:15-20 ~ The Christ-Hymn of the
Preeminence of Christ
15 He is the
image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For in him were created all things in heaven
and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or
principalities or powers; all things were created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all
things hold together. 18 He is the
head of the body, the Church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the
dead, that in all things he himself might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness was pleased to
dwell, 20 making peace by the blood
of his cross through him, whether those on earth or those in heaven.
In verses 15-20, Paul defines the Person of Christ. Most Bible scholars believe that verses 15-20 are an early Christian hymn used in early Christian liturgy with which the Colossians were familiar. The verses present Jesus as the mediator of creation (verses 15-18a) and redemption (18b-20). Verse 15 states that He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. Man and woman were originally created "in the image and likeness of God": God created man in his image; in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them (Gen 1:27).
However, in verse 15 Paul writes 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. Christ is not created "in the image of God'; He is the very image of the invisible God who existed from before creation and brought about the present created order.
Whereas Adam and Eve were originally created "in the image" of God, Christ, who is "the image of God" of the invisible God (2 Cor 4:4), now shares this new "reborn" nature with those He has redeemed in the Sacrament of Christian Baptism:
The title "firstborn" in this verse does not suggest that Jesus was created. Instead, the title refers to his status and authority as God the Father's divine Son. In Jewish culture, the "firstborn" was the designated heir with authority over his sibblings. Notice there is a parallelism between "firstborn of all creation" in verse 15 and "firstborn from the dead" in verse 18. The first acknowledges that Jesus ranks above all creation and created life. The second acknowledges He is the first of the Resurrected dead in what became the great harvest of souls into heaven and the promise of our bodily resurrection, like His, at the end of time.
16 For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things were created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
Verses 16-17 proclaim Jesus' preeminent and supreme role as God's agent in the creation of all things "visible and invisible" in the material and spiritual realms. Everything is created through Him, and He holds all matter in the universe together (verse 17). These verses establish the preexistence of Christ before the Incarnation. Also see:
Verse 18: He is the head of the body, the Church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he himself might be preeminent.
When Christ arose from the dead, as the "firstborn from the dead," He was placed over (the head) the community of the Church that he brought into existence. But He is also the "head of the body" of the Church which is united to Him as part of His divine Body and from which He cannot be separated. To the Romans, Paul wrote: For as in one body we have many parts, and all the parts do not have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ and individually parts of one another (Rom 12:4-5; also see 1 Cor 12:12-27).
Verses 19-20: For in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell, 20 making peace by the blood of his cross
through him, whether those on earth or those in heaven.
In Christ is all the fullness of divine grace through which He makes
peace between God and mankind through His precious blood shed for the sins of
mankind on the altar of the Cross. It is through His perfect sacrifice that
all humanity can, at last, be reconciled to God. In his Gospel prologue, St.
John wrote: From his fullness we have all received, grace in place of grace...
(Jm 1:16). The fullness of Christ's grace in the New and eternal Covenant
has replaced the temporal benefits and grace of the Old Covenant.
20 making peace by the
blood of his cross through him, whether those on earth or those in heaven.
This passage is the most specific reference in the hymn
to the redemptive sacrificial death of Christ on the Cross. Christ's
redemptive sacrifice is a reoccurring theme in many of Paul's letters (see for
example, 1 Cor 1:17-18, 23 and Col 2:14-15).
Question: What is the "peace" Christ made by the
blood of His cross?
Answer: The "peace" Christ brought about was
peace/reconciliation between God the Father and sinful humanity.
The rupture in the relationship between the human family and God the Father came about through the rebellion of Adam. Adam's disobedience stripped the family of man of its inheritance and caused the disorder of sin and corruption throughout the world (Gen 3:1-24; Rom 5:12). Jesus' self-sacrificial death restored peace between God and the human family, allowing those reborn through the Sacrament of Baptism to become children in the family of God (2 Cor 5:18-19; Eph 2:13-18). Christ restores peace as the grace of the New Covenant permeates and renews the entire cosmos that was once corrupted by sin (Rom 8:19-23; CCC 2305).
Colossians 1:21-23 ~ Applying the Christ-hymn to the
Colossian Christians
21 And you who
once were alienated and hostile in mind because of evil deeds 22 he has now reconciled in his fleshly body
through his death, to present you holy, without blemish, and irreproachable
before him, 23 provided that you
persevere in the faith, firmly grounded, stable, and not shifting from the hope
of the Gospel that you heard, which has been preached to every creature under
heaven, of which I, Paul, am a minister.
In applying the Christ-hymn to the Colossians, Paul reminds them that they have received the reconciling effect of Christ's sacrificial death. In their former, pre-Christian lives, they were alienated from God because of their sins and hostile to the Gospel that was opposed to their pagan beliefs. As is often Paul's habit, he alludes to Old Covenant liturgy and worship, referring to the necessary "unblemished" sin sacrifices of animals offered to God on the Temple altar of sacrifice (Lev 4:27-35). Christ, in offering up His life on the altar of the Cross has become the one, truly holy and unblemished sacrifice for the sins of humanity.
Question: However, what is the condition for
claiming the sacrifice of Christ for one's reconciliation with God? What does
this condition suggest?
Answer: In verse 23, Paul writes the condition is
that one must "persevere in faith" and not shift from the "hope of the Gospel"
of Jesus Christ. This condition suggests that the journey to eternal salvation
is not a one-time event, but it is instead a lifetime journey requiring
perseverance in faith.
When Paul writes in verse 23 that the Gospel has been preached to every creature under heaven, some commentators suggest he is using rhetorical exaggeration. However, the Resurrected Christ did pronounce this very scope of the spread of the Gospel as His missionary mandate to His disciples when He said, "Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned (Mk 16:15-16). Notice that Paul is so confident that Christ's missionary mandate will be fulfilled that he writes in the past tense as though it has already happened!
The consistency of Paul's Christology reflected in three passages from his letters to the Philippians, Colossians, and Hebrews:
| Topic | Philippians 2:6-11 | Colossians 1:15-22; 2:6-15 | Hebrews 1:2-18 |
| Jesus' divine relationship to God the Father |
Form of God (Phil 2:6) |
Image of the invisible God (Col 1:15, 19) |
Revelation of God (Heb 1:2) |
|
Equality with God (Phil 2:6) |
Status of Firstborn (Col 1:15, 18) |
Status of Firstborn (Heb 1:6) |
|
|
Slave of God (Phil 2:7) |
Son of God (Col 1:13) |
Son of God (Heb 1:2a, 5, 8) |
|
| Jesus' divine work | |||
| In creation |
All things created (Col 1:16-18) |
Created universe (Heb 1:2, 3, 10, 12) |
|
| In salvation |
Suffering for our salvation (Phil 2:8) |
Reconciling all things (Col 1:19-22; 2:6, 13-15) |
Sustains all things that exist by His word (Heb 1:3; 2:10, 11) |
| Jesus' Divine Nature |
Christ is Theos/God (Phil 2:6, 11) |
Theotetos/Godhead (Col 2:9) |
Theos/God (Heb 1:8) |
| Exclusively God |
Christ is Lord (Phil 2:11) |
Fullness of the deity (Col 1:19; 2:9) |
Created the universe (Heb 1:1-12) |
| In the flesh |
Coming in human likeness (Phil 2:7, 8) |
Of the deity bodily (Col 2:9) |
Blood and flesh (Heb 1:6; 2:14-18) |
| Pre-existence |
Created all things/before all things (Col 1:16-17) |
At the beginning made the earth; your years will have no end (Heb 1:10-13) |
|
| Michal E. Hunt Copyright © 2018 | |||
Compare these passages with the Christological passages in the Gospel of John: 1:1-3, 12, 13-14, 18; 3:16; 14:6-7, 18.
In verse 23, Paul referred to his mission as a minister of the Gospel. In the next passage, he will refer to his role as both sufferer (1:24) and proclaimer of the Gospel of Jesus Christ (1:27-28).
Colossians 1:24-29 ~ Christ at Work in His Church
24 Now I rejoice
in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking
in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body, which is the Church, 25 of which I am a minister in accordance with
God's stewardship given to me to bring to completion for you the word of God, 26 the mystery hidden from ages and from
generations past. But now it has been manifested to his holy ones, 27 to whom God chose to make known the riches of
the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; it is Christ in you, the hope for
glory. 28 It is he whom we
proclaim, admonishing everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we
may present everyone perfect in Christ. 29
For this I labor and struggle, in accord with the exercise of his power
working within me.
Paul mentions the many afflictions he has suffered for the Gospel throughout his missionary career, and yet he rejoices in those sufferings. Joy in the midst of suffering is a common theme in Paul's letters and in the other New Testament Gospels and letters (Mt 5:11-12; Acts 5:41; 1 Pt 4:13). In 4:7-9, Paul mentions that Tychicus and Onesimus, who have arrived in Colossae, will tell the community about Paul's present circumstances. Their "telling" probably includes information about his imprisonment and subsequent sufferings, which he will mention in 4:3, 10, 18.
Question: In 2 Corinthians 11:23-29, what are the
trials Paul lists that he has endured for the sake of preaching the Gospel?
Answer: Paul has experienced labors,
imprisonments, beatings, and brushes with death. He was condemned to receiving
the maximum number of lashes five times, stoned once, and beaten with rods
three times. He survived dangers at sea, including three times shipwrecked and
cast adrift on the sea a night and a day. He experienced dangers from rivers,
robbers, the Jews, Gentiles, from false Christians, and dangers in the wilderness
and exposure. He endured hunger, thirst, fasting, and the daily anxiety for
the safety and continued growth of the Church.
and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the
afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body, which is the Church...
Paul is not implying that Jesus' suffering and
sacrificial death was in any way lacking. In uniting his physical sufferings ("my
flesh") to the Passion of the Christ, Paul feels he can mystically call his
sufferings the afflictions of Jesus Christ offered as a sacrifice on behalf of
the Church that is the Body of Christ.
Concerning this verse, St. Augustine wrote: "Note what Paul says: that I may fill up what was lacking,' not in my afflictions,' but in Christ's; and not in Christ's flesh,' but in mine.' Christ is still suffering, he says, not in his own flesh that he ascended into heaven with, but in my flesh, which still labors hard on earth. Christ, as Paul says, is still suffering in my flesh: I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me' (Gal 2:20). If Christ were not suffering real affliction in his members, that is, his faithful, Saul on earth would not have been able to persecute Christ seated in heaven. In fact, Paul openly explains in a certain place, Just as a body is one and has many members, and still all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ' (1 Cor 2:12). He does not say: So also Christ and His body,' but one body, many members, so also Christ.' All, therefore, is Christ; and because whole Christ is one, for that reason, the Head from heaven spoke, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?' (Acts 9:4)" (Sermons, 341.10).
25 of which I am
a minister in accordance with God's stewardship given to me to bring to
completion for you the word of God 26 the
mystery hidden from ages and from generations past.
Paul's ministry is a "stewardship" God gave him to preach
God's word. Notice that Paul uses the word "mystery" twice, in verses 26 and
27. In the Bible, "mystery" refers to a hidden knowledge about God and His
Divine Plan revealed by prophecy and the Holy Spirit. Contrary to the ancient
pagan meaning of "mystery" that concerned secret pagan rites revealed only to
the initiated, God's "mystery" is secret only in the sense that it remains
hidden only until God chooses to reveal it. When, according to God's plan, it
is time to reveal the "mystery," it no longer remains a secret but its
revealing moves forward God's Divine Plan. For example, in the Book of Daniel,
the meaning of King Nebuchadnezzar's dream remains a "mystery," meaning a
"secret" until God reveals the meaning of the king's dream to Daniel. Daniel
then explains the dream that reveals the different kingdoms that will succeed
the Babylonian kingdom, ending in a 5th eternal Kingdom that will
rule all nations; it is a prophecy of Jesus' Messianic Kingdom (Dan Chapter 2).
In this sense, "mystery" is the perfect word for Paul to use concerning the "good news" (Gospel) of Jesus Christ; it is a revelation of God, revealed through God the Son concerning His Divine Plan for humanity's salvation. It was a secret in past ages, but now is the time to reveal the mystery, and Paul plays an important part in that revelation.
In preaching the word of God, Paul is carrying out the mystery of God's Divine Plan for humanity that was not revealed in past ages and generations but is now revealed to make Jesus Christ known as God to the Gentiles. Jesus spoke of the "mystery of the kingdom" as an understanding granted by divine authority to the Apostles (Mt 13:11; Mk 4:11 and Lk 8:10). Paul also wrote about the "mystery" of God in Romans 11:25; 16:25-26; 1 Corinthians 2:7; 15:51; Ephesians 1:9; 3:3, 4, 9; 5:32; 6:19; Colossians 2:2; 4:3 and 1 Timothy 3:9, 19.
Question: According to Paul in verses 27-28, Romans 16:25-26; Ephesians 1:10,
and CCC 722 what is the "mystery" and what does it
fulfill?
Answer: The "mystery" is to unite all things in
Christ in God's plan of universal salvation in making Christ known to the
Gentiles and offering them God's gift of grace and salvation: ... to whom God chose to make known the riches of
the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; it is Christ in you, the hope for
glory. 28 It is he whom we
proclaim, admonishing everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we
may present everyone perfect in Christ.
29 For this I
labor and struggle, in accord with the exercise of his power working within
me.
To teach the God-given wisdom of Christ, whose power
works in the apostle, is the reason he labors and suffers for the Lord, even in
communities like the Colossians and Laodiceans who do not know Paul personally.
Questions for reflection or group discussion:
In Colossians 1:9-10, Paul writes about spiritual wisdom
and understanding. In Scripture, these are traditional gifts of the Holy
Spirit and are two spiritual gifts we receive in the Sacrament of
Confirmation. Read Isaiah 11:2, CCC 1831-32, and Proverbs 1:2-7. What is the
relationship between wisdom and understanding, and how can we use them to grow
in the knowledge of God and His will for our lives? Why is it that the Book of
Proverbs 1:7 teaches that "fear of the Lord," meaning reverential fear and
respect for God, is the beginning of wisdom?
Endnotes:
1. According to 4:15-16, Paul also wrote a letter to the
Christian community at Laodicea; however, it is a letter that was apparently
lost over time. The Christians at Laodicea received one of the seven Christ-letters
in the Book of Revelation (Rev 3:14-22).
2. For example, there was no Greek word for the Hebrew word "Messiah," the one "anointed by God." Therefore, Paul and other Christians used the Greek word christos, meaning "one smeared with oil" for Jesus the "Christos," the Messiah sent by God. They also changed the meaning of the Greek word agape which meant "spiritual love" and gave it the distinctive Christian meaning as the kind of love with which Jesus loves us and commands us to love each other. Agape in the Greek, therefore, came to mean "self-sacrificial love."
Michal Hunt, Copyright © 2018 Agape Bible Study. Permissions All Rights Reserved.
Catechism references for Colossians 1:1-2:3 (*
indicates Scripture is either quoted or paraphrased in the citation):
1:3-6 (CCC 2632*)
1:10 (CCC 2520*)
1:12-14 (CCC 1250*)
1:13-14 (CCC 517*)
1:14 (CCC 2839)
1:15-20 (CCC 2641*)
1:15 (CCC 241, 299, 381, 1701)
1:16-17 (CCC 291)
1:16 (CCC 331)
1:18-20 (CCC 624*)
1:18 (CCC 504*, 658, 753*, 792)
1:20-22 (CCC 2305*)
1:24 (CCC 307*, 618*, 1508)
1:27 (CCC 568, 772)