Walking With Christ

We’ve reached the end of a verse-by-verse study through Paul’s epistle to the Colossians.  I pray this study has been helpful and that your understanding of this amazing letter has given you a deeper love for the Lord and His Church. If you’ve missed any part of the study, you can find the entire series…

Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.  Colossians 4:5-6 ESV We’ve reached the end of apostle Paul’s exhortation to right living, which started way back in Colossians 2:16.  And…

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to…

Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the…

Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them. Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. Colossians 3:18-21 ESV As we look at this passage in context, we…

The Apostle Paul spent most of what we know as Colossians 3 giving instructions to the church on how to conduct themselves as believers.  He concludes his exhortation with what might considered a concise summary of all he’s written thus far: And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of…

As we saw last time, there is simply no scriptural argument against the divinity of Christ.  The bible makes it clear that Jesus is unique in all the universe as being the one and only Son of God, and today we see even more of His exclusive power and position. For by him all things…

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Colossians 3:16 ESV The word is certainly an interesting theological study all by itself.  Rendered from the Greek logos it can have many meanings,…

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Colossians 3:15 ESV We are in the middle of the exhortation and encouragement to right living that Paul gave the Colossae church, now with the instruction to “let the peace of Christ rule…

Last time we looked at Colossians 3:5-11 and Paul’s overarching list of things that Christians must abstain from; actions that hurt people and clearly violate God’s moral law.  Today we turn the page over and look at a list of behaviors that every true Christian should be exhibiting in their lives; actions that build up…

When we opened Colossians 3, we learned about the importance of Paul’s command that we “seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God,” and to “set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth,” (Col. 3:1-2).This is basically a summary of…

Last time, we closed out Colossians 2 looking at Paul’s instructions to the church to avoid adhering to religious rites and manmade traditions in a futile effort to earn favor with God because we now have freedom in Christ – freedom from the law of works and freedom from the chains of sin.  Today we…

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. (2:6-7) After expressing his desire for the Colossians to be encouraged, knit together in love, and grounded in the full assurance of their faith…

Opening Colossians chapter 2, apostle Paul encouraged believers to remain “knit together in love” and prayed that they would collectively obtain “all the riches of full assurance of understanding” found in our Lord Jesus Christ.  This sets the stage for our passage today: “I say this in order that no one may delude you with…

…to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Colossians 2:2-3 Leading into our passage today, the apostle Paul was sharing with the Colossians how he agonized and struggled for those who had not…

For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love… Colossians 2:1-3 ESV As Paul closed out what we know as Colossians chapter 1,…

“Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.” – Colossians 1:28-29 ESV As Paul closes out chapter one of his letter to the Colossians, he reminds us of the…

In Colossians 1:24, the apostle Paul speaks of his suffering for the body of Christ, which is the Church. He continues in verse 25: “Of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for…

“Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church,” Colossians 1:24 ESV Throughout the New Testament, the apostles reminded believers to be joyful.  Paul included these reminders in many of his…

And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the…

And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace…

And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Colossians 1:17 ESV Here in the middle of chapter 1 of Paul’s letter to the church in Colossae, we find a multi-verse discourse on the glory, majesty, and power of our Lord Jesus.   As we saw in verses 15 and 16, Paul…

Here’s a quick review of what we’ve learned in the first 16 verses of our expository study of Paul’s letter to the church in Colossae: In Colossians 1:1-2 we saw how Paul, the author of this letter, represented himself as “an apostle of Christ Jesus.”  This was important because apostles had very specific biblical qualifications,…

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. Colossians 1:15 ESV If anyone claims that Jesus Christ was only human, or simply a gifted teacher or a great prophet sent by God, yet not truly divine in nature, our passage today crushes that argument. As Paul continues a rather lengthy…

As believers, we have so much to be thankful for that it’s sometimes easy to take these gifts for granted.  It’s human nature for appreciation to wane over time as blessings become normality.  This is why it is so important for us to take some time each day to consider just how much we have…

Last time we saw how Paul continuously prayed that the Colossians would be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding (Col. 1:9), and today we continue looking at the apostle’s encouraging passage in this letter. Paul wrote in Colossians 1:10-11: “…so as to walk in a manner worthy of…

It’s been a little while since we last studied Colossians together, so before picking up let’s do a quick recap of some of the things we learned in the opening verses of Paul’s letter to the church in Colossae. In verse 1 we saw how Paul recognized that he was an apostle of Christ and…

“…just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.” Colossians 1:7-8 ESV We last saw the importance of bearing fruit for Christ (Col. 1:5-6), and how it is evidence of a saving…

Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, Colossians 1:5-6 Continuing the introduction…

We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven.  Colossians 1:3-5a ESV Last time, we looked closely at…

We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ… Colossians 1:3 Barely into the opening of Paul’s letter to the Colossians, we find once again that Scripture is a treasure chest of truths and insights into the heavenly domain.  It is always worth our time to carefully read and consider each passage of…

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father. (Colossians 1:1-2 ESV) Opening Paul’s epistle to the Colossians, we see a familiar greeting and claim of authorship (likely with Timothy…

As we begin our new expository devotional series in the epistle of Colossians, it’s good practice to spend a few minutes learning about the audience, culture, history and setting of the church, and the author’s purpose in writing the letter. Colossae was a city located in what is modern day Turkey and was about 100…