Introduction to colossians each book in the bible has a theme and purpose. This course is aimed to help students read the books of ephesians and colossians as christian. He has no equal among the religious leaders of the world religions because he and he alone is gods son and the way, the truth, and the life john 14. Bailey emphasizes the vital message of following the way to holiness as seen in the epistle to the colossians, as well as the message of restoration in that a slave becomes a brother in the epistle to philemon. An exposition of acts and 10 of the pauline epistles all except romans, ephesians, and. Colossians complete bible book chapters and summary. You will write a 45 page essay 1500 words explaining the teaching of colossians on christs work. Colossians directs our attention to the head of the body who is christ. The books of reference used for this study of the book of colossians were the bible, king james version, called the companion bible, publisher kregel. Author the pauline authorship of colossians is supported by abundant evidence both in and out of the book. The apostle paul, joined in his salutation by timothy col 1. Colossians tends to be more specific, concrete, and ellipticalwhile ephesians is.
Teachings on the book of colossians 6 big things dr. The book of colossians is a prison epistle letter written while in prison. Galatians, ephesians, philippians, colossians, philemon 21 the books of thessalonians pp. Can you solve this puzzle even if you do not have the book by varughese. The apostle paul writes to a young church so that their hearts may be. Some have argued that paul wrote colossians from ephesus or caesarea, but most of the evidence favors rome as the place where paul penned all the prison letters ephesians, colossians, philippians and philemon. Introduction to the book of colossians learn religions. Intro to colossians biblica the international bible. Colossians 2 niv bible i want you to know how hard i am.
In this, it follows the pattern of romans and ephesians. Also, there are many personal references common to philemon and colossians. Colossians is a letter written by the apostle paul approximately a. Introduction to the book of colossians pulpit pages. Our text scriptures are designated by the word text. The book of colossians, king james bible, by alexander scourby is being aired with permission of, all rights reserved.
In this 1965 book, michener uses historical fiction to bring israels past eras to life. Please read the whole book of colossians at least once as we study chapter 1. Written to christians living in colosse, a small city located on the lycus river in presentday turkey, the letter was delivered by tychicus and onesimus alongside those paul wrote to the ephesians and to philemon. This letter was written by paul, an apostle of jesus christ 1. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. The letter of paul to the colossians is much more about the head of the body, jesus christ.
New testament survey syllabus emmaus bible college. Nt 637 pauline epistles eplace asbury theological seminary. As a matter of fact, the greek author xenophon who lived from 434 to 355 b. Colossians is one of four prison epistles written by the apostle paul during his first roman imprisonment. Colossians is named for the city of colossae, where the church it was addressed to was located. Philippians, colossians, titus, hebrews, 1 peter, 1 john and revelation draws on material in chapters 26 and 2832 of discovering the bible by alex varughese, a textbook for introduction to biblical literature.
We pray that youll live well for the master, making him proud of you as you work hard in his orchard. As you learn more and more how god works, you will learn. While preeminence is not a common word in our vocabulary, many can easily relate to its synonyms. One of the key themes in the book of colossians is the supremacy of christ. Date paul wrote this epistle from prison, as he did ephesians, philippians, and philemon. This helps explain the personal greetings he included at the end of the letter, a practice he usually reserved for letters to churches he had not visited for example, romans. Colossians and galatians is correction of serious doctrinal deviation from the alreadygiven standard. Nt 23 exegesis of colossians and philemon fall 2012. Students are required to maintain an exegetical notebook preferably in a three ring binder for. The book of colossians is about the supremacy of the person of christ. The book of colossians addresses problems the church at colossae faced, and it challenges believers to examine all of life and be transformed through the resurrection and love of jesus.
This is an expository study of the book of colossians. Colossians 1 niv paul, an apostle of christ jesus by the. Who wrote this letter, and to whom is it addressed 1. Due to heretical teachings that were infiltrating the church, the colossians were struggling to understand how they were meant to live in line with the gospel. One purpose was to correct the heresy that had sprung up in the asian city of colosse. Colossians is the chart and compass which enables the believer to sail between the ever present scylla and charybdis. By comparing the epistle to the colossians with that written to philemon, it is reasonable to suppose that the church at colosse met in their home cf.
The book of colossians was written by paul to the gentile church at colosse, a city in asia minor, probably between a. Here paul confines it to the will of god, which is expressed in the word of god. Colossians and philemon is an easy reading verse by verse commentary on those most blessed new testament letters of the apostle paul. Paul was under house arrest in rome for approximately two years. Students will be exhorted to add to their lives the essentials of a christian character, and be better able to teach the truths in this book to others. Epistle of paul to the colossians or simply colossians is the twelfth book of the new testament. On the one hand there is always the danger of christianity freezing into a form, into a ritual. Paul was under house arrest for two years in rome, and shortly after that time period, he was martyred.
If philemon and his family were hosts of the church at colosse, then mark a. This passage reveals and confirms the preexistent, omnipotent, exalted, and eternal son of god. Colossians the book of colossians is a treasure chest of truth revealing to us the preeminence of jesus christ. There are two deuterocanonical works of the genre known as wisdom literature, one hebrew and one greek. The purpose of pauls epistle to the colossians is to instruct the believers that salvation is only in jesus christ. Wisdom, in all its forms, occurs forty times in this epistle. The focal point of the novel is an archaeological dig at tell makor, an imaginary mound that is the accumulated residue of abandoned settlements, each resting on the ruins of its predecessor. Dallas, texas, who read pauls letter to the colossians with me during lunch. Wooo n colossians alo 1 introduction to colossians c olossians is perhaps the most christcentered book in the bible. Colossae was about 100 miles east of the city of ephesus and it appears, from colossians 1. It has done that in many areas and in many churches so that christianity involves nothing more than going through a routine. Colossians complete bible book chapters and summary new. Bruce, paul, the apostle of the heart set free, pp.
The false teachers interposed a barrier between god and gods people. Early sources in church history that attribute this letter to paul include. It was written to counter and respond to heretical teachings and encourage believers to. Colossians was written during pauls first imprisonment in rome. Its original name was pros kolossaeis, to the colossians. Secondly, colossians is regarded by many as the most christological book in the bible. Colossians and philemon, the two horizons commentary. It was written, according to the text, by paul the apostle and timothy to the church in colossae, a small phrygian city near laodicea and approximately 100 miles 160 km from ephesus in asia minor scholars have increasingly questioned pauls authorship and attributed the letter to an early. The person of jesus christ must be understood accurately and that he is the image of the invisible god and in him all the fulness of the godhead dwells in bodily form colossians 1. Pauline epistle, also one of pauls prison epistles, 12th book of the new testament.
If such is truly the case, then paul wrote colossians around 6163 a. Prework assignment and syllabus duke divinity school. Colossians chapter 1 explained discover books of the bible. Follow christ instead of philosophy, asceticism, or legalism colossians 2. Multiple sources list a variety of dates within the timeframe of 5764 ad. Though he did not personally know the recipients, paul was acquainted with them. Colossians is a fantastic letter written by the apostle paul to the early church at colossae. This course is an expositional study of the book of colossians from the. Book of colossians overview insight for living ministries. The book of jeremiah records the warnings of the destruction to come on jerusalem. In the face of all such claims, paul stresses the supremacy of christ, who is the image of the invisible god, the one who brought creation about and holds it together, supreme over creation.
The book of colossians was written by the apostle paul about a. It was written to counter and respond to heretical teachings and encourage believers to serve with fervor and passion. For students taking classes for diploma, your research paper should be 1218 pages. Wierwille hit at sound out 84 where you dont want to condemn yourself because thats what gets you into a lot of the problems and the soup that you do get into. He is the center of the circle around which all christian living revolves. Thanksgiving and prayer we always thank god, the father of our lord jesus christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in christ jesus and of the love you have for all. In our text we have primarily used the kjv of the bible. Epistle to the colossians read bible book and verses online. Philippians with emphasis on the biblical theology of these books. In it paul stresses the preeminence of the person of christ and the completeness of the salvation he provides.
Colossians tends to be more specific, concrete, and ellipticalwhile ephesians is more abstract, didactic, and general. Strongs exhaustive concordance of the bible, numbered to the hebrew, chaldee, and greek, and english, coded to the strongs concordance numbers. Book of colossians explained discover books of the bible. Colossians is one of pauls four prison epistles col 4. The hebrew work is called ecclesiasticus, in the latin bible and in greek manuscripts sophia iesou huiou sirach the wisdom of jesus the son of sirach. Paul, an apostle of christ jesus by the will of god, and timothy our brother, to gods holy people in colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters in christ.
We will focus on the main themes that arise throughout the book such as the supremacy of christ, the freedom we experience through the gospel, and how to live a life pleasing to the lord. Paul encourages the colossian christians to see jesus as the center of all reality, so they dont give in to pressure from other religions. The book of colossians encourages a greater devotion to. Colossians was likely penned, as were ephesians, philippians, and philemon, during pauls first imprisonment at rome 1. The word preeminence is the greek word proteuon which means to be first in rank or. The numerous parallels of vocabulary and matters discussed in ephesians and colossians link these epistles together. Biblical literature biblical literature wisdom literature.
Teachings on the book of colossians 7 now, during the persian period which was before christ, colossae was a very important city. The apostle paul and timothy directly named in colossians 1. The letters to the colossians and to philemon pillar. The key personalities include paul, timothy, tychicus, onesimus, aristarchus, mark, and epaphras. The book of colossians encourages a greater devotion to jesus. The general consensus is that these epistles were written during pauls imprisonment at rome cf.
He is the author of books, the latest are 12 steps with jesus, and start. They thought of elemental spirits that stood in the way and permitted access to god only by the path of asceticism. Before paul wrote this letter to the christians in colossae, he had never been to their city colossians 2. Exegesis of colossians and philemon syllabus, fall 2016 wed, fri 9351100 lecturer.
Slavery and the book of colossians slavery in the new testament read johnson et al. Colossians at least twice and using your ibs skills, perform a book survey of colossians following these. Philippians shows the church walking here on earth. Summary of the book of colossians story of the bible. The book of genesis tells the story of the creation and the beginnings of the human race.
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