NOTES ON COLOSSIANS

Colossians 1:9-12 this prayer has two "so that's" affecting man and ultimately God (also in Philippians 

1:9-11).

Colossians 1:13-18 

    13. unlike casting out demons and not replacing them with something else in your life

    15. Image is more than mere likeness. J.B. Phillips version says "Christ is the visible expression of 

the invisible God."  "Thrones...authorities": the parallel in Ephesians 1:21 indicates both the earthly 

and the supernatural

    16-17. "created, hold" -- The first verb is aorist (definite historical act of creation), the second verb is 

in the perfect tense (continuous acts of creation). J.B. Phillips: "He is both the first principle and the 

upholding principle of the whole scheme of creation."

    16.The last "him" perhaps refers to God.

    18.This image conflicts with that in 1 Corinthians 12:12.

Colossians 1:15-20 This hymn to Christ is similar to John 1:1-14. An ancient enconium (song in praise 

of someone or something) contained an introduction, distinguished ancestry, acts or attributes, superior 

nature, and a conclusion urging the reader to emulate.

Balances present:

    supremacy of Christ in the cosmos (15-17) and the Church (18-20)

    first born of creation (15) and of the dead (18).

The key theme here is supremacy.

    15. may be translated with the meaning "the firstborn before all creation." That fits the Greek and the 

context of v. 17

Read responsively:

A. He is the image of the invisible God, the Firstborn of all creation

    B. for by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether 

    thrones or powers or rulers or authorities:

A. All things were created by him and for him.

    B. And he is the bead of the body, the church; he is the beginning the firstborn from among the dead.

A. so that in everything he might have the supremacy.

    B. For God was pleased

A. to have all his fullness dwell in him.

    B. For God was pleased

A. through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven.

    B. For God was pleased

A. to make peace through his blood shed on the cross.

    B. He is the image of the invisible God.

Colossians 1:20 "Reconcile" expresses the possibility (He is not willing that any should perish).

But the universal salvation of everyone is not taught here since there is the possibility that enemies are 

reconciled by their defeat and destruction (Ephesians 2:5; I Corinthians 15:24-28), or that "all things" 

stresses Gentiles' salvation as well as Jews (Ephesians 2:12-13).

Colossians 1:24-26 

    24. also II Corinthians 1:5,7. Not that Christ's death was insufficient for atonement. A Christian is

associated with Christ through suffering (alternates between individual and corporate suffering). 

Birth-pangs of the church are necessary (Revelation 7:14).

    25. minister = lit. house-steward

    26. Unlike the Gnostic mysteries, this was completely revealed. Wording usually refers to Gentiles 

joining the body of Christ (Romans 16:25-26).

Colossians 2:2-3 

    2. "Knit together" can also be translated "instructed."

    3. hid in Christ, not in esoteric writings.

Colossians 2:8 8a can be translated as "and"or "that is."

Elemental spirits (stoicheia) may refer to: 

    (1) an element or principle, first step (II Peter3:10,12);

    (2) the spirits described in Galatians 4:9 as weak and beggarly; or 

    (3) angels, who mediated the law (Hebrews 2:2).

Colossians 2:8-22 Specific items in the Colossian heresy included: human philosophy and rabbinical 

tradition (8), circumcision (11), dietary regulations (16), festivals (16), angel worship (18), visions 

(18), legalism and separatism (21-22). Are there any parallels in today's churches to these?

Colossians 2:15-19 

    15. or "stripped," a common practice for captives of war (Revelations 16:15)

    16. drink -- There were few Jewish prohibitions against drink. Judaizers may have extended these

prohibitions like the Essenes did.

    17. substance (soma) = body

    18. self-abasement. How does it differ from humility?  "Self-abasement" probably meant fasting and 

other ascetic exercises (see verse 23). Visions were either things he thinks he has seen or (going with a 

different textual tradition) things he has not experienced.

    19. "Head" here refers mainly to the source of life and health, not authority.  See v. 2 for the means 

of this growth process.

Colossians 3:1-11 "Died" in 2:13,20 ends the doctrinal part of the epistle; "raised" in 3:1 begins the 

ethical portion.

"covetousness, which is idolatry" All sins can be divided into sins of animal desire and those of 

covetousness (all the sins of the mind centered on one's self). The idol is either one's self or an object 

desired. When we strongly desire to own something, it owns us to some extent.

    6. "wrath" Reconcile its meaning here with its occurrence in v. 8.  It has been said that wrath is "the 

negative side of holiness."  Same Greek word for wrath used in both.  Is God asking us to do 

something He doesn't do himself?

    8. Anger is an abiding condition of mind (associated with revenge sometimes) while wrath is a more 

agitated condition, an outburst from inward indignation.

   10. See II Corinthians 4:16. 

    11. This is against the Galatian idea of hierarchy. The first two comparisons are from a Jewish 

viewpoint, others from Greco-Roman world.  

Colossians 3:15 "rule"= lit. "be an umpire"

Colossians 3:17 Christians took over the saying in Joel 3:5 and adapted it by interpreting of Jesus as 

Lord.

Colossians 3:18-4:1 has a back-and-forth ABABAB structure. 

Colossians 4:16-17 

    16. identified by some as either the Philemon epistle or Ephesians (There is no place name in 1:1 

in the earliest manuscripts.)

    17. The same words were given to Timothy (II Timothy 4:5). The danger in the life of the church is 

not the lack of spiritual gifts, but gifts unfulfilled.

Archippus is featured in a later legend in which he pleads to divert the waters of the Lycus River to 

save the Christians in Colossae from a plot to flood the city and kill its inhabitants. In response, the 

archangel Michael drives his spear into the ground and steers the river beneath its surface, delivering

 the Colossians. (Biblical Archaeology Review)